Abstract:
An apparatus for treating articles, in particular vehicle bodies, with at least one tempered, directed air jet comprises a housing, in which are formed a treatment chamber and at least one pressure chamber, which is separated from the treatment chamber by a partition wall. The tempered air is suppliable to the pressure chamber and may then flow as a directed air jet into the treatment chamber through a nozzle device, which penetrates an opening of the partition wall. The nozzle device is insertable from the treatment chamber into the partition wall and fastenable from the treatment chamber to the partition wall. Consequently, subsequent work on the nozzle device, in particular an exchange thereof, may be carried out more easily.

Description:
[0001]     The invention relates to an apparatus for treating articles with at least one tempered, directed air jet, comprising 
        a) a housing;     b) a treatment chamber for the articles, which is formed in the housing;     c) at least one pressure chamber, which is formed in the housing and to which tempered air is suppliable under pressure and which is separated by a partition wall from the treatment chamber;     d) at least one nozzle device, which penetrates an opening of the partition wall and is fastened detachably to the partition wall.        
 
         [0006]     Here, by the term “temper” is meant the heating or cooling of air to a value specified by the process, while keeping within defined limits.  
         [0007]     Such apparatuses are commercially known e.g. in the form of drying apparatuses, hereinafter referred to as “driers”, in which freshly enamelled or otherwise coated vehicle bodies are dried, during which operation the solvent is stripped from the coating material and/or the coating material is hardened. Of a similar design are cooling apparatuses, also referred to as “cooling zones”, which are often disposed downstream of such driers and differ from driers substantially only in the temperature of the air directed towards the vehicle body.  
         [0008]     In the case of both driers and cooling apparatuses, it is necessary to be able to set and/or vary the direction of the air jet as well as the air quantity per unit of time that is carried by the air jet. Upon a change of the article to be treated, it is necessary to gain access to the nozzle devices in order, for example, to exchange a nozzle device for one that allows a different volume rate of flow, or alternatively to completely close the opening that was previously penetrated by a nozzle device.  
         [0009]     In the known apparatuses of the initially described type, the nozzle devices are introduced through the partition wall from the pressure chamber side and generally screw-fastened to the partition wall at the side facing the pressure chamber. This makes it possible for the side of the partition wall facing the treatment chamber to be kept smooth and free of irregularities, which because of their dirt-accumulating effect are particularly to be avoided when enamelling articles. With this arrangement, however, the nozzle devices are difficult to access, particularly in situations where filters for purifying the air flowing through are additionally situated in the pressure chamber.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The object of the present invention is to develop an apparatus of the initially described type in such a way that the nozzle device is easier to disassemble and optionally exchange for a different nozzle device.  
         [0011]     This object is achieved according to the invention in that the nozzle device is insertable from the treatment chamber into the partition wall and fastenable from the treatment chamber to the partition wall.  
         [0012]     In the treatment chamber there is generally enough room available to allow maintenance personnel to approach the nozzle that is to be exchanged and carry out the necessary work without difficulty. The present invention at the same time overcomes the prejudice that fastening means, by which the nozzle device may be fastened from the treatment chamber to the partition wall, necessarily lead to such irregularities of the side of the partition wall facing the treatment chamber that dirt accumulates here.  
         [0013]     In an advantageous form of construction of the apparatus according to the invention, the nozzle device has a flange, which in the assembled position lies against the side of the partition wall facing the treatment chamber. This flange precisely defines the depth of insertion of the nozzle device into the partition wall. The flange may be kept thin enough to prevent a significant step at the side of the partition wall facing the treatment chamber.  
         [0014]     The nozzle device is advantageously fastenable to the partition wall by means of a bayonet-catch-like fastening device. This type of fastening device has the advantage that all of the fastening components that have a greater thickness may be disposed, viewed from the treatment chamber, not in front of but behind the partition wall. They therefore do not disrupt the smoothness of the side of the partition wall facing the treatment chamber.  
         [0015]     In particular, in said case a development is conceivable, in which the fastening device comprises a fastening ring, which is provided on the nozzle device and has at least one radially outwardly projecting detent lug, wherein the opening of the partition wall has an insertion opening, which widens the opening in radial direction and is so dimensioned that the detent lug is passed through the insertion opening and then by virtue of a rotation of the fastening ring is appliable against the side of the partition wall remote from the treatment chamber. The detent lug, which has substantially to take up the fastening forces, may be equipped with the thickness required for this purpose without there being any risk of this causing dirt to accumulate at the side of the partition wall facing the treatment chamber.  
         [0016]     When the detent lug in at least one end region pointing in azimuthal direction is bent at an angle away from the partition wall, the detent lug is easier to rotate to a point behind the partition wall during the closing motion.  
         [0017]     Particularly preferred is the form of construction of the apparatus according to the invention, in which the detent lug is made of resilient material. The opening of the partition wall may in said case be widened in radial direction by means of a detent opening, which is so dimensioned that the detent lug may partially enter it but not pass through it. The detent lugs therefore take over a second function besides that of being part of the bayonet-catch-like fastening device. By virtue of their partial “engagement” into the detent opening additionally provided in the partition wall, they ensure a defined closed position, from which there is no longer any unintended release. A rotation with simultaneous expenditure of a specific amount of force, on the other hand, allows the detent connection to be released and the detent lug to be brought back under the insertion opening in the partition wall. The entire nozzle device may then be pulled in axial direction out of the opening of the partition wall.  
         [0018]     Release of the detent lugs from the detent position in the detent recess is facilitated when the detent lug in the manner described above has at least one end region bent at an angle.  
         [0019]     For the sake of stability, it is recommended that a plurality of detent lugs be distributed over the circumference of the fastening ring and that a plurality of insertion openings be distributed over the circumference of the opening of the partition wall.  
         [0020]     In a corresponding manner, it is advantageous when a plurality of detent openings are distributed over the circumference of the opening of the partition wall.  
         [0021]     In an advantageous form of construction of the invention, the fastening ring is fastened to the flange.  
         [0022]     Often, the articles to be treated are to be acted upon at various sides by directed tempered air. The form of construction of the apparatus according to the invention is then recommended, in which on opposite sides of the treatment chamber in each case a pressure chamber is provided, which is separated from the treatment chamber by a partition wall containing at least one nozzle device.  
         [0023]     The apparatus is preferentially a drier or a cooling apparatus.  
         [0024]     The article to be treated is preferentially a vehicle body, for which the advantages described above are particularly beneficial. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]     There now follows a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings; the drawings show:  
         [0026]      FIG. 1 a  vertical section through a drier for vehicle bodies;  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  the plan view of a partition wall, which is provided in the drier of  FIG. 1  and from which the nozzle devices have been removed;  
         [0028]      FIG. 3 a  section through the partition wall of  FIG. 2  according to the line III-III in  FIG. 2 , but with nozzle devices inserted;  
         [0029]      FIG. 4  an enlarged section through one of the nozzle devices of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0030]      FIG. 5  the plan view of a fastening ring of the nozzle device of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0031]      FIG. 6  the enlarged plan view of an opening in the partition wall of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0032]      FIG. 7 a  diagrammatic view of the fastening ring of  FIG. 5 , inserted and latched into the through-opening of  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0033]      FIG. 8 a  perspective view of the fastening ring of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0034]      FIG. 9 a  diagrammatic view of a detent lug of the fastening ring of  FIGS. 5 and 8  immediately after being inserted into the opening of the partition wall;  
         [0035]      FIG. 10 a  view similar to  FIG. 9  of the detent lug, latched into the opening of the partition wall. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0036]      FIG. 1  shows a diagrammatic vertical section through a drier  1 , which is intended for drying freshly enamelled vehicle bodies  2 . The drier I in a known manner has a housing  3 , in which a drier tunnel  6 , i.e. a treatment chamber, is formed and laterally delimited by two inner partition walls  4 ,  5 . The vehicle bodies  2  are conveyed at right angles to the drawing plane of  FIG. 1  continuously or discontinuously through the drier  1  with the aid of a conveying system  7 , which is of no further interest here.  
         [0037]     The, in  FIG. 1 , left side wall  8  and the top  9  of the housing  3  as well as a partition wall  10  extending horizontally in the bottom region of the housing  3  jointly with the, in  FIG. 1 , left partition wall  4  delimit a first pressure chamber  11 . In a similar manner the, in  FIG. 1 , right side wall  12 , the top  9  of the housing  3  as well as the horizontal partition wall  10  jointly with the, in  FIG. 1 , right vertical partition wall  5  delimit a second pressure chamber  13 . The pressure chambers  11  and  13  are accessible to personnel through non-illustrated doors and connected in each case to a source of conditioned, pressurized and heated air (not shown).  
         [0038]     The horizontal partition wall  10  is interrupted in the region of the conveying system  7 ; said partition wall jointly with the underside  14  of the housing  3  delimits on either side of the conveying system  7  an extraction channel  15  and/or  16 .  
         [0039]     The pressure chambers  11  and  13  are connected to the drier tunnel  6  in each case by a plurality of nozzle devices  17 , which extend through openings  22  in the corresponding partition wall  4  and/or  5 . These nozzle devices  17  are all of substantially the same construction but may differ in their effective flow cross section.  
         [0040]     The exact style of construction of the nozzle devices  17  is evident in particular from  FIGS. 4, 5  and  7 , to which reference is now made. Each nozzle device  17  comprises an air-swept nozzle body  18 , which comprises a conically extending portion  18   a  and a spherical cup-shaped portion  18   b  attached thereto. A receiver  19  of the nozzle device  17  likewise has a spherical cup-shaped portion  19 b, which embraces the spherical cup-shaped portion  18   b  of the nozzle body  18  in such a way that the nozzle body  18  may be swivelled under the guidance of the receiver  19 . The spherical cup-shaped portion  19   b  of the receiver  19  is connected to a flange  19   a , which extends radially in relation to the axis of the receiver  19 .  
         [0041]     Fastened to the flange  19   a  of the receiver  19  at its annular end face facing the spherical cup-shaped portion  19   b  is a fastening ring  20 , which is illustrated in detail in particular in  FIGS. 5 and 8 . The fastening ring  20  has the same inside diameter throughout but is subdivided by corresponding increases of the outside diameter into, in each case, three wider portions  20   a , which are at an angular distance of 120° from one another, and three narrower portions  20   b  situated between the wider portions  20   a . The wider portions  20   a  are used to fix the fastening ring  20  to the flange  19   a , preferably by glueing.  
         [0042]     Each narrower portion  20   b  of the fastening ring  20  carries a radially extending fastening lug  21 , which in  FIG. 8  is offset slightly downwards. The end regions  21   a  of the fastening lugs  21  pointing in peripheral direction are bent round slightly in a downward direction.  
         [0043]     As  FIGS. 2 and 6  in particular reveal, the vertical partition walls  4  and  5  have an opening  22  for each nozzle device  17 . The boundary line of each opening  22  has the basic shape of a circle, wherein however at the angular distance of 120° three radially outwardly extending, relatively wide groove-like recesses  22   a  are provided. Situated midway between each two wide groove-like recesses  22   a  is a narrower groove-like recess  22   b ; altogether, there are therefore likewise three narrow groove-like recesses  22   b  situated at an angular distance of 120°. Here, the wider groove-like recesses  22   a  are referred to as “insertion openings” and the narrower groove-like recesses  22   b  as “detent openings”. The dimensions of the insertion openings  22   a  are slightly larger than the dimensions of the detent lugs  21  of the fastening ring  20 , in particular also in peripheral direction. The dimension of the detent openings  22   b , on the other hand, is slightly smaller in peripheral direction than the peripheral extension of the detent lugs  21 .  
         [0044]     The nozzle device  17  is fastenable to the partition walls  4  and  5  in the manner described below with reference to FIGS.  2  to  10  for the partition wall  5 .  
         [0045]     First, the nozzle body  18  and the receiver  19  are assembled into the complete nozzle device  17 . Then, the nozzle device  17  is inserted, conical portion  18   a  of the nozzle body  18  and spherical cup-shaped portion  19   b  of the receiver  19  first, into the corresponding opening  22  of the partition wall  5 . This is done from the drier tunnel  6 . The angular orientation of the receiver  19  and hence the angular orientation of the fastening ring  20  is in said case selected in such a way that the detent lugs  21  of the fastening ring  20  are aligned in each case with an insertion opening  22   a  of the opening  22 . The detent lugs  21  may therefore pass through the insertion openings  22   a , as is shown in  FIG. 9 . When the receiver  19  is then rotated inside the opening  22  of the partition wall  5 , the detent lugs  21  engage behind the partition wall  5  in regions lying adjacent in peripheral direction to the insertion openings  22   a . The bent end regions  21   a  of the detent lugs  21  in said case interact with the edges of the insertion openings  22   a  in such a way that the detent lugs  21  are pressed further out of the plane of the fastening ring  20  and may therefore slide behind the partition wall  5 .  
         [0046]     The rotational movement of the receiver  19  and hence of the fastening ring  20  of the nozzle device  17  is continued until the detent lugs  21  snap into the detent openings  22   b  of the corresponding through-opening  22  in the partition wall  5 . This is the assembled position of the nozzle device  17  in the partition wall  5  that is illustrated in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0047]     When the nozzle device  17  is to be removed, the receiver  19  merely has to be rotated in either direction. With the aid of the bent end portions  21   a  the detent lugs  21  are then lifted out of the detent openings  22   b  of the opening  22  in the partition wall  5 . The receiver  19  may then be rotated once more until the detent lugs  21  are aligned with the wider insertion openings  22   a . The entire nozzle device  17  is then removable axially in the direction of the drier tunnel  6 .  
         [0048]     The angle, at which the nozzle body  18  is situated relative to the receiver  19 , may be varied likewise from the drier tunnel  9  by, for example, introducing a rod-shaped tool from there into the interior of the nozzle body  18  and using it as a lever to adjust the desired angle.  
         [0049]     The operation of the drier  1  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is otherwise conventional: purified, heated and conditioned air is introduced into each of the two pressure chambers  11 ,  13 , flows through the nozzle devices  17  into the drier tunnel  6  and acts there upon the vehicle body  2  that is to be dried. As the heat requirement for vehicle bodies  2  is usually greater in the lower region than in the upper region, a higher number of nozzle devices  17  are provided in the lower region. The local drying effect at the vehicle body  2  may moreover be influenced also by the effective flow cross section of the various nozzle devices  17  as well as by the angular alignment of the nozzle body  18  relative to the receiver  19 .  
         [0050]     The hot air that has entered the drier tunnel  6  leaves the drier tunnel  6  in a downward direction through the intermediate space between the two lateral portions of the bottom horizontal partition wall  10  and is then removed from the drier  1  through the extraction channels  15 ,  16  and supplied, for example, to a heating and filtering unit, from where it is returned in a suitably conditioned state to the pressure chambers  11  and  13 .