Patent Publication Number: US-10758933-B2

Title: Fluid regulation system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/302,044, entitled “FLUID REGULATION SYSTEM,” filed Mar. 1, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present application relates generally to pump control methods for pumps associated with spray tools to deliver coating materials. 
     Spray tools output sprays of coating materials to coat objects for aesthetic or utilitarian purposes. For example, spray tools may be used to paint or stain objects. In operation, the coating material is stored in a container until it is conveyed or pumped to the spray tool. The coating material may be conveyed through a fluid regulator which is manually or pneumatically adjusted. Unfortunately, manually or pneumatically adjusting the fluid flow through the fluid regulator may contribute to varying output pressure of the coating material flow to the spray tool. The varied output pressure may lead to undesirable variations in the spray pressure and spray patterns resulting in rejected sprayed objects. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed disclosure are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed disclosure, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the disclosure. Indeed, the disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below. 
     In a first embodiment a system includes a spray tool including a trigger and a sensor. The system includes a fluid regulation system including a container configured to store a coating material and a pump configured to control a flow of the coating material. The system includes a pump control system including a controller configured to change an operating parameter of the pump distributing the coating material in response to an input from the sensor. The pump control system is coupled to the fluid regulation system. 
     In another embodiment a method includes operating a valve that controls flow of a coating material in a spray tool in response to a trigger coupled to the spray tool. The method includes operating a pump that supplies the coating material to the spray tool in response to a signal received from a sensor coupled to the spray tool. 
     In another embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media stores computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, process a signal generated in response to operation of a trigger that controls flow of a coating material in a spray tool. The computer instructions, when executed by the processor, operate a pump that supplies the coating material to the spray tool in response to the signal. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a spray system that utilizes a fluid regulation system; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of a spray tool with a wireless signal transmitting system; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for controlling the fluid regulation system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
     The present disclosure is generally directed to a fluid regulation system capable of wirelessly controlling the flow of a coating material that is conveyed from a pump and/or tank to a spray tool (e.g., a spray gun or spray coating applicator), such as a manual spray tool that is manually operated by an operator. More specifically, the disclosure is directed towards a controller that adjusts one or more operating parameters (e.g., flow rate and/or pressure) of a fluid supply (e.g., pump and/or tank) to reduce variations or fluctuations in fluid flow conditions (e.g., flow rate and/or pressure) affecting a spray of coating material by the spray tool. The control of the fluid supply (e.g., pump and/or tank) is particularly useful in manual operation of spray tools, because the control may help to correct for any incorrect, imperfect, or inefficient use of the spray tool due to the manual operation. In other words, the control of the fluid supply may help increase the performance and quality of the spray coating procedures performed by the operator. As will be discussed in detail below, the controller adjusts one or more operating parameters of a pump (e.g., a positive displacement pump) to maintain process control and provide more consistent fluid flow of the coating material to the spray tool. For example, the controller may adjust pump operating parameters, such as flow rate and/or pressure. Reducing the occurrence of undesired flow rate and/or pressure changes of the coating material may result in improved process control, thereby reducing the number of sprayed objects that do not meet target specifications (e.g., rejected parts). For example, a more uniform flow rate and pressure of the coating material may provide a more consistent distribution and spread of droplets or particles in the spray from the spray tool, thus providing a more consistent application of the coating material on a target object. The controller may receive a signal from a sensor and/or transmitter coupled to the spray tool. The sensor and/or transmitter may be coupled to an outer housing of the spray tool or integral to the spray tool. Other sensors may also be disposed throughout the fluid regulation system. In the illustrated embodiments, the spray tool includes a trigger that, when activated (e.g., pulled toward a handle), sends a signal from the sensor to a receiver in response to sending a change in the trigger. The sensors may monitor various operating conditions, including but not limited to, a flow rate and/or pressure of the coating material provided by the fluid supply (e.g., pump or tank) to the spray tool, a level of coating material in a liquid supply container or tank, a distance between the spray tool and a target object, characteristics of the coating material (e.g., viscosity, ratio of materials such as resin and hardener, color, temperature, etc.), a flow rate and/or pressure of an atomization gas (e.g., air) provided to the spray tool, a rotational speed of a rotary bell cup of a rotary spray tool, a current and/or voltage of electrostatics in an electrostatic spray tool, environmental conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature, etc.), or other operating conditions. The controller utilizes the signal received by the receiver to generate a control command for the fluid supply (e.g., pump and/or tank). For example, the control command (e.g., pump control command) may include adjusting the flow rate and/or pressure of the pump based at least in part on the sensor feedback and/or a user input. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a spray system  10  that utilizes a fluid regulation system  12 . The fluid regulation system  12  may include a controller  14  (e.g., an electronic controller or computer-based control system), a gas supply (e.g., an air supply  16 ), and a coating material supply (e.g., a powder and/or liquid supply  18 ) positioned externally to a containment room  20  (e.g., paint kitchen). The containment room  20  may be sealed to inhibit paint droplets or other coating material fumes from spreading to unwanted areas. The containment room  20  may be insulated from electrical or other influences to block contaminants from entering the containment room  20 . In some instances, the containment room  20  may be used to spray or apply coating material that is regulated or potentially hazardous. Under such circumstances, the components and devices used in the containment room  20  may be constructed to provide additional protection against ignition of the coating material. As such, it may be desirable to locate electronic components external to the containment room  20 . 
     For example, the controller  14  may be located externally from the containment room  20  as it may include electrical components such as a processor  21  and a memory  22 . The processor  21  may include multiple microprocessors, one or more “general-purpose” microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors, and/or one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICS), system-on-chip (SoC) device, or some other processor configuration. For example, the processor  21  may include one or more reduced instruction set (RISC) processors or complex instruction set (CISC) processors. The processor  21  may execute instructions or non-transitory code and receive and distribute signals between various locations within the spray system  10 . The instructions may be encoded in programs or code stored in a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory  22 , configured to perform the various functions of the controller  14 . The memory  22 , in the embodiment, includes a computer readable medium, such as, without limitation, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, diskette, flash drive, a compact disc, a digital video disc, random access memory (RAM and/or flash RAM), and/or any suitable storage device that enables the processor  21  to store, retrieve, and/or execute instructions (e.g., software or firmware) and/or data (e.g., thresholds, ranges, etc.). The memory  22  may include one or more local and/or remote storage devices. 
     The instructions may utilize feedback from one or more sensors  23  or user inputs within the containment room  20 , as explained in detail below. In the illustrated embodiment, one or more sensors  23  are coupled to a spray tool  26 . The sensors  23  may include, couple to, or integrate with communications circuitry, e.g., wired communications circuitry or wireless communications circuitry (e.g., a wireless transmitter, receiver, or transceiver). In some embodiments, the sensors  23  may be electrically wired back to the controller  14 , the air supply  16 , and/or the liquid supply  18  via one or more electrical cables coupled to or integrated with a fluid conduit or hose  30  (e.g., internal or external to the conduit), such as an air hose. The sensors  23  may be coupled to various portions of the spray tool  26  depending on the type and configuration of the spray tool  26 . The spray tool  26  may include a handheld and/or manual spray tool (e.g., spray gun or applicator), a powder coat spray tool (e.g., applies powder coating material), a liquid coat spray tool (e.g., applies a liquid coating material), an electrostatic spray tool, a rotary atomizer spray tool (e.g., a rotary bell cup spray tool), a hydraulic atomizer spray tool (e.g., atomizes coating material without a gas), pneumatic atomizer spray tool (e.g., atomizes coating material with assistance of a gas such as air), a gravity fed spray tool (e.g., with a gravity feed container disposed above and coupled to the spray tool), a siphon feed spray tool (e.g., with a siphon feed container disposed below and coupled to the spray tool), a or any combination thereof. Depending on the configuration, the spray tool  26  may include any number or type of manual inputs, such as one or more triggers, valve adjusters, voltage adjusters, current adjusters, motor speed adjusters (e.g., for a rotary bell cup), or any combination thereof. As a result, the sensors  23  may be coupled to an outer housing  25  of the spray tool  26 , or the sensors  23  may be integrated within the spray tool  26  (e.g., within a trigger  94 ), along a fluid passage (e.g., powder passage, liquid passage, and/or gas passage such as air passage), at a valve or valve adjuster (e.g., liquid valve, atomizing air valve, shaping air valve, etc.), at a fluid inlet (e.g., gas, liquid, or powder inlet), at a spray tip adjacent a forming spray, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, sensor feedback may also be provided from sensors disposed outside the containment room  20 . 
     The controller  14  may be in electronic communication with the air supply  16 , the liquid supply  18 , one or more spray tools  26 , or other devices within the containment room  20  via wired and/or wireless communications devices (e.g., transmitters, receivers, and/or transceivers). The air supply  16  pressurizes and delivers air  24 , which may be used to power pneumatic devices, atomize or shape a spray of a coating material (e.g., liquid and/or powder), or other uses within the containment room  20 . In certain embodiments, the liquid supply  18  pressurizes liquid  28  for delivery to the spray tools  26 . The liquid  28  may flow along a hose  30  to the spray tool  26  where an object  32  is sprayed by the spray tool  26 . These embodiments may include fluid regulators that are regulated by manual or pneumatic adjustment. Fluid regulator output pressure can vary greatly, which may increase or decrease fluid flow to the spray tool  26 . In other embodiments, the liquid supply  18  may include a pump  34  (e.g., a positive displacement pump) that displaces a set volume of liquid  28  rather than pressurizing the liquid  28  within the hose  30 . The positive displacement pump  34  may include rotary-type positive displacement pumps such as internal gear, or screw type pumps. The liquid  28  may be displaced by one or more rotating gears that force a specific amount of liquid through the positive displacement pump  34 . The gears may include vanes or flexible impellers that force the liquid forward while maintaining a tight seal within the positive displacement pump  34 . The positive displacement pump  34  may also include reciprocating positive displacement pumps where a piston, plunger, or some other sealing membrane reciprocates or oscillates from one position to another to convey the liquid  28  through the hose  30 . Utilizing a positive displacement pump may provide more consistent fluid flow to the spray tool  26 , thereby resulting in improvements in process control as explained in detail below. 
     The spray tool  26  includes one or more inputs, valves, and/or triggers to control the application of the coating material (e.g., liquid and/or powder) to the object  32 . While using the positive displacement pump  34 , it is beneficial if the valves and triggers open concurrently to avoid excess pressure building within the hose  30 . That is, if the positive displacement pump  34  runs without the valves open, an excess volume of fluid is being pumped into the hose  30  with no place to exit. The excess volume of fluid, therefore, pressurizes the hose  30 , which may result in potential wear to the hose  30 , and/or the spray tool  26 . To improve concurrent triggering of fluid  28  into the hose  30  and out of the spray tool  26 , the controller  14  may trigger the positive displacement pump  34  in response to a wireless signal sent from the spray tool  26  within the containment room  20 . The controller  14  includes a wireless signal receiver  36  that receives the signal from the sensor  23  and/or a transmitter  38  on the spray tool  26  as detailed below. It may be appreciated that the wireless signal receiver  36  enables the pump  34  to be turned on or to be turned off remotely, without using a wired or pneumatic signal. However, in some embodiments, the controller  14  may operate with wired communications, pneumatic controls, wireless controls, or any combination thereof. 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of a spray tool  26  with a wireless signal transmitting system  50 . The wireless signal transmitting system  50  enables an operator to selectively trigger the positive displacement pump  34  to pump fluid  28  to the hose  30  and eventually to the object  32 . The wireless signal transmitting system  50  may be powered by a power assembly  52  that may also be used to apply electric charge to the liquid as it is sprayed from the spray tool  26 . As illustrated, the spray tool  26  may be configured to electrically charge while spraying the liquid  28  (e.g., paint, solvent, or various coating materials) towards an electrically attractive object  32 . 
     As illustrated, the spray tool  26  includes a handle  54 , a barrel  56 , and a spray tip assembly  58 . The spray tip assembly  58  includes a fluid nozzle  60 , air atomization orifices  62 , and one or more spray shaping air orifices  64 , such as spray shaping orifices  64  that use air jets to force the spray to form a desired spray pattern (e.g., a flat spray). The spray tip assembly  58  may also include a variety of other atomizers to provide a desired spray pattern and droplet distribution. For example, the spray tip assembly  58  may include a rotary bell cup or other rotary atomizer. 
     The spray tool  26  includes a variety of controls and supply mechanisms. As illustrated, the spray tool  26  includes a liquid delivery assembly  66  having a liquid passage  68  extending from the fluid nozzle  60 . Included in the liquid delivery assembly  66  is a liquid tube  70 . The liquid tube  70  includes a first tube connector  72  and a second tube connector  74 . The first tube connector  72  couples the liquid tube  70  near the spray tip assembly  58 . The second tube connector  74  couples the liquid tube  70  to the handle  54 . The handle  54  includes a material supply coupling  76 , enabling the spray tool  26  to receive material from the liquid supply  18 . Accordingly, during operation, the liquid  28  flows from the liquid supply  18  through the handle  54  and into the liquid tube  70 , where the liquid  28  is transported to the fluid nozzle  60  for spraying. 
     In order to control liquid and air flow, the spray tool  26  includes a valve assembly  80 . The valve assembly  80  simultaneously controls liquid and air flow as the valve assembly  80  opens and closes. The valve assembly  80  extends from the handle  54  to the barrel  56 . The illustrated valve assembly  80  includes a fluid nozzle needle  82  and an air valve needle  84 , which couples to an air valve  86 . The valve assembly  80  movably extends between the liquid nozzle  60  and a liquid adjuster  88 . The liquid adjuster  88  is rotatably adjustable against a spring  90  disposed between the air valve  86  and an internal portion  92  of the liquid adjuster  88 . The liquid adjuster  88 , in some embodiments, may combine with other adjustment tools to adjust the amount of air passing through the air valve needle  84 . The valve assembly  80  couples to a trigger  94  at point  96 , such that the fluid nozzle needle  82  of the valve assembly  80  moves inwardly  96  and away from the fluid nozzle  60  as the trigger  94  rotates toward the handle  54  (e.g., in a clockwise direction  98 ). As the fluid nozzle needle  82  retracts, fluid begins flowing into the fluid nozzle  60 . Likewise, when the trigger  94  rotates away from the handle  54  (e.g., in a counter-clockwise direction  100 ), the fluid nozzle needle  82  moves in direction  102  sealing the fluid nozzle  60  and blocking further fluid flow. 
     As described above, the system may include one or more sensors  23  coupled to the triggers  94  of the spray tools  26 , fluid passages in the spray tools  26 , other inputs and outputs on the spray tools  26 , the target object  32 , and other spray equipment inside and/or outside of the containment room  20 . For example, the sensors  23  may be distributed throughout spray tools  26  (e.g., spray guns), conduits, flow control devices (e.g., valves, pressure regulators, etc.), fluid tanks or supplies (e.g., gas tanks and/or liquid tanks), powder tanks or supplies, pumps, compressors, hoppers or solids feeders, fluid mixers, powder mixers, or any combination thereof. The sensors  23  are configured to monitor operating conditions of the components of the fluid regulation system  12 , such as the spray tool  26 , the fluid supply (e.g., pump  34  and/or tank), the target object  32 , fluid mixing equipment, or any related spray equipment. For example, the sensors  23  may monitor the duration of time the trigger  94  is activated, the actual times of trigger  94  activations (e.g., time stamps), the frequency of trigger  94  activations, the degree or distance of trigger  94  activations (e.g., percent of full range of trigger pull; any variation in trigger pulls during each trigger pull, across a set of trigger pulls, across all trigger pulls for a project, etc.), material characteristics (e.g., flow rate, pressure, velocity, temperature viscosity, material composition, fluid to air ratio, powder to air ratio, resin to hardener ratio, etc.) of the coating material being conveyed to the spray tool  26 , a distance between the spray tool  26  and the target object, movement of the spray tool  26  (e.g., speed, direction of movement, acceleration, deceleration, etc.), environment conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, or humidity), or other operating conditions, or any combination thereof. Again, the sensor feedback may help to monitor and control operation of the spray tools  26  and the generated sprays and coatings inside the containment room  20  by remotely controlling various equipment and operational parameters outside the containment room  20 , such as upstream components (e.g., fluid supplies, pumps, compressors, tanks, mixers, etc.), characteristics of fluids (e.g., gas and liquid), such as air and paint, characteristics of fluidized solid particulate (e.g., solid particulate disposed in a gas or liquid flow), such as air and powder, or any combination thereof. By enabling remote control of equipment outside of the containment room  20 , the operator of the spray tool  26  is able to more efficiently operate the spray tool  26  inside the containment room  20  without downtime for adjusting controls and without leaving the containing room  20 . The operator of the spray tool  26  is also able to increase uptime and continuous spraying, because the controller  14  may automatically adjust and correct for variations in the coating material (e.g., flow rate, pressure, viscosity, material composition, etc.), variations in the output spray (e.g., droplet size, distribution, spread, speed, etc.), environmental conditions, and so forth. The controller  14  also may collect raw data from the sensor feedback, process and analyze the raw data, and produce outputs (e.g., reports, alarms, messages, recommended servicing, recommended operator training, etc.). For example, the controller  14  may generate reports of adjustments to the fluid supply (e.g., pump and/or tank) and the spray tool  26  due to improper, inefficient, or imperfect operation of the equipment or the operator manually using the spray tool  26 . 
     In certain embodiments, the sensors  23  may send signals to a receiver which is configured to receive the signals from the sensors  23 . The controller  14  may utilize the data received from the receiver  36  to vary the flow rate and/or pressure of the pump  34 . For example, when the trigger  94  is activated (e.g., moved in a clockwise  98  direction by a user), the sensors  23  coupled to the trigger  94  are then activated and send signals to the receiver  36 . The controller  14  may then be utilized to generate a pump control command to operate the pump  34  based on the sensor input received and/or the user input received. In some embodiments, the controller  14  may utilize closed-loop control to generate a control sequence to meet the target operating conditions of the fluid regulation system  12 . 
     Returning to the discussion of the spray tool  26 , the power assembly  52  includes an electric generator  110 , a cascade voltage multiplier  112 , a trigger switch  114 , and a transmitter  116  that may be powered by the power assembly  52  or by a battery  118 . To produce the electric charge, air from the air supply  16  is distributed into an electric generator air passage  120 . The electrical generator air passage  120  directs air  24  through the handle  18  and into contact with a turbine  122  (e.g., a rotor having a plurality of blades). The air  24  flows against and between the blades to drive rotation of the turbine  122  and a shaft  124 , which in turn rotates the electric generator  110 . The electrical generator  52  converts the mechanical energy from the rotating shaft  124  into electrical power for use by the cascade voltage multiplier  112 , the trigger switch  114  and the transmitter  116 . The trigger switch  114  may include a detection point  126  that is activated when the trigger  94  is depressed. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of an embodiment of a computer-implemented method  130  for controlling the fluid regulation system  12  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The controller  14 , for example, may perform the method  130 . The method  130  begins when the fluid regulation system  12  is turned on and begins to regulate the flow of the coating material through the pump  34  that is supplied to the spray gun (block  132 ). Regulating the flow of the coating material through the pump that is conveyed to the spray gun may result in more consistent pressure of the coating material. For example, without regulating the flow of the coating material, the pressure of the coating material may suddenly increase or decrease. The sudden change of the pressure of the coating material may result in uneven coating of the sprayed object, changes in spray pattern, or other undesirable effects. These undesirable effects may result in rejected sprayed objects by failing to meet customer standards. Thus, regulating the pressure of the coating material may reduce pressure variations. 
     The method  130  includes utilizing a receiver for receiving sensor input from one or more sensors coupled to the trigger or other components of the spray tool  26  (block  134 ). The sensor input may wirelessly transmit signals to the receiver. The sensor may monitor operating conditions of the fluid regulation system, such as a flow rate of the coating material through the spray gun, the amount of time the trigger is activated, among others. The method  130  may include utilizing the receiver for receiving user input (e.g., from an operator or authorized personnel). For example, the operator may input a target pump flow rate, a liquid (e.g., coating material) supply level, a desired coating thickness (e.g., on the sprayed object), and so forth. 
     The method  130  includes controlling the pump control system based at least in part on the sensor input and/or the user input (block  136 ). For example, the pump control system may increase the pump flow rate when a greater amount of coating material needs to be supplied to the sprayed object. The pump control system may decrease the pump flow rate when less coating material needs to be sprayed. In one example, the pump control system may continuously convey the coating material until a target is reached. For example, the pump control system may instruct the pump to convey the coating material to the spray gun until a level within the liquid supply (e.g., coating material) container is reached. In another example, the pump control system may instruct the pump to convey the coating material to the spray gun until a desired thickness of the coating material (e.g., on the sprayed object) is reached. In yet another example, the pump control system may instruct the pump to convey the coating material to the spray gun for a prescribed amount of time (e.g., 1 to 60 seconds, 2 to 40 seconds, 5 to 30 seconds). 
     While only certain features of the disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure.