Patent ID: 8273417

Claim:
A method of reducing coating overspray emerging from a robotic spray coating assembly, comprising: providing the robotic spray coating assembly, which comprises: a robotic arm having a remote end region; a coating head, mounted on the remote end region, the coating head comprising: a housing that narrows and extends axially away from the remote end region, defining a coating delivery region; a first orifice, located in the coating delivery region; and a supply of coating material, connected to the first orifice; a ring portion, mounted in a sliding fit around an outer peripheral portion of the housing, radially outwardly from the coating head, the ring portion having one or more second orifices connected to a fluid supply, the second orifices positioned for supplying a curtain of the fluid along the periphery of the housing toward the coating delivery region; and a locking member, affixing the ring portion to the housing; directing the coating delivery region at a work piece; delivering the supply of coating material to the first orifice to form a coating spray pattern beyond the coating delivery region to apply a coating to the work piece; and delivering the fluid to the second orifices to form the fluid curtain, which encircles the coating delivery region so as to reduce overspray of the coating emerging from the coating delivery region.