Patent ID: 8597735

Claim:
An electrostatic powder coating method comprising: applying resin powder from a coating device to a surface of each of a plurality of workpieces, which are conveyed by a conveying device in a conveying direction along a conveying path, by electrically charging the resin powder with an opposite polarity, which is opposite to a polarity of each of the plurality of workpieces, and electrostatically adhering the resin powder to each of the plurality of workpieces; heating each corresponding one or more of the plurality of workpieces by high frequency induction heating with at least one heating coil, each of which is placed on a corresponding one of an upstream side and a downstream side of the coating device in the conveying direction along the conveying path, upon supplying of a high-frequency alternating current to the at least one heating coil; and driving at least one overheat limiting device, each of which is associated with a corresponding one of the at least one heating coil to limit overheating of each corresponding one or more of the plurality of workpieces at time of supplying the high-frequency alternating current to the corresponding one of the at least one heating coil, wherein the driving of the at least one overheat limiting device includes displacing a dummy member, which is made of an electrically conductive material, of the at least one overheat limiting device from a retracted position to a forward position, which is located between the corresponding one of the at least one heating coil and a corresponding adjacent part of the conveying path of the conveying device, when an empty one of a plurality of mount locations of the conveying device, which are placed one after another in the conveying direction along the conveying path and are adapted to convey the plurality of workpieces, respectively, reaches the forward position of the dummy member.