SMART SPRAY PAINTING NOZZLE AND CALIBRATION METHOD FOR USE WITH MOBILE ROBOTS

Number: 20200222929
Published: 2020-07-16
Filed: 2019-01-14
Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
Inventors: BEARDSLEY; PAUL A., WEZEL; JAN, REUSSER; DOROTHEA
CPC: B05B12/00; B05B12/082; B05B12/122; B05B13/005; B05B13/0405; B05B15/16; B64D1/18; B64U10/13; B64U10/60; B64U20/87; B64U30/299
Verdict: Medium Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Robotic spray-painting nozzle hardware for mobile robots/drones.

Abstract

A smart nozzle assembly includes a nozzle, a nozzle control mechanism, and camera rigidly attached to the nozzle for use with a mobile robot in an autonomous spray painting system. The nozzle control mechanism is configured to control flowrate, control the shape of the spray pattern, mix two or more colors, and clean dried paint at the nozzle tip. The nozzle assembly further includes a process for running software to manage or initiate the nozzle control mechanism's functionality and to provide the nozzle calibration. The calibration method for the nozzle uses a novel algorithm that measures the spray pattern, the distribution of paint within the spray pattern, and the relative position of the nozzle and camera. The distribution of paint within the spray pattern is measured in terms of physical quantity of delivered paint per unit area.

Background

BACKGROUND1. Field of the Description

The present invention relates, in general, to methods and devices for use in painting structures such as multicolor designs/textures (including signs with text), and, more particularly, a smart and practical spray paint nozzle, and to a calibration method for such a nozzle, for use with a mobile robot operated to paint exterior surfaces such as themed surfaces found in amusement parks and the like (e.g., a painting robot with such a nozzle such as a drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) adapted for unpiloted and automated painting).2. Relevant Background

Painting remains a costly and time consuming maintenance task for owners and operators of many facilities as these facilities may include many large painted structures. Surfaces of many structures have to be periodically repainted as part of an ongoing and routine maintenance of the facilities. These surfaces may be quite large in size, may be irregular in configuration (e.g., not always be smooth and/or planar), and may be difficult to access such as due to their significant elevation requiring scaffolding or a painter's cradle to perform painting. As a result, painting can be relatively expensive due not only to costs associated with the paint used for the work but also due to labor costs and costs of equipment used to access these surfaces.

Painting, including painting of large structures such as scenery and ride components in amusement parks, generally remains a tas

Claims

1. A system for autonomous spray painting, comprising: a mobile robot; and a nozzle assembly mounted on the mobile robot, comprising: a nozzle; a camera; a nozzle control mechanism; and a calibration unit, wherein, during a calibration process, the nozzle control mechanism operates to output a flow of paint through the nozzle in at least first and second spray patterns, wherein, during the calibration process, the camera captures images of the first and second spray patterns, and wherein the calibration unit processes the images of the first and second spray patterns to calibrate the nozzle. 10. A system for autonomous spray painting, comprising: a mobile robot; and a nozzle assembly positionable by the mobile robot, comprising: a nozzle; and a nozzle control mechanism including a flow rate controller operable to set a rate of flow of paint through the nozzle, a mixer mixing two or more input paint flows of two or more differing colors to define a color of the paint flowing through the nozzle, a spray pattern selector adjusting the nozzle to define a shape of a spray pattern output by the nozzle, and a self-cleaning device operable to remove paint buildup from an outlet of the nozzle, 17. A system for autonomous spray painting, comprising: a nozzle; a camera rigidly supported at a position relative to the nozzle; a nozzle control mechanism; and a calibration unit calibrating the nozzle based on output from the camera during calibration operations of the nozzle, wherein the nozzle control mechanism predicts and operates the nozzle to output a flow of paint in a predefined pattern based on the calibrating of the nozzle.