US 12,403,706 B2
Robotics for inkjet printing vehicle livery
Shane Edward Arthur, Kirkland, WA (US); Matthew Mellin, Seattle, WA (US); John Eric Miller, Savannah, OH (US); and Kjersta Larson-Smith, Seattle, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Sep. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/937,227.
Prior Publication US 2024/0109349 A1, Apr. 4, 2024
Int. Cl. B41J 25/304 (2006.01); B41J 3/407 (2006.01)
CPC B41J 25/304 (2013.01) [B41J 3/4073 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of inkjet printing an exterior surface of a vehicle, comprising:
preparing at least a portion of the exterior surface of the vehicle in a first bay using crossflow or downflow air handling and using explosion protected equipment;
inkjet printing at least the portion of the exterior surface of the vehicle in a second bay;
closing doors between the first bay and the second bay before preparing;
opening doors between the first bay and the second bay after preparing;
closing doors between the first bay and the second bay before inkjet printing;
clear-coating at least the portion of the exterior surface of the vehicle in a third bay using downflow or crossflow air handling, using air filtration and using explosion protected equipment;
opening doors between the second bay and the third bay after inkjet printing;
closing doors between the second bay and the third bay before clear-coating; and
mechanically connecting the vehicle to a first reversibly moveable crossbeam before inkjet printing, wherein the first reversibly moveable crossbeam is located in the second bay in an open pit and the first reversibly moveable crossbeam is reversibly movable along a length of the open pit,
wherein the first reversibly moveable crossbeam spans the open pit, and the vehicle is located on the first reversibly moveable crossbeam.