PAINT CARTRIDGE FOR AND ELECTROSTATIC COATING MACHINE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the quantity of paint to be disposed when the inside of a paint cartridge is cleaned for changing color, and to simplify the cleaning of a coating machine body. SOLUTION: When the paint cartridge 10 is cleaned, air and a cleaning liquid are supplied through an upper end opening 12 of a paint bag 12 in a squashed state and thereby the paint bag 12 is expanded. Accompanying the expansion of the paint bag 12, the operating liquid in a tightly closed space 14 (operating liquid chamber) of the paint cartridge 10 is recovered through an operating liquid discharge path 26 in the cartridge. In the next step, the paint bag 12 is squashed by supplying the operating liquid to the operating liquid chamber (the tightly closed space 14) of the paint cartridge 10 under pressure through an operating liquid supply path 22 in the paint cartridge which is different from the operating liquid discharge path 26 to discharge the cleaning liquid form a lower end opening 12c of the paint bag 12. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT