FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTES RULES, 2005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION
"Snorkel for effective CED Coating of Vehicle Body Shell"
2. APPLICANT(S)
(a) Name : MAHINDRA & MAH1NDRA LIMITED
(b) Nationality : Indian Company registered under the provisions
of the Companies Act, 1956
(c) Address : R&D Center, Automotive Sector,
89, M.I.D.C., Satpur, NASHIK - 422 007 Maharashtra State, India
3. PREAMBLE OF THE DESCRIPTION
COMPLETE
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Snorkel for an Effective CED Coating of Vehicle Body Shell
Filed of the invention
The present invention relates to a device for a CED (Cathodic Electro-deposition Process) coating, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a snorkel for a CED coating of vehicle body shell.
Background of the invention
In today's auto industry quality plays the critical role in defining life and performance of a product. Paint quality is very important to achieve good aesthetics for the finished vehicle. Further, it provides protection for a body shell from rust issues. The most common process followed for protection of the body shell of the vehicle is a cathodic electro deposition process (herein after 'CED'). To achieve thorough cleaning of the body shell, the body shell is passed through a tank consisting of a CED liquid, where the CED liquid is charged with a negative energy and body shell is charged with a positive energy. As the body shell is passed through the tank, uniform CED coating is observed on all the body components which are subjected to physical contact with the CED liquid.
One of the prime requirements for the CED coating process is to avoid air pockets (herein after 'pockets') inside the body shell when the body shell is passed through the CED liquid tank. Various openings are provided on the body shell for removal of the air pockets to facilitate a uniform coating, which are further utilized for various part fitment. The air inside the body shell of the vehicle is blown out by the CED liquid as the body shell enters inside the CED liquid tank. The body shells of some vehicles are designed with a closed and heighted dome shape roof from which it is

difficult to blow out the air. The air trapped inside the body shell forms a pocket below the roof top resulting in the following problems -
> The air pockets prevent physical contact between an inner surface of the roof top and the CED liquid.
> The inner surface of the roof top is left with either a poor or no CED coating.
> The pocket generates a bouncy effect which tends to push the body shell upwards when submerged inside the CED liquid tank that results in dislocation of body shell and major breakdown for the CED system.
> Heavy loss of time, production resources and physical loss of body shell dislocated are major pitfall encountered in the prior art.
Accordingly, there is need to provide a means that will facilitate effective removal of air from the dome shaped roof top / profile when the body shell / article is dipped in/subjected to the CED or any other chemical coating process.
Objects of the invention
Object of the present invention is to effectively remove air from a dome shaped roof top / profile when the body shell/article is dipped in/subjected to an CED or any other chemical coating process.
Another object of the present invention is to eliminate air pocket trapped below the roof.
Yet another object of the present invention is to resolve problem of rusty/oily inner surface of the roof top by facilitating proper cleaning during pre-treatment process (PT).

One more object of the present invention is to ensure a complete CED coating on inner surface of the dome shaped roof top.
Further object of the present invention is to eliminate the bouncy effect by a complete removal of an air pocket on the inner surface of the roof.
One more object of the present invention is to eliminate breakdown / other losses due to bouncy effect.
Summary of the invention
Accordingly, the present invention provides a snorkel for an CED coating of a vehicle body shell comprising a tube bent to have a proximal end and a distal end, and a cylindrical connection member configured at the distal end of the tube. The cylindrical connection member includes a plurality of openings aligned perpendicularly with the tube. The plurality of opening facilitates collection of the air trapped on the inner surface of a roof of the vehicle body shell. The snorkel further includes a claw mounted on the bent portion of the tube. The claw have at least one tooth adapted to detachably mount and lock the tube on an opening area of the vehicle body shell.
Brief description of the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 shows a side perspective view of a snorkel for an effective CED coating of a . vehicle body shell in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 2 shows a side perspective view of flipped configuration of the snorkel for effective CED coating of the vehicle body shell in accordance with the present invention.
Detail description of the invention
The foregoing objects of the present invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art, techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention as described below in the preferred embodiment.
The present invention provides a snorkel for an effective CED coating of a vehicle body shell, which effectively removes air from a dome shaped rooftop / profile when the body shell / article is subjected to an CED or any other chemical coating process.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. These reference numbers are shown in bracket in the following description.
Referring to figure 1 and 2, the present invention illustrates a snorkel (100) for an effective CED coating of a vehicle body shell (herein after referred as 'body') in accordance with the present invention. The snorkel (100) includes a tube (10). a connection member (14) and a claw (20). The tube (10) and connection member (14) are a cylindrical tube of a predefined length in accordance with width of a roof top of the vehicle body shell. It is however understood that the tube (10) can be of the different shapes such as triangular, rectangular and the like. The tube (10) of the preferred embodiment is bent. The tube (10) has a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end of the tube (10) extends out of the CED tank allowing the air trapped on the inner surface of the rooftop of the vehicle body shell to escape. The distal end the tube (10) is fixedly attached with the connection member (14).

The connection member (14) in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is a cylindrical/tubular structure fixedly attached/aligned perpendicularly with the tube (10), The perpendicular alignment ensures optimum air escape during body dipping in the CED tank. It also ensures complete removal of CED liquid from snorkel (100) when body moves out of the CED tank. It is however understood that the connection member (14) can be of the different shapes such as triangular, rectangular and the like.
The connection member (14) has a plurality of openings to collect the trapped air. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connection member (14) has 5 openings (14a - 14e) provided for the air trapped on the inner surface of the roof. The design profile of the connection member (14) facilitates collection of air present in proximity with the inner surface of the roof. Further the cylindrical shape of pipe of the preferred embodiment eliminates chances of making any ding/dent on rooftop from inside. It is however understood that the preferred shape of the tube (10) and the connection member (14) can vary as per the variation in the shape/type of the roof of the body to be treated. The tube (10) and the connection member (14) are mounted on the roof of the body using the claw (20).
The claw (20) has at least one mounting tooth designed to detachably mount and lock the tube firmly on an opening area of the vehicle body shell. The claw (20) is designed to preferably mount and lock against a piercing pocket edge on the body of the vehicle. The claw (20) provides a self locking mechanism. It is however understood that mounting mechanism like snap fitting, clamp fitting, screw fitting and the like can be used to mount the snorkel (100) on the vehicle body shell.
In the preferred embodiment, the claw (20) is a flat plate structure with two mounting teeth (16 and 18) that mount detachably with the piercing pocket edge present on the

vehicle body shell, providing the self locking mechanism. The snorkel (100) avoids use of any locking hardware / location for full proof mounting. It is locked through an angle positioned between the body component and at least one lock tooth. The snorkel (100) is additionally locked by a pressure generated by inflow of the CED liquid in the vehicle body (hereinafter 'CED liquid pressure'). The locking effect is further enhanced by the CED liquid pressure observed against the snorkel (100) as it passes through the CED tank.
Advantages of the present invention
The snorkel (100) eliminates air pocket trapped below dome. The snorkel (100) resolves problem of rusty / oily inner surface of the roof top by facilitating proper cleaning during PT - Pre Treatment process. Complete/Effective CED coating on the inner surface of the dome shape rooftop is ensured. The snorkel (100) eliminates the bouncy effect by complete removal of air pocket inside roof preventing breakdown / other losses. The snorkel (100) concept works effectively to remove air trapped inside dome - without providing any opening on dome or without reducing dome height.
Thus the snorkel (100) works as a special feature for CED processing without changing the product design features. Further it eliminates element of breakdown due the bouncy effect.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components as mentioned in the above description or illustrated in the drawings. However, it is to be taken as the preferred example of the invention and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts considering the space constraint may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practised and carried out in various ways. Also, the

terminologies used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

We Claim
1. A snorkel for an CED coating of a vehicle body shell comprising:
a tube bent to have a proximal end and a distal end; a cylindrical connection member configured at the distal end of the tube, the cylindrical connection member having a plurality of openings aligned perpendicularly with the tube, the plurality of opening facilitating collection of the air trapped on the inner surface of a roof of the vehicle body shell; and
a claw mounted on the bent portion of the tube, the claw having at least one tooth adapted to detachably mount and lock the tube on an opening area of the vehicle body shell.
2. The snorkel for the CED coating of the vehicle body shell as claimed in claim
1, wherein the claw has a two mounting teeth to mount detachably with a piercing
pocket edge on the vehicle body shell providing a self locking mechanism.