The invention relates to a portable flexible modular painting cabin comprising an inflatable and self-supporting structure consisting of a plurality of mutually adjoining inflatable frame parts made of a flexible fire- retardant material, said frame parts together forming a roof and sides of a painting cabin open at at least one end (7), where it is provided with means for joining several painting cabins in extension of each other, said cabin moreover comprising insulated integrated injection channels as well as means for fixing accessory equipment, including hoses, cables and pipes .

The invention moreover relates to the use of the portable inflatable working cabin in the production, working, servicing and repair of windmill wings. Portable inflatable painting cabins are known, and are frequently used where it is important that the work on workpieces takes place in a controlled environment, and moreover where the workpieces to be worked are too big or too awkward to handle for it to be cost-effective to transport them(the workpieces) to locations with more permanent structures.

These painting cabins are known in many configurations and embodiments, and they are used for many purposes, examples being painting cabins which are used outdoors at locations where it is not practically possible or cost-effective to build more permanent structures for the protection of the workpiece against the surrounding environment, as is disclosed in e.g. US 4192105(A), which is intended for use in the building of oil pipelines, or, conversely, where it is the surrounding environment which is to protected against possible environmentally harmful substances used in the work in the cabin, such as e.g. solvents, epoxy or health-damaging dust which may occur in the working of the workpiece, as is described in e.g. WO 2015/155507 and DE 10201001 1365 A1 , both of which are intended for use in the post working and maintenance of windmill wings. In addition, attention may also be called to the prior art disclosed in US Patent Application No. 2003/1 16182 A1 , which describes a portable inflatable cabin structure consisting of a plurality of mutually adjoining inflatable frame parts made of a flexible material, said frame parts together forming a roof and sides of a closed cabin structure, said cabin structure being provided with means at both ends for joining several cabin structures in succession.

In view of this prior art, it is an object of the invention to provide a wear- resistant, air-tight, portable and inflatable painting cabin for on-site handling of large workpieces, such as e.g. windmill wings, and which may also be used even in difficult conditions where the structure may risk being exposed to low temperatures and high wind. The object of the invention is achieved by a painting cabin of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 1 , which is characterized by being provided with a plurality of integrated reinforcements and attachment straps, on the external side of the painting cabin, for anchoring the cabin with anchorages constructed for the purpose in the form of water-filled ballast bladders, and moreover by comprising passageways for access paths to the cabin and integrated channel windows for the connection of exhaust and sectionwise air injection, said cabin being also provided with a broad collar at the bottom of the periphery of the cabin, said collar in cooperation with a subfloor forming a membrane for air-tight sealing of the cabin.

It is ensured thereby that the painting cabin according to the invention, which is reinforced by the integrated reinforcements and is simultaneously firmly anchored via the attachment straps and the water-filled ballast bladders, said bladders being moreover easy to handle in an empty state, is capable of withstanding rough weather conditions. It is moreover ensured that, because of the passageways for access paths and various pipes and channels, the painting cabin is easy to adapt to external equipment, such as ventilation, possibly heating, injection, exhaust, clean/dirty zone module, emergency exits, etc. Another advantage is that the cabin may be kept air-tight as a result of i.a. an overlap between the broad collar in the periphery along the bottom in cooperation with a subfloor.

As stated in claim 2, which is characterized in that the water-filled ballast bladders used as anchorages are connected with the integrated reinforcements and attachment straps at one or more connection points, thereby achieving a stronger joint between attachment straps and the ballast bladders. As stated in claim 3, which is characterized in that the passageways to the integrated channel windows are provided with replaceable wear layers, which are attached to the cabin wall by Velcro and are moreover joined with overlap by zipper and Velcro, thereby achieving a painting cabin easy to service, where wear parts are easy to replace.

As stated in claim 5, which is characterized in that the passageways for the access paths may be used by either a clean/dirty zone module, which separates the potentially polluted indoor air from the external environment by at last two doors separated far enough from each other to avoid the situation that both are open at the same time, said module being attached to the painting cabin by zipper, or a single door solution may be used, which means that only one type of passageway for the access paths is needed, thereby ensuring greater flexibility. As stated in claim 7, which is characterized in that unused passageways for the access paths, channels, etc. as well as any open ends of the joined structure are closed, by ties and zipper, with double-layered air-filled modules in a size and shape corresponding to the passageway or gate which is to be closed, thereby achieving greater flexibility with respect to external equipment, such as ventilation, possibly heating, injection, exhaust, etc., and the use of the passageways for the access paths.

Further characteristics are stated in claims 4, 6 and 8-9.

The invention also relates to use, which, as stated in claim 10, is characterized in that the portable inflatable working cabin is used in the working, including production, servicing and/or repair of windmill wings, thereby achieving the advantage that servicing and repair, etc. of these workpieces may take place easily on-site without a cost-adding transport of the workpiece to and from factory facilities. In addition, the portable inflatable working cabin may also be used as a temporary production facility in case of peak loads at the factories.

The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 show an inflatable cabin with an external supply unit, gate, various channels as well as water anchors and various access paths.

Fig. 3 shows a view through an open end of the painting cabin shown in figures 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 shows an enlargement of the attachment strap shown in circle A in figure 1 and attached to a water-filled ballast bladder.

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of such a water-filled ballast bladder with more details.

Figs. 6 and 7 show passageways for access paths in which doors are mounted. Figs. 8 and 9 show a clean/dirty zone module seen from the front and from behind.

Fig. 10 shows an integrated channel window with reinforcement and through-going channel (circle B in figure 2).

Fig. 1 1 shows such a loose reinforcement.

Fig. 12 shows a section of two painting cabins tied together and closed by zippers.

Fig. 13 shows the same as fig. 12, but before the tie joint is closed tightly with zippers.

Fig. 14 shows a bracket for the suspension of internal pipes and hoses.

Fig. 1 shows an inflatable working cabin (1 ) which may be used e.g. as a painting cabin. The cabin (1 ) is shown here with vertical sides and a curved roof, but may equally well be configured as a round arch structure or have any shape that will be appropriate for the work to be performed and the workpiece to be worked. On at least one end member (7), the cabin (1 ) is provided with means such as a tie closure (not shown) and zippers (21 ) with a sealing member (22) for subsequent tight closing of the tie closure, as is shown in figs. 12 and 13. This allows tight coupling-together of several inflatable cabins (1 ), thereby making it possible to produce a working/painting cabin (1 ) of a length which may contain even long workpieces for working in the cabin (1 ). When several cabins (1 ) are coupled together in a row, only one gate is needed at an end (7) of the entire painting cabin, which gate must have a size such that the workpieces may easily get through, and must moreover to able to be closed tightly, e.g. by tieing and subsequent zipper attachment of a sealing member, as shown in the assembly of two cabins (figs.12 and 13).

The inflatable cabin (1 ) is provided with passageways for a plurality of channel windows (26), through which channels (4) and (5) are passed from one or more external supply modules (6) supplying the working cabinet (1 ) with the necessary equipment for ventilation, heating, injection, exhaust, which is connected with equipment inside the cabin (1 ). As will appear from figs. 10 and 1 1 , these channel windows (26) are provided with wear layers (20) which may be replaced as needed. The wear layer (20) may be replaced without removing the through-going channel, since this (the wear layer (20)) may be opened with the closure (18). The inflatable cabin (1 ) is made of a flexible, non-inflammable material, which ensures that the risk of fire and fire development is minimal. As mentioned, the external unit (6) shown in fig. 1 is one or more supply containers (6) with ventilation systems, air cleaning systems, cyclones and other equipment for maintaining the internal environment in the cabin (1 ), e.g. fig. 3 shows some of the internal exhaust (10) and injection (9) units (ventilation bags) which serve the purpose of exchanging the air and maintaining the environment inside the cabin (1 ), it being moreover possible to supply electricity, compressed air, etc. from this external unit.

The air in the cabin (1 ) (or an assembly of cabins (1 )), in which ventilation bags (9) are mounted, at the top of the cabin above a workpiece, which is supposedly present approximately in the middle of the painting cabin (1 ), is injected into the cabin via these ventilation bags (9), which are suspended from the ceiling, said injected air being passed down along the sides on the workpiece to the exhaust units (10) disposed below the workpiece. From there, the air is passed out of the cabin via a plurality of exhaust channels to the supply container (6), and cleaning, if any, of the circulated air will take place.

In the assembly of several cabins (1 ), it may be necessary to use more than one supply container (6), since the equipment must always comply with the current environment and safety requirements relative to the work to be performed in the cabin (1 ), and for the same reason the cabin (1 ) is also kept air-tight, thereby ensuring that the surrounding environment is not contaminated with dust and environmentally harmful substances from the production in the cabin (1 ), at the same time preventing ingress of dust and impurities into the painting cabin (1 ). For the same reason, the cabin is also provided with a broad collar (1 1 ) at the bottom in the periphery of the entire structure, said broad collar (1 1 ) being intended to cooperate with a subfloor to generate a seamless membrane and seal which keep the cabin air-tight. Therefore, and as appears from figures 9 and 1 0, the cabin (1 ) is prepared for being coupled (by zipper (19) and Velcro) together with a clean/dirty zone module (2), which is mounted above a passageway for access paths, in which there is already a door (8), see e.g. figures 6 and 7, where the zipper (16) for cooperation with the zipper (19) on the clean/dirty zone module (2) appears clearly around the doors shown, so that the clean/dirty zone module (2) also serves as a type of air gate.

The portable inflatable working cabin described here has the advantage that it may be erected where the workpiece to be worked is present, and is capable of resisting even high wind because of the extensive use of integrated reinforcements and attachment straps (12) attached to many water-filled ballast bladders (3), as shown in figs. 4 and 5, and may also be used at low temperatures, since the air-filled frame parts insulate reasonably well. Moreover, the cabin (1 ) is provided with a strategically correctly positioned Velcro base for warning and informative signs as well as a plurality of luminescent doors/emergency exits.

Therefore, the workpieces to be serviced or worked, do not necessarily have to be transported to and from fixed structures, such as factory buildings, with the drawbacks and costs this might involve. The foregoing describes a preferred embodiment of a painting cabin (1), whose modules may e.g. have, but are not limited to, the dimensions listed below. Examples of size and weight of the

Painting cabin - basic setup 60x7.7x8 m 3500 kg Modular element for extension 11.1 x 7.7x8 m 650 kg Subfloor - standard 62x9.7 m

Access module for zone division 3 m x 3 m 9

Access door w/steel frame 2.1xl.2m

Ballast bladder (water-filled) 070 x150 cm 576 kg Gate 6x6 m

Insulation value of outer wall 1.9 W/m2K

Withstands wind load of up to 25 m/s