Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Including supply holder for material – Follower in holder
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-08
2003-12-16
Douglas, Lisa A. (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Including supply holder for material
Follower in holder
C239S328000, C239S376000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06663018
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the liquid supply assemblies that supply mixtures of component liquids to be sprayed (e.g., paint) to liquid spraying devices or spray guns, and in one aspect, to the indicia on such assemblies by which the mixtures of component liquids to be sprayed by such devices are measured in predetermined ratios.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various liquid supply assemblies have been described for supplying mixtures of component liquids to be sprayed to gravity fed liquid (e.g., paint) spraying devices or spray guns, including the supply assembly including a collapsible liner that is described in International Publication Number WO 98/32539 of Jul. 30, 1998, the content whereof is incorporated herein by reference. The liquid supply assembly described in WO 98/32539 includes a container of stiff polymeric material comprising a frusto conical side wall and a bottom wall at a bottom end of the side wall with an opposite top end of the side wall defining an opening into a cavity in the container, and a flexible liner within that cavity, which liner corresponds in shape to an inner surface of the container, and has an annular lip along the top end of the side wall that defines an opening into a cavity in the liner. That liquid supply assembly further includes an adapter assembly comprising a central portion having a through opening that is adapted to engage the inlet port of the gravity fed liquid spraying device, a transverse portion including a peripheral part adapted for engagement within the flexible liner adjacent the top end of the container, and means for releasably securing the flexible liner around that peripheral part of the adapter assembly. The flexible liner within the cavity in the container can be used as a receptacle for measuring and mixing two or more component liquids for the mixture to be sprayed, and markings or indicia are provided on the side of the container that enable the volume of the contents of the container to be determined, which can facilitate measuring the needed amounts of those component liquids.
Automotive paint companies (e.g., DuPont, PPG, BASF, Sikkens) specify mix ratios for the component liquids in their refinishing materials (e.g., paints, primers, clearcoats), many of which mix ratios are distinctly different, and require accurate measuring of the different component liquids to achieve desired results. The automotive paint companies recommend weighing the component liquids in the mix ratios using an electronic scale. It is estimated, however, that less than 25% of the automobile refinishing shops in the U.S.A. use that method. The component liquids in the mix ratios can be measured to obtain the desired ratio using the appropriate “mix stick”, which is a precision metal ruler with various mix ratios printed on it (e.g., 1:1, 2:1, 3:1:1, 4:1:1, 100:50:30, 5:1:2, 100:100:10, etc). The mix stick is stood upright in an appropriate container with vertical sides, and the component liquids are added in the appropriate ratio using marks on the mix stick to determine the amounts of the liquids to be added.
Most automobile refinishing shops, however, are believed to measure the component liquids to obtain the desired mix ratio using disposable mixing cups of stiff visually transparent polymeric material that bear indicia on their side walls indicating the levels to which a plurality of different component liquids should be sequentially poured into the cup to achieve the desired mix ratio between them. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/374,794 filed Aug. 16, 1999, describes a liquid supply assembly adapted for use on a gravity fed liquid spraying device that includes that disposable mixing cup by providing (1) an adapter assembly comprising a central portion having a through opening that is adapted to engage the inlet port of the gravity fed liquid spraying device, and a transverse portion including a peripheral part adapted for sealing engagement within the top end of the disposable mixing cup; together with (2) a tapered removable pin (e.g., a pin of the type sometimes called a “push pin”) that is inserted through the side wall of the disposable mixing cup adjacent its bottom wall and can be removed to provide vacuum relief for the liquid supply assembly.
While the indicia provided on either the container of the liquid supply assembly described in WO 98/32539 or on the disposable cup of the liquid supply assembly described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/374,794 could be used for making a mixture of two or more component liquids to be sprayed by a gravity fed liquid spraying device, it is not possible to provide on either that container or mixing cup all of the different indicia that might be needed to mix all of the different ratios of different component liquids that might be desired by operators of such gravity fed liquid spraying devices. Thus, several different containers or mixing cups bearing different indicia must be made and provided. We estimate that at least ten different containers or mixing cups would be needed just to properly cover the majority of mix ratios needed for paint component liquids commercially available from DuPont, PPG, BASF, or Sikkens.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a liquid supply assembly for use with liquid spraying devices that, like the liquid supply assemblies described above, provides indicia by which component liquids for mixtures of liquids to be sprayed by such devices are measured to provide predetermined ratios, but which affords conveniently providing indicia that facilitates measuring many more of the different ratios of different component liquids that might be desired by operators of such liquid spraying devices than when such indicia are provided on the containers or mixing cups as described above.
According to the present invention there is provided a liquid supply assembly that, like the liquid supply assembly described in International Publication Number WO 98/32539, comprises (1) a container of stiff polymeric material comprising a side wall, and a bottom wall extending across the bottom end of the side wall, the container having an inner surface defining a cavity in the container, and a top end of the side wall defining an opening into the cavity, a portion of the inner surface along the side wall having the shape of a conical frustum and increasing in diameter from the bottom end toward the top end of the side wall; (2) a visually transparent flexible liner within the cavity in the container, which liner has an outer surface corresponding in shape to the inner surface of the container, an inner surface defining a cavity in the liner, and an annular lip along the top end of the side wall defining an opening into the cavity in the liner; and (3) indicia that provide information about the contents of the container.
Unlike the liquid supply assembly described in International Publication Number WO 98/32539, however, the indicia in the present invention are provided on an indicating sheet of resiliently flexible polymeric material positioned between the side wall of the container and the flexible liner, which indicating sheet conforms in shape to the inner surface of the container along the side wall, is accurately positioned with respect to the liner and the side wall, and bears such indicia by which the amount of a liquid within the container can be measured. That indicia can indicate the levels to which a plurality of different component liquids can be sequentially poured into the cavity in the flexible liner to achieve a predetermined ratio between the component liquids.
The use of the indicating sheet allows a person to prepare any one of many different ratios of different component liquids that might be desired by operators of liquid spraying devices by selecting an appropriate indicating sheet from a set of indicating sheets that together provide the indicia needed for preparing the majority of mix ratios needed for component liquids commercially available from major manufacturers. If different indicia is needed
Rothrum Robert J.
Vokaty Joel A.
3M Innovative Properties Company
Douglas Lisa A.
Huebach William L.
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