Dispensing – Movably mounted supply container – Tiltable
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-15
2001-05-15
Jacyna, J. Casimer (Department: 3751)
Dispensing
Movably mounted supply container
Tiltable
C215S322000, C220S345600, C222S559000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230938
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to mixing paint components, such as colorants, tints and pearls, to create automotive paint formulas. In particular, the present invention is a fluid seal structure positioned between a pour spout and a linearly movable cover element of a paint container lid that can be secured to an original paint component container and is useable with a semi-automated system for dispensing paint components according to a desired paint formula. The fluid seal structure prevents contaminants from entering the original paint component container through the pour spout and prevents undesired leakage of the paint component out of the pour spout and past the cover element.
In the automotive body repair industry, paint vendors provide auto body repair businesses, such as body shops and jobbers, with their paint formulas. Generally, these paint formulas are a composition (i.e., mixture) of paint components, such as colorants, tints, pearls, metallics, binders and/or balancers, that, once mixed, produce the desired color of paint to be applied to a repaired vehicle. The paint formulas of the paint vendors are formulated to match the colors that have been applied to vehicles by new car manufacturers over the years. In addition, these paint formulas include variants, to match the color fading of paint that can occur to a vehicle over years of service. Moreover, the palettes of paint formulas of the paint vendors also have custom colors (i.e., unconventional colors not typically used by vehicle manufacturers) that may be used to produce special finishes for custom or show cars. Hence, paint vendors provide body shops and jobbers with literally thousands of paint formulas for producing the vast spectrum of colors needed in the automotive body repair industry.
In the past, paint vendors would provide the body shops and jobbers with microfiche containing their paint formulas. Today the paint formulas are stored in computer memory. To determine the particular paint formula for a particular vehicle repair/paint job, a system operator, such as an employee of the body shop or jobber, first obtains the color code from the vehicle. This color code is typically part of the vehicle's identification number. In the case of an unconventional color, to be used to produce a custom paint finish, the code for a particular color is obtained from a catalog. This color code is then entered into the microprocessor of the computer, which accesses the computer memory, and displays, via a monitor, the paint vendor's paint formula which matches the identified vehicle color code.
The paint formulas are displayed according to the weight of the different paint components for mixing specific quantities of the paint formula, and the order in which the displayed paint components are to be mixed. Typically, paint formula mixing quantities are listed in quart, half gallon and gallon sizes, while the weight of the particular paint components needed to mix the desired quantity of paint, are listed in grams to a precision of a tenth of a gram. Generally, the paint components comprising tints, colorants, pearls and/or metallics are mixed first, while the paint components comprising binders and/or balancers are added last. Depending on the desired color, the paint formula can require just a few paint components, or over a dozen paint components, that must be mixed with a great degree of precision, to achieve a perfect color match.
Once the system operator determines that the correct desired paint formula is displayed on the computer monitor, the operator places a paint receptacle on a weigh cell that is linked to the microprocessor of the computer. Generally, a receptacle larger than the quantity of paint formula to be mixed is used to accommodate any excess paint inadvertently mixed by the operator. With the receptacle on the weigh cell, the weigh cell is zeroed by the operator, to make ready for the process of adding paint components to the receptacle to mix the desired color paint formula. Generally, the various paint components (of which there are dozens) are stored in containers kept within a rack. The rack has a mechanism that periodically stirs the paint components within the containers, so that the various paint components are ready to be dispensed as part of the paint formula mixing process. Typically, these containers are the original quart and gallon sized metal containers within which the paint components are shipped to the body shop or jobber. In metric system countries, these containers are the original one liter and four liter sized metal containers within which the paint components are shipped to the body shop or jobber. The original covers of these containers are replaced by specialized paint container lids that include stirring paddles that work with the stirring mechanism of the rack. These specialized paint container lids also have pour spouts that allow the paint components of the containers to be dispensed (i.e., poured out) into the receptacle atop the weigh cell. The pour spout of the specialized paint container lid is covered by a cover element that helps to protect the paint component within the container from contaminants. The cover element for the pour spout is movable between an opened state in which the paint component can be poured from its container through the pour spout by tipping (i.e., tilting) the container, and a closed state. The specialized paint container lid typically includes a vent to allow air to enter the container to displace the liquid paint component dispensed from the pour spout.
To reproduce the desired paint formula, the system operator begins by identifying the first listed paint component of the paint formula to be mixed. The operator then pours, by hand, the paint component into the weigh cell supported paint receptacle, until the weight of the paint component dispensed (i.e., poured) into the receptacle matches what is displayed on the computer monitor. The operator continues along on this course (i.e., hand pouring the paint components from their containers), until the correct weight of all paint components, needed to mix the desired color paint formula, have been added to the paint receptacle atop the weigh cell.
Although the above described system for mixing paint components (according to a paint formula), using the original containers of the liquid paint components and the above described specialized container lids, allows a skilled system operator to dispense the needed paint components to adequately recreate paint colors needed for repair/paint jobs, there are some disadvantages to this system. For example, during the process of dispensing the liquid paint component from the specialized container lid, the liquid paint component often undesirably flows out of the pour spout past the cover element when the cover element is in the closed position. In addition contaminants can enter the original container through the cover element/pour spout interface thereby adversely affecting the quality of the paint component contained within the original container. Moreover, to mix a desired paint formula requires that the paint components be added to the paint receptacle, atop the weigh cell, with a great degree of accuracy. This accuracy, as stated earlier, is typically to a precision of 0.1 grams. For even a highly skilled operator this great degree of precision is difficult to obtain when hand pouring the paint components needed to mix the desired paint formula. It is especially difficult when many paint components must be poured into the paint receptacle in order to duplicate the paint formula.
The most common error on the part of the system operator of the body shop or jobber is over pouring which is due primarily to the manual labor intensive nature of the paint component dispensing process. Over pouring occurs when the weight of the paint component added to the receptacle atop the weigh cell, exceeds the weight of the component shown on the computer display for the desired paint formula. When this happens, the microprocessor of
Dicke, Billig & Czaja P.A.
Jacyna J. Casimer
X-PERT Paint Mixing Systems, Inc.
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