Assembly for and method of dispensing a liquid
AssigneeFast & Fluid Management B.V.
InventorsJohannes Hermanus Nicolaas Post, Marcel Engels, Peter Ronald Krom
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Assembly for dispensing a liquid, in particular a colorant for paint, comprising a container for holding a liquid, a pump, a valve, at least one dispense opening, and comprising or associated with a controller arranged to operate the pump and the valve to withdraw liquid from the container and to dispense liquid via the opening and to operate the pump and the valve to purge liquid from the pump to the container via the dispense opening.
Claims13
An apparatus for dispensing liquid colorants for tinting paints, the apparatus comprising a plurality of assemblies each with an outlet opening, each assembly comprising:
- a container for holding a liquid colorant;
- a piston pump with a pump cylinder and a piston;
- a plurality of dispense openings:
- a valve selectively movable from a first position connecting the container to the pump cylinder, a second position connecting the pump cylinder to one of the plurality of dispense openings, and a third position closing off the pump;
- and
- a controller to operate the pump and the valve during a dispense cycle in order to withdraw liquid colorant from the container and to dispense liquid colorant through the at least one of the plurality of dispense openings;
- wherein the controller is configured to establish outside a dispense cycle whether the liquid colorant contains air based at least on a measurement of compressibility or expandability of the liquid colorant, the measurement of compressibility or expandability established by the controller during a stroke of the pump when the valve is closed in the third position, and subsequently the controller generates a signal to an operator based on the measurement.
A method of checking pump condition, colorant condition and container filling status outside a dispense cycle with an assembly comprising a container holding a liquid colorant, a controller, a piston pump having a pump cylinder and piston, a plurality of dispensing openings, a valve that is selectively movable from a first position connecting the container to the pump cylinder, to a second position connecting the pump cylinder to one of the plurality of dispense openings, and to a third position closing off the pump, the method comprising the steps of:
- disposing the valve in the third position;
- initiating a stroke of the pump;
- using the pump stroke to obtain a measurement of compressibility or expandability of the liquid colorant during the stroke of the pump, and using the controller to identify whether the liquid colorant contains air based at least on the measurement of compressibility or expandability of the liquid colorant, and then the controller operates the pump and the valve to purge liquid from the pump to the container through one of the plurality of dispense openings, and subsequently the controller generates a signal to an operator based on the measurement.
An assembly for dispensing a liquid, comprising:
- a container for holding a liquid;
- a pump;
- a valve comprising one or more openings, the shape and/or number of the openings being variable to vary a set flow resistance;
- at least one dispense opening, and
- a controller to operate the pump and the valve in order to withdraw liquid from the container and to dispense liquid through the opening, and the controller operating the pump and the valve to purge liquid from the pump through the dispense opening;
- the controller being configured to select a shape and/or number of the openings of the valve to vary a set flow resistance;
- the controller further configured to measure flow resistance with the selected shape and/or number of openings of the valve;
- the controller is further configured to establish a condition of the liquid by comparing the set flow resistance and the measured flow resistance of the liquid with the selected shape or number of openings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.