US 4,403,866 AGranted

Process for making paints

AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company

InventorsAllan F. Falcoff, Stephen W. Rementer, Allan B. J. Rodrigues

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An apparatus and process for automatically and rapidly making a paint having the color values of a standard paint; a computer is used which is connected to and controls a multiplicity of metering pumps that are each individually connected to a supply of components used to make the paint such as binder solution, solvent and colorants; the components are accurately metered into a mixing vessel and mixed, paint is circulated through a recycle loop attached to the vessel, the loop contains a cell having a viewing window through which the paint is pumped, a colorimeter views the cell and determines the color values of the wet paint and feeds these values back to the computer which compares the values to values of the standard paint and calculates the amount of colorant to be added and signals the metering pumps to add colorant, the process is repeated until the paint is brought within the tolerance values of the standard paint.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A process for making a paint that matches the color values of a standard liquid paint, said process utilizes a computer electrically connected to a multiplicity of metering pumps, each pump being individually connected to a supply of a component used in the paint, said components used in the paint being liquid containing binder for the paint, solvent for the paint and colorant in the form of dispersions or solutions, a vessel containing a recycle loop and mixing means, a pump tubularly connected to the vessel positioned in a recycle loop, a cell having a viewing window positioned in the recycle loop, a colorimeter having means to determine L*, a* and b* values of the paint positioned to view the window of the cell and being electrically connected to the computer, said process being controlled by the computer comprises the following steps:

(1) providing the computer with
(a) formula of the paint,
(b) L*, a* and b* values of the liquid standard paint,
(c) tolerance values of L*, a* and b* for the paint;
(2) metering exact amounts of components of the paint into the mixing vessel by the metering pumps which are being controlled by the computer;
(3) mixing said components to form a paint;
(4) circulating the paint through said cell at a uniform shear rate;
(5) measuring and determining L*, a* and b* values of the paint with the colorimeter;
(6) transmitting said L*, a* and b* values to the computer;
(7) determining color vectors of each colorant used to formulate said paint by adding a known amount of each colorant to the paint and for each addition repeating Steps (3)-(6) and determining the change in L*, a* and b* values;
(8) comparing by the computer the L*, a* and b* values of the paint to the L*, a* and b* values of the standard paint and calculating the difference between the values of the paint and the standard paint, and calculating the quantity of components to be added to the paint to bring the paint within L*, a* and b* tolerance values of the paint;
and
(9) repeating steps (2)-(6) and (8) at least once in the event the paint is not within the L*, a* and b* tolerance values for the paint to bring the paint within these tolerance values.

10 more elements

An apparatus for making paint that matches the color of a standard paint which comprises:

(1) a computer;
(2) individual vessels each containing components used in making paints, said components being liquid containing binder for the paint and colorant in the form of dispersions or solutions;
(3) a multiplicity of metering pumps tubularly connected to the vessels containing components for said paint and electrically connected to and controlled by the computer;
(4) a vessel containing mixing means into which the components for the paint are fed and mixed;
(5) a tubular recycle loop attached to the vessel in which paint is removed from the vessel and circulated back into the vessel;
(6) a pump positioned in the recycle loop for pumping paint through the loop;
(7) a cell having a viewing window positioned in the recycle loop and designed to provide a uniform film of liquid paint on the viewing window;
and
(8) a colorimeter positioned to view the window of the cell electrically connected to the computer and having means to determine L*, a* and b* values of the paint;
wherein the computer is provided a formula of the paint, the L*, a* and b* values of a standard paint, tolerance values of L*, a* and b* for the paint, and is provided with or determines color vectors of the colorant dispersion or solutions;
in making the paint the metering pumps controlled by the computer charge exact amounts of components used in the paint into the mixing vessel, the components are mixed in the vessel and circulated through the recycle loop and the cell in the loop, the colorimeter views the paint through the cell window and determines the L*, a* and b* values of the paint, the values are fed to the computer which compares these values to the values for the standard paint and calculates the difference between the values of the paint and the standard paint and calculates the quantity of each component to be added to the paint to bring the paint within the tolerance L*, a* and b* values of the paint and in the event the paint is not within said tolerance values repeats at least once the procedure for making the paint until the paint is within the predetermined tolerances of L*, a* and b* values of the paint.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/376,233Filed 7 May 1982
Granted: 13 Sep 1983
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

B44D 3/003
Accessories or implements for use in connection with painting or artistic drawing, not otherwise provided for ; Methods or devices for colour…:…
B01F 33/84
Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers: mixing plants with mixing receptacles receiving material dispensed from several component receptacles, e.g.…
B01F 35/2131
Measuring: colour or luminescence
B01F 35/82
Forming a predetermined ratio of the substances to be mixed: by adding a material to be mixed to a mixture in response to a detected feature, e.g.…