Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1197~1S
The present invention relates to a paint toning
machine comprising a plurality of toner containers and
a dosing device associated with each container for add-
ing the desired toner quantity from the container or
containers to a basic paint container.
A plurality of different kinds of paint toning
machines are known in the art. For example, from the
Finnish Patent Specification 45,144 is known a paint
toning machine of carrousel type in which the toner
containers are placed on a rotating base and a dosing
device is arranged in connection with each container.
The correct toner container can be brought to the
container containing basic paint and supported by a
table by rotating the base either manually or by means
of a motor. Because the toner containers are large-sized
and quite heavy, the rotating base must be made large
in diameter and robu,~ whereby, when the base is rotated,
masses of about 150 to 200 kg will be transmitted at a
high velocity~ In automatic machines, this results in a
very high motor output andl in general, in a very heavy
construction involving high manufacturing costs. The
service of a machine of carrousel type and the cleaning,
for example, of the toner nozzles are cumbersome because
one has to move also behind the machine or alternatively
the machine must be rotated whereby, in the case of an
automatic machine, electricity must be connected to the
machine.
Paint toning machines are also known in which the
toner containers and the dosing devices are arranged in
fixed positions, for example, in a row side by side. In
this case the table supporting the paint container is
made movable in the horizontal direction so that it can
be displaced under the container containing the desired
toner. In this case the machine will be very long, in
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practice about 2.5 to 3 m long, wherefore it is diffi-
cult to place in smaller stores. In addition, a quite
robust mechanism for the transfer table for the paint
container is required because the mass to be transfer-
red, in the case of the largest paint containers, is of
the order of 80 kg~ Moreover, the displacement of an
open or perforated paint container involves the risk
that the paint may splash.
The object of the present invention is to provide
a paint toning machine in which the negative properties
of the constructions described above have been eliminat-
ed. In other words, the aim is to provide a small-sized
machine which is light in construction and easy to
maintain. In addition, the actuators, for example, motors
required by said machine can have a low rated power value.
This object is according to the invention achieved in
that the toner containers are arranged in fixed positions
and the toner dosing devices associated with them are
arranged in a movable sled.
The main object when constructing a toning machine
is to achieve the best possible precision in dosing. It
has been found that one of the constructional proper-
ties of the machine affecting this is the volume between
the head of the piston of the dosing device and the
nozzle of the dosing device when the piston is in its
lower position. The smaller this residual volume is, the
better is the constructional dosing precision of the
machine. However, this does not necessarily involve that
the dosing device should be positioned in connection with
the toner container but between the dosing device and
the toner container can be arranged, for example, a
flexible hose through which the toner is sucked from the
container. The use of this hose on the suction side of
the dosing device does not affect the residual volume
of the dosing device and, accordingly, the constructional
dosing precision of the machine. Therefore, in the present
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invention, the dosing devices are, without sacrificing
the dosing precision, positioned in a movable sled which
reciprocates along a straight or cu~ved path above and
laterally of the basic paint container so that each
dosing device connected with the sled is at least at one
point of the path of the sled located at the basic paint
container.
By means of this construction according to the
invention the displaceable mass can be made quite small,
for example, only about 8 kg so that the drive motor can
be quite small-sized and thus advantageous in price. Because
the dosing pumps, moreover, are very small, about 2 to 3 cm
in diameter, a sled containing, e.g., 16 dosing pu~ps will
not be very long. The length of the sled may thus be, for
example, about 1/2 m. Because all toner nozzles in the con-
struction according to the invention are always simultaneously
visible, the control of their condition and their cleaning
are easy to carry out. This ensures the maintenance of a
good dosing precision in the machine. The mutual distance
of the nozzles is however sufficient, about 2 to 3 cm, so
that no risk of intermixing the toners will arise.
Because the toner containers are positioned in
fixed positions and are connected to their dosing devices
through a flexible hose, the toner containers can be placed,
e.g., in three rows whereby the total length of the machine
will be said length required by the sled and its path of
movement, i.e., for example, 1 m.
In one aspect of the present invention there is
provided a paint toning machine comprising a plurality of
toner containers and a dosing device associated with each
container for adding a desired toner quantity from the
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3a
toner containers being arranged in fixed po.sitions and
the toner dosing devices each connected to its toner
container through a fle~ible hose, the toner dosing
devices together with their nozzles for dispensing the
toner being arranged in a movable sled for minimizing
the volume between the heads of the pistons of the toner
dosing devices and the nozzles.
The other constructional details of the toning
machine according to the invention and the advantages
offered by them will be discussed in more detail in the
following by means of the accompanying drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a paint toning
machine according to the invention,
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Figure 2 illustrates the arrangement between atoner container and a dosing de~ice associated there-
with, and
Figure 3 is a top view of the toning machine
according to the invention.
In the general view of the toning machine shown
in Figure 1, a table supporting a paint container is
denoted by reference numeral 14 and the frame of the
machine by reference numeral 10.
In Figu,e 2 is shown a toner container 1 which,
according to the invention, is stationary and abuts
against the frame 10. The container 1 is through a
flexible hose 4 connected to a toner dosing device 2.
The dosinc device 2 comprises a pump 7, a piston 6 move-
able within said pump and a valve 5 which is connected to
the end of the pump and which by means of a rotary slide
5' can be maneuvered to open the connection from the pump
7 either to the suction hose 4 or to a nozzle 8. The
dosing device 2 is fastened to a sled 3 movable on rails
17 whereby any dosing device can be transferred above a
paint container 9.
Figure 3 illustrates the arrangement of a plura-
lity of dosing devices 2 in the sled 3, in which case
each dosing device is connected to a toner container of
its own by means of the flexible hose 4 permitting the
movement of the sled 3. The sled is transferred above
the paint container 9 placed on a table by means of a
belt 12. This belt passes around pulleys 13 whereby a
motor or a crank tnot shown~ is arranged to act on one
of said pulleys through a belt 15 and a pulley 14. By
reversing the driving direction of the motor or the
rotary direction of the crank the sled 3 can be made to
reciprocate on the rails 17 shown in Figure 2. The pis-
ton 6 of the dosing device and the rotary slide 5' of
the valve are controlled by means of conventional means
known per se which are denoted by reference numeral 16.
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Owing to the construction according to the
invention it is possible to provide a quite small-sized
paint toning machine whlch is advantageous in cost and
which yet meets all demands set on paint toning machines,
for example, with respect to dosing precision, operating
rate and serviceability.
The drawing and the description related thereto
are only intended to illustrate the idea of the inven-
tion. In its details the machine according to the
invention may vary considerably within the scope of the
claims. The dosing devices need not, for example, be
mounted in a straight row directly in the sled, but the
sled and its rails may be shaped, e.g., curved in which
case the sled, instead of a straight path, travels along
a curved path. It is obvious that the expression basic
paint is not limited to white paint only but in general
refers to the starting paint to be toned.
