TATTOO MACHINE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF USE

APPAREIL DE TATOUAGE ET METHODE D'UTILISATION

English Abstract

A tattoo machine assembly includes a hand held tattoo machine and a power supply which provides power to the tattoo machine. A non-contact switch controls a supply of power from the power supply to the tattoo machine. The non-contact switch has a sensor that defines a sensing field. The method of use involves placing the non- contact switch outside of a splatter zone, where a client's blood may splatter. The operator selectively turns the tattoo machine "on" and "off' using the non-contact switch.

French Abstract

Un appareil de tatouage comprend un appareil de tatouage manuel et une alimentation électrique qui fournit lénergie à lappareil de tatouage. Un interrupteur sans contact contrôle une alimentation dénergie de lalimentation électrique à lappareil de tatouage. Linterrupteur sans contact comporte un détecteur qui définit un champ de détection. La méthode dutilisation comprend le positionnement de linterrupteur sans contact à lextérieur dune zone de projection, où le sang du client peut se projeter. Le manipulateur met sélectivement lappareil de tatouage en mode « marche » et « arrêt » au moyen de linterrupteur sans contact.

Claims

6
What is Claimed is:
1. A tattoo machine assembly, comprising:
a hand held tattoo machine;
a power supply providing power to the tattoo machine;
a non-contact switch controlling a supply of power from the power supply to
the tattoo
machine, the non-contact switch having an "on" position in which power is
supplied to the tattoo
machine and an "off' position, the non-contact switch having a sensor
positioned a distance from
the tattoo machine that defines a sensing field, the non-contact switch
switching between the
"on" position and the "off' position when an object is detected in the sensing
field.
2. The tattoo machine assembly of Claim 1, wherein the power supply is
connected to the
tattoo machine by an umbilical cord.
3. A method of tattoo machine operation, comprising;
providing a tattoo machine assembly, comprising:
a hand held tattoo machine;
a power supply providing power to the tattoo machine;
a non-contact switch controlling a supply of power from the power supply to
the tattoo
machine, the non-contact switch having an "on" position in which power is
supplied to the tattoo
machine and an "off' position, the non-contact switch having a sensor that
defines a sensing
field, the non-contact switch switching between the "on" position and the
"off' position when an
object is detected in the sensing field;
operating the hand held tattoo machine within a splatter zone in which blood
from a
client may spatter;
positioning the non-contact switch outside of the splatter zone, such that the
operator
selectively switches the non-contact switch via the sensing field.

Description

CA 02923061 2016-03-07
TITLE
[0001] Tattoo machine assembly and method of use
FIELD
[0002] There is described a tattoo machine assembly and method of use of
the same.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The most commonly switch used to turn "on" and turn "off' tattoo
equipment is a
switch positioned on the floor which is activated by the operator with his or
her foot. A long
wire connects the floor switch to a power supply. This long wire must be
covered with a
disposable protective shield, usually a bag, to avoid contact with blood from
the client as it is
in the "splatter zone" which is splattered with blood from clients. Between
clients, the
operator must sterilize the entire working area and replace the blood
spattered disposable
protective shield.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to one aspect there is provided a tattoo machine
assembly which
includes a hand held tattoo machine and a power supply which supplies power to
the tattoo
machine. A non-contact switch controls a supply of power from the power supply
to the
tattoo machine. The non-contact switch has an "on" position in which power is
supplied to
the tattoo machine and an "off' position. The non-contact switch has a sensor
that defines a
sensing field. The non-contact switch switches between the "on" position and
the "off'
position when an object is detected in the sensing field.
[0005] According to another aspect there is provided a method of tattoo
machine
operation. The method involves the use of the tattoo machine assembly, as
described above.
The hand held tattoo machine is operated within a splatter zone in which blood
from a client
may spatter. However, the non-contact switch is intentionally positioned
outside of the
splatter zone. The operator selectively switches the non-contact switch via
the sensing field.
[0006] The use of a non-contact switch provides numerous advantages. It
enables the
operator to maintain correct posture so the job is more comfortable. It
eliminates foot and leg
related pain caused by keeping your foot on the switch and pressing down to
make contact.
Holding this position for any duration of time can be exhausting and hard on
the body,

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2
especially for jobs that will take long periods of time. The use of a non-
contact switch helps
to prevent sciatic nerve damage and minimizes strain to the upper and lower
back caused by
improper weight displacement when using a floor switch. The non-contact switch
addresses
the health and safety issues of cross contamination, as well as a potential
tripping hazard
previously created by the wire going to the floor switch. The tripping hazard
caused by the
industry dominant foot switch was inherent, as it was placed on the ground
away from the
power source, and the long connecting wire is often running directly through
the work area.
In addition, the use of a non-contact switch also helps reduce waste from ink
spills caused by
the switch wire knocking over ink containers. It also reduces the risk of the
operator
accidentally jabbing themselves with the needle being used on the client if
they trip or knock
over the work station with the foot switch wire that may be in the direct path
of the
constantly moving switch wire.
[0007] Placing the non-contact switch out of the splatter zone reduces
the amount of
biohazard contamination in the work area. This reduces the risk of the
operator being
exposed to a possibly dangerous biohazard from the client's blood. Reducing
the
contamination of the work area will also reduce the amount of protective
barriers and the
amount of time and materials needed to clean the work area for each client.
Professionals
working in the industry today spend thousands of dollars a year to maintain a
safe and sterile
work area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] These and other features will become more apparent from the
following
description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings
are for the
purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting,
wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tattoo machine assembly.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a section view of a non-contact switch used with the
tattoo machine
assembly of FIG. 1.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a first schematic diagram for the non-contact switch of
FIG. 2.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a second schematic diagram for the non-contact switch of
FIG. 2.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of sensing logic of the non-contact
switch of FIG. 2.

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3
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] A
tattoo machine assembly generally identified by reference numeral 10, will
now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 5.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
[0015]
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a working area for an operator 31
(sometimes referred to as a tattoo artist). A client 32 is positioned in the
working area on a
support 36, such as a tattoo chair. Tattoo machine assembly includes a hand
held tattoo
machine 34, a power supply 33 connected to tattoo machine 34 by an umbilical
cord and a
non-contact switch 39, which controls a supply of power from power supply 33
to tattoo
machine 34. Power supply 33 and non-contact switch 39 would normally be
supported on a
work bench 38, with non-contact switch connected to power supply 33 by a
switch circuit 40.
Power supply 33 plugs into an electrical outlet 37. As will hereinafter be
further described,
non-contact switch 39 has an "on" position in which power is supplied to
tattoo machine 34
and an "off" position.
[0016]
Referring to FIG. 2 through 4, the components that make up non-contact switch
39 are illustrated. A housing 12 is provided having a top 10 and a bottom 11.
Sensors 21 are
positioned within housing 12 at sensor locations 13. A direct current relay 14
is provided,
which is coupled to a Arduino nano microprocessor 15 and a terminal block 16.
Indicator
lights are provided including a power LED 17 and a sensed indicator LED 18.
External
power input from electrical outlet 37 comes in via external power line 19. A
circuit
connection to tattoo machine 34 is provided through circuit 20. Connection 22
provides a
voltage in connection and connection 23 provides a ground connection.
Connection 24
provides 5 volt DC power to sensor 21. Arduino nano 15 has an analog input
port 25 and a
series of digital output ports, D13 digital output port 26, D8 digital output
port 27, D2 digital
output port 28, D3 digital output port 29 and D12 digital output port 30.
[0017] The
working area unavoidably has a "splatter zone", which is prone to be
splattered with blood from client 32. It is unavoidable that tattoo machine 34
must operate

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4
within splatter zone 22. However, as will hereinafter be further described,
power supply 33
and non-contact switch 39 are intentionally positioned outside of the splatter
zone.
Operation:
[0018]
Referring to FIG. 1, hand held tattoo machine 34 is operated within the
splatter
zone which is prone to be splattered with blood from client 32. Power supply
33 and non-
contact switch 39 are intentionally positioned on work bench 38 outside of the
splatter zone.
In use, sensor 21 is able to detect anything that breaks the plane of sensor
line of sight
sensing field, indicated by reference numeral 35. Operator 31 is able to
selectively switch
non-contact switch 39 between the "on" and "off' positions by breaking the
plane of sensor
line of sight 35. This can be done by extending an arm, leg or object across
the plane of
sensor line of sight 35.
Technical Details
[0019]
Referring to FIG. 2, the case of the touchless tattoo switch is 4" in length,
2" in
width and a height of 2.5cm. The switch consists of 1 x Arduino Nano
microcomputer 1 x
DC relay, lx 4 section terminal block, 1 x choice non-contact switch, 4" by 2"
pro-to-board
and copper conductors. The switch can be placed within any object providing an
unobstructed line of sight. A pre-manufactured CSA approved power supply is
utilized for
its engineered operation and intrinsically safe qualities. Arduino is an open
source platform,
and is licensed under a creative commons attribution share-alike license, this
allows for both
personal and commercial derivative works as long as Arduino is credited and
designs are
released under the same license.
[0020]
Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the touchless tattoo switch uses a pre-
manufactured 120VAC to 12VDC power supply and 7-12VDC is required to power the
Arduino. 12VDC is applied to the V-IN pins of the Arduino, this is the maximum
recommended operating voltage. The Arduino acts as a source and provides a
5VDC
standard Transistor to Transistor Logic, (11 L)to a selected sensing device.
Input AO on the
Arduino accepts a digital 1 or 0 signal from the sensing device, this signal
is then used to

CA 02923061 2016-03-07
control the latching of a relay. The Arduino is programmed to recognize low to
high digital
transitions and to store the last transition in a memory location. Arduino
output D13 is used
to energize and de-energize the coil of the relay. When a low to high
transition (object
sensed) is recognized, the Arduino forces D13 high (1), therefore energizing
the relay coil.
5 When the relay coil is energized its normally open contact, becomes
closed. This closure of
the contact creates continuity, and completes the external circuit required to
energize the
tattoo machine. Likewise if the relay coil is energized and the sensor detects
another low-
high transition, D13 will be forced low (0) and the relay coil will be de-
energize therefore
removing power from the tattoo machine.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 5, the logic used by the Arduino Nano
microcomputer is shown
in a flow diagram.
Variations:
[0022] It will be appreciated that the sensor technology used with non-
contact switch 16
may vary. Sensing field 20 may be created using infrared, capacitive,
inductive, sonar, radar
and other sensing technologies.
[0023] In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-
limiting sense
to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are
not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires
that there be one and only one of the elements.
[0024] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustrated
embodiments set
forth as examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent
with a purposive
construction of the claims in view of the description as a whole.

Representative Drawing