Colorant storage medium and dispensing system for paint   

Abstract: A colorant storage medium and dispensing system where colorants are packaged in bags to solve the issue of drying and storage. The system allows end users to convert their old manual dispenser into dispensing non-glycol water based colorants. Since the colorant is stored in an air tight bag, there would be no need to purge colorant. Moreover, the system would not need electricity or computers to operate. The bag may include a stirring mechanism, one or more fill ports and an exit hose that connects to a dispensing unit or an adapter fitted for a dispensing unit. Such an adapter is herein described, as well as a fill kit useful for filling the colorant bags.

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/491,449, filed May 31, 2011 the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to paint coloring accessories and methods and more particularly, to a colorant storage and dispensing system for paint.

Current colorant for paint is very high in volatile organic compounds (VOC\'s). These colorants are water reducible glycol based colorants and can be dispensed manually. Water based non-glycol colorants (zero or low VOC colorant) is available, but has issues drying up in a typical manual dispensing system. Moreover, these water based non-glycol colorants can be very expensive to dispense since they are typically dispensed using a computer operated electronic unit that has a larger than normal footprint and is very expensive to buy, operate and maintain. These electronic systems require electricity and cannot operate if power goes out.

Current systems purge colorant several times daily to prevent colorant from drying inside the electronic unit, costing the owner hundreds of dollars annually.

As can be seen, there is a need for an improved colorant storage medium and dispensing system for paint.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present invention, a colorant storage medium comprises a flexible bag; a tubing extending from the flexible bag; and a stirring mechanism extending from outside to inside the flexible bag.

In another aspect of the present invention, a product dispensing system comprises a flexible bag having tubing extending from the flexible bag, the flexible bag adapted to contain a product to be dispensed therewithin, the flexible bag including a stirring mechanism extending from outside to inside the flexible bag; and an adapter adapted to fit into a canister and connect to the tubing of the flexible bag and allow a manual dispenser to dispense the product.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a colorant storage medium and dispensing system for paint according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a colorant bag of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adapter assembly of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an extended fill port on the colorant bag of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the extended fill port on the colorant bag of FIG. 2, showing a twisting action to open or close the fill port according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a pushed in fill port on the colorant bag of FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a closed fill port of the colorant bag of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fill cup according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a colorant storage medium and dispensing system where colorants are packaged in bags to solve the issue of drying and storage. The system allows end users to convert their old manual dispenser into dispensing non-glycol water based colorants. Since the colorant is stored in an air tight bag, there would be no need to purge colorant. Moreover, the system would not need electricity or computers to operate. The bag may include a stirring mechanism, one or more fill ports and an exit hose that connects to a dispensing unit or an adapter fitted for a dispensing unit. One type of such an adapter is herein described, as well as a fill kit useful for filling the colorant bags.

While the invention described below describes colorant bags with fill ports, once manufacturers of colorant start filling the bags at the factory, these fill ports could become unnecessary, along with the fill kits. Moreover, if the dispenser canisters are made to accommodate the colorant bag, the adapters, as described below, could be optional.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 5, a colorant bag 10 may be an air tight, flexible bag that prevents leakage and air intrusion. The colorant bag 10 can include features that make it useful in various applications, such as for paint colorant, inks, solvents, oils, soaps and other fluids that need to be protected and dispensed. The bag 10 can be designed so that it does not allow any air or other containments to infiltrate the contained fluid.

The bag 10 may include a stir mechanism, such as a stir stick 12, inside the bag 10 that continues outside of the bag 10 so the user may agitate the colorant as needed. The bag 10 may include tubing 22, extending from, typically, near the bottom of the bag 10. The tubing 22 may connect to a coupling 18 on an adapter assembly 58. The bag 10 may include a mechanism to connect the bag 10 to a canister 62, such as one or more bag hooks 40. The bag 10 may further include one or more fill ports 44, as described in greater detail below.

The adapter assembly 58 may include an extension coupling 20 adapted to connect, via the coupling 18, to the tubing 22 of the bag 10. An A-B switch dial 16 may be disposed on an end of an A-B extension sleeve 14. The A-B switch dial 16 may be used to change the adapter assembly 58 from a paint dispensing mode to a cleaning mode, for example. The adapter assembly 58 may include a water port 64 in a base thereof, along with one or more mounting slots 42, typically two mounting slots 42.

The adapter assembly 58 may further include a A-B switch mechanism 28 formed at a distal end of the A-B extension sleeve 14. An adapter gasket 58 may seal around the bottom of the base of the adapter assembly 58, while a gasket 30 may seal around an agitator extension hole 38 formed in the base of the adapter assembly 58.

The adapter assembly 58 may be made from, for example, a plastic material that can be submerged in water and would remain water tight. The diameter and height of the adapter assembly 58 may be determined by the canister 62 it is converting.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 12, a fill port 44 may include a pinching strip 24 and a pinching clip strip 26 that may interlock over an O-ring notch 60 formed in an O-ring 32 formed about a latex sleeve 34. The locking pinching strip 24 and pinching clip strip 26 may be designed to keep the fill port in a closed configuration, as shown in FIG. 12, without the latex sleeve 34 twisting open.

To open the fill port 44, a user may disconnect the pinching strip clip 26 from the pinching strip 24 and lift up the latex sleeve 34, as shown in FIGS. 6 through 8. With the sleeve 34 raised, the user may turn the sleeve 34 to untwist it and permit access to inside the sleeve 34. A user may then fill the bag 10, for example, with a fill cup 46 as described below. Once the user is done, they may twist the sleeve 34 to seal the bag contents air tight, press the sleeve 34 into the bag 10 (as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and reconnect the pinching strip 24 and the pinching strip clip 26 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

While the above description discusses the use of a pinching clip 24 and a pinching strip clip 26, other mechanisms may be used to secure the fill port 44 and to keep the sleeve 34 from untwisting during use. For example, a resilient arm or a turnbuckle could be used in the fill port 44.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the fill cup 46 may be used to connect to the fill port 44 of a bag 10 to fill the bag 10 with product. The fill cup 46 may have an opening at a nozzle 52 of the fill cup 46 that can be, for example, about ¼ inch in diameter (or some other size, such that it can fit into the fill port 44) to fit into the fill port 44 of the bag 10. The nozzle 52 can include a plurality of nozzle grip rings 54 that will allow the nozzle 52 to lock onto the fill port 44. Straps with loops 50 may extend from the sides of the fill cup 46 to permit the bag 10 to hang therefrom. A fill cup mounting ledge 48 may optionally be disposed on the sides of the fill cup 46 to accommodate a future rack that may assist with filling.

To use the system of the present invention, an old paint canister can be cleaned and allowed to dry. The adapter assembly 58 may be installed with the appropriate seals and adhesive and this may be allowed to dry. The bag 10 may be filled with desired product, such as colorant, any air can be squeezed out and the bag 10 may be locked and labeled. The bag 10 may then be attached to the canister 62 via the tubing 22 onto the coupling 18 of the adapter assembly 58. The bag 10 may be primed, for example, by squeezing colorant into the tubing 22. The canister 62 may be filled with water and the user can start using the dispenser by switching the A-B switch dial to dispense colorant when needed.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.