Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F31/00—Inking arrangements or devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F33/00—Other mixers; Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/80—Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/84—Mixing plants with mixing receptacles receiving material dispensed from several component receptacles, e.g. paint tins
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F33/00—Other mixers; Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/80—Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/84—Mixing plants with mixing receptacles receiving material dispensed from several component receptacles, e.g. paint tins
  • B01F33/841—Mixing plants with mixing receptacles receiving material dispensed from several component receptacles, e.g. paint tins with component receptacles fixed in a circular configuration on a horizontal table, e.g. the table being able to be indexed about a vertical axis
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F33/00—Other mixers; Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/80—Mixing plants; Combinations of mixers
  • B01F33/85—Mixing plants with mixing receptacles or mixing tools that can be indexed into different working positions
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F15/00—Screen printers
  • B41F15/14—Details
  • B41F15/40—Inking units
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F2101/00—Mixing characterised by the nature of the mixed materials or by the application field
  • B01F2101/35—Mixing inks or toners

Definitions

• the invention lies in the field of preparing and dispensing in accordance with the wish of a user a liquid or pasty, coloured mass which consists of a plurality of basic components.
• the re-use of masses is known, wherein containers with mass which can be designated as return mass are stored in a storage area.
• an assessment is made on the basis of program control as to which return mass is suitable for re-use. Use is made for this purpose of so-called "numer ⁇ ical recalculation" .
• the object of the invention is to provide a method which also enables use of return masses in the prepara ⁇ tion of new, coloured masses, wherein the returned masses can be re-used quickly, such that the generally limited storage life of these masses no longer represents an obstacle.
• the invention has the object that the speeds at which return masses can be collected and added during preparation are so high that an appara ⁇ tus according to the invention can operate in line with a production installation and can even increase the prepa ⁇ ration speed.
• the invention provides the method according to claim 1.
• This method can be implemented with the apparatus according to claim 3.
• the method can comprise the steps according to claim 2.
• the invention also relates to a control program according to claim 4 which forms part of the apparatus of claim 2 such that the apparatus performs the method according to claim 1.
• This control program is based on the flow diagram as according to the annexed figure 2.
• the method according to the invention is based on the insight that it is often possible to use at least a part of returned masses to make new masses.
• any desired composition can be a plurality of ten to twenty basic components. Depending on the desired colour of the printing ink, use can be made of a suitable number of basic components in predetermined ratio. It is noted that for the sake of brevity no reference is made to additives such as thickening agents, water and possi ⁇ bly necessary chemicals which for instance provide the adhesion of the ink to the fabric or fibre material for printing.
• Essential for the "management system" according to the invention is that each receiving container, which is later returned as the first container referred to in claim 1, is followed by the system, or is at least iden ⁇ tifiable at any necessary moment.
• the composition thereof is established and linked inseparably to the relevant container in which the mass is prepared.
• This inseparable link can be estab ⁇ lished on the one hand by using containers with their own unique identification or alternatively through identifi- cation of the mass present in a container, for instance by using a photospectrometer.
• the mass is recognized by the system on the basis of the container in which it is located.
• the control of the apparatus determines whether, and if so, to which collecting vessel the mass, given its composition, can be added.
• the mass is subsequently is added to this collected mass.
• the weight of the added mass is measured so that the new composition of the collected mass can also be calculated.
• An important objective of the invention is the re ⁇ use of masses which must be deemed remnants and which can no longer, or only with the greatest difficulty and inherent inaccuracy, be decomposed into the composite basic components. Many masses have in addition a limited storage life, or the quantities in which they are pre ⁇ pared are such that known reprocessing methods are not applicable. Masses are used which are composed of basic compo ⁇ nents, wherein preparation of these masses is controlled from the location where the masses are used, for instance a printing machine. After homogenizing the mass can no longer be decomposed into the basic components.
• the storage life of the masses is generally short, so that it is not possible to wait for re-use until a mass with the same composition is once again required.
• the requisite speeds at which masses are prepared are too high to re-use the remnant or return masses per container by means of numerical recalculation.
• a known instrument as a spectrophotometer is not necessary according to the invention. Such instruments are in any case relatively expensive, time-consuming and inaccurate.
• all masses which are prepared or will be prepared in the near future are analyzed on a software basis as to the basic components present therein. The number of possible combinations of basic components present is very large. With the relevant analysis a limited number of combinations can be selected which are returned and prepared. The selected combina ⁇ tions change over a period of time, this as a result of changes in pattern.
• the composition of any produced mass is recorded by a central control unit.
• the receiving container is also provided with its own identification device, so that at any desired moment can be determined which container is situated at which location.
• the central control unit contains the necessary data relating to the composition of the mass present in the relevant container.
• the mass is recognized by the system by means of the identi ⁇ fication device carried by the container. Thereafter is determined whether the combination of the basic compo- nents present therein forms part of for instance a much used combination. If this is the case the remnant or return mass is added to other remnants in which the same combinations occur. On the basis of the above stated numerical recalculation the composition of the mass which results from these mixings is in each case determined and stored in the memory. It will be apparent that the system also remembers in which container or containers the relevant mass is located.
• figure 1 shows a diagram of the invention
• figure 2 shows a flow diagram which can form the basis of the program control of an apparatus for perform ⁇ ing the method according to the invention
• figure 3 shows a possible arrangement in block diagram form
• figure 4 shows a highly schematic top view of an apparatus according to the invention
• figure 5 is a highly schematic top view of another embodiment
• figure 6 is a highly schematic top view of a part of an alternative
• figure 7 shows a highly schematic perspective view of a part of an apparatus according to the invention.
• Figure 1 shows a total system, wherein the system according to the invention is designated with block 1.
• Figure 2 shows a flow diagram of a program which controls an apparatus according to the invention for performing the method according to the invention.
• the program is built up as follows: A. Analysis of possible basic component combinations at the choice of the user. Resulting from this analysis is a list of all combinations which are produced or will be produced in the future. The produced quantity and/or frequency of use per combination can also be displayed. B. The generation of a quantity of return masses. On the basis of actually measured quantities of return mass or on the basis of the average quantity of return mass per prepared mass the quantity of return mass and the composition thereof per combination is determined over a period of time.
• a combination consisting of the components A and B can be added during collection to the components A, B and C.
• the program calculates what the effect thereof is on the total re-used quantity of return mass, given a fixed number of permitted basic component combinations. The combination is only selected in the case of an increase.
• a final refining step is the dividing of basic component combinations.
• a combination which on average consists of x% A, y% B and z% C is divided into a combi ⁇ nation of A, B and C, in which the percentage A is small- er than x/2 (or another fraction) , and a combination A, B and C, in which the percentage A is greater than x/2 (or the said other fraction) .
• Figure 3 shows by way of example a possible arrange- ment. Attention is drawn to the fact that the spectropho- tometer according to the invention included in the block diagram of figure 3 is not an essential measuring instru ⁇ ment, but can if desired be used for performing a rough, for instance random, check.
• Figure 4 shows an apparatus 2 according to the invention. Containers 3 are fed via a conveyor belt 4 to a weighing and emptying station 5. Making use of a so- called traversing carriage 6 which is guided over rails 7, the containers 3 can be transported to and from a vertical vessel washer, a push-out member 7, a cover washer 8, a cover placer 9, a colour checking station 10, a mixer 11, a collecting station 12, 13 for vessels.
• a washing station 15 is placed along a conveyor belt 14 which connects onto the unit 5.
• Figure 5 shows an example of a printing device.
• a turntable or rearranging platform 16 transports vessels 17 to and from pick and place units which are all desig ⁇ nated 18 for the sake of convenience.
• Designated 19 are suction and scraping stations for containers.
• a weigh- ing station 20 the containers are weighed to determine the weight of the mass present therein.
• the coding which is read by the reader is supplied as address to the memory of a central processor unit (not drawn) which thereby has available sufficient information to be able to apply the relevant masses directly or for re-use.
• Designated schematically are conveyors 22, 23 which can feed the respective con- tainers to printing machines 24, 25.
• Figure 6 shows an arrangement with a conveyor belt 26 for containers 27.
• Three pick and place units are grouped round a turntable 28.
• Mixing units are designated with 29.
• the reference numeral 30 refers to a dosing unit.
• FIG 7 shows a conveyor 31 which trans ⁇ ports vessels 32 to respective dosing stations 32, 33, 34 under the control of a central control unit.
• Each dosing station comprises a cover 35 with a suction line 36 for supplying printing ink to an associated printing station 37, 38, 39 respectively.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Accessories For Mixers (AREA)
• Stored Programmes (AREA)
• Inking, Control Or Cleaning Of Printing Machines (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=26647158

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1994
  • 1994-03-16 NL NL9400415A patent/NL9400415A/nl not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1994-12-20 WO PCT/NL1994/000323 patent/WO1995017307A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1994-12-20 EP EP95903461A patent/EP0735954B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1994-12-20 DE DE69419940T patent/DE69419940D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1994-12-20 AT AT95903461T patent/ATE182843T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1994-12-20 JP JP7517331A patent/JPH09506833A/ja active Pending
  • 1994-12-20 AU AU12505/95A patent/AU1250595A/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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