GB2268419A

GB2268419A - Coloured inks : mixing

Info

Publication number: GB2268419A
Application number: GB9311806A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Whittaker
Original assignee: De Montfort University
Current assignee: De Montfort University
Priority date: 1992-06-13
Filing date: 1993-06-08
Publication date: 1994-01-12
Also published as: GB9311806D0; GB9212595D0

Abstract

A device for mixing ink to a required colour, for use with graphic markers or airbrushes, comprises syringes 11, each with a colour component, surrounding a stand 14 for a mixing vessel. Each syringe has a piston 15 moved, via threaded rod 15a and bevel gearing, by rotating dial 22 through marked angles to meter precise quantities of colour component into a vessel. Syringes may be removed for re-filling, or the syringe barrels may be disposable. The mixing vessel is a simple pot which may form the ink reservoir (12) of an airbrush (Figs. 3 and 4, not shown). The compressor 24 of an airbrush may be located above stand 14. An arrangement for airbrush cleaning is disclosed (Fig. 5, not shown). A graphic marker for incorporating the mixing vessel is disclosed (Fig. 6 and 7, not shown). <IMAGE>

Description

COLOUR SYSTEM This invention relates to a colour marker system. Graphic markers are pens with ink-soaked wicks terminating in a nib; for the purposes of this specification, the term "marker" will also include an airbrush or any other form of marker that uses ink.

Graphic markers are supplied in comprehensive colour ranges for use by artists and designers, as are inks for airbrush application. Users of professional graphic markers must carry a considerable inventory of pens, and airbrush users a like inventory of inks. Many users will need both graphic markers and airbrush inks, at considerable cost. The inventory problems apply also to stockists and to manufacturers, who also have the problem of manufacturing the range of colours to exacting colour standards.

The present invention provides a system that substantially reduces the inventory requirement yet provides the fullest possible range of colours, and can do so for both graphic marker and airbrush appiications.

The invention comprises a system comprising a plurality of ink dispensers adapted to deliver preselected quantities of inks into a mixing vessel.

Said dispensers may be arranged around and have outlets directed at a mixing vessel stand.

The dispensers may comprise syringes.

The dispensers may be incorporated into a base unit.

The system may comprise an airbrush compressor, as well as an airbrush, and may comprise an airbrush cleaning arrangement comprising a container for cleaning fluid attachable to an airbrush simultaneously to deliver fluid to and receive the same fluid from the airbrush in a closed circuit.

The mixing vessel may be adapted to be received in the airbrush as an ink cartridge.

Likewise, the system may comprise a marker pen, and the mixing vessel may be adapted to be received in the marker pen as an ink cartridge.

One embodiment of a colour marker system according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a base unit of the embodiment comprising a set of syringes, Figure 2 is a part sectional elevation of the unit of Figure 1 viewed along Arrow 2 of that Figure, Figure 3 is a perspective view of a mixing vessel and cap, Figure 4 is a section through an airbrush of the system, with a mixing vessel in place therein as an ink cartridge, Figure 5 is a view of the airbrush of Figure 4 on Arrow 5 of that Figure and an associated airbrush cleaning arrangement, Figure 6 is a section through a graphic marker of the system, with a mixing vessel in place therein as an ink cartridge, and Figure 7 is a view of the marker of Figure 6 on Arrow 7 of that Figure.

The drawings illustrate a colour marker system comprising a plurality of ink dispensers 11 adapted to deliver preselected quantities of inks into a mixing vessel 12.

The dispensers 11 are arranged around and have outlets 13 directed at a mixing vessel stand 14.

The dispensers 11 comprise syringes which, as seen best in Figure 2, have plungers 15 working in barrels 16. Each plunger 15 has a threaded shank 15a engaged in a lead-screw sleeve 17 supported in bearing flanges. 18 of a housing 19 and terminating in a bevel gear arrangement 21 operated by a dial 22 which can be.

indexed through marked angles to move the plunger 15 through precise steps to meter precise quantities of ink through the nozzle outlet 13 into a mixing vessel 12 positioned on the stand 14.

There are five such dispensers 11 incorporated into a base unit 23. The five dispensers can accommodate the primary colours red, blue and yellow together with black and white, from which any desired colour can be obtained. In practice, a colour chart could be supplied with the inks indicating the proportions of inks needed to make each colour in the chart in terms of the indexing required on each dial 22.

The dispensers 11 are removable from the unit for refilling. Indeed the barrel 16 at least may be disposable, the ink being supplied therein from the manufacturer, to avoid the need to fill from a bottle with attendant risk of spillage, though filling could be a relatively simple operation of loading through the nozzle by retraction of the plunger. The barrels can be of clear plastic to permit a visual check of the contents.

The mixing vessel 12 (Figure 3) is a simple pot with an apertured lid 12a and fits into a recess 14a in the vessel stand 14 which itself pivots between a loading position (full line, Figure 1) and a filling position (broken line).

Since mixing takes place in the vessel 12, the nozzle outlets 13 being spaced from each other and from the vessel 12, and since the dispensers can always be loaded with the same colour, there is no possibility of colour contamination in the unit and no purging required.

The base unit 23 is a moulding with inclined dispenser supports 23a and also holds, above the vessel stand 14, a compressor 24 for an airbrush. The compressor 24 is a rotary blower with an outlet fitting 24a for connecting an airbrush and has an electric motor driven from the mains supply. A pressure gauge is provided.

The airbrush 40 illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 comprises a barrel 41 with an air inlet connection 42 with a spring loaded ball valve 43 opened by a plunger 44 terminating in a control button 45 outside the barrel 41 and situated for ease of operation. A mixing vessel 12, now serving as an ink cartridge, is received in a complementary recess 46 with a feed duct 47 to the end chamber 48 of the barrel 41.

The airbrush nozzle 49 is closed by a needle 51 which is held in a plunger 52 retracted against the pressure of a spring 52 by rearwards movement of the control button 45.

The airbrush cleaning arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 comprises a bottle 54 with a cap 55 receiving the airbrush nozzle 49 and a lower outlet tube 56 terminating in a fitting like the mixing vessel lid 12a that fits into the recess 46 of the airbrush 40. The bottle 54 holds a cleaning fluid which is a solvent for the ink pigment, and the solvent is circulated by operation of the airbrush 40 when connected to the bottle 54 in a closed circuit. A bottle holding, say, 100 ml of solvent will be able to clean an airbrush many times before the solvent becomes too contaminated with pigment to be useful, which condition may be determined by visual inspection of a transparent bottle 54.

Such a cleaning arrangement can of course be adapted for cleaning airbrushes of different design and the invention in one aspect may extend thereto.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a graphic marker 60 comprising a barrel 61 housing a felt wick 62 terminating in a nib 63. A recess 66 like the recess 46 of the airbrush 40 receives the mixing vessel 12 here also serving as an ink cartridge.

The system can be more or less sophisticated than the embodiment described. A basic system would comprise simply the dispensers 11 and the mixing vessel 12, which might be arranged to empty its contents into a reservoir of a graphic or airbrush or other marker, or which might actually comprise a reservoir of a marker, rather than constitute an ink cartridge for a marker.

A more sophisticated system might involve a microprocessor controlled dispensing system.

The rotary compressor could also be used independently of the rest of the embodiment and a lightweight rotary compressor as described and battery power therefor could even be incorporated into an airbrush which could be therefore a self-contained unit not requiring an umbilical connection.

Claims

1. A colour marker system comprising a plurality of ink dispensers adapted to deliver preselected quantities of inks into a mixing vessel.

2. A system according to claim 1, said dispensers being arranged around and having outlets directed at a mixing vessel stand.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the dispensers comprise syringes.

4. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the dispensers are incorporated in a base unit.

5. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising an airbrush compressor.

6. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising an airbrush.

7. A system according to claim 6, comprising an airbrush cleaning arrangement comprising a container for cleaning fluid attachable simultaneously to deliver fluid to and receive the same fluid from the airbrush in a closed circuit.

8. A system according to claim 6 or claim 7, in which the mixing vessel is adapted to be received in the airbrush as an ink cartridge.

9. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a marker pen.

10. A system according to claim 9, in which the mixing vessel is adapted to be received in the marker pen as an ink cartridge.