Process and dispensing system for preparing liquid concentrates for plastics
First Claim
1. A process for preparing a liquid concentrate for use in the manufacture of plastic parts comprising:
- (a) preparing one or more liquid intermediates, wherein the liquid intermediates comprise a liquid vehicle and at least one additive;
(b) standardizing the liquid intermediates;
(c) transferring the standardized liquid intermediates to a remote location; and
(d) dispensing the liquid intermediates to produce a liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled according to a predetermined formula for the liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled by a computer that contains the predetermined formula, wherein the dispensing of the liquid intermediates in step (d) is controlled by a computer, and wherein the liquid intermediates are dispensed in order of heaviest intermediate on a weight basis to smallest intermiate on a weight basis.
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Abstract
The invention provides a process for preparing a liquid concentrate for use in the manufacture of plastic parts (including without limitation, as part of the sampling, evaluation and approval process before a plastic part goes into production) comprising: (a) preparing one or more liquid intermediates, wherein the liquid intermediates comprise a liquid vehicle and at least one additive (which may include a pigment, dye or other additive); (b) standardizing the liquid intermediates; (c) transferring the standardized liquid intermediates to a remote location; and (d) dispensing the liquid intermediates to produce a liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled according to a predetermined formula for the liquid concentrate. The present invention also provides a process for preparing a liquid concentrate for use in the manufacture of plastic parts comprising: (a) providing one or more liquid intermediates, wherein the liquid intermediates comprise a liquid vehicle and at least one additive (which may include a pigment, dye or other additive), wherein the liquid intermediates are standardized, and wherein the liquid intermediates have been prepared remotely; and (b) dispensing the liquid intermediates to produce a liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled according to a predetermined formula for the liquid concentrate. The present invention also provides a process for preparing a liquid concentrate as described above using a dispensing system which includes a dispensing machine and mixing equipment which may be controlled by a computer or operated manually at the location where the dispensing is done to produce the liquid concentrate; and which may include the manual “hand add” of one or more components of the predetermined formula before the mixing step.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A process for preparing a liquid concentrate for use in the manufacture of plastic parts comprising:
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(a) preparing one or more liquid intermediates, wherein the liquid intermediates comprise a liquid vehicle and at least one additive;
(b) standardizing the liquid intermediates;
(c) transferring the standardized liquid intermediates to a remote location; and
(d) dispensing the liquid intermediates to produce a liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled according to a predetermined formula for the liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled by a computer that contains the predetermined formula, wherein the dispensing of the liquid intermediates in step (d) is controlled by a computer, and wherein the liquid intermediates are dispensed in order of heaviest intermediate on a weight basis to smallest intermiate on a weight basis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A process for preparing a liquid concentrate for use in the manufacture of plastic parts comprising:
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(a) providing one or more liquid intermediates, wherein the liquid intermediates comprise a liquid vehicle and at least one additive, wherein the liquid intermediates are standardized, and wherein the liquid intermediates have been prepared remotely; and
(b) dispensing the liquid intermediates to produce a liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate dispensed is controlled according to a predetermined formula for the liquid concentrate, wherein the dispensing of the liquid intermdiates in step (b) is controlled by a computer, and wherein the liquid intermediates are dispensed in order of heaviest liquid intermediate on a weight basis to smallest liquid intermediate on a weight basis. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An automated dispensing system for preparing a liquid concentrate for use in the manufacture of plastic parts comprising:
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(a) a plurality of containers each containing a standardized liquid intermediate prepared at a location remote from the dispensing system;
(b) a computer for selecting a predetermined gravimetric formula for a desired liquid concentrate; and
(c) a dispensing machine for dispensing a plurality of liquid intermediates to produce the desired liquid concentrate, wherein the quantity of each liquid intermediate is controlled by a computer that contains the predetermined gravimetric formula, and wherein the dispensing of the liquid intermediates is controlled by the computer, wherein the gravimetric formula for the liquid concentrate is generated by an operator using one or more of the liquid intermediates identified in an intermediate library stored in the computer, wherein the computer further tracks the inventory of liquid intermediates dispensed, and determines if a sufficient quantity of each liquid intermediate in the predetermined gravimetric formula is available for dispensing pursuant to step (c), and wherein the computer further bills the user for the liquid concentrates dispensed automatically at specified intervals. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification