MOBILE PAINT SYSTEM UTILIZING SLIDER ATTRIBUTE PROMPTS AND REFLECTANCE MEMORY STORAGE

• US 20090240363A1
• Filed: 06/05/2009
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MicroBlend, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Microblend Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Hughes, Randall L., Philbrook, David C., McClain, C. Daniel, Sauder, Mel
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,885 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/97
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 11/139 by measuring a value related to the quantity of the individual components and sensing at least one property of the mixture

Abstract

What is disclosed is a plurality of prepaints which are used in any combination to produce base paints and/or colored paints of varying end-use application characteristics. Additionally, a mobile paint factory for producing a plurality of lines of paints from a plurality of prepaints en route to and/or at various locations is disclosed, which may include a vehicle having a paint production system, a spectrometer and a gloss meter. Furthermore, a method of producing a plurality of lines of user-selected paints from a plurality of prepaints en route to and/or at various locations is disclosed. The method may include: providing a mobile paint factory; prompting a user to select a value for a paint attribute on a slider; and automatically dispensing predetermined amounts of appropriate prepaints. The method may also comprise storing information about the reflectance of produced paints in a local data storage device.

Claims

1. A method of producing a plurality of lines of user-selected paints from a plurality of prepaints en route to and/or at various locations, the method comprising:

providing a mobile paint factory comprising;

a vehicle;

a paint production system located on the vehicle, the paint production system comprising, a plurality of aqueous prepaints, a plurality of supply reservoirs containing the plurality of aqueous prepaints, at least one receiving reservoir wherein the receiving reservoir receives at least two of the plurality of aqueous prepaints;

a control coupled to the paint production system; and

prompting the user to select, through the control, values for paint attributes on a slider;

automatically dispensing through the paint production system predetermined amounts of appropriate prepaints into the receiving reservoir, wherein none of the prepaints are paints prior to being dispensed; and

the paints having the selected values for paint attributes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile paint factory further comprises a gloss meter which provides a gloss reading to the control, so that the sheen may be selected on a slider without user input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile paint factory further comprises a touchscreen coupled to said control.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile paint factory further comprises a colorant system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile paint factory further comprises a spectrometer which provides a color reading to the control, so that the color may be selected on a slider without user input.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile paint factory further comprises a device which determines both color and gloss so that a user may match the color and sheen of existing paint

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the spectrometer and gloss meter are both remotely linked to the control.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting a user to select a paint sheen on a slider

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting a user to select a paint quality on a slider.

10. A mobile paint factory for producing a plurality of lines of paints from a plurality of prepaints en route to and/or at various locations, the mobile paint factory comprising:

a vehicle;

a paint production system located on the vehicle, the paint production system comprising a plurality of supply reservoirs, a plurality of prepaints stored in the plurality of supply reservoirs, wherein none of the prepaints are paints, at least one receiving reservoir for receiving at least two of the plurality of prepaints;

a control coupled to the paint production system;

a local data storage device coupled to the control, wherein the local data storage device is used to store information about paints made from the plurality of prepaints;

a gloss meter coupled to the control;

a spectrometer coupled to the control; and

a colorant system located on the vehicle.

11. The mobile paint factory of claim 10, further comprising a touchscreen coupled to the control.

12. The mobile paint factory of claim 11, wherein the touchscreen displays a prompt asking the user to select a value for a paint attribute on a slider.

13. The mobile paint factory of claim 12, wherein the paint attribute is sheen.

14. The mobile paint factory of claim 10, wherein the gloss meter is used to select the sheen of paint to be manufactured.

15. The mobile paint factory of claim 10, wherein the gloss meter is used to match the sheen of a previously applied paint.

16. The mobile paint factory of claim 10, wherein the spectrometer is used to select the color of paint to be produced.

17. The mobile paint factory of claim 16, wherein the spectrometer is used to match the color of previously applied paint.

18. The mobile paint factory of claim 10, wherein the local data storage device stores information about reflectance of a selected paint.

19. The mobile paint factory of claim 18, wherein the information about reflectance is used to recreate the selected paint at a future time.

20. A method of producing a plurality of lines of user-selected paints from a plurality of prepaints en route to and/or at various locations, the method comprising:

providing a mobile paint factory comprising;

a vehicle;

a paint production system located on the vehicle, the paint production system comprising, a plurality of aqueous prepaints, a plurality of supply reservoirs containing the plurality of aqueous prepaints, at least one receiving reservoir wherein the receiving reservoir receives at least two of the plurality of aqueous prepaints;

a control coupled to the paint production system;

a local data storage device coupled to the control; and

automatically dispensing through the paint production system predetermined amounts of appropriate prepaints into the receiving reservoir, wherein none of the prepaints are paints prior to being dispensed;

determining reflectance of the produced paints;

storing information about the reflectance in the local data storage device; and

recreating the paints by using the information about the reflectance in the local data storage device.