Method and apparatus for storing and delivering liquid color material

Abstract

A container of liquid color material has a diaphragm liquid color pump located therewithin for providing liquid color from the container and non-drip apparatus for releaseably connecting the container with a blender for supply of liquid color thereto and methods for pumping and supplying liquid color incorporating the same. In some embodiments a volumetric controller is utilized for driving and regulating the pump.

1 . Apparatus for supplying liquid color to a plastic resin processing machine, comprising: 
 a. a closed container;    b. a pump within said container, comprising: 
 i. a housing having a cavity formed therein;  
 ii. a diaphragm displaceable into said cavity for urging liquid color out of said cavity via an outlet passageway through said housing;  
 iii. a reciprocable rod extending into said housing for displacing said diaphragm into said cavity;  
   c. a drive control means    d. a drive means adapted to reciprocate said rod in response to instructions from said drive control means.    
   
   
       2 . A method for furnishing liquid color to a plastics resin processing machine, comprising: 
 a. providing a closed container, having an outlet, with liquid color material therewithin;    b. pumping said liquid color material out of said container via said outlet by displacing a diaphragm into an open cavity portion of a solid body within said container according to relative position of a rotatable variable radius cam thereby forcing liquid color material residing in said open cavity portion of said solid body through an aperture in said solid body and out of said container via said outlet.    
   
   
       3 . A method for supplying liquid color material as a portion of plastic resin material to be further fabricated by molding or extrusion, comprising the steps of: 
 a. serially dispensing liquid color material and resin material into the weigh bin of a gravimetric blender by pumping said liquid color material from a container of the same with a diaphragm pump located in said container according to relative position of a rotatable cam;    b. weighing contents of said weigh bin to determine whether there has been a dispense of liquid color thereinto;    c. continuing to pump from said container as needed for so long as weighing the contents of said weigh bin indicates there has been a dispense of liquid color material thereinto but stopping said pumping from said container and commencing pumping liquid color material from a second container by using a diaphragm pump located thereon when weighing the contents of said weigh bin indicates lack of dispense of liquid color material thereinto.    
   
   
       4 . A liquid color diaphragm pump, comprising: 
 a. a body having a cavity formed therein;    b. a flexible diaphragm connected to said body and displaceable into said cavity;    c. rotatable camming means for cyclically displacing said diaphragm into said cavity according to a surface profile of said cam;    d. means for biasing said diaphragm away from said cavity.