In one aspect, the invention provides a fluid dispenser comprising a housing configured to receive a means for pressurizing and a disposable fluid bag, and a nozzle towards a distal end. A means for flow control comprising a tubular body whose longitudinal axis coincides with the longitudinal axis of the nozzle having a diameter that tapers from the side distal to the nozzle towards the nozzle is provided. The tubular body is configured to move along its longitudinal axis such that a volume of a gap between the tubular body and the nozzle is varied thus controlling the flow rate. Further, an adapter configured to be fitted onto the nozzle capable of receiving at least one applicator is provided. The fluid dispenser of the invention is capable of being used in a variety of situations in a facile manner, replacing several different devices to be used for individual applications.

A dosing machine for dosing fluid products includes: containers having vertical longitudinal axes and configured to contain fluid products, rotary stirring elements located inside respective containers and operable in rotation by electric motors, and a dispensing head having nozzles connected to respective containers, where each container is associated with a level measuring device having: a floater containing a permanent magnet and free to move inside the container, a magnetic detector arranged outside the container, and having magnetic sensors spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction and each of which is configured to detect a variation in a magnetic field caused by passage in its proximity of said floater, and a control unit which analyzes signals provided by the magnetic sensors to detect a fluid level inside the container and passage of the floater in a vicinity of one or more of said magnetic sensors.

A device for closing a delivery head of a dispensing machine for delivering fluid products includes a stationary support, a drive shaft, which rotates with respect to the stationary support around a vertical axis, and can be moved with respect to the stationary support along the same vertical axis, a cup-shaped closing element carried at the distal end of an arm fixed to a lower end of the drive shaft, and a screw and nut mechanism which controls a translation of the closing element in the direction of the longitudinal axis and a rotation movement to the longitudinal axis using a single actuator.

A solid colorant dispensing unit for dispensing charges of solid spherical colorant particles in a time-controlled way, the dispensing unit having a supply container having a nozzle for dispensing the particles having a number average particle size and a number particle size distribution, wherein a ratio of the standard deviation of the number particle size distribution to the number average particle size of the particles is less than 25%. The nozzle having a dispensing outlet having a diameter taking into account the number average particle size of the particles. The dispensing unit having a control assembly for controlling the dispensing of the charges of the particles by taking into account the properties of the particles and the diameter of the outlet of the nozzle. A tinting machine having the solid colorant dispensing unit.

A Container is disclosed with a stirrer device suitable to be installed on machines for dispensing fluid products. The container comprises a tank with a particular configuration defined by two cylinders each having a respective longitudinal axis, wherein the distance between two of the longitudinal axes is less than the diameter of a cylinder, and in which two stirrer units are comprised, coaxial to the cylinders of the tank. The stirrer units have elements that have a radial dimension a little less than the radius of the cylinders and are disposed along the substantial entirety of the longitudinal extension of shafts rotating axially, said shafts not having around them a zone not spatially affected by a stirrer element attached to said corresponding shaft.

An apparatus for dye dispensing is disclosed herein. The apparatus includes a controller and a tray. The tray communicates with the controller and is configured with at least one opening. At least one canister is configured with an identifier and a dye. The dye is associated with the identifier. A reader communicates with the controller. A dispenser comprises an actuator communicating with the controller and a lever arm. The lever arm is coupled to the actuator and configured with a projection. The reader, based on the identifier, identifies a selected dye in a selected canister associated with a dye formulation. When the selected canister is aligned with a dispensing area, the dispenser applies a downward force on the selected canister and dispenses the selected dye.

A dispensing machine for dispensing fluid products comprising a dispensing zone (15) in which elongated support means (12) are disposed, configured to support a plurality of removable containing units (11) of the fluid products in a stationary manner along a longitudinal axis (X) is disclosed. The dispensing zone (15) further includes translation means (20) configured to allow moving a receptacle (18) positioned on a metering unit and disposed on the translation means (20) substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction (X) to delivery positions substantially vertically below said containing units (11) and measurement means (16) configured to meter a quantity of fluid product that is delivered from a containing unit (11) to the receptacle (18) in a delivery position corresponding to the respective containing unit. Also disclosed is the use of such dispensing machine for preparing customized formulations of fluid products as well as a method for preparing user-defined target formulation from a plurality of dispensable fluid products.

A solid colorant dispensing unit for dispensing charges of solid spherical colorant particles in a time-controlled way, the dispensing unit having a supply container having a nozzle for dispensing the particles having a number average particle size and a number particle size distribution, wherein a ratio of the standard deviation of the number particle size distribution to the number average particle size of the particles is less than 25%. The nozzle having a dispensing outlet having a diameter taking into account the number average particle size of the particles. The dispensing unit having a control assembly for controlling the dispensing of the charges of the particles by taking into account the properties of the particles and the diameter of the outlet of the nozzle. A tinting machine having the solid colorant dispensing unit.

A self-balancing adapter for use with a mixer, the adapter having a body configured to interface with the mixer as a unit, the body having a front and a back, left and right edges, a top and a bottom, and a vertical axis passing through the top and the bottom, where the front has at least a first recess configured to receive and hold a first vessel substantially within the body; and the adapter having at least one movable counterweight configured to be displaced when the first vessel is received in the first recess such that the movable weight at least partially offsets a weight of the first vessel within the body with respect to the vertical axis.

Disclosed is a method for the batch-based manufacture of a flowable coating material, in particular water-based or solvent-containing paint, from a plurality of components. The method includes feeding batch components into a process mixing container, mixing the components in the process mixing container to form a mixture having a preliminary composition, transferring at least part of the mixture having the preliminary composition from the process mixing container into a reception container, ascertaining an actual state of the mixture having the preliminary composition during transfer into the reception container, determining a deviation of the actual state of the mixture having the preliminary composition from a predefined setpoint state, ascertaining an adjustment quantity for the components required to reach the setpoint state, and topping up the adjustment quantity of the components into the preliminary mixture, while the preliminary mixture is being transferred from the process mixing container into the reception container.