Tattoo machine control method and system

Abstract

A tattoo machine control system comprises a holding arrangement (1) for storing tattoo needle cartridges (3) for the moment not attached to a tattoo machine and a tattoo machine controller configured to 5 control a tattoo machine based on a tattoo machine setting. The holding arrangement (1) has a plurality of slots, each slot (13) being arranged for receiving a respective tattoo needle cartridge (3). The system is configured to maintain an association of a tattoo machine setting for said tattoo machine with a slot (13) 10 of said plurality of slots. The tattooing process is made more efficient.

Claims

1. A tattoo machine control method implemented by a tattoo machine control system, the method comprising storing, by a holding arrangement, tattoo needle cartridges, wherein said holding arrangement has a plurality of slots, each slot being arranged for receiving a respective tattoo needle cartridge; controlling, by a tattoo machine controller, a tattoo machine based on a tattoo machine setting; and storing, by said tattoo machine control system, a plurality of tattoo machine settings for a tattoo machine, wherein each tattoo machine setting of said plurality of tattoo machine settings corresponds to each respective slot of the plurality of slots for storing tattoo needle cartridges.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising automatically detecting removal or attachment of a tattoo needle cartridge from/to said slot of said plurality of slots.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising upon indication of the removal of a tattoo needle cartridge from said slot of said plurality of slots, selecting the tattoo machine setting associated with said slot for use by the tattoo machine.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving user input for modifying the tattoo machine setting, when using a corresponding cartridge with said tattoo machine.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising upon the attachment of a tattoo needle cartridge to said slot of said plurality of slots, associating with said slot the tattoo machine setting, said setting being one most recently used by the tattoo machine.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising attaching or detaching a tattoo needle cartridge comprising a magnet to/from said slot of said plurality of slots.

7. A tattoo machine control system, comprising: a holding arrangement for storing tattoo needle cartridges; and a tattoo machine controller configured to control a tattoo machine based on a tattoo machine setting; wherein said holding arrangement has a plurality of slots, each slot being arranged for receiving a respective tattoo needle cartridge, and wherein said system is configured to store a plurality of tattoo machine settings for said tattoo machine, wherein each tattoo machine setting of said plurality of tattoo machine settings corresponds to each respective slot of said plurality of slots.

8. The system according to claim 7, further comprising a detector for automatically detecting removal of a tattoo needle cartridge from said slot of said plurality of slots or attachment of a tattoo needle cartridge to said slot of said plurality of slots.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said detector comprises an inductive presence sensor.

10. The system according to claim 8, further configured to, upon said detector detecting the removal of a tattoo needle cartridge from a slot of said plurality of slots, select a tattoo machine setting associated with said slot for use by said tattoo machine.

11. The system according to claim 8, further configured to, upon said detector detecting the attachment of a tattoo needle cartridge to said slot of said plurality of slots, associate a tattoo machine setting used by said controller, said setting being one last used by said controller, with said slot.

12. The system according to claim 7, further comprising a user interface configured to allow a user to modify a tattoo machine setting by interacting with said controller.

13. The system according to claim 7, wherein said slot of said plurality of slots is provided with a magnet for holding a respective cartridge.

14. The system according to claim 7, wherein said control system comprises a tattoo machine controller unit separate from said holding arrangement.

15. The system according to claim 7, wherein said holding arrangement is configured to hold said tattoo needle cartridges at an end of said cartridges opposite to a needle nozzle of said cartridges.

16. A tattoo needle cartridge in combination with the system of claim 7, comprising a magnet configured to attach to a slot of said plurality of slots.

17. The tattoo needle cartridge according to claim 16, configured to fit the slot, wherein an interface between said cartridge and said slot is a flat surface.

18. The tattoo needle cartridge according to claim 16, wherein said magnet is a drive magnet connected to a tattoo needle.

19. The tattoo needle cartridge according to claim 16, comprising a rigid back wall.

20. The tattoo needle cartridge according to claim 16, configured for radial magnetic engagement with a tattoo machine drive unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other aspects of the invention will now be described in more detail, with reference to embodiments of the invention.

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing showing a holding arrangement and a number of cartridges, seen from above.

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective drawing showing the holding arrangement and a different number of cartridges, seen from below.

(4) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the holding arrangement and a cartridge.

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of holding arrangement and a separate control unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) A tattooing artist may need to use several different types of needles during a tattooing session. The exchange of needles may be time-consuming and complicated. If needles cannot easily be changed during the session, several tattoo machines using different types of needles may need to be used. This is often addressed by using tattoo machines which use needle cartridges. However, different settings for the tattoo machine may be needed when using different types of needles and needle cartridges, so that there is still a need for using separate machines.

(7) Each needle type may need different settings or operating parameters of the tattoo machine, such as voltage and/or current supplied by a power supply connected to the tattoo machine. Those operating setting may depend on the type of needle, but also on the personal taste of the tattooing artist. It may therefore be necessary to readjust the settings for each type of needle used during a session.

(8) In general, there is always a need to make the tattooing process more efficient and to reduce the risk of making mistakes during it.

(9) FIG. 1 shows a holding arrangement 1, seen from above. The holding arrangement 1 comprises a stand 5 and a rail 7 attached to the stand 5. The holding arrangement 1 may be used to store needles to be used during a tattooing session. By way of example, six tattoo needle cartridges 3a-f are shown attached to the holding arrangement 1. Tattoo needle cartridges 3 may be of different kinds, comprising different numbers and/or types of needles.

(10) The rail 7 has an elongated shape. On a long edge of the rail 7 facing the user, there is a first set of visual indicators 9a-f. In this particular embodiment, those visual indicators 9a-f are green LEDs.

(11) The stand 5 is made from non-magnetic sheet metal, such as aluminum. An advantage thereof is that magnets present in the rail 7 may hold a cartridge 3 through the material of the stand 5. The stand 5 provides a flat, rugged surface for a cartridge 3 to be attached to.

(12) FIG. 2 shows the same holding arrangement 1, seen from below. The rail 7 is clamped to the stand 5 using two clamping structures 15, 17, each located at a respective short edge of a lower surface of the rail 7. The holding arrangement 1 provides predefined slots 13a-f, to/from which tattoo needle cartridges 3 may repeatedly be attached and/or removed. Each slot 13 has a neodymium slot magnet 25 (see FIG. 3) defining an attachment position for holding a respective cartridge 3 and a Hall effect sensor 37 for detecting the presence of a cartridge 3. By way of example, counted from the left, the first 13a and fourth 13d slots are unoccupied and the second 13b, third 13c, fifth 13e, and sixth 13f slot have respective cartridges 3b, 3c, 3e, 3f attached.

(13) In addition to the first set of visual indicators 9a-f discussed above, a second set of visual indicators 11a-f are located on a lower surface of the rail 7. The first set of indicators 9a-f may use one color and the second set of indicators another color 11a-f. By way of example, the second set of visual indicators 11a-f may be red LEDs. Each of these visual indicators indicates the presence of a cartridge 3 in its respective slot 13, as detected by the respective Hall effect sensor. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the indicators 11b,c,e,f, corresponding to slots 13b,c,e,f where cartridges 3b,c,e,f are attached, are lit up, while the indicators 13a,d corresponding to slots 13a,d to which no cartridges 3 are attached are not lit up.

(14) FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the holding arrangement 1 and a cartridge 3. The stand 5 is substantially C shaped, with three substantially flat sections, viz., a lower part 19 parallel to a supporting surface such as a table (not shown), a middle part 21 extending upwards from the supporting surface at an angle that may be oblique, and an upper part 23 on which the rail 7 is attached. The plane upper part 23 as illustrated is at a small oblique angle with respect to the lower parts, but it may also be horizontal.

(15) The rail 7 comprises an upper cover 27 and a lower cover 29. A neodymium slot magnet 25 is located in a recess of the lower cover 29. A connector 31 is located near the back of the rail 7. The connector serves the purpose of communication with a controller 43 (cf. FIG. 4). It may be a micro-USB connector.

(16) The tattoo needle cartridge 3 comprises a neodymium cartridge magnet 33 suitable for attaching the cartridge 3 to a slot of the holding arrangement 1. The cartridge magnet 33 may also be used as a drive magnet by a tattoo machine 41 (cf. FIG. 4) for driving a needle or several needles 35. The cartridge 3 has a rigid flat back wall 39 suitable for mating and forming an interface with the flat smooth surface of the stand 5 at a slot 13. The cartridge 3 is configured so that a magnet (not shown) of a tattoo machine can engage radially with the cartridge magnet 33. When the needles 35 are driven as described, they describe a back-and-forth motion, periodically extending out of the needle nozzle of the cartridge 3.

(17) FIG. 4 shows a tattoo machine 41, a controller 43 and a holding arrangement 1. The holding arrangement 1 is connected to the controller 43 and forms together with the holding arrangement 1 a tattoo machine control system. As shown in the figure, the controller 43 may be a controller unit 43 separate from the holding arrangement 1, but it may also be integrated with the holding arrangement 1. The separate controller unit 43 may communicate with the holding arrangement 1 either wirelessly or through wired means. In FIG. 4 a wired configuration is illustrated. A tattoo machine 41 is connected to and driven by a power supply 45, which is either part of or communicating with the controller unit 43. The driving voltage of the power supply may be varied according to the needs of the user, who may adjust it though a user interface that for example may comprise a display 47 and a keys 49. The driving voltage may be adapted to a specific type of needle and/or the personal tastes of a tattooing artist.

(18) Such a voltage setting may be associated with one or more of the slots of the holding arrangement 1. Such an association may for example be made in some storage means present in the controller 43. Such storage means may for example be electronic storage means, such as digital storage means, such as flash memory or random access memory (RAM). Furthermore, there exists controlling electronics to manage the storage means and user interface 47, 49. The storage means and/or the controlling electronics may be located in the controller 43 and/or in the holding arrangement 1.

(19) When the user removes a cartridge 3 from a slot 13, the removal is detected by the Hall sensor and communicated to the controller 43. The setting associated with that slot 13 is identified and selected by the controller 43 for use by the tattoo machine 41. If no setting has yet been associated with that slot, a default value is used. To indicate the slot 13 from which a cartridge 3 was last removed and/or the slot 13 from which a setting was last selected for use with by the controller 43, the corresponding green LED 11 is lit. This indicates a home slot of the presently used cartridge 3, aiding the user. By way of example, in FIG. 2 the fourth LED from the left 11d is lit to indicate that the voltage setting associated with the fourth slot from the left 13d was last selected for use by the controller 43, when a cartridge 3 was removed from that slot 13d for use in the tattoo machine 41.

(20) After a cartridge 3 has been removed from the holding arrangement 1 and a voltage setting associated with a slot 13 has been selected for use by the controller 43, the user may modify that setting by interacting with the controller 43, when using the corresponding cartridge 3 with the tattoo machine 41. When a cartridge 3 is attached or re-attached to a slot 13 of the holding arrangement 1, the voltage setting currently used by the tattoo machine 41 is associated with that slot 13. This functionality may be present in one slot 13, a plurality of slots 13, or with all slots 13 of the holding arrangement 1.

(21) The present disclosure is not limited by the above example, and may be varied and altered in different way within the scope of the appended claims.

(22) For example, the association of a setting with a slot may use a display which displays the content of a setting stored in memory. The slot may have a keypad or other user interface to adjust the setting associated with the slot. Transfer of such a setting for use by a tattoo machine may be manual instead of automatic.

(23) While a configuration wherein the holding arrangement 1 comprises a stand 5 and a rail 7 was described above, the holding arrangement 1 may comprise a single rail 7 without a stand, for example to be attached to an edge of a table. Separate holders for each slot are equally possible.

(24) Slots 13 may, instead of being predefined by location, be based on the detection of the presence and location of a cartridge 3.

(25) It is equally possible to use a camera and image analysis means to detect the presence and/or location of a cartridge.

(26) A tattoo machine setting may comprise a frequency setting, a current setting, a voltage setting, an RPM setting, and/or any other setting to be used for controlling a tattoo machine.