Antistatic paint cup
View Patent ↗A flexible, disposable cup for use in a fluid supply assembly. The disposable cup is made of an antistatic material whereby chargeable particles in a coating mixture do not stick to the disposable cup so that uniformity of the coating mixture is maintained while it is dispensed. A method of maintaining the uniformity of a coating mixture during dispensing is also described.
1. A flexible, disposable cup for use in a reusable cup holder for a spray gun, the disposable cup comprising a side wall, an open outlet end, and a closed bottom defining an interior, the disposable cup being see through, wherein the disposable cup stands on the bottom, and wherein the side wall collapses when fluid is withdrawn from the disposable cup, the disposable cup comprising a polymeric material containing an antistatic additive, the antistatic additive preventing chargeable particles in a coating mixture from sticking to the disposable cup so that uniformity of the coating mixture is maintained while it is dispensed.
2. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the antistatic additive is selected from long-chain aliphatic amines and amides, phosphates, quaternary ammonium compounds, polyethylene glycols, glycol esters, ethoxylated long-chain aliphatic amines, polymeric antistatic additives composed of hydrophilic copolymers, intrinsic conductive polymers, polyaniline, polythiophene, conductive fillers, carbon black, metal powder and fibers, or graphite fibers.
3. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the polymeric material is selected from polyethylene, or polypropylene.
4. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the polymeric material comprises a see through polymeric material.
5. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein a flange extends outward from an edge of the outlet end of the disposable cup.
6. The disposable cup of claim 5 wherein the flange extends downward from the outlet end at an angle in range of from about 10° to about 70°.
7. The disposable cup of claim 5 wherein the flange of the disposable cup further comprises a removal tab.
8. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the disposable cup has indicia for measuring fluids on the side wall.
9. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall is generally cylindrical.
10. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall is generally elliptical.
11. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall has a generally cylindrical lower side wall portion and generally frustoconical upper side wall portion.
12. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall has a generally cylindrical lower side wall portion, a generally frustoconical intermediate side wall portion, and a generally cylindrical upper side wall portion.
13. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall is generally cylindrical and an upper end of the side wall is connected to a flange by a flat annular portion.
14. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall has a generally elliptical low side wall portion, a generally cylindrical upper side wall portion, and an intermediate side wall portion extending from the low side wall portion to the upper side wall portion.
15. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall has a generally cylindrical low side wall portion, a generally cylindrical upper side wall portion, and an intermediate side wall portion extending from the low side wall portion to the upper side wall portion.
16. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the side wall extends between the outlet and the bottom, the side wall has a first portion adjacent to the outlet end, the side wall has a second portion adjacent to the bottom, the side wall has a third portion between the first and second portions, the first and second portions having a thickness greater than a thickness of the third portion.
17. The disposable cup of claim 16 wherein the thickness of the first and second portions is in a range of about 2 to about 3 times the thickness of the third portion.
18. The disposable cup of claim 16 wherein the thickness of the first and second portions is in a range of about 0.006 in. to about 0.015 in.
19. The disposable cup of claim 16 wherein the thickness of the third portion is in a range of about 0.003 in. to about 0.005 in.
20. The disposable cup of claim 16 wherein the first and second portions each cover about one fourth of the side wall.
21. The disposable cup of claim 16 wherein a thickness of the bottom is in a range of about 0.003 in. to about 0.02 in.
22. The disposable cup of claim 1 wherein the coating mixture is a paint mixture and the chargeable particles are metallic particles, and wherein uniformity of the coating mixture is uniformity of a color of the paint mixture.
23. A flexible, disposable cup for use in a reusable cup holder for a spray gun, the disposable cup comprising a side wall, an open outlet end, and a closed bottom defining an interior, a flange extending outward from an edge of the outlet end of the disposable cup, wherein the flange extends downward from the outlet end at an angle in a range of from about 10° to about 70°, the disposable cup being see through, wherein the disposable cup stands on the bottom, and wherein the side wall collapses when fluid is withdrawn from the disposable cup, the disposable cup comprising an antistatic material so that chargeable particles in a coating mixture do not stick to the disposable cup so that uniformity of the coating mixture is maintained while it is dispensed.
24. A flexible, disposable cup for use in a reusable cup holder for a paint spray gun, the disposable cup comprising a side wall, an open outlet end, and a closed bottom defining an interior, wherein the disposable cup stands on the bottom, and wherein the side wall collapses when paint is withdrawn from the disposable cup, the disposable cup comprising a polymeric material containing an antistatic-and-see-through amount of an antistatic additive to prevent metallic particles in paint from sticking to the disposable cup so that uniformity of the color of the paint is maintained while it is dispensed and to provide the see through disposable cup.