Patent ID: 8899447

Claim:
A method of preparing a mixture of base tints by means of a device, the device comprising a plurality of containers storing different respective tints, each container having a tint expulsion orifice, a horizontal-axis carousel having a circumferential rim ( 12 ) comprising a cylindrical wall with a plurality of through holes and carrying the containers disposed in a circumferential configuration with at least the expulsion orifice of each container projecting through one of the holes in the rim wall, the carousel having a plurality of cells ( 14 ) removably mounted to, and projecting in a radial direction from the rim wall, each cell defining a closed inside volume suitable for housing in airtight manner a flexible deformable pouch ( 22 ) containing a base tint, the cell and the associated pouch forming the container, a support ( 18 ) for a collector receptacle ( 16 ), indexing means for causing the carousel to turn to a delivery position in which the expulsion orifice of a selected container is placed in register with the collector receptacle, metering means suitable for acting in the delivery position to control opening of the expulsion orifice to expel a predetermined quantity of tint into the collector receptacle, and drive means for driving the carousel in permanent rotation, continuously or at intervals, to produce a gravity field that turns relative to the contents of the containers so as to avoid particles present in suspension in the tints from settling, pressure source (P), and means ( 32 ) for establishing communication, at least for the selected container in the delivery position, between the pressure source and the closed inside volume of the cell prior to expelling the predetermined quantity of tint, wherein the method comprises the steps of a) driving the carousel in rotation to a delivery position in which the cell containing the pouch corresponding to the selected tint is placed in register with the collector receptacle, b ) pressurizing the inside volume of the cell after the cell containing the pouch corresponding to the selected tint is in the delivery position, placed in register with the collector receptacle ( 16 ), c) opening the expulsion orifice in controlled manner to expel a predetermined quantity of tint into the collector receptacle, the pressure established in step b) being maintained until closing the expulsion orifice, wherein provision is made for continuously weighing the collector receptacle simultaneously with the tint being expelled, the opening of the expulsion orifice being controlled by data derived from the weighing, and d) reiterating steps a) to c) for other tints that are to be incorporated in the mixture.