System and method for preserving valve member travel in a multi-nozzle extruder
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsChristopher G. Lynn, Peter J. Nystrom, David A. Mantell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An extruder has a valve assembly configured to move pins to open and close the nozzles in a multi-nozzle extruder head independently. The pins of the valve assembly that are driven by actuators into and out of engagement with nozzles in the extruder head are positioned within sleeves that extend between the valve assembly and the extruder head. A gap is provided between the extruder head and the end of the sleeves proximate the extruder head to enable thermoplastic material leaking from the extruder that contacts the pins to remain in a melted or plastic state so the thermoplastic material does not interfere with the movement of the pins.
Claims20
An extruder comprising:
- an extruder head having a chamber for holding a volume of thermoplastic material and a plurality of nozzles fluidically connected to the chamber;
- a plurality of elongated solid members, each elongated solid member having a distal end that is proximate one of the nozzles in the plurality of nozzles in a one-to-one correspondence;
- a plurality of actuators that are operatively connected to the plurality of elongated solid members in a one-to-one correspondence, each elongated solid member extending from the respective actuator associated with the respective elongated solid member into the extruder head and through the chamber in the extruder head, each actuator being configured to push and pull the distal end of the respective elongated solid member into and out of engagement with the respective nozzle;
- and
- a plurality of hollow members, each elongated solid member being configured to slide within one of the hollow members in a one-to-one correspondence and each hollow member extending from the respective actuator for the respective elongated solid member to a position short of the extruder head to form a gap between a distal end of the respective hollow member and the extruder head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.