System And Method For Manufacturing Sold Ink Sticks With An Injection Molding Process
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsTerry Alan Smith, Edward Francis Burress
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method manufactures solid ink sticks by forming a solid ink paste and injecting the paste into a mold having internal cavities. The method includes generating a solid ink paste, injecting a portion of the paste under pressure into a cooled mold having at least two separable shells that form ink stick cavities, and separating the shells of the cooled mold to release solid ink sticks from the ink stick cavities.
Claims29
A method for manufacturing solid ink sticks comprising:
- generating a solid ink paste;
- injecting a portion of the solid ink paste under pressure into a cooled mold having at least two separable shells that form ink stick cavities;
- and
- separating the shells of the cooled mold to release solid ink sticks from the ink stick cavities.
A method for manufacturing solid ink sticks comprising:
- generating a paste of ink material;
- and
- injecting a portion of the paste into a cooled mold having internal cavities to form solid ink sticks.
A system for manufacturing solid ink sticks comprising:
- a volumetric container having a wall that encloses a space, the wall having an inlet and an outlet;
- feeding ink that is solid at room temperature into the container through the inlet;
- a cooling member located within the volumetric container that removes heat from the wall;
- a heated member located within the volumetric container that adds heat to the ink within the volumetric container;
- an ejection member configured to force ink from the volumetric container through the outlet of the volumetric container into a mold cavity;
- and
- a controller coupled to the heated member, the cooling member, and the ejection member, the controller being configured to keep the heated member in a first temperature range that maintains ink in a liquid or nearly liquid state proximate the heated member, to keep the cooling member in a second temperature range that maintains ink in a solid or near solid state proximate the cooling member, and to energize the ejection member to mix the liquid or near liquid ink with the solid or near solid ink to form a solid ink paste proximate the outlet of the volumetric container.
A system for manufacturing solid ink stick comprising:
- an injection molding machine having a barrel in which a heated member is located, the barrel having an outlet;
- a cooling jacket mounted on an exterior of the barrel;
- a movable member located within the barrel;
- a heater located within the movable member;
- an actuator coupled to the movable member;
- and
- a controller coupled to the heater, the cooling jacket, and the actuator, the controller being configured to regulate the heater to maintain the movable member within a temperature range in which liquid ink remains in a liquid or near liquid state, to operate the cooling jacket to maintain the barrel in a temperature range in which ink remains in a solid or near solid state, and to energize the actuator to cause the movable member to mix the liquid or near liquid ink proximate the movable member with the solid or near solid ink proximate the barrel to form a solid ink paste.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.