Molten thermoplastic material supply system with removable drive assembly

A system for supplying melted thermoplastic material to a dispenser, which comprises:

• a hopper for storing the thermoplastic material, the hopper having an outlet;
• a heating grid at the outlet of the hopper for heating and melting the thermoplastic material;
• a reservoir into which the melted material flows from the grid;
• a manifold assembly connected to the reservoir into which the melted material flows, the manifold assembly including connections for supplying the material to a dispenser, the manifold assembly including a pump cavity;
• a pump mounted in the pump cavity and capable of being moved within the pump cavity;
• a drive assembly connected to drive the pump;
• and
• a positioning and moving device extending through the pump cavity and connecting the pump to the pump cavity, the device adapted for pushing the pump from the pump cavity to remove the pump from the cavity for pulling the pump into the pump cavity to replace the pump.

A system for supplying melted thermoplastic material to a dispenser, which comprises:

• a hopper for storing the thermoplastic material, the hopper having an outlet;
• a heating grid at the outlet of the hopper for heating and melting the thermoplastic material;
• a reservoir into which the melted material flows from the grid;
• a manifold assembly connected to the reservoir into which the melted material flows, the manifold assembly including connections for supplying the material to a dispenser, the manifold assembly including a pump cavity:
• a pump mounted in the pump cavity and capable of being moved within the pump cavity:
• a drive assembly connected to drive the pump, the drive assembly having an axis;
• a positioning and moving device connecting the pump to the pump cavity, the device adapted for pushing the pump from the pump cavity to remove the pump from the cavity for pulling the pump into the pump cavity to replace the pump;
• and
• a coupling connecting the drive assembly to the pump, the coupling accommodating movement of the pump in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the drive assembly.

A pump assembly for supplying material to a dispenser, which comprises:

• a manifold assembly for receiving the material from a source, the manifold assembly including connections for supplying the material to the dispenser, the manifold assembly including a pump cavity;
• a pump mounted in the pump cavity and capable of being removed from the pump cavity and replaced into the pump cavity;
• a positioning and moving device connecting the pump to the pump cavity, the device adapted for pushing the pump from the pump cavity when the pump is removed and for pulling the pump into the pump cavity when the pump is replaced;
• a drive assembly connected to drive the pump;
• and
• a movable carriage supporting the drive assembly, the carriage capable of movement toward and away from the manifold assembly to remove the pump from the cavity and to replace the pump into the cavity.