Feed channel keying for solid ink stick feed
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsBrent R. Jones, Frederick T. Mattern, Timothy L. Crawford
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solid ink feed system for a phase change printer includes a solid ink feed channel that has formed in it a feed channel key that either blocks a solid ink stick from complete insertion into the feed channel, or blocks passage of an ink stick along the length of the feed channel, unless the ink stick has a key element corresponding to the feed channel key. A solid ink stick is formed of a three dimensional ink stick body with a key element that extends along a surface of the ink stick body through the rear of the ink stick body.
Claims22
An ink stick for use in a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink jet printer, the ink stick comprising:
- an ink stick body, wherein the ink stick body comprises:
- a front;
- a rear;
- and
- a bottom surface connecting the front and the rear;
- and
- at least one key element formed in the bottom surface;
- wherein the key element extends along the bottom surface through the rear of the ink stick body;
- and
- wherein the key element corresponds in shape and position to a feed channel key in a longitudinal feed channel of the solid ink feed system so that the ink stick key element passes the feed channel key after the ink stick has been at least partially inserted into the longitudinal feed channel.
An ink stick for use in a feed channel of a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink jet printer, the ink stick comprising:
- an ink stick body;
- keying means formed in a bottom surface of the ink stick body for permitting the ink stick to be at least partially inserted into a keyed feed channel of the solid ink feed system without engaging a keyed segment of the keyed feed channel, and to pass through the keyed segment of the keyed feed channel only if the keying means in the ink stick body corresponds to the keyed segment of the feed channel.
A method of feeding solid ink to a melt plate of a phase change ink printer, the method comprising:
- placing an ink stick at least partially into a solid ink feed channel wherein:
- one end of the feed channel is adjacent the melt plate;
- moving the ink stick along the solid ink feed channel past a feed channel key in the bottom of the solid ink feed channel if the ink stick has a key element corresponding to the feed channel key;
- and
- blocking the ink stick at the feed channel key in the solid ink feed channel if the ink stick does not have a key element corresponding to the feed channel key.
A solid ink feed system for a phase change ink jet printer, the feed system comprising:
- at least one solid ink feed channel;
- and
- feed channel keying means to block passage along the feed channel of an ink stick that does not have a corresponding ink stick keying means in the bottom portion of the ink stick, wherein the feed channel keying means permits an ink stick to at least partially enter the feed channel, even if the ink stick does not have ink stick keying means corresponding to the feed system keying means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.