Claims
- 1. An ink stick push block for use in a system for feeding solid ink sticks in a phase change printer, wherein each solid ink stick has an ink stick face surface having an ink stick face surface contour and an ink stick rear surface having a nonplanar ink stick rear surface contour, the ink stick push block comprising:
an ink stick push block face having a nonplanar ink stick push block face contour; wherein at least a portion of the nonplanar ink stick push block face contour is the complement of at least a portion of the nonplanar ink stick rear surface contour.
- 2. The ink stick push block of claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the ink stick push block face contour is substantially identical to the ink stick face surface contour.
- 3. The ink stick push block of claim 1, further comprising a biasing element for biasing the ink stick push block against the ink stick rear surface.
- 4. The ink stick push block of claim 3, wherein the biasing element is a constant force spring.
- 5. The ink stick push block of claim 3, further comprising
a hub connected to the ink stick push block, wherein an end of the spring is constrained by the hub.
- 6. A solid ink loader for use with a phase change ink printer, the loader comprising:
a first feed channel for receiving a first type of solid ink stick having a first rear surface having a first ink stick rear nonplanar contour; a first ink stick push block in the first feed channel; wherein:
the first feed channel has an entry end and an exit end; the first ink stick push block has a first push block face surface; the first push block face surface of the ink stick push block has a first push block face nonplanar contour; the first push block face surface is at least partially the complement of the first ink stick rear nonplanar contour.
- 7. The ink stick push block of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the first ink stick push block face contour is substantially identical to at least a portion of an ink stick face surface contour of the ink stick.
- 8. The solid ink loader of claim 6, further comprising:
a second feed channel configured for receiving a second type of solid ink sticks having a second rear surface having a second ink stick rear nonplanar contour; a second ink stick push block, wherein the second ink stick push block has a second push block face nonplanar contour, and wherein the second push block face nonplanar contour is at least partially the complement of the second ink stick rear nonplanar contour.
- 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the second push block face is substantially identical to the first push block face.
- 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the first push block face is substantially identical to the first push block face.
- 11. The system of claim 6, further comprising a biasing element for biasing the first ink stick push block against the first ink stick rear nonplanar contour.
- 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the biasing element is a spring.
- 13. A phase change ink printer comprising:
a solid ink loader including
a first feed channel for receiving a first type of solid ink stick having a first rear surface having a first ink stick rear nonplanar contour; a first ink stick push block in the first feed channel; wherein:
the first feed channel has an entry end and an exit end; the first ink stick push block has a first push block face surface; the first push block face surface of the ink stick push block has a first push block face nonplanar contour; the first push block face surface is at least partially the complement of the first ink stick rear nonplanar contour.
- 14. The printer of claim 13, further comprising a biasing element for biasing the first ink stick push block against the first ink stick rear nonplanar contour.
- 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the biasing element is a spring.
- 16. A method for feeding solid ink sticks in a phase change printer, wherein each solid ink stick has an ink stick face surface having an ink stick face surface contour and an ink stick rear surface having a nonplanar ink stick rear surface contour, the method comprising:
inserting said ink sticks into a channel of an ink loader; conforming a face surface of a push block to the nonplanar ink stick rear surface contour; urging the ink sticks along the channel toward a melt end of the channel.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Reference is made to commonly-assigned copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. Nos. ______, filed herewith, by Jones ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, and ______,filed herewith, by Jones, all of which are entitled: LOAD AND FEED APPARATUS FOR SOLID INK, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein.