Claims
- 1. A manifold for selectively drawing air from a plurality of vacuum channels, comprising:
- (a) a fixed element having an outer surface and a master internal cylinder having a first longitudinal axis, said fixed element further including an axial internal cylinder having a first end and an open second end, said first end communicating with said master internal cylinder, said fixed element further including a plurality of holes disposed along a longitudinal axis of said axial internal cylinder, said plurality of holes passing from said outer surface to said axial internal cylinder, said plurality of holes communicating with said plurality of vacuum channels;
- (b) an axial piston disposed within said axial internal cylinder from said second end and movable along said axial internal cylinder from said second end to said first end for selectively opening or closing each of said plurality of holes disposed along said axial internal cylinder; and
- (c) a rotatable piston including an outer wall and a hollow center portion in communication with a device for drawing air at a first end and having a second closed end, said rotatable piston being disposed and rotatable within said master internal cylinder, said rotatable piston further including an aperture passing from said outer wall to said hollow center, such that rotation of said rotatable piston aligns said aperture with said axial internal cylinder so that air draw from said hollow center portion is also drawn from said axial internal cylinder.
- 2. A manifold according to claim 1, further comprising:
- (a) a plurality of axial internal cylinders disposed within said fixed element, each of said plurality of axial internal cylinders having a plurality of holes disposed along a longitudinal axis of the axial internal cylinder, each of said plurality of axial internal cylinders having an open second end and a first end in communication with said master internal cylinder;
- (b) a plurality of axial pistons disposed within said plurality of axial internal cylinders from said second ends and movable along the longitudinal axis of the axial internal cylinders from said second end to said first end for selectively opening or closing each of said plurality of holes disposed along said plurality of axial internal cylinders; and
- (c) a plurality of apertures disposed on said outer wall of said rotatable piston and passing through to said outer wall to said hollow center portion, said plurality of apertures being arranged in a pattern such that rotation of said rotatable piston to a plurality of predetermined positions allows air drawn from said hollow center portion to be drawn from none or more of said plurality axial internal cylinders.
- 3. A manifold according to claim 2, further comprising:
- (a) a device for linking said plurality of axial pistons together so that said plurality of axial pistons move in and out of said plurality of axial cylinders in unison;
- (b) a first motorized device for linearly moving said plurality of axial pistons to a plurality of predetermined axial positions;
- (c) a second motorized device for rotating said rotary piston to a plurality of predetermined rotational positions; and
- (d) a controller for controlling the movement of said first and second motorized devices to position said plurality of axial pistons to selectively open or close said plurality of holes disposed along the longitudinal axis of said plurality of axial cylinders and to rotate said rotary piston to said plurality of predetermined positions.
- 4. A manifold according to claim 3, further comprising a memory for storing a plurality of axial and rotation positions.
- 5. A manifold according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the master internal cylinder is orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the rotatable piston.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is related to simultaneously filed co-pending U.S. Application Ser. Nos. 08/868,720 entitled "IMAGING SYSTEM WITH MOVABLE REGISTRATION PINS", 08/868,970 entitled "IMAGING SYSTEM WITH HIGH EFFICIENCY MEDIA LOADING" 08/868,969 entitled "REGISTRATION DETECTION APPARATUS FOR IMAGING SYSTEMS" and 08/868,526 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HOLDING RECORDING MEDIA ONTO A MEDIA SUPPORT SURFACE".
US Referenced Citations (13)