The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 10, 2013
Filed:
Feb. 02, 2012
Ivan Andrew Mccracken, Portland, OR (US);
Chad Johan Slenes, Sherwood, OR (US);
Tony Rogers, Milwaukie, OR (US);
Shawn Michael Close, Portland, OR (US);
William Bruce Weaver, Canby, OR (US);
Chad David Freitag, Portland, OR (US);
Ivan Andrew McCracken, Portland, OR (US);
Chad Johan Slenes, Sherwood, OR (US);
Tony Rogers, Milwaukie, OR (US);
Shawn Michael Close, Portland, OR (US);
William Bruce Weaver, Canby, OR (US);
Chad David Freitag, Portland, OR (US);
Xerox Corporation, Norwalk, CT (US);
Abstract
A check valve unit is provided for a high-speed phase change ink image producing machine between a reservoir for receiving and holding a volume of melted ink from a source and a receiving unit, which may be a printhead system. The check valve unit includes a plurality of ball elements trapped between upper and lower housings defining a like plurality of inlet and discharge passageways. The passageways are configured to optimize flow of melted ink through the unit during charging of the secondary reservoir. The check valve unit is scalable as to size and number of reservoirs for a particular application. The unit further incorporates features that simplify the manufacturing and assembly process while maintaining optimal performance.