FILAMENT GUIDE MECHANISM FOR FILAMENT SPOOL CONTAINER

• US 20100096485A1
• Filed: 10/22/2008
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Inventors: Zalusky, Martin G., Turley, Patrick W., Taatjes, Thomas L., Paul, Thomas P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,938,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 242/171
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 31/04 Feeding of the material to be moulded, e.g. into a mould cavity B29C39/08 takes precedence; using a material distribution system to two or more fixed injection moulds B29C45/125
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/255 Enclosures for the building material, e.g. powder containers
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 40/00 Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 49/322 Enclosing boxes with supporting means for the package or reel during unwinding
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 63/036 characterised by the combination of the detecting or sensing elements with other devices, e.g. stopping devices for material advancing or winding mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 63/086 responsive to completion of unwinding of a package

Abstract

A container comprising a housing that is configured to rotatably mount a filament supply spool, and a filament guide mechanism mountable within a channel of the housing, where the filament guide mechanism comprises a filament pathway configured to guide the filament from the filament supply spool rotatably mounted in the interior chamber, and a sensor configured to detect the presence of the filament through at least a portion of the filament pathway.

Claims

1. A container for delivering a filament of a material to a digital manufacturing system, the container comprising:

a container housing defining an interior chamber that is configured to rotatably mount a filament supply spool, the chamber housing including a channel extending between the interior chamber and an exterior surface of the container housing; and

a filament guide mechanism mountable within the channel, the filament guide mechanism comprising;

a filament pathway configured to guide the filament from the filament supply spool rotatably mounted in the interior chamber; and

a sensor configured to detect the presence of the filament through at least a portion of the filament pathway.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the container housing comprises:

a first electrical contact accessible from the exterior surface of the container housing and configured to interface with the digital manufacturing system; and

a second electrical contact accessible from the channel, the second electrical contact being in signal communication with the first electrical contact.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the filament guide mechanism further comprises a third electrical contact configured to interface with the second electrical contact, the third electrical contact being in signal communication with the sensor.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the filament guide mechanism further comprises an opening along the filament pathway that is configured to receive a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system for engagement the with filament.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the opening along the filament pathway is located downstream along the filament pathway from the sensor.

6. The container of claim 5, wherein an average point that the drive wheel engages the filament at the opening is located downstream from the sensor by a distance of at least about 2.0 centimeters.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein the filament guide mechanism further comprises a beveled surface configured to direct an engagement of a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system with the filament along the filament pathway.

8. A filament guide mechanism for use in a filament supply container, the filament guide mechanism comprising:

a mechanism body defining a filament pathway extending between an inlet end and an outlet end of the mechanism body;

a sensor retained by the mechanism body, and configured to detect the presence of a filament received in the filament pathway; and

an opening in the mechanism body at a location between the inlet end and the outlet end, and downstream from the sensor along the filament pathway, the opening being configured to receive a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system for engagement the received filament.

9. The filament guide mechanism of claim 8, wherein an average point that the drive wheel engages the filament at the opening is located downstream from the sensor by a distance of at least about 2.0 centimeters.

10. The filament guide mechanism of claim 9, wherein the distance ranges from about 2.0 centimeters to about 10.0 centimeters.

11. The filament guide mechanism of claim 10, wherein the distance ranges from about 3.0 centimeters to about 5.0 centimeters.

12. The filament guide mechanism of claim 8, and further comprising a circuit board retained by the mechanism body and in signal communication with the sensor and configured to operably communicate with a digital manufacturing system.

13. The filament guide mechanism of claim 8, and further comprising a beveled surface located at the opening in the mechanism body, the beveled surface being configured to direct the engagement of the drive wheel with the filament.

14. A method for supplying a filament of a material to a digital manufacturing system, the method comprising:

loading a container to the digital manufacturing system, the container comprising a supply of the filament and a filament guide mechanism configured to guide the filament from the container;

engaging a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system with the filament while the filament is received in a pathway of the filament guide mechanism;

rotating the drive wheel in a first rotational direction to drive successive portions of the filament through the pathway of the filament guide mechanism;

detecting the presence of the filament at a location within the pathway of the filament guide mechanism;

detecting when the filament is no longer present at the location within the pathway of the filament guide mechanism; and

stopping the operation of a filament drive mechanism of the digital manufacturing system based on the detection that the filament is no longer present at the location within the pathway.

15. The method of claim 14, and further comprising establishing signal communication between a circuit board retained by the filament guide mechanism and the digital manufacturing system.

16. The method of claim 14, and further comprising:

loading a spool that contains the supply of the filament into the container, wherein the filament guide mechanism is mounted on the spool;

removing the filament guide mechanism from the spool; and

inserting the filament guide mechanism into a channel of the container.

17. The method of claim 16, and further comprising interfacing a first electrical contact located on the filament guide mechanism with a second electrical contact located in the channel.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein stopping the operation of a filament drive mechanism is performed prior to a trailing end of the filament being removed from the pathway.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein engaging the drive wheel with the filament comprises directing motion of the drive wheel toward the filament with a beveled surface located along the pathway.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein detecting the presence of the filament at the location within the pathway comprises contacting an actuating switch with the filament to close an electrical circuit, and wherein detecting when the filament is no longer present at the location within the pathway comprises opening the electrical circuit.