FILAMENT CONTAINER AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF
First Claim
Patent Images
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 receive a supply of the filament, the container housing including a channel extending between the interior chamber and an exterior surface of the container housing;
an electrical connection having a first contact accessible from the exterior surface of the container housing and a second contact disposed in the channel of the container housing; and
a filament guide mechanism removably mountable within the channel, the filament guide mechanism comprising;
a filament pathway configured to guide the filament from the interior chamber;
a sensor configured to detect the presence of the filament through at least a portion of the filament pathway;
an opening along the filament pathway located downstream along the filament pathway from the sensor, the opening being configured to receive a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system while the filament guide mechanism is mounted within the channel of the container housing; and
an electrical contact in signal communication with the sensor, the electrical contact being configured to interface with the second contact while the filament guide mechanism is mounted within the channel of the container housing.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
35 Citations
20 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 receive a supply of the filament, the container housing including a channel extending between the interior chamber and an exterior surface of the container housing; an electrical connection having a first contact accessible from the exterior surface of the container housing and a second contact disposed in the channel of the container housing; and a filament guide mechanism removably mountable within the channel, the filament guide mechanism comprising; a filament pathway configured to guide the filament from the interior chamber; a sensor configured to detect the presence of the filament through at least a portion of the filament pathway; an opening along the filament pathway located downstream along the filament pathway from the sensor, the opening being configured to receive a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system while the filament guide mechanism is mounted within the channel of the container housing; and an electrical contact in signal communication with the sensor, the electrical contact being configured to interface with the second contact while the filament guide mechanism is mounted within the channel of the container housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. 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 an interior chamber and a channel extending from the interior chamber to an exterior surface of the container, wherein the filament is located in the interior chamber and extends at least partially through the channel; detecting the presence of the filament at a first location in the channel with a sensor within the channel; communicating between the sensor located within the channel and the digital manufacturing system while the container is loaded to the digital manufacturing system; engaging a drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system with the filament in the channel at a second location that is downstream along the channel from the sensor; and rotating the drive wheel of the digital manufacturing system in a first rotational direction to drive successive portions of the filament through the channel. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A method for supplying a filament of a material to a digital manufacturing system, the method comprising:
-
loading a supply of the filament into a container, wherein a leading edge of the filament extends through a filament guide mechanism, the filament guide mechanism comprising a filament pathway and a sensor accessible to the filament pathway; inserting the filament guide mechanism into an exit channel of the container; loading the container containing the spool to the digital manufacturing system; detecting the presence of the filament in the filament pathway with the sensor; and communicating between the sensor and the digital manufacturing system while the container is loaded to the digital manufacturing system. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification