SELECTABLE FILL MODE OF PRINTING DEVICE HAVING RESERVOIR FILLABLE FROM EXTERNAL COLORANT SUPPLY

• Main Authors: SCHALK, Wesley R, WONG, Howard G, SUTHERLAND, Jesse Otto
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 06.11.2024
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; CINEMATOGRAPHY; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; LINING MACHINES; MAGNETOGRAPHY; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHYSICS; PRINTING; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; STAMPS; TRANSPORTING; TYPEWRITERS; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

A printing device has a reservoir of colorant that is fillable from an external colorant supply temporarily connectable to the printing device. A selectable fill mode of the reservoir is enabled from a number of fill modes. The fill modes include a restricted fill mode in which the reservoir is filled from the external colorant supply responsive to determining that the external colorant supply can be emptied into the reservoir. The fill modes include an unrestricted fill mode in which the reservoir is filled from the external supply regardless of whether the external colorant supply can or cannot emptied into the reservoir. The printing device, responsive to temporary connection of the external colorant supply, controls filling of the reservoir from the external colorant supply in accordance with the selected fill mode.