Patent ID: 11945208
Assignee: ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC.
Field: Textile and paper machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 10:
11. A method for mechanically and electrically coupling a movable cart to a stencil printer, the method comprising:
providing a stencil printer having at least one item of a plurality of items for replacement within the stencil printer, the stencil printer including a docking station;
providing a movable cart configured to receive a used item and/or provide a new item to the stencil printer;
providing a first interface panel associated with one of the stencil printer and the movable cart, the first interface panel including a latching magnet and an array of metallic pads;
providing a second interface panel associated with the other of the stencil printer and the movable cart, the second interface panel including a metal plate and an array of contacts;
magnetically securing the metal plate of the second interface panel with the latching magnet of the first interface panel;
engaging the array of metallic pads of the first interface panel with the array of contacts of the second interface panel;
controlling the operation of the latching magnet with a controller to secure or unsecure the movable cart from the stencil printer; and
displaying a status of the latching magnet with a display configured to show whether the latching magnet is in a locked or unlocked status with respect to the movable cart.