Patent ID: 8052264

Claim:
A solid ink printer comprising: a print head that ejects melted ink; a web of image substrate that moves past the print head to receive melted ink ejected from the print head; a pair of fixing rollers positioned downstream of the print head, the fixing rollers forming a nip through which the web of image substrate passes to fix the ink onto the web of image substrate; and a melting device coupled to the print head to provide melted ink to the print head, the melting device comprising: a housing having an opening to receive solid ink; a first rotatable member mounted within the housing; a second rotatable member mounted within the housing, the second rotatable member being proximate to, but spatially separated from the first rotatable member mounted within the melting housing, a heater located within the first rotatable member to heat the first rotatable member to a temperature at which the solid ink melts; and a motor coupled to the first rotatable member and the second rotatable member to rotate the first rotatable member and the second rotatable member within the housing to shear the solid ink as the solid ink melts against the heated first rotatable member.