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US 12,583,236 B2Granted
Inkjet printer with image dryer for improving ink image quality in an aqueous inkjet printer
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsJason M. LeFevre, Seemit Praharaj, Douglas K. Herrmann, Jorge A Alvarez, Anthony S. Condello
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inkjet printer has an image dryer that moves printed media sheets vertically through the dryer from an entrance to the image dryer to an exit from the image dryer. The vertical configuration of the image dryer enables the inkjet printer to increase the dwell time of the printed sheets in the image dryer without increasing a footprint of the inkjet printer.
Claims20
An image dryer for an inkjet printer comprising:
- a housing having a first opening configured to receive media sheets from a media conveyor and a second opening that is vertically displaced from the first opening at a position that is lower than the first opening;
- and
- a media conveyor within the housing that is configured to move the received media sheets within the housing from the first opening to the second opening, the media conveyor including at least one endless belt and a plurality of shelf segments configured to move along a path defined by the at least one endless belt, each shelf segment having a first end coupled to the at least one endless belt and a second end that is unattached to the at least one endless belt so the second end of each shelf segment can rotate about the first end of each shelf segment by a predetermined number of degrees.
An inkjet printer comprising:
- at least one printhead;
- a media transport for moving a media sheet through a print zone opposite the at least one printhead in a process direction;
- and
- an image dryer that follows the at least one printhead in the process direction, the image dryer having:
- a housing having a first opening configured to receive media sheets from a media conveyor and a second opening that is vertically displaced from the first opening at a position that is lower than the first opening;
- and
- a media conveyor within the housing that is configured to move the received media sheets within the housing from the first opening to the second opening, the media conveyor including a plurality of shelf segments configured to receive the media sheets along a path, each shelf segment having a first end and an opposite second end, wherein the second end of each shelf segment is configured to rotate about the first end by a predetermined number of degrees as the shelf segment moves along the path.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.