Indirect aqueous inkjet printer with media conveyor that facilitates media stripping in a transfer nip

摘要

An aqueous inkjet printer includes a media conveyor having an endless belt to which media sheets adhere. The endless belt is entrained around a transfer roller and a roller. The transfer roller forms a nip with an image member in the printer and the media sheets on the endless belt pass through the nip to transfer images from the image member to the media sheets. After the media sheets exit the nip, they follow the endless belt to the roller where the radius of the roller enables a force to be applied perpendicularly to the media sheets to separate the media sheets from the endless belt.

主权项

1. A printer comprising:
a printhead configured to eject aqueous ink; a rotating member, the rotating member being positioned to rotate in front of the printhead to enable the printhead to eject ink onto a surface of the rotating member to form an aqueous ink image; an applicator fluidly connected to a source of material that includes one of a surfactant and a starch, the applicator being configured to apply the material to a portion of the surface of the rotating member before the printhead ejects aqueous ink onto the portion of the surface of the rotating member; a dryer configured to at least partially dry the aqueous ink image ejected onto the portion of the surface of the rotating member and the humectant in the material on the portion of the surface of the rotating member; and a media conveyor, the media conveyor comprising:
a transfer roller having a first radius;a roller having a second radius, the second radius being less than the first radius; andan endless belt entrained about the transfer roller and the roller to rotate with the transfer roller and the roller, the endless belt including a surface material to which media sheets adhere and the media conveyor being configured to form a nip with the rotating member to enable the at least partially dried aqueous ink image and applied material on the portion of the surface of the rotating member to transfer to media sheets as the media sheets pass through the nip and the second radius of the roller enabling a force to be applied perpendicularly to the media sheets at the roller to separate the media sheets from the endless belt; and the second radius of the roller being a length determined by an equation ε=t/r, where ε is the force applied perpendicularly to the media sheets and is at least five percent greater than a force adhering the media sheets to the endless belt, t is a thickness of the media sheets and r is the second radius of the roller.