Soft pinch roller to reduce hand-off error

摘要

A pinch roller acts in combination with a drive roller to provide a nip through which sheets are passed in a sheet handling system. To reduce hand-off errors in the line feed accuracy of the sheet handling system, the pinch roller includes a compliant outer surface and soft undersurface volume. The flexibility of the outer surface allows the pinch roller to shift its holding force from the media to the pinch roller as the media leaves the nip between the rollers. This reduces the force seen by the media in the direction of the media travel, thus reducing the localized push on the back edge of the media. The soft undersurface volume is formed by a foam core.