Abstract:
A roller assembly for use in a printer includes a shaft with two ends and a pair of conical rollers. Each of the conical rollers is disposed on the shaft near each of the ends. The roller assembly guides a medium within the printer without damaging a freshly-printed surface of the medium. A printer including the roller assembly and a belt in contact with the roller assembly is also described and claimed.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     In a printer or other type of paper handler, the paper or medium may move through the printer along a media path using a combination of belts and rollers. Various arrangements of belts and rollers may wrinkle or otherwise damage the paper. In other instances, the belts and rollers may contact freshly-printed surfaces and damage the printed image. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a conceptual illustration of a printer according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the workflow of a printer according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a conceptual illustration of a drying area of a printer according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a conceptual illustration of a roller assembly of a printer according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a conceptual illustration of a conical roller in a roller assembly of a printer according to embodiments of the invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a magnified view of part of a roller assembly and a belt within a printer according to embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     Where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Moreover, some of the blocks depicted in the drawings may be combined into a single function. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may be used in a variety of applications. Although the present invention is not limited in this respect, the techniques disclosed herein may be used in paper handling machines such as inkjet and laser printers, photo printers, multi-function printers, copiers, presses, and the like. 
     Printed images or impressions on a freshly-printed surface on a medium (such as paper or cards) may be damaged by rollers used to advance or guide the medium through the printer. Embodiments of the invention may provide an apparatus and techniques that minimize such damage. Such embodiments may include a roller assembly having a set of conical rollers that are tapered such that the paper may be contacted just at the edges. 
     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which are, respectively, a conceptual illustration of a printer  100  and a block diagram of the workflow of the printer according to embodiments of the invention. Printer  100  may include input area  10 , printing area  40 , drying area  60 , and output area  90 , among other areas. Medium  5  may be fed into input area  10 , in which there may be one or more rollers  12 . Printing, imaging, or otherwise making an impression onto medium  5  may occur in printing area  40 . Printing area  40  may include imager  45 , which may be a drum, one or more ink cartridges attached to a belt drive, or ink cartridges providing ink to a carriage, depending upon which type of printer  100  is, e.g. an inkjet printer, a photo printer, a laser printer, a copier, a multi-function printer, etc. Medium  5  is fed or guided along media path  7  to drying area  60  and then may exit the printer through output area  90 , which may include one or more rollers  92 . 
     The parts and blocks shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  are examples of parts that may comprise printer  100  and its workflow, and do not limit the parts or modules that may be part of or connected to or associated with printer  100 . 
     A conceptual illustration of drying area  60  is shown in  FIG. 3 . Freshly-printed medium  5  may exit printing area  40  and may be guided in between roller assembly  70  and belt  65  from left to right in  FIG. 3 . Belt  65  may advance using rollers  62 ,  64 . Roller assembly  70 , shown in more detail in  FIG. 4 , may include shaft or axle  74  and conical rollers  72 . Belt  65  may be a flat conveyor belt, which may be minimally tensioned such that low normal force may cause the belt to deflect. Belt  65  may be an endless belt formed from a continuous band, or a straight piece with its two ends joined together. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which is a conceptual illustration of roller assembly  70  guiding medium  5  according to embodiments of the invention. Conical rollers  72  may be disposed near the ends of shaft  74  and typically are fixed with respect to the shaft (i.e., they do not move parallel or along shaft  74 ). Since rollers  72  are conical, they are tapered such that each one nominally contacts medium  5  at one place—the edge of the medium, not on the freshly-printed surface itself. (This may be seen more clearly in  FIG. 6 .) Conical rollers  72  may be designed to be placed on the shaft so that their centers C are as far apart as the typical width of medium  5 , for example 4 inches (10 cm) for a 4″×6″ photo card, or 8.5 inches (˜21.25 cm) for 8.5″×11″ letter-sized paper. Roller assembly  70  may then be effective at guiding media having a range of widths such that both media edges are capable of contacting the rollers. 
     Roller assembly  70  can guide medium  5  in two typical types of printer arrangements—edge-justified and center-justified. Justification refers to the position of the medium relative to the printer&#39;s media path as the medium travels through the printer. Edge-justified refers to a medium traveling though the printer contacting a guide on one edge. Center-justified refers to a medium that travels through the printer centered between the edges of the printer. In center-justified printers, roller assembly  70  can help to self-center medium  5  while it travels through printer  100 . 
     Typically, the image on the medium as it exits printing area  40  may still be wet. Thus, even though conical rollers  72  nominally contact medium  5  at the edges, it is advantageous to use non-stick roller material, at least on the outer surface of the roller. Several Teflon®-based materials are good for this: Teflon® itself (polytetrafluoroethylene or “PTFE”), Teflon-FEP, sometimes called simply “FEP” (for fluorinated ethylene propylene), and Teflon-PFA, sometimes called simply “PFA” (for perfluoroalkoxy). Teflon-FEP and PFA are also easy to injection mold into rollers. Delrin® (polyoxymethylene, also known as “POM,” polyacetal, or polyformaldehyde), made by DuPont, is less expensive than Teflon®-based materials, is relatively non-stick, and can be injection molded into rollers. These materials are listed in descending order of non-stickiness. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 5 , which is a conceptual illustration of conical roller  72  in roller assembly  70 . The taper angle can help to handle various media types and to self-center the medium. An angle θ˜5-10° is shown in  FIG. 5 ; typical taper angles may range from 5° to 40°, with a preferred range of 10° to 30°. Having a larger taper angle allows the roller assembly to center and guide the medium better, but also tends to bend the medium more. Thus, larger taper angles may be better suited for stiffer media such as card stock and photo paper, and smaller cone angles may be better suited for more flexible media, such as paper. Also, selecting a flatter cone profile (smaller taper angle) allows the printer to feed various media widths without requiring any machine reconfiguration. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 6 , which is a magnified view of part of roller assembly  70  and belt  65 . As described earlier, belt  65  may be placed under roller assembly  70 , allowing medium  5  to be guided in between roller assembly  70  and belt  65 . Belt  65  may be made of urethane, reinforced with polyester (or similar) manmade fibers. In some embodiments, belt  65  is not needed and is not included in printer  100 , in which case conical rollers  72  may guide the medium. 
     If belt  65  is included in printer  100 , one consideration in using it is the tension of the belt, which may typically be 15 to 20 Newtons. A low tension allows the medium to wander either left or right without excessive pinching or binding of the medium, which may result in damage to the freshly-printed surface. As the medium moves to the right side of the printer (see arrow  78 ), it may tend to get pushed further into the flat belt due to the conical roller. Because the belt may be set to a very low tension, it is sufficiently compliant such that the belt can move out of the way (see arrows  68 ) and minimize detrimental effects to the photo surface due to what could otherwise be excessive pinch force. The opposite effect may be true if the medium tends to move to the left side of the printer. A printer having flat rollers rather than conical rollers may not be capable of operating in this fashion. 
     If belt  65  is included in printer  100 , another consideration may be where to place roller assembly  70  in relation to belt  65 . If roller assembly  70  is located near rollers  62  or  64 , there may too much resistance and not enough compliance. Locating the roller assembly toward the middle of the belt allows the roller assembly to move up and down more easily. Typical placement of roller assembly  70  in terms of belt length L may be one-quarter or one-third L (also called one-quarter or one-third span), or even one-half L (roller assembly  70  would be in the middle of the belt). 
     In sum, a roller assembly for use in printer is described that may be used to guide a freshly-printed medium through a printer without damaging the printed image. This may be accomplished by using conical rollers, which may be made of a non-stick material, that contact the medium only by the edges. The conical roller assembly may also self-center the medium as it travels through the printer, and is able to accommodate a range of media weights and widths. 
     The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.