Patent ID: 8038281

Claim:
A heater for preheating media in an imaging device, the heater comprising: a polymeric carrier having an exterior surface and a plurality of channels formed in the exterior surface of the polymeric carrier, the plurality of channels extending across the exterior surface of the polymeric carrier; a resistance heating element disposed within the plurality of channels formed in the exterior surface of the polymeric carrier, the resistance heating element having a first end and a second end; and an over molded polymeric layer that fills the plurality of channels formed in the exterior surface of the polymeric carrier and is flush with the exterior surface of the polymeric carrier to encapsulate the resistance heating element, the over molded polymeric layer being formed of a thermally conductive, non-electrically conductive compound to enable the heater to have temperature uniformity and to facilitate heat transfer from the encapsulated resistance heating element to media proximate the exterior surface of the polymeric carrier.