Xerox Corporation

Eilleen R Aviles

Jeffrey J Folkins

Barry Paul Mandel

David H Pan

Ihor W Tarnawskyj

Martin Krucinski

Ralph A Mosher

Laurence J Lynd

Keith Andrew Buddendeck

A polyimide film substrate pre-heater assembly is provided for pre-heating substrates in an image producing machine and includes (a) plural rollers including a drive roller; (b) a substrate path defining and heating assembly for defining a portion of substrate path; and (c) a belt assembly including a polyimide film belt forming a loop. The loop forms a substrate transport nip against the substrate path defining and heating assembly. The polyimide film belt includes a polyimide film support layer, a puzzle cut seam having inter-fitting teeth and receptacle members, and a fluoroelastomeric overcoat layer for filling and strengthening the puzzle cut seam, thereby preventing the inter-fitting teeth and receptacle members thereof from popping up when the loop is driven over relatively small diameter rollers.

Polyimide film substrate pre-heater assembly and a phase change ink imaging machine including same

An ink image producing machine has (a) imaging devices, including at least one ink jet print head and an image receiving station for producing an ink image on a heated substrate; (b) a substrate handling assembly including holding devices for holding supplies of substrates, and transport feeding devices for transporting and feeding substrates in a substrate direction towards the image receiving station; (c) a first substrate heating assembly located upstream of the image receiving station for initially heating each substrate being fed and transported from the holding devices; and (d) a second substrate heating assembly located downstream of the first substrate heating assembly and upstream of said image receiving station, relative to the substrate feeding direction, for controllably re-heating each substrate, initially heated by the first substrate heating assembly, to a desired ink image receiving temperature.

Multi-stage pre-transfer substrate heating assembly

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Webster, NY, United States of America

Eilleen R Aviles