Powder transport, fusing and imaging apparatus
US5012291A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 23, 1989 |
| Grant date | Apr 30, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 23, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03G2215/1685
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A transport member moves in a cyclic path to carry material from a first location to a second location at a different temperature, and a thermal shunt connects portions of the transport member. Counter-moving portions of the member are positioned to exchange heat with each other along an intermediate portion of the path, so that minimum energy is lost to the environment. In one embodiment as a printing apparatus, a belt transports a heat-fusible toner to a heater location where it is transferred and fused, i.e., transfused, as a print image to a sheet. Effective powder pick up and release is obtained in the printing apparatus with a transport member having an elastomeric layer of a softness which conforms to a receiving member of characteristic surface roughness, and a non-tacky outer coating which is harder than the elastomeric layer. The outer coating is thin enough to conform to the surface roughness, but hard enough to prevent entrainment of toner particles. A powdered filler allows a single thin belt to serve as the imaging element, i.e., as the latent and developed image carrier, as well as the element which transfers and fuses toner to a print. A duplex system employs two be…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.