Powder transport, fusing and imaging apparatus
US5103263A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 1991 |
| Grant date | Apr 7, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S101/37
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A photoconductive or magnetic 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. The transport member moves in a cyclic path to carry material from a first location to a second location maintained at a higher temperature, and 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 heated 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 duplex system employs two belt-imaging members which each …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.