Device and method fixing and glossing toner images
US5970301A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 19, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 19, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03G2215/2032
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A substrate carrying an unfixed toner image is fed through a contact zone which extends continuously from an entrance to an exit (18; 78). The zone is defined by an endless surface such as a first belt and a reaction surface such as a second belt in face-to-face pressure contact therewith. The first belt adjacent the entrance is heated to a temperature sufficient to reduce the viscosity of the toner to less than 50 Pa s. The first belt is forcibly cooled intermediate the entrance and the exit to a temperature below the glass transition point T.sub.g of the toner. Thereby un-fixed toner images can be fixed to the substrate and provided with a desirable level of gloss in one single device, while widening the range of operating conditions without risk of offset occurring.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.