Control of wrinkling in belt fuser by nip configuration
US6266510A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 18, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jul 24, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 18, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03G2215/2058
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An electrophotographic printing apparatus utilizing a belt fuser mechanism which minimizes or eliminates the wrinkling or "treeing" of printed pages through the fuser is disclosed. In this device, the belt fuser apparatus is configured such that, as the printed page moves through the fusing nip, it is subjected to a lateral force from the center of the nip toward the ends of the nip, which is normal to its direction of travel through the nip. One way of achieving this is to utilize a concave heater frame and a substantially cylindrical backup roller such that the nip formed when these two components are pressed together, is essentially saddled-shaped. In such a nip, the velocity of the printed page through the nip is greater at the ends of the nip than in the middle of the nip, thereby providing the force which acts to stretch the page from the center of the page out towards its edges, thereby minimizing wrinkling or "treeing".
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.