Eastman-kodak Company

Nexpress Solutions, Inc.

Borden H Mills

Jiann-Hsing Chen

John W May

Arun Chowdry

Kenneth D Stack

Alan Richard Priebe

James E Mathers

Muhammed Aslam

Donald Saul Rimai

Joseph A Pavlisko

Jiann H Chen

Biao Tan

David J Quesnel

Michael K Baskin

Douglas E Bugner

Rodney Ray Bucks

William J Staudenmayer

David Francis Cahill

Terry Nate Morganti

Stephen V Davis

Andrew Ciaschi

Richard C Baughman

James Van Orchard, Ii

Gary F Roberts

Lawrence Paul Demejo

George P Kasper

Catherine D Newell

Steven O Cormier

Socrates Hryhorenko

Andrew J Mauer

Steven Cormier

Bonnie J Patterson

Walter B Sherwood

Robert G Scheidt

Lloyd E Wade

Bonnie Patteson

The invention generally relates to the field of fusing powder toner images on receiver sheets. According to various aspects of the invention, methods and apparatus are provided of cleaning, only during standby, a pressure roller that cooperates with a fuser roller in fusing toner images. The pressure roller is cleaned with a cleaning pad mounted adjacent the pressure roller in an electrographic printer.

Apparatus for cleaning a pressure roll in a fusing station

Apparatus and method for reducing toner rub-off from a copy made by an electrophotographic process wherein printers' anti-offset powder (e.g. finely-powdered starch) is sprayed onto the copy after the toner image has been fused to the copy. If a release oil is present on the copy, the powder is sprayed directly onto the release oil on the copy. To apply the powder, an applicator is positioned within the finishing section of the electrophotographic apparatus and sprays the copy with the powder as the copy exits the fuser section of the apparatus.

Method and system for reducing toner rub-off in an electrophotographic apparatus by using printers' anti-offset spray powder

A conformable roller for use in a fusing station of an electrostatographic machine, the fusing station being provided with a pressure roller and a fuser roller for fusing a toner image on a receiver, the fuser roller made from a plurality of layers surrounding an axis of rotation, the conformable roller comprising a rigid cylindrically symmetric core member; a flexible replaceable removable compliant sleeve member in the form of a tubular belt surrounding and nonadhesively intimately contacting the core member; and the fusing station including an external heat source for the fuser roller, at least one of the plurality of layers being thermally resistive.

Sleeved rollers for use in a fusing station employing an externally heated fuser roller

A conformable roller for use in a fusing station of an electrostatographic machine, said fusing station being provided with a pressure roller for fusing a toner image on a receiver, said fuser roller made from a plurality of layers surrounding an axis of rotation, said conformable roller comprising a rigid cylindrically symmetric core member; a compliant base-cushion layer formed on the core member; a stiffening layer in intimate contact with and surrounding the base-cushion layer; a compliant release layer coated on the stiffening layer; and said fusing station including an external heat source for said fuser roller, at least one of said plurality of layers being thermally resistive.

Externally heated roller for a toner fusing station

A deformable toner fuser roller, for use in a fusing station of an electrostatographic machine comprising a rigid cylindrical core member; an overdrive-controlling, elastically deformable structure surrounding the core member; and wherein the fuser roller is adapted to be heated by a heat source external to the roller and the overdrive-controlling elastically deformable structure comprises an effective or operational Poisson's ratio between 0.2 and 0.4.

Externally heated deformable fuser roller

An intermediate transfer roller that functions as an image receiving member within a reproduction apparatus having a rigid cylindrical core member and at least one layer of an elastically deformable structure surrounding the core member, the elastically deformable structure preferably has an effective Poisson's ratio in the range of 0.2 to 0.4.

Method and apparatus for an intermediate image transfer member

A conformable roller for use in a fusing station of an electrostatographic machine, the fusing station being provided with a pressure roller and a fuser roller for fusing a toner image on a receiver, the fuser roller made from a plurality of layers surrounding an axis of rotation, the conformable roller including a rigid cylindrically symmetric core member; a flexible replaceable removable compliant sleeve member in the form of a tubular belt surrounding and nonadhesively intimately contacting the core member; and the fusing station including an internal heat source for the fuser roller, at least one of the plurality of layers being thermally conductive.

Sleeved rollers for use in a fusing station employing an internally heated fuser roller

A product and process for forming an internally heated roller configuration for use in an electrostatographic machine that employs a fuser roller and a pressure roller. One of the rollers is a conformable roller having a rigid cylindrical core member centered on an axis of rotation, a compliant base cushion layer formed on the core member; a stiffening layer in intimate contact with and surrounding the base cushion layer; and an internal heating mechanism, while the other roller is a hard roller.

Toner fusing station having an internally heated fuser roller

A fusing apparatus for fusing toner images on a receiver medium. The fusing apparatus includes a fuser member having a contact surface and a pressure member having a contact surface. The pressure member is positioned adjacent the fuser member for forming a nip therebetween to receive the receiver medium. The pressure member controllably exerts pressure on the fuser member and the receiver medium. A first heater member has a contact surface and is positioned adjacent the fuser member and external thereto, the surface of the heater member contacting the surface of the fuser member to transfer heat to the fuser member. The fuser member heats the toner image on the receiver medium thereby fusing the toner image to the receiver medium. A first radiant heat assembly is positioned externally of the first heater member for controllably heating the contact surface of the first heater member.

Externally heated external hearted rollers

A release agent donor member for a toner fixing system, the donor member includes: a base member; an optional intermediate layer; and an outermost layer of a polymeric composition containing a cured interpenetrating network or (a) fluorocarbon elastomer and (b) at least one silicone elastomer of polyfunctional poly(C.sub.(1-6) alkyl) siloxane polymer; polyfunctional poly(C.sub.(1-6) alkyl)arylsiloxane polymer; and combinations thereof; wherein a functionalist release agent is applied to the outer surface of the outermost layer; and wherein the outermost layer contains a metal oxide in an amount sufficient to interact with the functionalist release agent. The fluorocarbon elastomer can be a terpolymer of vinylideneflouride, hexafluoropropylene, and tetraflouroethylene, wherein the vinylideneflouride is present in an amount greater than 45 mole percent.

Fuser member with fluoro-silicone IPN network as functional release

A reproduction apparatus providing for selectable image quality and gloss. The reproduction apparatus as disclosed includes a dielectric member adapted to have latent images formed thereon. A development station for the reproduction apparatus includes a plurality of developer units respectively containing marking particles of different colors, at least one developer unit containing black marking particles and another developer unit containing clear marking particles, for selectively developing latent images on the dielectric member with marking particles from the developer units respectively. The developed marking particle images are transferred by a transfer station from said dielectric member to a receiver member. A fuser assembly includes a first fusing device for fusing a marking particle image on a receiver member so as to produce a low gloss image on the receiver member, and a second fusing device for fusing a marking particle image on a receiver member so as to produce a high gloss image on the receiver member. A transport, in juxtaposition with the transfer station, selectively communicates with the first fusing device or the second fusing device. A control selectively activates the developer unit for applying clear marking particles to a receiver member, and the transport to deliver a receiver member from said transfer station to said first or second fusing device dependent upon the desired quality and gloss of an image fused on a receiver member.

Reproduction apparatus providing selectable image quality and gloss

This invention provides a method of increasing the gloss value of a fused toner image comprising the steps of: a) transferring toner to a receiver to make a toner bearing receiver; and b) passing the toner bearing receiver through a heated fuser system to create a fused toner image on a receiver; wherein said heated fuser system consists of a fuser roller and a pressure roller; said fuser roller has a surface roughness of less than or equal to 1.25 .mu.m Ra; said pressure roller comprises a metal core, and a fluoropolymer resin layer, said fluoropolymer resin layer has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.29 W/m.degree.C. and a surface energy less than or equal to 20 dyne/cm.

Method of increasing gloss and transparency clarity of fused toner images

A rotating wick device for applying release oil to a fusing roller or other fuser member includes an elongated hollow distribution tube. A porous ceramic material surrounds the distribution tube and is covered with a porous polytetrafluoroethylene material. Preferably, the polytetrafluoroethylene material includes a first portion adjacent the ceramic material which is of unexpanded polytetrafluoroethylene and a second portion adjacent the first portion which is expanded polytetrafluoroethylene.

Rotating wick device

A process and system for inhibiting toner offset in a electrostatographic apparatus of the kind wherein toner images are contact fused to a copy sheet. Drops of offset inhibiting liquid are discretely directed to predetermined locations on the contacting surface of the apparatus fuser member. For example, a drop on demand, piezoelectric drop generator can controllably jet drops of silicone oil to form desired offset inhibiting patterns in accord with apparatus control signals, indicative of particular copy sheet and image requirements.

Electrostatographic apparatus having fusing process and system for

A fuser for fixing electrostatographic images comprising a fusing roll and a pressure roll is disclosed. The pressure roll has a rigid metal core coated with an amorphous fluoropolymer. The fluoropolymer has a surface energy up to 16 dyne/cm and a coefficient of friction from 0.4 to 1.0.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Borden H Mills