Xerox Corporation

Donald C VonHoene

Richard L Post

Satchidanand Mishra

Edward F Grabowski

Anthony M Horgan

Robert C Yu

Bing R Hsieh

William W Limburg

Kathleen M Carmichael

Robert C U Yu

William G Herbert

Geoffrey M Foley

Donald P Sullivan

Sharon E Normandin

Damodar M Pai

Edward A Domm

Satish R Parikh

Neil S Patterson

Michael Stephen Roetker

Huoy-Jen Yuh

John S Chambers

Stephen T Avery

Scott J Griffin

Ralph A Shoemaker

John J Darcy

Brian E Springett

Karl V Thomsen

Robert Allen Koontz

Barbara D Ceglinski

Charles C Robinson

Leonard F Quinn

Satchidanand Mishia

An electrostatographic imaging member having a flexible supporting substrate, an imaging layer capable of retaining an electrostatic latent image, and an electrically conductive ground strip layer comprising a film forming binder and a lignin sulfonic acid doped polyaniline dispersion, and an image forming apparatus with the above imaging member to receive an electrostatic latent image on a charge-retentive surface of the imaging member; a development component to apply toner to the charge-retentive surface to develop the electrostatic latent image to form a developed toner image on the charge-retentive surface; a transfer component to transfer the developed toner image from the charge-retentive surface to a receiving copy substrate; and a fixing component to fuse the developed image to the receiving copy substrate.

Photosensitive member having ground strip with lignin sulfonic acid doped polyaniline

Apparatus comprising a support member having a flat surface adapted to receive and support a seam region of a flexible belt comprising thermoplastic polymer material having a predetermined glass transition temperature, a heatable member having a smooth heatable flat surface for compressing at least a portion of the seam region of a flexible belt placed on the smooth flat surface of the support member to heat the portion to at least the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic polymer material, the smooth surface of the heatable member having a profile which is parallel to the smooth flat surface of the support member, and wherein the heatable flat surface comprises a low surface energy or abhesive material.

Flexible imaging member belt seam smoothing method

A belt having a substrate with a first binder and a lignin sulfonic acid doped polyaniline dispersion, along with an image forming apparatus for forming images on a recording medium and having a charge-retentive surface to receive an electrostatic latent image thereon, a development component to apply toner to the charge-retentive surface to develop the electrostatic latent image to form a developed toner image on the charge retentive surface, a transfer member to transfer the developed image from the charge retentive surface to a copy substrate, and the transfer member has a substrate with a binder and a dispersion of lignin sulfonic acid doped polyaniline, and further, a fixing component to fuse the developed image to the copy substrate.

Imageable seamed belts with lignin sulfonic acid doped polyaniline

A process for providing an improved imaging member belt having a welded seam which exhibits greater resistance to dynamic fatigue induced seam cracking and delamination. An apparatus for achieving stress relaxation and eliminating protrusions in the seam region is also disclosed.

Seam stress release and protrusion elimination process

Process for post treatment of a flexible imaging member belt

An electrostatographic imaging member including

Electrostatographic imaging member having an improved imaging layer

A process for treating a seamed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt including providing an imaging belt having two parallel edges, the belt comprising at least one layer comprising a thermoplastic polymer matrix and a seam extending from one edge of the belt to the other, the seam having an imaginary centerline, providing an elongated support member having at arcuate supporting surface and mass, the arcuate surface having at least a substantially semicircular cross section having a radius of curvature of between about 9.5 millimeters and about 50 millimeters, supporting the seam on the arcuate surface with the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam conforming to the arcuate supporting surface of the support member, precisely traversing the length of the seam from one edge of the belt to the other with thermal energy radiation having a narrow Gaussian wavelength distribution of between about 10.4 micrometers and about 11.2 micrometers emitted from a carbon dioxide laser, the thermal energy radiation forming a spot straddling the seam during traverse, the spot having a width of between about 3 millimeters and about 25 millimeters measured in a direction perpendicular to the imaginary centerline of the seam, and rapidly quenching the seam by thermal conduction of heat from the seam to the mass of the support member to a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix while the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam conforms to the arcuate supporting surface of the support member.

Defocused laser seam stress release in flexible electrostatographic

An imaging member including: (a) a substrate layer; (b) an imaging layer; and (c) an abrasion resistant layer selected from the group consisting of an overcoating layer and an anti-curl layer, wherein the abrasion resistant layer includes a branched polycarbonate.

Imaging member containing branched polycarbonate

A process for treating a seamed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt including providing an imaging belt including at least one layer including a thermoplastic polymer matrix and a seam extending from one edge of the belt to the other, providing an elongated support member having a arcuate supporting surface and mass, the arcuate surface having at least a substantially semicircular cross section having a radius of curvature of between about 9.5 millimeters and about 50 millimeters, supporting the seam on the arcuate surface with the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam conforming to the arcuate supporting surface of the support member with a wrap angle at least sufficiently enough to provide arcuate support for the seam area, traversing the seam from one edge of the belt to the other with infrared rays from a tungsten halogen quartz bulb focused with a reflector having a hemiellipsoid shape to form a heated substantially circular spot straddling the seam during traverse, the spot having a diameter of between about 3 millimeters and about 25 millimeters, without exceeding the breadth of supported arcuate seam area, to substantially instantaneously heat the thermoplastic polymer matrix in the seam and the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam directly under the heating spot to at least the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix without significantly heating the support member, and rapidly quenching the seam by thermal conduction of heat from the seam to the mass of the support member to a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix while the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam conforms to the arcuate supporting surface of the support member. Apparatus for carrying out this process is also disclosed.

Seam stress release in flexible electrostatographic imaging belts

A process for treating a seamed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt including providing an imaging belt including at least one imaging layer including a thermoplastic polymer matrix and a seam extending from one edge of the belt to the other, the seam having a region on the belt adjacent each side of the seam and also having an exposed surface on each side of the belt, supporting the belt with at least one vacuum holding device spaced from the seam while maintaining the seam and region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam in an arcuate shape having at least a substantially semicircular cross section having a radius of curvature of between about 9.5 millimeters and about 50 millimeters, heating the thermoplastic polymer matrix of the imaging layer in the seam and the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam to at least the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the thermoplastic polymer matrix without significantly heating the support member, and contacting the exposed surface of the seam and regions on each side of the belt with a gas to rapidly cool the seam and regions on each side of the belt to a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix while maintaining the arcuate shape of the region of the belt adjacent each side of the seam. Apparatus for carrying out this process is also disclosed.

Rapid electrostatographic belt treatment system

An electrophotographic printing machine that has a photoconductive belt with a skewed seam thereon. The position of the skewed seam is detected by a pair of seam detection devices. The seam detection devices are spaced from one another and adapted to transmit a pair of signals with the signals having a time interval therebetween. These signals are inputted to a detection circuit and, if the time interval between signals is within a preselected tolerance, the detection circuit generates a seam indication signal. In this way, scratches on the photoconductive surface may be discriminated from the seam.

Photoconductor belt seam detection

A flexible electrostatographic imaging belt having two parallel sides and a non imaging seam region extending substantially from one of the sides to the other side, the non-imaging seam region having a leading edge, a trailing edge and a seam within the non imaging seam region, the leading and trailing edges being perpendicular to the two parallel sides of the imaging belt, the belt comprising a substrate layer, a reflective electrically conductive layer, at least one imaging layer, an imaging region extending around the belt from adjacent the leading edge of the seam region to adjacent the trailing edge, the imaging region adapted to reflect monochromatic infrared radiation and a permanent localized solid attribute at a predetermined location in the non imaging seam region, the attribute adapted to reduce by at least about 50 percent direct reflection by the seam itself of a beam of monochromatic infrared radiation originally directed at the attribute. This belt is used in imaging apparatus and imaging processes.

Seamed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt having a permanent

A method of treating a preformed flexible imaging belt including providing a rigid cylindrical support drum having a precisely predetermined outer circumference, a first end and a second end, providing a preformed flexible electrostatographic imaging belt, circumferentially expanding the belt with a flowing fluid under pressure until the circumference of the inner surface of the belt adjacent the first end of the drum is stretched to a new dimension of at least about 0.1 percent greater than the outer circumference of the rigid support drum while maintaining the belt below the elastic limit of the belt to smooth out physical defects, sliding the belt onto the drum from the first end toward the second end until substantially all of the belt encircles the outer surface of the drum, terminating the flow of the flowing fluid to allow the belt to contract onto the outer surface of the support drum, heating the belt to a treatment temperature of between about the glass transition temperature and about 10.degree. C. above the glass transition temperature of the substrate or the imaging layer, the treatment temperature being the higher of these two glass transition temperatures, until the belt relaxes onto the outer circumference of the rigid drum and is substantially free of any tendency to contract back to the original circumference of the inner exposed surface prior to circumferentially expanding the belt, cooling the belt to ambient room temperature, and removing the belt from the drum, the belt having a new inner circumference substantially identical to the precisely predetermined outer circumference of the rigid cylindrical support drum.

Method of treating preformed flexible imaging belts to form ripple-free

An electrophotographic imaging member including a supporting substrate and at least one photoconductive layer, the photoconductive layer comprising a charge transporting material selected from the group consisting of six categories of organic aromatic polyarylamine materials. These six categories of polyarylamine materials are described in detail. The at least one photoconductive layer may be a single photoconductive layer or comprise a combination of layers such as a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer. This imaging member may be utilized in an electrophotographic imaging process.

Photoreceptor containing improved charge transporting small molecule

A flexible belt is disclosed which includes a major segment and at least one narrow minor segment, the narrow minor segment extending from one end of the belt to the opposite end and being more extendible than the major segment when subjected to an externally applied tension. This belt may be a component of a composite cylindrical device including a rigid drum substrate supporting the flexible belt in a stretched condition. The composite cylindrical device may be fabricated by providing a preformed rigid cylindrical support drum having a predetermined outer circumference, a first end and a second end, providing a flexible belt having an outer surface and an inner surface circumference of at least about 0.05 percent smaller than the outer circumference of the support drum, the belt including a major segment and at least one narrow minor segment, the narrow minor segment extending from one end of the belt to the opposite end and being more extendible than the major segment under the same applied tension, circumferentially expanding the belt with a flowing fluid under pressure until the inner surface circumference of the belt adjacent the first end is stretched to a new dimension of at least about 0.1 percent greater than the outer circumference of the support drum while maintaining the belt below the elastic limit of the belt, sliding the belt onto the support drum from the first end toward the second end of the support drum until substantially all of the belt encircles the outer surface of the support drum, and terminating the flow of the flowing liquid to allow the belt to contract onto the outer surface of the support drum.

Growing community of inventors

Fairport, NY, United States of America

Donald C VonHoene