Eastman-kodak Company

Nexpress Solutions, Inc.

Other

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag

Jerry Alan Pickering

Stephen V Davis

David Francis Cahill

Theodora Miller

Donald Saul Rimai

Dinesh Tyagi

Peter S Alexandrovich

Jiann H Chen

Nataly Boulatnikov

Susan C Baruch

Kurt E Jones

Jiann-Hsing Chen

William J Staudenmayer

Alan Richard Priebe

Wayne Thomas Ferrar

Patrick M Lambert

Rodney Ray Bucks

Biao Tan

Tonya D Binga

Po-Jen Shih

Borden Hicks Mills, Iii

Douglas B Wilkins

Xin Jin

Thomas M Plutchak

Tomas G P McHugh

Suzanne P Clark

Andrew J Hoteling

Pauline K Wenzel

A toner coverage sensing system is provided for sensing toner particles printed onto a surface of a process element using an electrophotographic printing system. The printed toner particles include porous color toner particles. An infrared radiation source directs infrared radiation onto the printed toner particles on the surface of the process element A diffused radiation detector senses infrared radiation scattered from the printed toner particles, wherein the diffused radiation detector is oriented such that that the sensed infrared radiation does not include specular reflections from the surface of the process element. A data processing system determines a sensed toner coverage for the porous color toner particles on the surface of the process element responsive to the sensed scattered infrared radiation.

Process control sensing of toner coverage

A donor roller for use in a fuser assembly of an electrophotographic printing apparatus, the donor roller includes a core; a silicone cushion surrounding the core; wherein the silicone cushion includes a surface gloss greater than 5G60 and a concave shaped surface with a diameter differential of greater than 0.3 mm.

Donor roller for use in a fuser assembly

A gloss-watermark pattern is produced on a rotatable fixing member including a thermoplastic layer having a surface and a selected thickness. Particles having a Young's modulus of at least 1 GPa are applied in a selected deposition pattern to a selected area of the surface. The applied particles are pressed against a pressure member so that the applied particles indent the surface to form the gloss-watermark pattern. At least some of the pressed particles are removed from the surface. After the removing step, a printed image on a receiver can be fixed using the fixing member having the gloss-watermark pattern. The printed image can include toner, phase-change ink, or hot-melt ink, so that a gloss watermark corresponding to the gloss-watermark pattern is formed on the printed image by the fixing process.

Producing gloss-watermark pattern on fixing member

An annular intermediate transfer member can be used to transfer toner particles. This annular intermediate transfer member comprises an innermost non-metallic core, a cushioning layer, and an outermost toner-carrying layer. The innermost non-metallic core has 1) a mounting force of equal to or less than 15 lb, 2) a radial resistance of up to and including 50,000 ohm of the innermost non-metallic core thickness, and 3) a surface resistance of up to and including 17,000 ohm. The annular intermediate transfer member can be incorporated into various apparatus that are used to provide toner images and used in methods for providing black-and-white and color toned images on various substrates.

Annular intermediate transfer members, apparatus, and use

A gloss-watermark pattern is produced on a rotatable fixing member including a thermoplastic layer having a surface and a selected thickness. Particles having a Young's modulus of at least 1 GPa are applied in a selected deposition pattern to a selected area of a pressure member. The pressure member and the fixing member are pressed together so that the applied particles indent the surface of the fixing member to form the gloss-watermark pattern. The pressure member and the fixing member can then be mechanically separated and a printed image on a receiver can be fixed using the fixing member having the gloss-watermark pattern. A gloss watermark corresponding to the gloss-watermark pattern is thus formed on the printed image.

A method for producing a gloss watermark includes depositing a heat-softenable marking material onto a receiver. A heatable fixing member is surfaced in a selected region so that the surface roughness of the fixing member in the selected region is different than the surface roughness of the fixing member outside the selected region. The surfaced fixing member is heated. After the deposition step, pressure is applied to the marking-material-bearing portion of the receiver using the heated fixing member, so that the marking material flows and acquires a gloss in a differentiated region on the receiver corresponding to the selected region of the fixing member that is different than the gloss of the marking material outside the differentiated region to create the gloss watermark on the surface of the marking material.

Producing gloss watermark on receiver

A cleaning brush for use in an electrostatographic imaging apparatus, including a plurality of individual electrically conductive fibers secured to a brush core and having fiber tips relatively remote from the brush core, wherein the cleaning brush includes an electrically conductive plane at a surface of the brush core, or between a surface of the brush core and the electrically conductive fibers, effective for inducing an electrical potential to the conductive fibers when an electrical potential is applied to the electrically conductive plane, and at least one of a relatively non-conductive layer electrically insulating the conductive plane from the conductive fibers, or electrically insulating coatings on tips of the electrically conductive fibers remote from the brush core. The insulative, or non-conductive, layer between the fibers and the conductive plane of the brush prevent excessive current draw.

Cleaning brush for electrostatographic apparatus

A method of making a fuser member having an annealed outer surface comprising: providing an outer layer comprising compatible first and second fluorothermoplastics over an outer substrate surface, wherein the first fluorothermoplastic is a crosslinkable polymer and the second fluorothermoplastic is a linear polymer; curing the outer layer to crosslink the first fluorothermoplastic whereby the resulting crosslinked first fluorothermoplastic and the linear polymer second fluorothermoplastic form a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (SIPN); and annealing an outer surface of the outer layer by contacting the fuser member with applied pressure against a heated surface, without first sintering the second fluorothermoplastic linear polymer through application of heat alone.

Method of making fuser member

A fuser member for toner fusing systems and processes. This fuser member has a fuser base and a fusing surface layer, and the fusing surface layer contains a fluoroelastomer and filler particles. The filler particles have a mean particle diameter greater than 5 microns, and a modulus greater than the modulus of the fluoroelastomer at fusing temperatures. The fusing surface layer has at least the minimum proportion by volume of these particles, with at least the minimum mean particle diameter, that will provide the fusing surface layer with an equilibrium surface roughness so that, in fusing toner to substrate, the fuser member generates an image having a gloss number less than 10.

Fuser member and fuser member surface layer

The present invention is a release oil of the general formulae: wherein (Z) is an amine. The solvent extracted portion of the release oil has a ratio of A:B less than 1:5. Less than 10% of the molecular weight distribution of the release oil is less than m/z 1000. The release oil preferably has a viscosity of between 200 and 500 centistokes.

Fuser fluid

A fuser member is described wherein the fuser member includes a core, a cushion comprising a first layer adjacent to the core and a second layer on top of the first layer, and a plastic sleeve. Also described is a process for producing a fuser member, which includes applying a first layer of cushioning composition on a core, applying a second layer of cushioning composition on the first layer of the cushioning composition, and applying a plastic sleeve on the second layer of the cushioning composition.

Sleeved fuser member

The present invention provides a method of printing which includes providing a substrate having an inked surface. The inked surface is typically achieved using an offset lithographic printing press. A thermoplastic polymer powder is applied to the inked surface. The surface is then fused. An advantage of the prepared substrate is that there is reduced contamination of electrostatographic fusing systems when fused by heat and pressure fixing. Another aspect of the invention further provides a method of fusing a substrate having an inked surface wherein a thermoplastic powder has been applied to the inked surface prior to stacking the uncured offset prints.

Method of powder coating for offset prevention in electrophotographic printers

A fuser roller for toner fusing systems and processes, and including a base and a fusing surface layer. The fusing surface layer has a first elastomer continuous phase and a second elastomer discontinuous phase; the discontinuous phase is dispersed through the continuous phase in the form of domains. The second elastomer is wettable by the first elastomer, and at the temperature of the fusing process, the modulus of the second elastomer is greater than the modulus of the first elastomer. The swell levels of the first and second elastomers both are greater than zero, with the swell level of the second elastomer being lower than the swell level of the first elastomer.

Fuser member

A fuser roller for toner fusing systems and processes, and including a base and a fusing surface layer. The fusing surface layer includes a first elastomer continuous phase, a second elastomer discontinuous phase, and thermally conductive filler, with the discontinuous phase dispersed through the continuous phase in the form of domains, and the thermally conductive filler also dispersed through the continuous phase. The second elastomer is wettable by the first elastomer. The second elastomer discontinuous phase domains are in sufficient number and of sufficient size, and there is a sufficient amount of the thermally conductive filler, so that the thermally conductive filler is concentrated sufficiently to be nonuniformly distributed through the fusing surface layer as a network.

Fuser member system and process

A surface contacting member for toner fusing systems and processes. This surface contacting member has a fluoroelastomer surface layer containing amorphous silica that has been surface treated with at least one organoaminosilane.

Growing community of inventors

Hilton, NY, United States of America

Jerry Alan Pickering