Eastman-kodak Company

Nexpress Solutions, Inc.

Jiann-Hsing Chen

Joseph A Pavlisko

Donald Saul Rimai

Dilip K Chatterjee

Charles Chester Anderson

Muhammed Aslam

Robert Arthur Lancaster

Biao Tan

Nataly Boulatnikov

Borden H Mills

Tonya D Binga

Po-Jen Shih

John W May

Arun Chowdry

Stephen V Davis

Charles Eugene Hewitt

Andrew Ciaschi

Shyh-Hua E Jao

Alan Richard Priebe

Gary F Roberts

James E Mathers

Kenneth D Stack

Wayne Thomas Ferrar

Lawrence P DeMejo

Tsang J Chen

Jerry Alan Pickering

Fangsheng Wu

W Charles Kasiske, Jr

John E Derimiggio

Craig M Cody

Donna P Suchy

James H Hurst

Richard J Kosakowski

Chengchang Chen

Yee S Ng

Thomas Nathaniel Tombs

Peter S Alexandrovich

Hwai-Tzuu Tai

James Douglas Shifley

David Francis Cahill

Diane Marie Herrick

David Daniel Putnam

Scott E Tunney

Richard George Allen

Allen Kass

Paul L Nielsen

Douglas B Wilkins

Socrates Hryhorenko

Lawrence Paul Demejo

David J Quesnel

Wilbur Charles Kasiske, Jr

Richard John Kosakowski, Jr

Rainer J Bleil

Ming-Shih Lian

Charles E Hewitt, Jr

Terence Michael Miller

Joseph Anthony Pavlisko

Shyh-Hue E Jao

Po-Hen Shih

The present invention provides an apparatus for allowing the resurfacing of a cylindrical member in a printer having a fuser member that is externally heated by a heater roller. The apparatus includes providing a cylindrical member having an outer surface of a high temperature fluorothermoplastic. When it is determined that the outer surface is in need of resurfacing, the fuser member is removed from the printer, and the cylindrical member is mounted in the place of the fuser member. The cylindrical member is rotated at a speed of at least 1 rpm while engaging the outer surface of the fuser member with the heater roller normally used to heat the fuser member at a pressure of at least 5 psi at a temperature of at least 10&#xb0; C. below the fluorothermoplastic melting temperature for a time sufficient to resurface the outer surface of the cylindrical member.

Apparatus for refurbishing cylindrical members

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

The present invention provides a method of resurfacing a cylindrical member in a printer having a fuser member that is externally heated by a heater roller. The method includes providing a cylindrical member having an outer surface of a high temperature fluorothermoplastic. When it is determined that the outer surface is in need of resurfacing, the fuser member is removed from the printer, and the cylindrical member is mounted in the place of the fuser member. The cylindrical member is rotated at a speed of at least 1 rpm while engaging the outer surface of the fuser member with the heating roller normally used to heat the fuser member at a pressure of at least 5 psi at a temperature of at least 10&#xb0; C. below the fluorothermoplastic melting temperature for a time sufficient to resurface of the outer surface of the cylindrical member.

Method for refurbishing cyclindrical members

A method of making a fuser roller comprising: providing a fuser roller an outer layer comprising a fluorothermoplastic polymer; and annealing the outer surface of the outer layer through contact the outer layer by means of heat and pressure.

The present invention is an apparatus for refurbishing a fusing member. The apparatus includes a fusing member that contacts the toner image on a receiver medium and fuses the toner image to the receiver medium. The fusing member has an outer contact surface of a fluorothermoplastic resin The apparatus includes a tooling member positionable adjacent to the outer contact surface of the fusing member such that a pressure nip is formed between the outer contact surface of the fusing member and the tooling member. A heat source is provided for transferring heat to the fusing member and the tooling member, wherein the surface of the fuser member is engagable with the tooling member to rotate at a speed of at least 1 rpm at a pressure of at least 5 psi and at a temperature of at least 10&#xb0; C. below the thermoplastic melting temperature of the outer contact surface for a time sufficient to resurface of the outer surface of the fuser member.

Electrophotographic apparatus

An apparatus for enabling the uniform application of a layer of a coating composition to a tubular substrate includes a shaft, and upper and lower circular rim members of equal diameter that are concentrically attached to the shaft. A pneumatically inflatable tube disposed on each circular rim member has an outer diameter that is variable with changes in its internal pressure. A first flexible cylindrical sheet in contact with the inflatable tubes has parallel edges that form a first slit sufficiently wide to permit movement of the first sheet in response to pressure variation in the tubes. A second flexible cylindrical sheet surrounding the first cylindrical sheet has parallel edges that form a second slit sufficiently wide to permit movement of the second sheet also in response to pressure variation. The second slit is laterally displaced from the first slit, and the second cylindrical sheet has a diameter nearly equal to the specified diameter of the substrate. Each of the tubes is inflatable to a pressure sufficient to provide the substrate with a smooth cylindrical outer surface for uniform application of a coating.

Pneumatically adjustable apparatus for coating toner fusing belt substrate and method for using same

The fuser members of this invention include a core member that includes a rigid outer surface. An adhesion promoter layer comprising silane or epoxy silane coupling is disposed on the outer surface of the core member. A resilient layer comprising an elastomer is disposed on the adhesion promoter layer. A tie layer is disposed on the resilient layer, the tie layer being made of fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorocarbon thermoplastic copolymers and mixtures thereof. A primer layer, disposed on the tie layer, comprising perfluoroalkoxy resin and trifluoroethylene-perfluoroethyl vinyl ether-perfluoroethylene vinyl phosphate or a mixture of perfluoroalkoxy resin and trifluoroethylene-perfluoroethylvinyl ether; and an outer layer of fluoropolymer resin made from polytetrafluoroethylene, polyperfluoroalkoxy-tetrafluoroethylene, polyfluorinated ethylene-propylene and blends thereof is disposed on the primer layer.

Fuser member

The present invention is a fuser member that includes a core member having a rigid outer surface. A resilient layer made of an elastomer is disposed on outer surface. A primer layer of perfluoroalkoxy resin and trifluoroethylene-perfluoroethylvinyl ether-perfluoroethylene vinyl phosphate or a mixture of perfluoroalkoxy resin and trifluoroethylene-perfluoroethylvinyl bonds the resilient layer and an outer layer. The outer layer comprises fluoropolymer resin selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, polyperfluoroalkoxy-tetrafluoroethylene, polyfluorinated ethylene-propylene, and blends thereof.

The fuser members of this invention include a core member that includes a rigid outer surface. A resilient layer comprising an elastomer is optionally disposed on the cylindrical outer surface of the core member. A tie layer is disposed on the resilient layer or the outer surface if no resilient layer is present, the tie layer being made of fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorocarbon thermoplastic copolymers and mixtures thereof. An outer layer of fluoropolymer resin made from polytetrafluoroethylene, polyperfluoroalkoxy-tetrafluoroethylene, polyfluorinated ethylene-propylene and blends thereof, is disposed on the tie layer.

A receiver member is provided suitable for having an ultra-gloss, image print formed thereon, the receiver member having at least one planar surface, a plurality of standoffs protruding from the planar surface, the plurality of standoffs providing a coefficient of friction for the planar surface for substantially preventing similar stacked receiver members from sticking together, and without adversely affecting any print image thereon. A member is provided for creating a contour on the receiver member. The member includes a surface contoured to exhibit a plurality of valleys which will not adversely impact print image quality, wherein a reciprocal peaked contour is formed on the receiver member.

Image receiver sheet surface characteristics for optimum sheet handling

A toner fuser member contains a substrate on which is disposed a toner release surface layer formed from a composition that includes a silsesquioxane and a curable phenolic resin. On curing, the composition forms an interpenetrating polymer network of the silsesquioxane and phenolic resin.

Toner fuser member with release layer formed from silsesquioxane-phenolic resin composition

This invention relates to a low camping fluorocarbon thermoplastic random copolymer roller coating having a closely controlled curing agent content.

Low damping fuser roller composition

This invention relates to an improved fuser roller for use in a high speed fusing station where improved heat transfer from the fuser roller to the fused substrates is required. The invention also relates to an improved fuser system using the improved fuser roller of the present invention in combination with an improved pressure roller to produce an improved fuser section.

Fuser roller and fusing station

A toner fuser member has a substrate, on which is formed a toner release surface layer from a composition that includes: about 95 wt. % to about 99.9 wt. % of a cross-linked, glycidyl end-capped bisphenolic polymer having the formula where Rand Rare each independently H or an alkyl group containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, and Rand Rare each independently H, F, or an alkyl group containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, Z is a carbonyl cross-linking group, and x is an integer from 1 to about 10; and about 0.01 wt. % to about 5 wt. % of a perfluoroalkylsubstituted glycidyl-reactive compound having the formula where Ris H or F, Q is OH or SiRRR, R, R, and Rbeing independently selected from the group consisting of Cl, OH, an alkyl group containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, an acyloxy group containing 2 to about 4 carbon atoms, and an amino group containing 0 to about 4 carbon atoms; and n is an integer from 1 to about 15. When Q is SiRRR, at least one of R, R, and Ris Cl, OH, or an alkoxy, acyloxy, or amino group.

Toner fuser member having release layer formed from glycidyl end-capped polymer and perfluoroalkyl glycidyl-reactive compound

Growing community of inventors

Fairport, NY, United States of America

Jiann-Hsing Chen