Xerox Corporation

Other

Tab Alan Tress

Brian J Gillis

Allen J Thompson

Michael A Fayette

Kenneth R Rasch

Robert M Simms

Barry J Gheer

Christopher A Jensen

Dana Smith

Richard A Geyer

Henry R Till

Juan A Morales-Tirado

Mark E Mang

Kevin F Marcell

Brian J Andaya

John F Gardner

Bruce A LaPlant

Anders J Wellings

Russell A Parisi

Donald N Rechlin

Robert K Waring

James Simpson

Brian J Gills

A fuser includes a fuser roll and a pressure roll that forms a nip between the rolls through which a sheet is conveyed to permanently fuse an image onto the sheet. The fuser roll includes a heater element having a single resistive trace, a common trace tapped to a first side of the resistive trace continuous across the resistive trace, and first and second conductive traces tapped to ends of the resistive trace at a second side of the resistive trace opposite the first side. The first and second conductive traces are physically separated and conductively segmented by a conductive gap between the conductive traces. The resistive trace includes a separation gap extending through the resistive trace continuously from the second side of the resistive trace at the conductive gap towards the first side of the resistive trace to prevent current flow between the segmented conductive traces.

Fuser for electrophotographic printing having resistive trace with gap

An improved fuser includes a heater using a solid-state heater element with high frequency field propagation to provide an effective increase in the energy conduction through the fusing belt allowing increased throughput rates over conventional conduction systems. The system employs a solid-state heater with internal circuitry to drive a high frequency field though the fuser belt to the elastomeric top coat, which is laced with high frequency receptors. The belt is then heated directly on the surface bypassing thermal conduction interfaces and is also simultaneously heated by conduction from the waste energy of the heater element.

Field enhanced solid-state heater element useful in printing applications

A fusing apparatus includes a heater that heats a fuser belt at a nip between the fuser belt and a pressure roll through which a sheet is conveyed to permanently fuse an image onto the sheet. The heater has a silicon wafer with a smooth side that contacts and heats the fuser belt at the nip, and circuitry at a second side, with the circuitry generating heat through the silicon wafer to heat the fuser belt. The circuitry may include a plurality of heat producing integrated circuits etched in the silicon wafer, with each heat producing integrated circuit configured to heat the fuser belt. Each integrated circuit may self-control its amount of heat produced to the silicon wafer, for example, by automatically switching back and forth between a heat-on-state and a heat-off-state to maintain a desired temperature within the silicon wafer that heats the fuser belt.

Solid state fuser heater and method of operation

A fuser heater within a printing device includes a substrate with conductive traces and a resistive trace having a first end and a second end. The resistive trace is connected to the conductive traces at each of the first end and the second end and forms an electrical connection between the conductive traces and the resistive trace. A first strip is printed on the substrate using a first metal ink. A second strip is printed on the substrate using a second metal ink. The second strip is in contact with the first strip. The first metal ink is different from the second metal ink. The first strip and the second strip form a thermocouple. The thermocouple is operatively attached to the conductive traces. A controller operatively attached to the thermocouple controls the temperature of the fuser heater.

Printed thermocouples in solid heater devices

An improved fuser includes a heater which provides uniformity at the surface of a fuser roll that contacts an imaged sheet. The heater is configured to include a common tap at the center of a single heating trace. This allows for the benefits of a single trace configuration well while simultaneously providing a dedicated common line that does not have to be switched around.

Method for temperature leveling and/or resistance increase in solid heaters

Devices and methods to enable a fuser heater within a printing device. The heater includes conductive traces and a resistive trace having a first end and a second end. The resistive trace is connected to the conductive traces at each of the first end and the second end and forms an electrical connection between the conductive traces and the resistive trace. The resistive trace further includes a tap between the first end and the second end, connecting the resistive trace to one of the conductive traces and forming an electrical connection between the one of the conductive traces and the resistive trace. The tap comprises multiple branches extending out of the resistive trace. A gap is formed between each of the branches.

Tap for a solid resistive heater element

The present disclosure provides a toner comprising a bioresin and two waxes with improved fuser release.

Toner with improved fusing performance

A heater controller system for a fusing apparatus configured for fusing marking material to a substrate in a printing system includes a power source for supplying power to a heating element having at least two sections. The controller system further includes at least one switch configured to selectively control at least two bidirectional switches for selectively providing current supplied by the power source to at least one of the at least two sections during operation of said heater controller system in one of at least two modes of operation, each of the at least two modes of operation corresponds to a particular size of said substrate.

Heater controller system for a fusing apparatus of a xerographic printing system

Apparatus for applying a release agent to a fuser roll is constructed having a web material impregnated with the release agent. A supply reel is rotatably mounted in a housing and contains a roll of web material for dispensing into the system. The web material is extended across the fuser roll to a take-up reel. An application roller is positioned adjacent to the fuser roll on the opposite side of the web path and is biased against the web material to provide a force to insure engagement between the web and the fuser roll. The supply reel is driven to dispense the web material in a direction consistent with the tangential direction of the surface of the fuser roll.

Fuser release agent management system with driven supply reel

A method and a fusing apparatus for producing a reduced recovery time period from a low energy-saver mode temperature back up to a high fusing temperature. The fusing apparatus includes a heating member for heating and fusing toner images onto a copy sheet; a temperature sensor mounted relative to the heating member for sensing temperature of the heating member; a source of primary power supply for supplying heating power to the heating member; a source of secondary power supply, that is less in level than the source of primary power supply, for supplying secondary heating power to the heated member; and a controller connected to the temperature sensor, and to the source of primary and the source of secondary power supplies for turning the source of primary and the source of secondary power supplies on and off responsively to the temperature sensor. The controller includes a program for, immediately and non-responsively to the temperature sensor, turning on the source of secondary power supply to immediately supply additional heat to the heating member when the fusing apparatus is switched to an energy-saver mode by turning off the primary power supply, thereby delaying a drop of a temperature of the heating member to the low, energy-saver mode temperature level.

Apparatus and fuser control method for reducing power star fuser

In a reproduction machine having a fuser roller for fusing toner images on an image bearing sheet, a release agent management (RAM) system for applying an image offset prevent release agent to the fuser roller. The RAM system includes a rotatable supply core located to a first side of the fuser roller, a rotatable take up core located to a second side of the fuser roller, a release agent impregnated web member having a portion threaded between the supply core and the take-up core for contacting, and applying release agent to, the fuser roller, and a release agent supplying roll positioned for contacting and supplying release agent to the threaded portion of the web member. The release agent supplying roll has a non-continuous surface pattern that includes release agent supplying surface areas for contacting the threaded portion of the web member, and release agent non-supplying surface areas out of contact with the threaded portion of the web member.

Fuser release agent management (RAM) system having a non-continuous

A device for increasing the solids content of an image formed from liquid developer comprising a belt which is comprised of an absorption material containing small pores to absorb dispersant from a dispersant laden image and a pair of rollers bearing the belt wherein the belt on one of the rollers contacts a dispersant laden image bearing portion of an image carrying member such as a photoreceptor drum or an intermediate sheet.

Toner dispersant absorption belt system

In a device and method for increasing the solids content of an image formed from a liquid developer, absorption material is contacted with a toner dispersant laden image, and the absorbed dispersant is vacuumed out of the absorption material. The absorption material preferably is a conductive cover on a porous roller biased with an electrical charge which is the same as the charge of the toner particles, such that the resulting electric field repels the toner particles from the absorption material so that minimal toner particles are transferred to the absorption material.

Vacuum assisted dispersant reduction system

A toner image is transferred from an electrostatographic imaging member to an image receiving substrate. A biased transfer member in the form of a roller or a belt forms a nip with the imaging member. A compliant intermediate transport member passes through the nip for receiving a toner image from the imaging member. The intermediate transport member is preferably semiconductive, and self-discharges in less than one second. In a preferred process for transferring the toner image to a conductive conformable intermediate, both the intermediate transport member and the biased transfer roller are conductive.

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Henrietta, NY, United States of America

Tab Alan Tress