The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 24, 2001
Filed:
Sep. 18, 2000
Steven A. Curry, Lexington, KY (US);
Keith Seaman, Richmond, KY (US);
Lexmark International, Inc., Lexington, KY (US);
Abstract
An electrophotographic printing apparatus utilizing a belt fuser mechanism which minimizes or eliminates the wrinkling or “treeing” of printed pages through the fuser is disclosed. In this device, the belt fuser apparatus is configured such that, as the printed page moves through the fusing nip, it is subjected to a lateral force from the center of the nip toward the ends of the nip, which is normal to its direction of travel through the nip. One way of achieving this is to utilize a concave heater frame and a substantially cylindrical backup roller such that the nip formed when these two components are pressed together, is essentially saddled-shaped. In such a nip, the velocity of the printed page through the nip is greater at the ends of the nip than in the middle of the nip, thereby providing the force which acts to stretch the page from the center of the page out towards its edges, thereby minimizing wrinkling or “treeing”.