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:
Mar. 15, 2005
Filed:
Apr. 30, 2003
Robert G. Pirwitz, Pittsford, NY (US);
Robert G. Pirwitz, Pittsford, NY (US);
Xerox Corporation, Stamford, CT (US);
Abstract
A belt fuser includes a fuser roller and a guide roller rotatably supported in a frame, as well as a floating idler roller and a tension roller. A belt reeved over the fuser, guide, idler, and tension rolls holds the idler roll in place and forms a nip by the reeving of the belt over the fuser roller. The tension roller is connected to a constant force mechanism that applies, through the tension roller, a tension force in the belt and a normal force against the fuser roller throughout the nip. Fusing nip length, dwell time, and thermal efficiency are greatly improved over roller fusers, and the fusing temperature can be significantly reduced as a result. In addition, the belt fuser of embodiments is significantly more compact than previous belt fusers, occupying only slightly more space than a conventional two roll fuser.