Electrophotography – Document handling – Copy
Utility Patent
1998-01-08
2001-01-02
Grainger, Quana M. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Document handling
Copy
C399S397000
Utility Patent
active
06169874
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates generally to a sheet feed for a fuser device, and more particularly concerns a sheet path configuration to minimize sheet wrinkle during the fusing step.
In a typical electrophotographic printing process, a photoconductive member is charged to a substantially uniform potential so as to sensitize the surface thereof. The charged portion of the photoconductive member is exposed to a light image of an original document being reproduced. Exposure of the charged photoconductive member selectively dissipates the charges thereon in the irradiated areas. This records an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member corresponding to the informational areas contained within the original document. After the electrostatic latent image is recorded on the photoconductive member, the latent image is developed by bringing a developer material into contact therewith. Generally, the developer material comprises toner particles adhering triboelectrically to carrier granules. The toner particles are attracted from the carrier granules to the latent image forming a toner powder image on the photoconductive member. The toner powder image is then transferred from the photoconductive member to a copy sheet. The toner particles are heated to permanently affix the powder image to the copy sheet.
Fusers tends to wrinkle paper lengthwise, with longer process length sheets experiencing the worst wrinkle. The basic cause is non-flat paper at fuser entry. To counter wrinkle, fuser flare is standard practice; however, as machine cycle times decrease in the duplex mode, and as scanners decrease in width thus forcing 17 inch sheets to be fed short edge feed, fuser flare alone is not able to “iron out” all sheets. Increasing the flare profile introduces a new failure mode.
It is desirable to have a baffle which successfully removes most of the corrugation in the sheet before entry to the fuser. Remaining small amounts of corrugation, at the inboard and outboard ends, are removed by the action of the fuser flare profile
The following disclosures may relate to various aspects of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,789
Patentee: Moser
Issue Date: Nov. 18, 1997
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,788
Patentee: Moser
Issue Date: Nov. 18, 1997
Some portions of the foregoing disclosures may be briefly summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,789 discloses a heat and pressure roll fuser for fixing powder images to various substrates. Each of the rolls has a deformable outer layer. One of the rollers is crowned such that its center has a larger diameter than its ends. The other roller has a uniform diameter along its entire length. The difference in the center diameter and the end diameters is such that the fuser produces a nonuniform nip and a uniform nip velocity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,788 discloses a heat and pressure roll fuser for fixing powder images to various substrates. Each of the rolls has a deformable outer layer. One of the rollers is crowned such that its center has a larger diameter than its ends. The other roller has a uniform diameter along its entire length. The difference in the center diameter and the end diameters is such that the fuser produces a substantially uniform nip and a uniform nip velocity. A flared pressure roll is provided for controlling the speed of substrate edges to compensate for waviness along the substrate edges, such waviness being due to moisture picked up by the substrates while being stored prior to being used for duplex imaging.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing machine in which an image on a sheet is heat and pressure fused to the sheet, comprising a marking engine to place a toner image on a sheet, a pressure fusing device;
a drive for transporting the sheet having an unfused image thereon to said fusing device and a baffle located between said drive and said fusing device, said baffle having a protrusion formed therein to remove wrinkle from the sheet prior to fusing.
Pursuant to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing machine in which an image on a sheet is pressure fused to the sheet, comprising a marking engine to place a toner image on a sheet, a pressure fusing device, a drive for transporting the sheet having an unfused image thereon to said fusing device and a baffle located between said drive and said fusing device, said baffle having a substantially V-shape formed therein to remove wrinkle from the sheet prior to fusing.
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Quesnel Lisbeth S.
Van Bortel David P.
Eipert William F.
Grainger Quana M.
Kepner Kevin R.
Xerox Corporation
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