US3567484A - Process for fusing xerographic images - Google Patents

Process for fusing xerographic images Download PDF

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Publication number
US3567484A
US3567484A US807831A US3567484DA US3567484A US 3567484 A US3567484 A US 3567484A US 807831 A US807831 A US 807831A US 3567484D A US3567484D A US 3567484DA US 3567484 A US3567484 A US 3567484A
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United States
Prior art keywords
support
fusing
image
liquid
toner
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Expired - Lifetime
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US807831A
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English (en)
Inventor
William F Garbe
William E White
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Eastman Kodak Co
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Eastman Kodak Co
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Publication date
Application filed by Eastman Kodak Co filed Critical Eastman Kodak Co
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Publication of US3567484A publication Critical patent/US3567484A/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G11/00—Selection of substances for use as fixing agents
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/20—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for fixing, e.g. by using heat
    • G03G15/2003—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for fixing, e.g. by using heat using heat
    • G03G15/2014—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for fixing, e.g. by using heat using heat using contact heat

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a process for fusing an electroscopic powder image to the surface of a support bearing the image and, more particularly, to a process in which such fusing is accomplished by utilizing the heat of vaporization of a liquid having a boiling point above the fusng temperature of the toner forming the image.
  • Vapor fusing requires that a liquid be used that is a solvent for at least the binder, if not for all ingredients comprising an electroscopic toner.
  • the liquid at least partially dissolves the resin binder so that the toner can be partially or completely embedded in the binder which can be considered to be part of the support.
  • Two major objections with respect to this technique are: (1) the material must be dry when it leaves the fusing station to avoid offsetting of the toner onto the feed or guide rolls which can only be prevented by using Teflon (polytetrafluorine)-covered rolls and silicone oil; and (2) the device itself must be tightly sealed because the solvents are often quite toxic and harmful to the operator and may have an objectionable odor.
  • Another difficulty is that when the solvent is vented off, it is generally not recoverable and, hence, presents an additional expense that must be considered.
  • One object of the present invention is to provide a process for fusing a powder-toned Xerographic image to a support carrying the image by which the support can be moved at relatively high speeds with respect to a fusing medium.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide a process for fusing a powder-toned xerographic image to a support carrying said image on a continuous basis and by which the support is moved relative to the vapors formed by a liquid having a high heat of vaporization and a boiling point above the melting point of the toner particles.
  • Still another object of this invention is to provide a process for fusing a powder-toned xerographicimage to a support carrying the image by which the support can be moved relative to the fusing medium with the image facing away from or toward the fusing medium depending on whether the support is one which will or will not absorb the fusing medium.
  • the above objects and advantages of the invention are obtained by a process for fusing an electroscopic toner image to a surface of a support in which the support is moved relative to a vapor fusing station wherein the heat supplied for fusing the toner to the support is generated by the heat of vaporization of a liquid that is released by a vapor as it condenses upon contacting the cooler support.
  • the liquid used for providing the vapor is a nonsolvent for the toner, which does not attack or degrade the image quality.
  • the liquid is one that has a high heat of vaporization and a boiling point that is higher than the melting point of the toner particles.
  • the invention is applicable to most vapor fusing apparatus disclosed in the prior art.
  • the liquid is heated in an essentially sealed container to its boiling temperature, the liquid being displaced from the plane through which the support is moved for fusing.
  • the vapor rises in the container and at an orifice in the container, over which the support is moved, contacts the support and gives up heat as it condenses. This heat is sufficient to insure good fusing of the toner at a high rate of support movement.
  • the vapor, as it condenses, can be collected and returned to the container.
  • the support is one that readily absorbs liquids, all of the liquid need not be removed from the support, because the moisture still present in the support as it emerges from the fusing station does not affect the toner particles. In other words, the image is already fused and the support, if in sheet or web form, can be immediately handled, stacked and so forth, without smearing or smudging the image.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic representations of fusing devices useful in employing the invention and show the manner in which an imagebearing support can be moved relative to a liquid being vaporized and the manner in which the condensate can be recovered and returned to the system.
  • a support in the form of a sheet, or a continuous web comprises a conductive backing member and a layer of photoconductive material on one surface of the member.
  • the backing member can comprise a metallic foil or a material, such as a. conductive paper.
  • the photoconductive material comprises a resin binder in which a photoconductor, such as zinc oxide, is contained.
  • a latent electrostatic image is produced on the surface of the photoconductive material.
  • electroscopic toner particles of the proper polarity are applied to the imagebearing surface of the support the particles will adhere thereto in the areas where there is an electrostatic charge, thereby producing a visual image.
  • the liquid that is used in accordance with the invention must be one that upon condensing gives up sufficient heat to accomplish the fusing. Consequently, the liquid must be a nonsolvent for the support or toner, have a high heat of vaporization, and have a boiling point that is higher than the melting temperature of the toner.
  • Some such materials that possess these characteristics include water, ethylene glycol, their mixtures and the like. The melting point of the toner that is used will determine the liquid that can be used.
  • Water is preferred as the fusing liquid in conjunction with a compatible toner when the support is a paper or a similar material having an aflinity for liquid.
  • the liquid is very inexpensive and there is little, if any, need for providing a tight system. In other words, any escaping vapors (steam) will have substantially no effect on the machine, the environment, or the personnel.
  • a support having a powdertoned Xerographic image can be moved past a fusing station at a relatively high rate of speed to accomplish satisfactory fusing of the toned image.
  • the combination of a hot vapor together with the vapor condensing and giving up its heat, which occurs in a relatively short time, imparts sufficient heat to the sheet or web to effect good fusing of the toner. While a cooling area adjacent the fusing chamber is not absolutely necessaryy, such an area is of help in that any offsetting of the toner to the rolls engaging the fused image surface is eliminated.
  • the temperature of the vapor chamber and of the vapor in the chamber will vary in accordance with the boiling point of the particular liquid used, e.g., from about 100 C. for water to about 200 C. for the ethylene glycol. It is understood that the toner to be used must have a melting point below the boiling point of the liquid.
  • the support comprises an electrically conductive backing member 11 and a layer of photoconductive material 12 with a powder toned xerographic image 13 on the surface of the material 12.
  • the support 10 can also comprise an insulating material to one surface of which a powder toned xerographic image has been transferred.
  • the support 10 can be in the form of a single sheet having one or more images or of a web having a plurality of images arranged thereon in a longitudinal and/or a transverse direction.
  • a receptacle 15 contains a liquid 16 which is heated by an element 17, the latter being a hot plate or any other form of suitable heating means for raising the liquid 16 4 to the required temperature.
  • the receptacle 15 is provided with a plug 18 having a slot 19 which extends across the path of movement of support 10. The support 10 is moved across receptacle 15 and relative to the slot 19 by any suitable means and maintained in close proximity to the outer surface 20 of plug 18 by rolls 21 and 22.
  • the image 13 is on the surface of the support 10 that faces slot 18. If the support 10 will not readily absorb liquids, that is, it is generally impermeable to liquids, then the image must be in this relationship to the slot 18 to obtain good fusing of the toner.
  • the support 10 can comprise a metallic backing member and a layer of photoconductive material. Further, the liquid must be a nonsolvent of the resin binder in which the photoconductor is retained and the condensate can be removed for reuse, providing a circulatory type of system is used.
  • the support 10 is of paper with a powder-toned Xerographic image on one surface thereof, then the image can face either toward or away from the outer surface of plug 18. A paper support would normally be permeable to liquids so that the image can face toward or away from plug 18 and the condensate can be squeegeed off the image or non-image surface for reuse in the system.
  • the liquid 15 is heated to and maintained at its boiling temperature, thereby providing a hot vapor which is incident on the surface of support 10 facing plug 18.
  • the vapor strikes this surface, it condenses, releasing its heat of vaporization to the surface plus a smaller amount of heat that is released as the condensed liquid cools to the final equilibrium temperature of the support-liquid interface. If suflicient hot vapor is available, it will continue to condense on and heat the support until the temperature of the support surface equals that of the vapor which, in turn, may be as hot as the boiling point of the liquid 15. This heat is suliicient to cause the toner particles to fuse to the support irrespective of the surface facing the plug 18.
  • the heat is sutficient for obtaining good fusing if the vapor is incident directly on the image or on the support. It has been found that good fusing results with support speeds of 4 to 11 inches per second which means that the support can be over the slot 19 for approximately 4; to second. With such speeds, the support is moving at such a rate that the complete thickness of the support does not reach the fusing temperature.
  • FIG. 2 another embodiment of the invention is shown, the support 10 being the same as that described above with respect to FIG. 1.
  • the liquid 30 is contained in a receptacle 31 and is carried toward the support 10 and through a heating chamber 32 by a wick 33.
  • the chamber 32 is formed in a casing 34 which also contains heating elements 35 which are controlled by a thermostat 36.
  • the casing 34 is provided with a well 37 over which the support 10 is moved by roll 38 at one end and rolls 39 and 40 arranged at the far end of the cooling sector, designated by the numeral 41, which is positioned adjacent the other end of casing 34.
  • the well 37 is gen erally enclosed with a cover 42, openings being provided at opposite ends for ingress and egress of support 10.
  • the cooling sector 41 is connected to receptacle 31 by line 43.
  • a liquid level control 44 is also connected to receptacle 31 for maintaining a predetermined liquid level therein.
  • the casing 34 and the cover 42 can be made of a heat-insulating material or lined with such a material.
  • the image 13 can face toward or away from the vapor source, that is, liquid 30 and wick 33.
  • the support is cooled in the sector 41 and the rolls 39 and 40 also serve to squeegee the condensate from the support so that it is returned to the receptacle by the line 43.
  • Process for fusing an electroscopic powder image to the surface of a support bearing said image comprising:

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Fixing For Electrophotography (AREA)
  • Liquid Developers In Electrophotography (AREA)
  • Developing Agents For Electrophotography (AREA)
US807831A 1969-03-17 1969-03-17 Process for fusing xerographic images Expired - Lifetime US3567484A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US80783169A 1969-03-17 1969-03-17

Publications (1)

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US3567484A true US3567484A (en) 1971-03-02

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US807831A Expired - Lifetime US3567484A (en) 1969-03-17 1969-03-17 Process for fusing xerographic images

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3567484A (de)
AU (1) AU1265170A (de)
BE (1) BE747447A (de)
CH (1) CH504702A (de)
DE (1) DE2003992C3 (de)
FR (1) FR2034987A1 (de)
GB (1) GB1309425A (de)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3900590A (en) * 1966-06-23 1975-08-19 Xerox Corp Xerographic fusing apparatus
EP0008650A1 (de) * 1978-09-06 1980-03-19 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Vorrichtung zur Fixierung von auf einem Aufzeichnungsträger aufgebrachten Bildern aus pulverförmigem Toner mit Hilfe von Lösungsmitteldampf
US4976993A (en) * 1989-09-11 1990-12-11 The Mead Corporation Non-pressure dry glossing of resin-coated sheets and web material

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102013201549B3 (de) 2013-01-30 2014-06-18 Océ Printing Systems GmbH & Co. KG Druckanordnung zum beidseitigen Bedrucken eines Aufzeichnungsträgers und Druckverfahren
DE102013201552B4 (de) 2013-01-30 2017-03-30 Océ Printing Systems GmbH & Co. KG Druckanordnung zum beidseitigen Bedrucken eines Aufzeichnungsträgers und Druckverfahren

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3900590A (en) * 1966-06-23 1975-08-19 Xerox Corp Xerographic fusing apparatus
EP0008650A1 (de) * 1978-09-06 1980-03-19 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Vorrichtung zur Fixierung von auf einem Aufzeichnungsträger aufgebrachten Bildern aus pulverförmigem Toner mit Hilfe von Lösungsmitteldampf
US4976993A (en) * 1989-09-11 1990-12-11 The Mead Corporation Non-pressure dry glossing of resin-coated sheets and web material

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2034987A1 (de) 1970-12-18
DE2003992A1 (de) 1970-10-29
AU1265170A (en) 1971-09-23
GB1309425A (en) 1973-03-14
BE747447A (fr) 1970-08-31
DE2003992B2 (de) 1973-03-08
DE2003992C3 (de) 1973-09-20
CH504702A (fr) 1971-03-15

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