Fusing roller assembly for electrophotographic image forming apparatus
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsKyung-woo Lee, Tae-gyu Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A structurally improved fusing roller assembly based on the heat pipe principle is provided. The fusing roller assembly includes a fusing roller having a structure of heat pipe, and a resistance heater and/or a halogen lamp inside the fusing roller, so that the surface of fusing roller can be instantaneously heated up to a target fusing temperature. The fusing roller assembly can be heated up to a target fusing temperature within a shorter period of time without need for warm-up and stand-by period, so that power consumption decreases.
Claims40
A fusing roller apparatus, comprising:
- a cylindrical fusing roller having axially opposite ends forming an interior cavity that is sealed and evacuated down to a predetermined pressure;
- a heat generator installed within said interior cavity between said ends, with said heat generator being in direct physical contact with said fusing roller over an axial length of an interior cylindrical surface of said fusing roller;
- and
- a working fluid contained in the fusing roller in direct physical contact with said heat generator.
A fusing roller apparatus, comprising:
- a cylindrical fusing roller having axially opposite ends forming an interior cavity that is sealed and evacuated down to a predetermined pressure;
- a heat generator installed within said interior cavity between said ends, with said heat generator being in direct physical contact with said fusing roller over an axial length of an interior cylindrical surface of said fusing roller;
- a working fluid contained in the fusing roller in direct physical contact with said heat generator;
- and
- a partition dividing said interior cavity into a plurality of unit spaces.
A fusing roller apparatus, comprising:
- a cylindrical fusing roller including an outer tube having a interior first diameter and an inner tube having a exterior second diameter smaller than the first diameter, forming an annular space between said outer tube and said inner tube, said annular space being evacuated down to a predetermined pressure;
- a heat-generator installed inside said annular space;
- and
- a working fluid contained within said annular space in a quantity less than a volume of said annular space.
A fusing roller apparatus, comprising:
- a cylindrical fusing roller having axially opposite ends sealed to form an interior cavity that is evacuated to a predetermined pressure;
- a heat-generator installed within said interior cavity of said fusing roller and helically wound in direct physical contact against an inner cylindrical wall of said fusing roller;
- a quantity of a working fluid contained within said interior cavity;
- a protective layer coated an exterior cylindrical surface of the fusing roller, said protective layer easily releasing toner images;
- and
- an electrode coupled to said heat generator enabling application of a voltage across said heat-generator.
A process of manufacturing a fusing roller assembly, comprising:
- forming a cylindrical fusing roller with an interior cavity extending axially between axially opposite bases of said roller;
- inserting a heating coil wound in a helical spiral into said interior cavity;
- evacuating said interior cavity;
- partially filing said interior cavity with a working fluid;
- and
- sealing said interior cavity while preserving electrical connectivity across said heating coil.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.