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US 6,745,493 B2Granted
System and method for drying toner particles
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsSteven M. Malachowski, Chieh-Min Cheng
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of drying wet toner particles includes adding different sized wet toner particles to a dryer drying chamber and drying each of the wet toner particles for a drying time TD. The drying time TD can vary for each toner particle and is proportional to the mass of the wet toner particle. The method can also include introducing a heated drying gas into the drying chamber to create a circulating flow of drying gas. The method also includes adjusting the pressure and/or velocity and/or angle of the heated drying gas to control the amount of deagglomeration of the toner particles.
Claims32
A method of drying chemical toner particles comprising:
- providing different sized wet toner particles, wherein the mass of each wet toner particle includes the mass of the toner particle and the mass of the water retained by the toner particle;
- creating a circulating flow of drying gas having a curved portion in a dryer drying chamber;
- adding the wet toner particles to a dryer the circulating flow of drying gas in the drying chamber;
- providing an exiting stream of the drying gas exiting the drying chamber;
- producing exiting forces on the toner particles in the circulating flow of drying gas for urging the toner particles to exit the dryer via the exiting stream;
- producing centrifugal forces on the toner particles in the curved portion of the circulating flow of drying gas for urging the toner particles to remain in the circulating flow of driving gas, wherein the centrifugal forces oppose the exiting forces and the magnitudes of the centrifugal forces are proportional to the amounts of moisture retained by the toner particles;
- drying each of the wet toner particles in the drying chamber for a drying time TD, wherein TD can vary for each toner particle and is proportional to the mass of the wet toner particle;
- deagglomerating the toner particles in the drying chamber;
- introducing a heated drying gas into the drying chamber at an angle with respect to the circulating flow;
- and
- adjusting the angle to control the amount of deagglomeration of the toner particles in the drying chamber.
8 more elements
A method of drying chemical toner particles comprising:
- providing different sized wet toner particles, wherein the mass of each wet toner particle includes the mass of the toner particle and the mass of the water retained by the toner particle;
- creating a circulating flow of drying gas having a curved portion in a dryer drying chamber;
- adding the wet toner particles to the circulating flow of drying gas in the drying chamber;
- providing an exiting stream of the drying gas exiting the drying chamber;
- producing exiting forces on the toner particles in the circulating flow of drying gas for urging the toner particles to exit the dryer via the exiting stream;
- producing centrifugal forces on the toner particles in the curved portion of the circulating flow of drying gas for urging the toner particles to remain in the circulating flow of drying gas, wherein the centrifugal forces oppose the exiting forces and the magnitudes of the centrifugal forces are proportional to the amounts of moisture retained by the toner particles;
- drying each of the wet toner particles in the drying chamber for a drying time TD, wherein TD can vary for each toner particle and is proportional to the mass of the wet toner particle;
- deagglomerating the toner particles in the drying chamber;
- introducing a heated drying gas into the drying chamber at a predetermined pressure;
- and
- adjusting the pressure to control the amount of deagglomeration of the toner particles in the drying chamber.
8 more elements
A method of drying chemical toner particles comprising:
- providing different sized wet toner particles, wherein the mass of each wet toner particle includes the mass of the toner particle and the mass of the water retained by the toner particle;
- creating a circulating flow of drying gas having a curved portion in a dryer drying chamber;
- adding the wet toner particles to the circulating flow of drying gas in the drying chamber;
- providing an exiting stream of the drying gas exiting the drying chamber;
- producing exiting forces on the toner particles in the circulating flow of drying gas for urging the toner particles to exit the dryer via the exiting stream;
- producing centrifugal forces on the toner particles in the curved portion of the circulating flow of drying gas for urging the toner particles to remain in the circulating flow of drying gas, wherein the centrifugal forces oppose the exiting forces and the magnitudes of the centrifugal forces are proportional to the amounts of moisture retained by the toner particles;
- drying each of the wet toner particles in the drying chamber for a drying time TD, wherein TD can vary for each toner particle and is proportional to the mass of the wet toner particle;
- deagglomerating the toner particles in the drying chamber;
- introducing a heated drying gas into the drying chamber at a predetermined velocity;
- and
- adjusting the velocity to control the amount of deagglomeration of the toner particles in the drying chamber.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.