Apparatus for conditioning a substrate
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsRobert C. U. Yu, Jimmy E. Kelly, Stephen T. Avery
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image development method implemented on a substrate conditioning unit for the drying and compression of a print substrate in an electrophotographic imaging process. The conditioning unit includes a heating mechanism for maintaining the heat of compression rollers, belts or nip rollers for compressing the substrate by a determined distance between the conditioning rollers, or by direct contact between a compression roller and a nip roller, and having an abhesive layer to prevent adhesion of the conditioning unit to the print substrate.
Claims22
An electrophotographic imaging apparatus, comprising:
- an image forming unit for developing and transferring an image to a print substrate;
- and
- a substrate conditioning unit comprising at least two rollers for compressing the print substrate from about 70% to about 10% of the print substrate thickness, situated before the image forming unit in a print substrate transport direction, wherein
- the at least two rollers are configured to compress the print substrate;
- at least one roller is configured to heat the print substrate;
- and
- a distance between at least two of the rollers conditioning the print substrate is about 30% to about 90% of a thickness of the print substrate.
An electrophotographic image development method, comprising:
- transporting a print substrate to a substrate conditioning unit comprising at least two rollers,
- compressing the substrate from about 70% to about 10% of the print substrate thickness, wherein
- the at least two rollers are configured to compress the print substrate;
- at least one roller is configured to heat the print substrate;
- and
- a distance between at least two of the rollers conditioning the print substrate is about 30% to about 90% of a thickness of the print substrate
- conditioning the print substrate by heat drying and compressing the print substrate before transferring a toner image to the print substrate;
- developing a toner image on an imaging member;
- transferring the toner image to the print substrate;
- and
- fixing the toner image to the print substrate.
An electrophotographic imaging apparatus, comprising:
- an image forming unit for developing and transferring an image to a print substrate;
- and
- a plurality of substrate conditioning units comprising at least two rollers, situated before the image forming unit in a print substrate transport direction, wherein
- the at least two rollers are configured to compress the print substrate from about 70% to about 10% of the print substrate thickness;
- at least one roller is configured to heat the print substrate;
- and
- a distance between at least two of the rollers conditioning the print substrate is about 30% to about 90% of a thickness of the print substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.