Image forming apparatus having improved fusing consistency
First Claim
1. Image forming apparatus comprising:
- means for forming a toner image on a receiving sheet,means for fusing the toner image to the receiving sheet, said fusing means including,first and second pressure members positioned to form a pressure nip, at least one of said pressure members being a replaceable roller having an amount of compliance which varies, from roller to roller, within a tolerance range, to cause some variance in the size of the nip,controllable means for heating at least one of said pressure members, andadjustable means for controlling the controllable means to control the temperature in the nip, andlogic and control means including means for receiving an input indicative of the compliance of the replaceable roller and means for adjusting the means in response to said input.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Image forming apparatus includes a logic and control which receives an input indicative of the compliance of a fusing roller and adjusts the temperature of the fuser in response to that input. The apparatus also can receive an input indicative of the melt viscosity of one or more toners making up an image to be fused to similarly adjust the fusing temperature. Alternatively, the pressure in a fusing nip can be adjusted in response to either or both inputs. The inputs can be received in the logic and control from a fusing roller cartridge having machine readable indicating device, indicative of the compliance of the fusing roller. Similarly, the melt viscosity of the toner can be input from a machine readable indicia or the like on a toner bottle.
33 Citations
16 Claims
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1. Image forming apparatus comprising:
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means for forming a toner image on a receiving sheet, means for fusing the toner image to the receiving sheet, said fusing means including, first and second pressure members positioned to form a pressure nip, at least one of said pressure members being a replaceable roller having an amount of compliance which varies, from roller to roller, within a tolerance range, to cause some variance in the size of the nip, controllable means for heating at least one of said pressure members, and adjustable means for controlling the controllable means to control the temperature in the nip, and logic and control means including means for receiving an input indicative of the compliance of the replaceable roller and means for adjusting the means in response to said input. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. Image forming apparatus comprising:
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means for forming a toner image on a receiving sheet, means for fusing the toner image to the receiving sheet, said fusing means including, a pressure roller, a fusing roller having an amount of compliance which varies, from roller to roller, within tolerances, means for heating at least one of said rollers, and means for applying a force urging the rollers together to form a heated pressure nip for receiving the receiving sheet, logic and control means including, means for receiving an input indicative of the compliance of the fusing roller, and means for controlling the total heat imparted to a receiving sheet in said nip in response to said input. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. Image forming apparatus comprising:
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means for forming a toner image on a receiving sheet, said means including means for holding or receiving a supply of dry toner having a nominal melt viscosity at a given temperature, which melt viscosity can vary within tolerances from batch to batch, means for fusing the toner image to the receiving sheet, said fusing means including, first and second pressure members positioned to form a pressure nip, at least one of said pressure members being a roller having an amount of compliance which varies, from roller to roller, within tolerances, to cause some variance in the width of said nip, means for heating at least one of said pressure members to heat said pressure nip, and adjustable means for controlling the heat imparted in said nip to a toner image on a receiving sheet, logic and control means including, means for receiving a first input indicative of the melt viscosity of toner in the toner receiving or holding means, means for receiving a second input indicative of the compliance of the roller, and means for adjusting the controlling means in response to both of said first and second inputs. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. Image forming apparatus comprising:
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means for forming a toner image on a receiving sheet, said means including means for holding or receiving a supply of dry toner having a nominal melt viscosity at a given temperature, which melt viscosity can vary within tolerances from batch to batch, means for fusing the toner image to the receiving sheet, said fusing means including, first and second pressure members positioned to form a pressure nip, controllable means for heating at least one of said pressure members to heat said pressure nip, and adjustable means for controlling the controllable means to control the temperature in said nip, logic and control means including means for receiving an input indicative of the melt viscosity of toner in the toner receiving or holding means, and means for adjusting the adjustable means in response to said inputs to vary the temperature in the nip according to the melt viscosity of the toner. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A fusing roller unit comprising:
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a fusing roller which has been manufactured in a process that produces rollers having a compliance which varies from roller to roller within tolerances, support means for holding the fusing roller for insertion in an image forming apparatus as a unit, and automatically sensible means coupled to said support means and coupleable with a receiving image forming apparatus for indicating the compliance of said roller.
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15. A fusing roller cartridge comprising:
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a housing, a fusing rollerr mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation within said housing, means defining an access opining for access to said fusing roller, said fusing roller being mountable in a receiving apparatus by movement generally parallel to said axis of rotation, during which movement said fusing roller cartridge has a leading end, electrical connecting means associated with the leading end of said cartridge, and electrically sensible means contactable through said electrical connecting means for indicating compliance of the fusing roller in said cartrideg. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification