A contact fixing device for fixing electrostatic marking particles carried on a support material is disclosed. The device includes a rotatably mounted fixing roller, a container for a supply of offset preventing material and applicator means for spraying the offset preventing material directly onto the peripheral surface of the fixing roller. Control means are provided for activating the applicator means after a predetermined period of operation of the fixing roller.
A release agent fluid management system and methods of dispensing such fluid in fuser apparatus of image reproduction systems. The release agent fluid management system controllably applies release agent fluid to the fuser surface. A processor controls the amount of applied release agent fluid based on one or more image reproduction operating parameters.
Toner images are fused to a substrate, such as paper, with a heated fusing member having a silicone elastomer fusing surface by coating the elastomer fusing surface with a toner release agent which includes an unblended polydimethyl siloxane having a kinematic viscosity of from about 7,000 centistokes to about 20,000 centistokes. In a preferred embodiment the polydimethyl siloxane oil has a kinematic viscosity of from about 10,000 to about 16,000 centistokes and the fuser member is a fuser roll having a thin layer of a crosslinked product of a mixture of .alpha..omega.-dihydroxypolydimethyl siloxane, finely divided tabular alumina and finely divided iron oxide.
Offset of toner powder upon a heated surface is prevented by applying an emulsion of a high viscosity release agent and a low viscosity dispersion liquid upon the heated surface by an applicator means in contact with the heated surface. The preferred emulsion is a mixture of high viscosity silicone oil and water. There is also described a method of manufacturing a fibrous applicator and the article formed thereby which includes the impregnation of the fibrous applicator with an emulsion of high viscosity liquid and a low viscosity dispersion liquid and the removal of low viscosity dispersion liquid after impregnation with the emulsion is complete. A preferred applicator is a fibrous wick having water removed therefrom after the fibrous wick is impregnated with an emulsion of a polydimethylsiloxane liquid and water.
The invention relates to application of a surface treatment to a fuser, typically in a print process. According to various aspects of the invention, methods and apparatus are provided for applying surface treatment to a fuser comprising varying a width of surface treatment application to the fuser.
A fuser member having as its outermost layer, a composite material comprising: a) a crosslinked, oxide filled, poly(dimethylsiloxane) which contains b) a non-crosslinked, non-reactive poly(dimethylsiloxane) oil having a viscosity of at least 25,000 CPS.
