A fuser baffle which helps to minimize or eliminate sheet wrinkle by a fuser. A small "saddle" is added to the center section of the inlet to the fuser on the baffle surface which last contacts and controls the sheet before entry into the fuser nip. The saddle removes most of the corrugation along approximately 90 to 95% of the centermost portion of the sheet. Any remaining corrugation at the inboard and outboard ends is removed by the fuser flare. The baffle is applicable to any fusing device which uses localized pressure to fix an image to a sheet.
A guide system for xerographic printing apparatus introduces paper bearing an unfixed image and having a broad range of basis weights into a fuser nip from a prefuser transport without causing image smear. An entrance baffle is positioned in the path of the paper advancing toward the fuser nip for engagement by the paper's leading edge. The entrance baffle is hinged at its mounting end for swinging movement between a maximal and minimal positions as defined by stop members and is biased into engagement with the minimal stop member. The magnitude of the bias is chosen such that as the lightest basis weight paper engages the entrance baffle, it bends around its free end and is guided into the fuser nip, and such that as the heaviest paper engages the entrance baffle, it forces the entrance baffle toward engagement with the second stop member and itself is guided into the fuser nip.
An electrophotographic image forming system having a form cassette for storing forms, a transfer unit for forming an image, a feeder for feeding the forms to the transfer unit and a fusing device for fusing transferred image of the form. The electrophotographic image forming system provides in a path for feeding the form with unfused colored particles (toner) deposited thereon, a form guide so as to contact the non-printing area of the surface of the form with unfused colored particles (toner) deposited thereon.
A deformation device for bending a flexible substrate, being transported by a transport device, into a curved arc shape, thereby taking the flexible substrate out of contact with the transport device, prior to the flexible substrate being transported past a fixing device. As a result, any previously fixed toner on the side of the flexible substrate adjacent to the transport device will not be negatively affected during fixing of toner on the other side of the flexible substrate. The deformation device includes at least two converging guide rails with a wedge-shaped guide element and at least one air nozzle between the guide rails.
To ensure stable feed of transfer material when a paper back vacuuming feed mechanism is employed in the path from a transfer section to a fixing section in an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus is such that the transfer section is arranged on the upper surface of the intermediate transfer unit; a transfer material feed apparatus is provided for vacuum feeding transfer material from the transfer section to the fixing apparatus; a guide tilted by a predetermined angle downward of the transfer material feed surface is provided at the outlet of the fixing apparatus of the transfer material feed apparatus; the nip portion of a fixing roller pair of the fixing apparatus is positioned downward of the extension line of the guide; and the tangent with respect to the nip portion of the fixing roller is tilted by a predetermined angle downward of the transfer material feed surface.
