Appeal No. 2001-2406
Application 09/307,445
The disclosed invention pertains to a fusing apparatus
for heating and permanently fusing toner powder images onto an
image carrying sheet.
Representative claim 1 is reproduced as follows:
1. A fusing apparatus for heating and permanently fusing
toner powder images onto an image carrying sheet; the fusing
apparatus comprising;
(a) a pressure roller;
(b) a closed loop magnetic flux carrying member positioned
adjacent said pressure roller and including a first side and a
second side opposite said first side, said first side being
located between said pressure roller and said second side;
(c) an electrically conductive wire wound about said second
side forming a primary transformer coil, said primary transformer
coil having N1 number of turns and being connectable to an AC
power supply source for inductively transferring AC electric
energy to a secondary coil wound around said first side; and
(d) a rotatable fuser roller forming a fusing nip with said
pressure roller, said rotatable fuser roller having a rigid non-
conductive core comprising a ceramic tube and a conductive metal
sleeve that is shrink-fitted onto said ceramic tube for
minimizing the thermal time constant of said rotatable fuser
roll, said rotatable fuser roller being mounted around said first
side of said closed loop magnetic flux carrying member and
forming a secondary transformer coil inductively coupled to said
primary transformer coil, and said conductive layer being
inductively heated by power dissipated by current induced therein
when said primary transformer coil is connected to said AC power
supply source.
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