Roller for supporting an imaging belt in a printing apparatus

Abstract

In a xerographic copier the photoreceptor ribbon is wound on a roll consisting of a set of discs. Each disc defines an outer circumference and a flexible main portion. The outer circumference of the set of discs actually forms a single outer surface of the roller. The disks are flexible and move against each other to allow stabilization of the photoreceptor strip, but the disks are in sufficient contact with each other to allow heat to spread evenly across the roller.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates to a roller that supports a belt such as an imaging belt used in a variety of copying apparatus. Background technique [0002] In the well-known electrophotographic or xerographic process, a photoconductive member is charged to a substantially uniform potential in order to activate its surface. The charged portion of the photoconductive surface is exposed to the optical image of the original document being copied. This is A latent image is recorded on the photoconductive member corresponding to the information areas contained within the original document being reproduced. After the electrostatic latent image is recorded on the photoconductive member, the latent image is developed by means of subsequent contact with toner particles. The toner particles are attached to the latent image to form a toner powder image on the photoconductive member. The toner powder image is then transferred from the photoconductive member to ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Each disc is elastic and is spaced a small distance from the adjacent disc along the roller. Small deformations of some of the discs caused by the lateral movement of the belt relative to the roller are counteracted by the elasticity of the discs so that there is alignment The effect of the band. A practical problem with the structure described in the '480 patent is that during stressful use the discs act as heat sinks and are more effective than the air between the discs, resulting in A small temperature difference between the portion of the belt that contacts the disc and the portion that does not contact the disc. In the case of xerography, this small temperature difference results in a difference in xerographic development performance. Copies may exhibit bands that change the darkness of the image along the direction of motion of the band.

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