Apparatus for drying a web of sheet material having a fused image thereon

Claim 1

An electrophotographic printing machine of the type having an electrostatic latent image recorded on a photoconductive member, including: means for developing the latent image recorded on the photoconductive member with a liquid developer material comprising at least a liquid carrier having pigmented particles dispersed therein; means for transferring the developed image from the photoconductive member to a portion of a moving web of sheet material; means for fusing the pigmented particles to the web of sheet material in image configuration; an elongated housing defining a chamber partitioned partially in two halves with the web of sheet of support material moving in one direction in one half thereof and moving in the opposite direction in the other half thereof; and means for generating a flow of heated air along the web of sheet material in one half of the chamber of said housing in a direction opposed to the direction of movement of the web of sheet material and in the same direction as the direction of movement of the web of sheet material in the other half of the chamber of said housing to vaporize liquid carrier therefrom so as to dry the web of sheet material.