A belt fuser includes a fuser roller and a guide roller rotatably supported
in a frame, as well as a floating idler roller and a tension roller. A
belt reeved over the fuser, guide, idler, and tension rolls holds the
idler roll in place and forms a nip by the reeving of the belt over the
fuser roller. The tension roller is connected to a constant force
mechanism that applies, through the tension roller, a tension force in the
belt and a normal force against the fuser roller throughout the nip.
Fusing nip length, dwell time, and thermal efficiency are greatly improved
over roller fusers, and the fusing temperature can be significantly
reduced as a result. In addition, the belt fuser of embodiments is
significantly more compact than previous belt fusers, occupying only
slightly more space than a conventional two roll fuser.
