1. A method for reducing a thickness of a compressible substrate bearing an image, the substrate having an initial thickness, comprising:
applying a compressive force to the substrate to compress the entire substrate to a thickness less than the initial thickness, the compressive force selected to preclude the substrate returning to the initial thickness after removal of the compressive force therefrom; and
concurrently applying heat to the substrate.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the compressive force is adjustable so as to achieve a desired thickness for the substrate after compression.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the compressive force is applied by passing the substrate through a roller nip formed between two adjacent rollers, and where the concurrent application of heat is accomplished by heating at least one of the rollers.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pressure applied to the substrate as it passes through the nip is in the range of 0 to 400 pounds per linear inch.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the recited steps are repeatedly applied to a plurality of substrate sheets which are further processed to form a bound document consisting essentially of reduced thickness pages.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the compressive force is applied by passing the substrate through a roller nip formed between two adjacent rollers, and where the compressive force is adjustable by adjusting a nip pressure so as to produce a compressed substrate having a thickness in the range of 99% to 50% that of the initial thickness.
7. A method for reducing a thickness of a substrate bearing an image, comprising:
forming an image on a substrate, the substrate transformable from an imaging state having a first thickness to a compressed state having a second thickness thinner than the first thickness over the entire substrate; and
concurrently compressing and heating the imaged substrate to transform the entire substrate to the compressed state without substantially distorting the image.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the image is produced on the substrate using a toner deposition process, and wherein the step of concurrently compressing and heating the imaged substrate causes the toner image to smoothen and produces an improved glossy image quality.
9. The method of claim 8, further including the step of applying a release agent to a surface that contacts the image during the compressing and heating step so as to prevent the image from transferring to the surface.
10. An apparatus for producing a compressed substrate having an image thereon, comprising:
an imaging station for rendering an image onto the substrate when said substrate is in an uncompressed state; and
a compressing station, operatively associated with the imaging station, to receive an uncompressed substrate with an image thereon and to apply a sufficient compressive force to the imaged substrate to permanently reduce a thickness of the entire substrate and thereby produce a compressed substrate with an image thereon.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the compressing station includes at least two rollers forming a nip therebetween, and where the uncompressed substrate may be fed into the nip as the rollers are rotated so as to concurrently feed the substrate therethrough while compressing the substrate.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the compressive force applied to the substrate as it passes through the nip is in the range of 0 to 400 pounds per linear inch.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least one of said rollers includes a resilient outer surface so as to compensate for any unevenness in the rollers.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least one roll is formed from aluminum and an outer surface thereof is anodized.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one roll further includes a urethane coating applied over the outer surface thereof.
16. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising at least one stripper finger to assist with the removal of the substrate from the roller surface after the substrate passes through the nip.
17. A method for reducing a thickness of a compressible substrate bearing an image, the substrate having an initial thickness, including:
preparing a substrate comprising paper making fibers and a low density bulking material so as to produce a substrate having a first density; and
applying a compressive force to the entire substrate to compress the substrate to a thickness less than the initial thickness, thereby increasing the density of the substrate to a second density greater than the first density, the compressive force selected to preclude the substrate from returning to the initial thickness after removal of the compressive force.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the low density bulking material is compressible.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the low density bulking material includes a structure that is collapsible so as to increase its density.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the low density bulking material is a corrugated layer that forms part of the substrate matrix.
21. A method for reducing a thickness of a compressible substrate bearing an image, the substrate having an initial thickness, comprising the steps of:
applying a compressive force to the substrate to compress the entire substrate to a thickness less than the initial thickness; and
removing the compressive force;
wherein the compressive force is selected to be of a magnitude sufficient so as to cause a permanent reduction in the thickness of the entire substrate and to preclude the substrate returning to the initial thickness after removal of the compressive force therefrom.
22. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of applying heat to the substrate in association with the compressive force.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A fluid treating method comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a ring lamination by laminating a plurality of filtering rings with contact surfaces facing each other in a laminating direction, each filtering ring comprising a non-porous metal plate having a central hole therein, the hole extending through the plate in the lamination direction, and each filtering ring having an inner periphery being convexly curved in a radially inward direction and an outer periphery having a wedge shape converging in a radially outward direction;
(b) providing at least portions of the contact surfaces of the filtering rings facing each other with a contact surface roughness (Ra) in a range of about 0.01 \u03bcm to 20 \u03bcm;
(c) pressing the ring lamination under a contact surface pressure (p) in a range of about 0 to 177 kgcm2 in the laminating direction of the filtering rings to cause the contact surfaces to closely adhere to each other, wherein a gap distance (g) between the portions of the filtering rings closely adhering to and facing each other is in a range of about 0.2 nm to 200 \u03bcm;
(d) directing an object fluid into an interior of the ring lamination via the central holes of the filtering rings, such that the object fluid enters radially outwardly into gaps formed by contact surfaces of adjacent filtering rings of the ring lamination;
(e) dividing the object fluid into a first separated fraction comprising solids and a second separated fraction comprising a fluid, such that the second separated fraction flows through the gaps for removal from an exterior of the ring lamination, while the first separated fraction accumulates on the inner periphery of the filtering rings; and
(f) scraping the inner periphery of the filtering rings to remove the solids of the accumulated first separated fraction.
2. The fluid treating method according to claim 1, wherein the filtering rings comprise a magnetic material.
3. The fluid treating method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of controlling accuracy andor speed of the division and separation of the object fluid into the first separated fraction and the second separated fraction by adjusting a pressure difference \u0394P=P1\u2212P2 between a supply pressure P1 of the object fluid acting on an inlet area of the ring lamination and a suction pressure P2 acting on an exit area of the ring lamination.
4. The fluid treating method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of: causing the suction pressure acting on the exit area of the ring lamination to act in a reverse direction in an initial stage of operation, and pressing the object fluid radially into the ring lamination by the reverse suction pressure acting on the exit area of the ring lamination and the supply pressure of the object fluid acting on the inlet area of the ring lamination.
5. A fluid treating apparatus for dividing an object fluid into a first separated fraction and a second separated fraction and removing these fractions, comprising:
a long and thin cylindrical housing;
a ring lamination formed by laminating a plurality of filtering rings facing each other, each filtering ring comprising a non-porous metal plate having a central hole therein, the hole extending through the plate in the lamination direction, and each filtering ring having an inner periphery being convexly curved in a radially inward direction and an outer periphery having a wedge shape converging in a radially outward direction;
a ring press for acting on the ring lamination to cause the filtering rings to closely adhere to each other under a pressure in a range of about 0 to 177 kgcm2, wherein a gap distance (g) between contact portions of the filtering rings adhering to and facing each other is in a range of about 0.2 nm to 200 \u03bcm;
an object fluid supply for feeding the object fluid to an interior of the ring lamination;
an object fluid pressure source for impressing a prescribed pressure onto the object fluid supplied to the ring lamination in cooperation with the object fluid supply; and
a stripper arranged in a center hole in the ring lamination to remove one of the first and second fractions from the ring lamination.
6. The fluid treating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the object fluid pressure source is a pump or a gate valve.
7. The fluid treating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the filtering rings comprise a magnetic material.
8. The fluid treating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the stripper is a rotary brush for removing separated solids adhering to an inner peripheral portion of the ring lamination.
9. The fluid treating apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a ring lamination holder arranged in the housing, the holder having a plurality of openings and having the ring lamination arranged in an interior of the holder.