Apparatus for the thermographic repro-duction of copy from a master

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF COPY FROM A MASTER COMPRISING: HOUSING MEANS FORMING AN ENCLOSURE PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE OPENING FOR THE INSRTION AND REMOVAL OF A COPY SHEET AND A MASTER SHEET; A TRANSPORT DRUM JOURNALED IN SAID ENCLOSURE AND ANGULARLY DISPLACEABLE THEREIN FOR TRANSPORTING SAID SHEETS JOINTLY IN SUPERPOSED RELATIONSHIP FROM SAID OPENING ALONG A REPRODUCTION-DEVELOPMENT PATH AND SUBSEQUENTLY DISCHARGING SAID SHEETS FROM SAID ENCLOSURE, SAID COPY SHEET BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A PIGMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMAGE THEREON AT PORTIONS OF SAID COPY SHEET OF AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE SUFFICIENT TO THERMALLY FUSE A SUBSTANCE FOR FIXING SIAD PIGMENT TO SAID COPY SHEET UPON COOLING OF SAID SUBSTANCE; HEATING MEANS ALONG SAID PATH FOR BRINGING SAID COPY SHEET AT LEAST TO SAID TEMPERATURE AT REGIONSL OF SAID COPY SHEET CORRESPONDING TO LEGIBLE PORTIONS OF SAID MASTER SHEET; PIGMENT-TRANSFER MEANS FORWARDLY ALONG SAID PATH OF SAID HEATING MEANS AND ANGULARLY OFFSET THEREFROM IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID DRUM FOR TRANSPORTING PIGMENT TO THE HEATED REGIONS OF SAID COPY SHEET; A STIRRUP MEMBER PERIPHERALLY SURROUNDING SAID DRUM IN CLOSELY SPACED RELATIONSHIP THEREWITH OVER AN ARC CORRESPONDING TO AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID PATH COMMENCING REARWARDLY OF SAID HEATING MEANS AND EXTENDING TO A LOCATION OF SAID PATH AT WHICH SAID SHEETS ARE DISCHARGED FROM SAID ENCLOSURE; AND HOOK-SHAPED CLAMPING MEANS ON THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DRUM ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID SHEETS REARWARDLY OF SAID HEATING MEANS AND HELD THEREAGAINST BY SAID STIRRUP MEMBER FOR ENTRAINING SAID SHEETS WITH SAID DRUM ALONG SAID PATH WITH SAID MASTER SHEET ADJACENT SAID RUM AND SAID COPY SHEET AJACENT SAID MASTER SHEET AND SAID STIRRUP MEMBER, SAID STIRRUPMEMBER BEING AT LEAST PARTLY OPENIN THE REGION OF SAID HEATING MEANS AND SAID PIGMENT-TRANSFER MEANS WHILE MAINTAINING SAID CLAMPING MEANS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID DRUM.