Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Atsutoshi Ando

Toru Imaizumi

Junichi Kato

Takashi Narahara

Satoru Inami

Yasuhito Minamishima

Tomoo Akizuki

Tomoya Tateishi

Masafumi Maeda

Jun Suzuki

Michio Uchida

Koichi Suwa

Masao Umezawa

Tadashi Onimura

Masashi Tanaka

Eiji Uekawa

Satoshi Sunahara

Seiichi Shinohara

Shoichiro Ikegami

Toshikazu Tsuchiya

Yusuke Nakazono

Hiroshi Sahara

Tohru Saito

Kouichi Suwa

Toru Saito

Yuuichi Obara

Hiroshi Sato

Masahiro Yoshida

Takehiko Suzuki

Seiji Yamaguchi

Masaki Ojima

Keisuke Mochizuki

Kazushige Sakurai

Tetsuya Sano

Takahiro Inoue

Akihito Kanamori

Hiroshi Shiba

Hisahiro Saito

Yuusuke Shimizu

Hiroyasu Seita

A fixing device includes a cylindrical film having an inner surface and a plate-like heater that extends in a longitudinal direction of the film, with the heater having (i) a first surface that contacts the inner surface of the film, and (ii) a second surface opposite to the first surface. The fixing device further includes a heat conduction plate that extends in the longitudinal direction of the film and contacts the second surface of the heater, and a supporting member that supports the heater through the heat conduction plate. An image that is formed on a recording material is heated by heat from the heater through the film.

Image heating apparatus having a plate-like heater and a heat conduction plate

A fixing device includes a cylindrical film, a planar heater, a heat conduction member, a supporting member, a limiting member for limiting heater end portions with respect to a generatrix direction of the film so as to prevent the end portions from moving in a heater thickness direction relative to the supporting member, and a pressing member. A fixing device state is switchable between a first state in which a press-contact force in the nip is enough to fix the toner image and a second state in which the press-contact force in the nip is smaller than the press-contact force in the first state. A surface where the supporting member opposes the heat conduction member has a shape such that with respect to the generatrix direction, a central portion of the film is projected toward the pressing member to a greater extent than an end portion of the film.

Fixing device

An image heating apparatus heats a toner image formed on a recording material, and includes: a heater including a substrate and a heat generating resistor thereon for generating heat for heating the toner image, by electric power supply; an electric power shut-off member operable in response to an abnormal temperature rise of the heater to shut off the electric power supply; and a heat conduction member having a thermal conductivity, in a direction of a thickness of the substrate, higher than that of the substrate. The contact area between the heat conduction member and the substrate is larger than the contact area between the heat conduction member and the electric power shut-off member.

Image heating apparatus having an electric power shut-off member, thermal fuse, or thermal switch operable in response to an abnormal temperature rise

A fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording material includes: a cylindrical film; a plate-like heater contacting an inner surface of the film; a roller for forming a nip in cooperation with the heater through the film; and a thermo-sensitive member for detecting the temperature of the heater to interrupt electric power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater reaches an abnormal temperature. The heater has a heat generating pattern symmetric with respect to a center line thereof extending in a direction perpendicular to a recording material feeding direction. The thermo-sensitive member is provided in a side which is opposite from a surface of the heater contacting the inner surface of the film and which is downstream of the center line of the heater with respect to the recording material feeding direction.

A fixing device for fixing a toner image formed on a sheet includes a cylindrical film; a heater having a first surface contacting an inner surface of the film; an opposed member forming a press-contact portion with the film therebetween; a supporting member for supporting a second surface of the heater opposite the first surface; and a heat conduction member contacting the second surface. In a generatrix direction of the film, an end portion of a contact region between the heat conduction member and the second surface is at or inside an end portion of the press-contact portion. In a region from an end portion of the contact region to an outside of an end portion of the press-contact portion with respect to the direction, the supporting member includes a first region not contacting the second surface and a second region contacting the second surface outside the first region.

Image fixing apparatus

The image heating apparatus includes an endless belt, a roller which contacts an outer face of the belt, and a nip portion forming unit which contacts an inner face of the belt, and forms a nip portion with the roller, for nipping and conveying a recording material. The nip portion forming unit includes a component which is longer than the belt in a generatrix direction of the belt. The apparatus also includes a regulation portion provided to oppose an end face of the belt, for regulating a shift movement of the belt to the generatrix direction of the belt. The regulation portion is integrally-molded with the component. As a result, damage of the end of the endless belt can be reduced.

Image heating apparatus regulating a shift movement of an endless belt the inner face of which contacts a nip portion forming unit forming a nip portion with a roller contacting an outer face of the belt

An image heating device includes an endless belt including a base layer and an elastic layer formed around the base layer, a contact member contacting an inner surface of the endless belt, a pressure rotating member forming a nip portion configured to convey a recording material while nipping the recording material along with the contact member via the endless belt, wherein an image formed on the recording material is heated at the nip portion using heat from the endless belt, and wherein one end of the endless belt is coated with the elastic layer and the other end of the endless belt is not coated with the elastic layer, and a belt lateral shifting direction regulating mechanism configured to regulate a direction in which the endless belt shifts when the endless belt is rotated, toward the end coated with the elastic layer.

Image heating device with a belt lateral shifting direction regulating mechanism

An image heating device includes a heating rotatable member; and a pressing pad contacted to said heating rotatable member and forming a nip with said heating rotatable member to nip and feed a recording material, said pressing member being provided with an electroconductive material dispersed resin material layer contacting said heating rotatable member.

Image heating device

An image heating apparatus includes a heating rotatable member; a pad-like pressing member contacted to the heating rotatable member and cooperating with the heating rotatable member to provide a nip for nipping and feeding a recording material, wherein the pressing member includes a base material having a roughened surface and a parting layer on the roughened surface, the parting layer being contacted to the heating rotatable member.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion. The image forming apparatus further includes a fixing portion having a fixing nip portion that heats and fixes the unfixed image and an discharge roller that discharges the recording material. In the case where the recording material is a plain paper that is equal to or larger than a predetermined size, the discharge roller conveys the plain paper in a range from a front edge to a rear edge at a predetermined speed. In the case where the recording material is a plain paper smaller than the predetermined size, the discharge roller conveys the plain paper at a first speed until the rear edge passes through the fixing nip portion, and the discharge roller conveys the plain paper at a second speed higher than the first speed after the rear edge has passed through the fixing nip portion.

Image forming apparatus having heat-fixing unit

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion; a fixing portion having a fixing nip portion which heats and fixes the unfixed image and an discharge roller which discharges the recording material, wherein in the case where the recording material is the plain paper which is equal to or larger than the predetermined size, the discharge roller conveys the plain paper in a range from a front edge to a rear edge at a predetermined speed, in the case where the recording material is the plain paper smaller than the predetermined size, the discharge roller conveys the plain paper at a first speed until the rear edge passes through the fixing nip portion, and the discharge roller conveys the plain paper at a second speed higher than the first speed after the rear edge passed through the fixing nip portion.

When a fixing device becomes uncontrollable and a large amount of electric power is continuously supplied to the heater, concentration of mechanical stress on a heater is suppressed, whereby shear fracture of the heater is prevented from occurring. A longitudinal region of the heater in which a heat generation resistive member is provided is supported by a heater support surface of a heater holder, and an opposed surface of the heater holder that is opposed to a longitudinal region of the heater in which the heat generation resistive member is not provided is designed not to be in contact with the heater.

Image heating apparatus

A fixing apparatus is provided, in which a problem such as the melting of a heater retaining member does not occur when a fixing nip portion performs a fixing processing in a reduced pressure state. In a fixing apparatus of an image forming apparatus capable of feeding a paper by applied pressures of two types or more, the fixing apparatus is changed to a mode in which the applied force is low, and is allowed to perform an operation for cooling the fixing apparatus before starting a current supply to a heater.

Image fixing apparatus with variable fixing modes

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Atsutoshi Ando