Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Asahi Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha

Hideaki Yonekubo

Hisashi Nakahara

Yasuhiro Shimura

Yuji Fujiwara

Hideyuki Matsubara

Hiroyuki Tanaka

Akira Kato

Noriaki Tanaka

Tomonori Sato

Koji Nihonyanagi

Hiroyuki Sakakibara

Satoru Taniguchi

Masato Sako

Nozomu Nakajima

Yusaku Iwasawa

Shizuma Nishimura

Keisuke Mochizuki

Takahiro Uchiyama

Takeshi Ishii

Hirohiko Aiba

Naoto Tsuchihashi

Tohru Saito

Takahiro Saito

Youichiroh Ide

Naoki Horie

A new technology to assist the recycling of resources is provided. Provided is an authentication method for a recycled product performed by a computer system, the authentication method including: a first acquisition step of acquiring information on a receiving amount of a recycled resin in a manufacturing entity of a resin product; a second acquisition step of acquiring information on a sending amount of a resin product using the recycled resin in the manufacturing entity or a different manufacturing entity; and an authentication step of giving authentication to the resin product when an authentication condition based on the information on the sending amount and the receiving amount is satisfied.

Authentication method, authentication system, and program

In an image heating apparatus, a region of a recording material, on which an image can be formed, is divided into a boundary region and a non-boundary region so as to correspond to a plurality of heating elements. The boundary region includes a boundary between one heating element out of the plurality of heating elements and an adjacent heating element thereof, and overlap with the one heating element and the adjacent heating element overlap in a predetermined range in the orthogonal direction. The non-boundary region overlaps with the one heating element in a range other than the boundary region. A control target temperature of a heating region that is heated by the one heating element is set to a higher temperature of a first temperature based on information corresponding to the boundary region, and a second temperature based on information corresponding to the non-boundary region.

Image heating apparatus, image forming apparatus and control method of image forming apparatus

In an image heating device, a plurality of count values representing a heat storage amount in each of a plurality of heating regions heated by a plurality of heating elements are acquired, and electric power for the heating elements is controlled so that a difference between a heat storage maximum count value representing the heat storage amount of the heating region in which the heat storage amount is the largest among the plurality of heating regions, and a heat storage reduction count value representing the heat storage amount of a heat storage reduction region that is a heating region having a smaller heat storage amount than the heating region having the maximum heat storage amount, is maintained within a range of a predetermined value; and the predetermined value is set based on a width of the heat storage reduction region of a recording material.

Image heating device and image forming apparatus

A heater of an image heating device, the heater including: a substrate; a first heating resistor and a second heating resistor on the substrate; first to third electric contact portions for electric connection to a power supply; a first conductive portion that connects the first electric contact portion with the first heating resistor; a second conductive portion that connects the second electric contact portion the second heating resistor; and a third conductive portion that connects the third electric contact portion and the first heating resistor and also connects the third contact portion with the second heating resistor, wherein the first electric contact portion is provided close to one longitudinal end of the substrate, the second electric contact portion is provided close to the other longitudinal end of the substrate, and the third electric contact portion is provided close to the center of the substrate in the longitudinal direction.

Heater, image heating device, and image forming apparatus having plural heating resistors and having plural electric contact portions connected to different poles of a power supply

An image heating apparatus includes an endless film, a pressing member forming a nip portion together with the film, and a film holding member provided at a longitudinal end portion of the film. The film holding member includes a movable member including a restriction surface configured to restrict a longitudinal movement of the film and a guide surface configured to guide a rotation of the film, the guide surface including a lubricant application unit. The film holding member further includes a biased member supporting the movable member and including a force reception portion, and is configured to cause the movable member to move upstream in a conveyance direction of the recording material at the nip portion relative to the biased member and cause the lubricant application unit to abut against an inner peripheral surface of the fixing film, when the movable member moves longitudinally.

Image heating apparatus

In a case where an image formed on a recording material includes a contiguous image portion formed across a plurality of heating regions at a given density, power supplied to a plurality of heating elements that heat the plurality of heating regions is controlled by correcting respective control heating amounts of the plurality of heating regions set in accordance with respective maximum densities of image regions resulting from dividing the image into the plurality of heating regions, so that a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the control heating amounts among the plurality of heating regions in which the image portion is heated from among the plurality of heating regions, lies within a predetermined range.

A controller controls power to be supplied to a plurality of heat-generating blocks obtained by dividing a heater in a direction orthogonal to a transport direction for a recording material, and when images formed on a plurality of sheets of the recording material having an equal size are continuously heated, and the controller determines whether each of the heat-generating blocks is a heat-generating block which is passed by the recording material or a heat-generating block which is not passed by the recording material on the basis of a detection temperature by a temperature detecting element when prescribed power is supplied to the heat-generating block and changes a control condition in heating on the basis of the determination.

Image heating apparatus that controls plural heat generating blocks based on whether a recording material passes the respective block, and image forming apparatus

An image heating device has a paper-passing heating region in which a recording material passes through at least a part of a heating region and a non-paper-passing heating region in which the recording material does not pass through the heating region, and changes a heating amount applied to a fixing member in the non-paper-passing heating region in accordance with a longitudinal distance between a boundary position between the paper-passing heating region and the non-paper-passing heating region in the longitudinal direction and the boundary position side end portion of the recording material in the paper-passing heating region.

An image heating apparatus including a supporting member having (a) a hole in which a temperature detecting element is disposed so as to contact a second surface of a heat-conductive member, and (b) an opposing surface that (i) opposes the second surface of the heat-conductive member, and (ii) includes a contact region contacting the second surface of the heat-conductive member, the opposing surface of the supporting member being provided adjacent to the hole of the supporting member in a longitudinal direction of the heater. The contact region of the supporting member presses, toward the heater, a part of the heat-conductive member corresponding to the contact region of the supporting member, and the temperature detecting element presses, toward the heater, a part of the heat-conductive member corresponding to the hole of the supporting member.

Image heating apparatus having a temperature detecting element mounted in a supporting member to contact a heat-conductive member

An image heating device includes, a moving member configured to move while contacting a recording material at one surface of the moving member, a backup member configured to contact the other surface of the moving member, a holding member configured to hold the backup member, a nip portion forming member contacting the one surface of the moving member, and configured to form a nip portion in corporation with the backup member via the moving member, and a high thermal conductive member held between the holding member and the backup member, wherein the recording material on which an image has been formed is heated by heat received from the moving member while being nipped and conveyed at the nip portion, and wherein the holding member includes a recessed portion configured not to apply pressure to the high thermal conductive member.

Image heating device for positioning a high thermal conductive member

An image heating apparatus includes: a heater including a substrate and a heat generating element; a supporting member; a high heat-conductive member. The recording material on which an image is formed is heated by heat from the heater. The supporting member has a bottom region, where the supporting member supports the heater, including a first region where the supporting member contacts the high heat-conductive member so as to apply pressure between the heater and the high heat-conductive member and including a second region where the supporting member is recessed from the high heat-conductive member relative to the first region. At least a part of the first region overlaps, with respect to a movement direction of the recording material, with a region where the heat generating element is provided.

A heater used for a fixing device includes a substrate, first and second conductor patterns formed at either end of the substrate in the short direction of the substrate, a third conductor pattern formed between the first and second conductor patterns and separated from the two conductor patterns, a first heating member disposed between the first and third conductor patterns and electrically connected to the two conductor patterns, and a second heating member disposed between the second and third conductor patterns and electrically connected to the conductor patterns. The heater has both end regions in which the widths of the third conductor pattern in the short direction is smaller than that of a middle portion of the third conductor pattern. The widths of the first and second heating members in the end regions are smaller than the widths of the first and second heating members in the other region, respectively.

Fixing device and heater used in fixing device

A fixing device includes: a rotatable member; a helical coil; a magnetic core; and a controller for controlling the frequency of an AC current caused to flow through the coil. The AC current is caused to flow through the coil to cause an electroconductive layer of the rotatable member to generate heat through electromagnetic induction heating, thereby heating and fixing the toner image on the recording material by heat of the rotatable member. The controller controls the frequency in a period so that when the frequency is f and a resistance of the electroconductive layer with respect to a circumferential direction is R, f/R is substantially constant.

Fixing device controlling frequency of AC current caused to flow through helical coil causing electroconductive layer of rotatable member to generate heat through electromagnetic induction

An image heating apparatus includes: a heater; a supporting member for supporting the heater; and a high heat-conductive sheet sandwiched between a part of the heater and the supporting member. A recording material on which an image is formed is heated by heat from the heater. The supporting member includes a bearing surface contacting the sheet so as to apply pressure between the heater and the sheet and includes an opposing portion opposing a part of the heater not sandwiching the sheet. In a state in which the pressure is applied between the heater and the sheet, the thickness of the sheet is not less than the height of the stepped portion between the bearing portion and the opposing portion.

Growing community of inventors

Suntou-gun, Japan

Hideaki Yonekubo