Minolta Company, Ltd.

Hiroaki Hinotani

Eiji Okabayashi

Satoru Yoneda

Takeshi Kato

Tatsumi Fujishima

Tohru Fujiwara

Peter Johnston

Yasuhiro Matsuura

A toner image formed on a recording member is fixed onto the recording member by a fixing device having a heatable member, a heater for heating the heatable member positioned on one side of the heatable member, the recording member being positioned on an opposite side of the heatable member and spaced from the heatable member to heat the recording member by radiation from the heatable member, and a fixing structure for fixing the toner image on the heated recording member. The heatable member can be a fixing belt arranged in a loop while the heater is an electromagnetic induction coil positioned substantially within the loop. The electromagnetic induction coil generates a magnetic flux perpendicular to the transport direction of the fixing belt to produce an eddy-like induction current in a conductive member of the fixing belt to heat the fixing belt. The fixing belt, in turn, heats the recording member on the exterior side of the belt to soften the toner image thereon. The fixing structure, e.g., a pressure roller, then fixes the toner image on the heated recording member. The heatable member may be a conductive guide member, or a belt arranged in a loop and having a tension roller with the electromagnetic induction coil being arranged on an interior side of the tension roller.

Electromagnetic induction heating type fixing device and method

A fixing device having a pair of rollers which rotate with pressure contacting each other so as to fix an unfixed toner image onto a sheet by passing the sheet therebetween. At least one of the roller has at least one end portion on a peripheral surface thereof which is formed by a material having a coefficient of friction greater than that of a rest portion of the peripheral surface, thereby the slip caused between the rollers is prevented.

Fixing device

An induction heating fixing device comprises a heat roller in which coil assemblies are disposed. The coil assemblies are aligned axially of the roller to produce magnetic flux in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the heat roller.

Induction heating fixing device

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Toyokawa, Japan

Hiroaki Hinotani