Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.

Valeo Japan Co., Ltd.

Niles Co., Ltd.

Ricoh Corporation

Hiroyuki Shimada

Yuusuke Furuichi

Hiroshi Yoshinaga

Yukimichi Someya

Ippei Fujimoto

Takashi Seto

Shunpei Yamazaki

Takayuki Seki

Naoto Suzuki

Yoshihiro Sonohara

Takashi Kagami

Kazuo Suno

Syoichi Kaneko

Hisashi Ohtani

Satoshi Teramoto

Kenji Ishii

Tomoya Adachi

Yoshiki Yamaguchi

Yasuhiko Takemura

Takashi Fujita

Jun Okamoto

Masami Okamoto

Keisuke Kubota

Kenji Nozawa

Mitsunori Sakama

Daisuke Inoue

Kazunari Sawada

Hisashi Abe

Satoshi Tohkai

Yumiko Hayashi

Toshiyuki Kabata

Akiyasu Amita

Tadashi Ogawa

Hitoshi Fujiwara

Masanao Ehara

Shinichi Namekata

Takeshi Shibuya

Ryohei Matsuda

Akira Takenouchi

Hirofumi Ogawa

Arinobu Yoshiura

Kenichi Hasegawa

Masahiro Samei

Yoshio Hattori

Takayuki Andoh

Hiroshi Seo

Yoshiharu Takahashi

Haruyuki Honda

Yoshiyuki Fukuda

Kaori Hemmi

Kota Shiodera

Tsutomu Watada

Tomoyuki Nishikawa

Kazumi Kuwata

Takashi Horikoshi

Hideyuki Yasufuku

Ippel Fujimoto

Takshi Fujita

A heating device includes a rotator having an internal space, a heater heating the rotator, lubricant applied to the rotator, a rotator support supporting the rotator, and a cover. The rotator support has a first opening communicating with the internal space of the rotator, penetrating through the rotator support, and extending in the longitudinal direction. The cover covers the first opening and has a face facing the first opening and a second opening communicating with the internal space of the rotator and an exterior of the cover. The cover maintains a temperature of the face of the cover at 40° C. or higher.

Heating device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A nip forming device includes an endless belt that is flexible and rotates. A nip formation pad is disposed opposite an inner circumferential face of the endless belt. A pressure rotator rotates and presses against the nip formation pad via the endless belt to form a nip between the endless belt and the pressure rotator, through which a conveyed object is conveyed. A housing supports the pressure rotator. A separator is disposed downstream from the nip in a conveyance direction in which the conveyed object is conveyed. The separator separates the conveyed object from the endless belt. The separator moves toward and away from the endless belt. A restrictor restricts motion of the separator that moves toward the endless belt. The restrictor is mounted on the housing.

Nip forming device including a separator for separating a conveyed object having passed through a nip from an endless belt, fixing device including the nip forming device, and image forming apparatus including the nip forming device

A fixing device includes a fixing belt heated by a heater. A pressure roller presses against the fixing belt to form a nip therebetween, through which a recording medium is conveyed. A holding portion is disposed opposite an inner circumferential face of the fixing belt at each lateral end of the fixing belt in a longitudinal direction thereof. The holding portion rotatably holds the fixing belt. A separator separates the recording medium from the fixing belt. The separator includes a contact portion that contacts the fixing belt and is disposed outboard from a recording medium conveyance region in the longitudinal direction of the fixing belt. The recording medium is conveyed over the fixing belt in the recording medium conveyance region. The contact portion is disposed opposite the holding portion via the fixing belt. The separator further includes a biasing member that presses the contact portion toward the fixing belt.

Fixing device including separator with contact portion and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a first rotator, a second rotator, a heater, a nip formation pad, and a separator. The second rotator contacts an outer circumferential surface of the first rotator to form a nip between the first rotator and the second rotator. The heater includes a resistive heat generator to heat the first rotator. The nip formation pad contacts an inner circumferential surface of the first rotator to form the nip. The separator separates a recording medium passing through the nip from the first rotator. The separator includes a separating surface and a contact. The separating surface is separated from the outer circumferential surface of the first rotator and separates the recording medium from the first rotator. The contact contacts the outer circumferential surface of the first rotator at a position where the first rotator is pinchable between the contact and the nip formation pad.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus incorporating the same

A nip forming device includes an endless belt that is flexible and rotates and a nip former that is disposed opposite an inner circumferential face of the endless belt. A pressure rotator presses against the nip former via the endless belt to form a nip between the endless belt and the pressure rotator, through which a conveyed object is conveyed. A separator is disposed downstream from the nip in a conveyance direction of the conveyed object. The separator separates the conveyed object from the endless belt. The separator includes a non-contact portion separated from the endless belt and a contact portion that contacts the endless belt. The contact portion retains a gap having a predetermined size between the non-contact portion and the endless belt.

Nip forming device and image forming apparatus

A nip forming device includes an endless film and a pressure rotator that presses against a heater via the endless film. A driver drives and rotates the pressure rotator to cause the pressure rotator to drive and rotate the endless film. A controller controls the driver to drive and rotate the pressure rotator, based on a temperature of the pressure rotator, that is detected by a detector, in a forward direction to convey a conveyed object and to interrupt forward rotation of the pressure rotator. In response to a determination that the temperature of the pressure rotator is higher than a predetermined temperature when a job of the nip forming device is finished, the controller controls the driver to drive and rotate the pressure rotator for a predetermined time in a backward direction opposite to the forward direction and to interrupt backward rotation of the pressure rotator.

A belt device includes a secured member, a belt, a pressure rotator, and lubricant. The belt has an endless shape and slides on a slide surface of the secured member. The belt has an inner portion having an elastic power of 55% or more and a sliding surface sliding on the slide surface of the secured member. The sliding surface has a surface roughness smaller than a surface roughness of the slide surface of the secured member. The pressure rotator presses the secured member via the belt to form a nip between the belt and the pressure rotator. The lubricant is interposed between the sliding surface of the belt and the slide surface of the secured member.

Belt device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A belt device includes a belt, a secured member, a pressure rotator, and lubricant. The belt is rotatable and has an endless shape. The belt includes an inner portion having an inner circumferential surface. The inner portion has an elastic power of 55% or more. The inner circumferential surface of the belt slides on the secured member. The pressure rotator includes a porous elastic body and presses the secured member via the belt to form a nip between the belt and the pressure rotator. The lubricant is interposed between the inner circumferential surface of the belt and the secured member.

A pressing device includes a rotator, a secured member, a pressure rotator, and lubricant. The rotator has flexibility and a sleeve form and includes an inner portion having a sliding surface. The inner portion has an elastic power of 55% or more. The secured member is inside a loop of the rotator and has a slide surface on which the sliding surface of the rotator is to slide. The slide surface has a smaller surface roughness than a surface roughness of the sliding surface. The pressure rotator presses the rotator against the secured member and forms a nip between the rotator and the pressure rotator. The lubricant between the rotator and the secured member has a consistency of 275 or less.

Pressing device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A fixing device includes a rotator, a secured member, a pressure rotator, and lubricant. The rotator has flexibility and a sleeve form. The rotator includes an inner portion having a sliding surface. The inner portion has an elastic power of 55% or more. The secured member is disposed inside a loop of the rotator and has a slide surface on which the sliding surface of the rotator is to slide. The slide surface has a smaller surface roughness in a sliding direction of the rotator than a surface roughness of the sliding surface in the sliding direction of the rotator. The pressure rotator presses the rotator against the secured member and forms a nip between the rotator and the pressure rotator. The lubricant is provided between the rotator and the secured member.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A fixing device includes a rotator, a secured member, a pressure rotator, and lubricant. The rotator has flexibility and a sleeve form. The rotator includes an inner portion having a sliding surface. The inner portion has an elastic power of 55% or more. The secured member is disposed inside a loop of the rotator and has a slide surface on which the sliding surface of the rotator slides. The slide surface has a larger hardness than a hardness of the sliding surface of the rotator. The pressure rotator presses the rotator against the secured member and forms a nip between the rotator and the pressure rotator. The lubricant is provided between the rotator and the secured member.

Pressing device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus incorporating fixing device

A fixing device includes a flexible endless belt, a pressure rotator disposed outside the belt and facing the belt, a nip formation pad disposed inside a loop of the belt and configured to form a fixing nip between the belt and the pressure rotator, a heater configured to heat the belt, a flange configured to support an end portion of the belt, a first lubricant, and a second lubricant. The first lubricant is applied between the nip formation pad and an inner surface of the belt. The second lubricant is applied between the flange and the inner surface of the belt. The second lubricant has a temperature characteristic different from a temperature characteristic of the first lubricant.

A nip formation member is configured to be disposed inside a loop of a rotatable belt. The nip formation member includes a base, a thermal equalizer, an attachment, and a fastener. The base has a bottomed fastening hole. The thermal equalizer is configured to face the belt and a surface of the base not having the bottomed fastening hole. The thermal equalizer has a higher thermal conductivity than the base. The attachment has a fastening hole and face another surface of the base having the bottomed fastening hole. The attachment is configured to fix and position the base and the thermal equalizer. The fastener is fastened to the bottomed fastening hole of the base through the fastening hole of the attachment from the attachment.

Nip formation member, heating device, fixing device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator that rotates and includes an inner face. A pressure rotator is disposed opposite the fixing rotator and rotates. A nip former sandwiches the fixing rotator together with the pressure rotator to form a nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The nip former includes an outer face disposed opposite the inner face of the fixing rotator. The inner face of the fixing rotator and the outer face of the nip former sandwich a lubricant. At least one of the inner face of the fixing rotator and the outer face of the nip former includes a projection having a volume smaller than 0.3 ml/mand a recess having a spatial volume greater than 0.08 ml/m. The volume and the spatial volume are three-dimensional surface roughness parameters, respectively, defined by the International Organization for Standardization 25178 standard in an initial state before the fixing rotator rotates.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including nip former of specific surface roughness

A fixing device includes a rotator that rotates and a fixing device cover. The fixing device cover includes an interior face that is disposed opposite the rotator, a first aperture that is disposed opposite the rotator, and a recess that surrounds the first aperture and extends in a gravity direction. A frame is interposed between the interior face of the fixing device cover and the rotator. The frame includes a second aperture that is disposed opposite the rotator and the first aperture. A rib is mounted on the frame and extends from the second aperture toward the interior face of the fixing device cover.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroyuki Shimada