Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Koichi Kakubari

Masayuki Tamaki

Shigeaki Takada

Toshinori Nakayama

Akeshi Asaka

Naoki Akiyama

Hiroto Ito

Yutaka Arai

Ryo Suzuki

Shigeru Hirano

Jun Miura

Rikiya Takemasa

Mitsuru Hasegawa

Akiyoshi Shinagawa

Ikuo Nakamoto

Hidekazu Maruta

Ryo Yashiro

Takeshi Suzuki

Katsuhisa Matsunaka

Yasuhiro Miyahara

Masanobu Tanaka

Hiroto Sugimoto

Kota Arimoto

Toru Katsumi

Oki Kitagawa

Hiroki Muramatsu

Akihiro Maeda

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device, first and second fans, and a reciprocating portion to reciprocate the fixing device in a widthwise direction of the fixing device. The fixing device includes a fixing film, a pressing roller to form a nip portion where a recording material on which a toner image is carried is nipped and conveyed between the fixing film and the pressing roller and the toner image is fixed on the recording material. The first and second fans send an air from openings thereof toward first and second areas of the fixing film on both end sides in the widthwise direction. A controller changes at least one opening width of the first and second fans depending on a position with respect to the widthwise direction of the fixing device.

Image forming apparatus having fixing device with improved uniformity of heating when reciprocated in widthwise direction

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit comprising a fixing member configured to fix a toner image to a recording material, and a pressure member configured to form a first nip portion, a conveyance portion configured to form a second nip portion, and a control unit configured to execute, a conveyance mode of conveying the recording material so that the recording material is not looped between the first nip portion and the second nip portion prior to a predetermined timing during passing of the recording material of the first nip portion, and conveying the recording material so that the recording material is looped toward the pressure member from the predetermined timing until a trailing edge of the recording material has passed through the first nip portion.

Image forming apparatus having control unit that controls drive unit and conveyance portion

An image heating apparatus including first and second rotatable members, first and second cooling fans, an air blowing port, a shutter member, a shutter controller, and a fan controller. The first cooling fan is provided at a position opposing a first region which is a part of an end portion region of the first rotatable member on one end side. The second cooling fan is provided at a position opposing a second region which is part of the end portion region. The second region is adjacent to the first region with respect to the longitudinal direction. The shutter controller is configured to control a position of the shutter member depending on a width size of a recording material. The fan controller is configured to independently control an operation of the first cooling fan and an operation of the second cooling fan depending on the width size of the recording material.

Image heating apparatus having first and second cooling fans cooling an end portion of a first rotatable member

Provided is an electrophotographic member capable of reducing a rise time of a fixing apparatus and preventing occurrence of a defective image due to an electrostatic offset. The electrophotographic member has a substrate, an elastic layer, and a surface layer containing a fluororesin, in this order, the elastic layer has a communication hole of which pores are communicated with each other, and an ionic conductive agent is adhered to an inner wall of the communication hole.

Electrophotographic member, method for manufacturing electrophotographic member, and fixing apparatus

A fixing apparatus including a flexible belt having a heat generating layer, an outer ring provided on one edge side of the belt and along an outer peripheral surface of the belt, the outer ring being electrically connected to the heat generating layer, an inner ring provided on the one edge side of the belt and along an inner peripheral surface of the belt to face the outer ring through the belt, and a power supply unit that is electrically connected to the outer ring and that feeds power. A difference obtained by subtracting a diameter of the inner ring at a normal temperature from a diameter of the inner ring at a fixing temperature is equivalent to or larger than a difference obtained by subtracting a diameter of the outer ring at the normal temperature from a diameter of the outer ring at the fixing temperature.

Image heating apparatus

A heater includes a substrate, a first electrical contact, second electrical contacts, first electrode portions and second electrode portions, heat generating portions, a first electroconductive line portion, and a second electroconductive line portion. The heat generating portions are disposed so as to be offset from a center line of the substrate with respect to a widthwise direction of the substrate.

Heater and image heating apparatus, the heater having heat generating portions disposed offset from a center line of a substrate

A heater includes a substrate, a first electrical contact, a plurality of second electrical contacts, a plurality of electrode portions including first electrode portions electrically connected with the first electrical contact and second electrode portions electrically connected with the second electrical contacts, the first electrode portions and the second electrode portions being arranged alternately with predetermined gaps in a longitudinal direction of the substrate, and a plurality of heat generating portions provided between adjacent ones of the electrode portions so as to electrically connect between adjacent electrode portion. The heat generating portions are capable of generating heat by the electric power supply between adjacent electrode portions. A part of the second electrical contacts is selectably electrically connectable with the second terminal. The electrode portions are covered with the heat generating portions so as to be positioned between the substrate and the heat generating portions.

Heater, image heating apparatus including the heater and manufacturing method of the heater

A heater includes: a substrate; a first electrical contact; second electrical contacts; first and second electrodes; heat generating portions; a first electroconductive line portion electrically connecting the first electrical contact and the first electrode portions; and a second electroconductive line portion electrically connecting one of the second electrical contacts and a part of the second electrode portions. A cross-sectional area of a portion, of the first electroconductive line portion, into which all of currents flowing through the first electrode portions merge when the currents flow from the first electrode portions toward the first electrical contact is larger than a cross-sectional area of a portion, of the second electroconductive line portion, into which all of currents flowing through the part of the second electrode portions merge when the currents flow from the part of the second electrode portions toward the one of second electrical contacts.

Heater and image heating apparatus including the same

A heater includes: a substrate; a first electrical contact; a plurality of second electrical contacts; an electroconductive line portion electrically connected with the first electrical contact; a plurality of electrode portions including first electrode portions electrically connected with the first electrical contact through the electroconductive line portion and second electrode portions electrically connected with the second electrical contacts; and a plurality of heat generating portions provided between adjacent ones of the electrode portions. The cross-section of the electroconductive line portion in a side closer to the first electrical contact than the plurality of heat generating portions with respect to the longitudinal direction is larger than the cross-section of a predetermined electrode portion, between adjacent heat generating portions, of the plurality of electrode portions.

An image heating apparatus includes a heating belt having a heat generating layer configured to generate heat by energization, a pressing roller configured to abut on an outer peripheral surface of the heating belt to form a nip portion, a pressing mechanism configured to press the heating belt against the pressing roller, an outer ring electrically connected to the heating belt in an end portion of the heating belt, a power feed member configured to abut on the outer ring to feed power to the outer ring, and an inner ring configured to clamp the end portion of the heating belt between the inner ring and the outer ring. A chamfered portion of the inner ring is chamfered.

A heater includes a substrate, electrode portions, electrical contact portions, heat generating portions, and electroconductive line portions. The electrode portions include first group electrode portions and second group electrode portions. The electroconductive line portions include a main line portion extending from the electrical contact portions in the longitudinal direction, a first branch line portion branching from the main line portion so as to electrically connect with a first electrode portion of the first group electrode portions, and a second branch line portion branching from the main line portion so as to electrically connect with a second electrode portion of the first group electrode portions. The second electrode portion is spaced farther from the electrical contact portions than the first electrode portion in the longitudinal direction, and the electric resistance of the first branch line portion is larger than the electric resistance of the second branch line portion.

A fixing device includes a rotatable heating member and a rotatable pressing member which are configured to fix a toner image on a recording material in a nip therebetween; and a heating mechanism configured to selectively heat regions of the rotatable heating member depending on sizes of the recording material when the sizes are predetermined ones of all sizes usable in the fixing device. The rotatable pressing member includes a base layer and a porous elastic layer provided on the base layer and containing a needle-like filler. The elastic layer having a thermal conductivity, with respect to a longitudinal direction thereof, which is 6 times to 900 times a thermal conductivity with respect to a thickness direction thereof.

Fixing device having rotatable pressing member with needle-like filler

In an image heating apparatus including heat generating members arranged along a longitudinal direction of a belt, when an image heating operation is performed on a recording material having a width which is smaller than a maximum width of the recording material usable in the image heating apparatus, the heat generating member positioned within an area corresponding to a non passing portion of the recording material is actuated together with the heat generating member positioned within an area corresponding to a non passing portion of the recording material.

Image heating apparatus for heating toner image on sheet

An image heating apparatus includes an endless belt configured to heat an image on a sheet at a nip potion, a heat generation device configured to cause the belt to generate heat, a nip forming member configured to form the nip portion between the nip forming member and the belt, and a pressing roller configured to press an inner surface of the belt toward the nip forming member, the pressing roller including an elastic porous layer containing a plurality of filler particles, wherein a thermal conductivity of the elastic porous layer in an axial direction of the pressing roller is in a range of 6 times to 900 times a thermal conductivity of the elastic porous layer in a radial direction of the pressing roller.

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Toride, Japan

Koichi Kakubari