Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Elmo Company, Limited

Mamoru Fukaya

Koji Yamamoto

Toru Hayase

Naoki Yamamoto

Noboru Yonekawa

Naoki Kataoka

Tsuyoshi Tamaru

Masanori Murakami

Hideaki Ikeda

Masataka Yagi

Mutsuo Kai

Ryuta Akiyama

Tatsuo Kinoshita

A fixing device includes: a fixing rotator; a pressure rotator configured to be pressed into contact with the fixing rotator to form a nip portion; a heating section configured to be provided over an outer circumference of the fixing rotator in a non-contact manner with the fixing rotator and heat the fixing rotator; and a power shutdown section configured to shut down power supply to the heating section when temperature becomes higher than a predetermined setting temperature, wherein the heating section includes an infrared heater and a reflection member which covers the infrared heater and whose portion facing the fixing rotator is an opening portion, a longitudinal length of the reflection member is longer than a length in an axis direction of a light emitting unit of the infrared heater, and a temperature detection unit of the power shutdown section is arranged outside the reflection member.

Fixing device

A fixing apparatus includes: an endless fixing belt; a pad member having a receiving surface and a supported surface; a pressing rotator pressing the fixing belt against the receiving surface and forming a nip portion between an outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt and the pressing rotator; a supporting member supporting the pad member; and a heating source to heat the fixing belt. The supporting member includes a base abutting on the supported surface of the pad member, and an erected wall erected from the base to partition a space inside the fixing belt into an upstream space and a downstream space. The erected wall is disposed upstream or downstream in a recording-material transport direction, from an intermediate position of the nip portion. The heating source is disposed in a larger one of the upstream space and the downstream space.

Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes: a heating rotator and a pressure rotator configured to be pressed against and separated from each other, the rotators being rotated while being pressed against each other to thermally fix a toner image formed on a recording medium at a nip portion between the rotators; and a separating member configured to separate the recording medium to which the toner image is thermally fixed, the separating member being enabled to be brought close to and be separated from the nip portion between the rotators, wherein when the rotators in a pressure contact state are separated from each other, the rotators are separated after the separating member is moved away from the nip portion, and when the rotators in a separated state are pressed against each other, the separating member is brought close to the nip portion after the rotators are pressed against each other.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A belt-drive device includes a roller, a belt, and a meandering prevention member. The roller is rotatable about an axis. The belt is wound on an outer circumferential surface of the roller. The meandering prevention member is attached to an end of the roller and abuts a side of the belt in the direction of the axis. The meandering prevention member is elastically deformable and has an annular shape. The meandering prevention member has an inner circumferential surface whose diameter is less than an outer diameter of the roller before the meandering prevention member is attached to the roller.

Belt-drive device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device having: a heating unit; a first rotating member and rotating in a first rotational direction; a second rotating member contacting the first rotating member and thereby forming a nip through which a printing medium passes, wherein the second rotating member rotates in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction; a reflective member provided around the first rotating member and having a reflection surface provided so as to face the first rotating member; and an inhibitory member inhibiting air in a space between the reflective member and the first rotating member from flowing out through a first gap between a downstream end of the reflective member in the first rotational direction and a closest portion of the first rotating member to the downstream end of the reflective member, wherein the inhibitory member overlaps with a part of the first gap.

A fixing device having: a first rotating member rotating in a first rotational direction; a second rotating member contacting the first rotating member and thereby forming a nip through which a printing medium passes, wherein the second rotating member rotates in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction; a heating unit heating the first rotating member in a heating section not overlapping with the nip when viewed in a plan view in the predetermined direction; and a first reflective member facing at least a part of a portion of the first rotating member that is located on a downstream side in the first rotational direction relative to the heating section but on an upstream side in the first rotational direction relative to the nip, the first reflective member having a reflection surface on the side facing the first rotating member.

There are provided two members which respectively have a form of a cylindrical roller or an endless belt and which are put in pressure contact with each other so as to form a nip section for fixation. There is provided a heating source which heats at least one of the two members to fixing temperature. In an end section corresponding to a downstream side of a nip section with respect to a sheet conveyance direction, one member out of the two members is curved in a state of protruding toward the other member. The one member has a surface made of fluorine-based resin, and an arithmetic average roughness of the surface is in a range of 0.1 &#x3bc;m to 1.3 &#x3bc;m.

Fixing device including fixing members for applying pressure on a conveyed sheet

A fixing device for thermally fixing an unfixed image onto a recording sheet by causing the sheet to pass through a fixing nip. The fixing device includes: heat belt formed in an endless shape and provided with a resistance heat layer; first pressure member provided inside a running path of the heat belt; and second pressure member pressing the first pressure member from over the running path to form the fixing nip. At least one of the first and second pressure members is rotating body. The heat belt has a pressure-receiving area and two non-pressure areas. The pressure-receiving area receives pressures from both the first and second pressure members. The non-pressure areas have been arranged at outside of the pressure-receiving area in an axis direction of the rotating body. Two ring-like electrodes have been formed on circumferential surfaces of the non-pressure areas and are used to supply power to the resistance heat layer.

A fixing device for thermally fixing an unfixed image formed on a recording sheet by passing the recording sheet through a fixing nip. The fixing device has a heat-generating endless belt that includes: a resistive heat layer that generates heat upon receiving electric current; and a pair of electrode layers each disposed along a different one of widthwise edges of the heat-generating endless belt. The resistive heat layer has (i) reduced thickness portions each along a widthwise edge thereof and (ii) a middle portion between the reduced thickness portions. Each reduced thickness portion is thinner than the middle portion and connected to the middle portion with a wall surface upright in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the heat-generating endless belt to define a stair shape. Each electrode layer is disposed on the resistive heat layer to be in contact with a corresponding one of the wall surfaces.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus with a mechanism to extend a life of a fixing belt

A fixing device for thermally fixing an unfixed image formed on a recording sheet by passing the recording sheet through a fixing nip. The fixing device has: a heat-generating endless belt having, on a circumferential surface thereof, a sheet passing area through which the recording sheet passes; a first pressure member disposed inside a running path of the endless belt; and a second pressure member disposed to press the endless belt against the first pressure member from outside the running path to form the fixing nip. The endless belt includes: a resistive heat layer that generates heat upon receiving electric current; and a pair of electrode layers that receive electric current. The electrode layers flank the sheet passing area. The resistive heat layer is in contact with the electrode layers at a different one of end faces opposing each other in a width direction of the resistive heat layer.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus with a mechanism to extend life of a fixing belt

Disclosed is a fixing device for thermally fixing an unfixed image onto the recording sheet, the fixing device comprising: a fixing belt; and a meander regulation member provided adjacent to an edge of the fixing belt in a width direction thereof, and operable to prevent meandering of the fixing belt, wherein the fixing belt includes: a resistive heat layer that is tubular and generates heat when an electric current is applied thereto; and first and second electrodes that are provided circumferentially on an outer circumferential surface of the resistive heat layer, and that receive and apply the electric current to the resistive heat layer, and the first electrode is provided closer to the meander regulation member than to the second electrode, and is at a distance from the edge of the fixing belt in the width direction thereof.

A fixing device includes: a heating rotary member having a heating layer generating heat upon current application; a pressurizing rotary member brought into pressure-contact with an outer circumferential surface of the heating rotary member to form fixing nip, through which a sheet on which unfixed toner image is formed passes for heat fixing; circular electrodes that are circumferentially formed at two respective positions sandwiching a sheet passing region therebetween, on the outer circumferential surface, and feed electrical power to the heating layer, the electrodes are each metallic and formed of at least two electrode layers including a first electrode layer layered directly on the heating layer and a second electrode layer as an outermost layer, linear expansion coefficient difference between the first layer and the heating layer is smaller than that between the second layer and the heating layer, and the second layer is more oxidation-resistant than the first layer.

A fixing device thermally fixes an unfixed image on a recording sheet by passing the recording sheet through a fixing nip. The fixing device has: a heat-generating endless belt; a first pressure member inside a running path of the endless belt; a second pressure member pressing the endless belt against the first pressure member from outside the running path to form the fixing nip, and a pair of power feeders. The endless belt includes: a circumferential resistive heat layer that generates heat upon receiving electric current; and a first electrode and a second electrode flanking a sheet passing area of the circumferential surface of the endless belt. Each electrode is composed of a pair of electrode layers, one on the inner and another on the outer circumferential surface of the resistive heat layer. Each power feeder is in contact with both the electrode layers of a different electrode.

An overhead projector includes a housing including a stage which is formed in its top wall and on which a transparency bearing an image to be projected is placed and an air outlet formed in one of its two side walls, an exhaust fan incorporated in the housing for exhausting air in the housing through the air outlet of the housing, a projection light source such as a high illuminance halogen lamp disposed in the housing for illuminating the transparency on the stage from inside the housing, a projection head mounted for projecting a magnified image from the transparency on a screen and including a focusing lens and a reflecting mirror, a column mounted on the housing to hold the projection head over the stage, a Fresnel lens disposed inside the stage to converge light from the light source on the focusing lens of the projection head, a cooling fan, and air guides for guiding air delivered from the cooling fan so that the air flows along a surface of the stage.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Mamoru Fukaya