Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Masahiro Samei

Yasunori Ishigaya

Hideki Tatematsu

Kazunori Matsuo

Takayuki Andoh

Kota Shiodera

Hiroshi Yoshinaga

Daisuke Inoue

Keiichi Matsuzaki

Tadafumi Shimizu

Tomoya Adachi

Ryota Yamashina

Toshiyuki Kabata

Kenji Asakura

Takumi Waida

Tomoyuki Noguchi

Yuusuke Furuichi

Ippei Fujimoto

Yukimichi Someya

Kazuhito Kishi

Yoshiharu Takahashi

Hiroshi Seo

Masaru Imai

Yasuharu Kawarasaki

Shoichi Kitagawa

Shouichi Kitagawa

Takeshi Yamamoto

Hiroshi Ono

Tamotsu Ikeda

Tomohiko Fujii

Takamasa Hase

Yutaka Naitoh

Yoshihiro Fukuhata

Minoru Toyoda

Yukinori Hara

Tadayuki Kajiwara

Yoshiki Yamaguchi

Takashi Fujita

Noboru Katakabe

Shigeo Nanno

Hitoshi Fujiwara

Yukiko Nakajima

Toshio Ogiso

Misaki Shimizu

Ryohhei Sugiyama

Keisuke Kawabata

Kenta Kashiwagi

Tomoyuki Nishikawa

Hirofumi Ihara

Kazuhiko Soeda

Yuichi Monda

Eiji Torikai

Kenji Ishii

Takayuki Seki

Arinobu Yoshiura

Kenichi Hasegawa

Hiroyuki Shimada

Haruyuki Honda

Kohta Sakaya

Seiji Saitoh

Akihiro Yasuda

Hideaki Yamada

Shigemitsu Tani

Yasuhiro Nonaka

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device and circuitry. The fixing device includes a pair of rotators and a heater. The pair of rotators forms a nip through which recording media pass in a conveyance direction. The heater heats at least one of the pair of rotators to fix images printed on the recording media. The circuitry is configured to acquire image data of the images to be printed on the recording media within three minutes after a start of printing the images on the recording media and set an output of the heater to be lower than a predetermined reference value within the three minutes after the start of printing based on the image data.

Image forming apparatus

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 fixing device includes a rotator, a heater, a rotator support, a nip formation pad, lubricant, and a pressure rotator. The heater heats an inner circumferential surface of the rotator. The rotator support supports an end of the inner circumferential surface of the rotator in an axial direction of the rotator. The rotator slides on the rotator support. The nip formation pad is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the rotator. One end of the nip formation pad in a longitudinal direction of the nip formation pad is separated from the rotator support with a clearance of 2 mm or more. The lubricant is between the rotator and the nip formation pad. The pressure rotator presses the nip formation pad via the rotator to form a nip between the rotator and the pressure rotator.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A heating device includes a rotator, a heater, a rotator holder, lubricant, and a shield. The heater heats the rotator in a heat generation range. The rotator holder holds an end of the rotator in a longitudinal direction of the rotator. The lubricant adheres to the rotator holder. The shield shields heat transferred from the heater. The shield includes a first shield, a second shield, and a heat transfer reducer. The first shield faces the heater and the rotator. The second shield faces the rotator holder. The second shield is outside the heat generation range in the longitudinal direction. The heat transfer reducer is disposed between the first shield and the second shield. The heat transfer reducer reduces the heat transferred from the first shield to the second shield.

A heating device includes a rotator that rotates and a heater that is disposed opposite an inner circumferential face of the rotator. The heater heats the rotator. A rotator holder is disposed opposite the inner circumferential face of the rotator. The rotator holder holds a lateral end of the rotator in a longitudinal direction of the rotator. The rotator holder is adhered with a lubricating substance. A heat shield is disposed between the heater and the rotator and between the heater and the rotator holder. The heat shield blocks radiant heat radiated from the heater and is separated from the rotator holder. The heat shield includes a first portion and a second portion that is disposed outboard from the first portion in the longitudinal direction of the rotator. The second portion is separated from the inner circumferential face of the rotator farther than the first portion is.

Heating device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus with heat shield including first portion and second portion

A heating device includes a rotator, a heater heating the rotator, a rotator holder holding a longitudinal end of the inner peripheral surface of the rotator, and lubricant applied to the rotator holder. The rotator holder includes a holding portion contacting the end of the inner peripheral surface, a flange portion contacting a longitudinal end of the rotator and extending outward in a radial direction of a loop of the rotator, and an inclined surface. The inclined surface is inclined in a direction away from an inner peripheral surface of the rotator from the holding portion toward the flange portion.

Heating device, nip forming device, and image forming apparatus

A heating device includes a rotator, a heating source, a reflector, a rotator holder, and a liquid or semi-solid substance. The rotator is rotatably held. The heating source heats the rotator. The reflector includes a reflection face that reflects radiant heat emitted from the heating source. The reflection face has a reflectance lower at each end portion of the reflection face in a longitudinal direction of the rotator than at a center portion of the reflection face in the longitudinal direction of the rotator. The rotator holder holds a longitudinal end portion of the rotator. The liquid or semi-solid substance has lubricity and adheres to the rotator holder.

A heating device includes a rotator, a heating source, a rotator holder, and a liquid or semi-solid substance. The rotator is rotatably held. The heating source heats the rotator. The rotator holder holds a longitudinal end portion of the rotator. The rotator holder includes a reflector disposed at least at a portion to be irradiated with radiant heat emitted from the heating source to reflect the radiant heat. The reflector has a reflectance of not less than 60%. The liquid or semi-solid substance has lubricity and adheres to the rotator holder.

Heating device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus including lubricant and reflector

An image forming apparatus includes a heating device, a recording medium ejector, a recording medium tray, an outer wall having an intake, and a filter. The heating device heats a recording medium having an image on one side of the recording medium. The recording medium ejector ejects the recording medium with the one side facing downward. On the recording medium tray, the recording medium ejected by the recording medium ejector is stacked. The intake is open toward the recording medium tray and is disposed at a position below the recording medium ejector. At the position, a maximum amount of recording media placeable on the recording medium tray does not cover at least a part of the intake. The filter collects foreign substances in air sucked from the intake.

Image forming apparatus including a filter for collect foreign substances in air sucked into at least one intake

A heating device includes a rotator that rotates and a heater that heats the rotator. A rotator holder holds each lateral end of the rotator in a longitudinal direction of the rotator. The rotator holder is adhered with one of silicone oil and silicone grease, that contains siloxanes that are not smaller than a dodecamer and not greater than a heptadecamer and have a concentration not greater than 1,250 ppm.

A heating device includes a rotator, a heating source, a reflector, a shield, a rotator holder, and a liquid or semi-solid substance. The rotator is rotatably held. The heating source heats the rotator. The reflector reflects radiant heat emitted from the heating source. The shield is disposed closer to a longitudinal end portion of the rotator than to a longitudinal center portion of the rotator to shield, between the heating source and the rotator, the radiant heat emitted from the heating source. The shield has a reflectance lower than a reflectance of the reflector. The rotator holder holds the longitudinal end portion of the rotator. The liquid or semi-solid substance has lubricity and adheres to the rotator holder.

Heating device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus including a rotator holder and reflector

An image reading device, an image forming apparatus, and a feed tray. The image reading device is provided with a light source that irradiates a sheet with light, and the light source is a sterilizing-light emitting light source that irradiates the sheet with light to sterilize the sheet. The image forming apparatus includes the image reading device, a housing including an image forming device that forms an image on a sheet, and a sterilizing-light emitting light source disposed in a sheet conveyance path in the housing. The feed tray for containing a plurality of sheets, the feed tray includes a sterilizing-light emitting light source.

Image reading device, image forming apparatus, and feed tray comprising a sterilizing light source to sterilize a sheet

A heating device includes a rotating body, a heating source, a rotating body holder, and a lubricant of liquid or semi-solid. The heating source heats the rotating body. The rotating body holder holds both longitudinal ends of the rotating body rotatably. The lubricant of liquid or semi-solid adheres to the rotating body holder. A temperature of the rotating body holder is lower than a generation temperature of fine particles of the lubricant.

Heating device configured to limit a temperature rise of a lubricant, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A heater includes a base, a plurality of heat generators arranged on the base in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the base, a plurality of electrodes on the base, and conductor paths disposed on the base. The conductor paths are electrically connected to the heat generators and the electrodes. The conductor paths include a main conductor path connected to one of the electrodes and a branch conductor path branched from the main conductor path. At least a part of the branch conductor path has a lower electrical resistance per unit length than an electrical resistance per unit length of the main conductor path.

Heater, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A heater includes a base layer, a heat generator mounted on the base layer, and a slide layer mounted on the base layer. A sliding face of a counterpart slides over the slide layer. The slide layer is made of a material containing fluorine and includes a slide face that contacts the sliding face of the counterpart. The slide face of the slide layer has a surface roughness that is greater than a surface roughness of the sliding face of the counterpart.

Heater, heating device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Masahiro Samei