Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Michio Uchida

Masaru Shimura

Kazuhiro Doda

Ken Nakagawa

Tomonori Shida

Shigeru Hoashi

Keisuke Mitsuhashi

Seiji Saito

Takashi Shimada

Takaaki Akamatsu

Kenji Kanari

Takamitsu Soda

Minoru Hayasaki

Hiroshi Mano

Aoji Isono

Yuki Nishizawa

Youhei Suzuki

Shuuichi Tetsuno

Akira Kuroda

Tomoo Akizuki

Yoshiro Saito

Atsutoshi Ando

Kiyoharu Yoshioka

Takao Nada

Takuma Abe

Yuusuke Shimizu

Masahiro Suzuki

Shuichi Tetsuno

Takaaki Tsuruya

Hideyuki Yano

Toshio Miyamoto

Tomoaki Nakai

Kazushi Ino

Tetsuya Sano

Seiji Uchiyama

Shoichi Zensai

Yoshiro Tsuchiya

Kimitaka Ichinose

Hisayuki Tomura

Shizuma Nishimura

Masatake Usui

Tomoya Kuruma

Kazunori Takashima

Hidetoshi Yamashita

Tetsuya Yamamoto

Hiroshi Kita

Takeo Kawanami

Akihiko Takeuchi

Akira Kato

Shinji Katagiri

Tsuguhiro Yoshida

Kensuke Umeda

Katsuhisa Matsunaka

Akihiko Uchiyama

Atsuyoshi Abe

Munehito Kurata

Tomoya Tateishi

Shinji Hashiguchi

Keisuke Mochizuki

Noritomo Yamaguchi

Takeshi Shinji

Masahide Hirai

Seiji Obata

Tomoyuki Araki

Tatsuya Kinukawa

Terutaka Endo

Yasuo Yoda

Toshikazu Tsuchiya

Yasunari Kobaru

Seiji Inada

Masao Umezawa

Akinori Takayama

Tamotsu Kaneko

Hirotaka Ishii

Hiroki Eguchi

Yoji Oya

Hisahiro Saito

Isao Matsuoka

Toru Saito

Yosuke Kitagawa

A fixing device to fix a toner image formed on a recording medium to the recording medium includes a rotating member, a guide member, a holding member, and a roller. The roller contacts with an outer surface of the rotating member and forms a fixing nip portion together with the guide member between the rotating member and the roller. The fixing device fixes the recording medium toner image to the recording medium while pinching and conveying the recording medium in the fixing nip portion. The guide member is pivotable relative to the holding member about a pivot point that is a shaft substantially perpendicular to a surface of the fixing nip portion. When the rotating member slides on the guide member, the guide member pivots due to a force received from the rotating member so that alignment of the guide member with respect to the holding member is corrected.

Fixing device

A cylindrical fixing member for use with a fixing device includes a heat generating layer and an electrode layer contacting the heat generating layer. The electrode layer is smaller in volume resistance value than the heat generating layer. The electrode layer is formed in a helical shape so that a helical axis thereof extends in a direction along a generatrix direction of the fixing member. One end and the other end of the electrode layer are electrically open.

Cylindrical fixing member, fixing device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on a sheet includes a main assembly, an image forming station provided in the main assembly and configured to form a toner image on the sheet, and a fixing portion provided in the main assembly and configured to fix the toner image formed on the sheet, on the sheet, the fixing portion including a fixing rotatable member and a covering member covering the rotatable member. The image forming apparatus also includes a suction mechanism including a duct connected with an opening provided in the covering member, and a fan configured to suck air inside the covering member through the duct. The air sucked by the suction mechanism is discharged into a space in the main assembly other than a space through which the sheet passes.

Image forming apparatus that discharges air to a space in a main assembly

A fixing device configured to fix an image on a recording material, includes: a rotary member including an electroconductive layer; a coil which has a spiral shaped portion and is disposed in the inside of the rotary member; and a core disposed in the spiral shaped portion; with magnetic resistance of the core being, with an area from one end to the other end of the maximum passage region of the image on the recording material regarding the generatrix direction, equal to or smaller than 30% of combined magnetic resistance made up of magnetic resistance of the electroconductive layer and magnetic resistance of a region between the electroconductive layer and the core.

Image fixing device

An image heating apparatus configured to heat an image formed on a recording material includes a cylindrical rotatable member including a conductive layer, a magnetic core inserted through the rotatable member, a coil helically wound around an outer side of the magnetic core within the rotatable member, and an inverter configured to supply an alternating current to the coil. A frequency of the alternating current supplied from the inverter is within a range of 20.5 to 100 kHz. The conductive layer generates heat by electromagnetic induction due to an alternating magnetic field produced from the alternating current supplied to the coil. The coil is wound at an interval of 1 mm or longer.

Image heating apparatus

A fixing device includes: a rotatable member including an electroconductive layer; a helical coil having a helical axis direction along a generatrix direction of the rotatable member; a magnetic member not forming a loop outside the electroconductive layer; a frequency setting portion for setting a frequency of an AC current caused to flow through the coil; and a temperature detecting portion for detecting a temperature of the rotatable member, including a first temperature detecting member and a second temperature detecting member. The electroconductive layer generates heat through electromagnetic induction heating by magnetic flux resulting from the AC current, and an image is fixed on a recording material by heat of the rotatable member. The frequency setting portion sets the frequency depending on a value of a difference between a detection temperature of the first temperature detecting member and a detection temperature of the second temperature detecting member.

Heat-fixing device

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material includes: an image forming portion for forming the image on the recording material; a fixing portion, including a cylindrical rotatable member having a heat generating layer, for fixing the image on the recording material by heat of the rotatable member; and a temperature detecting portion for detecting a temperature of the rotatable member. The temperature detecting portion monitors a temperature change amount during one rotation of the rotatable member. The rotatable member is heated by the heat generating layer generating heat by a flow of a current in a circumferential direction of the rotatable member. Depending on the temperature change amount, a notification of an abnormality of the image forming apparatus is generated.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes: an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; a belt for conveying the toner image; and a transfer device for rubbing the belt, and a surface of the transfer device, which is brought into contact with the belt includes linear concave portions or linear convex portions. The image forming apparatus of the present invention prevents a friction force between the belt and the transfer device rubbing the belt from increasing and brings a transfer member into a stable contact with the belt for conveying the toner image, thereby suppressing increase in drive torque of the belt which rubs the transfer device and suppressing occurrence of image failure.

In an image forming apparatus, one of a plurality of support members supporting an intermediate transfer belt is a guide member configured to regulate the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer belt while being held in sliding contact with the intermediate transfer belt at a position opposite the secondary transfer member across the intermediate transfer belt. This guide member is equipped with a first resistor portion in sliding contact with the intermediate transfer belt and a second resistor portion of a higher electrical resistance than the first resistor portion, with the second resistor portion provided upstream of the first resistor portion in the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer belt.

Image forming apparatus having a second resistor portion with a higher electrical resistance than a first resistor portion

The speed at which transfer-material enters a transfer region is controlled to prevent a phenomenon in which a toner image on an intermediate transfer belt is scraped by the leading edge of the transfer-material when the toner image is transferred onto the transfer-material. While the conveying speed of the transfer-material in a transfer nip coincides with the speed of the intermediate transfer belt, the transfer-material is conveyed at a speed lower than the peripheral speed of the intermediate transfer belt when the leading edge of the transfer-material comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt, and the conveying speed of the transfer-material is increased by the time when the transfer-material enters the transfer nip.

The image heating apparatus includes an endless belt, a heater placed in contact with an inner surface of the endless belt, a holder made of resin, adapted to hold the heater, and provided with a supporting space to be fitted with the heater, where a through hole is formed in a heater receiving surface of the holder at a bottom area of the supporting space; and a back-up member adapted to form a nip together with the heater to pinch and convey a recording material through the endless belt. In the bottom area, hollow portions recessed from the bottom area are provided at opposite ends in a short direction of the holder, being located at locations in a longitudinal direction of the holder different from a location in which the through hole is formed. Consequently, even if the heater heats up abnormally, heater cracks can be prevented.

An image heating apparatus, for heating, in a nip, a recording material for carrying a toner image while conveying the recording material, includes a flexible cylindrical film; a nip-forming member contacting an inner surface of the film; and a pressing member for forming the nip between itself and the film. The inner surface of the film is provided with a roughened surface portion in a region in which the nip-forming member slides on the inner surface of the film. The roughened surface portion has a skewness Rsk satisfying: Rsk&#x3c;0.

Image heating apparatus, film used for the apparatus, and manufacturing method of flexible resin material for the film

An image heating apparatus includes a flexible sleeve, a sliding member for sliding on the inner periphery of the sleeve, and a back-up member for forming a nip portion together with the sliding member through the sleeve. A recording material for bearing an image is heated while being held and conveyed by the nip portion, and a regulation member is set by facing the edge surface of the sleeve in the generatrix direction to regulate the movement of the sleeve in the generatrix direction, the regulation member having a regulation surface with which the edge surface of the sleeve contacts when the sleeve moves in the generatrix direction. The regulation surface of the regulation member has a curved-surface area in which a line when the regulation surface is cut at a virtual plane almost parallel with the nip portion is a curved line expanded toward the edge surface of the sleeve. Thereby, an image heating apparatus is provided which is able to restrain deterioration of the durability of the flexible sleeve.

Image heating apparatus using flexible sleeve

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Michio Uchida