Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

501 Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Mita Industrial Co., Ltd. (a Corp. of Japan)

Kyocera Mita Corportation

Naoyuki Ishida

Akihiro Kondo

Tadakazu Ogiri

Shigeki Hayashi

Takahisa Nakaue

Masahiko Miyazaki

Yoshifumi Okauchi

Yukihiro Ito

Syoukou Gon

Tetsuya Ichigotani

Hiroyuki Ueda

Hiroki Morishita

Yuzuru Nanjo

Eiji Nakajima

Shinichi Kotera

Tadahiro Kiyosumi

Kenichi Kasama

Shoji Hirano

Yasuhiko Moriuchi

Hideki Kitagawa

Junichi Inada

Kohichi Yasuda

Hiroshi Kubota

Masami Fuchi

Susumu Hanano

Tetsuro Tomoe

Yoshinori Makiura

Koichi Yasuda

Katsuhide Yamaguchi

Masahiro Shinohara

Hiroaki Nakamura

Hiroyuki Tanaka

Masanobu Maeshima

Mitsuharu Yoshimoto

Hiroshi Wada

Shinji Yamamoto

Hiroaki Tsuchiya

Satoru Yonemoto

Hiroshi Inui

Shuichi Akedo

Kenji Oda

Akinobu Nakahata

Ryoji Nishimura

Takeshi Aoki

Takeshi Sakaguchi

Yasuyuki Hirai

Hideki Takeda

Masao Otsuka

Makoto Eki

Toshiyuki Hamada

Kotaro Kawasaki

Susumu Takehara

Shinsuke Kawashima

Eijiro Masaki

Hiromi Okada

Sinji Yamamoto

Tamami Asari

Hisayuki Tachibana

Hideaki Tomita

Junji Jouma

Tadakazu Oogiri

An image forming apparatus has an image forming station and a fixing unit. The fixing unit includes a coil for generating a magnetic field for induction heating the heating member. A first core made of a magnetic material is arranged fixedly around the coil. A second core made of a magnetic material is between the first core and the heating member in a generation direction of the magnetic field to form a magnetic path in cooperation with the first core and capable of changing a posture thereof. A shield made of a nonmagnetic metal is arranged along the outer surface of the second core to shield magnetism in the magnetic field and a magnetic shielding portion for changing the posture of the second core between a first posture where the shield shields the magnetism and a second posture where the shield does not shield the magnetism.

Image forming apparatus with image fixing device including an induction heater and a shield located between two sections of a core of the induction heater

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit fixing a toner image onto a sheet. The fixing unit includes a heating member having a sheet conveyed region that is set in accordance with the size of the sheet. The fixing unit further includes a coil generating magnetic field, a fixed core forming a magnetic path, movable cores forming a magnetic path together with the fixed core and arranged along the sheet conveyed region, a shielding member arranged on at least one movable core and shielding magnetism, and a magnetism adjustment unit rotating at least one movable core to switch the position of the shielding member between a shielding position where the shielding member is positioned inside the sheet conveyed region to shield the magnetism and a retracted position where the shielding member is positioned outside the sheet conveyed region to permit pass of the magnetism.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit and a fixing unit. The fixing unit includes a heating member; a coil arranged along an outer surface of the heating member for generating a magnetic field for induction heating the heating member; a core arranged to face the heating member with the coil located therebetween in order to form a magnetic path around the coil and made of a magnetic material; a shielding member arranged near the magnetic path generated by the coil, including a closed frame portion and made of a nonmagnetic metal; and a magnetic shielding portion for displacing the shielding member between a retracted position for permitting a magnetic flux to pass along a frame surface virtually formed inside the closed frame portion and a shielding position for shielding magnetism by the penetration of a magnetic flux inside the frame surface.

Image forming apparatus with fixing unit having induction heating member and shielding member for controlling induction heating

A fixing unit () of an image forming apparatus () includes a heating member () having a first area where a sheet does not come into contact with the heating member () and a second area where the sheet comes into contact with the heating member (). The fixing unit () further includes a coil () forming a magnetic field, cores () forming a magnetic path near the coil (), a nonmagnetic magnetism adjusting member () arranged on the magnetic path and having a closed frame, and a switcher () capable of switching the magnetism adjusting member () between a first state where the magnetism adjusting member () generates an induction current resulting from the magnetic field to shield the magnetism in the first area, and a second state where the magnetism adjusting member () generates no induction current and the magnetism is not shielded in the first area.

Image forming apparatus with induction heating coil unit and a magnetism adjusting member with a closed frame shape

A fixing device for image forming apparatus includes: a first nip member in a shape of an endless belt and a second nip member that rotates while pressed against the first nip member. A heat source heats at least one of the nip members. A pressure receiver receives pressure applied to the first nip member from the second nip member. A sliding contact has a contact surface that makes sliding contact with an inner surface of an axial end of the first nip member. A supporting mechanism supports the sliding contact to displace the contact surface thereof away from the pressure receiver as the first nip member moves away from the sliding contact along the axial direction. The displacement increases frictional forces between the contact surface and the inner surface of the first nip member, thus suppressing axial displacement of the first nip member from the sliding contact.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus equipped with the same

A fixing deviceaccording to the present invention has an endless-shaped heating belt, a first and a second rollerandfor stretching the heating belt, and a pressure rollerfor nipping paper, together with the heating belt. The first rolleris supported so as to be rotatable by bearingsarranged at both ends of the first roller. The second rolleris supported so as to be rotatable by bearingsarranged at both ends of the second roller. The bearingfor supporting the first rolleris arranged more inward in an axial direction Zof the rollers than the bearingfor supporting the second roller

Fixing device

A fixing deviceincludes a fixing belt, a heat source, a support member, a pressure roller, and a reinforcing member. The fixing belthas a metal sleeve. The heat sourceis provided within the fixing beltThe support memberhas a contact surfacethat is in sliding contact with the inside surface of the fixing belt. The pressure rollerforms a nip with the bottom surfacebetween which the fixing beltis sandwiched and pressed. The pressure rollerdrives the fixing beltto rotate. The reinforcing memberhas a surface contacting the support memberon which a plurality of irregularities is formed. The reinforcing memberis positioned on a side opposite the support member to the bottom surface, and receives a pressure force applied by the pressure roller

In a developing device according to the present invention, a developing roller has a fixed shaft and a sleeve . The length of a draw-up magnetic pole N provided in the fixed shaft is made shorter than the length of a main magnetic pole N . Accordingly, the amount of a developer adhering to both ends of an outer peripheral surface of the sleeve is reduced, so that the density of the developer at both the ends of the sleeve is maintained in suitable conditions in a state where the developer is over the main magnetic pole N

Developing device for preventing thickening of the developer at both ends of a sleeve

A transfer roller is spaced away from the outer surface of a photosensitive drum by a specified distance to prevent the abrasion and damage of the photosensitive drum by the contact of the transfer roller and the photosensitive drum. The transfer roller not in contact with the photosensitive drum can be formed to have a sufficient hardness without damaging the outer surface of the photosensitive drum. Further, since the transfer roller has a sufficient hardness, cleaning blades can be held in without damaging the transfer roller with a sufficiently large force without damaging the transfer roller, thereby securely scraping off toner and the line adhered to the transfer roller and preventing the rear surface of a transfer sheet from being smeared.

Image forming apparatus with cleanable transfer roller

In an image forming apparatus, after having a toner image fixed onto a sheet by fixing means, the sheet is selectively transported toward a certain destination of a plurality of destinations via one of a plurality of transport routes which is selected by a route changer mechanism. A frame is detachably mounted to a main body of the image forming apparatus. The fixing means and the route changer mechanism are mounted on the frame.

Image forming apparatus having a removable route changer

An image forming apparatus has an optical system, an image forming section and a paper conveying section provided in its main body. The main body includes a first portion containing the optical system and a second portion containing the image forming section and the paper conveying section below the first portion. A paper discharging section opening toward the front is provided between the first portion and the second portion. The first portion is shifted by a predetermined amount backward with the position where it is lined up to a second portion as a basis. It is easy to visually confirm whether or not there is a paper sheet in the paper discharging section below the first portion.

Image forming apparatus with a first body portion shifted relative to a

An image-forming machine has a sheet member conveying passage extending through a transfer zone and a fixing zone, a sheet member-feeder for feeding a sheet member to the sheet member conveying passage, and a sheet member conveyor for conveying the sheet member through the sheet member conveying passage. A housing of the image-forming machine has a lower surface defined by an intermediate lower wall and an upper surface defined by an intermediate upper wall, and has a space of which the front surface is opened. The downstream end portion of the sheet member conveying passage extends along one side portion of the intermediate lower wall on the lower side thereof. That one side portion of the intermediate lower wall is defined by an opening/closing member which is brought to the open position to open the downstream end portion of the sheet member conveying passage. The sheet member conveyer includes a pair of register rollers. After the leading edge of the sheet member delivered to the sheet member conveying passage is brought into contact with the nip of the pair of register rollers, the pair of register rollers are preliminarily rotated for only a predetermined period of time.

Image-forming machine capable of opening to permit ready access to

An image-forming machine comprises a sheet member conveying passage extending through a transfer zone and a fixing zone, a sheet member-feeding means for feeding a sheet member onto the sheet member conveying passage, and a sheet member conveying means for conveying the sheet member through the sheet member conveying passage. A housing of the image-forming machine has a lower surface defined by an intermediate lower wall and an upper surface defined by an intermediate upper wall, and forms a space of which the front surface is opened. The downstream end portion of the sheet member conveying passage extends along a one side portion of the intermediate lower wall on the lower side thereof. The one side portion of the intermediate lower wall is defined by the opening/closing member, and opening/closing member is brought to the open position to open the downstream end portion of the sheet member conveying passage. The sheet member conveying means includes a pair of register rollers. After the leading edge of the sheet member delivered onto the sheet member conveying passage is brought into contact with the nip of the pair of register rollers, the pair of register rollers are preliminarily rotated for only a predetermined period of time.

Image-forming machine

An image forming machine having a transfer roller comprises a rotatably disposed photoconductor drum, a transfer roller disposed opposite the photoconductor drum with a predetermined gap provided therebetween, a register roller pair for feeding a transfer sheet toward a transfer area where the photoconductor drum and the transfer roller are opposed to each other, transfer sheet guide means disposed between the register roller pair and the transfer area, and a fixing roller pair for fixing a toner image transferred to the transfer sheet passing through the transfer area. The transfer sheet guide means comprises an inner guide plate and an outer guide plate, and the inner guide plate has a linear guide portion extending toward a predetermined position on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum. The predetermined position is set in an angular range (.theta.) covering 12.degree. to 23.degree. upstream, in the direction of rotation of the photoconductor drum, from a line connecting the center of rotation of the photoconductor drum to the center of rotation of the transfer roller, while the linear guide portion of the inner guide plate forms an angle (.alpha.) with a tangent to the photoconductor drum at the predetermined position, the angle (.alpha.) being set at 19.degree. to 30.degree..

Image forming machine with transfer roller

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Osaka, Japan

Naoyuki Ishida