Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Naoyuki Iwata

Tomoaki Hazeyama

Yasuhiro Maruyama

Akihiro Kobayashi

Yusuke Murodate

Yuji Nishigaki

Masaru Takeuchi

Takayuki Akimatsu

Tetsuya Ogawa

Takeshi Takami

A fixing device includes: an endless fusing belt; a heater; a nip member; and a backup member. The endless fusing belt has a width in a widthwise direction. The nip member is disposed spaced apart from the heater. The nip member has a contact surface. The contact surface has widthwise end portions in the widthwise direction. The backup member is configured to nip the fusing belt in cooperation with the nip member. The fusing belt is configured to move in a moving direction at a position where the fusing belt is nipped between the nip member and the backup member. The contact surface has at least two grooves one formed in corresponding one of the widthwise end portions and another formed in the other of the widthwise end portions and extending at an angle equal to or smaller than 10 degrees with respect to the moving direction.

Fixing device provided with nip member capable of preventing outflow of lubricant

A fixing device may include an endless belt and a nip member in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the endless belt. The fixing device may further include a backup member that nips the endless belt together with the nip member. The fixing device may include a contact member disposed opposite the backup member with the nip member therebetween. The contact member may be in contact with the nip member. The contact member may include a first portion that extends across a width of a maximum image forming area and a second portion positioned outside the width of the maximum image forming area and inside a width of the nip in an axial direction of the endless belt. A heat transfer coefficient per unit dimension between the nip member and the second portion may be smaller than that between the nip member and the first portion.

Fixing device

A fixing device includes an endless belt, a backup roller, and a nip member having a first slide contact surface, a second slide contact surface, and a connecting surface connecting the first and second slide contact surfaces. A curvature radius of the second slide contact surface is greater than that of the backup roller in cross section perpendicular to an axis of the backup roller. The connecting surface is disposed between a first imaginary plane and a second imaginary plane, the first imaginary plane including an edge of the endless belt and extending perpendicularly to the axis of the backup roller, the second imaginary plane including an end of a maximum image area proximate to the edge of the endless belt and extending perpendicularly to the axis of the backup roller.

A fixing device includes an endless belt extending in a first direction and configured to rotate, a nip member extending in the first direction and disposed in contact with an inner surface of the endless belt, a backup member extending in the first direction and disposed in contact with an outer surface of the endless belt such that that the backup roller and the nip member sandwich the endless belt therebetween and the backup member and the endless belt form a nip therebetween, a first heating element extending along the endless belt in the first direction and configured to generate heat, and an inner surface guide disposed in contact with an end portion of the inner surface of the endless belt in the first direction and spaced apart from the nip in a second direction. The inner surface guide includes a second heating element configured to generate heat.

Heating elements for maintaining temperature of a fixing film in a fixing device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus may include a main body having a surface. The main body may accommodate a photosensitive member disposed away from the surface and along a conveying path and a fuser. The fuser may be disposed downstream from the photosensitive member along the conveying path and have a portion disposed further away from the surface than the photosensitive member. The fuser may include an endless belt and a nip plate. The nip plate may include a first surface with lubricant thereon that faces an inner surface of the endless belt, and a second surface that extends from an end of the first surface. The second surface may be spaced apart from the inner surface of the endless belt and include a furthest downstream portion of the nip plate.

Image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes an endless belt, a nip member having a contact surface that is in contact with the inner surface of the endless belt, a backup member configured to pinch the endless belt in conjunction with the nip member, an upstream guide disposed upstream of the nip portion in the rotating direction, and a regulating portion. The upstream guide and the nip member are disposed while a first gap is provided, in a conveying direction of the recording sheet, between a middle portion of the upstream guide and a middle portion of the nip member. The regulating portion and one of the upstream guide and the nip member are disposed while a second gap is provided therebetween in the conveying direction of the recording sheet. The second gap is smaller than the first gap in the conveying direction of the recording sheet.

The present invention provides a fixing device that may include a nip member, a rotating body and an endless belt. The endless belt may be in sliding contact with the nip member. The rotating body may constitute a nip region. The nip region may define a first, second and third imaginary planes. The first imaginary plane may be perpendicular to the sliding direction. The second imaginary plane may be perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating body and may contain a first end portion of the nip region. The third imaginary plane may contain a second end portion of the nip region. The first surface may be a convex shape in a first cross-section along the first imaginary plane, and may be concave shape concaved in a direction opposite to the rotating body in second and third cross-sections along the second and third imaginary planes.

Fixing device provided with rotating member having concave shape

Some fixing devices include a nip member, an endless belt, a rotating member and a stay. The stay, in some arrangements, has a first supporting face. Additionally, the first supporting face includes a first downstream edge. The first downstream edge includes a first portion, a third portion, and a second portion. According to various aspects, the second portion is positioned between the first portion and the third portion. The second supporting face includes a second downstream edge. The second downstream edge has a fourth portion, a sixth portion, and a fifth portion. According to further aspects, the second portion and the fifth portion define a first distance while the first portion and the fourth portion define a second distance, and the third portion and the sixth portion define a third distance. The second distance and the third distance is longer than the first distance in some examples.

Fixing device fixing transferred developing agent image to sheet

A fixing device may include a nip member, an endless belt, a rotating body, and a stay. The endless belt may be in sliding contact with the nip member. The rotating body may nip the endless belt to constitute a nip region. The stay may be disposed opposite to the nip region, and may receive a pressure from the nip member. A pressure direction may be defined as a first direction. The rotating body may define an axial direction as a second direction. The stay may have a first wall. The first wall may include a center portion, a first end portion, a second end portion and a supporting portion. The first end portion may include a first low rigidity portion. The second end portion may include a second low rigidity portion. The supporting portion may provide a convex shape protruding toward the nip member upon receiving the pressure.

Fixing device provided with stay having rigidity distribution

There is provided a fixing device configured to thermally fix a developer image onto a sheet, the fixing device including: a flexible tubular member; a nip member; a backup member; a first member: a second member: a biasing member; and a transmission member. The biasing member presses the nip member toward the backup member side through the first member and the second member by biasing both end portions of the first member in a width direction of the sheet toward the backup member. The transmission member is provided between the first member and the second member. The transmission member transmits a biasing force, which is applied from the biasing member to the first member, to a center portion of the second member in the width direction of the sheet.

Fixing device including nip member, backup member and biasing member for pressing nip member toward backup member

A fixing device includes a metal plate, an endless belt, a rotating body, and a stay. The metal plate has a main part comprising a first end portion, a second end portion, and a center portion positioned therebetween and having rigidity higher than that of the first end portion and the second end portion. The endless belt has an inner peripheral surface configured to be in sliding contact with the metal plate. The main part is aligned with the rotating body in a direction from the metal plate to the rotating body. The stay is disposed opposite to the nip region with respect to the metal plate. The stay and the main part of the metal plate are deformable upon application of the load to the stay such that the main part provides a convex shape protruding toward the rotating body.

Fixing device provided with reinforced nip member

A sheet feeding device including: a sheet feeding roller configured to convey a sheet; a placing portion on which the sheet is configured to be placed; a moving unit configured to move the placing portion toward the sheet feeding roller; a separation pad to which a leading end of the conveyed sheet is configured to abut at a contact position; a separation roller configured to nip the sheet conveyed by the sheet feeding roller between the separation pad and the separation roller at a nip position while bringing the sheet into sliding contact with the separation pad; and a separation assistant member provided between the sheet feeding roller and the separation roller and configured to change a distance between the nip position and the contact position according to a basis weight of the sheet by coming into contact with the sheet.

Sheet feeding device

An image reading apparatus may include a main unit and a cover unit pivotally attached to the main unit. The cover unit may include an image reading device configured to read an image of a document along a conveying path. The image reading device may include a contact image sensor, a sensor holder to hold the contact image sensor, an urging member, and a shock absorber. The contact image sensor is disposed below the conveying path. The sensor holder has an open top boxed shape and holds the contact image sensor in position inside. The urging member is disposed in an inner bottom surface of the sensor holder to urge the contact image sensor toward the conveying path. The shock absorber is disposed between a bottom surface of the contact image sensor and the inner bottom surface of the sensor holder, and is made of a porous material.

Image reading apparatus

An optical scanning device including: a light source part that is provided in a resin-molded casing and emits a laser beam; a deflector that is arranged in the casing and deflects and scans the laser beam, the deflector including, a rotary polygon mirror that reflects the laser beam, a driving source that rotates the rotary polygon mirror, and a substrate member; and the casing including, a fixed wall that extends in a direction perpendicular to a mirror surface of the rotary polygon mirror, a first fixing part that is provided to the fixed wall and fixes the light source part, a second fixing part that is provided to the fixed wall and fixes the substrate member, and a reinforcing part that is provided to the fixed wall and extends toward the emission direction so as to continuously connect the first fixing part and the second fixing part.

Growing community of inventors

Kakamigahara, Japan

Naoyuki Iwata