Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Fuji Zerox Co., Ltd.

Noboru Endo

Yasuo Sakaguchi

Fumio Daishi

A surface treatment device includes a belt member having a surface layer in which plural kinds of rubbers having a different hardness mixedly exist. In the device, a press/heat unit presses a recording medium with a toner image formed against the belt member such that the toner image contacts with the surface layer, and heats the recording medium to melt at least a surface of the toner image.

Surface treatment device, image forming apparatus, belt member, and image forming method

The invention provides a fixing method including conveying a recording medium on which a toner image has been formed using a fixing belt, in a state in which the fixing belt contacts with a surface of the recording medium on which the toner image is formed, at least from a fixing portion in which the toner image is fixed by heating and pressing the recording medium to a cooling portion in which the recording medium after fixing is cooled, wherein the ten-point average roughness (Rz) of a surface of the fixing belt contacting with the recording medium is 0.7 &#x3bc;m or less or the filtered maximum waviness in every convex portion present on a surface of the fixing belt contacting with the recording medium is 50 &#x3bc;m or less. The invention also provides a fixing apparatus using the method and an image forming apparatus using the method.

Fixing method, fixing apparatus using the same, and image forming apparatus

In an image-recording device of the present invention, driving force of a motor for driving is transmitted to two idle gears, which are the same shape and are disposed at positions of linear symmetry with respect to a center line C. Driving force is transmitted by way of the idle gears to power-input gears which are fixed coaxially with a supply gear and an ejection gear, respectively. That is, a supply side driving force transmission system, ranging from the motor to the supply gear, and a discharge side driving force transmission system, ranging from the motor to the ejection gear, have the same structure. Therefore, a recording sheet will be stably conveyed at the same conveyance speed throughout an image recording region, and high quality image recording can be carried out reliably. Thus, conveyance amounts can be kept consistent in the image recording region, even without using special apparatus, and high quality images can be recorded at low cost.

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Minami-ashigara, Japan

Noboru Endo