Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp.

Noriyuki Miyoshi

Masakatsu Eda

Kenji Hara

Yasutaka Naito

Keiichiro Sato

Keita Yano

Makoto Hasegawa

Keiji Miba

Seiji Taira

Yumiko Onuma

Yoshiaki Tainaka

Tomofumi Suzuki

Satoshi Nakamura

Kouichi Kimura

Shogo Kamiya

Norio Ogawahara

Nobuyoshi Komatsu

Tatsunori Izawa

Yuhei Tomita

Koichi Imazu

Kazuma Teranishi

A paper transport device includes a transport mechanism that transports paper to which an image is transferred to a fixing device while sucking the paper and a switching mechanism that switches between suction regions in a width direction of the transport mechanism, which corresponds to a width direction of the paper, according to a size of the paper.

Paper transport device

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device and a controller. The fixing device includes a heating unit and a pressurizing unit. The heating unit is configured to come into contact with a recording medium, onto which an image is transferred and which is transported, so as to heat the recording medium while rotating. The pressurizing unit is configured to press the recording medium against the heating unit. The fixing device is configured to fix the image to the recording medium. The controller is configured to control switching between a first mode for fixing the image to the recording medium and a second mode for making a transport speed of a sheet member that passes through the fixing device slower than a peripheral speed of the heating unit.

Image forming apparatus including a controller configured to control switching between a first mode and second mode

A fixing device includes a heating unit, a pressure unit, a moving unit, and a controller. The heating unit is configured to heat a toner on a recording medium. The pressure unit is configured to transport the recording medium while sandwiching the recording medium in a nip that the pressure unit and the heating unit form. The moving unit is configured to change a nip state of the pressure unit with respect to the heating unit by moving the heating unit or the pressure unit. The controller is configured to, when plural recording media are transported continuously, control the moving unit so that the moving unit moves the heating unit or the pressure unit in a separation direction so as to reduce a nip width at a recording medium interval between the recording media.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes first to third support portions, first and second members, first and second biasing members, and a switching portion. The first support portion presses an endless belt against a rotating body. The second member is supported in the endless belt so as to be separable from the first support portion. The first biasing member biases the second member to a rotating body side. The second support portion supports the first support portion. The third support portion supports the second support portion, rotates the first support portion in a direction of approaching the rotating body by pressing the first support portion to the rotating body side at a first position, and is separated from the first support portion at a second position. The second biasing member biases the second support portion to the rotating body side. The switching portion switches between first and second states.

A lifespan determination device determines a lifespan of a fixing unit including a heating member and a pressing member and fixing a toner image onto a sheet passing through a feed area therebetween. The device includes a counting unit, a determining unit, and a notifying unit. The counting unit includes counters for respective sheet widths and adds, to a count value of a counter corresponding to a sheet width of the fed sheet, a count value obtained by multiplying the number of fed sheets having the sheet width by a first weight coefficient corresponding to a degree of damage given to the fixing unit by the fed sheet. The determining unit determines whether or not a count value of any one of the counters has reached a predetermined value. The notifying unit provides a notification indicating that the lifespan is reached if the count value has reached the predetermined value.

Lifespan determination device and image forming apparatus

A heating and pressurizing device includes a heating and pressurizing unit that includes a pair of members in contact with each other, at least one of the pair of members being to be heated, and that heats and pressurizes a medium between the pair of members, a change unit that changes a contact pressure between the pair of members by changing a relative position of the pair of members according to a control signal, and a controller that sends the control signal to the change unit and includes a detecting unit that detects a difference between a target distance and an actual distance. The target distance corresponds to a predetermined distance, and the actual distance corresponds to a distance of which the pair of members are positioned after the controller sends a predetermined control signal set as corresponding to the predetermined distance as the control signal to the change unit.

Heating and pressurizing device and image forming apparatus for controlling a contact pressure between a pair of heating and pressurizing members

A curl correction device that corrects curl, including: a curl correction shaft that drives to carry a sheet; a first supporting member that supports the curl correction shaft; a curl correction roll that holds the sheet between the curl correction shaft and the curl correction roll and presses the sheet against the curl correction shaft; a second supporting member that supports the curl correction roll and rotates the curl correction roll around a first end in the longitudinal direction of the curl correction roll between closed state and open state; and a cam mechanism that provides, via a cam, the curl correction shaft with driving force for pressing the curl correction roll according to a position of the cam, the cam mechanism being provided with a cam shaft, a connecting member, a first cam receiving member, and a second cam receiving member.

Curl correction device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a recording material transporting path that extends in a direction from below upward and that transports a recording material, a fixing device provided on the way of the recording material transporting path, the fixing device having a rotatable heating member that has a heating source provided inside thereof and a rotatable pressure member that forms a fixing nip in pressure contact with the heating member, and a detaching member that contacts the heating member in the vicinity at a downstream side of the of the fixing nip in the rotation direction of the heating member and detaches the recording material from the heating member. The detachment member has a detachment guide surface extending from a contact point with the heating member, and a tilt of the detachment guide surface toward the pressure member side in relation with a vertical line including the contact point is not more than 2.5&#xb0;.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a recording material transporting path that extends in a direction from bottom to top of a body of the image forming apparatus and transports a recording material, a fixing device provided on the recording material transporting path, which includes a rotatable heating member that has an internal heat source and a rotatable pressure member that forms a nip area with the heating member by being located in contact with and pressed against the heating member, to nip the recording material for carrying out a fixing process, and an ejection guide member that guides a recording material ejected from the nip area to the outside of the image forming apparatus. The ejection guide member has a guide surface formed to intersect a tangent line of the heating member at the most downstream point of the nip area, and the guide surface intersects the tangent line at an obtuse angle.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Noriyuki Miyoshi