Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Takuji Matsuno

Kei Ishida

Noboru Suzuki

Yoshihiro Miyauchi

Yasushi Fujiwara

Tomohiro Kondo

Hiroki Mori

Kenji Takeuchi

Kotaro Haruta

Kaoru Suzuki

Seiji Hiramatsu

Naoya Kamimura

Masashi Suzuki

Tomoaki Hattori

Hiroshi Handa

Tatsuo Ogasawara

Kazushi Fukuta

Hisashi Tsukawaki

Yoshimitsu Doi

Yoshiya Tomatsu

Keita Shimizu

Akihiro Kobayashi

Masahito Kajita

Atsushi Ozawa

Seiichi Senda

Takehiro Masuda

Mingguang Zhang

Kazuyoshi Minaminaka

Masaki Yasuda

Kotaro Fujishiro

An image forming apparatus includes: a heating unit; a pressure roller; a first frame supporting the heating unit; a second frame engaging the first frame; a first gear; a second gear; and a fixing member. The second frame supports a shaft portion of the pressure roller. The first gear is provided at one end of the shaft portion and rotatable with the pressure roller. The second gear engages the first gear and transmits a drive force to the first gear. The fixing member has a first portion engaging the shaft portion and a second portion engaging the second frame. At least a part of the first portion engages the shaft portion at a position on a downstream side of the shaft portion in a second direction in which the shaft portion receives a force upon transmission of the drive force.

Image forming apparatus provided with fixing member engaged to roller and frame

A fixing device includes a fixing roller, a pressure member, a heating device, a first pressing member, a second pressing member, and a pair of bearings. The pressure member is configured to nip a recording medium in cooperation with the fixing roller. The heating device is disposed opposite to the pressure member relative to the fixing roller. The first pressing member is configured to press the pressure member toward the fixing roller with a first pressing force. The second pressing member is configured to press the heating device toward the fixing roller with a second pressing force. The fixing roller includes a driven gear to be driven by a drive gear that is configured to apply a third pressing force to the driven gear. The third pressing force includes a component opposite in direction to a resultant force of the first pressing force and the second pressing force.

Fixing device having pressing member and gear arrangement

A fixing device includes a belt, and a belt guide configured to guide movement of the belt. The belt guide includes a base part and a first protrusion protruding from a surface of the base part toward a surface of the belt. The first protrusion has a distal end surface and a side surface, the surface of the belt being configured to contact the distal end surface, the distal end surface having a distal surface roughness, the side surface connecting the distal end surface and the surface of the base part. At least one of the side surface and the surface of the base part includes a rough region having a surface roughness higher than the distal surface roughness.

Fixing device provided with belt guide, and method of manufacturing the same

Image forming apparatus provided with heating unit and pressure roller

An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit, a fixing unit, a temperature sensor, and a controller to execute a printing operation is provided. The printing operation is conducted at one of a first high-temperature printing pace, a first low-temperature printing pace, a second high-temperature printing pace, and a second low-temperature printing pace depending on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor. The first low-temperature printing pace is one of lower and equal to the first high-temperature printing pace. The second low-temperature printing pace is one of lower and equal to the second high-temperature printing pace. An absolute difference between the second high-temperature printing pace and the second low-temperature printing pace is greater than an absolute difference between the first high-temperature printing pace and the first low-temperature printing pace.

Image forming apparatus, method to convey a sheet, and computer readable medium for the image forming apparatus

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 includes a frame, a first fixing member, a second fixing member, a first conducting member, and a second conducting member. The second fixing member includes a belt configured to form a nip region. The first fixing member is positioned at a first side and the second fixing member is positioned at a second side opposite to the first side. The first conducting member includes a first contacting portion exposed to an outside from the frame, and a first connecting portion electrically connecting the first fixing member and the first contacting portion. The second conducting member includes a second contacting portion exposed to an outside from the frame, and a second connecting portion electrically connecting the second fixing member and the second contacting portion. Both of the first contacting portion and the second contacting portion are positioned at one of the first side and the second side.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus provided with the same

A fixing device for thermally fixing a developer image transferred onto a recording sheet, includes: a flexible fusing member which is flexibly deformable; a heating element; a nip member disposed in such a manner as to contact with a surface of the flexible fusing member and to allow the flexible fusing member to slide along the nip member; a reflecting plate configured to reflect radiant heat from the heating element in a direction toward the nip member; a backup member configured to nip the flexible fusing member with the nip member to thereby form a nip portion for the recording sheet between the flexible fusing member and the backup member; and a stay configured to support both end portions of the nip member. The reflecting plate has at least one flange portion, and the flange portion is held and supported between the nip member and the stay.

Fixing device

A fixing device includes an endless belt, a heating plate, a pressure roller, a first belt guide and a second belt guide. The endless belt has a tubular shape and extends in a first direction. The heating plate is disposed inside the endless belt and extends in the first direction. The first belt guide guides an end of the endless belt in the first direction and includes an inner guide and a restriction portion to restrict movement of the endless belt in the first direction. The second belt guide faces the first belt guide in a second direction and extends from a vicinity of the heating plate to a vicinity of the inner guide along the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt. An end of the restriction portion in the second direction closer to the heating plate is located closer to the second belt guide than the inner guide.

Belt frame for fixing device

A fuser unit of this disclosure includes: an endless belt; a nip member; a belt guide; a stay; a first member; a second member; and a backup member, wherein the belt guide, which is configured to guide the endless belt, has: a first surface, which faces in a direction from a second end portion towards a first end portion of the endless belt; a second surface, which faces in a direction from the first end portion towards the second end portion of the endless belt; a third surface, which faces in a direction from the stay towards the nip member; a fourth surface, which faces in a direction from the nip member towards the stay; a fifth surface and a sixth surface, which face in the conveyance direction and is arranged to be in contact with the first member.

Fuser unit

A fixing device includes a heating element disposed inside a flexible fusing member, a nip member disposed to contact with a surface of the flexible fusing member and to allow the flexible fusing member to slide along the nip member, a reflecting plate for reflecting radiant heat from the heating element toward the nip member, and a backup member for nipping the flexible fusing member with the nip member. The reflecting plate includes a central reflecting portion extending along a longitudinal direction of the heating element at least in a region corresponding to along a heat generating portion of the heating element, and end reflecting portions stationarily provided on both ends of the central reflecting portion. The end reflecting portions are disposed in positions longitudinally outward of the heat generating portion and each has a reflecting surface tilted with respect to the longitudinal direction of the heating element.

Fixing device including reflecting plate with tilted ends

An image forming apparatus includes an endless belt, a heater, a first temperature sensor, and a second temperature sensor. The endless belt is configured to circularly move about a rotational axis extending in an axial direction. The endless belt has a center portion and end portions in the axial direction, and defines an internal space and an outer peripheral surface. The heater is configured to heat the endless belt. The first temperature sensor is positioned at the center portion and in the internal space. The second temperature sensor is positioned at one of the end portions and facing the outer peripheral surface.

Image forming apparatus and heat fixing device provided in the same

A heating roller includes: a core bar having a cylindrical shape; a rubber layer arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the core bar; and a release layer arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the rubber layer, wherein when thermally fixing a developer on a recording medium, the heating roller is heated to a temperature within a fixing temperature range including a minute particle-scattering start temperature at which minute particles start to scatter from the rubber layer. The heating roller is arranged inside a casing which is connected to a minute particle density measuring device; then the core bar of the heating roller inside the casing is heated to 230&#xb0; C. by a heater; and when the density of the minute particles inside the casing is measured after elapse of 20 minutes since start of the heating, the density of the minute particles is less than 2,000 pieces/cm.

Heating roller, thermal fixing apparatus and method for producing heating roller

A fixing device includes: an endless belt; a heater; a nip plate; a backup member, a reflective plate, a stay and a heat insulating member, wherein the heat insulating member includes: an upstream support face, which supports the nip plate; and a downstream support face, which is disposed separated downstream in the conveyance direction from the upstream support face and supports the nip plate, and wherein a gap in the conveyance direction between the upstream support face and the downstream support face at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat insulating member is smaller than a gap in the conveyance direction between the upstream support face and the downstream support face at an end portion in the longitudinal direction of the heat insulating member.

A fixing device includes: a heating unit; a rotatable body; an urging mechanism; first and second bearings; a frame; first and second positioning members. The first and second bearings support first and second axial end portions of the rotatable body, respectively. The frame supports the heating unit and has two side walls. One of the side walls supports the first bearing, and the other supports the second bearing. Each side wall includes: a first wall portion supporting the first or second bearing; and second and third wall portions supporting the heating unit while interposing the heating unit therebetween. The first and second positioning members extend from the heating unit toward the first and second bearings, respectively. The heating unit is fixed in position relative to the first and second bearings upon engagement of the first and second positioning members with the first and second bearings, respectively.

Growing community of inventors

Ichinomiya, Japan

Takuji Matsuno