Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yoshio Hattori

Kazuhisa Sudo

Haruyuki Honda

Takaaki Yanagisawa

Toshihiko Shimokawa

Masumi Sato

Ryuuichi Mimbu

Tomotoshi Nakahara

Kouta Fujimori

Junichi Matsumoto

Yoshiki Yamaguchi

Satoshi Muramatsu

Yasunori Ishigaya

Yoshiyuki Fukuda

Nobuo Iwata

Kazuya Saito

Nobuo Kasahara

Keiichi Yoshida

Tomoyuki Ichikawa

Shinichi Kawahara

Takamasa Ozeki

Katsumi Masuda

Takahiro Imada

Yutaka Ikebuchi

Yuji Suzuki

Toshio Koike

Takeo Suda

Atsushi Nakamoto

Shuji Tanaka

Takumi Waida

Keitaro Shoji

Hiroyuki Uenishi

Yuji Arai

Yutaka Takahashi

Jun Okamoto

Takatsugu Fujishiro

Hiroaki Okamoto

Akira Azami

Yoshikuni Sasaki

Hiroshi Yoshinaga

Hiromasa Takagi

Hideki Kimura

Yuusuke Furuichi

Hideo Yoshizawa

Noriyuki Kimura

Nobuyuki Taguchi

Takaaki Tawada

Masato Yanagida

Kyohta Koetsuka

Mikio Ishibashi

Masayuki Ohsawa

Yoshiyuki Takano

Shuntaro Tamaki

Tokuya Ojimi

Takeshi Tabuchi

Hiroomi Harada

Takeshi Yamamoto

Akira Suzuki

Hiroshi Ono

Yoshinori Nakagawa

Masami Tomita

Hiroshi Hosokawa

Masaaki Yoshikawa

Takuya Seshita

Shuutaroh Yuasa

Goro Katsuyama

Takayuki Seki

Kensuke Yamaji

Hajime Gotoh

Naohiro Kumagai

Kenichi Hasegawa

Tomoya Adachi

Tomoko Takahashi

Hiroyuki Shimada

Ken Amemiya

Masanori Kawasumi

Yasufumi Takahashi

Yoshiyuki Kimura

Shunji Katoh

Kohta Fujimori

Masaaki Kabumoto

Yuki Oshikawa

Takeroh Kurenuma

Masaharu Furuya

Ryuji Yoshida

Haruji Mizuishi

Kanae Amemiya

Masahiro Yonekawa

Masahiro Kurita

Yuuki Satoh

Hiroaki Murakami

Ryohei Matsuda

Taichi Urayama

Takuzi Yoneda

Toshiki Hayashi

Manabu Izumikawa

Yasuhiro Sagawa

So Ohta

Ryo Takenaka

Hironori Yamaoka

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device that forms a toner image on a recording medium, a first rotator, and a second rotator that presses against the first rotator to form a nip therebetween. The first rotator conveys the recording medium bearing the toner image through the nip with a first orientation of the recording medium to fix the toner image on the recording medium to create a cleaning sheet bearing a cleaning image in a cleaning sheet creation mode. The first rotator conveys the cleaning sheet bearing the cleaning image through the nip with a second orientation of the cleaning sheet, that is different from the first orientation of the recording medium, such that the cleaning image is disposed opposite the first rotator to cause the cleaning image to remove a foreign substance from a surface of the first rotator in a cleaning mode.

Image forming apparatus and cleaning method

A fixing device is configured to be detachably attached to an image forming device main body. The fixing device includes a fixing member, a heating source, a pressing member, a conveyance guide member, an exterior member, a relay substrate, and a substrate covering member. The fixing member is configured to heat a toner image so as to fix the toner image on a recording medium. The heating source is configured to heat the fixing member. The pressing member is configured to press against the fixing member to form a nip part. The conveyance guide member is configured to guide the recording medium to the nip part. The exterior member houses at least the fixing member and the pressing member. The substrate covering member covers the relay substrate. The substrate covering member extends from and is integrated with the conveyance guide member.

Fixing device, heating device, and image forming device with a substrate covering member covering a relay substrate

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator, a pressure rotator, a cleaner, and a moving assembly. The cleaner contacts and cleans a cleaning target, which includes one of the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The moving assembly moves the cleaner between a contact position at which the cleaner contacts the cleaning target and a separate position at which the cleaner is apart from the cleaning target. The moving assembly includes a biasing member that presses the cleaner to move to the contact position. The moving assembly moves the cleaner from the contact position to the separate position against a biasing force of the biasing member. The moving assembly moves the cleaner from the separate position to the contact position while increasing and then decreasing the biasing force of the biasing member greater than the biasing force applied when the cleaner is located at the contact position.

Fixing device including a cleaner to clean a surface of a cleaning target and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A fixing device includes a fixing belt and a pressure rotator that presses against a nip formation pad via the fixing belt to form a fixing nip between the pressure rotator and the fixing belt. A first holder holds a first lateral end of the fixing belt in an axial direction thereof. A second holder holds a second lateral end of the fixing belt in the axial direction thereof. The second holder, together with the first holder, defines a holder interval provided between the first holder and the second holder in the axial direction of the fixing belt. A lubricant supplying sheet impregnated with a lubricant is sandwiched between the nip formation pad and the fixing belt at the fixing nip. The lubricant supplying sheet has a sheet span in the axial direction of the fixing belt. The sheet span is within the holder interval.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A pressure and pressure relief device includes a rotator, a pressure body, a first pressure lever, and a biasing mechanism. The biasing mechanism includes a first elastic body, a second pressure lever, a cam, and a cam follower. A relations of L&#x3e;LL&#x3e;Land L&#x3c;Lare satisfied. Lrepresents a length between a first fulcrum of the first pressure lever and a point of load of the first pressure lever. Lrepresents a length between the point of load of the first pressure lever and a hook portion of the first pressure lever. Lrepresents a length between a pivot of the second pressure lever and a second fulcrum of the second pressure lever. Lrepresents a length between the second fulcrum of the second pressure lever and a fastened portion of the second pressure lever.

Pressure and pressure relief device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a rotatable endless fixing belt, a pressure rotator, a nip formation pad, a lubricant impregnated member, and restrictors. The pressure rotator contacts an outer circumferential face of the fixing belt. The nip formation pad is disposed at an inner circumferential side of the fixing belt, to contact the pressure rotator via the fixing belt to form a nip. The lubricant impregnated member is disposed on the nip formation pad to contact an inner circumferential face of the fixing belt. The lubricant impregnated member is impregnated with lubricant. The restrictors, each disposed at an inner side than each end in a width direction of the fixing belt, regulate movement of the lubricant adhering to the fixing belt, toward each end of the fixing belt in the width direction. The restrictors have a lower absorbability of the lubricant than an absorbability of the lubricant impregnated member.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including fixing device with lubricant movement restrictors

A fixing device has a flexible endless fixing member; a heater to heat the fixing member; a nip forming member to contact the fixing member directly or via a slide member; a pressure member, rotatably disposed opposite the fixing member and the nip forming member; and a back curl correction structure that includes a drive roller disposed on a side where a back curl appears in the recording sheet; a driven roller disposed opposite the drive roller; an auxiliary nip portion to feed the recording sheet; a guide member to guide the recording sheet fed out from the auxiliary nip portion to bend in a direction opposite a curled direction of the back curl of the recording sheet. A driving connection between the drive roller and the pressure member is performed by a connection between a drive roller side connection gear and a pressure member side connection gear.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including the same

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to transfer an image to a recording sheet; a fixing device to feed the recording sheet and fix the image onto the recording sheet; a branching device to switch between an ejection path to eject the recording sheet fed downstream of the fixing device, to outside the apparatus, and a reversing path for duplex printing; and a back curl correction structure disposed in a sheet feeding path between the fixing device and the branching device. The back curl correction structure includes a drive roller; a driven roller; an auxiliary nip portion; a guide member; and a guide moving device to move the guide member to a first position and a second position depending on the condition of the recording sheet.

Image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes an endless fixing belt; a pressure roller to contact the fixing belt; a nip forming member to press the pressure roller from the fixing belt; a nip portion formed between the fixing belt and the pressure roller; a heater to heat the fixing belt to fuse and fix toner onto a recording sheet in the nip portion; an auxiliary driven roller; an auxiliary drive roller to drive the driven roller; an auxiliary nip portion, formed between an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary driven roller and an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary drive roller, to nip the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the nip portion; and an outlet guide member, disposed downstream of the auxiliary nip portion, to guide the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the auxiliary nip portion, with the toner-fixed recording sheet surface bent in a concave shape.

Fixing device including outlet guide member and image forming apparatus thereof

A fixing device includes a fixing member; a heater to heat the fixing member; a nip forming member to contact the fixing member; and a pressure member, disposed opposite the nip forming member to press against the fixing member to form a fixing nip portion together with the nip forming member. The fixing device applies heat and pressure to fix an image transferred to a recording sheet when the recording sheet passes through the fixing nip. The nip forming member includes a first and second planar portions disposed at an upstream end and a downstream end, respectively, of the fixing nip portion, and the first planar portion and the second planar portion are continuous with a curved portion of the nip forming member. A guide member guides the recording sheet to bend in a direction opposite a back curl of the recording sheet generated in the fixing nip portion.

A fixing exit guide plate for use in a fixing device, which supports the conveyance of a paper while being curved in a direction opposite to a curl direction of the paper in a paper conveyance path downstream of conveyance support rollers, includes a conveyance downstream portion having a paper conveyance plane and a conveyance upstream portion having a paper conveyance plane, wherein the fixing exit guide plate is retracted in a paper jam process to move such that the paper conveyance plane of the conveyance downstream portion rotates about a rotation axis of the conveyance support driving roller to be substantially parallel to the paper conveyance plane of a conveyance upstream portion.

Fixing exit guide plate, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing rotator and an opposed rotator pressed against the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip therebetween, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. A heater heats the fixing rotator. A temperature sensor contacts the opposed rotator to detect a temperature of the opposed rotator. A conveyor conveys the recording medium to the fixing nip. A driver drives the conveyor. A controller, operatively connected to the temperature sensor and the driver, controls the driver to drive the conveyor to convey the recording medium to the fixing nip based on the temperature of the opposed rotator detected by the temperature sensor. The controller causes the driver to be ready to drive the conveyor when a change in the detected temperature of the opposed rotator per unit time reaches a predetermined threshold.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

A fixing device includes a heater that heats a fixing rotator and includes a first heating portion and a second heating portion substantially aligned with the first heating portion in an axial direction of the fixing rotator. A multi-view thermopile array detects a temperature of an outer circumferential surface of the fixing rotator at a plurality of spots thereon. A heater controller controls the first heating portion and the second heating portion individually based on the temperature of the fixing rotator detected at the plurality of spots thereon. A recording medium conveyance controller determines whether or not to convey the recording medium to the fixing nip based on an increased temperature detected at at least one of the plurality of spots on the fixing rotator.

Fixing device, image forming apparatus, and fixing method

A fixing device includes a nip formation pad pressing against a pressure rotator via a fixing rotator to form a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The nip formation pad includes a base and a first thermal conductor sandwiched between the base and the fixing rotator at the fixing nip and having a first thermal conductivity greater than a basic thermal conductivity of the base. A first heater and a second heater are disposed opposite an inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator to heat the fixing rotator. A rotatable light shield moves to a shield position where the light shield is interposed between the second heater and the fixing rotator to shield the fixing rotator from the second heater. The second heater is disposed at a location where the light shield screens the second heater more readily than the first heater.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus with a rotatable light shield

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation and a pressure rotator pressed against an outer circumferential surface of the fixing rotator. A heater is disposed opposite an inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator to heat the fixing rotator. A reflector is disposed opposite the heater to reflect light radiated from the heater onto the inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator. A support mounts the reflector. A heater holder is mounted on the support to hold the heater.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Yoshio Hattori