Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Yuji Nishigaki

Yasuhiro Maruyama

Tomoaki Hazeyama

Yusuke Murodate

Akihiro Kobayashi

Naoyuki Iwata

Yuri Morishita

Teruhito Hasegawa

Masataka Maeda

Shintaro Izoe

A conveyer includes: a supporting member which supports a roll body having a sheet wound therearound; a conveyance roller which conveys the sheet; a guide member; an urging member which urges the guide member; a sensor; and a controller. The controller is configured: to determine a target position of the guide member and a permissible position in accordance with the target position; to control a rotation amount of the supporting member and/or a rotation amount of the conveyance roller; to determine whether or not a position of the guide member exceeds the permissible position; and to perform a notification of a conveying error of the sheet.

Conveyer and image recording apparatus

A sheet conveyor includes: a holder that detachably holds a sheet roll; a rotation measuring device that measures a rotation amount of the sheet roll; a conveyance roller that conveys a sheet pulled out from the sheet roll held by the holder; a tensioner that is provided between the holder and the conveyance roller and that contacts with the sheet pulled out from the sheet roll toward the conveyance roller; a position detector that detects a position of the tensioner; a motor that generates driving force for rotating the conveyance roller; and a controller that controls the motor. The controller estimates a diameter of the sheet roll based on a conveyance amount of the sheet caused by rotation of the conveyance roller, a rotation amount of the sheet roll measured by the rotation measuring device, and a position of the tensioner detected by the position detector.

Sheet conveyor and image forming system

A fixing device configured to thermally fix a developing agent image to a recording sheet includes a fixing belt having a tubular shape defining an inner space, a heat generating member and a nip plate which are disposed in the inner space, and a rotating member disposed outside the inner space. The nip plate includes a plate-shaped portion holding the fixing belt against the rotating member, and a bent portion located downstream of the plate-shaped portion in a conveying direction of the recording sheet and bent to define a recess facing away from the rotating member. The bent portion protrudes farther away from the heat generating member than the plate-shaped portion. A temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the nip plate is fitted in the recess of the bent portion so as not to be displaced in the conveying direction.

Fixing device with temperature sensor fitted in a recess of a nip plate

A fixing device configured to thermally fix a developing agent image to a recording sheet includes a fixing belt having a tubular shape defining an inner space, a heat generating member, a nip member, and a stay which are disposed in the inner space of the fixing belt, and a rotating member disposed outside the inner space of the fixing belt. The fixing belt is nipped between the nip plate and the rotating member. The stay comprises a first receiving portion and a second receiving portion which are positioned upstream and downstream of the heat generating member, respectively, in a conveying direction of the recording sheet and are configured to receive a force exerted from the rotating member to the nip member. The heat insulator is disposed between the nip member and one of the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion of the stay.

Fixing device

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

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 developer supply device is provided, which includes a transfer board including an activating section and an always-transferring section. The activating section is disposed in a position close to a developer holding member and lower than a position where development agent is transferred onto the developer holding member. The activating section is supplied with an activating voltage for making the development agent leave a developer transfer path and drop into the developer storage section during an activating process performed at an initial stage of a developer transferring operation while supplied with the transfer bias voltage after the activating process. The always-transferring section is disposed across a position facing the developer storage section to a position lower than and adjacent to the activating section, and always supplied with a transfer bias voltage during the developer transferring operation.

Growing community of inventors

Hashima, Japan

Yuji Nishigaki