Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yutaka Ikebuchi

Hiroshi Yoshinaga

Toshihiko Shimokawa

Yoshiki Yamaguchi

Masaaki Yoshikawa

Naoki Iwaya

Kenji Ishii

Takahiro Imada

Ippei Fujimoto

Yuji Arai

Tetsuo Tokuda

Takuya Seshita

Takamasa Hase

Kazuya Saito

Arinobu Yoshiura

Shuntaroh Tamaki

Shuutaroh Yuasa

Akira Shinshi

Hajime Gotoh

Takayuki Seki

Kenichi Hasegawa

Ryuuichi Mimbu

Hiromasa Takagi

Kohichi Utsunomiya

Shuntaro Tamaki

Akira Suzuki

Kensuke Yamaji

Motoyoshi Yamano

Takeshi Uchitani

Hideo Nagafuji

Keitaro Shoji

Shohei Saito

Takeshi Yamamoto

Tadashi Ogawa

Teppei Kawata

Yasunori Ishigaya

Qifeng Cui

Yoshio Hattori

Ryohei Matsuda

Kiho Sai

Masahiko Satoh

Shinichi Namekata

Yuusuke Furuichi

Haruyuki Honda

Shigeo Nanno

Hitoshi Fujiwara

Masanao Ehara

Toshiharu Hachisuka

Tetuso Tokuda

Shingo Kuboki

Yasuharu Kawarasaki

Daisuke Sawada

Yuuki Nobuoka

Takahiro Kikuchi

Yuichi Harashima

Satoshi Endoh

Yohichi Tsukamoto

A fixing device includes a belt and a holder that holds a heater. A conductive member contacts an inner face of the belt and pivots. The conductive member includes one end portion in a rotation direction of the belt and an opposed portion that abuts on the one end portion. A support supports the holder and presses the conductive member against the holder. The holder includes a holding portion that holds the one end portion of the conductive member, a pivot restrictor that restricts pivoting of the conductive member about the one end portion, and a mount face from which the pivot restrictor projects in a projecting direction. The pivot restrictor projects farther than the opposed portion of the conductive member in the projecting direction of the pivot restrictor in a state in which the support does not press the conductive member against the holder.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a belt that rotates in a rotation direction and a heater that heats the belt. A conductive member contacts an inner face of the belt and pivots. The conductive member includes one end portion in the rotation direction of the belt, a contact portion that contacts the belt, and an outboard portion that is disposed outboard from the contact portion in the rotation direction of the belt. A holding portion holds the one end portion of the conductive member. A pivot restrictor contacts the outboard portion of the conductive member. The pivot restrictor restricts pivoting of the conductive member about the one end portion of the conductive member.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including a pivot restrictor to restrict pivoting of a conductive member

A fixing device includes a rotary endless fixing belt; a nip forming member disposed in an interior of the fixing belt; a rotary opposed member to contact the nip forming member via the fixing belt to form a nip together with the fixing belt; a heat source to directly heat the fixing belt at a portion other than the nip, including at lease one heat-generation part disposed outside lateral ends of a maximum area of the fixing belt where a recording medium passes through, wherein a recording medium carrying an unfixed image is conveyed to the nip and the fixing device fixes the unfixed image onto the recording medium; and a shielding member disposed between the fixing belt and the heat generation part of the heat source and configured to shield heat from the heat source at least at an area outside the maximum passing area of the recording medium.

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator, a heat source, a pressing member, a nip formation member, a reflector, and a support. The heat source is configured to heat the fixing rotator. The pressing member is configured to form a nip with the fixing rotator. The nip formation member is disposed inside a loop of the fixing rotator and opposed to the pressing member to form the nip between the fixing rotator and the pressing member. The reflector is configured to reflect heat from the heat source. The support is configured to secure the reflector. The support is in contact with the reflector at at least one end portion in a longitudinal direction of the support.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A fixing device includes a driving unit, a pressing roller, a heater, a fixing belt, a pressing roller, a nip formation pad that presses against an inner surface of the fixing belt toward the pressing roller via the fixing belt to form a nip, a separation mechanism, a lubricant between the fixing belt and the nip formation pad, and a processor to execute a warming-up operation of the fixing device. In the warming-up operation, before the heater heats the fixing belt, the separation mechanism moves the nip formation pad in a direction of separating the nip formation pad from the pressing roller to set a nip pressure lower than an ordinary nip pressure, and the driving unit rotates the pressing roller that rotates the fixing belt. Thereafter, the heater starts heating, and the separation mechanism moves the nip formation pad to contact the fixing belt at an ordinary nip pressure.

A fixing device is provided that includes a fixing belt rotatable in a predetermined direction, a heater to heat the fixing belt, a pressure rotator in contact with an outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt, a nip formation pad disposed inside a loop formed by the fixing belt and pressed against the pressure rotator via the fixing belt to form a fixing nip, and a pair of guides in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt at both ends of the fixing belt in a width direction thereof, to maintain a substantially cylindrical posture of the fixing belt. Each of the guides includes a guide portion in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt and a lubricant holder holding a lubricant that is disposed adjacent to the guide portion and not in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt.

Fixing device including a lubricant holder and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a rotatable endless belt formed into a loop and a heater disposed opposite the endless belt to heat the endless belt. A nip formation pad is disposed inside the loop formed by the endless belt. The nip formation pad includes a metallic thermal equalizer extending in an axial direction of the endless belt. A rotatable pressure rotator presses against the nip formation pad via the endless belt to form a fixing nip between the endless belt and the pressure rotator, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. The pressure rotator includes an increased tackiness portion disposed at a lateral end of the pressure rotator in an axial direction of the pressure rotator to transmit a driving force to the endless belt. The increased tackiness portion is disposed opposite the thermal equalizer of the nip formation pad.

A fixing device includes a primary heater and a secondary heater that heat a fixing rotator. The primary heater includes a primary major heat generation portion and a primary minor heat generation portion. The primary minor heat generation portion includes a major heat generator that generates an increased amount of heat and a minor heat generator that generates a decreased amount of heat smaller than the increased amount of heat generated by the major heat generator. The major heat generator has a width in an axial direction of the fixing rotator that is not smaller than 30 percent and not greater than 35 percent with respect to a width of the primary minor heat generation portion in the axial direction of the fixing rotator. A temperature detector is disposed opposite the minor heat generator of the primary heater to detect a temperature of the fixing rotator.

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator to fix an image on a recording medium, a pressure rotator to press against an outer circumferential surface of the fixing rotator, a nip formation pad disposed inside the fixing rotator and opposite the pressure rotator to form an area of contact between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator, and a slide member disposed between the fixing rotator and the nip formation pad and applied with lubricant to slide the fixing rotator in a sliding direction. The slide member includes first strands disposed parallel to the sliding direction and second strands disposed perpendicular to the sliding direction and interwoven with the first strands. The first strands are woven over the second strands longer than the second strands woven over the first strands.

Fixing device, image forming apparatus, and slide member

A fixing device may include an endless fixing member; a heater inside the fixing member; and a nip forming unit configured to form a nip through which a recording sheet is conveyed, the nip forming unit including a supporting member and a contact member supported by the supporting member, the supporting member including at least one contact surface and the contact member including a plurality of protrusions protruding towards the supporting member such that two or more of the plurality of protrusions are configured to contact one of the at least one contact surface of the supporting member, each of the plurality of protrusions having a height associated there with such that the height of the plurality of protrusions increases in a direction from ends of the contact member towards a center of the contact member.

A fixing device includes a heat source; a fixing member looped into a generally cylindrical shape to rotate in a circumferential direction thereof and partially heated by the heat source and to heat a surface of a recording medium bearing an unfixed toner image to fix the unfixed toner image thereon in a fixing process; a rotary pressing member disposed facing the fixing member to form a nip therebetween, through which the recording medium is transported in a transport direction; and a rotation driver to rotate one of the fixing member and the pressing member. In a case in which the fixing member is halted for a reason other than the fixing process while power of the fixing device is on, electric power is not supplied to the heat source and the fixing member is rotated by a predetermined amount or more after the fixing member is halted.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including same

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation and a heater that heats the fixing rotator. A nip formation pad is disposed opposite an inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator. A pressure rotator presses against the nip formation pad via the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. A low-friction member is sandwiched between the nip formation pad and the fixing rotator and bears a lubricant that flows in a flow direction. A thermal absorber is mounted on the inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator. At least one irregular portion, mounted on the thermal absorber, blocks the lubricant flowing in the flow direction.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Yutaka Ikebuchi