Patent classifications
G03G15/2053
CONNECTOR MEMBER
A connector member connectable to a heating unit inside a heating roller of a fixing device includes a cover having a recess into which an end of a substrate of the heating unit in a first direction parallel to a rotation axis of the heating roller can be inserted, and an energizing terminal stored in the cover and including a contact portion on one side of the recess and to be in contact with a contact point on the substrate, and a connecting portion to which a conducting wire for receiving electric power is connected and located on the other side of the recess.
Fuser having a heater with a recessed portion and a holder with a projecting portion
A fuser having a heater, a holder, and a connector, is provided. The heater is in a form of a planar plate. The heater has a metal-made base plate having a recessed portion, a heating pattern having a resistance-heating element arranged on the base plate, and a plurality of power-supplying terminals conductive to the heating pattern. The plurality of power-supplying terminals are located in an end area in the heater on one side in a lengthwise direction of the heater. The holder supports the heater and has a projecting portion configured to contact the recessed portion in the lengthwise direction. The connector has electrodes connectable with the plurality of power-supplying terminals. The recessed portion is located between the heating pattern and one of the plurality of power-supplying terminals closest to the heating pattern in the lengthwise direction.
Fixing device and image forming apparatus which has an air flow generator and airflow guide
A fixing device includes a fixing belt, a nip formation pad, a support, an opposing rotator, a heat source, a housing, an inlet guide, an airflow generator, and an airflow guide. The fixing belt fixes an unfixed image on a recording medium. The nip formation pad is disposed inside a loop of the fixing belt. The support supports the nip formation pad. The opposing rotator abuts on the nip formation pad via the fixing belt. The heat source heats the fixing belt. The housing has an inlet opening to receive the recording medium. The inlet guide is disposed at the inlet opening and guides the recording medium to the fixing nip. The airflow generator generates an airflow in the housing. The airflow guide guides the airflow toward the inlet opening to generate a flow of air in the inlet opening in a direction different from a conveyance direction.
Decurling device and image forming apparatus
A decurling device includes: a rotary body; an endless correction belt configured to correct curl of a recording medium passing between the rotary body and the correction belt; and a pressure contact unit disposed inside the correction belt, an opposite surface of the pressure contact unit to the rotary body being supported by a support unit so as to be in pressure contact with the rotary body, in which a center portion, in an axial direction of the rotary body, of at least one of a contact portion of the pressure contact unit or a contact portion of the support unit further protrudes toward the other of the contact portion of the pressure contact unit and the contact portion of the support unit than both end portions thereof.
Heating device and image forming apparatus
A heating device includes a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor that detect a temperature of at least one of a first rotator, a second rotator, and a heater that heats at least one of the first rotator and the second rotator. The first temperature sensor is disposed outboard from an increased conveyance span where an increased size sheet having an increased width in a longitudinal direction of the heater is conveyed. The second temperature sensor is disposed outboard from a decreased conveyance span where a decreased size sheet having a decreased width in the longitudinal direction of the heater is conveyed. The decreased conveyance span is smaller than the increased conveyance span. The second temperature sensor is disposed within the increased conveyance span and disposed opposite the first temperature sensor via a center of the increased conveyance span in the longitudinal direction of the heater.
ELECTRIC HEATING DEVICE WITH ENDLESS BELT
An electrothermal heating device for heating a print medium includes an endless belt, a first electrode and a second electrode. The endless belt rotates in a rotational direction about a rotation axis that defines an axial direction, so as to generate heat when the endless belt rotates and is supplied with power. The endless belt includes a base portion made of a nanocomposite material having a carbon filler. The first and second electrodes are in contact with the base portion of the endless belt. The first and second electrodes extend in the axial direction of the endless belt, and are spaced apart in the rotational direction of the endless belt. A volume resistivity of the base portion of the endless belt in the rotational direction is less than a volume resistivity of the base portion in the axial direction.
Fixing device and image forming apparatus
A fixing device includes a movable belt; and a planar heat-generating section that is in contact with the belt and in which, among plural heat-generating portions provided in a movement direction of the belt, a heat-generating portion on an upstream side in the movement direction of the belt has a larger heat generation amount than a heat-generating portion on a downstream side.
Fixing device and image forming apparatus
A fixing device includes a fixing belt that is endless and rotatable. A nip formation pad is disposed opposite an inner circumferential face of the fixing belt via a lubricant. A pressure roller sandwiches the fixing belt together with the nip formation pad to form a pressing region through which a recording medium is conveyed. A cap is disposed opposite a lateral end of the fixing belt in an axial direction of the fixing belt. A seal is tubular and contacts an outer circumferential face of the fixing belt in at least a part of an inner circumferential face of the seal. The seal seals a gap between the cap and the fixing belt. The seal includes a non-perpendicular portion that is not perpendicular to a circumferential direction of the fixing belt and defines a slit.
FIXING DEVICE
In a fixing device, a first fixing member and a second fixing member are configured to form a nip in combination, and an arm biased by a first spring with a first biasing force provides a nip pressure. A cam rotatably arranged to cause the arm to move against the first biasing force has a first cam surface used to change the nip pressure from a first pressure to a second pressure smaller than the first pressure, and a second cam surface of which an angle of action is greater than that of the first cam surface to change the nip pressure from the second pressure to a third pressure smaller than the second pressure. A maximum pressure angle at the second cam surface is smaller than a maximum pressure angle at the first cam surface.
FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME
A fixing device includes a first rotator, a second rotator, a heater, a conductor, and a discharger. The first rotator includes a conductive first layer, a non-conductive second layer, and a conductive third layer. The first to third layers exist in an order of the first layer to the third layer from a center of the first rotator to an outside of the first rotator. The second rotator forms a nip between the first rotator and the second rotator. A recording medium bearing a toner image passes through the nip. The heater is disposed inside a loop of the second rotator and heats the second rotator. The conductor is in contact with one of the first layer and the third layer. The discharger is in contact with the conductor and the other one of the first layer and the third layer and removes electric charge from the first rotator.