G03G15/206

FIXING ROTATING MEMBER, FIXING APPARATUS, ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING FIXING ROTATING MEMBER

A fixing rotating member comprising a base layer, an elastic layer and a surface layer, in this order, the surface layer containing PFA and PFPE, and having pores with openings at a first surface; at least part of the pores containing the PFPE, wherein when after removing the PFPE in the pores, placing a first observation region on the first surface, defining a ratio of a sum of areas of the openings in the first observation region relative to an area of the first observation region as P1; and placing a second observation region in a cross section of the surface layer, and defining a ratio of a sum of areas of the pores in the second observation region relative to an area of the second observation region as P2, P2/P1 is 1.3 or higher.

PRESSING ROTATING MEMBER AND PRODUCTION METHOD THEREOF, FIXING APPARATUS, AND ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

A pressing rotating member comprising a base layer, an elastic layer and a surface layer, in this order, the surface layer having pores, wherein when placing an observation region of 8 μm long×11 μm wide at a cross section of the surface layer in a thickness direction of the surface layer—a direction perpendicular to a circumferential direction of the pressing rotating member, a degree of orientation f of the pores observed in the observation region is 0.20 or higher, and an orientation angle Φ of the pores observed in the observation region is 0° to 10°.

Device including rotator and belt, such as a fixing device for an image forming apparatus

A device includes a rotator having a rotation axis, a belt, a belt support surrounded by the belt, and a sliding sheet configured to be pinched at the nip between an inner peripheral surface of the belt and the belt support. The belt support is configured to form a nip with the rotator. One of the belt support and the sliding sheet includes a hook engaging portion. The hook engaging portion includes an aperture. The other of the belt support and the sliding sheet includes a hook engaged to the aperture.

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
20220187746 · 2022-06-16 ·

A first protrusion is provided between an operation lever and a lock lever. The operation lever is for moving a pressure roller. The lock lever is provided for a sheet guide member for guiding a sheet that has passed through a fixing unit downstream in the sheet conveyance direction. The lock lever is for locking the sheet guide member at a position where the sheet guide member is engaged with a housing. The first protrusion protrudes from the sheet guide member toward an exterior cover. The first protrusion is provided with a second protrusion on the lock lever side of the first protrusion.

PRINTER ASSEMBLY LOW FRICTION ROLLER LINER
20220184981 · 2022-06-16 ·

The present disclosure relates to a low friction roller liner for a printer assembly may include a low friction layer. The low friction layer may include a first fluoropolymer matrix component and a first thermoplastic filler component distributed throughout the first fluoropolymer matrix component. The content of the first fluoropolymer matrix component may be at least about 1 wt. % and not greater than about 99 wt. % for a total weight of the first low friction layer. The content of the first thermoplastic filler component may be at least about 1 wt. % and not greater than about 99 wt. % for a total weight of the first low friction layer.

FIXING DEVICE

A fixing device includes a rotating body, an endless belt, a base material of the endless belt being made of a heat-resistant resin having a glass transition temperature of 140° C. or more, a heater configured to heat at least one of the rotating body and the endless belt, a sliding sheet contacting an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt, a base material of the sliding sheet being made of a heat-resistant resin having a glass transition temperature of 140° C. or more, a pressure pad, the endless belt and the sliding sheet being interposed between the pressure pad and the rotating body, and grease provided between the endless belt and the sliding sheet. The grease includes a base oil made of a fluorine oil and a thickener made of a solid lubricant containing fluorine. The consistency of the grease is 330 to 385 at 25° C.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a roller having a rotation axis, and a belt unit that conveys a sheet in combination with the roller. The belt unit includes an endless belt, a nip forming member that forms a nip in combination with the roller, and an upstream belt guide. The fixing device further includes a chute having a guide surface configured to guide the sheet toward the nip. In a section orthogonal to the rotation axis, a line segment connecting a downstream end of the guide surface and an upstream end of the nip does not intersect the upstream belt guide, and an extended line extended from the downstream end of the guide surface along the guide surface toward the roller intersects a surface of the roller at a position upstream of an upstream end of the nip.

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

An image forming apparatus includes a roller, a heater configured to heat the roller, an endless belt, a nip forming member, a supply roller configured to supply a sheet, and a controller. The sheet is nipped between the endless belt and the roller. The endless belt is nipped between the nip forming member and the roller such that a nip portion is formed. The controller is configured to supply a plurality of first kind of sheets by the supply roller at a first interval when the plurality of first kind of sheets are sequentially conveyed and supply a plurality of second kind of sheets by the supply roller at a second interval greater than the first interval when the plurality of second kind of sheets belonging to a kind in which curl occurs more frequently than the plurality of first kind of sheets are sequentially conveyed.

Fuser device

A tubular fuser device rotates and is in contact with a sheet on which a positively charged toner image is formed to fix the toner image to the sheet. The fuser device includes a tubular substrate made of a metal, a rubber layer covering the outer periphery of the substrate, an adhesion layer covering the outer periphery of the rubber layer, and a surface layer made of a resin covering the outer periphery of the adhesion layer. In the fuser device, C.Math.R/A.sup.2 is less than 1.1×10.sup.−53 FΩ/cm.sup.4 in which C.Math.R/A.sup.2 is a product of an electrostatic capacity per unit area C/A in a thickness direction of the fuser device and an electrical resistance per unit area R/A in the thickness direction of the fuser device.

Image-forming apparatus performing converting process to convert print data, image-forming process to form developer image on sheet using converted data, and fixing process to fix developer image to sheet

In an image-forming apparatus, a fixing device includes first and second fixing members; and a pressure modifying mechanism. The first and second fixing members form a nip. The pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller performs: a converting process to convert print data into raster image data; an image-forming process to form a developer image on a sheet using the raster image data; and a fixing process to fix the developer image to the sheet with the fixing device at the first nip pressure. When a second converting process is not completed before a prescribed time following completion of a first fixing process has elapsed, the controller further performs a nip pressure reducing process to modify the nip pressure from the first to the second nip pressure.