JP6436111B2 - Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers include a fixing device that fixes a toner image onto a recording medium such as paper. In this fixing device, a “heat roller method” is widely used from the viewpoint of thermal efficiency and safety. The heat roller method is a method of forming a fixing nip using a pair of rollers.

  However, in the heat roller type fixing device, since the roller is rigid and thick and has a large heat capacity, it takes time to heat, resulting in a longer warm-up time and increased energy consumption. There was an inconvenience of doing.

  Therefore, in recent years, the “belt method” has attracted attention as a fixing method capable of suppressing power consumption as low as possible due to demands for shortening warm-up time and energy saving. The belt system is a system in which a fixing nip is formed using a fixing belt thinner than a roller.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus having a fixing method in which a plate-like nip forming member is provided at a position facing a pressure roller inside a fixing belt. The nip forming member of this image forming apparatus is divided into a heat generating portion on the upstream side in the sheet passing direction and a heat absorbing portion on the downstream side, and heat is absorbed from the heat absorbing portion on the downstream side using a heat pump, and the heat generating portion on the upstream side The heat can be released even in the nip by releasing heat.

JP 2005-266386 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, both the heat generating portion and the heat absorbing portion are in contact with the pressure roller with the fixing belt interposed therebetween, and the nip width is increased accordingly, so the pressure roller There is a disadvantage that the diameter needs to be increased, and the warm-up time is increased correspondingly, resulting in increased power consumption.

  Usually, a separation member for separating the recording medium from the fixing belt is provided in the state adjacent to or in contact with the fixing belt at the downstream portion of the nip. In order to ensure good image quality and separation property, this portion is provided. Although it is desirable to lower the temperature, the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently lower the temperature of this portion.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a fixing device capable of shortening the warm-up time of the fixing device, suppressing power consumption, and improving the image quality and separation of the recording medium, and the fixing device. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a fixing device of the present invention includes a fixing belt that is rotatably provided, a fixing belt that is disposed outside the fixing belt, presses against the fixing belt, forms a fixing nip, and is rotatably provided. A pressure roller, a separation member that separates the recording medium that has passed through the fixing nip from the fixing belt, and a nip that is disposed inside the fixing belt and presses the fixing belt toward the pressure roller. A heat absorbing portion provided at a position facing the separation member across the fixing belt, and a heat generating portion provided at a position facing the fixing nip across the fixing belt. And a heat exchanging part that moves the heat absorbed by the heat absorbing part to the heat generating part.

  By adopting such a configuration, only the heat generating portion of the nip forming member comes into contact with the pressure roller with the fixing belt interposed therebetween, so that the nip width is reduced and it is sufficient to use a small-diameter pressure roller. A heating zone is obtained. Therefore, the heat capacity of the pressure roller can be set small, and the power consumption can be further reduced.

  Further, by adopting such a configuration, the temperature of the fixing belt to which the separating member approaches or contacts and the recording medium in this portion can be lowered, so that the recording medium is separated from the fixing belt after the toner is cured. Therefore, separability is improved and jamming (paper jam) can be suppressed. Further, since the image is not fluffy, a glossy image can be obtained.

  The heat exchanging part may be a Peltier element, and by adopting such a configuration, the heat of the heat absorbing part is moved to the heat generating part by the Peltier effect by passing a current between the heat absorbing part and the heat generating part. It becomes possible.

  The fixing device of the present invention may include a support member that supports the nip forming member, and an insulating heat insulating member provided between the support member and the heat exchange unit, and adopts such a configuration. By doing so, it is possible to prevent electric current and heat from moving to the support member from the nip forming member.

  The fixing device of the present invention may include an auxiliary heating member that heats the heat generating portion. By adopting such a configuration, the heat absorbing portion is low in temperature and sufficient for the heat generating portion when the fixing device is started. By operating the auxiliary heating member when the heat cannot be transferred, the fixing device can be quickly activated.

  The fixing device of the present invention may include a radiant heat source disposed inside the fixing belt. By adopting such a configuration, the radiant heat source is more efficient even when the heat capacity of the fixing roller is large. The fixing roller can be heated well, and the fixing device can be started quickly.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the fixing devices described above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain various excellent effects such as shortening the warm-up time of the fixing device, keeping power consumption low, and improving the image quality and separability of the recording medium. .

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fixing device of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the fixing device of the printer which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fixing device of a printer according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the overall configuration of the printer 1 (image forming apparatus) will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the front side of the sheet in FIG. 1 is the front side (front side) of the printer 1.

  The printer 1 includes a box-shaped printer main body 2, and a paper feed cassette 3 that stores paper (recording medium) is accommodated in a lower portion of the printer main body 2. A paper discharge tray is disposed on the upper surface of the printer main body 2. 4 is provided. An upper cover 5 is attached to the upper surface of the printer main body 2 so as to be openable and closable on the side of the paper discharge tray 4, and a toner container 6 is accommodated below the upper cover 5.

  An exposure unit 7 composed of a laser scanning unit (LSU) is disposed below the paper discharge tray 4 above the printer body 2, and an image forming unit 8 is provided below the exposure unit 7. Yes. The image forming unit 8 is rotatably provided with a photosensitive drum 10 as an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 10, a charger 11, a developing device 12, a transfer roller 13, and a cleaning device are provided. The apparatus 14 is disposed along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 10 (see arrow X in FIG. 1).

  A paper transport path 15 is provided inside the printer main body 2. A paper feed unit 16 is provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path 15, and a transfer unit 17 configured by the photosensitive drum 10 and the transfer roller 13 is provided at a middle portion of the conveyance path 15. Is provided with a fixing device 18, and a paper discharge unit 19 is provided at the downstream end of the conveyance path 15. A reverse path 20 for double-sided printing is formed below the transport path 15.

  Next, an image forming operation of the printer 1 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the printer 1 is turned on, various parameters are initialized, and initial setting such as temperature setting of the fixing device 18 is executed. Then, when image data is input from a computer or the like connected to the printer 1 and an instruction to start printing is given, an image forming operation is executed as follows.

  First, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is charged by the charger 11, exposure corresponding to the image data is performed on the photosensitive drum 10 by laser light from the exposure device 7 (see the two-dot chain line P in FIG. 1). The electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. Next, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 12 into a toner image with toner.

  On the other hand, the sheet taken out from the sheet cassette 3 by the sheet feeding unit 16 is conveyed to the transfer unit 17 in synchronization with the above-described image forming operation, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the sheet by the transfer unit 17. Is transcribed. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed downstream in the conveyance path 15 and enters the fixing device 18 where the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge unit 19 to the paper discharge tray 4. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 10 is collected by the cleaning device 14.

  Next, the fixing device 18 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the fixing device 18 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the front side of the sheet in FIG. 2 is defined as the front side (front side) of the fixing device 18. In addition, an arrow Y in FIG. 2 indicates the sheet conveyance direction.

  The fixing device 18 includes a fixing belt 21 rotatably supported by a fixing frame (not shown), a pressure roller 22 rotatably supported by the fixing frame outside the fixing belt 21, and an inner side of the fixing belt 21. A nip forming member 23 that presses the fixing belt 21 toward the pressure roller 22, a support member 24 that is arranged inside the fixing belt 21 and supports the nip forming member 23, and an outer side of the fixing belt 21. And a separation member 25 disposed downstream in the sheet passing direction.

  The fixing belt 21 has a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The fixing belt 21 is a flexible belt formed endlessly in the circumferential direction, has appropriate rigidity and elasticity, and circulates on a substantially circumferential track. As the fixing belt 21, for example, a belt-like thin metal surface such as nickel or stainless steel coated with fluorine, or a heat-resistant resin such as PI (polyimide) laminated with a fluorine tube is preferably used. Can do.

  The pressure roller 22 has a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The pressure roller 22 includes, for example, a cylindrical core material, an elastic layer provided around the core material, and a release layer that covers the elastic layer.

  The pressure roller 22 is disposed below the fixing belt 21. The pressure roller 22 is in pressure contact with the fixing belt 21, and a fixing nip 26 is formed between the fixing belt 21 and the pressure roller 22. When the pressure roller 22 rotates counterclockwise (see arrow C in FIG. 2), the fixing belt 21 rotates in the opposite direction, that is, clockwise (see arrow D in FIG. 2).

  The nip forming member 23 includes a heat absorbing portion 27 provided at a position facing the separation member 25 across the fixing belt 21, a heat generating portion 28 provided at a position facing the fixing nip 26 across the fixing belt 21, and a heat absorbing portion. 27 and a heat exchanging portion 29 provided at a position in contact with the heat generating portion 28.

  The heat absorbing portion 27 has a long plate shape in the front-rear direction, and is disposed in an inclined posture on the downstream side in the sheet passing direction from the fixing nip 26. The heat absorbing portion 27 is made of, for example, a highly heat conductive ceramic that is conductive and heat resistant, and is inscribed in the fixing belt 21.

  The heat generating portion 28 has a plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and is disposed in a horizontal posture on the upstream side in the sheet passing direction from the heat absorbing portion 27. The heat generating portion 28 is formed of, for example, a conductive and heat-resistant high heat conductive ceramic having a length substantially the same as the width of the fixing belt 21, and a glass coating having a high slidability is applied to the lower surface which is a pressure surface. . In addition, you may attach the sliding sheet which gave the sliding sheet which gave the fluorine coating to the glass cloth sheet instead of the glass coating on the lower surface of the heat generating part 28, for example.

  The heat exchanging portion 29 has a plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and includes an inclined surface 30 on the left side in contact with the heat absorbing portion 27 and a horizontal lower surface 31 with which the heat generating portion 28 contacts. The heat exchanging unit 30 is, for example, a Peltier element (thermoelectric conversion element), the inclined surface 30 functions as a cooling surface that cools when energized, and the lower surface 31 functions as a heating surface that increases temperature when energized. To do. Thereby, the heat exchanging part 29 moves the heat absorbed by the heat absorbing part 27 to the heat generating part 28 by the Peltier effect.

  The support member 24 is made of a material having high strength such as stainless steel. The support member 24 is formed in a plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction along the horizontal portion 33 that is formed in a plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction along the upper surface 32 of the heat exchange unit 29 and the right vertical surface 34 in the figure of the heat exchange unit 29 The formed vertical portion 35 is integrally formed at a right angle. By forming the support member 24 in this way, the pressing force of the pressure roller 22 applied to the nip forming member 23 can be received by the support member 24, and deformation such as warpage of the nip forming member 23 can be suppressed. it can.

  An insulating heat insulating member 36 is interposed between the horizontal portion 33 of the support member 24 and the upper surface 32 of the heat exchange portion 29 and between the vertical portion 35 of the support member 24 and the vertical surface 34 of the heat exchange portion. Yes. The insulating heat insulating member 36 is formed of a foamed ceramic having insulating properties and heat resistance. The insulating heat insulating member 36 is integrally formed so that a portion 37 extending in the horizontal direction in the drawing and a portion 38 extending in the vertical direction are orthogonal to each other, and a portion 37 extending in the horizontal direction and a portion 38 extending in the vertical direction. Are formed slightly longer than those of the support member 24. Thereby, it is possible to reliably suppress the current and heat from moving from the heat absorbing unit 27, the heat generating unit 28, and the heat exchanging unit 29 to the support member 24.

  The separating member 25 is disposed on the opposite side of the heat absorbing portion 27 with the fixing belt 21 interposed therebetween. The separation member 25 is preferably provided in contact with the fixing belt 21 in order to improve the separation property of the sheet (recording medium) from the fixing belt 21.

  In the fixing device 18 having the above-described configuration, when a toner image is fixed on a sheet, when the pressure roller 22 rotates as shown by an arrow C in FIG. 2, the pressure roller 22 as shown by an arrow D in FIG. The fixing belt 21 in pressure contact with the pressure roller 22 is driven to rotate in the opposite direction to the pressure roller 22. In this state, when the sheet passes through the fixing nip 26 as indicated by an arrow Y in FIG. 2, heat is applied to the sheet and the toner image by the heat generating unit 28, and the toner image is melted.

  The paper carrying the molten toner that has passed through the fixing nip 26 is separated from the fixing belt 21 by the separating member 25 and the heat is absorbed by the heat absorbing portion 27, and the toner image is cured and fixed on the paper. At this time, the heat absorbed by the heat absorbing unit 27 moves from the heat exchanging unit 29 to the heat generating unit 28 by the Peltier effect, and is given from the heat generating unit 28 to the sheet passing through the fixing nip 26 and reused.

  According to the fixing device 18 having the above-described configuration, since the heat absorbing portion 27 is disposed on the opposite side of the separation member 25 with the fixing belt 21 interposed therebetween, the temperature of the fixing belt 21 and the paper at the portion where the paper is separated is adjusted. Can be lowered. Accordingly, since the paper can be separated after the toner is cured, it is possible to improve the paper separation property, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a jam (paper jam), and the image does not become fluffy. A certain image can be obtained.

  Further, since only the heat generating portion 28 of the nip forming member 23 is in contact with the pressure roller 22 with the fixing belt 21 interposed therebetween, a sufficient heating area can be obtained even when the pressure roller 22 having a small diameter is used. Therefore, the heat capacity of the pressure roller 22 can be set small, and the power consumption can be further reduced.

  Next, a fixing device 40 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a fixing device 40 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the front side of the sheet in FIG. 3 is defined as the front side (front side) of the fixing device 40. In addition, an arrow Y in FIG. 3 indicates the sheet conveyance direction. In addition, about the structure similar to the fixing device 18 of one embodiment mentioned above, the code | symbol same as FIG. 2 is attached | subjected in FIG. 3, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The fixing device 40 according to the present embodiment has the same basic configuration as that of the fixing device 18 according to the above-described embodiment, but in addition to the basic configuration of the fixing device 18, an auxiliary for heating the heat generating unit 28. A heating means 41 is provided.

  The auxiliary heating means 41 is constituted by a resistance heating element such as ceramic. The auxiliary heating unit 41 is attached to the outside of the nip forming member 23 inside the fixing belt 21. The auxiliary heating means 41 is preferably provided so as to heat the upstream portion of the heat generating portion 28 in the sheet passing direction, whereby the sheet passing through the fixing nip 26 can be heated more stably.

  According to the fixing device 40 having the above-described configuration, when the fixing device 40 is started up, the auxiliary heating means 41 is provided when the heat absorbing portion 27 of the nip forming member 23 cannot transfer sufficient heat to the heat generating portion 28 at a low temperature. By operating, the fixing device 40 can be started quickly, so that the warm-up time of the fixing device 40 can be shortened and the power consumption can be kept low.

  Next, a fixing device 50 according to still another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a fixing device 50 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the front side of the sheet in FIG. 4 is defined as the front side (front side) of the fixing device 50. In addition, an arrow Y in FIG. 4 indicates the sheet conveyance direction. In addition, about the structure similar to the fixing device 18 of one embodiment mentioned above, the code | symbol same as FIG. 2 is attached | subjected in FIG. 4, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The fixing device 50 according to the present embodiment has the same basic configuration as that of the fixing device 18 according to the above-described embodiment, but in addition to the basic configuration of the fixing device 18, radiation is generated inside the fixing belt 21. A heat source 51 is provided.

  The radiation heat source 51 is constituted by, for example, a halogen heater. The radiation heat source 51 is disposed in a space above the support member 24. In this case, it is desirable to reduce the emissivity of the portion of the support member 24 to which the radiant heat of the radiation heat source 51 hits as much as possible. For example, the surface of the support member 24 is mirror-plated or is a thin plate-like aluminum foil that is mirror-plated May be arranged so as to open a slight gap.

  Further, as the material of the fixing belt 21, it is preferable to use, for example, a belt-like thin metal surface such as nickel, stainless steel or the like that has been coated with fluorine. This is because when a halogen heater is used as the radiant heat source 51, the temperature rises faster, so that the metal is safer.

  According to the fixing device 50 having the above-described configuration, even when the heat capacity of the nip forming member 23 is large, the fixing belt 21 is efficiently heated by the radiant heat source 51 provided inside the fixing belt 21. Since the fixing device 50 can be started quickly, the warm-up time of the fixing device 50 can be shortened and the power consumption can be kept low.

  In the fixing device 50 according to the above-described embodiment, the case where the halogen heater is used as the radiation heat source 51 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, a ceramic heater or the like may be used as the radiation heat source. In this case, since the temperature increase rate is not as fast as that of the halogen heater, the fixing belt 21 is not necessarily made of metal, and thus sufficient safety can be ensured. For example, heat resistance such as PI (polyimide) is used. You may use what laminated | stacked the fluorine tube on resin.

  Further, in the fixing devices 18, 40, and 50 according to the above-described embodiments, the case where the separation member 25 and the fixing belt 21 are in contact with each other has been described. However, in other different embodiments, the separation member 24 and the fixing belt are used. The leading end of the separation member 24 may be provided close to the fixing belt 21 so that the same level of sheet releasability as when the sheet 21 is in contact with the fixing belt 21 can be secured.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the printer 1 has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine. Needless to say, there is.

1 Printer (image forming device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 Fixing device 21 Fixing belt 22 Pressure roller 23 Nip forming member 24 Support member 25 Separating member 27 Heat absorption part 28 Heat generation part 29 Heat exchange part 36 Insulation heat insulation member 40 Fixing apparatus 41 Auxiliary heating means 50 Fixing apparatus 51 Radiation heat generation source

Claims (6)

A fixing belt provided rotatably;
A pressure roller that is disposed outside the fixing belt, presses against the fixing belt to form a fixing nip, and is rotatably provided;
A separating member for separating the recording medium that has passed through the fixing nip from the fixing belt;
A nip forming member disposed inside the fixing belt and pressing the fixing belt toward the pressure roller;
The nip forming member comprises:
Oite a position not opposed to the fixing nip a position facing the separation member across the fixing belt, and a heat absorption part provided in an inclined position gradually away direction from the conveying direction of the sheet,
A heat generating portion provided at a position facing the fixing nip across the fixing belt;
A heat exchanging section that moves the heat absorbed by the heat absorbing section to the heat generating section;
A fixing device.   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchange unit is a Peltier element. A support member for supporting the nip forming member;
An insulating heat insulating member provided between the support member and the heat exchange unit;
The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising:   The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising auxiliary heating means for heating the heat generating portion.   The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising a radiation heat source disposed inside the fixing belt.   An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 1.

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