Patent Application
20180267445
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-053365 filed Mar. 17, 2017.
The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a fixing device including a heating unit that rotates and that fixes a toner image on a recording medium, a pressing unit that rotates and that presses the heating unit, and a potential-difference application unit that applies a potential difference between the pressing unit and the heating unit so that a potential of the heating unit is higher than a potential of the pressing unit.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following exemplary embodiments are only examples of an image forming apparatus for realizing the technical idea of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the invention. The present invention may be equally applied to other exemplary embodiments included in the scope of the claims.
First, an image forming apparatus 10 according to a first exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to
The image forming apparatus body 12 has an output port 14 from which sheets are output. The image forming apparatus body 12 is also equipped with an output tray 16 used as an output unit into which sheets are output after image formation.
Since the image forming units 100K, 100Y, 100M, and 100C have the same structure, they will be collectively described below as image forming units 100. As illustrated in
The transfer device 200 includes a belt-shaped intermediate transfer body 210 serving as a transferred member that bears an image. For example, the intermediate transfer body 210 has an endless shape, and is supported by six support rollers 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, and 230 to be rotatable.
At least one of the six support rollers is used as a driving roller that transmits driving to the intermediate transfer body 210. In the first exemplary embodiment, the support roller 230 is used as the driving roller. A driving source 234, such as a motor, is connected to the support roller 230. The support roller 226 is used as an opposed roller opposed to a second transfer roller 250 with the intermediate transfer body 210 interposed therebetween.
The transfer device 200 includes first transfer rollers 240K, 240Y, 240M, and 240C used as first transfer members. The first transfer rollers 240K, 240Y, 240M, and 240C are each arranged inside the intermediate transfer body 210 to be opposed to any of the four photoconductors 102 with the intermediate transfer body 210 interposed therebetween. A first transfer bias is applied to the first transfer rollers 240K, 240Y, 240M, and 240C, and color toner images are transferred from the four photoconductors 102 onto the intermediate transfer body 210 by the first transfer rollers 240K, 240Y, 240M, and 240C. The first transfer rollers 240K, 240Y, 240M, and 240C are sometimes generically referred to as first transfer rollers 240.
The transfer device 200 further includes a second transfer roller 250. The second transfer roller 250 is used as a rotating body in contact with the intermediate transfer body 210 to form a transfer region N where a toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer body 210 onto a sheet. A second transfer bias is applied to the second transfer roller 250, and the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer body 210 onto the sheet by the second transfer roller 250. The second transfer roller 250 is pressed against the intermediate transfer body 210 by, for example, an unillustrated pressing mechanism.
The fixing device 410 includes a heating unit 430 having a heat source therein, and a pressing unit 412 in contact with the heating unit 430. A toner image transferred on a sheet is fixed on the sheet by being heated and pressed at a contact portion (pressing region 470) between the heating unit 430 and the pressing unit 412. The fixing device 410 will be described in detail later.
The paper feed device 400 supplies sheets toward the transfer region N. The paper feed device 400 includes a sheet container 402 in which sheets are contained in a stacked state, and a feeding roller 404 that feeds out the sheets from the sheet container 402.
Through the transport path 500, a sheet is transported from the paper feed device 400 toward the transfer region N, is transported from the transfer region N toward the fixing device 410, and is output from the inside of the image forming apparatus body 12. Near the transport path 500, the above-described feeding roller 404, a transport roller 510, a registration roller 520, the above-described second transfer roller 250, and the above-described fixing device 410 are arranged in order along the transport path 500 from the upstream side in the sheet transport direction.
The registration roller 520 temporarily stops movement of a leading edge of a sheet transported toward the transfer region N, and restarts the movement of the leading edge of the sheet toward the transfer region N in timing to transportation of a toner image on the intermediate transfer body 210 to the transfer region N.
Next, the fixing device 410 according to the first exemplary embodiment will be described with main reference to
The pressing unit 412 includes a cylindrical roller part 414, and is opposed to the heating unit 430. The pressing unit 412 is pressed against an outer surface of the heating member 432 of the heating unit 430, and is rotated in a direction of arrow A in
The roller part 414 is a so-called soft roller including a shaft portion 416 made of a metal material such as iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, an elastic layer 418 covering the shaft portion 416, and a release layer 420 coated or applied on the elastic layer 418. The release layer 420 is made of an insulating material having high releasability, for example, PFA.
The roller part 414 of the pressing unit 412 is grounded. In the first exemplary embodiment, the roller part 414 is grounded from the shaft portion 416 through a pressing-unit resistor 422. By thus grounding the pressing unit 412 through the pressing-unit resistor 422, current leakage (leakage current) from an electrode of the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 in the heating unit 430 is suppressed.
In the pressing unit 412, the roller part 414 is pressed against the heating unit 430 by a pressing member constituted by an elastic body such as a coil spring (not illustrated). For example, the pressing member is attached at one end to the shaft portion 416, and is attached at the other end to the image forming apparatus body 12.
The heating unit 430 includes the heating member 432, and includes, inside the heating member 432, a sheet-shaped heat generator 440 serving as a heat generating member for heating the heating member 432, a holding member 434 that holds the sheet-shaped heat generator 440, and a frame member 452 that supports the holding member 434. The holding member 434 is supported by the frame member 452 to withstand the pressure from the pressing unit 412.
The heating member 432 of the heating unit 430 has an outer shape like a cylindrical endless belt, and, for example, has a multilayer structure. Both longitudinal ends of the heating member 432 are provided with, for example, circular support members (not illustrated) for supporting the heating member 432. The support members have heating-unit gears (not illustrated) for rotating the heating member 432. One of the heating-unit gears is connected to a driving unit (not illustrated), such as a motor, disposed inside the image forming apparatus body 12. The heating member 432 is rotated in a direction of arrow C, and heats a developer image on a sheet transported in a direction of arrow B (see
As illustrated in
The electrodes 446 in the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 are grounded. In the first exemplary embodiment, the electrodes 446 are connected to the ground through a heating-unit resistor 462. A section of the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 from the electrodes 446 to the ground serves as a potential-difference application unit 460.
For example, the holding member 434 is made of a highly heat-resistant resin material such as LCP (liquid crystal polymer). A side of the holding member 434 opposed to the pressing unit 412 has a groove 436 extending in the longitudinal direction to hold the sheet-shaped heat generator 440.
The holding member 434 forms a pressing region 470 by being pressed against the pressing unit 412 with the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 held in the groove 436.
The frame member 452 is made of, for example, a metal material, and supports the holding member 434. Both ends of the frame member 452 are fixed to a support member (not illustrated) so that the holding member 434 withstands the pressure from the pressing unit 412. The heating unit 430 may include, for example, a thermistor for temperature detection.
In the heating unit 430 of the first exemplary embodiment, the electrodes 446 of the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 are set, and the potential-difference application unit 460 is disposed between the electrodes 446 and the ground. The potential-difference application unit 460 is disposed so that the potential between the electrodes 446 of the heating unit 430 and the ground is higher than the potential between the shaft portion 416 of the pressing unit 412 and the ground.
In the heating unit 430 of the first exemplary embodiment, a heating-unit resistor 462 is used as the potential-difference application unit 460, and is disposed between the electrodes 446 of the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 and the ground.
The resistance value of the heating-unit resistor 462 is set so that the resistance value of the section between the electrodes 446 of the heating unit 430 and the ground, where the heating-unit resistor 462 is disposed, is higher than the resistance value of the section between the shaft portion 416 of the pressing unit 412 and the ground where the pressing-unit resistor 422 is disposed.
Specifically, when the resistance value of the pressing-unit resistor 422 is R1 and the resistance value of the heating-unit resistor 462 is R2, the resistance value R1 is set to be smaller than the resistance value R2. By thus setting the resistance values, the potential of the heating unit 430 is made higher than the potential of the pressing unit 412.
It is only required to set the potential difference so that the total potential between the electrodes 446 of the heating unit 430 and the ground is higher than the total potential between the shaft portion 416 of the pressing unit 412 and the ground. For that purpose, depending on the conditions of the resistance values of wires through which the heating unit 430 and the pressing unit 412 are grounded, the resistance value R1 of the pressing-unit resistor 422 may be sometimes equal to or higher than the resistance value R2 of the heating-unit resistor 462.
In the fixing device 410 of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the heating unit 430 and the pressing unit 412 are each grounded, and the heating-unit resistor 462 is disposed as the potential-difference application unit 460 in the heating unit 430. In a fixing device 410A of an image forming apparatus 10A according to a second exemplary embodiment, a heating unit 430 and a pressing unit 412 are commonly grounded. Structures common to the first exemplary embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are skipped.
That is, as illustrated in
At this time, a heating-unit resistor 462 is disposed as a potential-difference application unit 460A at a position closer to the heating unit 430 than the connecting portion 464A where the wires are connected, and a pressing-unit resistor 422 is disposed at a position closer to the pressing unit 412 than the connecting portion 464A.
In the second exemplary embodiment, similarly to the first exemplary embodiment, a resistance value R2 of the heating-unit resistor 462 serving as the potential-difference application unit 460A is set to be higher than a resistance value R1 of the pressing-unit resistor 422 (R1<R2). This makes the potential of the heating unit 430 higher than the potential of the pressing unit 412.
In the potential-difference application unit 460A of the second exemplary embodiment, similarly to the first exemplary embodiment, the resistance value R1 of the pressing-unit resistor 422 may sometimes be equal to or higher than the resistance value R2 of the heating-unit resistor 462, depending on the condition of wiring to the ground in the heating unit 430.
A fixing device 410B of an image forming apparatus 10B according to a third exemplary embodiment is common to the second exemplary embodiment in that, as illustrated in
When a resistance value of the resistor 466 is taken as R3, the path of the heating unit 430 passes through a resistance value R2 of the heating-unit resistor 462 and the resistance value R3 of the resistor 466 (R2+R3), whereas the path of the pressing unit 412 passes only through the resistance value R3 of the resistor 466.
In the third exemplary embodiment, the resistance value R2 of the heating-unit resistor 462 and the resistance value R3 of the resistor 466 may be arbitrarily determined since the resistance value of the path of the heating unit 430 is constantly higher than the resistance value of the path of the pressing unit 412.
In a fixing device 410C of an image forming apparatus 10C according to a fourth exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in
While the sheet-shaped heat generator 440 is used as the heat generating member in the heating unit 430 according to the first to fourth exemplary embodiments, a heat generating member may be embedded in the cylindrical heating member 432 shaped like an endless belt to constitute a heat-generating rotating body in which the heat generating member itself generates heat. The heat-generating rotating body is grounded through the heating-unit resistor 462 serving as the potential-difference application unit 460.
For example, a carbon lamp heater or a halogen lamp heater may be used as the heat generating member in the heating unit 430, and plural heat generating members, for example, two heating rollers may be disposed so that one of the heating rollers is disposed inside the heating member and the other heating roller is disposed outside the heating member. These heating members or heat generating members are grounded through the heating-unit resistor 462 serving as the potential-difference application unit 460.
As the potential-difference application unit, instead of the above-described resistor, another power supply 468 may be connected as a potential-difference application unit 460D to a heating unit 430 as in a fixing device 410D of an image forming apparatus 10D illustrated in
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-053365 | Mar 2017 | JP | national |
