Fixing device, image forming apparatus and method for controlling fixing device

Abstract

A fixing device fixes a toner image carried on a recording medium. The fixing device includes a rotatable fixing roll member, a fixing belt member and a walk adjustment mechanism. The fixing belt member is wound on the fixing roll member so as to be rotatable. The walk adjustment mechanism changes a walk width of the fixing belt member in accordance with a width of the recording medium.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration drawing of an image forming apparatus incorporating an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view to schematically show one end of a fixing device;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view to show the schematic configuration of the fixing device;

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view to show an area in the vicinity of a nip portion;

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration drawing of a walk adjustment mechanism when viewed from an A arrow shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of walk width control of the fixing belt, performed by a control section; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of settings of the walk width of the fixing belt and its advantage.

Claims

1. A fixing device for fixing a toner image carried on a recording medium, the fixing device comprising: a rotatable fixing roll member;a fixing belt member wound on the fixing roll member so as to be rotatable; anda walk adjustment mechanism that changes a walk width of the fixing belt member in accordance with a width of the recording medium.

2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the walk adjustment mechanism changes the walk width of the fixing belt member between one walk width for a recording medium having a maximum width and another walk width for recording media other than the recording medium having the maximum width.

3. The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein the walk adjustment mechanism adjusts the walk width of the fixing belt member so that the walk width for the recording medium having the maximum width is less than a margin width of the recording medium having the maximum width in an orthogonal direction with respect to a traveling direction of the recording medium.

4. The fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the walk adjustment mechanism adjusts the walk width of the fixing belt member so that the walk width for the recording media other than the recording medium having the maximum width is larger than that for the recording medium having the maximum width.

5. The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a pressure roll member that comprises an elastic layer on a surface, the pressure roll member that is in pressure-contact with a portion of the fixing roll member on which the fixing belt member is wound, to form a nip portion between the pressure roll member and the fixing roll member.

6. The fixing device according to claim 5, further comprising: a peel member that bends the fixing belt member to peel off the recording medium from the fixing belt member, the peel member disposed on a downstream side of the nip portion in a rotation direction of the fixing roll member, the peel member disposed between the fixing belt member and the fixing roll member.

7. The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotatable tension roll member, wherein:the fixing belt member is wound on the fixing roll member and on the tension roll member, andthe walk adjustment mechanism swings the tension roll member so as to adjust the walk width of the fixing belt member.

8. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms a toner image;a transfer unit that transfers the toner image formed by the image forming unit onto a recording medium;a fixing device that fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording medium; anda control unit that controls the fixing device, wherein:the fixing device comprises: a rotatable fixing roll member;a fixing belt member wound on the fixing roll member so as to be rotatable; anda walk adjustment mechanism that can change and adjust a walk width of the fixing belt member, andthe control unit controls the walk adjustment mechanism so that the walk width of the fixing belt member differs in accordance with a width of the recording medium on which an image is formed.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when an image is formed on a recording medium having a maximum width, the control unit controls the walk width of the fixing belt member so that an area where a side edge of the recording medium having the maximum width abuts against the fixing belt member does not overlap an image formation area of the recording medium having the maximum width.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control unit controls the walk width of the fixing belt member so that the walk width for recording media other than the recording medium having the maximum width is larger than that for the recording medium having the maximum width.

11. A fixing device for fixing a toner image carried on a recording medium, the fixing device comprising: a rotatable fixing roll member;a fixing belt member wound on the fixing roll member so as to be rotatable;a rotatable tension roll member; anda walk adjustment mechanism that changes a walk width of the fixing belt member in accordance with a width of the recording medium, wherein:the fixing belt member is wound on the fixing roll member and on the tension roll member,the walk adjustment mechanism swings the tension roll member so as to adjust the walk width of the fixing belt member, andthe walk adjustment mechanism changes the walk width of the fixing belt member between one walk width for a recording medium having a maximum width and another walk width for recording media other than the recording medium having the maximum width.

12. A control method of an image forming apparatus, which fixes a toner image onto a recording medium by a fixing device comprising a fixing belt member, the method comprising: acquiring information of a size of the recording medium;judging a width of the recording medium; andsetting a walk width of the fixing belt member to different widths in accordance with the judged width of the recording medium.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the setting sets the walk width of the fixing belt member so that the walk width for a recording medium having a maximum width is different from that for recording media other than the recording medium having the maximum width.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the setting sets the walk width of the fixing belt member so that the walk width for the recording medium having the maximum width is less than a margin width of the recording medium having the maximum width in an orthogonal direction with respect to a traveling direction of the recording medium.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the setting sets the walk width of the fixing belt member so that the walk width for the recording media other than the recording medium having the maximum width is larger than that for the recording medium having the maximum width.