Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100260524 | FUSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A fusing apparatus for fusing a toner image onto a recording medium using heat and pressure includes a fusing roller; an endless pressing belt disposed opposite the fusing roller; and a pressing member for pressing the endless pressing belt onto the fusing roller. A recording medium with a transferred toner image is passed through a fusing nip between the fusing roller and the pressing belt. The fusing roller includes positive and negative crown portions along the axial direction. The pressing member includes convex and concave surface portions along the longitudinal direction. When the pressing member is pressed onto the fusing roller, the positive and negative crown portions of the fusing roller are engaged with the concave and convex surface portions, respectively, of the pressing member. The pressing member exerts a greater pressing force on the fusing roller at a central portion than at an end portion. | 10-14-2010 |
20110311283 | FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A fixing device to fix a toner image on a recording medium, including a pressure roller to press the toner image on the recording medium; an elastically-deformable cylindrical fixing roller to contact the pressure roller to form a nip and transfer the recording medium to the nip to fix the toner image; and a holder to rotatably hold both ends of the fixing roller, wherein the holder is located at least two positions at both sides on an outer circumference of the fixing roller across the longest diameter thereof, and the nip is formed between the two holders at the side of the pressure roller. | 12-22-2011 |
20120020690 | FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A fixing device includes a fixing rotary body and a pressing member each of which includes a waveform elastic layer having at least one wave crest and at least one wave trough to form a waveform face between the fixing rotary body and the pressing member pressed against each other. A controller identifies a temperature differential between a first temperature of the wave crest of the fixing rotary body detected by a first temperature detector and a second temperature of the wave trough of the fixing rotary body detected by a second temperature detector and adjusts an amount of heat stored from a heater into the fixing rotary body based on the identified temperature differential. | 01-26-2012 |
20140072357 | FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS WITH SAME - An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form a toner image on a recording medium and a fixing device. The fixing device includes a fixing belt to fix a toner image onto a recording medium transported to a fixing nip, a pressing member pressed against the fixing belt to form the fixing nip therebetween, a heating roller accommodating a heater to heat the fixing belt. A holder is provided to hold the heater at one end of the heater. An inner diameter of the heating roller and an outer diameter of the holder are substantially the same, and the heating roller and the holder partially overlap with each other in an axial direction of the heating roller. The interior and the exterior of the heating roller are preferably insulated by the heating roller and the holder by a prescribed degree not to change air pressure in the heating roller. | 03-13-2014 |
20150063865 | TONER CONTAINER, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A toner container includes a substantially tetrahedral toner-containing portion having an openable edge to discharge toner contained in the toner-containing portion, and a reference fold along which the toner container is foldable after the openable edge is opened. The reference fold extends from the openable edge and is provided on medians of two triangular faces of the toner-containing portion adjoining each other along the openable edge. | 03-05-2015 |
20150139705 | BELT DEVICE, FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A belt device includes a plurality of support members including an opposed support member and a non-opposed support member; a belt rotatably supported by the plurality of support members; a drive roller disposed opposite any one of the plurality of support members with the belt sandwiched in between, a rotary drive force is transmitted to one end in an axial direction thereof; a drive roller retainer to retain an end in the axial direction of the drive roller and maintain a constant between the drive roller and the opposed support member; an opposed support member retainer to allow the opposed support member to advance toward and retreat from the opposed support member and the drive roller; and a bias applier to bias the opposed support member toward the drive roller. | 05-21-2015 |
20150198920 | FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A fixing device includes an endless fixing rotator rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation and a heater disposed opposite the fixing rotator to heat the fixing rotator. A pressure rotator is pressed against an outer circumferential surface of the fixing rotator to drive and rotate the fixing rotator. A nip formation member presses against the pressure rotator via the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. The nip formation member supports the fixing rotator. A driving rotator supporting the fixing rotator drives and rotates the fixing rotator. The driving rotator rotates at a circumferential speed greater than a circumferential speed of the pressure rotator. | 07-16-2015 |
20160033911 | BELT DEVICE, FIXING DEVICE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A belt device includes a support and a support roller that support a belt. A driven gear is mounted on one of a plurality of shafts of the support roller. A driving gear meshing with the driven gear at a mesh position transmits a driving force to the support roller through the driven gear to rotate the support roller. An elastic bearing rotatably bearing each of the plurality of shafts of the support roller has an inner diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the shaft of the support roller. The bearing includes a slit defining a part of the bearing in a circumferential direction thereof. The slit is disposed upstream from the mesh position in the direction of rotation of the support roller such that the mesh position and the slit define a circumferential angle not smaller than about 20 degrees. | 02-04-2016 |