JP2002072723A - Method for manufacturing image forming apparatus and fixing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus where the service life of a fixing belt is improved and stable fixing performance is achieved over a long term. SOLUTION: In this image forming apparatus where transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image is fixed by the fixing apparatus equipped with a turnable fixing belt wound round a plurality of supporting rollers, at least one of the supporting rollers is constituted of a rotary shaft, two flange members fixed at both ends of the rotary shaft, and a plurality of wires laid between the flange members and forming a nearly cylindrical envelope surface, where the wires are laid tilted to the rotary shaft.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like, an image forming apparatus having a composite function, and a method of manufacturing a fixing device related to the image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a fixing device used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a heating roller maintained at a predetermined temperature, and a pressing roller having an elastic layer and pressing against the heating roller. Accordingly, a heat roller fixing method in which a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image is heated while being nipped and conveyed is often used.

However, in this type of apparatus, the heat capacity of the heating roller increases, the warm-up time increases, and the temperature inside the elastic layer increases.
The life of the pressure roller was shortened. Many color images have a large solid area, and many of the solid images are other than black, and gloss unevenness is conspicuous. Further, when a hard roller is used as the heating roller and the pressure roller, there is a problem that image quality is deteriorated because uneven gloss is generated in accordance with unevenness of the paper or toner layer.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, a fixing system using a fixing belt has been proposed. In an image forming apparatus using a fixing belt, in order to reduce the heat capacity and the thermal conductivity of the supporting roller that supports the fixing belt, the supporting roller is configured by a wire.
Ribs are provided to prevent the fixing belt from shifting.
The fixing belt is very thin and low in strength, and the end portion in contact with the rib has insufficient durability.

The first invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which the durability of a fixing belt is improved and stable fixing performance can be exhibited for a long period of time. It is in.

In a fixing device using a fixing belt, a fixing device has been proposed in which a wire is supported by a supporting roller suspended in order to suppress heat outflow, but an insulating polymer fiber is used for the wire. Then, the fixing belt is charged, and image defects such as toner scattering immediately before fixing may occur. Further, the transfer material after the fixing is electrostatically attracted, and the separation failure is more likely to occur than the fixing belt.

A second aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of exhibiting stable fixing performance over a long period of time.

Further, in a fixing device using a fixing belt, a fixing device has been proposed in which a wire is supported by a supporting roller suspended in order to suppress heat outflow, but it is difficult to stretch the wire at a predetermined inclination. There's a problem.

A third aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a fixing device having a supporting roller capable of suspending a fixing belt without bias.

[0010]

The object of the first invention can be achieved by the following means.

(1) An image forming apparatus for fixing a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image by a fixing device having a fixing belt rotatable around a plurality of support rollers. A rotating shaft, two flange members fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of wires suspended between the flange members to form a substantially cylindrical envelope surface; Wherein the plurality of wires are suspended while being inclined with respect to the rotation axis.

The above object of the second invention can be achieved by the following means. (2) In an image forming apparatus for fixing a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image by a fixing device having a fixing belt rotatable around a plurality of support rollers, at least one of the support rollers may be used. The supporting roller comprises a rotating shaft, two flange members fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of wires suspended between the flange members to form a substantially cylindrical envelope. An image forming apparatus, wherein the plurality of wires include a conductive wire.

The object of the third invention can be achieved by the following means. (3) In a method of manufacturing a fixing device including a fixing belt rotatable around a plurality of support rollers and heating and fixing a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image, at least one of the support rollers may be used. A support shaft, a rotating shaft, two flange members fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft, and a substantially cylindrical envelope formed by suspending a wire between the flange members substantially parallel to the rotating shaft. And then manufacturing the fixing device by rotating the two flange members relatively around the rotation axis to shift the phases.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Prior to description of a method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus and a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
A configuration of a color printer which is an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a color printer.

This image forming apparatus includes a plurality of sets of image forming units 9Y, 9M, 9C and 9K, a belt-like intermediate transfer body 6, a sheet feeding means, a conveying means, a toner cartridge 5Y,
5M, 5C, 5K, the fixing device 10, and the like.

An image forming unit 9Y for forming a yellow image includes a charging unit 2Y, an exposure unit 3Y, a developing unit 4Y, a transfer unit 7Y, and a charging unit 2Y disposed around an image carrier (hereinafter, referred to as a photosensitive member) 1Y. It has a cleaning means 8Y.
An image forming unit 9 for forming a magenta image
M includes a photoconductor 1M, a charging unit 2M, an exposure unit 3M, a developing device 4M, a transfer unit 7M, and a cleaning unit 8M. The image forming unit 9C for forming a cyan image has a photoreceptor 1C, a charging unit 2C, an exposing unit 3C, a developing unit 4C, a transfer unit 7C, and a cleaning unit 8C. Further, an image forming unit 9 for forming a black image
K has a photoreceptor 1K, a charging unit 2K, an exposure unit 3K, a developing device 4K, a transfer unit 7K, and a cleaning unit 8K.

The intermediate transfer member 6 has a plurality of rollers 6A, 6
It is wound by B and 6C, and is rotatably supported.

Image forming units 9Y, 9M, 9C, 9K
The image of each color thus formed is sequentially transferred (primary transfer) by the transfer means 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K onto the rotating intermediate transfer body 6, and a combined color image is formed.
The transfer material P accommodated in the paper feed cassette 20 is fed by a feed roller 21, is conveyed to a transfer unit 7 A via a registration roller 22, and a color image is transferred onto the transfer material P (secondary). Transcription). Transfer material P on which a color image has been transferred
Is fixed by the fixing device 10, and is placed on a discharge tray 26 outside the apparatus while being nipped by conveyance rollers 23, 24 and a discharge roller 25 as conveyance means.

On the other hand, after transferring the color image to the transfer material P by the transfer means 7A, the residual toner is removed by the cleaning means 8A from the intermediate transfer body 6 from which the transfer material P is separated by the separation means 7B.

(First Embodiment) An embodiment according to the first and third inventions will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a fixing device used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fixing device of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a support roller of FIG.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numerals 11 and 12 denote a pair of pressure rollers which can be relatively moved toward and away from each other, and 13 denotes an endless belt-shaped fixing belt. The support rollers 14 and 15 are a pair of support rollers that support and fix the fixing belt 13. Reference numeral 16 denotes a halogen heater as a heating source, reference numeral 17 denotes a reflection plate, and reference numeral 18 denotes a non-contact temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the fixing belt 13.

The pressure roller 12 has a rotating shaft that is movable. At the time of non-fixing, as shown in FIG.
The pressure roller 12 moves in the direction of the arrow against the pressure contact force, and separates from the pressure roller 11 to form a gap. At the time of fixing, as shown in FIG. 2B, the transfer material is conveyed by sandwiching and pressing the fixing belt 13 and the transfer material P.

The fixing belt 13 includes a central metal base, an outer layer on the outer peripheral surface, an inner layer on the inner peripheral surface, and the like. The metal base of the fixing belt 13 includes, for example, an endless belt-shaped nickel metal layer formed by electroforming, and a stainless metal layer formed by welding or rolling. An outer layer coated with silicone rubber is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the metal base. Since the outer layer moves and is heated and pressed at the nip position of the pressure rollers 11 and 12 while being superimposed on the transfer material P carrying the toner image t, heat resistance and toner releasability are compatible. ing.

The outer layer made of silicone rubber of the fixing belt 13 abuts on the toner image t on the transfer material P, but follows the unevenness of the transfer material P and the toner image t due to the elasticity of the silicone rubber, and becomes uniform. The heat of the fixing belt 13 contacted and heated by the halogen heater 16 and the pressure roller 11,
By applying the pressure by 12, uniform fixing without unevenness in gloss and the like is performed.

On the inner peripheral surface of the metal base of the fixing belt 13,
An inner layer is formed. The inner layer is formed by applying a silicone resin in which carbon is dispersed on the inner peripheral surface of a metal substrate, and absorbs the irradiation light of the halogen heater 16 with high efficiency and reduces the irradiation light leaking to the periphery of the device. Minimized. That is, the inner layer of the fixing belt 13 is coated with a silicone resin in which carbon, which is an infrared absorbing material, is dispersed, has a high absorption rate of irradiation light, and is heated at a predetermined temperature (for example, 190 ° C.).

The silicone resin forming the inner layer is sufficiently thin (200 μm or less) and does not peel off due to bending of the fixing belt 13 during rotation. Further, flexible silicone rubber, fluorine rubber and the like are also suitable.

The fixing belt 13 is suspended between the support roller 14 and the support roller 15 with a very low tension. The fixing belt 13 is rotated by rotation of the support roller at times other than the time of the fixing process. Fixing belt 13 during fixing process
Are rotated by being pressed by the pressure rollers 11 and 12. The rotation speed of the fixing belt 13 is the same as the transfer speed of the transfer material P.

The support roller 14 is provided between a rotary shaft 142 driven and rotated by a drive source, flange members 143 and 144, which are disposed opposite and fixed near both ends of the rotary shaft 142, and between the flange members 143 and 144. Wire 14
1, a gear 145 fixed to one shaft end of the rotating shaft 142 and connected to a driving source.

The support roller 15 has the same shape as the support roller 14, and includes a wire 151, a rotating shaft 152, and a flange member 1.
53, 154, a gear 155 and the like. Hereinafter, the support roller 14 among the support rollers 14 and 15 will be described as a representative.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the support roller 14. The wire 141 is formed of one continuous wire, is formed in a cage-like shape by being laid in a reciprocating manner in parallel between the two flange members 143 and 144, and has both ends formed by one of the flange members 143 and 144. It is fixed to.

For example, one end of the wire 141 is locked and fixed to a part of the flange member 143. Wire 141
After being reciprocated a plurality of times substantially in parallel between the flange members 143 and 144, a plurality of wires are stretched at a predetermined angle from the rotating shaft 142.

Here, a method of manufacturing the support roller used in the fixing device will be described. A wire 141 is stretched around two flange members 143 and 144 substantially in parallel with the rotation shaft 142. Thereafter, the two flange members 143 and 144 are relatively rotated around the rotation shaft 142 to shift their phases. After the other end of the wire 141 is tightly wound around the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 142, it is locked by a screw member (not shown).
Fix it.

The contact area between the support roller 14 and the fixing belt 13 is reduced by forming the support roller 14 by stretching a plurality of wires between the flange members 143 and 144 opposed to both ends of the rotating shaft 142. At the same time, the heat capacity of the support roller itself can be extremely reduced.

If the wire 141 is made of a resin fiber material having high strength, high heat resistance, low thermal conductivity, low specific heat, and low elongation,
Even higher effects can be obtained. Polymer fibers such as aromatic polyamide, polyamide imide, polyimide, and polyarylate are preferable as the resin fiber material suitable for this purpose. For example, Kevlar (trade name, manufactured by DuPont, USA) of aromatic polyamide fiber and polyarylate Vectran (trade name, manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd.) and the like.

Since a variety of these highly functional fibers have been developed and are expected to appear in the future, the wire 141 of the present invention is not limited to these.

The number of wires 141 should preferably be small thermally, but should be large in order to increase the driving accuracy of the fixing belt 13. The thickness of the wire 141 is preferably thinner thermally, but thicker from the viewpoint of mechanical strength. The tension of the wire 141 is preferably large in order to obtain mechanical accuracy. However, if the tension is too large, the strength of the flange member 143 supporting the wire 141 must be increased.
There is a problem that drive torque, manufacturing cost, and the like increase.

These numerical values are appropriately selected according to the wire diameter of the wire 141, the tension of the fixing belt 13, the diameter of the support roller 14, the manufacturing cost, and the like.

It is appropriate that the number of the wires 141 is 8 to 30, the thickness of the wires 141 is 100 to 1000 denier, and the tension of the wires 141 is 10 to 50 N (Newton). Also, one wire 141 is reciprocated a required number of times,
The wires 141 may be stretched, or a plurality of wires 141 may be individually stretched between the flange members 143 and 144.

One embodiment of the wire 141 will be described below. A fixing belt 13 having a circumference of 314 mm, a width of 320 mm, and a tension of 30 N or less is fixed by applying a tension of 2 to 3 N to each of the 24 wires 141 using an aromatic polyamide fiber of 400 denier and a diameter of 30 mm. A substantial support roller 14 was constructed. Then, the flange member 14
3,144 was rotated by 10 ° relative to each other to make a drum shape.

Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 4, the support roller 14 is driven and rotated clockwise as indicated by an arrow by a power unit of the image forming apparatus main body. With the driving rotation of the support roller 14, the fixing belt 13 and the support roller 15 are driven to rotate clockwise. The design value of the driving speed of the fixing belt 13 is the same as the transport speed of the transfer material P. The peripheral speeds of the pressure rollers 11 and 12 are driven to be the same as the driving speed of the fixing belt 13.

A rod-shaped halogen heater 16 is disposed inside the fixing belt 13 between the pressure roller 11 and the support roller 14 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the fixing belt 13. The halogen heater 16 irradiates the inside of the closed loop of the fixing belt 13 on the upstream side of the pressure roller 11 to heat it to a predetermined temperature.

A reflection plate 17 was arranged inside the closed loop of the fixing belt 13 and near the driving-side support roller 14. The reflection plate 17 reflects and blocks the irradiation light reaching the support roller 14 from the irradiation light of the halogen heater 16. The irradiation reflected light reflected by the reflection plate 17 irradiates the inner surface of the fixing belt 13 to heat the fixing belt 13 efficiently without waste. The reflection plate 17 also prevents the wire 141 from being excessively heated by the irradiation light of the halogen heater 16.

An oil application cleaning device 70 was disposed outside the closed loop of the fixing belt 13 and above the vicinity of the pressure roller 11. The cleaning cloth 74 is fed out from a roller 71 around which a cleaning cloth 74 impregnated with silicone oil is wound, and is taken up by a take-up roller 73 via a pressure roller 72 in contact with the fixing belt 13. At the same time as the oil is applied to the fixing belt 13, dirt on the surface of the fixing belt 13 is cleaned.

A pressing means for holding and pressing the fixing belt and the transfer material is disposed, and the pressing means can release the pressure. A predetermined load acts on the support shafts at both ends of the pressure roller 12 serving as the pressure means at the time of being sandwiched by a spring member (not shown).
A constant pressure acts on the 12 crimping portions. Further, since one or both of the pressure rollers 11 and 12 are connected to the driving means and driven to rotate, the conveyance of the transfer material P and the driving of the pressure rollers 11 and 12 are performed by the fixing belt 1.
No driving force is required, and no load is generated by nipping and transporting the fixing belt 13 and the transfer material P.

That is, since the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 11 or the pressure roller 12 is driven at the same speed as the moving speed of the fixing belt 13, an excessive force is applied to the fixing belt 13 and the transfer material P. Not to be. After the fixing, the pressure rollers 11 and 12 are released from the pressure contact, so that the distortion and the deviation due to the minute speed difference between the fixing belt 13 and the pressure rollers 11 and 12 are eliminated, , 12 is prevented.

The transfer material P carrying the toner image t is the guide 1
At the same time as or before the sheet is conveyed to the fixing area through the fixing belt 01, the pressure roller 12 disposed outside the fixing belt 13 rises to press the transfer material P and the fixing belt 13 therebetween. . The transfer material P is heated by the heat of the fixing belt 13 by the heat and the nipping and pressing by the pressure rollers 11 and 12.
The upper toner image t is fixed on the transfer material P.

The fixed transfer material P is separated by the curvature of the support roller 15 that supports the fixing belt 13. The fixed transfer material P is applied to the pressing roller 1 of the fixing belt 13.
When the air exits from the nip portion 1 and 12, it is cooled by the outside air, so that an offset at the time of separation and a separation failure are avoided.

As described above, by making the fixing roller winding portion of the support roller bend, the bias of the fixing belt can be prevented, and a stable fixing operation can be performed for a long period of time. In addition, a support roller suspended with the wire inclined with respect to the rotation axis can be easily manufactured.

(Second Embodiment) An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the second invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view and a main part enlarged view showing a configuration of a fixing device used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention. Note that this embodiment is similar to the above-described first embodiment, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be partially omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, reference numerals 11 and 12 denote a pair of pressure rollers which can be relatively moved toward and away from each other, and 13 denotes an endless belt-shaped fixing belt. The support rollers 64 and 65 are the fixing belt 1
3 is a pair of support rollers for erection and support. Reference numeral 16 denotes a halogen heater as a heating source, reference numeral 17 denotes a reflection plate, and reference numeral 18 denotes a non-contact temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the fixing belt 13.

The rotation of the pressure roller 12 is movable. At the time of fixing, as shown in FIG. 5A, the fixing belt 13 and the transfer material P are nipped and pressed and transported.

The fixing belt 13 is formed of a central metal base 13.
b, outer layer 13c on the outer peripheral surface side, inner layer 13a on the inner peripheral surface side
And so on. Metal substrate 13 of fixing belt 13
b is, for example, an endless belt-shaped nickel metal layer formed by electroforming, or a stainless metal layer formed by welding or rolling. An outer layer 13c coated with silicone rubber is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the metal base 13b. The outer layer 13c made of silicone rubber of the fixing belt 13 abuts on the toner image t on the transfer material P, but follows the unevenness of the transfer material P and the toner image t due to the elasticity of the silicone rubber and makes uniform contact. By the heat of the fixing belt 13 heated by the halogen heater 16 and the pressurization by the pressure rollers 11 and 12, uniform fixing without uneven gloss is performed.

An inner layer 13a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the metal base 13b of the fixing belt 13. Inner layer 13a
Is a conductive heat absorbing layer, for example, a mixture of carbon black and silicon resin is preferable. The charge on the fixing belt 13 can be removed through a conductive conductive wire 141b and a conductive wire 151b, which will be described later, via a conductive inner layer 13a.

The fixing belt 13 is suspended between the support roller 64 and the support roller 65 with a very low tension. The fixing belt 13 is rotated by rotation of the support roller at times other than the time of the fixing process.

The support roller 64 includes a rotary shaft 142 driven and rotated by a drive source, and flange members 143 and 14 which are disposed opposite and fixed near both ends of the rotary shaft 142.
4, a wire 141a provided between the flange members 143 and 144, a conductive wire 141b, and a gear 145 fixed to one shaft end of the rotating shaft 142 and connected to a driving source.

The support roller 65 has the same shape as the support roller 64, and includes a wire 151a, a conductive wire 151b, a rotating shaft 152, flange members 153 and 154, gears (not shown), and the like. Hereinafter, the support roller 64 among the support rollers 64 and 65 will be described as a representative.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the support roller of FIG.
The support roller 64 is a heat-resistant resin wire 1 having a diameter of 0.6 mm between flange members attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 142.
41a and 22a are stretched to form a cylindrical shape having a diameter of φ30 mm, and two conductive wires 141b having a diameter of 0.6 mm are stretched and stretched on the opposite side of the rotation axis. The conductive wires 141b are arranged at equal intervals (angles) with respect to the center of the rotation shaft 142. The electric charge charged on the fixing belt 13 is transferred to the conductive wire 141b, the flange members 143 and
4. The charge is removed by passing through the rotating shaft 142 and grounding or connecting to a power supply.

For example, one end of the wire 141a is locked and fixed to a part of the flange member 143. Wire 14
1a is laid a plurality of times in a reciprocating manner with the flange members 143 and 144 being parallel. The other end of the wire 141a is locked to the flange member 144 by a screw member (not shown).
Fixed.

Similarly, for example, the conductive wire 14
One end of 1b is locked and fixed to a part of the flange member 143. The conductive wire 141b is a flange member 143,
It is installed in a reciprocating manner with the parts 144 in parallel. The other end of the conductive wire 141b is locked and fixed to the flange member 144 by a screw member (not shown).

The contact area between the support roller 64 and the fixing belt 13 is reduced by forming a plurality of wires between the flange members 143 and 144 opposed to both ends of the rotating shaft 142 to form the support roller 64. At the same time, the heat capacity of the support roller itself can be extremely reduced.

The wire 141a is the same as the wire of the first embodiment. The conductive wire 141b is a metal wire such as a steel wire. Further, a metal wire may be woven into the polymer fiber, or a wire in which the periphery of the polymer fiber is covered with a conductive fiber may be used. One conductive wire 141b may be reciprocated a required number of times and stretched, or a plurality of conductive wires 141b may be stretched individually between the flange members 143 and 144.

One embodiment of the wire 141 is described below. The fixing belt 13 having a circumference of 314 mm, a width of 320 mm and a tension of 30 N or less is fixed by applying a tension of 2 to 3 N to each of the 22 wires 141 a using 400 denier aromatic polyamide fiber. Conductive wire 141b is connected to two wires 141a by 2 to 2 respectively.
A support roller 64 having a diameter of 30 mm was fixed by applying a tension of 3N.

In the second embodiment, a total of two conductive wires 141b are arranged at equal angular intervals with respect to the rotating shaft 142. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A total of three or four conductive wires 141b may be arranged at intervals. Conductive wire 14
The larger the number of 1b, the higher the charge removal performance of the fixing belt, but the higher the thermal conductivity. Therefore, the heat insulation performance of the support roller decreases, and the cost increases. With any number, the effect of the present invention can be obtained, but one to four is preferable. Further, the plurality of wires 141a and the conductive wires 141b may be inclined with respect to the rotation shaft 142.

With the above configuration, since the conductive material is used for the conductive wire 141b, the fixing belt 13 is not charged, and image defects such as toner scattering immediately before fixing do not occur. Further, since the fixing belt 13 is not charged, a part of the toner does not adhere to the fixing belt 13. Further, since the transfer material P after the fixing is not electrostatically attracted to the fixing belt 13, the separation is excellent.

[0065]

According to the configuration described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) By making the fixing roller winding portion of the support roller curved, it is possible to prevent the deviation of the fixing belt and provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing a stable fixing operation for a long period of time.

(2) Since static elimination is performed using a conductive material for the wire, the fixing belt is not charged, no image defects such as toner scattering immediately before fixing occur, and the transfer material after fixing is fixed. Since the belt does not electrostatically adsorb to the belt, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is surely separated.

(3) It is possible to provide a method of manufacturing a fixing device capable of easily manufacturing a support roller suspended by inclining a wire with respect to a rotation axis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a color printer.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fixing device used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fixing device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the support roller of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view and a main part enlarged view showing a configuration of a fixing device used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the support roller of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fixing apparatus 11, 12 Pressure roller 13 Fixing belt 13a Inner layer 14, 15, 64, 65 Supporting roller 141, 151 Wire 141b, 151b Conductive wire 142, 152 Rotation axis 143, 144, 153, 154 Flange member P Transfer material t Toner image

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H05B 3/00 335 H05B 3/00 335 345 345 F F-term (Reference) 2H033 AA23 BA11 BA12 BA25 BB34 BB35 BB38 3J103 AA02 AA07 AA13 AA27 AA35 AA72 AA75 BA02 BA18 BA43 CA04 CA63 EA05 EA08 FA01 FA05 FA06 FA09 FA12 FA15 FA20 GA02 GA52 GA57 GA58 GA60 GA68 HA03 HA19 HA20 HA41 HA46 3K058 AA45 AA86 BA18 CA12 CA23 CA70 CE02 DA02 EA02

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for fixing a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image by a fixing device having a fixing belt rotatable around a plurality of support rollers. At least one support roller,
A rotating shaft, two flange members fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of wires suspended between the flange members to form a substantially cylindrical envelope; Is suspended with respect to the rotation axis. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pressing unit for holding and pressing the fixing belt and the transfer material is releasable. 3. An image forming apparatus in which a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image is fixed by a fixing device having a fixing belt rotatable around a plurality of support rollers. At least one support roller,
A rotating shaft, two flange members fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft, and a plurality of wires suspended between the flange members to form a substantially cylindrical envelope; An image forming apparatus comprising a conductive wire. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conductive wires are arranged so that a substantially circular envelope orthogonal to the rotation axis of the wire suspended between the flange members is substantially equally divided. apparatus. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conductive wire is connected to a ground or a power supply. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an inner layer on an inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt is conductive. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an inner layer of the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt is heat absorbing. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the inner layer is made of a mixture of carbon black and silicon resin. 9. A method of manufacturing a fixing device including a fixing belt rotatable around a plurality of support rollers and heating and fixing a transfer material carrying an unfixed toner image, wherein at least one of the support rollers is One support roller has a rotating shaft, two flange members fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft, and a wire between the flange members suspended substantially parallel to the rotating shaft to form a substantially cylindrical envelope. Formed, and then
A method of manufacturing a fixing device, comprising: rotating a plurality of flange members around the rotation axis so as to shift phases.