JP2002072749A - Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fixing apparatus equipped with a peeling assistance member which is arranged nearby a nip part and the surface of a fixing roll and stably and securely peel a form off the fixing roll after fixation and an image forming device equipped with a fixing apparatus like this. SOLUTION: This fixing apparatus which fixes an unfixed toner image on a recording medium by heating and pressing the recording medium carried to the nip part and having carried the unfixed toner image to the side of the fixing roll is equipped with the peeling assistance member which assists the recording medium to peel off the fixing roll and is made of a wire material extended along the fixing roll surface nearby the fixing roll right behind the nip part in the conveying direction of the recording medium.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, etc. having the fixing device, and more particularly, to a nip portion formed by a pair of rolls or a roll and a belt. The present invention relates to a fixing device that passes a recording medium carrying an unfixed toner image through a nip portion to be formed, heats and presses the recording medium to fix the toner image on the recording medium, and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, such as a printer, a facsimile, and a copying machine, has a fixing device for fixing a toner image transferred onto a sheet or the like to the sheet.

The fixing device includes a fixing roll that rotates with a heat source, a predetermined nip portion formed by pressing the fixing roll, and a rotating pressure roll or a moving belt. A configuration is often used in which a sheet carrying paper is passed through the nip portion, heated and pressed to melt the toner and permeate the sheet to fix the toner image.

[0004] Ideally, paper that has passed through the nip is discharged without being wound around any roll or belt. The amount of toner is not uniform. Therefore, it is difficult to discharge the paper or the like without winding it on any roll or belt under all conditions.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a separation assisting member downstream of the roll from the nip so that the paper or the like that has passed through the nip is not wound around the roll or belt even when used under various conditions.

Conventionally, as the peeling assisting member, a peeling claw is generally provided at various places in the rotation axis direction of the fixing roll. However, by providing the peeling claw, the roll may be worn or a jam may occur when a jam occurs. However, there is a problem that the roll may break down and break the roll.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-2000
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 98791 discloses a device using a non-contact blade as a separation assisting member.

According to the disclosed blade-type separation assisting member, there is an advantage that the wear of the roll due to the provision of the separation claw and the breakage of the roll when a jam occurs can be reduced to some extent.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
The separation assisting member disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 000-98791 has a greater effect of preventing image defects and paper wrapping as the nip portion is closer, and also prevents the paper from entering the inside of the separation assisting member. Therefore, the gap between the separation assisting member and the fixing roll is 0.2 mm to 0.4 m.
m. Further, in consideration of providing the separation assisting member in a narrow place near the nip portion, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the separation assisting member.

On the other hand, if the peeling assisting member is made thin, it becomes difficult to obtain straightness at the front end portion. In the worst case, the fixing roll is partially contacted with the fixing roll in the axial direction to damage the fixing roll. If the gap is too wide, the paper may get in and cause a jam.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide the peeling assisting member with a certain thickness or to support the supporting plate having a good straightness of about 1 mm thickness to secure the straightness. Therefore, the peeling assisting member is provided at a desired position. There is a problem that it becomes difficult.

In addition to the blades,
Generally, while the peeling assisting member is being used, toner adheres to the peeling assisting member, and the toner is transferred to the paper to cause an image defect, or the attached toner and the toner of the paper are attracted and jammed. There is also a problem that induces.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is provided with a separation assisting member which is disposed in the vicinity of the nip portion and in the position close to the fixing roll surface, and which can stably and surely peel the sheet after fixing from the fixing roll. It is an object to provide a fixing device and an image forming apparatus provided with such a fixing device.

[0014]

According to the present invention, there is provided a fixing device comprising a fixing roll which rotates while forming a nip portion in contact with a predetermined contact member. The recording medium that has been conveyed and carries the unfixed toner image on the fixing roll side is heated and pressed,
In a fixing device for fixing the unfixed toner image on the recording medium, a position of the recording medium near the fixing roll immediately after the nip portion in the transport direction of the recording medium,
The image forming apparatus further includes a separation assisting member made of a wire stretched along the surface of the fixing roll, which assists separation from the fixing roll.

Here, it is a preferable embodiment that a guide plate is provided downstream of the separation assisting member in the conveyance direction and guides the conveyed recording medium.

It is preferable that the release assisting member has a release layer made of a release agent.

Further, the peeling assisting member is made of an endless wire, and the peeling assisting member is provided on both sides of the conveying direction, downstream of the nip portion, avoiding the passage area of the recording medium. It is also a preferable embodiment to provide a support member that stretches and circulates the separation assisting member.

Alternatively, the feeding support member for feeding out the wire and the wire are wound around one side and the other side of the transport direction downstream of the nip portion and avoiding the passage area of the recording medium. It is also preferable that a take-up supporting member be provided, and the peeling assisting member be stretched between the feeding-out supporting member and the take-up supporting member.

In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned structure for moving the peeling auxiliary member further includes a cleaning member for cleaning the peeling auxiliary member as the peeling auxiliary member moves.

Further, it is a preferable embodiment that a release agent applying member is provided for applying a release agent to the release assisting member as the release assisting member moves.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus which forms a toner image on a predetermined image carrier, transfers the toner image onto a predetermined recording medium, and transfers the toner image. The image forming apparatus transports the recording medium to a fixing device and forms an image composed of a fixed toner image on the recording medium by heating and pressurizing the recording medium. A fixing roll that rotates while forming a nip portion that is in contact with each other is provided, and in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, at a position close to the fixing roll immediately after the nip portion, the recording medium is moved from the fixing roll. A recording medium having a separation assisting member made of a wire stretched along the surface of the fixing roll and assisting the separation, the recording medium carrying the unfixed toner image conveyed to the nip portion on the fixing roll side. , Wherein the pressurized while heating, under the action of the peeling auxiliary member is intended for peeling the recording medium from the fixing roll.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a fixing device according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a first embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention.

The fixing device shown in FIG. 1 includes a rotating fixing roll 1 having a heat source 10 therein, and a pressing roll 2 having a heat source therein by pressing the fixing roll 1 to form a nip portion 3. By passing the recording medium 6 carrying the unfixed toner image 5 through the nip portion 3, the unfixed toner image 5 is heated and pressed, and the toner image 5 is recorded on the recording medium 6.
Is fixed.

At a position close to the fixing roll 1 immediately after the nip portion 3 in the transport direction A of the recording medium 6, a wire material for separating the recording medium 6 having passed through the nip portion 3 from the fixing roll 1 is formed. A separation assisting member 7 is stretched along the surface of the fixing roll 1.

The fixing roll 1 has a diameter of, for example, 5 mm.
A core 11 made of iron or the like and having a heat source 10 such as a halogen lamp therein at 0 mm, an elastic layer 12 made of silicon rubber or the like provided on the outer periphery of the core 11,
The pressure roll 2 is composed of a core 21 made of iron or the like having the same diameter as the fixing roll 1, for example, and a surface layer 13 made of, for example, a fluororesin coated on the surface of the elastic layer 12. A heat source 20 such as a halogen lamp inside the core 21, an elastic layer 22 made of silicon rubber or the like provided on the outer periphery of the core 21, and a surface made of fluororesin coated on the surface of the elastic layer 22 And a layer 23. However, it is not limited to this configuration.

The fixing roll 1 is connected to a predetermined driving source such as a stepping motor and is driven to rotate. The pressing roll 2 is driven while forming a nip portion 3 with the fixing roll 1. .

Here, the conveying speed of the recording medium 6 conveyed to the nip portion 3 is, for example, 220 mm / s.

It is preferable to use a high-strength and small-diameter wire as the wire constituting the separation assisting member 7, and for example, a piano wire having a wire diameter of 0.2 mm can be used.

Further, a release layer coated with a release agent made of a fluororesin at a thickness of, for example, 30 μm is provided on the surface of the wire.

The length of the wire constituting the separation assisting member 7 is as follows:
350mm slightly longer than the fixing roll with a total length of 335mm
In order to improve the straightness of the wire stretched along the surface of the fixing roll, a tension of 50 N is applied to the wire.

Although the tension of the wire is 50 N here, it may be less than this, for example, 30 N.

In this embodiment, the recording medium 6
Since the margin at the front end is set to a minimum of 4 mm, in the fixing device of the present embodiment, for example, the distance from the exit of the nip portion 3 is 3 mm, and the gap with the fixing roll 1 is 0.
The separation assisting member 7 is arranged at a position of 2 mm.

As described above, the peeling assisting member 7 of this embodiment is
Since a high-strength wire is used, the wire diameter can be reduced. In addition, since the wire is stretched with a tension equal to or higher than a certain value, the straightness is very good. 1 and a predetermined gap can be provided.
Further, since the release layer made of the release agent is provided on the surface of the wire, the toner hardly adheres. Furthermore, since the separation assisting member 7 is installed so that the distance from the exit of the nip portion 3 to the separation assisting member 7 is equal to or less than the margin at the leading end of the recording medium 6,
The separation assisting member 7 picks up at least a margin portion that is not in close contact with the fixing roll 1, and causes a jam in which the paper is wound around the roll from the leading end, or a recording medium that is wound around the roll in the middle of the image, and It is possible to reduce the occurrence of troubles such as image defects in which the gloss changes in the middle of the process.

Next, the results of a test performed to determine the peeling performance of the peeling assisting member of the present embodiment will be described.

In the test, 56 g / m ² A4 size paper was moistened until the water content became about 10%, and 12 g / m ² toner was carried on almost the entire surface. A fixing roll having a thickness of 3 mm was used, and the temperature of the fixing roll was changed from 160 ° C. to 180 ° C. in steps of 5 ° C. For comparison, SUS with a tip thickness of 3 mm
A test was also performed on a blade-type separation assisting member coated with a fluororesin to a thickness of 30 μm.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an arrangement position of the peeling assisting member of the present embodiment.

In FIG. 2, a fixing roll 1 and a pressure roll 2 are in contact with each other to form a nip portion 3. The separation assisting member 7 of the present embodiment, which is made of a wire, has a gap between the fixing roll 1 and the fixing roller 1 of 0.
The distance was set so as to be 2 mm, and the distance was changed so that the distance L from the exit of the nip portion to the wire was 3 mm or 4 mm.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement position of a blade-type separation assisting member to be compared.

In FIG. 3, a fixing roll 1 and a pressure roll 2 form a nip portion 3. The blade 9 is moved downstream of the recording medium in the transport direction A so that the gap between the blade 9 and the fixing roll 1 becomes 0.2 mm, and the blade 9 is moved toward the fixing roll 1 with respect to the nip line 4 formed by the nip portion 3. Angle 5
And the distance L from the exit of the nip 3 to the tip of the blade 9 was 4 mm.

Here, the blade-type separation assisting member is supported by an iron supporting member having a thickness of 1 mm.
The distance from the nip exit was limited to 4 mm even when the nip was as close to the nip as possible. Therefore, the distance from the nip exit was set to 4 mm for the blade type separation assisting member, and set to 3 mm and 4 mm for the separation assisting member of the present embodiment.

Table 1 shows the results of testing the peeling performance of the peeling assisting member of the present embodiment.

[0043]

[Table 1]

The leftmost column in Table 1 shows the temperatures of the fixing rolls changed in five steps from 160 ° C. to 180 ° C. in 5 ° C. steps, and the second column shows the peeling performance of the blade-type peeling auxiliary member to be compared. Shows the results of testing
The fourth column and the fourth column show the results of testing the peeling performance of the peeling assisting member of the present embodiment made of a wire while changing the distance from the nip to 4 mm and 3 mm.

The results of the test are described in two stages for each temperature of the fixing roll changed in five stages, the upper stage shows the peeling state when the paper is peeled off from the fixing roll, and the lower stage shows the peeling condition. 4 shows the image quality of the toner image on the printed paper.

As is clear from Table 1, the separation performance of the stripping assisting member made of a wire rod with the distance from the exit of the nip portion set to 3 mm was the best, and no jamming, image defects, etc. occurred.
Did not occur.

However, the distance from the exit of the nip is 4 m.
When m was set, no jam occurred, but when the temperature of the fixing roll reached a certain temperature or higher, an image quality defect occurred in that even if the toner image was on the same sheet, the gloss of the image was partially different.

On the other hand, in the case of the blade type, when the temperature of the fixing roll reached a certain temperature or higher, not only an image quality defect in which the gloss of the image was partially different, but also a jam occurred.

As a result, it can be said that the peeling assisting member closer to the nip exit has better peeling performance. Therefore, the peeling assisting member made of a wire, which can be arranged closer to the nip portion than the blade type, is more effective in peeling off. It turned out to be suitable as a member.

Further, the distance from the exit of the nip portion is the same.
mm, there was a difference in peeling performance between the blade type and the wire type.

In the blade type, the sheet is drawn to the fixing roll side from the place where the toner image is laid, and the sheet is bent from the middle of the sheet and wrapped around the roll despite the fact that the margin at the leading end of the sheet is picked up. And jammed.

On the other hand, the wire rod type of the present embodiment
Several faint scars in the axial direction were observed on the image, but no jam was found.

This is because when the paper hits the wire, the wire vibrates at a natural frequency, and the vibrating force repels the paper in a direction away from the fixing roll, so that no jam occurs.

Although the tension is set to 50 N here, it is better to prevent the occurrence of a jam even at 30 N, and to reduce the natural frequency by lowering the tension to reduce the flaw on the image generated in the axial direction of the fixing roll. Has been confirmed to be small.

As described above, a high-strength, thin-diameter wire is applied as a peeling assisting member to a fixing roll near the exit of the nip portion in a state of extremely good straightness by applying a tension of a certain level or more. By arranging them with the above gap, it was possible to obtain excellent peeling performance without jams and image quality defects.

In particular, even for thin paper which has not been successfully separated from the fixing roll, the wire vibrates at a natural frequency and repels the paper when it comes into contact with a wire to which a certain tension or more is applied. It turns out that it is hard to occur.

Next, a second embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and only different points will be described.

In this embodiment, a guide plate 8 for guiding the separated recording medium 6 is attached downstream of the separation assisting member 7 in the transport direction A of the recording medium.

By mounting such a guide plate 8, the recording medium 6 is smoothly conveyed to a sheet take-out position (not shown).

Next, a third embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a fixing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The peeling assisting member according to the present embodiment is configured so that the wire rod can move in an endless manner.

In the fixing device shown in FIG. 5, a nip portion 3 is formed between the fixing roll 1 and a contact member (not shown). A rotatable columnar support member 31 is provided, and a peeling assisting member 30 made of an endless wire supported by the supporting member 31 is stretched close to the fixing roll 1. The support member 31 is configured to circulate along with the rotation in the rotation direction B. Further, a cleaning member 32 is provided on the side opposite to the peeling side where the peeling assisting member 30 peels the recording medium from the fixing roll 1, and the cleaning member 32 is rotated while rotating the supporting member 31 to circulate and move the peeling assisting member 30. With 32, the peeling assisting member 30 can be cleaned.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the cleaning member.

In FIG. 6, the supporting member 31 circulates the wire while rotating while rotating the peeling assisting member 30 made of the wire. The cleaning member 32 is provided at a position close to the nip portion 3 and in contact with a wire on the side opposite to the side of the separation assisting member 30 from which the sheet is separated, and when the wire circulates, cleans the wire. Has become.

The reason why the cleaning member 32 is provided in this manner is that, for example, a sheet of paper containing a large amount of toner on water-containing thin paper comes into contact with the wire after passing through the exit of the nip portion, and is discharged while being repelled by the wire. At times, toner may adhere to the wire, and if peeling is continued in that state, the toner on the wire will transfer to the paper, causing image defects, or the toner on the wire and the toner on the paper will attract each other, This is to prevent jams.

Further, because the peeling assisting member 30 is a wire, it is easy to provide a cleaning step.

Here, the cleaning may be performed, for example, after a jam has occurred, or may be performed after a predetermined number of recording media have been fixed.

As the cleaning member, for example, a felt is used, and the felt is pressed against the wire using a leaf spring or the like over an axial length of, for example, 50 mm, and the wire is cleaned as the wire moves. There is something. The felt may be impregnated with, for example, dimethyl silicone oil having a viscosity of 10,000 CST, and the oil may be applied to the wire as a release agent simultaneously with cleaning. When the release agent is applied to the wire, the paper is wrapped around the fixing roll and discharged, and even when the paper is peeled by the peeling assisting member made of the wire, the toner hardly adheres to the wire itself. Therefore, it is possible to prevent image defects and jams caused by this. The timing of cleaning by the cleaning member 30 is set even after a predetermined number of sheets are fixed.
The cleaning may be performed every time a jam occurs. During the image forming operation, the wire may be constantly cleaned while moving the wire at a speed lower than the image forming speed.

Next, a third embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view showing a fourth embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention.

The peeling assisting member in this embodiment is configured to wind up a wire.

In the fixing device shown in FIG. 7, a nip portion 3 is formed between the fixing roll 1 and a contact member (not shown), and the nip portion 3 is provided on one side and the other side avoiding the recording medium passage area. A feeding support member 35 for feeding out the wire and a winding support member 36 for winding the wire in the winding direction C are provided, and peeling made of the wire supported by the feeding support member 35 and the winding support member 36 is provided. The auxiliary member 30 is the fixing roll 1
It is stretched close to. In addition, the feeding support member 3
A release agent application member 37 is provided at a position avoiding the recording medium passage area near 5 so that the release agent can be applied to the release auxiliary member 33 as the release auxiliary member 33 moves. Has become.

As described above, by taking up the wire, the toner is prevented from being deposited on the wire, and by applying a release agent to the wire, the toner on the paper adheres to the wire. This makes it difficult to prevent image defects and jams caused by toner adhering to the wire.

The winding timing of the wire may be set at a predetermined value even if a portion corresponding to the axial length of the fixing roll is wound when toner is adhered to the wire when a peeling failure such as a jam occurs. After fixing the number of recording media, the recording medium may be wound by a predetermined length, or may be constantly wound at a speed sufficiently lower than the image forming speed.

Here, the cleaning member is shown in the embodiment having the endless wire shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the release agent is applied in the embodiment in which the wire is wound in one direction shown in FIG. Although the members are shown, the release agent may be applied to the endless wires shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and a cleaning member may be provided in a method of winding the wires shown in FIG. 7 in one direction. good.

Next, an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

The image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
Is a rotating photoconductive drum, a charging device 39 contacts the image carrier 38 and charges the image carrier 38, and an exposure device 40 irradiates the image carrier 38 with exposure light to form an electrostatic latent image. An image is formed, the developing device 41 visualizes the electrostatic latent image by using a developer to form a toner image, and the transfer device 43 transfers the toner image to the recording medium 6. The unfixed toner image 5 transferred to the recording medium 6 forms a nip portion 3 by pressing against the rotating fixing roll 1 having a heat source therein and the fixing roll 1,
By being conveyed to a fixing device having a pressure roll 2 having a heat source therein and passing through a nip portion 3 thereof,
It is fixed by heating and pressing. Further, at a position close to the fixing roll 1 immediately after the nip portion 3 in the transport direction A of the recording medium 6, the recording medium 6 having passed through the nip portion 3 is peeled off from the fixing roll 1 as shown in FIG. A separation auxiliary member 7 made of a wire is stretched along the surface of the fixing roll 1.

Since the peeling assisting member 7 uses a high-strength wire, the wire diameter can be reduced. In addition, since the wire is stretched with a tension of a certain value or more, the straightness is very good. In the vicinity of the exit, the fixing roll 1 can be disposed with a predetermined gap. Further, if a release layer made of a release agent is provided on the surface of the wire, the toner does not easily adhere to the wire, so that it is difficult to cause a jam.

In the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, since the fixing device is provided with such a peeling assisting member, troubles such as wrapping paper or the like on the fixing roll and partial change in image gloss are eliminated. be able to.

Although the auxiliary member shown in FIG. 1 is used here, the same effect can be obtained by using the auxiliary members shown in FIGS.

[0085]

According to the fixing device of the present invention, since the margin at the leading end of the sheet is picked up and peeled off, image defects such as uneven gloss of the toner image can be prevented, and the sheet is repelled by the vibration inherent to the wire. Can be prevented. Furthermore, if the configuration is such that the wire can be moved, it is possible to clean the toner adhering to the wire by moving the wire, or to supply a release agent to the wire while winding the wire to prevent the toner from adhering. Can be avoided. In addition, if an image forming apparatus is configured using such a fixing device, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with high image quality and little jam.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a fixing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an arrangement position of a peeling assisting member of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an arrangement position of a blade-type separation assisting member as a comparative object.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a fixing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a fixing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arrangement of a cleaning member.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the fixing device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixing roll 2 Pressure roll 3 Nip part 4 Nip line 5 Unfixed toner image 6 Recording medium 7, 30, 33 Separation auxiliary member 8 Guide plate 9 Blade 10, 20 Heat source 11, 21 Core 12, 22, Elastic layer 13, 23 Surface layer 31 Support member 32 Cleaning member 35 Feed-out support member 36 Roll-up support member 37 Release agent application member 38 Image carrier 39 Charging device 40 Exposure device 41 Developing device 43 Transfer device

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Keitaro Sonoguchi 2274 Hongo, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Masaru Kijima 2274 Hongo, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.Ebina Office F-term (reference)

Claims (8)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing roller configured to rotate while forming a nip portion in contact with a predetermined contact member; and an unfixed toner image conveyed to the nip portion being carried on the fixing roll side. A fixing device that heats and pressurizes the recording medium to fix the unfixed toner image on the recording medium, wherein the recording is performed at a position close to the fixing roll immediately after the nip portion in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. A fixing device, comprising: a separation assisting member formed of a wire stretched along the surface of the fixing roll, which assists the separation of the medium from the fixing roll. 2. The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising a guide plate disposed downstream of the separation assisting member with respect to the transport direction and guiding the transported recording medium. 3. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the release assisting member has a release layer made of a release agent. 4. The exfoliation assisting member is made of an endless wire, and the exfoliation assisting member is provided on both sides of the transport direction downstream of the nip portion and avoiding the recording medium passage area. 2. A supporting member which is stretched and circulates and moves the separation assisting member.
The fixing device as described in the above. 5. A winding support member for feeding out the wire and the wire are wound around one side and the other side of the transport direction downstream of the nip portion and avoiding the passage area of the recording medium. Equipped with a take-up support member for taking
2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the separation assisting member is stretched between the feeding support member and the winding support member. 3. 6. The fixing device according to claim 4, further comprising a cleaning member that cleans the peeling auxiliary member as the peeling auxiliary member moves. 7. The fixing device according to claim 4, further comprising a release agent applying member for applying a release agent to the peeling auxiliary member as the peeling auxiliary member moves. 8. A toner image is formed on a predetermined image carrier, the toner image is transferred onto a predetermined recording medium, and the recording medium on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device and heated. An image forming apparatus for forming an image comprising a fixed toner image on the recording medium by applying pressure, wherein the fixing device forms a nip portion that is in mutual contact with a predetermined contact member and rotates the fixing device. A roll is provided along a surface of the fixing roll, which assists in peeling the recording medium from the fixing roll at a position close to the fixing roll immediately after the nip portion in the transport direction of the recording medium. A peeling auxiliary member made of a wire to be bridged, heating and pressurizing the recording medium, which has been conveyed to the nip portion and carries the unfixed toner image on the fixing roll side, and pressurizes the recording medium. An image forming apparatus wherein the recording medium is peeled off from a fixing roll by an action.