JP2003215971A - Fixation device and image forming device equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fixation device capable of obtaining a fixed image of desired glossiness while attaining the miniaturization of the device and the cost reduction, and also, capable of shortening a warming-up time and improving the fixation at fixing an image on a recording material such as a thick paper, and also, at continuously fixing images on several recording materials, and also, to provide an image forming device equipped with the fixation device. <P>SOLUTION: The fixation device is provided with an oil applying roller heater 49 for heating an oil applying roller 40, a thermistor 48 for detecting the temperature of the oil applying roller 40, a control means 47 for controlling the drive of the oil applying roller heater 49 so that a contact part of the oil applying roller 40 with a fixing roller 4a may attain a prescribed set temperature based on the temperature detected by the thermistor 48, and an operation mode detecting means 7 for detecting the fixation state with reference to a prescribed fixation condition, and the set temperature is changed by the control means 47 in accordance with the fixation state detected by the operation mode detecting means 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention fixes a non-fixed image on the recording material by nipping and conveying the recording material carrying the unfixed image by a fixing member and a pressure member rotating in pressure contact with each other. The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a fixing device provided in an image forming apparatus has a fixing member which is heated at a predetermined temperature at least one of them and rotates in pressure contact with each other, and a pair of rollers as a pressure member. There is known a fixing device that fixes the unfixed image on the recording material by heating and pressurizing while passing a recording material carrying an unfixed image made of toner between rollers and the like.

In such a fixing device, at the time of fixing, for example, silicone is used as a release agent on the surface of the fixing roller so that the unfixed toner is not offset to the fixing roller, which is one of the pair of rollers, which is a fixing body. Oil is being supplied.

Particularly in full-color image formation,
Since the recording material passes between the roller pairs in a state where the toner images are superposed on the surface of the recording material, the toner is apt to be offset to the fixing roller, and the roller is prevented in order to prevent image defects. The oil application function of supplying oil to the etc. is very important.

As a method of supplying oil to a fixing roller or the like, a felt or a web impregnated with oil is brought into contact with the fixing roller, or an oil applying roller which is a roller-shaped member carrying oil on the surface is used as the fixing roller. There have been proposed those which are brought into contact with.

Considering the durability of the fixing roller and the stability of oil application, it is desirable to use the oil application roller.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a conventional fixing device using an oil coating roller.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the oil applying roller 40 as the applying member is used, the oil as the release agent on the oil applying roller 40 is the regulating means arranged in contact with the oil applying roller 40. After passing through the space between the oil applying blade 44 and the oil applying blade 44, a desired fixed amount is regulated to obtain an optimum amount of oil film thickness, and then the fixing roller 4a is contacted at the contact portion between the oil applying roller 40 and the fixing roller 4a as a fixing body. Applied to. In this way, a predetermined amount of oil is applied to the fixing roller 4a.

However, by applying oil to the surface of the fixing roller 4a, it is possible to completely prevent the occurrence of the offset phenomenon in which the developer forming the unfixed image on the recording material is transferred to the surface of the fixing roller 4a. No, fixing roller 4a
The developer transferred to the surface is gradually deposited on the surface of the fixing roller 4a.

As a result, the release layer of the fixing roller 4a is deteriorated by the developer accumulated on the fixing roller 4a as described above, and the life of the fixing roller 4a is shortened.

Therefore, conventionally, in order to remove the developer adhering to the fixing roller 4a by the offset phenomenon,
A cleaning unit 9 is provided to remove the adhering developer on the fixing roller 4a by bringing the cleaning member into contact with the surface of the fixing roller 4a.

Further, when the amount of the accumulated developer on the fixing roller is large, the developer is also offset to the oil applying roller 40, so that a cleaning blade as a removing means for the oil applying roller 40 is provided. ing.

Further, an oil heater H1 is arranged on the surface of the oil pan P as an oil heating function for heating the oil in order to secure the fixing property at the time of starting the fixing device and prevent the image gloss change caused by the oil viscosity change. is doing.

In order to increase the image gloss, the fixing temperature is increased or the fixing speed is decreased to increase the amount of heat applied to the developer. Also, the smaller the amount of oil applied, the higher the gloss of the image.

On the other hand, in the fixing device of the heat roller fixing system,
When heating the recording material or the developer, it is necessary to heat the fixing roller with a large heat capacity, which is disadvantageous in terms of energy saving, and it takes time to warm the fixing device during printing and the warming-up time becomes long. There was a problem.

Further, when a plurality of transfer papers are continuously passed between the roller pair, the amount of heat taken by the transfer paper from the roller pair is large, so that the surface temperature of the roller pair is lowered and the fixing property is remarkably lowered. There was such a problem.

In particular, when a plurality of thick papers are continuously passed between the roller pair, the amount of heat taken by the transfer paper from the roller pair is also very large, and the fixing property is reduced by the decrease of the process speed and the distance between the papers. The method of securing was taken.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the past,
As shown in FIG. 10, the external heating roller 8 is fixed to the fixing roller 4a.
The external heating function of contacting the surface layer shortens the warming-up time and the fixing roller 4 in the continuous image forming mode.
It corresponds to the temperature drop of a.

[0019]

However, as shown in FIG.
When the contact force between the oil applying roller 40 and the oil applying blade 44 is low as shown in FIG. 5, an oil pool A is formed, and the impact when the transfer paper M enters the fixing nip is affected by the oil applying roller 40 and the oil applying blade. After reaching the abutting portion of 44, the accumulated oil escapes as shown in FIG. 12 to form a streak A1 in the longitudinal direction, which flows to the fixing nip, and a streak A2 enters the transfer paper M as shown in FIG. Such an image defect will occur. Also, when an oil heater is provided near the oil pan, the temperature of the entire oil that has entered the oil pan is adjusted, so there is a large amount of heat for heat retention and loss due to heat dissipation, resulting in a large amount of heat. .

Further, it is very difficult to sufficiently improve the gloss of the fixed image only by controlling the gloss of the fixed image by increasing the fixing temperature and decreasing the fixing speed.

Furthermore, when the oil coating function, the external heating function, and the oil heating function are provided, there are problems that the size of the entire apparatus is increased and the cost is increased.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a fixed image having a desired glossiness while shortening the warming-up time while reducing the size and cost of the apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fixing device and an image forming apparatus equipped with the same, which can improve the fixing property when fixing a recording material such as thick paper or continuously fixing a plurality of recording materials.

[0023]

According to the present application, the above object is to provide a recording material carrying an unfixed image by a fixing member and a pressure member that rotate in pressure contact with each other by the fixing member and the pressure member. A fixing device for fixing the unfixed image to the recording material to form a fixed image by heating and pressing while sandwiching and transporting the fixing member at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the fixing member or the pressure member. Alternatively, a coating member that is disposed in contact with the pressure body and holds the release agent on the surface and applies the release agent to the fixing body or the pressure body while rotating, and a supply unit that supplies the release agent to the coating member. And a fixing device including a regulation unit that regulates the amount of the release agent held by the coating member to a predetermined amount, a heating unit that heats the coating member, and a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the coating member, Detected by the temperature detecting means Control means for controlling the driving of the heating means so that the contact portion of the application member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and a state detecting means for detecting a fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition. And the control means changes the set temperature in accordance with the fixing state detected by the state detecting means.

According to the present application, in the second aspect of the present invention, the state detecting means has a paper type detecting means for detecting the type of the recording material as the fixing state relating to the fixing condition in the first invention. Also achieved by.

Further, according to the present application, in the first or second invention, the above-mentioned object is such that the state detection means fixes the fixing state in the desired setting information selected by the operation unit or the like as the fixing state relating to the fixing condition. It is also achieved by a third invention having a gloss detecting means for detecting information on the glossiness of an image.

According to the present application, the above object is also achieved by the fourth invention in any one of the first invention to the third invention, in which the coating member is formed in a roller shape.

Further, according to the present application, in the above object, in any one of the first invention to the fourth invention, the coating member is configured such that the developer on the coating member is removed by the removing means. It is also achieved by the fifth invention.

According to the present application, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the removing means is such that the removing position of the developer with respect to the applying member is the rotating direction of the applying member and the fixing member or the pressing member. It is also achieved by the sixth invention in that it is located on the downstream side of the contact position with the body and on the upstream side of the release agent supply position for the coating member by the supply means.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned object, in any one of the first to sixth inventions, the supplying means is such that the release agent from the storage means for storing the release agent is applied to the coating member. It is also achieved by the seventh invention of being supplied.

Further, according to the present application, the above-mentioned object is in any one of the first to seventh inventions, wherein the fixing body or the pressing body, the supplying means, and the regulating means are in the rotating direction of the coating member,
It is said that the contact position between the fixing member or the pressure member and the coating member, the release agent supply position with respect to the coating member by the supply unit, and the release agent restriction position with respect to the coating member by the restriction unit are provided in this order. It is also achieved by the eighth invention.

Further, according to the present application, in any one of the first to eighth inventions, the temperature detecting means corresponds to a non-sheet passing area in the axial direction of the fixing body or the pressing body. It is also achieved by the ninth invention that the temperature of the area of the coating member is detected.

Further, according to the present application, in the above-mentioned object, in any one of the first to ninth inventions, the temperature detecting means is such that the temperature detecting position with respect to the coating member is the rotation direction of the coating member. It is also achieved by the tenth invention, which is located downstream of the contact position between the coating member and the fixing member or the pressure member and upstream of the release agent restricting position for the applying member by the restricting means.

Further, according to the present application, the above object is an image forming apparatus for recording an image on a recording material by a series of image forming processes, and the fixing apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the tenth invention. It is also achieved by the eleventh invention comprising.

[0034]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a schematic structure of a copying machine as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In this copying machine, the image information read by the reader unit 1 having a scanning optical system is photoelectrically converted and transferred to the image forming unit 2, and an image is formed on a transfer paper, which is a recording material fed by a paper feeding unit 3. Image formation is performed in the forming unit 2.

The transfer paper on which the image has been formed is conveyed to the fixing device 4 and heat and pressure are applied thereto to fix the transferred image.

Since a series of electrophotographic process steps are known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the fixing device 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing device 4 includes a fixing roller 4a as a fixing body, a pressure roller 4b as a pressure body, and
An oil applying roller 40 as an applying member, a third scooping roller 41 as a supplying unit, an oil applying blade 44 as a regulating unit, and an oil applying roller heater 49 as a heating unit.
And a thermistor 48 as a temperature detecting means and a control means 47
And an operation mode detecting means 7 which is a state detecting means.

The fixing roller 4a and the pressure roller 4b are formed by coating a silicon rubber on an aluminum cored bar, press-contact each other to form a nip, and sandwich the recording material at this nip portion. The unfixed image on the recording material is fixed while being conveyed.

A halogen heater 45a, which is a heating source, is arranged inside the core of the fixing roller 4a, and the surface of the fixing roller 4a is fixed by a thermistor (not shown) in contact with the surface layer of the silicone rubber of the fixing roller 4a. Temperature is detected.

A controller (not shown) provided in the main body of the copying machine compares the temperature of each thermistor with a preset temperature, and if the temperature is lower than this preset temperature, each halogen heater 45a is turned on. The temperature of the fixing roller 4a is kept constant by controlling so as not to turn on if the temperature is high.

In the fixing device 4, a part of the first scooping roller 43 is immersed in the oil in the oil pan P which is a storage means for storing the release agent such as silicon oil.
The second scooping roller 42 is rotating adjacent to the first scooping roller 43.

Further, the third scooping roller 41 as a supply means.
Is adjacent to the second scooping roller 42 and the oil applying roller 40.

In this embodiment, as described above, the oil is stored in the oil pan P, and the first scooping roller 43, the second scooping roller 42, and the third scooping roller 41 are arranged so that the oil pan is continuously maintained. Oil can be supplied from P to the oil applying roller 41.

The amount of oil that has been pumped up by the first pumping roller 43 is regulated to a certain extent by the gap with the second pumping roller 42.

Usually, there is a predetermined gap (about 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm) between these pumping rollers, and this gap determines the oil passage amount.
The silicone oil that has passed through here is the third pumping roller 4
It is pumped to the nip portion between the first and second pumping rollers 42.

Here, a groove having a depth of about 0.1 is formed on the surface of the second scooping roller 42, and the oil accumulated in the groove is transferred to the third scooping roller 41.

The third scooping roller 41 is in contact with the oil applying roller 40 so as to slightly penetrate the oil applying roller 40, and the surface of the third scooping roller 41 has a surface roughness so as not to damage the oil applying roller 40 whose surface layer is silicon rubber. Is getting smaller.

Next, the oil transferred from the third pumping roller 41 to the oil applying roller 40 is the oil applying roller 4
It is carried to the oil application blade 44, which is the regulating means, on the 0th turn.

The oil on the oil applying roller 41 passes through the contact portion with the oil applying blade 44, so that the passing amount is regulated to a desired amount and the oil film thickness of the optimum amount is obtained. It is applied on the fixing roller 4a at the nip portion between the roller 41 and the fixing roller 4a.

As described above, the oil applying roller 40 has a surface layer made of silicon rubber and an inner side made of a metal cylindrical core metal, and the oil applying roller 40 is provided inside the metal cylindrical core metal.
An oil application roller heater 49 for heating the is built-in.

As shown in FIG. 2, the oil applying roller 40
The fixing roller 4a, the third scooping roller 41, and the oil applying blade 44 may be arranged in this order along the outer circumference of the. The supply means may be an oil supply pump 41a as shown in FIG.

A cleaning blade 46 is arranged as shown in FIG.
Serves to scrape off the offset toner flowing to the oil applying roller 40.

FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of the cleaning blade 46.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning blade 46 has an oil removing position with respect to the oil applying roller 40 in the rotational direction of the oil applying roller 40, which is downstream of the contact position between the oil applying roller 40 and the fixing roller 4a. In addition, the oil application roller 4 by the third pumping roller 41
It is desirable to be located in the region R1 on the upstream side of the oil supply position for 0.

Further, a thermistor 48 is disposed in contact with the oil applying roller 40, and the thermistor 48 detects the temperature of the oil applying roller 40 and sends the information to the control means 47.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the thrust region R of the transfer sheet M passing through the fixing roller 4a through the thermistor 48.
If it is provided in the area of the oil applying roller 40 corresponding to the outer area (non-sheet passing area) of 2, the oil streaks on the image due to the contact of the thermistor 48 with the transfer sheet M will not occur.

In addition to the above, as shown in FIG.
Means that the temperature detection position with respect to the oil applying roller 40 is in the rotation direction of the oil applying roller 40.
0 is preferably located in the region R3 downstream of the contact position between the fixing roller 4a and upstream of the oil regulation position of the oil application blade 44 with respect to the oil application roller 40. As a result, the contact marks of the thermistor 48 are leveled by the oil application blade 44, and no oil streaks are generated in the image.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control means 47 previously recognizes the set values of the paper type detection means 7a as the paper type detection means and the gloss detection 7b as the gloss detection means from the operation mode detection means 7 including the operation part. After that, the predetermined temperature control temperature of the oil application roller 40 corresponding to it is set, and the oil application roller heater 4 is set to be constant with respect to the set temperature.
9 is controlled.

Here, the paper type detection unit 7a means a detection unit for recognizing a user set value set by the user through the operation unit or the like and information from the paper type detection unit such as a paper thickness sensor.
The gloss detection 7b means a detection means for recognizing a user setting value set by the user on the operation unit or the like.

An example of control by the control means 47 will be described. When the paper type is the thickest mouth, the oil application roller 40 is used.
The temperature control temperature is set high, and the surface silicone rubber is thermally expanded.

In such a case, the contact pressure between the oil applying blade 44 and the oil applying roller 40 increases, and the applied amount decreases, so that the oil reservoir A shown in FIG. 11 disappears, so that the fixing nip for the thickest paper is fixed. It is possible to avoid image defects due to intrusion shock.

Further, since the heating effect on the fixing roller 4a is increased, the fixing property in the thickest paper mode is also effective.

In this case, the temperature control temperature of the oil applying roller 40 is set higher than the temperature control temperature of the fixing roller 4a.

On the contrary, in the case of thin paper, the oil application roller 40
The temperature control temperature is set low, and a desired amount of oil is applied so that the transfer paper does not wind around the fixing roller 4a.

Further, the temperature control temperature is set high even when a high gloss image is obtained by the gloss detection 7b.

Generally, in order to increase the gloss (gloss),
It is possible to reduce the amount of oil applied and to apply a large amount of energy to the toner. In order to achieve the former, there are methods for reducing the oil regulation amount and decreasing the oil viscosity.

In order to achieve the latter, there are methods of increasing the fixing temperature, slowing the fixing speed, and increasing the pressure applied to the fixing roller pair.

That is, when a high gloss image is obtained, if the temperature control temperature is increased, the contact pressure between the oil applying blade 44 and the oil applying roller 40 increases as described above, and the regulating force acts, so that the application is performed. The amount decreases.

Further, since the oil is heated to a high temperature, the viscosity of the oil itself is lowered and, as a result, the coating amount is also lowered.

Further, since the heat supply from the oil applying roller 40 to the fixing roller 4a also becomes large, the energy supply to the toner also becomes large.

As described above, since it is possible to obtain high gloss from the viewpoint of the amount of oil applied and the energy, it is possible to control the gloss.

FIG. 4 shows an example of such temperature control temperature setting. It can be seen that the temperature control temperature of the oil application roller 40 increases as the type of paper and the gloss increase.

According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-24482, by disposing a heating means on the outer circumference of the oil applying roller, the oil applying roller has both the function of applying and the heating, thereby shortening the warming-up time and realizing space saving. ing.

Further, in the embodiment of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-78725, a heater is provided inside the oil application roller, and the oil application roller is provided with both the application and heating functions.

However, the present invention has the control means for adjusting the temperature control temperature of the oil application roller based on the information from the state detection means, and takes into consideration both the heat quantity and the oil application quantity. Different.

[0079]

As described above, according to the first invention of the present application, the heating means heats the coating member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the coating member, and the state detecting means determines a predetermined value. Of the heating means so that the contact portion of the coating member with the fixing body or the pressure body has a predetermined set temperature based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. Since the drive temperature is controlled and the set temperature is changed in accordance with the fixing state detected by the state detecting means, the size of the apparatus can be reduced and the cost can be reduced while fixing the desired glossiness. It is possible to obtain an image, shorten the warming-up time, and improve the fixability during the fixing process of a recording material such as thick paper or the continuous fixing process of a plurality of recording materials.

According to the second invention of the present application,
The heating means heats the applying member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the applying member, the paper type detecting means of the state detecting means detects the kind of the recording material as a fixing state relating to the fixing condition, and the control means controls the temperature. Based on the temperature detected by the detecting means, the driving of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion of the applying member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and the fixing state detected by the state detecting means. Since the set temperature is changed according to the above, it is possible to obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness while reducing the size and cost of the device, shorten the warming-up time, and increase the thickness of the thick paper. It is possible to improve the fixability during the fixing process of a recording material such as the above or the continuous fixing process of a plurality of recording materials.

Further, according to the third invention of the present application, the heating means heats the coating member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the coating member, and the gloss detecting means of the state detecting means relates to the fixing condition. The fixing unit or the pressure member of the applying member detects the glossiness information of the fixed image in the desired setting information selected by the operation unit or the like as the fixing state, and the control unit detects the temperature based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit. Since the drive of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion with the temperature becomes a predetermined set temperature, and the set temperature is changed according to the fixing state detected by the state detecting means, the size of the apparatus can be reduced. It is possible to obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness while reducing the cost and cost, shorten the warming-up time, fix the recording material such as thick paper, and connect multiple recording materials. It is possible to improve the fixing property at the time of fixing.

According to the fourth invention of the present application,
The heating means heats the roller-shaped applying member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the applying member, the state detecting means detects the fixing state regarding a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means detects the temperature detecting means. Based on the temperature, the drive of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion of the applying member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and the setting is made in correspondence with the fixing state detected by the state detecting means. Since the temperature is changed, it is possible to obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness while reducing the size of the device and cost, and to heat the coating member evenly in the circumferential direction, thus warming up. It is possible to shorten the time and improve the fixability during the fixing process of a recording material such as thick paper or the continuous fixing process of a plurality of recording materials.

Further, according to the fifth invention of the present application, the developer on the coating member is removed by the removing means,
The heating means heats the coating member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the coating member, the state detecting means detects a fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means detects the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. Based on the above, the drive of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion of the applying member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and the set temperature is set corresponding to the fixing state detected by the state detecting means. Since it is changed, it is possible to prevent image defects such as oil streaks and obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness while shortening the device size and cost and shortening the warm-up time. In addition, it is possible to improve the fixability when fixing a recording material such as thick paper or when continuously fixing a plurality of recording materials.

According to the sixth invention of the present application,
The heating means heats the coating member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the coating member, the state detecting means detects a fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means detects the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. Based on the above, the drive of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion of the applying member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and the set temperature is set corresponding to the fixing state detected by the state detecting means. Since it is designed to be changed and the developer removing position of the removing means with respect to the coating member is optimized, the size of the apparatus can be reduced and the cost can be reduced while the fixed image having the desired glossiness can be obtained. In addition, the warming-up time can be shortened, and the fixability can be improved during the fixing process of a recording material such as thick paper or the continuous fixing process of a plurality of recording materials.

Further, according to the seventh invention of the present application, the release agent from the storage means is supplied to the coating member, the heating means heats the coating member, and the temperature detecting means controls the temperature of the coating member. The state detecting means detects a fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means sets a predetermined contact portion of the applying member with the fixing body or the pressing body based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. Since the driving of the heating unit is controlled so that the temperature becomes the temperature, and the set temperature is changed according to the fixing state detected by the state detecting unit, the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced. At the same time, it is possible to obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness, shorten the warming-up time, and continuously supply the release agent from the storage means to the coating member for a long time to fix the recording material such as thick paper. Compound It is possible to improve the fixing property at the time of continuous fixing of sheets of the recording material.

According to the eighth invention of the present application,
The heating means heats the application member, the temperature detection means detects the temperature of the application member, the state detection means detects the fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means sets the temperature detected by the temperature detection means. Based on this, the drive of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion of the application member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and the set temperature is changed according to the fixing state detected by the state detecting means. In addition, the contact position between the fixing member or the pressurizing member and the coating member, the release agent supply position for the coating member by the supply unit, and the release agent restriction position for the coating member by the control unit are appropriate. As a result, it is possible to more effectively obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness while reducing the size and cost of the device, and also to improve the warm-up time. Shortening, it is possible to improve the fixing property at the time of the continuous fixing operation in the fixing process of the recording material such as thick paper or plurality of recording materials.

Further, according to the ninth invention of the present application, the heating means heats the coating member, and the temperature detecting means corresponds to the non-sheet passing area in the axial direction of the fixing body or the pressing body. The temperature of the area is detected, the state detecting means detects the fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means makes contact with the fixing body or the pressure body of the applying member based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. Since the driving of the heating unit is controlled so that the temperature of the section reaches a predetermined set temperature and the set temperature is changed in accordance with the fixing state detected by the state detecting unit, the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced. While it is possible to prevent image defects such as oil streaks and obtain a fixed image with a desired glossiness, the warming-up time can be shortened, and fixing processing of recording materials such as thick paper can be performed. It is possible to improve the fixing property at the time of continuous fixing of sheets of the recording material.

According to the tenth invention of the present application,
The heating means heats the application member, the temperature detection means detects the temperature of the application member, the state detection means detects the fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition, and the control means sets the temperature detected by the temperature detection means. Based on this, the drive of the heating means is controlled so that the contact portion of the application member with the fixing body or the pressure body reaches a predetermined set temperature, and the set temperature is changed according to the fixing state detected by the state detecting means. In addition, since the temperature detection position of the temperature detection means with respect to the coating member is optimized, it is possible to prevent image defects such as oil streaks while reducing the size and cost of the device. It is possible to obtain a fixed image with desired glossiness, shorten the warming-up time, and fix the recording material such as thick paper when fixing it or when fixing multiple recording materials continuously. It can be improved.

Further, according to the eleventh invention of the present application, the heating means heats the coating member, the temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the coating member, and the state detecting means fixes the toner on a predetermined fixing condition. The state is detected, and the control means controls the drive of the heating means based on the temperature detected by the temperature detection means so that the contact portion of the application member with the fixing body or the pressure body has a predetermined set temperature. Since the set temperature is changed according to the fixing state detected by the state detecting unit, it is possible to obtain a fixed image having a desired glossiness while reducing the size of the apparatus and reducing the cost. In addition, the warming-up time can be shortened, and the fixability can be improved during the fixing process of a recording material such as thick paper or the continuous fixing process of a plurality of recording materials.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a fixing device provided in the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state detection unit and a control unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a temperature control temperature of a coating member according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining another example of the supply means in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a release agent removing position of a removing unit with respect to a coating member according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the temperature detection position of the temperature detection means with respect to the coating member according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the temperature detection position of the temperature detection means with respect to the coating member according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional fixing device.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of another example of a conventional fixing device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the fixing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the fixing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the fixing device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 fixing device 4a Fixing roller (fixing body) 4b Pressure roller (pressure body) 7 Operation mode detection means (state detection means) 7a Paper type detection (paper type detection means) 7b Gloss detection (gloss detection means) 40 Oil coating roller (coating member) 41 Third pumping roller (supply means) 41a Oil supply pump (supply means) 44 Oil coating blade (regulating means) 46 Cleaning blade (removal means) 47 control means 48 Thermistor (temperature detection means) 49 Oil coating roller heater (heating means) M transfer paper (recording material) P oil pan (storage means)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H05B 3/00 H05B 3/00 310E 335 335 F term (reference) 2H027 DA12 DA50 DC02 EA12 EB04 EC06 EC20 EF09 GA01 2H033 AA01 AA16 BA32 BA43 BA44 BA45 BA46 BB01 CA07 CA16 CA30 3K058 AA02 AA61 AA95 BA18 CA12 CA22 CA61 CB02 DA00 DA02 GA06 4F040 AA05 AB08 BA14 CB03 CB33

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An unfixed image comprising a fixing member and a pressure member that rotate in pressure contact with each other, and a recording material carrying an unfixed image is heated and pressed while being nipped and conveyed by the fixing member and the pressure member. Is a fixing device for fixing the image on the recording material to form a fixed image, the surface of which is provided in contact with the fixing body or the pressure body at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the fixing body or the pressure body. An application member for holding the release agent and applying the release agent to the fixing body or the pressure body while rotating, a supply unit for supplying the release agent to the application member, and an amount of the release agent held by the application member are set. In a fixing device including a regulation unit that regulates a predetermined amount, a heating unit that heats the coating member,
The temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the applying member, and the heating means of the heating means so that the contact portion of the applying member with the fixing body or the pressurizing body has a predetermined set temperature based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means. A control unit for controlling driving and a state detection unit for detecting a fixing state relating to a predetermined fixing condition are provided, and the control unit changes the set temperature according to the fixing state detected by the state detection unit. Fixing device characterized in that 2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the state detection unit includes a paper type detection unit that detects the type of recording material as a fixing state related to the fixing condition. 3. The state detecting means includes a gloss detecting means for detecting information of glossiness of a fixed image in desired setting information selected by an operation unit or the like as a fixing state relating to a fixing condition. The fixing device according to claim 2. 4. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the coating member is formed in a roller shape. 5. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the coating member is configured such that the developer on the coating member is removed by a removing unit. 6. The removing means includes a developer removing position with respect to the applying member, which is downstream of a contact position between the applying member and the fixing member or the pressing member in the rotation direction of the applying member, and which is applied by the supplying device. The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the fixing device is located upstream of a release agent supply position with respect to the member. 7. The supply means is adapted to supply the release agent from the storage means for storing the release agent to the coating member. The fixing device described. 8. The fixing member or the pressure member, the supply unit, and the regulating unit are the contact position between the fixing member or the pressure member and the coating member in the rotational direction of the coating member, and the releasing unit releases the coating member from the coating member. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the fixing agent supply position and the release agent restriction position with respect to the coating member by the restriction unit are provided in this order. 9. The temperature detecting means is adapted to detect the temperature of the area of the coating member corresponding to the non-sheet passing area in the axial direction of the fixing body or the pressing body. 9. The fixing device according to claim 8. 10. The temperature detection means has a temperature detection position with respect to the application member in the rotational direction of the application member, which is downstream of the contact position between the application member and the fixing body or the pressure body, and which is applied by the regulation means. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the fixing device is located upstream of a release agent regulation position with respect to a member. 11. An image forming apparatus for recording an image on a recording material by a series of image forming processes, comprising the fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. Forming equipment.