JP2005099316A - Fixing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent oil accumulation at the top end of a cleaning blade and to prevent oil stain or the like on images caused by oil dropping from the oil accumulation, in an image forming apparatus having a coating rotor 53d which applies a releasing agent in contact with a fixing member 51 which fixes an unfixed image t on a recording medium P, and a cleaning blade 100 which cleans the surface of the coating rotor 53d in contact with the rotor 53d. <P>SOLUTION: In the cleaning blade 100, the thickness of the top end abutting on the coating rotor is less than the thickness of a supported part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device for fixing an unfixed image on a recording material, in particular, a coating rotating body for applying a release agent in contact with a fixing member for fixing an unfixed image on a recording material, and the coating rotating body The present invention relates to a fixing device having a cleaning blade that comes into contact with the coating rotating body and cleans the coating rotating body, and an image forming apparatus having the fixing device.

  A fixing device provided with a release agent coating means for a fixing member is known from, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707. The release agent is applied to the fixing member in order to prevent the toner image on the recording material from being offset from the fixing member.

  FIG. 10 shows a main part model diagram of an example of such a fixing device. Reference numeral 51 denotes a fixing roller as a fixing member, which is rotated in the direction of an arrow, heated by an internal heater 56, and adjusted to a predetermined fixing temperature by a temperature control system (not shown). Reference numeral 52 denotes a pressure roller as a pressure member, which is in pressure contact with the fixing roller 51 to form a fixing nip portion N, and is rotated in the direction of the arrow. A recording material P on which a toner image t is formed and supported from an image forming mechanism (not shown) enters a fixing nip portion N which is a pressure contact portion between the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 and is nipped and conveyed. The unfixed toner image t on P is fixed on the recording material P by heat and pressure.

  Reference numeral 53 denotes a release agent application device as release agent application means for the fixing roller 51. The release agent coating device 53 includes an oil tank 53a having a release agent such as silicone oil, rollers 53b and 53c for pumping up oil as a release agent from the oil tank 53a, and oil from the pumping rollers 53b and 53c. Is applied to the fixing roller 51, a regulating blade 53e for controlling the amount of oil applied from the oil applying roller 53d, and a cleaning blade 100A for removing toner and paper dust adhering to the surface of the oil applying roller 53d. Etc.

  The application roller 53 d is a rotatable roller having a sponge rubber surface coated with silicone rubber. The application roller 53 d is in contact with the fixing roller 51 and is rotated by the rotation of the fixing roller 51 to apply oil to the fixing roller 51. Is.

  The regulating blade 53e is an elastic blade such as silicone rubber, and controls the amount of applied oil by the contact angle, the contact pressure, and the like.

  The cleaning blade 100A is configured so that the oil application roller 53d is rotated by the rotation of the oil application roller 53d in which toner or paper powder transferred from the fixing roller 51 to the oil application roller 53d side continues at the contact nip a between the fixing roller 51 and the oil application roller 53d. By being carried to the contact nip b between the oil pump 53d and the oil drawing roller 53c, and further to the contact portion between the oil application roller 53d and the restriction blade 53e, the oil tank 53a and the restriction blade 53e are moved to the toner / paper dust. In the rotation direction of the oil application roller 53d, the contact nip a between the fixing roller 51 and the oil application roller 53d, the oil application roller 53d, and the oil pumping roller 53c are arranged. Between the tip and the oil application roller 53d. And disposed to, and squeezes the oil application roller 53d was scraped toner and paper dust on the oil coating roller 53d at the tip of the cleaning blade 100A, to clean the oil applying roller 53d. The cleaning blade 100A abuts in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the oil application roller 53d in order to enhance the cleaning capability, and cleans the surface of the oil application roller 53d.

The cleaning blade 100A has a rigid support member 101 portion fixed to a fixed portion outside the oil tank 53a with a stopper. When the cleaning blade 100A touches the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the oil application roller 53d, the toner and paper dust are cleaned, and at the same time, excess oil on the oil application roller 53d is scraped off. Excess oil including scraped toner and paper dust flows down from the front end of the cleaning blade 100A to the rear end of the cleaning blade (surface opposite to the oil application roller 53d side of the cleaning blade) to the rear end of the cleaning blade. The oil is stored in a waste oil reservoir 53f outside the tank 53a.
JP 2003-66753 A

  The conventional cleaning blade 100A is a relatively thick plate-like member, and the end surface of the tip is a wide surface corresponding to the thickness of the blade. Therefore, the excess oil scraped from the oil application roller 53d by the cleaning blade 100A tends to form a pool in the wide surface portion G at the end face of the cleaning blade 100 as shown in the enlarged model diagram of FIG. The H oil may drop on the fixing roller 51 close to the cleaning blade 100A and cause oil stains on the image. If the thickness of the cleaning blade is reduced so that oil does not accumulate at the tip of the cleaning blade 100A, the strength of the cleaning blade cannot be maintained and the cleaning blade will turn over. It cannot be thinned.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a coating rotating body that contacts a fixing member that fixes an unfixed image on a recording material and applies a release agent, and a cleaning blade that contacts the coating rotating body and cleans the coating rotating body. The purpose of this invention is to prevent the occurrence of an oil pool at the tip of the cleaning blade and to prevent the occurrence of oil stains on the image due to the oil falling off the oil pool. To do.

  The present invention is a fixing device and an image forming apparatus having the following configurations.

  (1) A coating rotating body that contacts a fixing member that fixes an unfixed image on a recording material and applies a release agent; a cleaning blade that contacts the coating rotating body and cleans the coating rotating body; In the fixing device having the above, the thickness of the cleaning blade at the front end in contact with the coating rotating body is smaller than the thickness of the cleaning blade at the portion where the cleaning blade is supported.

  (2) The fixing device according to (1), wherein the cleaning blade has a portion in which the thickness of the cleaning blade increases toward the rear end of the cleaning blade.

  (3) The fixing device according to (1) or (2), wherein the cleaning blade has a straight shape in the vicinity of a contact portion with the coating rotating body.

  (4) Any of (1) to (3), wherein the surface of the cleaning blade on the side where the release agent is scraped off by the cleaning blade is coated with a coating having good affinity with the release agent The fixing device according to 1.

  (5) The fixing device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the portion where the cleaning blade is supported has a straight shape.

  (6) In an image forming apparatus having an image forming means for forming and supporting an unfixed image on a recording material and a fixing means for fixing the unfixed image on the recording material, the fixing means of (1) to (5) An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 1.

  Since the thickness of the cleaning blade at the tip that contacts the coating rotator is smaller than the thickness of the cleaning blade at the portion where the cleaning blade is supported, the excess oil on the coating rotator scraped by the tip of the cleaning blade is the tip of the cleaning blade. Smoothly flows to the rear end of the cleaning blade without oil accumulation. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of oil stains on the image due to the oil drop in the oil reservoir.

  In addition, the surface of the cleaning blade on the side where the release agent is scraped off by the cleaning blade is coated with a coating having good affinity with the release agent, so that the toner and paper dust on the surface of the coating rotating body can be removed. Oil streaks can be prevented, and excess oil on the rotating rotating body scraped off at the tip of the cleaning blade flows smoothly to the rear end of the cleaning blade without causing oil accumulation at the tip of the cleaning blade. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of oil stains on the image due to the falling off of the image.

(1) Example of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration model diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a fixing device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an image forming station portion of the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus of this example is a color image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming units. More specifically, it is a four-drum laser beam printer having a plurality of light scanning means using an electrophotographic process. Since the four-drum laser beam printer itself, excluding the fixing device, is well known, its description will be simplified.

  In this printer, image information of a color document is color-separated and read by a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD in a reader unit B disposed on the upper surface side of the printer body A. Laser beams La, Lb, Lc, and Ld modulated corresponding to each color separation read image information are output from a laser scanning unit C having a plurality of optical scanning means. As shown in FIG. 2, the laser scanning section C is provided on the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d of the four image forming stations Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd that form images of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black. The toner images of the respective colors are formed on the photosensitive drums of the respective image forming stations by applying an electrophotographic process including a step of scanning exposure with laser beams La, Lb, Lc, and Ld output from the above. Then, a recording material such as paper (magenta, cyan, yellow, and black) formed on the photosensitive drum of each image forming station is conveyed by being held on the transfer belt 31 of the transfer mechanism unit 3. The transfer material P is sequentially superimposed and transferred.

  In each of the image forming stations Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd that form images of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black, around the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, the chargers 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, developing devices 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d, and cleaners 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are sequentially arranged along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drums. Is arranged. The transfer mechanism section 3 includes a transfer belt 31 serving as a recording material conveying means common to each image forming station and transfer chargers 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d.

  D1 and D2 are first or second paper feed cassettes disposed in the printer main body A, D3 is a large capacity paper feeder connected in combination with the printer main body A, and D4 is a manual paper feed tray. The manual paper feed tray D4 can be folded and stored in the printer main body A. The recording material P separated and fed by the recording material supply means from any one of the above-described paper feeding sections D1 to D4 is supported on the transfer belt 31 and transferred to the image forming stations Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd. The toner images of the respective colors that are sequentially conveyed and formed on the photosensitive drums are sequentially superimposed and transferred.

  When this transfer process is completed, the recording material P is separated from the transfer belt 31 and is transported to the fixing device 5 by the transport belt 10. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray E. Reference numeral 34 denotes a transfer belt cleaning device.

  In the double-sided printing mode, the recording material P that has been printed on one side after exiting the fixing device 5 is rerouted to the reversing / reconveying mechanism F side, reversed by the reversing / reconveying mechanism F, and re-feeded to the transfer belt 31. As a result, a toner image is transferred and formed on the other surface side of the recording material P, and is again introduced into the fixing device 5 so that the double-sided print is discharged to a discharge tray E outside the apparatus.

(2) Fixing device 5
1) Overall Schematic Configuration of Fixing Device FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional model view of the fixing device 5 portion. The fixing device 5 is a fixing roller 51 that is a rotatable rotating member, a pressure roller 52 that is a pressure rotating member that rotates while being pressed against the fixing roller 51, and a release agent supply and application unit. A release agent coating device 53 and roller cleaning devices 54 and 55 are provided.

  Inside the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52, heaters 56 and 57, which are heating elements such as halogen lamps, are respectively disposed. Further, the thermistors 58 and 59 as temperature detecting bodies for detecting the surface temperatures of the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 are arranged so as to come into contact with each other, and the heater 56 is connected via a temperature control circuit (not shown). The surface temperature of the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 is adjusted by controlling the voltage to the heater 57. That is, the temperature adjustment is performed by controlling the amount of current supplied to the heater so that the temperature detected by the temperature detector becomes a preset target temperature.

  In a state where the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 are rotationally driven and both the rollers 51 and 52 are heated by the heaters 56 and 57, respectively, and the temperature is adjusted to a predetermined fixing temperature by a temperature control system, respectively. The recording material P on which the unfixed full color toner image t is formed and supported on the fixing device 5 is introduced from the image forming mechanism side. The recording material P is guided by an inlet guide 61 and enters a fixing nip portion N which is a pressure contact portion between the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 and is nipped and conveyed. In the process in which the recording material is nipped and conveyed through the fixing nip portion N, the recording material P is pressed and heated by the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 from both the front and back surfaces at a substantially constant pressure and temperature. The unfixed full color toner image t is melted and mixed to be fixed, and a full color image is formed on the recording material P. The recording material P on which the image has been fixed is separated from the pressure roller 52 by the lower separation claw 62 and discharged from the fixing device 5 by the fixing discharge roller pair 63.

  The fixing roller 51 is provided with a cleaning device 54 and a release agent coating device 53. The cleaning device 54 cleans the toner offset on the fixing roller 51, and the release agent coating device 53 Silicone oil or the like as a release agent is applied to the fixing roller 51 to facilitate the separation of the recording material P as the recording material from the fixing roller 51 and to prevent toner offset.

  The cleaning device 54 includes a cleaning web 54a made of a belt-shaped heat-resistant nonwoven fabric, a pressing roller 54b that presses the cleaning web 54a against the fixing roller 51, an unwinding roller 54c that unwinds a new cleaning web 54a, and a toner or the like that adheres to the cleaning device 54. The cleaning web 54a is gradually composed of a cleaning web 54a having a reduced capability. The cleaning roller 54d and the like are used to prevent the detection error in the thermistor 58 due to adhesion of offset toner to the thermistor 58. The device 54 is provided upstream of the thermistor 58 in the rotation direction of the fixing roller 51.

  As a winding method of the cleaning web 54a, when it is determined that a predetermined number of copies have been copied from the counter, a solenoid (not shown) is turned on and a one-way clutch is operated, thereby winding a predetermined amount in the direction opposite to the roller rotation. By winding in the reverse direction, the cleaning web 54a is prevented from being wound in the roller rotation direction.

  The release agent applicator 53 includes an oil tank 53a that contains a release agent such as silicone oil, rollers 53b and 53c that draw up oil as a release agent from the oil tank 53a, and oil from the draw up rollers 53b and 53c. A coating roller 53d as a coating rotating body to be applied to the fixing roller 51, a regulation blade 53e as a regulation member for controlling the amount of oil applied from the coating roller 53d, and toner and paper dust adhering to the surface of the coating roller 53d are removed. The release agent coating device 53 is disposed downstream of the thermistor 58 in the rotation direction of the fixing roller 51 in order to apply uniform oil to the fixing roller 51. It is installed.

  The application roller 53 d is a rotatable roller having a sponge rubber surface coated with silicone rubber. The application roller 53 d is in contact with the fixing roller 51 and is rotated by the rotation of the fixing roller 51 to apply oil to the fixing roller 51. Is.

  The regulating blade 53e is an elastic blade such as silicone rubber, and controls the amount of applied oil by the contact angle, the contact pressure, and the like.

  The cleaning blade 100 is an elastic blade made of fluorine rubber or the like, and abuts against the rotation direction of the application roller 53d in the counter direction to improve the cleaning capability, and cleans the surface of the application roller 53d.

  A cleaning device 55 including a cleaning web 55 a, a pressing roller 55 b, an unwinding roller 55 c, a winding roller 55 d, and the like similar to the cleaning device 54 of the fixing roller 51 is attached to the pressure roller 52. Thus, the toner adhering to the pressure roller 52 is cleaned.

  The pressure roller 52 is in contact with an oil removing blade 60 that is a release agent removing elastic body that removes excess release agent remaining on the pressure roller 52. When the oil removing blade 60 is not provided, the excess release agent accumulates in the nip between the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 to cause a stain on the recording material, or a transparent laminated film for OHP as the recording material. It slips and a poor entry into the nip occurs. As the material of the oil removing blade 60, Si rubber, fluorine rubber or the like is used, and these blades are in contact with the rotation direction of the pressure roller 52 in an appropriate amount of forward or reverse.

2) Cleaning blade 100
4 is an enlarged model view of the cleaning blade 100 portion with respect to the application roller 53d of the release agent coating device 53, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the cleaning blade 100 used in this embodiment.

  In the release agent coating device 53, the cleaning blade 100 for the coating roller 53d is a blade for offsetting the fixing roller 51 and further cleaning the toner and paper powder that has moved to the oil coating roller 53d.

  As the cleaning means for the oil application roller 53d, in addition to the blade, unemployed cloth and felt are conceivable. However, these fibers may fall off, which may adhere to the edge of the release agent application blade 53e and cause oil streaks. Therefore, it is not appropriate. Therefore, a blade made of metal or an elastic material that does not drop fibers is the most suitable cleaning means for the oil application roller 53d.

  As the contact position of the cleaning blade 100 with the oil application roller 53d, the contact nip between the fixing roller 51 and the oil application roller 53d is a, and the contact nip between the oil application roller 53d and the pumping roller 53c is b. It is necessary to contact in the order of the contact nip a → the cleaning blade 100 → the contact nip b → the regulating blade 53e → the contact nip a with respect to the rotation direction of the application roller 53d. For example, when contact is made in the order of contact nip a → contact nip a → cleaning blade 100 → regulating blade 53e → contact nip a, the oil streaks on the oil application roller 53d are caused by toner and paper dust adhering to the cleaning blade 100. This is because there are cases in which this cannot be regulated by the regulating blade 53e and remains as a streak.

  In order to prevent this, a contact nip b between the oil application roller 53d and the pumping roller 53c is required between the cleaning blade 100 and the regulating blade 53e with respect to the rotation direction of the oil application roller 53d. With this arrangement, even if oil streaks occur in the cleaning blade 100, a large amount of oil is pumped up uniformly on the coating roller 53d at the contact nip b between the oil coating roller 53d and the pumping roller 53c. Therefore, oil streaks are canceled. Then, oil streaks can be prevented by regulating with the regulating blade 53e to which toner and paper powder are not attached downstream.

  Further, as the contact direction of the cleaning blade 100, it is preferable to contact the counter blade in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the oil application roller 53d. This is because the counter direction is more restrictive than the forward direction, and the scraping power of toner and paper powder is increased.

  The cleaning blade 100 is preferably disposed outside the oil pan 53a. Since the cleaning blade 100 cleans the toner and paper dust on the oil application roller 53d, when the toner paper dust scraped here returns into the oil pan 53a, the oil in the oil pan 53a becomes dirty. When such dirty oil is applied to the fixing roller 51, the releasability of the fixing roller 51 is deteriorated, compared to applying fresh oil.

  The cleaning blade 100 in this embodiment is an elastic blade made of fluororubber. Reference numeral 101 denotes a rigid support member as a support connected to the cleaning blade 100. The cleaning blade 100 is positioned at the position between the contact nip a between the fixing roller 51 and the oil application roller 53d and the contact nip b between the oil application roller 53d and the pumping roller 53c. On the other hand, the rigid support member 101 is fixed to the stationary part on the outer side of the oil tank 53a with a stopper so as to be in contact with the rotation direction of the oil application roller in the counter direction.

  The cleaning blade 100 used in this embodiment has a portion where the thickness increases from the tip of the cleaning blade 100 toward the support. In addition, the portion supported by the support and the vicinity thereof are thicker than the tip portion and have a straight shape. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the C surface comes into contact with the oil application roller 53d, and the D surface of the tapered portion is a non-contact surface. With such a shape, surplus oil on the oil application roller 53d scraped off at the tip of the cleaning blade smoothly forms the taper portion D surface on the back surface of the cleaning blade 100 without causing oil accumulation at the tip of the cleaning blade. Then, it flows down to the rear end of the cleaning blade and is stored in the waste oil reservoir 53f outside the oil tank 53a.

  As a result, an oil pool H is generated at the end face of the tip of the cleaning blade as in the conventional example of FIGS. 10 and 11, and the oil pool H drops on the fixing roller 51 to cause an oil stain on the image. It was possible to eliminate the occurrence of a serious situation.

  Further, by reducing the thickness of the tip of the cleaning blade and increasing the thickness in the vicinity of the support, it is possible to prevent the above problem and to prevent the blade from turning up.

  FIG. 6 shows the specific shape and dimensions of the cleaning blade 100 made of fluororubber in the present embodiment. The blade tip thickness is 0.5 mm, the taper portion region is 3 mm, the support portion thickness is 3 mm, the blade length is 8 mm, and the blade length in the longitudinal direction is 320 mm.

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The cleaning blade 100 in the present embodiment is a straight shape in the vicinity of the contact position with the oil application roller 53d with respect to the cleaning blade 100 of the first embodiment.

  By doing so, the strength of the tip of the cleaning blade is increased and the tip is less likely to be turned over, and the durability performance of the cleaning blade can be improved.

  If the thickness of the straight shape 100a at the tip of the cleaning blade is 1.0 mm or less and the length is 1.0 mm or less, excess oil on the oil application roller 53d scraped by the tip of the cleaning blade causes an oil pool at the tip of the cleaning blade. Can be suppressed. If the thickness of the cleaning blade as a whole is 1.0 mm or less, the strength of the cleaning blade cannot be maintained and cannot be sufficiently abutted, so the shape as in this embodiment is effective.

  Also, the cleaning blade can be manufactured more easily than the cleaning blade of the first embodiment by forming the blade portion integrally with a mold and then cutting the tip portion vertically.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, the side of the cleaning blade 100 of Example 1 or Example 2 on which the release agent is scraped is coated with a material having good affinity with oil, and the flow of oil to the rear end of the cleaning blade 100 is improved. It is a thing.

  In this embodiment, dimethyl silicone oil was used as the oil, and an elastic blade made of fluororubber was used as the cleaning blade 100. Since the fluororubber and dimethyl silicone oil have poor affinity, the oil is easily repelled from the cleaning blade 100, and the oil around the blade drops and oil stains are likely to occur. In this embodiment, the rubber tape 100b is coated on the back taper portion and the tip portion 100a of the cleaning blade 100.

  As a result, surplus oil on the oil application roller 53d scraped off by the tip of the cleaning blade flows smoothly on the surface of the cleaning blade and flows from the tip of the blade toward the rear end, thereby preventing the oil from dropping. did it. The reason why the material of the cleaning blade 100 is not made of silicone rubber is that silicone rubber is weaker than fluoro rubber, and thus wear and sag occur. The reason why the coating is not applied to the entire surface of the blade is that the silicone rubber is easily worn on the contact surface with the application roller.

[Others]
1) Although the fixing device of the embodiment is a heat and pressure type fixing device, the present invention is naturally applicable to a pressure fixing device.

  2) In the present invention, the fixing device is a device that presupposes an unfixed image, image heating / pressurization that modifies the surface properties of the image by heating or pressurizing, or heating and pressurizing the recording material carrying the image. Devices are also included.

  3) The image forming principle / process for the recording material of the image forming apparatus is arbitrary.

  Although various embodiments and modified embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, those skilled in the art should not limit the spirit and scope of the present invention to the specific description and drawings in this specification. Rather, it will be understood that the invention extends to various modifications and changes, which are all set forth in the appended claims.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus in Embodiment 1. Partial enlarged view. FIG. Partial enlarged view. The expansion side model figure of a cleaning blade. The figure which showed the concrete shape dimension of the cleaning blade made from a fluoro rubber in Example 1. FIG. The expansion side model figure of the cleaning blade in Example 2. FIG. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of a fixing device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged side model view of a cleaning blade in Example 3. FIG. 10 is a partial schematic diagram of a conventional fixing device. Partial enlarged view.

Explanation of symbols

  5 .. Fixing device 51.. Fixing roller 52.. Pressure roller 53.. Release agent coating device 53 a Oil pan 53 b 53 c Pumping roller 53 d Application roller 53 e・ Releasing agent regulating blade, 100 ・ ・ Cleaning blade

Claims (6)

A fixing rotator that contacts a fixing member that fixes an unfixed image on a recording material and applies a release agent, and a cleaning blade that contacts the coating rotator and cleans the coating rotator. In the device
The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the cleaning blade at the front end in contact with the coating rotating body is smaller than the thickness of the cleaning blade at a portion where the cleaning blade is supported.   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning blade has a portion in which the thickness of the cleaning blade increases toward the rear end of the cleaning blade.   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning blade has a straight shape in the vicinity of a contact portion with the coating rotating body.   4. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the cleaning blade on the side where the release agent is scraped off by the cleaning blade is coated with a coating having good affinity with the release agent. .   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein a portion where the cleaning blade is supported has a straight shape.   6. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms and supports an unfixed image on a recording material; and a fixing unit that fixes the unfixed image on the recording material. An image forming apparatus comprising a fixing device.

Images