JP2009163073A - Image heating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image heating apparatus for effectively recovering metallic powder, and the like, generated from a belt side by abrasion, when a width-direction end edge of the belt is brought into contact with a member in a belt position detection unit for detecting that the endless belt is moved to one side in the belt width direction. <P>SOLUTION: In the image heating apparatus, when a pressing belt 11 by the endless belt is provided in a fixing device of an image forming apparatus, when a siding movement in the belt width direction is produced in the width direction of the belt during circulation, the width-direction end edge of the belt is abutted on a roll member 41 (a recovering member) which is one of the members constituting the belt position detection unit (detecting means). The roll member 41 has its position varied by being pushed by the abutting. The variation in position is detected by a sensor 44, a steering mechanism (refer to Fig.5) activated by control, based on the detected signal, and the pressing belt 11 which is moved to one side is returned to a normal position. When an end surface of the belt is abutted against the roll member 41 by the siding movement, metallic powder is generated from the abraded and shaved off the belt side. The roll member 41, formed by a magnetic body, acts as the recovering member for a recovering means and recovers the metallic powder by magnetically attracting it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image heating apparatus applied as a fixing device that fixes an unfixed toner image by applying heat and pressure in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine.

  In the image forming apparatus, the toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred to a sheet such as recording paper, and the unfixed toner image is conveyed to a fixing device, fixed by applying heat and pressure, and output as an image. . As the fixing device, there are a roller method and a belt method in which the fixing member and the pressure member are constituted by a roller or a belt. In the roller type fixing device, a heater as a heat source is mounted inside the fixing roller, a pressure roller is pressed against the fixing roller to form a fixing nip portion, and a sheet being fed is sandwiched in the fixing nip portion. Heat and pressure are applied to fix the toner image. A belt-type fixing device forms a fixing nip portion by pressing a pressure belt against a fixing belt having a heat source, passes a sheet through the fixing nip portion, applies heat to the toner image with the fixing belt, and applies heat. The toner image is fixed by applying pressure with a pressure belt (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the case of a belt-type fixing device, an endless fixing belt and a pressure belt are supported and suspended between a plurality of belt drive rollers, respectively, and during the rotation, meandering is repeated while moving to the left and right in the belt width direction. There is. When meandering occurs, the belt falls from the belt driving roller, or the left and right ends of the belt are rubbed against the guide member and the like, and the belt is damaged and the durability is remarkably lowered. In order to reduce the damage and wear due to such rubbing, the roller member is used in contact with both ends in the belt width direction, and the belt travel is guided by the contact pressure with the belt end to regulate the deviation and rotate. A structure that reduces wear and the like by contact is known.

  In recent years, image forming apparatuses have been speeded up to increase productivity, and belts such as the above fixing belts are required to have excellent durability. Therefore, stainless steel, nickel, etc. are used as the material of the belt body. Those using these metal materials have been put into practical use. However, when a metal material is used for the belt body, metal scraping powder comes out of the belt body due to rubbing with a belt regulation guide that regulates meandering due to the deviation of the belt. Shaving powder comes out. When scraping metal such as metal or resin enters the inner surface of the belt, the frictional resistance changes and affects the belt rotational speed performance and characteristics. In particular, when the frictional resistance is changed due to the scraping powder such as metal powder in the fixing belt of the landing apparatus and the belt rotation speed is changed, the image forming apparatus affects the output of a high-quality image. From the viewpoint of reducing the frictional resistance as much as possible, a fixing device in which the sliding surface side of the inner surface of the belt is covered with a low friction layer made of a fluororesin composition has also been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-341346 A JP-A-2005-3969

  As the contact force due to rubbing with the belt regulating guide or the like increases, the amount of scraping powder generated increases, so setting the contact force weakly is considered as one solution. However, if the contact force is set to be weak, the generation amount of shaving powder can be suppressed, but the contact with the belt end surface is weak and unstable. In particular, in the free-rotation type roller member that functions as a belt regulation guide, the contact force with the belt end surface is weakened, so the rotation becomes unstable and the function is halved.

  On the other hand, in the case of a belt-type fixing device in which a low friction layer is provided on the sliding contact surface of the inner surface of the belt as in Patent Document 2, scraping powder is caused to contact the belt sliding contact when rubbed against a member such as a belt regulation guide. It penetrates into the surface and rapidly wears the low friction layer made of the fluororesin composition. As a result, the frictional resistance of the belt changes and becomes non-uniform, which affects the belt rotational speed performance and the like.

  An object of the present invention is to provide magnetic powder such as metal scrap generated from the belt side by rubbing when the belt end surface comes into contact with a member of a belt position detecting device that detects that the endless belt has shifted in the belt width direction. An object of the present invention is to provide an image heating apparatus that effectively recovers the image.

  In order to achieve the above object, a representative image heating apparatus according to the present invention includes an endless belt having a metal layer and a rotating body that forms a nip portion for heating an image on a sheet between the belt and the belt. And detecting means for detecting a position in the width direction of the belt by contact with the edge in the width direction of the belt, in the width direction of the belt in contact with the edge in the width direction of the belt It has a collection means for collecting metal powder from the edge.

  According to the image heating apparatus of the present invention, when the belt is shifted in the belt width direction while the sheet is nipped between the rotating body and the endless belt and conveyed, the end in the width direction of the belt is moved. Metal powder generated when the edge comes into contact with the detection means and rubs can be magnetically recovered by the recovery means.

  From the above, for example, when metal powder generated by rubbing with the edge in the width direction of the belt enters the inner surface of the belt, it changes the frictional resistance and the coefficient of friction, which affects maintaining stable belt rotational speed performance. In order to prevent this, the metal powder is magnetically adsorbed and collected by the collecting means. Accordingly, for example, when applied to a fixing device, an unfixed image formed on a sheet can be stably fixed, which is effective for outputting a high-quality image.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an image heating apparatus according to the present invention is applied as a fixing device of an image forming apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

≪Image forming device≫
FIG. 1 shows a structure when the image heating apparatus according to the present embodiment is applied to the fixing device 114 provided in the apparatus main body 100 of the image forming apparatus. The apparatus main body 100 includes an image forming unit of an apparatus that transfers a toner image, which is an image formed on an image carrier, to a sheet S (recording paper), and sends the transferred sheet S to the fixing device 114. The toner image, which is an unfixed image, is fixed by applying heat and pressure, and the image is output.

  The image forming unit has a photosensitive drum 102 as an image carrier, and the following process means are arranged around the photosensitive drum 102. The process means includes a charging device 103, an exposure device 104, a developing device 106, and the like arranged around the photosensitive drum 102. The charging device 103 applies a charging bias voltage to the photosensitive drum 102 to uniformly charge the drum surface. Further, the exposure device 104 irradiates light 105 corresponding to an image to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 102. Further, the developing device 106 develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 102 to make the toner image visible.

  The sheets S are stored in a feeding cassette 109 at the bottom of the printer main body 100 and are fed one by one by a feeding roller 110 to be fed. The sheet S is conveyed by the registration roller pair 111 in synchronization with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 102. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 102 is removed by a cleaning device 108 as a cleaning unit.

  The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 102 is electrostatically transferred by the transfer roller 107 onto the conveyed sheet. After that, the sheet S is sent to the fixing device 114, and heat and pressure are applied while being sandwiched, whereby the toner image on the sheet S is permanently fixed and output as an image. Then, the sheet S is discharged by a discharge roller pair 112 to a discharge tray 113 at the upper part of the apparatus.

<< First Embodiment >>
Next, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the fixing device 114 will be described as a first embodiment by the image heating device of the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, a rotating body (hereinafter referred to as “fixing belt”) 30 formed of an endless belt that heats the toner image T on the conveyed sheet S is provided. Further, a pressure member (hereinafter referred to as “pressure belt”) 11 formed of an endless belt that presses the sheet S between the fixing belt 30 and presses the sheet S is provided. A nip portion is formed between the pressure contact surfaces of the fixing belt 30 and the pressure belt 11.

  First, in the case of the pressure belt 11, it is stretched between two belt rollers so as to be rotatable by rotation. One belt roller functions as the pressure roller 12, and the other belt roller functions as the tension roller 13 to apply an appropriate tension of, for example, 100 N to the pressure belt 11.

  The pressure belt 11 can be appropriately selected as long as it has heat resistance. For example, the pressure belt 11 has a thickness of 300 μm on a magnetic layer such as nickel or stainless steel (SUS) having a thickness of 50 μm, a width of 340 mm, and a circumference of 200 mm. It is configured by covering with silicon rubber. The pressure pad 14 is pressed against the inlet side of the fixing nip area formed between the fixing belt 30 and the inner surface side of the pressure belt 11 corresponding to the upstream side of the pressure roller 12. It has been. The pressure pad 14 is made of, for example, silicon rubber and pressed against the fixing belt 30 with a set pressure of, for example, 400 N, and forms a nip portion together with the pressure roller 12. Between both members of the pressure belt 11 and the pressure pad 14, a sheet member 16 baked with a fluororesin that is in sliding contact with the pressure belt 11 is provided. Reduces frictional resistance.

  The pressure roller 12 is made of, for example, a solid stainless steel and has an outer diameter of 20 mm, and is disposed on the nip portion outlet side between the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30. Further, the tension roller 13 is a hollow roller made of, for example, a stainless material and having an outer diameter of 20 mm and an inner diameter of about 18 mm. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a flange-like flange (belt regulating member) 15 is provided at the end of the rotation shaft of the tension roller 13 so as to prevent the pressure belt 11 from moving in the same direction. ing. The flange 15 is made of, for example, SUM and has an outer diameter of 22 mm. The flange 15 is coupled to the end of the tension roller 13 and rotates integrally.

  Next, the fixing belt 30 is formed so as to be able to generate heat by the induction heating coil 35, and the sheet S is heated by electromagnetic induction heating of the metal layer of the pressure belt 11. The fixing belt 30 is also looped between two belt rollers so as to be able to rotate by rotation. One belt roller functions as a driving roller 31 that rotates by receiving rotational power from a rotational driving source such as a motor. The other belt roller functions as a tension roller 32 and applies an appropriate tension of, for example, 120 N to the fixing belt 30. At the same time, the tension roller 32 functions as a so-called “steering roller” for returning the fixing belt 30 that has been shifted to the original normal position by alternately inclining the inclination angle of its rotation axis.

  The fixing belt 30 can be appropriately selected as long as it is heated by the induction heating coil 35 and has heat resistance. In this case, the fixing belt 30 may be, for example, a metal layer made of nickel or stainless steel having a thickness of 75 μm, a width of 380 mm, and a circumferential length of 200 mm coated with silicon rubber having a thickness of 300 μm, for example.

  Also, a pad stay 37 made of, for example, stainless steel is provided on the nip area entrance side of the nip portion between the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30, that is, on the inner side of the fixing belt 30 corresponding to the upstream side of the driving roller 31. Yes. The pad stay 37 is pressed against the pressure pad 18 with a set pressure of 400 N, for example, and forms a nip portion together with the drive roller 31. Further, between the pad stay 37 and the fixing belt 30, a sheet member 33 baked with fluororesin is provided on a sliding surface that is in sliding contact with the pressure belt 11, thereby reducing frictional resistance with the fixing belt 30.

  The driving roller 31 is a roller in which a heat-resistant silicone rubber elastic layer is integrally formed on a surface of a metal core made of solid stainless steel and having an outer diameter of 18 mm, for example, and a fixing nip between the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30. Is provided on the exit side of the nip area. In this case, the driving roller 31 is such that the elastic layer is elastically distorted by a predetermined amount by the pressure contact with the pressure roller 12.

  The tension roller 32 having a steering function is, for example, a hollow roller made of stainless steel and having an outer diameter of 20 mm and an inner diameter of about 18 mm. A flange-like flange (belt regulating member) 34 is provided at the end of the tension roller 32 to prevent the fixing belt 30 from being displaced on the same axis. The flange 34 uses, for example, SUM as a material and has an outer diameter of 22 mm, for example, and rotates integrally with the end of the tension roller 32.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a foreign matter collecting felt (collecting means) using heat-resistant aramid fibers, for example, faces the position where the belt end surface and the belt inner surface of the pressure belt 11 are simultaneously contacted and reliably contacted. 17 is arranged. The felt end surface of the foreign material collecting felt 17 that is in contact with the belt end surface of the pressure belt 11 is disposed so as to be inside the belt abutting surface of the flange 15 that prevents the pressure belt 11 from moving to the one side. Yes. In the present embodiment, the flange-like flange (belt regulating member) 15 provided at the end of the tension roller 13 is in contact with the end surface of the pressure belt 11 and is in sliding contact with it, so that it is a member that has a high possibility of producing foreign matter. Assumed.

  Further, the foreign matter collecting felt 17 is disposed downstream of the flange 15 in the belt conveying direction so that foreign matter such as metal shaving powder does not enter the nip portion between the pressure pad 14 and the sheet member 16. 14 and the upstream side of the sheet member 16. When the foreign matter collecting felt 17 is not in contact with the end surface of the pressure belt 11 but only in contact with the inner surface, the metal scrap generated by rubbing of the end surface of the pressure belt 11 may enter the inner surface of the belt. Collected by the felt part of the collecting felt 17. However, once such foreign matter such as metal powder enters the inner surface of the pressure belt 11, the inner surface of the pressure belt 11 is shaved only by the metal powder. Therefore, it is important that the foreign material collecting felt 17 is in contact with the belt end surface of the pressure belt 11.

  In the present embodiment, the foreign matter collecting felt 17 is in contact with both the belt end surface and the belt inner surface of the pressure belt 11 because the foreign matter collected on the belt end surface remains in the corner of the foreign matter collecting felt 17. This is to increase the effect of the effect. As a result, entry of foreign matter such as metal powder into the nip portion between the pressure pad 14 and the sheet member 16 is prevented, the fluororesin layer of the sheet member 16 is prevented from being scraped, and resin powder is prevented from coming out. Prevents the sliding resistance of the inner surface from changing.

  Similarly, the foreign matter collecting felt 17 is disposed downstream of the flange 34 and upstream of the pad stay 37 and the sheet member 33 with respect to the fixing belt 30.

  In the case of the present embodiment, both the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30 are made of a metal material for the flanges 15 and 34 provided for preventing the deviation. Therefore, the abrasion powder generated by the friction between the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30 is a metal scraping powder. However, even when the material of the flanges 15 and 34 is not a metal but a resin, resin powder is similarly generated as scraped powder due to rubbing. The foreign matter collecting felt 17 collects and collects a shaving powder such as metal powder or resin powder. As a result, foreign matter such as metal powder or resin powder scraped into the nip portion between the pressure pad 14 and the sheet member 16 is prevented, and the fluororesin layer of the sheet member 16 is scraped and pressed. The sliding resistance of the inner surface of the belt 11 is prevented from changing.

  Further, when the foreign matter such as shaving powder is only a metal powder having magnetism, or when the magnetic powder of such metal is dominant in the whole foreign matter, the material forming the foreign matter collecting felt 17 In addition, those capable of adsorbing and collecting magnetic powder with magnetic force can be used. The same effect can be obtained even when the flanges 15 and 34 themselves are made of a magnetic material instead of the foreign material collecting felt 17. In addition, the foreign matter removing member is not limited to the foreign matter collecting felt 17 and may be a material including a soft material, an elastic material, a nonwoven fabric, and a hair material as long as it can be removed by attaching shaving powder such as metal powder. Can be made up of.

<< Second Embodiment >>
Next, a fixing device according to a second embodiment of the image heating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Also in the second embodiment, the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30 similar to those in the first embodiment are used, and therefore, a duplicate description of these belts is omitted.

  The main point in this case is that belt regulating members such as the flanges 15 and 34 provided in the first embodiment in order to prevent the displacement of the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30 are not used. The belt position control method was adopted. That is, in this second embodiment, a belt regulating member such as a flange that causes rubbing and generation of scraping powder is not originally provided, and when the pressure belt 11 or the like is shifted to the right, the steering function should be used to return to the normal position. Control belt position.

  FIG. 4 shows a belt position detection device [detection means] 40 that detects the position by contacting the edge in the width direction that is the belt end surface of the pressure belt 11. A similar belt position detecting device 40 is provided on the fixing belt 30 side, but here, the belt position detecting device 40 when the pressure belt 11 is moved to the side will be described as a representative. The belt position detecting device 40 includes a roller member 41 that can freely rotate with a contact frictional force with an end edge in the width direction of the belt when the pressure belt 11 moves to a side during rotation. . The roller member 41 is formed of a magnetic material having a magnetic force, and also functions as a belt regulating member that abuts and regulates the belt so that the belt does not move further. The roller member 41 is pivotally supported by a shaft 42 serving as a rotation shaft so that the roller member 41 can freely rotate. Further, a sensor flag 43 for detecting the belt position is provided as a member constituting the detection means, and a sensor 44 and the like are mounted.

  Therefore, when the pressure belt 11 moves to the one side, the belt width direction edge contacts the roller member 41. By the contact, the roller member 41 functions as a detecting means, and is pushed to transmit the displacement to the moving position to the sensor flag 43, and the sensor 44 detects the movement of the sensor flag 43. A detection signal from the sensor 44 is transmitted to a control means including a CPU (not shown). As the control means, it can be provided exclusively for the belt position detection device 40, but a control device which is provided in the apparatus main body 100 of the image forming apparatus and controls the overall operation of the apparatus can be used.

  Therefore, the control means determines that the belt deviation has occurred via the sensor flag 43 of the belt position detecting device 40 when the edge in the belt width direction contacts and presses the roller member 41. The control means performs control based on the detection signal, outputs the control signal as an operation signal, transmits it to the following steering mechanism, and operates it.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows a steering mechanism for returning the pressure belt 11 moved to the original position to the original normal position. Here, the steering mechanism refers to a belt position adjusting operation in which, when the pressure belt 11 moves to one side, the rotation shaft of the tension roller 13 is inclined by raising one side higher or lowering the other side. . This is a mechanism for returning the pressure belt 11 shifted to one side to the other side by returning it to the other side.

  The steering mechanism has a steering arm 50 that rotatably supports the tension roller 13. Further, it has a motor 51 for shift control, transmits the output rotational power to the worm gear 52, and rotates a sector gear 53 such as a pinion gear meshing with the worm gear 52. The steering arm 50 is angularly displaced by the rotation of the sector gear 53 and tilted so as to lift the rotation shaft of the tension roller 13, and the pressure belt 11 moved to the reverse position is returned to the normal position.

  By the way, recently, in order to reinforce durability as a base material of the pressure belt 11, a material formed with a metal layer such as nickel (Ni) has been used. When such a metal layer of the pressure belt 11 comes into contact with the roller member 41, it is conceivable that metal powder from which Ni, which is the magnetic powder, is scraped off is generated from the pressure belt 11 by rubbing.

  If the Ni scraping powder enters the inner surface side of the pressure belt 11, the coating layer (coat) of the sheet member 16 made of the fluororesin is scraped off at the nip portion formed by the pressure pad 14 and the sheet member 16. As a result, there is a concern that the balance of frictional resistance due to sliding contact in the nip area in the fixing nip portion is lost and becomes non-uniform.

  In the second embodiment, the inconvenience caused by such scraped metal powder is also dealt with. That is, a metal magnetic body having a magnetic force is used as the material of the roller member 41 that contacts the pressure belt 11. When a metal layer of Ni or the like is formed on the base of the pressure belt 11, the roller member 41 also functions as a recovery member of the recovery means, and attracts the metal powder of Ni, which is magnetic powder generated by rubbing, with magnetic force. Collect and recover magnetically. Thereby, the metal powder of metal Ni is prevented from entering the inner surface side of the pressure belt 11. However, instead of using a material having magnetic force for the roller member 41, the shaft 42 of the rotating shaft that supports the roller member 41 so as to be freely rotatable is made of a magnetic material as a member located in the vicinity of the roller member 41. It can also be used as a recovery member. In this case, the portion where the magnetic metal roller member 41 is in contact with the belt end face can be structured such that the north and south poles of the magnetic poles are alternately stacked in the vertical direction. If the N pole and the S pole are alternately provided, the metal shaving powder can be effectively adsorbed regardless of the magnetic pole characteristics.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, when the pressure belt 11 or the like moves to the one side, this is detected by the belt position detecting device 40, and the steering mechanism is operated by the operation signal from the control means based on the detection signal. Let By this operation, one of the rotating shafts of the tension roller 13 is lifted and inclined, and the offset pressure belt 11 is returned to the other to correct the normal position. In this case, since no belt restricting members such as the flanges 15 and 34 of the first embodiment that abut against the belt end surface of the biased pressure belt 11 are provided, there is no problem of generation of shaving powder. It is fundamental to do so.

  As mentioned above, although several embodiment was described about this invention, it is not limited to these embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention, other embodiment, an application example, a modification, and those Combinations are possible.

  That is, in the first and second embodiments, an image heating apparatus using an endless belt is applied to a belt-type fixing device provided in the image forming apparatus, and the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30 will be described as specific examples of the endless belt. However, of course, it is not limited to both these belts. Even in general-purpose belt conveyors, scraping and wear powder are generated by rubbing the end and end face of the endless belt with a belt guide or a flange provided in the shape of a hook at the end of the belt drive roller. Even if it is effective. Further, the present invention can be applied to an image forming device or a display device that is required to operate the endless belt with high accuracy. Further, the present invention can be applied to a film belt driving device for a display board of an electronic blackboard, a driving device for a document conveying belt of a scanner, and the like. Furthermore, as long as it is limited to an image forming apparatus, it can be applied to an intermediate transfer belt formed endlessly, and moreover to a model that adopts a belt shape instead of a photosensitive drum of an image carrier. Thus, the present invention can also be applied to such an image carrier belt.

  In the first and second embodiments, the pressure belt 11 and the fixing belt 30 are suspended and supported between two belt rollers such as the pressure roller 12 and the tension roller 13, and the driving roller 31 and the tension roller 32. An example structure is shown. Even in such a case, the belt belt roller is not limited to two belt rollers, and it is of course possible to construct a belt between three or more rollers.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus when an embodiment of an image heating apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a fixing device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment in which the image heating apparatus is applied to a fixing device. The figure which shows the aspect which removes foreign materials, such as shaving powder, by making a foreign material collection felt contact a belt end surface in 1st Embodiment using the image heating apparatus for the fixing device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment in which an embodiment of an image heating apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a fixing device. The figure which shows the steering mechanism which detects and correct | amends a shift by the belt position detection apparatus, without using a belt control member for the belt shift movement prevention in the said 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Pressure belt 12 ... Pressure roller 13 ... Tension roller 14 ... Pressure pad 15 ... A bowl-shaped flange 16 ... Sheet member 17 ... Foreign material collection felt ( Collection means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Fixing belt 31 ... Drive roller 32 ... Tension roller 33 ... Sheet member 34 ... Flange 35 ... Induction heating coil 37 ... Pad stay S, P ... Sheet T ... Toner image-belt position detection means-
40 ... belt position detecting device 41 ... roller member (collecting member)
42 ... Shaft of roller rotating shaft 43 ... Sensor flag 44 ... Sensor 100 ... Image forming device 102 ... Photoconductor drum 103 ... Charger 104 ... Exposure device 105 ... Image light 106 ... Developing unit 107 ·· Transfer roller 108 · · Cleaning device 109 · · Feed cassette 110 · · Feed roller 111 · · Registration roller pair 112 · · Discharge roller pair 113 · · Discharge trays 114 and 115 · · · Fixing device ( Image heating device)
-Steering mechanism-
50 ... Steering arm (steering mechanism)
51 ... Motor for controlling shift 52 ... Worm 53 ... Fan gear

Claims (4)

An endless belt provided with a metal layer, a rotating body that forms a nip portion for heating an image on a sheet between the belt, and an end edge in the width direction of the belt in contact with the width direction edge of the belt. An image heating apparatus having a detecting means for detecting a position;
An image heating apparatus comprising: a collecting unit that contacts the edge in the width direction of the belt and collects metal powder from the edge in the width direction of the belt.   2. The image heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the collecting means includes a collecting member that rotates by contact with the edge in the width direction of the belt and magnetically collects the metal powder.   The image heating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recovery member functions as the detection unit.   4. The image heating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for electromagnetic induction heating of the metal layer of the belt.

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