JP2009229849A - Fixing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably support a heating member and to simply form an electric wire for the heating member. <P>SOLUTION: A terminal 92a arranged on a drawer connector 100 side is made to contact a sheet metal 94 by a fixing member 93a, such as a screw, and fixed to a first casing 68 together with one end of the sheet metal 94. A terminal 92b is fixed to one end of a sheet metal 102 by a fixing member 93b, such as a screw. The other end of the sheet metal 102 is fixed to the first casing 68 by a fixing member 93c, such as a screw. Since in a heater 80, the terminal 92b side is fixed to the first casing 68 via the sheet metal 102, the terminal 92b side is displaceably supported in the axial direction by the deformable (deflectable) sheet metal 102. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus in which one terminal of a halogen heater in a heat roller is supported by a movable power feeding unit and powered.

JP 2000-284622 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a fixing device and an image forming apparatus that can stably support a heating member and can easily form an electric circuit for the heating member.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a fixing device main body that is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, and a recording medium that is provided in the fixing device main body and passes a recording medium therebetween. Two rotating bodies for fixing the developer image held thereon to the recording medium, a heating member disposed in at least one of the rotating bodies for heating the rotating body, and an end of the fixing device main body A power supply unit that supplies power supplied from the image forming apparatus main body to the heating member, and a fixing unit that fixes one end of the heating member to the fixing device main body on the power supply unit side of the fixing device main body. And a supporting member that movably supports the other end of the heating member.

  The present invention according to claim 2 further includes a circuit breaker that interrupts an electric path from the power feeding means to the heating member when the rotating body heated by the heating member reaches a predetermined temperature or higher. The support member constitutes a part of an electric circuit from the circuit breaker to the heating member, and the heating member is configured such that a distance between the circuit breaker and the heating member changes within a predetermined range. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the fixing device is displaceably supported.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the power supply means has two terminals for forming an electric circuit from the power supply means to the heating member, and one of the terminals is connected to the circuit breaker. The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein an electric circuit is formed, and the other of the terminals is connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing unit to form an electric circuit.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the other terminal connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing means to form an electric circuit is detachable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating body. The fixing device according to claim 3, which is connected.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hook member in which the other terminal that forms an electric circuit connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing means is provided on the fixing device main body. The fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the fixing device is connected to one end of the heating member so as to be disposed in a state of being hooked on the heating member.

  In the present invention according to claim 6, the hooking member is connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing means, with respect to the direction in which the electric circuit on the other terminal side is folded back by the hooking member. The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the fixing device is opened in a reverse direction.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, a transfer unit for transferring an image formed by the image forming unit to a recording medium, and an image transferred by the transfer unit. A fixing device that fixes the image on the medium; and a power source that outputs electric power. The fixing device is provided in the fixing device main body, and is provided in the fixing device main body. Two rotating bodies that fix the image transferred to the recording medium by passing the recording medium to the recording medium, a heating member that is disposed in at least one of the rotating bodies and heats the rotating body, and the fixing A power supply unit provided at an end of the apparatus main body for supplying power output from the power source to the heating member, and a fixing for fixing one end of the heating member to the fixing apparatus main body on the power supply unit side of the fixing apparatus main body means An image forming apparatus having a support member for movably supporting the other end of the heating member.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the heating member can be stably supported, and an electric circuit for the heating member can be easily formed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the present invention according to the first aspect, the configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect of the present invention, the assemblability can be improved as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the third aspect of the present invention, the assemblability can be further improved as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the present invention according to the third or fourth aspect, the electric path for the heating member can be easily arranged, and the assemblability can be further improved.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the present invention according to the fifth aspect, the electric circuit for the heating member is easily arranged at a predetermined position as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided. be able to.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the heating member can be stably supported, and an electric circuit for the heating member can be easily formed.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 12, an image forming unit 14 is mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 12, and a discharge unit 16 described later is provided on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 12. In addition, for example, two-stage sheet feeding units 18 and 18 are disposed below the image forming apparatus main body 12. Further, a plurality of paper feeding units can be optionally arranged below the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  Each paper feed unit 18 includes a paper feed unit main body 20 and a paper feed cassette 22 in which a recording medium such as paper is stored. A pickup roll 24 is disposed in the upper part near the rear end of the paper feed cassette 22, and a retard roll 26 and a feed roll 28 are disposed behind the pickup roll 24.

  The main conveyance path 32 is a sheet path from the feed roll 28 to the discharge port 34, and the main conveyance path 32 is in the vicinity of the back side (the left side surface in FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus main body 12, and the lowermost supply path. A portion formed substantially vertically from the paper unit 18 to a fixing device 36 described later is included. A transfer device 42 and an image carrier 44, which will be described later, are disposed on the upstream side of the fixing device 36 in the main transport path 32, and a registration roll 38 is disposed on the upstream side of the transfer device 42 and the image carrier 44. Further, a discharge roll 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port 34 of the main conveyance path 32.

  Therefore, the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 22 of the sheet feeding unit 18 by the pickup roll 24 is turned by the cooperation of the retard roll 26 and the feed roll 28, and only the uppermost sheet is guided to the main transport path 32. The developer image is temporarily stopped by the roll 38, and the developer image is transferred between a transfer device 42 and an image carrier 44, which will be described later, and the transferred developer image is fixed by the fixing device 36 and discharged. The paper is discharged from the discharge port 34 to the discharge unit 16 by the roll 40.

  However, in the case of duplex printing, it is returned to the reverse path. That is, the front side of the discharge roll 40 in the main conveyance path 32 is divided into two forks, a switching device 46 is provided in the divided part, and a reverse path 48 is formed from the divided part to the registration roll 38. . The reversing path 48 is provided with transport rolls 50a to 50c. In the case of double-sided printing, the switching device 46 is switched to the side that opens the reversing path 48 and the discharge roll 40 is in front of the rear end of the sheet. Thus, the discharge roll 40 is reversed, the paper is guided to the reverse path 48, and is discharged from the discharge port 34 to the discharge unit 16 through the registration roll 38, the transfer device 42, the image carrier 44 and the fixing device 36. .

  The discharge unit 16 includes an inclined portion 52 that is rotatable with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 12. The inclined portion 52 has a lower discharge port portion and is inclined so as to gradually increase in the front direction (right direction in FIG. 1), with the discharge port portion as a lower end and a higher tip as an upper end. The inclined portion 52 is supported by the image forming apparatus main body 12 so as to be rotatable around the lower end. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, when the inclined portion 52 is rotated upward and opened, an opening portion 54 is formed, and a process cartridge 64 described later can be attached and detached through the opening portion 54. .

  The image forming unit 14 is, for example, of an electrophotographic type, and is charged by an image carrier 44 made of a photosensitive member, a charging device 56 made of, for example, a charging roll that uniformly charges the image carrier 44, and a charging device 56. An optical writing device 58 that writes a latent image on the image carrier 44 with light, a developing device 60 that visualizes the latent image of the image carrier 44 formed by the optical writing device 58 with a developer, and the developing device 60. A transfer device 42 composed of, for example, a transfer roll for transferring the developer image produced by the toner onto the paper, a cleaning device 62 composed of, for example, a blade for cleaning the developer remaining on the image carrier 44, and the paper transferred by the transfer device 42 The image forming apparatus includes a fixing device 36 that fixes a developer image on a sheet. The optical writing device 58 is composed of, for example, a scanning type laser exposure device, and is arranged in the vicinity of the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12 in parallel with the paper feeding unit 18 described above, and exposes the image carrier 44 across the developing device 60. .

  The process cartridge 64 is obtained by integrating the image carrier 44, the charging device 56, the developing device 60, and the cleaning device 62. The process cartridge 64 is disposed immediately below the inclined portion 52 of the discharge portion 16 and is attached and detached via the opening portion 54 formed when the inclined portion 52 is opened as described above.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus main body 12, a power supply unit (power source) 65 that supplies power to each unit constituting the image forming apparatus 10 is provided.

  In FIG. 2, an outline of the fixing device 36 is shown. The fixing device 36 is unitized so as to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 12, and has a unit main body 66. The unit main body 66 is configured by combining a first housing 68 and a second housing 70. That is, the first casing 68 and the second casing 70 are connected via a fulcrum (not shown), and the heating roll 72 is rotatably supported by the first casing 68, A pressure roll 74 is rotatably supported on the housing 70. The pressure roll 74 is pressed against the heating roll 72 by an elastic body (not shown), and a nip portion 78 is formed.

  A heater 80 made of a lamp is disposed in the heating roll 72 to heat the heating roll 72. The above-described conveyance path 32 is configured in the vertical direction across the nip portion 78, and the sheet is conveyed from the bottom to the top. An inlet side chute 82 is disposed on the upstream side of the nip portion 78, and outlet side chutes 84 a and 84 b are disposed on the downstream side of the nip portion 78. The outlet side chutes 84a and 84b are provided in the first casing 68 and the second casing 70, and the outlet side chutes 84a of the second casing 70 move upward to allow the paper to pass therethrough. It is like that. In the vicinity of the downstream side of the nip portion 78, the first casing 68 is provided with a plurality of peeling claws 88 in the axial direction of the heating roll 72 (paper width direction). The peeling claw 88 is urged toward the heating roll 72 with a weak force that does not damage the surface of the heating roll 72, the tip of the peeling claw 88 is pressed against the surface of the heating roll 72, and is wound around the heating roll 72. The paper to be removed is peeled off.

  In addition, for example, below the heating roll 72, a circuit breaker (thermostat) 90 is provided with a predetermined gap with respect to the heating roll 72. The power supply unit 65 supplies power to the heater 80 via the circuit breaker 90. That is, the circuit breaker 90 cuts off the power supply from the power supply unit 65 to the heater 80 (fixing device 36) when the temperature of the heating roll 72 (fixing device 36) reaches a predetermined temperature. .

Next, the arrangement of the heater 80 and the circuit breaker 90 with respect to the heating roll 72 and the electric path for supplying power to the heater 80 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the heater 80 and the circuit breaker 90 with respect to the heating roll 72 and an electric path for supplying power to the heater 80.
The heating roll 72 is provided with bearings (not shown) at both ends, and is fixed to the first casing 68 via the bearings. As described above, the heater 80 is disposed in the heating roll 72. The heater 80 is provided with terminals 92a and 92b on the left and right.

  The terminal 92 a is brought into contact with the sheet metal 94 by a fixing member 93 a such as a screw, and is fixed to the first housing 68 together with one end of the sheet metal 94. The other end of the sheet metal 94 is connected to a first harness (first wiring) 98 via a faston terminal 96. The first harness 98 is routed from the drawer connector 100 and forms an electric circuit in the fixing device 36. The drawer connector 100 is a connector provided at an end portion of the fixing device 36. When the fixing device 36 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 12, a connector (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus main body 12. The power output from the power supply unit 65 is supplied into the fixing device 36. The drawer connector 100 is also provided with a second harness 106 described later.

  The terminal 92b is fixed to one end of the sheet metal 102 by a fixing member 93b such as a screw. The sheet metal 102 is a member formed by bending, for example, an I-shaped metal, and the other end is fixed to the first casing 68 by a fixing member 93 c such as a screw. The sheet metal 102 includes a height A of the circuit breaker 90 shown in FIG. 3, a distance B from the circuit breaker 90 to the heating roll 72, and a distance C from the surface of the heating roll 72 to the central axis of the heater 80. Is formed so that the distance D becomes a predetermined value, and the heater 80 is arranged substantially at the center of the heating roll 72. The heater 80 is fixed to the first housing 68 on the terminal 92b side via the sheet metal 102, so that the terminal 92b side is supported by the deformable (flexible) sheet metal 102 so that it can be displaced in the axial direction.

  The fixing member 93c fixes the sheet metal 102 to the first casing 68 and simultaneously contacts the first terminal 103a of the circuit breaker 90 to the sheet metal 102 and fixes the sheet metal 102 together with the first casing 68. . The second terminal 103 b of the circuit breaker 90 is connected to the second harness (second wiring) 106 via the faston terminal 104. The second harness 106 is drawn from the drawer connector 100 and forms an electric circuit in the fixing device 36.

Next, a specific example of the routing of the electric circuit from the terminal 92a of the heater 80 to the drawer connector 100 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first example of the routing of the electric circuit from the terminal 92a of the heater 80 to the drawer connector 100. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal 92 a of the heater 80 is disposed in the vicinity of the drawer connector 100 in the fixing device 36. The first harness 98 is arranged in a state of being hooked on a hook member 108 provided in the first housing 68. The hook member 108 is opened in the opposite direction (upper side in FIG. 4) to the direction in which the first harness 98 is folded back by the hook member 108 (lower side in FIG. 4).
The drawer connector 100 and the faston terminal 96 have the same attaching / detaching direction, and are attachable / detachable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the heating roll 72. Accordingly, the attaching / detaching direction of the faston terminal 96 is not the direction in which the faston terminal 96 interferes with the drawer connector 100, and the fixing device 36 can be easily made small. Yes.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a second example of the routing of the electric circuit from the terminal 92 a of the heater 80 to the drawer connector 100.
As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 92 a of the heater 80 is disposed in the vicinity of the drawer connector 100 in the fixing device 36. The first harness 98 is disposed in a state of being hooked on the hook member 108 in which the distance from the drawer connector 100 to the hook member 108 is longer than that in the first example. Further, the drawer connector 100 and the faston terminal 96 are configured so that the attaching / detaching direction is substantially orthogonal, and is attachable / detachable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the heating roll 72. The hook member 108 is opened in the opposite direction (right side in FIG. 5) to the direction in which the first harness 98 is folded back by the hook member 108 (left side in FIG. 5). Accordingly, the attaching / detaching direction of the faston terminal 96 is not the direction in which the faston terminal 96 interferes with the drawer connector 100, and the fixing device 36 can be easily made small. Yes.
Further, even if the first harness 98 is lengthened to secure a work space so that the worker can easily work around the drawer connector 100 and the faston terminal 96, the first harness 98 is hooked on the hooking member 108. As a result, the first harness 98 is disposed in the fixing device 36 without sagging. As a work procedure, the faston terminal 96 is connected, and then the first harness 98 is hooked on the hook member 108. Therefore, compared to the first example, the second example in which the first harness 98 is likely to be longer is easier to connect the faston terminal 96, and further, the first harness 98 is hooked on the hooking member 108. It is arranged in the fixing device 36 in a compact manner without sagging.

1 is a side view illustrating an outline of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the fixing device as viewed from the side. It is a schematic diagram which shows the arrangement | positioning of the heater and circuit breaker with respect to a heating roll, and the electrical circuit for supplying electric power to a heater. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st example of the routing of the electric circuit from the terminal of a heater to a drawer connector. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd example of the routing of the electric circuit from the terminal of a heater to a drawer connector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 14 Image forming means 36 Fixing apparatus 42 Transfer apparatus 65 Power supply part 68 1st housing | casing 90 Circuit breaker 92a, 92b Terminal 93a, 93b, 93c Fixing member 94 Sheet metal 96 Faston terminal 98 1st harness 100 Drawer Connector 102 Sheet metal 103a First terminal 103b Second terminal 104 Faston terminal 106 Second harness 108 Hooking member

Claims (7)

A fixing device main body which is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body;
Two rotating bodies provided in the fixing device main body and fixing the developer image held on the recording medium to the recording medium by passing the recording medium therebetween,
A heating member disposed inside at least one of the rotating bodies and heating the rotating body;
A power supply unit provided at an end of the fixing device main body and supplying power supplied from the image forming apparatus main body to the heating member;
Fixing means for fixing one end of the heating member to the fixing device body on the power supply means side of the fixing device body;
And a support member that supports the other end of the heating member so as to be displaceable. When the rotating body heated by the heating member reaches a predetermined temperature or more, further has a circuit breaker that interrupts the electric path from the power feeding means to the heating member,
The support member is
It constitutes a part of the electric circuit from the circuit breaker to the heating member, and the other end of the heating member can be displaced so that the distance between the circuit breaker and the heating member changes within a predetermined range. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein The power supply means is
Having two terminals for forming an electrical path from the power feeding means to the heating member;
One of the terminals is
Connected to the circuit breaker to form an electrical circuit;
The other of the terminals is
The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein the fixing device is connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing unit to form an electric circuit. The other terminal connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing means to form an electric circuit,
The fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the fixing device is detachably connected in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the rotating body. The other terminal connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing means to form an electric circuit,
The electric circuit to be formed is arranged in a state of being hooked on a hooking member provided in the fixing device main body,
The fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the fixing device is connected to one end of the heating member. The hook member is
The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein an electric circuit on the other terminal side connected to one end of the heating member fixed to the fixing unit is opened in a direction opposite to a direction in which the hooking member turns back. An image forming unit provided in the image forming apparatus main body;
Transfer means for transferring an image formed by the image forming unit to a recording medium;
A fixing device for fixing the image transferred by the transfer means to a recording medium;
A power source for outputting power,
The fixing device includes:
A fixing device main body which is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body;
Two rotating bodies provided in the fixing device main body and fixing the image transferred to the recording medium by passing the recording medium therebetween, on the recording medium;
A heating member disposed inside at least one of the rotating bodies and heating the rotating body;
A power supply means provided at an end of the fixing device main body, for supplying power output from the power source to the heating member;
Fixing means for fixing one end of the heating member to the fixing device body on the power supply means side of the fixing device body;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a supporting member that displaceably supports the other end of the heating member.

Images