JP2009288281A - Fixing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the meandering and deterioration of a fixing belt, in an electromagnetic induction heating system fixing device using the fixing belt. <P>SOLUTION: The fixing device includes: a regulating plate 156 which regulates the revolving path of the fixing belt 155; a magnetic flux generating part 170 which is arranged in a position facing the regulating plate 156 across the fixing belt 155 and generates a magnetic flux heating the fixing belt 155; and a pair of meandering regulating members 157 which are arranged in parallel with both end surfaces of the elastic body layer 153 of a fixing roller 150, have guide surfaces 157a orthogonal to the direction of the rotating shaft of the fixing roller 150 respectively and regulate the positions in the direction of the rotating shaft of the fixing belt 155 by bringing the guide surfaces 157a into contact with the edges in the width direction of the fixing belt 155. One of the guide surfaces 157a comes into contact with one of both edges of the fixing belt 155, in an area except an area deformed due to the formation of a fixing nip 155n and the other guide surface 157a also comes into contact with the other edge of the fixing belt 155. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming apparatus using the fixing device, and more particularly, to a technique for improving durability of a fixing device using an electromagnetic induction heating method using a belt while preventing the belt from meandering. .

In recent years, an image forming apparatus such as a printer has started to be equipped with an electromagnetic induction heating type fixing device using a fixing belt, which can save energy compared to a fixing device using a halogen heater as a heat source. (For example, Patent Document 1)
FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the fixing device 1000 of this type, and FIG. 6B shows the fixing device 1000 with the axial centers of the fixing roller and the pressure roller. It is sectional drawing when cut | disconnecting by the plane containing.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the fixing device 1000 includes a fixing belt 1155, a fixing roller 1150, a pressure roller 1160, a magnetic flux generator 1170, a restriction plate 1156, and the like.
The fixing belt 1155 is a cylindrical elastically deformable belt including an induction heat generating layer, and is driven to rotate in the arrow Q direction.

In the fixing roller 1150, the surface of the shaft core 1151 is covered with an elastic body layer 1152, and is arranged on the inner side of the circulation path of the fixing belt 1155.
The pressure roller 1160 is disposed outside the circulation path of the fixing belt 1155 and presses the fixing roller 1150 via the fixing belt 1155 to secure the fixing nip 1310.
The pressure roller 1160 rotates in the direction of arrow P in response to a driving force from a driving motor (not shown). When this driving force is transmitted to the fixing roller 1150 and the fixing belt 1155, the fixing roller 1150 and the fixing belt 1155 are driven to rotate.

The magnetic flux generator 1170 is disposed outside the rotation path of the fixing belt 1155 and at a position facing the pressure roller 1160 with the fixing belt 1155 interposed therebetween, and generates a magnetic flux for causing the induction heating layer of the fixing belt 1155 to generate heat.
The restricting plate 1156 is disposed on the inner side of the circulation path of the fixing belt 1155 and at a position facing the magnetic flux generation unit 1170 via the fixing belt 1155, is curved along the curvature of the fixing belt 1155, and is driven to rotate. The relative position between the fixing belt 1155 and the magnetic flux generation unit 1170 is regulated while making contact with the back surface of the belt 1155 and guiding the fixing belt 1155 in its circumferential direction.

  In the above configuration, when the magnetic flux is generated from the magnetic flux generator 1170 while the fixing belt 1155 is driven to rotate, the portion of the induction heat generation layer in the fixing belt 1155 facing the magnetic flux generator 1170 mainly generates heat. The portion reaches the fixing nip 1310, and the area of the fixing nip 1310 is heated to a temperature suitable for fixing. When a toner image formed on a sheet (not shown) passes through the fixing nip 1310, heating and pressing are performed. And thermally fixed on the sheet.

By the way, it is difficult to make the nip pressure in the fixing nip completely uniform in the axial direction of the pressure roller 1160 due to a manufacturing error of each roller, and thus the fixing belt 1155 is slightly positioned in the axial direction. A so-called meander is generated that circulates while shifting.
When the meandering of the fixing belt 1155 occurs in this way, unfixed toner on the sheet is rubbed and image deterioration occurs.

In order to avoid this, a pair of hook-shaped guide plates 1157 are attached to both ends of the fixing roller 1150, and the inner surface of the guide portion 1157 is brought into contact with both edges of the fixing belt 1155, thereby restricting meandering of the fixing belt 1155. It is possible to do.
JP 2007-264421 A JP 2007-108212 A

  However, in the fixing device 1000 equipped with the guide plate 1157 as described above, when the fixing roller 1150 is elastically deformed by the pressure of the pressure roller 1160 and the fixing nip 1310 is formed, as shown in FIG. As described above, an internal stress acting on the outer side in the axial direction (direction A in the drawing) is generated by the elastic deformation, particularly at the end of the elastic layer 1152 of the fixing roller 1150. This edge is strongly pressed against the guide surface of the guide portion 1157, and in this state, deformation also occurs in the direction B, so that the pressed portion is easily worn.

In particular, the fixing belt 1155 has a problem that the area of the edge in contact with the guide portion 1157 is extremely small, so that stress is easily concentrated, and therefore, wear is promoted and deterioration is likely to occur at an early stage.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. In the configuration in which the relative position between the fixing belt and the magnetic flux generation unit is regulated by the regulating member, the fixing belt is prevented from meandering while the fixing belt is prevented from meandering. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fixing device capable of reducing deterioration and an image forming apparatus including the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, a fixing device according to the present invention includes a first roller disposed on the inner side of a circulation path of an endless belt and having an elastic layer on a circumferential surface thereof from the outer side of the belt via the belt. By pressing with the second roller, a fixing nip is formed between the belt surface and the second roller, and heating is performed while the belt is driven to rotate, and a sheet on which an unfixed image is formed is passed through the fixing nip. A fixing device for thermally fixing the unfixed image, wherein the belt is arranged in parallel with the first roller on the inner side of the circulation path of the belt and is in contact with the back surface of the belt that is driven to rotate. A circulation path regulating member that regulates the circulation path, and a magnetic flux that is arranged on the outside of the belt at a position facing the circulation path regulation member across the belt and generates a magnetic flux for heating the belt And a guide portion that is disposed on both ends of the raw portion and the first roller, and each has a guide surface orthogonal to the direction of the rotation axis of the first roller, and the guide surface is brought into contact with an edge in the width direction of the belt. And a pair of axial position restricting members for restricting the position of the belt in the direction of the rotation axis, and each of the pair of axial position restricting members has a guide surface facing the guide surface of the belt. It is characterized in that it is formed so as to come into contact with the edge on the side to be contacted in a region excluding a region deformed due to the formation of the fixing nip.

In the above configuration, the pair of axial position restricting members are in contact with the edge of the belt corresponding to the guide surface in a region excluding the region deformed due to the formation of the fixing nip. Therefore, while preventing the meandering of the belt, deterioration due to wear can be reduced, and durability is improved.
The circling path restricting member may be supported by the pair of axial position restricting members at both ends in the first roller axial direction.

This facilitates relative positioning of the circulation path restriction member and the axial position restriction member.
In addition, the magnetic flux generation unit includes a holding unit that holds the magnetic flux generation unit so as to be displaceable in the belt direction, and a biasing unit that biases the magnetic flux generation unit in the belt direction. A relative position between the magnetic flux generation part and the belt may be specified by a part of the axial direction regulating member coming into contact.

Thereby, relative positioning of a magnetic flux generation | occurrence | production part and a circumference path | route control member becomes easy.
Note that the present invention may be an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.
Further, the endless belt, the first roller, the second roller, the circulation path regulating member, and the axial position regulating member are separated from the magnetic flux generating unit into a unit, and the unit is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. It may be configured freely.

  As described above, the belt, the first roller, and the second roller are unitized and separated from the magnetic flux generation unit so as to be detachable. Therefore, it is possible to replace only the consumed portion while continuing to use the expensive magnetic flux generation unit. It becomes.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described by taking as an example a case where it is applied to a tandem color digital printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”).
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of the printer 1.
As shown in the figure, the printer 1 includes an image processing unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, a fixing unit 5, and a control unit 60. The printer 1 is connected to a network (for example, a LAN) and is connected to an external terminal device (not connected). When a print job execution instruction is received from the figure, a toner image of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is formed based on the instruction, and a full color image formation is executed by multiple transfer of these toner images.

Hereinafter, the reproduction colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are represented as Y, M, C, and K, and Y, M, C, and K are added as subscripts to the numbers of the components related to the reproduction colors.
<Image process part>
The image processing unit 3 includes image forming units 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K, an optical unit 10, an intermediate transfer belt 11, and the like.

  The image forming unit 3Y includes a photosensitive drum 31Y, a charger 32Y, a developing unit 33Y, a primary transfer roller 34Y, and a cleaner 35Y for cleaning the photosensitive drum 31Y disposed around the photosensitive drum 31Y. A Y-color toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 31Y. The other image forming units 3M to 3K also have the configuration of the chargers 32M to 32K as in the image forming unit 3Y except that the color of the toner is different. However, in order to prevent the drawings from becoming complicated, The sign of is not shown.

The intermediate transfer belt 11 is an endless belt, is stretched around a driving roller 12 and a driven roller 13, and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow C.
The optical unit 10 includes a light emitting element such as a laser diode. The optical unit 10 emits laser light L for forming images of Y to K colors according to a drive signal from the control unit 60, and exposes and scans the photosensitive drums 31Y to 31K.

By this exposure scanning, electrostatic latent images are formed on the photosensitive drums 31Y to 31K charged by the chargers 32Y to 32K. The electrostatic latent images are developed by developing units 33Y to 33K, and Y to K color toner images are superimposed on the same positions on the intermediate transfer belt 11 and primarily transferred onto the photosensitive drums 31Y to 31K. It is executed at different timings.
The toner images of the respective colors are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 11 by the electrostatic force acting on the primary transfer rollers 34Y to 34K to form a full-color toner image, and further move toward the secondary transfer position 46.

  On the other hand, the paper feed unit 4 includes a paper feed cassette 41 that accommodates the paper S, a feed roller 42 that feeds the paper S in the paper feed cassette 41 one by one onto the transport path 43, and a secondary feed of the fed paper S. A timing roller pair 44 and the like are provided for timing to send the toner to the transfer position 46, and the paper S is fed from the paper supply unit 4 to the secondary transfer position in accordance with the movement timing of the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11. The toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 11 are secondarily transferred onto the sheet S all at once by the action of electrostatic force by the secondary transfer roller 45.

The sheet S that has passed the secondary transfer position 46 is further conveyed to the fixing unit 5, and the toner image (unfixed image) on the sheet S is fixed on the sheet S by heating and pressurization in the fixing unit 5. The paper is discharged onto a discharge tray 72 via a discharge roller pair 71.
<Fixing part>
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing the configuration of the fixing unit 5, and FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the main part thereof.

In FIG. 3A, the meandering restricting member 157 has a bilaterally symmetric shape, and the shape of the right half from the center is omitted for convenience of explanation.
As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing unit 5 holds the fixing belt 155, the fixing roller 150, the restriction plate 156, a pair of meandering restriction members 157, and the pressure roller 160 as a unit. A frame 140 and a magnetic flux generator 170 are provided.

These units (including the frame 140) that are unitized in this way are hereinafter referred to as roller units 190.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the fixing belt 155 is a cylindrical belt that is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow E. The release layer, the elastic layer, and the base layer are laminated in this order. The release layer is located on the surface side.

The fixing belt 155 has an inner diameter of about 40 mm, and is a belt that can hold itself in a cylindrical shape. The belt width direction (corresponding to the rotation axis direction of the fixing roller 150) of the fixing belt 155 is longer than the width direction length of the maximum size sheet.
The release layer is, for example, a cylindrical body made of PFA having a thickness of about 30 μm.
The elastic layer is made of silicone rubber having a thickness of about 200 μm, and in addition to this, fluorine film may be used.

The base layer is a cylindrical body made of polyimide having a thickness of about 40 μm.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the fixing roller 150 is formed by covering the periphery of a long and cylindrical cored bar 152 with an elastic body layer 153, and inside the circulation path (circulation traveling path) of the fixing belt 155. Arranged.
The cored bar 152 is, for example, a cylindrical body made of aluminum and having an outer diameter of about 20 mm.

In addition, iron, stainless steel, or the like may be used. However, in order to prevent the cored bar 152 from being heated by induction heating, it is desirable to use a nonmagnetic material that is less affected by electromagnetic induction heating.
In some cases, a heat-resistant mold pipe such as PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) may be used.

The elastic body layer 153 is a cylindrical body made of silicon sponge rubber having a thickness of about 2 mm to 15 mm, and covers the cored bar 152.
Note that the hardness of the elastic body layer 153 is appropriately determined from experience in the range of 20 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less with an Asker rubber hardness meter in consideration of the fixing nip width and the like. The material is a foamed elastic body such as silicone rubber or fluororubber, and a material having high heat resistance and heat insulation is desired.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the pressure roller 160 is formed by laminating a release layer 163 around a cylindrical cored bar 161 via an elastic body layer 162, and a circulation path of the fixing belt 155. A fixing nip 155n having a predetermined width in the circumferential direction is formed between the fixing belt 155 and the surface of the fixing belt 155 by pressing the fixing roller 150 from the outside of the fixing belt 155 via the fixing belt 155.

The core metal 161 is made of, for example, an aluminum cylinder having an outer diameter of 10 mm.
In addition, iron, stainless steel, or the like may be used. In some cases, a heat-resistant molded pipe such as PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) may be used.
The elastic body layer 162 is a cylindrical body made of silicon sponge rubber or the like, and its thickness is determined as appropriate from the range of 3 mm to 10 mm in consideration of the fixing nip width and the like.

The release layer 163 is formed of a cylindrical body formed of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), PFA (tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) or the like, and has a thickness of 10 μm or more and 50 μm or less. It is determined appropriately.
The fixing roller 150 and the pressure roller 160 are rotatably supported at both axial ends of the core bars 152 and 161 by bearings (not shown) of the frame 140, and the pressure roller 160 includes a drive motor (not shown). When the driving force from the figure is transmitted, it is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow D. As the pressure roller 160 rotates, the fixing belt 155 and the fixing roller 150 are driven to rotate in the direction of arrow E.

Returning to FIG. 2, the magnetic flux generator 170 has a coil bobbin 171, a hem core 172, an exciting coil 173, a main core 174, and a cover 175, and is outside the circulation path of the fixing belt 155. The fixing belt 155 is disposed along the width direction at a position facing the pressure roller 160 with the 155 interposed therebetween.
The exciting coil 173 generates a magnetic flux for heating a heat generating layer (not shown) of the regulation plate 156 and is wound around a coil bobbin 171.

  The alternating magnetic flux generated from the exciting coil 173 is guided by the main core 174 and the skirt core 172 to the restriction plate 156 having a multilayer structure, and passes through the heat generation layer which is one of the layers constituting the restriction plate 156. An eddy current is generated to generate heat in the regulating plate 156, and the fixing belt 155 in contact therewith is heated mainly by heat conduction. With the temperature increase of the fixing belt 155, the temperature of the pressure roller 160 in contact with the fixing belt 155 at the fixing nip 155n is also increased.

Although not shown, a sensor for detecting the surface temperature of the central portion in the width direction of the fixing belt 155 is separately provided, and the current temperature of the fixing belt 155 is detected by a detection signal of this sensor, and this detection is performed. Based on the temperature, the power supply to the exciting coil 173 is controlled so that the temperature in the region of the fixing nip 155n is maintained at the target temperature.
When the sheet S passes through the fixing nip 155n while the fixing nip 155n is maintained at the target temperature, the unfixed toner image T on the sheet S is heated and pressurized to be thermally fixed on the sheet S. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the regulating plate 156 is a long plate-like member having a thickness of about 0.4 mm and a length longer than the length of the fixing belt 155 in the belt width direction. A heating layer, a magnetic shunt alloy layer, and a conductive layer are laminated in this order from the side in contact with the electrode.
The heat generating layer is made of, for example, copper having a thickness of 15 μm, and generates heat due to the magnetic flux generated from the magnetic flux generator 170.

The magnetic shunt alloy layer is made of an alloy of nickel and iron or an alloy of nickel, iron and chromium, and has a thickness of about 200 μm. It is a ferromagnetic material at a normal temperature, but non-magnetic when the Curie temperature is exceeded. It has the characteristic to become.
The conductive layer is formed from a low-resistance conductive material such as copper having a thickness of about 200 μm. In addition, a material such as aluminum may be used.

By changing the magnetic shunt alloy layer to nonmagnetic, the magnetic flux from the magnetic flux generator 170 easily passes from the heat generating layer to the conductive layer through the magnetic shunt alloy layer. Since the conductive layer has a low resistance, a magnetic flux in a direction that cancels the magnetic flux generated in the magnetic flux generator 170 is generated by the eddy current generated there, and the magnetic flux density in that portion is reduced to suppress heat generation in the heat generating layer.
The Curie temperature is set to a temperature approximately 20 ° C. higher than the temperature suitable for fixing (target temperature). Accordingly, when a large number of small-sized sheets are continuously printed, Even if the temperature of the portion (non-sheet passing portion) P on both ends where the sheet does not pass in the belt width direction exceeds the target temperature because heat is not taken away by the sheet, the Curie temperature may be greatly exceeded. It is prevented that the fixing belt 155 reaches a high temperature that damages the fixing belt 155. Note that the Curie temperature to be set is not limited to the above temperature, and depends on the configuration of the fixing unit 5 so that the temperature of the sheet passing portion maintains a predetermined fixing temperature and the non-sheet passing portion does not overheat. It is set as appropriate depending on the experiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the regulating plate 156 is disposed inside the circulation path of the fixing belt 155 and at a position facing the magnetic flux generator 170 via the fixing belt 155, and both ends thereof are a pair of meanders described later. It is supported by the regulating member 157, contacts the back surface of the fixing belt 155, and not only transfers heat generated by induction heating to the fixing belt 155, but also guides the fixing belt 155 that is driven in a circular direction. However, it also functions as a rotation path regulating member for the fixing belt 155 that regulates the relative position between the fixing belt 155 and the magnetic flux generator 170.

Further, the curvature of the surface of the restricting plate 156 facing the exciting coil 173 (hereinafter referred to as “the restricting plate surface”) 156a is the curvature of the back surface of the portion of the fixing belt 155 facing the magnetic flux generating portion 170 at rest. Are formed in a circular arc shape that is curved so as to be approximately equal to
The meandering restricting member 157 is a pair of plate-like members in which a part of the disk is cut out, and is provided so as to face each other, and the interval between the two is approximately larger than the width of the fixing belt 155. 1mm larger.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, one of the opposing guide surfaces 157a is one of both edges of the fixing belt 155, and is a region that is deformed due to the formation of the fixing nip 155n (hereinafter, “ It is fixed to the frame 140 so as to be in contact with the region excluding the “deformation region”), and the other guide surface is similarly fixed to the frame 140 so as to be in contact with the other edge of the fixing belt 155. .

  With such a configuration, meandering of the fixing belt 155 in the fixing roller axial direction can be prevented, and the elastic layer 153 and the fixing belt 155 are disposed in both end directions in the fixing nip 155n and the surrounding area M. Even if it is pushed and stretched, the meandering restricting member 157 does not come into contact with the portion that protrudes due to this deformation, so there is a local increase in friction between the meandering restricting member 157 and the fixing belt 155 at the edge of the fixing belt 155. It does not occur and the deterioration of both edges of the fixing belt 155 is suppressed.

The guide surface 157a is preferably subjected to a treatment for reducing a friction coefficient such as Teflon coating.
Returning to FIG. 2, the roller unit 190 is detachable from the main body (not shown) of the printer 1 and the magnetic flux generator 170.
This is because when the fixing roller 150 and the fixing belt 155 included in the roller unit 190 are deteriorated, the roller unit 190 is replaced.

The engagement position adjusting mechanism 180 automatically guides the magnetic flux generation unit 170 to an appropriate position in accordance with the operation of mounting the roller unit 190 on the main body of the printer 1 in which the magnetic flux generation unit 170 is provided. This is a mechanism for uniquely determining the relative position between the magnetic flux generator 170 and the restriction plate 156 included in the roller unit 190.
More specifically, the engagement position adjusting mechanism 180 has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape, and is provided on a housing part 181 provided along the magnetic flux generation part 170 and a main surface 181d of the housing part 181. Headed pins 183, 184, and 182 that are respectively inserted into the long holes 181b, 181c and the long holes 181a provided in the side surface 181e and connected to the cover 175 of the magnetic flux generator 170, and the heads thereof. It has a spring 185 that is inserted under the neck of the pin and sandwiched in a compressed state between the inner wall of the housing portion 181 and the cover 175 of the magnetic flux generating portion 170.

Furthermore, the same configuration as this also exists in the front side portion of the housing portion 181 that is not shown in the drawing.
With these configurations, the magnetic flux generator 170 is urged in the direction in which the fixing belt is present (Z ′ direction) and in the upstream side of the fixing roller 150 (X ′ direction) in the sheet conveyance direction. It is held by the engagement position adjusting mechanism 180 with play so that it can be displaced by several millimeters in each direction.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are diagrams for explaining the position adjustment operation by the engagement position adjustment mechanism 180.
As shown in FIG. 4A, in order to mount the roller unit 190 on the main body 200 of the printer 1, the roller unit 190 is slid in the Z direction on the reference surface 200 a of the main body 200.

At this time, the level of the center line V1 of the meandering restriction member 157 and the level of the center line V2 of the magnetic flux generator 170 do not coincide with each other, and the center line V1 is located on the X direction side with respect to the center line V2.
Further, when the roller unit 190 is slid in the Z direction, the bottom surface 171a of the coil bobbin 171 of the magnetic flux generator 170 and the edge of the meandering restriction member 157 come into contact with each other.
Since the curvature of the bottom surface 171a and the curvature of the edge of the meandering restriction member 157 are substantially equal, one is concave and the other is convex, when the edge of the meandering restriction member 157 is pressed against the bottom face 171a, The force acting in the Z direction is divided into a force pushing in the Z direction and a force pushing up in the X direction, and the magnetic flux generator 170 moves in the X direction while moving backward in the Z direction.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, the center line V1 substantially coincides with the center line V2, and the relative position between the magnetic flux generator 170 and the meandering restriction member 157 in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction is uniquely determined. .
Further, since the regulation plate 156 is fixed to the meandering regulation member 157, the relative position between the magnetic flux generation unit 170 and the regulation plate 156 is uniquely determined, and the distance between the magnetic flux generation unit 170 and the regulation plate 156 is also stable. In addition, variations in the amount of heating during induction heating are less likely to occur.

Strictly speaking, in consideration of product accuracy, the curvature of the edge of the meandering restricting member 157 is slightly smaller than the curvature of the bottom surface 171a. Since the spring 185 inserted into the headed pin 182 is urged in the X ′ direction, the occurrence of this play is prevented.
If it is not necessary to prevent such backlash, the spring 185 inserted into the headed pin 182 may be omitted.

As described above, in the fixing unit 5 according to the present embodiment, the guide surface 157a of the meandering restricting member 157 contacts in a region other than the deformation region of the edge of the fixing belt 155, thereby preventing the fixing belt from meandering and fixing. Even if the belt 155 is deformed, it is not pressed against the guide surface 157a, so that deterioration of the fixing belt is suppressed.
<Modification>
As described above, the present invention has been described based on various embodiments. However, the content of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and for example, the following modifications can be considered. .
(1) In the above embodiment, the meandering restricting member 157 has a shape in which a part of the disk is cut out, but is not limited thereto.

The notch is formed for the purpose of avoiding the meandering restricting member 157 from coming into contact with the deformation region at the edge of the fixing belt 155. Instead of providing such a notch, the meandering restricting member 157 is replaced with a disk. The object can also be achieved by forming the shape and bending the portion corresponding to the notched portion outward.
Further, the meandering restricting member 157 may be, for example, a thick member instead of a plate shape, and an arc-shaped member provided along the edge of the fixing belt 155 as in the modification shown in FIG. In short, as long as it is an axial position restricting member that has a guide surface that contacts in an area excluding the deformation area of the edge of the fixing belt and restricts the position of the fixing belt 155 in the axial direction. Any shape may be used.
(2) In the above embodiment, the magnetic shunt alloy layer and the heat generating layer are provided on the restriction plate 156, and the restriction plate 156 is heated. The fixing belt may be provided so that the fixing belt is directly heated.

In this case, the fixing belt includes a release layer, an elastic layer, a heat generating layer, a magnetic shunt alloy layer, and a base layer in order from the belt outer surface. The regulation plate 156 may have a single layer structure having only a conductive layer made of a low resistance conductive material such as copper having a thickness of about 200 μm.
(3) In the above embodiment, the release layer of the fixing belt 155 is made of PFA. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, fluororesin such as PTFE, FEP, PFEP, silicone rubber, fluororubber, etc. It may be used.

The thickness is also set to 60 μm, but is not limited to this, and in order to secure a predetermined fixing nip width, it may be appropriately determined from a range of 5 μm to 100 μm from experience.
(4) In the above embodiment, the release layer 155a is a cylindrical body made of PFA or the like having a thickness of about 20 μm. However, the material is not limited to this, and the material is PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or ETFE. (Tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer) may be used, and the thickness may be about 5 μm or more and 100 μm or less based on experience.

Furthermore, the release layer 155a may not be a cylindrical body, and may be formed by coating the surface of the elastic layer 155b with PFA, PTFE, ETFE, or the like.
(5) The engagement position adjusting mechanism 180 has the spring 185. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, rubber or elastic resin may be used. In short, the magnetic flux generator 170 is moved in a predetermined direction. There may be an urging means for urging.
(6) Although the tandem color printer has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a monochrome printer, and has additional functions such as a copying machine and a fax machine. In short, the present invention may be applied to all image forming apparatuses including an induction heating type fixing apparatus using a fixing belt and a regulating plate.

  The present invention can be widely applied to a fixing device using a fixing belt and an image forming apparatus using the fixing device.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tandem color digital printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a fixing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a cross-sectional view showing the main configuration of the fixing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is an axial cross-section showing the main configuration of the fixing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows operation | movement of the engagement position adjustment mechanism which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of the fixing | fixed part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration for restricting meandering of the fixing belt by applying the conventional technique, and (b) is a cross section in the axial direction thereof.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 3 Image process part 3Y, 3M, 3C, 3K Image creation part 4 Paper feed part 5 Fixing part 10 Optical part 11 Intermediate transfer belt 12 Drive roller 13 Driven roller 31 Photoreceptor drum 32 Charger 33 Developer 34 Primary transfer roller 35 Cleaner 41 Paper Feed Cassette 42 Feed Roller 43 Conveying Path 44 Timing Roller Pair 45 Secondary Transfer Roller 46 Secondary Transfer Position 60 Control Unit 71 Discharge Roller Pair 72 Discharge Tray 115 Back Surface 140 Frame 150 Fixing Roller 152 Core Metal 153 Elastic Body Layer 155 Fixing belt 155a Release layer 155b Elastic body layer 155n Fixing nip 156 Restriction plate 157 Meandering restriction member 157a Guide surface 160 Pressure roller 161 Core metal 162 Elastic body layer 163 Release layer 170 Magnetic flux generation part 171 Coil bobbin 171a Bottom surface 172 Bottom core 173 Excitation coil 174 Main core 175 Cover 180 Engagement position adjustment mechanism 181 Housing portion 181a, 181b, 181c Slot 181d Main surface 181e Side surface 182, 183, 184 Headed pin 190 Roller unit 200 Main body portion 200a Reference surface 257 Arc shape Parts of

Claims (6)

A first roller disposed on the inner side of the endless belt circulation path and having an elastic layer on the peripheral surface is pressed from the outer side of the belt by the second roller through the belt, and the belt surface and the second roller A fixing nip that forms a fixing nip between the fixing belt and the belt, and heats the belt while being driven to pass the sheet on which the unfixed image is formed through the fixing nip. And
A circulation path regulating member that regulates the circulation path of the belt, in contact with the back surface of the belt that is arranged in parallel with the first roller and is driven to rotate, inside the circulation path of the belt;
A magnetic flux generation unit that is disposed outside the belt and is positioned at a position facing the rotation path regulating member across the belt, and generates a magnetic flux for heating the belt;
The belts are arranged on both ends of the first roller, each having a guide surface orthogonal to the direction of the rotation axis of the first roller, and the belt contacting the guide surface with an edge in the width direction of the belt. A pair of axial position restricting members for restricting the position in the direction of the rotation axis,
In the pair of axial position regulating members, each guide surface comes into contact with an edge of the belt facing the guide surface in a region excluding a region deformed due to formation of the fixing nip. A fixing device characterized in that the fixing device is formed.   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation path restriction member is supported by the pair of axial position restriction members at both ends in the first roller axial direction. Holding means for holding the magnetic flux generation unit displaceably in the belt direction;
Urging means for urging the magnetic flux generator in the belt direction;
With
The structure of the magnetic flux generation unit is configured such that a relative position between the magnetic flux generation unit and the belt is specified by abutting a part of the casing of the magnetic flux generation unit with a part of the pair of axial direction regulating members. Item 3. The fixing device according to Item 2.   4. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the belt or the circulation path regulating member includes a magnetic shunt alloy layer that reversibly changes from ferromagnetic to non-magnetic when a predetermined temperature is exceeded. .   An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 1.   The endless belt, the first roller, the second roller, the circulation path regulating member, and the axial position regulating member are separated from the magnetic flux generating unit into a unit, and the unit is detachable from the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured.

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