JP2012185398A - Fixation device and image forming apparatus comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fixation device capable of correcting a curl of paper in either direction without decreasing the image forming processing speed.SOLUTION: A fixation device is provided with a separation claw 7 for separating paper P attached to a fixation roller 11 from the fixation roller 11, and a humidity sensor 78 for detecting humidity. The separation angle of the separation claw 7 is altered according to the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 78. In the view of correcting a curl of the paper P more securely, it is preferable to alter the front end position of the separation claw 7 together with the separation angle according to the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 78.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device for passing a transferred member on which a toner image is placed through a nip portion between a fixing rotating body and a pressure rotating body and fusing and fixing the toner image to the transferred member, and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device. It relates to the device.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member and developed, and the developed toner image is transferred to a transfer member such as paper, and then fixed by a fixing device. The toner image is fixed on the transfer member.

  Here, a commonly used fixing device is one in which a transferred member is passed through a nip portion of a pair of pressure-contacted rollers and heated and pressed to melt and fix a toner image on the transferred member. In many fixing devices, a configuration in which only a roller that comes into contact with an image forming surface of a transfer member is heated is used.

  In such a configuration, a temperature difference is generated between the heating roller and the non-heating roller, and there is a difference in the evaporation state of moisture between the image forming surface side and the non-image forming surface side of the transferred member passing through the nip portion. Arise. Usually, the shrinkage rate of the transferred member increases as the amount of water evaporation increases, so that the transferred member that has passed through the nip portion of the fixing device is warped (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “curl”).

  The member to be transferred that has passed through the nip portion of the fixing device generally curls convexly on the image forming surface side in a high humidity environment and convexly curls on the non-image forming surface side in a low humidity environment. When the curled member to be transferred is discharged to a paper discharge tray or the like, a stacking failure may occur, and the member to be transferred may fall from the paper discharge tray or the like. Furthermore, the discharged transfer member may prevent the subsequent transfer member from being discharged, and the transfer member may be clogged.

  Therefore, in order to correct such curling of the member to be transferred, the conveyance interval of the member to be transferred is widened to increase the contact time between the heating roller and the pressure roller, and the temperature difference between the heating roller and the pressure roller is increased. It is also possible to reduce the temperature or temporarily stop the transfer of the member to be transferred and rotate the heating roller and the pressure roller to reduce the temperature difference between the heating roller and the pressure roller.

  Further, for example, in Patent Document 1, a first transport roller is disposed on the downstream side of the fixing unit, and a second transport roller is disposed on the downstream side thereof, and the transport path from the first transport roller to the second transport roller is arranged. A guide member that curves in a direction opposite to the curl direction of the paper is provided. Then, the sheet conveyance speed by the second conveyance roller is made larger than the sheet conveyance speed by the first conveyance roller, and the sheet is conveyed while pressed against the guide member curved in the direction opposite to the curl direction of the sheet. A technology for correcting paper curl has also been proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-48399

  However, in a countermeasure that directly contacts the heating roller and the pressure roller to reduce the temperature difference between the two rollers, a period during which the fixing process cannot be performed occurs, and the image forming processing speed decreases. Further, in the proposed technique for correcting the curl of the member to be transferred, the curl direction of the member to be transferred changes depending on the humidity or the like, but can only deal with the curl on one side.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to fix the curling in any direction of the transfer member without reducing the image forming processing speed. An apparatus and an image forming apparatus are provided.

  According to the present invention, the fixing rotator, a pressure rotator that presses against the fixing rotator to form a nip portion, and a heat source that heats the fixing rotator, the fixing rotator and the pressurizing member are provided. A fixing device that passes a member to be transferred on which a toner image is placed in a nip portion with a rotating body and melts and fixes the toner image on the member to be transferred. The fixing device passes through the nip portion and adheres to the fixing rotating body. A separation claw for separating the transferred member from the fixing rotator, and humidity detecting means for detecting humidity, and a straight line connecting the center of the fixing rotator and the center of the pressure rotator. An angle (hereinafter referred to as “separation angle”) formed by a vertical reference line and a surface of the separation claw on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the fixing rotator (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “separation surface”). Depending on the humidity detected by the humidity detecting means. A fixing device is provided for causing the reduction.

  Here, from the viewpoint of more reliably correcting the curl of the transferred member, it is preferable to change the tip position of the separation claw together with the angle according to the humidity detected by the humidity detecting means.

  In this case, the separation claw is swingably supported on a shaft portion movably provided above the fixing rotator so that the tip of the separation claw contacts the surface of the fixing rotator. When the shaft portion moves, the contact position of the tip of the separation claw with the surface of the fixing rotating body may be moved by the weight of the separation claw and the angle may be changed at the same time.

  Further, from the viewpoint of effectively correcting the curling of the member to be transferred, it is preferable to increase the angle in the rotation direction of the fixing rotator as the humidity detected by the humidity detecting unit increases.

  According to the present invention, a rotatable electrostatic latent image carrier, a charging device that uniformly charges the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier, and a surface of the uniformly charged electrostatic latent image carrier. An exposure device that exposes and forms a latent image on the electrostatic latent image carrier, a developing device that visualizes the latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier with toner, and a toner image that is formed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer device that transfers to a transfer member; a fixing device that heats and transfers the transferred toner image to a transfer member; and a storage unit that stores and stores transfer target members to which the toner image is transferred. An image forming apparatus using any of the fixing devices described above as the fixing device is provided.

  Here, it is preferable that a humidity detecting means for adjusting the position of the separation claw of the fixing device is provided in the storage portion.

  In the fixing device and the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the separation angle of the separation claw for separating the member to be transferred from the fixing rotator is changed depending on the humidity to correct the curling of the member to be transferred. There is no weight increase, and curling in any direction of the member to be transferred can be corrected.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, curling of the member to be transferred is corrected, so that a stacking failure in a discharge tray or the like is not caused. Further, the image forming processing speed is not reduced.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a fixing device according to the present invention. An explanatory view in which a sheet curls. An explanatory view in which a sheet curls. The figure explaining the moving mechanism of a separation nail. The figure which moved the separation nail. The figure which shows the relationship between the separation angle of a separation nail | claw, and the curl amount of a paper. FIG. 3 is an operation diagram of the fixing device of the present invention in a high humidity environment. FIG. 4 is an operation diagram of the fixing device of the present invention in a low humidity environment.

  Hereinafter, a fixing device and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus 8 shown in FIG. 1 uniformly distributes the surface of the photoconductor D around a cylindrical photoconductor (electrostatic latent image carrier) D that carries a toner image and is driven to rotate counterclockwise. A charging device 2 for charging, an exposure device 3 for irradiating the surface of the photoconductor D with light to form an electrostatic latent image, and supplying toner to the photoconductor D to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor D A developing device 4 that forms a toner image, a transfer roller (transfer device) 5 that transfers a toner image on the photoreceptor D formed by the developing device 4 to a paper (transfer member) P, and a toner image that is not transferred to the paper P And a cleaning device 6 for removing the toner remaining on the photoreceptor D.

  The charging device 2 is a scorotron charging device, and includes a box-shaped shield electrode 22 having an opening on the side facing the photoreceptor D, a discharge electrode 21 stretched in the shield electrode 22, and a shield electrode 22. And a grid electrode 23 attached to the opening. When a voltage of several kV is applied to the discharge electrode 21, a corona discharge is generated, and the surface of the photoreceptor D is uniformly charged. The type of the charging device 2 is not particularly limited. Of course, a roller-type charging member, a blade-shaped charging member, a brush-shaped charging member, or the like may be used.

  The exposure device 3 performs exposure by selectively irradiating light on the surface of the photoreceptor D uniformly charged by the charging device 2 based on image data input from an external device such as a personal computer, A predetermined electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor D.

  The developing device 4 includes a housing 41, a developing roller 42 that is rotatably provided facing the photoreceptor D, and three transport rollers 43 that transport the developer toward the developing roller 42. In the housing 41, a developer composed of toner and a carrier (both not shown) is accommodated. When a developing bias voltage is applied to the developing roller 42, the toner moves to the photosensitive member D based on the potential difference between the voltage applied to the developing roller 42 and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member D, so that the static on the photosensitive member D is static. The electrostatic latent image is visualized (toner image) with toner.

  The transfer roller 5 is rotatably provided by a drive motor (not shown) connected to the transfer roller 5 and is pressed against the photoreceptor D by a biasing member (not shown). In addition, a voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity is applied to the transfer roller 5 by a voltage applying unit (not shown). When the sheet passes between the photoreceptor D and the transfer roller 5, the voltage is applied to the transfer roller 5, and the toner image formed on the photoreceptor D is transferred to the sheet P.

  The cleaning device 6 includes a cleaning blade 61 that presses against the photoconductor D, and removes untransferred toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor D from the photoconductor D.

  Under the developing device 4, a storage unit 52 that stores a paper feed cassette 51 that stores paper P is detachably disposed. The paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 51 is sent out one by one to the transport path in order from the uppermost paper by the rotation of the paper feed roller 53 disposed on the upper side of the storage unit 52. The paper P sent out from the paper feed cassette 51 is sent out between the transfer roller 5 and the photoconductor D in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor D, and the toner image is transferred onto the paper P as described above. Further, a humidity sensor (humidity detection means) 78 described later is provided on the inner upper surface of the storage portion 52.

  The image forming apparatus 8 includes a fixing device 1 that fixes the toner image transferred from the photoreceptor D to the paper P. The fixing device 1 includes a fixing roller (fixing rotator) 11 including a halogen heater H as a heat source, and a pressure roller (pressure rotator) 12 that is in pressure contact with the fixing roller 11. When the paper P passes through the nip N between the fixing roller 11 and the pressure roller 12, the toner image is heated and pressurized and melted and fixed on the paper P. Thereafter, the paper P is discharged to the paper discharge tray 82.

  The image forming apparatus 8 includes a control device 81 that comprehensively controls the components related to the image forming device 8, and the control device 81 includes the photosensitive member D, the developing roller 42, the transfer roller 5, and paper feed. It controls the rotational drive of the roller 53 and the fixing roller 11, and the operation of the charging device 2, the exposure device 3, the developing device 4, the halogen heater H, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the basic structure of the fixing device 1. The fixing device 1 includes a fixing roller 11 and a pressure roller 12. The pressure roller 12 is pressed against the fixing roller 11 by a biasing means (not shown) such as a spring, and a nip portion N is formed between the fixing roller 11 and the pressure roller 12. The fixing roller 11 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure by a rotation driving unit (not shown), and thereby the pressure roller 12 is driven to rotate clockwise.

  A separation claw 7 is provided on the fixing roller 11 downstream of the nip portion N in the rotational direction so as to come into contact with the surface of the fixing roller 11. The separation claw 7 is swingably supported by the shaft portion 72 and is in contact with the surface of the fixing roller 11 by its own weight. A plurality of separation claws 7 are provided at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the shaft portion 72. The separation claw 7 functions to separate the paper P to which the fixing roller 11 is attached from the fixing roller 11 and also functions to correct the curl of the paper P in the present invention. Details will be described later. An intermediate roller 95 is rotatably supported on the shaft portion 72, and the paper P is conveyed between the intermediate roller 95 and the conveyance guide 96.

  The energization of the fixing roller 11 to the halogen heater H is controlled on and off based on the temperature detected by a temperature sensor (not shown), and the surface temperature of the fixing roller 11 is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  The fixing roller 11 includes a cored bar 111 formed in a cylindrical shape. A halogen heater H is provided as a heat source in the axial direction of the central portion of the cored bar 111. The material of the metal core 111 is preferably a metal material such as aluminum or iron. The thickness is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 5 mm, and more preferably in the range of 0.2 to 1.5 mm in view of weight reduction and shortening of the warm-up time. Further, in order to improve the surface releasability, a tube made of a fluorine material such as PFA, PTFE, ETFE or the like is attached to the surface of the core metal 111, or a coating layer is formed with the fluorine material. It is good also as a surface layer. The thickness of the surface layer is preferably in the range of 5 to 100 μm. Further, the contact angle with water is preferably 90 degrees or more, more preferably 110 degrees. Furthermore, the surface roughness Ra is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 50 μm. Commercially available “PFA350-J”, “451HP-J”, and “951HP Plus” (all manufactured by Mitsui / DuPont Chemical) can be suitably used as the fluorine-based tube. In order to increase the width of the nip portion N, an elastic layer may be further provided between the core metal 111 and the surface layer. The material of the elastic layer is preferably a material having elasticity and heat resistance, and examples thereof include silicone rubber and fluorine rubber. Although there is no limitation in particular in the thickness of an elastic layer, Usually, the range of 0.05-2 mm is preferable.

  The pressure roller 12 is formed by forming an elastic layer 122 made of silicone rubber on the surface of a cylindrical cored bar 121 and attaching a PFA tube 123 as a surface layer to the surface. The material of the elastic layer 122 is preferably a material having elasticity and heat resistance, and examples thereof include silicone rubber, fluorine rubber, and silicone sponge. Although there is no limitation in particular in the thickness of an elastic layer, Usually, the range of 1-20 mm is preferable. Note that preferred modes of the core metal 121 and the surface layer 123 are the same as those of the fixing roller 11.

  The material of the separation claw 7 is formed from a heat-resistant resin such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyamide imide (PAI), polyimide (PI), and the like. Or the like is covered with a coating layer.

  Next, a mechanism considered by the inventor to cause curling of the paper P that has passed through the fixing device 1 will be described. For example, in a high humidity environment, the paper P contains a large amount of moisture. Therefore, when the paper P passes through the nip portion N of the fixing device 1, as shown in FIG. A lot of moisture evaporates from the surface on the 11th side, and moisture evaporation from the pressure roller 12 side where the temperature is low is small. For this reason, the moisture in the paper P decreases temporarily on the surface of the fixing roller 11, while a non-equilibrium state increases temporarily on the surface of the pressure roller 12. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the moisture in the sheet P moves from the pressure roller 12 side to the fixing roller 11 side at a stretch. As a result, while the moisture on the fixing roller 11 side increases, the moisture on the pressure roller 12 side decreases, the fixing roller 11 side of the paper P expands with the collected moisture, and the moisture decreases on the pressure roller 12 side. Due to the shrinkage, a convex curl is generated on the fixing roller 11 side.

  On the other hand, in the low humidity environment, there is almost no moisture inside the paper P. Therefore, when passing through the nip portion N of the fixing device 1, there is almost no moisture movement inside the paper P, and the fixing that is heated and dried further. The fiber shrinkage on the roller 11 side is increased, and a convex curl is generated on the paper P on the pressure roller side. In addition, immediately after passing through the nip portion N, the paper P may be curled by a mechanical external force received from the paper transport path.

  In order to correct such a curl of the paper P, the present inventor pays attention to the separation claw 7 that has been used so far to separate the paper P attached to the surface of the fixing roller 11 from the fixing roller 11. As a result of various experiments, when the separation angle of the separation claw 7 with respect to the fixing roller 11 is changed and the conveyance direction of the paper P immediately after passing through the nip portion N is changed, the fiber P is not completely contracted. In addition, it has been found that a force in the direction opposite to the curl direction can be applied to the paper P to correct the curl.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a mechanism for changing the separation angle of the separation claw 7. The separation claw 7 is swingably supported by the shaft portion 72, and the tip of the separation claw 7 hangs downward due to its own weight and is in contact with the surface of the fixing roller 11. A support plate 91 is attached to one side plate (not shown) on both sides in the width direction of the fixing device 1 so as to be rotatable coaxially with the rotation shaft 90 of the fixing roller 11. The shaft portion 72 is movably inserted into an arc-shaped long hole 94 formed in a side plate (not shown), and the end portion of the shaft portion 72 protruding outward from the side plate (not shown) is one end of the support plate 74. It is fixed on the side. The end opposite to the end to which the shaft 72 is fixed has an arc shape centered on the rotation shaft 90, and teeth 92 are formed at the peripheral end. A gear 93 that is rotated by a drive unit (not shown) meshes with the tooth 92. At this time, the separation angle between the reference line L1 perpendicular to the straight line L connecting the center C1 of the fixing roller 11 and the center C1 of the pressure roller 12 and the separation surface 71 of the separation claw 7 is “+ θ1”. In this specification, the counterclockwise angle from the reference line L1 is “+”, and the clockwise angle is “−”.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the gear 93 is rotated counterclockwise by a drive unit (not shown), the support plate 91 rotates clockwise about the rotation shaft 90, and the separation claw 7 is also a long hole along with the shaft portion 72. Rotate clockwise in 94. As a result, the separation angle between the reference line L1 and the separation surface 71 of the separation claw 7 becomes “−θ2”, and the position of the tip of the separation claw 7 also moves upstream in the rotation direction of the fixing roller 11.

  Table 1 shows a part of the result of an experiment performed using the fixing device 1 having such a configuration. After the image forming apparatus is left for 12 hours or more in a high humidity environment (30 ° C., 85%), a normal humidity environment (23 ° C., 55%), and a low humidity environment (10 ° C., 15%), the separation angle of the separation claw 7 The curl state of the paper P when the angle is fixed at “+ 5 °” and when the separation angle of the separation claw 7 is moved to a predetermined angle was examined. The curl amount of the paper P is “+” when convex on the pressure roller side and “−” when convex on the fixing roller side.

  As can be seen from Table 1, when the separation angle of the separation claw 7 is fixed to + 5 ° regardless of the humidity, if the humidity is as high as 85%, the curl amount of the paper becomes 27 mm convex on the fixing roller side. When the humidity was as low as 15%, the curl amount of the paper became 18 mm convex on the pressure roller side.

  On the other hand, when the separation angle of the separation claw 7 was changed with respect to humidity, the curl amount of the paper was remarkably suppressed. Specifically, when the humidity is as high as 85% and the separation angle θ is set to 15 °, the curl amount of the sheet is suppressed to a convex of 5 mm toward the fixing roller. Further, when the humidity was as low as 15%, when the separation angle θ was −5 °, the curl amount of the paper was suppressed to a convex of 3 mm on the pressure roller side.

  FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the separation angle with respect to humidity and the curl amount of the paper. This figure shows the results of measuring the curl direction and curl amount of paper after passing through the fixing device under various environmental conditions of temperature 30 ° C. and humidity 85% and temperature 10 ° C. and humidity 15%. Is shown. As can be seen from this figure, when the separation angle is set to the “+” direction, the amount of curl convex on the pressure roller side becomes large. Conversely, when the separation angle is set to the “−” direction, the paper is fixed. The amount of curl convex on the roller side increases. Therefore, it can be seen that the curl of the paper can be corrected by adjusting the angle of the separation surface according to the humidity.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the position of the separation claw 7 when the curl of the paper P is corrected in a high humidity environment. As described above, a convex curl on the fixing roller side occurs on the paper P in a high humidity environment. Therefore, the separation claw 7 is arranged so that the separation angle becomes “+ θ1”, and the sheet P that has passed through the nip portion N is guided to the fixing roller 11 side (upper left in the figure), and in the direction opposite to the curl direction. Curling is corrected by applying an external force to the paper P. In addition, the curling correction of the paper P is performed by extending the time during which the paper P adheres to the fixing roller 11 by setting the tip position of the separation claw 7 away from the nip portion.

  On the other hand, in the low humidity environment, as described above, a convex curl on the pressure roller side is generated on the paper P. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the separation claw 7 is set so that the separation angle becomes “−θ2”. Then, the paper P that has passed through the nip portion N is guided to the pressure roller 12 side (upper right in the figure), and an external force in the direction opposite to the curl direction is applied to the paper P to correct the curl. At the same time, by setting the leading end of the separation claw 7 to a position close to the nip portion, the time during which the paper P is stuck to the fixing roller 11 is shortened and curling of the paper P is suppressed.

  In the embodiment described above, the separation angle of the separation claw 7 is adjusted based on the detection data of the humidity sensor 78 (shown in FIG. 1) installed in the storage unit 52. There is no limitation. However, since the moisture content of the paper P greatly affects the curl, it is desirable to install the humidity sensor 78 where the paper P is stored.

  In actual control, the relationship between the separation angle with respect to the humidity and the curl amount of the paper is measured in advance to determine the optimum angle of the separation claw 7 according to the humidity. It is desirable to store these data in the control device 81 (shown in FIG. 1) and move the separation claw 7 based on the detection value by the humidity sensor 78.

  In the embodiment described above, the tip of the separation claw 7 is brought into contact with the surface of the fixing roller 11 by its own weight. However, when the weight of the separation claw 7 alone is not sufficient to contact the fixing roller 11, etc. Alternatively, the tip of the separation claw 7 may be urged in a direction in contact with the fixing roller 11 by urging means such as a spring.

  In the above-described embodiment, the pair of rollers, that is, the fixing roller 11 and the pressure roller 12, is used, but a conventionally known configuration such as a configuration using an endless belt as the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. May be used. Further, as a heat source for heating the fixing rotator, a conventionally known structure such as induction heating or a resistance heating element can be used in addition to the halogen heater. The image forming apparatus to which the fixing device of the present invention can be applied may be a monochrome or color copying machine, a printer, a FAX, or a complex machine of these.

  In the fixing device according to the present invention, the separation angle of the separation claw for separating the member to be transferred from the fixing rotator is changed depending on the humidity to correct the curl of the member to be transferred, thereby increasing the size and weight of the device. In addition, the curling in any direction of the member to be transferred can be corrected and useful.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixing device 2 Charging device 3 Exposure device 4 Developing device 5 Transfer roller (transfer device)
7 Separation claw 8 Image forming device D Photoconductor (electrostatic latent image carrier)
H Halogen heater (heat source)
N nip P Paper (transferred member)
11 Fixing roller (fixing rotating body)
12 Pressure roller (Pressure rotating body)
52 Storage part 71 Separation surface 72 Shaft part 78 Humidity sensor (humidity detection means)

Claims (6)

A fixing rotator, a pressure rotator that presses against the fixing rotator to form a nip portion, and a heat source that heats the fixing rotator, and a nip portion between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. In addition, in a fixing device that passes a transfer member on which a toner image is placed and melts and fixes the toner image on the transfer member,
A separation claw for separating the member to be transferred that has passed through the nip portion and adhered to the fixing rotator from the fixing rotator, and a humidity detecting means for detecting humidity;
An angle formed by a reference line perpendicular to a straight line connecting the center of the fixing rotator and the center of the pressure rotator and a surface of the separation claw on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the fixing rotator, A fixing device that changes the humidity according to the humidity detected by the humidity detecting means.   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the tip position of the separation claw is changed together with the angle according to the humidity detected by the humidity detecting unit. The separation claw is swingably supported by a shaft portion movably provided above the fixing rotator so that the tip of the separation claw contacts the surface of the fixing rotator,
3. The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein, when the shaft portion moves, the contact position of the tip of the separation claw with the surface of the fixing rotating body moves due to the weight of the separation claw, and the angle changes simultaneously.   The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the angle is increased in a rotation direction of the fixing rotating body as the humidity detected by the humidity detecting unit increases. A rotatable electrostatic latent image carrier, a charging device for uniformly charging the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier, and exposing the surface of the uniformly charged electrostatic latent image carrier to expose the electrostatic latent image An exposure device that forms a latent image on the carrier, a developing device that visualizes the latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier with toner, and a transfer that transfers the formed toner image to a member to be transferred. An image forming apparatus comprising: an apparatus; a fixing device that heats and transfers the transferred toner image to a transferred member; and a storage unit that stores and stores the transferred member that transfers the toner image.
An image forming apparatus using the fixing device according to claim 1 as the fixing device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the humidity detecting unit is provided in the storage unit.

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