JP2017032855A - Fixing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To extend the life of a heat source by suppressing an excessive temperature rise of sealing parts.SOLUTION: A fixing device 18 of the present invention comprises: a fixing belt 22 that is provided rotatably around the axis of rotation; a pressure member 23 that is in pressure contact with the fixing belt 22; a heat source 24 that is provided on an inner diameter side of the fixing belt 22; and cover members 29 that are provided between the fixing belt 22 and heat source 24. The fixing belt 22 includes a transit area R1 and non-transit areas R2 provided on the outside in the rotational axis direction of the transit area R1; the heat source 24 includes a heat radiation part 54 that emits radiation heat, a storage part 56 that accommodates the heat radiation part 54, and sealing parts 57 that seal both ends in the rotational axis direction of the storage part 56; the cover members 29 are provided to have positions in the rotational axis direction overlapped with the non-transit areas R2; notches 105 are provided at the ends on the outside in the rotational axis direction of the cover members 29 so as to have positions in the rotational axis direction overlapped with the sealing parts 57.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device that fixes a toner image on a recording medium, and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers include a fixing device that fixes a toner image onto a recording medium such as paper.

  For example, the fixing belt includes a fixing belt, a pressure member that presses against the fixing belt to form a fixing nip, a heat source provided on the inner diameter side of the fixing belt, and a cover member provided between the fixing belt and the heat source. An apparatus is known (see Patent Document 1). The heat source includes, for example, a heat radiating portion that radiates radiant heat, a housing portion that houses the heat radiating portion, and a sealing portion that seals both ends of the housing portion.

JP 2014-059382 A

  In the fixing device configured as described above, when the sealing portion of the heat source is covered by the cover member, the temperature of the sealing portion may be excessively increased, and the life of the heat source may be shortened.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to suppress the temperature of the sealing portion from excessively rising and extend the life of the heat source.

  The fixing device of the present invention includes a fixing belt that is rotatable around a rotation shaft, a pressure member that presses against the fixing belt to form a fixing nip, a heat source that is provided on the inner diameter side of the fixing belt, A cover member provided between the fixing belt and the heat source, and the fixing belt includes a passing area through which a recording medium passes and a non-passing area provided outside the passing area in the rotation axis direction. The heat source includes a heat radiating portion that radiates radiant heat, a housing portion that houses the heat radiating portion, and a sealing portion that seals both ends of the housing portion in the rotation axis direction, The cover member is provided so that the position in the rotation axis direction overlaps with the non-passing region, and the position in the rotation axis direction overlaps with the sealing portion at the outer end portion of the cover member in the rotation axis direction. So that the notch is provided It is characterized in.

  By employ | adopting such a structure, the heat around a sealing part can be discharge | released to the outer-diameter side of a cover member through a notch part. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of the sealing portion and to prolong the life of the heat source.

  The fixing device further includes a restricting member that is inserted into an end portion of the fixing belt on the outer side in the rotation axis direction and restricts the shape of the fixing belt, and the interval between the heat source and the cover member is an interval A, and the notch When the interval between the cover member and the regulating member sandwiching the section is the interval B and the interval between the fixing belt and the cover member is the interval C, the relationship of interval A> interval B> interval C may be established. .

  When the above relationship is established, the interval between the cover member and the regulating member with the notch interposed therebetween is wider than the interval between the fixing belt and the cover member. Therefore, even when the regulating member is made of resin, it is possible to avoid a problem that the regulating member is deformed and decomposed by heat from the cover member.

  Further, when the above relationship is established, the distance between the heat source and the cover member becomes wider than the distance between the cover member and the regulating member and the distance between the fixing belt and the cover member with the notch interposed therebetween. For this reason, it is possible to suppress heat from being accumulated around the heat source, and it is possible to more effectively suppress the temperature of the sealing portion from excessively rising.

  The fixing device further includes a pressing member that presses the fixing belt toward the pressing member, and a support member that supports the pressing member, and the cover member is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt. A curved portion that is curved in an arc along the recording medium, and is bent from both ends of the curved portion in the recording medium conveyance direction, and extends toward the fixing nip side in a direction that intersects the recording medium conveyance direction. A pair of attachment portions attached to the support member, and the cutout portion may be formed across the bending portion and the attachment portions.

  By adopting such a configuration, compared to the case where the cutout portion is formed only in either the curved portion or each mounting portion, the heat around the sealing portion is covered through the cutout portion. It becomes easy to discharge to the outer diameter side. Therefore, it can suppress more effectively that a sealing part overheats.

  The end portion of the notch portion on the inner side in the rotation axis direction coincides with the end portion on the inner side in the rotation axis direction of the sealing portion, or the rotation shaft direction of the sealing portion. You may be located in the said rotation-axis direction inner side rather than the edge part inside a direction.

  By adopting such a configuration, compared to the case where the end portion on the inner side in the rotation axis direction of the notch portion is located on the outer side in the rotation axis direction than the end portion on the inner side in the rotation axis direction of the sealing portion It becomes easy to release the heat around the sealing portion to the outer diameter side of the cover member through the portion. Therefore, it can suppress more effectively that a sealing part overheats.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the fixing devices described above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the temperature of the sealing portion from excessively increasing and extend the life of the heat source.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a front portion of the fixing device according to the embodiment of the present invention from slightly below the side. 1 is a front view showing a fixing belt and its peripheral part in a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the overall configuration of the printer 1 (image forming apparatus) will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the front side of the sheet in FIG. Arrows Fr, Rr, L, R, U, and Lo appropriately attached to the drawings indicate the front side, rear side, left side, right side, upper side, and lower side of the printer 1, respectively.

  The printer 1 includes a box-shaped printer main body 2, and a paper feed cassette 3 that stores paper (recording medium) is accommodated in a lower portion of the printer main body 2. A paper discharge tray is disposed on the upper surface of the printer main body 2. 4 is provided. An upper cover 5 is attached to the upper surface of the printer main body 2 so as to be openable and closable on the side of the paper discharge tray 4, and a toner container 6 is accommodated below the upper cover 5.

  An exposure unit 7 composed of a laser scanning unit (LSU) is disposed below the paper discharge tray 4 above the printer body 2, and an image forming unit 8 is provided below the exposure unit 7. Yes. The image forming unit 8 is rotatably provided with a photosensitive drum 10 as an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 10, a charger 11, a developing device 12, a transfer roller 13, and a cleaning device are provided. The apparatus 14 is disposed along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 10 (see arrow X in FIG. 1).

  A paper transport path 15 is provided inside the printer main body 2. A paper feed unit 16 is provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path 15, and a transfer unit 17 configured by the photosensitive drum 10 and the transfer roller 13 is provided at a middle portion of the conveyance path 15. Is provided with a fixing device 18, and a paper discharge unit 19 is provided at the downstream end of the conveyance path 15. A reverse path 20 for double-sided printing is formed below the transport path 15.

  Next, an image forming operation of the printer 1 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the printer 1 is turned on, various parameters are initialized, and initial setting such as temperature setting of the fixing device 18 is executed. Then, when image data is input from a computer or the like connected to the printer 1 and an instruction to start printing is given, an image forming operation is executed as follows.

  First, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is charged by the charger 11, exposure corresponding to the image data is performed on the photosensitive drum 10 by laser light from the exposure device 7 (see the two-dot chain line P in FIG. 1). The electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. Next, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 12 into a toner image with toner.

  On the other hand, the sheet taken out from the sheet cassette 3 by the sheet feeding unit 16 is conveyed to the transfer unit 17 in synchronization with the above-described image forming operation, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the sheet by the transfer unit 17. Is transcribed. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed downstream in the conveyance path 15 and enters the fixing device 18 where the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge unit 19 to the paper discharge tray 4. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 10 is collected by the cleaning device 14.

  Next, the fixing device 18 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. An arrow Y appropriately attached to each drawing indicates the sheet conveyance direction. 3 indicates the inner side in the front-rear direction, and the arrow O attached in FIG. 3 indicates the outer side in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fixing device 18 includes a box-shaped fixing frame 21 (not shown in FIG. 3), a fixing belt 22 accommodated in the upper part of the fixing frame 21, and a fixing frame 21. A pressure roller 23 (pressure member) housed in the lower portion and disposed on the lower side (outer diameter side) of the fixing belt 22 and a heater 24 (heat source) disposed in the upper portion of the inner diameter side space of the fixing belt 22. A reflecting member 25 disposed below the heater 24 in the space on the inner diameter side of the fixing belt 22, a pressing pad 26 (pressing member) disposed on the lower end portion of the space on the inner diameter side of the fixing belt 22, and pressing A sheet member 27 wound around the pad 26, a support member 28 disposed above the pressing pad 26 in the inner diameter side space of the fixing belt 22, and a cover portion provided between the fixing belt 22 and the heater 24. 29, the regulating member 30 to be attached to the front and rear end portions of the fixing belt 22 (in FIG. 2 not shown), and a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing frame 21 includes an upper frame portion 33 and a lower frame portion 34. The upper frame portion 33 is provided with a thermocut 35 (overheat prevention device) for preventing the fixing belt 22 from overheating.

  The fixing belt 22 has a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The fixing belt 22 is provided to be rotatable around a rotation axis A extending in the front-rear direction. That is, in the present embodiment, the front-rear direction is the rotation axis direction of the fixing belt 22.

  The fixing belt 22 has flexibility and is endless in the circumferential direction. The fixing belt 22 includes, for example, a base material layer, an elastic layer provided around the base material layer, and a release layer that covers the elastic layer. The base material layer of the fixing belt 22 is formed of a metal such as SUS, for example. The base material layer of the fixing belt 22 may be formed of a resin such as PI (polyimide). The elastic layer of the fixing belt 22 is made of, for example, silicon rubber. The release layer of the fixing belt 22 is formed of, for example, a PFA tube.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing belt 22 includes a passing region R1 and non-passing regions R2 provided on both front and rear sides of the passing region R1. The passing area R1 is an area through which a maximum size sheet (for example, A3 size sheet) passes, and the non-passing area R2 is an area through which the maximum size sheet does not pass.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure roller 23 has a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The pressure roller 23 is in pressure contact with the fixing belt 22, and a fixing nip N is formed between the fixing belt 22 and the pressure roller 23. The pressure roller 23 is connected to a drive source 50 configured by a motor or the like, and is configured to rotate the pressure roller 23 by the drive source 50.

  The pressure roller 23 includes, for example, a cylindrical core member 51, an elastic layer 52 provided around the core member 51, and a release layer (not shown) that covers the elastic layer 52. Yes. The core material 51 of the pressure roller 23 is made of metal such as iron, for example. The elastic layer 52 of the pressure roller 23 is made of, for example, silicon rubber. The release layer of the pressure roller 23 is formed by, for example, a PFA tube.

  The heater 24 is constituted by, for example, a halogen heater. The heater 24 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The heater 24 is provided at a position biased to the upper side (side away from the pressure roller 23) with respect to the rotation axis A of the fixing belt 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heater 24 includes a filament 54 (heat radiating portion), a housing portion 56 that houses the filament 54 together with a halogen gas, and sealing portions 57 that are provided on both front and rear sides of the housing portion 56. And held portions 58 respectively provided on both the front and rear sides of the sealing portion 57. The filament 54 is made of tungsten, for example, and has a coil shape. The filament 54 generates heat as the heater 24 is energized and emits radiant heat. The accommodating portion 56 is made of, for example, quartz glass. Each sealing portion 57 seals both front and rear end portions of the accommodating portion 56. Each held portion 58 is held by the fixing frame 21 or the support member 28.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the reflecting member 25 has a substantially U-shaped cross section that is convex toward the upper side (side away from the pressure roller 23). The reflection member 25 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The reflecting member 25 is made of a metal such as bright aluminum, for example. The reflection member 25 is disposed between the heater 24 and the support member 28.

  The reflection member 25 is bent downward from the reflection plate portion 59 provided along the paper conveyance direction and the left and right ends of the reflection plate portion 59 (upstream and downstream ends in the paper conveyance direction). The guide plate part 60 is provided. The upper surface of the reflection plate portion 59 faces the heater 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pressing pad 26 has a flat plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction. That is, in this embodiment, the front-rear direction is the longitudinal direction of the pressing pad 26. The pressing pad 26 is formed of a heat resistant resin such as LCP (liquid crystal polymer), for example. The lower surface (the surface on the fixing nip N side) of the pressing pad 26 is curved in an arc along the outer peripheral surface of the pressure roller 23. The lower surface of the pressing pad 26 presses the fixing belt 22 downward (pressure roller 23 side).

  A plurality of sets (for example, 9 sets) of a pair of left and right support protrusions 66 are provided on the upper surface (the surface opposite to the fixing nip N) of the pressing pad 26 at intervals in the front-rear direction. A plurality (for example, three) of protrusions 68 are provided on the center of the upper surface of the pressing pad 26 in the left-right direction.

  The seat member 27 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The sheet member 27 is made of, for example, a fluorine-based resin such as PTFE, and has a smaller friction coefficient and higher slidability than the pressing pad 26. The lower part of the sheet member 27 is interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 22 and the lower surface of the pressing pad 26.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the support member 28 has a substantially rectangular tube shape (a cross-sectional shape) that is long in the front-rear direction. The upper part of the support member 28 is inserted between the guide plate portions 60 of the reflection member 25. The support member 28 is formed by welding the first support plate 91 and the second support plate 92 in combination. The first support plate 91 and the second support plate 92 are formed of L-shaped sheet metal made of SECC (galvanized steel plate) or the like, and are provided separately from each other.

  The first support plate 91 of the support member 28 includes a first transport direction wall portion 93 extending along the paper transport direction, and a right end portion of the first transport direction wall portion 93 (an upstream end portion in the paper transport direction). And a first cross-direction wall portion 94 that is bent substantially at a right angle and extends toward the upper side (the side opposite to the fixing nip N) along a direction orthogonal (crossing) to the sheet conveyance direction. The upper end portions of the support protrusions 66 of the pressing pad 26 are in contact with the lower surface of the first transport direction wall portion 93. As a result, the pressing pad 26 is supported by the support member 28, and deformation of the pressing pad 26 is restricted. A plurality of (for example, three) through-holes 97 are provided at the center in the left-right direction of the first transport direction wall portion 93 at intervals in the front-rear direction. The part 68 has penetrated. Thereby, the pressing pad 26 is positioned with respect to the support member 28.

  The second support plate 92 of the support member 28 includes a second transport direction wall 95 extending along the paper transport direction, and a left end of the second transport direction wall 95 (an end on the downstream side in the paper transport direction). And a second cross-direction wall 96 extending downward (fixing nip N side) along a direction orthogonal (crossing) to the sheet conveyance direction. The right end portion of the second transport direction wall portion 95 is fixed to the upper end portion of the first cross direction wall portion 94 of the first support plate 91. The lower end portion of the second cross direction wall portion 96 is fixed to the left end portion of the first transport direction wall portion 93 of the first support plate 91.

  Each cover member 29 is formed of a metal such as SUS, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, each cover member 29 is provided so that the position in the front-rear direction overlaps with the non-passing region R <b> 2 of the fixing belt 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each cover member 29 is bent from the bending portion 100 and both left and right end portions (both end portions in the paper conveyance direction) of the bending portion 100, and is orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction ( And a pair of attachment portions 101 extending toward the lower side (fixing nip N side) along the crossing direction.

  The curved portion 100 of each cover member 29 is curved in an arc shape along the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 22, and faces the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 22 with an interval. A plurality of (for example, three) slits 102 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction in a portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of the bending portion 100 (which also corresponds to a portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29). . Each slit 102 has a long hole shape extending in the front-rear direction.

  Each attachment portion 101 of each cover member 29 is provided in a flat plate shape. The portions on the outer side in the front-rear direction at the lower part of each attachment portion 101 are attached to the left and right side surfaces of the support member 28 via screws 103. A concave groove 104 is provided in the corner on the inner side in the front-rear direction of the lower portion of each attachment portion 101.

  A notch 105 is formed at the outer end in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29 across the bending portion 100 and each attachment portion 101. The cutout portion 105 is provided so that the sealing portion 57 of the heater 24 overlaps with the position in the front-rear direction. The front-rear inner end of the notch 105 coincides with the front-rear inner end of the sealing portion 57 in the front-rear direction. An end portion on the outer side in the front-rear direction of the notch 105 (corresponding to an end portion on the outer side in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29) is located on the inner side in the front-rear direction than the end portion on the outer side in the front-rear direction of the sealing portion Yes. The width in the front-rear direction of the notch 105 (see arrow B in FIG. 3) is less than or equal to ½ of the width in the front-rear direction of each slit 102. In other words, the width in the front-rear direction of each slit 102 is at least twice the width in the front-rear direction of the notch 105.

  Each cover member 29 is provided with a reinforcing portion 106 between each slit 102 and the notch portion 105. The reinforcing part 106 does not have the slits 102 and the notch parts 105. The width of the reinforcing portion 106 in the front-rear direction (see arrow D in FIG. 3) is, for example, wider than the width in the front-rear direction of the notch 105 (see arrow B in FIG. 3), and is larger than the width in the front-rear direction of each slit 102. narrow.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each regulating member 30 is disposed on the outer side in the front-rear direction than each cover member 29. Each regulating member 30 includes a regulating piece 108 and a ring piece 109 attached to the regulating piece 108.

  The restricting piece 108 of each restricting member 30 includes a base portion 110 and an insertion portion 111 that protrudes from the inner surface in the front-rear direction of the base portion 110. The restriction piece 108 is provided with a guide hole 112 penetrating the base portion 110 and the insertion portion 111 along the front-rear direction, and the heater 24 and the support member 28 penetrate the guide hole 112. The insertion portion 111 is curved along the outer periphery of the guide hole 112 and has an arc shape (downward C-shape). The insertion portions 111 are inserted at both front and rear end portions of the fixing belt 22. Thereby, the shape of the fixing belt 22 is regulated (deformation of the fixing belt 22 is suppressed).

  The ring piece 109 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of each regulating member 30 has an annular shape. The ring piece 109 is attached to the outer periphery of the insertion portion 111 of the restriction piece 108. The ring piece 109 is disposed outside the front and rear ends of the fixing belt 22 in the front-rear direction, and regulates the meandering (movement outward in the front-rear direction) of the fixing belt 22.

  In the fixing device 18 configured as described above, when the toner image is fixed on the paper, the pressure roller 23 is rotated by the drive source 50 (see arrow B in FIG. 2). When the pressure roller 23 rotates in this manner, the fixing belt 22 that is in pressure contact with the pressure roller 23 is driven to rotate in the opposite direction to the pressure roller 23 (see arrow C in FIG. 2). When the fixing belt 22 rotates in this way, the fixing belt 22 slides with respect to the sheet member 27.

  Further, when the toner image is fixed on the paper, the heater 24 is energized. When the heater 24 is energized in this way, radiant heat is radiated from the filament 54 of the heater 24. A part of the radiant heat radiated from the filament 54 of the heater 24 is directly irradiated to the inner peripheral surface of the passing region R1 of the fixing belt 22 and absorbed. Further, another part of the radiant heat radiated from the filament 54 of the heater 24 is reflected toward the inner peripheral surface of the passing region R1 of the fixing belt 22 by the upper surface of the reflecting plate portion 59 of the reflecting member 25, and the fixing belt 22. Is absorbed by the inner peripheral surface of the passage region R1. Due to the above-described operation, the passage region R1 of the fixing belt 22 is heated by the heater 24. In this state, when the paper passes through the fixing nip N, the toner image is heated and melted, and the toner image is fixed on the paper.

  The radiant heat radiated from the filament 54 of the heater 24 toward the inner peripheral surface of the non-passing region R <b> 2 of the fixing belt 22 is blocked by the cover members 29. As a result, excessive temperature rise in the non-passing region R2 during continuous paper feeding (when toner images are continuously fixed on the paper) is suppressed.

  By the way, in the fixing device 18 configured as described above, when the sealing portion 57 of the heater 24 is covered by each cover member 29, the sealing portion 57 is excessively heated, and the life of the heater 24 is shortened. There is a fear.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a notch portion 105 is provided at the end portion on the outer side in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29 so that the sealing portion 57 and the position in the front-rear direction overlap. That is, the sealing portion 57 is not covered with each cover member 29. By adopting such a configuration, heat around the sealing portion 57 can be released to the outer diameter side of each cover member 29 through the notch portion 105. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the sealing portion 57 from being excessively heated and to prolong the life of the heater 24.

  Further, the notch portion 105 of each cover member 29 is formed across the bending portion 100 and each attachment portion 101. By adopting such a configuration, as compared with the case where the cutout portion 105 is formed only in one of the bending portion 100 or each of the attachment portions 101, the sealing portion 57 is surrounded by the cutout portion 105. This heat is easily released to the outer diameter side of each cover member 29. Therefore, it can suppress more effectively that the sealing part 57 overheats.

  Further, the front-rear inner end of the notch 105 of each cover member 29 is aligned with the front-rear inner end of the sealing portion 57 in the front-rear direction. By adopting such a configuration, the notch portion 105 has a notch portion, as compared with a case where the end portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction is located on the outer side in the front-rear direction than the end portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of the sealing portion 57. Heat around the sealing portion 57 is easily released to the outer diameter side of each cover member 29 via 105. Therefore, it can suppress more effectively that the sealing part 57 overheats.

  In addition, each slit 102 is provided in a portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29. Therefore, the heat around the heater 24 can be released not only from the notch 105 but also from each slit 102, and the overheating of the entire heater 24 can be effectively suppressed. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the width in the front-rear direction of each slit 102 is more than twice the width in the front-rear direction of the notch 105, heat around the heater 24 is easily released from each slit 102, Overheating of the entire heater 24 can be more effectively suppressed.

In addition, a portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29 (a portion where the sealing portion 57 of the heater 24 does not coincide with the position in the front-rear direction) and an end portion on the outer side in the front-rear direction (position on the sealing portion 57 of the heater 24 in the front-rear direction). If the large notch portions 105 are provided in the portions where the two cover portions coincide with each other, the strength of each cover member 29 may decrease. On the other hand, it is difficult to sufficiently suppress the excessive temperature rise of the sealing portion 57 of the heater 24 only by providing the respective slits 102 at the inner portion in the front-rear direction and the outer end portion in the front-rear direction of each cover member 29. is there. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the slits 102 are provided at the inner portions in the front-rear direction of the cover members 29, and the notches 105 having a larger opening area than the slits 102 are provided at the outer ends in the front-rear direction of the cover members 29. Is provided. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reliably suppress overheating of the sealing portion 57 of the heater 24 without reducing the strength of each cover member 29.

  Each cover member 29 is provided with a reinforcing portion 106 that does not have the slits 102 and the cutout portions 105. Therefore, compared with the case where each slit 102 and the notch part 105 are provided over the whole region of each cover member 29, it becomes possible to raise the intensity | strength of each cover member 29. FIG. In addition, since the reinforcement part 106 is provided between each slit 102 and the notch part 105, the heat | fever on the internal diameter side of the reinforcement part 106 is the outer diameter of each cover member 29 via each slit 102 or the notch part 105. To the side. Therefore, there is no possibility that the heater 24 will overheat in the peripheral region of the reinforcing portion 106.

  Next, in the fixing device 18 configured as described above, the arrangement of the cover members 29 with respect to the fixing belt 22, the heater 24, and the regulating members 30 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the distance between the heater 24 and each cover member 29 (more precisely, the held portion 58 of the heater 24 is translated in the front-rear direction and inserted immediately below the curved portion 100 of each cover member 29. If the distance A is the distance between the upper surface of the held portion 58 and the inner peripheral surface of the curved portion 100), the distance A is preferably 3.0 mm or more, and more preferably 3.5 mm or more. More preferred. In this embodiment, the interval A is 3.5 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the distance between each cover member 29 sandwiching the notch 105 and each regulating member 30 (more precisely, each cover member 29 sandwiching the notch 105 and the insertion portion 111 of each regulating member 30 Assuming that the distance B between the inner ends in the front-rear direction is the distance B, the distance B is preferably 2.5 mm or more, and more preferably 3.0 mm or more. In the present embodiment, the interval B is set to 3.0 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the distance between the fixing belt 22 and each cover member 29 (more precisely, the distance between the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 22 and the outer peripheral surface of the curved portion 100 of each cover member 29) is defined as a distance C. The interval C is preferably 2.0 mm or more, and more preferably 2.5 mm or more. In this embodiment, the interval C is 2.5 mm.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the relationship of interval A> interval B> interval C is established. By such a relationship being established, the distance between each cover member 29 and each regulating member 30 across the notch 105 is wider than the distance between the fixing belt 22 and each cover member 29. Therefore, even when each regulating member 30 is made of resin, it is possible to avoid a problem that each regulating member 30 is deformed and decomposed by the heat from each cover member 29.

  Further, since the above relationship is established, the distance between the heater 24 and each cover member 29 is the distance between each cover member 29 and each regulating member 30 with the notch 105 interposed therebetween, or between the fixing belt 22 and each cover member 29. It becomes wider than the interval. Therefore, it is possible to suppress heat from being accumulated around the heater 24, and it is possible to more effectively suppress the sealing portion 57 from being excessively heated.

<Comparison experiment>
The fixing device 18 of the embodiment of the present invention (the fixing device 18 in which each cover member 29 has the notch 105 and the relationship of the interval A> the interval B> the interval C is satisfied) and the fixing device of the comparative example (each cover) An experiment for confirming the effect of the present invention was performed using a fixing device in which the member does not have a notch and the relationship of interval A> interval B> interval C does not hold. In this experiment, A4 size paper (80 g / m 2) was continuously fed at 40 ppm, and the temperatures of the sealing portion 57 and the regulating members 30 were measured for the fixing device of the comparative example and the fixing device 18 of the example. The results are shown in Table 1.

  Generally, in order to suppress the excessive temperature rise of the sealing part 57 and to extend the life of the heater 24, it is preferable to suppress the temperature of the sealing part 57 to 300 ° C. to 350 ° C. or less. As shown in Table 1, in the fixing device of the comparative example, the temperature of the sealing portion rose to 342 ° C., whereas in the fixing device 18 of the example, the temperature of the sealing portion 57 remained at 255 ° C. . From this, it was confirmed that the overheating of the sealing portion 57 can be sufficiently suppressed by the fixing device 18 of the embodiment.

  In addition, when each regulating member 30 is formed of resin, it is generally preferable to keep the temperature of each regulating member 30 to 240 ° C. or lower in order to suppress deformation and decomposition of each regulating member 30. In the fixing device of the comparative example, the temperature of each regulating member rose to 245 ° C., whereas in the fixing device 18 of the example, the temperature of each regulating member 30 remains at 208 ° C. From this, it was confirmed that the fixing device 18 of the example can sufficiently suppress the deformation and disassembly of each regulating member 30.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the front-rear inner end of the notch 105 of each cover member 29 and the front-rear inner end of the sealing portion 57 coincide with each other has been described. On the other hand, in another different embodiment, the end portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of the notch 105 of each cover member 29 may be located on the inner side in the front-rear direction than the end portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of the sealing portion 57.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the heater 24 is constituted by a halogen heater has been described. However, in another different embodiment, a ceramic heater or the like may be used as the heater 24.

  In this embodiment, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the printer 1 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the configuration of the present invention is applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine. It is also possible.

1 Printer (image forming device)
18 Fixing Device 22 Fixing Belt 23 Pressure Roller (Pressure Member)
24 Heater (heat source)
26 Pressing pad (pressing member)
28 Support member 29 Cover member 30 Restriction member 54 Filament (thermal radiation part)
56 Housing portion 57 Sealing portion 100 Bending portion 101 Mounting portion 105 Notch portion A Rotating shaft N Fixing nip R1 Passing region R2 Non-passing region

Claims (5)

A fixing belt provided to be rotatable around a rotation axis;
A pressure member that presses against the fixing belt to form a fixing nip; and
A heat source provided on the inner diameter side of the fixing belt;
A cover member provided between the fixing belt and the heat source,
The fixing belt is
A passing area through which the recording medium passes, and
A non-passing area provided outside the passing area in the rotational axis direction,
The heat source is
A heat radiation part that radiates radiant heat; and
An accommodating portion for accommodating the thermal radiation portion;
A sealing portion that seals both end portions of the housing portion in the rotation axis direction;
The cover member is provided so that the non-passing region and the position in the rotation axis direction overlap,
The fixing device is characterized in that a cutout portion is provided at an end portion of the cover member on the outer side in the rotation axis direction so that the sealing portion and the position in the rotation axis direction overlap each other. A regulating member that is inserted into the outer end of the fixing belt in the rotational axis direction and regulates the shape of the fixing belt;
When the interval between the heat source and the cover member is an interval A, the interval between the cover member and the regulating member sandwiching the notch is an interval B, and the interval between the fixing belt and the cover member is an interval C,
Interval A> Interval B> Interval C
The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein: A pressing member that presses the fixing belt toward the pressing member;
A support member that supports the pressing member;
The cover member is
A curved portion that curves in an arc along the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt;
A pair of attachment portions that are bent from both ends of the curved portion in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, extend toward the fixing nip along a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and are attached to the support member; With
The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the notch is formed across the curved portion and the attachment portions.   The end portion of the notch portion on the inner side in the rotation axis direction coincides with the end portion on the inner side in the rotation axis direction of the sealing portion, or the rotation shaft direction of the sealing portion. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing device is located on the inner side in the rotation axis direction than an end portion on the inner side in the direction.   An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 1.

Images