JP3269354B2 - Fixing device for image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a fixing device for an image forming apparatus which heats and fixes a toner image formed on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum is developed by a toner, the toner image is transferred to a recording medium, and the recording medium is transferred to a predetermined medium. The toner is heated and melted by being passed between fixing rollers heated to a constant temperature, and is pressed against a recording medium to fix the toner image.

The fixing roller is temperature-controlled so as to maintain a predetermined fixing temperature, for example, 200 ° C. during operation of the apparatus. However, when the apparatus is in a standby state, it is necessary to suppress unnecessary consumption of heating power. The fixing temperature during operation, for example, 200
The temperature is controlled to a predetermined temperature lower than ° C, for example, 160 ° C. Further, when the print key is not operated for a predetermined time in the standby state, the power saving mode is set.
In some cases, the temperature is controlled to a temperature lower than the temperature in the standby state, for example, 120 ° C.

In addition, in order to reduce the heat loss radiated from the fixing roller, measures such as covering the periphery of the fixing roller with a heat insulating material are taken, and the fixing device uses energy consumed by the fixing device. Various means are incorporated to minimize it.

[0005]

However, when the image forming apparatus enters the operating state from the power saving mode or enters the operating state from the standby state, the temperature of the fixing roller can be fixed to a predetermined temperature. Must be raised. Since a certain waiting time is required for the rise of the temperature, the temperature cannot be adequately adapted to the need for quick processing.

Further, in order to reduce the heat loss radiated from the fixing roller, when adopting a configuration of covering with a heat insulating material,
For this reason, space is required, and there is a disadvantage that the apparatus becomes large. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

The fixing device is provided with a separation claw for separating the recording medium from the fixing roller. Since the separation claw is disposed in contact with or close to the fixing roller and is exposed to a high temperature, conventionally, a fluororesin having high heat resistance has been used. However, since the fluororesin has a high heat absorption property, the fixing roller is conventionally used. In addition to removing heat from the roller, the temperature of the separation claw itself rises, so that in the case of double-sided copying, composite copying, etc., the high-temperature separation claw contacts the previously formed and fixed toner image to form the toner image. There are inconveniences such as deformation, and there is an inconvenience that the material price is high.

Further, in the fixing device, a temperature detecting sensor for detecting the surface temperature of the fixing roller is disposed in contact with the fixing roller in order to maintain the surface temperature of the fixing roller at a predetermined constant temperature. ing. The surface of the temperature detection sensor was coated with fluororesin to prevent toner adhesion and protect the surface.However, fluororesin has high heat absorption and removes heat from the fixing roller. , The accuracy of temperature detection decreases,
There are inconveniences such as lowering the response to temperature.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the invention of claim 1 is a fixing means comprising a heating and transporting rotary member for heating and fixing a toner image formed on a recording medium. And a fixing device of an image forming apparatus, comprising: a separation unit that separates the recording medium from the heating / conveying rotary body.
The heating and transporting rotator has a release layer on the surface, and a surface release layer.
Has a spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm.
0.65 or less, the separation means has a release layer on the surface thereof, the surface release layer of the separation means,
The spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm is smaller than the spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of the surface release layer of the heating / conveying rotating body and the spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of the material of the separation means; A fixing device for an image forming apparatus , comprising a material having a high conductivity.
You.

[0010] The surface release layer of the separating means is provided with a wave.
The spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm is 0.5
It is composed of the following materials.

[0011] The surface release layer of the separation means may be a release mold.
Materials and spectral radiation in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm
Composite with a low-radioactive material whose modulus is smaller than the release material
Consists of materials.

And forming a surface release layer of the separation means.
The release material contained in the composite material is one or more
It is good to use a fluororesin.

The low emissivity material contained in the composite material constituting the surface release layer of the separation means is a material having a spectral emissivity of 0.2 or less in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm , and one or more metals. Or a metal alloy . Ma
The low emissivity material is a material having a thermal conductivity of 1 w / mk or more.

The invention according to claim 8 is provided with a fixing means comprising a heating / conveying rotator for heating and fixing the toner image formed on the recording medium, and a temperature detecting means for detecting a surface temperature of the heating / conveying rotator. In the fixing device of the image forming apparatus, the temperature detecting means has a release layer on its surface, and the surface release layer of the temperature detecting means has a spectral emissivity in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm, which is the same as that of the heating and conveying means. Image formation characterized in that the surface release layer of the rotator is made of a material having a smaller thermal emissivity than the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range.
This is a fixing device of the apparatus .

[0015] Then, release layer of said temperature detecting means, the spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of wavelength of 5 to 10μm is formed of a material is 0.5 or less.

And a surface release layer of the temperature detecting means.
Is in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm with the release material.
Low emissivity material whose spectral emissivity is smaller than the release material
And a composite material. And the surface release layer
The release material contained in the composite material constituting
There are multiple fluororesins.

Further , a surface release layer of the temperature detecting means is formed.
The low heat radiation material contained in the composite material
The spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of 10 μm is 0.2 or less
The material must be one or more metals or metal alloys
Can be. The low-radioactive material has a thermal conductivity of 1 w / m.
k or more materials.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A toner image formed on a recording medium
And fixing means consisting of a heating and transporting rotary body for heating and fixing paper
Separating means for separating the medium from the heating and conveying rotating body.
In the fixing device of the image forming apparatus,
A release layer is applied to the body surface in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm.
Made of a material having a spectral emissivity of 0.65 or less,
On the other hand, the surface release layer of the separation means has a wavelength of 5 to 10 μm.
Spectral emissivity in the long range, the surface of the heating transport rotating body
Spectral emissivity of the release layer in the wavelength range and the separation
Less than the spectral emissivity of the material of the means in the wavelength range
And a material having high thermal conductivity.

The toner image formed on the recording medium is
A fixing means comprising a heating and conveying rotating body for performing heat fixing,
Temperature detecting means for detecting the surface temperature of the heat transfer rotating body.
In the fixing device of the image forming apparatus obtained above, a surface release layer is provided on the surface of the temperature detecting means . The surface release layer has a wavelength of 5 to 10
It is made of a material having a lower spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of μm and a higher thermal conductivity than the spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of the surface release layer of the heating / conveying rotary member.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Structure of Copying Apparatus] FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of the structure of a copying apparatus to which the fixing device of the present invention is applied. Since the configuration is the same as that of a known electrophotographic copying machine, its outline is simply described here.

In the copying apparatus, a photosensitive drum 10 that rotates at a constant peripheral speed is disposed at the center, a document table 1 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 10, and a scanning optical system 3 is disposed below the original table 1. On the lower left side of the photoreceptor drum 10, a paper feed unit 5 is arranged.

Around the photosensitive drum 10, a charging charger 11, a developing unit 13, a transfer charger 15, and a separation charger.
A jar 16, a cleaner 18, a fixing device 20, and the like are arranged.

The scanning optical system 3 includes an illumination light source 2, a movable mirror,
31-33, conjugate length correction mirrors 34, 35, fixed mirrors
36, a projection lens 37 whose magnification can be changed.

The illumination light source 2 and the movable mirror 31 are integrally held, and the movable mirrors 32 and 33 are integrally held, and are installed so as to be able to move and scan immediately below the document table 1 to the left in FIG. Have been. In the case of the same-size copying, the illumination light source 2 and the movable mirror 31 move at the same speed as the peripheral speed v of the photosensitive drum 10, and the movable mirrors 32 and 33 move at a speed of v / 2m.

The paper supply unit 5 includes a paper supply cassette 51, a paper supply
And a timing roller 53. The recording paper CP stored in the paper supply cassette 51 is supplied by a rotationally driven paper supply roller 52, conveyed by a conveyance roller (not shown), and the leading end of the recording paper CP is fed to a nip portion of a timing roller 53. The robot temporarily stops at the contacted standby position R.

The original M placed on the original table 1 is scanned by the scanning optical system 3, and an electrostatic latent image of the original image is formed on the photosensitive drum 10. The electrostatic latent image of the original image formed on the photoreceptor drum 10 is developed by a toner in a developing unit 13 and moves to a transfer position. At this timing, a timing roller 53 starts rotating. The recording paper CP waiting at the standby position R is conveyed to a transfer position where the transfer charger 15 is located. At the transfer position, the transfer charger 15
The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the recording paper CP by the action of (1). The recording paper CP is separated from the photosensitive drum 10 by the action of the separation charger 16, conveyed by the conveyance belt 19, heated and pressed in the fixing device 20, and the toner image is fixed on the recording paper CP.

[Configuration of Fixing Device] FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a fixing roller 21 and a pressure elastic roller 26 which are main components of the fixing device 20.

The fixing roller 21 and the pressure elastic roller 26 are
It is configured to rotate in the direction of the arrow by a drive mechanism (not shown) while being pressed against each other. A separating claw 41 is arranged on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the fixing roller 21 in contact with the roller 21, and a separation claw 42 is provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the pressure elastic roller 26. And the recording paper C
P is peeled from the fixing roller 21 and the pressure elastic roller 26 and discharged.

A temperature detecting sensor 25 for detecting the surface temperature is provided on the surfaces of the fixing roller 21 and the pressure elastic roller 26.
Are arranged in contact with each other, and the fixing roller 21 and the pressure elastic roller 2
The energizing time of the heating halogen heater 24 is controlled by a temperature control circuit (not shown) so that the surface temperature of the heater 6 is constantly detected and maintained at a predetermined constant temperature.

Reference numeral 43 denotes a fixing roller 21 and a pressure elastic roller 2 for fixing the recording paper CP on which the unfixed toner image Tn is formed.
The guide plates 44 and 45 for guiding the nip portion 6 are guide plates for guiding the fixed recording paper CP in the discharge direction.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the guide plate 43. As shown in FIG. 4, the contact area of the guide plate 43 with the recording paper CP is reduced to reduce the frictional resistance when the recording paper passes. A plurality of ribs 43a are formed to remove dust such as mixed paper dust. The height of the rib 43a is desirably about 0.3 to 1.0 mm in order to ensure smooth passage of the recording paper and reduce the influence of temperature on the recording paper.

Although the guide plate 43 is made of a low-radiation material that does not easily absorb heat, the temperature still rises. They are arranged so as to overlap the ends (see FIG. 4) so as to suppress fixing unevenness. Rib 43a
There is no particular difference in the effect between the front opening arrangement (see FIG. 4) and the original opening arrangement.

Reference numeral 46 denotes a cleaning device for removing toner adhered to the surface of the fixing roller 21 and an anti-offset liquid coating device. Further, 47 and 48 are heat insulating and heat reflecting materials which surround the periphery of the fixing roller 21 and the pressing elastic roller 26 and prevent heat radiation from the fixing roller 21 and the pressing elastic roller 26. .

The configuration of the fixing roller and the pressure elastic roller will be described in detail. First, a conventional fixing roller will be described. A conventional fixing roller is a fixing roller 21 having a configuration shown in FIG. 3, in which a hollow cylindrical core metal 22 is formed of a metal material having good heat conduction characteristics, such as aluminum, copper, or iron. 22 is covered with a surface release layer 23 made of a material such as fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (hereinafter referred to as PTFE), polyphenylene alkoxy ether (hereinafter referred to as PFA), or silicone rubber. I have.

The physical properties of the release layer of the conventional fixing rollers, in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm spectral emissivity in the (infrared region) is 0.9 or more, the thermal conductivity of the release layer is 6.0 × 10 ^{−4 to} 7.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ cal / (de
g · cm · s). Surface roughness Rz of surface release layer
(10-point average roughness, unit μm, hereinafter simply referred to as Rz) is 40 μm or less, and the thickness of the surface release layer is 40 μm or less.

A conventional pressure elastic roller is the same as the pressure elastic roller 26 shown in FIG. 3 except that the hollow cylindrical core 27 is made of aluminum, copper, iron or the like having good heat conduction characteristics. The core 27 is covered with a material 28 such as silicon rubber to form an elastic layer, and the elastic layer is further covered with a fluororesin film 29.

On the other hand, the fixing roller of the present invention is different from the fixing roller shown in FIG. 3 in that the hollow cylindrical core metal 22 is made of a metal material such as aluminum, copper, or iron having good heat conduction characteristics. The configuration is the same as that of the conventional fixing roller, but the material of the surface release layer 23 covering the surface of the core metal 22 is different.

That is, in the fixing roller of the present invention, the surface release layer 23 is formed of a composite material in which nickel, which is a metal exhibiting good thermal conductivity, is mixed with PTFE and PFA at a volume ratio of 30%. The physical properties of the release layer is wavelength 5
The spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of 10 μm (infrared region) is in the range of 0.10 to 0.65, and the thermal conductivity of the surface release layer is smaller than 0.2 cal / (deg · cm · s); 7.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ cal / (deg · cm ·
s) It is in the above range. The surface roughness and the film thickness of the surface release layer will be described in the experimental results described below. The pressure elastic roller is not different from the conventional pressure elastic roller described above.

Next, the configuration of the separation claw will be described in detail. Conventional separation claws are made of polyimide (PI), polyamideimide (PAI), polyetheretherketone (P
On the surface of a nail body made of a heat-resistant synthetic resin material such as EEK), a surface release layer made of a coating material mainly containing a fluororesin such as PFA is formed. The physical properties of the release layer is in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm spectral emissivity in the (infrared region) is 0.9 or more, the thermal conductivity is 6.0 × ¹⁰ -4 ~7.0 × ^{10 -4} cal / (deg)
· Cm · s).

On the other hand, in the separation claw according to the present invention,
It is the same as a conventional separation claw in that it is made of a heat-resistant synthetic resin material of a fluororesin type such as I, PAI, and PEEK, but the material of the surface release layer is different.

That is, the surface release layer of the separation claw according to the present invention is formed by adding a coating material containing PTFE as a main component to the coating material.
Composite wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm the nickel is small and good thermal conductor than the spectral emissivity in the (infrared region), were mixed 70% by volume ratio to PTFE is the coating material It consists of. The physical properties of the coating layer, the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm spectral emissivity in the (infrared region) is 0.15, thermal conductivity 0.13cal
/ (Deg · cm · s).

Next, the configuration of the temperature detection sensor will be described. Since the temperature detecting portion of the temperature detecting sensor is not different from the configuration using the conventional thermistor, the description is omitted, and the surface release layer related to the present invention will be described.

A conventional temperature detection sensor is composed of a base made of metal such as stainless steel (SUS) and a surface release layer made of a coating material mainly containing a fluororesin such as PFA on the surface of a thermistor serving as a temperature detection unit. Are formed. The physical properties of the release layer is wavelength 5~10μm
Has a spectral emissivity of 0.9 or more and a thermal conductivity of 6.0 × 10 ^{−4 to} 7.0 × 10 ^{−4 in} the wavelength range (infrared ray region).
cal / (deg · cm · s).

On the other hand, in the temperature detection sensor of the present invention, the material of the surface release layer formed on the surface of the base and the surface of the thermistor, which is the temperature detection part, is different. That is, the surface coating layer of the temperature sensor of the present invention, the coating material mainly composed of PTFE, the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm coating materials and smaller than the spectral emissivity in the (infrared region) It is composed of a composite material in which nickel, which is a good heat conductor, is mixed in a volume ratio of 70% with respect to PTFE, which is the coating material. The physical properties of the coating layer, the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm spectral emissivity in the (infrared region) is 0.15, the thermal conductivity is about 0.13cal / (deg · cm · s ).

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the fixing roller of the first embodiment is replaced with a fixing elastic roller. There is no particular difference from the first embodiment in other respects. explain.

The fixing elastic roller 61 of the second embodiment is shown in FIG.
An elastic layer made of a heat-resistant elastic rubber such as silicon rubber or fluorine rubber is provided on a hollow cylindrical core metal 62 made of a material such as aluminum, copper, or iron having good heat conduction characteristics as shown in the sectional configuration of FIG. 63 is formed thereon, and a surface release layer 64 is formed thereon.

The surface release layer 64 is the same as the surface release layer 23 of the fixing roller 21 of the first embodiment described above,
It is made of a composite material obtained by mixing 30% by volume of PTFE with nickel, which is a metal exhibiting good thermal conductivity. And,
Spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm 0.1
0 to 0.65, and the thermal conductivity is 0.2 cal /
(Deg · cm · s), 7.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ c
al / (/ deg · cm · s) or more.

The film thickness of the surface release layer 64 is adjusted in the range of 1 to 100 μm, and the surface roughness Rz of the surface release layer 64 is set to 0.1.
It is adjusted in the range of 1 to 100 μm. The hardness of the elastic layer 63 made of heat-resistant elastic rubber is JIS standard (JIS-JIS).
A) is adjusted in the range of 10 to 80 °, and the thickness is 0.05
It is adjusted in the range of １５15 mm.

The JIS standard (JIS-A) for the hardness of the elastic layer is defined as a sheet (2) of the rubber material to be measured.
(thickness mm) to a thickness of about 6 mm, the indentation depth was measured with a JIS-A hardness tester (manufactured by Tecroc Co., Ltd.) at five points and a load of 1 kg was applied, and the measured depth was arithmetically averaged. Is the hardness.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the fixing roller of the first embodiment is a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers. In other respects, there is no particular difference from the first embodiment. Now, a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers will be described.

The fixing elastic roller 71 having a plurality of elastic layers according to the third embodiment is made of a material such as aluminum, copper, iron or the like having a good thermal conductivity as shown in FIG. A plurality of elastic layers 73 made of heat-resistant elastic rubber such as silicon rubber and fluoro rubber are formed on a hollow cylindrical core metal 72.
a and 73b are formed, and a surface release layer 74 is formed thereon. As the material of the heat-resistant elastic rubber constituting the plurality of elastic layers 73a and 73b, different materials are used for the two elastic layers, but the same material may be used.

The surface release layer 74 is the same as the surface release layer 23 of the fixing roller 21 of the first embodiment described above,
It is made of a composite material obtained by mixing 30% by volume of PTFE with nickel, which is a metal exhibiting good thermal conductivity. And,
Spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm 0.1
0 to 0.65, and the thermal conductivity is 0.2 cal /
(Deg · cm · s), 7.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ c
al / (/ deg · cm · s) or more.

The film thickness of the surface release layer 74 is adjusted in the range of 1 to 100 μm, and the surface roughness Rz of the surface release layer 74 is set to 0.1.
It is adjusted in the range of 1 to 100 μm. The hardness of the elastic layers 73a and 73b made of heat-resistant elastic rubber is 10-8.
The thickness is adjusted within a range of 0 ° (JIS-A), and the total thickness of the elastic layers 73a and 73b is adjusted within a range of 0.05 to 15 mm.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the fourth embodiment, the fixing roller of the first embodiment is a fixing elastic belt, and there is no particular difference from the first embodiment in other points. Therefore, the fixing elastic belt will be described here.

The fixing elastic belt according to the fourth embodiment is a fixing belt capable of performing a heat fixing process while conveying a recording sheet by sandwiching an unfixed recording sheet between the fixing elastic belt and the pressing elastic roller. It is.

As shown in FIG. 7, the fixing elastic belt 81 is composed of an elastic layer 83 made of a heat-resistant elastic rubber such as silicon rubber and fluoro rubber on a thin metal film 82 of nickel alloy or the like having a thickness of about 40 μm. Is formed,
A surface release layer 84 is formed thereon. The base of the belt may be made of a heat-resistant synthetic resin film such as polyimide or Teflon, instead of the above-mentioned metal film.

The surface release layer 84 is formed of the first release layer described above.
Nickel, which is the same as the surface release layer 23 of the fixing roller 21 of the embodiment and exhibits good thermal conductivity, is made of PTF.
It is composed of a composite material in which E is mixed at a volume ratio of 30%. And <br/> Te, with spectral emissivity in a wave range of the wave length 5~10μm 0.14, thermal conductivity 0.13cal / (deg · c
m · s).

The thickness of the surface release layer 84 is adjusted in the range of 1 to 100 μm, and the surface roughness Rz of the surface release layer 84 is 40 μm.
μm or less.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the fifth embodiment, the fixing roller of the first embodiment is a self-heating type fixing elastic roller, and there is no particular difference from the first embodiment in other respects. The fixing elastic roller of the mold will be described.

As shown in FIG. 8, the self-heating type fixing elastic roller 91 of the fifth embodiment has a good heat conduction characteristic such as metal such as aluminum, copper and iron, and phenol.
An elastic layer 93 also serving as an electrical insulating layer made of a heat-resistant elastic rubber such as silicon rubber or fluorine rubber is formed on a hollow cylindrical core metal 92 made of a material such as a heat-resistant synthetic resin such as metal or ceramic. Then, an electrical insulating layer 94, a heating resistor layer 95, an electrical insulating layer 96, and a surface release layer 97 are sequentially laminated thereon.

The surface release layer 97 is the same as the surface release layer 23 of the fixing roller 21 of the first embodiment described above,
It is made of a composite material obtained by mixing 30% by volume of PTFE with nickel, which is a metal exhibiting good thermal conductivity. And,
Spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm is 0.
4. Thermal conductivity is 0.13 cal / (deg · cm · s)
It is about.

The thickness of the surface release layer 96 is adjusted in the range of 1 to 100 μm, and the surface roughness Rz of the surface release layer 96 is 40 μm.
μm or less.

A fixing roller, a fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers, a fixing elastic belt, a self-heating type fixing elastic of the first to fifth embodiments described later. In a roller characteristic experiment, a conventional fixing roller, a fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers, a fixing elastic belt, and a self-heating type fixing elastic roller shown for comparison. La differs from those of the above-described embodiments only in the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer, and there is no particular difference in other configurations from those of the embodiments.

[0065] The conventional surface release layer, the wave length 5~10μm
Has a spectral emissivity of 0.6 or more in a wavelength range of 6.0 × 10 ^{−4 to} 7.0 × 10 ⁻⁴ cal / (d).
eg · cm · s).

The fixing roller, fixing elastic roller, fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers, fixing elastic belt, self-heating type fixing elastic roller of the first to fifth embodiments described above. Since all rollers are heating units and have a rotating body for transporting the recording medium, the rollers and belts are referred to as a heating and transporting rotating body.

[Explanation of Result of Experiment on Characteristics of Fixing Roller] The characteristics of the fixing roller of the present invention having the above-mentioned surface release layer will be described below based on the results of experiments conducted under various conditions. .

First, a description will be given of a fixing roller according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which was used in an experiment on the characteristics of the fixing roller. Fixing row
The roller and the pressure elastic roller have the structure shown in FIG. 3, and the core metal is an aluminum hollow cylinder having a diameter of 60 mm and a thickness of 8 m.
m, having a length of 320 mm in the axial direction.

The test piece S11 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above except that the thickness of the surface release layer 23 is 1 to 100.
The test piece S12 has a surface roughness Rz of the surface release layer of 0.1 μm.
It is a plurality of roller groups different in a range of 〜100 μm. The other physical properties of the surface release layer were described in the description of the respective experimental results.

The conventional fixing roller shown for comparison has the same core metal dimensions and configuration as the fixing roller used in the characteristic experiment of the present invention, but the surface release layer is made of PTFE and P
It is composed of a composite material with FA. Test peak for comparison
The roller R11 is a group of a plurality of rollers in which the thickness of the surface release layer is different in the range of 1 to 100 μm.
12, the surface release layer has a surface roughness Rz of 0.1 to 100 μm;
There are a plurality of roller groups different in the range of m.

The measurement of the spectral emissivity in this experiment was performed using a thermal radiation measuring device (Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer FT4200 manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) and a thermal radiation measuring system (black body furnace, sample heating furnace, temperature using the controller)), measurement temperature 2 in the infrared region of wavelength 5~10μm
Performed at 00 ° C.

The size of the sample for measuring the spectral emissivity was 10 × 50 mm. Further, in order to eliminate the influence around the sample, the measurement was performed by adjusting the measurement range to 5 × 10 mm with an aperture. A high temperature black body paint (emissivity 0.9) was applied to half of the sample surface, and this was used as a pseudo black body.

The measurement method was as follows. First, the emission spectrum was measured using the pseudo black body as a reference, and the temperature of the sample heating furnace was adjusted so that the emissivity was equilibrated at 90%. The sample was moved when the emissivity of the pseudo black body reached 90%, and the emission spectrum of the sample to be measured at that temperature was measured.

[Experiment 1. Power Consumption of Fixing Roller] An experimental result of power consumption of the fixing roller will be described. Fixing row
The test piece S11 has a spectral emissivity of 0.15,
0.65, and test piece R1 was used for comparison.
1 was used.

In the experimental method, first, both ends of the fixing roller are held by a metal jig so as to be kept in a space where they do not come into contact with other objects. The heating halogen heater disposed inside the fixing roller is energized and heated via a temperature control circuit, and the surface temperature is detected by a temperature detection sensor so that the heater is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature. Control the energizing time and
The amount of power consumed for a certain period of time with respect to the surface temperature of the laser was measured by an integrating wattmeter.

FIG. 9 shows a fixing roller according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a measurement result of a surface temperature of a fixing roller and power consumed for a predetermined time. As is apparent from the figure, the fixing roller of the present invention consumes much less power by about 30% than the conventional fixing roller. This is because the use of a composite material in which nickel, a low spectral emissivity substance, and PTFE, a high spectral emissivity substance, are simultaneously used in the surface release layer of the fixing roller, allows the entire surface of the fixing roller to be used. Is smaller than that of the conventional fixing roller, and the heat energy radiated as radiant heat is reduced.

Although the power consumption increases as the surface temperature of the fixing roller increases, the power consumption tends to decrease as the spectral emissivity decreases. It can be seen that lower power consumption is required even at a higher surface temperature.

In a conventional copier or the like, the surface temperature of the fixing roller during a period in which the copy operation is not performed in order to reduce the power consumed by the fixing roller during a period in which the copy operation is not performed. Is lower than the temperature during the copy operation (for example, 10
℃ lower). However, this method requires a waiting time of several tens of seconds to raise the surface temperature of the fixing roller to the normal fixing temperature at the start of the copying operation.

According to the fixing roller having the surface release layer of the present invention, since the power consumption is small as described above, the surface temperature of the fixing roller during the period when the copying operation is not performed is performed. Even if the temperature is not controlled so as to be lower than the temperature during the copy operation, the amount of power corresponding to the amount of power saved by the temperature control can be reduced, and the power consumption can be further reduced. Obtainable.

Further, as an experiment related to this experiment, in order to see the difference in the thickness of the surface release layer and the difference in the surface roughness of the surface release layer 23, the thickness of the surface release layer was set to 1 to 100 μm. The power consumption was measured with the test piece S11 having a different surface area and the test piece S12 having a surface roughness Rz of a surface release layer having a surface roughness Rz of 0.1 to 100 μm. It was found that the difference in the surface roughness of the surface release layer did not affect the power consumption.

[Experiment 2. Power Consumption for Maintaining Surface Temperature of Fixing Roller at Predetermined Temperature] An experimental result of power consumption for maintaining the surface temperature of the fixing roller at a predetermined temperature will be described. The test piece S11 was used for the fixing roller, and the test piece R11 was used for comparison.

[0082] Figure 10, the fixing roller of the present invention, the wavelength range of the wave length of 5 to 10μm the spectral emissivity of the release layer 22 in the (infrared region) was changed in the range of 0.0 to 1.0 In this case, the surface temperature of the fixing roller is set to 120
It is a figure which shows the measurement result of the electric power consumption required for maintaining at 160 degreeC, 160 degreeC, and 200 degreeC.

As shown in FIG. 10, at any of the fixing roller surface temperatures of 120 ° C., 160 ° C., and 200 ° C., the power consumption increases as the spectral emissivity increases.

[0084] In FIG. 10, the spectral emissivity 0.94 shows a conventional fixing roller, the fixing roller coated with fluororesin release layer, release layer in a wave range of wavelength of 5 to 10μm Has a spectral emissivity of 0.9 or more.

In FIG. 10, the region of the surface release layer having a spectral emissivity of 0.65 or less indicates a fixing roller having the surface release layer according to the present invention. As apparent from FIG. 10, the surface temperature of the fixing roller is 120 ° C., 160 ° C., and 2 ° C.
In any case of 00 ° C., when the surface temperature of the fixing roller is the same, the fixing roller having the surface release layer according to the present invention consumes at least 10% less power than the conventional fixing roller. Become.

According to the fixing roller having the surface release layer according to the present invention, since the power consumption is small as described above, the surface temperature of the fixing roller during the period in which the copy operation is not performed is reduced. Even if the temperature is not controlled so as to be lower than the temperature during the copy operation, the amount of power corresponding to the amount of power saved by the temperature control can be reduced, and the power consumption can be further reduced. Can be.

[0087] Figure 11 is a result of examining the spectral emissivity and the power consumption of the relationship associated with a surface parting layer in the experiment, the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length <br/> 5 to 10 [mu] m 0 .65
In the smaller range, the surface temperature of the conventional fixing roller is set to 10
(4) A reduction in power consumption equivalent to a reduction in power consumption in a general standby mode was confirmed.

[Experiment 3. Fixing Performance of Fixing Roller] An experimental result of the fixing performance of the fixing roller will be described. The fixing roller was test piece S11, and the surface release layer had a thickness of 40 μm.
It is. For comparison, test piece R11 was used, and the surface release layer had a thickness of 40 μm.

The experimental method is as follows. First, an unfixed toner image is formed between a roller pair consisting of a fixing roller and a pressure elastic roller by a standard toner used by the present applicant. The recording paper is passed through and the fixing process is performed.

Next, the reflection density of the fixed toner image was measured with a reflection density measuring device (model RD-918, manufactured by Macbeth), and the reflection density of the image having a reflection density of 0.8 and the reflection density of 1.4 were measured. Two types were selected, and the surface of the toner image was rubbed by reciprocating three times with a sand eraser (N0.502 manufactured by Lion Corporation) to which a load of 1 kg was applied, and then the reflection density of the toner image was measured again. , And the ratio with the reflection density was determined, and this was defined as the fixing intensity ratio. It can be determined that the closer the fixing intensity ratio is to 1, the better the fixing performance.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show the results of experiments on the fixing performance of the fixing roller. FIG.
For the toner image No. 8 and for the toner image having the image reflection density of 1.4, FIG. 13 shows that the surface temperature of the fixing roller was changed in a unit of 10 ° C. from 130 ° C. to 180 ° C. It shows the result of measuring the fixing strength ratio at the temperature.

[0092] Based on the findings obtained from the conventional experiments, the applicant
When the toner-image reflection density before rubbing with the sand eraser is 0.8, the fixing intensity ratio is 0.6 or more. When the toner-image reflection density before rubbing with the sand eraser is 1.4, the fixing intensity ratio is 0. If it is 0.7 or more, it has been confirmed that the toner image is sufficiently firmly fixed on the recording paper and there is no problem in using the recording paper.

The peripheral speed of the fixing roller (ie, the linear velocity at which the recording paper passes between the fixing roller and the pressure roller) is 3
At 50 mm / sec, when the toner image reflection density before rubbing with the sand eraser rubber is 0.8, the fixing intensity ratio is 0.6.
As described above, the toner image reflection density before rubbing with the sand eraser was 1.
In the case of 4, it was confirmed that a fixing strength ratio of 0.7 or more, which does not hinder the use of recording paper, can be obtained.

As is clear from FIGS. 12 and 13, the fixing roller of the present invention has a higher fixing than the conventional fixing roller when the fixing process is performed at the same surface temperature as the conventional fixing roller. The intensity ratio is shown. It also shows that, to obtain the same fixing intensity ratio, the fixing roller of the present invention can perform a fixing process at a surface temperature lower by about 20 ° C. than the conventional fixing roller.

[Experiment 4. Relationship between Surface Exposure Ratio of Metal in Surface Release Layer and Spectral Emissivity] An experimental result regarding the relationship between the surface exposure ratio of metal in the surface release layer of the fixing roller and the spectral emissivity will be described. The fixing roller used for this measurement was a test piece S11 and the surface release layer was made of PTFE.
And a composite material composed of a mixture of aluminum and aluminum. The surface release layer has a thickness of 40 μm. For comparison, a test piece R11 was used, and the surface release layer was formed of a composite material composed of a mixture of PTFE and aluminum. The thickness of the surface release layer was 40 μm.
It is.

[0096] Figure 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the surface exposure ratio and the spectral emissivity of the metal in the release layer of the fixing roller, wavelength 5 or against the surface exposure ratio of aluminum to total surface area of the fixing roller 4 shows the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer in a wavelength range of 10 μm.

The fixing roller of the present invention has a spectral emissivity of 0.1.
Since it is 65 or less, it is understood that the exposure ratio of aluminum to the surface area of the fixing roller should be about 18% or more.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the surface exposure ratio of metal in the surface release layer of the fixing roller and power consumption. The surface release layer is made of a composite material composed of a mixture of PTFE and aluminum. The relationship between the ratio of the surface exposure of aluminum to the surface area of the fixing roller and the power consumption required to maintain the surface temperature of the fixing roller at 200 ° C. was shown.

As is clear from this figure, if the exposure ratio of aluminum to the surface area of the fixing roller is set to about 18% or more, the surface release layer is composed of only PTFE, and aluminum is exposed on the surface. No (surface exposure ratio: 0%) Compared to the conventional fixing roller, the power consumption of the heating heater is 2
It can be reduced by more than 10% from 75 watts to 230 watts.

In the above-described example, the surface release layer is made of PT.
But is obtained by forming a composite material consisting of a mixture of FE and aluminum, in addition to aluminum, nickel, chromium, iron, titanium, and a composite material obtained by mixing a metal such as zinc, in the wavelength range of the wave length of 5 to 10μm It has been clarified that, even if there is a slight difference in the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer, setting the spectral emissivity to 0.65 or less has an effect of reducing power consumption. Further, in place of PTFE, even if PFA, silicon rubber, or the like is used, PTFE is used.
It became clear that it functions and has the same effect as E.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the relationship between the surface exposure ratio of the metal alloy and the spectral emissivity in the surface release layer of the fixing roller. The surface release layer is made of PTFE and nichrome (an alloy of nickel and chromium). in case of forming a composite material consisting of a mixture, shows the spectral emissivity of the release layer in the wavelength range of the wave length of 5 to 10μm against the surface exposure ratio of nichrome occupying the surface area of the fixing roller.

The fixing roller of the present invention has a spectral emissivity of 0.1.
Since it is 65 or less, the exposure ratio of nichrome to the surface area of the fixing roller may be about 23% or more.

FIG. 17 also shows the relationship between the surface exposure ratio of the metal alloy and the power consumption in the surface release layer of the fixing roller. The surface release layer is made of a composite material of a mixture of PTFE and nichrome. The relationship between the surface exposure ratio of nichrome in the surface area of the fixing roller and the power consumption required to maintain the surface temperature of the fixing roller at 200 ° C. was shown for the case of forming the fixing roller.

As is apparent from this figure, if the exposure ratio of nichrome to the surface area of the fixing roller is set to about 23% or more, the surface releasing layer of the fixing roller is composed of only PTFE, and Nichrome is not exposed (surface exposure ratio 0
%) Compared with the conventional fixing roller, the power consumption of the heating heater can be reduced by 10% or more from 275 watts to 230 watts.

Further, in the above example, the surface release layer is made of PT.
Is a case of forming a composite material consisting of a mixture of FE and nichrome, other nichrome, monel, inconel, chromel alumel, brass, be a composite material obtained by mixing a metal alloy such as constantan manganin, the wave length of 5 to 10μm Due to the slight difference in the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer in the wavelength range, the spectral emissivity should be 0.65 or less even if there is a slight difference in the ratio of each metal alloy exposed on the surface. It has become clear that this has the effect of reducing power consumption. Further, in place of PTFE, even if PFA, silicon rubber, or the like is used, PTFE is used.
It became clear that it functions and has the same effect as E.

[Experiment 5. Relationship between spectral emissivity and offset phenomenon] The offset phenomenon means that unfixed toner on recording paper adheres to the surface of the fixing roller and adheres to the fixing roller when the fixing roller makes one rotation. This indicates a phenomenon in which the transferred toner is transferred and adhered to the recording paper. If such an offset phenomenon occurs, the quality of the formed image is remarkably impaired. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the surface temperature range of the fixing roller where the offset phenomenon does not occur, and the component constitution of the surface release layer.

The fixing roller used in this experiment was Test Piece S11, and the surface release layer had a thickness of 40 μm. For comparison, test piece R11 was used, and the surface release layer had a thickness of 40 μm.

The pressurized elastic roller also has a core bar made of the aluminum hollow cylinder described above and an elastic layer made of silicon rubber having a thickness of 6 mm and a release layer made of a fluororesin tube having a thickness of 70 μm. In the laminated structure, an adhesive layer is provided between the core metal and the elastic layer, and between the elastic layer and the release layer.

The experimental method is as follows. First, the surface temperature of the fixing roller is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature, the fixing roller and the pressure elastic roller are brought into pressure contact with each other, and the peripheral speed of the fixing roller (that is, recording) is set. The linear velocity at which the paper passes through the fixing roller pair) is set to 350 mm / sec.

A roller comprising a fixing roller and a pressure elastic roller.
Between the pair, the standard toner used by the applicant.
The recording paper (with a basis weight of 64 g / m ^{2 in} this experiment) was passed through a recording paper on which an unfixed toner image was formed to perform a fixing process, and the occurrence of an offset phenomenon was inspected.

FIG. 18 shows the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer and the surface temperature of the fixing roller in the fixing roller of the present invention.
And a diagram showing the relationship between the non-offset region, the extent of the spectral emissivity of 0.1 to 0.65 of the release layer in the wavelength range of the wave length of 5 to 10 [mu] m, a temperature sufficient for the surface temperature of the fixing roller It can be seen that there is a region (a) (non-offset region) in which an offset having a range does not occur. Area (b) is a high-temperature offset area where the surface temperature of the fixing roller is too high and an offset occurs, and area (c) is an offset area where the surface temperature of the fixing roller is too low and an offset occurs. . Also,
The spectral emissivity 0.9 indicates the spectral emissivity of the conventional fixing roller.

As is apparent from FIG. 18, in the fixing roller of the present invention, the surface temperature range of the fixing roller where the offset does not occur is shifted to a lower temperature side than the conventional fixing roller. ing. This is because the high thermal conductivity material nickel and the low thermal conductivity material PTFE are simultaneously present in the surface release layer of the fixing roller of the present invention, so that the thermal conductivity over the entire surface of the fixing roller is reduced. By increasing the thermal conductivity over the entire surface of the conventional fixing roller, the speed of heat transfer from the surface of the fixing roller to the recording paper increases,
This is because the amount of heat transfer increases.

The fact that the surface temperature range of the fixing roller where the offset does not occur is shifted to a lower temperature side than the conventional fixing roller is because the operation of the fixing roller is smaller than that of the conventional apparatus. This means that the temperature can be kept low, which means that power consumption can be reduced.

In order to expand the surface temperature range (non-offset region) of the fixing roller where offset does not occur, PTF included in the surface release layer of the fixing roller is required.
FIG. 18 also shows that the spectral emissivity may be increased by increasing the volume ratio of E.

[Experiment 6. Relationship between Film Thickness of Surface Release Layer and Offset Phenomena] In the fixing roller of the present invention, experimental results regarding the relationship between the film thickness of the surface release layer, the surface temperature of the fixing roller, and the non-offset region will be described. I do. The fixing roller used in this experiment was a test piece S11 whose surface release layer had a thickness different from 5 to 70 μm. For comparison, a test piece R11 was used, and a test piece whose surface release layer had a different thickness in the range of 5 to 70 μm was used.

The pressure elastic roller is formed by laminating an elastic layer made of silicon rubber with a thickness of 6 mm and a release layer made of a fluororesin tube with a thickness of 70 μm on the core metal made of the hollow cylinder described above. An adhesive layer is provided between the core metal and the elastic layer, and between the elastic layer and the release layer.

The experimental method is as follows. First, the surface temperature of the fixing roller is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature, the fixing roller and the pressure elastic roller are brought into pressure contact with each other, and the peripheral speed of the fixing roller (that is, recording) is set. The linear velocity at which the paper passes through the fixing roller pair) is set to 350 mm / sec.

A roller comprising a fixing roller and a pressure elastic roller.
Between the pair, the standard toner used by the applicant.
The recording paper (with a basis weight of 64 g / m ^{2 in} this experiment) was passed through a recording paper on which an unfixed toner image was formed to perform a fixing process, and the occurrence of an offset phenomenon was inspected.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the relationship between the film thickness of the surface release layer, the surface temperature of the fixing roller, and the non-offset region in the conventional fixing roller. In this case, the non-offset area fluctuates in response to the change in the thickness of the surface release layer. -The surface temperature range of the laser is narrowed, making it impractical.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the relationship between the film thickness of the surface release layer, the surface temperature of the fixing roller, and the non-offset region in the fixing roller of the present invention. In (a), the non-offset region hardly fluctuates with the change in the thickness of the surface release layer. For this reason, the film thickness can be set arbitrarily, but considering the productivity and the durability of the fixing roller, the practical range of the film thickness is in the range of 1 to 80 μm, and the range of 5 to 50 μm. It is in the optimal range.

[Experiment 7: Relationship between Thermal Emissivity and Thermal Conductivity] An experimental result on the relationship between the thermal emissivity from the roller surface and the thermal conductivity of the roller in the fixing roller of the present invention will be described. The fixing roller used in this experiment was test piece S1.
1, the thickness of the surface release layer is 40 μm. Also,
The conventional fixing roller for comparison is the test piece R1.
1, the thickness of the surface release layer is 40 μm.

FIG. 21 shows the relationship between the thermal emissivity from the roller surface and the thermal conductivity, and the relationship between the metal surface exposure ratio and the thermal conductivity. As is clear from FIG. -Thermal emissivity from the surface of the roller, metal surface exposure ratio and fixing roller-
There is a correlation between the thermal conductivity of the metal and the higher the thermal conductivity, the smaller the thermal emissivity, and the higher the metal surface exposure ratio,
It has been found that the thermal conductivity is higher.

Further, in the relationship between the thermal emissivity and the thermal conductivity, a large difference occurs even if the value of the metal element or the metal alloy forming the surface release layer is different, although the value is slightly changed. It was clear that there was none.

Next, a fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic belt, and a self-heating type fixing elastic roller of the second to fifth embodiments will be described.
The results of a characteristic experiment of a roller (hereinafter collectively referred to as a fixing elastic roller) will be described. Although the experimental results shown below are the experimental results for the fixing elastic roller of the second embodiment, some of the experimental results for the third to fifth embodiments are also described.

The fixing elastic roller used in the experiment will be described. The fixing elastic roller has the structure of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and the core is an aluminum hollow cylinder having a diameter of 60 mm.
The one having a thickness of 8 mm and a length of 320 mm in the axial direction is used.

The test piece S 21 is a surface release layer 64.
The test piece S22 has a surface roughness R of the surface release layer 64, and a plurality of roller groups having different film thicknesses in the range of 1 to 100 μm.
z is different rollers in the range of 0.1 to 100 [mu] m, the test piece S23 spectral emissivity of the release layer
A plurality of different rollers in the range of 0.1 to 0.65 at a wave length 5 m to 10 m. The other physical properties of the surface release layer were described in the description of the respective experimental results.
The pressure elastic roller used as a pair with the fixing elastic roller of the present invention is the same as that used in the experiment in the first embodiment.

For comparison, the conventional fixing elastic roller of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5 has the same core metal dimensions as the above-mentioned test piece, and has a surface release layer made of PTFE.
And a composite material of PFA. The test piece R21 for comparison has a thickness of the surface release layer 64 of 1 to 100 μm.
The test piece R22 is a plurality of roller groups having different surface roughness Rz of the surface release layer 64 in the range of 0.1 to 100 μm.

The experimental method is the same as the experimental method in the first embodiment.

[Experiment 8] Power consumption of fixing elastic roller] The power consumption of the fixing elastic roller was measured. The test piece is S
21, the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer was 0.15 and 0.65
Were experimented with. Test piece R2 for comparison
1 was used.

The experimental result was the same as that of the first embodiment. For details of the experimental results, refer to the experimental results of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG.

To briefly explain the experimental results, in order to keep the same surface temperature as compared with the conventional fixing elastic roller,
Heater power consumption can be reduced by about 30%.

[Experiment 9] Power consumption for maintaining the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller at a predetermined temperature] When the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer is changed in the range of 0.0 to 1.0, the power of the fixing elastic roller is changed. Surface temperature of 120 °, 160 ° and 200 °
° to measure the power consumption. The test piece used was S21, and the test piece R21 was used for comparison.

The experimental result was the same as that of the first embodiment. For details of the experimental results, see the experimental results of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG.

To briefly explain the experimental results, when the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is the same, power consumption can be reduced by about 10% or more as compared with the conventional fixing elastic roller. Even if the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller during the period in which the copy operation is not performed is not controlled to be lower than the temperature during the copy operation, an electric power corresponding to the power saving obtained by the temperature control or more. The power saving effect was obtained.

[Experiment 10. Effect of Surface Emissivity on Power Consumption] As an experiment related to Experiment 9, the effect of the surface emissivity of the fixing elastic roller on power consumption was examined.

As the experimental result, the same result as in the first embodiment was obtained. For details of the experimental results, see the experimental results of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG.

[0137] To describe briefly the experimental results, the effect of reducing the power consumption due to a difference in surface emissivity is seen, the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm the release layer is 0.65 smaller range Thus, an effect of reducing power consumption corresponding to a reduction in power consumption in a general standby mode for lowering the surface temperature of the conventional fixing roller by 10 ° was confirmed.

In this experiment, not only the fixing elastic roller, but also a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment) and a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment) have some effects. Even though there were differences, similar power consumption reduction effects were confirmed.

Also, a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (No. 5)
Also in Example), it was confirmed that when the roller surface was heated and held at a predetermined temperature, the effect of reducing the power consumed by the heating resistor due to the small emissivity of the surface release layer was confirmed.

In connection with Experiments 1 to 3 relating to the power consumption described above, the difference in power consumption due to the difference in the thickness of the surface release layer of the fixing elastic roller, and the difference in the surface roughness of the surface release layer. No difference in power consumption due to the difference was found. In addition to the fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (fifth embodiment). No remarkable difference was found in Example).

[Experiment 11] Fixing performance of fixing elastic roller]
An experiment was conducted on the fixing performance of the fixing elastic roller. The experiment is
The recording paper on which an unfixed toner image is formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant is passed between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller of the present invention. Then, a fixing process was performed. The test piece used was S21, and the thickness of the surface release layer was 40 μm. For comparison, a test piece R21 was used, and the thickness of the surface release layer was 40 μm.

Next, the reflection densities of the fixed toner images were measured by a reflection densitometer (model RD-918, manufactured by Macbeth), and two types of reflection densities of 0.8 and 1.4 were obtained. Was selected, and the surface of the toner image was rubbed by applying a 1 kg load to a sand eraser (Lion Co., Ltd. NO.502) and reciprocating three times. The ratio with the density was determined to obtain the fixing strength ratio.

The same experimental results as in the first embodiment were obtained. For details of the experimental results, see the experimental results of the first embodiment described earlier with reference to FIGS.

Briefly explaining the experimental results, when the image reflection density before rubbing with the sand eraser is 0.8, the fixing intensity ratio is 0.6 or more, and the image reflection density before rubbing with the sand eraser is 1.4.
It is known that when the fixing strength ratio is 0.7 or more, a fixing strength that does not hinder the use of the recording paper can be obtained. However, as is clear from FIGS. According to the roller, if the fixing elastic roller temperature is the same, a stronger fixing performance can be obtained than the conventional fixing roller. It can be seen that the fixing process can be performed at a surface temperature lower by 20 ° C.

[Experiment 12] Relationship between spectral emissivity and non-offset temperature region] The spectral emissivity of the surface release layer of the fixing elastic roller and the unfixed toner on the recording paper adhere to the surface of the fixing elastic roller and further fix. An experiment was conducted on the relationship with the surface temperature region (non-offset temperature region) of the fixing elastic roller in which the toner attached to the surface of the elastic roller transfers to the recording paper and does not cause an offset phenomenon in which the toner adheres.

The fixing elastic roller used in this experiment was test piece S23, and the conventional fixing elastic roller for comparison was test piece R23.

The pressure elastic roller is formed by laminating an elastic layer made of silicon rubber with a thickness of 6 mm and a release layer made of a fluororesin tube with a thickness of 70 μm on the aluminum core described above. There is an adhesive layer between the core metal and the elastic layer, and between the elastic layer and the release layer.

In the experimental method, the fixing elastic roller and the pressing elastic roller are brought into pressure contact with each other, and the peripheral speed is set at 350 mm / sec. A recording paper on which an unfixed toner image has been formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant (in this experiment, a sheet of paper) between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller. An amount of 64 g / m ² ) was passed through the fixing treatment, and the presence or absence of offset was inspected.

The experimental result was the same as that of the first embodiment. For details of the experimental results, see the experimental results of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG.

[0150] Briefly the experimental results, the spectral emissivity of the release layer of the fixing elastic roller, wavelength 5 to 10μ
When the wavelength is in the range of 0.1 to 0.65 in the wavelength range of m, it can be seen that the fixing elastic roller has a non-offset temperature region (a) having a sufficient temperature range.

The fact that the non-offset temperature region (a) is shifted to the lower temperature side as compared with the conventional fixing elastic roller is as follows.
This means that the operating temperature can be kept lower than that of the conventional device, which means that power consumption can be reduced. Also,
It can also be seen that the non-offset temperature region (a) can be expanded by increasing the volume ratio of PTFE contained in the surface release layer to increase the spectral emissivity.

[Experiment 13] Relationship between film thickness of surface release layer and offset phenomenon] The relationship between the film thickness of the surface release layer of the fixing elastic roller and the offset phenomenon was examined. The fixing elastic roller used in this experiment and the conventional fixing elastic roller for comparison were used.
The configuration of the roller and the pressure elastic roller is the same as that described in the experiment 12. The same as in Experiment 12. Is the same as

The experimental result was the same as that of the first embodiment. For details of the experimental results, refer to the experimental results of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIGS.

Briefly explaining the experimental results, the relationship between the thickness of the surface release layer, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller, and the non-offset region in the conventional fixing elastic roller is as shown in FIG. However, in the conventional fixing elastic roller, the non-offset region fluctuates in response to the change in the film thickness of the surface release layer, and the thin film side is particularly advantageous in terms of securing fixing strength and reducing power consumption. In this case, the surface temperature range of the fixing roller in the non-offset area is narrowed, which is not practical.

On the other hand, in the fixing elastic roller of the present invention, the film thickness of the surface release layer, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller,
The relationship between the non-offset region and the non-offset region is as shown in FIG. 20. In the fixing elastic roller of the present invention, the non-offset region hardly changes with a change in the thickness of the surface release layer. For this reason, the film thickness can be set arbitrarily, but considering the productivity and the durability of the fixing roller, the practical range of the film thickness is in the range of 1 to 80 μm, and the range of 5 to 50 μm. It is in the optimal range.

In this experiment, not only the fixing elastic roller, but also a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), a self-heating type fixing elastic roller. Almost the same results were obtained with the roller (fifth embodiment), and no particular difference was observed.

[Experiment 14. Relationship between thermal emissivity and thermal conductivity]
An experiment was conducted on the relationship between thermal emissivity and thermal conductivity. The configuration of the fixing elastic roller used in this experiment is the same as that of Experiment 12 described above. Is the same as

The same experimental results as those of the first embodiment were obtained. For details of the experimental results, refer to the experimental results of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG.

The relationship between the thermal emissivity from the surface of the roller and the thermal conductivity of the roller is as shown in FIG. 21. The heat radiation from the surface of the fixing elastic roller is shown in FIG. There is a correlation between the heat transfer rate and the heat conductivity of the fixing roller, and it is apparent that the higher the heat conductivity is, the smaller the heat emissivity is, that is, the better the heat conductivity is, the smaller the heat loss is. Natsuta

As is clear from the results of Experiment 6, since a sufficient non-offset temperature region can be secured even if the thickness of the surface release layer of the fixing elastic roller is small, a thin film having a high thermal conductivity is obtained. By doing so, a large energy saving effect can be obtained.

In the relationship between the thermal emissivity and the thermal conductivity, a large difference occurs even if the value of the metal element or the metal alloy forming the surface release layer is different, although the value is slightly changed. It was clear that there was none.

In this experiment, not only the fixing elastic roller, but also a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), a self-heating type fixing elastic roller. Almost the same results were obtained with the roller (fifth embodiment), and no particular difference was observed.

[Experiment 15. Relationship between Exposure of Low-Emission Material and Spectral Emissivity in Surface Release Layer] Experimental results regarding the relationship between the exposure of low-emission material and spectral emissivity in the surface release layer of the fixing elastic roller will be described.

[0164] Figure 22 is a release layer of the fixing elastic roller, metal or a low radioactive substance spectral emissivity of less than 0.65 in the wavelength range of PTFE and wave length 5~10μm a release material When formed of a composite material composed of a mixture with a metal alloy, when the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer of the fixing elastic roller is 0.65, the low-radioactive substance mixed with the surface release layer ( It shows the spectral emissivity of the radiation of the metal or metal alloy alone (spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm) and the exposure ratio of the low radioactive substance (metal or metal alloy) to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller.

Considering the releasability (the property that the toner easily separates from the roller) on the surface of the fixing elastic roller, more release material (for example, PTFE) is left on the surface of the release layer, (Eg metal, metal alloy)
The substance capable of reducing the thermal emissivity, substances spectral emissivity is small in the wavelength range of the quick Chinami length 5~10μm desirable in lesser amounts. For example, in the case of metal and metal oxide, the ratio of exposure of the metal to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller can be reduced at least so that the thermal emissivity can be reduced.

[0166] Further, the fixing elastic roller surface release layer is formed of a composite material consisting of a mixture of PTFE and aluminum, with a spectral emissivity of measurement experiment in the wavelength range of the wave length of 5 to 10μm, the first embodiment The same result as in the case of was obtained.

The details are described in the first description with reference to FIG.
See the experimental results of the examples. To briefly explain the experimental results, since the spectral emissivity of the fixing elastic roller of the present invention is 0.65 or less, if the exposure ratio of aluminum to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller is set to about 18% or more, It turns out to be good.

With respect to the fixing elastic roller in which the surface release layer is formed of a composite material composed of a mixture of PTFE and aluminum, the ratio of aluminum exposure to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller and the roller surface temperature Is the same as that of the first embodiment in relation to the power consumption required for maintaining the temperature at 200 ° C.

For details, see the experimental result of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. Briefly explaining the experimental results, if the exposure ratio of aluminum to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller of the present invention is set to about 18% or more,
The surface release layer is composed only of PTFE, and the power consumption is reduced by 10% or more as compared with the conventional fixing elastic roller in which aluminum is not exposed on the surface (surface exposure ratio is 0%) (FIG. 15).
275 WH / H to 230 WH / H ).

As a metal material which is a low radioactive substance, in addition to aluminum, nickel, chromium, iron, titanium, zinc, etc., even if there is a slight difference in the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer, the spectral emissivity is small. Has an effect of reducing power consumption by making it 0.65 or less. In addition to PTFE as a releasing material, PFA, silicon rubber, etc. function similarly, and it is clear that the same effect is obtained. Was.

[0171] In a surface release layer measurement experiment of PTFE and nichrome (metal alloy) and the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length of 5 to 10μm with a fixing elastic roller which is formed of a composite material consisting of a mixture of the first The same result was obtained as in the case of the first embodiment.

The details are described in the first description with reference to FIG.
See the experimental results of the examples. To briefly explain the experimental results, since the spectral emissivity of the fixing elastic roller of the present invention is 0.65 or less, if the exposure ratio of nichrome to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller is about 23% or more, It turns out to be good.

With respect to the fixing elastic roller in which the surface release layer is formed of a composite material comprising a mixture of PTFE and nichrome, the ratio of the aluminum exposure to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller and the roller surface temperature Is the same as that of the first embodiment in relation to the power consumption required for maintaining the temperature at 200 ° C.

The details are described in the first section described with reference to FIG.
See the experimental results of the examples. To briefly explain the experimental results, if the exposure ratio of aluminum to the surface area of the fixing elastic roller of the present invention is set to about 23% or more, the surface release layer is constituted only of PTFE, and the surface of the surface is exposed to nichrome. No (surface exposure ratio 0%) Conventional fixing elastic roller
Power consumption can be reduced by 10% or more as compared with the conventional method.

As a metal alloy material which is a low radioactive substance, in addition to nichrome, monel metal, inconel, chromel alumel, brass, constantan manganin, etc., even if there is a slight difference in the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer, By reducing the spectral emissivity to 0.65 or less, there is an effect of reducing power consumption.
In addition to E, it became clear that PFA, silicone rubber, etc. functioned similarly and had the same effect.

[Experiment 16] Influence of fixing elastic roller on linear image quality] Toner having a fixed hardness such as silicon rubber or fluorine rubber used for the elastic layer of fixing elastic roller.
We experimented on the effect on the line width of the image.

The fixing elastic roller used in the experiment had an outer diameter of 60 mm by sequentially laminating an elastic layer made of silicon rubber and a release layer on the above-described core with an adhesive layer interposed therebetween. Roller, rubber hardness that forms the elastic layer (JIS-
In A), a plurality of rollers different in the range of 10 to 80 ° were adjusted. For comparison, a fixing roller (outer diameter: 60 mm) having only a release layer without an elastic layer was prepared.

The pressurized elastic roller comprises a core bar made of an aluminum hollow cylinder having a diameter of 48 mm, a thickness of 6 mm and a length of 320 mm in the axial direction described above, and an elastic layer made of silicon rubber having a thickness of 6 mm. A release layer made of a fluororesin tube having a thickness of 70 μm is laminated, a core metal and an elastic layer,
One having an adhesive layer between the elastic layer and the release layer was used.

In the experimental method, first, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature, the fixing roller is pressed against the pressing elastic roller, and the peripheral speed of the fixing roller (that is, the peripheral speed of the fixing roller) The linear velocity at which the recording paper passes through the fixing roller pair) is 350 mm / sec.
Set to.

Formation of an unfixed toner image having a line width of 250 μm formed between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller by a standard toner used by the present applicant. Recording paper (in this experiment, basis weight 64 g / m ² )
And the fixing process is performed, and the line width is measured.

For comparison, a recording roller having an unfixed toner image formed thereon was passed through a fixing roller having no elastic layer and only a release layer under the same conditions as above to perform a fixing process to reduce the line width. Measure.

FIG. 23 is a view showing the experimental results. In a fixing roller having no release layer without an elastic layer, an unfixed toner image having a line width of 250 μm is crushed by 270 μm when subjected to a fixing process.
The line width expands to about m, but with a fixing elastic roller having an elastic layer, the line width expansion is small when the rubber hardness (JIS-A) is in the range of 10 to 80 °, and a more faithful image can be obtained. The effect of the elastic layer was confirmed.

Further, even in a fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers, the rubber hardness of each elastic layer is 10 to 80 ° (JIS-JIS).
It was confirmed that a similar effect can be obtained by setting the range of A). Further, in addition to the fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), and a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (second embodiment) Almost the same result was obtained in Example 5).

[Experiment 17] Influence of fixing elastic roller on dot image quality] Influence of hardness of silicon rubber, fluorine rubber, etc. used for the elastic layer of fixing elastic roller on dot size of fixed toner image Experimented.

The fixing elastic roller used in the experiment and the fixing roller used for comparison were the same as those used in the previous experiment 16. The same pressure elastic roller as that used in Experiment 16 was used.

In the experimental method, first, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature, the fixing roller and the pressing elastic roller are brought into pressure contact with each other, and the peripheral speed of the fixing roller (that is, the peripheral speed of the fixing roller) The linear velocity at which the recording paper passes through the fixing roller pair) is 350 mm / sec.
Set to.

Formation of an unfixed toner image having a dot diameter of 230 μm formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller. Recording paper (in this experiment, basis weight 64 g /
m ² ) and fixation, and measure the dot diameter.

For comparison, a recording roller on which an unfixed toner image was formed was passed under a fixing roller having no elastic layer and only a release layer under the same conditions as above, and a fixing process was performed. Is measured.

FIG. 24 is a view showing the experimental results. In a fixing roller having only a release layer without an elastic layer, an unfixed toner image having a dot diameter of 230 μm is crushed when subjected to the fixing process, and is thus crushed.
Although the diameter increases to about 40 μm, the rubber hardness (JIS-A) of the fixing elastic roller having the elastic layer is 10 to 80 °.
It was found that in the range of, the enlargement of the dot diameter was small and a more faithful image could be obtained, and the effect of the elastic layer was confirmed.

Further, even in a fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers, the rubber hardness of each elastic layer is set to 10 to 80 ° (JIS-JIS).
It was confirmed that a similar effect can be obtained by setting the range of A). Further, in addition to the fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), and a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (second embodiment) Almost the same result was obtained in Example 5).

[Experiment 18] Effect of Elastic Layer Thickness and Line Image Quality] Toner having a fixed elastic layer of silicon rubber, fluorine rubber, or the like used in a fixing elastic roller.
We experimented on the effect on the line width of the image.

The fixing elastic roller used in the experiment was a roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm by sequentially laminating an elastic layer made of silicon rubber and a release layer on the above-described core metal with an adhesive layer interposed therebetween.
And the hardness of the rubber forming the elastic layer is 30 ° (JIS
-A) A plurality of rollers having different thicknesses were adjusted within the range of 0.05 mm to 15.0 mm for the thickness of the elastic layer. For comparison, a fixing roller (outer diameter: 60 mm) having only the release layer without the elastic layer was prepared.

The pressurized elastic roller has a rubber hardness of 40 ° (J) made of silicon rubber having a thickness of 6 mm on the core described above.
Elastic layer of IS-A), fluororesin tube of 70 μm thickness
And a release layer composed of a metal layer and an adhesive layer between the core metal and the elastic layer and between the elastic layer and the release layer.

In the experimental method, first, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature, the fixing roller is pressed against the pressing elastic roller, and the peripheral speed of the fixing roller (that is, the peripheral speed of the fixing roller) The linear velocity at which the recording paper passes through the fixing roller pair) is 350 mm / sec.
Set to.

Formation of an unfixed toner image having a line width of 250 μm formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller. Recording paper (in this experiment, basis weight 64 g / m ² )
And the fixing process is performed, and the line width is measured.

For comparison, a recording roller on which an unfixed toner image was formed was passed under the same conditions as above by a fixing roller having only a release layer without an elastic layer, and a fixing process was performed. Is measured.

FIG. 25 is a view showing the experimental results. In a fixing roller having only a release layer without an elastic layer, an unfixed toner image having a line width of 250 μm is crushed when fixed to 260 μm.
Although the line width increases to about m, it has been found that in the fixing elastic roller provided with the elastic layer, the line width is small as the thickness of the elastic layer is increased, so that a more faithful image can be obtained.

In the fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), the total thickness of the elastic layers is 0.05 m.
Similar results were obtained in the range of m to 15.0 mm. Further, substantially the same results were obtained with the fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment) and the self-heating type fixing elastic roller (fifth embodiment).

From these results, it is considered appropriate that the thickness of the elastic layer of the fixing elastic roller is in the range of 0.05 mm to 15.0 mm.

[Experiment 19. Influence on elastic layer thickness and dot image quality] The effect of the thickness of the elastic layer, such as silicon rubber or fluorine rubber, used for the fixing elastic roller on the dot diameter of the fixed toner image was examined.

The same fixing roller as used in Experiment 17 was used as the fixing elastic roller used in the experiment and the fixing roller for comparison. The same pressure elastic roller as that used in the previous experiment 17 was used.

The experimental method is as follows. First, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at a predetermined constant temperature, the fixing roller and the pressing elastic roller are pressed against each other, and the peripheral speed of the fixing roller (that is, the peripheral speed of the fixing roller) The linear velocity at which the recording paper passes through the fixing roller pair) is 350 mm / sec.
Set to.

Formation of an unfixed toner image having a dot diameter of 230 μm formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant between a pair of rollers consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller. Recording paper (in this experiment, basis weight 64 g /
m ² ) and fixation, and measure the dot diameter.

For comparison, a recording roller on which an unfixed toner image has been formed is passed under a fixing roller having only a release layer without an elastic layer under the same conditions as above to perform a fixing process. Is measured.

FIG. 26 is a view showing the experimental results. In a fixing roller having no release layer and no elastic layer, an unfixed toner image having a dot diameter of 230 μm is crushed when subjected to the fixing process.
Although the dot diameter increases to about 40 μm or more, it has been found that in the fixing elastic roller provided with the elastic layer, the increase in the dot diameter decreases as the thickness of the elastic layer increases, so that a more faithful image can be obtained.

In the fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), the total thickness of the elastic layers is 0.05 m.
Similar results were obtained in the range of m to 15.0 mm. Further, substantially the same results were obtained with the fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment) and the self-heating type fixing elastic roller (fifth embodiment).

From these results, it is considered appropriate that the thickness of the elastic layer of the fixing elastic roller is in the range of 0.05 mm to 15.0 mm.

[Experiment 20. Fixing elastic roller warm-up time] Conventionally, fixing elastic rollers have been disadvantageous in that the warm-up time for heating to a fixing-possible temperature is long. This is because the heat capacity of the elastic layer constituting the fixing elastic roller is large. The fixing elastic roller according to the present invention uses a composite material in which PTFE and a low-radioactive material (for example, nickel) are mixed in the surface release layer, so that heat radiation from the roller surface is reduced. It is considered that the warm-up time is shortened because the number is small, so an experiment was performed to confirm this point.

The fixing elastic roller used in the experiment was a roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm by sequentially laminating an elastic layer and a surface release layer via an adhesive layer on the core described above. Yes, the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer was adjusted to 0.65.

The conventional fixing elastic roller for comparison has the same structure as the fixing elastic roller used in the experiment, but the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer was adjusted to 0.9. .

The experimental method was such that the fixing elastic roller was supported in a space so as not to come into contact with other rollers and other members, and a heater installed inside the roller was energized to apply a roller surface temperature. Is 16
The heating time until reaching 0 ° C. is measured.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the results of the experiment. It was found that the fixing elastic roller of the present invention rises to a predetermined temperature earlier than the conventional fixing elastic roller. This is because, as described above, since a composite material in which PTFE and a low emissive material metal (eg, nickel) are used for the surface release layer, a loss due to heat radiation from the roller surface is reduced. This is probably due to the small number.

[Experiment 21. Durability of Fixing Elastic Roller] The durability of the fixing elastic roller according to the present invention was tested.

The fixing elastic roller according to the present invention used in the experiment
The roller is a roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm in which an elastic layer and a surface release layer are sequentially laminated on the core metal described above via an adhesive layer, and the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer is 0.65. Was adjusted.

The conventional fixing elastic roller for comparison has the same structure as the fixing elastic roller used in the experiment, but the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer is adjusted to 0.9. .

In the experimental method, first, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at a predetermined fixed temperature (here, 160 ° C. and 140 ° C.) at which fixing can be performed, and the fixing roller and the pressing elastic roller are separated. Then, the peripheral speed of the fixing elastic roller (that is, the linear velocity at which the recording paper passes through the roller pair) is set to 350 mm / sec.

Next, an unfixed toner image formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant is formed between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller. Six sheets of recording paper (basis weight 64 g / m ^{2 in} this experiment) are passed through each minute to perform a fixing process, and the number of processed sheets until the fixing elastic roller is destroyed is counted.

FIG. 28 is a view showing the experimental results. When the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at 160 ° C., when the conventional fixing elastic roller processes about 50,000 sheets, the roller core metal is processed. Although the elastic layer made of rubber was peeled off and wrinkles were formed on the fixed recording paper, no abnormality occurred with the fixing elastic roller of the present invention until about 80,000 sheets were processed. Further, when the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller was maintained at 140 ° C., no abnormality occurred even when about 100,000 sheets were processed with the fixing elastic roller of the present invention.

This is because, as described above, a composite material in which PTFE and a low-radioactive material (eg, nickel) are used for the surface release layer is a composite material in which heat is radiated from the roller surface. Since the loss is small, the temperature drop of the fixing elastic roller during the fixing process is small, and the heating time of the roller by the heater is greatly reduced. Therefore, a rubber elastic layer is provided on the roller core. This is probably because the adhered primer layer hardly deteriorates due to heat.

[Experiment 22. Change in Fixing Performance Due to Surface Temperature Drop During Fixing Process] In a conventional fixing elastic roller, A3
When the fixing process is performed on a large-size recording paper such as a sheet, the leading edge of the recording paper to be fixed first and the rear end of the recording paper to be finally fixed are fixed during the fixing process. −
As the surface temperature of the toner drops, the fixing strength decreases. Thus, an experiment was conducted on the change in the fixing performance during the fixing process of the fixing elastic roller according to the present invention.

The fixing elastic roller used in the experiment was a roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm by sequentially laminating an elastic layer and a surface release layer on the above-described core metal with an adhesive layer interposed therebetween. Yes, the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer was adjusted to 0.65.

A conventional fixing elastic roller for comparison has the same configuration as the fixing elastic roller used in the experiment, but the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer is adjusted to 0.9. .

In the experimental method, first, the surface temperature of the fixing elastic roller is maintained at 160 ° C. at which fixing can be performed, the fixing roller is pressed against the pressing elastic roller, and the peripheral speed of the fixing elastic roller is adjusted. (That is, the linear velocity at which the recording paper passes through the roller pair) is set to 350 mm / s.
ec, and an unfixed toner image formed by a standard toner used by the present applicant was formed between a roller pair consisting of a fixing elastic roller and a pressing elastic roller. A
The fixing process is performed by passing the recording paper of three sizes.

Next, the reflection densities at the leading end (at a position 10 mm away from the leading end of the paper) and at the trailing end (at a position 10 mm away from the trailing end of the paper) of the fixed toner image are measured. The reflection density was measured using a RD-918 (Macbeth RD-918).
After rubbing the surface of the toner image with a sand eraser (Lion Co., Ltd. NO.502) with a load of 1 kg reciprocating three times, the reflection density was again measured for the front and rear ends of the toner image. The ratio between the measured density and the reflection density before rubbing is determined, and this is defined as the fixing intensity ratio. It is determined that the closer the fixing strength ratio is to 1, the better the fixing performance.

FIGS. 29 and 30 show the results of the experiment.
As is apparent from FIG. 29, the fixing elastic roller according to the present invention has an overall higher fixing intensity ratio than the conventional fixing elastic roller regardless of the reflection density of the image at both 0.8 and 1.4. In addition to being high, the fixing elastic roller according to the present invention has a smaller decrease in the fixing intensity ratio at the rear end of the image to the fixing intensity ratio at the front end of the image as compared with the conventional fixing elastic roller.

FIG. 30 shows the reflection density when the reflection density of the image is 1.4. In the fixing elastic roller according to the present invention, the reflection density at the rear end of the image relative to the reflection density at the front end of the image is shown. Although the decrease is small, it can be seen that in the conventional fixing elastic roller, the reflection density at the rear end portion of the image is largely reduced with respect to the reflection density at the front end portion of the image.

In the conventional fixing elastic roller, the elastic layer made of a low heat conductive material such as fluororesin is formed on the elastic layer made of a low heat conductive material such as silicon rubber. Since heat transfer from the layer to the surface release layer is not performed quickly, if heat is taken from the roller surface when the leading edge of the recording paper passes, sufficient heat is supplied from the internal elastic layer. This is because the trailing edge of the recording paper passes without being processed, and the roller surface temperature decreases toward the trailing edge of the recording paper.

On the other hand, in the fixing elastic roller of the present invention,
Since a surface release layer containing a metal (for example, nickel) that is a high thermal conductive material is formed on an elastic layer made of a low thermal conductive material such as silicon rubber, heat conduction from the elastic layer to the surface release layer is rapid. Therefore, even if heat is deprived when the leading edge of the recording paper passes, sufficient heat is supplied from the internal elastic layer, so that the rear end of the recording paper is also rotatable.
The surface temperature of the paper hardly decreases, and a favorable fixing process can be performed similarly to the leading end portion of the recording paper.

[Explanation of Experimental Results Regarding Separation Claw of Fixing Device] Hereinafter, the results of experiments performed under various conditions on the separation claw of the fixing device provided with the surface release layer will be described.

[Experiment 23. Surface Temperature and Power Consumption of Fixing Roller] Conventionally, in a fixing device, in order to reduce the power consumed for maintaining the temperature of the fixing roller while the copying operation is not performed, the fixing roller is used. The surrounding area was covered with heat insulating material, but around the fixing roller, a separation claw or a clear
Since the lining member and the like are arranged in contact with the fixing roller, it is difficult to sufficiently cover them with a heat insulating material, and the effect of reducing heat dissipation is not sufficient.

Therefore, in the present invention, the surface of the separation claw is provided with a surface release layer to be described below to reduce heat dissipation, so that the power consumption of the fixing device was measured to confirm the effect.

The separation nail used in the experiment was obtained by providing a surface release layer on the nail body of the heat-resistant synthetic resin described above, and the surface release layer was formed of a coating material mainly composed of PTFE. ,
Smaller than the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm of the coating material, a and is a good thermal conductor nickel, a composite material obtained by mixing 70% by volume ratio to PTFE.

The experimental method is as follows. First, the fixing roller of the first embodiment is disposed in a fixing device, and the halogen heater for heating is heated through a temperature control circuit. The power supply time of the heater was controlled so as to maintain a predetermined constant temperature by detecting the surface temperature by the temperature detection sensor, and the power consumed during the predetermined time was measured by the integrating wattmeter.

FIG. 31 shows the measurement results of the surface temperature and the power consumption of the fixing roller. The power consumed to maintain the surface temperature of the fixing roller at 200 ° C. is less than that of a conventional fixing device having a separation claw. In the fixing device provided with the separation claw according to the present invention, the fixing power of 290 WH / H was 275 WH / H , and a power saving effect of 5% or more could be confirmed.

This is because the separation claw according to the present invention is made of a low-radiation material of the surface release layer and has a small heat radiation from the surface, so that the radiant heat radiated from the fixing roller is reflected by the separation claw. It is considered that the image is returned to the fixing roller.

The separation claw is applied not only to the fixing roller (first embodiment) but also to the fixing elastic roller (second embodiment).
Embodiment) The present invention can be applied to a fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment) and a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment). When applied to the example, a similar power saving effect was observed.

Further, this separation claw can be applied to a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (fifth embodiment), and the same power saving effect can be obtained when this separation claw is applied to the fifth embodiment. Admitted.

[Experiment 24. Surface exposure ratio of high thermal conductive material and image noise] In the case of a composite image in which an image is copied on both sides of a recording paper or another image is copied on the recording paper once the image has been copied, it is fixed on the recording paper When the first processed toner image is in a state of being reheated during the fixing process of the next image, the hot separation claw contacts the toner image, and the toner image may be deformed or distorted. Such deformation and disorder of the image are called image noise, and the higher the image density, the more the noise is likely to occur.

Therefore, in the present invention, when a surface release layer is provided on the separation claw of the fixing device, the temperature of the separation claw is lowered depending on the surface exposure ratio of nickel, which is a high heat conductive material, contained in the surface release layer. In addition, since it is expected that the heat of the toner image is diffused, in order to confirm the effect, the ratio of the surface exposure ratio of nickel, which is a high thermal conductive material contained in the surface release layer, to the image density at which image noise occurs is examined. Experimented the relationship.

The separation claw of the fixing device used in the experiment was obtained by providing a surface release layer on the above-described heat-resistant synthetic resin nail body, and the surface release layer was composed of a coating mainly composed of PTFE. the membrane material, smaller than the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm of the coating material, consisting in a good heat nickel 15% is conductor, and 30% mixed composites.

In the test method, an unfixed toner image was formed on the second surface (back surface) of the recording paper having the toner image fixed on the first surface, and the fixing process was performed to examine the occurrence of image noise. .

FIG. 32 shows the relationship between the surface exposure ratio of nickel contained in the surface release layer of the separation nail and the image density at which image noise occurs, and shows the surface exposure of nickel contained in the surface release layer. At a ratio of 15%, the image density ID is 0.
6 (half image) or more, image noise was observed, and the surface exposure ratio of nickel contained in the surface release layer was 30% (spectral emissivity 0.5 in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm, FIG. 14 in Experiment 4). ), Image noise was observed when the image density ID was 1.2 (solid image) or higher, and no image noise was observed when the image density ID was lower than 1.2 (solid image).

This is because the nickel contained in the surface release layer is exposed on the surface of the separation nail and the thermal conductivity of the surface of the separation nail is high, so that when the separation nail comes into contact with the toner image, heat is quickly diffused. It is considered that no image noise occurs because the temperature of the toner image is lowered and the temperature of the separation claw is also lowered.

The relationship between the surface exposure ratio of the metal and the metal alloy contained in the surface release layer and the spectral emissivity is as explained in FIG. 14 and FIG. As the ratio increases, the spectral emissivity decreases. The relationship between the surface exposure ratio (thermal emissivity) of the metal contained in the surface release layer and the thermal conductivity is as described in FIG. 21 in the previous Experiment 7. As the surface exposure ratio increases, the thermal conductivity also increases. Larger (smaller emissivity). This relationship is not so different whether the type of metal is aluminum, nickel, iron, chromium, or the like, or even if it is a metal alloy.

The separation claw is fixed to a fixing elastic roller (second
Example), applied to a fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers (third embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), and a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (fifth embodiment). Also in this case, the effect of suppressing the occurrence of image noise was confirmed.

[Experiment 25. Temperature of Separation Claw Substrate and Spectral Emissivity of Surface Release Layer] In the fixing device, the separation claw is fixed by a fixing roller.
Roller is in contact with the surface and is affected by heat from the fixing roller. Then, when the fixing roller was kept at 190 ° C., which is a temperature during a general fixing operation, the relationship between the temperature of the base material constituting the separation claw and the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer was examined.

The separation claw of the fixing device used in the experiment has a surface release layer provided on the above-described heat-resistant synthetic resin nail body, and the surface release layer has a coating mainly composed of PTFE. made from a composite material obtained by mixing a nickel membrane material, the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm coating materials were prepared in the range of 0.1 to 0.9.

The experiment was conducted by setting the surface temperature of the fixing roller to 19
Keeping the temperature at 0 ° C., the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer is 0.1 to 0.9.
The temperature of the separation claw base material was measured for separation claw different in the range of.

[0249] Figure 33 shows the temperature of the relationship between the spectral emissivity of the release layer of the separating claw and the separating claw base, in the wavelength range of the wave length 5~10μm of the coating material of the release layer It was confirmed that when the spectral emissivity was smaller than 0.5, the internal temperature of the separation nail substrate could be reduced to 120 ° C. or less.

Further, it was confirmed that the temperature can be kept low even in the guide plate other than the separation claw inside the fixing device and the heat insulating material by providing the surface release layer having the above-mentioned spectral emissivity characteristic.

[Explanation of Experimental Results for Temperature Detecting Sensor of Fixing Apparatus] Hereinafter, results of experiments performed under various conditions for the temperature detecting sensor of the fixing apparatus provided with the surface release layer will be described.

[Experiment 26. Power Consumption of Fixing Device] Conventionally, in a fixing device, temperature control is performed by detecting a surface temperature of a fixing roller by a temperature detection sensor. Since the temperature detection sensor is in contact with the surface of the fixing roller, a release layer of a fluororesin or the like is provided on the surface of the temperature detection sensor to protect the surface of the fixing roller and prevent toner adhesion. It has no object to reduce heat dissipation from the fixing device.

In the present invention, a surface release layer described below is provided on the surface of the temperature detection sensor for the purpose of protecting the surface of the fixing roller and preventing the adhesion of toner, and reducing the heat dissipation from the fixing device. Was. The power consumption of the fixing device was measured to confirm the effect.

[0254] The surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor used in the experiment was formed by adding a coating material mainly composed of PTFE to a coating material.
Of less than the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length 5 to 10 [mu] m, a and is a good thermal conductor nickel, PTF
It is composed of a composite material mixed with E in a volume ratio of 70%.

The experimental method is as follows. First, the fixing roller of the first embodiment is disposed in a fixing device, and the halogen heater for heating inside is heated through a temperature control circuit. The power supply time of the heater was controlled so as to maintain a predetermined constant temperature by detecting the surface temperature by the temperature detection sensor, and the power consumed during the predetermined time was measured by the integrating wattmeter.

[0256] Figure 34 shows the measurement result of the surface temperature and the power consumption of the fixing roller, electric power consumed to maintain the surface temperature of the fixing roller 200 ° C., the conventional temperature detection cell
In the fixing device having a the capacitors things been made at 290 WH / H, a fixing device provided with a temperature sensor in which a release layer of the present invention, 270 WH / H, and the 5% more power savings Could be confirmed.

This is because the temperature detection sensor of the present invention has a low radiation material as the material of the surface release layer, and the heat radiation from the entire surface of the temperature detection sensor is smaller than that of the conventional temperature detection sensor. The relationship between the metal surface exposure ratio and the spectral emissivity contained in the release layer is as described with reference to FIG. 14 in the previous Experiment 4. The higher the metal surface exposure ratio, the lower the spectral emissivity.) It is considered that the radiation heat radiated from the surface is reflected by the surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor and returned to the fixing roller, and that the heat release of the temperature detection sensor itself is reduced by the surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor. .

This temperature detecting sensor is applied to the fixing roller (first embodiment), a fixing elastic roller (second embodiment), and a fixing elastic roller provided with a plurality of elastic layers. Third
Embodiment), a fixing elastic belt (fourth embodiment), and a self-heating type fixing elastic roller (fifth embodiment) are also applicable.
Similar power saving effects were also observed when this separation claw was applied to the second to fifth embodiments.

[Experiment 27. Surface Exposure Ratio of High Thermal Conductive Material and Temperature Responsibility]
A composite material in which a high thermal conductive material is mixed with a coating material containing PTFE as a main component is used. The temperature of a fixing roller is controlled by a temperature detection sensor using such a material as a surface release layer. An experiment was performed on the response.

[0260] The surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor used in the experiment was composed of a coating material containing PTFE as a main component and nickel, which is a high thermal conductive material, in a volume ratio of 10% to PTFE.
30% mixed composite (1), 30% mixed composite (2),
50% mixed composite material (3), 70% mixed composite material
Four types of (4) and a fluororesin material (5) which is a surface release layer of a conventional temperature detection sensor for comparison. Also,
The surface release layer of the conventional temperature detection sensor for comparison is a fluororesin material.

The experimental method is as follows. First, a temperature detection sensor having a surface release layer made of the above-mentioned material is prepared, and the fixing roller of the first embodiment is arranged in a fixing device and the temperature detection sensor is set to a predetermined value. Set to the detection position of. Next, the control target temperature of the temperature control circuit is set at 190 ° C., and the heating halogen heater inside the fixing roller is electrically heated through the temperature control circuit, and the surface of the fixing roller is heated by the temperature detection sensor. The temperature is detected and temperature control is performed so as to maintain the control target temperature.

FIG. 35 shows the experimental results. Line (5) shows a conventional example in which a fluororesin material was used for the surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor. An overshoot that begins to descend is recognized. Moreover, a peak value of the detected temperature is detected after 30 seconds or more from the start of the temperature control.

On the other hand, when a composite material in which nickel is mixed is used for the surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor, the line (1) is used for a 10% mixed material, the line (2) is used for a 30% mixed material, and the 50% mixed material is used. In line (3) and line (4) for 70% mixed material, the higher the mixing ratio, the smaller the overshoot exceeding the control target temperature of 190 ° C., and from the start of temperature control. The time to detect the peak value of the detected temperature is shortened, and 30%
In the mixed material (2), the peak value of the detected temperature is detected in about half the time as compared with the conventional material, and the detection sensitivity with respect to time is about double.

This is because the temperature detecting sensor of the present invention
The nickel of the high thermal conductive material contained in the surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor is exposed on the fixing roller contact surface, and the fixing roller is exposed.
This is to quickly transfer the heat of the heat sink to the thermistor, which is a temperature sensing element.

The relationship between the surface exposure ratio of the metal or metal alloy contained in the surface release layer and the spectral emissivity is as described in the previous Experiment 4 with reference to FIGS. As it increases, the spectral emissivity decreases.
In addition, the relationship between the surface exposure ratio of the metal contained in the surface release layer and the thermal conductivity is as described with reference to FIG. 21 in the previous Experiment 7, and as the surface exposure ratio increases, the thermal conductivity increases (thermal emissivity). Becomes smaller). This relationship is not significant even if the metal type is aluminum, nickel, iron, chromium, or a metal alloy. If the spectral emissivity of the metal itself is 0.2 or less, the above-described high thermal conductivity material is used. Function as

[Experiment 28. Durability of Surface Release Layer] The durability of the surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor was tested.

The temperature detection sensor used in the experiment was PTF
It is provided with a surface release layer made of a composite material in which nickel, which is a high thermal conductive material, is mixed with PTFE at a volume ratio of 30% in a coating material containing E as a main component. Also,
A conventional temperature detection sensor for comparison has a surface release layer made of a fluororesin material.

The experimental method is as follows. First, a temperature detection sensor provided with a surface release layer made of the above-described material is prepared, and the fixing roller of the first embodiment is arranged in a fixing device and the temperature detection sensor is set to a predetermined value. Set to the detection position of. Next, the control target temperature of the temperature control circuit is set to 190 ° C., and the fixing processing of the recording paper is performed at a rate of 50 sheets per minute, and the abrasion amount of the surface release layer is measured every time the processing of a predetermined number of sheets is completed.

FIG. 36 shows the results of the experiment. In the case where the number of processed sheets was about 50,000, the wear amount of the conventional release layer made of a fluororesin material exceeded 4 μm.
The surface release layer composed of a composite material mixed with TFE at a volume ratio of 30% hardly wears. In addition, when the number of processed sheets was about 80,000, the wear amount was remarkably large in the surface release layer made of the conventional fluororesin material and exceeded 10 μm, but in the surface release layer made of the composite material according to the present invention,
It was less than 1 μm.

This is presumably because in the surface release layer made of the composite material according to the present invention, the nickel contained therein was exposed on the surface, so that the abrasion resistance was significantly improved.

In the above experiment, the abrasion caused by the contact movement between the fixing roller and the temperature detecting sensor was measured. The guide plate and the recording paper for guiding the recording paper disposed around the fixing roller were used. Similarly, the abrasion of the surface release layer of the guide plate due to the contact with the surface showed excellent abrasion resistance.

[0272]

As described above, the fixing device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a heating / conveying rotary body of the fixing means, that is, a fixing roller, a fixing elastic roller, a fixing elastic belt, a self-heating type fixing roller and the like. formation to surface release layer, the spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of the wave length <br/> 5 to 10μm 0.65
Since it is composed of the following materials, for example, a composite material in which a low-radioactive material such as nickel is mixed with a synthetic resin material such as PTFE, the surface temperature of the heating / conveying rotator while maintaining the required fixing strength of the toner is maintained. Can be controlled to be lower than the surface temperature of the conventional heating / conveying rotating body, and heat loss can be reduced and power consumption can be reduced without taking heat diffusion preventing means such as a heat insulating material. Then, since the surface temperature of the heating / conveying rotating body can be controlled to be lower than the surface temperature of the conventional heating / conveying rotating body, even when an operation start command is issued when the image forming apparatus is in a standby state or the like,
This provides excellent operational effects, such as the fact that the fixing operation can be started in a very short time.

In the case of providing a single or a plurality of elastic layers as the heating / conveying rotator, by providing a surface release layer composed of the above-described composite material, the height is higher than that of the case where no elastic layer is provided. Fixing process to obtain quality image is possible,
Further, the present invention has excellent functions and effects, such as improvement in durability, which is a drawback of the heating / conveying rotary body provided with the elastic layer.

Further, when a surface release layer made of the above-mentioned composite material is provided on a separating member for separating the recording paper from the heating and transporting rotary member, the heat absorption of the separating member is reduced and the rise in temperature is reduced. Not only can the separation member be made of a resin material having low heat resistance, but also the heat reflection from the separation member increases, so that the heating / conveying rotator is secondarily heated by the reflected heat. As a result, when the image forming apparatus is started. And power consumption during standby can be reduced. When the separation member is provided with the surface release layer made of the composite material, the surface thermal conductivity is higher than that of the conventional resin material, so that the fixing member is fixed like the conventional separation member. Toner
This eliminates the occurrence of image noise such as re-melting of the image, and provides excellent operational effects, such as obtaining a high-quality image.

Further, when a surface release layer composed of the above-mentioned composite material is provided in the temperature detecting means for detecting the surface temperature of the heating / conveying rotary body, the surface emissivity of the temperature detecting means is low and heat reflection is increased. Similarly to the case of the separation member, the heating and transporting rotary body is secondarily heated by the reflected heat, and as a result, the power consumption at the time of starting the image forming apparatus and at the time of standby can be reduced. Further, since the surface thermal conductivity of the temperature detecting means is higher than that of the conventional one, the followability to the temperature change is improved, and the temperature control of the heating and transporting rotator having a high response to the temperature change can be performed. it can. Since the surface release layer has good release properties and abrasion resistance, it has excellent functions and effects, such as being able to carry out highly reliable temperature control for a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a copying apparatus to which a fixing device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fixing device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a fixing roller and a pressure elastic roller of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a guide plate.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fixing elastic roller according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fixing elastic roller having a plurality of elastic layers according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fixing elastic belt according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a self-heating type fixing elastic roller according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an experimental result of a relationship between a fixing roller temperature and power consumption.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a spectral emissivity of a surface release layer and power consumption.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another experimental result of the relationship between the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer and the power consumption.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a fixing roller temperature and a fixing strength.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a fixing roller temperature and a fixing strength.

FIG. 14 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a surface exposure ratio of a metal contained in a surface release layer and a spectral emissivity.

FIG. 15 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a surface exposure ratio of a metal contained in a surface release layer and power consumption.

FIG. 16 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a surface exposure ratio of a metal alloy contained in a surface release layer and a spectral emissivity.

FIG. 17 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a surface exposure ratio of a metal alloy contained in a surface release layer and power consumption.

FIG. 18 shows the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer and the fixing roller temperature,
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing experimental results of a relationship between the temperature and a non-offset temperature region.

FIG. 19 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a film thickness of a surface release layer of a conventional fixing roller, a fixing roller temperature, and a non-offset temperature region.

FIG. 20 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a film thickness of a surface release layer of a fixing roller of the present invention, a fixing roller temperature, and a non-offset temperature region.

FIG. 21 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a heat emissivity and a heat transfer coefficient on a surface of a fixing elastic roller.

FIG. 22 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between an exposure amount of a low emissivity substance alone contained in a release layer of a fixing elastic roller and a spectral emissivity.

FIG. 23 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a rubber hardness of a fixing elastic roller and a line width of a line image after fixing.

FIG. 24 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a rubber hardness of a fixing elastic roller and a diameter of a dot image after fixing.

FIG. 25 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a thickness of an elastic layer of a fixing elastic roller and a line width of a line image after fixing.

FIG. 26 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a thickness of an elastic layer of a fixing elastic roller and a diameter of a dot image after fixing.

FIG. 27 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a heating time of a fixing elastic roller and a surface temperature.

FIG. 28 is a view showing experimental results of durability of a fixing elastic roller.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an experimental result of a difference in fixing strength between a front end and a rear end of a recording sheet.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an experimental result of a difference in image reflection density between a leading edge and a trailing edge of a recording sheet.

FIG. 31 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a surface temperature of a fixing roller and power consumption.

FIG. 32 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between an exposure ratio of nickel in a surface release layer of a separation nail and an image density at which image noise occurs.

FIG. 33 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between the spectral emissivity of the separation nail surface release layer and the temperature of the separation nail substrate.

FIG. 34 is a view showing an experimental result of a relationship between a surface temperature of a fixing roller and power consumption.

FIG. 35 is a view showing an experimental result of a surface exposure ratio and a temperature responsiveness of a high thermal conductive material.

FIG. 36 is a view showing an experimental result of durability of a surface release layer of the temperature detection sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 document table 3 scanning optical system 5 paper feed unit 10 photoreceptor drum 20 fixing device 21 fixing roller 22, 27 core bar 23 surface release layer 24 halogen heater 25 temperature detection sensor 26 pressure elastic roller 28 silicon Rubber layer 29 Fluororesin film layer

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Noboru Yonekawa 2-13-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Taizo Onishi 2-3-3 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-6-186881 (JP, A) JP-A-7-239626 (JP, A) JP-A-55-135877 (JP, A) Sho 62-150369 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Hei 2-13265 (JP, U) Table 6-511324 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15 / 20

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit including a heating / conveying rotary member for heating and fixing a toner image formed on a recording medium; and a separating unit for separating a recording medium from the heating / conveying rotary member. In the apparatus, the heating and transporting rotator has a release layer on the surface, and the surface release layer
Has a spectral emissivity in the wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm.
0.65 or less, said separating means has a release layer on its surface, and the surface release layer of said separating means has a spectral emissivity in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm in said heat transfer. An image characterized by being composed of a material having a smaller thermal emissivity than the spectral emissivity of the surface release layer of the rotating body in the wavelength region and the spectral emissivity of the material of the separation means in the wavelength region. The fixing device of the forming device. 2. A surface release layer of the separating means, the image formation according to claim 1, wherein the spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of wavelength of 5 to 10μm is characterized in that it is made of material more than 0.5 Device fixing device. 3. The surface release layer of the separating means is composed of a composite material of a release material and a low-radiation material having a spectral emissivity smaller than that of the release material in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm. The fixing device of an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the releasable material contained in the composite material forming the surface release layer of the separation unit is one or a plurality of fluorocarbon resins. Fixing device. 5. The low emissivity material contained in the composite material forming the surface release layer of the separation means has a wavelength of 5 to 10 μm.
4. The fixing device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the material has a spectral emissivity of 0.2 or less in a wavelength range of. 6. The fixing device according to claim 3 , wherein the low-emissivity material contained in the composite material forming the surface release layer is one or more metals or metal alloys. apparatus. 7. The fixing device according to claim 3 , wherein the low emissivity material contained in the composite material constituting the surface release layer is a material having a thermal conductivity of 1 w / mk or more. apparatus. 8. An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit including a heating / conveying rotator for heating and fixing a toner image formed on a recording medium; and a temperature detecting unit for detecting a surface temperature of the heating / conveying rotator. In the fixing device, the temperature detection unit has a release layer on a surface thereof, and the surface release layer of the temperature detection unit has a spectral emissivity in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm that is a surface release layer of the heating / conveying rotary body. A fixing device for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a material having a smaller thermal emissivity and a smaller spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of the mold layer. 9. A surface release layer of said temperature detecting means, an image of claim 8, wherein the spectral emissivity in the wavelength region of wavelength of 5 to 10μm is characterized in that it is made of material more than 0.5 The fixing device of the forming device. 10. The surface release layer of the temperature detecting means is composed of a composite material of a release material and a low emissivity material having a spectral emissivity smaller than that of the release material in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm. The fixing device according to claim 8 , wherein the fixing is performed. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the releasable material contained in the composite material forming the surface release layer of the temperature detecting means is one or a plurality of fluororesins. Fixing device. 12. The low heat radiation material contained in the composite material constituting the surface release layer of the temperature detecting means is a material having a spectral emissivity of 0.2 or less in a wavelength range of 5 to 10 μm. The fixing device of the image forming apparatus according to claim 10 . 13. Low radioactive material contained in the composite material constituting the release layer of the temperature detecting means, according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more metals or metal alloys
0. A fixing device for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 14. The low-radioactive material contained in the composite material forming the surface release layer of the temperature detecting means has a thermal conductivity of 1
claim characterized in that it is a w / mk or more materials 10
A fixing device for the image forming apparatus according to claim 1.