JP4689251B2 - Release agent coating apparatus, fixing apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a release agent application device that applies a release agent to the surface of a rotating body, a fixing device including the release agent application device, and an image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, a latent image on an image carrier is developed with toner supplied from a developing device, and a toner image as a visible image is formed on the image carrier. The toner image on the image carrier is transferred to a transfer material by a transfer device, and fixed on the transfer material by a fixing device. The fixing device includes, for example, a fixing roller in which a heater is incorporated and is configured to be rotatable, and a pressure roller configured to be rotatable by contacting the surface of the fixing roller with a predetermined pressure. Yes. There is known a technique in which a toner image on a transfer material is fixed to a transfer material by heat and pressure at a nip formed by a fixing roller and a pressure roller.

However, in the conventional fixing device, if the releasability of the fixing roller, the pressure roller, or the like is poor, an offset phenomenon in which a part of the toner on the transfer material adheres to the roller may occur, and the image quality deteriorates. There was a problem to do.
In order to suppress this offset, there is known one provided with a release agent application roller for applying a release agent such as silicone oil to a fixing roller or a pressure roller (Patent Documents 1 to 3).

By applying a release agent to the fixing roller and the pressure roller as in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the releasability of the fixing roller and the pressure roller is improved, and the offset phenomenon can be suppressed. However, it is difficult to completely eliminate the offset, and a small amount of toner adheres to the fixing roller and the pressure roller. There is a problem in that the adhered toner adheres to the release agent application roller and reduces the amount of release agent applied. In addition, "Image Dirt" in which the toner adhering to the release agent application roller adheres again to the fixing roller and the pressure roller, and the toner adhering again to the fixing roller and pressure roller adheres to the transfer material and soils the transfer material. There was a problem that occurred.
In order to solve such a problem, a device provided with a cleaning member for removing dirt on the release agent application roller has been proposed (Patent Documents 4 and 5).

JP-A-8-190296 JP 2000-19883 A JP 2000-66541 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-296012 JP 2000-206822 A

  FIG. 12 is an exploded view of a conventional release agent application apparatus provided with a release agent application roller 202 and a cleaning roller 201 as the cleaning member. As shown in FIG. 12, the release agent application device includes a first bearing portion 203a that rotatably supports the shaft of the release agent application roller 202, and a second bearing portion 203b that rotatably supports the shaft of the cleaning roller. The cleaning roller 201 and the release agent application roller 202 are integrated with each other by the support member 203 provided with the above. As shown in FIG. 13, the support member 203 is urged toward the fixing roller 200 by the spring 206 of the window 205 of the case 204 as a frame. As a result, the release agent application roller 202 comes into contact with the fixing roller 200 with a predetermined pressure, and the release agent application roller 202 rotates with the fixing roller 200. As a result, the release agent can be uniformly applied to the fixing roller 200. Further, the distance between the first bearing portion 203a and the second bearing portion 203b is set so that the cleaning roller 201 contacts the release agent application roller 202 with a predetermined pressure so that the cleaning roller 201 rotates with the release agent application roller 202. The distance is set so that it is possible. When the cleaning roller 201 is rotated around the release agent application roller 202, it is possible to satisfactorily remove toner, paper powder, and the like attached to the release agent application roller 202.

  However, as shown in FIG. 13, the conventional release agent coating apparatus is configured such that the support member 203 is held by the edge side surface 205a of the window 205 on the side of the case and abuts against the lower surface 205b of the edge. 204. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 12, the axial length C of the integrated object in which the release agent application roller 202 and the cleaning roller 201 are integrated by the support member 203 is the same as the axial length c of the case. There is a need. Therefore, when this integrated object is attached to the inside of the case, the integrated object is inserted from one window portion of the case 204, and the supporting member 203 is held in the edge portions 205a and 205b of the window portion 204 so that it is inside the case. Install.

  As a result, there were the following problems. In order to insert the integrated object into the case, as shown in FIG. 12, the longitudinal length a and the horizontal length b of the insertion opening 205c on the upper side of the window are set to at least the release agent application roller 202 and the cleaning. It is necessary to set the roller 201 to be not less than the maximum vertical length A and not less than the maximum horizontal length B of an integrated object integrated with the support member 203. Therefore, there is a problem that the case 204 becomes large and the apparatus becomes large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a release agent coating apparatus capable of downsizing the apparatus, a fixing device including the release agent application apparatus, and image formation. Is to provide a device.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a release agent application roller that presses against the surface of a rotating body and applies a release agent to the surface of the rotation body, and a surface of the release agent application roller. A release agent coating apparatus including a cleaning roller for cleaning the support member, and a support member that integrally supports the release agent application roller and the cleaning roller, and a holding member that holds the support member in the frame. In addition, an opening to which the holding member is attached is formed on an orthogonal surface orthogonal to the axis of the cleaning roller and the axis of the release agent application roller of the frame, and the holding member when attached to parts, missing out prevention protrusion for preventing a slipping out from the opening is provided, it toward the center of rotation of the cleaning roller from the rotational center of the release agent application roller Of shorter than the support member length, said support member and being detachably configured, the opening is wider that the missing out prevention protrusion of the holding member is configured to facilitate insertion inside the frame a portion, a rotating body side than the wide portion, inserted the missing out prevention protrusion on the frame body has a configured narrow portion to abut on the orthogonal plane, the holding member, It is attached to the narrow portion of the opening while being biased toward the rotating body.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the release agent coating apparatus of the first aspect, the holding member is urged toward the rotating body by an elastic member.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the release agent application apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the holding member includes a bearing member, and the shaft of the release agent application roller is rotatably supported by the bearing member. A release agent coating apparatus characterized by that.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the release agent application apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the holding member is in contact with a shaft of the release agent application roller, and the release agent application roller is rotated. A release agent coating apparatus comprising a pressing portion that pressurizes the body side, and at least the pressing portion is formed of a slidable material.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing device comprising: a rotating body that fixes a toner image on a transfer material; and a release agent coating unit that applies a release agent to the surface of the fixing rotating body. As the mold application means, the release agent application apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is used.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image on a transfer material; and a fixing unit that fixes the toner image on the transfer material. The fixing device is used.

According to the present invention, only the holding member that is separable from the support member and is shorter in the direction from the rotation center of the release agent application roller to the rotation center of the cleaning roller than the support member is orthogonal to the frame body. It is attached to the opening of the surface . Therefore, since it is sufficient to provide at least an opening into which the retaining prevention protrusion of the holding member can be inserted on the orthogonal surface of the frame, the vertical length and the horizontal length of the opening on the side surface of the frame are different from the conventional ones. Is not required to be set to be equal to or greater than the maximum vertical length of the integrated object in which the release agent application member and the cleaning member are integrally supported by the support member, and not less than the maximum horizontal length. As a result, the longitudinal length of the release agent coating device can be reduced to the maximum longitudinal length of the integrated product, and the horizontal length of the release agent coating device can be reduced to the maximum horizontal length of the integrated product. It can be made even more compact.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a color laser printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) as an image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the printer of this embodiment. In this printer, four image forming units of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black are arranged side by side to constitute a tandem image forming unit. In the tandem image forming unit, image forming units 101Y, 101C, 101M, and 101K, which are individual toner image forming units, are arranged in order from the left in the figure. Here, the suffixes Y, C, M, and K of the respective symbols indicate members for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively. In the tandem image forming unit, the individual image forming units 101Y, 101C, 101M, and 101K are arranged around the drum-shaped photoconductors 21Y, 21C, 21M, and 21K as latent image carriers, and the charging device and the developing device 10Y. , C, M, K, photoconductor cleaning device and the like. At the top of the printer, toner bottles 2Y, 2C, 2M, and 2K filled with yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toners are arranged. Then, each color developing device 10Y, 10C, M, and K is replenished by a predetermined replenishment amount from the toner bottles 2Y, 2C, 2M, and 2K through a conveyance path (not shown).

  Further, an optical writing unit 9 as a latent image forming unit is provided below the tandem image forming unit. The optical writing unit 9 includes a light source, a polygon mirror, an f-θ lens, a reflection mirror, and the like, and is configured to irradiate the surface of each photoconductor 1 while scanning with laser light based on image data. .

  Further, an intermediate transfer belt 1 in the form of an endless belt is provided as an intermediate transfer member immediately above the tandem image forming unit. The intermediate transfer belt 1 is wound around support rollers 1a and 1b, and a drive motor (not shown) serving as a drive source is connected to a rotation shaft of the drive roller 1a among the support rollers. When this drive motor is driven, the intermediate transfer belt 1 rotates counterclockwise in the figure and the followable support roller 1b rotates. Inside the intermediate transfer belt 10, primary transfer devices 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K for transferring toner images formed on the photoreceptors 21Y, 21C, 21M, and 21K onto the intermediate transfer belt 1 are provided.

  Further, a secondary transfer roller 5 as a secondary transfer device is provided downstream of the primary transfer devices 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K in the driving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1. A support roller 1b is disposed on the opposite side of the secondary transfer roller 5 and the intermediate transfer belt 1, and functions as a pressing member. Further, a paper feed cassette 8, a paper feed roller 7, a registration roller 6 and the like are provided. Further, a fixing device 4 for fixing an image on the recording medium S and a paper discharge roller 3 are provided downstream of the secondary transfer roller 5 with respect to the traveling direction of the recording medium S to which the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer roller 5. I have.

  Next, the operation of the printer will be described. The photoreceptors 21Y, 21C, 21M, and 21K are rotated by the individual image forming means, and the photoreceptors 21Y, 21C, 21M, and 21K are first rotated by the charging devices 17Y, 17C, 21M, and 21K, respectively. The surfaces of M and K are charged uniformly. Next, the image data is irradiated with writing light by a laser from the optical writing unit 9 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptors 21Y, 21C, 21M, 21B. Thereafter, toner is attached by the developing devices 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K, and the electrostatic latent images are visualized to form yellow, cyan, magenta, and black on the photoreceptors 21Y, 21C, 21M, and 21K, respectively. The monochrome image is formed. Further, the driving roller 1a is rotationally driven by a driving motor (not shown), the other driven roller 1b and the secondary transfer roller 5 are driven to rotate, the intermediate transfer belt 1 is rotated and conveyed, and the visible image is transferred to the primary transfer device. 11Y, C, M, and K are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 1. As a result, a composite color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1. The surface of the photoconductors 21Y, 21C, 21M, and 21K after image transfer is cleaned by removing residual toner with a photoconductor cleaning device to prepare for image formation again.

  In accordance with the timing of image formation, the leading edge of the recording medium S is fed from the paper feed cassette 8 by the paper feed roller 7 and conveyed to the registration roller 6 and temporarily stops. Then, the sheet is conveyed between the secondary transfer roller 5 and the intermediate transfer belt 1 while taking timing with the image forming operation. Here, the intermediate transfer belt 1 and the secondary transfer counter roller 5 form a so-called secondary transfer nip across the recording medium S, and the secondary transfer roller 5 transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 to the recording medium S. Secondary transfer on top.

  The recording medium S after the image transfer is sent to the fixing device 4, where the fixing device 4 applies heat and pressure to fix the transferred image, and is discharged outside the apparatus. On the other hand, the intermediate transfer belt 1 after the image transfer is removed by the intermediate transfer body cleaning device 12 to remove residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 1 after the image transfer, so that the tandem image forming unit prepares for another image formation.

  The toner image forming portions 101Y, 101C, 101M, and 101K for each color are integrally formed to be a detachable process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body. These integral process cartridges can be pulled out toward the front side of the printer body along guide rails (not shown) fixed to the printer body. Further, the toner image forming unit can be loaded at a predetermined position by pushing the process cartridge into the back side of the printer main body.

  Here, the process cartridges of the respective toner image forming units 101Y, 101C, M, and K perform the same configuration and operation. Therefore, the subscripts Y, C, M, and K are omitted below, and the process cartridge of the toner image forming unit will be described in detail. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged schematic configuration of the process cartridge of the toner image forming unit 1010. In FIG. 2, a charging roller 17 as a charging device, a developing device 10, a fur brush 36 as a photosensitive member cleaning device, a cleaning blade 33, and the like are sequentially arranged around a photosensitive member 21 that rotates clockwise in the drawing. . As described above, in the printer of this embodiment, the charging roller 17 is disposed vertically below the photoreceptor 21. Further, below the charging roller 17, there is provided a cleaner roller 18 as a charging cleaning roller for cleaning by contacting the surface of the charging roller 17 so as to rotate around. The photoreceptor cleaning device also includes a fur brush 36, a cleaning blade 33, and a waste toner transport coil 34 that discharges waste toner scraped off from the photoreceptor 21 to the outside of the process cartridge.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the fixing device 4. As shown in FIG. 3, in the fixing device 4, an endless fixing belt 43 is wound around a heating roller 42 and a fixing roller 41. The heating roller 41 incorporates a heating means 44 such as a halogen lamp in a metal core, and the fixing belt 43 is heated from the inside by this radiant heat. Further, for example, a thermistor which is a temperature sensor element (not shown) is arranged on the heating roller 41, and the heating means 44 is controlled so as to reach the set temperature based on the temperature detection of the thermistor. Further, a pressure roller 45 that presses the fixing roller 41 with a biasing means (not shown) such as a spring through the fixing belt 43 is provided. Further, the pressure roller 45 is rotated by a driving means (not shown), whereby the fixing roller 42 is driven to rotate. Further, the fixing device 4 is provided with a tension roller 47 that contacts the vicinity of the center portion of the fixing belt 43. The tension roller 47 pressurizes the belt inward by a spring, thereby applying tension to the fixing belt 43. In this embodiment, the driving unit is provided on the pressure roller 45, but the driving unit may be provided on the fixing roller 41 and the pressure roller 45 may be driven to rotate. Further, a separation claw 46 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing nip in the sheet conveying direction so that the sheet does not wind around the fixing belt 43.

The fixing device 4 is provided with a release agent coating device 100 so that the melted toner does not adhere to the fixing belt. The release agent coating apparatus 100 is provided with a release agent application roller 110 that presses against the fixing belt 43 and rotates around the fixing belt 43 to supply the release agent to the fixing belt 43. The release agent application roller 110 is made of a permeable member such as a sponge, and stores therein, for example, silicone oil as a release agent. The release agent application roller 110 can rotate at the same speed as the fixing belt 43 by rotating together with the fixing belt 43, whereby the release agent is uniformly applied to the surface of the fixing belt 43. As described above, the uniform release agent is applied to the fixing belt 43, so that the so-called offset in which the melted toner adheres to the fixing belt 43 is suppressed. Further, the release agent coating apparatus 100 is provided with a cleaning roller 120 that presses against the release agent application roller 110 and removes paper dust and the like attached to the release agent application roller 110. The cleaning roller 120 has, for example, a brush-like surface and rotates around the release agent application roller 110. Further, the brush may be made of a conductive member, and paper dust and the like adhering to the release agent application roller 110 may be removed electrostatically.
In FIG. 3, the release agent coating apparatus 100 is provided on the fixing belt 43. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the release agent application apparatus 100 may be provided on the pressure roller 45.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the release agent coating apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 4, the release agent application device 100 includes a release agent application roller 110, a cleaning roller 120, a case 130, a spring 140, a holding member 150, and a support member 160. As shown in FIG. 5, the support member 160 includes a cleaning roller bearing 161 having an insertion hole 161a into which the shaft of the cleaning roller 120 is inserted, and an insertion hole 162a into which the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller 110 is inserted. A release agent application roller bearing portion 162 having The distance between the insertion hole 161a into which the cleaning roller shaft is inserted and the insertion hole 162a into which the release agent application roller shaft is inserted is such that the cleaning roller 120 and the release agent application roller 110 are rotatably attached to the support member 160. The distance is such that the cleaning roller 120 can come into contact with the release agent application roller 110 with a predetermined contact pressure. The cleaning roller shaft is inserted into the insertion hole 161a of the cleaning roller bearing portion 161 and is rotatably supported. Further, the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller is inserted into the insertion hole 162a of the release agent application roller bearing 162 and is rotatably supported. Further, the support member 160 includes a connecting portion 163 that connects the cleaning roller bearing portion 161 and the release agent application roller bearing portion 162. In addition, the release agent application roller bearing portion is provided with receiving portions 162b on both sides of the connecting portion for receiving a fall prevention protrusion 152 of the holding member 150 described later.

The holding member 150 includes a spring holding protrusion 151, a fall prevention protrusion 152, a pressing portion 153, and a withdrawal prevention protrusion 154. Two fall prevention protrusions 152 are provided on the roller side surface of the holding member 150 and protrude in the axial direction. And the fall prevention protrusion 152 is arrange | positioned so that it may each be located in the side surface of the connection part 163 of the support member 160, as shown in FIG. As a result, when the cleaning roller 120 is about to fall in the radial direction with respect to the release agent application roller 110 inside the case, the connecting portion 163 and the receiving portion 162a of the support member 160 come off and come into contact with the prevention protrusion 152, thereby cleaning the roller. Can be prevented, and the posture of the support member can be maintained inside the case. As shown in FIG. 4, the pressing portion 153 is provided at the center of the lower surface of the holding member and has a concave shape. When attached to the case, the pressing portion 153 presses the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller 110 toward the fixing belt 43. Accordingly, the release agent application roller 110 can be brought into contact with the fixing belt 43 with a stable pressure. Further, the holding member 150 is formed of, for example, a sliding grade resin so that the pressing portion 153 and the release agent application roller slide well.
The spring holding protrusion 151 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the holding member 150 and protrudes from the upper surface. The escape prevention protrusions 154 are respectively provided on side surfaces extending horizontally with respect to the axial direction of the holding member 150 and project from the side surfaces. The escape protrusion 154 is positioned on the inner side surface of the case 130 when attached to the case, and when the holding member 150 moves to the outside of the case due to vibration or the like, the escape protrusion 154 is formed on the inner side surface of the case. The holding member 150 is prevented from coming out of the case 130 due to contact.

The case 130 has open window portions 131 for inserting the holding members 150 on the side surfaces orthogonal to the axis. The upper side of the window 131 is wider than the lower side, and the escape preventing protrusion 154 of the holding member 150 is easily inserted into the inside of the case. The lower side of the one window 131 is narrow so that the protrusion preventing protrusion 154 of the holding member 150 contacts the inside of the case. A spring holding projection 132 is provided on the upper edge of the window 131.
One end of the spring 140 is held by the spring holding projection 151 of the holding member 150, and the other end is held by the spring holding projection 132 of the case 130.

  Next, a method for assembling the release agent coating apparatus 100 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 6A, the shaft of the cleaning roller 120 and the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller 110 are inserted into the insertion holes 161a and 162a of the support member 160, respectively, so as to be separated from the cleaning roller 120. The mold application roller 110 is integrated with the support member 160. As shown in FIG. 6B, one end of the integrated object integrated with the support member 160 is inserted into the case window 131 from the open region of the case 130 and moved in the direction a in the figure. When the integrated object hits, the other end of the integrated object is moved in the direction b in the figure and inserted into the other end of the case window 131. Thereby, as shown in FIG.6 (c), the integrated object which integrated the cleaning roller 120 and the mold release agent application roller 110 with the support member 160 can be stored in a case.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the holding member 150 prevents the protrusion 154 out exit from the upper side of the case window 131 is inserted until the inner case. After missing out prevention protrusion 154 inserts the retaining member 150 until it is inside the case, the holding member 150, is moved to the lower side to the position shown in FIG. 7 (b), as shown in FIG. 5, the holding member 150 The fall prevention protrusions 152 are positioned on both sides of the connecting portion 163 of the support member 160. When the fall prevention protrusions 152 of the holding member 150 are positioned on both sides of the connecting portion 163 of the support member 160, one end of the spring 140 is held by the spring holding protrusion 132 of the case 130 and the spring 140 is held by the spring holding protrusion 151 of the holding member 150. Hold the other end of.

  Accordingly, the cleaning roller 120 and the release agent application roller 110 integrated with the support member 160 are elastically attached to the case 130 via the holding member 150.

  FIG. 8 is an example showing a state where the release agent coating apparatus 100 is attached to the fixing device 4. As shown in FIG. 8, an attachment member 170 for attaching to the case 400 of the fixing device 4 is fixed to the case 130 of the release agent coating apparatus 100 on the upper surface of the case 130 of the coating apparatus by screwing or the like. The release agent coating device 100 is inserted into the case of the fixing device through the opening 401 of the case 400 of the fixing device 4. Then, the release agent coating device 100 is attached to the fixing device 4 by screwing the attachment member 170 to the attachment portion 402 provided in the case 400 of the fixing device 4 with a plurality of knob screws 172. When the life of the release agent application roller 110 and the cleaning roller 120 is reached, the knob screw 172 is loosened and the release agent application device 100 is pulled out from the case opening 401 of the fixing device 4 with the handle portion 171 provided on the attachment member 170. Thus, the release agent coating device 100 can be easily detached from the fixing device 4.

  Next, a modified example of the release agent coating apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a main part of the release agent coating apparatus according to the first modification. As shown in FIG. 9, in the release agent coating apparatus according to the first modification, the pressing portion 153 of the holding member 150 is a bearing 153a. Specifically, the pressing portion 153 of the holding member 150 has a configuration in which a bearing 153a is attached to a hole-shaped portion 153b that is partially open at the lower portion, and the shaft 11 of the release agent application roller 110 is supported by this bearing. It has become. In the assembly of the release agent coating apparatus of Modification 1 shown in FIG. 9, first, an integrated body in which the release agent application roller 110 and the cleaning roller 120 are integrated with each other by the support member 160 is placed inside the case. The holding member 150 is inserted into the case window 131. And the axis | shaft 111 of the mold release agent application roller 110 is inserted in the hole 153b from the part which the lower part opened. Next, the bearing 153a is inserted into the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller and attached to the hole 153b. Thus, the holding member can rotatably support the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller by the bearing 153a. By supporting with the bearing 153a, when the release agent application roller 110 is brought along with the fixing belt, the sliding resistance between the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller and the bearing portion 153 can be reduced. The roller 110 can be satisfactorily engaged with the fixing belt.

  Next, Modification 2 of the release agent coating apparatus will be described. FIG. 10 is an essential part exploded view of a release agent coating apparatus according to a second modification. As shown in FIG. 10, the release agent application roller of the first modification uses the pressing portion 153 of the holding member 150 also as a fall prevention protrusion. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the fall prevention protrusion 152 contacts the receiving portion 162 b of the support member 160, so that the release agent application roller 110 can contact the fixing belt 43 with a predetermined contact pressure. . Moreover, since the pressing part is not provided in the lower part of the holding member 150, the holding member can be shortened in the vertical direction, and the holding part insertion port in the upper part of the case window can be shortened in the vertical direction. As a result, the release agent coating apparatus can be made more compact. Further, in the release agent application device according to the second modification, the release agent application roller 110 and the cleaning roller 120 are integrated by the support member 160 because the shaft of the release agent application roller does not extend from the support member. Can be easily stored in the case.

(1)
As described above, according to the release agent application device of the present embodiment, first, an integral object in which the release agent application roller and the cleaning unit roller are integrally supported by the support member, a surface extending horizontally with respect to the shaft, The frame is inserted into the case from an open region of the case as a frame body provided with side surfaces orthogonal to the axis from both ends of the surface. Next, only the holding member that is separable from the support member and whose length in the vertical direction is shorter than the support member is inserted into the opening on the side surface of the case and attached to the frame so as to hold the support member. Therefore, since at least an opening into which the holding member can be inserted is provided on the side surface of the frame body, the vertical length and the horizontal direction length of the opening portion on the side surface of the frame body are released by the support member as in the conventional case. It is not necessary to set the length of the integral object that integrally supports the agent application roller and the cleaning roller to the maximum vertical length and the maximum horizontal length. As a result, the longitudinal length of the release agent coating device can be reduced to the maximum longitudinal length of the integrated product, and the horizontal length of the release agent coating device can be reduced to the maximum horizontal length of the integrated product. It can be made even more compact.
FIG. 14 is a view showing a side surface of the frame body of the conventional release agent coating apparatus and a side surface of the frame body of the release agent coating apparatus of the present embodiment. The dotted line shown in FIG. 14 is the frame side of the conventional release agent coating apparatus, and the solid line shown in FIG. 14 is the frame side of the release agent coating apparatus of the present invention. As described above, in the conventional release agent coating apparatus, an integrated body that integrally supports the release agent application member 202 and the cleaning member 201 is inserted into the window portion 205 on the side surface of the frame body and attached to the frame body 204. . For this reason, as shown in FIG. 14, the window part 205 provided in the frame 204 will become long in the vertical direction compared with the mold release agent coating apparatus of this embodiment. On the other hand, in the release agent coating apparatus of the present embodiment, an integrated object in which the cleaning member and the release agent application member are integrally supported by the support member is first stored in the frame body 130 from an appropriate position other than the window portion. . Then, the holding member 160 having a length in the vertical direction that is about half the length of the integrated object is inserted into the window 131 on the side surface of the frame body, and the support member is attached to the frame body 130 via the holding member. In the present embodiment, since the holding member 160 having a length in the vertical direction that is approximately half the length of the integral object need only be inserted into the window 131 on the side surface of the frame, as shown in FIG. Can be shortened in the vertical direction as compared with a conventional release agent coating apparatus. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the longitudinal length of the frame can be made shorter than the longitudinal length of the conventional frame, and the release agent coating apparatus can be miniaturized.
(2)
Moreover, according to the mold release agent coating apparatus of this embodiment, the holding member 150 is supported by the case 130 via a spring as an elastic member. With such a configuration, the release agent application roller can be pressed against the rotating body with a simple configuration of the holding member.
(3)
Further, according to the first modification of the release agent application device of the present embodiment, the holding member 150 includes the bearing 153a, and the shaft of the release agent application roller 110 is rotatably supported by the bearing 153a. Thereby, the sliding resistance between the shafts of the holding member 150 and the release agent application roller 110 can be reduced, and the release agent application roller 110 can stably follow the rotating body. As a result, the release agent can be stably applied to the rotating body, and uneven application can be suppressed. Further, since the pressing force that is in pressure contact with the rotating body is transmitted directly from the holding member to the release agent application roller without using a support member or the like, the release agent application roller does not disperse the pressure from the holding member Is transmitted to. As a result, the release agent application roller can be stably brought into pressure contact with the rotating body, and the release agent application roller 110 can be stably rotated around the rotation body. As a result, the release agent can be stably applied to the rotating body, and uneven application can be suppressed.
(4)
Further, according to the release agent application device of the present embodiment, the holding member 150 is in contact with the shaft 111 of the release agent application roller 110 and presses the release agent application roller 110 toward the rotating body. 153. At least the pressing portion 153 is formed of a material having slidability. As a result, the sliding resistance between the shaft of the holding member 150 and the release agent application roller 110 can be reduced, and the release agent application roller 110 can stably follow the fixing belt. As a result, the release agent can be stably applied to the fixing belt, and uneven application can be suppressed. Further, since the pressing force that is in pressure contact with the rotating body is transmitted directly from the holding member to the release agent application roller without using a support member or the like, the release agent application roller does not disperse the pressure from the holding member Is transmitted to. As a result, the release agent application roller can be stably brought into pressure contact with the rotating body, and the release agent application roller 110 can be stably rotated around the rotation body. As a result, the release agent can be stably applied to the rotating body, and uneven application can be suppressed.
(5)
Further, according to the fixing device of the present embodiment, the fixing device can be made compact by providing the release agent coating device having the feature points (1) to (4), and the stable release property. And offset can be suppressed.
(6)
Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus can be made compact and a good image can be formed by including the fixing device having the feature (5).

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge constituting a toner image forming unit of the printer. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fixing device. The exploded view of a mold release agent coating device. The figure which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship between the holding member and support member in the state integrated in the apparatus. (A) is a figure which shows the integrated object which integrally supported the mold release agent application roller and the cleaning roller with the support member, (b) is a figure which shows a mode that an integrated object is stored in a case, (C) is a figure which shows the state in which the integrated object was stored in the case. Schematic explaining the operation | movement which attaches a holding member to a case. The figure which shows an example of the state with which the mold release agent coating device is attached to the fixing device. The principal part exploded view of the mold release agent coating apparatus of the modification 1 The principal part exploded view of the mold release agent coating apparatus of the modification 2 FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a release agent application roller of a release agent application device according to Modification 2 contacts the fixing belt with a predetermined contact pressure. The exploded view of the conventional mold release agent application apparatus. The side view of the conventional mold release agent application apparatus. The figure which compared the case of the conventional mold release agent coating apparatus with the case of the mold release agent coating apparatus of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 4 Fixing device 42 Heating roller 43 Fixing belt 46 Fixing roller 45 Pressure roller 100 Release agent application device 110 Release agent application roller 120 Cleaning roller 130 Case 140 Spring 150 Holding member 160 Support member

Claims (6)

In a release agent coating apparatus comprising: a release agent application roller that presses against the surface of a rotating body and applies a release agent to the surface of the rotation body; and a cleaning roller that cleans the surface of the release agent application roller. ,
A support member that integrally supports the release agent application roller and the cleaning roller;
A holding member for holding the support member in the frame body,
An opening to which the holding member is attached is formed on an orthogonal surface orthogonal to the axis of the cleaning roller and the axis of the release agent application roller of the frame,
The holding member, when attached to the opening, missing out prevention protrusion for preventing a slipping out from the opening is provided, the center of rotation of the cleaning roller from the rotational center of the release agent application roller The length in the direction to go is shorter than the support member, and is configured to be separable from the support member,
The opening portion includes a wide portion of the missing out prevention protrusion of the holding member is configured to facilitate insertion inside the frame, a rotary section than the wide portion, the omission is inserted into the frame body The protrusion preventing protrusion has a narrow portion configured to contact the orthogonal surface,
The release agent coating apparatus, wherein the holding member is attached to the narrow portion of the opening while being biased toward the rotating body. In the release agent coating apparatus of Claim 1,
The release agent coating apparatus, wherein the holding member is biased toward the rotating body by an elastic member. In the release agent coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
Upper Symbol retaining member comprises a bearing member, the release agent application device for, characterized in that rotatably supports the shaft of the release agent application roller in the bearing member. In the release agent coating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The upper SL holding member, the releasing agent and the axis of the application roller abuts with the pressing portion for pressing a release agent application roller to the rotating side, a pusher abutting portion with less, slidability A release agent coating apparatus characterized by being formed of a material possessed by. In a fixing device comprising: a rotator for fixing a toner image on a transfer material; and a release agent application means for applying a release agent to the surface of the fixing rotator.
A fixing device using the release agent application device according to claim 1 as the release agent application means. In an image forming apparatus comprising: a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image on a transfer material; and a fixing unit that fixes the toner image on the transfer material.
An image forming apparatus using the fixing device according to claim 5 as the fixing means.

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