JP6402385B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a printer or a copying machine, that fixes toner transferred onto a recording medium with a fixing device.

  In an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or printer, a volatile organic compound (VOC), ultrafine particles (UFP), or the like is generated from a toner fixing device. One of these main sources appears to be toner and will be referred to below as microparticles. In recent years, due to an increase in environmental awareness, discharge of fine particles to the outside of the apparatus is a problem.

  As a measure against fine particles, generally, a filter that captures trace particles is installed in an image forming apparatus. Although the capture efficiency of the fine particles by the filter is almost 100%, there is a problem that the fine particles leak out of the apparatus before the fine particles are guided from the fixing device (particularly, the fixing nip portion) to the filter. ing.

  Patent Document 1 proposes that a suction duct provided with a fan be installed in the vicinity of the fixing nip portion in order to reduce leakage of fine particles. However, since the rollers and belts constituting the nip portion are rotating, it is difficult to perform suction by bringing the duct into contact with each other, and a sufficient effect of suppressing scattering of fine particles cannot be expected.

JP 2006-84694 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of collecting the fine particles generated at the fixing nip portion while suppressing the scattering to the outside as much as possible.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner transferred onto a recording medium is fixed by a fixing device.
A fixing member that forms a nip portion that constitutes a part of a conveyance path through which the recording medium is conveyed;
An additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
A microparticle collection space formed by at least the fixing member and the additional member;
An air flow generating member that causes the air in the microparticle collection space to flow in a predetermined direction;
A filter member for collecting microparticles contained in the airflow generated by the airflow generating member;
With
The fixing member is composed of an upper fixing member disposed on the upper side of the nip portion and a lower fixing member disposed on the lower side,
The additional member is a roller member that contacts the upper fixing member and faces a conveyance path on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
It is characterized by .
An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes:
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner transferred onto a recording medium is fixed by a fixing device.
A fixing member that forms a nip portion that constitutes a part of a conveyance path through which the recording medium is conveyed;
An additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
A microparticle collection space formed by at least the fixing member and the additional member;
An air flow generating member that causes the air in the microparticle collection space to flow in a predetermined direction;
A filter member for collecting microparticles contained in the airflow generated by the airflow generating member;
With
The fixing member is composed of an upper fixing member disposed on the upper side of the nip portion and a lower fixing member disposed on the lower side,
The additional member includes a first roller member facing a conveyance path on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion, and a second roller member in contact with the first roller member and the upper fixing member.
It is characterized by.
An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention is provided.
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner transferred onto a recording medium is fixed by a fixing device.
A fixing member that forms a nip portion that constitutes a part of a conveyance path through which the recording medium is conveyed;
An additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
A microparticle collection space formed by at least the fixing member and the additional member;
An air flow generating member that causes the air in the microparticle collection space to flow in a predetermined direction;
A filter member for collecting fine particles contained in the air flow generated by the air flow generating member;
With
The fixing member is composed of an upper fixing member disposed on the upper side of the nip portion and a lower fixing member disposed on the lower side,
The additional member includes a roller member that forms a second nip that is in contact with the lower fixing member and forms a part of a conveyance path, and a belt member that is stretched endlessly at least on the upper fixing member and the roller member And consist of
The fine particle collection space is formed by the lower fixing member and the belt member between the nip portion and the second nip portion;
It is characterized by.

  In the image forming apparatus, a fine particle collecting space is formed by an additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion and a fixing member that forms the nip portion, and air is allowed to flow into this space, whereby fine particles are Is sent to the filter member. That is, many fine particles are generated from the overheated toner on the downstream side in the transport direction of the nip portion, but these fine particles are smoothly fed into the filter member from the collection space.

  According to the present invention, the fine particles generated at the fixing nip portion can be collected while suppressing the scattering to the outside as much as possible.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a main part of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the principal part of the image forming apparatus which is 2nd Example. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the principal part of the image forming apparatus which is 3rd Example.

  Embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member and part in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(See the first embodiment, FIG. 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment includes an unfixed image forming apparatus 10, a fixing apparatus 20, and an exhaust apparatus along a conveyance direction Z of a recording medium conveyance path 1 (indicated by a dotted line). 30 is arranged.

  In the unfixed image forming apparatus 10, a charger 12, an image exposure device 13, a developing device 14, a transfer device 15, a cleaner 16, and the like are arranged around a drum photoreceptor 11 that is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A. . As the photoconductor 11 rotates in the direction of arrow A, the photoconductor 11 is charged to a predetermined potential by the discharge from the charger 12 and receives light emitted from the image exposure device 13 to form an electrostatic latent image. . This electrostatic latent image is converted into a toner image by the developing device 14. The recording medium is fed one by one from a sheet feeding device (not shown), conveyed in the direction of arrow Z by the conveying roller 2, and the toner image is transferred by an electric field applied from the transfer unit 15, and an unfixed toner image is obtained. It is sent to the fixing device 20 while being held on the upper surface. Further, the residual toner on the photoconductor 11 is wiped and collected by the cleaner 16.

  The image forming process described above is well known as an electrophotographic system. The charger 12 can use various devices such as a roller method, a blade method, and a brush method in addition to those using corona discharge. The image exposure unit 13 uses an LED, a light emitting diode, or the like as a light source, scans the surface of the photoconductor 11 with light modulated based on image data, and forms an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 14 supplies toner mixed and stirred with a carrier to the surface of the photoconductor 11, and a toner-only one-component system or other various developing systems can be used.

  A toner having an average particle diameter of 1 to 10 μm can be suitably used (about 6 μm is most preferable from the viewpoint of responsiveness to an electric field), and the toner preferably has a roundness of 0.8 or more. The toner charge amount is preferably in the range of 10 to 50 μC / g in terms of absolute value, and most preferably about 30 μC / g in terms of electric field response. The charge amount of the toner can be controlled by changing the mixing ratio of the toner and the carrier. When such toner is heated and partially melted and volatilized, the main component becomes hydrocarbon gas or fine particles.

  The transfer device 15 is a roller member to which a transfer bias (about 100 to 1000 V) can be applied, and the surface material of the roller member is covered with a rubber material, a solid material, a foam material, or the like. The cleaner 16 uses a method of scraping residual toner from the surface of the photoconductor 11 with a blade member. In addition, a method of electrostatically wiping with a cleaning member to which a bias is applied can be used. The material of the cleaner 16 is a solid material, a brush, a foam material, a web material, or the like.

  The fixing device 20 includes an upper fixing roller 21 having a built-in halogen lamp 22 as a heat source, a lower fixing roller 23, and an additional roller 24. As a heat source, in addition to the halogen lamp 22, an IH heater, a microwave heater, or the like may be used. The upper fixing roller 21 is made of an elastic material, and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B. The lower fixing roller 23 is slightly bitten by being pressed from below with a predetermined pressure. Further, the lower fixing roller 23 is driven to rotate as the upper fixing roller 21 rotates. The pressure contact portions of the rollers 21 and 23 act as a fixing nip portion. When the recording medium is conveyed through the nip portion with the toner image transfer surface facing upward, the toner is melted and compressed, fixed, and solidified. The solidification of the toner may be natural cooling or airflow spraying, or may be performed by bringing the cooling member close to or in contact with the surface of the recording medium. During the heat fixing, fine particles are discharged from the toner, and the discharged portion is downstream in the transport direction of the fixing nip portion.

  The additional roller 24 is disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the fixing nip portion, contacts and rotates with the upper fixing roller 21, and faces the conveyance path 1 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion. As the additional roller 24, an elastic material such as sponge may be used on the surface, a web may be used, or a metal roller may be used. Further, it is preferable that the temperature adjusting member 25 is disposed in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the additional roller 24. The temperature adjustment member 25 is, for example, a cooling fan, and adjusts the temperature of the additional roller 24 at least lower than the temperature of the fixing nip portion. Since the additional roller 24 is heated via the fixing rollers 22 and 23, when the toner on the recording medium comes into contact with the additional roller 24, the toner image is disturbed by the heat of the additional roller 24, and the gloss of the image is unnecessary. It will increase. Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the temperature of the additional roller 24 at least lower than the temperature of the fixing nip portion.

  In the fixing device 20 having the above configuration, when the recording medium is conveyed through the fixing nip portion, the fine particle collecting space S (an enlarged portion of FIG. 1) is conveyed by the recording medium conveyed with the upper fixing roller 21 and the additional roller 24. Are formed with cross-hatching. That is, fine particles generated from the heat-melted toner are collected in the space S.

  Further, in the fixing device 20, the air flow generating member 26 is arranged at the end of the collection space S (the end in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction Z and the direction “rotating member axial direction” perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). ing. The air flow generating member 26 may be a pump type such as a diaphragm type, a bellows type, an electromagnetic type, or a pitton type, and may be a fan type. The air flow generating member 26 causes the air in the collection space S containing fine particles to flow in a predetermined direction, that is, a direction orthogonal to the transport direction Z and a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and is sent to the exhaust device 30 described in detail below.

  The exhaust device 30 includes an air flow generating member 32 and a filter member 33 incorporated in the housing 31, and a duct (not shown) disposed in the opening 31 a of the housing 31 captures the fine particles. It faces the end of the collecting space S in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction Z and in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Note that the opening 31 a of the housing 31 may face the end of the collection space S directly.

  The exhaust device 30 exhausts the entire interior of the image forming apparatus, and in particular exhausts the collection space S. That is, the air flow generating member 26 causes the air in the collection space S to flow in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction Z and in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The air in the collection space S is also sent to the exhaust device 30 through a duct (not shown) by the action of the air flow generating member 32 provided in the exhaust device 30, and the fine particles are captured by the filter member 33.

  As the air flow generating member 32, a pump type such as a diaphragm type, a bellows type, an electromagnetic type and a pitton type can be used, and a fan type may be used. In addition, if only the action of the air flow generating member 26 is sufficient to cause the air in the collection space S to flow in one direction and send it to the filter member 33, the air flow generating member 32 as a microparticle capturing means is It is not always necessary.

  As the filter member 33, it is desirable to use an electrostatic filter that can capture fine particles such as VOC and UFP with high efficiency. As long as microparticles can be captured, the filter may not be an electrostatic filter that charges and captures microparticles, but may be an adhesive filter, an activated carbon filter, or the like. As the configuration of the filter, a nonwoven fabric type or a honeycomb type can be suitably used.

  Further, in the fixing device 20, a guide member 27 may be disposed on the conveyance path 1 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the fixing nip portion and on the side opposite to the additional roller 24. The guide member 27 is preferably coated with a resin material on the surface facing the conveyance path 1. The guide member 27 has a width that is at least larger than the width of the smallest size recording medium that can be conveyed. When a recording medium of a small size is conveyed, a gap is generated in the lower part of the collection space S, and the air fluidity of the space S is lowered. By disposing the guide member 27, the closing property of the space S can be maintained.

(See the second embodiment, FIG. 2)
The image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment basically includes a fixing device 20 similar to that of the first embodiment, except that an addition of forming a microparticle collection space S as shown in FIG. The member is composed of a first additional roller 24a and a second additional roller 24b. The first additional roller 24a faces the conveyance path 1 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the fixing nip portion. The second additional roller 24 b is in contact with the first additional roller 24 a and the upper fixing roller 21.

  In the second embodiment, when the recording medium is conveyed through the fixing nip portion, the fine particle collecting space S (cross hatching is added to FIG. 2) by the recording medium conveyed with the upper fixing roller 21 and the additional rollers 24a and 24b. Part) is formed. The fine particles collected in the space S are finally captured by the filter member 33 of the exhaust device 30 as in the first embodiment. Accordingly, the operational effects of the second embodiment are basically the same as those of the first embodiment.

(Refer to the third embodiment, FIG. 3)
The image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment includes a fixing device 20 shown in FIG. In the fixing device 20, the lower fixing roller 23 is slightly shifted from the upper fixing roller 21 on the downstream side in the transport direction Z. The additional member includes an additional roller 24c that forms part of the conveyance path 1 in contact with the lower fixing roller 23, and an additional belt 28 that is stretched endlessly at least on the upper fixing roller 21 and the additional roller 24c. Has been. The additional belt 28 is made of an elastic material, and holding rollers 28 a and 28 b are disposed so as to be driven endlessly in the direction of arrow b as the upper fixing roller 21 rotates.

  Specifically, the additional belt 28 is wound around the additional roller 24c from the lower outer peripheral surface of the upper fixing roller 21 through the upper outer peripheral surface of the lower fixing roller 23, and the lower fixing is achieved by slightly delaying the rotation of the additional roller 24c. A slack is generated immediately above the roller 23. The slack portion of the belt 28 and the lower fixing roller 23 form a fine particle collection space S (portion shown with cross-hatching in FIG. 3).

  The recording medium is conveyed in the direction of arrow Z along the conveyance path 1 indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 3, and the toner is thermally melted, compressed, fixed, and solidified as it passes through the nip portion of the fixing rollers 21 and 23. Further, the recording medium is conveyed along the upper surface portion of the lower fixing roller 23 and sent out from the second nip portion formed by the lower fixing roller 23 and the additional roller 24c. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the fine particle collecting space S is between the fixing nip portion formed by the rollers 21 and 23 and the second nip portion formed by the rollers 23 and 24c, and the lower side. The fixing roller 23 and the additional belt 28 are formed.

  Also in the third embodiment, the fine particles collected in the collection space S are finally captured by the filter member 33 of the exhaust device 30 as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the operational effects of the third embodiment are basically the same as those of the first embodiment.

(Various experimental examples)
Hereinafter, Experimental Examples 1 to 5 using the first, second, and third examples will be described with reference to comparative examples.

(Experimental example 1)
Using the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the amount of collected particles was measured under the following conditions. The temperature adjusting member 25 and the guide member 27 are not provided.
Unfixed image forming apparatus: Monochrome direct transfer system Recording medium: Plain paper (width dimension 297 mm)
Upper fixing roller: hollow elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Lower fixing roller: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Heat source: halogen lamp Additional member: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 30 mm Air flow generating member: fan method Exhaust device: fan method Repair target: UFP
Measuring instrument: A UFP particle counter, a measuring instrument is installed instead of the filter member in the exhaust device, and the number of particles collected is counted.

In Experimental Example 1 described above, the amount of collected UFP particles (× 10 ² particles / mL) was 280 as shown in Table 1. As Comparative Example 1, the amount of collected particles was 150 when the fixing device had the same configuration, the additional roller 24 was not provided, and the duct provided in the exhaust device 30 was disposed at the end of the fixing nip portion. If only the duct was arranged as in Comparative Example 1, the amount of UFP leaked at the inlet of the duct was large, and in Experimental Example 1, a large amount of UFP could be collected.

(Experimental example 2)
The amount of collected particles was measured under the following conditions using the second embodiment shown in FIG.
Unfixed image forming apparatus: Monochrome direct transfer system Recording medium: Plain paper (width dimension 297 mm)
Upper fixing roller: hollow elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Lower fixing roller: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Heat source: halogen lamp Additional member (first roller): elastic roller having an outer diameter of 30 mm Additional member (second roller): outer diameter 30mm elastic roller Air flow generating member: Fan system Exhaust device: Fan system Repair target: UFP
Measuring instrument: A UFP particle counter, a measuring instrument is installed instead of the filter member in the exhaust device, and the number of particles collected is counted.

In Experimental Example 2 described above, the amount of collected UFP particles (× 10 ² particles / mL) was 280 as shown in Table 2. Compared with Experimental Example 1, the amount of collected particles was the same, but the occurrence ratio of paper jam was reduced to 1/10. In Experimental Example 1, the additional roller 24 may rotate in the reverse direction with respect to the transport direction Z in the vicinity of the recording medium, causing a paper jam. On the other hand, in Experimental Example 2, the first additional roller 24a rotates in the same direction as the transport direction Z in the vicinity of the recording medium, so that it is difficult for paper jam to occur.

(Experimental example 3)
Using the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the amount of collected particles was measured under the following conditions.
Unfixed image forming apparatus: Monochrome direct transfer system Recording medium: Plain paper (width dimension 297 mm)
Upper fixing roller: hollow elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Lower fixing roller: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Heat source: halogen lamp Additional member: elastic belt
: Elastic roller (24c) having an outer diameter of 30 mm
Air flow generating member: Fan method Exhaust device: Fan method Repair target: UFP
Measuring instrument: A UFP particle counter, a measuring instrument is installed instead of the filter member in the exhaust device, and the number of particles collected is counted.

In Experimental Example 3 described above, the amount of UFP collected particles (× 10 ² particles / mL) was 300 as shown in Table 3. Compared with Experimental Example 1, the amount of collected particles was large. This is because Experimental Example 3 has a higher sealing property of the collection space S than Experimental Example 1.

(Experimental example 4)
The temperature adjusting member 25 was provided in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and the amount of collected particles was measured under the following conditions. The guide member 27 is not provided.
Unfixed image forming apparatus: Monochrome direct transfer system Recording medium: Plain paper (width dimension 297 mm)
Upper fixing roller: hollow elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Lower fixing roller: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Heat source: halogen lamp Additional member: elastic belt
: Elastic roller (24c) having an outer diameter of 30 mm
Temperature adjusting member: Fan cooling method (cooling the temperature of the second nip portion to 160 ° C. The temperature of the first nip portion is 180 ° C)
Air flow generating member: Fan method Exhaust device: Fan method Repair target: UFP
Measuring instrument: A UFP particle counter, a measuring instrument is installed instead of the filter member in the exhaust device, and the number of particles collected is counted.

In Experimental Example 4 described above, the amount of UFP collected particles (× 10 ² particles / mL) was 300 as shown in Table 4. When the experimental example 1 is set to “1”, the image disturbance occurrence ratio is 1.5 in the experimental example 3, whereas it is 0.1 in the present experimental example 4. Here, the image disturbance means that the toner heated and melted in the fixing nip is reheated by the additional member and the gloss of the image is unnecessarily increased. In Experimental Example 3, when the recording medium passes through the second nip portion between the lower fixing roller 23 and the additional roller 24c, the recording roller is heated by the additional roller 24a, and the image distortion occurrence ratio increases to 1.5. End up. On the other hand, when the additional roller 24a is cooled by the temperature adjusting member 25, the occurrence ratio of the image disturbance is reduced to 0.1.

(Experimental example 5)
The guide member 27 was provided in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the amount of collected particles was measured under the following conditions. The temperature adjustment member 25 is not provided.
Unfixed image forming apparatus: Monochrome direct transfer system Recording medium: Plain paper (width size 150 mm)
Upper fixing roller: hollow elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Lower fixing roller: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 60 mm Heat source: halogen lamp Additional member: elastic roller having an outer diameter of 30 mm Guide member: width of 300 mm
Air flow generating member: Fan method Exhaust device: Fan method Repair target: UFP
Measuring instrument: A UFP particle counter, a measuring instrument is installed instead of the filter member in the exhaust device, and the number of particles collected is counted.

In Experimental Example 5 described above, the amount of collected UFP particles (× 10 ² particles / mL) was 250 as shown in Table 5. As in Experimental Example 1, the amount is slightly lower than the amount of collected particles 280 when a recording medium having a width of 297 mm is conveyed. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 2 in which a recording medium having a width of 150 mm is conveyed without providing the guide member 27, the amount of collected particles is 120. By providing the guide member 27 as in Experimental Example 5, a recording medium having a small width is provided. A decrease in the amount of collected particles when conveying the is suppressed.

(Other examples)
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist thereof.

  In particular, the image forming apparatus may be a multifunction machine having a communication function, a facsimile function, and the like in addition to a printer having only a print function. In addition to a monochrome machine, a color machine may be used, and a tandem system is generally used as a color machine.

  Further, the detailed structures of the unfixed image forming apparatus 10, the fixing apparatus 20, and the exhaust apparatus 30 shown in the above-described embodiment, the types of various devices, materials, and the like are arbitrary.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for an image forming apparatus, and is particularly excellent in that it can be collected while suppressing as much as possible fine particles generated in the fixing nip portion from being scattered outside.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveyance path 10 ... Unfixed image forming apparatus 20 ... Fixing apparatus 21 ... Upper side fixing roller 23 ... Lower side fixing roller 24, 24a, 24b, 24c ... Additional roller 25 ... Temperature adjusting member 26 ... Air flow generating member 27 ... Guide Member 28 ... Additional belt 30 ... Exhaust device 32 ... Air flow generating member 33 ... Filter member S ... Space for collecting fine particles

Claims (5)

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner transferred onto a recording medium is fixed by a fixing device.
A fixing member that forms a nip portion that constitutes a part of a conveyance path through which the recording medium is conveyed;
An additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
A microparticle collection space formed by at least the fixing member and the additional member;
An air flow generating member that causes the air in the microparticle collection space to flow in a predetermined direction;
A filter member for collecting microparticles contained in the airflow generated by the airflow generating member;
With
The fixing member is composed of an upper fixing member disposed on the upper side of the nip portion and a lower fixing member disposed on the lower side,
The additional member is a roller member that contacts the upper fixing member and faces a conveyance path on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
Images forming device you characterized. In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner transferred onto a recording medium is fixed by a fixing device.
A fixing member that forms a nip portion that constitutes a part of a conveyance path through which the recording medium is conveyed;
An additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
A microparticle collection space formed by at least the fixing member and the additional member;
An air flow generating member that causes the air in the microparticle collection space to flow in a predetermined direction;
A filter member for collecting microparticles contained in the airflow generated by the airflow generating member;
With
The fixing member is composed of an upper fixing member disposed on the upper side of the nip portion and a lower fixing member disposed on the lower side,
The additional member includes a first roller member facing a conveyance path on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion, and a second roller member in contact with the first roller member and the upper fixing member.
Images forming device you characterized. In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which toner transferred onto a recording medium is fixed by a fixing device.
A fixing member that forms a nip portion that constitutes a part of a conveyance path through which the recording medium is conveyed;
An additional member disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the nip portion;
A microparticle collection space formed by at least the fixing member and the additional member;
An air flow generating member that causes the air in the microparticle collection space to flow in a predetermined direction;
A filter member for collecting microparticles contained in the airflow generated by the airflow generating member;
With
The fixing member is composed of an upper fixing member disposed on the upper side of the nip portion and a lower fixing member disposed on the lower side,
The additional member includes a roller member that forms a second nip that is in contact with the lower fixing member and forms a part of a conveyance path, and a belt member that is stretched endlessly at least on the upper fixing member and the roller member And consist of
The fine particle collection space is formed by the lower fixing member and the belt member between the nip portion and the second nip portion;
Images forming device you characterized. Further, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that, with a temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature lower than the temperature of at least the nip temperature of the additional member. Furthermore, a guide member having a width larger than the width of the smallest transportable recording medium disposed on the transport path downstream of the nip portion in the transport direction and opposite to the additional member is provided. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

Images