JP6863026B2 - Fixing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming device.

As an image forming apparatus for copiers, facsimiles, printers, etc., various image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method have been devised and are known techniques. In the image forming process, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum which is an image carrier based on the image information, and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum is developed with toner or the like which is a developing agent. By the process of visualizing, transferring the developed image to a recording medium (also called paper) by a transfer device, supporting the image, and fixing the unfixed toner image on the recording medium by a fixing device using pressure, heat, etc. It is established.

The fixing device of the image forming apparatus passes the recording medium through the nip portion formed between the fixing means and the pressurizing means to fix the unfixed toner image on the recording medium. Various types of fixing devices have been proposed. For example, a pressure roller as a pressurizing means, a fixing roller arranged to face the pressure roller, and a fixing roller and a heating roller as the fixing means. An endless fixing belt (belt member) stretched between the two is provided, and a nip portion formed by pressure contacting the pressurizing roller with the fixing roller via the fixing belt is provided via the fixing belt. A belt fixing method is known in which an unfixed toner image is pressed against a recording medium and fixed by applying the heat of a heating roller to the recording medium. Further, a fixing device in which the pressurizing means has an endless belt member is also known.

In a fixing device having such a belt member, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that anti-slip members are provided at both ends of the fixing belt in the width direction in order to prevent skewing of the fixing belt. ..

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a fixing device in which a locking guide is provided on the fixing belt and a locking ring is provided on the end surface of a roller for tensioning the guide. Further, it is disclosed that the contact surface between the anti-slip guide and the end face of the anti-slip ring is an inclined surface, and a lubricant is applied to this contact surface.

Further, in a fixing device using a belt member, a configuration including a fixing member that makes sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the belt member is also known. Further, in order to reduce the sliding resistance between the inner peripheral surface of the belt member and the member arranged on the inner peripheral side of the belt member, a lubricant such as oil or grease is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the belt member. Is also known.

However, in a fixing device in which a lubricant is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the belt member, the inner peripheral surface of the belt member and the roller member for tensioning the belt member and the fixing member sliding on the roller member are in close contact with each other. , The lubricant may move to both ends of the belt member and flow out from the end side of the belt member. Further, in particular, when the fixing member is provided inside the belt member, the lubricant applied to the inner peripheral surface of the belt member decreases due to the outflow, so that the sliding resistance between the belt member and the fixing member increases. , It leads to deterioration of durability performance of belt members and the like.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fixing device capable of preventing the lubricant from flowing out from the end side of the belt member by a simple structure.

In order to achieve such an object, in the fixing device according to the present invention, a nip portion is formed between the fixing means and the pressurizing means, and at least one of the fixing means or the pressurizing means is two or more including a roller member. In a fixing device having an endless belt member stretched over the member, the belt member is coated with a lubricant on the inner peripheral surface and has a detent guide having a convex shape on both ends of the inner peripheral surface. At least one of the roller members having the belt member and tensioning the belt member is on the end side of the surface of the roller member that comes into contact with the regulation surface of the anti-slip guide in the axial direction of the roller member. There have a groove on the inner side than the end portion of the near stop guide in a state in which contact with the regulating surface, at a position outside the range of the roller member for stretching the said belt member, one end guided by the groove It is provided with a lubricant transfer member to be used .

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the lubricant from flowing out from the end side of the belt member by a simple structure.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the fixing device which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing (1) at the end portion in the axial direction of a heating roller. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the other embodiment of the fixing device which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (2) at the axial end of the heating roller.

Hereinafter, the configuration according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

[First Embodiment]
(Image forming device)
An embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Examples of the image forming apparatus include an embodiment in which an image is formed using toner such as a printer, a copying machine, and a fax machine, and includes a fixing device for fixing a toner image (unfixed image) formed on a recording medium. Is.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is a tandem type intermediate transfer type, and includes a paper feed table 200 having a paper feed tray 44 at the bottom.

Further, inside the image forming apparatus 100, a tandem type intermediate transfer type tandem type image forming unit 11 in which a plurality of image forming means 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K are arranged side by side is provided. The subscripts Y, M, C, and K attached to these codes indicate the colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively.

The image forming apparatus 100 is provided with an endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer body (hereinafter, intermediate transfer belt) 10 near the center. The intermediate transfer belt 10 is supported by being hung on a plurality of rollers 14, 15, 15', 16 and the like, and can be rotationally conveyed clockwise in FIG.

In the configuration example of FIG. 1, a cleaning device 17 for the intermediate transfer belt is provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 10 of the secondary transfer opposed roller 16 which is one of such support rollers. The cleaning device 17 removes residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 10 after image transfer.

On the upper part of the intermediate transfer belt 10 stretched between the support roller 14 and the support roller 15, four yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are applied along the transport direction. Image forming means 18Y, 18M, 18C, 18K are arranged. The reference numerals are abbreviated as 18 (Y, M, C, K) below.

In this way, the four image forming means 18 (Y, M, C, K) are arranged side by side to form the tandem type image forming unit 11 as described above. Each of the image forming means 18 (Y, M, C, K) of the tandem type image forming unit 11 is a photoconductor drum 40 (Y, M, C, K) as an image carrier for supporting toner images of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively. It has Y, M, C, K).

Two exposure devices 12 are provided above the tandem image forming unit 11. Each exposure device 12 is provided corresponding to two image forming means (18Y and 18M, 18C and 18K), respectively. Each exposure device 12 includes, for example, a light source device such as a semiconductor laser, a semiconductor laser array, or a multi-beam light source, a coupling optical system, a common optical deflector using a polygon mirror, and two scanning imaging optical systems. It is an optical scanning type exposure apparatus composed of. Each exposure device 12 exposes each photoconductor drum 40 (Y, M, C, K) according to the image information of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black to form an electrostatic latent image.

Further, around the photoconductor drum 40 (Y, M, C, K) of each image forming means 18 (Y, M, C, K), a charging device that uniformly charges each photoconductor drum prior to exposure. A developing device that develops an electrostatic latent image formed by exposure with toner of each color, and a photoconductor cleaning device that removes transfer residual toner on the photoconductor drum are provided.

Further, a primary transfer roller 62 (Y, M, C, K) is provided at the primary transfer position for transferring the toner image from each photoconductor drum 40 (Y, M, C, K) to the intermediate transfer belt 10. There is. The primary transfer roller 62 (Y, M, C, K) is provided so as to face each photoconductor drum 40 (Y, M, C, K) with an intermediate transfer belt 10 in between, and is used as a primary transfer means. It becomes a component.

Of the plurality of support rollers that support the intermediate transfer belt 10, the support roller 14 is a drive roller that rotationally drives the intermediate transfer belt 10, and is connected to a motor via a drive transmission mechanism such as a gear, a pulley, or a belt. There is. When a black monochromatic image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 10, the support rollers 15 and 15'other than the support roller 14 are moved by the moving mechanism to move the photoconductor drum 40 (Y, M, C). ) Can be separated from the intermediate transfer belt 10. In addition, the backup roller 63 is also provided as a supporting roller.

A secondary transfer device 13 is provided on the side of the intermediate transfer belt 10 opposite to the tandem image forming unit 11. The secondary transfer device 13 transfers the image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 to the sheet-shaped recording medium P by pressing the secondary transfer roller 16'on the secondary transfer opposed roller 16 and applying a transfer electric field. ..

Further, a fixing device 20 for fixing the transferred image on the recording medium P is provided on the downstream side of the secondary transfer device 13 in the transport direction. The recording medium P on which the image is transferred by the secondary transfer device 13 is transferred to the fixing device 20 by the transfer belt 38 supported by the two rollers 37. Of course, the portion of the transport belt 38 may be a fixed guide member, or may be a transport roller, a transport roller, or the like.

A sheet reversing device 39 is provided below the tandem image forming unit 11, the secondary transfer device 13, and the fixing device 20 to reverse and convey the recording medium P so as to record images on both sides of the recording medium P.

Further, the recording medium P is conveyed as follows. First, one of the paper feed rollers 42 of the paper feed table 200 is selectively rotated, and the recording medium P is fed out from one of the paper feed trays 44 provided in the paper bank 43 in multiple stages. The unwound recording medium P is separated one by one by the separation roller 45, introduced into the paper feed path 46, conveyed by the transfer roller pair 47, and guided to the paper feed path 48 in the image forming apparatus 100. After being struck, it is abutted against the positioning roller (resist roller) vs. 49 and stopped.

When the manual feed tray 51 is used, the paper feed roller 50 is rotated, the recording medium P on the manual feed tray 51 is fed out, and the fed-out recording medium P is separated one by one by the separation roller 52. Later, it is introduced into the manual feed feed path 53, and is similarly abutted against the positioning roller pair 49 and stopped.

After that, the positioning roller pair 49 is rotated in time with the formation of the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10, and the recording medium P is placed at the secondary transfer position between the intermediate transfer belt 10 and the secondary transfer roller 16'. Be sent in. Then, the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 is collectively transferred onto the recording medium P.

The recording medium P on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed by the transport belt 38 and sent to the fixing device 20, and heat and pressure are applied by the fixing device 20 to fix the transferred toner image. It is ejected onto the output tray 57 by the ejection roller 56 and stacked.

In the case of double-sided printing, the recording medium P on which the image is fixed on one side is introduced into the sheet reversing device 39, inverted, and then guided to the secondary transfer position again, and the image is also transferred to the back side, and the fixing device 20 After being fixed with, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 57 by the discharge roller 56.

(Fixing device)
In the fixing device according to the present embodiment, a nip portion is formed between the fixing means (fixing belt 24, heating roller 21, pressure pad 22, etc.) and the pressing means (pressurizing roller 23), and the fixing means or the fixing means or the addition is performed. In a fixing device (fixing device 20) having at least one of the pressing means having an endless belt member (fixing belt 24) stretched over two or more members including a roller member, the belt member lubricates the inner peripheral surface. At least one of the roller members (heating roller 21) that has the anti-slip guides (anti-slip guides 32) having a convex shape at both ends of the inner peripheral surface and stretches the belt member while the agent is applied. In the axial direction of the roller member, the roller member is on the end side of the surface (tapered surface 33a) that comes into contact with the regulating surface (tapered surface 32a) of the detent guide, and the roller member is in contact with the regulating surface. It has a groove portion (groove portion 34) inside the end portion of the anti-skid guide. In addition, the code in parentheses and the application example are shown.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the fixing device 20, and is a schematic cross-sectional view of the pressure roller 23 in the axial direction.

The fixing device 20 is applied via a heating roller 21, a pressure pad 22, a tension roller 27, a fixing belt 24 stretched on the heating roller 21, the pressure pad 22, and the tension roller 27, and a fixing belt 24. A pressure roller 23 or the like that presses the pressure pad 22 to form a nip portion between the pressure pad 22 and the fixing belt 24 is provided.

Further, the heating roller 21 has a heater 25 as a heat source, and the pressurizing roller 23 has a heater 26 as a heat source inside.

The fixing device 20 uses a recording medium P in which an unfixed toner image T (transfer image) is supported on a nip portion between the fixing belt 24 and the pressure roller 23 formed by pressure contact between the pressure pad 22 and the pressure roller 23. It is used to pass paper and heat and fix it. The heating roller 21 and the pressurizing roller 23 are rotatably supported in the longitudinal direction of the housing of the fixing device 20, and the driving means and the like of each roller are fixedly held in the housing.

The tip of the recording medium P through which the nip portion is passed is separated by the separation plate 28 arranged on the fixing belt 24 side or the separation plate 29 arranged on the pressure roller 23 side, and is discharged to the next step. The separation plates 28 and 29 as the separation members arranged on the pressure pad 22 side and the pressure roller 23 side, respectively, are not limited to the plate-shaped members, and separation claws may be used.

The heating roller 21 heats the surface of the fixing belt 24 on the upstream side of the nip portion. For example, it is a thin cylinder made of a metal material, and the heater 25 as a heat source is inside the cylinder. Is fixed. As the heater 25, for example, a halogen heater, a carbon heater, or the like can be used. Further, both ends of the heater 25 are fixed to the housing of the fixing device 20. Further, the heater 25 may be an induction heating means (IH heating means) for heating the heating roller 21 from the outside.

The output of the heater 25 is controlled by the power supply unit (AC power supply) of the main body of the apparatus, and the heating roller 21 is heated by the radiant heat from the heater 25. Further, heat is applied to the unfixed toner image T on the recording medium P from the surface of the fixing belt 24 heated by the heating roller 21. The output control of the heater 25 is performed based on the detection result of the belt surface temperature by the temperature sensor 30 such as a thermopile provided at a position facing the surface of the fixing belt 24. The installation position and the number of temperature sensors 30 are not limited to this. For example, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the pressurizing roller 23 may be provided, and the heaters 25 and 26 may be controlled based on these. ..

The fixing belt 24 is hung around the tension roller 27 and the heating roller 21, and slides on the pressure pad 22 to rotate. The nip portion is formed by pressing the pressurizing roller 23 against the fixing belt 24 configured in this way against the portion corresponding to the pressurizing pad 22.

The pressure pad 22 is arranged along the axial direction of the fixing belt 24, and receives the pressure of the pressure roller 23 to determine the shape of the nip portion N. The pressure pad 22 is fixedly supported by a support member (stay) (not shown). As a result, the pressure pad 22 is prevented from bending due to the pressure of the pressure roller 23, and a uniform nip width can be obtained in the axial direction of the pressure roller 23.

Further, the pressure pad 22 is made of a heat resistant member. As a result, deformation of the pressure pad 22 due to heat is prevented in the toner fixing temperature range, a stable state of the nip portion N is ensured, and the output image quality is stabilized. The pressure pad 22 is generally provided with general materials such as polyethersulfone (PES), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polyethernitrile (PEN), polyamideimide (PAI), and polyetheretherketone (PEEK). Heat resistant resin can be used.

Further, in order to reduce the sliding resistance of the fixing belt 24 by the pressure pad 22, a sliding sheet 31 impregnated with a lubricant such as silicone oil or fluorine grease is fixed to the surface of the pressure pad 22. The sliding sheet 31 may be disposed on at least a surface (sliding surface) of the pressure pad 22 facing the fixing belt 24. As a result, when the fixing belt 24 rotates, the fixing belt 24 slides against the low friction sheet, so that the driving torque generated in the fixing belt 24 is reduced and the load due to the frictional force on the fixing belt 24 is reduced. To.

The fixing belt 24 is an endless belt having a two-layer structure in which an elastic layer such as a silicon rubber layer is formed on a base material such as nickel, stainless steel, or polyimide.

Further, the fixing belt 24 may be, for example, an endless belt having a multi-layer structure in which an elastic layer such as silicone rubber and a release layer are sequentially laminated on a base layer made of PI (polyimide) resin. The elastic layer has, for example, a layer thickness of about 200 μm and is formed of an elastic material such as silicone rubber, fluororubber, or foamable silicone rubber. The release layer has a layer thickness of, for example, about 20 μm, and is formed of PFA (tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer resin), polyimide, polyetherimide, PES (polyethersulfide), or the like. By providing the release layer on the surface layer of the fixing belt 24, the release property (peeling property) with respect to the toner (toner image) is ensured.

The pressure roller 23 is a roller member in which an elastic layer such as fluororubber, silicone rubber, or foamable silicone rubber is formed on a core metal such as SUS304. Further, a heater 26 as a heat source is fixedly installed inside the cylindrical body. This makes it possible to prevent the temperature from dropping at the nip portion. The heater 26 may not be provided.

When the pressure roller 23 is pressed against the pressure pad 22 via the fixing belt 24, a nip portion is formed between the pressure roller 23 and the fixing belt 24. Further, the size of the nip width can be controlled by controlling the pressing force (pressurizing force) of the pressurizing roller 23 on the pressurizing pad 22 side.

In the fixing device 20, the fixing belt 24 is conveyed by the pressure roller 23 which is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow by the driving means while being slid on the pressure pad 22 fixed in the high-pressure nip. Further, the heating roller 21 may be rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow by the driving means to apply the transport driving force of the fixing belt 24.

A cross-sectional view of the axial end of the heating roller 21 in the fixing device 20 shown in FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. The heater 25 is not shown. The heating roller 21 has a shape (referred to as a step portion 21a) in which the diameter becomes smaller at the end portion in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a detent guide 32 is integrally formed with the fixing belt 24 at the end of the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24. The anti-skid guide 32 is formed by, for example, adhering an endless ring molded of fluororubber or the like to the fixing belt 24 using a heat-resistant adhesive. Further, the stepped portion 21a of the heating roller 21 is provided with a detent ring 33 rotatably held with respect to the heating roller 21.

Further, the anti-corrosion ring 33 provided on the heating roller 21 has a tapered surface 33a in which the stepped portion 21a of the heating roller 21 has a tapered shape, and the anti-corrosion guide 32 provided on the fixing belt 24 has a tapered surface 33a. It has a tapered surface 32a having an inverted tapered shape facing the surface. Further, at least one of the tapered surfaces 32a and 33a is coated with a lubricant such as heat-resistant fluorine grease.

By providing the taper surfaces 32a and 33a on the anti-slip guide 32 and the anti-skid ring 33 in this way, the meandering of the fixing belt 24 can be corrected. That is, even if the fixing belt 24 is offset, the tapered surfaces 32a and 33a come into contact with each other when the heating roller 21 rotates, and the detent guide 32 faces the inside of the heating roller 21 at the top of the detent ring 33. It is possible to prevent the vehicle from riding on the belt.

Further, since the anti-slip ring 33 is rotatably held by the heating roller 21, the rotational speed of the anti-slip ring 33 follows the speed of the anti-skid guide 32 of the fixing belt 24 in contact, and the linear speed difference is large. Since it does not occur, it is possible to prevent the anti-skid guide 32 of the fixing belt 24 from riding on the anti-skid ring 33 due to the difference in linear speed.

Further, by applying a lubricant to the tapered surfaces 32a and 33a, the force of the anti-correspondence guide 32 to ride on the anti-skid ring 33 due to the friction between the anti-skid guide 32 and the anti-slip ring 33 is reduced. ing.

However, in the fixing device 20 in which the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24 is coated with the lubricant, the lubricant moves to both ends of the fixing belt 24. That is, as shown by the arrow A in FIG. 3, it is conceivable that the lubricant moves between the detent guide 32 and the detent ring 33 and flows out from the end side of the fixing belt 24.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the groove portion 34 is provided on the end side of the anti-slip ring 33 provided on the step portion 21a in the axial direction of the heating roller 21. The groove portion 34 is formed along the rotation direction of the heating roller 21. The shape of the groove portion 34 is not particularly limited, but for example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the bottom portion is a U-shaped groove.

As shown in FIG. 3, the groove portion 34 is preferably provided on the end side adjacent to the anti-slip ring 33 in the axial direction of the heating roller 21, but the anti-slip guide is provided even if the groove portion 34 is separated from the anti-slip ring 33. It may be provided at a position facing the 32.

By providing the groove portion 34, the lubricant that moves in the direction of arrow A from the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24 can be accommodated in the groove portion 34, and the lubricant flows out from the end side of the fixing belt 24. Can be prevented. At this time, the detent guide 32 is located across the groove 34, but the meandering correction function by the tapered surface 33a of the detent ring 33 and the tapered surface 32a of the detent guide 32 does not provide the groove 34. Works as if.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the detent ring 33 is provided on the step portion 21a of the heating roller 21 has been described, but the detent ring 33 is not essential. For example, the tapered surface 33a is provided on the step portion 21a of the heating roller 21. A tapered step similar to the above may be provided. In this case, the groove portion 34 may be provided on the axial end side of the heating roller 21 with respect to the step portion 21a.

According to the fixing device 20 according to the present embodiment described above, the fixing belt 24 can be prevented from meandering, and the lubricant is blocked by the groove 34 with a simple configuration from the end side of the fixing belt 24. It is possible to prevent the outflow of the lubricant.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, other embodiments of the fixing device according to the present invention will be described. The description of the same points as in the above embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

By providing the groove 34 as in the first embodiment, the outflow of the lubricant can be prevented, but the lubricant overflows from the groove 34 over time, and the lubricant flows from the end side of the fixing belt 24. It is possible that it will leak out.

Therefore, in the fixing device according to the second embodiment, lubrication in which one end side is guided to the groove portion (groove portion 34) at a position other than the range in which the roller member (heating roller 21) stretches the belt member (fixing belt 24). It is provided with an agent transfer member (scraper 35).

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the pressurizing roller 23 of the fixing device 20 according to the second embodiment in the axial direction. Further, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the axial end of the heating roller 21 in the fixing device 20 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the fixing device 20 is provided with a rod-shaped scraper 35 as a contact member for closing the groove 34 at a position where the groove 34 is formed. The scraper 35 is provided at a position other than the range where the heating roller 21 stretches the fixing belt 24, and one end of the scraper 35 is guided to the groove 34. By rotating the heating roller 21, the lubricant contained in the groove 34 can be collected while being scraped off at one end side of the scraper 35. The scraper 35 preferably has, for example, a cylindrical shape, and the lubricant moves inside the cylindrical shape.

The groove shape of the groove portion 34 is preferably U-shaped. With this shape, excess lubricant is stored from the center side of the groove 34, so that it can be easily scraped off and recovered. Further, since the contact state of the scraper 35 can be easily secured and the friction coefficient can be lowered, the scraper 35 can be made slippery with respect to the groove 34. Therefore, the degree of freedom in the material, shape, etc. of the scraper 35 is increased, and the scraper 35 can be made of a simple member such as a wire, for example.

The other end side of the scraper 35 is the central side in the axial direction of the heating roller 21, and is provided on the lower side in the vertical direction with respect to the one end side guided by the groove 34. Further, on the other end side of the scraper 35, an absorbing member 36 such as felt that is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24 is provided.

As a result, the lubricant scraped from the groove 34 can be moved to the lower side through the scraper 35, infiltrated into the absorbing member 36, and reapplied to the central side of the fixing belt 24.

The absorbent member 36 may not be provided, and the other end side of the scraper 35 may be brought into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24 to resupply the lubricant to the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24. Further, the other end side of the scraper 35 is arranged on the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24 at a predetermined interval, and the lubricant is dropped from the scraper 35 to the fixing belt 24 so as to be resupplied to the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24. It may be.

According to the fixing device 20 according to the second embodiment described above, the fixing belt 24 can be prevented from meandering, and the lubricant is blocked by the groove 34 by a simple configuration, so that the end portion of the fixing belt 24 can be prevented. It is possible to prevent the outflow of the lubricant from the side. Further, since the lubricant collected in the groove 34 by the scraper 35 can be resupplied to the center side of the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24 and the lubricant can be reused, sliding due to a decrease in the lubricant can be achieved. It is also possible to prevent an increase in resistance.

Further, it is considered that the sliding resistance increases due to the abrasion powder of the fixing belt 24 and the sliding sheet 31 rubbed in the lubricant with time, but the absorbing member 36 is provided. By infiltrating the recovered lubricant once, the wear debris and the like mixed in the lubricant can be filtered and recovered by the absorbing member 36. Therefore, since the lubricant having less impurities can be resupplied to the fixing belt 24, it is possible to prevent an increase in sliding resistance and increase the durable life.

Further, the fixing device 20 according to the second embodiment can realize the above-mentioned effect by a simple configuration in which the lubricant scraped off by one end side of the scraper 35 is resupplied from the other end side. Since only the scraper 35 and the absorbing member 36 are used as the lubricant resupply mechanism, the recovered lubricant can be immediately resupplied and can be circulated easily and efficiently.

Although the above-described embodiment is a preferred example of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the present invention is preferably applied to a fixing device having a fixing member (pressurizing pad 22) on the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt 24, but the fixing device to which the present invention can be applied is limited to this. However, it can be applied to various types of fixing devices. For example, instead of the fixing member, it can be applied to a configuration in which the fixing roller is provided at a position facing the pressure roller 23 via the fixing belt 24. Further, it can be applied to a configuration having a plurality of rollers or a belt member (pressurized belt) fixedly stretched as the pressurizing means.

10 Intermediate transfer belt 11 Tandem type image forming unit 12 Exposure device 13 Secondary transfer device 14 Support roller 15 Support roller 15'Support roller 16 Secondary transfer Opposing roller 16' Secondary transfer roller 17 Cleaning device 18 Image forming means 20 Fixing device 21 Heating roller 21a Step 22 Pressurizing pad 23 Pressurizing roller 24 Fixing belt 25 Heater 26 Heater 27 Tension roller 28 Separation plate 29 Separation plate 30 Temperature sensor 31 Sliding sheet 32 Anti-slip guide 33 Anti-slip ring 34 Groove 35 Scraper 36 Absorbing member 37 Roller 38 Conveying belt 39 Sheet reversing device 40 Photoreceptor drum 42 Feeding roller 43 Paper bank 44 Feeding tray 45 Separation roller 46 Feeding path 47 Conveying roller vs. 48 Feeding path 49 Positioning roller vs. 50 Feeding roller 51 Manual feed tray 52 Separation roller 53 Manual feed feed path 56 Discharge roller 57 Discharge tray 62 Primary transfer roller 63 Backup roller 100 Image forming device 200 Paper feed table T Unfixed toner image P Recording medium

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-109650 Japanese Patent No. 5133039

Claims (9)

A nip portion is formed between the fixing means and the pressurizing means to form a nip.
In a fixing device having an endless belt member stretched on two or more members including a roller member, at least one of the fixing means or the pressurizing means.
The belt member is coated with a lubricant on the inner peripheral surface and has anti-slip guides having a convex shape on both ends of the inner peripheral surface.
At least one of the roller members that stretches the belt member is
In the axial direction of the roller member
It is on the end side of the surface that comes into contact with the regulation surface of the anti-slip guide.
The roller member have a groove on the inner side than the end portion of the near stop guide in a state in which contact with the regulating surface,
At a position other than the range in which the roller member stretches the belt member,
A fixing device having one end side provided with a lubricant transfer member guided to the groove. The other end of the lubricant transfer member
The fixing device according to claim 1 , wherein the fixing device abuts on the inner peripheral surface of the belt member or is arranged at a predetermined interval on the upper portion of the inner peripheral surface of the belt member in the vertical direction. An absorbing member is provided on the other end side of the lubricant transfer member.
The fixing device according to claim 1 , wherein the absorbing member is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the belt member. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the other end side of the lubricant transfer member is extended toward the center side of the belt member rather than the one end side. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the lubricant transfer member has a cylindrical shape. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the groove portion is a U-shaped groove. The roller member has a detent ring rotatably provided with respect to the roller member.
The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the anti-slip ring has a surface that comes into contact with the restrictive surface of the anti-skid guide. The belt member is
At least, the roller member and the fixing member that is pressurized to the pressurizing means via the belt member and slides on the inner peripheral surface of the belt member are stretched.
The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein a sliding sheet is provided on a sliding surface between the fixing member and the belt member. An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images