JPH0383086A - Fixing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate the leakage, etc., of a release agent at the time of attaching and detaching by constituting a means for discharging the release agent in such a manner that the means can be oscillated between a discharge position and a retreat position by turning means and connecting a regulating means which oscillates together with the turning to the turning means to prohibit the attachment and detachment of the fixing device into and from a machine body in the discharge position. CONSTITUTION:The release agent 10 accumulated in a lower oil pan 9 provided below a pressurizing roller 17 of the fixing device is discharged and is fed back to an oil bottle 11. The discharge means 1 is so constituted that the means can be oscillated by the turning means 2, 4 between the discharge position of the release agent 10 and the retreat position where the discharge is prohibited. The regulating means 3 which oscillates together with the turning of the turning means 2, 4 is connected to these means to prohibit the attachment and detachment of the fixing device into and out of the machine body in the discharge position. The outflow of the release agent 10 and the contamination therewith by a misoperation are prevented in this way.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a fixing device in an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic transfer process, such as an electrophotographic copying machine.

[Prior Art] In conventional electrophotographic copying machines, electrostatic printers, and the like, a toner image formed on a photoreceptor is transferred onto a transfer paper and then fixed by a fixing roller using heat or pressure.

In this type of fixing device, the fixing roller is coated with a release agent such as silicone oil in order to prevent the toner image from being offset to the fixing roller and to easily peel the transfer paper from the fixing roller. It is common practice to apply oil.

Conventionally, for the purpose of applying such mold release oil, Fig. 6 (
The oil circulation device shown in A) and (B) was used. In FIG. 6(A), IO is the silicone oil contained in the oil bottle 11, 12 is a pump that sucks up the silicone oil IO in the oil bottle 11 through the supply vibrator 13, and 13 is a supply connected to the pump 12. A nostle 14 is attached to the tip of the supply vibrator 13 of the vibrator lever. An oil pan 15 is provided below the nozzle 14, and the upper oil pan 15 is provided with a coated felt 17 in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the fixing roller 16 or a support plate 1.
The oil 10 in the oil pan 15 is absorbed by capillary action and supplied to the fixing roller 16. 17 is a pressure roller that is pressed against the fixing roller 16, and 18 is a web for cleaning dirt on the fixing roller 16. The upper oil pan 15 is shown in Fig. 6 (R).
As seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6(^) viewed from the side, a partition plate I9 divides the chamber into a large chamber 20 and a small chamber 2I in which the coated felt 17 is immersed. Vibrator supplied to Omuro 20! The oil IO dripped from the partition plate 1
9 and flows into the small chamber 21. A discharge port 22 is provided at the bottom of the small chamber 21, and the oil lO is discharged into the oil receiver 8 through a vibrator 23. Further, a portion of the oil scraped off from the pressure roller 17 by the oil plate 24 in the fixing device accumulates in the oil pan 9 and is then discharged from the discharge vibrator 1 to the oil receiver 8. The oil collected in the oil receiver 8 is returned to the oil bottle 11 through a flexible pipe 25.

As described above, the oil is circulated within the fixing device.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional electrodeposition apparatus having the above-mentioned oil circulation installation, when the fixing device is removed from the main body in order to replace the fixing roller, pressure roller, web, etc., the lower part The silicone oil accumulated in the oil pan 9 flows out of the device from the discharge vibrator 1 and contaminates the outside of the 1 main body.

In order to prevent this, when removing the fuser unit, it is often used to put a stopper on the discharge vibrator 1 to prevent leakage. - It is difficult to say that this is a preferable solution as it has the disadvantage that silicone oil overflows from the lower oil pan 9 and contaminates the inside of the machine.Also, various methods have been proposed to automatically operate the discharge vibrator in conjunction with the removal of the fuser unit. whether the device is in
This is also not a desirable strategy, as it can lead to

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate such drawbacks and to provide a fixing device that has a simple structure and does not leak release agent when the fixing device is attached or detached.

[Means for Solving the Problems 7] According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by providing a unit under the fixing device that performs fixing while applying a release agent.
(m) An oil pan is provided for receiving dripping of the mold release agent, and the oil pan is provided with a discharge means for discharging the mold release agent stored in the oil pan and returning the mold release agent to the oil bottle. , the discharge means is made swingable between a discharge position of the release agent and a retracted position where discharge is not possible by means of a rotation means; They are connected and cannot be attached to or removed from the fuser or the machine at the discharge position.

This is achieved by

[Function] In the apparatus according to the present invention, the fixing device cannot be attached or detached without operating the rotating means. Then, when the rotating means is rotated to an appropriate position, the ejecting means is brought to the ejecting position or the retracted position, and the regulating member rotating together with the ejecting means makes it impossible to attach or detach the fixing device at the ejecting position.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on FIGS. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing the entire apparatus of this embodiment, and parts common to those of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals, and explanations of overlapping functions and operations will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, a lower oil pan 9 provided on the F side of the pressure roller 17 of the fixing device has a discharge vibrator 1 as a discharge means toward the -L portion of the oil receiver 8 provided on the main body side.
The silicone oil lO as a mold release agent scraped off from the pressure roller 17 by the oil blade 24 drips into the oil receiver 8 via the discharge vibrator 1 and is returned to the oil bottle ti. There is.

7 is a fixing device side plate, and 6 is a shaft support plate, which supports the swing shaft 2. The swing shaft 2 is connected to the discharge vibrator 1 by a connecting spring 5.
(See Figure 2).

Further, a regulating plate 3 and a handle 4 are attached to the swing shaft 2, and the handle 4, which forms a rotating means together with the swing shaft 2, is moved to positions A and B, respectively, as shown in FIG. When oscillated, the discharge vibrator 1 and the regulating plate 3 are oscillated to the positions A and B via the oscillation shaft 2, as shown in FIG. That is, at position A,
The discharge vibrator 1 drips the silicone oil 10 collected in the lower oil 9 onto the oil receiver 8, and when it is swung to position B,
The tip of the discharge vibrator l is located at a position higher than the liquid level of the lower oil pan 9, so that the accumulated silicone oil IO does not leak out from the discharge vibrator l.

Next, attachment and detachment of the fixing device to the main body will be explained using FIGS. 3 to 5.

As seen in FIG. 5, an opening 30 is formed in the main body side plate 26 at a portion where the oil receiver 8 is located. In other words, there is no opening in the fixing device installation direction (opening direction in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3), and when the regulating plate 3 is at the A position, that is, the discharge vibrator I is at the silicone oil discharge position a (the position toward FIG. 4),
The fixing device cannot be removed because it interferes with the regulating plate 3 or the main body side plate 26. By swinging the handle 4 to the B position (see FIG. 3), the regulation plate 3 is retracted to the B position, and the main body side plate 26
The fuser can be easily removed because it does not interfere with the fuser. Furthermore, since the coughing and evacuation vibrator 1 is bent to the B position, the tip thereof is higher than the liquid level in the lower oil pan, thereby preventing oil from flowing out and contaminating the outside of the machine.

Next, Figures 1 and 3 explain how to attach the fuser to the main body.
This will be explained using FIGS.

Handle or A! When it is in the position, it is naturally impossible to install it because it interferes with the discharge bifle l, the regulating plate 3, or the main body side plate 26. For this purpose, the handle 4 must be inserted in the B position. After the handle 4 is completely attached to the fuser or main body, the handle 4 is lowered to the 8th position, and the discharge vibrator 1 is placed in the middle of the oil receiver A. This position allows oil to drip.

Furthermore, a hole 28 is formed in the exterior cover 27 into which the protrusion of the handle fits when the handle 4 is in the A position. That is, at positions other than A where it is difficult for oil to drip from the discharge vibrator 1, the protrusion of the handle 4 interferes and the exterior cover 27 cannot be attached, so it can be determined that the discharge vibrator 1 is in the wrong position. In other words, the hole 28 of the exterior cover 27 and the protrusion of the handle 4 ensure the position of the ejection vibrator 1.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention includes a swinging wheel that can swing between the ejection position and the retracted position of the ejection vibrator, and furthermore, a swinging wheel is provided on the swinging axis to prevent erroneous operation. By providing a regulating plate that selectively interferes with the main body side plate and a handle member that selectively interferes with the exterior cover, it is possible to prevent leakage and contamination of silicone oil or the like due to erroneous operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure tJS1 is a partially cutaway front view of a device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a perspective view showing the ejection vibrator and its surroundings of the device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the installation state of the fixing device in the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a view taken along arrow C in FIG. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the oil receiver of the main body of the device shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 6 (A) is a sectional view showing the conventional device, and Fig. 6 (B) is the upper oil pan of the device shown in Fig. 6 (A). FIG. i-...Discharge means (discharge vibrator) 2.4-...
... Rotating means (2 ... Swing shaft. 4 ... Handle > 9 ... Oil pan 10 ... Release agent 16, 17 ...・・・Fuser

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An oil pan is provided below the fixing device that performs fixing while applying a release agent, and the release agent is discharged from the oil pan to remove the release agent. In the above oil pan, the discharge means is provided with a discharge means for returning the oil to the oil bottle, and the discharge means is made swingable by a rotating means between a position for discharging the mold release agent and a retracted position in which discharge is not possible. A fixing device characterized in that the fixing device is connected to a regulating device that swings with the rotation of the fixing device, and the fixing device cannot be attached to or detached from the body at the discharge position. (2) Claim (1) characterized in that the rotating means has a shape that locks with the exterior means at the ejection position, and the exterior means cannot be attached at any position other than the ejection position. ).