JPH1115309A - Fixing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fixing device which enables a long-sized copy without a high mechanical precision and has high heat efficiency, a small electric-power consumption and a small rush current. SOLUTION: A first cover 4 and a second cover 5 which have facing openings are installed on both the front side and the back side of a toner carrier of a transfer material across a passage of the transfer material. Plural surface heaters 6 separated from each other and a blower means 7 are installed inside the first cover 4. These heaters are arranged so as to have heating surfaces in the direction crossing the surface of the passing transfer material. Air is sent to that it may flow along the surfaces of these surface heaters 6, and hot air generated thereby is circulated inside the first cover 4. Shutters 27a and 27b as a preventive means of a hot-air leakage are installed at the inlet 20 and the outlet 13 of the fixing device 1 to prevent a hot-air leakage to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing device used in a copying machine, a printer, and the like, and more particularly to a method for fixing and fixing unfixed powder toner carried on a transfer material surface by hot air. The present invention relates to a fixing device capable of preventing hot air in a device from leaking to the outside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a means for heating and fixing an unfixed powder toner image formed on a transfer material, an oven-type fixing device using radiant heat from a heater, a heating roller and a pressure roller are used. Roller-type fixing devices have been put to practical use in which a transfer material is passed through the fixing device and heat and pressure are applied to fix the material.

In particular, a roll heater type fixing device is relatively inexpensive and is preferably used mainly in a small-sized copying machine and the like, and an oven type fixing device is used as necessary in a large format copying machine and the like. Each of these methods has its own merits according to each method, but leaves some problems to be solved as described below (especially when they are used in a copying machine using a large format transfer material). ing.
On the other hand, as one proposal, a hot-air fixing device for fixing a toner image by blowing hot air onto a transfer material carrying a powder toner image is known, but such a method is still not practically sufficient in a satisfactory form. Not converted.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Copiers and printers using electrophotographic methods are used in various fields. In particular, according to the application, for example, oval equipment for office use or large format for engineering drawings and graphics. It has been put to practical use as a device for use. Of these, for example, when implementing a large-format copying machine or large-format printer, an output image of 36 inches wide and 6 m in addition to fixed sizes such as A1 and A0 may be required according to the purpose of use. In particular, in special applications, a long copy of as long as 16 m may be required as a drawing of a ship, an airplane, or the like. The roll heater-type fixing device and the oven-type fixing device, which have been conventionally put into practical use, cannot respond to such a demand for the following reason. It has gained.

[0005] In the roll heater type fixing device, since the transfer material passes between the heating roller and the pressure roller, the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum, the transfer speed of the transfer material transfer device, and the heat roller, If the speed difference between the pressure roller and the peripheral speed (“fixing speed”) is slight, tension or slack occurs in the transfer material, which causes a problem that an image formed on the transfer material is disturbed. That is,
If the transfer speed of the photosensitive drum and the transfer material transfer device becomes faster than the fixing speed, the transfer material is slackened, and the unfixed powder toner image comes into contact with the inside of the device and contaminates the image. Also, if the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum or the transfer speed of the transfer material transfer device is lower than the fixing speed of the fixing device, the transfer material is in a tight state, and the transfer material slips on the heated fixing roller, causing wrinkles. Or print bleeding.

[0006] Therefore, in order to solve these problems, the precision of the size and speed of the entire apparatus including the photosensitive drum, the transfer material conveying device, and the fixing device must be extremely high. For example, when the processing accuracy of the diameter of the pressure roller of 60 mm is only shifted by ± 0.05 mm, when outputting a copy of 16 m, an error of ± 16 mm occurs. There is a limit in improving the accuracy of the entire apparatus, and it has been difficult to stably provide long copies without dimensional errors.

Further, an additional device such as applying silicone oil to the surface of the heating roller is required for offsetting the toner to the surface of the heating roller, and the structure of the fixing device becomes complicated.

Further, an infrared lamp is suitably used as a heat source inside the heating roller. However, since the power supply of this lamp is turned on and off to control the temperature, the rush current to the lamp is increased by a factor of ten. There is a problem that the above flows and voltage fluctuation of the peripheral device occurs.

On the other hand, in the case of the oven type fixing device, unlike the roll heater type fixing device, the transfer material can be fixed in a state of being separated from the heating source, so that the image quality such as the wrinkles and bleeding described above does not deteriorate and the image quality is long. It is possible to provide a scale copy. However, on the other hand, since the fixing is performed by the radiant heat from the hot plate, it is necessary to keep the heat source away from the transfer material by a distance necessary for safety in consideration of safety such as ignition or smoke at the time of paper jam. Since the thermal efficiency is reduced, the distance over which the transfer material passes must be increased, and the apparatus cannot be downsized.

[0010] Further, as described above, the hot-air fixing device can be reduced in size, safety in the case of paper jam, and the like.
A fixing device that can sufficiently satisfy low power consumption and the like has not been realized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables long copying without requiring high mechanical precision, high thermal efficiency, low power consumption,
It is an object to provide a fixing device having a small inrush current.

Still another problem is that it is possible to reliably fix the powder toner on the recording material while preventing the hot air inside the fixing device from leaking to the outside to prevent the temperature inside the fixing device from lowering. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fixing device which does not cause fixing unevenness.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a fixing device for passing a transfer material carrying a fusible powdery toner and thermally fixing the toner on the transfer material. First and second covers having openings facing each other are provided on the transfer material on the toner carrier surface side and the back side of the transfer material, and a plurality of planar heaters separated from each other are provided in the first cover. The heater is arranged so as to have a heating surface in a direction intersecting with the surface of the transfer material passing therethrough. The heater blows air to flow along the surface of the planar heater and generates hot air in the first cover. A hot air circulating in the cover to melt and fix the powder toner, and a hot air leak preventing means for preventing the hot air from leaking from inside the cover. Characterized in that provided on at least one of the inlet and outlet side of the passage of the transfer material.

2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein said hot air leakage preventing means has a shutter which can be opened and closed in relation to the passage of the transfer material.

Further, the opening and closing operation of the shutter is controlled based on the detection of the leading end or the trailing end of the conveyed transfer material, or the temperature in the fixing device is set when the shutter is closed. It is characterized by starting up to a temperature.

In such a configuration, air is blown from the blowing means so as to flow along the surfaces of the plurality of planar heaters, and the hot air generated by the blowing is circulated in the cover. The unfixed powder toner on the passing transfer material is uniformly melted and fixed.

On the other hand, the configuration in which the hot air leakage preventing means is provided at the entrance and exit of the transfer material passage in the fixing device prevents the hot air inside the fixing device from leaking to the outside. The shutter is in the closed position when it does not pass through or when the temperature inside the fixing device rises to the set temperature, so that the temperature inside the fixing device is minimized and the power consumption is reduced. .

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional side view of a fixing device according to the present invention. The fixing device 1 forms a well-known image by image forming means (not shown) provided around the photosensitive drum 2, and conveys a transfer material carrying an unfixed powder toner image on the transfer material. Located downstream of. The fixing device 1 is provided in the first cover 4 located on the surface of the transfer material that supports the powder toner, the second cover 5 located on the back side of the transfer material, and the first cover 4. A plurality of sheet heaters 6 spaced apart from each other, a blower 7 as a blowing means, and a shutter 25 as a hot air leak preventing means at the entrance and exit of the transfer material passage in order to prevent the hot air in the fixing device from leaking outside.
a and 25b.

The first cover 4 and the second cover 5 are provided with openings 9a and 9b opposed to the transfer material conveying surface with the transfer material passage 8 interposed therebetween, and a space is formed by four walls. Each wall made of such a box-like body has a double structure in which an air layer or a heat insulating material layer is provided between the walls to prevent heat generated in the cover from escaping to the outside. The inside of each cover is preferably black-plated, or a black heat-resistant paint is applied to make the heat retention good, and the hot air formed as described later efficiently in the cover Each corner of the cover is formed in a round shape so as to be recirculated. Openings 9a and 9b of each cover have heat-resistant linear members 10a and 10b for guiding the transfer material.
Are provided obliquely along the transfer material transport direction. These linear members 10a and 10b have a role of guarding the transfer material from curling and touching a heat source described later in the cover.

The blower 7 as a blower is preferably a cross flow fan or a sirocco fan having a width covering the maximum size of the transfer material, and rotates in the direction of arrow A. The blower opening of the blower 7 may be located at a position where hot air circulates inside the cover when the transfer material passes therethrough, but is preferably a downstream position of the first cover 4 in the transfer material transport direction. And the arrow B
A recirculation in the direction can be generated, and the hot air can be efficiently applied to the transfer material. Reference numeral 11 denotes a shielding member made of a metal material for airflow for performing a suitable reflux in the cover. The blowing by the blower 7 is gentle,
When the hot air is applied to the unfixed powder toner carried on the transfer material, the air flow is set to such an amount that the toner does not soar.
Further, by applying the hot air from above the transfer material, the transfer material does not contact the linear member 10a provided on the first cover 4, and the toner image is not disturbed.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a sheet heater, which has a heating surface in a direction intersecting the surface of the transfer material passing therethrough, and a plurality of the sheet heaters 6 are separated from each other and sequentially arranged in the transfer material transport direction. It is provided to be inclined in the shearing direction. In the embodiment, the planar heater 6 is a belt-shaped heater, and is attached by heat-resistant insulating members 12 provided on both sides of the fixing device 1. The planar heater 6 is coated with black plating or black heat-resistant paint.

The shutters 25a and 25b
Move to a closed position where the inlet 20 and the outlet 13 of the transfer material passage are substantially closed to prevent the hot air inside the fixing device 1 from leaking to the outside, and an open position where the passage of the transfer material in the fixing device 1 is not obstructed. It is possible to control it to be located at any of the open and closed positions by a control method related to the passage of the transfer material, which will be described later. In addition, shutter 2
Reference numerals 5a and 25b denote a sheet-like plate, a flexible structure, an elastic body, etc. In short, when it is in the closed position, the inlet 20 and / or the outlet 13 are almost closed, and the hot air in the fixing device leaks to the outside. Any structure can be used as long as it prevents such a situation.

Further, the shutter 25b disposed at the outlet 13 is provided with a goodwill structure (for example, by fixing the upper end of an elastic film and making a plurality of cuts at the lower end, thereby forming a plurality of elastic members). A structure in which a strip is created) may be used, or a blind-shaped configuration in which the whole can be pushed away without making a cut as described above. In these structures, the goodwill or interdigital shutter is normally positioned so as to close the outlet 13, but when the transfer material is discharged, it is pushed away by the tip of the transfer material,
Does not hinder its discharge. Of course, after discharging the transfer material,
It returns to its original position (closed position) by its own elastic force or gravity.

As a method of opening and closing the shutters 25a and 25b, for example, a guillotine method in which the shutters 25a and 25b are opened and closed by moving the shutters 25a and 25b in a substantially vertical direction over the width direction of the transfer material is preferably used. A flapper type is used in which one side edge of an upper portion or a lower portion is pivotally supported to open and close.

A control method for opening and closing the shutters 25a and 25b will be described. The position of the leading end or the trailing end of the transfer material is detected by a detection unit (not shown) such as a photosensor or a pressure sensor provided near the transfer material conveyance path or the exit 13. Alternatively, in the standard size, the position of the transfer material is detected based on the time from when the transfer material is fed. When the transfer material is passing through the fixing device 1 based on this detection signal, the shutter 25a,
When the transfer material is detected not to have passed through the fixing device, the shutters 25a and 25b are closed to move the fixing material from the inside to the outside. To prevent hot air from leaking.

Another control method for opening and closing the shutters 25a and 25b will be described. For example, when the apparatus main body is started up in the first morning or the like, the temperature inside the fixing device 1 is almost close to room temperature. In order to raise the temperature to the set temperature in a time as short as possible from this state, the shutters 25a and 25b are operated so as to be in the closed position. During this time, the heat of the planar heater 6 can be efficiently received and converted into hot air by blowing air from the blower 7 along the planar heater 6 heated inside the sealed fixing device 1.

In the embodiment, the shutter 27a provided on the entrance 20 side and the shutter 27b provided on the exit 13 side have been described, but a shutter may be provided on any one side of the entrance. In particular, it is preferable to provide a shutter on the entrance side where the photosensitive drum and the cleaning device that are sensitive to high temperatures are located.

A discharge roller pair 16 including a drive roller 14 and a driven roller 15 is provided near the transfer material outlet 13 in the fixing device 1, and discharges the passed transfer material to the outside. By providing the discharge roller pair 16 near the outlet 13, escape of hot air from the fixing device 1 is prevented.

FIG. 2 is a view of the first cover 4 as viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, and shows a planar heater 6 having a flat surface stretched in the width direction of the fixing device 1, and a blower means. 2 shows an arrangement state with the blower 7. The ceramic heat-resistant insulating member 12 is provided on the side surface of the fixing device 1, and the end of the sheet heater 6 is attached to a mounting hole provided in the heat-resistant insulating member 12. I have. The shape and size of the planar heater 6 are not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the heater can be heated and cooled quickly on demand. In the embodiment, as the sheet heater 6, a rolled nichrome wire is preferably used, and a strip-shaped nichrome wire having a width of 18 mm and a thickness of 0.35 mm is used. The temperature of the sheet heater 6 rises very quickly by energization and heats it. By blowing air along the sheet heater 6, the heat of the sheet heater 6 can be efficiently received and converted into hot air. By circulating the hot air inside the fixing device 1, the hot air can be raised to a predetermined temperature without escaping to the outside.

Further, even if a trouble such as a paper jam occurs in the fixing device 1 (or in other places in a copying machine or the like), a stop signal of the transfer material conveying system is detected to supply electricity to the sheet heater 6 and blow air. By stopping the driving of the blower 7 as a means, the heat of the planar heater 6 suddenly drops, and when the blower 7 is stopped, the hot air does not flow to the transfer material. There is no.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a motor for driving the cross flow fan. In the embodiment, the linear members 10a and 10b provided in the openings 9a and 9b of the respective covers described above are 0.2 mm.
A stainless steel wire of about mm is stretched around the transfer material at a predetermined distance slightly obliquely with respect to the traveling direction of the transfer material as shown in the figure.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of FIG. In this example, unlike the above-described example, the planar heater 6 is corrugated, and the surface area of the planar heater 6 is made larger than that in a state where the normal heater is stretched. As a result, the amount of heat generated from the planar heater 6 increases, and the size of the apparatus is reduced.

The sheet heaters 6 separated from each other are provided with a blower 7
In order to prevent an accident that adjacent planar heaters 6 come into contact with each other due to the air blow, a heat-resistant insulating guide 18 is provided. The heat-resistant insulating guide 18 has a cutout 19 that sandwiches the planar heater 6 as shown in the figure, and is provided so as to cross the stretched planar heater 6. The heat-resistant insulating guide 18 is preferably made of mica, and is provided at a predetermined interval.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a spur-shaped holding plate having a sharply pointed tip for rotatably guiding the transfer material fed from the conveyor belt 3 to the entrance 20 of the fixing device. Since the holding plate 21 has a small contact area (area) with the transfer material, it can guide the unfixed unfixed toner on the transfer material to the passage of the fixing device 1 without disturbing.

As an example of a method for controlling the fixing device 1 on demand, it is necessary to control the temperature inside the fixing device 1 to a predetermined temperature immediately before the transfer material is conveyed into the fixing device 1. For this reason, the time when the transfer material arrives at the fixing device 1 is detected in advance, and the sheet heater 6 and the blower 7 are driven, and the thermistor 2 provided inside the fixing device 1 is driven.
The temperature inside the fixing device 1 is raised so that the temperature becomes a predetermined temperature by the detection of (2).

The operation of the fixing device 1 having such a configuration will be described. In FIG. 1, a transfer material carrying unfixed powder toner by a well-known image forming method is transported by a transport belt 3 to an entrance 20 of the fixing device 1. The leading end of the transfer material is conveyed into the fixing device 1 while being pressed by the pressing plate 21 against the linear member 10b located below. The time required for the transfer material to be conveyed to the fixing device 1 is calculated by the detection means, and within this time, the sheet heater 6 is energized in advance so that the fixing temperature in the fixing device 1 becomes a predetermined temperature. In addition, the blower 7 as the blower is driven to circulate the hot air in the direction of the arrow B in both covers of the fixing device 1. During this time, the shutters 25a and 25b are in the closed position, so that hot air does not leak outside the fixing device.

Next, immediately before the transfer material is conveyed into the fixing device 1, the shutters 25a and 25b are opened, and hot air hits the passing transfer material uniformly and without disturbing the toner image. The material is conveyed while being pressed against the linear member provided on the second cover 10b, and the unfixed powder toner carried on the transfer material is melted and fixed.
The transfer material is further conveyed and discharged outside by a discharge roller pair 16. The detecting means detects that the transfer material has been discharged, and operates the shutters 25a and 25b again to be in the closed position. After the transfer material is completely discharged, this is detected and the energization of the sheet heater 6 is cut off, and the driving of the air blowing means is stopped. These are to prevent unnecessary heat from leaking from the fixing device to other sections in the copying machine, for example, an image forming section such as the photosensitive drum 2 as much as possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the planar heater 6 is provided only in the first cover 4 has been described.
A different second planar heater may be provided in the cover 5 of the first embodiment, or a spare heater of another form may be provided in the second cover 5.

Further, by forming the planar heater 6 into a unit together with a heat-resistant insulating member, it can be integrally pulled out and mounted from the fixing device, thereby providing a fixing device which is more usable in maintenance and the like. .

Although the configuration in which the planar heater 6 is inclined in a direction that is in line with the traveling direction of the transfer material has been exemplified, the present invention is not limited to this. The orientation may be substantially parallel or at right angles to the transfer material.

[0041]

The fixing device of the present invention has a structure in which hot air leakage preventing means is provided at the entrance and exit, and blows air along the surface of the planar heater to efficiently convert the heat of the heated planar heater to hot air. Since the hot air is recirculated in the fixing device, the leakage of the hot air to the outside of the fixing device can be minimized, and the peripheral devices such as the photosensitive drum and the cleaning device are not adversely affected. Further, it is possible to obtain a fixing device having higher thermal efficiency and lower power consumption than other fixing devices, and furthermore, the transfer material passing therethrough is conveyed while being pressed downward by the circulation of hot air, so that the toner of the transfer material is The fixing can be performed without the supporting surface coming into contact with the inside of the apparatus.

Even when the transfer material stops in the fixing device due to a trouble in the image forming apparatus, the temperature in the fixing device is reduced only by detecting this and stopping the sheet heater and the blowing means. The safety is high because it drops rapidly. A desired fixing temperature can be set by appropriately selecting the interval and the number of the planar heaters.

[0043]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional side view showing a fixing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a state diagram of the fixing device viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2;

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fixing device 2 Photosensitive drum 3 Conveyor belt 4 First cover 5 Second cover 6 Planar heater 7 Blower 8 Passages 9a, 9b Openings 10a, 10b Linear member 11 Shielding member 12 Heat resistant insulating member 13 Outlet 14 Drive roller 15 Follower roller 16 Discharge roller pair 17 Motor 18 Heat resistant insulation guide 19 Notch 20 Inlet 21 Presser plate 22 Thermistor 25a, b Shutter

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fixing device in which a transfer material carrying a fusible powder toner is passed and a toner is thermally fixed on the transfer material, wherein a transfer material passage is sandwiched between a surface of the transfer material and a back surface of the toner carrier. First and second covers having openings facing each other, a plurality of planar heaters spaced apart from each other in the first cover, and these heaters are arranged in a direction intersecting a surface of the passing transfer material. It is arranged so as to have a heating surface, and is provided with a blowing means for blowing the hot air flowing along the surface of these planar heaters and circulating hot air generated thereby in the first cover. A hot-air-leakage preventing means for preventing the hot air from leaking from the inside of the cover is provided on at least one of the entrance and exit sides of the passage of the transfer material. A fixing device. 2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein said hot air leakage prevention means has a shutter which can be opened and closed in relation to the passage of the transfer material. 3. The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein the opening / closing operation of the shutter is controlled based on detection of a leading end or a trailing end of the conveyed transfer material. 4. The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein the shutter is started up at a closed position until the temperature inside the fixing device reaches a set temperature.