公开(公告)号：US10691049B2

公开(公告)日：2020-06-23

申请号：US16419068

申请日：2019-05-22

申请人： Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Yoshiki Yamaguchi ,  Takashi Seto ,  Takayuki Seki

发明人： Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Yoshiki Yamaguchi ,  Takashi Seto ,  Takayuki Seki

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

摘要： A fixing device includes a fixing rotator and a pressure rotator that is disposed opposite the fixing rotator. A nip former is disposed inside a loop formed by the fixing rotator and disposed opposite the pressure rotator via the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The fixing rotator slides over the nip former. A flange supports the fixing rotator at both lateral ends of the fixing rotator in a longitudinal direction of the fixing rotator. The nip former includes a base and a thermal conductor that has a thermal conductivity greater than a thermal conductivity of the base. The base is greater than the thermal conductor in the longitudinal direction of the fixing rotator. The base includes a groove that is disposed outboard at least from the thermal conductor in the longitudinal direction of the fixing rotator.

公开(公告)号：US10571837B2

公开(公告)日：2020-02-25

申请号：US16239948

申请日：2019-01-04

申请人： Yoshiki Yamaguchi ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Takashi Seto ,  Yoshiyuki Fukuda ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga

发明人： Yoshiki Yamaguchi ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Takashi Seto ,  Yoshiyuki Fukuda ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

摘要： A fixing device includes a fixing rotator that is flexible, endless, and rotatable. A heater heats the fixing rotator. A pressure rotator is disposed opposite the fixing rotator. A nip former defines a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. A support supports the nip former. The nip former includes a back face that contacts the support and has a nonlinear shape in a longitudinal direction of the nip former.

公开(公告)号：US20180120741A1

公开(公告)日：2018-05-03

申请号：US15783199

申请日：2017-10-13

申请人： Hiroshi YOSHINAGA ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Takashi Seto ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Kazunari Sawada

发明人： Hiroshi YOSHINAGA ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Takashi Seto ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Kazunari Sawada

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

CPC分类号： G03G15/2039 ,  G03G15/2017 ,  G03G15/55

摘要： An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device that includes a heater to heat a fixing rotator, an opposed rotator to press against the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip therebetween, and at least one rotary body to convey a recording medium to the fixing nip. A controller rotates the fixing rotator in a forward direction to fix a toner image on the recording medium. The controller stops the heater and rotates the fixing rotator in a predetermined rotation direction when a failure occurs while the fixing device is activated. The controller determines that the predetermined rotation direction is the forward direction or a backward direction according to the at least one rotary body that sandwiches the recording medium, if the fixing nip and the at least one rotary body sandwich the recording medium simultaneously when the failure occurs while the fixing device is activated.

公开(公告)号：US10082751B2

公开(公告)日：2018-09-25

申请号：US15804459

申请日：2017-11-06

申请人： Takashi Seto ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Kazunari Sawada ,  Ryohei Matsuda

发明人： Takashi Seto ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Kazunari Sawada ,  Ryohei Matsuda

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

CPC分类号： G03G15/2025 ,  G03G15/2028 ,  G03G15/2053 ,  G03G2215/2035

摘要： A fixing device includes a belt, a pressure rotator disposed opposite the belt, and a nip formation unit that forms a fixing nip between the belt and the pressure rotator. The nip formation unit includes a guide face disposed upstream from the fixing nip in a rotation direction of the belt and contoured to separate from the pressure rotator in a direction opposite the rotation direction of the belt. The guide face is adhered with a lubricant moved from an inner circumferential surface of the belt. The belt rotates in the rotation direction when an outer circumferential surface of the belt has a temperature lower than a fixing temperature at which the belt fixes a toner image on a recording medium. The belt rotating in the rotation direction brings the lubricant adhered to the guide face into contact with the belt.

公开(公告)号：US10331062B2

公开(公告)日：2019-06-25

申请号：US15783199

申请日：2017-10-13

申请人： Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Takashi Seto ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Kazunari Sawada

发明人： Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Takashi Seto ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Kazunari Sawada

IPC分类号： G03G15/20 ,  G03G15/00

摘要： An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device that includes a heater to heat a fixing rotator, an opposed rotator to press against the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip therebetween, and at least one rotary body to convey a recording medium to the fixing nip. A controller rotates the fixing rotator in a forward direction to fix a toner image on the recording medium. The controller stops the heater and rotates the fixing rotator in a predetermined rotation direction when a failure occurs while the fixing device is activated. The controller determines that the predetermined rotation direction is the forward direction or a backward direction according to the at least one rotary body that sandwiches the recording medium, if the fixing nip and the at least one rotary body sandwich the recording medium simultaneously when the failure occurs while the fixing device is activated.

公开(公告)号：US10289037B2

公开(公告)日：2019-05-14

申请号：US15827085

申请日：2017-11-30

申请人： Takayuki Seki ,  Takashi Seto ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Kazunari Sawada ,  Hiroyuki Shimada

发明人： Takayuki Seki ,  Takashi Seto ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Kazunari Sawada ,  Hiroyuki Shimada

IPC分类号： G03G15/20 ,  G03G15/01 ,  G03G15/00

摘要： A fixing device includes a lateral end heater, disposed opposite a lateral end of an inner circumferential surface of a fixing rotator in an axial direction thereof, to heat the fixing rotator and a thermal conduction aid contacting the fixing rotator and the lateral end heater to conduct heat. The lateral end heater includes a power supply portion disposed outboard from a lateral end of the thermal conduction aid in a longitudinal direction thereof and disposed opposite the inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator. The power supply portion includes an electrode. A cover covers the power supply portion and includes a cover face disposed opposite the inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator. A height adjuster adjusts a height of the cover face of the cover and causes the cover face to define an identical plane with a fixing rotator side face of the thermal conduction aid.

公开(公告)号：US10295937B2

公开(公告)日：2019-05-21

申请号：US15684298

申请日：2017-08-23

申请人： Kazunari Sawada ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Takashi Seto ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Takayuki Seki

发明人： Kazunari Sawada ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Hiroyuki Shimada ,  Takashi Seto ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Takayuki Seki

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

摘要： A fixing device includes a heat generator being disposed inside a loop formed by a rotator and including a heat generating portion to radiate radiant heat. A reflector is disposed inside the loop formed by the rotator and includes a reflection face to reflect the radiant heat radiated from the heat generator toward the rotator. A support supports the reflector. A holder holds each lateral end of the support in a longitudinal direction of the support, which is perpendicular to the rotation direction of the rotator. A fastener attaches the reflector to the support at an attachment position disposed at each lateral end of the reflector in a longitudinal direction of the reflector. The attachment position is disposed outboard from a lateral edge of the heat generating portion of the heat generator and disposed inboard from the holder in the longitudinal direction of the reflector.

公开(公告)号：US10942475B2

公开(公告)日：2021-03-09

申请号：US16860221

申请日：2020-04-28

申请人： Ippei Fujimoto ,  Yoshiki Yamaguchi ,  Takashi Seto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada

发明人： Ippei Fujimoto ,  Yoshiki Yamaguchi ,  Takashi Seto ,  Hiroyuki Shimada

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

摘要： A fixing device includes a fixing rotator that rotates and includes an inner face. A pressure rotator is disposed opposite the fixing rotator and rotates. A nip former sandwiches the fixing rotator together with the pressure rotator to form a nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The nip former includes an outer face disposed opposite the inner face of the fixing rotator. The inner face of the fixing rotator and the outer face of the nip former sandwich a lubricant. At least one of the inner face of the fixing rotator and the outer face of the nip former includes a projection having a volume smaller than 0.3 ml/m2 and a recess having a spatial volume greater than 0.08 ml/m2. The volume and the spatial volume are three-dimensional surface roughness parameters, respectively, defined by the International Organization for Standardization 25178 standard in an initial state before the fixing rotator rotates.

公开(公告)号：US20170364000A1

公开(公告)日：2017-12-21

申请号：US15604294

申请日：2017-05-24

申请人： Takayuki Seki ,  Takashi Seto ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Kazunari Sawada

发明人： Takayuki Seki ,  Takashi Seto ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Kazunari Sawada

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

CPC分类号： G03G15/2053 ,  G03G15/2042 ,  G03G2215/2035

摘要： A fixing device includes a nip formation pad which is disposed opposite an endless belt and forms a fixing nip between the endless belt and a pressure rotator. A contact heater is disposed at least at one lateral end of the nip formation pad in a longitudinal direction thereof and heats at least one lateral end of the endless belt in an axial direction thereof. A thermal conduction aid contacts a belt-side face of each of the nip formation pad and the contact heater and conducts heat in the axial direction of the endless belt. A cover is disposed outboard from the thermal conduction aid in a longitudinal direction thereof. The cover covers the belt-side face of the contact heater. The contact heater includes a power supply portion disposed outboard from the thermal conduction aid in the longitudinal direction thereof and covered by the cover.

公开(公告)号：US09846397B2

公开(公告)日：2017-12-19

申请号：US15375757

申请日：2016-12-12

申请人： Kazunari Sawada ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Kazuhito Kishi ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Takashi Seto

发明人： Kazunari Sawada ,  Kenji Ishii ,  Kazuhito Kishi ,  Takayuki Seki ,  Ippei Fujimoto ,  Hiroshi Yoshinaga ,  Takashi Seto

IPC分类号： G03G15/20

CPC分类号： G03G15/2028 ,  G03G15/2053 ,  G03G2215/2035

摘要： A fixing device includes an endless belt formed into a loop, a heater to heat the endless belt, a nip formation assembly disposed inside the loop, and a pressure rotator to press against the nip formation assembly to form a fixing nip between the endless belt and the pressure rotator. The nip formation assembly includes a pressure pad and a supplementary thermal conductor to conduct heat from the heater in an axial direction of the endless belt. The supplementary thermal conductor has an edge portion dimensioned to distance the supplementary thermal conductor from the endless belt at an end portion of a face over which the endless belt slides in a longitudinal direction of the supplementary thermal conductor. A distance between the edge portion of the supplementary thermal conductor and the endless belt increases toward an end portion of the endless belt in the axial direction thereof.