IMAGE HEATING DEVICE

• US 20120027476A1
• Filed: 07/21/2011
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,655,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/323
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/2028 with means for handling the copy material in the fixing nip, e.g. introduction guides, stripping means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1645 for conducting air through the machine, e.g. cooling

Abstract

An image heating device includes a rotatable image heating member for heating an image on a recording material and for forming a nip; a blowing member for blowing air; and an ejecting member for ejecting air to separate the recording material passing through the nip from said image heating member, the ejecting member ejecting the air from the blowing member toward the image heating member so that a speed of the air toward an end portion of the image heating member is higher than that of the air toward a central portion of the image heating member with respect to a rotational axis direction of the image heating member.

Claims

1. An image heating device comprising:

a rotatable image heating member for heating an image on a recording material and for forming a nip;

blowing means for blowing air; and

ejecting means for ejecting air to separate the recording material passing through the nip from said image heating member, said ejecting means ejecting the air from said blowing means toward said image heating member so that a speed of the air toward an end portion of said image heating member is higher than that of the air toward a central portion of said image heating member with respect to a rotational axis direction of said image heating member.

2. An image heating device according to claim 1, wherein said ejecting means includes a duct, and

wherein an inside of the duct is partitioned by a plurality of partition plates so as to include a plurality of flow paths with respect to a perpendicular direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording material.

3. An image heating device according to claim 2, wherein a ratio of an outlet cross-sectional area to an inlet cross-sectional area of an end portion flow path is smaller than that of a central portion flow path with respect to the perpendicular direction.

4. An image heating device according to claim 2, wherein the inlet cross-sectional area at the end portion is larger than that at the central portion.

5. An image heating device according to claim 4, wherein the outlet cross-sectional area at the end portion is smaller than that at the central portion.

6. An image heating device according to claim 1, wherein an ejection amount of the air ejected from said ejecting means is controlled depending on information of a thickness of the recording material.

7. An image heating device according to claim 6, wherein when the thickness of the recording material exceeds a predetermined value, the ejection amount is made zero.

8. An image heating device according to claim 6, wherein when the thickness of the recording material is decreased, the ejection amount of the air ejected from the duct is controlled so as to be increased.