Image forming apparatus that controls an image forming section and a fixing device

• US 9,523,949 B1
• Filed: 06/03/2015
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Kazuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): BOLDUC, DAVID J
• Application Number:
  US14/729,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20160357134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/2032 Retractable heating or pressure unit
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/2046 specially for the influence of heat loss, e.g. due to the contact with the copy material or other roller
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/2053 Structural details of heat elements, e.g. structure of roller or belt, eddy current, induction heating
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/206 Structural details or chemical composition of the pressure elements and layers thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5029 by measuring the copy material characteristics, e.g. weight, thickness
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00734 of sheet size
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00738 of sheet thickness or rigidity
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/2035 the fixing nip having a stationary belt support member opposing a pressure member
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/2061 concave

Abstract

A fixing device includes a fixing belt, a nip pad, a press roller, a driving portion, and a heat generation source. The fixing belt has an endless shape. The nip pad is located on an inner circumferential side of the fixing belt. The nip pad presses the fixing belt. The press roller presses the fixing belt along with the nip pad. The driving portion moves the press roller toward the nip pad. The heat generation source causes the fixing belt to generate heat. A control section controls an image forming section and the fixing device. The nip pad includes a protrusion. The protrusion protrudes toward an outer circumference of the fixing belt and a downstream side of the nip. The control section changes a movement amount of a protrusion to the press roller.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an input section that allows information regarding a recording medium to be input;

an image forming section that forms an image on the recording medium;

a fixing device that includes

an endless fixing belt;

a nip pad that is located on an inner circumferential side of the fixing belt and presses the fixing belt;

a press roller that is located on an outer circumferential side of the fixing belt, and presses the fixing belt along with the nip pad so as to form a nip;

a driving portion that moves the press roller toward the nip pad; and

a heat generation source that causes the fixing belt to generate heat; and

a control section that controls the image forming section and the fixing device,

the nip pad includes a protrusion that protrudes toward an outer circumference of the fixing belt and a downstream side of the nip,

the control section controls the driving portion on the basis of the information regarding the recording medium input by the input section so as to change a movement amount of the protrusion to the press roller,

the nip pad is moved centering on the same axis as an axis of a center of a reference trajectory, and

the fixing belt forms the reference trajectory when viewed from a belt width direction of the fixing belt.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control section controls the movement amount on the basis of a thickness of the recording medium included in the information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control section controls the movement amount on the basis of a margin length of the recording medium included in the information.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the fixing belt forms the reference trajectory when viewed from a belt width direction of the fixing belt, and

wherein the control section controls a protruding amount of the protrusion from the reference trajectory to a protruding end of the protrusion.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the protrusion includes a first face that is located further toward a traveling direction upstream side of the fixing belt than a protruding end of the protrusion, and a second face that is located further toward a traveling direction downstream side of the fixing belt than the protruding end, and

wherein the first face is tilted so as to be located on the outer circumferential side of the fixing belt by the traveling direction downstream side of the fixing belt when viewed from a belt width direction of the fixing belt, and

wherein the second face is tilted so as to be located on the inner circumferential side of the fixing belt by the traveling direction downstream side of the fixing belt when viewed from the belt width direction.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein a third face which connects the first face to the second face is disposed between the first face and the second face, and

wherein the third face is curved so as to form a protrusion on the outer circumferential side of the fixing belt when viewed from the belt width direction.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the nip pad includes a nip forming surface that forms a nip between the fixing belt and the press roller, and

wherein the nip forming surface is curved so as to form a protrusion on the inner circumferential side of the fixing belt when viewed from a belt width direction of the fixing belt.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the nip pad includes a curved portion that is curved so as to form a protrusion toward the outer circumference and an upstream side of the fixing belt when viewed from a belt width direction of the fixing belt.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the nip pad includes a nip forming surface that forms a nip between the fixing belt and the press roller, and

wherein the curved portion is located further toward a traveling direction upstream side of the fixing belt than the nip forming surface.