Heating device, image processing apparatus, and method for manufacturing the heating unit
AssigneeToshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorRyota Saeki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heating device includes a cylindrical film, a heater arranged inside the cylindrical film and extending along a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical film, a heat conductor extending along the longitudinal direction, and a first grease layer between the heater and the heat conductor and having a consistency grade less than or equal to three.
Claims18
A heating device, comprising:
- a cylindrical film arranged to be rotated about an axis;
- a heater having a first side facing an inner surface of the cylindrical film, wherein
- the heater extends along a longitudinal direction parallel to the axis and comprises a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction, and the heating elements include a center heating element and a pair of end heating elements that are independently controllable with respect to the center heating element;
- a heat conductor on a second side of the heater opposite the first side, the heat conductor extending along the longitudinal direction;
- and
- a first grease layer between the heat conductor and the second side of the heater and having a consistency grade less than or equal to three.
An image processing apparatus, comprising:
- a heating device including:
- a cylindrical film arranged to be rotated about an axis,
- a heater having a first side facing an inner surface of the cylindrical film, wherein
- the heater extends along a longitudinal direction parallel to the axis and comprises a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction, and the heating elements include a center heating element and a pair of end heating elements;
- a heat conductor on a second side of the heater opposite the first side, the heat conductor extending along the longitudinal direction, and
- a first grease layer between the heat conductor and the second side of the heater and having a consistency grade less than or equal to three;
- and
- a controller configured to control the heating device for an image processing operation, wherein
- the controller controls the pair of end heating elements independently with respect to the center heating element.
A method for manufacturing a heating device including a cylindrical film arranged to be rotated about an axis, a heater extending along a longitudinal direction parallel to the axis and having a first side facing an inner surface of the cylindrical film, the heater including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction, the heating elements including a center heating element and a pair of end heating elements that are independently controllable with respect to the center heating element, and a heat conductor on a second side of the heater opposite the first side and extending along the longitudinal direction, the method comprising:
- forming a grease layer on the inner surface of cylindrical film;
- arranging the heater to extend along the longitudinal direction with the first side of the heater facing the inner surface;
- arranging the heat conductor to be on the second side of the heater and to extend along the longitudinal direction;
- generating heat using the heater so that the grease layer flows into a gap between the heater and the heat conductor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.