Fixing device
AssigneeToshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorSasuke Endo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
According to one embodiment, a fixing device includes a cylindrical fixing body, a heater unit, and a heat transfer member. The heater unit is in an interior region surrounded by the cylindrical fixing body and includes a heating element group. The heater unit extends lengthwise in a first direction parallel to an axial direction of the cylindrical fixing. The heat transfer member has a contact surface that contacts heater unit and an opposite surface on a side opposite the heater unit. The outer edges of the opposite surface in the first direction are at positions along the first direction that are beyond the outer edges of the contact surface in the first direction.
Claims18
A fixing device, comprising:
- a cylindrical fixing body;
- a heater unit in an interior region surrounded by the cylindrical fixing body and including a heating element group, the heater unit extending lengthwise in a first direction parallel to an axial direction of the cylindrical fixing;
- a heat transfer member having a contact surface that contacts heater unit and an opposite surface on a side opposite the heater unit;
- and
- an insulation member having a thermal conductivity lower than the heat transfer member, the insulation member being on an end portion of the heat transfer member and adjacent to the contact surface in the first direction, wherein
- the outer edges of the opposite surface in the first direction are at positions along the first direction that are beyond the outer edges of the contact surface in the first direction, and
- the insulation member is between the heat transfer member and the heater unit in a second direction orthogonal to the opposite surface.
A fixing device, comprising:
- a cylindrical body;
- a heater in an interior region surrounded by the cylindrical body, the heater including a plurality of heating elements, the heater extending in a first direction parallel to an axial direction of the cylindrical body;
- and
- a heat transfer member including a heater facing side which faces the heater and an opposite surface side facing in the opposite direction from the heater facing side, wherein
- the heater facing side includes:
- a contact surface portion which comes into contact with the heater, and
- a pair of end portions, the contact surface portion being between the pair of end portions in the first direction,
- the outermost edges of the pair of end portions are at positions along the first direction that are inside positions of the outermost ends of the plurality of heating elements in the first direction,
- a contact area between the heater and the pair of end portions per unit length in the first direction is less than a contact area between the heater and the contact surface portion per unit length in the first direction, and
- the pair of end portions have recessed parts formed therein, the recessed parts extending into the heat transfer member in a second direction orthogonal to the opposite surface.
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a sheet conveyance path along which a sheet travels in a printing operation;
- a press roller on the sheet conveyance path;
- a fixing device on the sheet conveyance path and configured to abut against the press roller to form a fixing nip through which the sheet travels in the printing operation, the fixing device including:
- a cylindrical fixing body;
- a heater unit in an interior region surrounded by the cylindrical fixing body and including a heating element group, the heater unit extending lengthwise in a first direction parallel to an axial direction of the cylindrical fixing;
- and
- a heat transfer member having a contact surface that contacts heater unit and an opposite surface on a side opposite the heater unit, wherein
- the outer edges of the opposite surface in the first direction are at positions along the first direction that are beyond the outer edges of the contact surface in the first direction,
- the heat transfer member further includes a pair of end portions with recessed parts formed therein, the recessed parts extending into the heat transfer member in a second direction orthogonal to the opposite surface, and
- the contact surface is between the pair of end portions in the first direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.