Image fixing apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorKeigo Akiya
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an image fixing apparatus including a fan for cooling one end region of the image fixing apparatus and a fan for cooling another end region thereof. When a temperature of the one end region reaches a cooling starting temperature, a fan corresponding to the one end portion is driven at a first rotation speed, and another fan is driven at a second rotation speed lower than the first rotation speed even if the temperature of the other end region is lower than the cooling starting temperature so as to protect the fans from thermal damages.
Claims11
An image fixing apparatus comprising:
- a fixing unit configured to fix by heat, onto a recording material, an unfixed image formed on the recording material;
- a first temperature detection element configured to detect a temperature of one end region in the fixing unit where a standard recording material does not pass that has a smallest width and is available for the apparatus;
- a second temperature detection element configured to detect a temperature of another end region in the fixing unit;
- a first fan configured to flow the air to the one end region, the first fan starts driving when the temperature detected by the first temperature detection element reaches a threshold temperature;
- and
- a second fan configured to flow the air to the another end region, the second fan starts driving when the temperature detected by the second temperature detection element reaches the threshold temperature;
- wherein when the temperature detected by the second temperature detection element is within a temperature range lower than the threshold temperature and if the temperature detected by the first temperature detection element reaches the threshold temperature, the first fan starts driving so as to flow the air at a first force and the second fan starts driving so as to flow the air at a second force lower than the first force.
An image fixing apparatus comprising:
- a fixing unit configured to fix by heat, onto a recording material, an unfixed image formed on the recording material;
- a first temperature detection element configured to detect a temperature of one end region in the fixing unit where a standard recording material does not pass that has a smallest width and is available for the apparatus;
- a second temperature detection element configured to detect a temperature of another end region in the fixing unit;
- a first fan configured to flow the air to the one end region;
- and
- a second fan configured to flow the air to the another end region;
- wherein the first and second fans are capable of setting so as to flow the air at a first force and at a second force lower than the first force,
- wherein the first fan starts driving at the first force when the temperature detected by the first temperature detection element reaches a threshold temperature, and starts driving at the second force when the temperature detected by the second temperature detection element reaches the threshold temperature and the temperature detected by the first temperature detection element is within a temperature range lower than the threshold temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.