Fixing device and image forming apparatus
AssigneeKYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
InventorYasuhito OKAJIMA
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fixing device includes a fixing belt, a nip forming member, a sliding member, and a pressing member. The nip forming member is disposed radially inward of the fixing belt and has an opposing face that faces the inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt at the fixing nip portion and a non-opposing face that does not face the inner circumferential surface. The sliding member is sheet-form and is disposed between the inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt and the opposing face of the nip forming member such that the inner circumferential surface of the rotating fixing belt makes contact with, while sliding across, the sliding member. The sliding member is formed integrally with the non-opposing face of the nip forming member.
Claims6
A fixing device comprising:
- an endless fixing belt that is heated by a heating portion and that rotates in a recording medium conveying direction;
- a nip forming member disposed radially inward of the fixing belt, the nip forming member having an opposing face that faces an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt at a fixing nip portion and a non-opposing face that does not face the inner circumferential surface;
- a sheet-form sliding member disposed between the inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt and the opposing face of the nip forming member such that the inner circumferential surface of the rotating fixing belt makes contact with, while sliding across, the sliding member;
- a support member disposed radially inward of the fixing belt, the support member supporting the nip forming member;
- and
- a pressing member that makes contact with the nip forming member across the sliding member and the fixing belt with a predetermined pressure so as to form the fixing nip portion between the pressing member and the fixing belt;
- and
- the fixing device inserting a recording medium into the fixing nip portion and heating and pressing the recording medium, thereby fixing a toner image formed on the recording medium to the recording medium,
- wherein
- the sliding member is formed integrally with the non-opposing face of the nip forming member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.