US 5,960,243 AGranted

Fixation apparatus and image forming apparatus

AssigneeFuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

InventorsHiroshi Daigo, Yoshio Kanasawa

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Abstract

An apparatus is provided to easily prevent walking of a belt while avoiding twisting, warping and buckling of the belt including using an inexpensive endless belt with low rigidity in a fixation apparatus of so-called belt nip method. The apparatus includes a heating roll, an endless belt that presses against the heating roll and rotates along with the heating roll, and a pressing member that presses the endless belt against the heating roll 1 and forms a contact nip region between the endless belt and the heating roll. A belt walk guide that limits walking of the edge of the endless belt is provided on at least one side of the contact nip region between the between the heating roll and the endless belt. The belt walk guide is positioned on an axis parallel to an axis of the heating roll and passing through the contact nip region. The apparatus also includes a pressure roll and the endless belt.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A fixation apparatus, of the type which causes an unfixed toner image to be fixed by heat and pressure onto a recording sheet, said fixation apparatus comprising:

a heating roll having a heat source and being capable of rotating;
an endless belt configured to be pressed onto said heating roll and move in conjunction with the heating roll;
a pressing member arranged on an inside of said endless belt which presses said endless belt against said heating roll, thereby forming a contact nip region between said endless belt and said heating roll;
and
a belt walk guide provided on at least one side of said endless belt, said belt walk guide positioned on an axis parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the heating roll and extending through the contact nip region between said heating roll and said endless belt, said guide restricting walking of edges of the endless belt;
wherein the belt walk guide is capable of moving along an axis defined by a shaft of the heating roll, said belt walk guide being elastically energized toward the endless belt by an elastic energizing element.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.