# US 9,753,417 B2 · Fixing device including outlet guide member and image forming apparatus thereof > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,753,417 B2 - Document ID: US9753417B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/070,735 - Filed: 2016-03-15 - Published: 2016-09-22 - Granted: 2017-09-05 - Earliest claimed: 2015-03-19 - Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd. - Applicants: Yoshiki Yamaguchi; Yoshio Hattori; Haruyuki Honda; Ryuuichi Mimbu; Toshihiko Shimokawa; Yutaka Ikebuchi; Yasunori Ishigaya; Kazuya Saito; Keitaro Shoji; Ryohei Matsuda - Inventors: Yoshiki Yamaguchi; Yoshio Hattori; Haruyuki Honda; Ryuuichi Mimbu; Toshihiko Shimokawa; Yutaka Ikebuchi; Yasunori Ishigaya; Kazuya Saito; Keitaro Shoji; Ryohei Matsuda - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9753417B2 ## CPC - G03G 15/2053: {Structural details of heat elements, e.g. structure of roller or belt, eddy current, induction heating} - G03G 15/2028: {with means for handling the copy material in the fixing nip, e.g. introduction guides, stripping means} - G03G 15/6573: {Feeding path after the fixing point and up to the discharge tray or the finisher, e.g. special treatment of copy material to compensate for effects from the fixing} - G03G 2215/00421: Discharging tray, e.g. devices stabilising the quality of the copy medium, postfixing-treatment, inverting, sorting - G03G 2215/2035: the fixing nip having a stationary belt support member opposing a pressure member - G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY ## Abstract A fixing device includes an endless fixing belt; a pressure roller to contact the fixing belt; a nip forming member to press the pressure roller from the fixing belt; a nip portion formed between the fixing belt and the pressure roller; a heater to heat the fixing belt to fuse and fix toner onto a recording sheet in the nip portion; an auxiliary driven roller; an auxiliary drive roller to drive the driven roller; an auxiliary nip portion, formed between an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary driven roller and an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary drive roller, to nip the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the nip portion; and an outlet guide member, disposed downstream of the auxiliary nip portion, to guide the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the auxiliary nip portion, with the toner-fixed recording sheet surface bent in a concave shape. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A fixing device comprising: an endless fixing belt; a pressure roller configured to contact an outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt; a nip forming member configured to press the fixing belt against an outer circumferential surface of the pressure roller from an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt; a nip portion formed between the outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt and the outer circumferential surface of the pressure roller; a heater configured to heat the fixing belt to fuse and fix toner onto a recording sheet in the nip portion; an auxiliary driven roller, downstream of the nip portion in a recording sheet feeding direction; an auxiliary drive roller configured to drive the driven roller, downstream of the nip portion in the recording sheet feeding direction; an auxiliary nip portion, formed between an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary driven roller and an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary drive roller, configured to nip the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the nip portion; and an outlet guide member, downstream of the auxiliary nip portion in the recording sheet feeding direction, configured to guide the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the auxiliary nip portion, with the recording sheet bent such that a surface of the recording sheet on which toner fixation has occurred is bent in a concave shape, wherein the auxiliary drive roller includes a plurality of rollers and a plurality of stepped portions between the plurality of rollers, the plurality of rollers having varying horizontal width in an axial direction thereof; wherein the outlet guide member includes a plurality of ribs having guide surfaces that oppose the auxiliary nip portion, the plurality of ribs are interleaved between the plurality of stepped portions, and wherein the auxiliary drive roller continuously extend in an axial direction substantially along an entire width direction of the recording sheet. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary driven roller includes a surface layer made of a material with recording-sheet releasability. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary drive roller further includes a shaft, wherein the plurality of rollers have a same outer diameter disposed along the shaft at set intervals, and the plurality of stepped portions are between the plurality of rollers and have an outer diameter smaller than a diameter of the plurality of rollers; and wherein both lateral ends of the recording sheet ejected from the auxiliary nip portion contact an outer circumferential surface of at least some of the plurality of rollers. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the outlet guide member is positioned with a space of 10 mm or less between the auxiliary nip portion and guide faces of the outlet guide member. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising a separator located between the nip portion and the auxiliary nip portion, wherein the separator includes a belt-side separator and a roller-side separator. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the belt-side separator includes a leading end portion, which contacts the outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt to separate the recording sheet that tends to adhere to the outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt, so that the recording sheet is securely peeled off from the fixing belt. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the belt-side separator is formed of a metal material. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the roller-side separator includes a base end including a rod that extends in an axial direction of the fixing belt. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The fixing device according to claim 8, wherein the base end is supported by a body of an apparatus via the rod, and the roller-side separator is configured to oscillate between a position closing to the pressure roller and a position separating from the pressure roller. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The fixing device according to claim 8, wherein the roller-side separator is configured to oscillate to a position separating from the pressure roller when a paper jam of the recording sheet occurs in the nip portion and a user pulls out the recording sheet manually by hand. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the roller-side separator is formed of a resin material. ### Claim 12 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary driven roller is configured to extend parallel to an axis of the fixing belt and is rotatably attached to a holder located on the belt-side separator. ### Claim 13 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary drive roller is configured to extend parallel to an axis of the fixing belt and is rotatably attached to the roller-side separator. ### Claim 14 (depends on 5) The fixing device according to claim 5, wherein the outlet guide member, attached to the separator, includes the guide surfaces that oppose the auxiliary nip portion from above and the plurality of ribs fill each of a plurality of stepped portions between a plurality of rollers. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The fixing device according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of ribs are configured to fill the plurality of stepped portions so as not to interfere with a rotation operation of the plurality of rollers. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the outlet guide member includes guide surfaces, each of the guide surfaces has an upward slope from a lower side to an upper side in relation to the auxiliary driven roller. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ribs are interleaved between the plurality of stepped portions formed in the auxiliary drive roller. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary driven roller has the same outer diameter along an entire length thereof, and is formed such that both ends of the recording sheets conveyed from the nip portion contact the guide surfaces of the plurality of ribs. ### Claim 19 An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing device including: an endless fixing belt; a pressure roller configured to contact an outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt; a nip forming member configured to press the fixing belt against an outer circumferential surface of the pressure roller from an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt; a nip portion formed between the outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt and the outer circumferential surface of the pressure roller; a heater configured to heat the fixing belt to fuse and fix toner onto a recording sheet in the nip portion; an auxiliary driven roller, downstream of the nip portion in a recording sheet feeding direction; an auxiliary drive roller configured to drive the driven roller, disposed downstream of the nip portion in the recording sheet feeding direction; an auxiliary nip portion, formed between an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary driven roller and an outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary drive roller, configured to nip the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the nip portion; and an outlet guide member, downstream of the auxiliary nip'portion in the recording sheet feeding direction, configured to guide the recording sheet after toner fixation conveyed from the auxiliary nip portion, with the recording sheet bent such that a surface of the recording sheet on which toner fixation has occurred is bent in a concave shape, wherein the auxiliary drive roller includes a plurality of rollers and a plurality of stepped portions between the plurality of rollers, the plurality of rollers having varying horizontal width in an axial direction thereof; wherein the outlet guide member includes a plurality of ribs having guide surfaces that oppose the auxiliary nip portion, the plurality of ribs are interleaved between the plurality of stepped portions, and wherein the auxiliary drive roller continuously extend in an axial direction substantially along an entire width direction of the recording sheet.