Fixing device and image forming system using same

Abstract

A fixing device for fixing an unfixed image after heating and pressurizing a medium on which the unfixed image is held, the fixing device being characterized by comprising: a heating and fixing member having a heating source; a belt-shaped conveying and fixing member which is provided so as to be tensioned to the heating and fixing member, is rotatable, and conveys the medium by coming into contact with an image surface of the medium; a pressure fixing member disposed to face the heating fixing member with the conveying fixing member interposed therebetween, the pressure fixing member being pressurized so as to form a fixing region between the pressure fixing member and the heating fixing member; a driving member that is driven by a driving force from a driving source so as to rotate the conveying and fixing member; and an operating member that is operated so as to manually rotate the conveying fixing member in a state in which the driving member is not used.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming system using the fixing device. Background Art

[0002] As conventional fixing devices or image forming devices, for example, devices described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are known.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses a fixing device comprising: a heating component having a heating source; a pressure component arranged opposite to the heating component and forming a fixing nip zone between the pressure component and the heating component; a belt component arranged to be stretched on the heating component and capable of circulation, and capable of contacting the toner image surface of the recording material to convey the recording material; and a belt driving device, which temporarily stops or decelerates the belt component after the rear end of the recording material passes through the fixing nip zone, and restores the belt component to its original state before the front end of the subsequent recording material reaches the fixing nip zone.

[0004] Patent document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus having a knob for eliminating jamming, which is elastically supported to slide or swing in conjunction with the opening and closing of a front door, and a member that engages or disengages a driving device of the apparatus body and a linkage device of a fixing device by sliding or swinging the knob.

[0005] Patent document 3 discloses an image forming device having a drive contact or separation mechanism, wherein the drive contact or separation mechanism has a paper conveying component that transmits drive via a drive transmission gear, and when an opening and closing component is opened, the drive transmission gear is released from its drive connection by its own weight, and when the opening and closing component is closed, the drive transmission gear is restored to the drive connection position.

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-163787 (Preferred Mode for Carrying Out the Invention, Figure 4 )

[0007] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-95417 (Example, FIG. 1)

[0008] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-119583 (Embodiments of the Invention, Figure 3 ) Summary of the invention

[0009] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to enable the media on the conveying and fixing member to be manually discharged even if the media is jammed on the conveying and fixing member in a heating and pressing fixing device having a belt-shaped conveying and fixing member.

[0010] The first technical feature of the present invention is a fixing device, which fixes the unfixed image after heating and pressurizing a medium holding an unfixed image, and the fixing device is characterized in that it comprises: a heating fixing member having a heating source; a belt-shaped conveying fixing member, which is arranged to be stretched on the heating fixing member and can rotate, and is in contact with the image surface of the medium to convey the medium; a pressurizing fixing member, which is arranged to be opposite to the heating fixing member with the conveying fixing member sandwiched therebetween, and is pressurized in a manner to form a fixing area between the conveying fixing member and the heating fixing member; a driving member, which is driven in a manner to rotate the conveying fixing member by a driving force from a driving source; and an operating member, which is operated in a manner to manually rotate the conveying fixing member without using the driving member.

[0011] A second technical feature of the present invention is that in the fixing device having the first technical feature, the operation member includes a rotation operation part for manually rotating the heating fixing member when the driving member is not used.

[0012] The third technical feature of the present invention is that in the fixing device having the second technical feature, the operating member has the rotating operating member having a rotating axis biased from the rotating axis of the heating fixing member and an operating force transmitting member which is arranged between the rotating operating member and the heating fixing member and transmits the rotating operating force from the rotating operating member to the heating fixing member.

[0013] The fourth technical feature of the present invention is that in a fixing device having any one of the first to third technical features, it is characterized in that it has a first supporting member for supporting the pressurized fixing member and a second supporting member for supporting the heated fixing member and the conveying fixing member, the first supporting member has a supporting member that is arranged to be able to swing relative to the second supporting member with a swing fulcrum as the center, and the operating member is maintained on the second supporting member side so that it can be manually rotated.

[0014] The fifth technical feature of the present invention is characterized in that, in a fixing device having the fourth technical feature, the operating member includes a rotating operating member arranged on the side opposite to the swing fulcrum across the heating fixing member in the second supporting member, and an operating force transmitting member which is arranged between the rotating operating member and the heating fixing member and transmits the rotational operating force of the rotating operating member to the heating fixing member and rotates the heating fixing member in a direction of pushing the heating fixing member toward the side of the pressurizing fixing member.

[0015] The sixth technical feature of the present invention is that in the fixing device having any one of the first to fifth technical features, the operating member has a rotating operating component that rotates the conveying fixing member in a predetermined direction or in both forward and reverse directions when the driving member is not in use.

[0016] The seventh technical feature of the present invention is characterized in that, in a fixing device having the sixth technical feature, the operating member is equipped with an operating force transmitting member that stops the rotation of the rotating operating member when the conveying fixing member is rotated by the driving member, and transmits the rotational operating force of the rotating operating member to the conveying fixing member when the driving member is not in use.

[0017] The eighth technical feature of the present invention is characterized in that, in a fixing device having the seventh technical feature, the operating force transmission component has a movable transmission component that moves from a retreat position to a transmission position following the rotational movement of the rotating operating component, and a force-applying component that applies force to the movable transmission component to keep it in the retreat position when the rotating operating component stops.

[0018] The 9th technical feature of the present invention is that in a fixing device having any one of the 1st to 8th technical features, the operating member includes a rotating operating member for rotating the conveying fixing member when the driving member is not in use, and an operating force transmitting member for transmitting the rotational operating force from the rotating operating member to the conveying fixing member to rotate the conveying fixing member, and the operating force transmitting member includes a reducing element for reducing the rotational speed of the conveying fixing member relative to the rotational speed of the rotating operating member.

[0019] A tenth technical feature of the present invention is that in the fixing device having the ninth technical feature, the lowering element rotates the transport fixing member with a rotational force greater than a rotational operation force of the rotational operation member.

[0020] The 11th technical feature of the present invention is that in a fixing device having any one of the 1st to 10th technical features, the operating member includes a rotating operating member for rotating the conveying fixing member when the driving member is not in use, an operating force transmitting member for transmitting the rotational operating force from the rotating operating member to the conveying fixing member to rotate the conveying fixing member, and a supporting member for supporting the rotating operating member and the operating force transmitting member, and the supporting member has a covering member for covering the operating force transmitting member.

[0021] The twelfth technical feature of the present invention is that in a fixing device having any one of the first to eleventh technical features, it is characterized in that it comprises: a cleaning member that is configured to contact the peripheral surface of the heated fixing member and cleans the peripheral surface of the heated fixing member, the operating member having a rotating operating member that rotates the heated fixing member when the driving member is not in use and a retracting member that retracts the cleaning member from the peripheral surface of the heated fixing member in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating operating member.

[0022] The 13th technical feature of the present invention is that in a fixing device having any one of the 1st to 12th technical features, it is characterized in that it also has: a cooling member, which is arranged in contact with the back side of the media conveying area of ​​the conveying fixing member at the downstream side of the conveying direction of the media in the conveying fixing member than the fixing area, and cools the conveying fixing member.

[0023] The 14th technical feature of the present invention is an image forming system, which is characterized in that it comprises: an image generating component for producing an unfixed image on a medium; and a fixing device having any one of the first to 13th technical features for fixing the unfixed image maintained on the medium.

[0024] Effects of the Invention

[0025] According to the first technical feature of the present invention, in a fixing device of a heating and pressing method having a belt-shaped fixing conveying member, even if a medium is jammed on the fixing conveying member, the medium on the fixing conveying member can be manually discharged.

[0026] According to the second feature of the present invention, compared with a method of manually rotating a tension member other than the heating fixing member, the transport fixing member can be easily rotated and the medium sandwiched in the fixing area between the heating fixing member and the pressure fixing member can be easily ejected.

[0027] According to the third technical feature of the present invention, it is effective in transmitting the rotational operation force from the rotational operation member to the heating and fixing member.

[0028] According to the fourth feature of the present invention, compared with a method in which the operation member is supported on the first support member side, the operation member can be stably supported by the second support member having higher rigidity than the first support member.

[0029] According to the fifth feature of the present invention, compared with a method including an operation force transmitting member for rotating the heating fixing member in a direction away from the pressing fixing member, it is possible to suppress deflection, deformation and damage of the second supporting member caused by the rotation operation of the rotation operation member.

[0030] According to the sixth feature of the present invention, the discharge direction of the medium conveyed on the fixing member can be set to a predetermined direction or two directions according to the rotational operation direction of the rotational operation member.

[0031] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the fixing member is driven to be conveyed and rotated by the driving member, the rotation of the rotating operation member is stopped, thereby preventing the rotating operation member from being rotated in conjunction with the driving member.

[0032] According to the eighth feature of the present invention, when the driving member is used, the operation force transmission member is controlled, thereby making it possible to simply prevent the interlocking rotation of the rotation operation member.

[0033] According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when the driving member is not used, even if the rotation operation member is rotated at a high speed unintentionally, the transport fixing member can be prevented from being rotated at a high speed.

[0034] According to the tenth feature of the present invention, when the driving member is not used, even if the rotational operation member is operated with a small rotational operation force, the transport fixing member can be rotated with a rotational force greater than the rotational operation force, thereby easily ejecting the jammed medium.

[0035] According to the eleventh technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the operating force transmission member, which is the movable portion, from being contacted from the outside or from being mixed with foreign matter.

[0036] According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when the fixing member is manually rotated and transported without using the driving member, the rotational operation force of the rotational operation member can be reduced by eliminating the sliding friction between the heating fixing member and the cleaning member.

[0037] According to the thirteenth technical feature of the present invention, even in a method of easily producing a high-gloss image by heating and cooling the transport fixing member to fix the unfixed image, media jam on the transport fixing member can be solved by a simple manual operation.

[0038] According to the 14th technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to construct an image forming system including a fixing device of a heating and pressurizing method having a belt-shaped conveying fixing member, wherein even if a medium jam occurs on the conveying fixing member, the medium on the conveying fixing member can be manually discharged. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.

[0040] FIG. 1( a ) is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of an embodiment of an image forming system including a fixing device to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1( b ) is an arrow view viewed from a direction B in FIG. 1( a );

[0041] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1;

[0042] Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall structure of the second fixing device involved in the first embodiment;

[0043] Figure 4 is Figure 3 The view from direction IV in the figure;

[0044] Figure 5 (a) is an explanatory diagram showing a dedicated paper for photographic images as an example of a medium, Figure 5 (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a toner image is fixed on a special paper. Figure 5 (c) is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a toner image is fixed on ordinary paper as an example of a medium;

[0045] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a bracket of a second fixing device;

[0046] Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a structural example of a manual operating mechanism of a second fixing device;

[0047] Figure 8 Yes means Figure 7 A three-dimensional illustration of the detailed structure of the manual operating mechanism shown;

[0048] Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement relationship of the rotary operating handle of the manual operating mechanism;

[0049] Fig.10 is a perspective view showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing device according to Embodiment 2;

[0050] Fig.11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the manual operating mechanism when the rotary operating handle is not used in Embodiment 2;

[0051] Fig.12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the manual operating mechanism when the rotary operating handle is used in Embodiment 2;

[0052] Fig.13 is an explanatory diagram showing a deformation mode around the manual operating mechanism involved in the second embodiment;

[0053] Fig.14 is a perspective view showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing device according to Embodiment 3;

[0054] Fig.15 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the manual operating mechanism when the rotary operating handle is not used in Embodiment 3;

[0055] Fig.16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the manual operating mechanism when the rotary operating handle is used in the positive rotation direction in the third embodiment;

[0056] Fig.17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the manual operating mechanism when the rotating operating handle is used in the reverse rotation direction in the third embodiment;

[0057] Fig.18 is a perspective view showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing device according to a fourth embodiment;

[0058] Fig.19 It is a bird's-eye view Fig.18 An explanatory diagram of the drive transmission system of the manual operating mechanism shown;

[0059] Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing device according to a fifth embodiment;

[0060] Fig.21 This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the manual operation mechanism when the rotation operation handle is used in the fifth embodiment.

[0061] Explanation of symbols

[0062] 1-heating fixing member, 1a-heating source, 2-conveying fixing member, 3-pressurizing fixing member, 4-driving member, 4a-driving source, 5-operating member, 6-rotating operating member, 7-operating force transmitting member, 8 (8a, 8b)-tensioning member, 10-image generating member, 11-fixing device, 12-cooling member, G-unfixed image, S-medium, FA-fixing area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] ◎Overview of implementation method

[0064] FIG. 1( a ) is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of an embodiment of an image forming system including a fixing device to which the present invention is applied.

[0065] In the figure, the image forming system includes an image generating unit 10 for forming an unfixed image G on a medium S and a fixing device 11 for fixing the unfixed image G held on the medium S.

[0066] In this example, the fixing device 11 is a fixing device that fixes the unfixed image G after heating and pressurizing the medium S holding the unfixed image G, and comprises: a heating fixing member 1 having a heating source 1a; a belt-shaped conveying fixing member 2, which is arranged to be stretched on the heating fixing member 1 and can rotate, and is in contact with the image surface of the medium S to convey the medium S; a pressurizing fixing member 3, which is arranged to be opposite to the heating fixing member 1 with the conveying fixing member 2 interposed therebetween, and is pressurized in a manner to form a fixing area FA between the conveying fixing member 2 and the heating fixing member 1; a driving member 4, which is driven in a manner to rotate the conveying fixing member 2 by a driving force from a driving source 4a; and an operating member 5, which is operated in a manner to manually rotate the conveying fixing member 2 without using the driving member 4.

[0067] In this technical means, the fixing device 11 of this embodiment can be assembled in an image forming device including an image generating component 10 for producing an unfixed image G, or can be assembled in a post-processing device different from the image forming device, and constitute an image forming system composed of a plurality of units.

[0068] Furthermore, the heated fixing member 1 includes, for example, a heated fixing roller. The heating source 1a may be built-in or external. Furthermore, the conveying fixing member 2 includes a conveying fixing belt. As the conveying fixing belt, it may be appropriately selected, for example, a method in which a coating layer with high anti-sticking properties such as fluororubber is formed on the surface of a belt substrate made of resin or metal. Furthermore, the conveying direction of the medium S based on the conveying fixing member 2 is not limited to a substantially horizontal direction, and may be any of an inclined direction and a substantially vertical direction. Furthermore, the pressurized fixing member 3 may be in a roller shape or a belt shape as long as it is pressurized in a manner to form a fixing area between the pressurized fixing member 1 and the heated fixing member 1.

[0069] Furthermore, the driving member 4 can be appropriately selected as long as it is a member that transmits the driving force from the driving source 4a such as a motor to the transport fixing member 2. In this case, it is not limited to the heating fixing member 1 that tensions the transport fixing member 2, and the transport fixing member 2 can be rotated by driving any of the other tensioning members 8 (in this example, 8a, 8b).

[0070] Furthermore, the operating member 5 may be any member that has the function of rotating the belt-shaped conveying fixing member 2 without using the driving member 4. In this case, a representative example is a rotating operating member 6 having a rotatable circular cross-sectional shape, an angular cross-sectional shape, or a faucet handle shape (see FIG. 1( b)).

[0071] Next, a typical embodiment or a preferred embodiment of the fixing device according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0072] First, as a representative embodiment of the operating member 5, as shown in FIG1(b), there is an embodiment having a rotating operating member 6 for manually rotating the heating fixing member 1 when the driving member 4 is not used. This embodiment is effective in directly forcibly discharging the medium S sandwiched by the fixing area FA between the heating fixing member 1 and the pressure fixing member 3.

[0073] In this example, as the mode of the operating member 5, there is provided a mode in which a rotational operating member 6 having a rotational axis offset from the rotational axis of the heating and fixing member 1 and an operating force transmitting member 7 provided between the rotational operating member 6 and the heating and fixing member 1 and transmitting the rotational operating force from the rotational operating member 6 to the heating and fixing member 1 are provided. In the mode in which the heating and fixing member 1 is directly rotated by the rotational operating member 6, a rotational operating force of a certain degree is required, but in the mode in which the operating force transmitting member 7 is inserted as in this example, it is effective in arranging the rotational operating member 6 at a position where the rotational operation is easy to be performed or in reducing the rotational operating force of the rotational operating member 6.

[0074] Furthermore, the supporting structure of the operation member 5 can be appropriately selected.

[0075] Here, as a supporting structure of the operating member 5, the following method can be cited, that is, there is a first supporting member (not shown) supporting the pressurized fixing member 3 and a second supporting member (not shown) supporting the heated fixing member 1 and the conveying fixing member 2, the first supporting member has a supporting member (not shown) arranged to be able to swing relative to the second supporting member with the swing fulcrum as the center, and the operating member 5 is held on the second supporting member side so that it can be manually rotated. In this example, the second supporting member sets a member heavier than the first supporting member as a supporting object, and thus is configured to be a structure with higher rigidity than the first supporting member. Therefore, when the operating member 5 is provided, it is preferably provided on the second supporting member with high rigidity, for example.

[0076] Furthermore, for example, as a preferred mode in which the operating member 5 is supported in the second supporting member, there is provided a rotating operating member 6 disposed on the side opposite to the swing fulcrum of the second supporting member across the heating and fixing member 1, and an operating force transmitting member 7 disposed between the rotating operating member 6 and the heating and fixing member 1 and transmitting the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member 6 to the heating and fixing member 1 and rotating the heating and fixing member 1 in a direction of pushing the heating and fixing member 1 toward the pressurizing and fixing member 3. Here, if the rotating operating member 6 is disposed on the same side as the swing fulcrum and the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member 6 is transmitted to the heating and fixing member 1 via the operating force transmitting member 7, the heating and fixing member 1 rotates in a direction of separating from the pressurizing and fixing member 3. In this case, the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member 6 is likely to affect the bending, deformation, and damage of the second supporting member, but in this mode, for example, it is less likely to affect the bending of the second supporting member, which is preferred.

[0077] Furthermore, as a mode of the operating member 5, there can be mentioned a mode having a rotation operating member 6 for rotating the image conveying and fixing member 2 in a predetermined direction or in both forward and reverse directions when the driving member 4 is not used. In this example, as the rotation operating direction of the rotation operating member 6, any one of rotating the image conveying and fixing member 2 in a forward rotation direction (corresponding to the direction of conveying the medium S), rotating the image conveying and fixing member 2 in a reverse rotation direction, or rotating the image conveying and fixing member 2 in both forward and reverse directions can be appropriately selected.

[0078] In this example, the operating member 5 preferably includes, for example, an operating force transmitting member 7 that stops the rotation of the rotating operating member 6 when the image transporting and fixing member 2 is rotated by the driving member 4, and transmits the rotational operating force of the rotating operating member 6 to the image transporting and fixing member 2 when the driving member is not used. In this example, when the image transporting and fixing member 2 is rotated by the driving member 4, the rotating operating member 6 is not rotated but stopped. Therefore, while the image transporting and fixing member 2 is driven and rotated, the rotating operating member 6 remains stopped.

[0079] When such an operating member 5 is concretized, as a mode of the operating force transmission member 7, there can be cited a mode having a movable transmission member that moves from a retreat position to a transmission position following the rotational movement of the rotating operating member 6, and a force-applying member that applies force to the movable transmission member to keep it in the retreat position when the rotating operating member 6 stops.

[0080] Furthermore, as another form of the operating member 5, there can be cited a form in which the operating force transmitting member 7 includes a rotating operating member 6 for rotating the transport fixing member 2 when the driving member 4 is not used, and transmits the rotational operating force from the rotating operating member 6 to the transport fixing member 2 to rotate the transport fixing member 2, and the operating force transmitting member 7 includes a reducing element (not shown) for reducing the rotational speed of the transport fixing member 2 relative to the rotational speed of the rotating operating member 6.

[0081] The reduction requirement mentioned here is a requirement of rotating the transport fixing member 2 with a rotational force greater than the rotational operation force of the rotational operation member 6 .

[0082] Furthermore, as another embodiment of the operating member 5, there is provided a rotating operating member 6 for rotating the transport fixing member 2 when the driving member 4 is not used, an operating force transmitting member 7 for transmitting the rotating operating force from the rotating operating member 6 to the transport fixing member 2 to rotate the transport fixing member 2, and a supporting member (not shown) for supporting the rotating operating member 6 and the operating force transmitting member 7, wherein the supporting member has a covering member for covering the operating force transmitting member 7. This example is effective in that the operating force transmitting member 7 is not exposed to the outside by adding the covering member to the supporting member, thereby preventing the user from accidentally touching the operating force transmitting member 7.

[0083] Furthermore, as another embodiment of the operating member 5, in an embodiment in which a cleaning member (not shown) is provided that is arranged in contact with the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member 1 and cleans the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member 1, for example, it is preferable that the operating member 5 has a rotating operating member 6 that rotates the heating and fixing member 1 when the driving member 4 is not used, and a retracting member that retracts the cleaning member from the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member 1 in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating operating member 6. In this example, when the rotating operating member 6 is manually rotated, the cleaning member retracts from the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member 1. Therefore, when the rotating operating member 6 is rotated, the friction resistance caused by the sliding contact between the heating and fixing member 1 and the cleaning member does not act, and accordingly, the rotational operation force of the rotating operating member 6 is suppressed to be small.

[0084] Furthermore, in the method of manually rotating and conveying the fixing member 2 in both the forward and reverse directions, in the case of the reverse rotation direction, for example, if the cleaning member is retracted from the heating fixing member 1, it is also preferable in that the cleaning member can be prevented from being lifted up relative to the heating fixing member 1.

[0085] Furthermore, as a mode of the fixing device 11, there can be mentioned a mode of having a cooling member 12 which is provided on the downstream side of the fixing area FA in the conveying direction of the medium S in the conveying fixing member 2 and contacts the back surface of the medium conveying area of ​​the conveying fixing member 2 and cools the conveying fixing member 2. Here, the cooling member 12 can be appropriately selected, but a heat dissipating member such as a radiator which dissipates absorbed heat is mainly used.

[0086] This example adopts a fixing method that heats and pressurizes the unfixed image G and then cools it. This example is effective in obtaining a glossy image like a photographic image by using a dedicated member and medium as the conveying fixing member 2 and the medium S.

[0087] Here, as the conveying fixing member 2, a structure with high smoothness is used, for example, a method in which a coating layer with high smoothness such as fluororubber or silicone rubber is formed on the surface of an endless film made of thermosetting polyimide resin. In addition, as the medium S, a special medium S having an image receiving layer embedded with the unfixed image G by heating and pressurizing is used. Using such a conveying fixing member 2 and the special medium S, and adopting a fixing method using a cooling member 12, the following fixing treatment is performed. That is, if a cooling treatment based on the cooling member 12 is performed after the unfixed image G is embedded in the image receiving layer on the surface of the medium S, the surface properties of the conveying fixing member 2 are transferred, the surface of the image receiving layer and the image surface become roughly uniform, and a glossy image can be obtained.

[0088] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0089] ◎Implementation method 1

[0090] Figure 2 The overall configuration of the image forming system according to the first embodiment is shown.

[0091] -Overall structure of image forming system-

[0092] In the figure, the image forming system 15 has an apparatus body 16 having an image forming unit capable of forming a color image, and a post-processing device 50 is additionally installed on the upper part of the apparatus body 16 as an optional device. On the other hand, a multi-stage media supply container 81 (81a, 81b) for supplying media such as paper can be pulled out and accommodated below the apparatus body 16.

[0093] -Image forming unit-

[0094] The image forming unit used in the present embodiment adopts, for example, an electrophotographic method, and has a so-called tandem type structure in which the image forming units 20 (20a to 20d) of four colors, namely, yellow (Y color), magenta (M color), cyan (C color), and black (K color), are arranged in a row with respect to the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body 30. Therefore, the toner images of the respective colors formed by the image forming units 20 (20a to 20d) are sequentially transferred once on the intermediate transfer body 30, for example, to be multiplexed, and the multiplexed toner images are collectively transferred to the medium conveyed from the medium supply container 81 and fixed. In addition, the color arrangement of the image forming units 20 of the four colors is not limited to this order, and may be in another order.

[0095] The image forming unit 20 (20a to 20d) in this embodiment is composed of a photoreceptor 21 as an image holding body for holding the toner images of the respective color components after forming them, a charging device 22 such as a charging roller for charging the photoreceptor 21, an exposure device 23 such as a laser scanner for forming a latent image on the charged photoreceptor 21, a developing device 24 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 21, a primary transfer device 25 such as a primary transfer roller for primary transfer of the toner image on the photoreceptor 21 to the intermediate transfer body 30, a photoreceptor cleaner 26 for cleaning the residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor 21, and a static eliminator 27 for eliminating the residual charge on the photoreceptor 21. In addition, the exposure device 23 in this embodiment performs exposure of the entire image forming unit 20 (20a to 20d) of four colors by a single exposure device.

[0096] The intermediate transfer body 30 is stretched by a plurality of tension rollers. For example, the tension roller 31 is used as a driving roller to circulate the intermediate transfer body 30, and the tension roller 32 is used as a supporting roller of a secondary transfer device 33 composed of a secondary transfer roller. An intermediate transfer body cleaner 34 is provided at a position facing the tension roller 31 of the intermediate transfer body 30 to remove residual toner on the intermediate transfer body 30.

[0097] Furthermore, in the apparatus body 16 , four color toner cartridges 35 for supplying toner corresponding to the developers 24 of the image forming units 20 are provided above the intermediate transfer body 30 , and toner is supplied to the developers 24 corresponding to the respective colors via a transport path (not shown).

[0098] In addition, the media conveying system 80 in this embodiment is as follows. The media fed from each media supply container 81 by the pickup roller 82 is separated by the action of the feed roller 83 and the retard roller 84, so that only one piece of media is conveyed to the conveying path on the downstream side. In addition, the conveying path is provided with an integration roller 85 for positioning and integrating the media fed from the media supply container 81 before entering the secondary transfer device 33, and a first fixing device 40 for fixing the unfixed toner image transferred to the media by the secondary transfer device 33. In addition, a switching member 86 is provided on the downstream side of the first fixing device 40, and by switching the switching member 86, the media discharged from the first fixing device 40 is switched to the path of two directions, the post-processing device 50 side and the first discharge receiving portion 87 side that accommodates the media directly discharged from the device body 16.

[0099] In addition, as the media supply container 81, two media supply containers 81a and 81b for accommodating media of different sizes are shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and three or more media supply containers may be provided, or one media supply container may be provided. In addition, a manual feeder (not shown) may be provided, and the media may be guided to the conveying path from the manual feeder.

[0100] The first fixing device 40 of the present embodiment is as follows, for example. The first fixing device 40 includes a heating fixing roller 41 having a heat source (not shown) such as a halogen lamp inside, and a pressure fixing roller 42 arranged opposite to the heating fixing roller 41 and sandwiching and conveying the medium in a fixing area formed between the heating fixing roller 41.

[0101] Therefore, when the medium holding the unfixed toner image passes through the fixing area of ​​the first fixing device 40 , the unfixed toner image on the medium is fixed to the medium by heat and pressure.

[0102] In addition, in this example, the first fixing device 40 adopts a roller pair structure of a heating and pressurizing method, but it is not limited to this. It is also possible to appropriately select a pressure pad to be arranged opposite to the heating fixing roller, insert a pressure belt linked to the heating fixing roller between the heating fixing roller and the pressure pad, and clamp the medium in the fixing area formed between the heating fixing roller and the pressure belt and heat and pressurize it for fixing.

[0103] - Example of the structure of the post-processing device -

[0104] Moreover, if Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the post-processing device 50 of the present embodiment includes a second fixing device 60 which is provided in the middle of the medium conveying path 51 and makes the toner image surface of the medium bright, and a cutting device 70 which cuts the medium which has passed through the second fixing device 60. In addition, in the present embodiment, a second discharge receiving portion 88 is provided on the downstream side of the post-processing device 50 and receives the medium which has passed through the cutting device 70.

[0105] -Basic structure of the second fixing unit-

[0106] The second fixing device 60 has the same basic structure as the fixing device 11 shown in FIG. 1( a ). Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the second fixing device 60 includes: a heating fixing roller 61 as a heating fixing member; a conveying fixing belt 62 as a conveying fixing member, which is arranged to be stretched on the heating fixing roller 61 and can circulate, and is in contact with the image surface of the medium S to convey the medium S; a pressurizing fixing roller 63 as a pressurizing fixing member, which is arranged opposite to the heating fixing roller 61 with the conveying fixing belt 62 in between, and pressurizes in a manner of forming a fixing area FA between the heating fixing roller 61; and a cooler 64 as a cooling member, which is arranged on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the conveying fixing belt 62 closer to the medium S than the fixing area FA in the conveying fixing belt 62, and is in contact with the back side of the medium conveying area SA of the conveying fixing belt 62, and cools the conveying fixing belt 62.

[0107] <Heated fixing roller>

[0108] The heating fixing roller 61 is a structure in which a release layer (not shown) made of a PFA tube or the like is formed around a core 61a made of metal with high thermal conductivity, and a heating source 65 (two in this example) such as a halogen lamp is provided inside the core 61a, and heating control is performed in such a manner that the surface of the fixing roller 61 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heating source 65. In this embodiment, the heating fixing roller 61 is rotationally driven by a driving mechanism 69 as a driving member, and the conveying fixing belt 62 is circulated and rotated through the heating fixing roller 61.

[0109] Here, if Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , the heating and fixing roller 61 has a rotating shaft 61c at both axial ends of the core 61a, and the rotating shaft 61c is rotatably supported by the bearing 61d. Figure 4 As shown, the drive mechanism 69 is arranged on the inner side of the heating fixing roller 61 in the axial direction (equivalent to Figure 2 The drive mechanism 69 includes a drive motor 69a and a drive transmission gear train 69b for transmitting the rotational driving force of the drive motor 69a to the heating and fixing roller 61. In this example, the drive transmission gear train 69b includes a drive gear 691 provided coaxially with the rotation shaft of the drive motor 69a, a final transmission gear 692 provided coaxially with the rotation shaft 61c on the inner side of the heating and fixing roller 61, and one or more intermediate transmission gears 693 (one is used in this example) inserted between the drive gear 691 and the final transmission gear 692.

[0110] In addition, if Figure 7 and Figure 8As shown, electrode brackets 651 for holding the heating source 65 and supplying power are provided at both axial ends of the heating fixing roller 61 .

[0111] <Transfer fixing belt>

[0112] The transport fixing belt 62 is an endless film made of, for example, a thermosetting polyimide resin, and a coating layer having high smoothness such as fluororubber or silicone rubber is formed on the surface of the film.

[0113] In order to maintain mechanical strength and effectively utilize thermal energy, appropriate thicknesses are selected for the base and cover layer of the conveying fixing belt 62. For example, a base material having a thickness of about 75 μm and a cover layer having a thickness of about 35 μm may be used.

[0114] The transport fixing belt 62 is stretched between the heating fixing roller 61 , the peeling roller 67 , and the switchback roller 68 , and can be circulated and rotated by the rotation of the heating fixing roller 61 .

[0115] Here, the peeling roller 67 rotates following the movement of the conveyor fixing belt 62, and the peeling roller 67 wraps around the conveyor fixing belt 62 while tensioning it, thereby causing the moving direction of the conveyor fixing belt 62 to change suddenly. Therefore, the medium S on the conveyor fixing belt 62 is naturally peeled off from the conveyor fixing belt 62 at the position of the peeling roller 67 due to the rigidity of the medium S itself. In addition, the steering roller 68 always keeps the tension of the conveyor fixing belt 62 itself. The steering roller 68 maintains the tension of the conveyor fixing belt 62 by pushing the conveyor fixing belt 62 outward, and corrects the deviation (the phenomenon that the conveyor fixing belt 62 moves toward one end of the steering roller 68) generated when the conveyor fixing belt 62 circulates.

[0116] <Pressure fixing roller>

[0117] On the other hand, the pressurized fixing roller 63 is coated with an elastic layer 63b such as silicone rubber around a core 63a made of metal with high thermal conductivity, and a release layer (not shown) the same as the release layer of the heated fixing roller 61 is formed on the surface of the elastic layer 63b. In addition, in the present embodiment, a heating source 66 such as a halogen lamp (one is used in this example) is also provided inside the core 63a of the pressurized fixing roller 63, and heating control is performed in such a manner that the surface of the pressurized fixing roller 63 reaches a predetermined temperature. Therefore, the medium S conveyed to the second fixing device 60 is heated and pressurized in a state where the toner image surface is in contact with the conveying fixing belt 62 in the fixing area FA of the heated fixing roller 61 and the pressurized fixing roller 63. In addition, in this example, the pressurized fixing roller 63 is provided with a heating source 66, but it is also possible to be provided without the heating source 66.

[0118] <Cooler>

[0119] In the present embodiment, the cooler 64 is provided between the heating fixing roller 61 and the peeling roller 67 (corresponding to the medium conveying area SA) in contact with the back side of the conveying fixing belt 62. The cooler 64 is in contact with a part of the medium conveying area SA of the conveying fixing belt 62, and the contact area is set as the cooling area CA. That is, the cooler 64 absorbs the heat of the conveying fixing belt 62 through the cooling area CA, thereby cooling the conveying fixing belt 62. Therefore, the medium S conveyed in close contact with the conveying fixing belt 62 is cooled.

[0120] The cooler 64 in this embodiment is equivalent to a so-called radiator. The cooler 64 is composed of a sheet member 64a provided with a plurality of radiating fins extending in a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface along which the fixing belt 62 is conveyed, and a cover 64b having a rectangular cross-section cylindrical shape provided to cover the fins. The cooler 64 is configured such that air is circulated inside by an air blower (not shown) to forcibly dissipate the heat of the sheet member 64a.

[0121] In the cooler 64 , for example, a temperature sensor 641 is provided at a part of the sheet member 64 a , and the opening and closing of an air blower (not shown) or the strength of the air volume are adjusted based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 641 .

[0122] <About the design of media adhesion and transmission>

[0123] In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of ensuring the cooling effect by the cooler 64, Figure 3 As shown, the medium S transported by the transport fixing belt 62 is designed to be arranged in close contact with the cooling area CA of the cooler 64 .

[0124] In this example, an inlet side opposing roller 131 as an opposing rotating member is provided on the surface side of the conveying fixing belt 62 at a position corresponding to the inlet (upstream starting point A) of the cooling area CA of the cooler 64. The inlet side opposing roller 131 is arranged in contact with the conveying fixing belt 62 and rotates following the conveying fixing belt 62.

[0125] Furthermore, an outlet side opposing roller 132 as an opposing rotating member is provided on the surface side of the conveying fixing belt 62 at a position corresponding to the outlet (downstream end point B) of the cooling area CA of the cooler 64. The outlet side opposing roller 132 is arranged in contact with the conveying fixing belt 62 and rotates following the conveying fixing belt 62.

[0126] In this example, the entrance side opposing roller 131 needs to be provided at a position corresponding to the entrance of the cooling area CA. Thus, the medium S conveyed on the conveyor fixing belt 62 is pulled in close contact with the conveyor fixing belt 62 by the entrance side opposing roller 131 at the entrance of the cooling area CA.

[0127] On the other hand, the outlet-side opposing roller 132 is effective in bringing the medium S into close contact with the conveying fixing belt 62 at two locations before and after the conveying direction of the medium S together with the inlet-side opposing roller 131. However, the outlet-side opposing roller 132 is provided at a location corresponding to the outlet of the cooling area CA, but is not limited thereto, and may be provided at a location further upstream than the outlet of the cooling area CA.

[0128] <Support structure of the second fixing unit>

[0129] In this example, if Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the second fixing device 60 has its respective components supported by a frame 140 .

[0130] In this example, the bracket 140 has an upper frame 141 as a first supporting component that supports the pressure fixing roller 63, the entrance side opposing roller 131 and the exit side opposing roller 132; and a lower frame 142 as a second supporting component that supports the heating fixing roller 61, the conveying fixing belt 62 and the cooler 64. The upper frame 141 is arranged to be able to swing relative to the lower frame 142 around a swing shaft 143 that serves as a swing fulcrum.

[0131] In this example, the bracket 140 is formed by appropriately bending a plate such as SUS or performing opening processing. In particular, in this example, the weight of the heating fixing roller 61, the conveying fixing belt 62, and the cooler 64 is heavier than the weight of the pressing fixing roller 63, the entrance side opposing roller 131, and the exit side opposing roller 132, so the upper frame 141 becomes a structure with higher rigidity than the lower frame 142.

[0132] <Structure around the second fixing unit>

[0133] In this example, an entrance guide member 52 for guiding the medium S to the entrance of the second fixer 60 is provided near the entrance of the second fixer 60 , and a position sensor 53 for detecting the position of the front end or rear end of the medium S passing through the conveying path 51 is provided.

[0134] Furthermore, an exit guide member 54 for guiding the medium S discharged from the exit of the second fixing device 60 is provided near the exit of the second fixing device 60 , and a conveying roller 55 is provided on the downstream side of the exit guide member 54 .

[0135] <Selection of Media>

[0136] Generally, in order to obtain a high gloss image such as a photographic image, for example, it is preferable to use a medium S such as Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , the dedicated paper has a moisture-proof layer L2 provided on both sides of a base layer L1 and an image receiving layer L3 provided on the recording surface (toner image forming surface).

[0137] The moisture-proof layer L2 is made of a resin with no air permeability, such as polyethylene, and can obtain the moisture-proof effect of the base layer L1 as long as the thickness is about several μm. In addition, the image receiving layer L3 is mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin such as polyester with a melting temperature of about 130°C, and has a layer thickness of 5 to 20 μm, preferably a layer thickness of about 10 μm. On the other hand, the base layer L1 is composed mainly of cellulose, which is the same composition as ordinary paper, but for example, a dedicated base layer L1 with a different composition can also be used.

[0138] Therefore, as in the printing paper used in silver halide photography, a moisture-proof layer L2 is provided on both sides of the base layer L1, and an image receiving layer L3 made of the same material as the toner is further provided, thereby eliminating air permeability, thereby preventing the base layer L1 from absorbing moisture and stretching to cause curling or the toner image from being stretched and broken in a high-humidity environment. In addition, the toner image is melted together with the image receiving layer L3, and pressure is applied to make the toner image well embedded in the image receiving layer L3, thereby obtaining a smooth printing surface.

[0139] If this special paper is used for fixing by the second fixing device 60 in the photo printing mode, Figure 5 As shown in (b), the toner image is embedded in the image receiving layer L3. At this time, the surface properties of the conveying fixing belt 62 of the second fixing device 60 are transferred, and the surface of the image receiving layer L3 and the surface of the toner image become roughly uniform, so that a glossy image can be obtained. On the other hand, Figure 5 (c) shows the state in which the toner image is fixed on the ordinary paper as the medium S only by the first fixer 40 in the ordinary paper printing mode. At this time, the toner image is carried on the base layer L1, and the image surface can only obtain an image with poor glossiness due to the protrusion of the toner image.

[0140] -Characteristic structure of the second fixing unit-

[0141] Necessity of manual operation mechanism

[0142] In this embodiment, if Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the second fixing device 60 includes a manual operation mechanism 100 as an operation member that is operated so as to manually rotate and convey the fixing belt 62 without using the driving mechanism 69 .

[0143] Regarding the manual operation mechanism 100, for example, when the medium S conveyed along the conveying fixing belt 62 in the second fixing device 60 is stuck (clogged), the driving mechanism 69 is stopped urgently, and the operation of the second fixing device 60 is stopped. At this time, if the stuck medium S remains in the second fixing device 60, even if the operation of the second fixing device 60 is stopped, the temperature of the fixing area FA of the second fixing device 60 will not drop immediately, and the medium S sandwiched by the fixing area FA will continue to be heated, which is not preferable.

[0144] Therefore, in this example, the conveying and fixing belt 62 is manually rotated in the conveying direction of the medium S by the manual operation mechanism 100 , for example, so that the stuck medium S is forcibly discharged from the second fixing device 60 .

[0145] <Structure example of manual operation mechanism>

[0146] In this embodiment, if Figure 3 , Figure 4 as well as Figures 6 to 9 As shown, the manual operating mechanism 100 includes a rotating operating handle 101 as a rotating operating component for manually rotating the heated fixing roller 61 and an operating force transmission mechanism 110 as an operating force transmission component that is arranged between the rotating operating handle 101 and the heated fixing roller 61 and transmits the rotating operating force from the rotating operating handle 101 to the heated fixing roller 61.

[0147] In this example, the rotary operation handle 101 has a rotary shaft 102 that is biased from the rotary shaft 61c of the heating fixing roller 61, and a handle body 103 is integrally formed on one end side of the rotary shaft 102. In this example, the handle body 103 is integrally formed into a disk shape using, for example, PC resin or ABS resin. In this case, the handle body 103 can be a solid structure, and can also be a shape having a concave portion that is concave on the side of the rotary shaft 102. In addition, a non-slip concave-convex portion can also be formed on the circular circumferential surface of the handle body 103 during the rotary operation.

[0148] The operating force transmission mechanism 110 is composed of a first transmission gear 111 provided coaxially with the rotating shaft 102 of the rotating operating handle 101 and a first transmission gear 111 provided coaxially with the front side of the heating fixing roller 61 (equivalent to Figure 2 The second transmission gear 112 is coaxially arranged on the rotating shaft 61c (on the front side of the device body 16) and meshes with the first transmission gear 111 to transmit the rotational operation force.

[0149] Moreover, the gear ratio between the first transmission gear 111 and the second transmission gear 112 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 can be appropriately selected. If the number of teeth of the first transmission gear 111 is set to GA1 and the number of teeth of the second transmission gear 112 is set to GA2, then when GA2>GA1, the heating fixing roller 61 can be rotated at a speed slower than the speed of the rotating operating handle 101.

[0150] <Manual operating mechanism support structure>

[0151] In this example, if Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the lower frame 142 has a through hole 145 in a part of the front side rising portion 142a, into which the rotating shaft 102 of the rotating operating handle 101 can be inserted. The rotating operating handle 101 is a component in which the rotating shaft 102 is inserted into the through hole 145 of the lower frame 142 via a bearing (not shown) in a state where the handle body 103 is arranged closer to the front side than the front side rising portion 142a of the lower frame 142.

[0152] Furthermore, the operation force transmission mechanism 110 is disposed in a space between the front side rising portion 142 a of the lower frame 142 and the front side edge portion in the width direction of the conveying fixing belt 62 .

[0153] -Control system of the second fixing unit-

[0154] In this example, if Figure 3 As shown, the control system of the second fixing device 60 has a control device 150 composed of a microcomputer including various processors. The "processor" mentioned here refers to a processor in a broad sense, including a general-purpose processor (such as CPU: Central Processing Unit, Central Processing Unit, etc.) or a dedicated processor (such as GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, Field Programmable Gate Array, Programmable Logic Device, etc.).

[0155] In addition, an operation panel 151 of the image forming system 15 is connected to the control device 150. The operation panel 151 is provided with a start switch for starting the image generation process for the medium S; a mode switch for specifying an image generation mode such as single-sided printing, double-sided printing, and high-definition printing; and a media type indicator for indicating the type of media to be used.

[0156] In addition, a program related to a series of image forming processes is installed in the ROM as a storage device of the control device 150. In addition, various detectors such as the position sensor 53 and the temperature sensor 641 are connected to the control device 150. In addition, various control objects (the drive motor 69a of the drive mechanism 69, the heat sources 65 and 66, etc.) are connected to the control device 150.

[0157] Then, the processor of the control device 150 receives instruction signals from the operation panel 151 and detection signals from various detectors, executes the aforementioned program, and sends appropriate control signals to each controlled object.

[0158] -Cutting device-

[0159] In this embodiment, the cutting device 70 can cut the edges of the media, for example to produce borderless printing. Figure 2 As shown, the cutting device 70 includes a paper cutter 71 for cutting the width direction of the medium, a plurality of circular cutters 72 (72a, 72b) for cutting the length of the medium in the conveying direction, and a plurality of conveying rollers 73, 74 for conveying the medium. The paper cutter 71 has a number of blades in the axial direction that matches the required number of cuts, and cuts in the conveying direction while conveying the medium. In addition, the circular cutter 72 performs cutting by temporarily stopping the conveying of the medium and moving the roller of the upper blade along the lower blade. In addition, as the circular cutter 72, for example, a roller blade may be provided in the axial direction, and cutting may be performed while conveying the medium.

[0160] Furthermore, the cutting device 70 not only has the function of cutting the medium into a plurality of sheets (e.g., four sheets), but can also print an L-sized image on a postcard-sized medium (100×150 mm), and perform borderless printing by the cutting device 70. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain an arbitrary number of L-sized digital camera photos by combining printing four images on an A4-sized medium and printing one image each on an arbitrary number of postcard-sized media. Furthermore, by making the width direction position of the blade of the paper cutter 71 variable, it is also possible to cut into various sizes such as 4-fold, 6-fold, and 8-fold.

[0161] -Basic operation of image forming system-

[0162] Next, the basic operation of this image forming system will be described.

[0163] like Figure 2As shown in the figure, the multiple toner images formed on the intermediate transfer body 30 based on the multiplexing of the color toner images of the image forming units 20 (20a to 20d) are collectively transferred to the medium fed from the medium supply container 81 by the secondary transfer device 33. After the transferred unfixed toner images are fixed by the first fixing device 40, they are guided to the first discharge receiving portion 87 by the switching member 86, or guided to the second discharge receiving portion 88 via the post-processing device 50.

[0164] In the present embodiment, the switching of the medium conveying direction by the switching member 86 is performed as follows. That is, in the plain paper printing mode (low gloss printing) for forming a normal image, after being fixed by the first fixing device 40, the medium is discharged to the first discharge receiving portion 87 by the switching member 86. On the other hand, in the photo printing mode (high gloss printing) for forming a high gloss image such as a photo image, after being fixed by the first fixing device 40, the medium is conveyed to the second fixing device 60 side by the switching member 86, and after being further fixed by the second fixing device 60, the medium is discharged to the second discharge receiving portion 88 via the cutting device 70. In particular, the cutting device 70 can be used when borderless printing such as a photo image is preferred, and in particular, when cutting is not required, the medium can be discharged to the second discharge receiving portion 88 without cutting.

[0165] -Fixing action by the second fixing device-

[0166] The fixing action by the second fixing device 60 is performed as follows.

[0167] like Figure 3 As shown, the medium S guided to the post-processing device 50 via the first fixing device 40 is about to enter the second fixing device 60. In this state, in the second fixing device 60, the heating fixing roller 61 and the pressure fixing roller 63 are heated to a temperature capable of fixing by the heating sources 65 and 66, respectively, and the conveying fixing belt 62 is in a state of circulating rotation accompanying the driving rotation of the heating fixing roller 61.

[0168] Furthermore, the cooler 64 is in a standby state in which the cooling operation is performed by driving the air blower, under the condition that the leading end of the medium S passes through a predetermined reference position C.

[0169] In this state, the medium S is subjected to heating and pressure fixing processing in the fixing area FA of the second fixing device 60 , is transported by the transport fixing belt 62 , is cooled by the cooler 64 , and is discharged from the second fixing device 60 .

[0170] Here, in order to obtain a high gloss image such as a photographic image, for example, it is preferable to use a medium S such as Figure 5 The special paper shown in (a) is used.

[0171] If this special paper is used for fixing by the second fixing device 60 in the photo printing mode, Figure 5 As shown in (b), the toner image is embedded in the image receiving layer L3. At this time, the surface properties of the conveying fixing belt 62 of the second fixing device 60 are transferred, and the surface of the image receiving layer L3 and the toner image surface become substantially uniform, thereby obtaining a glossy image.

[0172] -Handling a jam in the second fuser unit-

[0173] Now, suppose that in the second fixing device 60, Figure 3 As shown, the medium S is stuck (jammed) in the middle of being conveyed along the conveying fixing belt 62 .

[0174] At this time, the operation of the second fixing device 60 stops due to the jamming of the medium S, and the driving motor 69 a of the driving mechanism 69 , the heating sources 65 , 66 , and the cooling operation of the cooler 64 are all stopped.

[0175] In this state, the stuck medium S can be removed using the manual operation mechanism 100. Figure 4 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, before the medium S is forcibly discharged from the outlet of the second fixer 60, the rotary operating handle 101 is rotated an appropriate number of times in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise in this example), and the heated fixing roller 61 is rotated in the clockwise direction (positive rotation direction) via the first transmission gear 111 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 via the second transmission gear 112.

[0176] In this way, when the heating fixing roller 61 is rotated in the forward rotation direction, the transport fixing belt 62 moves in the forward rotation direction (the transport direction of the medium S) along with the rotation of the heating fixing roller 61, and the pressure fixing roller 63 also rotates following the heating fixing roller 61. Therefore, the stuck medium S is sandwiched and transported by the fixing area FA between the heating fixing roller 61 and the pressure fixing roller 63, and is transported along the transport fixing belt 62. Then, the medium S is forcibly discharged from the outlet of the second fixing device 60.

[0177] At this time, in this example, the gear ratio of the number of teeth GA1 of the first transmission gear 111 and the number of teeth GA2 of the second transmission gear 112 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 satisfies the relationship of GA2>GA1, so the rotation speed of the heating and fixing roller 61 can be set to be slower than the rotation speed of the rotational operating handle 101. In addition, in this example, the rotational operating force of the rotational operating handle 101 can be reduced compared with the condition of GA2≤GA1.

[0178] Furthermore, in this example, the rotational operating handle 101 is always connected to the heating fixing roller 61 via the operating force transmission mechanism 110. Therefore, when the heating fixing roller 61 is driven to rotate by the driving mechanism 69, the driving rotation of the heating fixing roller 61 is transmitted to the rotational operating handle 101 via the operating force transmission mechanism 110. Therefore, when the second fixing device 60 is in operation, the rotational operating handle 101 also rotates following the driving rotation of the heating fixing roller 61.

[0179] Therefore, from the viewpoint of safety, the rotational operating handle 101 is preferably covered with, for example, an openable and closable cover.

[0180] -Layout of the rotary operating handle-

[0181] In this embodiment, when the front side rising portion 142a of the lower frame 142 is viewed from the front, the rotary operation handle 101 of the manual operation mechanism 100 is arranged on the opposite side of the swing shaft 143 which is the swing fulcrum of the bracket 140 across the heating and fixing roller 61. Then, the operation force transmission mechanism 110 transmits the rotary operation force of the rotary operation handle 101 to the heating and fixing roller 61, and rotates in a state in which the heating and fixing roller 61 is pressed toward the pressure fixing roller 63 side.

[0182] Thus, the rotational operation handle 101 can be arranged using the wide plate-like portion on the side opposite to the swing shaft 143 in the front side raised portion 142a of the lower frame 142. Furthermore, even if a part of the rotational operation force of the rotational operation handle 101 acts on the edge of the insertion hole 145 of the front side raised portion 142a of the lower frame 142, the heating fixing roller 61 pushed toward the pressure fixing roller 63 is still held at a fixed position of the lower frame 142. Therefore, the possibility of the peripheral part of the rotational operation handle 101 in the front side raised portion 142a of the lower frame 142 being bent, deformed, or damaged due to the rotational operation of the rotational operation handle 101 is small.

[0183] In contrast, Fig. 9 As shown by the imaginary line in the middle, when the rotating operating handle 101' is arranged on the same side as the swing shaft 143 that serves as the swing fulcrum, it is difficult to ensure a wide plate-like portion with high rigidity while supporting the rotating operating handle 101' around the swing shaft 143 of the front side rising portion 142a of the lower frame 142. In addition, if the rotating operating handle 101' is arranged on the same side as the swing shaft 143 and the rotating operating handle 101' is rotated, the heating fixing roller 61 rotates in a state where it is pressed in a direction away from the pressure fixing roller 63. There is a concern that the periphery of the rotating operating handle 101' in the front side rising portion 142a of the lower frame 142 is easily bent, deformed, or damaged as the rotating operating handle 101' is rotated.

[0184] ◎Implementation method 2

[0185] Fig.10 It is a perspective view showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing device according to the second embodiment.

[0186] In this figure, similarly to Embodiment 1, the basic structure of the second fixing device 60 includes a heating fixing roller 61, a conveying fixing belt (not shown), a pressure fixing roller (not shown), and a cooler 64. Also, similarly to Embodiment 1, the manual operation mechanism 100 includes a rotating operation handle 101 and an operation force transmission mechanism 110, but the structure of the operation force transmission mechanism 110 is different from that of Embodiment 1. In addition, the same reference numerals as those of Embodiment 1 are attached to the same components as those of Embodiment 1, and their detailed description is omitted here.

[0187] In this example, the operating force transmission mechanism 110 includes a first transmission gear 111 arranged coaxially with the rotating shaft 102 of the rotating operating handle 101, a second transmission gear 112 arranged coaxially with the rotating shaft 61c of the heating and fixing roller 61, and an intermediate transmission gear 113 inserted between the first transmission gear 111 and the second transmission gear 112.

[0188] In this example, the gear diameters of the first transmission gear 111, the second transmission gear 112, and the intermediate transmission gear 113 can be appropriately selected. When their gear diameters are set to D1, D2, and Dm, in this example, they are selected so as to satisfy the relationship D1<Dm<D2.

[0189] In this example, the first transmission gear 111 is disposed obliquely below the second transmission gear 112. Furthermore, the intermediate transmission gear 113 is disposed opposite to the first transmission gear 111 and the second transmission gear 112 from the right in the figure.

[0190] In this example, the intermediate transmission gear 113 is arranged to always mesh with the first transmission gear 111. Furthermore, the intermediate transmission gear 113 is movable between a contact position meshing with the second transmission gear 112 and a retracted position retracted from the second transmission gear 112.

[0191] The intermediate transmission gear 113 is held on a holding bracket 114 (in this example, a portion of the front side rising portion 142a of the lower frame 142 of Embodiment 1) so as to be movable in a predetermined direction (in this example, a direction along the outer peripheral trajectory of the first transmission gear 111). Specifically, the holding bracket 114 has a pair of holding pieces 115 that clamp the intermediate transmission gear 113 from both sides, and a long hole-shaped holding hole 116 extending in a predetermined direction is formed in the holding piece 115. Moreover, the holding structure of the intermediate transmission gear 113 is as follows, that is, the support shaft 113a is slidably embedded in the holding hole 116 of the holding bracket 114, and a push spring 117 is used to apply force to the support shaft 113a in a direction of separation from the second transmission gear 112.

[0192] In addition, in this example, the holding bracket 114 utilizes a part of the lower frame 142, but it is not limited to this, and it can also be provided separately from the lower frame 142. In addition, the holding hole 116 of the holding bracket 114 is preferably formed in a direction along the outer peripheral trajectory of the first transmission gear 111, and by designing the positional relationship between the first transmission gear 111, the second transmission gear 112 and the intermediate transmission gear 113, as the holding hole 116, a long hole extending in a straight line or a curved line in the vertical direction or the oblique direction can also be used.

[0193] -Action of the manual operating mechanism-

[0194] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the second fixing device 60 is operating.

[0195] At this time, the driving mechanism 69 drives the heating fixing roller 61 to rotate in the forward rotation direction and causes the heating fixing roller 61 to rotate following the transport fixing belt 62 and the pressure fixing roller 63 .

[0196] In this state, the rotation operation handle 101 of the manual operation mechanism 100 is not rotated. In this case, the support shaft 113a of the intermediate transmission gear 113 of the operation force transmission mechanism 110 moves to the end of the holding hole 116 of the holding bracket 114 on the side separated from the second transmission gear 112 by the urging force of the push spring 117. Fig.11 As shown in FIG. 1 , the intermediate transmission gear 113 moves toward the retreat position P separated from the second transmission gear 112 while maintaining the state of being meshed with the first transmission gear 111. 2 Therefore, when the heating fixing roller 61 is driven to rotate, the second transmission gear 112 and the intermediate transmission gear 113 are arranged to be non-contacting. Therefore, the driving rotation of the heating fixing roller 61 is not transmitted to the rotation operation handle 101 via the operation force transmission mechanism 110, and the rotation operation handle 101 does not follow the rotation.

[0197] Therefore, in this embodiment, from the viewpoint of safety, it is not necessary to adopt a structure in which the rotational operating handle 101 is covered with a cover or the like as in the first embodiment.

[0198] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the medium S is stuck (jammed) in the middle of being conveyed along the conveying and fixing belt 62 in the second fixing device 60 .

[0199] At this time, the operation of the second fixing device 60 has stopped, so the stuck medium S can be removed using the manual operation mechanism 100 .

[0200] In this example, if Fig.10 and Fig.12 As shown, the rotary operating handle 101 of the manual operating mechanism 100 is rotated in a predetermined direction (clockwise in this example) for an appropriate number of turns. At this time, the first transmission gear 111 rotates in the clockwise direction, so the intermediate transmission gear 113 that is always meshed with it rotates in the counterclockwise direction. As a result, in the meshing portion between the first transmission gear 111 and the intermediate transmission gear 113, the rotational operating force from the first transmission gear 111 is transmitted to the intermediate transmission gear 113. Therefore, the intermediate transmission gear 113 overcomes the force of the push spring 117 and is pushed to the second transmission gear 112 side, and meshes with the second transmission gear 112.

[0201] In this state, if the rotary operating handle 101 is rotated an appropriate number of times in a predetermined direction, the rotary operating force is sequentially transmitted to the first transmission gear 111, the intermediate transmission gear 113 and the second transmission gear 112 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110, so that the heating fixing roller 61 rotates in the forward direction.

[0202] In this way, when the heating fixing roller 61 rotates in the forward rotation direction, the transport fixing belt 62 moves in the forward rotation direction (the transport direction of the medium S) along with the rotation of the heating fixing roller 61, and the pressure fixing roller 63 also rotates following the heating fixing roller 61. Therefore, the stuck medium S is sandwiched and transported by the fixing area FA between the heating fixing roller 61 and the pressure fixing roller 63, and is transported along the transport fixing belt 62. Then, the medium S is forcibly discharged from the outlet of the second fixing device 60.

[0203] - Example of the structure around the manual operating mechanism -

[0204] In this embodiment, the operating force transmission mechanism 110 of the manual operating mechanism 100 holds the intermediate transmission gear 113 movably on the holding bracket 114. Fig.10 As shown, the intermediate transmission gear 113 is exposed in the upper space of the holding bracket 114.

[0205] In this case, when the manual operation mechanism 100 is rotated, if the intermediate transmission gear 113 is exposed, there is a concern that the user may come into contact with the intermediate transmission gear 113 .

[0206] Therefore, in this case, if Fig.13 As shown, the upper part of the holding bracket 114 can be covered with the cover 118, and the user's concern about direct contact with the intermediate transmission gear 113 is eliminated.

[0207] ◎Implementation method 3

[0208] Fig.14 It is a perspective view showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing device according to the third embodiment.

[0209] In this figure, similarly to Embodiment 2, the basic structure of the second fixing device 60 includes a heating fixing roller 61, a conveying fixing belt (not shown), a pressure fixing roller (not shown), and a cooler 64. In addition, the manual operation mechanism 100 can rotate the heating fixing roller 61 in both forward and reverse directions, and the operation force transmission mechanism 110 is different from Embodiment 2. In addition, the same reference numerals as those in Embodiment 2 are attached to the same components as those in Embodiment 2, and their detailed description is omitted here.

[0210] In this example, the operating force transmission mechanism 110 of the manual operating mechanism 100 includes a first transmission gear 111 arranged coaxially with the rotating shaft 102 of the rotating operating handle 101, a second transmission gear 112 arranged coaxially with the rotating shaft 61c of the heated fixing roller 61, a first intermediate transmission gear 121 (equivalent to the intermediate transmission gear 113 involved in embodiment 2) inserted between the first transmission gear 111 and the second transmission gear 112 and used when the heated fixing roller 61 is rotated in the forward rotation direction, and a second intermediate transmission gear 122 inserted between the first transmission gear 111 and the second transmission gear 112 and used when the heated fixing roller 61 is rotated in the reverse rotation direction.

[0211] In this example, if Figures 14 to 17 As shown, the first intermediate transmission gear 121 is arranged opposite to the first transmission gear 111 and the second transmission gear 112 from the right in the figure. Also, the second intermediate transmission gear 122 is arranged opposite to the first transmission gear 111 from the left in the figure, and is arranged opposite to the second transmission gear 112 from the bottom in the figure.

[0212] Similar to the retaining structure of the intermediate transmission gear 113 in embodiment 2, the retaining structure of the first intermediate transmission gear 121 forms a retaining hole 116 of a specified shape in the retaining plate 115 of the retaining bracket 114 (in this example, a part of the front side rising portion 142a of the lower frame 142 in embodiment 1 is used), and the support shaft 121a is slidably embedded in the retaining hole 116, and a push spring 117 is used to apply force to the support shaft 121a in the direction of separation from the second transmission gear 112.

[0213] On the other hand, the retaining structure of the second intermediate transmission gear 122 is as follows, that is, a long hole-shaped retaining hole 123 of a predetermined shape (in this case, along the direction of the outer peripheral trajectory of the first transmission gear 111) is formed in the retaining plate 115 of the retaining bracket 114, and a support shaft 122a is slidably embedded in the retaining hole 123, and a push spring 124 is used to apply force to the support shaft 122a in the direction of separation from the second transmission gear 112 (in this case, downward).

[0214] -Action of the manual operating mechanism-

[0215] 〔1〕When the second fixing unit is in operation

[0216] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the second fixing device 60 is operating.

[0217] At this time, the driving mechanism 69 drives the heating fixing roller 61 to rotate in the forward rotation direction and causes the heating fixing roller 61 to rotate following the transport fixing belt 62 and the pressure fixing roller 63 .

[0218] In this state, the rotation operation handle 101 of the manual operation mechanism 100 is not rotated. In this case, the support shaft 121a of the first intermediate transmission gear 121 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 moves to the end of the holding hole 123 of the holding bracket 114 on the side separated from the second transmission gear 112 by the urging force of the push spring 124. Fig.15 As shown in FIG. 1 , the first intermediate transmission gear 121 moves toward the retreat position P separated from the second transmission gear 112 while maintaining the state of being meshed with the first transmission gear 111. 2 retreat.

[0219] On the other hand, the support shaft 122a of the second intermediate transmission gear 122 moves toward the end of the holding hole 116 of the holding bracket 114, which is separated from the second transmission gear 112, by the urging force of the push spring 117. Fig.15 As shown in FIG. 1 , the second intermediate transmission gear 122 moves toward the retreat position P separated from the second transmission gear 112 while maintaining the state of being meshed with the first transmission gear 111. 2 retreat.

[0220] Therefore, when the heating fixing roller 61 is driven to rotate, the second transmission gear 112 is arranged to be non-contact with the first intermediate transmission gear 121 and the second intermediate transmission gear 122. Therefore, the driving rotation of the heating fixing roller 61 is not transmitted to the rotation operation handle 101 via the operation force transmission mechanism 110, and the rotation operation handle 101 does not rotate accordingly.

[0221] 〔2〕When a problem occurs

[0222] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the medium S is stuck (jammed) in the middle of being conveyed along the conveying and fixing belt 62 in the second fixing device 60 .

[0223] At this time, the operation of the second fixing device 60 has stopped, so the stuck medium S can be removed using the manual operation mechanism 100 .

[0224] <Forced discharge from the second fuser exit side>

[0225] In this example, when the heating fixing roller 61 is rotated in the positive rotation direction (clockwise rotation direction in this example), as shown in FIG. Fig.16 As shown, the rotary operating handle 101 of the manual operating mechanism 100 is rotated in a predetermined direction (clockwise in this example) for an appropriate number of turns. At this time, the first transmission gear 111 rotates in the clockwise direction, so the first intermediate transmission gear 121 that is always meshed with it rotates in the counterclockwise direction. As a result, in the meshing portion between the first transmission gear 111 and the first intermediate transmission gear 121, the rotational operating force from the first transmission gear 111 is transmitted to the first intermediate transmission gear 121. Therefore, the first intermediate transmission gear 121 overcomes the force of the push spring 117 and is pushed to the second transmission gear 112 side, and meshes with the second transmission gear 112.

[0226] In this state, if the rotary operating handle 101 is rotated an appropriate number of times in a predetermined direction, the rotary operating force is sequentially transmitted to the first transmission gear 111, the first intermediate transmission gear 121 and the second transmission gear 112 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110, so that the heating fixing roller 61 rotates in the forward direction.

[0227] In this way, when the heating fixing roller 61 rotates in the forward rotation direction, the transport fixing belt 62 moves in the forward rotation direction (the transport direction of the medium S) along with the rotation of the heating fixing roller 61, and the pressure fixing roller 63 also rotates following the heating fixing roller 61. Therefore, the stuck medium S is sandwiched and transported by the fixing area FA between the heating fixing roller 61 and the pressure fixing roller 63, and is transported along the transport fixing belt 62. Then, the medium S is forcibly discharged from the outlet of the second fixing device 60.

[0228] <Forced discharge from the entrance side of the second fixing unit>

[0229] Next, when the heating fixing roller 61 is rotated in the reverse direction (counterclockwise in this example), as shown in FIG. Fig.17 As shown, the rotary operating handle 101 of the manual operating mechanism 100 is rotated in a predetermined direction (in this example, in the counterclockwise direction) by an appropriate number of turns. At this time, the first transmission gear 111 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, so the second intermediate transmission gear 122 that is always meshed with it rotates in the clockwise direction. As a result, in the meshing portion between the first transmission gear 111 and the second intermediate transmission gear 122, the rotational operating force from the first transmission gear 111 is transmitted to the second intermediate transmission gear 122. Therefore, the second intermediate transmission gear 122 overcomes the force of the push spring 124 and is pushed to the second transmission gear 112 side, and meshes with the second transmission gear 112.

[0230] In this state, if the rotary operating handle 101 is rotated an appropriate number of times in the specified direction, the rotational operating force is transmitted to the first transmission gear 111, the second intermediate transmission gear 122 and the second transmission gear 112 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 in sequence, thereby rotating the heated fixing roller 61 in the reverse rotation direction (counterclockwise in this case).

[0231] In this way, when the heating fixing roller 61 rotates in the reverse direction, the conveying fixing belt 62 moves in the reverse direction (the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the medium S) along with the rotation of the heating fixing roller 61, and the pressure fixing roller 63 also rotates following the heating fixing roller 61. Therefore, the stuck medium S is conveyed in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the medium S in a state of being sandwiched by the fixing area FA between the heating fixing roller 61 and the pressure fixing roller 63, and is conveyed along the conveying fixing belt 62 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the medium S. Then, the medium S is forcibly discharged from the entrance of the second fixing device 60.

[0232] ◎Implementation method 4

[0233] Fig.18 It is a perspective view showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing unit according to a fourth embodiment.

[0234] In this figure, the basic structure of the second fixing device 60 is substantially the same as that of the third embodiment, but a part of the structure of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 of the manual operating mechanism 100 is different from that of the third embodiment. The same reference numerals as those of the third embodiment are given to the same components as those of the third embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted here.

[0235] In this example, the operating force transmission mechanism 110 includes a first transmission gear 111, a second transmission gear 112, a first intermediate transmission gear 121, and a second intermediate transmission gear 122. Here, the second intermediate transmission gear 122 is different from the third embodiment and is configured as a multi-stage gear structure including a front-stage gear 126 with a large diameter and a rear-stage gear 127 provided coaxially with the front-stage gear 126 and having a smaller diameter than the front-stage gear 126. In addition, the front-stage gear 126 with a large diameter meshes with the first transmission gear 111, and the rear-stage gear 127 with a small diameter is arranged at a contact position P relative to the second transmission gear 112. 1 With the retreat position P 2 Can move between.

[0236] Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the jam processing operation in the second fixing device 60 is substantially the same as that of the third embodiment, but is superior to the third embodiment in the following points.

[0237] That is, in this example, in order to forcibly discharge the stuck medium S from the inlet side of the second fixing device 60, as shown in FIG. Fig.18 and Fig.19 As shown, when the rotation operation handle 101 is rotated counterclockwise by an appropriate number of turns, the first transmission gear 111 rotates counterclockwise.

[0238] At this time, the large-diameter front gear 126 of the second intermediate transmission gear 122 that is always meshed with the first transmission gear 111 rotates in the clockwise direction. Therefore, in the meshing portion between the first transmission gear 111 and the large-diameter front gear 126, the rotational operation force from the first transmission gear 111 is transmitted to the second intermediate transmission gear 122. Therefore, the second intermediate transmission gear 122 overcomes the force of the push spring 124 and is pushed toward the second transmission gear 112 side, so that the small-diameter rear gear 127 meshes with the second transmission gear 112.

[0239] In this state, if the rotary operating handle 101 is rotated an appropriate number of times counterclockwise, the rotational operating force is transmitted to the first transmission gear 111, the second intermediate transmission gear 122 and the second transmission gear 112 of the operating force transmission mechanism 110 in sequence, thereby rotating the heated fixing roller 61 in the reverse direction (counterclockwise in this case).

[0240] At this time, if the gear diameter of the large-diameter front gear 126 of the second intermediate transmission gear 122 is set to Df, and the gear diameter of the small-diameter rear gear 127 is set to Dr, the gear ratio (Dr / Df) is less than 1. Therefore, compared with a method in which the second intermediate transmission gear 122 is not a multi-stage structure, the rotation speed of the heating fixing roller 61 can be slowed down.

[0241] Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the rotary operation handle 101 is accidentally rotated counterclockwise at high speed, the forced discharge speed of the medium S from the inlet of the second fixing device 60 is slowed down by an amount corresponding to the rotation speed of the heating fixing roller 61 that can be slowed down.

[0242] Furthermore, in this example, the multi-stage second intermediate transmission gear 122 can amplify the rotational operation force of the rotational operation handle 101. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the force required for the rotational operation of the rotational operation handle 101. Therefore, the transport fixing belt 62 can be moved with a small force, and the stuck medium S can be forcibly discharged.

[0243] In addition, in this embodiment, a method of setting the second intermediate transmission gear 122 to a multi-stage gear structure is shown, but it is not limited to this. Instead of the second intermediate transmission gear 122 or in addition to it, the first intermediate transmission gear 121 can also be set to a multi-stage gear structure, and the transmission speed of the jammed medium S can be slowed down even when it is forcibly discharged from the outlet of the second fixer 60.

[0244] ◎Implementation method 5

[0245] Fig. 20 This is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of a manual operation mechanism of a second fixing unit according to the fifth embodiment.

[0246] In this figure, the basic structure of the second fixing device 60 is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, but a cleaner 160 for cleaning the peripheral surface of the heated fixing roller 61 is further provided.

[0247] The basic structure of the manual operation mechanism 100 is substantially the same as that of Embodiment 2. However, the manual operation mechanism 100 adopts a structure that temporarily retracts the cleaner 160 from the heating and fixing roller 61 when the rotation operation handle 101 is rotated. In addition, the same reference numerals as those of Embodiment 2 are given to the same components as those of Embodiment 2, and their detailed description is omitted here.

[0248] In the present embodiment, the cleaner 160 has a cleaning pad 162 fixed to the front end of a support arm 161 , and a base end of the support arm 161 fixed to a swing arm 163 .

[0249] In this example, the swing arm 163 swings the cleaning pad 162 between the contact position and the retreat position with the swing fulcrum 164 as the center. In addition, an action piece 165 extending in the radial direction is provided on the swing fulcrum 164 of the swing arm 163, and an action rod 167 of an actuator 166 such as an electromagnetic solenoid is connected to the portion of the action piece 165 separated from the swing fulcrum 164. In addition, a push spring 168 is provided in the action piece 165 to apply force to the side opposite to the thrust direction of the action rod 167 of the actuator 166.

[0250] Furthermore, the manual operating mechanism 100 is provided with a rotation sensor 170 for detecting the rotation of the rotary operating handle 101 .

[0251] In this example, the control device 150 determines whether the heating and fixing roller 61 is driven to rotate by the driving motor 69 a and determines whether the rotation operation handle 101 is rotated based on the detection information from the rotation sensor 170 .

[0252] In this embodiment, when the heating fixing roller 61 is driven to rotate by the driving motor 69a, the control device 150 closes the actuator 166, and the swing arm 163 swings to a specified position due to the force of the push spring 168, so that the cleaning pad 162 of the cleaner 160 abuts against the heating fixing roller 61 with a specified contact pressure.

[0253] Therefore, when the heated fixing roller 61 is being driven to rotate, the cleaner 160 comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the heated fixing roller 61 to clean and heat the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 61 .

[0254] On the other hand, the driving motor 69a of the heating fixing roller 61 is stopped. In this state, if the rotation operation handle 101 of the manual operation mechanism 100 is rotated, Fig. 20 and Fig.21 As shown, the rotation sensor 170 detects the rotation of the rotation operation handle 101. Then, the control device 150 turns on the actuator 166, and the actuating rod 167 of the actuator 166 overcomes the force of the pressing spring 168 and pushes the actuating piece 165 of the swing arm 163. As a result, the swing arm 163 swings in the clockwise direction, and the cleaning pad 162 of the cleaner 160 retreats from the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing roller 61.

[0255] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the rotational operation handle 101 of the manual operation mechanism 100 is rotated without driving the heated fixing roller 61 to rotate, the heated fixing roller 61 can be manually rotated while the cleaner 160 is retracted from the heated fixing roller 61 .

[0256] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the cleaner 160 is arranged in contact with the heating and fixing roller 61 in a predetermined posture, assuming that the heating and fixing roller 61 rotates in the forward rotation direction (corresponding to the medium conveying direction).

[0257] Therefore, for example, when the heating fixing roller 61 is rotated in the reverse direction, there is a possibility that the cleaning pad 162 of the cleaner 160 is lifted up with the reverse rotation of the heating fixing roller 61. In this case, if the heating fixing roller 61 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the cleaner 160 can be retracted from the peripheral surface of the heating fixing roller 61.

[0258] (Note)

[0259] (((1))) A fixing device that fixes an unfixed image by heating and pressurizing a medium holding an unfixed image, the fixing device comprising:

[0260] A heated fixing member having a heating source;

[0261] a belt-shaped conveying and fixing member, which is arranged to be stretched on the heating and fixing member and is rotatable, and is in contact with the image surface of the medium to convey the medium;

[0262] a pressurizing fixing member disposed opposite to the heating fixing member with the conveying fixing member interposed therebetween and applying pressure so as to form a fixing area between the pressurizing fixing member and the heating fixing member;

[0263] a driving member that drives the transport fixing member to rotate by a driving force from a driving source; and

[0264] The operating member is operated so as to manually rotate the transport fixing member without using the driving member.

[0265] (((2)))The fixing device according to (((1))), characterized in that:

[0266] The operating member has a rotation operating part for manually rotating the heating and fixing member when the driving member is not used.

[0267] (((3)))The fixing device according to (((2))), characterized in that:

[0268] The operating member includes the rotational operating member having a rotational axis offset from a rotational axis of the heating and fixing member, and an operating force transmitting member provided between the rotational operating member and the heating and fixing member and transmitting a rotational operating force from the rotational operating member to the heating and fixing member.

[0269] (((4))) The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((3))), characterized in that:

[0270] A first supporting member for supporting the pressurizing fixing member and a second supporting member for supporting the heating fixing member and the conveying fixing member, wherein the first supporting member includes a supporting member that is provided to be able to swing relative to the second supporting member around a swing fulcrum,

[0271] The operation member is held on the second support member side so as to be manually rotatable.

[0272] (((5)))The fixing device according to (((4))), characterized in that:

[0273] The operating member includes a rotating operating member arranged on the side opposite to the swing fulcrum across the heating and fixing member in the second supporting member, and an operating force transmitting member provided between the rotating operating member and the heating and fixing member and transmitting the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member to the heating and fixing member and rotating the heating and fixing member in a direction pushing the heating and fixing member toward the pressure fixing member side.

[0274] (((6))) The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((5))), characterized in that:

[0275] The operating member has a rotation operating part that rotates the transport fixing member in a predetermined direction or in both forward and reverse directions when the driving member is not used.

[0276] (((7)))The fixing device according to (((6))), characterized in that:

[0277] The operating member includes an operating force transmitting member that stops the rotation of the rotating operating member when the transporting and fixing member is rotated by the driving member and transmits the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member to the transporting and fixing member when the driving member is not used.

[0278] (((8)))The fixing device according to (((7))), characterized in that:

[0279] The operation force transmission member includes a movable transmission member that moves from a retracted position to a transmission position following a rotational movement of the rotational operation member, and an urging member that urges the movable transmission member to maintain the movable transmission member at the retracted position when the rotational operation member stops.

[0280] (((9))) The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((8))), characterized in that:

[0281] The operating member includes a rotation operating member for rotating the image conveying and fixing member when the driving member is not used, and an operating force transmitting member for transmitting a rotation operating force from the rotation operating member to the image conveying and fixing member to rotate the image conveying and fixing member.

[0282] The operation force transmission member includes a reducing element that reduces the rotation speed of the transport fixing member relative to the rotation speed of the rotation operation member.

[0283] (((10)))The fixing device according to (((9))), characterized in that:

[0284] The lowering element rotates the transport fixing member with a rotational force greater than a rotational operation force of the rotational operation member.

[0285] (((11)))The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((10))), characterized in that:

[0286] The operating member includes a rotation operating member for rotating the transport fixing member when the driving member is not used, an operating force transmitting member for transmitting a rotation operating force from the rotation operating member to the transport fixing member to rotate the transport fixing member, and a supporting member for supporting the rotation operating member and the operating force transmitting member.

[0287] The supporting member has a covering part that covers the operation force transmitting member.

[0288] (((12))) The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((11))), characterized by comprising:

[0289] a cleaning member arranged in contact with the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member and cleaning the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member,

[0290] The operating member includes a rotation operating member for rotating the heating and fixing member when the driving member is not used, and a retracting member for retracting the cleaning member from the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member in conjunction with the rotation of the rotation operating member.

[0291] (((13))) The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((12))), further comprising:

[0292] The cooling member is provided in contact with the back surface of the medium conveying region of the conveying and fixing member at a downstream side of the fixing region in the conveying direction of the medium in the conveying and fixing member, and cools the conveying and fixing member.

[0293] (((14)))An image forming system, characterized by comprising:

[0294] An image generating component for producing an unfixed image on a medium; and

[0295] The fixing device according to any one of (((1))) to (((13))) fixes the unfixed image held on the medium.

[0296] According to the fixing device of (((1))), in a fixing device of a heating and pressing method having a belt-shaped conveying fixing member, even if a medium is jammed on the conveying fixing member, the medium on the conveying fixing member can be manually ejected.

[0297] According to the fixing device involved in (((2))), compared with a method of manually rotating a tension member other than the heating fixing member, it is easy to rotate the conveying fixing member and to forcibly discharge the medium sandwiched in the fixing area between the heating fixing member and the pressure fixing member.

[0298] According to the fixing device according to (((3))), it is effective in transmitting the rotational operation force from the rotational operation member to the heating fixing member.

[0299] According to the fixing device of (((4))), compared with a method in which the operation member is supported on the first support member side, the operation member can be stably supported by the second support member having higher rigidity than the first support member.

[0300] According to the fixing device involved in (((5))), compared with a method including an operation force transmitting member that rotates the heating fixing member in a direction to separate from the pressurizing fixing member, it is possible to suppress deflection, deformation and damage of the second supporting member accompanying the rotation operation based on the rotation operation member.

[0301] According to the fixing device according to (((6))), the discharge direction of the medium conveyed on the fixing member can be set to a predetermined direction or two directions according to the rotational operation direction of the rotational operation member.

[0302] According to the fixing device of (((7))), when the fixing member is driven to be conveyed and rotated by the driving member, the rotation of the rotating operation member is stopped, thereby preventing the rotating operation member from being rotated in conjunction with the fixing member.

[0303] According to the fixing device of (((8))), when the driving member is used, the operation force transmission member is controlled, thereby making it possible to easily prevent the interlocking rotation of the rotation operation member.

[0304] According to the fixing device of (((9))), when the driving member is not used, even if the rotation operation member is accidentally rotated at a high speed, the transport fixing member can be prevented from being rotated at a high speed.

[0305] According to the fixing device of (((10))), when the driving member is not used, even if the rotational operation member is operated with a small rotational operation force, the transport fixing member can be rotated with a rotational force greater than the rotational operation force, thereby easily ejecting the jammed medium.

[0306] According to the fixing device of (((11))), it is possible to prevent the operation force transmission member, which is the movable portion, from being contacted from the outside or from being mixed with foreign matter.

[0307] According to the fixing device of (((12))), when the fixing member is manually rotated and transported without using the driving member, the rotational operation force of the rotational operation member can be reduced by eliminating the sliding friction between the heated fixing member and the cleaning member.

[0308] According to the fixing device of (((13))), even in a method of easily producing a high-gloss image by heating and cooling the conveying and fixing member and then fixing the unfixed image, media jam on the conveying and fixing member can be resolved by a simple manual operation.

[0309] According to the image forming system involved in (((14))), it is possible to construct an image forming system including a fixing device having a heating and pressurizing method of conveying a fixing member in the form of a belt, wherein even if a medium jam occurs on the conveying fixing member, the medium on the conveying fixing member can be manually discharged.

[0310] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention are provided for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention do not fully and exhaustively include the present invention, and do not limit the present invention to the disclosed methods. Obviously, various modifications and changes are self-evident to those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. The present embodiment is selected and described in order to most easily understand the principles of the present invention and its application. Thus, other technicians in the art can understand the present invention through various variations optimized for specific uses assumed to be various embodiments. The scope of the present invention is defined by the above claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A fixing device that fixes an unfixed image by heating and pressurizing a medium holding an unfixed image, the fixing device comprising: A heated fixing member having a heating source; a belt-shaped conveying and fixing member, which is arranged to be stretched on the heating and fixing member and is rotatable, and is in contact with the image surface of the medium to convey the medium; a pressurizing fixing member disposed opposite to the heating fixing member with the conveying fixing member interposed therebetween and applying pressure so as to form a fixing area between the pressurizing fixing member and the heating fixing member; a driving member that drives the transport fixing member to rotate by a driving force from a driving source; and The operating member is operated so as to manually rotate the transport fixing member without using the driving member.

2. The fixing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The operating member has a rotation operating part for manually rotating the heating and fixing member when the driving member is not used.

3. The fixing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The operating member includes the rotational operating member having a rotational axis offset from a rotational axis of the heating and fixing member, and an operating force transmitting member provided between the rotational operating member and the heating and fixing member and transmitting a rotational operating force from the rotational operating member to the heating and fixing member.

4. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A first supporting member for supporting the pressurizing fixing member and a second supporting member for supporting the heating fixing member and the conveying fixing member, wherein the first supporting member includes a supporting member that is provided to be able to swing relative to the second supporting member around a swing fulcrum, The operation member is held on the second support member side so as to be manually rotatable.

5. The fixing device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The operating member includes a rotating operating member arranged on the side opposite to the swing fulcrum across the heating and fixing member in the second supporting member, and an operating force transmitting member provided between the rotating operating member and the heating and fixing member and transmitting the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member to the heating and fixing member and rotating the heating and fixing member in a direction pushing the heating and fixing member toward the pressure fixing member side.

6. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The operating member has a rotation operating part that rotates the transport fixing member in a predetermined direction or in both forward and reverse directions when the driving member is not used.

7. The fixing device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The operating member includes an operating force transmitting member that stops the rotation of the rotating operating member when the transporting and fixing member is rotated by the driving member and transmits the rotating operating force of the rotating operating member to the transporting and fixing member when the driving member is not used.

8. The fixing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The operation force transmission member includes a movable transmission member that moves from a retracted position to a transmission position following a rotational movement of the rotational operation member, and an urging member that urges the movable transmission member to maintain the movable transmission member at the retracted position when the rotational operation member stops.

9. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The operating member includes a rotation operating member for rotating the image conveying and fixing member when the driving member is not used, and an operating force transmitting member for transmitting a rotation operating force from the rotation operating member to the image conveying and fixing member to rotate the image conveying and fixing member. The operation force transmission member includes a reducing element that reduces the rotation speed of the transport fixing member relative to the rotation speed of the rotational operation member.

10. The fixing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The lowering element rotates the transport fixing member with a rotational force greater than a rotational operation force of the rotational operation member.

11. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The operating member includes a rotation operating member for rotating the transport fixing member when the driving member is not used, an operating force transmitting member for transmitting a rotation operating force from the rotation operating member to the transport fixing member to rotate the transport fixing member, and a supporting member for supporting the rotation operating member and the operating force transmitting member. The support member has a covering part that covers the operation force transmitting member.

12. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: have: a cleaning member arranged in contact with the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member and cleaning the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member, The operating member includes a rotation operating member for rotating the heating and fixing member when the driving member is not used, and a retracting member for retracting the cleaning member from the peripheral surface of the heating and fixing member in conjunction with the rotation of the rotation operating member.

13. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: Also available: The cooling member is provided in contact with the back surface of the medium conveying region of the conveying and fixing member at a downstream side of the fixing region in the conveying direction of the medium in the conveying and fixing member, and cools the conveying and fixing member.

14. An image forming system, characterized in that: have: An image generating component that produces an unfixed image on a medium; and The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 fixes the unfixed image held on the medium.

Images