Heater, heating device

Abstract

To provide a heater and heating device with a simple configuration that suppresses thermal effects on the object to be heated or on the components of the mounted device. [Solution] A heater that emits heating light for heating an object to be heated, comprising: a light-emitting body extending in a first direction that emits heating light; a support member that supports the light-emitting body; and a light-shielding member that is attached to the support member such that at least a portion of it is located outside the end of the light-emitting body in the first direction, and covers at least a portion of the circumferential direction of the light-emitting body when viewed in the first direction, thereby shielding a portion of the heating light emitted from the light-emitting body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a heater and a heating device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in printers and copiers, in many cases, a configuration is adopted in which paper, film, or the like, which is a printed matter, is pressed by being sandwiched between a heated belt and a roller to fix the toner applied to the surface. Patent Document 1 below discloses a fixing device in which a printed matter coated with toner is pressure-bonded between a belt heated by a halogen lamp and a roller to fix the toner.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The inventor of the present invention has been earnestly studying a heat source for heating a belt that presses a printed matter together with a roller to fix toner, and has noticed the following problems.

[0005] Patent Document 1 above discloses a fixing device in which members inside the fixing device are heated by a halogen lamp as a heat source and thermally expanded, and damage to the members and a change in the positional relationship between the conveyed printed matter and the halogen lamp from a predetermined position are suppressed.

[0006] However, the inventor has also noticed that the thermal influence by the heat source extends not only to the inside of the belt but also to members arranged around the fixing device, and in some cases, the printed matter may be unnecessarily heated and thermally damaged.

[0007] Furthermore, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 above may have challenges such as a complex configuration and high manufacturing costs.

[0008] In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a heater and heating device with a simple configuration that suppresses thermal effects on the object to be heated or on the components of the mounted device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The heater of the present invention is A heater that emits heating light for heating an object to be heated, A light-emitting body extending in a first direction that emits the aforementioned heating light, A support member that supports the light-emitting element, The present invention is characterized by comprising a light-shielding member that is attached to the support member such that at least a portion of it is located outside the end of the light-emitting body in the first direction, and that covers at least a portion of the circumferential direction of the light-emitting body when viewed in the first direction, thereby shielding a portion of the heating light emitted from the light-emitting body.

[0010] The above heater is, The light-emitting element may be a filament, and the support member may be a light-emitting tube into which the filament is inserted to support the filament.

[0011] Furthermore, the above heater, The light-emitting element may be a thermal resistor, and the support member may be a ceramic material that supports the thermal resistor by covering it.

[0012] In this specification, "heating light" is used as a general term for light (electromagnetic waves) that contribute to the heating of an object when irradiated onto it, and is intended to include not only light emitted from a light-emitting body, but also radiant light emitted from an object that has been heated by absorbing light emitted from a light-emitting body.

[0013] With the above configuration, in the first direction, the heating light does not spread unnecessarily, and the thermal impact on the object to be heated, the belt mounted to cover the heater, and the components located around the heater of the heating device is reduced. Furthermore, the heater in the above configuration does not require consideration of the positional relationship or contact between components, and can be realized by attaching a light-shielding member to the desired position, thus enabling an extremely simple configuration.

[0014] Furthermore, even when the support member is a discharge tube, or a ceramic material that supports a thermal resistance element, or in other cases, any suitable mounting method can be adopted, such as wrapping it around the support member or attaching it by gripping the support member.

[0015] In the above heater, The light-shielding member may be a member that can be attached to or detached from the support member.

[0016] The heater with the above configuration allows for the attachment of a light-shielding member at a suitable position depending on the shape and size of the object to be heated, as well as the configuration of the heating device on which the heater is installed. Furthermore, with the heater with the above configuration, the light-shielding member can be reused when replacing the light-emitting element and support member, thus reducing running costs.

[0017] The above heater is, With respect to the first direction, the support member may be attached such that at least a portion of it is located on the central side of the light-emitting body than the light-shielding member, and a reflective member may be provided that reflects the heating light, which is moving away from the light-emitting body, so that it moves towards the light-emitting body.

[0018] Furthermore, in the above heater, The reflective member may, when mounted on the support member, have a reflective surface that reflects at least a portion of the heating light emitted from the light-emitting body toward the central part of the light-emitting body.

[0019] Since the heater configured as described above can cause more heating light to travel toward the side where the object to be heated is placed, the amount of heating light irradiated onto the object to be heated per unit of power supplied to the light emitter increases, achieving high heating efficiency.

[0020] The heating device of the present invention is a heating device that irradiates heating light onto an object to be heated, a conveyance roller that conveys the object to be heated, and a heater according to any one of claims 1 to 6, mounted such that the first direction is orthogonal to the direction in which the object to be heated is conveyed, and irradiating the heating light onto the object to be heated conveyed by the conveyance roller.

[0021] The above heating device may be fixed such that at least a part of the light shielding member is positioned outside the object to be heated conveyed by the conveyance roller with respect to the first direction.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the above configuration, a heater and a heating device are realized that have a simple configuration and suppress thermal effects on the object to be heated or members included in the mounted device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] It is an overall perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of a heating device. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view when the heating device of FIG. 1 is viewed in the X direction. [Figure 3A] It is a schematic drawing when an embodiment of a heater is viewed in the Y direction. [Figure 3B] It is a drawing showing a state where the light shielding member and the reflection member are removed from the heater of FIG. 3A. [Figure 4A] It is a drawing schematically showing the configuration of an example of a verification sample. [Figure 4B] It is a drawing schematically showing the configuration of an example of a verification sample. [Figure 4C] This diagram schematically shows the configuration of one embodiment of a verification sample. [Figure 4D] This diagram schematically shows the configuration of one embodiment of a verification sample. [Figure 4E] This diagram schematically shows the configuration of one embodiment of a verification sample. [Figure 5] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of some of the embodiments as seen in the X direction. [Figure 6A] This graph shows the measurement results of the temperature distribution between one embodiment and a comparative example. [Figure 6B] This graph shows the measurement results of the temperature distribution between one embodiment and a comparative example. [Figure 6C] This graph shows the measurement results of the temperature distribution between one embodiment and a comparative example. [Figure 6D] This graph shows the measurement results of the temperature distribution between one embodiment and a comparative example. [Figure 6E] This graph shows the measurement results of the temperature distribution between one embodiment and a comparative example. [Figure 6F] This graph shows the measurement results of the temperature distribution between one embodiment and a comparative example. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the heater as viewed from the -Z side. [Figure 8] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the heater, as seen in the Y direction. [Figure 9] This is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the heater as viewed in the Y direction. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] The heater and heating device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following drawings are schematic illustrations, and the dimensional ratios and numbers shown in the drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual dimensional ratios and numbers.

[0025] [Heating device 1] First, the configuration of the heating device 1 will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic overall perspective view showing one embodiment of the heating device 1, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heating device 1 in Figure 1 when viewed in the X direction. In Figure 1, the internal structure of the heating unit 2 is shown to be visible, but this is only a schematic representation for the sake of explanation, and it is optional whether or not the internal structure is actually visible.

[0026] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the heating device 1 of this embodiment comprises a heating unit 2 and a conveying roller 3. The heating unit 2 comprises a heater 10 and a belt 20, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0027] The belt 20 is supported by a rotating support (not shown) and is configured to have a substantially circular shape when viewed in the X direction. Due to the pressure from the conveyor rollers, the portion of the belt that contacts the main surface W1a of the object to be heated W1 deforms to conform to the main surface W1a.

[0028] In the following explanation, as shown in Figure 1, the direction in which the heating unit 2 and the conveying roller 3 face each other will be referred to as the Z direction, the direction in which the object to be heated W1 is conveyed by the heating unit 2 and the conveying roller 3 will be referred to as the Y direction, and the direction perpendicular to the Y and Z directions will be referred to as the X direction (first direction).

[0029] Similarly, when expressing direction, if positive and negative directions are distinguished, they are written with a positive or negative sign, such as "+Z direction" or "-Z direction." When expressing direction without distinguishing between positive and negative directions, it is simply written as "Z direction."

[0030] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes an example in which printing paper coated with toner X1 on its surface is used as the object to be heated W1, and the toner X1 is fixed to the printing paper, the heater and heating device of the present invention can also be used for heating processes other than those of a printing device. Specifically, for example, heating of metal plates or glass plates can be envisioned. In such a usage mode, the heating unit 2 may not have a belt 20, and may be configured to directly irradiate the conveyed object to be heated W1 with heating light L1 emitted from the heater 10.

[0031] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the heating unit 2 is positioned to contact the main surface W1a of the object to be heated W1, which is being transported with toner X1 applied to it. By rotating while sandwiching the object to be heated W1 between the transport roller 3, the heating unit 2 pressurizes the object to be heated W1 and transports it in the Y direction.

[0032] Furthermore, the heating unit 2 has a belt 20 that contacts the main surface W1a of the object to be heated W1, which is heated by the heater 10, thereby pressurizing and heating the object to be heated W1. In other words, as the object to be heated W1 passes between the heating unit 2 and the transport roller 3, it is heated and pressurized, and the toner X1 is fixed in place.

[0033] In this embodiment, the heating unit 2 is equipped with one heater 10, but the heating unit 2 may be equipped with multiple heaters 10. Also, the shape of the belt 20 is arbitrary as long as a portion is formed that can sandwich the object to be heated W1 between the belt and the conveying roller 3, when viewed in the X direction. Furthermore, in this embodiment, from the viewpoint of heating efficiency, the heater 10 is fixed such that at least a part of the light-shielding member 13, which will be described later, is located outside the object to be heated W1 that is conveyed by the conveying roller 3 in the X direction. However, the relationship between the heater 10 and the conveying position of the object to be heated W1 can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the type of object to be heated W1 and the content of the processing step.

[0034] [Heater 10] Next, the configuration of the heater 10 mounted on the heating unit 2 will be described. Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the heater 10 as viewed in the Y direction, and Figure 3B is a diagram showing the heater 10 of Figure 3A with the light-shielding member 13 and the reflective member 14 removed. For the sake of explanation, the mounting positions of the removed light-shielding member 13 and reflective member 14 are shown by dashed lines in Figure 3B.

[0035] As shown in Figure 3A, the heater 10 is a halogen lamp comprising a discharge tube 11, a filament 12, a light-shielding member 13, a reflecting member 14, and a pair of power supply units (15, 15). As shown in Figure 2, the heater 10 is positioned inside the belt 20 so as to radiate heating light L1 to the -Z side where the object to be heated W1 is transported, and heats the portion of the belt 20 that is in contact with the object to be heated W1 and the surrounding area.

[0036] The discharge tube 11 is a glass tube that transmits heating light L1, and is filled with halogen gas. The discharge tube 11 is a cylindrical tube that extends in the X direction, and the power supply unit 15 is connected to both ends in the X direction via a base member 16. As shown in Figures 2 and 3A, the discharge tube 11 in this embodiment has a cylindrical shape, but the shape of the discharge tube 11 can be any shape that extends in one direction, such as an elliptical tube or a polygonal tube.

[0037] The filament 12 is a light-emitting element that extends in the X direction and emits heating light L1 when power is supplied to the pair of power supply units (15, 15). In this embodiment, the heater 10 is equipped with two filaments 12, but it may be equipped with only one filament 12, or three or more.

[0038] In this embodiment, the heater 10 is supported by the filament 12 being inserted inside the discharge tube 11. In other words, in this embodiment, the discharge tube 11 corresponds to the support member.

[0039] The light-shielding member 13 is a member that shields the heating light L1 emitted by the filament 12 and traveling toward the -Z side.

[0040] As shown in Figure 3B, the light-shielding member 13 is attached to the discharge tube 11 such that at least a portion of it is located outside the ends (12e, 12e, 12e, 12e) of the filament 12 in the X direction. Here, the ends (12e, 12e, 12e, 12e) of the filament 12 are identified with respect to the wound portion that functions as the light-emitting part. Also, as shown in Figure 2, the light-shielding member 13 is attached to the discharge tube 11 such that it covers at least a portion of the circumferential direction of the filament 12 when viewed in the X direction.

[0041] Furthermore, the light-shielding member 13 preferably has a transmittance of 20% or less, and more preferably 10% or less, with respect to the wavelength showing the intensity peak of the heating light L1. Examples of materials for the light-shielding member 13 include SUS, Al, phosphor bronze, ceramics, carbon, and glass. Additionally, the light-shielding member 13 may be a metal plate bent to conform to the wall surface of the discharge tube 11, a metal film formed on the wall surface of the discharge tube 11, or a coated metal plate.

[0042] For example, if the light-shielding member 13 is made of a metal plate bent to conform to the shape of the wall surface of the light-emitting tube 11, the light-shielding member 13 can be attached to and detached from the light-emitting tube 11, which is the support member.

[0043] The reflective member 14 is a member that reflects the heating light L1 emitted from the filament 12, which travels toward the +Z side away from the filament 12, toward the -Z side toward the central part of the filament 12.

[0044] As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the reflective member 14 is mounted on the discharge tube 11 such that at least a portion of it is located closer to the center of the filament 12 than the light-shielding member 13. Also, as shown in Figure 2, the reflective member 14 is mounted on the discharge tube 11 such that it covers at least a portion of the circumferential direction of the filament 12 when viewed in the X direction.

[0045] Furthermore, the reflective member 14 preferably has a reflectance of 50% or more, and more preferably 70% or more, with respect to the wavelength showing the intensity peak of the heated light L1. The reflective member 14 may be, for example, a metal plate bent to conform to the wall surface of the discharge tube 11, or a metal film formed on the wall surface of the discharge tube 11.

[0046] For example, if the reflective member 14 is made of a metal plate bent to conform to the shape of the wall surface of the light-emitting tube 11, the reflective member 14 can be attached to and detached from the light-emitting tube 11, which is the supporting member.

[0047] In this embodiment, multiple reflective members 14 are attached to the wall surface on the +Z side of the light-emitting tube 11, but they may also be provided as a single member extending from one end to the other end of the light-emitting tube 11.

[0048] In the heater 10 with the above configuration, the range over which the heating light L1 spreads is limited by the light-shielding member 13 in the X direction, thus preventing the belt 20 from heating areas that do not need to be heated. As a result, the heating unit 2 shown in Figure 1 is prevented from unnecessarily heating areas where toner X1 is not applied, and also from unnecessarily heating the transport roller 3.

[0049] [Verification experiment] Here, we conducted verification experiments to confirm the heat distribution characteristics of the heater according to the present invention, which will be described below.

[0050] (Example 1) Figure 4A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of Example 1 of the verification sample. Example 1 is a heater 10 configured such that the entire light-shielding member 13 is located outside the ends (12e, 12e) of the filament 12 in the X direction, as shown in Figure 4A.

[0051] (Example 2) Figure 4B is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of Example 2 of the verification sample. Example 2 is the same as Example 1, except that, as shown in Figure 4B, the entire reflective member 14 is positioned inside the light-shielding member 13 in the X direction.

[0052] (Example 3) Figure 4C is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of Example 3 of the verification sample. Example 3 is the same as Example 1, except that, as shown in Figure 4C, half of the entire reflective member 14 is arranged to overlap with the light-shielding member 13 in the X direction.

[0053] (Example 4) Figure 4D is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of Example 4 of the verification sample. Example 4 is the same as Example 2, except that the light-shielding member 13 is arranged to cover the entire circumference of the discharge tube 11, as shown in Figure 4D.

[0054] (Example 5) Figure 4E is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of Example 5, a sample for verification. Example 5 is the same as Example 1, except that the light-shielding member 13 is arranged to cover the entire circumference of the light-emitting tube 11, as shown in Figure 4E.

[0055] (Example 6) Example 6 is the same as Example 1, except that the opening of the light-shielding member 13 is rotated 90° with respect to the circumferential direction of the light-emitting tube 11, that is, the opening of the light-shielding member 13 is located on the Y-direction side.

[0056] (Comparative example) The comparative example is the same as Example 1, except that it does not include the light-shielding member 13.

[0057] The light-shielding member 13 was manufactured by bending a SUS metal plate to conform to the shape of the outer wall surface of the discharge tube 11. The discharge tube 11 had an inner diameter of 4 mm, an outer diameter of 6 mm, and a length of 370 mm in the X direction.

[0058] Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of Examples 1 to 3 as seen in the X direction. As shown in Figure 5, the light-shielding member 13 in Examples 1 to 3 was made by preparing a SUS plate with a thickness of 0.1 mm, and having an inner diameter of 5.0 mm, an opening angle of 60°, and a length of 10 mm in the X direction.

[0059] The light-shielding member 13 is fitted into the discharge tube 11 by pushing its opening into it. In Examples 4 and 5, the light-shielding member 13 was made from a SUS plate of the same thickness and was manufactured to be cylindrical with an inner diameter of 5.0 mm and a length in the X direction of 10 mm so as to cover the entire circumference of the discharge tube 11.

[0060] (Measurement method) The heat distribution characteristics were acquired by placing a sensor capable of detecting the temperature distribution along the -Z side wall of the discharge tube 11 at one end of the heater 10 in the X direction, at a position 9 mm away from the discharge tube 11 (central axis) in the -Z direction. Due to the constraints of the experimental setup, the temperature measurement position was expressed as a negative distance with respect to the X direction, with the sensor position set to 0 mm.

[0061] (result) Figures 6A to 6F are graphs showing the temperature distribution measurement results for each example and comparative example. In all graphs from Figure 6A to 6F, it can be seen that the temperature change rate is greater in the examples than in the comparative example in the region where the relative intensity increases as the position approaches 0 mm (sensor). This indicates that when the temperature peaks of the region to be heated the most are aligned, the region that is not to be heated is less likely to be heated.

[0062] In other words, the verification results above confirm that, compared to conventional heaters, the heater 10 of the present invention can sufficiently heat the area that needs heating in the X direction while suppressing heating in areas that do not need heating. Therefore, the heater 10 of the present invention can suppress thermal effects on the object to be heated W1 or on the components of the heating device 1 on which the heater 10 is mounted.

[0063] [Alternative Embodiment] The following describes other embodiments.

[0064] <1> Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the heater 10 as seen from the -Z side. The heater 10 of this embodiment is a ceramic heater comprising a ceramic substrate 31, a thermal resistor 32, a light-shielding member 33, and a pair of lead wires (34, 34), as shown in Figure 7. Note that for illustrative purposes, the thermal resistor 32, which is not actually exposed, is shown in Figure 7.

[0065] The ceramic heater is constructed by supporting a thermal resistance element 32, which corresponds to a light-emitting element, on a ceramic substrate 31. In other words, the ceramic substrate 31 corresponds to a support member made of ceramic material. Note that the configuration of the ceramic heater shown in Figure 7 is merely an example, and any ceramic heater configuration can be used as the heater 30.

[0066] In this embodiment, the heater 10 generates radiant light when power is supplied to a pair of lead wires (34, 34), causing the thermal resistor 32 to heat up. This radiant light is then used as heating light L1, as shown in Figure 2, to heat the belt 20.

[0067] In this embodiment, the light-shielding member 33 is composed of a member that shields the radiant light emitted from the thermal resistance body 32. Since the radiant light emitted from the thermal resistance body 32 mainly belongs to the infrared wavelength range, the material of the light-shielding member 33 can be, for example, SUS, Al, phosphor bronze, ceramics, carbon, glass, etc.

[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the light-shielding member 33 is mounted so as to grip both ends of the ceramic substrate 31 in the Y direction, with at least a portion of it located outside the end of the thermal resistance body 32 in the X direction. However, the method of mounting the light-shielding member 33 is arbitrary.

[0069] In the heater 30 with the above configuration, similar to the heater 10, the range over which the heating light L1 spreads in the X direction is limited by the light-shielding member 13, thereby preventing the belt 20 from heating areas that do not need to be heated. As a result, the heating unit 2 shown in Figure 1 is prevented from unnecessarily heating areas where toner X1 is not applied, and also from unnecessarily heating the transport roller 3.

[0070] <2> Figure 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the heater 10, different from that shown in Figure 7, as viewed in the Y direction. As shown in Figure 8, the reflective member 14 may be a member that forms a reflective surface 14a inclined with respect to the wall surface of the discharge tube 11. More specifically, the reflective member 14 may be configured to reflect the heating light L1 directed toward the end of the heater 10 toward the central part of the heater 10, with respect to the X direction.

[0071] By using the above configuration, heating light L1 that propagates outside the area to be heated can be suppressed, and more heating light L1 can be focused onto the area of ​​the object W1 to be heated.

[0072] <3> Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the heater 10, different from those in Figures 7 and 8, as viewed in the Y direction. As shown in Figure 9, the ends of the light-shielding member 13 and the reflective member 14 in the X direction may be inclined with respect to the Z direction. Furthermore, the shape of the ends of the light-shielding member 13 and the reflective member 14 in the X direction may be straight or curved. Moreover, the shapes of the ends of the light-shielding member 13 and the reflective member 14 in the X direction may be different.

[0073] <4> The configurations of the heating device 1 and heater 10 described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configurations. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0074] 1 : Heating device 2: Heating unit 3: Conveyor roller 10: Heater 11: Discharge tube 12: Filament 13: Light-shielding material 14: Reflective material 14a: Reflective surface 15: Power supply section 16: Base component 20: Belt 30: Heater 31: Ceramic substrate 32 : Thermal resistor 33: Light-shielding material L1: Heating light W1: Object to be heated W1a: Main surface X1: Toner

Claims

1. A heater that emits heating light for heating an object to be heated, A light-emitting body extending in a first direction that emits the aforementioned heating light, A support member that supports the light-emitting element, A heater characterized by comprising a light-shielding member that is attached to the support member such that at least a portion of the end of the light-emitting body in the first direction is located outside, and covers at least a portion of the circumferential direction of the light-emitting body when viewed in the first direction, thereby shielding a portion of the heating light emitted from the light-emitting body.

2. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the light-emitting element is a filament, and the support member is a light-emitting tube that supports the filament by inserting the filament inside it.

3. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the light-emitting element is a thermal resistor, and the support member is a ceramic material that supports the thermal resistor by covering it.

4. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that the light-shielding member is a member that can be attached to and detached from the support member.

5. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that, with respect to the first direction, a reflective member is attached to the support member such that at least a portion of it is located on the central side of the light-emitting body than the light-shielding member, and the reflective member reflects the heating light, which is traveling away from the light-emitting body, so that it travels toward the light-emitting body.

6. The heater according to claim 5, characterized in that the reflective member, when mounted on the support member, has a reflective surface that reflects at least a portion of the heating light emitted from the light-emitting body toward the central part of the light-emitting body.

7. A heating device that irradiates a target object with heating light, A conveying roller for transporting the object to be heated, A heating device comprising a heater according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is mounted so as to be perpendicular to the first direction and the direction in which the object to be heated is conveyed, and which irradiates the object to be heated being conveyed by the conveying roller with the heating light.

8. The heating device according to claim 7, characterized in that the heater is fixed such that at least a portion of the light-shielding member is located outside the object to be heated which is conveyed by the conveying roller with respect to the first direction.

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