Fixing Device Non-Conveyance Area Cooling via Adjustable Air Blower
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face issues with temperature differences in the fixing device due to the non-conveyance area temperature rise phenomenon when printing small-sized recording sheets, leading to poor image quality and potential heater failures.
Innovation Solution
A fixing device with a heating and fixing rotator, a pressing rotator, a blower, a guide, an opening and closing device, and a driving device, where the blower blows air to the non-conveyance areas of the rotators to reduce temperature differences by adjusting the air blowing port based on the size of the recording medium.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the heating rotator and pressing rotator are designed with axial lengths corresponding to large-size recording media (A3), then the fixing device can handle various sheet sizes, but the non-conveyance area temperature rises when small-size media (A4, B5) are continuously printed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cooling fan that blows air to the non-conveyance area of the heating rotator before temperature accumulation occurs. This preliminary cooling action prevents the temperature rise phenomenon from developing, allowing continuous printing of small-size media without temperature differences between conveyance and non-conveyance areas
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thermal parameter of the non-conveyance area by introducing forced convection through the cooling fan. This alters the heat transfer mode from natural convection/radiation to forced convection, significantly improving heat dissipation efficiency and maintaining temperature uniformity across the heating rotator surface
2Temperature
If the axial lengths of the heating rotator and pressing rotator are reduced to match small-size recording media, then the non-conveyance area temperature rise is reduced, but the fixing device can no longer handle large-size recording media
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fan provides preliminary cooling to the non-conveyance area, allowing the heating rotator to maintain full axial length for large media while preventing temperature rise during small media printing. This enables the system to preserve the larger axial length configuration without suffering from temperature uniformity issues
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling fan acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the heating rotator and the environment. It introduces external air flow to facilitate heat removal from the non-conveyance area, enabling the heating rotator to maintain its full size while achieving temperature uniformity during small media printing operations
3Productivity
If continuous printing of small-size recording sheets is performed, then productivity increases, but temperature differences cause poor image quality and potential heater failures
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fan performs preliminary cooling of the non-conveyance area before temperature differences can cause reliability issues. By continuously removing heat from this area during small media printing, the system maintains temperature uniformity that prevents heater failures and ensures consistent image quality over extended printing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a temperature sensor to monitor the temperature of the non-conveyance area and provides feedback to the control unit. Based on this feedback, the control unit activates the cooling fan when temperature rise is detected, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains temperature uniformity and prevents reliability issues during continuous printing
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration effectively reduces temperature differences in the fixing device, preventing image defects and heater failures, and ensures consistent image quality across various sheet sizes.
Implementation Method 1
a blower (410) configured to blow air to at least one of the heating and fixing rotator (310) and the pressing rotator (320)
Data Source
AI summary
A fixing device includes a heating and fixing rotator, a pressing rotator, a blower, a guide, an opening and closing device, and a driving device. The heating and fixing rotator is rotatable and heats an unfixed image on a recording medium to fix the unfixed image on the recording medium. The pressing rotator is rotatable, faces the heating and fixing rotator, and is pressed against the recording medium. The guide has an air blowing port and guides air sent from the blower to at least one of the heating and fixing rotator and the pressing rotator. The opening and closing device moves to open and close the air blowing port. The driving device includes a driver to move the opening and closing device and at least one member other than the opening and closing device and separately drives the opening and closing device and the at least one member.