Fixing Device Guide Structure for Uniform Toner Brightness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Images fixed on a recording medium by a fixing device often exhibit non-uniform brightness due to variations in thickness, which is not adequately addressed by existing guide structures that use single flat or curved surfaces to guide the medium.
Innovation Solution
A guide structure with a contact member that protrudes towards the recording medium and is in contact with the image surface over a region extending in the width direction, smoothing the toner image by ensuring uniform contact and pressing force, thereby enhancing image uniformity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single flat surface or single curved surface guide member is used to guide the recording medium, then the structure is simple, but the image brightness becomes non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is divided into multiple contact surfaces (first contact surface and second contact surface) instead of using a single surface. Each contact surface applies pressure to different regions of the recording medium, enabling uniform thickness control while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
Different contact surfaces are positioned to contact different local regions of the recording medium (front surface and back surface). This localized contact approach ensures that each region receives appropriate pressure for uniform thickness, resolving the brightness uniformity issue without complicating the overall structure
2Device complexity
If the recording medium is guided by a single surface, then the guide structure is simple, but the thickness uniformity of the fixed image deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member contacts the recording medium through multiple segmented contact surfaces rather than a single continuous surface. This segmentation allows independent control of pressure distribution across different regions, achieving uniform thickness while keeping the guide structure simple
Solution Approach 2:
The contact surfaces act as intermediaries between the guide member and the recording medium. By introducing these intermediate contact points, the system achieves precise thickness control through distributed pressure application without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A guide structure includes a contact member disposed downstream of a nipping unit in a transporting direction in which a recording medium is transported, the nipping unit nipping the recording medium between a heating roller, which heats an image formed on the recording medium that is transported, and a pressure roller, which presses the recording medium against the heating roller, the contact member protruding toward the recording medium and being rubbed against an image surface of the recording medium, on which the image is formed, while being in contact with the image surface over a region extending in a width direction of the recording medium and while the recording medium is nipped by the nipping portion.