Abstract: A fixing device includes a feeding roller for feeding a belt-shaped cleaning member which has been rolled up, and a winding roller for taking up the cleaning member which has been fed from the feeding roller and cleaned the surface of the fixing roller. Each of the feeding roller and the winding roller rotates by a time control of a control portion so that a sum of a feed amount of the cleaning member which is fed by the feeding roller at one feeding occasion, and a take-up amount of the cleaning member which is taken up by the winding roller at one take-up occasion, is equal to or more than a double of a length Ln of a nip section.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a feeding roller for feeding a belt-shaped cleaning member which has been rolled up, and a winding roller for taking up the cleaning member which has been fed from the feeding roller and cleaned a surface of the fixing roller, the winding roller being provided so as to pressure-contact the feeding roller. The winding roller is rotated by a time control due to a control portion so that a sum of a feed amount of the cleaning member which is fed by the feeding roller at one feeding occasion, and a take-up amount of the cleaning member which is taken up by the winding roller at one take-up occasion, is equal to or more than a double of a length Ln of a nip section.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an operation state, standby state or installation environment of an image forming apparatus is detected or determined, and details of heating control of the surface temperature of rollers of a fixing apparatus are changed in accordance with the detected or determined state or environment. For example, when the operation state is a state in which printing on a last sheet of recording paper in a print job is complete, or when the operation state is a state in which printing on recording paper is interrupted, and, in addition, when the installation environment is a low-temperature and low-humidity environment and the image forming apparatus enters the standby state, heating of the rollers is respectively controlled to prevent unexpected and inappropriate changes in the surface temperature of the rollers.

Abstract: A fuser unit including: a set of a heat roller and a pressure roller for sandwiching and conveying a printing sheet while heating the printing sheet by the heat roller; a peripheral surface contact member which is in contact with the peripheral surface of the heat roller; an external heater for heating the peripheral surface contact member by applying electric energy; a contact member temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the peripheral surface contact member; and a temperature controller for controlling an upper limit temperature of the peripheral surface contact member in accordance with the number of printing sheets conveyed per unit time.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus and an image forming apparatus of the present invention are arranged so that a fixing control section causes a fixing roller to additionally rotate so that the additional rotation corresponds to a driving delay time also after turning OFF an external heating roller heater when shifting from a temperature raising step in which surface temperature of the fixing roller is raised so as to be equal to a preset fixing temperature to a standby mode and when turning OFF the external heating roller heater and stopping the fixing roller. As a result, it is possible to provide a fixing apparatus and an image forming apparatus in which a surface of a fixing roller is free from deterioration or breakage caused by local heating carried out by an external heating roller.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the fixing apparatus of the present invention is a fixing apparatus in which while recording paper is transported sandwiched between a heating roller and a pressure roller that are pressed against each other, the recording paper is guided by a guide member, and heat and pressure are applied to the recording paper to fix toner on the recording paper, the fixing apparatus configured with the guide member rotatably provided such that the guide member can be removed from the transport path of the recording paper, and the center of rotational movement of the guide member matched with a shaft of the heating roller or a shaft of the pressure roller.

Abstract: In an embodiment of the present invention, a pressure application mechanism portion is provided with a pressure-varying link structure arranged so as to be movable in lateral directions along an upper end portion of a device frame, a drive shaft having an eccentric cam for moving the pressure-varying link structure in the lateral directions, a shaft holding structure arranged so as to be rotatable coupled to the pressure-varying link structure, and a coil spring for applying a biasing force to the shaft holding structure in one direction along the upper end portion of the device frame, and a rotational movement is carried out to make a pressure roller approach and move away from a heat roller so as to achieve a relatively low pressure during a color processing mode and a relatively high pressure during a monochrome processing mode.

Abstract: An electrostatic chuck for attracting an insulative substrate to be processed, the electrostatic chuck comprising a dielectric layer having a first surface which attracts an insulative substrate, and a second surface on which are provided a plurality of electrodes, and an insulative support base plate fixing said dielectric layer. A distance between adjacent ones of the electrodes and the thickness of the dielectric layer are adjusted such that when a potential difference is established between the electrodes, a non-uniform electric field is formed in which the insulative substrate is partially polarized and attracted to the first surface by gradient force.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus that fuses and firmly adheres an unfixed developer onto a recording medium includes a heating roller and a pressure roller; a belt-shaped cleaning member that is disposed so as to abut on the heating roller and cleans the surface of the heating roller, the cleaning member being impregnated with oil in advance; a feed roller that sends out the cleaning member; a wind-up roller that winds up the cleaning member having cleaned the heating roller; a press-contact roller disposed so as to press the cleaning member against the heating roller on which the cleaning member abuts; and an oil absorbing layer that is disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the press-contact roller and absorbs oil exudation out of the cleaning member.

Abstract: A sheet delivery mechanism designed to discharge successive sheets to different delivery positions includes offset rollers, an offset unit, an offsetting force generator and an offset unit swinging mechanism. The offset rollers is rotatably supported by the offset unit to discharge each sheet in a sheet transport direction. The offsetting force generator produces a driving force for shifting the offset unit back and forth along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction between a reference position and offset positions. The offset unit swinging mechanism swings the offset unit about an axis parallel to rotary shafts of the offset rollers in such a manner that a sheet output direction in which the offset rollers eject each sheet varies to a direction pointing away from a sheet delivery tray when the offset unit is shifted along the direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction by the offsetting force generator.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a feeding roller for feeding a belt-shaped cleaning member which has been rolled up, and a winding roller for taking up the cleaning member which has been fed from the feeding roller and cleaned a surface of the fixing roller, the winding roller being provided so as to pressure-contact the feeding roller. The winding roller is rotated by a time control due to a control portion so that a sum of a feed amount of the cleaning member which is fed by the feeding roller at one feeding occasion, and a take-up amount of the cleaning member which is taken up by the winding roller at one take-up occasion, is equal to or more than a double of a length Ln of a nip section.

Abstract: A vibration-damping bushing assembly wherein a vibration-damping bushing is axially press-fit into a rigid cylindrical retainer of a companion member to be assembled therewith at an outer circumferential surface of an outer cylindrical member of the bushing. A rigid spacer ring band, of annular shape, is mounted while externally fitted by means of axial pressure on the circumferential surface of the outer cylindrical member. A flange of the outer cylindrical member and an end surface of the cylindrical retainer are brought into axial contact through the spacer ring band, and the spacer ring band is partially provided with at least one protrusion protruding on an inner circumferential surface so as to be fitted and fixed to the outer cylindrical member at the protrusion. A vibration-damping bushing and a rigid spacer ring band for the assembly are also disclosed.

Abstract: A vibration damping device includes an inner cylinder member having a first outer flange extending diametrically outward from its one axial end; an outer cylinder member having a second outer flange extending diametrically outward at its one axial end; and a rubber elastic body elastically connecting the inner cylinder member and the outer cylinder member, while having an end section sandwiched between sandwiched between the first and second outer flanges. The rubber elastic body is provided with hollow portions recessed diametrically inward from an outside periphery of the first outer flange at three or four locations in a circumferential direction of the end section of the rubber elastic body.

Abstract: In a fixing apparatus that an unfixed developer is fused and fixed by heating/pressurizing a recording medium on which an image of the unfixed developer is formed, a belt-shaped cleaning member is fed from a feeding roller, and the cleaning member is made to respectively contact a heating roller and a pressure roller by a pressure-contact roller, thereby cleaning that the heating roller and the pressure roller, respectively. When a winding roller takes up the cleaning member which has cleaned a roller surface, guide rollers are respectively provided between the pressure-contact roller and the winding roller, and between the feeding roller and the pressure-contact roller so as to contact the cleaning member.

Abstract: A heating device for heating a recording sheet. The heating device has a first heater located within a heating roller. The first heater has a heat distribution effective to form a low temperature region in an axially central portion of the heating roller and a high temperature region in each of axially opposite end portions of the heating roller. There is a second heater located within the heating roller that has a heat distribution effective to form a high temperature region in the axially central portion of the heating roller, a low temperature region in each of the opposite end portions of the heating roller, and a second-level high temperature region in each of axially opposite end portions of the high temperature region, the second-level high temperature region being lower in temperature than the high temperature region.

Abstract: A vibration damping device includes an inner cylinder member having a first outer flange extending diametrically outward from its one axial end; an outer cylinder member having a second outer flange extending diametrically outward at its one axial end; and a rubber elastic body elastically connecting the inner cylinder member and the outer cylinder member, while having an end section sandwiched between sandwiched between the first and second outer flanges. The rubber elastic body is provided with hollow portions recessed diametrically inward from an outside periphery of the first outer flange at three or four locations in a circumferential direction of the end section of the rubber elastic body.

Abstract: A heating device for heating a recording sheet includes: a first heater disposed within a heating roller and having a heat distribution characteristic to form a low temperature region in an axially central portion of the heating roller and a high temperature region in each of axially opposite end portions of the heating roller; and a second heater disposed within the heating roller and having a heat distribution characteristic to form a high temperature region in the axially central portion of the heating roller, a low temperature region in each of the opposite end portions of the heating roller, and a second-level high temperature region in each of axially opposite end portions of the high temperature region, the second-level high temperature region being lower in temperature than the high temperature region.

Abstract: An electrostatic chuck for attracting an insulative substrate to be processed, the electrostatic chuck comprising a dielectric layer having a first surface which attracts an insulative substrate, and a second surface on which are provided a plurality of electrodes, and an insulative support base plate fixing said dielectric layer. A distance between adjacent ones of the electrodes and the thickness of the dielectric layer are adjusted such that when a potential difference is established between the electrodes, a non-uniform electric field is formed in which the insulative substrate is partially polarized and attracted to the first surface by gradient force.

Abstract: A sheet delivery mechanism designed to discharge successive sheets to different delivery positions includes offset rollers, an offset unit, an offsetting force generator and an offset unit swinging mechanism. The offset rollers is rotatably supported by the offset unit to discharge each sheet in a sheet transport direction. The offsetting force generator produces a driving force for shifting the offset unit back and forth along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction between a reference position and offset positions. The offset unit swinging mechanism swings the offset unit about an axis parallel to rotary shafts of the offset rollers in such a manner that a sheet output direction in which the offset rollers eject each sheet varies to a direction pointing away from a sheet delivery tray when the offset unit is shifted along the direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction by the offsetting force generator.

Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided an electrostatic chuck for electrostatically attracting an insulative substrate, an apparatus for heating/cooling an insulative substrate using the electrostatic chuck, and a method for controlling the temperature of an insulative substrate. The shape and the properties of the dielectric, and the shape of the electrodes, which form the electrostatic chuck, are disclosed. Also the apparatus for heating/cooling an insulative substrate comprising a plate, a gas supply conduit and a temperature controlling system, and the apparatus for processing an insulative substrate in which the apparatus for heating/cooling an insulative substrate is installed are disclosed.