Abstract: A heat generating medium for image fixing includes a conductive support layer of good electrical and thermal conductivity, a low surface energy layer formed on one of the surfaces of the conductive support layer, and a heat generating layer formed on the other surface of the conductive support layer. A fixing apparatus is also disclosed, which includes the heat generating medium as described above, and a power supplying device for feeding current to the heat generating layer, wherein a recording sheet bearing a non-fixed toner image thereon is brought into press contact with the heat generating layer which generates heat when it receives current from the power supply device.

Abstract: A fixing device having a peeling sheet capable of performing stable peeling without causing any damage to the image, the sheet, and the fixing roller. A fixing device, including: a fixing roller having an elastic layer formed on the surface thereof which rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow A; a compression roller which rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow B while being in contact with the fixing roller; and a plastic peeling sheet, whose end edge comes into contact with the surface of the fixing roller to peel the sheet P, which has passed through the nip portion N, away from the surface of the fixing roller, provided downstream of the nip portion N of the fixing roller in the direction of rotation A thereof.

Abstract: In an image recording apparatus in which a toner image on a toner image holding and conveying member is transferred onto a recording member and is fixed at the same time, the change of charging characteristics or the like by accumulation of heat in the apparatus is prevented, the toner image is certainly transferred and fixed onto the recording member with small consumed energy, and high speed print can be made. An intermediate transfer material on which a toner image is primarily transferred is disposed at a position facing a photosensitive drum, and a pressing roller for pressing the toner image against the recording member is disposed at the downstream side in the conveying direction of the transferred toner image. At the upstream side of the secondary transfer portion where the pressing roller is pressed, an electromagnetic induction heating unit for melting the toner image on the intermediate transfer material is disposed.

Abstract: A fixing device having a peeling sheet capable of performing stable peeling without causing any damage to the image, the sheet or the fixing roller. The fixing device includes: a fixing roller having an elastic layer formed on its surface; a compression roller in contact with the fixing roller in a nip portion; and a plastic peeling sheet provided downstream of the nip portion, the peeling sheet having an end edge which comes into contact with the surface of the fixing roller to peel the sheet which has passed through the nip portion away from the surface of the fixing roller.

Abstract: A fixing device comprises a heat fixing roller in which a heat resistant elastic layer is formed on a cylindrical metal core and, further, a heat resistant resin layer is coated on the surface thereof, an endless belt, a pressure member disposed in the inside of the endless belt, wherein the endless belt is wound around the heat fixing roller for a predetermined angle to form a nip area between the endless belt and the heat fixing roller for allowing a recording sheet to pass therethrough, the pressure member is pressed by way of the endless belt to the heat fixing roller at the nip area thereby forming distortion in the heat resistant elastic layer of the heat fixing roller. An image forming apparatus using the fixing device can satisfy improved image quality, extended working life, energy saving and high speed operation altogether.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus and an image forming method for transferring and fixing is capable of securely transferring and fixing a toner image onto a recording medium after transferring the toner image formed on an image carrier onto an image transfer member with small energy consumption for high-speed printing. In this apparatus an endless belt-like intermediate transfer member facing to four image forming units is tensioned by a heating roll and the like, and a pressing member for pressing the recording medium against the intermediate transfer member in the most downstream portion of a contact area with the heating roll in the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer member. The toner image on the intermediate transfer member is heated by the heating roll at specified temperatures, and the toner melted is brought into tight contact with the recording medium at normal temperatures for transferring and fixing.

Abstract: A small-sized high performance fixing device is realized by using a thin cylindrical structure having a structure which prevents loss of contact between inner reinforcing members and the thin cylindrical structure and prevents collapsing in the circumferential direction of the thin cylindrical structure due to wall-thinning, when the thin cylindrical structure receives the external force on the peripheral surface thereof.For a fixing device for heat fixing operated by passing recording papers, on which toner images were transferred, through a pressurizing zone formed by a fixing roller formed of a cylindrical structure having a heater in the inside and a pressure roller, a cylindrical structure which is provided with at least one supporting member forcibly inserted in the thin cylindrical structure and is maintained in the firm contact condition with the inside surface of the cylindrical structure at portions of the outside peripheral surface of the supporting members is used as the fixing roller.

Abstract: A small-sized high performance fixing device is realized by using a thin cylindrical structure having a structure which prevents loss of contact between inner reinforcing members and the thin cylindrical structure and prevents collapsing in the circumferential direction of the thin cylindrical structure due to wall-thinning, when the thin cylindrical structure receives the external force on the peripheral surface thereof.For a fixing device for heat fixing operated by passing recording papers, on which toner images were transferred, through a pressurizing zone formed by a fixing roller formed of a cylindrical structure having a heater in the inside and a pressure roller, a cylindrical structure which is provided with at least one supporting member forcibly inserted in the thin cylindrical structure and is maintained in the firm contact condition with the inside surface of the cylindrical structure at portions of the outside peripheral surface of the supporting members, is used as the fixing roller.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus has two backup rollers which rotate while remaining in contact with the circumference of a pressing roller, and a plurality of roller bearings for pressing the pressing roller against a heating roller via the backup rollers. The roller bearings are set so as to forcefully press the portion in the vicinity of the center of the pressing roller compared to the portions around both ends of the pressing roller, via the backup roller. As a result, a pressing force acting between the pressing roller and the heating roller becomes substantially even in the axial direction of them, thereby resulting in an even nipping width. Further, the fixing apparatus may be provided with a cylindrical rotary pressing member and a substantially cylindrical pressed-contact member which is disposed in the rotary pressing member and presses it against the heating roller. The pressed-contact member may be formed so as to have a larger diameter at the center than at both ends thereof.

Abstract: An image fixing device for heating and applying pressure to a toner image on a recording medium to melt and press the toner image on the recording medium, having: a heating and fixing roll for heating the recording medium; a device for rotating and driving the heating and fixing roll; an endless belt arranged with respect to the recording medium on the side opposite to the heating and fixing roll; and a pressure applying member in contact with an inner surface of the endless belt and being provided with a pressing surface for pressing the endless belt against the heating and fixing roll along the surface of the heating and fixing roll; wherein pressure exerting on the pressing surface of the pressure applying member is set to a value of or above pressure for suppressing a volume expansion of gas caused by a rise in temperature of the gas taken between the heating and fixing roll and the endless belt.

Abstract: The present invention provides a non-contact ink developing method for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrostatic latent image formation member with ink, characterized by employing a conductive ink as the ink and a conductive developing roller disposed close to the electrostatic latent image formation member and whose surface has a water-repellent finish for producing very small ink droplets which are substantially spherical. The method comprising the steps of supplying the conductive ink to the surface of the conductive roller to produce a large number of very small ink droplets, and ejecting the ink droplets toward the electrostatic latent image in a developing area facing the electrostatic latent image formation member by an electrostatic induction force generated by charges of the electrostatic latent image and charges of opposite polarity induced in the ink droplets by the electrostatic latent image, and attaching the droplets to the electrostatic latent image.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image fixing device including a heat fusing roller with heating means inside and an elastic material layer on a peripheral surface of the heat fusing roller, the heat fusing roller being rotatably mounted, an endless belt movable in contact with the heat fusing roller, and a pressure applying member fixed and contacting the endless belt on the heat fusing roller and applying pressure to form a belt nip portion between the endless belt and the heat fusing roller.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus for an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: a rotatable heat roll; a heat-resistant elastic member fixedly disposed to form a nip section in contact with an outer circumferential surface of the heat roll, the heat-resistant elastic member being impregnated with a liquid release agent which is supplied to the nip section; and a porous fluororesin film formed by sintering a fluororesin powder for coating a surface of the heat-resistant elastic member coming in contact with the heat roll so that the release agent can be supplied by a predetermined amount while permeating through the film. The porous fluororesin film may include: a film formed by using metal fibers, glass fibers, or the like as a supporting member thereof, and a film formed by applying a gelled dimethyl silicone oil at least to a single surface of the film.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus comprising built-in heating means, a heat-fixing roll which is driven to rotate, and an endless pressure belt which is stretched along a plurality of rolls and made to be contact and wound around the heat-fixing roll, wherein the heat-fixing roll is provided with a resilient layer on the peripheral surface thereof; one of the plurality of rolls for stretching the pressure belt is a pressure roll which is located in a press contact portion where the pressure belt is forced to be contact with the heat-fixing roll on the downstream side in the direction of rotation of the heat-fixing roll and pressed against the heat-fixing roll so that the resilient layer of the heat-fixing roll undergoes compressional deformation; an auxiliary pressure roll is provided on the upstream side of the press contact portion and forced to be contact with the heat-fixing roll via the pressure belt; and a soft resilient layer formed of material not harder than what is used to form the resilient layer of the heat-fixi

Abstract: An image fixing device is provided that includes a heat roller disposed rotatably, and a fixed way to apply pressure for contacting and applying pressure to the heat roller to form a nip portion. A recording sheet on which an unfixed toner image is formed passes through the image fixing device for fixing the toner image. The heat roller has a releasing layer on its surface for stripping the recording sheet which has passed through the nip portion, and .mu..sub.2 and .mu..sub.2 having the following relation.mu..sub.1 /.mu..sub.2 .gtoreq.5,wherein .mu..sub.1 is a frictional coefficient between the releasing layer of the heat roller and the recording sheet and .mu..sub.2 is a frictional coefficient between the surface of the pressure applying means and the recording sheet.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image fixing device for fixing toner on a transfer member comprises a heat roller which is a hollow cylindrical member rotatably supported at both end portions and having heating means inside thereof, pressure means press-contacted to the heat roller for pressing the transfer member passing between the heat roller and the pressure means against to a peripheral surface of the heat roller, and the pressure means is a pressure roller disposed approximately parallel to the heat roller and supported rotatably, at least one of the heat roller and the pressure roller has a layer of elastic material on its peripheral surface, and a value A/B is set to be within a range from 0.7 to 0.8 wherein A represents a nip width at an approximate central portion of an area between the heat roller and the pressure roller where the transfer member passes through and B represents a nip width at end portions of the area.

Abstract: A fusing device for fusing a toner image by passing a recording sheet carrying an unfused toner image by means of the torque of a heating roll through a nip portion between the rotating heating roll and a heat-resistant solid elastic member which is forced to contact the outer peripheral surface of the heating roll to form the nip portion. In the fusing device, the heat-resistant solid elastic member includes an elastic body penetrated with a liquid release agent, and a lease-agent penetration control film whose region which is used for covering the surface of the elastic body and corresponds to at least the nip portion is formed of a porous film.

Abstract: A method for forming an image with a copying machine capable of both color copying and black-and-white copying is disclosed, in which a black toner contains at least a colorant and a resinous component having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of from 25,000 to 80,000 and a number average molecular weight (Mn) of from 2,000 to 8,000, with a Mw/Mn ratio being not less than 10, and having an apparent melt viscosity of 1.times.10.sup.4 poise at a temperature between 115.degree. C. and 140.degree. C. as measured by a flow tester method, and the quantity of heat of fixing is varied between a B/W mode and a color mode.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a contact portion formed by making a part of an endless belt supported by a plurality of tension rollers contact a fixing roller having an elastic body applied thereon. The contact portion includes a contact point formed by making a pressure roller inside the endless belt bear against the fixing roller under pressure through the endless belt at an exit point of the contact portion. The fixing device also includes a braking device which brakes the transport of the endless belt at the contact point such that the endless belt at the point where the pressure roller bears against the fixing roller moves at a speed greater than the remaining portions of the endless belt.

Abstract: A fixing unit has a fixing roller and an endless belt. When a recording sheet bearing a toner image not yet fixed passes between the fixing roller and the endless belt, the fixing unit fixes the toner image onto the recording sheet in the nip area. The endless belt is a film-like belt consisting of a base film and a layer on the base film, the layer being made of a composite material containing porous material and elastomer. A fixing unit is thus provided which is free from the problems of image offset and lifetime shortening, and can realize the increase of fixing speed and/or size reduction.