Abstract: A fuser assembly for an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus including a fuser member and a pressure member, a release oil oiler system for the fuser assembly, and a cleaner for cleaning the pressure member. The pressure member cleaner has a cleaning member including a fabric material. A drive mechanism is associated with the cleaning member for moving the cleaning member relative to the pressure member such that the cleaning member is located in operative association with the pressure member, or the cleaning member is located in spaced relation remote from the pressure member. A logic and control unit selectively activates the drive mechanism to move the cleaning member to the operative association location or the remote location.

Abstract: According to the present invention, a member which can recover unnecessary toner is replaced with unused the member using parameters such as ambient temperature, temperature in the copying machine, density of image information, and step of setting temperatures of rollers on standby to be uniform at a predetermined timing.

Abstract: A cleaning device for a fixing unit includes a winding shaft for holding a cleaning web and a sensor for detecting a trailing end of a cleaning web. A notched portion is formed in a winding shaft at a position opposing a detecting position of said sensor.

Abstract: When fixing a toner image formed by using a developing agent containing a fine particle toner to easily enter into the ruggedness of a sheet, a web wound around on a pair of rollers so as to be taken out from one of the rollers to the other roller so that a part of the taken out surface can be contacted with a member which heats and fuses the toner. The web has a configuration for controlling the taking out amount according to the surface state of the sheet for supporting the toner image and the toner use amount so that the offset can certainly be prevented when a small particle size toner is used.

Abstract: In a cleaning device for a fixing unit, a notched portion is formed in a winding shaft, which has an unused web wound therearound, at a position opposing a detecting position of a sensor. Accordingly, when a trailing end of the web comes to be exposed, and the web is disengaged from the wining shaft, the sensor measures the diameter of the notched portion, so that the diameter changes substantially. For this reason, an output of the sensor also changes substantially, and the trailing end of the web can be detected easily without being affected by the sensitivity of the sensor.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus comprises a fixing section for fixing a developer image on a medium to which a developer image has been transferred by passing the medium between heat and press rollers, a cleaning roller made of metal and having a surface subjected to etching processing at surface roughness of 0.4 to 3.2 &mgr;m, and contacted the press roller of the fixing section for cleaning a developer which has stuck to the press roller during fixing operation, and a coat layer coated on the surface of the cleaning roller by a developer or a part of a component of the developer and having layer thickness of 50 to 150 &mgr;m and surface roughness of 4.8 &mgr;m or less.

Abstract: The present invention provides a transfer and fixing device for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein a belt of a photosensitive member is conveyed between a backup roller and a primary roller toward the direction indicated by an arrow, while printed sheets of paper are conveyed between a fixing roller for secondary transcription and fixing and a primary transfer roller, wherein a cleaning belt revolved by two grinding rollers is disposed at one side of the primary transfer roller, while a grinding layer is formed on the surface of the cleaning belt, wherein the cleaning belt and the two grinding rollers are housed in a case, and the case is allowed to travel along a direction of an arrow by a cam, and wherein the grinding layer shaves off the deteriorated portions by making contact with the rubber layer of the primary transfer roller when the rubber layer of the primary transfer roller formed on the surface of the primary transfer layer has been depleted.

Abstract: A fixing device for a copying machine includes a heating roller having a heating portion therein, a press roller provided in rolling contact with the heating roller, and a cleaning mechanism for cleaning the heating roller and the press roller. The cleaning mechanism has a cleaning roller provided in rolling contact with the heating roller, and a pressure changing mechanism for changing a pressure applied by the cleaning roller to the heating roller. The pressure changing mechanism continuously changes the pressure of the cleaning roller within a predetermined pressure range at a period shorter than a passing time of the recording sheet passing through a portion between the heating roller and the press roller.

Abstract: A blade device includes an elongated elastic blade, and a support member, disposed along a longitudinal direction of the elastic blade, for supporting one end of the elastic blade in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Lateral end sections of the elastic blade in the longitudinal direction are more protruded than a central section thereof in a direction opposite to the support member. Portions of the support member corresponding to protruded portions of the elastic blade and supporting the elastic blade are retracted toward a direction opposite to a protruding direction of the elastic blade. The support member may be made of different shapes to achieve the retracted configuration. In addition, the support member may be made of two different materials so that portions of the support member have different elasticities.

Abstract: There is provided a fixing device of an image forming apparatus in which a high quality image can be obtained through a small amount of release agent and toner offset can be prevented for a long period of time without fail. The fixing device includes a pair of fixing rotating bodies being brought into press contact with each other and being rotated, and a release agent application unit for applying a release agent onto a surface of the fixing rotating body, and makes a toner image formed on a recording material by an electrophotographic process pass through a press contact portion of the pair of fixing rotating bodies so that the toner image is fixed. The fixing device further includes a wax agent application unit for applying a wax agent onto the surface of the fixing rotating body.

Abstract: A printer or copier which operates by transfer printing has a fixing roller for affixing toner to the recording medium. A release agent, or parting oil, is applied to the roller by a dosing tube having openings through which the release agent flows to a wick. An application element is moved over the roller between the wick and the roller for cleaning and application of the release agent. The wick is held in guide elements and the lower guide element has a duct for collecting excess release agent and applying it to the application element.

Abstract: A configuration and method are disclosed for recyclably using a fixing roller cleaning device in an electrostatographic fixing station. In a principal embodiment, the cleaning device includes a cleaning web unit 13 installable in cassette fashion into a corresponding unit loading receptacle 14(15) disposed axially adjacent either fixing roller in the top and bottom ends of the fixing station. On the heating roller 3 end, the cleaning web unit 13 contains an unused disposable cleaning web 12. Therein side A of the cleaning web 12 winding between feed and take-up sections 16 and 17 of a web winding mechanism 18 serves in heavy-duty cleaning of, and application of sheet-parting agent to, the surface of the heating roller 3. Afterwards, the cleaning web unit 13 is withdrawn from location on the heating roller 3 end, turned round horizontally, and installed in location beneath the pressure roller 4 end of the fixing station.

Abstract: A device, and method implemented by the device, employs a fixing device to heat and apply pressure to an image forming substance held on an image holding member so as to affix the image forming substance on the image holding member. The device includes a web and a web driving mechanism that operate under the control of a controller. The controller controls a movement of the web to clean a nip portion of the fixing device during a suspending mode of operation. By moving the web against the fixing unit during the suspending mode of operation, the residual image forming substance is prevented from remaining on the fixing device for too long of a period of time, thereby lowering the risk of damaging the fixing unit, which may occur if the residual image forming substance is removed from the fixing device after being secured attached to the fixing device.

Abstract: A fixing device of the belt system is provided in which slippage of a heating belt is prevented from occurring so that a recording member is stably transported, and the inner face of an end portion of the heating belt is prevented from being damaged. In a fixing device, an endless heating belt 34 is supported by a driving roller 31 and a heating roller 33, a pressure roller is pressingly contacted with an outer peripheral portion of the belt so as to form a nip portion, and an unfixed image on a recording medium transported to the nip portion is fixed to the recording medium. The axial lengths L2 of the driving roller 31 and the heating roller 33 are set to be shorter than the width L1 of the belt 34, and the axial length L3 of an oil applying roller 51 which abuts against the outer peripheral portion of the belt 34 to apply oil thereto is set to be shorter than the axial lengths L2 of the driving roller 31 and the heating roller 33.

Abstract: A Release Agent Management (RAM) system for a heat and pressure fuser apparatus utilized for fixing color toner images on substrates such as plain paper and transparency material such as Mylar.TM.. A donor/metering roll arrangement is provided with two oil metering blades, one of which is operative during two modes of operation and the other of which is operative during only one of the two modes of operation. During one mode of operation when color toner images are formed on a substrate such as plain paper, only one of the two blades is utilized. During a second mode of operation when color toner images are created on a transparent substrate such as Mylar.TM., both blades engage the surface of the metering roll so that a lesser amount of oil is ultimately conveyed to the surface of the heated fuser roll.

Abstract: A fuser having an oil applying felt composed of fluororesin fibers and touching to an oil applying roller. The oil applying felt is dipped in oil preserved in an oil tank at one end, so that the oil is elevated through capillarity and supplied to the oil applying roller. The oil applied over the oil applying roller is leveled by an oil limiting blade, and the oil thus leveled is applied to a fusing roller touching the oil applying roller. Meanwhile, a sheet having thereon formed a non-fused toner image is heated and pressed respectively by the fusing roller and a pressure applying roller, whereupon the non-fused toner on the sheet adheres to the fusing roller. The toner then adheres to the oil applying felt through the oil applying roller. However, the oil applying felt is not clogged with the toner because it is made of the fluororesin fibers.

Abstract: Wear of the surface of a heating roller caused by toner, paper powder and other like contaminants and a cleaning force are made uniform over a length of a heating roller by setting the press-contact force of a cleaning member with respect to each end portion of the heating roller smaller than the press-contact force at a portion other than the end portions on the basis of a tendency for the distribution of the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants resulting from the rotation of the heating roller. Five attaching holes are formed at an upstream portion of a lower cover, defining the bottom of a fixing chamber in a fixing unit, lock members are not fitted into the two attaching holes corresponding to the end portions of the heating roller. Lock members are fitted into the other three attaching holes corresponding to the central portion of the heating roller in a state where a base end portion of the elastic spring member is inserted into the three attaching holes.

Abstract: A fuser for fixing a toner image to a receiver sheet includes a housing, a fusing roller mounted for rotation within the housing, and a rotatable wick for applying offset-preventing liquid to the fusing roller. The rotatable wick is adjustable between a first position in frictional contact with the fusing roller, wherein the rotatable wick is rotated by the fusing roller and applies an amount of offset-preventing liquid to the fusing roller, and a second position spaced from the fusing roller. An actuation structure selectively moves the rotatable wick between its first and second positions. A motor and a transmission interconnecting the motor and the rotatable wick, at least when the rotatable wick is in its second position, are provided to effect rotation of the rotatable wick to inhibit settlement of offset-preventing liquid in the rotatable wick.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a fixing roller having a peeling-off layer at its peripheral surface, a rotating member for coming into contact with and for pressurizing the fixing roller, an applying member disposed on the fixing roller, and a cleaning member for cleaning the applying member. The applying member has a porous surface layer which is of the same quality as that of the peeling-off layer of the fixing roller, and is filled in oil. A transferring material with non-fixed toner image is nipped and delivered with the fixing roller and the rotating member, and non-fixed toner image on the transferring material is fixed with heat and pressure.