By Heat And Pressure Patents (Class 399/328)
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Patent number: 10877414Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image forming portion, a fixing device, a pressure switching mechanism, and a controller. The fixing device includes a fixing member, a heating portion, and a pressing member. The pressure switching mechanism is configured to switch pressure between the fixing member and the pressing member. The controller is configured to execute an operation in an image forming mode in which the image is capable of being formed on an envelope. The controller is configured to cause the pressure switching mechanism to switch the pressure to a first pressure when an instruction to form the image on an address side of the envelope is inputted and to cause the pressure switching mechanism to switch the pressure to a second pressure when an instruction to form the image on a non-address side of the envelope is inputted. The second pressure is higher than the first pressure.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 2019Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Rikiya Takemasa
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Patent number: 10870291Abstract: In one example, a partially dried inkjet media conditioner can include: a print engine that encases a print zone within a housing, and a media path to provide partially dried inkjet media from the print zone to a conditioner within the print engine, wherein the conditioner comprises a heated pressure roller.Type: GrantFiled: September 2, 2016Date of Patent: December 22, 2020Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Steve O Rasmussen, Kevin Lo, Richard Lee Brinkly, Mark H MacKenzie
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Patent number: 10866550Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing belt, a pressure roller, a reserving portion, and a heater. The pressure roller is provided in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the fixing belt. The reserving portion is provided inside the fixing belt and configured to reserve a lubricant. The heater is provided between the reserving portion and the fixing belt in such a way as to be pressed against the fixing belt, wherein a moving path is formed in the heater such that the lubricant moves from the reserving portion toward the pressure roller in the moving path.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 2020Date of Patent: December 15, 2020Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventors: Kotatsu Kawaguchi, Rina Kikugawa
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Patent number: 10838337Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing rotator, a pressure rotator, a gear, and a sleeve. The pressure rotator is configured to contact the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The gear is disposed on an axial end side of the pressure rotator to transmit a driving force. The sleeve extends from the gear in an axial direction of the pressure rotator.Type: GrantFiled: April 2, 2020Date of Patent: November 17, 2020Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventor: Yukio Kazama
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Patent number: 10841440Abstract: An image reading apparatus includes a supply tray which support sheets and includes a movable plate configured to move in correspondence to reduction in a number of the sheets supported on the supply tray, a discharge tray which is located below the supply tray and supports discharged sheets, a conveyance guide which guides a sheet conveyed from the supply tray toward the discharge tray, a reading sensor which reads an image on the sheet conveyed along the conveyance guide, and a discharge unit having a discharge opening for discharging the sheet to the discharge tray and moves from a third position to a fourth position in correspondence to reduction in the number of the sheets supported on the supply tray. A first timing for which the movable plate is to move and a second timing for which the discharge unit is to move are different.Type: GrantFiled: January 30, 2019Date of Patent: November 17, 2020Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Atsushi Miwa
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Patent number: 10824100Abstract: In a fixing device according to the disclosure, a first surface of a restriction member is inclined so that, as the first surface goes further away from a nip portion, the first surface inclines toward a direction coming closer to an edge surface of the film, and the first surface is inclined so that, as the first surface comes downstream in the conveying direction, the first surface inclines toward a direction going further away from the edge surface of the film. A second surface is inclined so that, as the second surface comes closer to a center in the rotational axis direction of the film, the second surface inclines toward a direction coming closer to a roller, and inclines in a direction going downstream in the conveying direction.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2018Date of Patent: November 3, 2020Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hikaru Osada, Toru Imaizumi
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Patent number: 10816921Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a heating section including a belt having a layered structure in which a metal layer is held between nonmetal layers. The belt has a front surface that comes into contact with a toner image and a back surface that does not come into contact with the toner image. The belt has a first thickness from the front surface to the metal layer inside the belt and a second thickness from the back surface to the metal layer inside the belt. The fixing apparatus also includes a pressure section that holds, between the pressure section and the belt, a transported sheet of paper holding the toner image and that applies pressure to the sheet of paper. The fixing apparatus further includes a first static eliminating section that eliminates static from the belt while being in contact with a surface of the belt.Type: GrantFiled: January 22, 2020Date of Patent: October 27, 2020Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventors: Tsuyoshi Sunohara, Nobuyoshi Komatsu, Yuichiro Saito, Yasunori Fujimoto
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Patent number: 10802430Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes a first rotary member, a second rotary member a retaining portion, and a regulating portion. An end portion of the first rotary member abuts against the regulating portion and the regulating portion regulates movement of the first rotary member to the sheet width direction. The regulating portion comprises a curved surface shape having a radius of curvature of 10 mm or greater and 500 mm or smaller and protruding toward the first rotary member. An apex portion of the curved surface shape is, when viewed in the sheet width direction, positioned in an area outside of the retaining portion and on a side of the first rotary member from a tangent of the first rotary member at the nip portion. The apex portion is positioned in an area upstream in the sheet conveyance direction of a straight line that is orthogonal to the tangent.Type: GrantFiled: June 10, 2019Date of Patent: October 13, 2020Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yasuharu Toratani, Toru Katsumi, Nobuaki Hara, Kengo Koyama, Ayano Ogata, Masanobu Tanaka
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Patent number: 10795294Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes an endless belt, a heating member configured to heat the belt, a detection unit configured to detect temperature of the heating member, a signal line connected to the detection unit, a holding member configured to hold the temperature detecting member, and an urging member configured to urge the temperature detecting member toward the heating member. The holding member includes a through hole for leading out the signal line and a contact portion being in contact with the signal line at a position located, in a width direction of the belt, between the through hole and the temperature detecting member and located, in an urging direction of the urging member, at a same position with a connecting portion between the signal line and the temperature detecting member or at a position closer to the heating member than the connecting portion.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 2019Date of Patent: October 6, 2020Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Tomoaki Tanto
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Patent number: 10768561Abstract: A fixing device includes a cylindrical rotatable fixing belt, a flat heater, a safety device, a heater holding part and a pressuring member. The flat heater has a plurality of heat generating parts. The safety device is arranged across two adjacent heat generating parts to interrupt power supply to the heat generating parts in a case where temperature reaches a threshold value. The heater holding part holds the flat heater so that the flat heater comes into contact with an inner circumference face of the fixing belt. The pressuring member sandwiches the fixing belt with the flat heater to form a pressuring area for sandwiching and conveying a sheet between the fixing belt and the pressuring roller.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2019Date of Patent: September 8, 2020Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventors: Takashi Eiki, Hiroki Kawasaki, Atsushi Kohama, Yuhiro Sakai
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Patent number: 10725408Abstract: A fixing device fixing a toner image onto a recording sheet passing through a nip, the fixing device including: a pressure structure and a heating structure forming the nip when in pressure contact; and a switching unit selectively switching a pressure contact state of the heating structure and the pressure structure between a first state, a second state, and a release state. The switching unit includes: a first switcher directly switching the pressure contact state between the first state and the second state without switching the pressure contact state to the release state; a second switcher switching the pressure contact state between the first state and the release state; an acquirer acquiring information relating to which state the pressure contact state is to be switched into; and a controller controlling the first switcher and the second switcher based on the acquired information to switch the pressure contact state.Type: GrantFiled: April 11, 2019Date of Patent: July 28, 2020Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.Inventors: Masashi Nakabo, Naoki Kataoka
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Patent number: 10719040Abstract: A fixing device is for fixing a toner image on a recording medium an image forming apparatus. The fixing device includes a fixing belt, a heating member, a nip area member, a pressing member, and a protrusion. The fixing belt is held by the heating member and the nip area member. The pressing member presses the fixing belt against the nip area member while being rotationally driven. The toner image is fixed on the recording medium in a nip area where the pressing member presses the fixing belt against the nip area member. The protrusion is in contact with the inner surface of the fixing belt. In the fixing device, the fixing belt is in contact with small areas only other than the heating area and the nip area to reduce the heat loss.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 2017Date of Patent: July 21, 2020Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.Inventors: Yoshikazu Tsubotani, Yusuke Mamiya, Motoki Nakano
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Patent number: 10684578Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms an unfixed image on a sheet; and a fixing unit that includes a first rotary member and a second rotary member, which are in contact with each other to form a nip part, and that fixes the unfixed image formed in the image forming unit to the sheet by allowing the sheet to pass through the nip part. When a large-width sheet having a larger width than a preceding sheet that has previously passed through the nip part is allowed to pass through the nip part, adjustment in which the first rotary member and the second rotary member are displaced in directions away from each other, while forming the nip part, is performed in the fixing unit.Type: GrantFiled: March 6, 2019Date of Patent: June 16, 2020Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventor: Masataka Konishi
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Patent number: 10678170Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing rotator being rotatable and a heater to heat the fixing rotator. The heater includes a tube, a heat generator, disposed inside the tube, to generate heat, and a sealing portion, disposed at each lateral end of the tube in a longitudinal direction of the heater, to seal the tube. A reflector reflects heat radiated from the heater toward the fixing rotator. The reflector includes an outboard edge being disposed inboard from at least a part of the sealing portion in an axial direction of the fixing rotator.Type: GrantFiled: November 9, 2018Date of Patent: June 9, 2020Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Yasunori Ishigaya, Kazuya Saito, Keitaro Shoji, Toshihiko Shimokawa, Hiromasa Takagi
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Patent number: 10649376Abstract: When a nip portion has a region through which a recording material passes, and a part of the region is an image heating region where an image region on the recording material passes through, and the rest of the region is a non-image heating region where a non-image region on the recording material passes through, a control portion controls heating elements corresponding to the non-image heating region, out of the plurality of heating elements, so as to maintain a control target temperature, which is set based on the amount of the image heating apparatus used.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 2019Date of Patent: May 12, 2020Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yusuke Jota, Atsushi Iwasaki
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Patent number: 10635035Abstract: A fixing device includes a pressure roller and a pressure pad that form a nip portion, and a nip member disposed opposite to the pressure roller as viewed from the pressure pad. The pressure pad is formed of an elongated flat-plate member and includes a first main surface located on a pressure roller side and a second main surface located on a nip member side. The nip member includes a receiving portion abutting against the pressure pad in a pressed state. A portion of the second main surface which corresponds to a passage region of the recording material provided at the nip portion is provided with a plurality of recesses, and the entire perimeter of each of the plurality of recesses is surrounded by projections. Top surfaces of the projections are in close contact with the receiving portion in the pressed state.Type: GrantFiled: January 21, 2019Date of Patent: April 28, 2020Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.Inventor: Shinichi Yabuki
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Patent number: 10599092Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a heating unit; a pressure roller; a first frame supporting the heating unit; a second frame engaging the first frame; a first gear; a second gear; and a fixing member. The second frame supports a shaft portion of the pressure roller. The first gear is provided at one end of the shaft portion and rotatable with the pressure roller. The second gear engages the first gear and transmits a drive force to the first gear. The fixing member has a first portion engaging the shaft portion and a second portion engaging the second frame. At least a part of the first portion engages the shaft portion at a position on a downstream side of the shaft portion in a second direction in which the shaft portion receives a force upon transmission of the drive force.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2018Date of Patent: March 24, 2020Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hiroki Mori, Hiroshi Handa, Tatsuo Ogasawara, Takuji Matsuno
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Patent number: 10599080Abstract: A fixing device includes a casing, a fixing member, a pressuring member, a pressure adjusting part and a correction biasing part. The fixing member heats a toner image on a medium while rotating inside the casing. The pressuring member forms a pressuring area with the fixing member while rotating inside the casing to pressure a toner on the medium passing through the pressuring area. The pressure adjusting part presses one of the fixing member and the pressuring member to the other to pressurize the pressuring area, and releases pressing of the one to depressurize the pressuring area. The correction biasing part, in a case where a supporting shaft part supporting the other by the casing penetrates the casing, biases both sides in an axial direction of the supporting shaft part extended to the outside of the casing in a similar direction to a pressurizing direction of the pressure adjusting part.Type: GrantFiled: April 17, 2019Date of Patent: March 24, 2020Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventor: Hirofumi Tsuji
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Patent number: 10571834Abstract: A fixing method is provided including the step of fixing a toner on a recording medium with a fixing device. The toner has a binder resin, a colorant, and a release agent, and has a release agent amount indicator of from 0.01 to 0.20. The release agent amount indicator is represented by a ratio (P2850/P828) of an intensity (P2850) at a wave number of 2,850 cm?1 to an intensity (P828) at a wave number of 828 cm?1 of the toner measured by a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy attenuated total reflection method. The fixing device includes a fixing rotator driven to rotate by a driving source, a pressure rotator driven to rotate by rotation of the fixing rotator, a fixing belt interposed between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator, and a heater to heat the fixing belt.Type: GrantFiled: February 4, 2019Date of Patent: February 25, 2020Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Ryohei Matsuda, Takamasa Hase, Daisuke Inoue, Teppei Kawata, Akio Takei
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Patent number: 10571837Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing rotator that is flexible, endless, and rotatable. A heater heats the fixing rotator. A pressure rotator is disposed opposite the fixing rotator. A nip former defines a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. A support supports the nip former. The nip former includes a back face that contacts the support and has a nonlinear shape in a longitudinal direction of the nip former.Type: GrantFiled: January 4, 2019Date of Patent: February 25, 2020Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Yoshiki Yamaguchi, Ippei Fujimoto, Hiroyuki Shimada, Takayuki Seki, Takashi Seto, Yoshiyuki Fukuda, Hiroshi Yoshinaga
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Patent number: 10551773Abstract: A cleaning apparatus and a fixing apparatus include a cleaning web configured to remove toner adhering to a rotation member, the cleaning web including a recessed portion in at least a part thereof, and a displacement mechanism configured to situate a relative position between the rotation member and a pressure member configured to press the cleaning web toward the rotation member at a first position where the cleaning web is pressed toward the rotation member by the pressure member and at a second position where the rotation member and the pressure member are farther from each other than at the first position. The displacement mechanism situates the relative position at the second position based on an output of a detection position configured to detect a position of the recessed portion, so that a rear end of the recessed portion is not pressed toward the rotation member by the pressure member.Type: GrantFiled: March 21, 2018Date of Patent: February 4, 2020Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Koji Takematsu, Taiya Hirayama, Kenichi Tanaka, Takeshi Kozuma, Atsushi Ishigami
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Patent number: 10551778Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing member, a fixing frame and an upper cover. The fixing member is configured to rotate around a rotation axis extending along one direction and configured to fix a toner image on a recording medium. The fixing frame is configured to cover an upper side of the fixing member. The upper cover is configured to cover an upper side of the fixing frame. An air layer for heat insulation is formed between the fixing frame and the upper cover.Type: GrantFiled: February 7, 2019Date of Patent: February 4, 2020Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventor: Tomohiro Watatani
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Patent number: 10539376Abstract: Some examples include a fuser assembly to operate with a roller including a fuser housing, and an array of fusers disposed in the fuser housing, each fuser including a heating element exposed along a surface of the fuser housing and adjacent to an outer surface of the roller.Type: GrantFiled: March 18, 2016Date of Patent: January 21, 2020Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventor: Steve O Rasmussen
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Patent number: 10527984Abstract: The fixing device includes a fixing belt, a pressing member, a pushing member and a cap. The fixing belt is endless and rotatable. The pressing member is configured to form a pressing area with the fixing belt. The pushing member is configured to come into contact with an inner circumferential face of the fixing belt via a lubricant and to push the fixing belt to the pressing member at the pressing area. The cap is configured to be attached to an end portion of the fixing belt through an elastic member. The cap has a contact part with which an end face of the fixing belt comes into contact. The contact part has a groove configured to store the lubricant leaked from the fixing belt. The groove is formed such that a width is varied along a radial direction of the cap.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2018Date of Patent: January 7, 2020Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventor: Yuzuru Nanjo
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Patent number: 10509356Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a fixing portion, a reversing portion, a re-feeding path, a detecting portion, a first feeding path, a second feeding path, an air flow generating portion, and a flow path forming portion. The flow path forming portion forms a flow path along which air flow is passed through between a recording material passing through the second feeding path and a constituent portion constituting the second feeding path on a side toward the detecting portion and guides the recording material passing through the second feeding path, when the recording material passes through the second feeding path.Type: GrantFiled: February 8, 2019Date of Patent: December 17, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yoshitaka Zaitsu, Kazushi Suzuki, Atsushi Ogata
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Patent number: 10479110Abstract: In one example, a system for partially dried inkjet media fusers include a plurality of fusers aligned to receive partially dried inkjet media from a printing device, wherein the plurality of fusers each comprise a top roller and a bottom roller to apply pressure to the received partially dried inkjet media, and a finisher to receive the partially dried inkjet media from the plurality of fusers.Type: GrantFiled: January 15, 2016Date of Patent: November 19, 2019Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Steve O Rasmussen, Mark H MacKenzie, Bradley B Branham, Jeffrey G Bingham
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Patent number: 10474077Abstract: A fixing device includes a heating unit that is rotatable and includes a heat source; a pressing unit that is rotatable and forms a nip together with the heating unit; and a contact unit capable of coming into contact with and moving away from the heating unit. The contact unit is positioned so that the contact unit does not overlap a region above the heating unit in a vertical direction when the contact unit is in contact with the heating unit and also does not overlap the region above the heating unit in the vertical direction when the contact unit is separated from the heating unit.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2018Date of Patent: November 12, 2019Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventor: Yuichiro Saito
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Patent number: 10474074Abstract: A film for use in a fixing device includes a base layer having a cylindrical shape. An electrode portion is formed at an end part of the base layer in a longitudinal direction of the film. A heat generation portion is formed at a central part of the base layer in the longitudinal direction of the film and electrically connected to the electrode portion. The heat generation portion is formed of a conductive layer made of a same material as a material of the electrode portion. A thickness of the conductive layer is larger in the electrode portion than in the heat generation portion. A surface area of the conductive layer per unit length in the longitudinal direction of the film is larger in the electrode portion than in the heat generation portion.Type: GrantFiled: January 3, 2019Date of Patent: November 12, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takeshi Shinji, Takashi Narahara, Kazuhiro Doda, Yutaka Sato, Kohei Wakatsu
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Patent number: 10466628Abstract: A fixing belt includes a base composed of a foamed resin layer which contains a flat-shaped heat transfer agent and whose thermal conductivity in a direction of the thickness of the belt is 0.5 W/(m·K) or more.Type: GrantFiled: March 18, 2019Date of Patent: November 5, 2019Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventor: Shigeru Fukuda
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Patent number: 10466631Abstract: A fixing device capable of stably performing a fixing operation for a long time is provided. The fixing device includes a cylindrical fixing belt and a heater. The fixing belt includes a resin layer forming an inner circumferential surface contactable with the heater. The heater includes a surface layer forming a sliding surface sliding on the fixing belt. The surface layer is an amorphous carbon film containing graphite particles. The sliding surface includes protrusions derived from the graphite particles. The protrusions have a distribution density of 50 to 2000 per 1 square millimeter of the sliding surface.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2019Date of Patent: November 5, 2019Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yusuke Owaki, Hirotaka Fukushima
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Patent number: 10466612Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a holding member that holds a lens array and a circuit board. In the holding member, a portion where a light emission portion is attached, a portion where the lens array is attached, a portion where the circuit board is attached, and a portion where a first link member and a second link member are connected, are integrally molded as a molded resin article.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 2018Date of Patent: November 5, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yuta Okada, Yasuaki Otoguro, Daisuke Aruga, Hitoshi Iwai, Shinichiro Hosoi, Yuichiro Imai, Toshiki Momoka, Yoshitaka Otsubo, Saimon Gokyu, Takehiro Ishidate
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Patent number: 10459382Abstract: The image forming apparatus of the present invention has an apparatus main body including a link mechanism that an opening and closing member contacts, and a regulating portion regulating the movement of a shutter, and when the opening and closing member is further pushed in a closing direction at the time when the shutter is located at a second position, the link mechanism allows to move the opening and closing member in the closing direction while keeping a position of the shutter maintains at the second position by the regulating portion.Type: GrantFiled: November 20, 2018Date of Patent: October 29, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Yoichiro Iizuka
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Patent number: 10452018Abstract: A paper dust collecting member removes and collects paper dust attached to a conveying roller, and is attachable along the attaching direction parallel to the axial direction of the conveying roller via an opening portion provided in a side plate of an apparatus main body. The paper dust collecting member has a removing member and a holding member. The removing member removes paper dust attached to the conveying roller. The holding member holds the removing member. The holding member includes a protrusion portion which is disposed, on its distal end portion side, along a side surface of the removing member and which protrudes in the thickness direction of the removing member beyond a contact surface of the removing member.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2018Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventors: Hiroyuki Maeda, Yoshiaki Tashiro
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Patent number: 10452009Abstract: A heater holder includes a restriction portion and a recessed portion. The restriction portion determines the position of a cable in the longitudinal direction of the heater. The recessed portion, against which a bare conductive portion of the cable is to be positioned, is provided at a position that is different from the position of the restriction portion as viewed in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction. A wire is joined to the bare conductive portion somewhere between the restriction portion and the recessed portion.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2017Date of Patent: October 22, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Keisuke Fujita, Takayuki Sugiyama
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Patent number: 10444684Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless fixing belt, a flat heater, a holder and a pressuring member. The flat heater heats the fixing belt. The holder holds the flat heater so that the flat heater comes into contact with an inner circumference face of the fixing belt, and includes a recessed portion composing a gap between the holder and a face of the flat heater at an opposite side to the fixing belt across the flat heater. The pressuring member sandwiches the fixing belt between the flat heater and the pressuring member, and forms a pressuring area, where a sheet is sandwiched and conveyed at, between the fixing belt and the pressuring member. In a conveying direction of the sheet, a depth of the gap at a first position is larger than a depth of the gap at a second position at a downstream side from the first position.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 2019Date of Patent: October 15, 2019Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.Inventor: Kotatsu Kawaguchi
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Patent number: 10429780Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing member and a pressing member forming a fixing nip therebetween, a heat generator, and a processor. The heat generator is disposed to heat a print medium passing through the fixing nip via the fixing member. The processor is configured to control the heat generator to start heating at a timing when a non-fixed image portion formed on the print medium is expected to reach the fixing nip, based on image data of an image to be fixed, a conveyance speed of the print medium, and an estimated heat capacity of the print medium.Type: GrantFiled: November 26, 2018Date of Patent: October 1, 2019Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Satoshi Hasegawa
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Patent number: 10429783Abstract: In a fixing apparatus, a width of a first portion of a first heat generating resistor is narrower than a width of a second portion, at least a portion of an outline of the first portion on the near side with respect to a power shut-off member is provided at a position closer to the power shut-off member than an outline of the second portion on the near side with respect to the power shut-off member, and at least a portion of an outline of the first portion on the far side with respect to the power shut-off member is provided at a position closer to the power shut-off member than an outline of the second portion on the far side with respect to the power shut-off member.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2018Date of Patent: October 1, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Toru Imaizumi, Hikaru Osada, Nozomu Nakajima, Shoichiro Ikegami
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Patent number: 10429779Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a heater and a controller. The heater includes a plurality of heater elements arranged in a main scanning direction to fix an image on a sheet passing a nip. The controller is configured to determine image-forming regions and non-image-forming regions among sheet regions of the sheet divided in the main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction based on image data of the image. The controller is further configured to determine, as heating regions, the image-forming regions and a first part of the non-image-forming regions satisfying a predetermined condition, and determine, as non-heating regions, a second part of the non-image-forming regions not satisfying the predetermined condition. The controller is configured to energize one or more of the heater elements corresponding to the heating regions, selectively at timing when the heating regions pass the nip.Type: GrantFiled: November 2, 2018Date of Patent: October 1, 2019Assignee: TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Ken Iguchi
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Patent number: 10387091Abstract: An image processing device includes a heating unit, a memory, and a control unit. The heating unit heats a sheet at a temperature which is determined in each type of job in processing of a job related to image processing. The memory stores a type of job, and the number of sheets which is processed in the job, in each of job which is not executed yet. The control unit rearranges an executing order of jobs which are not executed yet so that jobs of the same type are continuously performed, when there is a job of which the number of sheets to be processed in one job is larger than the predetermined number of sheets.Type: GrantFiled: September 22, 2017Date of Patent: August 20, 2019Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventor: Hiroyuki Sugiyama
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Patent number: 10379472Abstract: A fusing apparatus includes: a rotating endless belt; a pressing member pressing the belt from an inside of the belt; and a roller forming the fusing nip between the roller and the belt by pressing, from an outside of the belt, a position where the belt faces the pressing member, wherein a surface of the pressing member facing the roller via the belt includes: plane surface, and a curved surface adjacent to the plane surface at a downstream-side end in a conveying direction of the storage medium of the plane surface, and when viewed from a cross-section orthogonal to a central axis of the roller, an upstream-side end of the conveying direction of the plane surface is away from a straight line passing through the central axis of the pressure roller and parallel to the conveying direction, farther than the downstream-side end in the conveying direction of the plane surface.Type: GrantFiled: August 9, 2018Date of Patent: August 13, 2019Assignee: Konica Minolta, Inc.Inventor: Yoshikazu Tsubotani
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Patent number: 10353329Abstract: A fixing device includes a frame including a joint, a first rotary body and supported at the frame, a second rotary body, a spring with one end connected to the frame, a support arm connected to the joint, the second rotary body, and another end of the spring, a cam pivotably connected to one of the frame and the support arm, and a receiving member. The cam includes a first cam portion, and a second cam portion located at a different point from the first cam portion in the axial direction and having a radial distance from the pivot axis smaller than a radial distance of the first cam portion from the pivot axis. The receiving member includes a first receiving surface and a second receiving surface, the second receiving surface having a different surface height than the first receiving surface in a radial direction from the pivot axis.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2017Date of Patent: July 16, 2019Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Tatsuo Ogasawara
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Patent number: 10338488Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member, a charging device, an electrostatic charge image forming device, a developing device having a toner, a transfer device, and a fixing device, wherein the fixing device includes a fixing belt, a rotational member, and a heater; the toner contains an amorphous polyester resin as a binder resin; and the toner has a weight average molecular weight Mw and a number average molecular weight Mn, Mw is from 25000 to 60000, and Mw/Mn is from 5 to 10, and has an infrared absorption spectrometry, the ratio of absorbance for a wavelength of 1500 cm?1 to absorbance for a wavelength of 720 cm?1 is 0.6 or less, and the ratio of absorbance for a wavelength of 820 cm?1 to absorbance for a wavelength of 720 cm?1 is 0.4 or less.Type: GrantFiled: March 8, 2018Date of Patent: July 2, 2019Assignee: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventors: Tatsuhiro Igarashi, Manabu Furuki, Naoki Ota, Makoto Kamisaki, Yasuhisa Morooka, Jun Sekiya
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Patent number: 10317828Abstract: A fixing device includes a rotator, an endless belt, and a nip formation pad. The endless belt contacts the rotator and rotates in a direction of rotation. The nip formation pad contacts an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt to form a fixing nip between the endless belt and the rotator that presses the endless belt against the nip formation pad. The nip formation pad includes a slide layer, a base layer, and a lubricant holding layer. The slide layer contacts the endless belt. The base layer is disposed away from the endless belt. The lubricant holding layer is interposed between the slide layer and the base layer to hold a lubricant inside the lubricant holding layer and supply the lubricant to the slide layer. The slide layer has a porous structure including a plurality of through holes in a thickness direction of the slide layer.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2018Date of Patent: June 11, 2019Assignee: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.Inventors: Yutaka Naitoh, Seiji Saitoh, Yasuharu Kawarasaki, Kenta Kashiwagi, Masahiro Samei
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Patent number: 10310433Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit having a rotating member with a surface layer, a pressing member that forms a fixing nip portion to sandwich and to transport a recording material with the rotating member, and a heater that heats the rotating member. A rotating member temperature sensor detects a temperature of the rotating member, and a wearing amount acquisition portion acquires a wearing amount of the surface layer of the rotating member. The wearing amount acquisition portion acquires the wearing amount corresponding to the temperature detected by the rotating member temperature sensor, and acquires the wearing amount per recording material. The wearing amount per recording material is different depending on the temperature detected by the rotating member temperature sensor. In addition, a control temperature setting portion sets a control temperature of the heater according to the wearing amount.Type: GrantFiled: February 28, 2018Date of Patent: June 4, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Eiji Uekawa, Takayasu Yuminamochi
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Patent number: 10281851Abstract: An imaging device has a drive gear assembly which operatively engages with a backup roll gear of a fuser assembly when the fuser assembly is inserted into the imaging device. Such engagement causes the drive gear assembly to rotate, and in turn rotates a drive motor coupled to the drive gear assembly. The drive motor includes Hall Effect sensors associated with a sensor arrangement that senses rotation of the motor. During rotation of the drive motor, sensor signals are transmitted to a controller of the imaging device, the controller counting rising and falling signal edges of the received sensor signals. Based on the number of rising and falling signal edges, a message is sent to a user of the imaging device whether or not the installation of the fuser assembly was successful.Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2018Date of Patent: May 7, 2019Assignee: LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC.Inventors: Daniel Lee Carter, Mark Stephen Malone, Brian Anthony Reichert
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Patent number: 10254687Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a heating rotating member, a pressure rotating member, and a contact member. A contact holding member holds the contact member so that the contact member presses against the heating rotating member, and causes at least a portion of the contact member to elastically deform between the heating rotating member and the contact holding member. In addition, a displacement mechanism displaces a relative position of the heating rotating member with respect to the pressure rotating member. When the heating rotating member is separated from the pressure rotating member by the displacement mechanism, an interval between a fulcrum, at which the contact holding member holds the contact member, and a contact point, at which the contact member comes into contact with the heating rotating member, does not increase.Type: GrantFiled: June 22, 2018Date of Patent: April 9, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kohei Wakatsu, Takashi Narahara, Takeshi Shinji, Kazuhiro Doda, Yutaka Sato
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Patent number: 10234802Abstract: Provided are an apparatus and a method of detecting an error in the apparatus. The apparatus includes an image former and an induction heating fusing device. The image former forms an image. The induction heating fusing device fuses the image formed by the image former onto paper. Whether the apparatus has an error is determined by limiting a current applied to a resonance circuit included in the induction heating fusing device to less than a certain level.Type: GrantFiled: October 23, 2015Date of Patent: March 19, 2019Assignee: HP PRINTING KOREA CO., LTD.Inventor: Yuichiro Tomishima
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Patent number: 10234787Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming station configured to form a toner image on a recording material, a fixing portion configured to fix the toner image formed by the image forming station on the recording material, a selector configured to select a correction level for correcting a crease of an envelope, by an operator, and a controller configured to control a fixing condition in response to the correction level selected on the selector.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2017Date of Patent: March 19, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Tatsuhito Watanabe
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Patent number: 10203649Abstract: A bearing device includes a first bearing for a first roller; a second bearing for a second roller; a bearing holder for the first and second bearings, wherein when the first bearing is mounted in the holder, a peripheral surface of the first roller is projected out of the holder through an opening of the holder, and the second roller is provided in the second bearing contacting the first roller in the holder; a contact portion for determining a relative position between the first and second bearings by contacting the first bearing with the first bearing mounted in the holder; and a moving mechanism for moving the second bearing toward the opening with dismounting of the first bearing, and for holding the second bearing in a position in which at least a part of a peripheral surface of the second roller projects out of the holder through the opening.Type: GrantFiled: August 29, 2017Date of Patent: February 12, 2019Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Yutaka Nishimura
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Patent number: 10185262Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing roller, a pressure member, a heating device, a first pressing member, a second pressing member, and a pair of bearings. The pressure member is configured to nip a recording medium in cooperation with the fixing roller. The heating device is disposed opposite to the pressure member relative to the fixing roller. The first pressing member is configured to press the pressure member toward the fixing roller with a first pressing force. The second pressing member is configured to press the heating device toward the fixing roller with a second pressing force. The fixing roller includes a driven gear to be driven by a drive gear that is configured to apply a third pressing force to the driven gear. The third pressing force includes a component opposite in direction to a resultant force of the first pressing force and the second pressing force.Type: GrantFiled: January 11, 2018Date of Patent: January 22, 2019Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Takuji Matsuno