JP2000194209A - Heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heating device capable of minimizing a curling quantity of a recording material sheet largely changed in consequence of various condition such as material, the thickness, the front/rear side, the temp. /humidity, absorptivity for water or the like. SOLUTION: This heating device is, consisting of a fixed heating body 16, a heating body holding member (film guide member 15) for holding the heating body 16, an endless fixing film (heat resistance film) 14 being shift/driven whose inside face is held to face to and in press contact with the heating body 16, the film guide member 15 placed inside the endless fixing film 14, the heat resistant belt 19 whose peripheral part is held in contact with the fixing film 14 being driven by driving means, plural guide rollers at least, beyond one being held in contact with the inner periphery of the fixing film 14, and the pressure roller (pressure member) 17 forming a fixing nip N between the heating body 16 for holding the fixing film 14 and the heat resistant belt 19. In this case, the device is allowed to make the shifting direction of the heat resistant belt 19 variable right behind the fixing nip N.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a heating apparatus employing a film heating system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a heating device for heating and fixing an unfixed image on a recording material includes a heating roller maintained at a predetermined temperature, and a pressure roller having an elastic layer and pressed against the heating roller. 2. Description of the Related Art A heat roller method of heating a recording material while nipping and conveying the recording material by a roller is often used.

[0003] In addition, there are known heating apparatuses employing various methods such as a flash heating method, an oven heating method, a hot plate heating method, and a high frequency heating method.

[0004] On the other hand, a fixedly supported heating element (hereinafter referred to as a heater), a heat-resistant film conveyed (moved and driven) while being opposed to and in contact with the heater, and a recording material heated by the heater via the heat-resistant film. A film heating method that has a pressure member that is brought into close contact with the recording material, and heats and fixes an unfixed image formed and carried on the recording material surface to the recording material surface by applying heat of a heater to the recording material via a heat-resistant film. Has been proposed and is already in practical use.

More specifically, the heating device comprises a thin heat-resistant film (or sheet), a driving means for moving the heat-resistant film, and a heat-resistant film fixedly supported on one side thereof. A heater provided on the other side of the recording medium, and a pressing member disposed on the other side of the heater so as to be in close contact with the heater and a visible image carrying surface of a recording material to be image-fixed to the heater via a heat-resistant film. In the heating device, the heat-resistant film is moved and moved at substantially the same speed in the forward direction as the recording material conveyed and introduced between the film and the pressing member at least at the time of performing image fixing, and the heat-resistant film is sandwiched therebetween. By passing the recording material through a fixing nip formed by pressure contact between the heater and the pressing member, the developed image carrying surface of the recording material is heated by a heater via a heat-resistant film, and the developed image (unfixed toner image) is heated. ) Softening this by applying energy,
The recording material is melted and fixed on the recording material, and then the recording material after passing through the nip is separated from the heat-resistant film at a separation point.

In a heating apparatus employing such a film heating method, a so-called quick start is possible by shortening the wait time because a heater with a high temperature rise and a thin heat-resistant film are used. Various disadvantages of the device can be solved.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a film heating type image heating and fixing apparatus using an endless film as a heat resistant film.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a conventional image heating and fixing apparatus. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 14 denotes an endless belt-like heat-resistant film (hereinafter, referred to as a fixing film or simply a film). While being guided by a film guide member 15 made of a heat-resistant resin, it rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow (clockwise) in the figure.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a low-heat-capacity linear heating element whose longitudinal direction is the direction intersecting with the plane movement direction of the fixing film 14 (the width direction of the film 14). The film guide member 1 is composed of an electric heating resistor (heating element), a surface protection layer, a temperature sensor, and the like.
5 and fixedly supported.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a pressing roller as a pressing member. The pressing roller 17 is provided with a biasing means (not shown) sandwiching a lower portion of the endless belt-like fixing film 14 on the lower surface of the heating element 16. The recording material sheet P rotates in a forward direction (counterclockwise) in a state of being pressed against the recording material sheet P.

Further, the fixing film 14 rotates in a clockwise direction at a predetermined peripheral speed (that is, the unfixed toner image Ta conveyed from the image forming portion (not shown)) with the rotation of the pressure roller 17 in the counterclockwise direction. Is rotated at substantially the same speed as the conveyance speed (process speed) of the recording material sheet P as the material to be heated, which carries the sheet on the upper surface.

Immediately after the exit of the fixing nip N, a heated material exit guide (hereinafter, referred to as a separation guide) 29 is provided. The separation guide 29 is a recording material that has passed through the fixing nip N and exited. The sheet P is guided toward a discharge roller nip (not shown) formed near the exit of the apparatus main body.

A recording material sheet P carrying on its upper surface an unfixed toner image Ta conveyed from an image forming unit (not shown)
Guided by the guide 13, it enters between the fixing film 14 in the fixing nip N between the heating body 16 and the pressure roller 17 and the pressure roller 17, and the unfixed toner image surface is the same as the conveyance speed of the recording material sheet P. At a speed close to the lower surface of the fixing film 14 which is driven to rotate in the same direction at a speed, the fixing film 14 passes through the fixing nip N between the heating body 16 and the pressure roller 17 in an overlapping state with the film 14.

The heating element 16 is energized and heated at a predetermined timing with respect to the energized heating resistor, and the heat energy of the heating element 16 is transmitted to the recording material sheet P via the fixing film 14 so that the toner image Ta is In the process of passing through the fixing nip N, the recording material is heated and fixed on the recording material sheet P as a softened / melted image. The toner is sufficiently cooled and solidified by the time the sheet reaches the sheet discharge section, and becomes a toner image Tc completely fixed on the recording material sheet P.

[0015]

A heating apparatus employing such a film heating method has the following problems.

That is, in the heating element 16, an electric heating resistor (heating element) is screen-printed on a heater substrate made of ceramic, but the edge of the ceramic heater substrate and the inner surface of the fixing film 14 slide. Therefore, there is a problem that the inner surface of the fixing film 14 is worn.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, conventionally, the width of the heater substrate is set to be wider than the width of the fixing nip N formed by the pressing roller 17 and the heater 16 and the heater 16 is heated.
Projections 15b, 15c
Is formed so that the edge of the heater substrate does not contact the inner surface of the fixing film 14.

By adopting the above configuration, the recording material sheet P immediately after passing through the fixing nip N is guided downward by the projections 15b of the film guide member 15, so that the recording material sheet P is strongly curled in the direction in which the printing surface side becomes convex. Then, while being guided by the paper discharge guides 32 and 33, the curl is corrected in a direction in which the printing surface side is concave, and the paper is discharged onto a paper discharge tray (not shown).

However, the curl formed by the projection 15b of the film guide member 15 is not always corrected properly by the discharge guides 32 and 33, and the recording material sheet P discharged onto the discharge tray is printed. The curl may be on the surface side or on the opposite side to the printing surface. Incidentally, the curl amount and the curl direction at that time greatly vary depending on the material, thickness, front and back, temperature and humidity, water absorption, etc. of the recording material sheet P.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide a recording material sheet which varies greatly depending on various conditions such as material, material, thickness, front and back, temperature and humidity, and water absorption. An object of the present invention is to provide a heating device capable of minimizing a curl amount.

[0021]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixed heating element, a heating element holding member for holding the heating element, and an inner surface which is in pressure contact with the heating element. An endless heat-resistant film that is moved and driven, a film guide member provided inside the heat-resistant film, a heat-resistant belt whose outer peripheral portion is in contact with the heat-resistant film, and is driven by driving means, Heating comprising at least one or more belt guide members in contact with the inner periphery of the heat-resistant film, and a pressure member forming a nip between the heat-resistant film and the heating element with the heat-resistant belt interposed therebetween. The apparatus is characterized in that the running direction of the heat resistant belt is variable immediately after the nip.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, an adjusting means for manually changing a running direction of the heat resistant belt is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the running direction of the heat resistant belt can be indirectly changed by using an actuator.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the running direction of the heat resistant belt is variable immediately after the nip, it can be largely varied depending on various conditions such as material, material, thickness, front and back, temperature and humidity, and water absorption. It is possible to adjust the magnitude of the curling amount and the curling direction of the changing recording material sheet, and it is possible to minimize the curling amount of the output recording material sheet.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the adjusting means for manually changing the running direction of the heat resistant belt is provided, the user can confirm the actual curl amount of the recording material sheet under various conditions. However, the curl amount of the output recording material sheet can be freely adjusted and optimized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the running direction of the heat resistant belt can be indirectly changed by using the actuator, the user can print the recording material sheet from the printer driver or the operation panel of the image forming apparatus. An operation for freely adjusting the curl amount can be performed.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1 (1) Overall Schematic Configuration of Heating Device: FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a heating device (fixing device) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the heating device. FIGS. 3, 3 and 4 are partial sectional views for explaining the operation of the heating device, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus provided with the heating device.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes an endless belt-like heat-resistant film (hereinafter, referred to as a fixing film or simply a film), which is externally fitted to a film guide member 15 including a heating body 16 described later. Here, the inner peripheral length of the endless heat-resistant film 14 is, for example, 3 mm larger than the outer peripheral length of the film guide member 15 including the heater 16.
Therefore, the fixing film 14 is loosely fitted to the film guide member 15 including the heating element 16 with a margin in the circumferential length.

The heating element 16 is a low-heat-capacity linear heating element whose longitudinal direction is the direction intersecting with the surface moving direction of the fixing film 14 (the width direction of the film 14), and is a heater substrate (ceramic material). 16b, a heating resistor 16a (heating element), a surface protection layer (not shown), a temperature sensor, and the like, which are fixed to and supported by the film guide member 15.

The film guide member 15 as a support member for the heating element 16 is a horizontally long member made of a high rigidity and high heat resistance thermosetting resin (phenol resin).
The film guide member 15 includes pressure springs 25a and 25b.
2 (see FIG. 2).

Reference numeral 17 denotes a pressure roller (pressing roller, backup roller) which forms a fixing nip N between the heating member 16 and a heat-resistant transport belt 19 which will be described later. The belt 19 is driven in contact. Then, as shown in FIG.
Is composed of a central shaft 17a and a roller portion 17b made of a rubber elastic material and mounted on the central shaft 17a. The left and right ends of the central shaft 17a are rotatably supported by bearing members (not shown). The pressure roller driving gear 24 attached to one end of the central shaft 17a is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

Here, the width of the fixing nip N formed by the pressing roller 17 and the heater 16 is determined by the width of the heater substrate 1 of the heater 16.
The width is set smaller than the width of 6b. Further, projections 15b and 15c are provided on the film guide member 15 for supporting the heating body 16.
(See FIGS. 3 and 4) so that the inner peripheral surface of the fixing film 14 does not contact the upstream and downstream edges of the heater substrate 16b of the heating body 16.

A heat-resistant transfer belt 19 made of heat-resistant rubber is stretched between the pressure roller 17 and a guide roller 22 disposed downstream thereof. The guide roller 22
Is rotatably supported, and is a heat-resistant transport belt 1
9 guides this to rotate smoothly.
A tension roller 20 for absorbing slack of the heat-resistant transport belt 19 is disposed between the pressure roller 17 and the guide roller 22, and the tension roller 20 is pressed by a spring 21 at a predetermined pressure. 19 is given a tension.

Here, the friction coefficient between the pressure roller 17 and the heat-resistant transport belt 19 is μ1, the friction coefficient between the heat-resistant transport belt 19 and the fixing film 14 is μ2, the friction coefficient between the fixing film 14 and the heating element 16 is μ3, Assuming that the friction coefficient between the heat-resistant conveyance belt 19 and the recording material sheet P is μ4 and the friction coefficient between the recording material sheet P and the fixing film 14 is μ5, each friction so as to satisfy the relationship of μ1>μ2> μ3 μ4>μ5> μ3. Coefficients μ1 to μ5 are set.

Both ends of a center shaft 17a of the pressure roller 17 and a shaft 22a of the guide roller 22 are rotatably supported by a link member 23. The link member 23 is connected to the center shaft 17a of the pressure roller 17. .
As shown in FIG. 5, a lever L is attached to the link member 23. One end of the lever L protrudes outside the main body, and the link member 23 and the heat-resistant transport belt 19 are moved up and down by moving the one end up and down. It can be moved steplessly from position A to position B as shown. That is, the feeding direction of the recording material sheet P after passing through the fixing nip N can be adjusted. The fixing operation and the effect when the feeding direction of the recording material sheet P after passing through the fixing nip N is changed will be described later.

The heat-resistant transport belt 19 and the fixing film 14 are rotated at a predetermined peripheral speed in the direction of the arrow (that is, the unfixed toner image transported from the image forming unit (not shown)) by the rotation of the pressure roller 17. Conveying speed (process speed) of recording material sheet P as a material to be heated with Ta carried on its upper surface)
Followed rotation at substantially the same peripheral speed as

(2) Operation: Next, the operation of the heating device will be described.

When a driving force is transmitted from a drive source mechanism (not shown) to the pressure roller driving gear 24 and the pressure roller 17 is driven to rotate at a predetermined peripheral speed in the direction of the arrow, the pressure roller 17 By the rotational drive, a feed moving force is applied by frictional force, and the heat-resistant transport belt 19 and the fixing film 14 are rotationally driven at substantially the same rotational speed as the pressure roller 17.

Then, the conveyor belt 19 and the fixing film 1
In the state where the drive of 7 and the energization of the heating body 16 are performed,
When the recording material sheet P carrying the unfixed toner image Ta is introduced between the fixing film 14 of the fixing nip N and the heat-resistant conveyance belt 19 with the image carrying surface facing upward, the recording material sheet P
Is in close contact with the surface of the fixing film 14 and moves through the fixing nip N together with the fixing film 14, and in the process of moving and passing, the heat energy of the heating body 16 in contact with the inner surface of the fixing film 14 at the fixing nip N is reduced. Is applied to the recording material sheet P, and the toner image Ta is softened and melted and fixed to the recording material sheet P.

Recording material sheet P that has passed through fixing nip N
Moves on the transport path formed by the projections 15b of the film guide member 15 while being sandwiched between the fixing film 14 and the heat-resistant transport belt 19. This recording material sheet P
Immediately after passing through the fixing nip N, the paper is conveyed obliquely downward in the traveling direction and temporarily curled strongly in a direction in which the printing surface side becomes convex, but immediately after passing through the projection 15 b of the film guide member 15. Is transported diagonally upward in the transport direction along the heat-resistant transport belt 19, so that the curl is corrected in a direction in which the printing surface side is concave.

The transport direction of the heat-resistant transport belt 19 can be operated from the outside of the apparatus main body by the lever L attached to the link member 23 as described above. By operating the lever L while observing the curl state of the sheet P, the angle of the heat-resistant transport belt 19 can be adjusted. For example, when passing thick paper (for example, paper having a basis weight of 105 g / m ² ), the thick paper has a high rigidity, and thus tends to be hardly affected by the protrusions 15 b of the film guide member 15. The amount of correction after passing through 15b may be relatively small. In this embodiment, the curl amount of the sheet can be minimized by moving the lever L to the vicinity of the position A in the figure.

Conversely, thin paper (for example, a basis weight of 64 g /
If you passed the m paper ^2), because thin paper is its low stiffness is in the tendency to be affected of the protrusion 15b of the film guiding member 15, correction amount after passing through the protruding portion 15b it is necessary to increase There are often. That is, in the present embodiment, the curl amount can be minimized by moving the lever L to the vicinity of the position B in the drawing.

Actually, the curl amount and the curl direction of the recording material sheet P vary greatly depending on not only the thickness of the recording material sheet P but also various conditions such as the material, temperature and humidity, water absorption, and difference between front and back. The above configuration is effective in minimizing the curl amount even under the types of the recording material sheets P and various conditions.

(3) Example of Image Forming Apparatus: Next, the schematic structure of an image forming apparatus incorporating the heat fixing device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is a laser beam printer utilizing a transfer type electrophotographic process. In the image forming apparatus, an electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter, referred to as a photosensitive drum) is supplied by an image forming start signal. )
10 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) in the figure, and its surface is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by a charger (not shown). Then, a laser beam L modulated corresponding to a time-series electric digital pixel signal of target image information is output from the laser scanner 8 to the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 10, and the laser beam L is applied to the mirror 9.
Is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 through Then, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information is sequentially formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 11 to be visualized as a toner image.

On the other hand, the recording material sheet P in the paper feed cassette 1
Is fed by the feed roller 7 and the recording material sheet P
Is transported to a pair of registration rollers 5a, 5b through a paper transport path formed by U-turn guides 4a, 4b.
Thereafter, the recording material sheet P is transferred to the registration roller pair 5a, 5b.
The recording material sheet P is fed synchronously with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 10 and passes between the conveyance guides 6a and 6b to a transfer section composed of the photosensitive drum 10 and a transfer roller 12 pressed against the photosensitive drum 10. The toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 10 are sequentially transferred onto the surface.

Thus, the recording material sheet P that has passed through the transfer portion
Is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 and introduced into the heat fixing device along the guide 13, and the unfixed toner image is heated and fixed by the operation and action of the heat fixing device.

Thereafter, the recording material sheet P on which the toner image has been fixed is transported between the guides 32 and 33 by the transport roller pairs 34a and 34b and the paper discharge roller pairs 35a and 35b. It is output as a formed product (print).

In this embodiment, the guide rollers 22
Is rotatably supported, but a member having a surface having good slidability (for example, a stainless steel round bar) is fixed to the link member 23, and the member is slid between the link member 23 and the heat-resistant transport belt 19. A similar function can be obtained.

Although the example in which the user manually operates the lever L steplessly has been described, the same effect can be obtained by indirectly operating the lever L using an electric actuator or the like.

The heating device according to the present invention can be effectively used not only as a heating and fixing device of an image forming apparatus but also as an image surface heating polisher, a hypothetical attachment device and the like.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the first embodiment, the heat-resistant transport belt 1
9 shows an example in which a heat-resistant rubber is used, but in order to improve the quick start property, the film thickness T of the heat-resistant transport belt 19 is used.
Is a total thickness of 200 μm or less, preferably 100 μm or less.
A single-layer or multi-layer film having heat resistance, release property, strength, durability and the like of μm or more can be used.

As a specific material, for example, polyimide
Polyetherimide (PEI), polyether sulfone (PES), ethylene tetrafluoride-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer resin (PFA), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyparabanic acid (PP
A) Or a composite layer film, for example, a polyimide film having a thickness of 20 μm, a fluororesin such as tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE), PFA, FEP, a silicone resin, etc. A release coating layer having a thickness of 10 μm to which carbon black, graphite, conductive whiskers, etc. are added (for example, 20
μm-thick polyimide film) or the like can be used. These materials are less likely to deteriorate over time than materials having a rubber diameter, and can provide users with products having a longer product life.

<Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the heating device according to the third embodiment. In this drawing, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. .

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 25 denotes a heat-resistant transport belt 19.
, Which is a heat-resistant material having a high friction coefficient with respect to the heat-resistant transport film 19 (for example,
This is a metal roller coated with silicon rubber or the like, and is driven in a direction indicated by an arrow by a driving source (not shown). Then, the pressure roller 17 is driven to rotate at substantially the same speed as the rotation speed of the heat-resistant transport belt 19 driven by the drive roller 25.

Driving roller 25 composed of a metal roller
Since the coefficient of thermal expansion is much smaller than that of an elastic roller made of an elastic material such as rubber, even when the temperature of the drive roller 25 becomes high, its diameter change is small. Can be kept constant.

<Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the heating apparatus according to the embodiment. In this figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 45 denotes the heat-resistant transport belt 19.
, And is made of a material having a large coefficient of friction with respect to the heat-resistant transport belt 19, such as an elastic body such as rubber or a metal shaft coated with an elastic body. The movable driving roller 45 is driven to rotate by a driving force transmitted by a gear 41b via a shaft 41a. The gear 41b is connected to a gear 4 from a drive source (not shown).
The driving force is sequentially transmitted through the gear 3b and the gear 42b to rotate.

Here, the gear shaft 42a is connected to the pressure roller shaft 17
a and is rotatably connected by a gear shaft 41a and a link 44, so that the gear 42b and the gear 41b rotate about the gear shaft 42a and the pressure roller shaft 17a in a state where they are meshed with each other. It is movably supported.

With the above configuration, the movable drive roller 45 can be moved in the range from the position A to the position B by operating the lever L protruding out of the apparatus as in the first embodiment. The position is adjusted.

In the structure shown in the present embodiment, the heat-resistant transport belt 19 is driven by the movable drive roller 45, so that the tension of the heat-resistant transport belt 19 between the pressure roller 17 and the movable drive roller 45 is reduced. Since the heat transport belt 19 is stretched without slack, the recording material sheet P can be transported stably, and the recording material sheet P can be prevented from being jammed or wrinkled. You.

[0064]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
According to the described invention, since the running direction of the heat-resistant belt is made variable immediately after the nip, the curl amount of the recording material sheet greatly changes depending on various conditions such as the material, material, thickness, front and back, temperature and humidity, and water absorption. And the curl direction can be adjusted, and the curl amount of the output recording material sheet can be minimized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the adjusting means for manually changing the running direction of the heat resistant belt is provided, the user checks the actual curl amount of the recording material sheet under various conditions. However, the curl amount of the output recording material sheet can be freely adjusted and optimized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the running direction of the heat-resistant belt can be indirectly changed by using the actuator, so that the user can print the recording material sheet from the printer driver or the operation panel of the image forming apparatus. The effect is obtained that an operation for freely adjusting the curl amount can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a heating device (fixing device) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a heating device (fixing device) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining an operation of the heating device (fixing device) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining an operation of the heating device (fixing device) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus including the heating device (fixing device) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a heating device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a heating device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a conventional image heat fixing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

14 Fixing Film (Heat-Resistant Film) 15 Film Guide Member (Film Guide Member: Heating Member Holding Member) 16 Heating Member 17 Pressure Roller (Pressing Member) 19 Heat-Resistant Conveying Belt 22 Guide Roller (Guide Member) L Lever (Adjustment Means) ) N fixing nip (nip)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhito Tsubakimoto 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshihiko Ochiai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Satoru Taniguchi Within Canon Inc. 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Noriyuki Ito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 2H033 AA15 AA45 AA47 BA10 BA11 BA12 BE03 CA35

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A fixed heating element, a heating element holding member for holding the heating element, an endless heat-resistant film whose inner surface is opposingly pressed against the heating element and driven to move, and an inside of the heat-resistant film A heat guide belt provided on the heat resistant film, an outer peripheral portion of which is in contact with an outer peripheral portion and driven by driving means, at least one or more belt guide members in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the heat resistant film, In a heating device having a heat-resistant film and a pressure member that forms a nip between the heat-generating body and the heat-resistant belt, the running direction of the heat-resistant belt is variable immediately after the nip. A heating device. 2. The heating device according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting means for manually changing a running direction of the heat resistant belt. 3. The heating device according to claim 1, wherein the running direction of the heat resistant belt can be indirectly changed by using an actuator.