JPH06118817A - Heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the meandering of a film and simultaneously the decrease of the strength of the film, in a heating device having heat resistance and heating a material to be heated by a heating body via an endless film. CONSTITUTION:In a fixing device having a fixed heater 12, a film 16 sliding with respect to the heater 12 and a pressurizing member 19 forming a nip part with the film 16 and holding/carrying a supporting body P supporting an image to be fixed between the film 16 and the pressurizing member 19 to fix the image to be fixed, the film 16 is the endless film, at least, almost the end part of one side of the film 16 is thicker than the other part and in a member sliding/passing accompanying with the rotation of the endless belt 16, the radius of curvature R' a of a part where the thick film part 16a increased in thickness of the endless film 16 passes is larger then the other part R'.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heating device of the type which applies heat energy to a recording material through a heat resistant film.

This device is used for electrophotographic copying machines, printers,
An image heating and fixing device in an image forming apparatus such as a fax, that is, a recording material (electrofax sheet, electrofax sheet, etc.) using a toner made of a heat-meltable resin by an appropriate image forming process means such as electrophotography, electrostatic recording and magnetic recording.
A recording material carrying an unfixed toner image corresponding to the target image information formed on the surface of an electrostatic recording sheet, a transfer material sheet, a printing paper, etc. by a direct method or an indirect (transfer) method. It can be used as an image fixing device that performs heat fixing processing as a permanently fixed image on the surface.

Further, it is not limited to the image forming apparatus, but can be widely used as a means and a device for heating the image carrier, such as a device for heating a recording material carrying an image to modify the surface property.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. A heat roll fixing method is widely used as a fixing method for a toner image on a recording material.

However, this heat roll fixing system has a problem that it takes a long warm-up time until the heat roll reaches a predetermined fixing temperature.

Therefore, the applicant has proposed a film fixing system using a thermal head that instantly heats up and a thin film that slides on the thermal head to shorten the warm-up time, as disclosed in JP-A-63-313182 and JP-A-2. -157
It was proposed in Japanese Patent No. 878. In a film fixing method using a thin film, an endless film is mainly used.

However, in this method, meandering of the film may occur. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application No. 2-113185 proposes a method of preventing the film from meandering by thickening one end of this endless film and forming a thick portion or rib and arranging a member for suppressing the meandering of the film in this part. Has been done.

[0008]

However, in the above-described conventional example, the thick and thin portions of the film are slidably passed through the members having the same radius of curvature. Generally, in the case of the film fixing method, when the transfer material that has passed through the nip is separated from the film, the offset property that toner remains on the film is lowered, and the separation property between the transfer material and the film is improved, so that The separation angle was increased and the radius of curvature of the edge when the film was separated was also small. These are found, for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-169421.

However, if the radius of curvature is too small, the endurance of the thick film portion of the film deteriorates in durability. Therefore, there is a possibility that film cracks or tears may occur at the Sakai with the thick film portion or the normal film thickness portion.

A first object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a heating device which is free from the risk of cracks.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the thick portion of the film is weak in heat and bending durability, and therefore is generally separated from the heater heating portion. Therefore, the non-heat generating portion at the end of the heater has to be greatly extended to both sides. for that reason,
1) The device becomes large, especially in the longitudinal direction, 2) the heater (heating device) becomes long,
Since there is heat escape from the end, it takes a long time to warm up when the device is completely cold, or a large amount of electric power was required to reach the specified temperature in the same time.

A second object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a heating device capable of performing excellent heating without increasing the size of the device.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the film thickness portion at the end portion of the film is weak in heat and bending durability, so that it is generally separated from the heater heating portion. However, since the substrate of the heater itself is made of a material having good thermal conductivity, such as alumina, heat is transmitted through the heater substrate even if it is separated from the heat generating portion of the heater, and as a result, the thick film portion of the film also becomes warm.
Therefore, in order to prevent the film thickness portion of the film from increasing in temperature, it is necessary to greatly extend the non-heat-generating portion of the heater, resulting in an increase in size of the apparatus. Furthermore, since the heater becomes large (long), there is heat escape to the end, so if the device is completely cold, it will take some time to warm up, or if you try to reach the specified temperature in the same time, Great power was needed.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a heating device which solves the above problems, prevents an increase in size of the device, reduces power consumption, and operates well. .

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, there is a problem that the film surface is wrinkled along with the rotation and movement of the film in the longitudinal direction, and in the worst case, the film surface is wrinkled. On the other hand, a mechanism has been proposed in which the end of the film is cut diagonally and the deviation of the film is sensed and corrected by combining it with an optical sensor. In this case, the mechanism is complicated and the cost is high. Therefore, a rib that regulates the deviation of the film is provided at one end of the film to prevent the film from meandering or
A mechanism has been proposed in which the deviation can be prevented by pressing the rib at the end of the film. In this case, the film can meander or deviate on either the right or left side in the direction of rotation, so it is necessary to provide regulating members for pressing the ribs on both sides of the rib. In particular, in order to improve the slidability in the portion that directly contacts the rib, it is necessary to install rotating rollers on both sides of the regulating member.

A fourth object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a heating device which prevents the film from meandering and has a simplified structure.

Further, the above rib regulation method has the following problems. That is, the endless film is
When passing through a heater, a driving roller, a driven roller, etc., the curvature before and after that suddenly changes, and the radii of curvature of the inner surface and the outer surface of the endless film suddenly change, so that the film is easily fatigued. Especially when a rib is provided at the end of the film, at that end,
Due to the difference in rigidity due to the difference in the material of the film and the rib, and the fatigue of the rib itself or the interface between the rib and the film due to the difference in the radius of curvature between the inner surface and the outer surface due to the height of the rib itself, rib damage or the interface between the rib and the film There is a problem that breakage and the like are likely to occur.

A fifth object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a heating device which reduces the possibility of damage to the rib itself or the interface between the rib and the film.

Further, in the method of preventing the deviation by the member for suppressing the movement of the film in the direction of the rotation axis, the load is always concentrated on the pressing member, so that the film is deteriorated along with the durability and easily deformed or broken. was there. That is, the rib regulation method described above has a drawback in that the load is concentrated on the ribs, so that the ribs are easily damaged or peeled off.

A sixth object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a heating device which eliminates the concentration of load on the ribs and has improved durability.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the film is thin, cracks are likely to occur from the end surface of the film. Further, when the film is displaced in the axial direction, it may buckle from the end.

A seventh object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a heating device which prevents cracks and buckling of the edges of the heat resistant film.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, if the friction coefficient of the inner surface of the film with respect to the drive roller is too small, the film slips with the drive roller, so that the film cannot be rotated properly. On the other hand, if the friction coefficient of the inner surface of the film with respect to the driving roller, the heater and the tension applying member is too high, the following problems occur. The frictional force between the film and sliding members such as the heater increases,
Since it is necessary to increase the film drive torque, the motor becomes large, and the film and heater are easily worn and durability deteriorates.The drive roller has a taper shape, the film has a taper shape, When the driving roller and the heater and / or the tension applying member are in a twisted position or the tension distribution on the film is unbalanced in the axial direction, the film may move in the axial direction of the driving roller. This moving force increases as the friction coefficient of the inner surface of the film with respect to the driving roller, the heater, and the tension applying member increases, so that the film moves in one direction and buckles at the end. Further, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-274639 in which a rib is formed at the end of the film and the rib is pressed by a regulating member to prevent the film from moving in the axial direction, the axial moving force of the film is If it is large, the force applied to the rib will increase,
Ribs may peel from the film.

An eighth object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to prevent axial movement of the film without causing buckling at the edge of the film. To provide.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the heating and fixing operation is continued, the fixing film, the heater surface, the heater holder, etc. are abraded by the friction between the fixing film and the heater surface, and between the fixing film and the heater holder surface, resulting in abrasion powder. However, there are the following drawbacks. That is, abrasion powder adheres to the surface of the drive roller and the inner surface of the fixing film, and the Masatsu coefficient μ decreases. Therefore, the driving force of the drive roll is not transmitted to the fixing film (hereinafter referred to as slip), the fixing film becomes slow with respect to the conveying speed of the recording body, the recording body forms a loop, and something rubs on the recording body P. Unfixed image is disturbed,
In the worst case, there is a drawback that the fixing film stops and the paper cannot be conveyed.

A ninth object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a heating device capable of smoothly carrying a paper or the like without generating abrasion powder or the like. is there.

[0027]

The present invention achieves the above-mentioned objects, and the means for solving the problems are as described in each claim of the claims. And, the operation will be described as follows.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the radius of curvature of the portion through which the thickened film passes is set to be larger than that of the other portions, whereby the film is deteriorated due to bending of the thickened portion of the film. To prevent the occurrence of film tears and cracks and improve durability.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the end portion of the thick film portion of the film, which has low durability due to heat, is disposed in the non-heat generating portion of the heater, and the non-heat generating portion of the heater is on the thick film portion side of the film. By increasing the length only, 1) the temperature rise of the thick film part is prevented, 2) the size of the device is increased, especially the length in the longitudinal direction is shortened, and 3) the heat capacity of the heater is reduced, so the time to reach the specified temperature is reached. If the power consumption is shortened or the specified temperature is reached in the same time, the power consumption is reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the end portion of the thick film portion of the film which is poor in durability due to heat is prevented from coming into contact with the heater including the non-heat generating portion of the heater.
1) Prevent the temperature rise of the thick film part of the film 2) Increase the size of the device,
In particular, the length in the longitudinal direction is shortened, and 3) the heat capacity of the heater is also reduced, so that the time to reach the specified temperature is shortened.
Alternatively, when the temperature reaches the specified temperature in the same time, power consumption is reduced.

According to the means for solving the problems described above, by setting the ribs in a concave shape and inserting a regulating member to be fitted between them, the regulating member can be made small in number and simplified, and the front and rear side can be prevented. Is made possible.

According to the solving means of claim 5, a guide or a large number of rollers are provided so that the curvature of the endless film during rotation is constant, and the rotation of the endless film is perpendicular to the axial direction. By making the curvature of the film almost circular so that the film and the ribs are fatigued and destroyed due to the ironing of the film.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the film rotation is stopped, the reverse force applied to the rib in order to prevent the film from meandering and shifting is released, so that a strong force is always applied to the rib for a long period of time. This prevents the ribs from being broken and the ribs from being separated from the film.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, by making both ends of the film thicker than the central part, the durability of the film can be increased and the meandering control of the film can be facilitated.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the film has an endless belt shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the inner surface of the belt is different in the belt axial direction and the circumferential direction. It is possible to prevent the film from being displaced in the axial direction of the drive roller while preventing slippage.

According to the solving means of the ninth aspect, by providing the driving roll on the outer peripheral surface side of the film, stable film conveyance can be carried out without being influenced by abrasion powder on the inner surface of the film generated by the use of the heating device. .

[0037]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the embodiment according to the invention of claim 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus using a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an original placing table made of a transparent member such as glass, which reciprocates in the direction of arrow a to scan the original. A short-focus small-diameter image-forming element array 2 is arranged immediately below the original document table 1, and an original image placed on the original document table 1 is illuminated by an illumination lamp 3, and a reflected light image thereof is formed by the array 2. Slit exposure is performed on the photosensitive drum 4. The photosensitive drum 4 rotates in the direction of arrow b. Further, 5 is a charger, for example, uniformly charging the photosensitive drum 4 coated with a zinc oxide photosensitive layer or an organic semiconductor photosensitive layer. On the photosensitive drum 4 uniformly charged by the charger 5, an electrostatic image formed by image exposure by the array 2 is formed. This electrostatic image (electrostatic latent image) is visualized by the developing device 6 using powder toner made of resin or the like that is softened and melted by heating.

On the other hand, the recording material P such as recording paper stored in the cassette S is rotated in pressure contact in the vertical direction in synchronization with the image on the feeding roller 7 and the photosensitive drum 4. It is sent onto the photosensitive drum 4 by a pair of conveying rollers 8. Then, by the transfer discharger 9,
The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 4 is recorded on the recording material P.
Transcribed on. After that, the recording material P separated from the photosensitive drum 4 by the known separating means is guided to the fixing device 11 by the conveyance guide 10, is heated and fixed, and is then discharged onto the tray 22. After the toner image is transferred, the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 4 is removed by the cleaner 23.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the fixing device 11.
In the figure, reference numeral 12 is a linear heating element having a low heat capacity fixed to the apparatus, for example, a thickness of 1.0 mm and a width of 10 mm.
A resistance material 14 having a width of 1.0 mm is applied to an alumina substrate 13 having a length of 240 mm and a length of 240 mm, and electricity is applied from both ends in the longitudinal direction. Energization is a DC 100V cycle of 20 msec.
With a pulse-shaped waveform of, a pulse according to a desired temperature and energy release amount controlled by the temperature measuring element 15,
The pulse width is changed and given. The pulse width is almost 0.
It becomes 5 to 5 msec.

The alumina substrate 13, the resistance material 14, and the protective layer 51 are integrated and attached to the heat insulator 53 with a heat-resistant double-sided tape or a heat-resistant adhesive. The heat insulator 53 is attached to the stay 52 that supports the heating body portion. The stay 52 needs to have a material and a structure that do not cause a large deflection in the central portion even when pressed by the pressing roller 19. The temperature detecting element 15 is also attached to the alumina substrate 13 on the surface opposite to the resistance layer.

In this way, the fixing film 16 moves in the direction of the arrow in the figure by coming into contact with the heating body 12 whose temperature and energy are controlled. As an example of the fixing film 16, a heat-resistant film having a thickness of 20 μ, for example, polyimide, polyetherimide, PES, PFA, and a release layer in which a conductive material is added to at least the image contact surface side of a fluororesin such as PTFE or PFA. Is an endless film coated with 10 μm. Generally, the surface contacting the transfer material has a total thickness of less than 100 μm, more preferably less than 70 μm.
The fixing film 16 is driven by the driving roller 17 and the driven roller 18 and tensioned so that the fixing film 16 moves in the direction of the arrow without wrinkles.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer having a good releasability, such as silicon rubber, which presses the heating body 12 through the fixing film 16 with a total pressure of 4 to 15 kg and rotates in pressure contact with the film 16. .

The unfixed toner 20 on the recording material P is guided to the fixing portion by the entrance guide 21 and obtains a fixed image by the above heating.

In this embodiment, the endless film 16 is used.
Was a heat-resistant film having a thickness of 20 μm, and a polyimide film having a thickness of about 500 μm only on one side and 5 mm at one end. In the manufacturing method, dipping, drying, and firing of only the end portion were repeated 10 times or more. Further, a film having PTFE coated thereon in a thickness of 10 μm was used on the film except the end portion.

FIG. 3 shows a film meandering prevention mechanism. That is, the thick film portion 16-a portion of the endless film 16 is pressed by the regulating member 60. In this case, the radius of curvature Ra of the edge portion 53a of the heat insulating body 53 on which the thick film portion 16-a of the film 16 slides is equal to the radius of curvature R of the edge portion of the heat insulating body 53 on which the other portion of the film 16 slides. than,
It is set to be large. This is shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, R is 1.0 mm, Ra
Was set to 3.5 mm, and the radius of curvature was changed smoothly during that period. As a result, the film thickness portion 16-a at the end portion is prevented from being bent or broken due to bending, and the durability is greatly improved.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. That is, it is a case where the ribs 62 are adhered on the base film 16 as a separate member via the adhesive layer 61 to increase the film thickness of the film end portion. In this case, the base film 16,
Since the adhesive 61 and the rib 62 have different rigidity, durability against bending is significantly improved. The ribs were made of heat-resistant silicon rubber, fluorine rubber, urethane, etc., and the adhesives were made of silicon, fluorine, acrylic, etc., and were bonded to the surface of the base film 16. The thickness of the rib 62 was 0.5 to 2 mm.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. That is, instead of the driven roller, the guide plate 63
Is an example using. In this case, the radius of curvature of the guide plate is changed by Ra ′ at the place where the thick film at the end passes and by R ′ at the other portions, and Ra ′> R ′.
Also in this case, the durability was improved.

Although not shown, another embodiment will be described. That is, this is a case where the thickened portions are provided on both sides of the film 16. In this case, the heat insulator 5
3 or the guide plate 63, the durability of the film is improved by providing both ends with a portion having a large radius of curvature.

An embodiment according to claim 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The premise of the heating device is the same as in FIGS. FIG. 7 shows a film meandering prevention mechanism. That is,
The thick film portion 116-a of the endless film 116 is pressed by the regulating member 160. The film 116 is configured to move in advance to one side as indicated by an arrow, and the thick film portion 116-a of the film is pressed by the restricting member 160 to suppress the meandering.

FIG. 8 shows the alumina substrate 113, the resistance material 1.
14 is a front view of the heater 112 in which the protective layer 151 and the protective layer 151 are integrated. FIG. In FIG. 8, the resistance material 114 is 1.0 m in the heat generating portion.
m and a thickness of about 10 μm were coated on an alumina substrate 113, the non-heat generating portion had a width of 4.0 mm, and a low resistance material 114 ′ was coated thereon with a width of 6.0 mm to form an electrode.
The resistance material 114 was ruthenium oxide, silver palladium, or the like, and the low resistance material 114 'was silver, platinum, gold, or the like. The heating portion length b is set to be slightly larger than the maximum paper passing size or the maximum image area length, for example, when passing A3 size paper, 330 mm, and when passing A4 size paper, it is set to about 230 mm. In the non-heat generating portion of the heater 112, the length c on the side where the thick film portion 116-a of the film 116 passes is longer than the length d of the other end portion. This is because in order to lower the temperature of the portion A through which the thick film portion of the film 116 passes, it is necessary to separate the heater 112 from the heating portion of the heater 112 more than the other end portions.

In this embodiment, c = 50 mm, d = 20 mm
Setting of the thick film portion 11 of the film 116.
Since the temperature at which 6-a passes was sufficiently lowered, the durability of the film was improved. Regarding the relationship between the distance from the end of the heat generating portion of the heater and the temperature, the temperature of the non-heat generating portion of the heater 112 decreases as the distance from the heat generating portion increases. By further increasing the value of c and bringing the thick film portion 116-a of the film 116 to the end portion, the temperature was further lowered. Therefore, durability is expected to improve. Although the alumina substrate 113 of the heater is extended only on one side, that is, on the side of c, since the heat capacity is smaller than the case where it is extended on both sides, it takes less time to warm it to a certain temperature and it is constant at the same time. The power dropped to the temperature of.

Further, since only one side of the heater 112 is extended, there is an advantage that the device is difficult to be upsized.

9 to 11 show another embodiment in which the present invention is implemented. FIG. 9 shows a case where the ribs 162 are adhered to the base film 116 as a separate member by increasing the thickness of the film end portion through the adhesive layer 161. In this case, since the base film 116, the adhesive 161, and the rib 162 have different rigidity and the adhesive strength of the adhesive 161 with respect to the temperature rise is reduced, the temperature is prevented and the size is reduced and the power is reduced or the weight is reduced. In the past, it was difficult to satisfy both requirements, but it was realized in this embodiment.

10 to 11 show the case where the material and shape of the non-heat generating portion at the end of the heater are changed. That is, in FIG. 11, the width of the resistance material 114 is greatly increased, and the low resistance material 114 ′ as an electrode is arranged only at the end portion, and practically almost no heat is generated. Further, FIG. 11 shows a case where the thickness of the resistance material 114 is greatly increased only in the non-heat generating portion, and in this case, practically almost no heat is generated.

An embodiment according to claim 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. The heating device of this embodiment is substantially the same as that shown in FIGS.

FIG. 12 shows a film meandering prevention mechanism.
That is, the thick film portion 216- of the endless film 216-
The portion a is held down by the regulating member 260. Film 21
6 is designed to move to one side in advance as indicated by an arrow, and the film thick film portion 216-a is regulated by the regulating member 260.
By pressing with, the meander is suppressed.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the heater 212 in which the alumina substrate 213, the resistance material 214, and the protective layer 251 are integrated. In FIG. 13, the resistive material 214 is used for the heat generating portion 1.
It was coated on an alumina substrate 213 to have a thickness of 0 mm and a thickness of about 10 μm, the non-heat generating portion had a width of 4.0 mm, and a low resistance material 214 ′ was coated thereon with a width of 6.0 mm to form an electrode. Note that the resistance material 214 was ruthenium oxide, silver palladium, or the like, and the low resistance material 214 ′ was silver, platinum, gold, or the like. In this embodiment, the heater 212 is arranged so that the film thick film portion at the heater end does not directly touch the heater.
Abrasion the alumina substrate, and further heat insulating material 25
3'is installed. This is shown in FIG. 14 and FIG.
Shown in. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the heater 213, a heat insulating material and the like. The heat insulating materials 253 and 253 'are PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), PEEK (polyether ether ketone), aromatic polyester, PI (polyimide).
Etc. were used.

In this embodiment, since the film thickness portion 216a of the endless film does not directly contact the heater 212 or the alumina substrate 213 of the heater 212, the distance from the heat generating end of the heater heating element to the film thickness portion 216a is small. Even if it was small, the temperature rise of the film thickness portion 216a could be prevented.

15 to 19 show another embodiment of the heating apparatus for carrying out this embodiment. That is, FIGS.
This is a case where the electrodes of the heating element 214 on the alumina substrate 213 of the heater 212 are taken from only one side. In FIG. 15, both of the heating elements 214a and 214b generate heat.
Since the other is the electrode material (low resistance material 214 '), only one heats up. These are heat insulators 2
The film thickness portion 21 of the film 216 is adhered to the film 53.
6a passes where A has no alumina substrate 213,
Since there is only the heat insulator 253, the film thickness portion 2 of the film 216
The temperature rise of 16a was largely prevented.

17 and 18 show still another embodiment. That is, one of the heater patterns shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is arranged on the side surface (FIG. 17) or the back surface (FIG. 18) of the alumina substrate. However, the heat insulator 253 is omitted here. In either case, it is basically desirable that the pattern passing through the side surface or the back surface does not generate heat. Therefore, the width of the heating element 214 is widened to such an extent that there is no practical problem. A pattern may be made of this material by using 214 'as an electrode. In any case, the protective layer 251 was omitted.

FIG. 19 shows still another embodiment. That is, it is a case in which the ribs 262 are adhered to the base film 216 as a separate member via the adhesive layer 261 to increase the film thickness of the film end portion. In this case, since the base film 216, the adhesive 261, and the rib 262 have different rigidity, and the adhesive force of the adhesive 261 with respect to the temperature rise is reduced, the temperature is prevented and the power consumption is reduced or the weight is reduced. In the past, it was difficult to satisfy both requirements, but it was realized in this embodiment.

An embodiment according to claim 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 20 is a view best showing the features of the present invention. Reference numeral 301 denotes a low heat capacity linear heating element, for example, a thickness of 1.0 mm, a width of 10 mm, and a longitudinal length of 2
This is a 40 mm alumina substrate 302 coated with a resistance material 303 having a width of 1.0 mm, and is energized from both ends in the longitudinal direction. The heating element 301 is fixed to a holder 304 with an adhesive 318, and the holder 304 is fixed to a support 305 with an adhesive 319. Energization is a pulsed waveform with a cycle of 20 msec at 100 V DC,
A pulse is generated according to a desired temperature and energy emission amount controlled by the temperature detecting element 306, and the temperature detecting element 306 is bonded to the heating body 301 with an adhesive. Approximate pulse width is 0.5 msec to 5 msec
Becomes Heater 30 whose energy temperature is controlled in this way
The fixing film 307 moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

As an example of this fixing film, the thickness is 20 μm.
m heat-resistant film such as polyimide (PI), polyetherimide (PEI), polytetrafluoroethylene / perfluorovinyl ether copolymer (PFA), etc., and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at least on the image contact surface side, An endless film having a release layer of 10 μm coated with a conductive agent added to a tetrafluoroethylene / perfluorovinyl ether copolymer or the like was used.
Generally, a film having a total thickness of 100 μm or less, preferably 40 μm or less is desirable. The film is moved by the drive roller 3
The film is moved in the direction of the arrow without wrinkles by being driven by 08 and guided and tensioned by the film guide 309. Reference numeral 310 denotes a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer having a good releasability such as silicon rubber, which presses a heating body through the film with a total pressure of 4 to 7 kg and press-rotates the film with the film.

When fixing is performed, the unfixed transfer material 312 on which the toner 311 is placed is conveyed from an image forming apparatus (not shown). By energizing the heating element 301, the film 307 rotated by the driving roller 308 is heated and kept at a predetermined temperature. Unfixed toner 311 in this state
The transfer material 312 on which is placed is the heating body 301 and the film 30.
A fixed image is obtained by being heated, pressed, and conveyed by 7 and a pressure roller.

In this embodiment, the ribs 32 are formed on the film 307.
0 is fixed by the adhesive 322. The ribs are shown in Figure 2.
The regulating member 3 has a shape as shown in FIG.
Contains 21. Rollers 324 are provided on the regulating member to prevent the ribs from wearing. As a result, film shift and reverse shift were prohibited. Further, since the adhesive area between the rib and the film was increased, the adhesive force was increased and the rib was prevented from peeling off. The concave cross section is as shown in FIG.

23 to 25 show another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 23, two rollers for preventing abrasion of the regulating member 321 and the rib 320 are provided independently and two rollers are provided. In FIG. 24, the edge portion is rounded in order to prevent the rib from tearing. Further, in FIG. 25, ribs 320 are provided on both ends of the film 307. This makes it possible to completely prevent the deviation.

An embodiment according to claim 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28 show another embodiment of the present invention, which is a drawing best showing the features of the present invention. FIG. 27 is a sectional view and FIG. 28 is a front view.

Here, 401 is a low-heat-capacity linear heating element, which is, for example, an alumina substrate 402 having a thickness of 1.0 mm, a width of 10 mm, and a longitudinal length of 240 mm coated with a resistance material 403 in a width of 1.0 mm. , Is energized from both ends in the longitudinal direction. The heating element 401 is fixed to a holder 404 with an adhesive 418, and the holder 404 is fixed to a support 405 with an adhesive 419. The energization is a pulsed waveform with a cycle of 20 msec of DC 100 V, and a pulse according to a desired temperature and energy emission amount controlled by the temperature detection element 406 is given by changing its pulse width. The temperature detecting element 406 is bonded to the heating body 401 with an adhesive 422. The approximate pulse width is 0.5 msec to 5 msec. In contact with the heating element 401 whose energy temperature is controlled in this way,
The fixing film 407 moves in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

As an example of this fixing film, the thickness is 20 μm.
m heat-resistant film such as polyimide (PI), polyetherimide (PEI), polytetrafluoroethylene / perfluorovinyl ether copolymer (PFA), etc., and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at least on the image contact surface side, An endless film having a release layer of 10 μm coated with a conductive agent added to a tetrafluoroethylene / perfluorovinyl ether copolymer or the like was used.
Generally, a film having a total thickness of 100 μm or less, preferably 40 μm or less is desirable. The driving roller 408 and the driven roller 409 are arranged in a multi-circle shape. At this time, the driving roller 408
The film 407 can be adjusted in tension by moving up and down, and the film 407 moves without wrinkles in the direction of the arrow by the rotation of the driving roller. Reference numeral 410 denotes a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer having good releasability such as silicon rubber, which is a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer having good releasability, and presses a heating body through the film with a total pressure of 4 to 7 kg, and press-rotates the film. Let

When fixing is performed, an unfixed transfer material 412 carrying toner 411 is conveyed from an image forming apparatus (not shown). When the heating element 401 is energized, the driving roller 408 heats the rotating film 407,
It is kept at a predetermined temperature. Unfixed toner 41 in this state
The transfer material 412 on which 1 is placed is the heating element 401 and the film 40.
A fixed image is obtained by being heated, pressurized and conveyed by the pressure roller 7 and the pressure roller 410. Also, film 4
A conductive brush 424 is provided to prevent charge-up due to electrification of 07, and is grounded via a varistor 425. Note that these devices and processes are referred to as SURF fusing.

In this embodiment, ribs 407 'are provided on the edges of the film 407. The film 407 is configured so that a biasing force is applied in the double arrow direction (A⇒B) in FIG.
6 prevents the rib 407 'from moving in the arrow direction, and prevents the film 407 integrated with the rib 407' from moving in the double arrow direction.

As the material of the rib 407 ', a material having both heat resistance and elasticity, such as silicon rubber, urethane rubber, or chlorosulfonated polyethylene, was used. Further, as the adhesive, one having heat resistance and elasticity to some extent such as epoxy type, cyanoacrylate type, silicon type, rubber type, etc. was used. The width of the rib is 2mm ~ 20
The one having a height of 0.5 mm to 5 mm was used.

In this embodiment, a large number of driven rollers 409 are used, and the driven rollers are arranged so that the sectional shape of the film is always circular. In addition, the ends of the heater and the heater holder were scraped off so that the curvature of the film would not change. Therefore, the curvature of the film and the lid hardly changed, and as a result, the fatigue of the film and the rib due to the ironing was reduced, and the destruction of the interface between the film and the rib was prevented.

FIG. 29 shows another embodiment of the present invention. That is, the inner surface of the film 407 is driven roller 409.
Instead of arranging a large number of films, a film guide 427 is arranged. In this case, it is desirable that the film guide 427 be provided with a release layer on the surface, such as a Teflon layer. Even in this case, the film 407 and the rib 40
The curvature of 7'is constant, and it was effective for fatigue of the film and the rib.

An embodiment according to claim 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31 show another embodiment of the present invention, which is a drawing best showing the features of the present invention. FIG. 30 shows a top view and FIG. 31 shows a front view.

Here, 501 is a low-heat-capacity linear heating element, which is, for example, one in which a resistance material 503 is applied to a width of 1.0 mm on an alumina substrate 502 having a thickness of 1.0 mm, a width of 10 mm, and a longitudinal length of 240 mm. , Is energized from both ends in the longitudinal direction. The heating body 501 is fixed to the holder 504 with an adhesive 518, and the holder 504 is fixed to the support 505 with an adhesive 519. Energization is a pulsed waveform with a cycle of 20 msec at 100 V DC,
A pulse corresponding to a desired temperature and energy emission amount controlled by the temperature detecting element 506 is given by changing its pulse width. The temperature detecting element 506 is formed of the adhesive 52.
It is adhered to the heating element 501 by means of 2. The approximate pulse width is 0.5 msec to 5 msec. The fixing film 507 moves in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by coming into contact with the heating body 501 whose energy temperature is controlled in this way.

As an example of this fixing film, a thickness of 20 μm
m heat-resistant film such as polyimide (PI), polyetherimide (PEI), polytetrafluoroethylene / perfluorovinyl ether copolymer (PFA), etc., and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at least on the image contact surface side, An endless film having a release layer of 10 μm coated with a conductive agent added to a tetrafluoroethylene / perfluorovinyl ether copolymer or the like was used.
Generally, a film having a total thickness of 100 μm or less, preferably 40 μm or less is desirable. The film is moved by the drive roller 5
The drive by 08 and the drive by the film guide 509 and the tension causes the film to move in the direction of the arrow without wrinkles. 510
Is a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer having a good releasability such as silicon rubber, and presses the heating body through the film with a total pressure of 4 to 7 kg to rotate the film under pressure.

When fixing is carried out, an unfixed transfer material 512 carrying toner 511 is conveyed from an image forming apparatus (not shown). By energizing the heating element 501, the rotating film 507 is heated by the driving roller 508,
It is kept at a predetermined temperature. Unfixed toner 51 in this state
The transfer material 512 on which the 1 is placed is the heating body 501 and the film 50.
A fixed image is obtained by being heated, pressed, and conveyed by the No. 7 and the pressing roller 510. Further, in order to prevent charge-up due to charging of the film 507, it is grounded via a varistor 525 provided with a conductive brush 524.

In this embodiment, a rib 507 'is provided at the end of the film 507. The film 507 is configured so that a biasing force is applied in the double arrow direction (A⇒B) in FIG.
6 prevents the rib 507 'from moving in the double arrow direction, and prevents the film 507 integrated with the rib 507' from moving in the double arrow direction. Restriction member 526
Is moved by the solenoid 527. That is, when the film 507 rotates, the regulation member 526 causes the rib 50 to rotate.
7 ', a pressure is applied, and it is balanced with the biasing force in the direction of the double arrow in the figure, and as a result, the biasing of the film 507 can be prevented.

When the film 507 is stopped, the position of the regulating member 526 is changed by the relenoid 527, the regulating member 526 is separated from the rib 507 ', and as a result, the rib 507' is not pressed.

In this embodiment, the film 50 is used as described above.
Since no pressure is applied to the ribs 507 ′ when 7 is stopped, damages of the ribs 507 ′ over time, peeling from the film 507, and the like are significantly reduced, and durability is improved.

As the material of the rib 507 ', a material having both heat resistance and elasticity was used, such as silicon rubber, urethane rubber, and chlorosulfonated polyethylene. Further, as the adhesive, one having heat resistance and elasticity to some extent such as epoxy type, cyanoacrylate type, silicon type, rubber type, etc. was used.

32 to 34 show another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 32 shows a case where the rib 507 'is provided on the inner side of the film rather than the outer side. In this case, the regulating member 526 is also inside the film 507.

FIG. 33 shows a case where ribs are provided on both ends of the film 507. In this case, control can be performed regardless of which offset force is applied to the film 507. Therefore, unlike the case where the center of the deviation is always exerted to one side in FIG. 30, it can be set to zero, that is, the state where the deviation does not occur.
There is an effect that the force applied to the ribs 507′a and 507′b of the ribs 26a and 526b can be reduced.

FIG. 34 shows a case where the movement direction of the regulating member 526 is different from that in FIG. In either case, film 5
The rib 507 '(507'a, 507' is stopped when 07 is stopped).
b) is applied to the solenoid 527 (527a, 527a, 527).
The rib 507 '(50
7'a, 507'b) were damaged over time, peeling off from the film 507 and the like were significantly reduced, and durability was increased.

An embodiment according to claim 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 35 is an illustration of a heating device as a fixing device which is another embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 601 denotes a thin endless belt-shaped fixing film, which includes a driving roller 602 on the left side, a driven roller 603 on the right side, and a heating body 604 disposed below the driving roller 602 and the driven roller 603, which are parallel to each other. Department Oki 602,603,
It is stretched between 604.

The driven roller 604 also serves as a tension roller that gives tension to the endless belt-shaped fixing film 601, and the fixing film 601 rotates in a clockwise direction at a predetermined peripheral speed in accordance with the clockwise rotation of the driving roller 602. Is driven to rotate.

Reference numeral 605 denotes a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer such as silicone rubber having a good releasing property, and is placed on the lower surface of the heating body 604 with the lower film portion of the endless belt-shaped fixing film 601 sandwiched therebetween. By a biasing means (not shown), for example, a contact pressure of a total thickness of 4 to 8 kg is applied to face each other, and the recording material P is conveyed in the forward direction in the conveyance direction of the recording material P, which is carried in by the entrance guide 606 on the right side of the drawing. , Rotate counterclockwise.

The heating element will be described in detail below.
Reference numeral 04 designates a laterally long, rigid, highly heat-resistant, and heat-insulating material whose longitudinal direction is the fixing film axial direction (direction perpendicular to the running direction of the fixing film 601), such as polyphenylene sulfide, polyamide imide, polyimide, polyether ether ketone, A heater support 607 made of a high heat resistant resin such as liquid crystal polymer or a composite material of these resins and ceramics, metal, glass, etc. was integrally attached and held on the lower surface side of this support along the lower surface length. , Flat plate heater 6
08, and a temperature measuring element 609 arranged on the surface of the heater 608 on the support side.

The heater 608 is, for example, 1 mm thick,
Alumina substrate 608a with a width of 5 mm and a length of 240 mm
An electric resistance material, such as silver-palladium, is provided along the longitudinal direction at a substantially central portion of the lower surface of the device with a thickness of about 10 μm and a width of 1 to 3 mm.
Heat generating layer 60 formed by coating with screen printing or the like
The surface of 8b is covered with a surface protection layer 608c made of heat-resistant glass having a thickness of about 10 μm.

The temperature measuring element 609 is, for example, a low heat capacity NTC.
It is a thermistor, and is adhered to the substantially central portion of the upper surface of the heater 608 with a silicon-based adhesive or the like having good thermal conductivity.

The driven roller will be described below. The driven roller 603 is made of steel whose surface is nickel-plated.
The μ with the inner surface of the film is small (0.5 or less), and the cross-sectional shape of the portion in contact with the film is straight.

Next, the fixing execution operation will be described. The recording material P on which the visible image Ta is formed on the surface by the image forming means (not shown) is guided by the guide means 606 by the conveying means (not shown) and applied to the heating body 604. The surface of the visible image Ta comes into close contact with the lower surface of the fixing film 601 which is rotated in the same direction as the conveyance speed of the recording P in the same direction by entering between the pressure roller 605 and causing surface misalignment or wrinkling. Without film 601
The heating member 604 and the pressure roller 60 are overlapped with the heating member 604.
It passes between the pressure contact portion N and 5 while receiving a clamping pressure. As a result, the visible image Ta becomes a softening / melting image Tb in the press contact portion N under heat and pressure.

In the film 601, the traveling direction is turned at an angle (the bending angle θ is about 50 °) at the edge portion S of the support 607 where the curvature is large (the radius of curvature is about 2 mm). Therefore, the recording material P conveyed through the pressure contact portion N while being overlapped with the fixing film 601 is curvature-separated from the film 601 at the edge portion S and is discharged.

The visible image is sufficiently cooled and solidified until it is discharged,
The sheet P is completely fixed (visual image Tc).

Since the developer used in this example has a sufficiently high viscosity when heated and melted, even if the temperature at which the developer is separated from the fixing film 601 is equal to or higher than the melting point of the developer, the fixing force between the developers is the fixing film. It is much larger than the adhesive force of the developer to 601. Therefore, when the film 601 and the sheet P are separated from each other, the offset of the developer with respect to the film 601 does not substantially occur.

In the present embodiment, the heat capacity of the heater 608 of the heating body 604 is small, and this is the support body 607.
The heater 6 at the press contact portion N is insulated by
Since the temperature of 08 reaches the temperature at which the developing material can be fixed onto the sheet P in a short time, it is not necessary to heat the heater 608 in advance by energization and heat generation, energy saving can be realized, and the temperature rise inside the machine can be prevented.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory view seen from the top surface of this embodiment. At both ends of the drive roller 602, a metallic ring-shaped brim portion having an outer diameter of about 25 mm is provided. Film 6
Thick-walled portions are provided on both ends of 01 over the entire circumference.

FIG. 40 shows a film 601 in this embodiment.
3 is a cross-sectional view of an end portion of FIG. The film 601 has a thickness of 20μ
m on the base layer 601a made of polyimide, and about 1
Except for 5 mm, a coating layer 601b having a thickness of 10 μm and made of carbon-dispersed PFA is formed, and the uncoated portion at the end has a width of 10 mm and a thickness of 100 mm.
A μm polyimide endless belt is bonded.

When the fixing and heating operation is performed using such a film, when the film is displaced in the axial direction due to the distortion of the apparatus or the change of the temperature distribution of the heating body, the flange portion of the end portion of the drive roller is formed. The edge of the film contacts due to 602c, but since the edge of the film is thick at about 120 μm,
The film does not buckle.

As the material for the base layer 601b of the film 601, in addition to polyimide, a thermoplastic resin film such as polyetherimide or polyethersulfone, or an endless film such as nickel produced by electroforming may be used. You can

Further, as for the material and manufacturing method of the thick portion 601c, for example, the following various examples are possible. 1) After the polyimide layer 601a is formed by casting, only the end portion of 601a is added again by casting to form a thick film portion 601c. 2) A urethane belt having a thickness of 0.2 mm manufactured by injection molding is formed. , Adhered on the polyimide layer 601a with an adhesive material, and the thick portion 601
The thickness of c is appropriately 10 μm to 3 mm, and more preferably 30 μm to 2 mm.

The thick portion 601c may be formed only on one end of the film. In that case, during the fixing operation, it is preferable to set the configuration of the apparatus such that the film tends to be displaced toward the thickened end portion.

Explaining a comparative example, in the case where the thick portion 601c is not provided at the end of the film, if the end of the film collides with the driving roller flange 602c, the film easily buckles and is damaged. Therefore, the meandering of the film cannot be prevented by the collar portion 602c, and a complicated meandering correction mechanism is required. Further, if the film end portion is thin, cracks easily occur from the end surface when the device is assembled, parts are exchanged, and the like, and there is a problem in workability.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 37 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the present invention as seen from above. Thick portions 601c are provided on both ends of the film, and perforations are provided on the entire thick portion 601c in the circumferential direction. At both ends of the drive roller 602, protrusions 602c that fit with the perforations are provided.
Are provided over the entire surface in the circumferential direction.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view of the end portion of the film 601, which shows that the thickness of the film 601 is made of PTFE in which carbon is dispersed except for both ends of 15 mm on a base layer 601a made of electroformed nickel having a thickness of 13 μm. A coating layer 601b having a thickness of 7 μm is formed, and an endless belt made of urethane resin having a width of 10 mm and a thickness of 500 μm is bonded to the non-coated portion at the end. In this belt portion, the thick layer 601c and the base layer 601b are cut out, and perforations having a diameter of 4 mm are formed at intervals of about 8 mm over the entire surface in the circumferential direction.

On the other hand, projections 602c having a diameter of 3.5 mm and a height of 2 mm are provided at a position corresponding to the perforation of the film at the end portion of the drive roller at intervals of about 8 mm. Mates with perforations. As a result, the film is rotated without displacement in the axial direction of the drive roller.

In this embodiment, the thick layer 60 at the end of the film is used.
Without 1c, the perforations are easily pulled when the film is driven.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Except for the film 601 and the driving roller 602, the structure is the same as that of the above-described embodiment and the same operation is performed.

Film base layer 601b made of polyimide
Is thickened in a tapered shape from about 20 mm from the end surface toward the end surface.

The thickness of the base layer 601a depends on the film axial direction,
That is, it is 20 μm at the central portion in the horizontal direction of FIG. 39 and 50 μm at both ends.

The drive roller 602 is a metal-metal roller whose both ends are tapered toward the both ends by about 25 mm, and the difference in outer diameter between the central portion and the both ends in the axial direction is about 100 μm.

When a fixing and heating operation is carried out using such a film and a driving roller, both ends of the driving roller are apt to be displaced in the axial center direction because both ends of the driving roller are tapered. Receives force from the drive roller. On the other hand, both ends of the film are thickened in a taper shape, and the thick part is fitted to the tapered portion of the driving roller, so that the film moves only slightly in the axial direction. Therefore, a special mechanism for preventing axial displacement of the film is unnecessary.

An embodiment according to claim 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 41 to 47.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory view of a heating device as a fixing device which is another embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 701 denotes a thin endless belt-shaped fixing film. The left driving roller 702, the right driven roller 703, and the heating element 704 disposed below the driving roller 702 and the driven roller 703 are parallel to each other. Department Oki 702, 703
It is stretched between 704.

The driven roller 704 also serves as a tension roller that gives tension to the endless belt-shaped fixing film 701. The fixing film 701 rotates in a clockwise direction at a predetermined peripheral speed as the drive roller 702 rotates clockwise. Is driven to rotate.

Numeral 705 is a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer such as silicone rubber having a good releasing property, and is placed on the lower surface of the heating body 704 with the lower film portion of the endless belt-shaped fixing film 701 sandwiched therebetween. By a biasing means (not shown), for example, abutting pressure of a total thickness of 4 to 8 kg is applied, and a forward direction in the conveyance direction of the recording material P, which is carried in by an entrance guide 706 on the right side of the drawing, is applied. , Rotate counterclockwise.

The heating element will be described in detail below.
Reference numeral 04 designates a horizontally long, rigid, highly heat-resistant, and heat-insulating material whose longitudinal direction is the fixing film axial direction (direction perpendicular to the running direction of the fixing film 701), such as polyphenylene sulfide, polyamide imide, polyimide, polyether ether ketone, A heater support 707 made of a high heat resistant resin such as liquid crystal polymer or a composite material of these resins and ceramics, metal, glass, etc., and integrally attached and held on the lower surface side of the support along the lower surface length. Further, it has a flat heater 708 and a temperature measuring element 709 arranged on the surface of the heater 708 on the side of the support body.

As an example, the heater 708 has a thickness of 1 mm,
Alumina substrate 708a having a width of 5 mm and a length of 240 mm
An electric resistance material, such as silver-palladium, is provided along the longitudinal direction at a substantially central portion of the lower surface of the device with a thickness of about 10 μm and a width of 1 to 3 mm
Heating layer 70 formed by coating by screen printing or the like
The surface of 8b is covered with a surface protective layer 708c made of heat-resistant glass having a thickness of about 10 μm.

The temperature detecting element 709 is, for example, an NT having a low heat capacity.
It is a C thermistor, and is adhered to the substantially central portion of the upper surface of the heater 708 by a silicon-based adhesive or the like having good thermal conductivity.

The driven roller will be described below. The driven roller 703 is made of steel whose surface is nickel-plated.
The μ with the inner surface of the film is small (0.5 or less), and the cross-sectional shape of the portion in contact with the film is straight. A film position detection element (not shown) is arranged on one end surface of the film 1, and one end of the driven roller 703 is moved up and down by means (not shown) such as a solenoid or a cam according to the output of the element. By changing the parallelism with the roller 702, a moving force in the axial direction is given to the film 701, and the axial position of the film is kept within a predetermined range.

FIG. 43 shows the driving roller 702.
702a is a steel cored bar having an outer diameter of 18 mm, and a silicon rubber having a thickness of 1 mm is coated around the cored bar. Rubber hardness is 1
It is preferably 5 ° to 60 ° (JIS A), and is 30 ° in this embodiment. The axial sectional shape of the roller is straight.

To describe the fixing execution operation, the recording material P on which the visible image Ta is formed on the surface by the image forming means (not shown) is guided by the guide 706 by the conveying means (not shown) to be heated by the heating element 704 and the pressure roller. 705, the surface of the visible image Ta comes into close contact with the lower surface of the fixing film 701 which is rotated in the same direction as the conveyance speed of the recording P in the same direction without causing surface deviation or wrinkling. In the state of being integrally overlapped with the heating element 704, the heating element 704 and the pressure roller 705 pass between the pressure contact portions N while receiving a sandwiching force. As a result, the visible image Ta is heated / pressurized at the press contact portion N and becomes a softened fusion image Tb.

In the film 701, the traveling direction is turned at an angle (the bending angle θ is about 50 °) at the edge portion S of the support 707 where the curvature is large (the radius of curvature is about 2 mm). Therefore, the recording material P conveyed through the pressure contact portion N while being overlapped with the fixing film 701 is curvature-separated from the film 701 at the edge portion S and is discharged.

The visible image is sufficiently cooled and solidified until it is discharged,
The sheet P is completely fixed (visual image Tc).

Since the developer used in this example has a sufficiently high viscosity when heated and melted, even if the temperature at which the developer is separated from the fixing film 701 is equal to or higher than the melting point of the developer, the fixing force between the developers is fixed. It is extremely larger than the adhesive force of the developer to 701. Therefore, when the film 701 and the sheet P are separated from each other, the offset of the developer with respect to the film 701 does not substantially occur.

Further, in the present embodiment, the heat capacity of the heater 708 of the heating body 704 is small, and this is the support body 707.
The heater 7 in the press contact portion N is insulated by
Since the temperature of 08 reaches the temperature at which the developer can be fixed onto the sheet P in a short time, it is not necessary to heat the heater 708 in advance by energization and heat generation, energy saving can be realized, and the temperature rise inside the machine can be prevented.

Next, the fixing film will be described. The fixing film 701 has heat resistance, releasability and durability.
Generally, a single-layer or multi-layer film having a thickness of 100 μm or less, preferably 40 μm or less can be used.

FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional film structure diagram of an example of a composite layer film. 701a is a heat-resistant layer as a base layer (base film) of the fixing film, and 701b is the heat-resistant layer 70.
1a is a release layer laminated on the outer surface (the surface facing the toner image).

The heat-resistant layer 701a is made of a high heat-resistant resin film such as polyimide, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyethersulfone (PES), polyetherimide (PEI), polyparabanic acid (PPA), Ni. Metals such as SUS and Al that have excellent strength and heat resistance can be used.

The release layer 701b is preferably made of fluororesin such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) / PFA / FEP, or silicon resin. The release layer 701b is laminated on the heat-resistant layer 701a by adhesive lamination of the release layer film and electrostatic coating (coating) of the release layer material.
It can be performed by stacking by a film forming technique such as vapor deposition or CVD, or by coextrusion of a heat-resistant layer material and a release layer material into a two-layer film.

As an example, the 701a layer has a thickness of 20 μm.
A polyimide seamless belt with a diameter of 40 mm and a carbon dispersed PFA coating film 701b (surface resistance 1 × 10 ⁶ Ω / □, thickness 10 μm)
The endless film which formed the is shown.

Polyimide seamless belt 701a
Is formed by casting using a mold inside. An axial groove 701c is provided on the entire surface of the cylindrical mold. The depth of the groove is 7 μm to 0.2 μm,
It is preferably 3 to 0.5 μm. The width of the groove 701c and the interval between the grooves are 1 μm to 5 mm, preferably 10 μm to 1 m.
m.

701 manufactured by using such a mold
As shown in FIG. 42, the inner surface of the film 701 using the a layer has unevenness in the cross section in the circumferential direction, and has no unevenness in the axial direction.

When the fixing and heating operation is performed using such a film 701, the unevenness on the inner surface of the film causes the driving roller 7
02 in the surface rubber layer 702b, the frictional force of the film 701 with respect to the drive roller 702 becomes significantly larger in the rotation direction of the drive roller, that is, in the circumferential direction of the film than in the axial direction of the film (about 1.5). ~ 4 times).

Therefore, the film does not slip with the drive roller and therefore rotates stably, while the moving force in the axial direction of the drive roller is small, so that the tension roller 703 does not move.
Even if the vertical amount is reduced, the position in the longitudinal direction of the film can be easily adjusted, and the damage to the film is small.

Explaining a comparative example, when the heat-resistant layer 701a of the film 701 is formed by using a smooth mold,
The inner surface roughness of the film becomes isotropic. Then film 7
The frictional force of 01 on the drive roller 702 is equal to the rotational direction of the drive roller in the axial direction. Then, the film is more likely to slip with the drive roller than in the above embodiment. If a drive roller with a large friction coefficient with the film (for example, by spraying silicone rubber) is used to prevent slippage, the force of the film in the axial direction of the drive roller becomes large, and the longitudinal position of the film cannot be corrected. It becomes difficult, and if you try to correct it, the tension roller 70
3 would have to be displaced significantly, which could wrinkle the film.

Next, another embodiment will be described. The drive roller 702 of the above embodiment is changed to the structure shown in FIG.

A steel roller having an outer diameter of 20 mm and having an outer surface plated with nickel is provided with grooves 702c having a depth of 0.5 μm to 100 μm and a gap of 1 μm to 5 mm in the axial direction.

Therefore, the coefficient of friction between the drive roller and the film can be set in the circumferential direction> the axial direction without providing the elastic layer on the surface of the drive roller and causing the film to bite.

Still another embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, the structure of the film 701 is changed to that shown in FIG.

FIG. 45 is a sectional view in the axial direction of the film 701 of this example, which shows a depth of 7 to 7 in the circumferential direction of the film 701.
A groove 701d having a width of 0.3 μm and a distance of 1 μm to 5 mm is provided.

Explaining the manufacturing method, if the 701a layer is cast by a mold having irregularities in the circumferential direction, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the mold is made larger than that of polyimide, and the mold is cooled and then released from the mold, Various circumferential grooves are possible (however, a depth of 4 μm or less is preferable).

Therefore, since the unevenness on the inner surface of the film cuts into the elastic layer 702b on the surface of the driving roller, the film is less likely to be displaced in the direction of the driving roller.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the drive roller 702 is provided with a circumferential groove 702 as shown in FIG.
Change to a steel roller with d. With this configuration, the film does not move in the axial direction of the drive roller.

In still another embodiment, a rib 701c made of urethane rubber is provided on the entire circumference of the end surface of the film 701.
Is provided, and the rib 701c is fitted to the regulation member 710 that engages with the fixing device main body (not shown).

Therefore, the axial position of the film can be regulated without moving the tension roller 703 up and down. Therefore, the film position detecting means and the tension roller up / down mechanism can be omitted.

An embodiment according to claim 9 is shown in FIGS.
Will be described. A fixing device which is a premise of the embodiment of FIG. 48 will be described. In FIG. 49, reference numeral 824 is an endless belt-shaped fixing film, and a left driving roller 825, a right driven roller 826, and a driving roller 8 are provided.
25 and a driven roller 826 are provided below the four members 825, 826, 827 and 820 parallel to each other of a low heat capacity linear heating element 820 as a heating element disposed below.

The driven roller 826 also serves as a tension roller for the endless belt-shaped fixing film 824, and the fixing film 824 is rotated at a predetermined peripheral speed in the clockwise direction with the clockwise rotation of the driving roller 825, that is, image formation. The transfer material sheet P having the unfixed toner image Ta conveyed from the side thereof on its upper surface is rotationally driven at the same peripheral speed as the conveyance speed without wrinkles, meandering, or speed delay.

Reference numeral 828 denotes a pressure roller having a rubber elastic layer having a good releasability, such as silicon rubber, as a pressure member, and the lower end film portion of the endless belt-shaped fixing film 824 is sandwiched between the heating rollers. The lower surface of the body 820 is pressed against the lower surface of the transfer material sheet P by a biasing means (not shown) with a total pressure of 4 to 7 kg, and rotates counterclockwise in the forward direction of the conveyance direction of the transfer material sheet P.

Low heat capacity linear heating element 820 as a heating element
In this example, a heater support 827 having a laterally long rigidity, high heat resistance, and heat insulation whose longitudinal direction is the transverse direction of the fixing film (direction perpendicular to the running direction of the fixing film 825),
A heater substrate 821 including a heating element 822, a temperature measuring element 823, etc. integrally attached and held on the lower surface side of the support along the lower surface length is provided.

The heater support 827 thermally supports the heating element 820 with respect to the fixing device 811 and the entire copying apparatus. For example, PPS (polyphenylene sulfide), P
AI (polyamide imide), PI (polyimide), PE
It can be made of high heat resistant resin such as EK (polyether ether ketone) or liquid crystal polymer, or a composite material of these resins and ceramics, metal, glass or the like.

The heater substrate 821 has a thickness of 1.0 as an example.
An alumina substrate having a size of 10 mm, a width of 10 mm, and a length of 240 mm. The heating element 822 is formed, for example, by applying an electric resistance material such as Ag / Pd (silver palladium) to a thickness of about 10 μm and a width of 1 to 3 mm by screen printing or the like along substantially the center of the lower surface of the substrate 821. A heat-resistant glass 821a is coated thereon with a thickness of about 10 μm as a surface protective layer. The temperature measuring element 823 is, for example, a side surface having a low heat capacity such as a Pt film provided by coating the upper surface of the substrate 821 (a surface opposite to the surface on which the heating element 822 is provided) with a substantially central portion by screen printing or the like. It is a resistor. Alternatively, the temperature detecting element may be arranged in contact with the substrate 821 such as a thermistor having a low heat capacity.

With respect to the heating element 822 having a linear or strip shape,
Electricity is applied from both ends in the longitudinal direction to heat the heating element 822 over substantially the entire length. The energization is AC 100 V, and the energization power is controlled by controlling the energizing phase angle by an energization control circuit (not shown) including a triac according to the temperature detected by the temperature detecting element 823.

FIG. 48 is a view best showing the features of the present invention. The endless belt-shaped fixing film 824 is composed of an upper driven roller 826 and a lower low-heat-capacity linear heating element 820 as a heating element arranged in parallel with each other. It is stretched around the two members.

The driven roller 826 also serves as a tension roller for the endless belt-shaped fixing film 824, and the fixing film 824 is located on the outer peripheral side.
Along with the counterclockwise rotation of 25, it is rotated clockwise at a predetermined peripheral speed.

Since the other parts are the same as those in FIG. 49 described above, they are represented by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As the driving roller 825, a roller having a large friction coefficient, for example, a roller in which Si rubber is sprayed is used.

The driving roller 825 is pressed against the driven roller 826 via the fixing film 824 with a pressing force of 0.5 to 6 kg / 220 mm by means not shown. The film is driven by the driving roll from the outer peripheral surface by the pressure and μ between the film and the driving roller.

By driving from the outer peripheral surface of the film in this manner, μ of the inner peripheral surface of the film may be small. This has the following advantages.

1. Stable film driving can be performed even if abrasion powder is generated due to rubbing between the fixing film / heater and between the fixing film / heater holder and μ of the inner peripheral surface of the film fluctuates. 2. It is possible to apply a large amount of lubricant to the surface of the heater on the inner peripheral surface of the film, prevent the generation of abrasion powder due to rubbing, and prolong the life of the fixing device.

It is preferable for stable conveyance that the width of the driving roller is at least substantially the entire width of the film in the axial direction of the film and is equal to or larger than the sheet passing width.

FIG. 51 shows the relationship in the longitudinal direction of this example. In FIG. 51, L ₁ is the maximum sheet passing area, L ₂ is the drive roller 825 width, and L ₃ is the fixing film width 829. By setting L ₁ < L ₂ < L ₃ here, since the entire surface is driven in the paper passing area and there is no partial speed difference, wrinkles do not occur in the paper passing area and stable conveyance is achieved. Is obtained.

FIG. 50 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a tension roller 826 'is added to that of FIG. By adjusting the tension applied to the tension roller 826 'before and after, the meandering of the film is prevented and the transport of the film is further stabilized.

Heat-resistant grease (500 mg) was applied to the inner peripheral surface of the film of the heating device to prevent abrasion of the film and the like due to rubbing.

When this heating device was incorporated into a copying machine FC-2 and image formation was carried out, good results were obtained without slipping or slipping of the film over 200,000 sheets without disturbing the image and paper conveyance failure. I was able to.

As a formula for driving from the outer peripheral surface of the film, a formula in which a pressure roll is used as a driving roll can be considered. However, the conveyance speed of the recording paper is not stable, which is not preferable. Therefore, it is preferable that the drive roller contacts the surface that does not contact the heater portion.

Further, another embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the above-described embodiment, the driving roller 825 is pressed against the fixing film with a relatively large area of the sheet passing width or more for stabilizing the running of the film. This is mainly because the fixing film is PTFE or P to prevent offset.
This is because the surface is made of a material such as FA that has a good releasability, so that a large area is required to transmit a sufficient driving force. In this embodiment, the transmission force of the driving force is increased to reduce the area, and the driving force is transmitted to protect the driving roller from a small amount of offset toner and paper dust generated during the fixing operation. It provides stable and stable film running. In FIG. 52, L ₁ is the maximum sheet passing width L ₄ is the width L ₃ of the surface layer 824a made of a fluororesin such as PTFE or PFA, and the fixing film 82 is the width L _3.
4 full width. As shown in FIG. 52, the fixing film has a sheet passing area in the substantially central portion of the fixing film 824, and a releasing layer is formed on the surface with a width L ₄ wider than the width L ₁ . The base layer portions of the film 824 are exposed on both sides thereof. The base layer portion of the film 824 is made of a heat-resistant resin such as polyimide, metal, or the like, and the friction coefficient μ of the surface is significantly larger than that of the long surface layer 824a. A sufficient driving force can be obtained by pressing the base layer portion 812 of the film 824, the driving roller 825a, and the driving roller 825b. In addition, since it is set outside the paper passing area, dirt such as offset toner generated due to the operation of the heating device does not adhere to the drive roll. Further, since the amount of heat generated is smaller than that in the central portion and the amount of heat generation is small compared to the central portion, the temperature rise is small, so that the friction coefficient μ of the drive roller is less likely to vary, and stable film running can be obtained.

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Similar to the previous figure, this figure also shows the relationship in the longitudinal direction, and elements equivalent to those in FIGS. 51 and 52 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the heating device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 53,
The width L ₂ of the drive roll 825 is set to have a relationship of L ₂ > L ₃ as compared with the width L _{3 of the} film 824.

By setting in this way, the driving force is transmitted to the entire surface of the film, a uniform and stable conveying force is obtained over the entire surface of the film, and wrinkles and the like of the film caused by a difference in the conveying force are prevented. Moreover, the film is run along with the heating operation, and a stable conveying force can be given even if the film meanders in the axial direction. Further, the driving roller 8 is heated by the heat propagating through the film accompanying the heating operation.
25 rises in temperature. This may cause a decrease in the life of the drive roller, especially when paper with a paper width smaller than the maximum paper width is continuously used, and this may contribute to shortening the life of the drive roller. When L ₂ > L ₃ is set as in the embodiment, the heat flows to the end side, so the drive roll 8
25 is prevented from being overheated, and the life of the drive roll 825 is extended.

[0175]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when an endless film having at least one side end portion thicker than the other is used, the member that slides along with the rotation of the film is described above. The radius of curvature of the part where the thickness of the endless film increases,
By setting it to be larger than other portions, it is possible to reduce film deterioration due to bending of a thick portion of the film, prevent the film from tearing or cracking, and improve durability.

According to the second aspect, when an endless film whose one end is thicker than the other is used, the end of the thick film of the film, which is less durable by heat, is arranged in the non-heat generating portion of the heater. In addition, by lengthening the non-heat generating portion of the heater only on the thick film portion side of the film, 1) the temperature increase of the thick film portion of the film is prevented, 2) the size of the apparatus is increased, especially the length in the longitudinal direction is reduced. ) Since the heat capacity of the heater is also small, there is an effect that power consumption is reduced when the time to reach the specified temperature is shortened or when the specified temperature is reached in the same time.

According to the third aspect, when an endless film whose one end is thicker than the other end is used, the end of the thick film of the film, which is less durable by heat, including the non-heat generating part of the heater, is heated. By avoiding contact with 1)
Prevents temperature rise in the thick film part of the film, 2) enlarges the device, especially shortens the length in the longitudinal direction, and 3) reduces the heat capacity of the heater, so the time to reach the specified temperature is shortened or the same time. When the temperature reaches the specified temperature, the power consumption was reduced.

According to the fourth aspect, by changing the rib of the film to have a concave cross section, it is possible to prevent reverse displacement, improve the adhesive force, and simplify the regulating member.

According to the fifth aspect, a guide or a large number of rollers are provided so that the curvature of the endless film during rotation becomes constant, and the endless film is rotated almost in a circle with respect to a plane perpendicular to its axial direction. By making the curvature constant so that the film or rib is fatigued or broken due to the ironing of the film.

According to the sixth aspect, when the film rotation is stopped, the reverse force applied to the ribs to prevent the film from meandering and shifting is released so that a strong force is not always applied to the ribs for a long time. This is effective in preventing breakage and separation of the rib and film.

According to the seventh aspect, by making at least one end portion of the endless film thicker than the central portion, it is possible to prevent the film from meandering and prevent damage to the film, and to stabilize for a long period of time. It is possible to provide a heating device that operates in a simple manner and has a simple configuration.

According to the eighth aspect, by providing the groove in the circumferential direction or the axial direction on the inner surface of the film, the axial displacement of the film can be suppressed without causing the film slip,
Therefore, it becomes easy or unnecessary to correct the axial displacement of the film.

According to the ninth aspect, by driving the film from the outer peripheral surface, even if μ of the inner peripheral surface changes due to wear or the like, stable driving can be obtained and an effect of extending the life of the film can be obtained. is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a copying machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a heating device as a running device of a copying machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a film and a regulating member of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a heat insulating member of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a film and a regulating member of another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a heater of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a view showing another embodiment of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a film and a regulating member of another embodiment of the heating device of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a heater according to another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a general cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an enlarged view of a concave rib.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view showing the shape of a rib showing the premise of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a rib and a film showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a sectional view of a rib and a film showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of a rib and film showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a rib and a film showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a front view of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a view showing another embodiment of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a front view of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention as seen from the front.

FIG. 33 is a front view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a front view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing another example of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a top view of the heating device of FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing still another example of the heating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view of the end portion of the film of the heating device.

FIG. 39 is a view showing another embodiment of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view showing an end portion of a film of a heating device.

FIG. 41 is a view showing another example of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a perspective view of a film in the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of a drive roller in the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 44 is a perspective view of another example of the drive roller in the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of another example of the film in the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of another example of the drive roller in the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a perspective view of another example of the film in the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 48 is a cross-sectional view of another example of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing an example of a heating device which is a premise of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is a view showing still another example of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 51 is a view showing a relationship between a drive roller and a film of a heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 52 is a diagram showing another example of the relationship between the drive roller and the film of the heating device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 53 is a view showing another example of the relationship between the drive roller and the film of the heating device embodying the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

16 ... Film 16a ... Film thick film portion 17 ... Driving roller 18 ... Followed roller 19 ... Pressure roller R, Ra ... Curvature radius of heat insulator 53 R ', R'a ... Curvature radius of film guide 63 114 ... Resistance heating element 114 '... Low resistance material (electrode) 116 ... Film 116a ... Film thick film portion 161 ... Adhesive layer 162 ... Rib 212 ... Heating element (heater) 213 ... Alumina substrate 214 ... Resistance heating element 214' ... Low resistance material (electrode) 214a ... Resistance heating element 214b ... Resistance heating element 216 ... Film 216a ... Film thick film part 253 ... Insulator 253 '... Insulator 260 ... Regulator member 261 ... Adhesive layer 262 ... Rib 301 ... Heating element 307 ... Film 320 ... Recessed rib 321 ... Regulation material 324 ... Roller 401 ... Heating body 407 ... Endless film 407 '... Rib 409 ... Followed low La 410 ... Pressure roller 501 ... Heating body 507 ... Endless film 526 ... Regulating member 527 ... Solenoid 601 ... Film 601c ... Thick portion 608 ... Heater 701 ... Film 701a ... Film base 701b ... Release layers 701c, 701
d ... Film groove 702c, 702d ... Roller groove 820 ... Heating body 824 ... Film 825 ... Driving roller 826 ... Follower roll

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Jun Asai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Katsuaki Kobayashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Shigeo Kimura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Akira Yamamoto 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Kensaku Soka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Atsushi Hosoi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A support having a fixed heater, a film that slides with respect to the heater, and a pressure member that forms a nip with the film, and supports a fixed image between the film and the pressure member. In a fixing device for fixing an image to be fixed by nip-conveying, the film is an endless film, and the thickness of at least one end of one side of the film is thicker than that of the other part. The heating device, wherein the radius of curvature of a portion through which the thick film portion having the increased thickness of the endless film passes is larger than other portions of the member that slides along with the above. 2. A support having a fixed heater, a film sliding on the heater, and a pressure member forming a nip with the film, and supporting a fixed image between the film and the pressure member. A fixing device for fixing an image to be fixed by sandwiching and transporting the film, wherein the film is an endless film, and the thickness of one end of the film is thicker than the other part. In a fixing device configured such that the thick film portion of the endless film passes through the non-heating portion of the heater that slides along with the rotation, the non-heating portion at the end of the heater has a length The heating device is characterized in that the length of the non-heating portion at the side end portion through which the thick film portion of the film passes is longer than the length of the non-heating portion at the other end portion. 3. A support having a fixed heater, a film sliding on the heater, and a pressure member forming a nip with the film, and supporting a fixed image between the film and the pressure member. In a fixing device for fixing an image to be fixed by nip-conveying, the film is an endless film, and the thickness of at least one end of the film is thicker than that of the other end. The film thickness part is
A heating device characterized in that it does not come into contact with the fixed heater, including the non-heat generating portion of the heater. 4. A heating device in which a heating body is disposed on one side of a film and an image bearing body is brought into close contact with the other side thereof, and heat energy is applied to the image bearing body through the film,
The film is in the form of an endless belt provided with ribs having at least one recess at one end or both ends, and is a member that fits in the recess of the rib and restricts the meandering of the film due to the rotational driving of the film. A heating device characterized by being installed. 5. A heating device in which a heating element is adhered to one surface side of a heat resistant film and a recording material is adhered to the other surface side, and heat energy is applied to the recording material through the film, wherein the film is an endless film. A heating device, wherein at least one end is provided with a rib, and the endless film is rotationally driven in a substantially cylindrical shape. 6. A heating device in which a heating element is brought into close contact with one side of a heat resistant film and a recording material is brought into close contact with the other side thereof, and thermal energy is applied to the recording material through the film, wherein at least one of the films is provided. Is an endless film provided with a rib at the end of the, in the heating device for preventing the film deviation and meandering in the rotation axis direction caused by the rotation of the endless film by pressing the rib, A heating device comprising a mechanism for releasing a pressing force when the endless film stops rotating. 7. A heating device in which a heating element is adhered to one side of a heat resistant film and a recording material is adhered to the other side of the heat resistant film, and heat energy is applied to the recording material through the film, wherein the heat resistant film has an endless belt shape. The heating device is characterized in that at least one end of the belt is thicker than the central part. 8. A heating device in which a heating body is adhered to one side of a heat resistant film and a recording material is adhered to the other side of the heat resistant film, and heat energy is applied to the recording material through the film, wherein the heat resistant film has an endless belt shape. The heating device is characterized in that the sectional shape of the inner surface of the belt is different in the belt axial direction and the circumferential direction. 9. A heating device in which a heating element is attached to one surface of a heat resistant film and a recording material is attached to the other surface of the heat resistant film, and heat energy is applied to the recording material through the film, wherein the heat resistant film has an endless belt shape. The eggplant
A heating device, characterized in that the film is driven from the outer peripheral surface of the film which is not in contact with the heating body.