Fixing device and method of electrophotographic copying device

Abstract

Abstract PURPOSE:To prevent a fixing roll from temperature lowering even if many sheets are copied continuously by using toner in a normal melting temperature range by storing a material changing its phase at the melting temperature of the toner in the fixing roll. CONSTITUTION:To increase the operation temperature of the whole fixing roll 28, the fixing roll 28 has a center core 38 incorporating a heating means connected to a heat supplying means 36. A layer 40 consisting of a heat transmitting material having proper elasticity is formed on the periphery of the core 38, the layer 40 is covered with a surface layer 42 having higher rigidity than that of the layer 40 and a fine particle- like material 44 is uniformly dispersed on the whole outer part 40A of the surface 40 which is adjacent to the surface layer 42. The fine particle-like material 44 changes its phase by absorbing/discharging heat at about melting temperature of the toner 26. When a copying device 10 starts to operate, the fixing roll 28 is heated from the room temperature to the toner melting temperature and the material 44 heated up to the toner melting temperature changes its phase so as to absorb heat, so that heat to be used at the large volume of copies is stored and the stored heat is discharged in accordance with the change of the phase of the material and used for fixing.

Inventors

• 👤 Efu Meiyaa Edowaado
• 👤 エドワード・エフ　メイヤー

Bibliographic Details