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EP-3964365-B1 - TRANSPORTATION DEVICE, FIXING DEVICE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

EP3964365B1EP 3964365 B1EP3964365 B1EP 3964365B1EP-3964365-B1

Inventors

  • YAMASHITA, MASATO
  • SHIMODAIRA, Yoshiki
  • YAMADA, KOSUKE
  • Kodera, Tetsuro
  • MATSUMOTO, MITSUHIRO
  • YAMASHITA, TAKAYUKI

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210903

Claims (9)

  1. A transportation device, comprising: a first transporter (61); a second transporter (62) movable toward and away from the first transporter (61) between a contact position and a separate position to hold a to-be-transported object (P) between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) in the contact position; and a transportation unit (65) that transports the to-be-transported object (P) to a nip area (NP) where the first transporter (61) and the second transporter (62) are to hold the to-be-transported object (P) therebetween while the second transporter (62) is located in the separate position, wherein the first transporter (61) is a pressing member and the second transporter (62) is a heating member, wherein the second transporter (62) is disposed above the first transporter (61), the transportation unit (65) transports the to-be-transported object (P) along the first transporter (61) to the nip area (NP) while the second transporter (62) is located in the separate position, and the second transporter (62) moves from the separate position to the contact position, in a state where the to-be-transported object (P) transported to the nip area (NP) by the transportation unit (65) is in contact with and held by the first transporter (61), to hold the to-be-transported object (P) between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) to transport the to-be-transported object (P).
  2. The transportation device according to Claim 1, wherein a first movement speed at which the second transporter (62) moves from the separate position to the contact position is higher than a second movement speed at which the second transporter (62) moves from the contact position to the separate position.
  3. The transportation device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the first transporter (61) and the second transporter (62) is formed from an elastic body that is elastically deformed with a load imposed when the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) hold the to-be-transported object (P) therebetween.
  4. The transportation device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the second transporter (62) holds the to-be-transported object (P) between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) within a period from when a leading end portion of the to-be-transported object (P) enters the nip area (NP) to when the leading end portion finishes passing the nip area (NP).
  5. The transportation device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein, while the first transporter (61) and the second transporter (62) are rotating, the second transporter (62) moves from the separate position to the contact position to hold the to-be-transported object (P) between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61).
  6. The transportation device according to Claim 5, wherein while rotating, the first transporter (61) and the second transporter (62) have the same peripheral velocity.
  7. A fixing device (60) as the transportation device according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the second transporter (62) holds the to-be-transported object (P) formed from an ordinary paper sheet between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) at a first load, and wherein the second transporter (62) holds the to-be-transported object (P) formed from a coated paper sheet between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) at a second load heavier than the first load.
  8. The fixing device according to Claim 6, wherein the second transporter (62) holds the to-be-transported object (P) with a basis weight of smaller than a predetermined reference value between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) at a first load, and wherein the second transporter (62) holds the to-be-transported object (P) with a basis weight of larger than or equal to the predetermined reference value between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) at a second load heavier than the first load.
  9. An image forming apparatus (10), comprising: an image forming unit (14) that forms an image on a recording medium (R); and a fixing device (60) that includes the transportation device according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium (P) is the to-be-transported object (P) transported by the transportation unit (65), wherein the second transporter (62) moves from the separate position to the contact position, in a state where the to-be-transported object (P) transported to the nip area (NP) by the transportation unit (65) is in contact with and held by the first transporter (61), to hold the recording medium (P) between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) to fix the image on the recording medium (P) formed by the image forming unit (14) onto the recording medium (P), wherein the second transporter (62) holds the recording medium (P) between the second transporter (62) and the first transporter (61) after a trailing end of the recording medium (P) passes through the image forming unit (14).

Description

Background (i) Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a transportation device, a fixing device, and an image forming apparatus. (ii) Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-259223 discloses a fixing device that fixes an image drawn on a recording medium with particles containing at least resin onto the recording medium. The fixing device includes a pair of fixing rollers, a bonding unit, an electric charger, and a fixing unit. The pair of fixing rollers include a first fixing roller and a second fixing roller paired with the first fixing roller, at least one of which is a heating roller, and at least one of which has a replaceable surface layer. The bonding unit includes a bonding member that allows the recording medium to adhere thereto. The electric charger charges at least one of the recording medium and the bonding unit. The fixing unit physically fixes a leading end portion of a recording medium in a transportation direction with a gripper at a predetermined position of the bonding member. The electric charger causes the bonding member and the recording medium on which the image is drawn to electrostatically adhere to each other. The fixing unit fixes the leading end portion of the recording medium on which the image is drawn at a predetermined position of the bonding member. Then, the recording medium is transported together with the bonding unit while being held between the pair of fixing rollers to have the image fixed onto itself. US 2018/004131 A1 discloses a pressure device including a driving unit that changes a distance between a first pressing unit and a second pressing unit, a control unit that controls the driving unit such that the distance between the first pressing unit and the second pressing unit becomes a set target value, and a target setting unit that sets the target value to a first distance that is larger than a thickness of the sheet medium when the sheet medium is not present between the first pressing unit and the second pressing unit, and sets the target value to a second distance for applying a target pressure to the sheet medium when the sheet medium and the image bearer are present between the first pressing unit and the second pressing unit. Summary A structure transports a to-be-transported object transported to between a first transporter (for example, a transport roller or a heating roller) and a second transporter (for example, a transport roller or a pressing roller) that are in contact with each other while holding the object between the first transporter and the second transporter. This structure may form creases in the to-be-transported object. The present invention is provided by the appended claims. The following disclosure serves a better understanding of the present invention. It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a structure that reduces creasing of a to-be-transported object further than a structure that transports a to-be-transported object transported to between a first transporter and a second transporter that are in contact with each other by holding the object between the first transporter and the second transporter. According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a transportation device that includes , among other features, a first transporter, a second transporter movable toward and away from the first transporter between a contact position and a separate position to hold a to-be-transported object between the second transporter and the first transporter in the contact position, and a transportation unit that transports the to-be-transported object to a nip area where the first transporter and the second transporter hold the to-be-transported object therebetween while the second transporter is located in the separate position, wherein the second transporter moves from the separate position to the contact position to hold the to-be-transported object transported to the nip area by the transportation unit between the second transporter and the first transporter to transport the to-be-transported object. In a second aspect of the present disclosure, the second transporter is disposed above the first transporter. In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a first movement speed at which the second transporter moves from the separate position to the contact position is higher than a second movement speed at which the second transporter moves from the contact position to the separate position. In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, at least one of the first transporter and the second transporter is formed from an elastic body that is elastically deformed with a load imposed when the second transporter and the first transporter hold the to-be-transported object therebetween. In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the second transporter holds the to-be-transported object between the second transporter and the first transporter within a period from when a leading en