1. A fixing device comprising:
a heat fixing member that is rotatably supported and is heated; and
a pressure fixing member that is supported in a state in which the pressure fixing member is pressed against the heat fixing member, an unfixed image on a surface of a medium between the heat fixing member and the pressure fixing member being fixed thereby, the heat fixing member including:
an elastically deformable base body that is a metal cylinder extending in a width direction of the medium, the width direction intersecting a transport direction of the medium;
holding members disposed at both end portions in an axial direction of the base body, the holding member including:
an insertion portion that is inserted inside the end portion of the base body and maintains contact with the base body all along its periphery to hold a cross-sectional shape of the end portion of the base body in the axial direction in a circular shape; and
a received portion that is disposed at an outer end of the insertion portion, in the width direction of the medium, and formed integrally with the insertion portion, and that is thicker than the insertion portion, and
a heat source member that extends in an axial direction of the cylindrical base body and is disposed such that the heat source member does not contact the base body, and
when the heat fixing member is rotated and a portion of the heat fixing member reaches a fixing portion at which the heat fixing member fixes the unfixed image on the surface of the medium, the portion of the heat fixing member elastically deforms without it being necessary to provide a member that contacts an inner surface of the base body in the fixing portion from within, applies pressure to the medium, increases the size of a contact area with the medium and applies heat to the medium, and
after the heat fixing member is further rotated and the portion of the heat fixing member has passed the fixing portion, the heat fixing member elastically recovers its original shape.
2. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein the heat fixing member elastically deforms in a planar manner along the transport direction of the medium in the fixing portion.
3. The fixing device of claim 1, further comprising a gear that is attached to an end portion of the heat fixing member and through which driving force is transmitted to the heat fixing member.
4. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein
the cross-sectional shape in the axial direction of the heat fixing member changes from the end portion thereof to a center portion thereof in a contact portion between the heat fixing member and the pressure fixing member.
5. The fixing device of claim 4, wherein the insertion portion has a circular outer periphery surface; and
the received portion is rotatably supported by a receiving portion.
6. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein a wall thickness of the heat fixing member is equal to or greater than 50 \u03bcm, and
the surface pressure at a contact portion at which the heat fixing member contacts the pressure fixing member is equal to or greater than 0.5 kgfcm2.
7. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein the pressure fixing member includes an elastic layer that is formed with a foam sponge body.
8. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein
the pressure fixing member is an endless belt member, and
a pressure pad that sandwiches the belt member against the heat fixing member is disposed inside the belt member.
9. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein
the heat source member includes a magnetic field generation component that generates a magnetic field, and
the heat fixing member includes a heat generating layer that is electromagnetically induced and heated by the magnetic field.
10. The fixing device of claim 9, wherein
the heat fixing member includes a temperature-sensitive layer that contacts a surface of the heat generating layer at an opposite side thereof to the magnetic field generation component, and
a magnetic permeability start-of-change temperature, at which the magnetic permeability of the temperature-sensitive layer begins to drop continuously, is in a temperature range that is equal to or higher than a fixing setting temperature for fixing of the unfixed image and equal to or lower than a heat resistant temperature of the fixing member.
11. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein a ring shaped member which is elastically deformable is provided between an outer periphery surface of the insertion portion and an inner periphery surface of the base body such that the insertion portion maintains contact with the base body all along its periphery via the ring shaped member.
12. The fixing device of claim 11, wherein the ring shaped member is a buffer member which alleviates stress concentration in the base body by elastically deforming according to the elastically deformable base body.
13. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein, in a cross section including a rotating axis of the base body, at least a portion of the insertion portion is overlapped, along the axial direction, to an end portion in the axial direction of the contact portion where the base body of the heat fixing member contacts the pressure fixing member.
14. The fixing device of claim 1, wherein a buffer member, which alleviates stress concentration in the base body by elastically deforming according to the elastically deformable base body, is provided between an outer periphery surface of the insertion portion and an inner periphery surface of the base body such that the insertion portion maintains contact with the base body all along its periphery via the buffer member.
15. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image carrier;
a latent image forming device that forms a latent image on a surface of the image carrier;
a developing device that develops the latent image on the surface of the image carrier into a visible image;
a transfer device that transfers the visible image on the surface of the image carrier to a medium; and
a fixing device that fixes the visible image to the medium surface, the fixing device including:
a heat fixing member that is rotatably supported and is heated; and a pressure fixing member that is supported in a state in which the pressure fixing member is pressed against the heat fixing member, an unfixed image on a surface of a medium between the heat fixing member and the pressure fixing member being fixed thereby, the heat fixing member including:
an elastically deformable base body that is a metal cylinder extending in a width direction of the medium, the width direction intersecting a transport direction of the medium; and
holding members disposed at both end portions in an axial direction of the base body, the holding member including:
an insertion portion that is inserted inside the end portion of the base body and maintains contact with the base body all along its periphery to hold a cross-sectional shape of the end portion of the base body in the axial direction in a circular shape; and
a received portion that is disposed at an outer end of the insertion portion, in the width direction of the medium, and formed integrally with the insertion portion, and that is thicker than the insertion portion,
a heat source member that extends in an axial direction of the cylindrical base body and is disposed such that the heat source member does not contact the base body, and when the heat fixing member is rotated and a portion of the heat fixing member reaches a fixing portion at which the heat fixing member fixes the unfixed image on the surface of the medium, the portion of the heat fixing member elastically deforms without it being necessary to provide a member that contacts an inner surface of the base body in the fixing portion from within, applies pressure to the medium, increases the size of a contact area with the medium and applies heat to the medium, and
after the heat fixing member is further rotated and the portion of the heat fixing member has passed the fixing portion, the heat fixing member elastically recovers its original shape.
16. A heat fixing member for a fixing device that includes a heat fixing member that is rotatably supported and is heated and a pressure fixing member that is supported in a state in which the pressure fixing member is pressed against the heat fixing member, the fixing device fixing an unfixed image on a surface of a medium between the heat fixing member and the pressure fixing member, the heat fixing member for a fixing device comprising:
an elastically deformable base body that is a metal cylinder that extends in a width direction of the medium, the width direction intersecting a transport direction of the medium;
a holding portion that includes a base body insertion portion that is inserted inside an end portion of the base body and having a circular outer periphery that maintains contact with the base body all along its periphery to hold a cross-sectional shape of the end portion of the base body in the axial direction in a circular shape, and a received portion that is disposed at an outer end of the base body insertion portion, in the width direction of the medium, and is rotatably supported by a receiving member, and formed integrally with the insertion portion, and that is thicker than the insertion portion, and
a heat source member that extends in an axial direction of the cylindrical base body and is disposed at a distance from an inner surface of the base body, and
when the heat fixing member is rotated and a portion of the heat fixing member reaches a fixing portion at which the heat fixing member fixes the unfixed image on the surface of the medium, the portion of the heat fixing member elastically deforms without it being necessary to provide a member that contacts an inner surface of the base body in the fixing portion from within, applies pressure to the medium, increases the size of a contact area with the medium and applies heat to the medium, and
after the heat fixing member is further rotated and the portion of the heat fixing member has passed the fixing portion, the heat fixing member elastically recovers its original shape.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A telecommunication service provider system for handling telephone calls directed to a telephone number of a terminated user that has been reassigned to a new user, comprising:
means for activating a notification service;
means in said notification service for receiving telephone calls directed to said telephone number;
means in said notification service for providing a message responsive to received calls directed to said telephone number regarding the reassignment of the telephone number;
means enabling a caller to choose whether to continue said received call;
means in the notification service to store telephone numbers of said received continuing calls in a log; and
means permitting subsequent received calls from telephone numbers listed on the log to bypass the notification message.
2. The communication service provider system of claim 1 wherein the user specifies a time period for the notification service to be activated.
3. The communication service provider system of claim 2 wherein the message from the notification service specifies the date the telephone number was reassigned.
4. The communication service provider system of claim 3 wherein the telephone number is reassigned to a wireless cellular telephone.
5. The communication service provider system of claim 3 wherein the telephone number is reassigned to a laptop computer.
6. The communication service provider system of claim 3 wherein a user can enter telephone numbers to the log to bypass the notification service message.
7. The communication service provider system of claim 3 wherein a user can delete telephone numbers on said bypass log.
8. In a telecommunication network, a method for handling telephone calls directed to a telephone number of a terminated user that has been reassigned to a new user, comprising:
activating a notification service;
receiving means in said notification service directing calls to said telephone number;
messaging means in said notification service for providing a message responsive to received calls directed to said telephone number regarding the reassignment of the telephone number;
determining means enabling a caller to choose whether to continue said received call;
storing means in the notification Service to store continuing calls in a log; and
permitting subsequent received calls from telephone numbers listed in the log to bypass the notification message.
9. The method for handling telephone calls of claim 8 further comprising specifying a time period by the user for the notification service to be activated.
10. The method for handling telephone calls of claim 9 wherein the message from the notification service specifies the date the telephone number was reassigned.
11. The method for handling telephone calls of claim 10 wherein the telephone number is reassigned to a wireless cellular telephone.
12. The method for handling telephone calls of claim 10 wherein the telephone number is reassigned to a laptop computer.
13. The method for handling telephone calls of claim 10 wherein a user can enter telephone numbers to the log to bypass the notification service message.
14. The method for handling telephone calls of claim 10 wherein a user can delete telephone numbers from said bypass log.
15. A computer readable medium storing a computer program which when executed performs the implementation for handling telephone calls directed to a telephone number of a terminated user that has been reassigned to a new user, comprising:
means for activating a notification service;
means in said notification service for receiving telephone calls directed to said telephone number;
means in said notification service for providing a message responsive to received calls directed to said telephone number regarding the reassignment of the telephone number;
means enabling a caller to choose whether to continue said received call;
means in the notification service to store telephone numbers of said received continuing calls in a log; and
means permitting subsequent received calls from telephone numbers listed on the log to bypass the notification message.
16. The computer readable medium for handling telephone calls of claim 15 wherein the user specifies a time period for the notification service to be activated.
17. The computer readable medium for handling telephone calls of claim 16 wherein the message from the notification service specifies the date the telephone number was reassigned.
18. The computer readable medium for handling telephone calls of claim 17 wherein the telephone num her is reassigned to a wireless cellular telephone.
19. The computer readable medium for handling telephone calls of claim 17 wherein a user can enter telephone numbers to the log to bypass the notification service message.
20. The computer readable medium for handling telephone calls of claim 19 wherein a user can delete telephone numbers from said bypass log.