Patent ID: 8588670

Claim:
A fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording medium, comprising: a flexible, endless, belt-shaped fixing rotary body formed into a loop; a pressing rotary body provided outside the loop formed by the fixing rotary body; a nip formation pad provided inside the loop formed by the fixing rotary body and pressed against the pressing rotary body via the fixing rotary body to form a nip between the pressing rotary body and the fixing rotary body through which the recording medium bearing the toner image passes; a substantially tubular, metal thermal conductor provided inside the loop formed by the fixing rotary body to heat the fixing rotary body; a heater provided inside the metal thermal conductor to heat the metal thermal conductor; a pad support provided inside the metal thermal conductor to support the nip formation pad; a reflector provided between the heater and the pad support to reflect heat emitted by the heater thereto toward an inner circumferential surface of the metal thermal conductor, the reflector comprising: a center reflection portion provided at a center of the reflector in a longitudinal direction thereof; and a plurality of end reflection portions provided at respective lateral ends of the reflector in the longitudinal direction thereof, outboard of the center reflection portion; and a plurality of reflector moving assemblies connected to the plurality of end reflection portions of the reflector, respectively, to tilt the plurality of end reflection portions with respect to the center reflection portion, wherein: the reflector further comprises a plurality of rotation axes provided at respective lateral ends of the center reflection portion in the longitudinal direction of the reflector, the plurality of end reflection portions is plate-shaped and rotates about the rotation axes, respectively, the center reflection portion comprises a reflection face to reflect heat emitted by the heater thereto toward the metal thermal conductor, and each of the plurality of end reflection portions comprises a reflection face to reflect heat emitted by the heater thereto toward the metal thermal conductor and a non-reflection face disposed back-to-back to the reflection face, and each of the plurality of reflector moving assemblies comprises: a cam roller to move in the longitudinal direction of the reflector and press against the non-reflection face of the end reflection portion so as to rotate the end reflection portion and tilt the reflection face of the end reflection portion toward the reflection face of the center reflection portion; and a biasing member mounted on the pad support and attached to the end reflection portion to bias the end reflection portion toward the pad support to align the reflection face of the end reflection portion with the reflection face of the center reflection portion.