The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 17, 2021
Filed:
Aug. 24, 2020
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, JP;
Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Kazuhiko Kikuchi, Yokohama Kanagawa, JP;
Osamu Takagi, Chofu Tokyo, JP;
Chie Miyauchi, Odawara Kanagawa, JP;
KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, Tokyo, JP;
TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A fixing device according to an embodiment includes an endless belt, a pressure element, a heating member, an adjustment mechanism, and a controller. The pressure element conveys and presses a sheet to the endless belt. The heating member is on the inner side of the belt and has a heat generating element for heating the belt. The adjustment mechanism moves the heating member or the pressure element to adjust the nip width between the heating member and the pressure element. The controller controls the adjustment mechanism so that A>B≥N is satisfied, where A is the nip width during a fixing process in which a colored material is fixed to the sheet, B is the nip width during a heating process conducted before the fixing process, and N is the length of the heat generating element in the sheet conveyance direction.