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. 23, 2022
Filed:
Aug. 19, 2020
Konica Minolta, Inc., Tokyo, JP;
Yutaka Otsuka, Toyokawa, JP;
Konica Minolta, Inc., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus may include a pressurization member rotated by a motor in a direction of transportation in the fixing apparatus, of the recording material downstream in a transportation path, a fixing belt that forms, as being opposed to the pressurization member, a nip region where an unfixed image is fixed, the fixing belt being rotated as following rotation of the pressurization member, a support member that is arranged on an inner side of the fixing belt and slidably supports the fixing belt at a position opposed to the pressurization member against a pressure applied by the pressurization member, and a control unit that obtains torque at the time when the motor is driven each time a predetermined condition is satisfied, and determines that the fixing apparatus has reached the end of its life based on variation over time in obtained torque turning from increase to decrease.