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:
Apr. 16, 2024
Filed:
Feb. 17, 2022
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Atsushi Iwasaki, Shizuoka, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form an image on a recording material and a fixing unit. The fixing unit fixes the image formed on the recording material to the recording material. The fixing unit includes a heating member and a pressing member to form a nip portion to nip and convey the recording material with the heating member. The fixing unit further includes a pressure adjusting mechanism to apply pressure to the nip portion and release or reduce the applied pressure. If a parameter for a cumulative usage of the fixing unit is a first value, frequency of release or reduction of the applied pressure is a first frequency. If the parameter for the cumulative usage is a second value greater than the first value, the frequency of release or reduction of the applied pressure is a second frequency lower than the first frequency.