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:
May. 04, 1999
Filed:
Aug. 29, 1997
Takeshi Kato, Itami, JP;
Minolta Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A fixing device capable of producing fixed images of excellent quality by using a thin-layer rotating heating member and a heating element capable of rapidly and directly heating a rotating heating member to shorten the warm-up time of the rotating heating member, and capable of suppressing fluctuation of the rotating heating member temperature when a recording member is inserted between the rotating heating member and a rotating pressure member after the rotating heating member has been warmed up. The fixing device has a heating roller heated by a resistance heating element, a pressure roller opposite the heating roller, a temperature detector to detect the heating roller temperature, and a control unit to control the power supplied to the resistance heating element based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector. The heating roller and the pressure roller start rotating before the warm-up period ends, and power is supplied to the resistance heating element at a power level required to maintain the temperature of the heating roller at a predetermined fixing temperature directly after insertion of a recording member, bearing an unfixed image, between the heating roller and the pressure roller in accordance with the rate of temperature rise of the heating roller, during rotation of the heating roller, from the start of rotation or after the start of rotation of the hearing roller, but before the warm-up period ends.