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:
Mar. 24, 2009
Filed:
Jan. 24, 2006
Hiroshi Yoshinaga, Ichikawa, JP;
Shinichi Namekata, Yokohama, JP;
Hiroyuki Shimada, Tokyo, JP;
Masanao Ehara, Saitama, JP;
Hirofumi Ogawa, Kawasaki, JP;
Tadashi Ogawa, Kawasaki, JP;
Ippel Fujimoto, Kawasaki, JP;
Hiroshi Yoshinaga, Ichikawa, JP;
Shinichi Namekata, Yokohama, JP;
Hiroyuki Shimada, Tokyo, JP;
Masanao Ehara, Saitama, JP;
Hirofumi Ogawa, Kawasaki, JP;
Tadashi Ogawa, Kawasaki, JP;
Ippel Fujimoto, Kawasaki, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an image forming mechanism and a fixing mechanism. The fixing mechanism fixes a visible image formed by the image forming mechanism onto a recording sheet. The fixing mechanism includes a first roller, a second roller, a belt, a third roller, and an applicator. The second roller includes a first heater having a first heat capacity. The belt is looped over the first and second rollers. The third roller is arranged opposite to the first roller via the belt, includes a second heater having a heat capacity smaller than the first heat capacity of the first heater, applies a pressure to the belt and the first roller, and rotates in conjunction with a movement of the first roller via the belt. The applicator is arranged at a position in contact with the third roller and applies oil to a surface of the third roller.