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:
Jan. 01, 2013
Filed:
Jul. 26, 2010
Kohta Takenaka, Yokohama, JP;
Kazunori Bannai, Atsugi, JP;
Hidehiko Fujiwara, Tokyo, JP;
Ricoh Company, Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A fixing device includes a fixing member including a recording medium passing area inside thereof through which the recording medium passes, a first heater disposed in the fixing member to heat the fixing member, a first pressing member disposed opposite the fixing member to press against and rotate the fixing member to fix the unfixed toner image on the recording medium, a second heater disposed outside the recording medium passing area and inside the fixing member to heat the fixing member cyclically in a given cycle of heating, a temperature detector to detect a change in the temperature of the fixing member when the fixing member is cyclically heated by the second heater, and a determination unit to evaluate a condition of rotation of the fixing member based on the cycle of heating by the second heater and the cycle of change in the temperature detected by the temperature detector.