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:
Sep. 09, 2014
Filed:
May. 10, 2012
Kazuyoshi Kondo, Tokyo, JP;
Haruo Hashimoto, Osaka, JP;
Genta Hagiwara, Osaka, JP;
Masafumi Takahira, Osaka, JP;
Kazuyoshi Kondo, Tokyo, JP;
Haruo Hashimoto, Osaka, JP;
Genta Hagiwara, Osaka, JP;
Masafumi Takahira, Osaka, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an outer cover in which an air intake and an exhaust outlet are formed, an image forming unit, a fixing device to fix an image on a recording medium and including a fixing casing in which a sheet inlet and a first exhaust opening are formed, and a thermal shield disposed above the sheet inlet of the fixing device and between the fixing device and a component adjacent to the fixing device, an air channel to guide air sucked in through the air intake to the exhaust outlet, defined by the thermal shield as well as the fixing casing. The first exhaust opening formed in the fixing casing communicates with the air channel formed by the thermal shield and the fixing casing to merge the hot air discharged from the fixing device into the air flowing in the air channel.