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. 19, 2016
Filed:
Feb. 26, 2015
Kenji Nozawa, Kanagawa, JP;
Masami Okamoto, Kanagawa, JP;
Yoshikuni Sasaki, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuuki Kikushima, Kanagawa, JP;
Fumihiro Hirose, Kanagawa, JP;
Keisuke Kubota, Kanagawa, JP;
Shuutaroh Yuasa, Kanagawa, JP;
Kaori Hemmi, Kanagawa, JP;
Kenji Nozawa, Kanagawa, JP;
Masami Okamoto, Kanagawa, JP;
Yoshikuni Sasaki, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuuki Kikushima, Kanagawa, JP;
Fumihiro Hirose, Kanagawa, JP;
Keisuke Kubota, Kanagawa, JP;
Shuutaroh Yuasa, Kanagawa, JP;
Kaori Hemmi, Kanagawa, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A fixing device includes a first roller contacting a fixing belt to generate a rotation friction force therebetween to rotate the fixing belt and a second roller contacting the fixing belt to exert a first inhibition force to the fixing belt in a direction opposite a direction of rotation of the fixing belt. A separation aid is disposed downstream from a fixing nip formed between the fixing belt and a pressure rotator in the direction of rotation of the fixing belt to decrease a curvature of the fixing belt and exert a second inhibition force to the fixing belt in the direction opposite the direction of rotation of the fixing belt. The second inhibition force is added to the first inhibition force to obtain a combined inhibition force that is smaller than the rotation friction force between the fixing belt and the first roller.