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:
Feb. 21, 2017
Filed:
Jan. 29, 2016
Yutaka Ikebuchi, Kanagawa, JP;
Yasunori Ishigaya, Kanagawa, JP;
Takuya Seshita, Kanagawa, JP;
Kazuya Saito, Kanagawa, JP;
Motoyoshi Yamano, Kanagawa, JP;
Keitaro Shoji, Kanagawa, JP;
Yutaka Ikebuchi, Kanagawa, JP;
Yasunori Ishigaya, Kanagawa, JP;
Takuya Seshita, Kanagawa, JP;
Kazuya Saito, Kanagawa, JP;
Motoyoshi Yamano, Kanagawa, JP;
Keitaro Shoji, Kanagawa, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A fixing device includes a nip formation pad to form a fixing nip between a first fixing rotator and a second fixing rotator, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. The nip formation pad includes a first planar face, a second planar face disposed downstream from the first planar face in a recording medium conveyance direction and being parallel to the first planar face, and a joint face bridging the first planar face and the second planar face. The joint face includes a first curved portion adjoining the first planar face and having a first curvature in a first direction in which a circumferential face of the second fixing rotator is curved and a second curved portion adjoining the second planar face and having a second curvature in a second direction opposite the first direction.