Abstract: A heating device includes a rotating unit, a transport belt, a heater, and a heat pipe. The rotating unit rotates. The transport belt rotates together with the rotating unit while nipping a heated member together with the rotating unit so as to transport the heated member. The heater has a contact surface in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the transport belt and a flat non-contact surface not in contact with the inner peripheral surface, and generates heat so as to heat the heated member via the transport belt. The heat pipe has a flat outer surface in contact with the non-contact surface of the heater and an interior having a cross-sectionally-circular space filled with a working fluid, and transfers heat in a belt width direction of the transport belt in accordance with a function of the working fluid.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a contact portion contacting a recording material transported; a heat source heating the contact portion and including a heat generator extending in a width direction intersecting a transport direction in which the recording material is transported, and a support portion supporting the heat generator, the heat source having a counter surface facing the contact portion, and an opposite surface; a high-thermal-conductivity portion is provided on the opposite surface of the heat source and extends in the width direction such that a part of the high-thermal-conductivity portion overlaps the heat generator of the heat source, the high-thermal-conductivity portion having a higher thermal conductivity than the support portion or the contact portion. A length of an area of overlap between the high-thermal-conductivity portion and the heat generator of the heat source in the transport direction is shorter in a width-direction central portion than in two width-direction end portions.

Abstract: A heating device includes a surface heater unit including a heater portion that generates heat in a region extending in a longitudinal direction, the surface heater unit heating a heating object; a support unit that supports the surface heater unit; and a heat conducting unit disposed in contact with a surface of the surface heater unit at a side opposite to a side adjacent to the heating object in a region between a center of the heater portion in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction and the support unit.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing member, a heating element, a power supply circuit, and a processor. The fixing member is used in fixing on recording material. The heating element is used to heat the fixing member. The power supply circuit causes current in phase control to flow to the heating element. The processor is configured to set the phase of the current by using a combination of multiple phase control periods having different numbers of cycles supplied from an alternating-current power supply. The current flows to the heating element.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing member, a heating element, a power supply circuit, and a processor. The fixing member is used in fixing on recording material. The heating element is used to heat the fixing member. The power supply circuit causes current in phase control to flow to the heating element. The processor is configured to set the phase of the current by using a combination of multiple phase control periods having different numbers of cycles supplied from an alternating-current power supply. The current flows to the heating element.

Abstract: A heating device includes a surface heater unit that generates heat along a surface extending in a longitudinal direction to heat a heating object; a heat pipe disposed to be in contact with a surface of the surface heater unit over a region extending in the longitudinal direction at a side opposite to a side adjacent to the heating object; a friction reducing material provided to a region in which the surface heater unit and the heating object are in contact with each other, the friction reducing material reducing a frictional resistance between the surface heater unit and the heating object; and a heat-conductive material interposed between the surface heater unit and the heat pipe and having a surface tension that differs from a surface tension of the friction reducing material by 3 (mN/m) or more.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a contact portion that comes into contact with a recording material transported; a heat source that heats the contact portion and has a counter surface and an opposite surface, the counter surface facing the contact portion; a high-thermal-conductivity portion provided on the opposite surface of the heat source and extending in a width direction intersecting a transport direction of the recording material, the high-thermal-conductivity portion having a higher thermal conductivity than the contact portion; a low-thermal-conductivity portion provided between the opposite surface of the heat source and the high-thermal-conductivity portion and having a lower thermal conductivity than the high-thermal-conductivity portion; and a temperature detector that detects a temperature of the heat source and is provided on the opposite surface of the heat source and at a position shifted from the high-thermal-conductivity portion and the low-thermal-conductivity portion in the transport direction.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a contact portion that comes into contact with a recording material transported; a heat source that heats the contact portion and has a counter surface and an opposite surface, the counter surface facing the contact portion; a high-thermal-conductivity portion provided on the opposite surface of the heat source and extending in a width direction intersecting a transport direction of the recording material, the high-thermal-conductivity portion having a higher thermal conductivity than the contact portion; a low-thermal-conductivity portion provided between the opposite surface of the heat source and the high-thermal-conductivity portion and having a lower thermal conductivity than the high-thermal-conductivity portion; and a temperature detector that detects a temperature of the heat source and is provided on the opposite surface of the heat source and at a position shifted from the high-thermal-conductivity portion and the low-thermal-conductivity portion in the transport direction.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a contact portion that comes into contact with a recording material transported; a heat source that heats the contact portion and includes a heat generator extending in a width direction intersecting a transport direction in which the recording material is transported, and a support portion supporting the heat generator, the heat source having a counter surface that faces the contact portion, and an opposite surface; and a high-thermal-conductivity portion provided on the opposite surface of the heat source and extending in the width direction such that at least a part of the high-thermal-conductivity portion overlaps the heat generator of the heat source, the high-thermal-conductivity portion having a higher thermal conductivity than at least one of materials forming the support portion and the contact portion.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a heating unit that rotates and that fixes a toner image on a recording medium, a pressing unit that rotates and that presses the heating unit, and a potential-difference application unit that applies a potential difference between the pressing unit and the heating unit so that a potential of the heating unit is higher than a potential of the pressing unit.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a heating unit that rotates and that fixes a toner image on a recording medium, a pressing unit that rotates and that presses the heating unit, and a potential-difference application unit that applies a potential difference between the pressing unit and the heating unit so that a potential of the heating unit is higher than a potential of the pressing unit.

Abstract: A fixing device includes: a tubular member extending in an axial direction and supported so as to be rotatable; a heat-generating member extending in the axial direction and in contact with an area between one end and the other end of the tubular member, the heat-generating member generating heat to heat the tubular member by receiving voltage; a pressure member that presses, to an outer circumferential surface of the tubular member, a recording medium having a toner image transferred thereto; and an interrupting member disposed between another portion of the heat-generating member and the tubular member and extending in the axial direction, the interrupting member being in contact with an area between one end and the other end of the heat-generating member and interrupting the voltage applied to the heat-generating member when at least a portion in contact with the heat-generating member reaches or exceeds a threshold temperature.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a planar heating element and a thermal fuse. The planar heating element is configured to heat a fixing member that fixes a toner image to a recording medium. The thermal fuse includes a fuse element configured to be in contact with the heating element, and an elastic member configured to support the fuse element on a support body by a tension at which a fusing temperature of the fuse element is lower than a rated fusing temperature.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a planar heating element and a thermal fuse. The planar heating element is configured to heat a fixing member that fixes a toner image to a recording medium. The thermal fuse includes a fuse element configured to be in contact with the heating element, and an elastic member configured to support the fuse element on a support body by a tension at which a fusing temperature of the fuse element is lower than a rated fusing temperature.

Abstract: A fixing device includes: a tubular member extending in an axial direction and supported so as to be rotatable; a heat-generating member extending in the axial direction and in contact with an area between one end and the other end of the tubular member, the heat-generating member generating heat to heat the tubular member by receiving voltage; a pressure member that presses, to an outer circumferential surface of the tubular member, a recording medium having a toner image transferred thereto; and an interrupting member disposed between another portion of the heat-generating member and the tubular member and extending in the axial direction, the interrupting member being in contact with an area between one end and the other end of the heat-generating member and interrupting the voltage applied to the heat-generating member when at least a portion in contact with the heat-generating member reaches or exceeds a threshold temperature.

Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless belt, a planar heater, a thermal fuse element, and an elastic member. The belt fixes a toner image to a recording medium. The heater heats the endless belt. The thermal fuse element has ends, has a length equal to or larger than an image forming width of the toner image formed on the recording medium, and is in contact with the heater. The elastic member supports at least one of the ends of the thermal fuse element.

Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless belt, a planar heater, a thermal fuse element, and an elastic member. The belt fixes a toner image to a recording medium. The heater heats the endless belt. The thermal fuse element has ends, has a length equal to or larger than an image forming width of the toner image formed on the recording medium, and is in contact with the heater. The elastic member supports at least one of the ends of the thermal fuse element.

Abstract: A heating unit includes the following elements. A magnetic-field generating member generates a magnetic field. An endless belt-shaped member has an inner peripheral surface to which a lubricant is applied and an outer peripheral surface, a portion of the outer peripheral surface opposing the magnetic-field generating member. The endless belt-shaped member rotates in a peripheral direction and generates heat by electromagnetic induction of the magnetic field. A temperature-sensitive magnetic plate is in contact with a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt-shaped member which opposes the magnetic-field generating member. A substrate is disposed on a side of the temperature-sensitive magnetic plate which does not face the endless belt-shaped member. An upstream end of the substrate is positioned on a farther downstream side than an upstream end of the temperature-sensitive magnetic plate in a rotating direction of the endless belt-shaped member.

Abstract: The measurement apparatus combines first and second lights from first and second light generators to focus the combined light to a sample, and detect the first or second light intensity-modulated by stimulated Raman scattering. The first light generator includes a light dispersion element separating the light from a light introducing optical system in different directions according to light frequencies, and drives at least one of the light dispersion element and part of the light introducing optical system so as to change an incident angle of the light to the light dispersion element to extract part of the separated light, thereby making a light frequency of the first light variable. The second light generator produces a plurality of the second lights having mutually different light frequencies. The apparatus measures a Raman spectrum by changing the light frequency of the first light.

Abstract: Provided are a method for observing protein crystal, wherein the growth process of the protein crystals is nondestructively and three-dimensionally monitored on a real-time basis and the growth of the crystals is controlled at a high accuracy to thereby enable the formation of single crystals having good qualities, which comprises observing the protein crystals, said protein crystals having been produced by a crystallization method using a gel, by an OCT measurement using light emitted from an ultrawideband light source; a method for observing protein crystals wherein the ultrawideband light source is an ultrawideband supercontinuum light source; a method for observing protein crystals wherein the center wavelength of the light emitted from the ultrawideband supercontinuum light source is a 0.8 ?m band; and a method for observing protein crystals wherein the monitoring of the protein crystals is a monitoring by an in situ measurement.