Patents Examined by Claytone E LaBalle
  • Patent number: 8971780
    Abstract: A fixing device including an endless belt; a pressing pad located inside the endless belt; a pressing roller pressed toward the pressing pad with the endless belt therebetween to form a fixing nip; an internal guide to position the endless belt; and an external guide, which is contacted with an outer surface of the endless belt at the exit side of the fixing nip to deform the endless belt. The pressing roller drives the endless belt to rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Shunichi Oohara
  • Patent number: 8831457
    Abstract: A fixing device includes an excitation coil, a fixing member heated by electromagnetic induction by the excitation coil, a magnetic shunt alloy member, a Curie temperature of which is higher than a target fixing temperature, a determiner that determines whether the temperature of a non-sheet passing region of the fixing member is about to reach the Curie temperature, and a power controller that controls power supplied to the excitation coil. Until the determiner determines that the Curie temperature is about to be reached, the power controller performs feedback control to provide power to the excitation coil. When the determiner determines that the Curie temperature is about to be reached, the power controller switches to fixed power control so that a difference between power supplied when the Curie temperature is about to be reached and power supplied after reaching the Curie temperature falls within an allowable range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, Isao Watanabe, Harumitsu Fujimori
  • Patent number: 8509612
    Abstract: A viewfinder for attaching to a device having image-capturing capability has a structure for supporting an eyepiece, an engagement interface implemented on the structure to engage a complementary portion of a device having image-capture capability in a specific direction, and at least one eyepiece attached to the structure, such that the eyepiece has an axis proceeding in the specific direction with the viewfinder engaged to the device having image-capture capability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Inventor: Earl J. PeQueen