ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,498,656, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to RICOH COMPANY LTD. (Tokyo).
"Fixing device and image forming apparatus" was invented by Takahiro Imada (Kanagawa, Japan), Yuusuke Furuichi (Kanagawa, Japan) and Hitoshi Fujiwara (Kanagawa, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A fixing device includes a fixing rotator having a hollow portion inside the fixing rotator, a fixing cover, a pressure rotator contacting the fixing rotator to form a fixing nip, an electric component, and a harness. The fixing cover covers the fixing rotator and extends from one end to another end in a longitudinal direction of the fixing cover. The electric component is...