FIXING DEVICE

Organization Name

Inventor(s)

FIXING DEVICE

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18464889 titled 'FIXING DEVICE

Original Abstract Submitted

According to one embodiment, a fixing device includes a fuser including a fixing member with a surface to contact a printable medium and a heat source for heating the fixing member. A temperature sensor is provided having a sensing part that contacts the surface of the fixing member. A heater control circuit is configured to estimate a temperature of the surface of the fixing member based on a temperature measured by the sensing part of the temperature sensor. A memory is provided for storing estimated temperature values obtained over a prior time period by the heater control circuit. A controller is configured to determine whether there is an abnormality in the fixing device based on a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the estimated temperature values stored in the memory.