Patent ID: 9268276
Filing Date: 2016-02-23
CPC Classification: G03G

Claim Text:
1. A fixing device comprising: a fixing rotator; a support rotator disposed opposite the fixing rotator; a fixing belt stretched taut across the fixing rotator and the support rotator; a pressure rotator pressed against the fixing rotator via the fixing belt to form a fixing nip between the fixing belt and the pressure rotator, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed, the pressure rotator including a recess defining an outer diameter of each lateral end of the pressure rotator in an axial direction thereof that is greater than an outer diameter of a center of the pressure rotator in the axial direction thereof; and a first separator disposed downstream from the fixing nip in a recording medium conveyance direction and contacting an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt, the first separator being isolated from the pressure rotator so that the first separator does not form any fixing nip between the fixing belt and the pressure rotator, and the first separator including a projection disposed opposite the recess of the pressure rotator.