Patent ID: 8878883

Claim:
A heated drum assembly for use in a printer, the heated drum assembly comprising: a hollow drum including an external surface and an internal surface defining an internal cavity, the hollow drum having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis; a heater located in the internal cavity, the heater including three or more heating units, each of the heating units being individually controllable to heat three or more zones defined on the external surface of the hollow drum along a longitudinal axis of the hollow drum selectively, each of the heating units having one or more heating elements operatively connected to generate heat simultaneously, a reflector and an aperture, the reflector being configured to reflect heat through the aperture to heat the internal surface of the hollow drum; an external non-contacting temperature sensor spaced from the external surface of the hollow drum; and an internal temperature sensor disposed in the internal cavity and in either a contacting position or non-contacting position with respect to the internal surface of the hollow drum; and a controller operatively connected to the heater, the controller being configured to regulate an amount of heat generated by each of the three or more heating units of the heater.