Patent ID: 8204396

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a media transport configured to transport a media sheet in a media sheet travel direction; a fuser assembly configured to fuse an image on the media sheet, the fuser assembly including a first fuser member rotationally supported in the apparatus, the first fuser member being configured to fuse an image on the media sheet, and the fuser assembly including a second fuser member rotationally supported in the apparatus and coupled to the first fuser member at a fuser nip, the second fuser member being configured to fuse an image on the media sheet, where the fuser nip has a fuser nip width parallel to the media sheet travel direction; a controller coupled to the fuser assembly, the controller configured to control operations of the apparatus; a nip width profile generation module coupled to the controller, the nip width profile generation module configured to determine fuser nip width parameters based on media sheet properties and fuser assembly properties; and a feedback module coupled to the controller, the feedback module configured to adjust the fuser nip width parameters based on nip width feedback to achieve a desired fuser nip width, wherein the fuser assembly is configured to be adjusted according to the determined fuser nip width parameters, the controller is configured to further adjust the fuser nip width by adjusting a fuser assembly load based on the determined fuser nip width parameters and the nip width feedback, and the controller adjusts the fuser assembly load by separately adjusting a first load at a first end of the fuser assembly and a second load at a second end of the fuser assembly based on the determined fuser nip width parameters and the nip width feedback.