PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15924631
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-03
Publication Date: 2018-10
Patent Classification: ["399", "329000"]

Abstract:
A fixing device includes a fixing rotator and a lateral end heater to heat a lateral end span of the fixing rotator in an axial direction thereof. A thermal conduction aid contacts the fixing rotator. A nip formation pad contacts the thermal conduction aid. A lateral end temperature detector detects a temperature of the fixing rotator in a lateral end detection span in the axial direction of the fixing rotator. The thermal conduction aid contacts the nip formation pad in a first span including the lateral end detection span in the axial direction of the fixing rotator with a first contact area. The thermal conduction aid contacts the nip formation pad in a second span disposed outboard from the first span in the axial direction of the fixing rotator with a second contact area smaller than the first contact area.

Claim (Index 15):
A fixing device comprising:\n a fixing rotator that is endless and rotatable in a rotation direction; a thermal conduction aid contacting an inner circumferential surface of the fixing rotator; a nip formation pad contacting the thermal conduction aid; a pressure rotator to press against the nip formation pad via the fixing rotator and the thermal conduction aid to form a fixing nip between the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator, the fixing nip through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed; a temperature detector to detect a temperature of the fixing rotator in a detection span within a recording medium conveyance span in an axial direction of the fixing rotator, the recording medium conveyance span where the recording medium is conveyed; a heater to heat the fixing rotator; and a controller to control the heater to heat the fixing rotator to a target temperature based on the temperature of the fixing rotator detected by the temperature detector, the thermal conduction aid to conduct heat to the nip formation pad in the detection span in the axial direction of the fixing rotator with a first amount, the thermal conduction aid to conduct heat to the nip formation pad in an outboard span disposed outboard from the recording medium conveyance span in the axial direction of the fixing rotator with a second amount smaller than the first amount.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 38.0
- Percentile: 90.0
- Lexical Diversity: 3.31818
- Patent Class: 399.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['15627693', '15827085', '15378668', '15440179', '14992643']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8438818914320404
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.565614640995719
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.8160551663884082
- Mean Citation Score: 453.4150780000001
- Max Citation Score: 475.46942
- Similarity Product: 400.2253762812686

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 0
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 0
- Combined Label: 0
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test