A nip forming member includes a base material and a thermal conductive member that overlaps the base material and has a higher thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of the base material. The base material has protrusions projecting to one side or another side in a short direction on a part of a longitudinal direction on both sides in the short direction. The thermal conductive member has fitting holes into which the protrusions are fitted in both sides in the short direction.

A fixing device includes a fixing belt, a flat heater, a holder and a pressing roller. The fixing belt is rotatable and cylindrical. The flat heater has a holding body and a heating resistor. The holder is configured to hold the flat heater such that a surface in which the heating resistor is embedded comes into contact with an inner circumferential face of the fixing belt via a lubricant. Of a contact area of the flat heater with the inner circumferential face of the fixing belt, in an area outside longitudinal end portion of the holding body, a groove is formed such that the lubricant flows to a center side of the holding body toward a downstream side in a rotational direction of the fixing belt.

A fixing device is provided that includes a rotatable endless fixing member; a heat source for heating the fixing member; a pressure member that forms a nip with the fixing member; and a nip forming portion that faces the pressure member inside the fixing member and forms the nip; wherein the nip forming portion has a base material and a heat equalizing member, the heat equalizing member has a flat portion between the base material and the pressure member and a bent portion that begins to bend away from the pressure member at an upstream side edge of the base material with respect to a conveyance direction of a recording medium that is configured to be conveyed between the pressure member and the fixing member, and then the bent portion further bends to at least partially hook over a convex part of the base material that is formed at the upstream side of the base material such that an end portion of the bent portion is farther downstream with respect to the conveyance direction of a recording medium than the upstream side edge of the base material.

A heater includes an insulator substrate, a heat generating section in which a plurality of divided regions are formed in a longitudinal direction on a first surface of the insulator substrate, electrodes formed at both end portions of the heat generating section to correspond to the plurality of divided regions, and electric conductors connected to at least one of the electrodes and formed over a surface different from the first surface of the insulator substrate.

A fixing device includes a heating unit, a pressure unit, a moving unit, and a controller. The heating unit is configured to heat a toner on a recording medium. The pressure unit is configured to transport the recording medium while sandwiching the recording medium in a nip that the pressure unit and the heating unit form. The moving unit is configured to change a nip state of the pressure unit with respect to the heating unit by moving the heating unit or the pressure unit. The controller is configured to, when plural recording media are transported continuously, control the moving unit so that the moving unit moves the heating unit or the pressure unit in a separation direction so as to reduce a nip width at a recording medium interval between the recording media.

The present invention brings about an increase in the thermal conductivity of an elastomer molded article over a preexisting value. The method according to the present invention is a method that uses at least one of a liquid crystalline polymer and a precursor therefor as a thermal conductivity modifier for an elastomer. That is, the thermal conductivity modifier for an elastomer according to the present invention contains at least one of a liquid crystalline polymer and a precursor therefor. The thermal conductivity modifier may contain only at least one of a liquid crystalline polymer and a precursor therefor or may contain at least one of a liquid crystalline polymer and a precursor therefor along with an additional component. The method and thermal conductivity modifier according to the present invention can bring about an increase in the thermal conductivity of an elastomer molded article over a preexisting value.

A fixing device includes an endless belt. A heat supply part is disposed inside the belt, contacts an inner circumferential surface thereof, and supplies heat thereto. A pressure member contacts an outer circumferential surface of the belt to form a nip portion, and conveys a recording medium while nipping the recording medium together with the belt. The heat supply part includes a heater having a plurality of heating sections arranged in a widthwise direction of the belt, and a thermal diffusion member extending in the widthwise direction between the heater and the belt. One surface of the thermal diffusion member contacts the inner circumferential surface of the belt, and the other surface contacts the heating sections. A plate thickness t (mm) between the surfaces of the thermal diffusion member, and a thermal diffusivity D (mm.sup.2/s) of the thermal diffusion member satisfy the relationship: tD6.7.

There is provided a heater according to an embodiment including a heat generating unit configured to generate heat by electric conduction; and a plurality of electrodes configured to be respectively disposed at facing side edges of the heat generating unit so as to be electrically connected to the heat generating unit and at least one side of the side edges is formed by cutting out a part thereof.

A pressure-applying device includes a pressure-applying portion that applies pressure to a pressure-receiving object and a pressing portion that presses the pressure-applying portion toward the pressure-receiving object, the pressing portion having a hardness higher than a hardness of the pressure-applying portion. The pressure-applying portion includes plural projections that project from a back surface of the pressure-applying portion that faces the pressing portion toward a pressing surface of the pressing portion that faces the pressure-applying portion.

A pressure-applying device includes a pressure-applying portion that applies pressure to a pressure-receiving object and a pressing portion that presses the pressure-applying portion toward the pressure-receiving object, the pressing portion having a hardness higher than a hardness of the pressure-applying portion. The pressure-applying portion includes plural projections that project from a back surface of the pressure-applying portion that faces the pressing portion toward a pressing surface of the pressing portion that faces the pressure-applying portion.