A method of manufacturing a heat generating roller includes forming an insulating portion on a surface of a metal base member by providing poly-ether-ether-ketone resin over the surface of the base member and heating the poly-ether-ether-ketone resin, the poly-ether-ether-ketone resin being electrically insulating and heat-shrinkable; and forming a heat generating portion on a surface of the insulating portion, the heat generating portion generating heat when energized.

A heating device includes a heating roller having a resistance heat-generating layer that generates heat by passage of a current through the resistance heat-generating layer, a support member that supports a treatment portion in which a heating treatment is performed, a belt that is stretched between at least the heating roller and the support member and that rotates, and a pressure rotating body that rotates in such a manner as to press a sheet-shaped heating target that is an object to be subjected to a heating treatment against the treatment portion including an outer peripheral surface portion of the belt that is supported by the support member and in such a manner as to cause the heating target to pass through the treatment portion. The heating roller is not equipped with a power receiving component configured to receive a rotational power that is transmitted.

A fusing device thermally fuses a toner image formed on a sheet. The fusing device includes a sliding sheet having a sliding contact surface. The inner circumferential surface of a fusing belt comes into contact with and slides on the sliding contact surface. The sliding sheet has a fabric structure containing fluororesin fibers. The fluoroplastic fibers that are flattened by thermal pressure are disposed on the sliding contact surface, Thus, the sliding sheet has heat resistance.

A heater is to face a pressure element via a belt and is to heat the belt. The pressure element sandwiches and conveys a sheet together with the belt. The heater includes a substrate, a heat generating element, and a protective layer. The heat generating element is on the substrate. The protective layer covers the heat generating element and the substrate and whose surface is concave with respect to the pressure element. In the protective layer, a curvature of a top surface of an upstream end in a conveyance direction of the sheet is smaller than a curvature of a top surface of a downstream end in the conveyance direction.

A fixing device includes a rotating body, an endless belt, a base material of the endless belt being made of a heat-resistant resin having a glass transition temperature of 140° C. or more, a heater configured to heat at least one of the rotating body and the endless belt, a sliding sheet contacting an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt, a base material of the sliding sheet being made of a heat-resistant resin having a glass transition temperature of 140° C. or more, a pressure pad, the endless belt and the sliding sheet being interposed between the pressure pad and the rotating body, and grease provided between the endless belt and the sliding sheet. The grease includes a base oil made of a fluorine oil and a thickener made of a solid lubricant containing fluorine. The consistency of the grease is 330 to 385 at 25° C.

Disclosed herein is a release fluid, a fuser member and an image forming apparatus. The release fluid includes an amino functional silicone fluid, a non-functional silicone fluid; and vitamin E.

A fixing member for electrophotography having an endless shape has a base layer having an endless shape, and an elastic layer on the outer circumferential surface of the base layer. The elastic layer includes a silicone rubber and a filler dispersed in the silicone rubber. The total amount of the filler compounded in the elastic layer is 30 vol % or less based on the total volume of the elastic layer. The elastic layer satisfies the relation of λtd>λmd>λnd. λtd is a thermal conductivity of the elastic layer in the circumferential direction, λnd is a thermal conductivity of the elastic layer in the thickness direction, and λmd, is a thermal conductivity of the elastic layer in the longitudinal direction. λtd is 2.0 W/(m.Math.K) or more, and λnd is 1.3 W/(m.Math.K) or more.

An elastic roller is capable of elastic deformation at low load, lightweight and low-cost, and the surface speed of the roller has been made stable. At a drawing showing the view from the side of pipe 2 and flange 3 which make up roller 1, roller 1 which has pipe 2 and flange 3 is supported by shaft 8 which is inserted therein along axis 8a of shaft 8, the situation being such that elastic deformation occurs upon being pressed downward by pressure P from pressure-applying body 11 above pipe. None of the four outermost ribs 7a disposed in outermost gap 6a between outermost ring 4a of flange 3 and middle ring 4b which is mutually adjacent thereto and toward the interior therefrom is present in the upper portion of pipe 2.

A fixing member includes a slide layer having a cylindrical shape and a thickness of 8 micrometers (μm) or more and 20 μm or less, a base layer formed on an outer side of the slide layer, and a surface layer formed on an outer side of the base layer. The slide layer has Benard convection cell structure having an average diameter of 50 μm or more and 200 μm or less on a surface that is not in contact with the base layer, and the slide layer includes an additive having a median particle diameter D50 of 4.5 μm or less and an aspect ratio of 30 or more and less than 50.

A fixing belt includes a base member containing a metal, a sliding layer containing a filler and formed on a base member inner side, and a separation layer formed on a base member outer side. Assume that (i) a sliding layer cross section is obtained by cutting the sliding layer along a sliding layer thickness direction and is divided into sections each having a length that is the same as a sliding layer thickness in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction, and (ii) a ratio of a filler area to a sliding layer area in each cross section sections is an area ratio. A period coefficient is calculated using the formula (Ave% - Min%)/Ave%, where an average of area ratios of filler areas in all the sections is Ave% and a minimum of the area ratios is Min%, and the calculated period coefficient is 0.6 or more.