A fixing film includes a cylindrical base layer, an elastic layer formed on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base layer, and a separation layer formed on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer. The separation layer includes fluororesin, and a degree of orientation of the fluororesin is greater than or equal to 40% and smaller than or equal to 59%.

An electroconductive elastic body includes: a cross-linked product of a first ionic electro-conductive rubber, a cross-linked product of a second ionic electro-conductive rubber, and at least one of a fatty acid and a fatty acid metal salt; wherein the electroconductive elastic body has a matrix that includes the cross-linked product of the first ionic electro-conductive rubber, and a domain that includes the cross-linked product of the second ionic electro-conductive rubber; the cross-linked product of the second ionic electro-conductive rubber includes a polyether skeleton; an electrical resistance of the domain is lower than an electrical resistance of the matrix; in a waveform separation profile of the elastic body as obtained by a small-angle X-ray scattering method, A2 and A1 satisfy a relationship expressed by the following expression (1):
0.005≤(A2×C2/A1×C1)≤0.030  (1).

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator, a pressure rotator, and a cleaning device. The cleaning device cleans a surface of at least one of the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The cleaning device includes a cleaning web, a web holder, a winder, a cleaning pressure rotator, a pressure applier, and a temporary holder. The cleaning web slides over and cleans the at least one of the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The web holder holds and sends out the cleaning web. The winder winds the cleaning web. The cleaning pressure rotator presses the cleaning web against the at least one of the fixing rotator and the pressure rotator. The pressure applier presses against the cleaning web along a width direction of the cleaning web perpendicular to a direction in which the cleaning web is wound. The temporary holder temporarily holds the pressure applier.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion configured to form a developer image on a recording material, a fixing portion configured to heat-fix the developer image to the recording material, a first motor configured to drive the image forming portion, a second motor configured to drive the fixing portion, and a control portion configured to control the first motor and the second motor. The second motor is a stepping motor. The control portion allows the second motor to start rotation at a speed in a self-start region, temporarily stops the second motor at a timing at which the first motor is activated, then allows the second motor to restart rotation at a speed in the self-start region, and changes the speed of the second motor to a speed outside the self-start region before the recording material arrives at the fixing portion.

In a fixing device, a first fixing member and a second fixing member are configured to form a nip in combination, and an arm biased by a first spring with a first biasing force provides a nip pressure. A cam rotatably arranged to cause the arm to move against the first biasing force has a first cam surface used to change the nip pressure from a first pressure to a second pressure smaller than the first pressure, and a second cam surface of which an angle of action is greater than that of the first cam surface to change the nip pressure from the second pressure to a third pressure smaller than the second pressure. A maximum pressure angle at the second cam surface is smaller than a maximum pressure angle at the first cam surface.

A device includes a rotator having a rotation axis, a belt, a nip forming member surrounded by the belt and configured to, with the rotator, pinch the belt to form a nip, an urging member configured to urge one of the rotator and the nip forming member towards the other in a particular direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, an upstream guide and a downstream guide. The upstream guide includes an upstream guide surface configured to guide an inner peripheral surface of the belt. The nip forming member includes a facing surface which faces the rotator. An upstream edge of the facing surface in the moving direction is located at a position farther from the rotation axis, in the particular direction, than a downstream edge of the upstream guide surface.

A heating device includes a heater, a rotator, and a pressure rotator. The heater includes resistive heat generators forming a heat generation area and has a separation area formed by the resistive heat generators. The pressure rotator includes a first region and a second region. The first region faces the heater in a range of 20 mm from a center position of the heat generation area toward an end thereof in the arrangement direction. The second region faces the heater in at least a part of a range of 30 mm from a center position of the separation area toward the center position of the heat generation area. An outer diameter of the pressure rotator increases from the center toward the end. The outer diameter of the second region increases at an increasing rate larger than an increasing rate of the outer diameter of the first region.

Provided is an image heating device that heats an image in a nip portion, including: a film; a heater; a roller that forms the nip portion with the film; a backup member; regulating members that regulate a movement of the film and move along with the backup member; and a frame that includes a guide portion to insert the regulating members and a shaft of the roller. The roller includes an elastic layer that is deformed by being pressed from a side which the film is placed, such that a distance between a rotation axis of the roller and the nip portion decreases, and that a volume of the elastic layer decreases. The guide portion guides so that the regulating members move more to a downstream side in a conveying direction of the recording material as the regulating members approach the rotation axis of the roller.

A formed article according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cylindrical base layer containing a polyimide as a main component, a sliding layer disposed on an inner circumferential surface side of the base layer and containing a polyether ether ketone as a main component, and an outermost layer disposed on an outer circumferential surface side of the base layer and containing a fluororesin as a main component.

Provided is a pressurizing member including a substrate, an elastic layer on the substrate, and a surface layer on the elastic layer, the surface layer containing a fluorine resin, wherein the surface layer has a surface resistivity of 1×10.sup.11[Ω/□] or less at a temperature of 25° C. when applying a DC voltage of 500 V, and a thermal conductivity λ in a thickness direction of the surface layer is 0.093 [W/(m.Math.K)] or less.