Patent ID: 9280105
Filing Date: 2016-03-08
CPC Classification: G03G

Claim Text:
1. A fixing device comprising: a pressing member that is rotatably held and provides a pressure acting in one direction; a heating member that is rotatably held in such a manner as to face the pressing member and includes a substantially cylindrical member and a heating unit, the substantially cylindrical member receiving the pressure, the heating unit being provided inside the substantially cylindrical member, the heating member fixing a toner image on a sheet with the pressure provided by the pressing member and heat generated by the heating unit; a drive source that outputs a driving force with which the heating member is rotated; and a transmission member that provides a space that receives an end of the substantially cylindrical member, the transmission member having an inner circumferential surface that is separated from an outer surface of the end of the substantially cylindrical member by an air gap when not receiving pressure from the pressing member, but which is configured to come into contact with the end of the substantially cylindrical member by closing the air gap in response to the substantially cylindrical member receiving the pressure from the pressing member, the transmission member transmitting the driving force of the drive source to the heating member, wherein when the air gap is closed, the transmission member and the substantially cylindrical member rotate at a different number of revolutions per unit time, wherein the heating member further includes a film provided over an outer circumferential surface of the substantially cylindrical member excluding a portion at the end of the substantially cylindrical member, the film coming into contact with the pressing member, and wherein the inner circumferential surface of the transmission member comes into contact with the end of the substantially cylindrical member that is free of the film.