Patent ID: 7277108

Claim:
A fixing apparatus comprising: a heating medium that heat-fixes an unfixed image onto a recording medium; a heater that heats said heating medium; and a sheet separation guide plate having a guide surface that guides a heat-fixing surface of said recording medium, on which said unfixed image has been heat-fixed and which is transported along a predetermined sheet path, in a direction of separation from said heating medium; wherein said guide surface of said sheet separation guide plate comprises a step part raised along a guide width direction of said guide surface, wherein said step part comprises a plurality of projecting parts, provided in a guide width direction, and a recess between said projecting parts, and wherein, comparing a downstream projecting part, located on a sheet transportation direction downstream side, with an upstream projecting part located on a sheet transportation direction upstream side, said downstream projecting part is located so that an apex thereof is positioned further toward said heater than a peripheral surface of said heating medium.