Patent ID: 7546079

Claim:
A fixing apparatus for fixing an image onto a recording material, comprising: a heating member that is provided with a base member and an elastic layer on which a surface layer is formed, wherein the surface layer is elastically deformable and includes a paper sheet passing area that directly contacts the recording material and a paper sheet non-passing area that does not contact the recording material; a pressing member that press-contacts the heating member; and a temperature sensor that contacts the paper sheet non-passing area of the surface layer; wherein a value of a surface roughness Ra of the paper sheet non-passing area is larger than that of the paper sheet passing area and wherein the surface layer is made of a resin of tetrafluorethylene-perfluoralkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA), having a measuring value of elastic modulus (G′) being equal to or smaller than 60 Mpa, measured at 100° C. by a dynamic viscoelasticity measuring apparatus (ARES).