Patent ID: 8090305

Claim:
A fixing device comprising: a liquid supply unit that supplies a liquid fixer containing a softening agent that dissolves or swells at least a part of a resin to soften the resin; an air supply unit that supplies air for foaming the liquid fixer; and a foam generation unit that mixes the liquid fixer supplied from the liquid supply unit with the air supplied from the air supply unit to generate foams; wherein the foam generation unit includes an air channel in which the air supplied from the air supply unit flows, a liquid-fixer channel provided such that the liquid fixer supplied from the liquid supply unit flows from a direction opposite to a flowing direction of the air channel, and an air-and-liquid mixing part that mixes the air supplied from the air channel with the liquid fixer supplied from the liquid fixer channel in such a manner as to be opposite to each other, thereby generating a foam-like fixer.