Patent ID: 7113716

Claim:
A thermal fixing device comprising: a fixing member configured to be in contact with a fixation medium; a first pressing member disposed to face the fixing member and presses the fixation medium to the fixing member; a second pressing member disposed to face the fixing member at a position downstream in a conveyance direction of the fixation medium with respect to the first pressing member and presses the fixation medium to the fixing member; and a changeover unit configured to change over a pressing force per unit area of at least one of the first pressing member and the second pressing member; wherein the changeover unit changes over the pressing force per unit area of the first pressing member and the pressing force per unit area of the second pressing member between a first state and a second state in which the pressing force per unit area of the first pressing member and the pressing force per unit area of the second pressing member are lower than those in the first state.