Patent ID: 6912371

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a roller having a central portion and an outer edge portion; a fusing belt positioned over at least a portion of the central portion of the roller; and a belt regulating part, positioned on the outer edge portion of the roller, that impedes the fusing belt from moving onto the outer edge portion of the roller, the belt regulating part comprising: a first portion having a surface adjacent to the central portion of the roller and an edge of the fusing belt, the first portion is configured to contact the fusing belt if the fusing belt moves toward the outer edge portion of the roller; and a second portion coupled to the first portion, the second portion having an interior surface that contacts with the outer edge portion of the roller during operation of the image forming apparatus to cause the regulating part to rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the roller and the fusing belt, wherein the interior surface of the second portion of the belt regulating part includes at least one contact region which contacts an exterior surface of the edge portion of the roller during the operation of the image forming apparatus, and wherein the edge portion of the roller thermally expands during the operation of the image forming apparatus, and the at least one contact region contacts the exterior surface of the outer edge portion of the roller and belt regulating part deforms.