Patent ID: 8417137

Claim:
A fixing device, comprising: a rotary fixing member; a counter member to contact the rotary fixing member at a contact portion through which a recording medium is passed to fix an image thereon; a first heater to heat the rotary fixing member; a driving unit to rotate the rotary fixing member; a temperature detector to detect a temperature of the rotary fixing member; and a contact-and-separation unit to switch between contact and separation states of the rotary fixing member relative to the counter member, wherein, in a temperature-raising operation of raising the temperature of the rotary fixing member to a temperature at which the image is fixed on the recording medium, the driving unit causes the rotary fixing member to rotate when the temperature detector detects that the temperature of the rotary fixing member has reached a first setting temperature, and the contact-and-separation unit causes the rotary fixing member in rotation and the counter member to contact each other when the temperature detector detects that the temperature of the rotary fixing member has reached a second setting temperature that is higher than the first setting temperature, wherein a rotation speed of the rotary fixing member is variable while the temperature of the rotary fixing member increases, and the rotation speed of the rotary fixing member after the temperature of the rotary fixing member has reached the second setting temperature is set faster than a rotation speed of the rotary fixing member while the temperature of the rotary fixing member rises from the first setting temperature to the second setting temperature, and wherein, during the temperature-raising operation, the first heater starts to heat the rotary fixing member while the rotary fixing member is stopped and separated from the counter member.