Patent ID: 7546077

Claim:
A fuser of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for fusing a toner image to a recording medium by applying heat and pressure, the fuser comprising: a first roller having a first end portion and a second end portion; a second roller having a first end portion and a second end portion, the first and second rollers being elastically biased against each other and rotating while contacting each other; an elastic layer provided on at least one of the first and second rollers; a heat source provided on at least one of the first and second rollers; a gear coupled to a first end portion of at least one of the first and second rollers; and first and second interval maintenance members respectively coupled to the second end portions of the first and second rollers, the first and second interval maintenance members facing each other, the first and second interval maintenance members contacting each other to prevent excessive compression of the elastic layer; wherein the first interval maintenance member is coupled to the first roller such that a portion of the first interval maintenance member having a maximum roundness error matches a portion of the first roller having a maximum roundness error.