Patent ID: 7457575

Claim:
A fusing device comprising: a belt having an inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface, said belt has a base material, an elastic layer formed on said base material, and a mold-releasing layer formed on said elastic layer; a pressure member disposed in contact with said belt for fusing a developer image on a recording medium at a contact area between said belt and said pressure member, the pressure member, the belt and the contact area extending continuously from a transit area for said recording medium to a non-transit area for said recording medium, the transit area for said recording medium located proximate to an axial center of said pressure member, the non-transit area for said recording medium located at an edge of said pressure member beyond the transit area; and a pushing member in contact with the inner circumferential surface of said belt and pushing said belt toward the pressure member, the pushing member extending from the transit area to the non-transit area for said recording medium, wherein said elastic layer is exposed in said non-transit area, wherein said belt has an escaping portion formed between a maximum recording medium transit width and an elastic layer exposed width, and wherein said mold-releasing layer has an end portion thereof placed inside said escaping portion; wherein where a friction coefficient of an inner circumferential surface of said belt is set to μ i , a friction coefficient of the transit area for the recording medium on the outer circumferential surface of said belt is set to μ 01 , and a friction coefficient of the non-transit area for said recording medium on said outer circumferential surface of said belt, is set to μ 02 , so that a relationship of μ 01 <μ i <μ 02 is satisfied.