Patent ID: 8107868

Claim:
A fixing device comprising: an endless fixing belt; a first rotating body arranged at an inner side of the fixing belt; and a heater arranged to face an inner surface of the fixing belt and configured to heat the fixing belt and to suspend the fixing belt in a tensioned state together with the first rotating body, the heater comprising: a heat generating unit arranged at an end portion of the heater on a downstream side in a direction of travel of the fixing belt and configured to heat the fixing belt, wherein, a length of a heat generating region of the heat generating unit is less than an entire length of the heat generating unit; and a support including metal and configured to support the heat generating unit, wherein a contact length between the support and the heat generating unit is defined as l 1 , a length of a heat generating region of the heat generating unit is defined as l 2 , and l 1 and l 2 satisfy the relation l 1 ≦l 2 .