Patent ID: 7177580

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming mechanism configured to form an image; and a fixing unit configured to fix a toner image formed on a recording medium, the fixing unit including: a first rotating member; and a second rotating member configured to form a nip together with the first rotating member, the second rotating member including a surface layer having a universal hardness HU and a maximum surface pressure P each within a predetermined range, wherein the universal hardness HU of the surface layer of the second rotating member, as measured with a push-in depth of 10 μm, satisfies the following equation: 0.5 N/mm 2 )≦ HU ≦2.2(N/mm 2 ), and the maximum surface pressure P satisfies the following equation: 0.062 ·HU (N/mm 2 )≦ P≦ 0.16(N/mm 2 ).