Patent ID: 7003254

Claim:
A fixing apparatus comprising: a fixing roller, rotatably attached to a metallic frame, for fixing an image transferred to recording paper by heat; a pressure roller for pressing the recording paper against the fixing roller; a pressure releasing mechanism for releasing a pressure applied to the fixing roller by the pressure roller; and an electromagnetic valve mounting portion for mounting the electromagnetic valve thereon, wherein the pressure releasing mechanism includes a pair of crank-plates each supporting the pressure roller and being turnable around a predetermined supporting point, a spring member for pushing the pair of crank-plates in a direction so that the pressure applied to the fixing roller by the pressure roller is not released, a shaft member connecting the pair of crank-plates to each other and having a flat portion provided on a central portion of a bottom surface thereof, and an electromagnetic valve for turning the pair of crank-plates against a pushing force of the spring member by pushing up the central portion of the bottom surface of the shaft member; and the electromagnetic valve mounting portion includes a top stationary portion that is formed by upwardly cutting the bottom surface of the frame and then bending an upwardly cut part of the bottom surface like a L-shape in such a way as to have a top surface part extending in substantially parallel with the bottom surface and that has a U-shaped cutout part in the top surface part, and also includes a pair of bottom supporting portions formed by upwardly bending both side parts of a bottom opening portion formed in the upwardly cut part.