Patent ID: 7177563

Claim:
A heating apparatus, comprising: a heating member to which energy is supplied to generate heat and to thereby heat a recording material and a developer; a plurality of heating mechanisms which supply the energy to the heating member and which are disposed in association with a longitudinal direction of the heating member and which selectively allow the heating member to generate the heat in accordance with temperature distribution of the heating member in the longitudinal direction; and a plurality of temperature detection mechanisms each including a thermopile sensor which detects radiated heat reflected from the heating member without contacting the heating member, and which includes (i) at least two temperature detection sections which detect ambient temperatures of each of the thermopile sensors, (ii) a radiation section which radiates infrared rays toward the heating member, and (iii) a detection section which detects the infrared rays reflected from the heating member, the plurality of temperature detection mechanisms being disposed using a region in which the heating member generates the heat as a unit.