Patent ID: 8265507

Claim:
A heat fixing apparatus for heating and fixing a toner image formed on a recording material onto the recording material, comprising: an endless belt; a heater that contacts an internal surface of the endless belt, the heater having a first heat generation member, and a second heat generation member whose ratio of a resistance value per unit length at edge portions to the resistance value per unit length at a center portion in a longitudinal direction of the heater is larger than that of the first heat generation member; a back-up member configured to form a fixing nip portion that pinches and conveys a recording material through the endless belt together with the heater; and a pressure change mechanism configured to set a pressure applied to the fixing nip portion to a first pressure and a second pressure lower than the first pressure, wherein the apparatus operates in a first fixing process mode for performing a first fixing process under the first pressure and a second fixing process mode for performing a second fixing process under the second pressure, and wherein a heat proportion of the second heat generation member in the second fixing process mode is zero, or is smaller than a heat proportion of the second heat generation member in the first fixing process mode; wherein power is supplied to the heater while the second pressure is applied to the fixing nip portion.