Patent ID: 7551846

Claim:
An infrared ray lamp, comprising: a plurality of heat generating elements arranged in parallel, the heat generating elements being formed by a sintered body including a carbon-based material and having a plate-shaped shape extending in a longitudinal direction at a fixed width and an opening part extending substantially in a longitudinal direction only provided in a part in the longitudinal direction; a glass tube sealing said heat generating elements; and a plurality of connecting terminals being independently conductive with said respective heat generating elements, wherein in each of at least two said heat generating elements, said opening part is formed such that a cross sectional area in a part in a longitudinal direction of the heat generating element is smaller than a cross sectional area in the other parts of the heat generating element so that a resistance per unit length in the longitudinal direction of the heat generating element is increased, and the at least two heat generating elements are arranged such that the small cross sectional areas of the at least two heat generating elements are located at different longitudinal positions from each other.