Patent ID: 7518089

Claim:
An image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material, comprising: a flexible metallic sleeve; and a heater, which contacts an inner peripheral surface of the flexible metallic sleeve, wherein an imide resin layer is formed on a surface of the heater that contacts the inner peripheral surface of the flexible metallic sleeve, wherein the imide resin layer has a thickness equal to or greater than 2 μm and equal to or smaller than 10 μm, and contains an abrasion resistant material, wherein particles of the abrasion resistant material have a mean size equal to or greater than 0.1 μm and equal to or smaller than 2.0 μm, and the abrasion resistant material content is greater than 0% and less than 10%, and wherein the abrasion resistant material has a specific gravity at least twice that of the imide resin layer in a state of a paste of an imide resin mixed with a solvent component.