Patent ID: RE45015

Claim:
An image heating apparatus comprising: a flexible sleeve; a sliding member for sliding on an inner periphery of said flexible sleeve; a back-up member for forming a nip portion together with said sliding member through said flexible sleeve; wherein a recording material for bearing an image is heated while being held and conveyed in a moving direction of the recording material by the nip portion; and a regulation member provided opposing the an edge surface of said sleeve in a generatrix direction of said sleeve, for regulating a movement of said sleeve in the generatrix direction of said sleeve without rotating, wherein said regulation member has a regulation surface with which the edge surface of said sleeve contacts when said sleeve moves in the generatrix direction, wherein the regulation surface of the regulation member is substantially perpendicular to a vertical virtual plane including all of the nip portion parallel to the moving direction , and wherein the regulation surface of said regulation member has a curved-surface area in which a line when the regulation surface is cut in a virtual plane substantially parallel to the nip portion is a curved line convexed toward the edge surface of said sleeve.