Patent ID: 7206541

Claim:
An image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material, comprising; a heating member; a holder for holding said heating member; a flexible member movable in contact with said heating member; an elastic roller for forming a nip portion with said heating member and with said holder, with said flexible member interposed therebetween; wherein a pressure in the nip portion increases downstream with respect to a moving direction of the recording material without decreasing from an entrance of the nip to a maximum peak portion of the pressure, and decreases from the maximum peak portion to the exit of the nip, wherein said heating member is disposed upstream of the maximum peak portion with respect to the moving direction of the recording material, and wherein in a pressure decreasing region from the maximum peak portion to the exit of the nip, said heating member and said flexible member do not contact each other, and the nip portion is formed by said holder and said elastic roller.