Patent ID: 8712300

Claim:
A fusing apparatus comprising: a sheet heating element for generating heat to fix a toner image being transferred onto a sheet; an endless belt being rotatably stretched by a stretching member; a rigid member for conducting the heat to the endless belt as a heat-conductor, the rigid member being arranged to contact with the sheet heating element and the endless belt respectively; and a pressure member for pressing the sheet heating element against the rigid member, wherein the endless belt is arranged to contact with the sheet, the sheet heating element includes an elongated substrate extending in a widthwise direction of the endless belt perpendicular to the rotating direction thereof, a plurality of parallel resistance heating layers which are formed on a surface of the substrate along a longitudinal direction of the substrate, and at least one conduction portion formed in at least one place of an intermediate region between one end and another of each resistance heating layer to connect the different resistance heating layers, the pressure member is made of an elastic body, the sheet heating element includes a plurality of conduction portions, one end of the rigid member is substantially at a same position as one end of each resistance heating layer in the longitudinal direction of the substrate, and wherein the pressure member presses the sheet heating element against the rigid member at a middle portion between two conduction portions adjacent each other and at a position between the one end of each resistance heating layer and the conduction portion near the end of each resistance heating layer.