Patent ID: 8791390

Claim:
An image heating apparatus comprising: an endless belt; a heater contacting an inner surface of said endless belt and having a substrate and a plurality of heat generating resistors configured to generate heat using commercial electric power; and a pressing member configured to cooperate with said heater through said endless belt to form a nip for nipping and feeding a recording material; wherein said heater includes a first heat generating resistor having a resistance R 1 , a second heat generating resistor having a resistance R 2 , a third heat generating resistor having a resistance R 3 and a fourth heat generating resistor having a resistance R 4 , arranged in the order named from an upstream side in a feeding direction of the recording material, and R 1 =R 2 and R 3 =R 4 , wherein a connection state of said heat generating resistors is switchable between a first connection state in which said first heat generating resistor and said second heat generating resistor are connected in parallel, said third heat generating resistor and said fourth heat generating resistor are connected in parallel, and a set of said first heat generating resistor and said second heat generating resistor and a set of said third heat generating resistor and said fourth heat generating resistor are connected in parallel, and a second connection state in which said first heat generating resistor and said second heat generating resistor are connected in series, said third heat generating resistor and said fourth heat generating resistor are connected in series, and a set of said first heat generating resistor and said second heat generating resistor and a set of said third heat generating resistor and said fourth heat generating resistor are connected in parallel.