Patent ID: 7251447

Claim:
An image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material, comprising: a conveying roller for conveying the recording material, said conveying roller including a metal core and an elastic layer provided outside said metal core; wherein said metal core including a straight shape area, in a central portion of a longitudinal direction thereof, having a substantially uniform diameter along the longitudinal direction, and tapered shape areas, on both sides of the straight shape area, in which a diameter gradually decreases toward ends in the longitudinal direction; wherein said elastic layer including a straight shape area, in a central portion of a longitudinal direction thereof, having a substantially uniform diameter along the longitudinal direction, and inverted crown shape areas, on both sides of the straight shape area, in which a diameter gradually increases toward ends in the longitudinal direction; and said conveying roller has a recess in a surface thereof corresponding to the tapered shape area of said metal core, in a state where said conveying roller is cooled.