JP2010008710A - Image heating device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image heating device of a film heat system in which productivity during the passage of small-sized paper is improved and thereby speed is increased by configuring the device so as to make it difficult for the temperature of a non-passage part to increase during the passage of the small-sized paper. <P>SOLUTION: The image heating device includes a heater 3, a fixing film 1 slid in contact with it, and a pressure roller 4 forming a nip N via the fixing film 1. In the image heating device, as the material of a flange member 7 supporting the end of the fixing film 1 and held in and in contact with a housing 8, a material with satisfactory heat conductivity such as a resin material in which heat conductive filler is filled, a metal material, or a ceramic material is used. This makes it easy to dissipate the heat of a paper non-passage area D to the outside of the system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat fixing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine, an image heating device applied to a gloss applicator for giving gloss to a recording material on which an image is recorded, and an image using the same. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

  As a fixing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer or a facsimile, a heat fixing device that heats and melts an unfixed image formed on a recording material and fixes the image on the recording material is generally used.

  Such a heat fixing device fixes an unfixed image (toner image) formed on a recording material by image forming means such as an electrophotographic process on the recording material, and a heat roller using a halogen heater as a heat source. Type heat fixing devices have been widely used.

  In recent years, instead of this, a film heating method using a ceramic heater as a heat source (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2), and induction heating that generates heat by generating an eddy current in the film from a magnetic field generated by an exciting coil. The method (IHF) is used.

  The film heating method is characterized in that it can use a heating element or a thin film having a low heat capacity with a high temperature rise, and it is power saving and quick start because it is directly heated in the vicinity of the fixing nip.

Here, a film heating method using a ceramic heater as a heat source will be described.
This film-heating-type thermal fixing device includes a heater as a heating body that extends perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material, and a fixing film as a rotationally movable flexible sleeve that contacts and slides on the heater. ing. In addition, a pressure roller as a pressure member that forms a nip portion with the heater via the fixing film, and an end support member that supports and contacts the end of the fixing film are provided.
The image on the recording material is heated and fixed through the fixing film while the recording material carrying the image is nipped and conveyed at the nip portion.
JP-A-4-44075 JP-A-4-204980

Incidentally, the film heating method having the above-described features has the following problems.
Normally, the length of the heating element of the heater as the heating source is equal to or greater than that of the maximum width recording material so that sufficient fixing properties can be obtained up to the recording material edge even in the maximum width recording material passed through the fixing device. It is a length. For this reason, when a sheet having a width of the recording material to be passed is smaller than the maximum width, a region where the recording material does not pass is generated. In the area where the recording material does not pass, the heat generated by the heater is not taken away by the recording material, and thus the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion becomes high. Therefore, it is necessary to use a highly heat-resistant member.

  Also, in order to prevent the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion from rising to a high temperature, the temperature difference between the members of the sheet passing portion and the non-sheet passing portion is reduced by widening the sheet passing interval of the recording material. Is required. However, the number of sheets to be passed is reduced by the amount that the paper passing interval is widened, and productivity is lowered.

  In particular, when increasing the process speed and demanding a higher speed, it is necessary to apply a higher temperature in order to give the paper the amount of heat necessary for fixing. For this reason, the temperature of the non-sheet-passing portion is likely to be high, and the reduction of the temperature of the non-sheet-passing portion is a big problem in increasing the speed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image heating apparatus and an image forming apparatus having a configuration in which a temperature rise in a non-passage region of a small size recording material is unlikely to occur, and to improve the productivity of the small size recording material and further increase the speed. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first invention according to the present application includes a heating body that extends perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material, and a rotationally movable flexible sleeve that contacts and slides on the heating body. A pressure member that forms a nip portion with the heating element via the flexible sleeve, an end support member that slidably supports an end of the flexible sleeve, and the end support An image heating apparatus that heats an image on the recording material via the flexible sleeve while nipping and conveying the recording material carrying the image at the nip portion. The member is made of a resin material including a filler having a higher thermal conductivity than the base resin material, and a recording material having a width shorter than the length of the heating body is accumulated in a non-passing area when passing through the nip portion. Heat to be dissipated through the end support member. And butterflies.

  According to a second aspect of the present application, there is provided a heating body that extends perpendicularly to the conveying direction of the recording material, a flexible sleeve that can rotate and slide in contact with the heating body, and the flexible sleeve. A pressure member that forms a nip portion with the heating body, an end support member that slidably supports an end of the flexible sleeve, and a housing that supports the end support member, An image heating apparatus that heats an image on the recording material via the flexible sleeve while nipping and conveying the recording material carrying the image at the nip portion, wherein the end support member is made of a metal material. The heat accumulated in the non-passage area when the recording material having a width shorter than the length of the heating body passes through the nip portion is radiated through the end support member. .

  According to a third aspect of the present application, there is provided a heating body that extends perpendicularly to the conveying direction of the recording material, a flexible sleeve that can rotate and slide in contact with the heating body, and the flexible sleeve. A pressure member that forms a nip portion with the heating body, an end support member that slidably supports an end of the flexible sleeve, and a housing that supports the end support member, An image heating apparatus that heats an image on a recording material via the flexible sleeve while nipping and conveying the recording material carrying an image at the nip portion, wherein the end support member is made of a ceramic material. The heat accumulated in the non-passage area when the recording material having a width shorter than the length of the heating body passes through the nip portion is radiated through the end support member. .

According to the present application, as a material of the end support member that slidably supports the end of the flexible sleeve, a good heat such as a resin material, a metal material, or a ceramic material including a filler having a high thermal conductivity is used. Conductive material was used. As a result, the heat accumulated in the non-passing area when passing through the small-sized recording material moves from the flexible sleeve to the longitudinal end portion of the apparatus through the end support member, and the heat in the non-passing area is easily obtained. It becomes possible to dissipate heat outside the system. As a result, the effect of alleviating the temperature rise in the recording material non-passing region is exhibited.
In particular, if a metal material or a ceramic material is used as the material of the flange member, it is excellent in heat resistance as compared with a resin material, and thus is suitable for use even at higher temperatures.
Further, since the metal material has rigidity, even if the pressing force is increased to increase the nip width in order to improve the fixing property, the metal material does not creep.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a film heating type heat fixing apparatus constituting the image heating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

This heat fixing device fixes an unfixed image (toner image) formed on a recording material by an image forming means (not shown) such as an electrophotographic process on the recording material, and is used for a fixing portion of the image forming device. It is done.
In other words, a heater 3 as a heating body extending perpendicularly to the conveyance direction of the recording material P and an endless fixing film 1 as a rotationally movable flexible sleeve that contacts and slides on the heater 3 are provided. Yes. Further, a pressure roller 4 as a pressure member that forms a nip N between the fixing film 1 and the heater 3, and an end support member that slidably supports the end of the fixing film 1. A flange member 7 is provided. The flange member 7 is supported by the housing 8. The casing 8 is provided with a casing wall 8a at the longitudinal end, and the flange member 7 is supported by the casing wall 8a.
The casing 8 holds the heater 3, the fixing film 1, the film guide 7 and the pressure roller 4 inside. The image on the recording material P is heated and fixed via the fixing film 1 while the recording material P carrying the image is nipped and conveyed at the nip portion N.

  That is, when the paper is passed, the fixing film 1 is driven to rotate by driving the pressure roller 4, and the recording material P is conveyed in the direction a in the figure. The recording material P passes through a fixing nip N formed between the heating unit and the pressure roller 4, and is nipped and conveyed by driving the pressure roller 4.

  As described above, the inner surface of the fixing film 1 is provided with the film guide 7 as a holding member that holds the heater 3 and guides the rotation of the fixing film 1 from the inner surface, and the reinforcing metal stay 6. It is composed. By arranging the heater 3 in the fixing nip portion N formed between the heating unit and the pressure roller 4, the nip portion N is directly heated via the fixing film 1 and the toner by the unfixed toner T The recording material P holding the image is heated and pressurized to obtain a fixed image.

In the first embodiment, the maximum sheet passing width of the recording material is set to A4 size.
In this fixing device, an endless belt-shaped or cylindrical one is used as the heat-resistant fixing film 1. At least a part of the peripheral length of the fixing film 1 is always tension-free (in a state where no tension is applied), and the fixing film 1 is rotated by the rotational driving force of the pressure roller 4. In addition, the fixing film 1 is externally fitted to the film guide 2 including the heater 3 with a sufficient circumferential length.

  As the fixing film 1, a single-layer film having only a releasable fluororesin layer, a composite layer film composed of a heat-resistant base layer and a fluororesin layer as a release layer, or the like is used. A rubber film having a rubber layer between the base layer and the release layer is also used. The single-layer film is made of a fluororesin having a film thickness of 100 μm or less and 20 μm or more and having releasability such as PTFE, PFA, FEP.

In the composite layer film, a film such as polyimide, polyamideimide, PEEK, PES, or PPS, or a metal element tube such as SUS or nickel alloy is used as a base layer having heat resistance. As the release layer, a coating layer of a fluororesin layer such as PTFE, PFA, or FEP or a coating layer of a fluororesin such as a tubular PFA or FEP through a primer is used as the release layer. The rubber film further includes an elastic layer made of silicone rubber having a thickness of about 50 μm to 500 μm between the base layer and the release layer used in the composite layer film.

  For the film guide 2, a material having excellent heat resistance such as LCP (liquid crystal polymer) is used to hold the heater 3 and to regulate the locus of the fixing film 1.

  The heater 3 is a ceramic heater. The substrate is made of a material such as alumina or aluminum nitride which has excellent thermal conductivity and low heat capacity. In this example, 1 mm thick alumina was used. As a heating element, an electric resistance material such as Ag / Pd, RuO2, TaN2 is applied and formed by screen printing or the like with a thickness of about 10 μm and a width of 1 to 3 mm, and glass or fluorine coating is applied thereon.

  The pressure roller 4 forms a nip N with the fixing film 1 sandwiched between the pressure roller 4 and the rotation of the fixing film 1. It consists of a core metal such as iron or aluminum, an elastic layer based on silicone rubber, and a release layer made of a fluororesin as described above. In this embodiment, the elastic layer is made of a material obtained by foaming silicone rubber and providing heat insulation between the roller surface and the cored bar. The pressure roller 4 is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the heater 3 with a predetermined pressing force by bearing means and biasing means (not shown) with the fixing film 1 interposed therebetween.

  5 is a thermistor. The heater 3 is pressed against and brought into contact with the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the fixing film 1, and the heat generation of the heater 3 is controlled by the temperature detected by the thermistor 5. The position of the thermistor 5 is arranged in the sheet passing area of the recording material having the minimum sheet passing width, and the temperature of the passing area of the recording material is always controlled.

  The metal stay 6 is a member that supports the film guide 2 and pressurizes the heater 3 uniformly over the entire longitudinal direction. Since the film guide 2 is not very rigid, the film guide 2 is configured to pressurize via the rigid metal stay 6. As the material, a gin-coated steel plate or the like is used.

  A flange member 7 as an end support member fits and supports the fixing film 1, the film guide 2, and the stay 6. The flange member 7 is in contact with and fitted into the casing 8 of the fixing device. The position of the heating unit is fixed by pressing it against the pressure roller 4 via a pressure sheet metal.

FIG. 3A shows a front view of the flange member, and FIG. 3B shows a side view of the flange member.
The flange member 7 includes a cylindrical film restricting portion 7 a that follows the inner surface of the fixing film 1, and a flange convex portion 7 b that projects radially outward from the film restricting portion 7 a and contacts the inner wall surface of the housing 8. Yes. Further, it has a flange base portion 7c that is fitted in a groove or the like provided in the housing 8 and held on the housing wall. A slit 7d (not shown) is provided on the outer periphery of the flange base portion 7c, and a part of the housing wall 8a is engaged with the slit 7b. The film restricting portion 7a not only holds the fixing film 1 from the inner surface, but also plays a role of restricting the trajectory when the film slides.

The material of the flange member 7 is obtained by doping a resin material as a base resin material with a filler having a high thermal conductivity, a so-called thermal conductive filler. The thermal conductivity of the thermal conductive filler is at least higher than the thermal conductivity of the base resin material. As a result, the heat accumulated in the non-sheet passing portion D which is a non-passing region when the recording material P having a width shorter than the length of the heater 3 passes through the nip portion N is radiated through the flange member 7. It is configured to do.
The thermal conductive filler as the filler preferably has a thermal conductivity of 10 W / (m · K) or more. The filling amount is preferably 10 vol% or more, and the thermal conductivity of the flange member 7 as a whole is preferably 0.4 W / (m · K) or more.

In this embodiment, PET is used as the base resin material.
As the thermally conductive filler to be doped, ceramic fillers such as alumina, magnesium oxide, aluminum nitride and boron nitride (BN), and C fillers such as carbon and graphite can be used. A metal filler such as aluminum may be used. The heat conductive filler as shown here generally has a heat conductivity of 10 W / (m · K) or more.

  As the base resin material, conventionally used PET, PC, POM, ABS, or the like can be used. Further, a material having good heat resistance such as polyimide, polyamide, polyamideimide, PEEK, PES, PPS, LCP (liquid crystal polymer) resin, and a mixed resin thereof may be used.

  Table 1 shows the experimental results of the temperature rise of the non-sheet passing portion in the image forming apparatus having the LTR size (paper width: 216 mm) as the maximum recording material width. In the experiment, the process speed was 200 [mm / sec], 30 ppm, the temperature was controlled at a thermistor temperature of 210 ° C., and the non-sheet passing portion D was obtained when A4 size (paper width: 210 mm) plain paper was continuously fed. The temperature was measured. The temperature of the non-sheet passing portion D is measured by the temperature of the pressure roller 4 at the position of the LTR end (letter size end portion) shown in FIG.

The thermal conductivity measurement uses a value measured by a thermal diffusivity measuring device based on ASEM (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) 1620.

<Conventional example 1>
As the resin material of the flange member, PET is used and no heat conductive filler is included. The thermal conductivity is 0.24 W / (m · K).
The material conventionally used for the flange member is formed from a resin material such as PET, PC, POM, ABS. These thermal conductivities are approximately 0.1 to 0.3 W / (m · K), and the diffusion of heat from the fixing film 1 to the housing 8 is small.

<Comparative Example 1>
As a resin material of the flange member, graphite 5 [vol%] is added as a heat conductive filler to the base resin material. The thermal conductivity is 0.31 W / (m · K).

<Example 1-1>
As a resin material for the flange member, graphite 10 [vol%] is added, and the thermal conductivity is 0.4 W / (m · K).

<Example 1-2>
As a resin material for the flange member, graphite 50 [vol%] is added, and the thermal conductivity is 1.7 W / (m · K).

<Example 1-3>
Graphite 80 [vol%] is added, and the thermal conductivity is 4.8 W / (m · K).

<Example 1-4>
BN15 [vol%] is added, and the thermal conductivity is 0.4 W / (m · K).

<Example 1-5>
Alumina 30 [vol%] is added, and the thermal conductivity is 0.8 W / (m · K).

<Example 1-6>
Al50 [vol%] is added, and the thermal conductivity is 2.6 W / (m · K).

  From the above results, when the conventional flange member is used, the pressure roller temperature of the non-sheet passing portion is remarkably increased. Further, in the flange member of Comparative Example 1, the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion was hardly reduced as a result of the fact that the thermal conductivity was not so different from that of the conventional example.

  On the other hand, as shown in Example 1-1, when 10 vol% graphite was added, the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion could be reduced by about 20 ° C. That is, it was confirmed that if the thermal conductivity of the flange member is 0.4 W / (m · K) or more, the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion can be suppressed.

Examples 1-4, 1-5, and 1-6 are cases where ceramics and a metal filler are added, but this also has a thermal conductivity of 0.4 W / (m · K) or more in the same manner. It was confirmed that the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion can be reduced.

  In the results shown in Table 1, the higher the thermal conductivity of the flange member, the lower the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion.

This will be described with reference to FIG.
In the non-sheet passing portion, the heat of the fixing film 1 heated by the heat generated by the heater 3 is conducted in the direction of the end portion of the fixing film 1 along the path indicated by C2, and the heat is transferred to the flange member 7 having high heat conduction. Given. As the heat conduction of the flange member 7 increases, the heat of the fixing film 1 in contact with the flange member 7 is released to the housing 8 through the flange member 7 by heat conduction. At the same time, heat is also dissipated by the radiation C0 through the flange base 7d exposed to the outside. Thereby, in the non-sheet passing portion B, the heat of the fixing film 1 warmed by the heat generated by the heater 3 is easily dissipated outside the system.

Further, overheating of the heater 3 in the non-sheet passing portion B is radiated through the above-described path C1 moving to the flange member 7 through the fixing film 1, and the ceramic heater substrate 31 having high heat conduction is used. It moves by heat conduction. Thereafter, the film guide 2 holding the heater 3
Then, the heat is also radiated by the path C2 that moves to the flange member 7 via, and is finally radiated to the outside of the image heating apparatus from the flange member 7 having high heat conduction.

  As described above, the higher the thermal conductivity of the flange member 7, the easier the heat transfer from the overheated region of the non-sheet passing portion B to the housing 8, and more heat dissipation from the system. The temperature of the non-sheet passing portion B is reduced.

  By introducing at least about 10 vol% of the heat conductive filler, a thermal conductivity of 0.4 W / (m · K) or more can be obtained, and if these are used, overheating of the non-paper passing portion B, which is the object of the present invention, can be achieved. An inhibitory effect appears. For this reason, the temperature rise of the non-sheet passing portion B can be mitigated.

  In the second embodiment, the material used for the flange member 7 is different from that of the first embodiment. The configuration of other image heating apparatuses is the same.

  In this embodiment, the flange member 7 is made of a metal material having a high thermal conductivity. The metal material has a thermal conductivity well exceeding 10 W / (m · K), and aluminum having a high thermal conductivity exceeds 230 W / (m · K).

  In addition, in the resin material which added the heat conductive filler with respect to the base resin material used in Example 1, and raised the heat conductivity, the heat conductivity is about 10 W / (m * K) or less. According to the method of the present embodiment, a member having higher thermal conductivity can be used.

  Table 2 shows the results of the temperature rise test of the non-sheet passing portion B when the flange members of Example 2 and the conventional example are used.

  As a temperature increase test, the temperature was controlled at a thermistor temperature of 210 ° C. at a process speed of 200 mm / sec and 30 ppm, and plain paper was continuously passed. This is the same as the conditions in the first embodiment.

<Conventional example 1>
The material of the flange member uses PET and does not include a heat conductive filler. The thermal conductivity is 0.24 W / (m · K).

<Example 2-1>
The material of the flange member is stainless steel (SUS), and the thermal conductivity is 25 W / (m · K).

<Example 2-2>
The material of the flange member is gin-coated steel, and the thermal conductivity is 80 W / (m · K).

<Example 2-3>
The material of the flange member is aluminum, and the thermal conductivity is 240 W / (m · K).

  In the method of Example 2-1 of Example 2, it can be seen that the temperature rise in the non-sheet passing portion can be further reduced as compared with the method of Example 1 even when the stainless steel has a relatively low thermal conductivity. It was.

  From the above results, by using a metal material as the material of the flange member, it is possible to give a thermal conductivity that is two to three orders of magnitude higher than before, so the temperature rise of the non-sheet passing part is dramatically mitigated. I found out that In addition, as a feature of using a metal material as a material of the flange member, it is more suitable for use even under higher temperature conditions because it is more excellent in heat resistance than a resin material.

  In addition, since the metal material is rigid, in order to improve the fixability, even if the applied pressure is increased to increase the nip width, it does not creep. Furthermore, it should be noted that it can be obtained at a lower cost than when the flange member is formed of a ceramic material described later.

  The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a ceramic material is used instead of a resin material as a material of the flange member.

  The ceramic material has a higher thermal conductivity than the resin, and is advantageous in reducing the temperature rise of the non-sheet passing portion. Further, depending on the material to be selected, the flange material has a higher heat conductivity than that of the first embodiment in which a heat conductive filler is added to the resin material.

  In the case of Example 3 using ceramics, the same evaluation as in Example 2 was performed to evaluate the reduction in the non-sheet-passing temperature rise.

  Table 3 shows the results.

<Conventional example 1>
As the resin material of the flange member, PET is used and does not include a heat conductive filler. The thermal conductivity is 0.24 W / (m · K).

<Product 3-1>
The ceramic material of the flange member is alumina, and the thermal conductivity is 21 W / (m · K).

<Implemented product 2-2>
The ceramic material of the flange member is boron nitride (BN), and the thermal conductivity is 80 W / (m · K).

<Practical product 2-3>
The ceramic material of the flange member is aluminum nitride (AlN), and the thermal conductivity is 120 W / (m · K).

  As described above, even when ceramics are used as the material of the flange member 7 as in the third embodiment, the temperature increase in the non-sheet passing portion can be effectively reduced to the same extent as in the second embodiment using the metal material. it can. Ceramics usually have poor electrical conductivity and are non-conductive.

  The image heating apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the heat fixing apparatus described in the above embodiment, but can be widely applied to a gloss applicator that heats a recording material on which an image is formed to give gloss. it can.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a main configuration of a unit on a fixing film side of an image heating apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. FIGS. 3A and 3B show the flange member of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a side view and FIG. 3B is a front view.

Explanation of symbols

1 Fixing film (flexible sleeve)
2 Film guide (holding member)
3 Heater (Heating body)
4 Pressure roller (Pressure member)
5 Thermistor 6 Stay 7 Flange member 7a Film restricting portion 7b Flange convex portion, 7c Flange base portion, 7d Slit 10 Housing B Non-sheet passing portion N Nip portion P Recording material T Unfixed toner

Claims (7)

A heating body that extends perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction, a rotationally movable flexible sleeve that contacts and slides on the heating body, and a nip portion between the heating body via the flexible sleeve A pressure member, an end support member that slidably supports an end portion of the flexible sleeve, and a housing that supports the end support member, and carries an image at the nip portion. In an image heating apparatus for heating an image on a recording material via the flexible sleeve while sandwiching and conveying the recording material to be
The end support member is made of a resin material including a filler having a higher thermal conductivity than the base resin material, and a recording material having a width shorter than the length of the heating body does not pass when the recording material passes through the nip portion. An image heating apparatus, wherein heat accumulated in a region is radiated through the end support member.   The image heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filler has a thermal conductivity of 10 W / (m · K) or more.   The image heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a filling amount of the filler is 10 vol% or more.   The image heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the end support member has a thermal conductivity of 0.4 W / (m · K) or more as a whole. A heating body that extends perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction, a rotationally movable flexible sleeve that contacts and slides on the heating body, and a nip portion between the heating body via the flexible sleeve A pressure member, an end support member that slidably supports an end portion of the flexible sleeve, and a housing that supports the end support member, and carries an image at the nip portion. In an image heating apparatus for heating an image on a recording material through the flexible sleeve while sandwiching and conveying the recording material to be
The end support member is made of a metal material, and heat accumulated in a non-passing area when a recording material having a width shorter than the length of the heating body passes through the nip portion is passed through the end support member. An image heating device characterized in that it is configured to dissipate heat. A heating body that extends perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction, a rotationally movable flexible sleeve that contacts and slides on the heating body, and a nip portion between the heating body via the flexible sleeve A pressure member, an end support member that slidably supports an end portion of the flexible sleeve, and a housing that supports the end support member, and carries an image at the nip portion. In an image heating apparatus for heating an image on a recording material via the flexible sleeve while sandwiching and conveying the recording material to be
The end support member is made of a ceramic material, and heat accumulated in a non-passage area when a recording material having a width shorter than the length of the heating body passes through the nip portion is passed through the end support member. An image heating device characterized in that it is configured to dissipate heat.   An image heating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the image heating apparatus is used as a heat fixing apparatus that heats and fixes an unfixed toner image formed on a recording material. Forming equipment.

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