US 11,841,657 B2
Image heating apparatus and heater for use therein
Yasuhiro Shimura, Yokohama (JP); Koji Nihonyanagi, Susono (JP); and Ryota Ogura, Numazu (JP)
Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Jun. 1, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/830,234.
Application 17/830,234 is a continuation of application No. 16/547,287, filed on Aug. 21, 2019, granted, now 11,378,902.
Application 16/547,287 is a continuation of application No. 15/126,959, granted, now 10,416,598, issued on Sep. 17, 2019, previously published as PCT/JP2015/001482, filed on Mar. 17, 2015.
Claims priority of application No. 2014-057058 (JP), filed on Mar. 19, 2014; application No. 2015-012816 (JP), filed on Jan. 26, 2015; application No. 2015-013726 (JP), filed on Jan. 27, 2015; and application No. 2015-015750 (JP), filed on Jan. 29, 2015.
Prior Publication US 2022/0299918 A1, Sep. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. G03G 15/20 (2006.01); G03G 15/00 (2006.01); H05B 3/03 (2006.01)
CPC G03G 15/2053 (2013.01) [G03G 15/80 (2013.01); H05B 3/03 (2013.01); G03G 15/2014 (2013.01); G03G 15/2064 (2013.01); G03G 2215/2035 (2013.01); H05B 2203/016 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material, comprising:
an endless belt;
a heater configured to be in contact with an inner surface of the endless belt, the heater including a substrate and a plurality of independently controllable heating blocks arranged in a longitudinal direction of the substrate, the heater having a plurality of first conductors corresponding to the plurality of the independently controllable heating blocks and a plurality of second conductors, each of the plurality of independently controllable heating blocks including a first conductor of the plurality of the first conductors disposed at a first position on the substrate so as to extend in a longitudinal direction of the substrate, a second conductor of the plurality of the second conductors disposed at a second position on the substrate so as to extend in the longitudinal direction, the second position being different from the first position in a transverse direction of the substrate that is transverse to the longitudinal direction, and a heating element disposed between the first conductor and the second conductor and configured to generate heat by power supplied thereto via the first conductor and the second conductor; and
electrical contacts configured to be in contact with electrodes including first electrodes and second electrodes of the heater to supply power to the heating element, wherein
the plurality of the first conductors is electrically connected each other as a common conductor,
the heater has two of the first electrodes electrically connected to the common conductor,
at least one of the second electrodes each connected to one of the second conductors is disposed in an area where the heating element is located in the longitudinal direction on a second surface opposite to a first surface of the heater that comes into contact with the endless belt, and
the electrical contacts are arranged so as to face the second surface of the heater.