Image heating apparatuses

An image heating apparatus configured to heat an image formed on a recording material while conveying the recording material with a nip portion, the image heating apparatus comprising:

• a rotatable cylindrical film;
• a heater configured to heat the rotatable cylindrical film, the heater being arranged in an internal space of the rotatable cylindrical film;
• a roller which comes into contact with an outer circumferential surface of the rotatable cylindrical film and which forms the nip portion for conveying the recording material in a conveying direction between the roller and the rotatable cylindrical film;
• and
• a regulating member which is arranged in the internal space of the rotatable cylindrical film and configured to regulate a rotational shape of the rotatable cylindrical film, the regulating member including a plurality of first regulating portions arrayed along a direction of a generatrix of the rotatable cylindrical film on an upstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the nip portion and a second regulating portion arranged between the plurality of first regulating portions in the direction of the generatrix of the rotatable cylindrical film, wherein
• in the conveying direction, an upstream end of the second regulating portion is positioned on a downstream side of an upstream end of the first regulating portions, and in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and to the direction of the generatrix of the rotatable cylindrical film, a distance from the nip portion to a distal end of the second regulating portion is longer than a distance from the nip portion to an upstream end of the rotatable cylindrical film in the conveying direction.