Image heating apparatus with pads and urging means contacting the pads and a step between pad contacting surfaces

An image heating apparatus comprising:

• a heating rotatable member configured to heat an image on a recording material at a nip;
• an endless belt cooperative with said heating rotatable member to form the nip;
• an elastic pad and a rigid pad, disposed in the order named along a feeding direction for the recording material, configured with surfaces to press said endless belt toward said heating rotatable member at the nip, with a pressure, per unit area, of said rigid pad to said endless belt being higher than a pressure, per unit area, of said elastic pad to said endless belt;
• and
• a moving device configured to move said elastic pad and said rigid pad between (i) a pressing position where said elastic pad and rigid pad press said endless belt toward said heating rotatable member at the nip and (ii) a separating position where said elastic pad and rigid pad separate said endless belt from said heating rotatable member at the nip,
• wherein said moving device includes a first spring configured to urge said elastic pad toward said endless belt and a second spring configured to urge said rigid pad toward said endless belt;
• and
• wherein a distance between a surface of said elastic pad that presses said endless belt and a surface of said rigid pad that presses said endless belt at the separating position is greater than a distance between said surfaces at the pressing position so that a pressing operation of said rigid pad starts earlier than a pressing operation of said elastic pad when said moving device moves said elastic pad and said rigid pad from said separating position to said pressing position.