Image heating unit, recording medium conveying unit and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• (i) an image forming station configured to form an image on a recording material;
• (ii) a mounting portion;
• (iii) an image heating unit detachably mountable to said mounting portion, said image heating unit including,
• (iii-i) a pair of rotatable members configured to nip and feed the recording material in heating an image formed on the recording material by said image forming station;
• (iv-ii) a casing enclosing said first and second rotatable member and provided with an opening configured to permit passage of the recording material;
• (iii-iii) a movable member movable relative to said opening between a first position taken when the image heating process is carried out and a second position in which a jam clearance operation is operable through said opening and in which the width of the opening measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of said casing is less than 12 mm;
• and
• (iii-iv) a locking mechanism including a locking portion configured to lock said movable member in the second position, and an urging portion configured to urge said locking portion;
• (iv) an interrelating mechanism configured to interrelate a locking operation of said locking member with an operation of dismounting said image heating unit from said mounting portion and to interrelate an unlocking operation of said locking mechanism with an operation of mounting said image heating unit to said mounting portion;
• (v) a door configured to open and close when said image heating unit is dismounted from said mounting portion;
• and
• (vi) a movable portion configured to move said locking portion to an unlocking position against an urging force of said urging portion.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• (i) an image forming station configured to form an image on a recording material;
• (ii) a mounting portion;
• (iii) an image heating unit detachably mountable to said mounting portion, said image heating unit including,
• (iii-i) a pair of rotatable members configured to nip and feed the recording material in heating an image formed on the recording material by said image forming station;
• (iii-ii) a casing enclosing said rotatable members and provided with an opening configured to permit passage of the recording material;
• (iii-iii) a shutter configured to open and close said opening;
• and
• (iii-iv) an urging member configured to urge said shutter from an opening position toward a closing position;
• (iv) a locking member configured to lock said shutter in a closing position;
• (v) a door configured to open and close when said image heating unit is dismounted;
• (vi) an interrelating mechanism configured to interrelate a locking operation of said locking member with a closing operation of said door and configured to interrelate an unlocking operation of said locking member with an opening operation of said door, wherein said interrelating mechanism includes a movable portion configured to move said shutter from the closing position to the opening position against an urging force of said urging member.