Image heating apparatus

摘要

An image heating apparatus includes first and second rollers forming a nip therebetween to heat a toner image on a sheet; a rubbing roller for rubbing an outer surface of said first roller; a moving mechanism for moving said rubbing roller between a contact position for contacting with said first roller and a spacing position spaced from said first roller; a measuring portion for measuring time elapsed from start of a rubbing process; a controller for discriminating, upon receipt of image heating instructions during the rubbing process execution, whether to continue the rubbing process or to interrupt the rubbing process and execute the image heating process, on the basis of the time measured by said measuring portion.

主权项

1. An image heating apparatus comprising:
first and second rotatable members cooperative with each other to form a nip therebetween for heating a toner image on a sheet; a rubbing rotatable member configured to rub an outer surface of said first rotatable member; a moving mechanism configured to move said rubbing rotatable member between a contact position in which said rubbing rotatable member contacts said first rotatable member and a spacing position in which said rubbing rotatable member is spaced from said first rotatable member; a measuring portion configured to measure the time elapsed from the start of a rubbing process executed with said rubbing rotatable member placed in the contact position; and a controller configured to determine, upon receipt of an execution instruction of an image heating process during the execution of the rubbing process, whether to continue the rubbing process or to interrupt the rubbing process and execute the image heating process, on the basis of the time measured by said measuring portion.