Abstract: Method and apparatus for controlling a temperature of a thermal fixing unit which is for the purpose of maintaining the balance between a fixing rate and the occurrence of wrinkles even if a distance between paper sheets greatly varies within a printer. When image formation is consecutively made onto a plurality of record mediums without stopping an operation of an image forming apparatus, an interval between the record mediums is detected, and a controlled target temperature for a thermal fixing unit is switched and set in accordance with the interval between the record mediums to control a heat source so that the temperature of the thermal fixing unit reaches the controlled target temperature. The image Corming apparatus may include an electrophotographic recording apparatus such as a copying machine, facsimile and laser printer using a toner.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for controlling a temperature of a thermal fixing unit which is for the purpose of maintaining the balance between a fixing rate and the occurrence of wrinkles even if a distance between paper sheets greatly varies within a printer. When image formation is consecutively made onto a plurality of record mediums without stopping an operation of an image forming apparatus, an interval between the record mediums is detected, and a controlled target temperature for a thermal fixing unit is switched and set in accordance with the interval between the record mediums to control a heat source so that the temperature of the thermal fixing unit reaches the controlled target temperature. The image forming apparatus may include an electrophotographic recording apparatus such as a copying machine, facsimile and laser printer using a toner.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit having a heat source, a temperature detecting unit for detecting a temperature of the fixing unit, an initial operation necessity detecting unit for determining whether an initial operation should be performed in the image forming apparatus, an initial operation selecting control unit for selecting an initial operation from among a plurality of predetermined initial operations based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit when the initial operation necessity detecting unit detects that the initial operation should be performed, and a control unit for controlling the fixing unit so that the fixing unit performs the initial operation selected by the initial operation selecting control unit.

Abstract: A system capable of suppressing the variation of a conveyance speed of a medium occurring when the rear end of the medium gets away from between a pair of rollers to surely and stably conduct the processing (transfer of a visible image) for the medium in a processing section (a transfer position). Accordingly, this system includes a position detecting section for detecting a position of the medium conveyed, and a control section for, when the position detecting section detects the fact that the rear end of the medium exists at a position immediately before getting away from between resist rollers, executing control so that a medium conveyance speed by the resist rollers becomes equal or substantially equal to a medium conveyance speed by conveyance rollers. This system is applicable to printers including an electrophotographic system.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit having a heat source, a temperature detecting unit for detecting a temperature of the fixing unit, an initial operation necessity detecting unit for determining whether an initial operation should be performed in the image forming apparatus, an initial operation selecting control unit for selecting an initial operation from among a plurality of predetermined initial operations based on the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit when the initial operation necessity detecting unit detects that the initial operation should be performed, and a control unit for controlling the fixing unit so that the fixing unit performs the initial operation selected by the initial operation selecting control unit.