Patent ID: 8755703
Filing Date: 2014-06-17
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image processing apparatus comprising: an image forming section; a fixing section that fixes a developer onto a recording paper by applying at least heat treatment, after a developing process using the developer is performed on the recording paper, the fixing section including a fixing member that contacts the recording paper, and a heat accumulating member; a mode switching section that functions as a part of the image forming section, and selectively switches a fixing mode that heats the fixing member in advance, the fixing mode including a fast heating mode that relatively focuses on rapid raising of a temperature, and a heat accumulation mode that relatively focuses on heat accumulation in the heat accumulating member in advance for high productivity; a selecting section that selects one of the fast heating mode and the heat accumulation mode as the fixing mode on a basis of a relationship between operation expressions F1+P1×N and W+F2+P2×N, where N is a number of processing sheets that is a number of sheets to be processed in image processing, F1 is a time from instruction of the image processing in the fast heating mode until the image processing on a first sheet of the recording paper is started, P1 is an image processing time per sheet of the recording paper in the fast heating mode, W is a warm-up time for the heat accumulation mode based on an initial value including a temperature of the heat accumulating member, F2 is a time from instruction of the image processing in the heat accumulation mode until the image processing on the first sheet of the recording paper is started, and P2 is an image processing time per sheet of the recording paper in the heat accumulation mode; and a switching controller that controls the mode switching section to switch to one of the fast heating mode and the heat accumulation mode on a basis of the fixing mode selected by the selecting section.