Patent ID: 7706709
Filing Date: 2010-04-27
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a reading unit that reads a document; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on image data read by the reading unit; a fixing unit that thermally fixes the image formed on the sheet; a mode selecting unit that selects a first mode from a plurality of modes, in the first mode of which a document is read by the reading unit and the image is formed by the image forming unit; a temperature controlling unit that controls a temperature of the fixing unit to be one of states, including: a fixing state in which the fixing unit thermally fixes the image; a standby state in which the temperature of the fixing unit is lower than the temperature in the fixing state; and a sleep state in which the temperature of the fixing unit is lower than the temperature in the standby state; a sleep transferring unit that transfers the fixing state or the standby state to the sleep state, after a sleep transfer time has elapsed from an end of the thermal fixing by the fixing unit; a switching unit that switches whether or not the fixing unit in the sleep state is transferred to the standby state, when the first mode is selected by the mode selecting unit, wherein when the switching unit switches to transfer to the standby state, the temperature controlling unit controls the temperature of the fixing unit to transfer from the sleep state to the standby state, and when the switching unit switches not to transfer to the standby state, the temperature controlling unit controls the temperature of the fixing unit to be in the sleep state until receiving a starting instruction of a copying process; a sleep transfer time setting unit that sets the sleep transfer time; and a determining unit that determines whether the sleep transfer time is longer than a preset default time, wherein when the determining unit determines that the sleep transfer time is longer than the preset default time, the switching unit switches to transfer from the sleep state to the standby state, and when the determining unit determines that the sleep transfer time is shorter than the preset default time, the switching unit does not switch to transfer from the sleep state to the standby state.