Patent ID: 7751755

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductor configured to rotate; a charging unit configured to charge the photoconductor; plural image creating units arranged along a belt surface of a transfer belt, each of the image creating units comprising a combination of a developing unit and a transfer unit, wherein the developing unit is configured to turn an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor into a toner image; an exposing unit configured to expose a charged surface of the photoconductor with light beams to form the electrostatic latent image; a fixing unit configured to fix the toner image transferred onto a sheet; a first electric motor configured to drive the fixing unit; a second electric motor configured to drive at least one of the image creating units and drive the transfer belt; a third electric motor configured to drive at least one of the image creating units that is not driven by the second electric motor; a remaining toner amount detecting unit configured to detect a remaining toner amount in each of the developing units in the image creating units driven by the second electric motor and the third electric motor; a timing setting unit configured to determine a startup timing according to the remaining toner amount, wherein the timing setting unit delays the startup timing in the event that the remaining toner amount is large; and a startup control unit configured to start up each of the first electric motor, the second electric motor, and, according to need, the third electric motor, one at a time after the preceding one has been started up, wherein the electric motor to be started up after the second electric motor has been started up, is started up at a startup timing delayed with respect to the startup of the second electric motor, which startup timing is determined according to a state of the at least one of the image creating units driven by the second electric motor, the electric motor to be started up after the third electric motor has been started up, is started up at a startup timing delayed with respect to the startup of the third electric motor, which startup timing is determined according to a state of the at least one of the image creating units driven by the third electric motor, the state of the at least one of the image creating units driven by the second electric motor includes the remaining toner amount in the at least one of the image creating units driven by the second electric motor, and the state of the at least one of the image creating units driven by the third electric motor includes the remaining toner amount in the at least one of the image creating units driven by the third electric motor.