Patent ID: 7596332

Claim:
A fixing apparatus comprising: a heat producing element that performs heat-fixing of an unfixed image on a recording medium; a heating section that is provided with power and that heats the heat producing element; a power supply that receives an instruction from a control circuit located externally of the fixing apparatus and provides the power to the heating section; a first detecting section that detects a state of the heat producing element heated by the heating section; a power suppressing section that, when the first detecting section detects a state in which a condition for not performing heat-fixing for the heat producing element has been satisfied, suppresses providing the power from the power supply to the heating section, regardless of a content of the instruction; and a second detecting section that detects a state of the providing of the power to the heating section, wherein, when the first detecting section detects the state in which the condition for not performing heat-fixing for the heat producing element has been satisfied, if there is a state in which the providing of the power from the power supply to the heating section is suppressed, despite the power supply receiving the instruction for providing the power from the control circuit, the second detecting section detects the state and outputs a result of the detection to the control circuit located externally of the fixing apparatus.