Patent ID: 7164870

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming mechanism configured to form a toner image on a recording sheet; and an image fixing mechanism comprising: a fixing member configured to fix the toner image onto the recording sheet with heat and pressure; a capacitor; a charger configured to charge the capacitor with a first electric power using a power source; a first heater configured to receive the first electric power from the capacitor and to heat the fixing member; a second heater configured to receive a second electric power from the power source to heat the fixing member; a sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fixing member; and a controller configured to control an amount of the second electric power to control a heating value of the second heater, to determine whether the temperature of the fixing member is needed to be increased based on a variation of the temperature of the fixing member detected by the sensor, and to start supplying the first electric power to the first heater from the capacitor when the amount of the second electric power supplied to the second heater is of a greatest value and when the temperature of the fixing member is determined to be needed to be increased.