Patent ID: 8768194

Claim:
A fixing device comprising: a fixing unit that includes a pressure rotary member and a heating rotary member which includes a heating source, and that transports a recording medium while nipping the recording medium between the pressure rotary member and the heating rotary member, to thereby cause a developer image transferred to the recording medium to be fixed on the recording medium; a plurality of temperature detectors that detect temperatures of a plurality of regions of the pressure rotary member located along the axial direction of the pressure rotary member; a plurality of cooling units that are provided to correspond to the plurality of temperature detectors, and that cool the regions of the pressure rotary member subjected to the temperature detection by the corresponding plurality of temperature detectors; and a controller that controls the cooling units to, if a temperature difference between the regions of the pressure rotary member subjected to the detection by the plurality of temperature detectors is more than a set temperature difference which is a preset temperature difference, execute first cooling for reducing the temperature difference between the regions of the pressure rotary member to be equal to or less than the set temperature difference, and to, if a width of the recording medium perpendicular to a transport direction of the recording medium used in an immediately previously executed image formation is equal to or less than a preset width, execute, subsequently to the first cooling, second cooling for cooling the pressure rotary member for a preset time.