Patent ID: 6881927

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising a fixing device, the fixing device comprising: a rotatable endless belt; a contacting member provided within a loop of the rotatable endless belt to contact the rotatable endless belt, the contacting member including an elastic layer; a rotatable pressing member configured to be in press-contact with the contacting member via the rotatable endless belt to form a nip region through which a sheet-like recording medium having an unfixed image thereon is configured to pass to fix the unfixed image, the rotatable pressing member including a second elastic layer; a heating member configured to heat the rotatable endless belt at a heating position located in a region other than the nip region; a first detecting device configured to detect a temperature of the heating member; a controlling device configured to control the heating member based on a detection result of the first detecting device such that a temperature of the rotatable endless belt is maintained at a predetermined temperature set for a fixing operation; and a determining device configured to determine that the sheet-like recording medium has passed through the fixing device; wherein the controlling device is adapted to control the temperature of the heating member such that the temperature of the heating member is decreased from the temperature set for the fixing operation to a predetermined temperature when the rotatable endless belt is rotating and the determining device determines that a last sheet-like recording medium in a series of a job has passed through the fixing device.