Patent ID: 7257342

Claim:
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, said image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming section for forming a toner image on a recording medium; a fusing section for fixing the toner image onto the recording medium, said fusing section including a heating component, a pressing component which forms a nip portion for nipping and conveying the recording medium in conjunction with said heating component, a first temperature detecting element for detecting a temperature of said heating component within a conveyance area of a predetermined smallest recording medium usable for said apparatus, and a second temperature detecting element for detecting a temperature of said heating component outside the conveyance area of the predetermined smallest recording medium usable for said apparatus; a temperature control section for controlling an electrical power supply to said heating component so that the temperature detected by said first temperature detecting element is maintained at a target temperature; and a feeding interval control section for controlling feeding interval of the recording mediums, said feeding interval control section controls so as to expand the feeding interval of the recording mediums when a temperature detected by said second temperature detecting element reaches a threshold temperature, wherein, during successive printing, after the temperature detected by said second temperature detecting element reaches the threshold temperature, said feeding interval control section disables further expanding the feeding interval regardless of the temperature detected by said second temperature detecting element during the printing of a prescribed number of prints.