Patent ID: 8447211

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: (a) an image forming section which transfers a toner image in accordance with image data onto a recording sheet; (b) a first fixing device having a first fixing roller, which fixes the toner image onto the recording sheet with heat; (c) a second fixing device having a second fixing roller, which further applies heat to the recording sheet that has been fixed by the first fixing device; (d) a second fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism which prevents a roughness on a surface of the second fixing roller that has been generated due to side ends of the recording sheet being brought into contact with the surface of the second fixing roller; and (e) a controller which controls the image forming section, the first and second fixing devices and the second fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism, and further comprising a polishing member as a first fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism, which prevents a roughness generated on a surface of the first fixing roller due to the side ends of the recording sheet being brought into contact with the surface thereof, by polishing the surface, wherein the second fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism is an oscillating section which oscillates the second fixing roller in a direction of a rotational axis, wherein the controller controls the polishing member to prevent the roughness on the surface of the first fixing roller by polishing the surface thereof, and controls the oscillating section to prevent the roughness on the surface of the second fixing roller by dispersing the roughness on the surface thereof, and wherein the controller counts the number of recording sheets which have passed through the first fixing roller and the number of recording sheets which have passed through the second fixing roller, independently, for each size of recording sheet, and when the number of the recording sheets of any size having passed has reached a prescribed number of sheets, the controller operates the fixing roller surface roughness prevention mechanism for the fixing roller wherein the prescribed number of sheets has been reached.