Patent ID: 7606509

Claim:
An image forming apparatus including a fixing unit that comprises two roller members which form a nip section and at least one of which is heated, the fixing unit fixing an image held on a recording material when the recording material passes through the nip section, and a conveying unit that conveys the recording material to the fixing unit at a throughput representing the number of recording materials conveyed to the fixing unit per unit time, the image forming apparatus further comprising: a throughput changing unit that, in performing continuous printing while changing a rising throughput at which a temperature at predetermined locations in the fixing unit reaches an upper limit, gradually decreases the rising throughput with a falling throughput at which the temperature at predetermined locations does not reach the upper limit interposed between throughput changes, wherein said throughout changing unit includes a changing state storage unit that stores the upper temperature limit in which the rising throughput is changed to the falling throughput, and a lower temperature limit in which the falling throughput is changed to the rising throughput, and wherein said throughout changing unit alternately carries out an operation of changing the rising throughput to the falling throughput in the upper temperature limit and an operation of changing the falling throughput to the rising throughput in the lower temperature limit.