Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a heat-generating component;
• a power generation device including a thermoelectric element;
• a heat radiation device including a first radiator plate interposed between the heat-generating component and a first surface of the thermoelectric element and a second radiator plate attached to a second surface of the thermoelectric element opposite the first surface;
• a cooling device configured to cool the first radiator plate;
• and
• a controller configured to predict a temperature increase of the heat-generating component from a control state of the image forming apparatus related to the temperature increase, and to operate the cooling device to actively cool the first radiator plate if the predicted increased temperature reaches at least a threshold value, and stop operating the cooling device to passively cool the first radiator plate through allowing the heat to transmit from the first radiator plate to the second radiator plate via the power generation device if the predicted increased temperature falls below the threshold value,
• wherein the heat-generating component is a pressure roller,
• wherein the pressure roller has a rotary shaft formed of a heat pipe, and wherein the heat pipe is fixed to the first radiator plate to guide the heat towards the first radiator plate.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a heat-generating component;
• a power generation device including a thermoelectric element;
• a heat radiation device including a first radiator plate interposed between the heat-generating component and a first surface of the thermoelectric element and a second radiator plate attached to a second surface of the thermoelectric element opposite the first surface;
• a cooling device configured to cool the first radiator plate;
• a temperature detector configured to detect a temperature increase of the heat-generating component;
• and
• a controller configured to operate the cooling device to actively cool the first radiator plate if the detected increased temperature reaches at least a threshold value, and stop operating the cooling device to passively cool the first radiator plate through allowing the heat to transmit from the first radiator plate to the second radiator plate via the power generation device if the detected increased temperature falls below the threshold value,
• wherein the first radiator plate is fixed to and rotates with the heat-generating component.