A sheet-member separation device includes a first air blower, an attractor, a conveyor, a second air blower, and an adjuster. The first air blower blows air onto a front side of a stack of sheet members in a sheet-member conveyance direction. The attractor attracts an uppermost sheet member floated from the stack of sheet members by the air blown from the first air blower. The conveyor conveys, in the sheet-member conveyance direction, the sheet member attracted by the attractor. The second air blower blows air toward a lateral side of the sheet member. The adjuster moves the second air blower and the attractor together to adjust positions of the second air blower and the attractor in the sheet-member conveyance direction.

A speed control portion of a motor driving device performs a deceleration control of decelerating a rotation speed of a driving motor based on a first pulse signal for the deceleration control that includes a plurality of pulses whose pulse width corresponds to each commanded speed to the driving motor. A pulse signal output portion generates the first pulse signal and a second pulse signal and outputs the second pulse signal to the speed control portion after outputting the first pulse signal to the speed control portion, wherein the pulse width of the first pulse signal changes by obeying a predetermined rule that corresponds to a deceleration tendency of the rotation speed during the deceleration control, and the second pulse signal does not obey the predetermined rule. When a determination processing portion determines that the second pulse signal is included in an input signal, the deceleration control is ended.

A separating claw unit includes: a separating claw provided beside and against a surface of an image carrier on which a toner image to be transferred to a recording paper sheet in a nip area between the image carrier and a transfer section is to be formed, the separating claw being configured to separate the recording paper sheet having passed through the nip area off the surface of the image carrier in a direction away from the surface of the image carrier; and a cushion guide provided next to the separating claw to extend beyond the separating claw in the direction away from the surface of the image carrier, held elastically and displaceably away from the surface of the image carrier, and configured to come into contact with the recording paper sheet to guide the recording paper sheet downstream in a direction of conveyance of the recording paper sheet.