An image heating apparatus for use with an image forming apparatus. The image heating apparatus includes a pair of rotatable members configured to form a nip for heating an image on a recording material, a guide member configured to guide the recording material toward the nip, a supporting mechanism configured to rotatably support the guide member about an axis so that the guide member is movable between a first position at which the guide member guides the recording material and a second position at which the guide member blocks at least a portion of a feeding path of the recording material, and a locking mechanism configured to lock the guide member being in the first position. The locking mechanism releases locking with sliding movement of the guiding member in a direction of the axis.

An image-forming apparatus includes a housing, a cartridge, and a fixing device. The fixing device includes a heating member, a fixing frame, and a shutter movable between an open position for opening an opening of the fixing frame and a closed position for closing the opening. The housing includes: a guide frame for guiding a guide protrusion of the cartridge for attachment of the cartridge to the housing; and a connection link connected to the shutter and positioned opposite the cartridge with respect to the guide frame. The connection link moves the shutter to the open position in conjunction with the attachment of the cartridge to the housing, and moves the shutter to the closed position in conjunction with detachment of the cartridge from the housing. The connection link abuts on the guide protrusion through a through-hole of the guide frame during the attachment of the cartridge to the housing.

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing portion, a conveyance path, and an electricity removing portion. The conveyance path has a guide surface configured to guide a sheet with a toner image transferred thereto, to the fixing portion. The electricity removing portion includes a conductive member and an operation member. The conductive member removes charges from the sheet guided by the guide surface. The operation member changes a relative position of the conductive member with respect to the guide surface and adjusts a distance of the conductive member with respect to the sheet guided by the guide surface.

Disclosed is an image forming apparatus, including: a transfer portion configured to convey a sheet and to transfer a toner image to the sheet; a fixing portion configured to convey the sheet at a fixing conveying velocity and to fix the toner image; and a control portion configured to control the fixing portion such that the fixing conveying velocity is changed to a first velocity or to a second velocity which is lower than the first velocity, wherein the control portion can set a plurality of velocity bands each of which is a combination of the first velocity and the second velocity, the control portion can perform a changing of the velocity band a several times based on the state of the loop of the sheet while the transfer portion and the fixing portion are conveying the sheet.

A fixing device includes first and second rotatable members; a movable member; a first supporting side plate including an opening; a second supporting side plate; a detecting portion; a supporting plate; a holding portion; a slit portion; a first projected portion; a second projected portion; and a hole. When the position of the holding portion with respect to the height direction is regulated by the second projected portion in contact with the supporting plate, in a projection plane in which the outside of the first supporting side plate is viewed in the longitudinal direction of the first rotatable member, the flag portion is accommodated inside the opening and is in a non-overlapping position with the detecting portion. When the projected portion is engaged in the hole, in the projection plane, the flag portion is in an overlapping position with the detecting portion.

A polymer film includes at least one type of polymer selected from the group consisting of a resin and rubber and fillers dispersed in the polymer; in which in a case where the polymer film is three-dimensionally analyzed with FIB-SEM, a film thickness of the polymer film is denoted by Tm, and a length of the filler in a film thickness direction of the polymer film is denoted by Lf, a proportion of the number of fillers having Lf/Tm of 0.01 or more and less than 1.0 to the number of all the fillers is more than 40% and less than 100%.

A transfer unit includes an endless belt member, belt support rollers, a frame, a meandering detecting sensor, an alignment adjusting mechanism, and a conveyance guide disposed on a downstream side of the belt member with respect to a recording-medium conveyance direction. The alignment adjusting mechanism, based on a detection result of the meandering detecting sensor, causes one end portion of a downstream-side belt support roller of the belt support rollers which is adjacent to the conveyance guide to move along the recording-medium conveyance direction. The alignment adjusting mechanism causes a first end portion of the conveyance guide disposed on a same side as the one end portion of the downstream-side belt support roller to move following movement of the one end portion of the downstream-side belt support roller, and thereby maintains a distance between the belt member and the conveyance guide constant.

An image forming apparatus has a printing section, a cooling mechanism, a suction adjustment mechanism, and a controller. The printing section includes a fixing unit for heating a sheet having a toner image put on it, and discharges the sheet after fixing. The cooling mechanism includes a suction port, a blower motor for rotating a fan, and a blowing duct for blowing air onto the sheet. The suction adjustment mechanism moves a suction adjustor between an open position where the suction port is open and a shut position where the suction port is closed. The controller moves the suction adjustor the closer to the shut position the smaller the set thickness of the sheet.

An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly and an open/close member movable between a first position where it is closed to the main assembly and a second position where it is opened to the main assembly. The main assembly includes a fixing portion, a discharging portion, an intermediary conveying portion provided in a conveyance passage between the fixing portion and the discharging portion and a guide member disposed between the intermediary conveying portion and the discharging portion and movable between a second closed position where it forms a portion of the conveyance passage and a second open position where it opens the portion of the conveyance passage. The guide member is constituted to be movable to the second open position while the open/close member is positioned in the first open position.

An image heating apparatus for use with an image forming apparatus includes a pair of rotatable members configured to form a nip for heating an image on a recording material; a guide member configured to guide the recording material toward the nip; a supporting mechanism configured to rotatably support the guide member about an axis so that the guide member is movable between a first position where the guide member guides the recording material and a second position where the guide member blocks at least a part of a feeding path of the recording material; and a locking mechanism configured to lock the guide member being in the first position. The locking mechanism releases locking with sliding movement of the guiding member in a direction of the axis.