A fixing device includes: a conveyance section that conveys a recording medium; a heating roll that rotates and heats the recording medium being conveyed by the conveyance section; a pressure roll that is disposed to face the heating roll and rotates, around which at least a portion of the recording medium being conveyed is wound, and that pressurizes the wound portion of the recording medium toward the heating roll; a gripping section that is disposed in the conveyance section, grips a leading end of the recording medium being conveyed, and releases the gripping of the leading end of the recording medium when the recording medium passes through a facing position where the pressure roll and the heating roll face each other; and a blowing section that blows air in a direction different from a direction toward the recording medium released from being gripped by the gripping section to cool the pressure roll.

A heating device includes a plurality of chip resistors, a conductor pattern, and a substrate. The plurality of chip resistors generate heat upon receiving power from a power source. The conductor pattern is arranged so as to serially connect the plurality of chip resistors. The conductor pattern is formed on the substrate. The conductor pattern connecting the chip resistors is wider in a forward path from the power source than in a backward path. The majority of the heat generated by the chip resistor is transmitted from the chip resistor to the conductor pattern, and the transmitted heat is radiated from the conductor pattern. Thus, not only the heat from the surface of the chip resistor but also the heat from the conductor pattern serves as heat source.

According to the present invention a sheet handling apparatus is provided which comprises a rotary drum with openings at its peripheral wall. A strip with perforations formed therein spirals circumferentially over an outer surface of the drum in a circumferential spiralling direction, such that a screen is formed over the drum. A suction system controls a flow of air through the perforations thereby to attract sheets towards the drum. The strip is biased by means of a tensioning assembly, which exerts a tensioning force on the strip substantially parallel to the circumferential spiralling direction of the strip.

A heating apparatus includes a heater, a holding member, and a heat equalization member. In a case where a direction of a long side of a first surface of the heater is defined as a longitudinal direction, a direction of the first surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is defined as a transverse direction, and a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction is defined as a thickness direction, the heat equalization member is between the heater and the holding member in the thickness direction and includes, in the longitudinal direction, first and second abutment regions that abut against the heater and a first non-abutment region that does not abut against the heater. The first abutment region, the first non-abutment region, and the second abutment region are arranged in this order as viewed from one end toward another end of the heater in the longitudinal direction.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form an image including an adhesive image by powder adhesive on a sheet that is conveyed; a bonding unit, to which sheets on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit are conveyed in order, configured to, by heating a plurality of sheets conveyed to and stacked in the bonding unit, bond the plurality of sheets, using adhesive images formed on the plurality of sheets; and a control unit configured to evaluate a temperature of the plurality of sheets conveyed to the bonding unit and, based on the evaluated temperature, control an amount of heat to be applied to the plurality of sheets by the bonding unit heating the plurality of sheets.

A sheet feeding device includes: a sheet housing unit that is mounted on a body of an apparatus such that the sheet housing unit can be pulled out of the body of the apparatus; a blowing unit that blows air toward a sheet housed in the sheet housing unit; a heating unit that heats the air blown by the blowing unit; and a control unit that controls the blowing unit and the heating unit. In the sheet feeding device, the control unit is configured to drive the blowing unit and the heating unit during a sheet feeding operation of feeding the sheet from the sheet housing unit, and continuously drive the blowing unit and stop the heating unit when the sheet housing unit is pulled out of the body of the apparatus during the sheet feeding operation.

An image forming system includes an image forming apparatus, a sheet laminator, and circuitry. The sheet laminator performs a lamination processing on a two-ply sheet with a sheet, which is conveyed from the image forming apparatus and inserted between two sheets of the two-ply sheet. The circuitry performs a lamination print mode and a shift mode. In the lamination print mode, the sheet laminator performs the lamination processing on the sheet. In the shift mode, a power supply to the image forming apparatus starts and the power supply ends when the power supply reaches a first peak value and is stabilized during a first start-up period. Also, in the shift mode, the power supply to the sheet laminator starts and the power supply ends when the power supply reaches a second peak value and is stabilized during a second start-up period shifted from the first start-up period.

An image forming apparatus includes an airflow generator, a motor, a body housing including an apparatus body that supports the motor, and an opening/closing body that is openable and closable with respect to the apparatus body and supports the airflow generator, the opening/closing body including: a storage portion that accommodates the airflow generator, a cover portion that covers a part of the airflow generator stored in the storage portion, an suction port communicating with the storage portion, and an exhaustion port communicating with the storage portion. In a case where the air flow generator is driven by the motor in a state where the opening/closing body is closed with respect to the apparatus body, air is drawn into the storage portion from the outside of the body housing through the suction port, and the air is exhausted from the exhaustion port into the body housing.

An image forming system includes: an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium; a relay transporter that transports the recording medium on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus; a post-processing apparatus including a collecting container that collects a recording medium, the post-processing apparatus performing post-processing on the recording medium transported by the relay transporter; and at least one processor configured to stop transport of a recording medium when a paper jam occurs in the post-processing apparatus and, if a remaining recording medium is present in the relay transporter when the paper jam is cleared and the transport of the recording medium is restarted, cause the remaining recording medium to be collected by the collecting container.

According to an example, a conditioning device includes a first light emitting member to emit light towards a first segment of a path and a second light emitting member to emit light towards a second segment of a path. The first segment of the path is upstream an engagement point of the path at which the photoconductive surface is to contact a subsequent transfer member and the second region is downstream the engagement point. The light emitted by the first light emitting member is to set the photoconductive surface at a pre-transfer voltage and the light emitted by the second light emitting member is to set the photoconductive surface at a post-transfer voltage greater than the pre-transfer voltage.