A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a first conveyance portion configured to convey a sheet, a second conveyance portion configured to convey the sheet, the second conveyance portion including an abutment portion configured to form a loop on the sheet by being abutted against a leading edge of a sheet conveyed by the first conveyance portion, a curved guide portion, which is curved, configured to guide the sheet conveyed by the first conveyance portion to the second conveyance portion, and a rotary member arranged downstream of the first conveyance portion and upstream of the second conveyance portion in a sheet conveyance direction, and configured to be driven to rotate by a surface of the sheet that is guided by the curved guide portion, the surface sliding against the curved guide portion.

An image forming apparatus includes a drive unit disposed inside its housing, a support frame, a protrusion, and a support portion. The drive unit is configured to drive a conveyance unit for conveying a sheet toward an image forming unit. The support frame supports the drive unit. The protrusion has a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end is farther from the support frame than the proximal end is from the support frame. The support portion supports the proximal end of the protrusion. The drive unit further includes a torsion spring including a spiral portion engaged with the protrusion, and a first portion and a second portion each extending from the spiral portion. The first arm is pivotable about a pivot axis and includes a covering portion. The covering portion extends from the first arm and covers the distal end of the protrusion.

A sheet conveyance apparatus conveying a sheet includes a conveyance roller and first and second rotary members. A first virtual line and a second virtual line cross each other when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller, with the first virtual line passing through the rotation center of a first longitudinal end of the first rotary member and a rotation center of a second longitudinal end of the first rotary member when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller. A second virtual line passes through the rotation center of a third longitudinal end of the second rotary member and the rotation center of a fourth longitudinal end of the second rotary member when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the conveyance roller.

To control a winding drive current of a motor based on a command phase representing a target phase of a rotor of the motor, a motor control apparatus includes a filter circuit, a phase determiner, and a controller. A current value of the drive current flowing through the winding is obtained at a predetermined period. The filter circuit reduces a harmonic component in a fundamental frequency of the drive current included in a signal indicated by the obtained current value. The phase determiner determines a rotation phase of the rotor based on a filter processed signal. The controller controls the winding drive current to reduce a deviation between the command phase and the determined rotation phase. The filter circuit reduces a harmonic component from a signal indicated by current values of which a number is not greater than a number of the current values obtained at the predetermined period.

An elastic roller is capable of elastic deformation at low load, lightweight and low-cost, and the surface speed of the roller has been made stable. At a drawing showing the view from the side of pipe 2 and flange 3 which make up roller 1, roller 1 which has pipe 2 and flange 3 is supported by shaft 8 which is inserted therein along axis 8a of shaft 8, the situation being such that elastic deformation occurs upon being pressed downward by pressure P from pressure-applying body 11 above pipe. None of the four outermost ribs 7a disposed in outermost gap 6a between outermost ring 4a of flange 3 and middle ring 4b which is mutually adjacent thereto and toward the interior therefrom is present in the upper portion of pipe 2.

A flexible touch panel includes a flexible substrate bent in a first direction, and a touch sensor unit disposed on the flexible substrate, the touch sensor unit including a bridge extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

A driving device includes a motor; a stay supporting the motor; a gear configured to receive a driving force from the motor; and a supporting shaft rotatably supporting the gear, the supporting shaft being supported by the stay. The supporting shaft stands at a side of the stay opposite from a side thereof where the stay supports the motor. The stay supports the motor in a first region and supports the supporting shaft in a second region offset from the first region in a direction of being away from the motor.

An image forming apparatus includes a developing device. The developing device transports a two-component developer by a transporting unit so that the two-component developer passes through a developing roller. The two-component developer is stored in a storage chamber provided with a transporting path. The transporting unit rotates in the transporting path. The developing device causes a portion of the two-component developer to overflow from a discharge port provided at the transporting path, and to discharge the two-component developer. The image forming apparatus has a period in which a first operation is executed, the first operation of reversely rotating the transporting unit at a high speed so that a rotational direction of the transporting unit is an opposite direction to that at a time of development and a rotational speed of the transporting unit is higher than that at the time of development.

A sheet transport device includes: a first transport roller that transports a sheet and that has two first nip parts, which are spaced apart in a sheet width direction and nip portions of the sheet; a second transport roller that transports the sheet, that is disposed upstream of the first transport roller in a sheet transport direction, that has a second nip part, which nips a portion of the sheet at a position different from at least one of the first nip parts in the width direction, and that stops exerting a force that transports the sheet when the sheet has been transferred to the first transport roller; and two tension-applying parts that are provided on the first transport roller, on the outer side of the two first nip parts in the width direction, and that apply, to the sheet, tension pulling the sheet outward in the width direction.

An apparatus to control a motor includes a detector that detects a driving current flowing through a motor winding, phase determiner that determines a motor rotor rotation phase based on the detected driving current, generator that generates an instructed phase, and controller. The controller includes a first mode where controlling the driving current flowing through the motor winding controls the motor based on a torque current component value such that a deviation between the generated instructed phase and the determined rotation phase is reduced, and a second mode in which a current of a predetermined magnitude controls the motor. The torque current component is expressed in a rotating coordinate system based on determined rotation phase. The generator generates, based on the rotation phase determined while executing second mode, the instructed phase in the first mode when a controlling driving current mode is switched from the second to the first mode.