A fixing device includes: a heating section that heats in a non-contact manner a front surface of a recording medium; a feeding section that feeds the recording medium while causing the front surface to be opposed to the heating section; and a maintaining section that, in order to enable the recording medium to be fed by the feeding section while a rear surface that is opposite to the front surface, and that is in an image region where an unfixed-image is formed on the front surface is in a non-contact state, maintains the non-contact state.

An image forming device includes: a conveyance path that conveys a printing medium; an image former that is arranged in a first place in the middle of the conveyance path, forms an image on one surface of the printing medium, and fixes the formed image by heating; a cooler that is arranged in a second place downstream in a conveyance direction from the first place in the middle of the conveyance path, and cools the printing medium by blowing air for cooling to the printing medium; and a reader that is arranged in a third place downstream in the conveyance direction from the second place in the middle of the conveyance path, and reads the image formed on the printing medium, wherein between the first place and the second place of the conveyance path, one or a plurality of guide members is provided, and a guide member is not provided.

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 cleaning device includes a separation and contact mechanism that separates a web from a conveyance roller and brings the web into contact with the conveyance roller, and a controller. The controller includes a conveyed sheet number determination unit and a separation and contact control unit. The conveyed sheet number determination unit monitors a conveyed sheet number of both-surface image forming sheets where image forming processing is applied to both a first surface and a second surface with respect to the sheets conveyed by the conveyance roller, and determines whether or not a cumulative value of the conveyed sheet number has reached a predetermined threshold value. The separation and contact control unit controls the separation and contact mechanism so as to allow the web to be pressed to the conveyance roller by a pressing roller when the cumulative value of the conveyed sheet number has reached the threshold value.

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.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes a rotary member and an opposing member to convey a sheet in a conveyance nip, and an abutting member abutting a surface of the rotary member, which is supported between a first position and a second position with respect to the abutting member. When the sheet is not passing through the conveyance nip the rotary member is positioned at the first position and abuts the opposing member, and when the sheet is passing through the conveyance nip the rotary member is positioned at the second position which is more separated from the opposing member than the first position. The abutting member abuts the rotary member regardless of which of the first position and the second position the rotary member is positioned at, and the opposing member and the abutting member are supported so they do not move in a radial direction of the rotary member.

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer unit forming a transfer nip portion, a fixing unit forming a fixing nip portion, and first and second belt suction conveyance units to suck a sheet onto a first belt and a second belt, respectively. The fixing nip portion is arranged at a position above the transfer nip portion. In a sheet conveyance direction, an upstream end portion of the first belt in the first belt suction conveyance unit is provided below the transfer nip portion, a downstream end portion of the first belt is provided above an upstream end portion of the second belt in the second belt suction conveyance unit, and a downstream end portion of the second belt is provided below the fixing nip portion. The first and second belts are inclined from a lower position to an upper position from upstream to downstream in the sheet conveyance direction.

A transport device includes: a first transport body; a second transport body that is movable between a contact position and a separate position with respect to the first transport body and that nips a transported material with the first transport body at the contact position; and a transport section that includes a holder to hold a leading end portion of the transported material and that transports the transported material toward a nip region where the first transport body and the second transport body nip the transported material in a state in which the second transport body is located at the separate position. After holding of the leading end portion by the holder for the transported material transported by the transport section has been released, the second transport body nips the transported material with the first transport body and transports the transported material.

An image forming apparatus includes plural rotating members that are rotatable; an annular circulating member that is wound around the plural rotating members and circulates when the rotating members rotate; a retaining member attached to an attaching portion of the circulating member and that circulates together with the circulating member, the retaining member being configured to retain a recording medium in an area where the attaching portion comes into contact with one of the rotating members; an image forming section that forms an image on the recording medium at an image forming position defined on a circulation path along which the circulating member circulates; a delivering unit that delivers the recording medium to a retaining position where the recording medium is to be retained by the retaining member; a detector that detects rotation of the one rotating member; and a controller that controls delivery of the recording medium from the delivering unit to the retaining position, the delivery being controlled with reference to information detected by the detector.

A medium transport unit includes an upstream route in which a print sheet is transported, a first switchback route, a second switchback route, a first guide route, a second guide route, a guide flap configured to switch the route so that the print sheet in the upstream route is transported either toward the first guide route or toward the second guide route, a first discharge route from which the print sheet in the first switchback route is discharged, a second discharge route from which the print sheet in the second switchback route is discharged, and a downstream route passing between the first switchback route and the second switchback route and having an upstream end connected to a junction of downstream ends of the first discharge route and the second discharge route.