A fusing apparatus for an image forming apparatus includes a fusing belt having a sidewall that faces the fusing bel, a guide member, disposed on the sidewall and having a lower portion disposed above a lower portion of the bushing, and a ring member, disposed between the guide member and the fusing belt. The ring member can be deflected toward the sidewall in a gap which is provided below the lower portion of the guide member and between the ring member and the sidewall.

A flexible belt is disclosed for use in a printing system. The belt comprises an endless strip which, in use, travels along a continuous path. Formations are provided along the sides of the strip which are capable of engaging with lateral tracks to place the belt under lateral tension, the lateral tracks further serving to constrain the belt to follow the continuous path.

A fusing apparatus for an image forming apparatus includes a rotatable fusing belt, a bushing to guide the rotation of the fusing belt, a ring member provided between the bushing and the fusing belt, and a guide member, provided on an upper portion of a sidewall of the bushing that faces the fusing belt to support an upper portion of the ring member. A gap is provided between a lower portion of the guide member and a lower portion of the sidewall to allow deflection of a lower portion of the ring member toward the sidewall.

An imaging system comprises a pair of belt rollers to drive an endless belt along a belt path, the pair of belt rollers comprising a first roller and a second roller. A steering roller is located between the first roller and the second roller. The steering roller is tiltable to engage the endless belt. A wheel is located at an end of the first roller in abutment with an edge of the endless belt, to move along a rotation axis of the first roller, in an outward direction, when the endless belt shifts toward the wheel. A link mechanism transfers a movement of the wheel in the outward direction, to a tilting of the steering roller, in order to urge the endless belt to shift away from the wheel toward the belt path.

A belt control device includes a plurality of rollers, a belt wound around the plurality of rollers and configured to rotate along with the plurality of rollers, a belt contact member that the belt contacts when the belt moves in an axial direction of the plurality of rollers, and a shaft displacement member movable in the axial direction and including an inclined face inclined with respect to a surface of the belt to control movement of the belt in the axial direction. The belt, the belt contact member, and the shaft displacement member are configured to make a frictional force between an edge of the belt and the belt contact member greater than a frictional force between the belt contact member and the shaft displacement member.

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming portions, an intermediate transfer belt, a belt displacement detector, an attraction force changer, and a controller. The intermediate transfer belt is an endless belt wound around drive and driven rollers. The belt displacement detector detects displacement of the intermediate transfer belt in a rotation axis direction of the driven roller. The attraction force changer is operable to change electrostatic attraction force of the driven roller with respect to the intermediate transfer belt exerted on each of opposite end sides of the driven roller in the rotation axis direction thereof. When the belt displacement detector detects displacement of the intermediate transfer belt, the controller makes the attraction force changer increase the electrostatic attraction force of the driven roller with respect to the intermediate transfer belt exerted on a side opposite to a side toward which the displacement has taken place.

A fuser device for fusing a developer image on a medium by applying heat includes an endless fuser belt, a belt supporting part that has a contact face shaped in an arc centering on a first central axis and contacts with the inner circumferential face of the fuser belt on the contact face, a driven ring that is disposed on at least one side of the fuser belt in the width direction of the fuser belt, and a ring supporting part that has a contact face shaped in an arc centering on a second central axis and contacts with an inner circumferential face of the driven ring on the contact face, wherein the first central axis is shifted from the second central axis.

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming portions, an intermediate transfer belt, a belt displacement detector, an attraction force changer, and a controller. The intermediate transfer belt is an endless belt wound around drive and driven rollers. The belt displacement detector detects displacement of the intermediate transfer belt in a rotation axis direction of the driven roller. The attraction force changer is operable to change electrostatic attraction force of the driven roller with respect to the intermediate transfer belt exerted on each of opposite end sides of the driven roller in the rotation axis direction thereof. When the belt displacement detector detects displacement of the intermediate transfer belt, the controller makes the attraction force changer increase the electrostatic attraction force of the driven roller with respect to the intermediate transfer belt exerted on a side opposite to a side toward which the displacement has taken place.

A flexible belt is disclosed for use in a printing system. The belt comprises an endless strip which, in use, travels along a continuous path. Formations are provided along the sides of the strip which are capable of engaging with lateral tracks to place the belt under lateral tension, the lateral tracks further serving to constrain the belt to follow the continuous path.

A fusing apparatus for an image forming apparatus includes a rotatable fusing belt, a bushing to guide the rotation of the fusing belt, a ring member provided between the bushing and the fusing belt, and a guide member, provided on an upper portion of a sidewall of the bushing that faces the fusing belt to support an upper portion of the ring member. A gap is provided between a lower portion of the guide member and a lower portion of the sidewall to allow deflection of a lower portion of the ring member toward the sidewall.