A medium reversing and discharging device includes a discharger that discharges a medium in a paper discharge direction from a discharge outlet, a holder that holds and reverses the medium, and a driver that moves the holder such that when a first plane along a portion of the medium in contact with the discharge outlet does not intersect with a second plane along a portion of the medium held by the holder on a downstream side in the paper discharge direction of the discharge outlet a moving speed at which the holder moves is lower than a discharge speed at which the medium is discharged from the discharge outlet.

An image forming apparatus includes: a holding body configured to hold a formed image; a conveyance unit configured to convey a recording medium with a leading end of the recording medium gripped by a gripping portion; and a transfer body including a recessed portion that accommodates the gripping portion and is provided along a direction substantially orthogonal to a rotational direction, configured to sandwich the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit between the transfer body and the holding body to transfer an image on the holding body to the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit, and including a slope surface provided at a leading end of a portion of an outer circumference not including a portion where the recessed portion is provided, the leading end being on a front end side in the rotational direction, a distance from the slope surface to a rotational center becoming larger toward a downstream side in the rotational direction.

An image forming apparatus includes: a holding body configured to hold a formed image; a conveyance unit configured to convey a recording medium with a leading end of the recording medium gripped by a gripping portion; and a transfer body including a recessed portion that accommodates the gripping portion and is provided along a direction substantially orthogonal to a rotational direction, configured to sandwich the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit between the transfer body and the holding body to transfer an image on the holding body to the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit, and including a slope surface provided at a leading end of a portion of an outer circumference not including a portion where the recessed portion is provided, the leading end being on a front end side in the rotational direction, a distance from the slope surface to a rotational center becoming larger toward a downstream side in the rotational direction.

A mounting member to be mounted on a member that moves in a traveling direction includes: a rectangular sheet member; and an attachment portion having a first surface bonded to one end portion of a reverse surface of a downstream side portion of the sheet member in the traveling direction, the attachment portion being detachably attached to an attachment-receiving portion and having a surface facing a direction different from a direction of the first surface and bonded to the sheet member.

A mounting member to be mounted on a member that moves in a traveling direction includes: a rectangular sheet member; and an attachment portion having a first surface bonded to one end portion of a reverse surface of a downstream side portion of the sheet member in the traveling direction, the attachment portion being detachably attached to an attachment-receiving portion and having a surface facing a direction different from a direction of the first surface and bonded to the sheet member.

A transport device includes a rotating member that rotates; a circulating member that is loop-shaped and wrapped around the rotating member, the circulating member being circulated by rotation of the rotating member; a pair of pinching members attached to the circulating member and circulated together with the circulating member, the pair of pinching members changing from a separated state, in which the pair of pinching members are separated from each other, to a closely positioned state to pinch a transport object that has entered a space between the pair of pinching members in the separated state; and a guide unit positioned to overlap the pair of pinching members in the separated state when viewed in one direction along a rotational axis direction of the rotating member, the guide unit guiding the transport object into the space between the pair of pinching members in the separated state.

A conveying device includes a rotating carrier, an inlet rotary body, an outlet rotary body, a downstream conveyor, and an inching controller. The rotating carrier carries a sheet. The inlet rotary body transfers the sheet to the rotary carrier from upstream of the rotary carrier in a conveyance direction of the sheet. The outlet rotary body transfers the sheet to a downstream area from the rotary carrier in the conveyance direction. The downstream conveyor conveys the sheet downstream from the outlet rotary body in the conveyance direction. The inching controller performs an inching operation to convey the sheet on a conveyance path including at least the downstream conveyor. The inching controller causes at least the outlet rotary body and the downstream conveyor to perform a conveying operation in conjunction with each other in the inching operation.

To prevent deformation to relatively stiffer sheets during flipping, while ensuring reliable holding of relatively weaker sheets, a method for stacking sheets received from a printer by a sheet flipping device includes at least one slot for receiving a leading portion of a sheet. The method includes determining a respective insertion depth parameter for a first and a second sheet, wherein the second sheet has a greater stiffness than the first sheet; inserting a length of the first sheet into the at least one slot in correspondence with its respective insertion depth parameter, followed by flipping said first sheet; inserting a length (D2) of the second sheet into the at least one slot in correspondence with its respective insertion depth parameter, followed by flipping said second sheet, wherein the inserted length of the first sheet is greater than that of the second sheet.

To prevent deformation to relatively stiffer sheets during flipping, while ensuring reliable holding of relatively weaker sheets, a method for stacking sheets received from a printer by a sheet flipping device includes at least one slot for receiving a leading portion of a sheet. The method includes determining a respective insertion depth parameter for a first and a second sheet, wherein the second sheet has a greater stiffness than the first sheet; inserting a length of the first sheet into the at least one slot in correspondence with its respective insertion depth parameter, followed by flipping said first sheet; inserting a length (D2) of the second sheet into the at least one slot in correspondence with its respective insertion depth parameter, followed by flipping said second sheet, wherein the inserted length of the first sheet is greater than that of the second sheet.

A medium stacker includes a stacking portion, a rotary portion, a medium holder, a medium mover, and circuitry. The stacking portion has a stacking face to stack a sheet medium on which an image is formed. The rotary portion is configured to hold a leading end of the sheet medium in a sheet conveyance direction, reverse the sheet medium on the stacking face of the stacking portion, and convey the sheet medium. The medium holder is configured to hold the sheet medium when the sheet medium is conveyed by the rotary portion. The medium mover is configured to move the sheet medium to a predetermined position in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction of the sheet medium while the sheet medium is held by the rotary portion. The circuitry is configured to control the rotary portion and the medium mover.