Image forming apparatus
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorRyuuichi Minbu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A transferring unit transfers a toner image from an image carrier to a recording medium. A fixing unit fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording medium. A conveying unit conveys the recording medium from the transferring unit to the fixing unit along a conveyance surface. A guiding member receives the recording medium from the conveying unit and guides the recording medium to a fixing nip of the fixing unit along a guiding surface. An angle changing unit changes an angle between the conveyance surface and the guiding surface according to the type of the recording medium.
Claims15
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a transferring unit that transfers a toner image from an image carrier to a recording medium;
- a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording medium;
- a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium from the transferring unit to the fixing unit along a conveyance surface, the conveying unit rotates on a first pivot positioned upstream in a sheet conveying direction;
- a guiding member that is separate from the conveying unit, the guiding member receives the recording medium from the conveying unit and guides the recording medium to a fixing nip of the fixing unit along a guiding surface, and the guiding member rotates on a second pivot positioned downstream in the sheet conveying direction;
- and
- an angle changing unit that changes an angle between the conveyance surface and the guiding surface in the sheet conveying direction according to a type of the recording medium, wherein
- in a case where the recording medium is thick with a length such that a trailing edge of the recording medium passes through the transferring unit when a leading edge of the recording medium comes into contact with the guiding surface, the angle changing unit changes the angle to a first angle which is larger than a second angle to be set when the recording medium is thinner than the recording medium that is thick, and
- wherein a gap is formed between the transferring unit and the conveying unit, the gap being fixed with respect to the transferring unit and the conveying unit.
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a transferring unit that transfers a toner image from an image carrier to a recording medium;
- a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording medium;
- a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium from the transferring unit to the fixing unit along a conveyance surface, the conveying unit rotates on a first pivot positioned upstream in a sheet conveying direction;
- a guiding member that receives the recording medium from the conveying unit and guides the recording medium to a fixing nip of the fixing unit along a guiding surface, the guiding member rotates on a second pivot positioned downstream in the sheet conveying direction;
- and
- an angle changing unit that changes an angle between the conveyance surface and the guiding surface in the sheet conveying direction,
- wherein a gap is formed between the transferring unit and the conveying unit, the gap being fixed with respect to the transferring unit and the conveying unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.