Patent ID: 8472857
Filing Date: 2013-06-25
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a belt having a conveying surface on which a recording sheet is configured to be conveyed; an image forming unit disposed opposite to the belt, the image forming unit configured to form an image on a surface of the recording sheet conveyed by the belt; a conveying unit configured to convey the recording sheet onto the belt; and a first guiding member disposed opposite to the conveying surface of the belt and configured to at least partly guide the recording sheet toward the conveying surface of the belt while the first guiding member comes into contact with a first surface opposite to a second surface of the recording sheet which comes into contact with the conveying surface of the belt, the recording sheet being guided by the first guiding member while the recording sheet is bent at a center of a tip end portion thereof with respect to a width direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording sheet so as to protrude toward the conveying surface of the belt, wherein the first guiding member remains separated from the belt by a distance greater than the thickness of the recording sheet; a second guiding member configured to at least partly guide the recording sheet toward the first guiding member while the second guiding member contacts with the first surface opposite to the second surface of the recording sheet; a shaft extending in a width direction of the image forming apparatus; and an auxiliary guiding member disposed opposite to the first guiding member, wherein the auxiliary guiding member includes at least one rib which faces the first guiding member and protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording sheet so as to be configured to contact the second surface of the recording sheet, wherein the first guiding member includes a plurality of ribs which protrude in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording sheet so as to be configured to contact the first surface of the recording sheet, wherein the plurality of ribs includes a first rib provided at a center portion of the recording sheet in a width direction of the recording sheet and a second rib provided at a side portion of the center portion in the width direction, wherein a protrusion amount of the first rib is larger than that of the second rib, wherein a contact angle of the tip end portion of the recording sheet with the second guiding member is set to be equal to or less than 45 degrees, wherein the second guiding member includes a first terminal end at an upstream end of the second guiding member, relative to the conveying direction of the recording sheet, and a second terminal end at a downstream end of the second guiding member, relative to the conveying direction of the recording sheet, and wherein the second guiding member is configured to engage with the shaft closer to the first terminal end of the second guiding member than the second terminal end of the second guiding member such that the second guiding member is rotatable around the shaft.