Patent ID: 8714682

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a recording head having a nozzle face in which nozzles to eject liquid droplets are disposed; a conveyance belt looped around at least two rollers to adhere a recording medium thereto by electrostatic force and convey the recording medium, the conveyance belt defining a normal conveyance area in which the recording medium is conveyed in a first conveyance direction with the recording medium facing the recording head; a reverse passage to deliver the recording medium turned around in an area downstream from the conveyance belt in the first conveyance direction after the recording head forms an image on a first face of the recording medium in duplex printing and send the recording medium back again to a portion of the conveyance belt upstream from the recording head in the first conveyance direction, the reverse passage including an opposite conveyance area of the conveyance belt in which the recording medium is conveyed in a second conveyance direction opposite the first conveyance direction and a bypass passage to guide the recording medium separated from the opposite conveyance area toward the normal conveyance area; and a charger disposed between the bypass passage and an outer surface of the conveyance belt to charge the outer surface of the conveyance belt, wherein the nozzle face of the recording head in which the nozzles are formed is disposed in a vertical direction or obliquely to the vertical direction, the recording head ejects the liquid droplets in a horizontal direction or obliquely to the horizontal direction, and the conveyance belt conveys the recording medium in the vertical direction or obliquely to the vertical direction with the recording medium facing the recording head.