Patent ID: 7831185

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a first member including a surface endlessly moving in a specific direction; a second member including a surface endlessly moving in the specific direction at a region facing the surface of the first member; a supporting member to hold the second member and to move together with the second member, the supporting member including a release mechanism to release an engagement of the supporting member from the second member so that the supporting member and the second member are attached but do not move as one unit; and a pressing member to press the second member via the supporting member to cause the second member to contact the first member under pressure to form a nip between the first and second members, wherein the release mechanism releases the engagement of the supporting member from the second member when the second member is pushed away by a leading edge of a recording medium having a thickness greater than a reference thickness value, wherein the release mechanism includes a detector to detect a first event that the second member is pushed away by a recording medium having a thickness greater than the reference thickness value, and an actuator to be driven to move the second member away from the first member in response to a detection of the first event by the detector.