Patent ID: 8478183

Claim:
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.