Patent ID: 8752953

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, the at least two rollers including a driving roller and a tensioned driven roller disposed to apply a tension force in a tension direction to the conveyance belt: a charger to charge a surface of the conveyance belt; 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 to 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; an auxiliary conveyance roller disposed at least one of an entry part and an exit part of the opposite conveyance area of the conveyance belt; and a conveyance guide member having a curved end portion to guide the recording medium in a sheet guide direction that crosses the second conveyance direction of the opposite conveyance area of the conveyance belt at an angle tilted relative to the second conveyance direction, so that a front end of the recording medium hits against the conveyance belt at a position near a nipping portion between the auxiliary conveyance roller and the driven roller, the position near the nipping portion being upstream from e nipping portion in the second conveyance direction of the opposite conveyance area, wherein the auxiliary conveyance roller is disposed opposing and pressed toward the driven roller at the entry part of the opposite conveyance area, and a center of rotation axis of the auxiliary conveyance roller at the entry part of the opposite conveyance area is disposed downstream from a center of rotation axis of the driven roller in a direction in which the recording medium is conveyed along the reverse passage, and wherein the center of rotation axis of the auxiliary conveyance roller and the center of rotation axis of the driven roller are offset from each other so as not to be aligned on a straight line perpendicular to the tension direction of the driven roller.