Abstract: A powder processing apparatus includes a processing engine, a carrying region forming unit, a door, a powder storage unit. The processing engine is mounted inside an apparatus housing. The processing engine includes one or plural processing units each at least including a movable powder carrier that carries powder, and a powder supply unit. The carrying region forming unit forms a region in the powder carrier where powder can be carried. The door opens and closes an opening formed in a side wall of the apparatus housing. The powder storage unit stores the powder. The powder storage unit moves along with the opening and closing of the door. When the door is opened, an insertion and extraction path that is wide enough to insert and extract the processing engine is ensured in the opening, excluding a region blocked by the powder storage unit that moves along with the door.

Abstract: A powder processing apparatus includes a processing engine, a carrying region forming unit, a door, a powder storage unit. The processing engine is mounted inside an apparatus housing. The processing engine includes one or plural processing units each at least including a movable powder carrier that carries powder, and a powder supply unit. The carrying region forming unit forms a region in the powder carrier where powder can be carried. The door opens and closes an opening formed in a side wall of the apparatus housing. The powder storage unit stores the powder. The powder storage unit moves along with the opening and closing of the door. When the door is opened, an insertion and extraction path that is wide enough to insert and extract the processing engine is ensured in the opening, excluding a region blocked by the powder storage unit that moves along with the door.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body; plural developing devices arranged in a first direction in the apparatus body; plural developer housing containers that are arranged in a second direction intersecting with the first direction and house developers to be respectively supplied to the developing devices; plural transport devices that respectively transport the developers to the developing devices from the developer housing containers; an intermediate transfer; and a transfer device. The developing devices include a first developing device located near the transfer device, and a second developing device located farther from the transfer device than the first developing device. The transport devices include first and second transport devices that respectively transports developers to the first and second developing devices. A transport distance of the developer transported the first transport is larger than that of the developer transported by the second transport device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier; a transferring unit; a fixing unit; a conveying unit; and a sheet shape detecting unit as defined herein, and a discharge position where the sheet is discharged from the conveying path, a feed position where the sheet is fed to the sheet conveying path and a detection position where the shape of the sheet is detected by the sheet shape detecting unit are arranged in this sequence along a sheet conveying direction to be close to one another, immediately downstream in the sheet conveying direction from a fixing position where the toner image is fixed to the sheet.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a toner transporting member that transports a toner layer while carrying the toner layer on a first surface of the toner transporting member, the toner transporting member including the first surface and a second surface; a heating unit including heating elements that contact the second surface that is opposite to the first surface of the toner transporting member, and that generate heat in accordance with image information, the first surface contacting a recording medium and carrying the toner layer; and a transferring unit that selectively transfers toner at an image portion to the recording medium as a result of causing each heating element of the heating unit to generate the heat with a temperature of the heating elements at the image portion and a temperature of the heating elements at a non-image portion being different from each other.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, a glossiness imparting unit that imparts glossiness to the image formed on the recording medium, and a glossiness reducing unit that reduces the glossiness of at least a part of the image to which the glossiness has been imparted by the glossiness imparting unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main body portion including an image carrier, an image-carrier driving unit, a latent-image forming unit, a developing-unit attachment section, and a transfer-unit attachment section. The developing-unit attachment section receives a first developing unit having plural developing members or a second developing unit having a single developing member. The transfer-unit attachment section receives a first transfer unit, which includes a first transfer member capable of retaining a recording medium and a first transfer driving unit that rotates the first transfer member, and a second transfer unit, which includes a second transfer member that cannot retain the recording medium. When the first developing unit and the first transfer unit are attached to the developing-unit attachment section and the transfer-unit attachment section, respectively, the first transfer driving unit is mechanically connected to the first developing unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a transfer member, a leading-end holding member, and a trailing-end holding member. The leading-end holding member is mounted on the transfer member and holds, on an outer peripheral surface of the transfer member, a leading-end portion of a recording medium fed to a sheet feeding position that is further upstream than a transfer position in a rotation direction of the transfer member. The trailing-end holding member rotates along the outer peripheral surface. The trailing-end holding member presses the recording medium against the outer peripheral surface while waiting at a waiting position that is further upstream than the transfer position and downstream than the sheet feeding position, and holds a trailing end portion on the outer peripheral surface while rotating together with the transfer member when the trailing end portion of the recording medium arrives at the waiting position.

Abstract: A transfer device includes a transfer body that transports a recording medium to a transfer position to transfer toner images to the recording medium; a leading-end gripping member that grips a leading-end portion of the recording medium when causing the recording medium to be wrapped around the transfer body and releases the leading-end portion when causing the recording medium that has been wrapped around the transfer body to become separated from the transfer body; and a moving member that moves, after a final toner image starts being transferred to the recording medium but before the leading-end gripping member releases the leading-end portion, the leading-end gripping member while the leading-end gripping member grips the leading-end portion in order to cause a leading-end side of the recording medium to become separated from the transfer body.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, the following inequalities (1) and (2) are satisfied: (L1?L3)×(V2/V1)<L2??(1) L2<(L1?L3+L4)×(V2/V1)??(2) where L1 denotes a peripheral length of an image carrier from an exposure position to a transfer position, L2 denotes a peripheral length of a transfer member from a gripping position to the transfer position, L3 denotes a length of a leading-end margin, L4 denotes a peripheral length of the transfer member, when recording media having a maximum transportable size are wrapped around the transfer member, between a trailing end of an image region of the first recording medium and a leading end of an image region of the second recording medium, V1 denotes a peripheral velocity of the image carrier, and V2 denotes a peripheral velocity of the transfer member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image carrier that is rotatably arranged and carries an image on an outer circumferential surface thereof; a transfer member that is rotatably arranged to face the image carrier and transfers the image carried on the image carrier onto a sheet held between the transfer member and the image carrier; a leading edge gripping member that is secured to the transfer member and grips a leading edge side of the sheet in a transport direction thereof on an outer circumferential surface of the transfer member; and a trailing edge holding member that is arranged to be rotatable around the transfer member, holds a trailing edge side of the sheet in the transport direction thereof between the trailing edge holding member and the outer circumferential surface of the transfer member, and bends to release the trailing edge side of the sheet in the transport direction thereof.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an unfixed toner image on a recording medium; a transfer unit that carries a layer of the UV-curable resin thereon and transfers a UV-curable resin to the recording medium, on which the image forming unit has formed the unfixed toner image, by making the UV-curable resin contact the recording medium; and an irradiation unit that irradiates the UV-curable resin transferred to the recording medium with UV rays.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, a glossiness imparting unit that imparts glossiness to the image formed on the recording medium, and a glossiness reducing unit that reduces the glossiness of at least a part of the image to which the glossiness has been imparted by the glossiness imparting unit.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a toner transporting member that transports a toner layer while carrying the toner layer on a first surface of the toner transporting member, the toner transporting member including the first surface and a second surface; a heating unit including heating elements that contact the second surface that is opposite to the first surface of the toner transporting member, and that generate heat in accordance with image information, the first surface contacting a recording medium and carrying the toner layer; and a transferring unit that selectively transfers toner at an image portion to the recording medium as a result of causing each heating element of the heating unit to generate the heat with a temperature of the heating elements at the image portion and a temperature of the heating elements at a non-image portion being different from each other.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming apparatus main body, an image forming unit that is provided in the image forming apparatus main body and forms an image on a recording medium, and a transport unit transporting the recording medium, wherein the image forming apparatus main body has a forward port for forwarding the recording medium having the image thereon by the image forming unit to outside of the image forming apparatus main body, and further has a guide unit by which the recording medium forwarded to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body is guided to be retrieved into the image forming apparatus main body, and to be led to the transport unit.

Abstract: A transport device includes a transporting member that transports an object that is wound around an outer peripheral surface thereof by rotating; a holding unit that is rotatably supported by the transporting member at a first end thereof, the holding unit holding a leading end of the object in a transport direction by gripping the leading end between a second end thereof and the outer peripheral surface when the object enters a space between the second end and the outer peripheral surface; and a positioning unit disposed on the transporting member or the holding unit so as to be movable downstream in a direction in which the object enters the space. The positioning unit contacts the leading end of the object that has entered the space and positions the object in the transport direction when the holding unit moves to hold the object.

Abstract: A transfer device includes a transfer body that transports a recording medium to a transfer position to transfer toner images to the recording medium; a leading-end gripping member that grips a leading-end portion of the recording medium when causing the recording medium to be wrapped around the transfer body and releases the leading-end portion when causing the recording medium that has been wrapped around the transfer body to become separated from the transfer body; and a moving member that moves, after a final toner image starts being transferred to the recording medium but before the leading-end gripping member releases the leading-end portion, the leading-end gripping member while the leading-end gripping member grips the leading-end portion in order to cause a leading-end side of the recording medium to become separated from the transfer body.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, the following inequalities (1) and (2) are satisfied: (L1?L3)×(V2/V1)<L2??(1) L2<(L1?L3+L4)×(V2/V1)??(2) where L1 denotes a peripheral length of an image carrier from an exposure position to a transfer position, L2 denotes a peripheral length of a transfer member from a gripping position to the transfer position, L3 denotes a length of a leading-end margin, L4 denotes a peripheral length of the transfer member, when recording media having a maximum transportable size are wrapped around the transfer member, between a trailing end of an image region of the first recording medium and a leading end of an image region of the second recording medium, V1 denotes a peripheral velocity of the image carrier, and V2 denotes a peripheral velocity of the transfer member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a transfer body, an elastic layer, a gripper, and a pressing member. The gripper is located in a cutout region in which a cutout is formed. The gripper grips a leading end portion of the recording medium wrapped around the transfer body and releases the leading end portion that is to be separated from the transfer body. At least part of the pressing member is located closer to a trailing-end side of the recording medium than the gripper. The pressing member presses a leading end side of the recording medium, whose leading end portion is gripped by the leading-end gripper, against the elastic layer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier that is rotatable; a transfer member that is rotatably disposed so as to face the image carrier, the transfer member transferring an image carried by the image carrier to a sheet; a leading end gripping member that is attached to the transfer member, the leading end gripping member gripping a leading end of the sheet in the transport direction on an outer peripheral surface of the transfer member; a trailing end holding member that holds a trailing end of the sheet in the transport direction between the trailing end holding member and the outer peripheral surface of the transfer member; and a controller that changes a distance between the leading end gripping member and the trailing end holding member when holding the sheet on the basis of a length of the sheet in the transport direction.