| CPC G03G 15/1615 (2013.01) | 8 Claims |
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1. A transfer unit that transfers a toner image formed on an image carrying member to a recording medium as the recording medium passes through a transfer nip, the transfer unit comprising:
a transfer roller including a metal shaft and an elastic layer laid around an outer circumferential face of the metal shaft, the transfer roller forming the transfer nip by keeping the elastic layer in pressed contact with the image carrying member, the transfer roller including a first roller and a second roller, the first and second rollers differing in one of axial direction, volume resistivity, and hardness of the elastic layer;
a first bearing member that rotatably supports the metal shaft of the first roller;
a second bearing member that rotatably supports the metal shaft of the second roller;
a roller holder that has a first bearing holding portion and a second bearing holding portion that respectively hold the first and second bearing members slidably in directions toward and away from the image carrying member; and
a switching mechanism that drives the roller holder to rotate such that one of the first and second rollers is arranged at a reference position at which the first or second roller is kept in pressed contact with the image carrying member to form the transfer nip,
wherein
the first and second bearing members have a grounding member that grounds the first and second rollers respectively.
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