An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member that bears a toner image, a transfer unit having an endless belt, a positioning unit that positions the transfer unit, and a secondary transfer member. The secondary transfer member is in touch with the endless belt to form a secondary transfer portion. When the toner image is transferred to the endless belt from the image bearing member, the secondary transfer member transfers the toner image from the endless belt at the secondary transfer portion to a transfer material. The positioning unit includes a first abutting face to position the transfer unit in a conveyance direction and a second abutting face to position the transfer unit in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction. An attaching/detaching direction of the transfer unit is a direction intersecting with a surface of the transfer material to which the toner image is transferred.

An operation assisting tool includes a gripper, and an engagement portion to engage with a handle of a drawer drawable from a housing of an image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier unit, a developing unit, a supporting frame, a retainer and a sheet member. The image carrier unit includes an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image with toner. The supporting frame supports the image carrier unit and the developing unit in an attachable and detachable manner. The retainer is supported by the supporting frame in a turnable manner, and positions the image carrier unit and the developing unit to the supporting frame by being turned upward. The sheet member closes a gap between the supporting frame and the retainer. The sheet member has an upper section supported by the retainer and a lower end section supported by the supporting frame, and at least one of the upper end section and the lower end section is configured to be detachable.

A sheet storage apparatus includes a sheet housing portion, a handle for drawing the sheet housing portion, and a cover member. The sheet housing portion is drawably disposed in the apparatus main body and configured to house a sheet. The cover member is mounted to an end portion of the sheet housing portion in a drawing direction and having, in a portion facing the handle, a recess toward a sheet housing portion. A contact portion configured to come into contact with the sheet housing portion is disposed at a position corresponding to a portion in which the recess is formed, on a facing surface of the cover member, the facing surface facing the sheet housing portion.

An image forming apparatus includes a tray which is movable between a housed position at which the tray is housed in a housing portion of a body and a drawn-out position, a first cartridge detachably attached to the tray and including a first developing roller, and a second cartridge detachably attached to the tray and including a second developing roller. In a contacting state where (i) the first cartridge and the second cartridge are attached to the tray, (ii) the tray is in the housed position, (iii) the first developing roller contacts a first photosensitive drum, and (iv) the second developing roller contacts a second photosensitive drum, a position of a first projection of the first cartridge and a position of a first holder to which a first memory is fixed at least partially overlap each other with respect to the vertical direction.

An image forming apparatus includes: a first opening/closing member that can move between a first opening position in which the first opening/closing member opens an inside of a body of the image forming apparatus, and a first closing position in which the first opening/closing member closes the inside of the body of the image forming apparatus; a second opening/closing member that can move around a rotation shaft and between a second closing position in which the second opening/closing member closes an opening formed in the first opening/closing member, and a second opening position in which the second opening/closing member opens the opening, the second opening/closing member being removably attached to the body of the image forming apparatus; and a supported portion that is provided in the first opening/closing member so as to be supported on a support portion of the second opening/closing member, as defined herein.

An image forming apparatus has a body frame and a slide frame. The slide frame is configured to be pulled out from the body frame along a sliding direction. A plurality of image forming cartridges is detachably mounted on the slide frame. A plurality of electrode members is mounted on the slide frame and aligned along the sliding direction so as to correspond to the image forming cartridges. A body-side contact portion of each of the electrode members is electrically connected to the body frame. A cartridge-side contact portion of the electrode member is electrically connected to the image forming cartridge. The image forming cartridge is connected to the body via the corresponding electrode member when the slide frame mounting the image forming cartridges is inserted to the body frame.

An image-forming device includes a main casing, a belt accommodated in the main casing, developing units arranged along the belt, a drawer configured to detachably support the developing units, the drawer configured to move to a position inside the main casing and to a position outside the main casing, and the drawer having a leading end and a trailing end in a pulling direction from the inside position to the outside position; and a guide configured to guide the drawer and to move between a first position and a second position when the drawer is at the inside position, the second position being farther from the belt than the first position from the belt. When the guide is at the second position, the guide is configured to be tilted downward relative to a horizontal direction such that the leading end is lower than the trailing end.

To provide a technique to reduce force required for opening or closing a cover disposed in an image forming apparatus, the present invention provides a storage container that is attached to an open-close door in a state where the open-close door is open to expose inside of the image forming apparatus, and that is disposed in a predetermined attaching position in the image forming apparatus by closing of the open-close door. The storage container has an inlet for toner to enter, and a storage portion to store the toner. The inlet is opened in synchronization with operation of attaching the storage container to the open-close door, and the inlet is closed in synchronization with operation of detaching the storage container from the open-close door.

An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus for selectively feeding printing media to an image former of a main body through a cassette and a multipurpose tray includes a tray feeder configured to feed printing media placed in the multipurpose tray, a cassette feeder configured to feed printing media placed in the cassette, a power train configured to transmit power generated from a driving motor, and a power switching unit configured to transmit power transmitted to the power train to the tray feeder or the cassette feeder as the multipurpose tray is moved to a use position or a non-use position.