Patent ID: 9488956
Filing Date: 2016-11-08
CPC Classification: G03G

Claim Text:
1. An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a sheet, comprising: a drawer accommodating a plurality of photosensitive drums each configured to store developing agent, the photosensitive drums being parallel to each other when disposed in the drawer, the photosensitive drums being arranged in an arrangement direction perpendicular to rotational axes of the photosensitive drums; a casing having a first opening; a driving gear provided to the casing; a supporting member configured to support the drawer such that the drawer is movable in the arrangement direction, the drawer being movable in the arrangement direction between an accommodated position at which the drawer is entirely accommodated in the casing and an exposed position at which the drawer extends outside through the first opening such that the photosensitive drums are exposed to an outside of the image forming apparatus; a belt unit having a belt that moves to convey the sheet, the belt having a stretched surface extending in the arrangement direction and facing the photosensitive drums; a sheet feed tray arranged on a lower side with respect to the belt unit in a vertical direction, the sheet feed tray being capable of accommodating multiple sheets to be conveyed by the belt unit; a registration roller pair having a first registration roller and a second registration roller, the registration roller pair configured to adjust an orientation of the sheet conveyed from the sheet feed tray and to convey the sheet through a nip between the first registration roller and the second registration roller toward the stretched surface of the belt, the registration roller pair being integrally secured to the drawer so as to be movable in the arrangement direction together with the drawer, a contact part where the nip between the first registration roller and the second registration roller is formed is located on an upper side, in the vertical direction, with respect to the stretched surface of the belt; a driven gear provided to the drawer, the driven gear being configured to engage with the driving gear to receive a driving force from the driving gear and transmit the driving force to the first registration roller; a lifting mechanism configured to lift the drawer upward, in the vertical direction, until the driven gear is disengaged from the driving gear; and a guiding part configured to guide the sheet discharged from the registration roller pair to the stretched surface of the belt such that the sheet is guided to the stretched surface of the belt at an acute angle.