Patent ID: 6021290
Filing Date: 2000-02-01
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
An image forming apparatus, said apparatus comprising:an apparatus body, including an outer portion having an exhaust opening;a photoconductive member disposed in said apparatus body;toner image forming means disposed in said apparatus body for forming a toner image on said photoconductive member;a recording medium transport path disposed in said apparatus body for allowing to pass therethrough a sheet-like recording medium, to which the toner image formed on said photoconductive member is to be transferred;transfer means, disposed in said apparatus body along said transport path below said photoconductive member, for transferring the formed toner image to the recording medium;fixing means disposed in said apparatus body above a plane of said recording medium transport path and having a heater body, for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording medium by said transfer means; anda partitioning member which separates an interior of said apparatus body into a lower space and an upper space, the upper space containing said transfer means, said photoconductive member, said toner image forming means, and said fixing means, said partitioning member having a ventilation opening for permitting air to flow along a ventilation path from the lower space through the upper space near said transfer means and out the exhaust opening,wherein a convective air flow generated when said fixing means is heated rises along said ventilation path and passes near said transfer means and around said photoconductive member and said toner image forming means, arranged above the ventilation opening in said partitioning member, and is exhausted through the exhaust opening in said outer portion of said apparatus body.