Patent ID: 7769329

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer unit which has a transfer medium moving along a predetermined travel direction; plural image forming stations which are disposed along the travel direction, each of the image forming stations including a latent image carrier which rotates in a sub scanning direction, an image writer which forms a latent image on the latent image carrier and a developer which has a toner carrier extending along a main scanning direction approximately perpendicular to the sub scanning direction and provides the latent image carrier with toner carried on the toner carrier, to thereby form a toner image; a driver which drives respective sections of the apparatus so as to superimpose the plural toner images formed by the plural image forming stations one atop the other and form a color image onto the transfer medium; paired support members which are disposed at the both ends of the plural image forming stations and support the latent image carriers so that the latent image carriers can freely rotate; and an exhaust element which exhausts a space which is surrounded by the paired support members and the plural image forming stations on the opposite side of the transfer medium relative to the plural image forming stations, wherein each of the plural image writers includes a line head in which plural light emitting elements are arranged in a row along in the main scanning direction, the line head being disposed in the vicinity of the associated one of the latent image carriers and forming a latent image on the latent image carrier, the driver includes a plurality of common drive mechanisms each of which transmits rotation drive force developing at a common motor to plural places in the respective sections of the apparatus, the common motors are disposed such that a motor main section of the common motors overlaps the transfer medium or the transfer unit in the in-plane arrangement viewed from the vertical direction perpendicular to both of the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction, and the motor main sections of the common motors are disposed within the space.