Patent ID: 7388593

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a body; a lid pivotally mounted to said body, said lid being positioned either at a first position where said lid closes an opening formed in said body or a second position where said lid opens the opening; an optical head mounted on an inner side of said lid; a protection member mounted to said lid, said protection member being positioned either at a third position where said protection member covers a light-emitting surface of said optical head or at a fourth position where said protection member does not cover the light-emitting surface of said optical head; a mechanism operatively coupled to said lid such that when said lid is pivoted relative to said body, said mechanism causes said protection member to be positioned either at the third position or at the fourth position; wherein when said lid is positioned at the first position, said protection member is at the fourth position; wherein when said lid is pivoted from the first position to a position at which said lid forms an angle with said body, said mechanism begins to cause said protection member to move from the fourth position toward the third position; wherein when said lid is positioned at the second position, said protection member is at the third position.