Patent ID: 8000626

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a housing comprising a front wall having an opening; an image forming unit disposed in the housing for forming an image on a recording medium; a tray for accommodating the recording medium, the tray being detachably attachable to the housing through the opening in the front wall of the housing; a feeder for feeding the recording medium from the tray to the image forming unit along a feeding path, the feeder including a pick up unit for picking up the recording medium from the tray, wherein the tray further comprises: a holding portion disposed at the opening of the front wall when the tray is attached to the housing; wherein the holding portion comprises: wall portions defining a hollow region of the tray, the wall portions having at least one air vent that allows the hollow portion to communicate with an interior portion of the housing, wherein the feeding path is disposed between the pick up unit and the at least one air vent.