Patent ID: 7660540

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a development portion holder that is mounted with a plurality of development portions having a memory storing plural types of information on the corresponding development portion and that selectively portions one of the development portions in a predetermined development positions by holding and moving the mounted development portions; a controller that controls the development portion holder to switch the development portions to be positioned at the predetermined development position and that performs an image forming process using the development portions positioned at the development position; and an access unit that accesses the memory of the development portion positioned at an access position, which is a position at which one of the other development portions mounted in the development portion holder is placed so as write the information therein, when one of the development portions mounted in the development portion holder is positioned at the development position, wherein the plural types of information are predetermined in priority, and the access unit records only some information of the plural types of information in the memory and most frequently records the information with the highest priority in the memory, while the development portions stays at the access position.