Patent ID: 7555245

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an apparatus body; a plurality of image carriers arranged in parallel with each other for their respective colors; a plurality of developing units provided correspondingly for the respective image carriers, each having a developing agent carrier for supplying a developing agent to the corresponding image carrier; a pair of translation cam members disposed opposite to each other across the plurality of developing units and adapted to be linearly movable in an arranging direction of the image carriers, being configured to allow the developing units to shift to contact positions where the developing agent carriers contact with the image carriers and detached positions where the developing agent carriers detach from the image carriers and also configured to allow the developing units to be pressed in a direction where the developing agent carriers contact with the image carriers in a state of the developing units being in the contact positions; and a synchronous movement mechanism configured to allow the pair of translation cam members to linearly move in synchronization.