Patent ID: 8427519

Claim:
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium in a state in which a process cartridge, which has a photosensitive drum and a process member configured to act on the photosensitive drum, is removably mounted to a main body of the apparatus, the image forming apparatus comprising: a mounting portion to which the process cartridge is removably mounted, the mounting portion being provided in the main body of the apparatus; a light emitting member having multiple light emitting elements which are provided side-by-side along a direction of an axis of the photosensitive drum of the process cartridge mounted to the mounting portion, and which emit light according to image information in order to subject the photosensitive drum to exposure according to the image information; a support member configured to support the light emitting member, the support member being movable between an exposure position, at which the light emitting elements emit the light to subject the photosensitive drum to the exposure, and a retracted position, at which the light emitting member is retracted from the exposure position and located within the main body of the apparatus; an elastic member disposed between the light emitting member and the support member to make the light emitting member movable with respect to the support member; an opening portion provided in the main body of the apparatus, the process cartridge passing through the opening portion when the process cartridge is mounted to the mounting portion and removed from the mounting portion; an openable and closable member configured to open and close the opening portion; and an interlocking member configured to move the support member from the exposure position to the retracted position in association with an opening operation of the openable and closable member, and to move the support member from the retracted position to the exposure position in association with a closing operation of the openable and closable member, wherein the process cartridge is movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the axis of the photosensitive drum so as to be removably mountable to the main body of the apparatus, and wherein, when the support member is moved from the retracted position to the exposure position by the interlocking member, the elastic member pressed the light emitting member toward the photosensitive drum to determine a position of the light emitting member with respect to the photosensitive drum.