Patent ID: 7079796

Claim:
A color image forming apparatus comprising: means for sequentially transferring toner images of different colors to a recording medium one above the other; a plurality of image forming units facing said means for sequentially transferring, and each image forming unit comprising an image carrier, means for developing, and means for cleaning arranged around said image carrier; and toner recycling means, including a recycling path, included in at least one of said plurality of image forming units for feeding toner collected by said means for cleaning to a respective said means for developing via the recycling path, the recycling path positioned below said means for cleaning and including a toner outlet below said means for cleaning into which said collected toner is output from said means for cleaning to the recycling path, the recycling path extending from below said means for cleaning and above said means for developing, and the recycling path extending substantially horizontally or having one side adjoining said respective means for developing positioned at a lower level than at said toner outlet; wherein said means for sequentially transferring is inclined to have opposite ends positioned at different levels from each other, and wherein said means for cleaning of each of said plurality of image forming units is positioned at a higher level than said respective means for developing.