Patent ID: 8036590

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a housing having a discharge port to discharge a printing medium to a discharge tray located at a front portion of the housing; a plurality of developing units vertically stacked with respect to each other, each of the developing units to supply developer to a respective photosensitive body, so as to form visible images; a feeding unit to feed the printing medium having a leading edge and a trailing edge to the plurality of developing units; a transfer unit to transfer the visible images formed on the respective photosensitive body onto a printing medium; a fusing unit to fuse transferred visible images to the printing medium; and a pivotal back cover pivotally attached to a rear portion of the housing so as to form a receiving space between a guiding side of the pivotal back cover and a wall disposed adjacent thereto, the receiving space including a vertical section to redirect the leading edge of the printing medium to move downwardly, wherein the printing medium picked up from a paper cassette travels in a C-shaped path with an open side of the C-shaped path facing towards the rear portion of the housing, and after the leading edge of the printing medium passes through an opening formed at an end of the C-shaped path to allow the leading edge of the printing medium to be moved from an interior of the housing to the receiving space, a moving direction of the printing medium is reversed such that the printing medium is passed back through the opening to be discharged out of the discharge port in a state in which the trailing edge of the printing medium precedes the leading edge of the printing medium with a printed side of the printing medium facing downward and output to the discharge tray located at the front portion of the housing.