Patent ID: 7212767

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an apparatus body; an image carrier configured to carry a latent image on a surface thereof; a developing device configured to develop the latent image to thereby produce a corresponding toner image; a removable member removably mounted to said apparatus body and positioned in said apparatus body such that a distance between said removable member and a surrounding member varies when said removable member is being mounted to or dismounted from said apparatus body, the removable member comprising a developing roller configured to deliver toner to the image carrier; a frame surrounding said surrounding member, the frame being disposed around the surrounding member such that the frame and surrounding member are removable together from the apparatus body as a frame unit; and a contact member configured to contact, when said removable member is being mounted to or dismounted from said apparatus body, said frame to thereby determine a distance between said removable member and said surrounding member, the contact member including at least one contacting face configured to be brought into and out of contact with the frame in the apparatus body without changing an orientation of the frame when the removable member is being mounted to or dismounted from the apparatus body, the contact member disposed on the removable member such that removal of the removable member from the apparatus body results in a corresponding removal of the contact member from the apparatus body, wherein at least one of said removable member and said surrounding member comprises a belt for supporting either one of an image and a recording medium thereon.