Patent ID: 8660456

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a main assembly; an image forming portion, provided in said main assembly, for forming a toner image using an electrophotographic process; an air supply opening, provided in the main assembly, for fluid communication between an inside and an outside of said main assembly; an air supply device, provided in said main assembly, for supplying ambient air into said main assembly through the air supply opening; an exhausting device, provided in said main assembly, for discharging air from inside of said main assembly; a mounting portion for selectively mounting, to the air supply opening, one of a cooling device for taking the ambient air in and for decreasing a temperature of the air taken in, and a cover for partly blocking the air supply opening and forming an air passage portion, wherein when said cooling device is mounted to said mounting portion, said air supply device supplies the air cooled by said cooling device into said main assembly, and when said cover is mounted to said mounting portion, said air supply device supplies the ambient air directly into said main assembly through the air passage portion of said cover; a detecting device for detecting a temperature around the image forming portion; and a controller for controlling air supply to the air supply opening, such that when said cooling device is not mounted to said mounting portion, said control device continues air supply from the air supply opening irrespective of the detection result of said detecting device, and when said cooling device is mounted to said mounting portion, said control device controls on and off of said cooling device on the basis of an output of said detecting device, and on and off of the supplied air from the air supply opening in interrelation with said cooling device.