Patent ID: 8818238

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body portion including an image carrier that is rotatable, an image-carrier driving unit that rotates the image carrier, a latent-image forming unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, a developing-unit attachment section to which a developing unit is attached, the developing unit developing the electrostatic latent image that is formed on the image carrier by the latent-image forming unit, and a transfer-unit attachment section to which a transfer unit is attached, the transfer unit facing the image carrier, being rotatable, and transferring an image formed on the image carrier by the latent-image forming unit and the developing unit attached to the developing-unit attachment section onto a recording medium interposed between the transfer unit and the image carrier at a transfer position at which the transfer unit faces the image carrier, wherein the developing-unit attachment section provided in the main body portion is capable of receiving, as the developing unit, a first developing unit or a second developing unit, the first developing unit having a plurality of developing members and the second developing unit having a single developing member, wherein the transfer-unit attachment section provided in the main body portion is capable of receiving, as the transfer unit, a first transfer unit or a second transfer unit, the first transfer unit including a first transfer member that is rotatable and has a function of retaining the recording medium and a first transfer driving unit that rotates the first transfer member, and the second transfer unit including a second transfer member that is rotatable and that does not have a function of retaining the recording medium, and wherein, when the first developing unit is attached to the developing-unit attachment section provided in the main body portion and the first transfer unit is attached to the transfer-unit attachment section provided in the main body portion, the first transfer driving unit provided in the first transfer unit is mechanically connected to the first developing unit.