Patent ID: 8103187

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a housing; a plurality of developing units configured to be disposed in parallel along a substantially vertical direction in the housing, each of the developing units comprising an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is configured to be formed, a developer carrier which carries developer for supplying the developer to the image carrier and visualizing the electrostatic latent image to form a developer image, and a developing unit side reception opening for receiving the developer; and a plurality of developer cartridges which correspond to the plurality of developing units, each of the developer cartridges containing the developer to be supplied to a respective one of the plurality of the developer carriers, the developer cartridges configured to be disposed in parallel along the substantially vertical direction in the housing, each of developer cartridges comprising a cartridge side supply opening through which the developer passes to the respective developer carrier; wherein the developing units and the developer cartridges are configured to be independently attached to and detached from the housing, wherein when the corresponding developing unit and the developer cartridge are attached to the housing, each of the developer cartridges is disposed to be opposite to an end of a respective one of the developing units along a substantially horizontal direction in a longitudinal direction of the developer carrier, the cartridge side supply opening and the developing unit side reception opening are disposed to be opposite to each other along the substantially horizontal direction, at least one of the developer cartridges overlaps with a respective one of the plurality of the developer units at an overlapping area as viewed from a longitudinal direction of the developing unit, both the cartridge side supply opening and the developing unit side reception opening are disposed within the overlapping area as viewed from the longitudinal direction of the developing unit.