Patent ID: 7173646

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of image forming portions, each image forming portion including a photosensitive member, a charging device for charging said photosensitive member, and a developing device for developing an electrostatic image on said photosensitive member with toner; an emitting portion disposed beneath said plurality of image forming portions for emitting light beams for exposing said plurality of photosensitive members, said emitting portion including an upper frame portion opposed to said plurality of image forming portions; a plurality of pass openings, which are provided in said upper frame portion, and through which the light beams pass for exposing said plurality of photosensitive members, wherein each of said plurality of pass openings is disposed outside of areas, wherein each area is between a vertical tangential line, at a downstream side in a rotation direction of said photosensitive member, of said charging device and a vertical tangential line, at an upstream side in the rotation direction of said photosensitive member, of each said developing device in an associated image forming portion; and a recessed portion formed on said upper frame portion in a position different from said plurality of pass openings and disposed in a region between an area and a pass opening.