This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus and more specifically to a technology of suppressing a temperature increase of a drum unit.
A typical image forming apparatus includes: a photosensitive drum serving as an image carrier; a charging device which charges the photosensitive drum; an exposure device which irradiates a surface of the charged photosensitive drum with laser light based on a document to thereby form a latent image of the document on the surface of the photosensitive drum; a developing device which visualizes the latent image with a toner; a transfer roller which transfers, onto recording paper, a toner image formed through the visualization; a fixing device which fixes the transferred toner image on the recording paper; and a cleaning device which removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum.
Due to promoted downsizing of image forming apparatuses in recent years, a space between units in the apparatus has become narrower, and a drum unit having a photosensitive drum may be arranged near a fixing unit forming a fixing device. Transfer of a fixing heat generated in the fixing device to the drum unit may has an adverse effect on the drum unit. For example, a drum unit having a cleaning device is at a risk that a temperature increase of the cleaning device solidifies the toner, resulting in failure to adequately collect the toner.
To solve such a problem, known is, for example, a technology of providing a cooling duct between the drum unit and the fixing unit and causing cooling wind to flow from a cooling fan into the cooling duct to thereby achieve heat insulation between the drum unit and the fixing unit and prevent heat transfer from the fixing unit to the drum unit.