1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among the electrophotographic image forming apparatuses for forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process, such as copiers and printers, those that scan laser light by means of a scanning optical system to expose a photoreceptor and thereby form a latent image are currently prevailing.
Meanwhile, in recent years, as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-024039, printers having a light emitting device array, which are based on an electrophotographic technique using an LED array light source, have been proposed. Such electrophotographic image forming apparatus using an LED array light source requires no scanning system (for example, a polygon mirror or a MEMS mirror), and thus, has advantages in that the apparatus causes only small noise as well as being able to be downsized.
Furthermore, although in general, scanning systems have a limitation in scanning speed, which often determines the speed for image formation, the aforementioned electrophotographic image forming apparatuses using an LED array light source, which have no scanning system, have no limitation in scanning speed, and thus, have an advantage in achieving a further increase in speed.