Patent 7844196 was granted and assigned to RICOH COMPANY,LTD. on November, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An image forming apparatus includes a holding mechanism that holds an optical writing unit such that, at an operating position, the latent image writing unit is supported at three points with respect to the apparatus main body, and the latent image writing unit and the rotation axis are not in contact with each other.