Laser beam isolation apparatus and image forming device having the same

An image forming device comprising:

• a housing having a cover;
• an image forming unit installed in the housing and having
• a photoconductor on which a developer image is formed;
• a laser scanning unit installed in the housing and having a light source to irradiate a laser beam, and a passing hole through which the laser beam emitted from the light source passes toward a surface of the photoconductor;
• and
• a laser beam isolation unit to prevent the laser beam emitted from the light source from escaping from the laser scanning unit when the cover is opened and/or when the image forming unit is removed from the housing;
• wherein the laser beam isolation unit comprises:
• a blocking unit having a shutter having a metallic portion,
• the blocking unit being disposed in the laser scanning unit to be movable between a first position and a second position, the first position to open a path of the laser beam and the second position to block the path of the laser beam;
• and
• a magnetic unit disposed opposite to the shutter at at least one of the cover and the image forming unit and which uses the metal portion to actuate the shutter to move to the first position at least one of a time when the cover is closed and/or when the image forming unit is mounted in the housing.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a housing having a cover;
• a scanning unit disposed in the housing to emit a laser, including a blocking part to selectively block the laser;
• and
• an image forming unit disposed in the housing to develop an image from the emitted laser and which is removable from the housing,
• wherein:
• at least one of the cover and the image forming unit has a magnet or an electromagnet, and
• wherein the blocking portion moves to a position to open a path of the laser by a magnetic force of the magnet or the electromagnet when the cover is closed or when the image forming unit is installed in the housing.

A beam isolation apparatus for use in blocking an emitting beam, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing including a cover, wherein the cover is detachable from the housing to access an interior of the housing;
• a light emitting device disposed in the housing and emitting a light beam to be received at a surface along an optical path;
• a blocking unit having a light blocking element and a first attractive unit disposed along the optical path, the blocking unit being movable between a first position which blocks the light beam and a second position which does not block the path;
• and
• a biasing unit disposed on the cover to interact with the first attractive unit to selectively bias the blocking unit according to movement of the cover, wherein the biasing unit biases the first attractive portion to move the light blocking element to the first position when the cover is moved to allow access to the interior and to the second position when the cover prevent access to the interior.