Image-forming machine capable of opening to permit ready access to internal components

An image-forming machine comprising a housing, toner image carrier means disposed in said housing, toner image-forming means for forming a toner image on said toner image carrier means, means defining a sheet member conveying passage extending through a transfer zone and a fixing zone, sheet member-feeding means for feeding a sheet member to said sheet member conveying passage, sheet member conveying means for conveying the sheet member through said sheet member conveying passage, sheet member-receiving means for receiving the sheet member when discharged from said sheet member conveying passage, toner image transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on said toner image carrier means onto the sheet member in said transfer zone, and toner image-fixing means for fixing the toner image onto the sheet member in said fixing zone;

• wherein:
• said housing has a lower surface defined by an intermediate lower wall and an upper surface defined by an intermediate upper wall to form a space of which at least the front surface is at least partly opened;
• said sheet member conveying passage upwardly extends from an upstream end to a downstream end on a downstream side of said fixing zone along and inside of one side wall of said housing, and then extends in a direction away from said one side wall along and on the upper side of one side portion of said intermediate lower wall through a curved portion;
• said sheet member-receiving means is constituted by a portion of said intermediate lower wall that extends on the downstream side of said sheet member conveying passage;
• said one side portion of said intermediate lower wall is defined by an opening/closing member that is so mounted as to freely move between a closed position and an open position upwardly turned from said closed position on a pivot axis extending substantially horizontally in the back-and-forth direction of said housing as a center, and the downstream end portion of said sheet member conveying passage is opened when said opening/closing member is brought to said open position;
• and
• said toner image fixing means includes a pair of fixing rollers pushed toward each other and a peeling agent application means for applying a peeling agent onto one of said pair of fixing rollers, and said peeling agent application means is detachably mounted at a predetermined position through the downstream end portion of said sheet member conveying passage that is opened by bringing said opening/closing member to said open position.