A lubricant application device includes an application roller with application bristles radially arranged about an outer circumferential surface thereof for receiving a lubricant from a lubricant supply source and applying the lubricant to a photosensitive body. A minimum distance between the outer circumferential surface of the application roller and the photosensitive body is shorter than a length of the application bristles. The lubricant application device has a drive unit for rotating the application roller and a controller for controlling the drive unit. The controller is adapted to control the drive unit to counteract a bristle-bending tendency of the application bristles.

A control unit performs control to make a direction of an electric field generated in a first area of an image carrier forming a transfer portion during image forming operation, relative to a voltage applied to a brush member in a state where the first area passes through a contact portion, different from a direction of an electric field generated in a second area of the image carrier forming the contact portion, relative to the voltage applied to the brush member during a period when operation is shifted from first operation in which the image carrier is rotated at a first speed to second operation in which the image carrier is rotated at a second speed different from the first speed, during non-image forming operation different from the image forming operation.

Provided are an image bearing member; a charging member that charges the image bearing member; an exposure unit that exposes the image bearing member; a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image as a developer image by supplying a developer, charged to regular polarity, to the image bearing member; a transfer member that transfers the developer image to a transfer-receiving body; and a collecting member that collects a deposit on the image bearing member downstream of a transfer portion of the image bearing member at which the developer image is transferred to the transfer-receiving body by the transfer member, and upstream of a charging portion of the image bearing member charged by the charging member, in a rotation direction of the image bearing member. After transfer of the developer image to the transfer-receiving body, the developer remaining on the image bearing member is collected by the developing unit.

A cleaning device includes: a cleaning brush that has bristles that rotate and contact a surface, to which toner has adhered, of a cleaning member to be cleaned, the cleaning brush removing the toner adhered to the surface of the cleaning member; a first contact member that contacts the bristles without a position of the first contact member relative to a position of the cleaning brush being changed; and a second contact member that contacts the bristles at a location downstream from the first contact member in a direction of rotation of the cleaning brush and without a position of the second contact member relative to the position of the cleaning brush being changed, and that is disposed on an extension line extended from a line between an axial center of the cleaning brush and a base of the bristles that move away from the first contact member.

An image forming apparatus includes: a toner image former that forms a toner image on an outer peripheral surface of a photosensitive rotating body and that transfers the toner image having been formed onto a transfer receiving object; a detector that detects a grayscale abnormality of the toner image on the photosensitive rotating body or the transfer receiving object; a cleaner that cleans the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive rotating body; and a hardware processor that causes the cleaner to clean when the detector detects the grayscale abnormality at a same position in a main scanning direction per circumferential length of the photosensitive rotating body in a sub-scanning direction.

A lubricant application device includes an application roller with application bristles radially arranged about an outer circumferential surface thereof for receiving a lubricant from a lubricant supply source and applying the lubricant to a photosensitive body A minimum distance between the outer circumferential surface of the application roller and the photosensitive body is shorter than a length of the application bristles. The lubricant application device has a drive unit for rotating the application roller and a controller for controlling the drive unit. The controller is adapted to control the drive unit to counteract a bristle-bending tendency of the application bristles.

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an electrostatic image forming portion, a developing member, a transfer member, a transfer voltage source, a brush member, a brush voltage source, and a controller capable of executing a cleaning operation. The controller carries out control so that the cleaning operation includes a first operation in which a potential difference is formed between the transfer member and the photosensitive member so that toner charged to a normal charge polarity is moved from the transfer member toward the photosensitive member, and a second operation in which a potential difference is formed between the brush member and the photosensitive member so that the toner charged to the normal charge polarity is moved from the photosensitive member toward the brush member.

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearing member, a developing unit to develop an electrostatic latent image at a developing portion, a transfer unit to transfer a developer image to a recording member at a transfer portion; and a brush provided with a plurality of fibers contacting the image bearing member at downstream of the transfer portion and upstream of the developing portion in a rotational direction of the image bearing member. An average contacting pressure of the brush per one fiber to the image bearing member is smaller than a depositing force of the developer not transferred to the recording member to the image bearing member. As the brush in a state of not in contact with the image bearing member is viewed from a free end side of the fibers, an average number of the fibers included in a circumference of a diameter of 100 μm is more than one.

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposing device, a developing device, a transfer member, a brush, a voltage applying portion, and a control portion controlling a surface potential of the photosensitive member at the brush contacting position. When a value of subtracting a value of the surface potential of the photosensitive member in the brush contacting position from a value of the brush voltage is defined as a contacting position potential difference, the control portion controls the surface potential of the photosensitive member in the brush contacting position so that the contacting position potential difference is changed from a first potential difference to a second potential difference in a predetermined direction which is either one of an increasing direction or a decreasing direction, and then the contacting position potential difference is changed from the second potential difference to a third potential difference in the predetermined direction.

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearing member, a developing unit to develop an electrostatic latent image at a developing portion, a transfer unit to transfer a developer image to a recording member at a transfer portion; and a brush provided with a plurality of fibers contacting the image bearing member at downstream of the transfer portion and upstream of the developing portion in a rotational direction of the image bearing member. An average contacting pressure of the brush per one fiber to the image bearing member is smaller than a depositing force of the developer not transferred to the recording member to the image bearing member. As the brush in a state of not in contact with the image bearing member is viewed from a free end side of the fibers, an average number of the fibers included in a circumference of a diameter of 100 μm is more than one.