A discharge member includes an electro conductive knit fabric and a support member. The electro conductive knit fabric is knitted in a cylindrical shape using twisted yarn made of twisted metal fibers. The support member is cylindrical and is inserted in the electro conductive knit fabric. The discharge member is disposed to face a member to be discharged in a noncontact manner, in a state where the electro conductive knit fabric is grounded or a voltage is applied to the electro conductive knit fabric.

In order to achieve at least one of the above-described objects, an image forming apparatus reflecting an aspect of the present invention includes: an image carrier configured to carry and transport a latent image; a charging member configured to be rotatable and disposed in contact with a surface of the image carrier; an acquisition device configured to acquire an electrical characteristic of the charging member; and a processor configured to calculate a range of fluctuation of the electrical characteristic associated with rotation of the charging member.

A photosensitive member unit for an image forming apparatus includes a rotatable photosensitive drum; a charging roller including an elastic layer; a first spring urging the roller toward the drum; a drive receiving portion provided on the drum; a rotatable spacer including a contact portion contacted to the drive receiving portion and capable of receiving the driving force through the drive receiving portion, the spacer being rotatable between a spacing position for maintaining a spaced state in which the contact portion contacts the drive receiving portion to space the roller from the drum, and a contact position in which the spaced state between the drum and the roller is disestablished, and the spacer being movable toward the drum; a supporting member urging the spacer in a state that spacer is in the spacing position; and a second spring urging the supporting member toward a rotation axis of the spacer.

An image forming apparatus includes a charging unit that charges an image bearing member, a developing unit that forms a toner image on an latent image formed on the image bearing member, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a transfer material, a charge neutralizer that neutralizes a charge of the image bearing member downstream of a transfer portion and upstream of a charging portion in a rotating direction of the image bearing member, a conductive collecting unit that collects a material adhering on the image bearing member downstream of the transfer portion and upstream of the charging portion, wherein the developing unit collects residual toner on the image bearing member, an voltage application unit sets a potential difference between the voltage applied to the collecting unit and the surface electric potential of the image bearing member not more than a discharge threshold.

According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a photoreceptor, a charging member, an application unit, and a control unit. An image is formed on the photoreceptor. The charging member is in contact with or close to a surface of the photoreceptor. The application unit applies a voltage to the charging member. The control unit performs control so that a current flowing through the charging member and the photoreceptor becomes a constant current when the photoreceptor is in an unused state, measures a voltage when the constant current flows and stores the measured voltage as a reference voltage, and controls the application unit to apply a voltage obtained by adding correction according to a value indicating a usage amount of the photoreceptor to the reference voltage.

A photosensitive member unit includes a photosensitive member, a charging roller, a charging roller bearing member, a gear, a separation member having an engagement portion, a guide portion, and a frame to support the photosensitive member. The guide portion guides the charging roller bearing member urged by a urging member to separate the charging roller from the photosensitive member in a state where the engagement portion and the gear are engaged with each other and guides the charging roller bearing member urged by the urging member so that the charging roller comes into contact with the photosensitive member in a state where the engagement portion and the gear are not engaged. A distance between the urged charging roller bearing member and the frame is less than a length in which the engagement portion and the gear are engaged in the state where the engagement portion and the gear are engaged.

The present disclosure relates to a consumable chip, a consumable, an image forming device, and an image forming control method. The consumable chip is detachably installed on the consumable, and the consumable is detachably installed on the image forming device. The consumable chip includes a chip control unit, and the chip control unit is used to obtain a response signal based on a query signal, and process the response signal based on a preset rule to generate verification data, and the verification data is used to determine whether the consumable is a consumable that meets the preset requirement. The consumable chip generates verification data by processing the response signal according to preset rules, so that the verification data received by the image forming device includes both the response signal and auxiliary verification data obtained according to the response signal, thereby improving the verification reliability of forming device on consumable chip.

An image forming apparatus comprises a spacing member provided on a rotation shaft of the charging roller, the spacing member configured to include an engaging portion that engages with the rotation member, and to be rotatable between a spaced position at which a spaced state in which the photosensitive drum and the charging roller are spaced apart is maintained, and a released position at which the spaced state is released and the photosensitive drum and the charging roller are caused to be in contact; and a cover portion provided on the rotation shaft of the charging roller, and configured to cover an end face of the spacing member so that a fitting portion of the charging roller and the spacing member is covered.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a brush, and a controller. The controller controls so that, in a case where, in a state where a recording material trailing edge in a conveyance direction is sandwiched at a transfer portion, an area of the image bearing member in the conveyance direction where the recording material is sandwiched in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction is a first area, and an area of the image bearing member in the conveyance direction where the recording material is not sandwiched is a second area, a first potential difference formed between a surface potential formed on the second area and a brush voltage, which is based on first information, when the second area reaches the brush and a second potential difference formed between the second area surface potential and the brush voltage, which is based on second information, are different.

An image-forming apparatus to execute an image-forming operation includes an image bearing member, a charging member to charge at a charging portion a surface of, and a developing member to supply at a developing portion toner to, the image bearing member. When a rotating image bearing member stops rotating, a surface potential of the image bearing member formed on the developing portion is defined as V1, a developing voltage applied to the developing member is defined as V2, a charging voltage applied to the charging member is defined as V3, and a surface potential of the image bearing member formed on the charging portion is defined as V4. A first potential difference, which is a potential difference between V2 and V1, and a second potential difference, which is a potential difference between V3 and V4, are controlled based on information about a number of execution times of the image-forming operation.