An image forming apparatus includes: a gear that transmits a drive force, which is supplied from a drive unit, to a photosensitive drum; a formation processing unit that, at arrival of each of specific formation timings, uses the photosensitive drum thereby to form a to-be-detected toner image that is based on a to-be-detected image having a specific density; an acquisition processing unit that acquires a variation width of a density in the to-be-detected toner image formed by the formation processing unit; and a determination processing unit that determines a failure timing of the gear based on the variation width for each of the formation timings.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a transfer unit, a power supply, and a reader. A test chart is formed by transferring test images to a recording material while applying test voltages from the power supply to the transfer unit. A transfer voltage to be applied to the transfer unit during transfer is set based on the read test images. A reference image is formed on the test chart. The reader reads the test chart by scanning the test chart from a first position to a second position that falls within the test images. The first position falls within a boundary of the recording material on which the test chart is formed and falls outside the test images. Based on the reference image, the result of the reader reading the test chart is obtained by scanning the test chart from the first position to the second position.

An image forming apparatus is configured to, based on a reading result of a test image, generate data that is used to adjust image forming positions of toner images to be formed by an image forming unit, control an image forming position of a first toner image to be formed by the image forming unit in a first contact state based on first data, the first toner image being transferred to a first sheet, and control an image forming position of a second toner image to be formed by the image forming unit in a second contact state based on second data that is different from the first data, the second toner image being transferred to a second sheet, wherein a type of the second sheet is the same type as the type of the first sheet.

An image-forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic method that scans a surface of an image carrier with multi-beams emitted from a plurality of light emitting elements based on image data includes a density smoothing processor that performs a density smoothing process to smooth a density level difference of an image subjected to electronic bow correction, a density correction processor that performs density correction on the image subjected to the bow correction by light amount correction of a surface-crossing exposure segment, and a light emitting element driver controller that controls light emission of a plurality of light emitting elements of a light beam emitter based on the image data subjected to the density smoothing process and a control signal subjected to the density correction.

An exposure device irradiates a photoconductor with light on the basis of an exposure signal and thereby forms an electrostatic latent image. A toner amount calculating unit (a) determines a distribution pattern of the electrostatic latent image on the basis of the exposure signal, (b) determines an electric field variation level of a target pixel, (c) determines an electric field intensity of the target pixel on the basis of a value of the target pixel in the distribution pattern and the electric field variation level, and (d) determines a toner consumption amount corresponding to the electric field intensity. Further, using spatial filters independently of each other in a primary scanning direction and in a secondary scanning direction, the toner amount calculating unit determines the electric field variation level on the basis of (a) the distribution pattern or (b) the exposure signal.

A detecting apparatus includes: a light emitting element which emits light toward a detection material; a light receiving element which receives reflected light from the detection material; and an apparatus main body having an opening/closing member which opens and closes an opening through which light emitted from the light emitting element and reflected light from the detection material pass through, the apparatus main body being capable of moving between a first position where the apparatus main body comes into contact with the detection material and a second position where the apparatus main body separates from the detection material, and the opening/closing member being configured to open when the apparatus main body moves to the first position and to close when the apparatus main body moves to the second position.

An edge emphasis amount determining unit performs a spatial filter process and thereby determines an edge emphasis amount corresponding to edge effect. A first toner counter (a) counts a toner consumption amount including the edge emphasis amount for a non-block-edge pixel in a block as a unit of image processing, and (b) counts a toner consumption amount not including the edge emphasis amount for a block edge pixel in the block. A second toner counter counts a toner consumption amount not including the edge emphasis amount for the non-block-edge pixel and the block edge pixel. A toner consumption amount calculating unit calculates a toner consumption amount of the block on the basis of a difference between a toner counting value of the first toner counter and a toner counting value of the second toner counter.

An exposure device irradiates a photoconductor with light on the basis of an exposure signal and thereby forms an electrostatic latent image. A toner amount calculating unit (a) determines a distribution pattern of the electrostatic latent image on the basis of the exposure signal, (b) determines an electric field variation level of a target pixel, (c) determines an electric field intensity of the target pixel on the basis of a value of the target pixel in the distribution pattern and the electric field variation level, and (d) determines a toner consumption amount corresponding to the electric field intensity. Further, the toner amount calculating unit limits the electric field variation level to an uppermost value or less, the uppermost value corresponding to a value of the target pixel in the distribution pattern of the electrostatic latent image.

A base toner amount is determined without taking edge effect into account, and corresponds to a pixel value of image data for which gradation correction has not been performed. For the base toner amount, a first spatial filter process is performed corresponding to a laser profile of the exposure device. A second spatial filter process is performed for the base toner amount before or after the first spatial filter process and thereby an edge emphasis amount is determined corresponding to the edge effect. A limiter processing unit limits the edge emphasis amount to an uppermost value or less, and the uppermost value corresponds to the base toner amount after the first spatial filter process. A toner counter counts as a toner consumption amount a sum of the base toner amount after the first spatial filter process and the edge emphasis amount.

In an image forming apparatus, a seal member is a non-conductive, flexible member supported by a developing device. The seal member is formed to project from an edge part of the developing device that faces an image carrying member, along a longitudinal direction of the image carrying member. The seal member fills a part of a gap between the developing device and an outer circumferential surface of the image carrying member. An electrode film is adhered to a surface of the seal member. The electrode film is a conductive film. A potential detecting device detects a potential of the electrode film. A charging controller controls a charging voltage based on a result of comparison between a predetermined reference potential and the potential detected by the potential detecting device.