Charging brush unit, charging device, and image forming apparatus

A charging device for uniformly charging a surface of a latent image carrier, comprising:

• a charging brush unit;
• and
• an electrode,
• the charging brush unit comprising:
• a brush comprising a plurality of flexible conductive fibers supplied with a charging bias to generate electrical discharge between a top of the plurality of conductive fibers and the latent image carrier across a gap formed between the top of the plurality of conductive fibers and the latent image carrier;
• and
• a conductive holder configured to hold the brush,
• the electrode comprising a plurality of openings opposing the top of the plurality of conductive fibers,
• the electrode supplied with a bias different from the charging bias applied to the plurality of conductive fibers to generate the electrical discharge between the plurality of conductive fibers and the latent image carrier via the electrode.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a latent image carrier configured to carry a latent image;
• a charging device configured to uniformly charge a surface of the latent image carrier;
• a latent image forming member configured to form a latent image on the uniformly charged surface of the latent image carrier;
• and
• a development device configured to develop the latent image,
• the charging device comprising:
• a charging brush unit;
• and
• an electrode,
• the charging brush unit comprising:
• a brush comprising a plurality of flexible conductive fibers supplied with a charging bias to generate electrical discharge between a top of the plurality of conductive fibers and the latent image carrier across a gap formed between the top of the plurality of conductive fibers and the latent image carrier;
• and
• a conductive holder configured to hold the brush,
• the electrode comprising a plurality of openings opposing the top of the plurality of conductive fibers,
• the electrode supplied with a bias different from the charging bias applied to the plurality of conductive fibers to generate the electrical discharge between the plurality of conductive fibers and the latent image carrier via the electrode.