Image forming apparatus that decides malfunction, and malfunction deciding method

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, an optical member, a drive device, a motive device, and a control device. On a surface of the image carrier, a scanning line is formed, through a scanning operation with scanning light. The optical member emits the scanning light to the image carrier. The drive device changes a posture of the optical member, to adjust a skew of the scanning line on the image carrier. The motive device drives the drive device. The control device controls the motive device. Further, the control device decides that at least one of the drive device and the motive device are malfunctioning, when a skew amount remains higher than a predetermined permissible value, despite changing the posture of the optical member a predetermined number of times, through control of the drive device by the motive device.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.