Image forming apparatus

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine and a printer, for performing electrophotographic image forming processing by forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of an image carrier, and transferring a toner image electrostatically adhering to the electrostatic latent image onto a transfer material.

#2. Description of the Related Art

#Other and further objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be more explicit from the following detailed description taken with reference to the drawings wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a view showing an arrangement of a processing section in an image forming apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

#FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a state of a transfer region in the processing section;

#Now referring to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are described below.

#FIG. 1 is a view showing an arrangement of a processing section in an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention. The processing section 10 in the image forming apparatus for performing electrophotographic image forming processing includes a photosensitive drum 1 allowed to rotate in a rotation direction A, which is surrounded by a charger 2, an exposure unit 3, a developing unit 4, an erasing charger 5, a transfer device 6, and a cleaner 7 placed in this order from upstream to downstream along the rotation direction A, and a pair of fusing rollers 8 placed downstream from an opposing position of the photosensitive drum 1 and transfer device 6 in a transportation direction B of a sheet of paper P (hereinafter, referred to as the sheet P) used as a recording medium of the invention.

#The photosensitive drum 1 is an image carrier of the invention, and composed of a cylindrical conductive substrate 1a made of aluminum or the like and a photosensitive layer 1bcovering the surface of the substrate 1a for inducing a photoconductive function (see FIG. 2). The charger 2 is composed of a brush or a roller, and brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 at its tip or outer surface to provide charges of a single polarity evenly on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The exposure unit 3 irradiates light of an image based on image data to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after it is charged by the charger 2. The photosensitive layer on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 induces a photoconductive function at a portion irradiated by the light of the image. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The developing unit 4 contains toner charged to a predetermined polarity in its interior, and develops the electrostatic latent image into a visible toner image by supplying the toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. Consequently, a toner layer 1c is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1.