Image forming apparatus having writing electrodes as a writing device

Abstract

Writing electrodes of a writing device are kept in contact with a latent image carrier with a small pressing force by a weak restoring force of a substrate. An electrostatic latent image is written on the latent image carrier by applying or removing charge relative to the latent image carrier which is already uniformly charged by a charge control device. The application or removal of charge is conducted via charge-transfer between the latent image carrier and the writing electrodes which are in contact with each other. The electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device to form a developing powder image and this developing powder image is transferred to a receiving medium such as a paper by a transferring device. Since the writing electrodes are employed as the writing device, the apparatus can be manufactured smaller and simply and can steadily write an image.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.