Patent ID: 6654579
Filing Date: 2003-11-25
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
An image forming apparatus comprising:an image carrier comprising a conductive support, at least a photoconductive layer formed on said conductive support, and a surface protection layer formed on said photoconductive layer and including a charge injection layer; and a charging member for charging said image carrier in contact with said surface protection layer when applied with a voltage, wherein said surface protection layer has a diamond-like structure or an amorphous structure containing hydrogen with a volume resistance of 109 &OHgr;Â·cm to 1012 &OHgr;Â·cm and a Knoop hardness of 400 Kg/mm2 or greater, wherein said charging member comprises magnetic particles for charging having a mean particle size ranging from 20 &mgr;m to 150 &mgr;m, and wherein a light transmission of the surface protective layer is 50% or more of a wavelength of light used for exposing the image carrier.