Patent ID: 7305193
Filing Date: 2007-12-04
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus that performs an image forming operation for forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: a photosensitive body; a charging device that charges a surface of the photosensitive body; an exposing device that exposes the surface of the photosensitive body charged by the charging device so as to form an electrostatic latent image; a developing device that develops, using developer, the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive body by the exposing device so as to form a developer image; a transfer device that transfers the developer image formed by the developing device onto the recording medium; a transfer controller that applies a transfer voltage to the transfer device so that a transfer current is passed to transfer the developer image onto the recording medium; a resistance determiner that determines whether a resistance value of the transfer device exceeds a predetermined reference limiting value; and an operation mode switcher that switches an operation mode of the image forming operation, when it is determined by the resistance determiner that the resistance value of the transfer device exceeds the reference limiting value, from a first image forming mode that is the operation mode before it is determined that the resistance value exceeds the reference limiting value, to a second image forming mode that provides better protection against defective transfer by the transfer device than the first image forming mode.