Patent ID: 9014588
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of image forming devices arranged along a line, each image forming device comprising a developer and forming a developer image with the developer on a surface of a latent image carrier that rotates in a rotation direction, transferring the developer image onto an intermediate transfer member, and cleaning the surface of the latent image carrier by bringing at least a plate-shaped cleaning member into contact with the surface of the latent image carrier after the transferring of the developer image and scraping off the developer that remains on the surface of the latent image carrier after the transferring of the developer image; the intermediate transfer body that rotates so as to successively pass through transfer positions of the latent image carriers of the image forming devices and that carries and transports the developer images transferred onto the intermediate transfer body from the latent image carriers; and a controller that controls operations of the image forming devices and the intermediate transfer body, wherein the developer comprised and used in one of the image forming devices is a developer having an electrification performance lower than electrification performances of the developers comprised and used in the other image forming devices, and wherein the controller has a control mode for executing a supply operation in which the developer comprised and used in the one of the image forming devices is transferred onto the intermediate transfer body and at least a part of the developer comprised and used in the one of the image forming devices is reversely transferred onto the latent image carriers of the image forming devices other than the one of the image forming devices and caused to reach the respective plate-shaped cleaning members.