Patent ID: 8666275

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; a rotatable intermediary transfer member onto which the toner image is to be transferred from said image bearing member; a power source; and a charging member for electrically charging a toner remaining on said intermediary transfer member by being supplied with a voltage of a predetermined polarity from said power source, wherein said charging member is capable of being moved toward and away from said intermediary transfer member, wherein said image forming apparatus is capable of executing an operation in a charging member cleaning mode in which the toner is transferred from said charging member onto said intermediary transfer member by applying a voltage of an opposite polarity to the predetermined polarity from said power source to said charging member, and wherein upon execution of the operation in the charging member cleaning mode, the voltage of the opposite polarity to the predetermined polarity is applied to said charging member, and then said charging member is moved, while maintaining the application of the voltage of the opposite polarity, at least once away from a contact position in which said charging member is contacted to said intermediary transfer member.