Patent ID: 8038590

Claim:
A conductive member that is configured to be used together with a photoconductor, the conductive member comprising: a conductive supporting body; an electric resistance adjusting layer including an outer circumferential surface having a diameter, which is formed on the conductive supporting body and is disposed to face the photoconductor, each of opposite ends of the electric resistance adjusting layer including first and second step portions; and a pair of space holding members, each of the space holding members including first and second stepped holes in which the first and second step portions are fitted, respectively, the first stepped hole and the second stepped hole each having a vertical surface that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the respective space holding member, wherein the first step portion provided on the electric resistance adjusting layer includes a first vertical surface that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the electric resistance adjusting layer and an outer circumferential surface having an outer diameter lesser than the diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the electric resistance adjusting layer, wherein the second step portion provided on the electric resistance adjusting layer includes a second vertical surface that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the electric resistance adjusting layer and an outer circumferential surface having an outer diameter lesser than the diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the first step portion, and wherein, when the first and second step portions are fitted in the first and second stepped holes, the first step portion is fitted in the first stepped hole of each of the space holding members and the first vertical surface of the first step portion is abutted with the vertical surface of the first stepped hole, and the second step portion is fitted in the second stepped hole of each of the space holding members and the second vertical surface of the second step portion is abutted with the vertical surface of the second stepped hole, so that the pair of space holding members directly contact the photoconductor to maintain a predetermined gap between the electric resistance adjusting layer and the photoconductor.