Patent ID: 7272331

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing member; a developing device for developing an electrostatic image formed on said image bearing member with a developer into a developed image; transferring means for transferring the developed image onto an image receiving member; cleaning member, contacted to said image bearing member, for removing a residual developer from said image bearing member; detecting means for detecting an ambient condition of said apparatus; wherein said developing device is capable of transferring a developer onto a non-image formation region of said image bearing member, wherein the non-image formation region is a region from which no developer is transferred onto the image receiving member, wherein the developer on the non-image formation region reaches a cleaning position of said cleaning member, and wherein an operation of transferring the developer onto the non-image formation region is different when an output of said detecting means is indicative of a temperature not higher than a predetermined temperature then when an output of said detecting means is indicative of a temperature higher than the predetermined temperature and is indicative of a humidity not higher than a predetermined humidity.