Patent ID: 7639977

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, operable to form an image on a recording medium, the apparatus comprising: an image carrier, adapted such that a toner image is formed thereon by developing an electrostatic latent image; an intermediate transfer member, adapted such that the toner image is primarily transferred thereto; and a transfer device, comprising: a roller member, adapted to come in contact with the intermediate transfer member; and a first bias voltage applier, operable to apply a first bias voltage between the roller member and the intermediate transfer member to secondarily transfer the toner image onto the recording medium, thereby obtaining the image; a charge eliminator, disposed in the vicinity of the roller member; a second bias voltage applier, operable to apply a second bias voltage to the charge eliminator to eliminate charges on the recording medium which has been subjected to the application of the first bias voltage; and a controller, operable to increase the second bias voltage for a prescribed time period when the apparatus is activated or recovered from a standby state thereof.