Patent ID: 7650096

Claim:
A charging device, comprising: a needle electrode in which a plurality of needles that protrude towards a surface of a photoreceptor are arrayed in a straight line; a holder that holds the needle electrode and whose cross sectional shape orthogonal to the array direction is constant at least within the range of the array direction over which the plurality of needles are arrayed; a cleaning roller that is disposed between the photoreceptor surface and the needle electrode so as to be movable along an array direction of the plurality of needles; and a support element that is held by the holder arranged so as to restrict its movement in directions orthogonal to the array direction, and that rotatable supports the cleaning roller, wherein, during movement of the cleaning roller along the needle electrode, tip portions of each of the plurality of needles are sequentially embedded into and then removed from the cleaning roller, and at least one of the plurality of needles is always embedded in the interior of the cleaning.