Patent ID: 8644731

Claim:
A charging device comprising: a charger facing a rotatably supported image carrier, the charger being configured to charge a surface of the image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed; and a movement mechanism configured to move the charger between a charging position at which the charger is close to the surface of the image carrier and a retracted position at which the charger is retracted away from the surface of the image carrier, wherein the movement mechanism includes a support member supporting the charger that has been moved to the retracted position by the movement mechanism; and a movable member configured to move when a driving force from a drive source is transmitted thereto, and wherein the support member and the movable member are configured such that the movable member moves to the charging position or the retracted position when the movable member is moved in a direction of a rotational axis of the image carrier while being in contact with the support member.