Patent ID: 8867939

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotatable photosensitive member; a charging member for electrically charging said photosensitive member in contact or proximity to said photosensitive member, wherein said charging member forms an upstream gap and a downstream gap between said photosensitive member and itself, with respect to a movement direction of said photosensitive member, so that the upstream gap is gradually narrowed toward a contact portion or a closest position between said photosensitive member and itself and so that the downstream gap is gradually widened with a distance from the contact portion or the closest position; a power source for applying a DC voltage to said charging member; irradiation means for irradiating with light a surface of said photosensitive member in the upstream gap; and control means for controlling the irradiation of the light by said irradiation means, wherein said photosensitive member is movable at a first speed and a second speed slower than the first speed, and wherein the irradiation of the light by said irradiation means is effected when said photosensitive member is moved at the first speed to effect image formation, and is not effected when said photosensitive member is moved at the second speed to effect the image formation.