Patent ID: 8447215

Claim:
An image forming apparatus for forming an image using a two-component developer including a toner and a carrier, comprising: an image carrier capable of carrying an electrostatic latent image formed based on image data; a removable developing device that includes a development roller disposed in opposed relation with the image carrier and that can supply the toner to the image carrier; a transfer device capable of transferring a toner image on the image carrier to a transfer receiving material, the toner image formed by the toner supplied by the developing device; a toner recovery device capable of recovering the toner not transferred to the transfer receiving material by the transfer device and remaining on the image carrier; a transport mechanism transporting to the developing device the toner recovered by the toner recovery device; a voltage applicator capable of applying a bias voltage between the image carrier and the development roller during an image forming operation in order to transfer the toner in the developer from the development roller to the image carrier; and a controller that, in the removal of the developing device, allows the toner recovery device to recover a larger amount of toner than that recovered in the image forming operation by controllably driving the voltage applicator to apply between the development roller and the image carrier the bias voltage shifted in a direction to transfer more toner (in the developer) than in the image forming operation from the development roller to the image carrier and by controllably inhibiting the transfer device from transferring the toner to the transfer receiving material.