Patent ID: 7251430

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image bearing member that bears a toner image and moves; transfer means that transfers the toner image on the image bearing member to a transfer medium; first eliminating means that comes in contact with the image bearing member and collects and eliminates toner on the image bearing member by applying a bias in a first eliminating area where the toner is eliminated from the image bearing member; second eliminating means that comes in contact with the image bearing member so as to eliminate the toner on the image bearing member in a second eliminating area where the toner remaining on the image bearing member where the toner is eliminated in the first eliminating area is eliminated; control means that variably controls a bias condition of the bias to be applied to the first eliminating means based on a relationship between voltage and electric current at the time of applying test bias to the first eliminating means in contact with the image bearing member; and separating means that separates the second eliminating means from the image bearing member when a portion of the image bearing member which passes through the first eliminating area during the application of the test bias to the first eliminating means is in the second eliminating area.