Patent ID: 7881627

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photosensitive member having a movable surface; a charging device configured to charge said photosensitive member; an image exposure device configured to expose the surface of said photosensitive member charged by said charging device to light in accordance with image information, thus forming an electrostatic image; a developing device configured to develop the electrostatic image formed on said photosensitive member into a developed image; a potential detecting device configured to detect a potential of the surface of said photosensitive member; a discharging device configured to discharge said photosensitive member by exposing said photosensitive member to light, said discharging device being disposed downstream of a transfer position where the developed image is transferred onto an image receiving material and upstream of a charging position where said charging device charges said image photosensitive member, with respect to a moving direction of the surface of said photosensitive member; and a changing device configured to change an image forming condition, wherein an area of said photosensitive member passes said discharging device under different operating conditions of said discharging device, and the area is charged by said charging device, said changing device changes the image forming condition on the basis of a result of detection, by said potential detecting device, of surface potentials of the area charged by said charging device.