Patent ID: 7796903

Claim:
A charging apparatus for charging an image bearing member which bears thereon an electrostatic latent image that is provided in an image forming apparatus, comprising: an ion generating section which generates ions to charge a toner image formed on the image bearing member; and a counter electrode arranged face to face with the ion generating section, which controls a flow of ions generated by the ion generating section, the ion generating section including a discharge electrode formed on a surface of a dielectric body, an induction electrode formed on a back surface or in an inside of the dielectric body so as to be arranged face to face with the discharge electrode via the dielectric body lying therebetween, and a discharge voltage applying section which applies a voltage between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode, the toner image formed on the image bearing member being charged while the image bearing member is moved between the ion generating section and the counter electrode, and the discharge electrode being so formed as to extend in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the image bearing member is moved, to have a shape which is conformable to the surface of the image bearing member, and to have an edge with a plurality of sharp-pointed portions so as to take on serrations, a distance g being set as between about 3 mm and 7 mm, and a relationship of 0.06≦p/g≦1 is satisfied, wherein p (mm) is a pointedness pitch that is an interval between tips of two of the sharp-pointed portions, and g (mm) is a distance from the discharge electrode to the image bearing member, and the ion generating section generating ions by producing a difference of electrical potential between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode by the discharge voltage applying section, and charging the toner image on the image bearing member arranged between the ion generating section and the counter electrode by flowing the generated ions toward the counter electrode.