Patent ID: 7693455

Claim:
A conductive member to be disposed so as to abut on an image carrier, comprising: an elongate conductive supporter; an electrical resistance adjusting layer formed on a circumferential surface of the conductive supporter; and a pair of gap maintaining members provided respectively to two ends of the electrical resistance adjusting layer, wherein outer circumferential surfaces of the respective gap maintaining members are formed such that the outer circumferential surfaces of the respective gap maintaining members are positioned radially outward of an outer circumferential surface of the electrical resistance adjusting layer to form a gap with a certain clearance between the outer circumferential surface of the electrical resistance adjusting layer and an outer circumferential surface of the image carrier provided in parallel to the electrical resistance adjusting layer when the outer circumferential surfaces of the respective gap maintaining members abut on the outer circumferential surface the image carrier, wherein an external diameter stepped portion which does not abut on the outer circumferential surface of the image carrier is formed in a joint section between the electrical resistance adjusting layer and each of the gap maintaining members with the joint section placed axially in a middle of the stepped portion, and wherein an inclination is formed so as to be continuously inclined from the outer circumferential surface of each of the gap maintaining members to the outer circumferential surface of the electrical resistance adjusting layer in the stepped portion.