Image forming apparatus, optical scanning device, maintenance method

An image forming apparatus includes a rotating polygon mirror, a motor, a bearing portion, a measurement processing portion, and a determination processing portion. The rotating polygon mirror causes a light beam emitted from the light source to be scanned. The motor rotates the rotating polygon mirror. The bearing portion rotatably supports a rotation shaft of the motor via a lubricant. The measurement processing portion measures a transition time that is a time required for the motor to transition from a stationary state to a driving state in which the motor rotates at a predetermined speed. The determination processing portion determines whether or not a maintenance is required, based on the transition time measured by the measurement processing portion. 本发明提供能够通过简单的结构判断是否需要进行维护的图像形成装置、光扫描装置和维护方法。图像形成装置包括：旋转多面镜，使从光源照射出的光进行扫描；电动机，使所述旋转多面镜转动；以及轴承部，通过润滑剂将所述电动机的转动轴支撑成能够转动，测量所述电动机从静止状态转移至以规定速度转动的驱动状态的转移时间(步骤S23)，基于测量出的所述转移时间，判断是否需要进行维护(步骤S25)。