A cleaning member includes a core and an elastic layer disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the core. A circumferential cover length over which the elastic layer covers the core in a circumferential direction is greater at least at one of first and second end portions in an axial direction of the core than at a central portion in the axial direction. The central portion in the axial direction extends from one end to the other end of the core in the axial direction. When the cleaning member is rotated by a member to be cleaned, a non-contact region in which the first and second end portions in the axial direction are not in contact with the member to be cleaned is in a range from approximately 0 to approximately 15 in terms of a rotation angle of the cleaning member viewed from one side in the axial direction.

A cleaning device includes an upstream cleaner, an upstream cleaner, and a collection member. The upstream cleaner is configured to remove toner from a surface of a cleaning target. The downstream cleaner is disposed downstream from the upstream cleaner in a direction of movement of the surface of the cleaning target. The downstream cleaner is configured to remove toner from the surface of the cleaning target. The collection member is configured to collect toner from the downstream cleaner.

An image forming apparatus includes a second cleaning section, an image formation control section configured to control an image forming section to form a high-coverage patch on a transfer belt, and a cleaning control section configured to control the second cleaning section to perform cleaning of the patch on the transfer belt.

An image bearer protective agent is provided. The image bearer protective agent includes a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant. The inorganic lubricant includes a first inorganic lubricant having a tap density of from 0.30 to 0.8 g/cm.sup.2.

An image forming apparatus including a cleaning member having a belt cleaning blade and a conductive brush. A value of a charging current that is generated when charging residual toner with the conductive brush is smaller when a color mode is executed compared to that when a monochrome mode is executed.

In an adjustment step, an adjustment purpose toner image is formed on an intermediate transfer belt, and the adjustment purpose toner image is removed from the intermediate transfer belt by a cleaning member contacting the intermediate transfer belt and through an electrostatic cleaning step. This adjustment step is executed in a state where a toner attachment amount on a charging member is switched from a first limit value, which is allowed in the image forming step to a second limit value, which is allowed immediately before executing the adjustment step. This switching is performed by the execution of a toner discharging step, where a power supply changes the state of applying voltage to the charging member from that in the electrostatic cleaning step, so that toner attached to the charging member is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt.

An elastic blade may include an edge layer and at least one backup layer laminated on the edge layer. The edge layer may include a contact edge to contact a contact object and an opposing face to oppose the contact object, and the backup layer may be greater in elastic power than the edge layer.

A cleaning device includes a housing, a cleaning blade, and first and second sealing members. The housing has formed therein an opening facing an image carrying member. The cleaning blade removes toner that remains attached to the image carrying member while being in contact with the circumferential surface of the image carrying member. The first and second sealing members prevent waste toner inside the housing from leaking out through a gap between the housing and the image carrying member, owing to the first and second sealing members abutting on the circumferential surface of the image carrying member.

An image forming apparatus includes: a cleaning portion configured to remove toner stuck to a surface of an image carrier; a polishing roller that is rotatable while being in contact with the image carrier; a guide portion disposed with a gap having a predetermined width from an outer circumferential surface of the polishing roller, and configured to guide the removed toner to pass below the outer circumferential surface of the polishing roller; opening portions each formed in a predetermined size at a position below the lower portion of the outer circumferential surface of the polishing roller in the guide portion; and a housing including a wall surface that defines, together with an end of the guide portion in a rotation direction of the polishing roller, a falling path through which the toner falls from the end, the housing storing the cleaning portion and the polishing roller.

An electrostatic collecting device includes a rotatable collecting body including a collecting member for forming a collecting portion in contact with an object-to-be-cleaned and formed of an insulator, wherein the rotatable collecting body rubs the object-to-be-cleaned in the collecting portion with the collecting member by rotation thereof, and collects, in the collecting member, a substance-to-be-collected from the object-to-be-cleaned moved relative to the collecting portion; a removing member for removing the substance-to-be-collected from the collecting member; and a charge-removing member provided opposed to the object-to-be-cleaned on a side downstream of the collecting portion with respect to a movement direction of the object-to-be-cleaned relative to the collecting portion. The charge-removing member constitutes at least a part of at least one of the rotatable collecting body and the removing member. The charge-removing member is electrically connected to an electric conductor which is in non-contact with the object-to-be-cleaned.