A cleaning component that cleans an image holding section having a high-hardness surface layer, the cleaning component including: a plate-shaped cleaning member coming into contact with a surface of the image holding section, in which a portion of the cleaning member coming into contact with the surface of the image holding section has 100% modulus equal to or more than 7 Mpa and rebound resilience equal to or less than 30%, as physical properties.

The electrophotographic apparatus and process cartridge comprising an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a cleaning blade, and developing unit containing a toner, wherein the cleaning blade comprising a support member and an elastic member whose portion is abutting a surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member; the elastic member has an elastic modulus of 15 to 470 MPa with coefficient of variation for the elastic modulus being not more than 7.0%, and the absolute value of a difference between Martens hardness values is not more than 0.30 N/mm.sup.2 as measured under prescribed conditions; the toner contains a toner particle and an external additive whose a number-average primary particle diameter is from 5 to 25 nm, when X1 is a coverage ratio of the toner particle by the external additive and X2 is a theoretical coverage ratio, X1 is 50 to 85 area %, and X1/X2≥−0.0042×X1+0.60 is satisfied.

A toner guide member includes a toner discharge port that is located above and faces a toner introduction port of a waste toner container, and the toner guide member forms, in its inside, a passage of waste toner from an end portion of a drum cleaning device to a toner discharge port. A first paddle conveyance member including a plurality of first blade portions rotates in a first rotation direction in the toner guide member. A second paddle conveyance member including a plurality of second blade portions rotates in a second rotation direction that is opposite to the first rotation direction, at a position lower than the first paddle conveyance member. A pivotal trajectory of the plurality of first blade portions partially overlaps with a pivotal trajectory of the plurality of second blade portions.

A waste toner transport unit includes a waste toner transport path through which waste toner removed from a circumferential surface of an image carrier is transported, a transport member that transports the waste toner along the waste toner transport path, and a movement restrictor that restricts the movement of the waste toner in a process of waste toner transportation. The waste toner transport path includes an area in which an inner bottom surface is inclined and the area constitutes the movement restrictor. The transport member is disposed such that a rotation shaft extends along the inclined inner bottom surface.

A cleaning device includes a cleaner that cleans a body to be cleaned, wherein the cleaner includes: an elastic member in which a contact portion in contact with the body to be cleaned is formed in an uneven shape continuous in a predetermined direction; and a support member that supports the elastic member, and the cleaner is configured so that a contact pressure of the elastic member to the body to be cleaned is constant in the predetermined direction.

An image forming apparatus (1) includes an image bearing member (50), a charging section (51), a developing section (52), and a cleaning member (81). The image bearing member (50) contains filler particles (87). The charging section (51) is either in contact with or positioned close to the image bearing member (50) and is configured to electrically charge the image bearing member (50) by generating a proximity discharge between the charging section (51) and the image bearing member (50). The developing section (52) supplies toner to the circumferential surface of the charged image bearing member (50). The cleaning member (81) has a degree of hardness equal to or higher than 65° and a degree of impact resilience equal to or lower than 30%. The cleaning member (81) is brought into pressure contact with the circumferential surface of the image bearing member (50) being rotated, by applying linear pressure equal to or higher than 15 gf/cm.

An electrophotographic blade to be brought into contact with a contact member, comprises a plate spring, and a resin layer that covers at least a part of a surface of the plate spring to form a contact region that comes into contact with a contact member. In the state where one of ends of the plate spring is fixed, a length (L) from the fixed end to the another end is 5 mm to 20 mm, and a force needed to displace the another end by 1 mm is 5 N/m to 100 N/m. The resin layer satisfies the requirements: (1) the thickness of the resin layer is 0.05 mm to 2.00 mm, (2) the tan δ value of the resin layer in the range of 5° C. to 40° C. is 0.05 to 0.70, and (3) the elastic modulus of the resin layer is 1.0 to 60.0 MPa.

A multilayered blade made of an elastic material includes an edge layer, having a contact edge to contact an object, and at least one backup layer laminated on the edge layer. The blade has a converted loss tangent tan δ of 0.23 or greater and 0.51 or smaller in a temperature range of from 0° C. to 50° C. The converted loss tangent tan δ is defined as: $X=\frac{A}{A+B}\times L_1+\frac{B}{A+B}\times L_2,$ where X represents the converted loss tangent tan δ, A represents a thickness in millimeters of the edge layer, B represents a thickness in millimeters of the at least one backup layer, L.sub.1 represents a variation of a loss tangent tan δ of the edge layer in the temperature range of from 0° C. to 50° C., and L.sub.2 represents a variation of a loss tangent tan δ of the at least one backup layer in the temperature range of from 0° C. to 50° C.

A cleaning blade that contacts a cleaning target member having a cleaning target surface which moves, and cleans the cleaning target surface, includes a blade body; and a blade protrusion that is present at an end portion of a lower surface of the blade body near a distal end surface of the blade body, has a shape protruding outward in a thickness direction with respect to the lower surface, and has an inclined surface being a surface continued from the distal end surface and inclined outward in the thickness direction with respect to the lower surface and inward in a height direction with respect to the distal end surface from an end of the distal end surface near the lower surface. At least a portion of the incline surface is a contact surface that contacts the cleaning target member.

An image forming apparatus (1) includes photosensitive drums (41y, 41c, 41m, and 41k), static eliminators (45y, 45c, 45m, and 45k), transfer rollers (54y, 54c, 54m, and 54k), a power source (55a) for transfer, and load resistors (47y, 47c, 47m, and 47k). The static eliminators (45y, 45c, and 45m) perform static elimination on adjacently upstream or downstream photosensitive drums (41y, 41c, 41m, and 41k) in a movement direction of a transfer target. The transfer rollers (54y, 54c, 54m, and 54k) are disposed opposite to the respective photosensitive drums (41y, 41c, 41m, and 41k). The power source (55a) for transfer applies potential to the transfer rollers (54y, 54c, 54m, and 54k). The load resistors (57y, 57c, 57m, and 57k) are respectively connected in parallel to one another and in series between the power source (55a) for transfer and the respective transfer rollers (54y, 54c, 54m, and 54k).