A cleaning blade that removes a foreign matter adhering to a rotational body includes: an abutment member; a supporting member that supports the abutment member; and a holding member that holds the supporting member, wherein the abutment member includes: an abutment layer abutting on the rotational body; and an adjustment layer that is a part other than the abutment layer, and an elongation percentage of the adjustment layer is larger than an elongation percentage of the abutment layer in a case where frictional force is applied from the rotational body to the abutment member during rotation of the rotational body.

A wiper holder comprises a body part and a first slot formed in the body part, the first slot for holding a first wiper element, where the first slot is bent to form-lock the first wiper element, and a second slot formed in the body part adjacent to the first slot, the second slot for holding a second wiper element, where the second slot is bent to form-lock the second wiper element.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member configured to carry a toner image; a cleaning member contacted to the image bearing member to clean a surface of the image bearing member by movement of the surface of the image bearing member: a supporting member configured to support the cleaning member; a case provided with a space configured to hold the supporting member therein; a viscoelasticity member; and a vibration controlling member configured to suppress vibration of the cleaning member, wherein the vibration controlling member is mounted on an outer surface of the case by the viscoelasticity member.

A cleaning blade, which is to be brought into contact with a surface of a photosensitive drum, satisfies the following condition. First, the cleaning blade having a free length of 8 mm is brought into contact with an opposed object for measurement having a plurality of measurement recesses each having a partially spherical shape with a depth of 0.7 m and a radius of 15 m on a surface so that a linear pressure is 0.196 N/cm and 0.490 N/cm, and a contact angle with respect to the opposed object for measurement is 25. In this case, a contact width of the cleaning blade in each of the measurement recesses is 4 m or more and 8 m or less when the linear pressure is 0.196 N/cm and is 4 m or more and 13.5 m or less when the linear pressure is 0.490 N/cm.

A toner cartridge for storing toner to be supplied to an image forming apparatus, includes a container in which the toner is stored and including a first wall having a filling port through which the toner is filled, and a second wall having a ventilation port sealable by a plug, the plug sealing the port during operation of the cartridge and is removed during maintenance of the cartridge to enable air to be supplied into the container through the port, a paddle configured to rotate to stir the toner between the first and second walls of the container, and a paddle gear connected to the paddle and through which a rotation force is transmitted to the paddle. The gear has a through hole that aligns with the ventilation port in a first direction parallel to a rotation axis of the gear when the gear is at a predetermined rotational position.

A cleaning device includes a cleaning member, a container, a feeding screw including a blade for feeding toner inside the container toward an outside of the container, and a loosening member, stretching along a rotation axis direction of the feeding screw, for loosening toner on a container wall surface provided around the feeding screw by being swung about a rotational axis along the rotation axis direction in a direction crossing the rotation axis direction, and the loosening member includes a contact portion for rotating the loosening member in a first direction with rotation of the feeding screw in contact with the blade when the feeding screw is in a predetermined phase range and includes an urging portion for imparting, to the loosening member, a force for rotating the loosening member in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

A cleaning blade is a contacting device abutting a photoconductor which is a rotating body. The cleaning blade includes a contacting member that abuts the photoconductor, a supporting member that supports the contacting member, and a holding member that holds the supporting member. The supporting member supports the contacting member in a part protruding from the holding member. The holding member includes an upper surface on the side where the contacting member abuts the photoconductor and a lower surface on the opposite side of the upper surface. The holding member holds the supporting member with a supporting region away from the tip portion to the read end side. It is possible to reduce the fluctuation of the contact pressure abutting the rotating body.

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.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit including an image carrier, a developing device that includes a developer containing a toner, and a cleaning device including a blade; and a transfer device. The toner contains toner particles having a volume-average particle size of 3 m or more and 5 m or less, a spherical inorganic external additive having a number-average particle size of 80 nm to 200 nm, and an organic component. In the cleaning device, an external additive residue in or near a contact region between the image carrier and the blade contains the organic component and an inorganic component, the area ratio of the organic component to the inorganic component is 3/7 or more and 7/3 or less, and the area ratio of the inorganic component that is spherical to the external additive residue is 30% or more.

Provided is a developing apparatus including a developer carrying member, a developer container, and a regulating member to regulate the thickness of the developer. The regulating member includes a support member such that one end is fixed to the developer container, the other end is a free end, and the support member extends in a direction opposite to the rotating direction of the developer carrying member, and a contact member to be fixed to the other end of the support member and to contact the developer carrying member. The contact member includes a contact curved surface along a peripheral surface of the developer carrying member, and an opposite surface to face the developer carrying member. The contact pressure of the contact curved surface applied to the developer carrying member decreases as a location on the developer carrying member approaches downstream side in the rotating direction.