An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a transfer belt, a secondary transfer portion, a cleaning member contacting a surface of the transfer belt and to clean the surface of the transfer belt, a fixing device, an exhausting device, a duct portion and a sheet member. The sheet member is provided on the exhausting device so as to projecting toward the transfer belt from the exhausting device, opposite with a predetermined space to the surface of the transfer belt in a downstream of the transfer portion and an upstream of the cleaning member with respect to a rotational direction of the transfer belt, and is configured to prevent an air flow between the exhausting device and the transfer belt from flowing toward the downstream with respect to the rotational direction.

Toner contains toner base particles and an organosilicon polymer on the surface of the toner base particles. After a toner image is transferred from an intermediate transfer belt to a transfer material, residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt is collected into a belt cleaning device by a blade. A CPU executes supply control of supplying toner from a developing device toward the blade via a photosensitive drum and via the intermediate transfer belt on the basis of a counter accumulated value that correlates with an amount of organosilicon polymer adhering to the blade.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image carrier that carries an image; a developing device that develops a latent image formed on the image carrier into a visible image formed of powder; an intermediate transfer body to which the visible image is transferred from the image carrier and that temporarily transports the visible image; a transfer device that transfers the visible image on the image carrier to the intermediate transfer body; a first cleaning device that cleans the image carrier by collecting powder that remains on the image carrier; a first collection container that receives the powder collected by the first cleaning device; a second cleaning device that cleans the intermediate transfer body by collecting powder that remains on the intermediate transfer body; a second collection container that receives the powder collected by the second cleaning device; a feeding device that supplies a transfer-process bias to the transfer device; and a changing unit that changes the transfer-process bias supplied by the feeding device when a waste powder image is formed on the image carrier, the transfer-process bias being changed so as to adjust amounts of powder in the waste powder image received by the first collection container and the second collection container.

A powder conveying device includes an inflow portion, a discharge portion, and a conveying screw. Powder flows into the inflow portion from outside of the powder conveying device. The powder flows out from the discharge portion to the outside of the powder conveying device. The conveying screw includes a shaft and conveys the powder from the inflow portion to the discharge portion in a conveying direction. A surface portion of the shaft at at least one of an upstream end or a downstream end of the shaft in the conveying direction, in at least one of the inflow portion or the discharge portion has a lower friction with the powder than another surface portion of the shaft at a position other than the at least one of the upstream end or the downstream end.

A cleaning apparatus includes a plate shaped cleaner that comes into contact with a belt shaped member that rotates supported by a roller in a position not opposed to the roller in a surface on an opposite side of a surface where the roller comes into contact with the belt shaped member, wherein the plate shaped cleaner cleans the surface of the belt shaped member, and a hardware processor. The hardware processor obtains an amount of use of the plate shaped cleaner for each belt tension state in the belt shaped member in which the belt tension state is switched. The hardware processor sets a replacement determination timing of the plate shaped cleaner based on the obtained amount of use of the plate shaped cleaner.

The present invention is aimed at providing an electrophotographic cleaning blade that has excellent chipping resistance and can exhibit excellent cleaning performance. This cleaning blade is provided with an elastic member that comprises a polyurethane and a support member that supports the elastic member, and cleans the surface of a member to be cleaned that is moving, by bringing a part of the elastic member into contact with the surface of the member to be cleaned. The average value of the elastic modulus of the elastic member obtained when measured using SPM is at least 15 MPa and not more than 470 MPa, and the coefficient of variation thereof is not more than 6.0%.

In an example, a print apparatus comprises an intermediate transfer member to receive thermoplastic print agent from a photoconductive surface, a rotatably mounted endless cleaning surface to receive a layer of thermoplastic print agent from the intermediate transfer member and a heater, to heat the endless cleaning surface. The endless cleaning surface may be to engage with the intermediate transfer member when heated to transfer residue from the intermediate transfer member to the layer of thermoplastic print agent on the endless cleaning surface.

An intermediate transfer belt has a first region and a second region in an outer circumferential surface thereof that is in contact with a blade. The first region has a first dynamic friction coefficient in a belt conveyance direction, and the second region has a second dynamic friction coefficient. The distance of the second region in the belt conveyance direction is less than the distance of the first region and is greater than the distance of a contact portion in which the blade is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt.

An imaging apparatus includes a transfer belt, a transfer roller, a conductive roller, and a power source. The transfer roller includes a metal shaft electrically floating during an imaging operation. The conductive device has an electrical resistance lower than an electrical resistance of the transfer roller. The power source is electrically connected to the conductive device, and the power source includes a first supply path to supply a first electrical bias to the conductive device during an imaging operation and a second supply path to supply a second electrical bias to the transfer roller during a cleaning operation.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a developing device that supplies a toner to the image carrier, and a cleaning member. The cleaning member includes a blade that contacts the image carrier and applies a pressure onto the image carrier. The blade has two ends that are bent in a direction toward the image carrier such, wherein the blade forms cleaning angles with the image carrier at the two ends of the blade, that are smaller than the cleaning angles formed with the image carrier in the other portions of the blade.