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.

In an image forming apparatus, the image bearing member has a surface and configured to rotate about an axis. The collection device is in contact with the surface, and configured to collect materials adhered to the surface. The developing roller is configured to provide a charged toner having a first polarity. The processor is configured to perform: executing a print job in a printing period; executing, in a non-printing period, a first process in which the image bearing member is rotated at least one rotation while a holding bias is applied to the collection device, the holding bias having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity; and executing, in a non-printing period after the first process, a second process in which the image bearing member is rotated while an ejection bias is applied to the collection device, the ejection bias having the first polarity.

A cleaning member includes a first cleaning part formed of a porous material and a second cleaning part formed of a porous material. The first cleaning part includes first projections each having a size that enables the first projections to pass between projecting portions of an object to be cleaned having surface irregularities and to reach the bottom of recessed portions of the object to be cleaned. The second cleaning part includes second projections larger than the first projections. The cleaning member cleans the object to be cleaned by coming into contact with the object to be cleaned.

An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member, a charging member, a developing roller, a transfer roller, and a brush configured to be brought into contact with a surface of the image bearing member on a side downstream of a transfer portion and upstream of a charging portion in a rotation direction of the image bearing member and in which, wherein, after the transfer of a developer image onto a transferred member, a developer remaining on the surface of the image bearing member is collected by the developing roller, the brush is disposed such that, in a cross section perpendicular to a rotation axis of the image bearing member, a contact region of the surface of the image bearing member in contact with the brush overlaps a virtual line containing the rotation axis of the image bearing member and extending upward from the rotation axis in a vertical direction.

The disclosure shows a cleaning blade for electrophotographic equipment, the cleaning blade through which both high hardness and low warping are obtained and excellent toner scraping properties are realized. The cleaning blade (10) includes a blade part (12) comprising a cured material of a urethane composition containing a polyol, an isocyanate, and a crosslinker or a chain extender. The content of the isocyanate is 28.0 mass % or more with respect to the entire composition. The crosslinker or the chain extender comprises a triol having a molecular weight of 150 or less. The content of the crosslinker or the chain extender is 4.0 mass % or less with respect to the entire composition. The content of the triol having a molecular weight of 150 or less is 0.8 mass % or more with respect to the entire composition.

An image forming apparatus has a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposing device, a developing device, a transfer member, a polishing member, a driving device, a voltage applying device, a torque detector, and a control portion. The photosensitive member has a photosensitive layer and a surface protection layer formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer. The polishing member has an elastic layer on its circumferential surface, and rotates with a linear velocity difference from that of the photosensitive member. The torque detector detects the torque of the driving device. The control portion estimates an attachment condition of discharge products to the surface of the photosensitive member based on the torque of the driving device detected by the torque detector. When the torque is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the control portion performs an image degradation suppression process.

In a cleaning blade, a contact portion that comes into contact with a member to be cleaned is configured with a cured substance of a composition containing a polyisocyanate, a polyol, and at least one of the following (1) or (2): (1) a fluorine-containing surfactant having a hydroxyl group, and (2) a fluorine-containing polymer having a hydroxyl value of 50 KOH mg/g or more and 300 KOH mg/g or less.

An image forming apparatus has a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposing device, a developing device, a transfer member, a polishing member, a driving device, a voltage applying device, a torque detector, and a control portion. The photosensitive member has a photosensitive layer and a surface protection layer formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer. The polishing member has an elastic layer on its circumferential surface, and rotates with a linear velocity difference from that of the photosensitive member. The torque detector detects the torque of the driving device. The control portion estimates an attachment condition of discharge products to the surface of the photosensitive member based on the torque of the driving device detected by the torque detector. When the torque is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the control portion performs an image degradation suppression process.

The disclosure shows a cleaning blade for electrophotographic equipment, the cleaning blade through which both high hardness and low warping are obtained and excellent toner scraping properties are realized. The cleaning blade (10) includes a blade part (12) comprising a cured material of a urethane composition containing a polyol, an isocyanate, and a crosslinker or a chain extender. The content of the isocyanate is 28.0 mass % or more with respect to the entire composition. The crosslinker or the chain extender comprises a triol having a molecular weight of 150 or less. The content of the crosslinker or the chain extender is 4.0 mass % or less with respect to the entire composition. The content of the triol having a molecular weight of 150 or less is 0.8 mass % or more with respect to the entire composition.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer bearing member, a fixing unit including a heating member, a rotary member which is heated by the heating member, and a nip area where the rotary member comes into contact with a sheet, and configured to perform fixing by heating a developer image transferred to the sheet and fixing the developer image to the sheet in the nip area, and a control unit configured to execute, while the fixing is not performed, a mode in which the image bearing member is rotated with the developer bearing member being in a separated position and the heating member is controlled such that a temperature of a portion of a surface of the rotary member, after the rotary member passes through the nip area, is maintained higher than the temperature of the portion during the fixing.