Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member having a surface layer A having a surface hardness of 200 N/mm2 or greater, the surface layer A containing fillers made of a metal oxide and a cleaning blade having a reed-like elastic blade having a front edge portion to remove toner from the surface layer A in motion while the front edge portion is in contact with the surface layer A, the front edge portion having a laminate structure formed of a substrate of the elastic blade, a mixed layer of the substrate and an acrylic and/or methacrylic resin, the mixed layer having a thickness of 1.0 ?m or greater, and a surface layer B having an acrylic and/or methacrylic resin, the surface layer B having a thickness of 0.1 ?m or greater.

Abstract: A cleaning blade, including a strip-shaped elastic blade to contact the surface of a member to be cleaned, traveling on an edge line of the elastic blade, to remove a powder from the surface thereof, wherein the edge line of the elastic blade is impregnated with an ultraviolet curable resin including a fluorinated acrylic monomer, a surface layer harder than the elastic blade is formed on each of an under surface thereof, having the edge line as one line of the under surface and facing the member, and an apical surface thereof, having the edge line as one line of the apical surface and being parallel to a direction of the thickness thereof, and the apical surface is impregnated with the ultraviolet curable resin at a depth of from 50 to 150 ?m and the under surface is impregnated therewith at a depth of from 20 to 100 ?m.

Abstract: A cleaning blade for use in an image forming apparatus including a holder, and an elastic blade attached to the holder and in contact with an image bearing member, the elastic blade being impregnated with an acrylate polymer from at least one surface to a depth of from 5 to 100 ?m.

Abstract: A cleaning blade including a strip-shaped elastic blade having at least one obtuse-angled edge on a tip portion thereof, and a cover layer, which is located on a surface of the tip portion of the elastic blade including the obtuse-angled edge and which is harder than the elastic blade. The obtuse-angled edge having the cover layer thereon is contacted with a moving surface of a member to be cleaned to remove a powdery material from the moving surface of the member.

Abstract: A cleaning blade, including a reed-shaped elastic blade configured to move an edge of the elastic blade on the surface of a member to be cleaned while contacting the edge to the surface thereof to remove a powder therefrom, wherein surface layers harder than the elastic blade are formed on an distal face having the edge as one of its lines facing the member to be cleaned and an proximal face having the edge as one of its lines parallel in a thickness direction of the blade, respectively, and wherein a friction coefficient between the surface layer on the distal face of the blade and the member to be cleaned is lower than that between the surface layer on the proximal face of the blade and the member to be cleaned.

Abstract: A cleaning blade for removing fine particles from a cleaning target by contact with the cleaning target, a method of using the cleaning blade, and an image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the cleaning blade. The cleaning blade includes an elastic blade. A leading edge of the elastic blade includes a friction coefficient of 0.5 or less. The cleaning blade also includes a surface layer that covers the leading edge of the elastic blade. A thickness of the surface layer is between 1 to 50 ?m at a position 50 ?m away from the leading edge, and a hardness of the surface layer is greater hardness than the elastic blade.

Abstract: A cleaning blade for cleaning a moving surface of an object by contacting an edge thereof with the moving surface is provided. The cleaning blade includes a strip-shaped elastic main body, in which a leading end portion thereof including the edge is impregnated with an ultraviolet-crosslinked resin; and a cover layer, which is located on a surface of a portion of the crosslinked resin-impregnated portion including the edge as an outermost layer and which has higher hardness than the strip-shaped elastic main body.

Abstract: A cleaning blade, including a reed-shaped elastic blade configured to move an edge of the elastic blade on the surface of a member to be cleaned while contacting the edge to the surface thereof to remove a powder therefrom, wherein surface layers harder than the elastic blade are formed on an distal face having the edge as one of its lines facing the member to be cleaned and an proximal face having the edge as one of its lines parallel in a thickness direction of the blade, respectively, and wherein a friction coefficient between the surface layer on the distal face of the blade and the member to be cleaned is lower than that between the surface layer on the proximal face of the blade and the member to be cleaned.

Abstract: A cleaning blade for use in an image forming apparatus including a holder, and an elastic blade attached to the holder and in contact with an image bearing member, the elastic blade being impregnated with an acrylate polymer from at least one surface to a depth of from 5 to 100 ?m.

Abstract: A cleaning blade for removing fine particles from a cleaning target by contact with the cleaning target is provided. The cleaning blade includes an elastic blade A leading edge of the elastic blade includes a friction coefficient of 0.5 or less. The cleaning blade also includes a surface layer that covers the leading edge of the elastic blade. A thickness of the surface layer is between 1 to 50 ?m at a position 50 ?m away from the leading edge, and a hardness of the surface layer is greater hardness than the elastic blade.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photoreceptor including a photosensitive layer on an electroconductive substrate, wherein nitrate ion is present on the surface of the photosensitive layer in an amount of from 50 to 300 ?g per 1 m2 of the surface of the photosensitive layer when the nitrate ion is determined by an ion chromatographic method. Preferably a material having a fluorine atom and a carbon atom or a fatty acid metal salt such as zinc stearate is further present on the surface of the photosensitive layer such that the F/C ratio is from 0.05 to 0.5 or the Zn/C ratio is from 0.001 to 0.1. An image forming apparatus using the photoreceptor is also provided.

Abstract: To provide an image forming method including: forming a latent electrostatic image on a photoconductor; developing the latent electrostatic image using a toner to form a visible image; transferring the visible image onto a recording medium; fixing the transferred visible image to the recording medium; and removing toner particles remained on the photoconductor by means of a cleaning blade, wherein the toner comprises an external additive, and the toner has an average circularity of 0.94 or more, and wherein the cleaning blade has a rebound resilience of 60% or more at 23° C., and the contact pressure of the cleaning blade against the photoconductor is 0.2 N/cm or less.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photoreceptor including a photosensitive layer on an electroconductive substrate, wherein nitrate ion is present on the surface of the photosensitive layer in an amount of from 50 to 300 ?g per 1 m2 of the surface of the photosensitive layer when the nitrate ion is determined by an ion chromatographic method. Preferably a material having a fluorine atom and a carbon atom or a fatty acid metal salt such as zinc stearate is further present on the surface of the photosensitive layer such that the F/C ratio is from 0.05 to 0.5 or the Zn/C ratio is from 0.001 to 0.1. An image forming apparatus using the photoreceptor is also provided.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photoreceptor including an electroconductive substrate; a photosensitive layer located overlying the electroconductive substrate and including a resin; and a surface layer including a filler and a binder resin, wherein the surface layer and the photosensitive layer have a continuous structure, and wherein the surface layer satisfies the following relationship: ??D/5, wherein D represents an average of maximum thicknesses of the surface layer in units of micrometers in 20 segments of 5 ?m wide when a portion of a cross section of the photoreceptor of 100 ?m wide is divided into the 20 segments, and ? represents a standard deviation of the 20 maximum thicknesses.

Abstract: A toner composition including toner particles; and an external additive located on the surface of the toner particles and including Si, wherein the toner composition satisfies the following relationship, (PSi2p (1 min)−PSi2p (30 min))≦0.8 eV, wherein PSi2p (1 min) and PSi2p (30 min) represent positions of the Si2p peaks of the Si element of the toner composition when the toner composition is subjected to an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis after the toner composition is mixed with a carrier for 1 minute or 30 minutes using a TURBULA mixer at a revolution of 20 rpm, respectively.

Abstract: An electrophotographic drum-shaped photoconductor has an electroconductive support and a photoconductive layer formed thereon, with a lubricating material being applied to the surface thereof in the shape of a plurality of bands spaced therebetween, constituting band-shaped lubricating material applied areas, extending along a circumference of the drum-shaped photoconductor in the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the drum-shaped photoconductor. An electrophotographic image formation method and an image forming apparatus employing the above-mentioned drum-shaped photoconductor are also disclosed.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photoreceptor including an electroconductive substrate; a photosensitive layer located overlying the electroconductive substrate and including a resin; and a surface layer including a filler and a binder resin, wherein the surface layer and the photosensitive layer have a continuous structure, and wherein the surface layer satisfies the following relationship: &sgr;≦D/5, wherein D represents an average of maximum thicknesses of the surface layer in units of micrometers in 20 segments of 5 &mgr;m wide when a portion of a cross section of the photoreceptor of 100 &mgr;m wide is divided into the 20 segments, and &sgr; represents a standard deviation of the 20 maximum thicknesses.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a photoreceptor configured to bear an electrostatic latent image while rotating in a direction, wherein the photoreceptor includes an electroconductive substrate, a photosensitive layer located overlying the substrate, and a protective layer located overlying the photosensitive layer and including a filler; a latent image former configured to form the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor; an image developer configured to develop the electrostatic latent image with a developer including a toner; an image transfer device configured to transfer the toner image onto a receiving material; a cleaner configured to remove the toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor while contacting the surface of the photoreceptor; and a surface condition controller configured to control a surface condition of the photoreceptor.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photoreceptor including an electroconductive substrate; a photosensitive layer located overlying the electroconductive substrate and including a resin; and a surface layer including a filler and a binder resin, wherein the surface layer and the photosensitive layer have a continuous structure, and wherein the surface layer satisfies the following relationship: &sgr;≦D/5, wherein D represents an average of maximum thicknesses of the surface layer in units of micrometers in 20 segments of 5 &mgr;m wide when a portion of a cross section of the photoreceptor of 100 &mgr;m wide is divided into the 20 segments, and &sgr; represents a standard deviation of the 20 maximum thicknesses.

Abstract: An electrophotographic drum-shaped photoconductor has an electroconductive support and a photoconductive layer formed thereon, with a lubricating material being applied to the surface thereof in the shape of a plurality of bands spaced therebetween, constituting band-shaped lubricating material applied areas, extending along a circumference of the drum-shaped photoconductor in the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the drum-shaped photoconductor. An electrophotographic image formation method and an image forming apparatus employing the above-mentioned drum-shaped photoconductor are also disclosed.