Abstract: An image forming apparatus is disclosed, including an image bearing member and a protective layer forming unit. In an embodiment, the protective layer forming unit includes a protective agent supplying member which rotatably contacts a surface of the image bearing member and an image bearing member protective agent. The image bearing member protective agent includes at least a metal salt of a fatty acid and an inorganic lubricant. The protective agent supplying member includes a core material and a foam layer formed on an outer periphery of the core material and including a plurality of cells. Finally, a drive torque of the image bearing member and a drive torque of the protective agent supplying member satisfy a formula.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes at least: an image bearing member; a protective layer forming unit including at least a protective agent supplying member and an image bearing member protective agent; and a rotational speed controlling unit. In at least one embodiment, the protective agent supplying member includes a core material and a foam layer including a plurality of cells, and a number of cells n existing at a contact portion between a surface of the image bearing member and the protective agent supplying member is greater than 9 and less than 23. Further, a traveling speed V of the cells with respect to the surface of the image bearing member at the contact portion is greater than 837 cells/mm2/s and less than 4,670 cells/mm2/s.

Abstract: A method of transferring an image includes the steps of; bringing an image bearer bearing an image thereon as a transfer origin in contact with a transferring objective (onto which the image is transferred) as a transfer destination; moving at least one of the image bearer and the transferring objective in a prescribed direction; and sequentially transferring the image borne on the image bearer onto the transferring objective in a contacting section in which the image bearer and the transferring objective contact each other in a direction in which the image does not pass through the contacting section.

Abstract: Provided is an image bearing member protecting agent which contains a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant, wherein an aspect ratio (average major axis length/average minor axis length) of the inorganic lubricant is 60 to 400, and a mass ratio of the fatty acid metal salt to the inorganic lubricant (fatty acid metal salt/inorganic lubricant) is 98/2 to 85/15.

Abstract: To provide a protecting agent supplying member, containing a core, and a foam layer formed on a periphery of the core, wherein the protecting agent supplying member is in the shape of a roller, and wherein the foam layer has concavities regularly arranged in a surface thereof.

Abstract: There is provided a protective agent feeding member, which contains a core and a foam layer provided on an outer periphery of the core, in which the protective agent feeding member is in the shape of a roller, and the foam layer has a roughened surface and has a maximum height Ry of 400 ?m to 1,630 ?m.

Abstract: A novel protective agent supply device is provided including a protective agent block including a metal salt of a fatty acid; a rotatable foamed roller having a foamed layer having open cells, that is in continuous contact with both the protective agent block and an outer peripheral surface of an image bearing member that bears a toner image, and that scrapes the protective agent block and supplies the scraped protective agent to the outer peripheral surface of the image bearing member during rotation of the foamed roller; and a pressing unit that presses the protective agent block against the foamed roller.

Abstract: An image bearing member includes a substrate, a photosensitive layer overlying the substrate; and a surface layer overlying the photosensitive layer, wherein the surface layer includes a cross-linked layer formed by curing a radical polymerizable monomer having no charge transport structure and a radical polymerizable compound having a charge transport structure, wherein a protective agent is supplied to the surface layer by a protective agent supplying member which is arranged facing the surface layer and includes a roller having a core material and a foam layer thereon to form a protective layer on the surface layer.

Abstract: An image forming method including forming a latent electrostatic image borne on an image bearing member, developing the latent electrostatic image with a development agent accommodated in a development unit, the development agent containing toner, applying or attaching a protective agent to the surface of the image bearing member by a protective agent supplying device including a foam roller, and supplying particulates having a true spherical form between the surface of the image bearing member and a surface of the foam roller.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, including: an image bearing member; and a protective layer forming unit which includes a protective agent supplying member which rotatably contacts a surface of the image bearing member and an image bearing member protective agent, wherein the image bearing member protective agent includes at least a metal salt of a fatty acid and an inorganic lubricant, wherein the protective agent supplying member includes: a core material; and a foam layer formed on an outer periphery of the core material and including a plurality of cells, and wherein drive torque of the image bearing member and drive torque of the protective agent supplying member satisfy Formula (1) below: 1.47×10?4?[(A1+B1)?(A0+B0)]/L[N·m/mm]?1.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, including at least: an image bearing member; a protective layer forming unit including at least a protective agent supplying member and an image bearing member protective agent; and a rotational speed controlling unit, wherein the protective agent supplying member includes a core material and a foam layer including a plurality of cells, wherein a number of cells n existing at a contact portion between a surface of the image bearing member and the protective agent supplying member is greater than 9 and less than 23, and wherein a traveling speed V of the cells with respect to the surface of the image bearing member at the contact portion is greater than 837 cells/mm2/s and less than 4,670 cells/mm2/s.

Abstract: An image-bearing member protecting agent including a fatty acid metal salt, and an inorganic lubricant, wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent is a solid formed by compression molding a particulate or granulated raw material containing the fatty acid metal salt and the inorganic lubricant, and applied or adhered to a surface of an image bearing member, and wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent has a front surface which is a side of the image-bearing member protecting agent to be used at the beginning, and a rear surface which is a side thereof to be left when most of the image-bearing member protecting agent is used up, and the image-bearing member protecting agent has a density decreasing from the front surface toward the rear surface.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image-bearing member protecting agent, which has a block shape and is used in an image forming process where the image-bearing member protecting agent is applied or attached to a surface of an image bearing member while being scraped off with a roll-shaped brush, the image-bearing member protecting agent including: a fatty acid metal salt, wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent includes a plurality of small blocks and has such an orientation that one or more of the small blocks are easily separated from other small blocks, and a plurality of oriented surfaces of the plurality of small blocks are arranged in a laminated state in a substantially same direction.

Abstract: A protecting agent-supplying device which supplies, to an image bearing member, an image bearing member-protecting agent for protecting the image bearing member, wherein the image bearing member-protecting agent contains at least a fatty acid zinc salt and boron nitride, and wherein the protecting agent-supplying device supplies the image bearing member-protecting agent to the image bearing member so that the amount of zinc (Zn) present on a surface of the image bearing member satisfies the relation 0.4?Zn?2.5 (Atomic %) and the amount of boron (B) present on the surface of the image bearing member satisfies the relation 0.2?B?30.2 (Atomic %).

Abstract: The present invention provides an image-bearing member protecting agent containing a fatty acid metal salt, and boron nitride, wherein the boron nitride has an oxygen content of 0.4% by mass to 4.5% by mass, and wherein the image-bearing member protecting agent is applied or attached onto a surface of an image bearing member.

Abstract: An image-bearing member protecting agent including: a hydrophobic organic compound (A); an inorganic lubricant (B); and inorganic fine particles (C), wherein each of the inorganic fine particles (C) has a specific surface area of 2.0 m2/g to 6.5 m2/g.

Abstract: An image bearing member-protecting agent which is supplied to an image bearing member for protecting the image bearing member, the image bearing member-protecting agent including a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant, wherein the image bearing member-protecting agent is formed by compression molding of powder containing at least the fatty acid metal salt and the inorganic lubricant, and wherein the image bearing member-protecting agent satisfies the relation 1.0<A/B, where A denotes a density at end portions in the longitudinal direction of the image bearing member-protecting agent and B denotes a density at a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the image bearing member-protecting agent.

Abstract: A protective agent for an image bearing member of an image forming apparatus. The protective agent is applied onto a surface of the image bearing member and includes a hydrophobic organic compound (A), an inorganic fine particle (B), and an inorganic lubricant (C).

Abstract: There is provided a protective agent feeding member, which contains a core and a foam layer provided on an outer periphery of the core, in which the protective agent feeding member is in the shape of a roller, and the foam layer has a roughened surface and has a maximum height Ry of 400 ?m to 1,630 ?m.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image, a protective layer forming device configured to apply a protective agent to a surface of the image bearing member with a brush-shaped protective agent applicator, and a surface roughness maintainer configured to maintain a surface roughness Ry of a contact surface of the protective agent with the brush-shaped protective agent applicator at 500 ?m or less. The protective agent is a solid material in which a granular material comprising a fatty acid metallic salt is compressed.