Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member, a charging device, an electrostatic charge image forming device, a developing device having a toner, a transfer device, and a fixing device, wherein the fixing device includes a fixing belt, a rotational member, and a heater; the toner contains an amorphous polyester resin as a binder resin; and the toner has a weight average molecular weight Mw and a number average molecular weight Mn, Mw is from 25000 to 60000, and Mw/Mn is from 5 to 10, and has an infrared absorption spectrometry, the ratio of absorbance for a wavelength of 1500 cm?1 to absorbance for a wavelength of 720 cm?1 is 0.6 or less, and the ratio of absorbance for a wavelength of 820 cm?1 to absorbance for a wavelength of 720 cm?1 is 0.4 or less.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member, a charging device, an electrostatic charge image forming device, a developing device having a toner, a transfer device, and a fixing device, wherein the fixing device includes a fixing belt, a rotational member, and a heater; the toner contains an amorphous polyester resin as a binder resin; and the toner has a weight average molecular weight Mw and a number average molecular weight Mn, Mw is from 25000 to 60000, and Mw/Mn is from 5 to 10, and has an infrared absorption spectrometry, the ratio of absorbance for a wavelength of 1500 cm?1 to absorbance for a wavelength of 720 cm?1 is 0.6 or less, and the ratio of absorbance for a wavelength of 820 cm?1 to absorbance for a wavelength of 720 cm?1 is 0.4 or less.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An electrostatic charge image developer includes: toner particles; silica particles treated with a silicone oil, which are externally added to the toner particles; and a carrier, wherein a volume average particle diameter of the carrier is equal to or greater than 20 ?m and smaller than 30 ?m, and a quantity ratio of an elemental silicon derived from a silicone oil and an elemental silicon derived from silica which are present on the surface of the carrier (silicone oil-derived elemental silicon/silica-derived elemental silicon) is in a range of 0.05 to 0.2.

Abstract: A developing device includes a container that contains a developer containing a toner therein, a supply tank that is provided adjacent to the container and is supplied with the toner at a supply point within the supply tank, a transport member that is rotatably driven within the supply tank to transport the toner to the container, and an annular member, wherein the annular member has an inner diameter larger than a diameter of a rotatably-driven shaft in the transport member, the rotatably-driven shaft extends through the annular member, and the annular member is held in a partial section in a longitudinal direction of the rotatably-driven shaft.

Abstract: An image forming device includes an image carrier, a charging device that charges the surface of the image carrier, an electrostatic image forming device that forms an electrostatic image on the surface of the image carrier, a developing device that uses a developer containing toner particles and external additives adhering to the surface of the toner particle to develop the electrostatic image into a toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image to a recording medium, a cleaning device having a blade that cleans off residual toner from the image carrier, a suction device that suctions all or part of residual toner excepting the external additives released from the surface of the toner particles, and a fixing device that fixes the toner image to the recording medium.

Abstract: A developing device includes a container chamber that contains developer containing carrier and toner; a supply portion that is adjacent to the container chamber and to which supplying toner or supplying developer, which contains the supplying toner and supplying carrier, is supplied at a supplying position in the supply portion; a transporting member that transports the supplying toner or the supplying developer toward the container chamber in the supply portion; and a guide capable of guiding the developer to the supplying position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a charging unit that includes a conductive member which contacts with a surface of an image holding member, and that applies only a DC voltage to the conductive member to charge the surface of the image holding member; and a cleaning unit that has a blade which contacts with the surface of an image holding member and cleans the surface with the blade after a toner image is transferred onto a recording medium, wherein a developer includes toner particles, silica particles treated with a silicone oil, and a carrier, a volume average particle diameter of the carrier is from 20 ?m to 35 ?m, and a quantity ratio of an elemental silicon derived from a silicone oil and an elemental silicon derived from silica which are present on the surface of the carrier is from 0.05 to 0.2.

Abstract: An electrostatic charge image developer includes: toner particles; silica particles treated with a silicone oil, which are externally added to the toner particles; and a carrier, wherein a volume average particle diameter of the carrier is equal to or greater than 20 ?m and smaller than 30 ?m, and a quantity ratio of an elemental silicon derived from a silicone oil and an elemental silicon derived from silica which are present on the surface of the carrier (silicone oil-derived elemental silicon/silica-derived elemental silicon) is in a range of 0.05 to 0.2.

Abstract: A developing device includes a container that contains a developer containing a toner therein, a supply tank that is provided adjacent to the container and is supplied with the toner at a supply point within the supply tank, a transport member that is rotatably driven within the supply tank to transport the toner to the container, and an annular member, wherein the annular member has an inner diameter larger than a diameter of a rotatably-driven shaft in the transport member, the rotatably-driven shaft extends through the annular member, and the annular member is held in a partial section in a longitudinal direction of the rotatably-driven shaft.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a charging unit that includes a conductive member which contacts with a surface of an image holding member, and that applies only a DC voltage to the conductive member to charge the surface of the image holding member; and a cleaning unit that has a blade which contacts with the surface of an image holding member and cleans the surface with the blade after a toner image is transferred onto a recording medium, wherein a developer includes toner particles, silica particles treated with a silicone oil, and a carrier, a volume average particle diameter of the carrier is from 20 ?m to 35 ?m, and a quantity ratio of an elemental silicon derived from a silicone oil and an elemental silicon derived from silica which are present on the surface of the carrier is from 0.05 to 0.2.

Abstract: A powder container includes a container chamber that contains powder; a transporting member that transports the powder in the container chamber; an opening that is provided in a wall of the container chamber and through which the powder is discharged out of the container chamber as the transporting member transports the powder; and a closing member that closes a lower portion of the opening and moves vertically relative to the opening in a direction opposite to a direction of vertical movement of the opening due to tilting of the container chamber.

Abstract: An image forming device includes an image carrier, a charging device that charges the surface of the image carrier, an electrostatic image forming device that forms an electrostatic image on the surface of the image carrier, a developing device that uses a developer containing toner particles and external additives adhering to the surface of the toner particle to develop the electrostatic image into a toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image to a recording medium, a cleaning device having a blade that cleans off residual toner from the image carrier, a suction device that suctions all or part of residual toner excepting the external additives released from the surface of the toner particles, and a fixing device that fixes the toner image to the recording medium.

Abstract: A powder container includes a container chamber that contains powder; a transporting member that transports the powder in the container chamber; an opening that is provided in a wall of the container chamber and through which the powder is discharged out of the container chamber as the transporting member transports the powder; and a closing member that closes a lower portion of the opening and moves vertically relative to the opening in a direction opposite to a direction of vertical movement of the opening due to tilting of the container chamber.

Abstract: A developing device includes a container chamber that contains developer containing carrier and toner; a supply portion that is adjacent to the container chamber and to which supplying toner or supplying developer, which contains the supplying toner and supplying carrier, is supplied at a supplying position in the supply portion; a transporting member that transports the supplying toner or the supplying developer toward the container chamber in the supply portion; and a guide capable of guiding the developer to the supplying position.

Abstract: A unit for an image forming apparatus includes an image holding member; a developing unit that includes a developing roll, a voltage applying section, and a regulating member for regulating a thickness of an electrostatic charge image developer held on the developing roll; and a cleaning unit that includes a cleaning blade which contacts with the image holding member, wherein the developing roll is provided with an interval of 100 ?m to 300 ?m with respect to the image holding member, the regulating member is provided with an interval of 0.1 mm to 0.6 mm with respect to the developing roll, the voltage applying section applies a specific alternating voltage to the developing roll, and a product of the number average particle diameter [nm] of the inorganic particles and the interval [mm] of the regulating member falls within the range of from 26 to 81.

Abstract: A unit for an image forming apparatus includes a developing unit that includes a developing roll and a voltage applying section, and a cleaning unit that includes a cleaning blade which contacts with the image holding member and cleans a surface of the image holding member, wherein the developing roll is provided with an interval of 100 ?m to 300 ?m with respect to the image holding member, and holds an electrostatic charge image developer including a carrier and a toner whose a volume average particle diameter is 2 ?m to 5 ?m on a surface of the developing roll, and the voltage applying section applies an alternating voltage in which an alternating-current component is applied on a direct current component to the developing roll, the following expression being satisfied: 34?Toner Volume Average Particle Diameter [?m]×Alternating-Current Component Frequency [kHz]?60.

Abstract: A cleaning device includes a removal member that removes residual objects from a surface of a target cleaning body by contacting with the surface in a linear manner and rubbing against the surface and forms a piled body which is constructed of a portion of the residual objects at a contact location, and a pressure device that presses the piled body to increase a strength of the piled body.

Abstract: A cleaning device includes a removal member that forms piled bodies of residual objects at a contact location and removes residual objects from a surface of a target cleaning member by contacting with the surface in a linear manner and rubbing against the surface, and a smoothing member that smooths out the piled bodies by moving along the contact location.