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 &mgr;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 and a photoreceptive layer, which is formed overlying the substrate, wherein the photoreceptive layer includes a charge carrier generation layer including a charge carrier generation material and a charge carrier transport layer including a charge carrier transport material, and wherein when an electric field of from 2.5×105 V/cm to 5.5×105 V/cm is applied to the charge carrier transport layer, the relationship, tCTL/&mgr;CTL≦1.5×103 V·s/m, is satisfied, wherein tCTL represents a thickness of the charge carrier transport layer and &mgr;CTL represents a charge mobility of the charge carrier transport layer.

Abstract: A lubricity-imparting unit for imparting lubricity to a surface of an electrophotographic photoconductor, which is in contact with the surface of the photoconductor, wherein at least a surface of the lubricity-imparting unit which comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor includes a flexible lubricating material, and has a length at least capable of covering an image formation region of the electrophotographic photoconductor lengthwise. An image formation apparatus and an image formation method using this lubricity-imparting unit are described.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a belt guide member fixedly provided at an upstream side of a nip formed between a roller and a transfer roller so the belt guide member protrudes an image bearing belt such that the belt is substantially parallel with a conveying direction of a transfer medium.

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 &mgr;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: In an image forming apparatus of the type sequentially executing charging, exposure, development and image transfer, a device for applying a lubricant to the surface of an image carrier includes a lubricant applying member rotatable in contact with the image carrier for applying, at a position where the lubricant applying member contacts the image carrier, the lubricant to the surface of the image carrier while deforming its contour in accordance with a bite of the surface of the image carrier. A lubricant feeding unit feeds the lubricant to the lubricant applying member and includes a lubricant providing unit having a preselected thickness t. The surface of the image carrier bites into the lubricant applying member by an amount T while the lubricant providing unit bites into the lubricant applying member by an amount t' smaller than the amount T, but substantially equal to or slightly greater than the thickness t.

Abstract: A charging or image transfer unit for use in an image formation process including the steps of charging, image formation exposure, image development, image transfer, image fixing and cleaning, for applying an electric field to the surface of an electrophotographic photoconductor by coming into contact therewith, and also for controlling surface properties of the electrophotographic photo-conductor. The unit includes an electric field application member applying the electric field to the surface of the electrophotographic photoconductor and a lubricity-imparting member for controlling a friction coefficient of the surface of the electrophotographic photoconductor wherein the electric field application member includes an electrophotoconductive material and a lubricity-imparting member includes a fluoroplastic material.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprising a lubricant supplying device which supplies a lubricant to a rotating image carrier, wherein the lubricant comprises at least one of low molecular weight polytetrafluoroethylene, a fluorine-containing resin including a filler, polytetrafluoroethylene which has been subjected to heat or radiation decomposition treatment, a fluorine-containing resin which has been prepared by a compression molding method, and a porous fluorine-containing resin. The lubricant preferably has a concave portion on the surface thereof contacting the image carrier. The lubricant is preferably disposed so that an acute angle formed by a line parallel to a compression direction of the lubricant, during the compression molding of the lubricant, and a line parallel to a moving direction of the image carrier, is from about 45 to about 90.degree..

Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of adequately adjusting the amount of a low friction agent to be applied to the surface of a photoconductive element in accordance with image quality is disclosed. After preselected initialization, an electrophotographic image forming section records a usual image or a particular image for evaluation on a paper. A toner image formed on the photoconductive element and a toner image transferred from the element to a paper are read. Image data representative of such toner images and the initial image data are compared to see if the read images are defective or not. The low friction agent is applied to the photoconductive element in an amount controlled on the basis of the result of the decision.