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: 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: 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: 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 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.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, includes a forming device that forms unfixed images on recording media, a fixing unit that melts a material forming the images to fix the images onto the recording media, a stacking tray on which the recording media onto which the images are fixed are stacked, and a displacer that applies a force to the recording media stacked on the stacking tray to displace the recording media relative to each other.

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.

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 that cleans a residual toner from a cleaning target includes a cleaning blade that blocks the residual toner containing toner particles and an external additive on the cleaning target and scrapes the residual toner from the cleaning target, a measurement unit that measures an amount of the external additive in the residual toner which is blocked by the cleaning blade and remains on the cleaning target, and a control unit that increases an amount of a toner that is supplied to the cleaning target based on a measurement result obtained by the measurement unit.

Abstract: Provided is a developing device including an accommodating unit that contains a developer, a transport member that holds the developer on an outer surface and transports the developer outside from the accommodating unit, a layer regulating member that faces the outer surface of the transport member with a gap, extends in a direction intersecting a direction in which the developer is transported, and regulates a layer thickness of the developer, and a removal member that is inserted into the gap, moves along the direction in which the layer regulating member extends, and removes the developer from the gap.

Abstract: Provided is a cleaning unit including a removing member that contacts with a surface of a cleaning target and removes adherent matters on the surface of the cleaning target, a storage section that stores the adherent matters removed by the removing member, and a supply member that has a blade and rotates the blade in the storage section to supply some of the adherent matters stored in the storage section to the surface of the cleaning target.

Abstract: Provided is a toner transport device including a transport member that transports a developer in one direction, a toner feeding member disposed adjacent to, in a direction crossing the one direction, an end portion of the transport member, and a housing that is provided with a toner receiving port which receives supply of toner in an upper section of the toner feeding member, and accommodates the transport member and the toner feeding member, wherein the toner feeding member includes a rotating shaft, and a flat plate portion that protrudes in a direction away from a shaft member with one side thereof being connected to the shaft member and a front end portion away from the shaft member having a tapered shape, the flat plate portion rotating along with rotation of the shaft member to scrape the toner that moves from the toner receiving port toward the toner feeding member.

Abstract: Provided is a cleaning unit including a removing member that contacts with a surface of a cleaning target and removes adherent matters on the surface of the cleaning target, a storage section that stores the adherent matters removed by the removing member, and a supply member that has a blade and rotates the blade in the storage section to supply some of the adherent matters stored in the storage section to the surface of the cleaning target.