An image forming apparatus includes a cleaning blade that is in contact with the photoconductive member to form a nip portion and that is configured to remove an adhering substance adhering to the photoconductive member and an execution unit configured to execute a supply operation of forming a supply toner on the photoconductive member to supply the supply toner to the nip portion after completion of an image forming job of forming an image on one or a plurality of printing media in a series of operations and before the photoconductive member stops rotation. The execution unit sets the amount of supply toner such that the number of images formed at the image forming job and the amount of supply toner have a linear relationship.

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a cleaning blade, and a movement mechanism. The movement mechanism reciprocates the photosensitive drum in an axial direction of the photosensitive drum in a specific cycle. The movement mechanism includes a first cam gear and a second cam gear. The first cam gear rotates about an axis of the photosensitive drum together with the photosensitive drum. The second cam gear is restricted in position in the axial direction and rotates at a rotational speed different from that of the first cam gear. The first and second cam gears each have a plurality of coaxial cam portions. When top points and bottom points of the respective cam portions come in contact with one another by turns, the photosensitive drum moves in the axial direction.

A lubricant supply device for supplying lubricant to an image carrier of an image forming device, the lubricant supply device including: a block of solid lubricant; a lubricant supply member scraping lubricant from the block and supplying the lubricant to the image carrier; and a spring applying a biasing force to the block in a second direction inclined with respect to a first direction from the block towards the lubricant supply member, a component of the biasing force in the first direction pushing the block against the lubricant supply member. Positions of the spring and the block relative to each other are such that, as the block decreases due to the scraping by the lubricant supply member, the angle between the biasing force and the first direction decreases and the component of the biasing force in the first direction increases.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a developing device, a cleaning unit and a processor. The developing device performs development with a developer containing a toner and a lubricant. The processor obtains information on a lubricant amount in the developing device; obtains, with respect to each section formed by dividing a surface of the image carrying member in a rotating shaft direction of the image carrying member, a partial coverage from electrostatic latent image writing information for a predetermined period about the section; sets, for the section having the partial coverage of a predetermined value or less, a developer supply amount for a patch to be formed outside an image forming region on the image carrying member, based on the above information; and causes the developing device to supply the set developer supply amount so that the patch is formed.

A process cartridge includes an image bearer to bear a toner image, a lubricant supply device to supply a lubricant to the surface of the image bearer, and a blade made of elastic material, with the leading end abutting the surface of the image bearer, wherein the leading end is formed to have an elasticity power of from 65 to 93 percent, wherein the process cartridge is detachably attachable to an image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier carrying a toner image, a developing device, and a cleaning blade. The developing device carries out developing process feeding toner to the image carrier during image forming. The cleaning blade comes into contact with the image carrier and removes waste toner remained on the image carrier. In order to restrain turning-up of the cleaning blade, turning-up restraining process is carried out to feed the toner from the developing device to the image carrier during non-image forming, every time a given cumulative printing number of image forming operation is finished. In the turning-up restraining process, larger toner is fed to the image carrier as a given small size printing number in the cumulative printing number becomes larger.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier carrying a toner image, a developing device carrying out developing process feeding toner to the image carrier during image forming, and a cleaning blade coming into contact with the image carrier and removing waste toner on the image carrier. Turning-up restraining process feeds the toner of a constant feeding amount from the developing device to the image carrier. Replacing process feeds the toner of a variation feeding amount according to an average printing rate from the developing device to the image carrier. During non-image forming, every time a given cumulative printing number of image forming operation is finished, the replacing process is carried out in a case where the variation feeding amount according to the average printing rate in the cumulative printing number of developing process exceeds the constant feeding amount, but the turning-up restraining process is carried out otherwise.

A lubricant coating device preventing coating unevenness of lubricant powders is provided. The lubricant coating device includes a solid lubricant, a coating member and a film shaping member. The coating member in which first fibers composed of a material located on a positive polarity side and second fibers composed of a material located on a negative polarity side, on a triboelectric series with respect to the material of the solid lubricant are implanted, coats lubricant powders scraped off from the solid lubricant onto the image supporter. The film shaping member comes in contact with the image supporter and presses the lubricant powders onto the image supporter, to shape the lubricant powders into a form of a film. A scraping amount of the lubricant powders by the first fibers and a scraping amount of the lubricant powders by the second fibers are set to become substantially identical.

A concentrated poly(ethylene glycol) solution that has good stability for extended storage is provided for use as a laxative. The concentrated solution comprises water, sodium benzoate, poly(ethylene glycol), and enough acid to yield a solution having a pH at 25 C. in the range 3.0-5.0. It is prepared and packaged to minimize the accumulation of degradation products.

A cleaning solution is used to at least substantially remove colorant from the photoconductive drum as the photoconductive drum rotates. A wiper wipes the cleaning solution from the photoconductive drum while purposefully maintaining a layer of the cleaning solution on the drum. The wiper has an edge that is purposefully rounded.