An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a toner image forming portion, a transfer member, a cleaning member, and a controller configured to carry out a process for notifying information on a lifetime of the image bearing member on the basis of information on contact pressure of the cleaning member to the image bearing member.

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier and a charge removing portion. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the image carrier. The charge removing portion includes: a light source configured to emit light to be used for removing charge from the image carrier; a light concentrating portion configured to concentrate the light emitted from the light source on a surface of the image carrier; and a light source supporting portion formed integrally with the light concentrating portion and supporting the light source at a supporting position in which the light source and the light concentrating portion have a predetermined positional relationship.

An example lubricant coating device includes a rotatable applicator to apply lubricant from a solid lubricant source to a member to be coated, and a supporting device to support the solid lubricant source in a contact state with the rotatable applicator. The supporting device changes a supporting angle of the solid lubricant source relative to the rotatable applicator when a consumption of the solid lubricant source reaches a consumption threshold.

In an imaging device having a photoconductive drum and a lubricant applicator brush, methods and apparatus teach application of the lubricant to the drum at a transfer nip and removing undeveloped toner particles. A first voltage is applied to the drum while the brush receives a voltage that switches more positive and more negative than the first voltage. It attracts to the brush from the drum negatively and positively charged toner. Embodiments contemplate amounts of voltages and frequencies of switching. An elongate rod contacts the brush downstream of the transfer nip to flicker off the toner particles from the brush. The rod can also have voltages applied and switched greater than and lesser than the voltages of the applicator brush to facilitate toner removal. A cleaning blade downstream of the transfer nip scrapes clean a surface of the drum.

An image forming apparatus includes a controller configured to execute a discharging operation for discharging a toner from a developing device onto an image bearing member in a region corresponding to an interval between a recording material and a subsequent recording material in a continuous image forming job. The controller executes the discharging operation on the basis of integral information based on a relationship of a predetermined deterioration threshold with a value correlating with an amount of toner consumption. The controller changes the relationship based on a detected temperature upon toner consumption, and the controller changes the relationship so that when a temperature obtained on the basis of detected information is not less than a predetermined temperature, execution of the discharging operation is promoted more than when the obtained temperature is less than a predetermined temperature.

An example lubricant applying device includes a rotatable applicator, a solid lubricant source to supply lubricant to the applicator, an urging member to urge the lubricant source to contact the applicator, and a guide member to restrict an urging of the lubricant source along a displacement direction. In a transverse cross section of the lubricant applying device that is taken orthogonally to a rotation axis of the applicator, a reference line extends from a contact surface of the lubricant source to the rotation axis of the applicator, in a direction parallel to the displacement direction of the guide member. In the transverse cross section, the lubricant source has a width that is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction. The lubricant source is positioned to offset a widthwise center of the lubricant source to a downstream side of the reference line, in the rotational direction of the applicator.

An imaging system includes an image carrier to carry a toner image, a coating roller to transfer a lubricant from a lubricant source to a surface of the image carrier, the coating roller being disposed adjacent to the image carrier to receive a toner from the image carrier, and a toner adjustment element to adjust a toner amount of the coating roller in an axial direction of the coating roller.

An imaging system includes a main body to accommodate a roller, and a lubricant unit. The lubricant unit includes a casing having an opening and a lubricant storage disposed inside the casing to store a lubricant. The casing is pivotably connected to the main body to displace the casing between a closed position and an open position. In the closed position, the lubricant storage is positioned to bring the lubricant in contact with the roller through the opening, and the pivotable connection is disposed below the casing. In the open position, the opening is exposed to an outside of the main body, and the opening of the casing is disposed upward.

An image forming apparatus has a photosensitive drum configured to bear a developer image, a developing apparatus having a developing roller that bears developer and a developing blade that regulates the amount of the developer on the developing roller, and a detection portion that detects information on the amount of the developer stored in the developing apparatus. The image forming apparatus performs a discharging operation for discharging a coating agent, applied to a developing roller in an unused state, from the developing apparatus to the photosensitive drum, while varying an operational condition for the discharging operation varied based on the information.

An image forming apparatus includes: a lubricant supplier that supplies a lubricant onto an image carrier; a fixing member that is rotatable, and comes into contact with the image carrier to fix the lubricant supplied onto the image carrier; and a hardware processor that controls rotation of the fixing member.