Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Yoshikazu Aoki

Ichiro Demizu

Yohei Nakade

Yuusuke Okuno

Tetsuo Sano

Takuya Okada

A cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning unit, a leaf spring, a holding member, and a strain detection unit. The cleaning unit is configured to contact a surface of an image carrier. The leaf spring supports the cleaning unit. The holding member holds the leaf spring. At least one strain detection unit is attached to the leaf spring. The strain detection unit is configured to detect strain of the leaf spring due to deformation of the leaf spring. The leaf spring has a first end and a second end. The leaf spring includes, at the first end, a first joint region to which the cleaning unit s joined and includes, at the second end, a second joint region to which the holding member is joined. The strain detection unit is located between the first joint region and the second joint region.

Cleaning apparatus and image forming apparatus

A developing device has a developer bearing member, a housing adapted to accommodate a developer, and a supply roller adapted to supply the developer within the housing for the developer bearing member. The supply roller has an outer circumferencial foam layer made of resin or rubber. The foam layer has an air permeability of 150-200 ml/cm/s, a hardness of 50-200 N, and an average cell density of 20-40 per 25 mm width.

Image forming apparatus with toner supplying roller

An image forming apparatus has an electrostatic latent image bearing member capable of bearing an electrostatic latent image thereon, and a developer apparatus having a developer material for visualizing the electrostatic latent image into a visualized image. The developer apparatus includes a developer material bearing member, a housing adapted to accommodate a developer material, and a supply roller adapted to supply the developer material within the housing for the developer material bearing member. The supply roller has an outer circumferential foam layer. The foam layer is made of resin foam or rubber foam and has an air permeability of 5 ml/cm/s or less, a density of 50-200 kg/m, and a hysteresis loss ratio of 35-45%.

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Toyokawa, Japan

Yoshikazu Aoki