Patent ID: 7937037

Claim:
A cleaning apparatus usable with an image forming apparatus, the cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning member to remove waste toner remaining in a photoconductive medium; and a housing to support the cleaning member including a waste toner admission portion to provide a transfer path of the waste toner removed by the cleaning member, and a waste toner collecting portion to store the waste toner, such that an upper housing portion is positioned above the photoconductive medium, the waste toner admission portion, and the waste toner collecting portion, and the upper housing portion above the waste toner admission portion is thinner than the upper housing portion above the waste toner collecting portion; wherein the waste toner admission portion includes a downstream height in a waste toner transfer direction higher than an upper stream height, wherein the upper housing portion comprises: a first thickness corresponding to the waste toner admission portion; and a second thickness corresponding to the waste toner collecting portion so that the first thickness is smaller than the second thickness, wherein a boundary between the first thickness and the second thickness is positioned downstream from a supporting bracket of the cleaning member in the waste toner transfer direction.