Patent ID: 8594553

Claim:
A cleaning blade for an electrophotographic apparatus for contacting an image bearing member in an electrophotographic apparatus and removing a remaining toner, the cleaning blade comprising a supporting member and a thermosetting polyurethane elastomer blade member joined to the supporting member, wherein in the blade member, a concentration of nitrogen is gradually increased from an inside of a contact region to contact the image bearing member toward the surface of the contact region; and a relationship between an amount of the concentration of nitrogen to be changed Δ1=N 0 −N 5 and an amount of the concentration of nitrogen to be changed Δ2=N 5 −N e is 41>42 wherein a concentration of nitrogen N 0 on the surface of the contact region is not less than 5.5 wt % and not more than 20.0 wt %, a concentration of nitrogen N e is not less than 0.7 wt % and not more than 10 wt % at a depth in which the concentration of nitrogen is no longer changed in the inside of the contact region in the thickness direction vertical to the surface of the contact region, and N 5 is a concentration of nitrogen at a depth of 5 μm toward the inside of the contact region in the vertical thickness direction.