JP2000122391A - Method and device for image forming - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save the energy consumption in a process for fixing a visual image on a recording body, and to prevent an abnormal image such as dirt on the toner image or an omission of transfer at the time of transferring from the latent image carrier to the recording body. SOLUTION: This device is provided with particles attaching unit 4 for supplying powder particles which has features of increasing adhesive property, and can be dissolved or wetted/swollen by the adherence of a water base agent, to the electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor 1, and the water based agent applying unit 5 allowing the water base agent to be stuck to the powder particles being fed on the electrostatic latent image. Then, by making the water base agent stick to the powder particles for forming the image, the powder particles are changed from a state of particles to the state of a lump provided with adhesive property, and the water base agent is stuck to the recording body by adhesive property thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and an image forming method used in these apparatuses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus of this type, a latent image formed on a latent image carrier is visualized with toner, and a visible image on the latent image carrier (hereinafter referred to as a toner image) is recorded on a recording medium. It is known that after the transfer, the recording medium is heated while passing through the recording medium by a fixing device, and a toner image is thermally fixed on the recording medium to obtain an image. In a fixing device that performs such a heat fixing process,
A large amount of energy is required to heat the toner and the recording medium, and heat is generated when the fixing device operates. To save energy and eliminate heat generation of the fixing device,
Fixing methods other than heat fixing are also considered. For example, a method is known in which a resin constituting a toner is dissolved by a solvent, and a solvent is sprayed on a toner image to dissolve the resin constituting the toner and fix the toner image. However, in this method, it is necessary to prevent the solvent from diffusing out of the machine for safety, and the hermeticity of the machine is required.

Further, in a conventional image forming apparatus using a toner, an abnormal image such as dust of a toner image or a missing transfer is likely to occur in a process of transferring a toner image onto a recording medium.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method capable of saving energy in a process of fixing a visible image on a recording medium. And an image forming apparatus. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing occurrence of an abnormal image such as dust of a toner image or transfer failure during transfer from a latent image carrier to a recording medium.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-40570, a powder image is formed on an elastically deformable intermediate support, and this powder image is softened while being present on the intermediate support and becomes tacky. Finally, a method has been proposed in which the adhesive image is transferred and fixed there under the action of pressure on a paper-receiving support. The method described in this publication relates to a step of using an intermediate support and transferring a powder image on the intermediate support. The present invention, on the other hand, relates to a process of visualizing an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier, transferring the image to a transfer member, and fixing the image.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first aspect of the present invention is an image forming method for developing an electrostatic image on a latent image carrier, the method comprising: It is possible to visualize the electrostatic image by using charged powder particles having a property of increasing tackiness.

In the image forming method according to the first aspect, the charged powder particles forming a visible image on the latent image carrier are dissolved or swelled by the adhesion of the liquid, and the non-particulate particles have a sticky to non-particulate form. It has the property of changing to a mass. Utilizing this characteristic, the charged powder particles can be changed to non-particulate masses and adhere to the recording medium by virtue of their tackiness. As described above, since the visible image is fixed to the recording medium by the adhesiveness of the non-particulate mass forming the visible image, the heat fixing step becomes unnecessary, and energy saving in the fixing step can be achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for visualizing an electrostatic image on a latent image carrier, wherein the charged powder is capable of being dissolved or swelled by adhering a liquid and having a property of increasing tackiness. It has a device for supplying particles to an electrostatic image on a latent image carrier, and a device for attaching a liquid to charged powder particles supplied to the electrostatic image.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the charged powder particles having the property of increasing the tackiness, which can be dissolved or swelled by the adhesion of the liquid, are supplied to the electrostatic image on the latent image carrier. When a liquid is attached to the charged powder particles supplied to the electrostatic image, the charged powder particles dissolve or swell,
It changes from a particulate form to a non-particulate clump with stickiness. Then, the non-particle mass having the changed tackiness can adhere to the recording medium due to the tackiness.
As described above, since the image is fixed on the recording paper by utilizing the adhesiveness of the non-particulate mass forming the visible image, heat fixing is not required, and energy saving of the fixing device can be achieved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for developing an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier and transferring the developed image to a recording medium, wherein the image forming apparatus can be dissolved or swelled by adhering a liquid, It has a device for supplying charged powder particles having a property of increasing tackiness to an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier, and a device for attaching a liquid to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier. It is assumed that.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, charged powder particles having a property of increasing the tackiness, which can be dissolved or swelled by the adhesion of a liquid, are supplied to the electrostatic image on the latent image carrier. When a liquid is attached to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier, the charged powder particles dissolve or swell, and change from a particulate state to a sticky non-particulate mass. Therefore,
When a non-particulate mass having changed adhesiveness is brought into contact with a recording medium, the adhesiveness allows the adhesion to the recording medium. Here, the surface of a general recording medium is more uneven than that of the latent image carrier. Therefore, the contact area between the non-particulate mass forming the visible image on the latent image carrier and the recording medium surface is larger than the contact area between the non-particulate mass and the latent image carrier. For this reason, the force with which the non-particulate lump adheres to the recording medium increases, and the non-particulate lump that forms a visible image adheres to the recording medium. As described above, since the image is transferred and fixed on the recording paper by using the adhesive property of the non-particulate mass constituting the visible image on the latent image carrier, heat fixing is not required, and energy saving of the fixing device is achieved. Can be achieved. Further, since the toner image is transferred to the recording paper in a lump state, the image quality deterioration peculiar to the particulate developer such as scattering of visible particles and partial image dropping in the transfer step is prevented, and a high quality image is obtained.

The invention of claim 4 is the invention of claim 2 or 3
In the above image forming apparatus, the charged powder particles are composed of a polymer electrolyte.

In the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the charged powder particles composed of the polymer electrolyte are remarkably changed from the particle state due to the adhesion of the liquid to the non-particle state having tackiness. For this reason, in an image forming apparatus using such characteristics, it is easy to obtain good image characteristics.

Further, the invention of claim 5 provides the invention of claim 2 or 3
In the above image forming apparatus, the charged powder particles are composed of a polymer absorber.

In the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the charged powder particles composed of the polymer absorber are remarkably changed from a particle state due to the adhesion of the liquid to a non-particle state having tackiness. For this reason, in an image forming apparatus using such characteristics, it is easy to obtain good image characteristics.

The invention of claim 6 is the invention of claim 2 or 3
In the above image forming apparatus, the charged powder particles are colorless or white, and the liquid adhered to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is colored.

In the image forming apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the image is colored by making the charged powder particles colorless or white and making the liquid adhered to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier colored. As the colored liquid, commercially available materials used as dyes and pigments for pigments can be used. For this reason, the range of material selection corresponding to various color expressions or cost reduction is widened, and image formation more suited to the user's preference becomes possible.

The invention of claim 7 is the invention of claim 2 or 3
In the image forming apparatus, the charged powder particles are colored,
The liquid adhered to the colored charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is a transparent body which does not deteriorate the colored state of the charged powder particles.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the charged powder particles are colored, and the liquid adhering to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is a transparent material which does not deteriorate the colored state of the charged powder particles. Color the image. For this reason, even if the liquid adheres to the non-image portion of the latent image carrier, there is no possibility that the background is stained, and a high quality image can be obtained.

The invention of claim 8 is the invention of claim 2 or 3.
Wherein the control of the amount of liquid to be applied in the device for applying liquid to the charged powder particle image is performed on a member that conveys the liquid to the latent image carrier. is there.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the amount of liquid adhering to the charged powder particle image is controlled during the transport of the liquid to the latent image carrier, so that the liquid adheres to the latent image carrier. The amount can be kept as small as possible, and the adhesion of the liquid to the charged powder particle image can be reduced. That is, the amount of liquid adhering to the non-image portion of the latent image carrier can be kept as small as possible, and the background is less likely to be soiled. In addition, the drying of the image after transfer to the recording medium can be performed in a short time, and there is no need to provide a separate member for drying, so that the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

The invention of claim 9 is the invention of claim 2 or 3
In the image forming apparatus, the control of the amount of the liquid to be adhered in the apparatus for adhering the liquid to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is performed by controlling the amount of the latent image carrier with respect to the member that conveys the liquid to the latent image carrier. This is characterized in that the cleaning is performed on a liquid film removing member provided on the downstream side of rotation.

In the image forming apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier are impregnated between a member for adhering a liquid to the charged powder particles and a liquid film removing member for removing surplus liquid. And supply sufficient liquid to change the charged powder particles into a sticky non-particulate mass. Here, the time for replenishing the liquid is determined by the interval L between the member for adhering the liquid to the charged powder particles and the liquid film removing member and the process speed S, and is L / S. Therefore, even if the process linear velocity S changes, the distance L between the member for adhering the liquid to the charged powder particles and the liquid film removing member is adjusted so that the non-particles having the tackiness can be formed. It is possible to secure time for replenishing the liquid enough to change to the state of the solid mass. Thus, it is possible to cope with a system with a high process linear velocity.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the second to ninth aspects, the latent image carrier is a-S
It is an i-photoreceptor.

In the image forming apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the liquid does not penetrate into the film of the a-Si photoreceptor, and the photoreceptor is less likely to be abnormal due to swelling, so that it can be used for a long time. .

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic printer which is an image forming apparatus will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the printer according to the present embodiment. A charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a transfer device 6, a cleaning device 7, and a static eliminator 8 are arranged around the photoreceptor 1 as a latent image carrier. Then, a visualizing process is performed between the exposure device 3 and the transfer device 6 to supply the powder particles 9 onto the photoconductor, and a liquid is applied to the powder particles 9 on the photoconductor 1. An aqueous agent adhering unit 5 as an apparatus is disposed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of the particle adhering unit 4. The particle attaching unit 4 shown in FIG. 3 employs a one-component developing device. The particle adhering unit 4 accommodates therein powder particles 9 composed of a polymer electrolyte or a polymer absorber in a particle state capable of imparting charging performance. And a particle application roller 12 for supplying the powder particles 9 to the photoreceptor 1 and a particle application roller 12 for pumping the powder particles 9 in the particle adhesion unit 4 from the particle pool by rotation and applying the powder particles 9 to the particle adhesion roller 11. Roller blade 1 for regulating the amount of powder particles on particle application roller 12
4 and an application roller blade 1 for collecting powder particles 9 not supplied to the photoreceptor 1 from a particle application roller 12.
3 is provided. If necessary, the particle adhering unit 4 is provided with a powder particle charging member for securing a necessary charge amount when the powder particles 9 on the particle adhering roller 11 adhere to the photoreceptor 1. In addition to the above, the configuration of a two-component developing device may be employed as long as the particles in the unit adhere to the electrostatic image on the photoreceptor 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of the aqueous agent adhering unit 5. The aqueous agent attaching unit 5 is immersed in the lower part in an aqueous agent 20 which is an aqueous liquid in the aqueous agent attaching unit 5, pumps up the aqueous agent 20 by rotation, and attaches the aqueous agent to the powder particles 9 of the photoconductor 1. A roller 21 and a liquid film adjusting roller 2 for adjusting the liquid film thickness on the aqueous agent application roller 21
2 and a liquid film adjusting roller blade 23 for collecting excess liquid on the liquid film adjusting roller 22. The aqueous agent adhering roller 21 is made of a material such as metal and rubber. In addition to the roller shape, the belt shape can also fulfill the function.

Next, the image forming operation of the printer will be described. In FIG. 1, the photosensitive member 1 is uniformly charged by the charging device 2 while being driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow a, and is then irradiated with light from the exposure device 3 to form an electrostatic charge image. The powder particles 9 charged by the particle attachment unit 4 are supplied onto the photoreceptor 1 based on the electrostatic charge image.

The operation of the particle attachment unit 4 will be described. The powder particles 9 in the particle adhering unit 4 of FIG. 3 are pumped up from the particle reservoir below the particle adhering unit 4 by the rotation of the particle applying roller 12 in the direction of arrow c, and are applied on the particle applying roller 12 by the application roller blade 14 on the way. After the amount of the powder particles is regulated, it is applied to the particle adhesion roller 11 in a thin layer state. In this process, the powder particles 9 become charged and become a thin layer having a certain thickness on the particle adhesion roller 11. The powder particles 9 on the particle adhesion roller 11 formed in such a thin layer are conveyed to a portion facing the photoconductor 1 by the rotation of the particle adhesion roller 11 in the direction of arrow b. In the opposed portion of the photoconductor 1, a developing bias (not shown) is applied to the particle adhesion roller 11, and the powder particles 9 on the particle adhesion roller 11 move onto the photoconductor 1 based on the electrostatic charge image.
On the other hand, the powder particles 9 that have not been moved onto the photoreceptor 1 are collected by the particle-adhering roller blade 13, fall into the lower particle pool, and are reused.

Next, the operation of the aqueous agent application unit 5 will be described. In the aqueous agent application unit 5 of FIG. 4, the aqueous agent application roller 21 draws up the aqueous agent 20 from the liquid pool below the aqueous agent application unit 5 by rotation in the direction of the arrow d, and transports the aqueous agent 20 to a portion facing the photoconductor 1. On the way, the liquid agent 20 on the aqueous agent application roller 21 has its liquid film thickness adjusted by rotation of the liquid film adjusting roller 22 in the direction of arrow d. The liquid film thickness is adjusted by adjusting the rotation speed of the liquid film adjusting roller 22 or the aqueous agent applying roller 21.
And the liquid film adjusting roller 22. At the portion facing the photoconductor 1, the liquid film thickness is adjusted, and the aqueous agent 20 adheres to the powder particles 9 on the photoconductor 1.

The adhesion of the aqueous agent 20 to the powder particles 9 on the photoreceptor 1 changes the state of the powder particles. This will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 (a)
3 is a diagram schematically showing a state of powder particles 9 on photoconductor 1 after passing through particle attachment unit 4. FIG. FIG. 2B is a diagram schematically showing a state on the photoconductor 1 after passing through the aqueous agent application unit 5. In FIG. 2A, the powder particles 9 adhere to the photoconductor 1 in a particle state based on the electrostatic charge image. FIG. 2 (b) shows that the powder particles 9 are dissolved or swelled due to the adhesion of the aqueous agent, so that the powder particles 9 become one solid state 10. In this clumped state, tackiness appears. By the particle attachment unit 4,
Powder particles 9 having an average particle size of 5 μm were deposited on the photoreceptor 1 in a single layer. The liquid agent application unit 5 adjusts the liquid film thickness on the aqueous agent application roller 21 to 5 μm, which is about the same as the amount of the powder particles 9 attached, or slightly thicker. Upon attachment, the state of the particles changed as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of another aqueous agent adhering unit. The aqueous agent application unit 5 shown in FIG. 5 includes an aqueous agent application roller 21, a liquid reservoir blade 24 that contacts the aqueous agent application roller 21 and forms a liquid reservoir 27 near the aqueous agent application roller 21, and an aqueous agent application roller. 21 and 50 μm to 100 μm downstream of the photosensitive member 1 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive member 1.
liquid film removing roller 28 arranged with a constant gap of m
And a liquid film removing roller blade 29 for collecting the aqueous agent 20 on the liquid film removing roller 28. Further, a water-based agent collection port 30 is provided at the bottom of the water-based agent attachment unit 5. The aqueous agent recovery port 30 of the aqueous agent attachment unit 5 is
It is connected to an aqueous agent tank 25 that stores the aqueous agent 20 via a pipe 31. Further, a pump 32 for pumping the aqueous agent 20 in the aqueous agent tank 25 into the liquid reservoir 27 in the aqueous agent attaching unit 5 and a pipe 32 are connected to the aqueous agent tank 25.

In FIG. 5, the aqueous agent 20 stored in the aqueous agent tank 25 is pumped by a pump 26 through a pipe 32 into a liquid reservoir 27 of the aqueous agent adhering unit 5. The aqueous agent applying roller 21 of the aqueous agent applying unit 5 draws up the aqueous agent 20 in the liquid pool 27 by rotation in the direction of the arrow d, and transports the aqueous agent 20 to a portion facing the photoconductor 1. The aqueous agent 20 adheres to the powder particles 9 on the photoreceptor 1 in a portion facing the photoreceptor 1. Extra aqueous agent 20 attached to photoreceptor 1
Is removed by a liquid film removing roller 28 located downstream. The liquid film removing roller 28 rotates in the direction of the arrow f opposite to the photosensitive member 1 at a portion facing the photosensitive member 1, so that the water speed on the photosensitive member 1 is efficiently increased by the linear velocity difference from the photosensitive member 1. The agent 20 can be removed. The aqueous agent 20 collected by the liquid film removing roller 28 is collected by the liquid film removing roller blade 29, falls down, and is collected from the aqueous agent collecting port 30 to the aqueous agent tank 25 via the pipe 31. The aqueous agent 20 in the aqueous agent tank 25 is pumped by a pump 26 into the liquid reservoir 23 of the aqueous agent attaching unit 5 via a pipe 32. Thus, the aqueous agent 20 circulates between the aqueous agent attachment unit 5 and the aqueous agent tank 25.

The adhesion of the aqueous agent 20 to the powder particles 9 on the photoreceptor 1 by the aqueous agent attachment unit 5 shown in FIG. 5 causes the powder particles 9 on the photoreceptor to change from the particle state of FIG. 2
The state changes to one adhesive state 10 having the adhesiveness of (b).

The visible image on the photoreceptor 1 formed through the powder applying unit 4 and the aqueous agent applying unit 5 is transferred to the recording paper P by the transfer device 6. Here, the visible image on the photoreceptor 1 is a state in which the particles are solidified and has an adhesive property, so that the transfer of the visible image onto the transfer paper P is performed by applying pressure from the back surface of the transfer paper P. It is possible. Therefore,
The transfer device 6 employs a pressure transfer type transfer device provided with a transfer member for applying pressure from the back surface of the recording paper P. The transfer member of the transfer device 6 is preferably an elastic member in order to secure a distance at which the recording paper P contacts the photoconductor 1.

When the recording paper P is peeled off from the photoreceptor 1, the surface of the recording paper P is uneven by paper fibers except for the coated paper. For this reason, the contact area between the particles forming the visualized image and the surface of the recording paper P is larger than the contact area between the particles and the photoreceptor 1, so that the force of the particles forming the visualized image adhere to the recording paper P side. Particles which become larger and form a visible image adhere to the recording paper P. In this manner, the transfer of the visible image from the photoconductor 1 to the recording paper P is performed. In addition, state 1 of the mass
Since the image is transferred to the recording paper P at 0, the deterioration of the image quality peculiar to the particulate developer such as the scattering of the developer in the transfer process and partial image drop is prevented, and a high-quality image is obtained. Here, since particles forming a visible image on the photoreceptor 1 have the aqueous agent 20 adhered thereto, electric charges are likely to leak when electric force is used, so that efficient transfer cannot be performed. Therefore, efficient transfer is performed by utilizing the adhesiveness of the solidified particles forming the visible image on the photoreceptor 1.

The visualized image adhered to the recording paper P continues to adhere to the recording paper P with appropriate moisture by evaporating the water of the aqueous agent 20 by natural drying. To increase the speed of natural drying,
A water removing member may be provided for forcibly removing the water of the aqueous agent before the paper is discharged into the apparatus. The water removing member is in the form of a hydrophilic porous roller, and removes the visible water on the recording paper P. Sunfine is a trade name of the hydrophilic porous material. As described above, by adhering the liquid to the image of the charged powder particles 9, the powder particles 9 are dissolved or swelled, and use the property of changing from a particulate state to a sticky non-particulate mass. To fix the image on the recording paper. For this reason,
Heat fixing is not required, and energy saving of the fixing device can be achieved.

Next, the features of the aqueous agent application unit 5 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described. The aqueous agent adhering unit 5 shown in FIG.
The amount of the aqueous agent 20 to be adhered to the photosensitive member 1 is adjusted on the aqueous agent applying roller 21 for transporting the aqueous agent 20 to the photoreceptor 1. Thus, the amount of the aqueous agent 20 attached to the photoconductor 1 can be minimized, and the amount of the aqueous agent 20 attached to the powder particles 9 can be reduced. This is because the aqueous agent 20 is applied to portions other than the portion of the photoreceptor 1 where the powder particles 9 are not attached, ie, to the non-image portion.
Is difficult to adhere. Therefore, the aqueous agent attaching unit 5 shown in FIG. 4 is suitable for a method in which the powder particles 9 are colorless or white, and the aqueous agent 20 attached to the powder particles 9 is colored, and the image is colored. As the colored aqueous agent, a material used as a commercially available aqueous dye or pigment paint can be used. As a result, the range of material selection corresponding to various color expressions or cost reduction is widened, and image formation more suited to the user's preference becomes possible. In addition, since the amount of the aqueous agent 20 attached to the powder particles 9 is small, drying of the visual image after transfer to the recording paper P is short, and there is no need to separately provide a moisture removing member for drying. Miniaturization and cost reduction are possible.

On the other hand, the aqueous agent adhering unit 5 shown in FIG.
In this case, since the aqueous agent 20 adheres to a portion other than the portion where the powder particles 9 of the photoreceptor 1 do not adhere, that is, to a non-image portion, the powder particles 9 are colored, and the colored state of the powder particles is not deteriorated. A method using a body aqueous agent 20 is suitable. Further, in the aqueous agent adhering unit 5 shown in FIG.
The upper powder particles 9 are impregnated between the aqueous agent adhering roller 21 and the liquid film removing roller 28, and are sufficiently water-soluble to change the powder particles 9 into a sticky, non-particulate lump state 10. Agent 20 is being replenished. The time for replenishing the aqueous agent 20 is determined by the interval L between the aqueous agent applying roller 21 and the liquid film removing roller 28 and the process speed S, and is L / S.
Therefore, even if the process linear velocity S changes, the distance L between the aqueous agent adhering roller 21 and the liquid film removing roller 28 is adjusted so that the powder particles 9 can be removed from the adhesive non-particulate mass. It is possible to secure a time for replenishing the aqueous agent 20 sufficient to change the state to the state 10. Thus, it is possible to cope with a system with a high process linear velocity.

Examples of the material of the powder particles 9 include those mainly composed of a water-soluble resin such as polyacrylic acid, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol and gum arabic. For coloring the powder particles 9, a pigment is contained in these resins. Further, in order to obtain charged powder particles 9, a resin having a polarity control property is mixed to form a developer.

As the liquid to be attached to the powder particles 9, an oil agent may be used instead of the aqueous agent.
In this case, the powder particles 9 are made of a petroleum resin, an arachid resin, a rosin-modified phenol resin, a DCPD resin, or the like, and use the same image forming method and image forming apparatus as those using the above-described aqueous agent.

The photoreceptor 1 used in the above-described image forming apparatus is preferably an a-Si photoreceptor. This is because the aqueous agent 20 does not penetrate into the film of the photoreceptor 1,
This is because the occurrence of abnormality or the like of the photoconductor 1 due to swelling is small.

[0044]

According to the first to tenth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming method and an image forming apparatus which can save energy in the step of fixing a visible image on a recording medium. Has an effect.

In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, there is an excellent effect that an image forming apparatus capable of preventing occurrence of an abnormal image such as dust of a toner image and a transfer defect at the time of transfer can be provided. .

In particular, according to the invention of claim 4 or 5, good image characteristics can be easily obtained in an image forming apparatus utilizing the characteristic of changing from a particle state due to the adhesion of a liquid to a non-particle state having tackiness. Has an excellent effect.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 6, the range of material selection corresponding to various color expressions or cost reduction is widened, and it is possible to form an image more in accordance with the user's preference. effective.

In particular, according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is an excellent effect that a high quality image can be obtained without the possibility of background contamination.

In particular, according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, there is an excellent effect that soiling is less likely to occur, and the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

In particular, according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to cope with a system having a high linear velocity.

In particular, according to the tenth aspect, there is an excellent effect that the latent image carrier can be used for a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a schematic view on a photoreceptor after passing through a particle attachment unit. (B) Schematic view on the photoconductor after passing through the aqueous agent attachment unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a particle attachment unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an aqueous agent adhering unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of another aqueous agent adhering unit according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoreceptor 2 Charging device 3 Exposure device 4 Particle attachment unit 5 Water-based agent attachment unit 6 Transfer device 7 Cleaning device 8 Static elimination device 9 Powder particles 10 State in which particles are agglomerated 11 Particle adhesion roller 12 Particle application roller 13 Particle adhesion Roller blade 14 Particle application roller blade 20 Water-based agent 21 Water-based agent application roller 22 Liquid film adjustment roller 23 Liquid film adjustment roller blade 24 Liquid storage blade 25 Water-based agent tank 26 Pumping pump 27 Liquid pool 28 Liquid film removal roller 29 Liquid film removal roller Blade 30 Water-based agent recovery port 31 Pipe 32 Pipe

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G03G 15/20 G03G 15/08 507L F-term (reference) 2H005 AA21 AA25 CA02 CA21 DA01 EA10 FB08 2H032 AA13 AA14 BA13 2H033 AA32 AA49 BE07 2H068 DA00 FA08 FC08 2H077 AD06 AD32 AD35 BA08 CA19 EA01 EA11

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image forming method for visualizing an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier, comprising: using charged powder particles having a property of being capable of being dissolved or swelled by the adhesion of a liquid and having an increased tackiness. An image forming method characterized by visualizing an electrostatic charge image. 2. An image forming apparatus for visualizing an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier, comprising charged powder particles having a property of being capable of being dissolved or swelled by the adhesion of a liquid and having an increased tackiness. An image forming apparatus comprising: a device for supplying an electrostatic charge image on a body; and a device for attaching a liquid to charged powder particles supplied to the electrostatic charge image. 3. An image forming apparatus for visualizing an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier and transferring the visualized image to a recording medium, characterized by being capable of dissolving or swelling due to the adhesion of a liquid and increasing the tackiness. Image forming apparatus comprising: a device for supplying an electrostatic charge image on a latent image carrier using charged powder particles having the device; and a device for attaching a liquid to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier. apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the charged powder particles are composed of a polymer electrolyte. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the charged powder particles are composed of a polymer absorber. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the charged powder particles are colorless or white, and the liquid adhered to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is a colored liquid. Image forming apparatus. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the charged powder particles are colored, and the liquid to be attached to the colored charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is in a colored state of the charged powder particles. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the image forming apparatus is a transparent body that does not deteriorate the image quality. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control of the amount of the liquid to be adhered in the device for adhering the liquid to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is performed by conveying the liquid to the latent image carrier. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the image forming apparatus is configured to perform the operation on a member that performs the operation. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control of the amount of the liquid to be adhered in the device for adhering the liquid to the charged powder particles on the latent image carrier is performed by conveying the liquid to the latent image carrier. An image forming apparatus configured to perform the operation on a liquid film removing member provided on the downstream side of rotation of the latent image carrier with respect to the member to be cleaned. 10. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said latent image carrier is an a-Si photosensitive member.