JP2000211182A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device used for a printer, a copier or the like and provided with high control response properties and high processing capability for making easy the scattering of tones out of a sleeve. SOLUTION: An image forming device is provided with a sleeve 1 carrying a charged toner layer 26 thereon and carrying the layer, an FPC 11 with a plurality of openings 21 passing toners 4 scattered from the sleeve 1 and controlling the passage of toners 4 in compliance with external image signals, an intermediate image holding belt 44 whereon the passed toners 4 are made to collide with are formed successively in the above order and a vibrating means 27 providing the mechanical vibration to the scattering section of the toner layer 26 carried on the sleeve 1.

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, etc., and more particularly, to applying a voltage corresponding to an image signal inputted from outside to a control electrode of a control member having an opening. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus controls the flight of the developer (toner or the like) from the developer carrier to the back electrode, and causes the developer to adhere to the recording medium located between the control member and the back electrode to perform development. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a large number of documents have been handled in offices as personal computers have been improved in capacity, and printers and copiers having high processing capabilities have become widespread with the development of network technology. In addition, the rapid spread of inkjet printers and the like has facilitated color printing, and the amount of handling color documents is also increasing. However, the development of copying machines, printers, and the like that are sufficiently satisfactory in terms of copying speed or printing speed, etc., is still in the development stage, and an image forming apparatus capable of sufficiently outputting monochrome and color documents that meets the needs of users. The appearance of is awaited. As one of the techniques, there is a technique of forming an image by causing toner to fly by the action of an electric field and attaching the toner on recording paper. Hereinafter, this image forming technique will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 9, an FPC (flexible print circuit) 83 serving as a developer passage control means is shown.
Is composed of an insulating layer 87 in which an opening 84 is formed, and a control electrode 88 formed on one surface of the insulating layer 87. The FPC 83 is provided between the sleeve 81 as a developer carrying means and the back electrode 85, and the recording paper 86 is conveyed between the FPC 83 and the back electrode 85 in the left-right direction in the drawing.

The charged toner is conveyed to the vicinity of the opening 84 of the FPC 83 while being carried on the sleeve 81 made of a conductor, passes through the opening 84 of the FPC 83, and adheres to the recording paper 86. The toner flowing from the sleeve 81 toward the recording paper 86 is pulled by the electric field formed by the control voltage applied to the control electrode 88 or the back electrode 85 when passing through the opening 84, and as a result, the toner is applied to the recording paper 86 by the toner. An image is formed.

[0005]

However, with such a configuration, it has been difficult to sufficiently satisfy the user's requirements in terms of processing capability such as image forming speed. The reason is considered as follows.

That is, as the adhesive force for the sleeve 81 to carry the toner, the image force and the interfacial force acting between the sleeve 81 and the toner can be considered. Then, in order for the toner to land on the recording paper 86 by the electric field formed by the control voltage applied to the control electrode 88 or the back electrode 85, the toner must fly from the sleeve 81 against the above-mentioned adhesive force. No. However, since the aforementioned adhesive force is strong, the sleeve 81 and the control electrode 88
It is necessary to form a sufficiently large electrostatic field between them and an electrostatic force that overcomes the adhesive force. However, an IC driver that supplies a signal to the control electrode 88 has an upper limit on the applied voltage, so that a high voltage for forming a sufficiently large electrostatic field cannot be supplied to the control electrode 88. Further, the response of the control was not sufficient, and the processing capacity was not sufficiently satisfactory.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a high image forming speed and a high processing ability.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides mechanical vibration to the developer in the flying portion in order to reduce the adhesive force of the developer in the flying portion.

More specifically, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a developer carrying means for carrying and transporting a charged developer, an image receiving medium to which the developer is attached, and the developer carrying means. A plurality of through-holes are provided between the plurality of through-holes and allow the developer to pass therethrough, and the developer flies from the developer carrying means through the through-holes toward the image receiving medium in accordance with a transmitted image signal. And a developer passage control unit for controlling the developer passage control device, wherein mechanical vibration is applied to the developer carried on a portion of the developer carrying unit facing the passage hole of the developer passage control unit. The vibration means is provided.

According to the above, the developer located at the portion facing the passage hole of the developer passage control means is given mechanical vibration by the vibration means, so that the adhesive force to the developer carrying means is weakened and the developer easily flies. Become like Therefore, the responsiveness of the control of the developer passage control means is enhanced.

The vibration means may be provided in a non-contact state with the developer passage control means. As described above, by vibrating means being in a non-contact state with the developer passage control means,
Vibration of the developer passage control means is prevented, and control is stabilized.

[0012] The vibrating means may be configured to apply ultrasonic vibration of 10 kHz to 1 MHz.

[0013] The vibrating means may include a vibrating body arranged to be in contact with or close to the surface of the developer carrying means, and a vibrator for vibrating the vibrating body.

[0014] The vibrator may be arranged in contact with the developer so as to directly apply mechanical vibration to the developer. Since the developer is directly vibrated, the reduction of the adhesive force can be achieved more efficiently.

The vibrator is provided at a position facing the passage hole of the developer passage control means so that the developer carried by the developer carrying means is moved to the surface of the vibrator and flies from the surface. You may. In this way, by temporarily holding the developer carried by the developer carrying means on the vibrator and causing the developer to fly from the vibrator toward the image receiving medium,
It becomes extremely easy to reduce only the adhesive force of the developer to fly.

The plurality of passage holes of the developer passage control means include first and second passage holes arranged along the direction of transport of the developer of the developer carrying means. The arrangement may be such that the distance and the distance to the second passage hole are equal to each other. As a result, there is no difference in the adhesive force between the developer passing through the first passage hole and the developer passing through the second passage hole, and the developer flies uniformly, and a high-quality image is formed. In particular, in a mode in which the developer flies from the vibrating body, the developer on the vibrating body is uniformly affected by the electric field regardless of the position, so that the flying speed becomes uniform and a higher quality image is formed.

The developer passage control means includes a flat plate-shaped main body having a passage hole formed therein, and a control electrode provided on the main body. The vibrating body is substantially parallel to an opposing surface of the main body. It may have an opposing surface. This makes it possible to easily obtain a configuration in which the distance from the vibrator to the first passage hole is equal to the distance from the vibrator to the second passage hole.

The vibrator may be formed in a comb shape having a plurality of comb teeth corresponding to each passage hole of the developer passage control means. Further, the vibrator may include a micro vibrator provided in the vicinity of the tip of each comb tooth.

The plurality of passage holes of the developer passage control means form a row of passage holes arranged in a predetermined direction, and the vibration means applies vibration having a traveling wave traveling in the row direction of the passage hole rows. It may be configured. Thus, the mechanical vibration acts evenly and uniformly on the developer in the flying portion of the developer carrying means, so that the adhesion of the developer can be effectively reduced.

The vibrator may include first and second vibrators provided at both ends of the vibrator to apply vibrations having different frequencies. Further, the vibrator may include first and second vibrators provided at both ends of the vibrating body and applying vibrations having different phases. With such a configuration, it becomes easy to make the mechanical vibration act uniformly on the developer.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of the image forming apparatus. In such an image forming apparatus, for example, yellow,
By providing the head 10 corresponding to each color such as magenta, cyan, and black, a color image can be formed. Although only two heads 10 are shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity of description, one head 10 may be used (during single-color image formation), or three or more heads may be used. It is.

As shown in FIG. 1, the driving roller 42 and the ground roller 43 are connected to an intermediate image holding belt 4 as an image receiving medium.
The intermediate image holding belt 44 is supported between each of the heads 10 and each of the back electrodes 45 so that the image receiving surface of each of the intermediate image holding belts 4 faces the corresponding one of the heads 10.
Is transported. A power supply 46 is connected to each back electrode 45. As the back electrode 45, a metal plate or a film in which a conductive filler is dispersed in resin may be used. 500 to 200 for back electrode 45
It is preferable to apply a voltage of about 0 V, and in this embodiment, a voltage of 1000 V is applied.

A part of the intermediate image holding belt 44 is pressed by a belt cleaning 50 provided opposite to the belt driving roller 42. This is because the intermediate image holding belt 44
The purpose is to remove the upper toner image or dirt.

The transfer roller 4 for transferring the image on the intermediate image holding belt 44 to the recording paper 30 in the moving direction of the intermediate image holding belt 44 on which the toner image is formed by the head 10.
7 and its transfer power supply 48. The transfer roller 47 is configured to be able to freely contact and separate from the ground roller 43. The transfer roller 47 generates an electric field by a voltage applied by a transfer power supply 48, and draws the toner image on the intermediate image holding belt 44 toward the recording paper 30. A fixing device 49 for fixing the transferred image on the recording paper 30 is provided in the moving direction of the recording paper 30 on which the image has been transferred.

The intermediate image holding belt 44 has a thickness of 15 mm.
This is an endless type belt formed by dispersing conductive carbon in about 0 μm polycarbonate, and its peripheral length is about 3 μm for A4 size recording paper, for example.
40 mm. The outer diameters of the belt driving roller 42 and the ground roller 43 are about 25 to 30 mm. The transfer roller 47 is formed by winding a urethane sponge around a shaft core having an outer diameter of 8 mm to have an outer diameter of about 20 mm, and has a resistance value of about 10 ⁷ Ω (when 500 V is applied).

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the head 10. The head 10 includes a sleeve 1 corresponding to the developer carrying means, a toner regulating blade 2, a toner scraping and supply roller 3,
It comprises a stirring means 5 for the toner 4 corresponding to the developer and a frame 6.

The sleeve 1 carries the toner 4 while carrying it. The sleeve 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter of 16 to 18 mm, has a blasted surface roughness of about Rmax = 1, and has a surface roughness of about 20. Rotate at ~ 400 mm / sec.
In the present embodiment, the sleeve 1 is grounded. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration may be adopted in which a DC or AC voltage is applied.

The toner regulating blade 2 is provided so that a certain amount of toner 4 is stably carried on the sleeve 1.
1 to 3 layers of toner 4 are formed on the surface of
Is charged. In this embodiment, the toner 4 is negatively charged. The toner regulating blade 2 is obtained by attaching one end 2a of a phosphor bronze plate having a thickness of about 0.5 mm to an elastic member 2b such as a urethane rubber sheet having a thickness of about 1 mm at a position 3 to 4 mm from the end. The elastic member 2b is in contact with the sleeve 1 in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction.

The toner scraping and supply roller 3 scrapes excess toner on the sleeve 1 when it is present, and supplies toner when the sleeve 1 is short of toner. The toner scraping and supply roller 3 is formed by winding a synthetic rubber such as urethane sponge around a metal shaft having a diameter of about 6 mm to have an outer diameter of about 12 mm, and rotates in a forward direction with respect to the rotation direction of the sleeve 1.
The amount of the roller 3 biting into the sleeve 1 is 0.1 to 2
The range of mm is preferred.

FIG. 3 shows the flying portion (head portion) of the toner.
FIG. Sleeve 1 and intermediate image holding belt 4
And FPC 11 as developer passage control means.
Is provided.

The FPC 11 is fixed to an FPC holding frame 12, and the frame 12 can move independently of the sleeve 1. Sleeve 1 and FPC
The distance between the two is preferably about 0 to 200 μm,
About 25 μm to 75 μm is more preferable. In this embodiment, it is set to about 50 μm. The FPC 11 is flexible, and has a flat insulating member 20 (corresponding to a “main body”) having a thickness of 50 to 70 μm and having an opening 21 formed as a passage for a developer, and a sleeve 1 of the insulating member 20. A control electrode 22 having a thickness of about 10 μm provided so as to surround the opening 21 on the side surface, and a guard electrode 23 having a thickness of about 10 μm provided so as to surround the opening 21 on the side opposite to the insulating member 20. The control electrode 22, the guard electrode 23, and the inner wall surface of the opening 21 are coated with a resin 24 having a thickness of about 1 to 2 μm. The control electrode 22 generates an electric field between the control electrode 22 and the back electrode 45 to control the passage of the toner carried on the sleeve 1 through the opening 21. Guard electrode 2
Numeral 3 is for the purpose of narrowing down toner dots so as to prevent the toner passing through the opening 21 from spreading and flying, and generates an electric field for preventing dispersion. In the present embodiment, a voltage of 300 V or less is applied to the control electrode 22, and a voltage of -100V is applied to the guard electrode.

The diameter of the opening 21 is preferably 50 to 200 μm, particularly preferably about 130 μm. The openings 21 are formed so as to be arranged in a plurality along the axial direction of the sleeve 1, whereby the insulating member 20 is formed with an opening row arranged in the axial direction of the sleeve 1. When a plurality of openings are arranged in a direction (X direction in FIG. 3) orthogonal to the axial direction of the sleeve 1, that is, when a plurality of openings are formed, the openings 1 It is preferable that the opening rows are arranged so that the shortest distances to the toner layer 26 are all equal. This is to prevent a decrease in image quality due to a difference in the distance from the sleeve 1 to the opening 21.

An FP is provided between the sleeve 1 and the FPC 11.
A vibration unit 27 is provided at a position facing the opening 21 of C11. The vibration unit 27 is provided in a non-contact state with the FPC 11 so as not to vibrate the FPC 11. The vibrating means 27 applies mechanical vibration to weaken the adhesive force of the toner, and will be described in detail in Embodiments 1 to 3 described later.

In such an image forming apparatus, when a voltage equal to or higher than a predetermined value is applied to the control electrode 22 in accordance with an image signal transmitted from the outside, the space between the sleeve 1 and the back electrode 45 or between the sleeve 1 and the control electrode An electric field is formed between them. Then, due to these electric fields, the sleeve 1
The upper toner 4 is directly or indirectly pulled toward the back electrode 45 and lands on the intermediate image holding belt 44 to form an image. Conversely, when a voltage equal to or less than a predetermined value is applied to the control electrode 22, the electric field formed between the sleeve 1 and the back electrode 45 is blocked, and the toner 4 does not land on the intermediate image holding belt 44. Is not formed. Such an operation is performed by using a plurality of heads 10 corresponding to, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black to form images of each color on the intermediate image holding belt 44, and then onto the recording paper 30 by the transfer roller 47. Transfer and further fixer 4
If the fixing is performed at step 9, a good color image can be formed on the recording paper 30.

Next, some specific examples of the vibration means provided in the image forming apparatus will be described. In addition, this vibration means is, for example, one head 10 for black and white.
Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to the above two cases.
Further, the vibration means according to the present invention is not limited to the following specific examples, and it is a matter of course that other configurations may be adopted as long as they can apply mechanical vibration to the toner. .

(First Embodiment) FIG. 4 shows an example of the vibration means. FIG. 4A is a perspective view around the sleeve 1 (however, illustration of the toner layer is omitted), and FIG. 4B is a side view around the sleeve 1. In this embodiment, the vibrating means includes a round-bar-shaped toner vibrator 31 and a vibrator 34 that vibrates the toner vibrator 31. The toner vibrator 31 is provided so as to be in contact with the toner layer 26 carried on the sleeve 1 along the rotation axis direction of the cylindrical sleeve 1. The toner vibrator 31 may be any material that applies vibration to the sleeve 1 or the toner layer 26, and may be formed of, for example, metal. In particular, it is preferable to use stainless steel or aluminum because processing is easy. Vibrator 34
Is attached to at least one end of the toner vibrator 31. The vibrator 34 includes a vibration source 32 that oscillates vibration.
And a vibration transmission system 33 for transmitting the vibration. For example, a well-known piezoelectric element such as PZT can be used as the vibration source 32. The vibration transmission system 33 only needs to have rigidity capable of transmitting vibration, and may be formed of, for example, metal. The vibration transmission system 33 preferably has a structure in which the cross-sectional area continuously and smoothly decreases as it goes downward.
The vibration energy can be concentrated, amplified, and transmitted to the vibrating body 31.

When the toner layer 26 is vibrated by the vibrating means having the above-described configuration, the vicinity of the opening 21 of the FPC 11, that is, between the toner 4 and the sleeve 1 where the toner 4 flies from the sleeve 1, or between the toner 4 Is weakened, and the toner layer in the flying portion can be formed in a so-called cloud shape. As a result, when the control voltage is applied, the cloud-shaped toner 4 starts flying, and the responsiveness of the control increases. Therefore, the processing capability of image formation is improved.

Here, if the frequency of the vibration is too low, the detachment of the toner from the sleeve 1 cannot be promoted, while if the frequency is too high, the sleeve 1 itself vibrates greatly, adversely affecting the image formation. Effect. Therefore,
An appropriate frequency for effectively oscillating the toner on the sleeve 1 is 10 kHz to 1 MHz in the ultrasonic range. When using ultrasonic waves in this range, the vibration
Since only the toner layer 26 can be vibrated intensively without giving a large vibration to the toner, the toner layer 26 can be effectively formed into a cloud shape without adversely affecting the apparatus. At this time, as shown in FIG.
From the surface of the vibrating body 31, and a part thereof returns to the sleeve 1. Therefore, under such conditions,
The toner can be stably supplied to the opening of the FPC 11.

In this embodiment, the most suitable embodiment has been described in which the vibrating body 31 is provided in direct contact with the toner layer 26. However, the vibrating body 31 is provided in direct contact with the sleeve 1. And the vibration is applied to the toner layer 2
6 may be provided close to each other.

Further, a traveling wave traveling in the rotation axis direction Y of the sleeve 1 (the direction in which the plurality of openings are arranged) may be applied to the toner vibrator 31. In this case, since the nodes of the ultrasonic waves are not fixed, the ultrasonic waves uniformly act on the toner in the flying portion on the sleeve 1, which is more effective. In order to exhibit such an effect, for example, as shown in FIG. What is necessary is just to set it differently.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 6 and 7 show a vibration means according to a second embodiment. 6 is a perspective view around the sleeve 1 (however, the toner layer is not shown), and FIG. 7 is a side view around the sleeve. In the present embodiment, the toner vibrator 31 is formed in a flat plate shape, and is provided substantially parallel to the FPC 11. As in the first embodiment, the toner vibrator 31 may be any material that applies vibration, and may be formed of, for example, metal. In particular, it is preferable to use stainless steel or aluminum because processing is easy. The thickness of the vibrating body 31 is preferably about 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and in this embodiment, about 0.2 mm. A vibrator 34 for applying vibration to the toner vibrator 31 is attached to one end or both ends of the toner vibrator 31. The configuration of the vibrator 34 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (the vibrator is not shown), the effect of such a configuration is most remarkable.
This is the case where the opening 21 is composed of multiple rows 21A and 21B. That is, since the vibrating body 31 is located above the two opening rows 21A and 21B, not only the distances from the openings 21a and 21a belonging to the same opening row 21A to the toner layer 26, but also different rows 21A and 21B. Openings 21a belonging to
Each distance from the toner layer 21b to the toner layer 26 is constant, and the force of the electric field acting on the vibrated toner is constant regardless of the position, so that uniform image formation can be realized.

That is, in this embodiment, since the vibrating body 31 is formed in a flat plate shape so as to cover both the opening rows 21A and 21B, each of the openings 21 belonging to the opening row 21A from the vibrating body 31 is formed.
The distance to a and the distance from the vibrating body 31 to each opening 21b belonging to the opening row 21B are equal to each other. Accordingly, the degree of the adhesive force and the flying speed are equal between the toner passing through the opening 21a and the toner passing through the opening 21b. Even when the FPC 11 having the plurality of opening rows 21A and 21B is used, good results are obtained. Image can be formed.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 8 shows a vibration means according to a third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the toner vibrator 31 is formed in a comb shape extending in the axial direction of the sleeve 1 and having a number of comb teeth 37 protruding toward the sleeve. In FIG. 8, FP
Although illustration of C11 is omitted, the vibrating body 31 is provided substantially parallel to the FPC 11 so that the position of each comb tooth 37 corresponds to the upper part of each opening 21 of the FPC 11. As in the first embodiment, the toner vibrator 31 may be any material that applies vibration, and may be formed of, for example, metal. In particular, it is preferable to use stainless steel or aluminum because processing is easy. Toner vibrator 3
A vibrator may be attached to one end or both ends of the device 1 as in the first or second embodiment, but it is preferable to provide a micro vibrator 36 individually for each comb tooth 37. With such a configuration, since there is no portion serving as a node of vibration with respect to each opening 21, the ultrasonic waves can be uniformly applied to the toner located at the flying portion on the sleeve 1. Further, it is more effective to operate the respective vibrators 36 with the phases shifted sequentially.

In this embodiment, the intermediate image holding belt 4
4, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to such an apparatus, and the developer such as toner is applied to a recording medium such as paper. An image may be formed by direct attachment. That is, it is also possible to use recording paper or the like as the image receiving medium.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to weaken the adhesive force of the developer to fly,
The responsiveness of the toner to the control voltage can be improved. As a result, an image forming apparatus having a high processing capability can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a head.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view near the FPC of the head.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a vibration unit according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an example in which vibrators are provided at both ends of a vibrating body of the vibrating means according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a vibration unit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a vibration unit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a vibration unit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a head configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sleeve 2 Toner regulating blade 3 Toner scraping and supply roller 4 Toner 5 Stirrer 6 Frame 11 FPC 12 FPC holding frame 21 Opening 22 Control electrode 23 Guard electrode 24 Resin 26 Toner layer 27 Vibration means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 597063831 Owneds Brygga 13 421 57 Vestro Fround a Sweden (72) Inventor Katsutoshi Ogawa 1006 Odakadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaichiro Tachikawa 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Aizawa 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Inside the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Masayoshi Miura 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Address Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takahiro Tsujimoto 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Akira Ryuji 1006 Okadoma Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Terms (reference) 2C162 AE25 AE31 AE7 4 AE84 AJ18 CA03 CA12 CA24 2H029 DB00 DB04 DB13

Claims (13)

[Claims] A developer carrying means for carrying a charged developer while carrying the developer; a plurality of developer carrying means provided between the image receiving medium to which the developer is adhered and the developer carrying means for passing the developer; And a developer passage control means for controlling the flight of the developer from the developer carrying means through the passage hole toward the image receiving medium in accordance with the transmitted image signal. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a vibration unit that applies mechanical vibration to a developer carried on a portion of the developer carrying unit facing the passage hole of the developer passage control unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration unit is provided in a non-contact state with the developer passage control unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration unit is configured to apply ultrasonic vibration of 10 kHz to 1 MHz. 4. The vibration unit according to claim 1, wherein the vibration unit includes a vibrator arranged to be in contact with or close to the surface of the developer carrying unit, and a vibrator for vibrating the vibrator. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the vibrator is arranged so as to contact the developer so as to directly apply mechanical vibration to the developer. 6. The vibrator is provided at a position facing a passage hole of the developer passage control means so as to move the developer carried by the developer carrying means to the surface of the vibrator and to fly from the surface. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: 7. A plurality of passage holes of the developer passage control means,
The vibrating body includes first and second passage holes that are arranged along the developer conveying direction of the developer carrying unit, and the vibrator has a distance to the first passage hole and a distance to the second passage hole equal to each other. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is arranged as follows. 8. The developer passage control means includes a plate-shaped main body having a passage hole formed therein, and a control electrode provided in the main body, wherein the vibrating body is substantially opposite to a surface facing the main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus has a parallel facing surface. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the vibrator is formed in a comb shape having a plurality of comb teeth corresponding to each passage hole of the developer passage control unit. . 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the vibrator includes a micro vibrator provided near a tip of each comb tooth. 11. A plurality of passage holes of the developer passage control means form a passage hole row arranged in a predetermined direction, and the vibration means imparts vibration having a traveling wave traveling in the row direction of the passage hole row. Claims 1 to 1
0. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 12. The vibrator according to claim 5, wherein the vibrator includes first and second vibrators provided at both ends of the vibrator to apply vibrations having different frequencies. Image forming apparatus. 13. The vibrator according to claim 5, wherein the vibrator includes first and second vibrators provided at both ends of the vibrator to apply vibrations having different phases. Image forming device.