JP2002091159A - Toner carrying device, developing device, image forming device and toner supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device and developing device which are made simple in configuration and low in cost and can obtain high image quality. SOLUTION: This toner carrying device 31 is equipped with a carrying base plate 30 constituted by laminating a carrying path base plate 42 on an electrode base plate 41. The electrode base plate 41 is provided with electrodes 46 at specified intervals nearly in parallel with each other in the direction almost orthogonal to a carrying direction on a plate like substrate 45. The carrying path base plate 42 has carrying paths 48, on which a surface layer 49 having small contact resistance with toner is formed, on the surface of an insulating substrate 47.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner conveying device, a developing device, an image forming device and a toner supplying device, and more particularly to a toner conveying device for conveying toner to a latent image carrier or a recording medium, and a latent image carrier. A developing device for adhering toner, an image forming device for developing an image by developing a latent image on a latent image carrier, an image forming device for adhering toner to a recording medium to form an image, and applying toner to developing means of the developing device. The present invention relates to a toner supply device that supplies toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, a latent image is formed on a latent image carrier using an electrophotographic process, and a developer (hereinafter, referred to as "toner") is formed on the latent image. In some cases, an image is formed by adhering and developing a visible image, and transferring this toner image to a recording medium (transfer paper).

In such an image forming apparatus, as a developing device for developing a latent image, conventionally, a toner stirred in the developing device is carried on the surface of a developing roller which is a developer carrying member, and the developing roller is rotated. The latent image carrier is conveyed to a position facing the surface of the latent image carrier, and the latent image on the latent image carrier is developed. After the development is completed, the toner that has not adhered to the latent image carrier is rotated by a developing roller. There is known an image forming apparatus which collects the toner, newly agitates and charges the toner, carries the toner again on the developing roller, and conveys the toner.

A developing device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-19 / 1993.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 615, the toner is conveyed using electrostatic force on the surface of the developing roller, and the toner is separated from the surface of the developing roller by suction force generated between the developing roller and the latent image carrier. What is attached to the body surface,
Alternatively, as described in JP-A-59-181375, the toner is transported to a position facing the latent image carrier using a transport substrate that transports the toner by electrostatic force, and the toner is transported to the latent image carrier. In some cases, the toner is separated from the transport substrate by the suction force generated between them and adheres to the surface of the latent image carrier.

Further, as another image forming apparatus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-170591 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-115235
JP-A-11-179951, a control electrode is arranged between a developing roller carrying toner and a recording medium, and a back electrode is arranged on the back of the recording medium. By generating an electric field between the toner and the developing roller, the toner can fly in the direction of the recording medium,
There is also known a so-called flying type image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by selectively controlling the flying of the toner with a control electrode.

[0006]

However, an image forming apparatus provided with a developing device for applying toner to a latent image carrier using the above-described developing roller, or a method in which toner is carried on the developing roller and an electric field is applied from the developing roller In the case of a flying image forming apparatus in which toner is caused to fly on a recording medium by control, the configuration of the developing apparatus is increased due to the use of a developing roller, and the size and cost of the entire image forming apparatus cannot be reduced.

Further, in a developing device using a developing roller, toner enters between the developing roller and the side plate, and the toner is rubbed to cause toner sticking or the like, which adversely affects an image. Further, in a developing device that transports toner by electrostatic transport, the configuration disclosed so far cannot reliably transport toner.

Further, it is preferable that the toner particles used for development and image formation are as uniform as possible. However, in a conventional image forming apparatus and its developing apparatus, for example, toner having a particle size of less than 5 μm (Developing means), for example, there is no means for making the toner uniform. In the present specification, powder having a size of less than 5 μm is referred to as “ultrafine particles”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an image forming apparatus and a developing apparatus which are simple in construction, can be manufactured at low cost, and can obtain high image quality. It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner supply device capable of improving image quality by making toner supplied to a unit uniform, and to further provide a toner conveying device suitable for the image forming device, the developing device, and the toner supply device. I do.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a toner conveying device according to the present invention, electrodes are provided on a support member at predetermined intervals substantially in parallel with each other and intersect with the conveying direction along the conveying direction. And a second substrate having a transfer surface on which a surface layer having a small contact resistance with toner is formed on the surface of an insulating member.

Here, the electrode has a size of 〜１０ to 10 of the toner particle size.
It is preferable to arrange at a pitch of 0 times. Further, the surface layer is preferably formed of a material having a critical surface tension not exceeding 30 dyne / cm. In this case, it is preferable to use a fluorine resin material as the material. further,
It is preferable that a conductor film or a semiconductor film is formed between the electrode of the first substrate and the insulating substrate of the second substrate via an insulating film between the electrode and the electrode.

It is preferable that a groove forming a transfer path including a transfer surface is formed in the second substrate. In this case, the grooves are preferably formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the electrodes and in a direction forming an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Further, it is preferable that the grooves are formed so as to have density in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction.

[0013] Further, the distance between the electrode surface and the transfer surface is set to 0.
It is preferably in the range of 5 to 10 μm.

Further, it is preferable that at least two transfer substrates are provided. In this case, it is preferable that the two transfer substrates are arranged with the transfer surfaces facing each other.

A developing device according to the present invention is a developing device for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier by adhering toner onto the latent image carrier, and includes the toner conveying device according to the present invention. is there.

Here, the transfer board of the toner transfer apparatus may be configured such that the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transfer direction. Further, it is preferable that the toner conveying device has a storage section for storing toner on the toner supply side of the transfer board.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the developing device for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier by attaching toner onto the latent image carrier is the developing device according to the present invention.

Here, it is possible to provide a means for applying a drive waveform having a higher frequency to the electrode on the downstream side in the transport direction among the electrodes of the toner transport unit of the developing device than the electrode on the upstream side in the transport direction.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image by adhering toner on a recording medium, and includes the toner conveying device according to the present invention.

Here, the transfer board of the toner transfer apparatus may be configured such that the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transfer direction. Further, a means for applying a drive waveform having a higher frequency to an electrode on the downstream side in the transport direction among the electrodes of the toner transport device than an electrode on the upstream side in the transport direction can be provided. Further, the toner transport device has a transport substrate that transports and flies the toner, and a control substrate that is disposed to face the transport surface of the transport substrate and controls flying / non-flying of the toner from the transport substrate. Is preferred.

The toner supply device according to the present invention is a toner supply device for supplying toner to the developing means, which is provided with the toner transport device according to the present invention for transporting the toner to the developing means.

Here, the transfer board of the toner transfer apparatus may be configured such that the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transfer direction. Further, a means for applying a drive waveform having a higher frequency to an electrode on the downstream side in the transport direction among the electrodes of the toner transport device than an electrode on the upstream side in the transport direction can be provided.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus.
The general outline and operation of this image forming apparatus will be described.
The photoconductor drum 1 (for example, an organic photoconductor: OPC) as a latent image carrier is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. When a document is placed on the contact glass 2 and a print start switch (not shown) is pressed, the document illumination light source 3 and the mirror 4 are pressed.
The scanning optical system 5 including the mirror 6 and the scanning optical system 8 including the mirrors 6 and 7 move to read a document image.

Here, the scanned original image is read as an image signal by an image reading element 10 arranged behind the lens 9, and the read image signal is digitized and subjected to image processing. Then, a laser diode (LD) is driven by the image-processed signal, and a laser beam from the laser diode is reflected by a polygon mirror 13 and then radiated onto the photosensitive drum 1 via a mirror 14.
The photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charging device 15, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by writing with a laser beam.

Then, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is visualized by attaching toner to the developing device 16 according to the present invention, and this visible image is supplied from the paper feeding unit 17A or 17B. The toner image is transferred to the transfer paper (recording medium) 19 fed by the feed rollers 18A or 18B by corona discharge of the transfer charger 20. Transfer paper 19 to which this visible image has been transferred
Is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the separation charger 21, is conveyed by the conveyance belt 22, passes through the pressure contact portion of the fixing roller pair 23, and fixes the visible image to the paper discharge tray 24 outside the machine. Is discharged.

On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning device 25, and the charge remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is erased by the charge removing lamp 26.

Next, in the image forming apparatus, the developing device 16 according to the present invention provided with the toner conveying device according to the present invention.
Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the developing device. The developing device 16 transports the charged toner along the transport surfaces of the transport substrates 30, 30 toward one end (hereinafter also referred to as “ejection side”) by electrostatic force, and ejects the transport substrates 30, 30. A toner conveying device 31 according to the present invention for ejecting toner from the side toward the photosensitive drum 1 as a latent image carrier is provided.

Then, the toner charged between the transfer substrates 30 of the toner transfer device 31 is transferred to the toner box 3.
2 and a charging roller 34 for charging the toner supplied to the toner box 32
A doctor blade 35 arranged in contact with the peripheral surface of the charging roller 34; and an agitator 37 for transporting the toner in the toner hopper 36 to the vicinity of the charging roller 34.

Further, the transfer board 3 of the toner transfer device 31
Toner gutters 38, 38 for collecting unused toner that has flown from 0, 30 and have not been used, and a reverse conveyance path member 39 for conveying the toner collected by the toner gutter 38 to the toner box 32 with electrostatic force and returning the toner. , 39, etc.

Therefore, in the developing device 6, the first of the transfer substrates 30 constituting the toner transfer device 31 according to the present invention is used.
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the transfer substrate along the transfer direction, FIG. 4 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view of the transfer substrate along a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction, and FIG. 5 is an electrode substrate of the transfer substrate. FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view of a transport path substrate of the transport substrate.

The transfer substrate 30 is obtained by stacking a transfer path substrate 42 as a second substrate on an electrode substrate 41 as a first substrate. The electrode substrate 41 has a large number of electrodes 46, 46,... On a support substrate 45 which is a long and flat support member.
Are set as a set in a strip shape in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction along the transport direction. The transport path substrate 42 is formed on an insulating substrate 47, which is an insulating member, in a groove-shaped transport path 48 serving as a toner transport surface in a straight line along the transport direction and at predetermined intervals in a direction intersecting the transport direction. , And a plurality of insulating substrates 4 are formed on the surface of the insulating substrate 47.
7 is coated with a surface layer 49 having a lower contact resistance with toner.

[0032] As the support substrate 45 of the electrode substrate 41, a substrate made of an insulating material such as a glass substrate, a resin substrate or a ceramic substrate, or insulating, such as SiO _2, a substrate made of a conductive material such as SUS A film whose surface is made insulating by forming a film can be used.

The electrode 46 is made of Al, Ni on the support substrate 45.
-Cr, TiN, polysilicon, or Ti, W, Mo
0.1-0.2 μm of conductive material such as high temperature metal film
A thick film is formed, and is patterned into an electrode shape by using a semiconductor technology such as a photolithography technology. The arrangement density of the electrodes 46 is preferably 1/3 to 100 times the line diameter / space (L / S) of the toner diameter in order to ensure a good conveyance speed and amount. /
Preferably it is 2 to 5 times. The arrangement density of the electrodes 46 can be obtained by an experiment in consideration of the contact resistance between the toner and the surface layer 49 and the like. The width of the electrode 46 is 1 to 3 of the toner diameter.
It is preferable that the value be twice in order to secure a favorable transport speed and a favorable transport amount.

As the insulating substrate 47 of the transport path substrate 42, polyimide, SiO ₂ (silicon oxide film), Ta ₂ O
₅ (tantalum pentoxide) or the like can be used. When polyimide is used, the relative dielectric constant of the polyimide is about 3.6, but the apparent relative dielectric constant becomes 10 to 12 by adding about 1% of BaTiO ₃ fine particles.

By increasing the relative dielectric constant of the insulating substrate 47, the driving voltage can be reduced, and the driving recoil of the particles (toner) and the transport speed are increased. Therefore, in order to transport the charged toner more reliably at a low voltage and at a high speed, the insulating substrate 47 is preferably formed of a material having a relative dielectric constant of 10 or more.

When an experiment was performed using a polyimide film having a thickness of 1 μm, a scanning drive voltage of 500 V DC was required. However, as described above, when about 1% of BaTiO ₃ fine particles were added, a drive voltage of 300 V was equivalent. Was obtained.

Further, by forming the transport path 48 in a groove shape, the toner can be efficiently guided in the transport direction. Further, the transport path 48 and the electrode 46 may be formed (arranged) in a direction intersecting with each other. In this case, the transport path 48 is set to a direction substantially orthogonal to the electrode 46, but is not limited thereto. It should not be parallel. However, in order to increase the transfer efficiency, preferably, the transfer path 48 and the electrode 46 intersect within a range of 45 ° to 90 °.

The surface layer 49 is a film having a function of reducing the contact resistance particularly between the transport surface (the bottom surface of the transport path 48) and the interface of the charged toner. To reduce the contact resistance, the critical surface tension is 30 dyne / d. cm or less, and is formed by coating a fluorine-based resin material such as PTFE and PFA. By using a fluorine-based resin, a desired surface layer 49 can be easily formed at low cost.

Next, a second embodiment of the transfer board 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the transfer board along the transfer direction, FIG. 8 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view of the transfer board along a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction, and FIG. 9 is a transfer path of the transfer board. Plan view of the substrate,
FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the transport path substrate.

The transfer path board 42 of the transfer board 30 has groove-shaped transfer paths 48a and 48b formed in the insulating substrate 47. A plurality of transport paths 48a are formed linearly along the transport direction and at predetermined intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction. A plurality of transport paths 48b are formed at predetermined intervals at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the electrodes 46. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

Next, a third embodiment of the transfer board 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer path substrate of the transfer substrate. The transfer path substrate 42 of the transfer substrate 30 has a plurality of transfer paths 48 as transfer paths formed along the transfer direction on the insulating substrate 47 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. A layer 49 is formed. In this case, in the direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, the plurality of transport paths 48 have a sparse arrangement density in the central area A and a high arrangement density in the areas B, B on both sides (the density is B
> A). The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the transfer board 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer path substrate of the transfer substrate. The transport path substrate 42 of the transport substrate 30 is formed with a plurality of transport paths 48 as transport paths in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction along the transport direction on the insulating substrate 47 as in the first embodiment. A surface layer 49 is formed on the surface of the insulating substrate 47. Here, in the direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, the plurality of transport paths 48 have a dense arrangement density in the central region A and a low arrangement density in the regions B, B on both sides (density is A> B).
The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the transfer substrate 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view along the transfer direction of the transfer board, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional explanatory view along a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer substrate.

An electrode substrate 41, which is the first substrate of the transfer substrate 30, has an insulating film 52 formed on a conductive support substrate 51, and an electrode 46 formed on the insulating film 52.
An insulating film 53 is formed on the entire surface including the surface, and the insulating film 5 is further formed.
A semiconductor film 54 is formed on the semiconductor film 54 as a shield layer, and the transfer path substrate 42 is bonded onto the semiconductor film 54, so that the semiconductor film 54 is provided between the electrode 46 and the transfer path substrate 42.
Is interposed. Although not shown, the semiconductor film 54 is grounded. Further, as the shield layer, the semiconductor film 54
Alternatively, a conductor film can be used.

Next, the transfer board 3 of the toner transfer device 31
The toner transport operation according to 0 and 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the toner transport device 31, as shown in FIG.
30 three electrodes 46, 46, 46 as one set,
A three-phase drive voltage (drive waveform) Va, Vb,
Driving circuit (driver) 6 for applying Vc to each electrode
0 and 60 are provided. The drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc output from the drive circuit 60 each have a slight delay time, and each of the drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc has a positive potential, a negative potential, and a zero potential (not applied). It is a voltage waveform having three values.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
There is a positively charged toner T on the upper side, and a plurality of continuous electrodes 46 of the transport substrate 30 have "-",
When “+”, “0”, “−”, and “+” are applied and the positively charged toner T is positioned on the “0” electrode 46, the positively charged toner T Since a repulsive force acts on the electrode 46 and a suction force acts on the right "-" electrode 46, the positively charged toner T moves to the "-" electrode 46 side.

Here, for example, the three-phase drive voltages Va, Vb,
When Vc is applied to each of the three electrodes 46, the voltages applied to the plurality of continuous electrodes 46 of the transfer substrate 30 are "0", "-", "+", and "0", respectively, as shown by. ,
It changes like "-". Therefore, no force acts between the electrode 46 changed from “−” to “0” and the positively charged toner T, and the positively charged toner T changes from “0” to “+”.
Between the positive electrode 46 and the negative electrode 46, the repulsive force changes from “+” to “−”
The positively charged toner T further moves toward the "-" electrode 46 because the suction force acts between the negative electrode 46 and the negative electrode 46.

By positively moving the drive waveform by changing the potential of the drive waveform applied to the electrode 46 in this manner, the positively charged toner T moves while being pulled by the "-" electrode 46 side. The positively charged toner T is transported along the transport surface of the substrate 30. In the case of negatively charged toner, if the driving waveform change pattern is reversed, the toner is conveyed in the same direction as in FIG. Hereinafter, the description will be made with reference to the positively charged toner.

The change pattern of the three-phase drive voltages Va, Vb, and Vc applied from the drive circuit 60 to each electrode 46 of the transfer board 30 is not limited to the above example. For example, as shown in FIG. Without using “0”, the driving waveform for two consecutive electrodes 46 of the three electrodes 46 is “−”, and the driving waveform for the other one electrode 46 is “+”.
The positively charged toner T is transported to the transport substrate 30 along the transport surface.

When a change pattern reverse to that of FIG. 17 is used as shown in FIG. 19 as a change pattern of the three-phase drive voltages Va, Vb, Vc, the positively charged toner T is transported in the direction opposite to that of FIG. . Similarly, as shown in FIG. 20, even if a change pattern reverse to that of FIG.
Conveyed in the opposite direction.

Here, since the transport substrate 30 has the transport path 48 including the toner transport surface having the surface layer 49 having a small contact resistance with the toner formed on the surface of the insulative substrate 47, the toner is sufficient for the toner. A large amount of toner can be surely conveyed by an appropriate conveying force. Further, since the transport path 48 is formed by the groove, the toner can be transported along the groove, and more toner can be transported more reliably.

As described above, the first substrate on which the electrodes are provided on the support member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction along the transport direction substantially in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval, and the toner on the surface of the insulating member. By configuring a toner transport device including a transport substrate formed by laminating a second substrate forming a transport surface having a small contact resistance and a surface layer, a sufficient transport force can be applied to the toner, The toner can be reliably electrostatically transported.

Here, specific examples of the above-described first to fourth embodiments of the transfer substrate 30 will be described. The transfer substrate 30 of the first embodiment was formed as follows. Using a low expansion glass as a support substrate 45 of the electrode substrate 41 of the transfer substrate 30, a concave portion (groove portion) for forming the electrode 46 is formed by etching, and an electrode material such as Al, Ni—Cr is formed on the entire surface.
A plurality of strip electrodes 46 were formed using the photolithography technique. On the other hand, as the insulating substrate 47 of the transport path substrate 42, 15
The electrode substrate 41 is formed using a polyimide film having a thickness of 0 μm.
50 μm width so as to be perpendicular to the electrode 46 of
A pattern having a pitch of 40 μm was formed, and was etched to a depth of 100 to 140 μm in an oxygen atmosphere by a dry etching apparatus to form a groove-shaped transport path 48 including a transport surface.

Then, the polyimide film as the insulating substrate 47 (insulating member) and the low expansion glass as the supporting substrate 45 are superposed on each other in a direction in which the transport path 48 and the electrode 46 are substantially perpendicular to each other. And joined. Thereafter, the entire surface of the transport path substrate 42 is coated with a fluororesin (PFA, PTFE, etc.), which is a material having a critical surface tension of 30 dyne / cm or less for reducing the contact resistance at the interface of the charged toner, and the surface layer 4
9 was formed.

Using the transfer board 30 of this specific example, FIG.
When a drive waveform was applied from the drive circuit 60 shown in FIG. 7, it was confirmed that the charged toner moved in a predetermined direction.

Next, the transfer substrate 30 of the second embodiment was formed as follows. Using a low expansion glass as a support substrate 45 of the electrode substrate 41 of the transfer substrate 30, a concave portion (groove portion) for forming the electrode 46 is formed by etching, and Al, N
An electrode material such as i-Cr is formed into a film, and a plurality of strip-shaped electrodes 46 are formed by using a photolithography technique, and an insulating film having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.2 μm is formed on the entire surface except for a lead-out portion of the electrode 46. Was formed. Then, a photosensitive resin (dry film resist) serving as an insulating substrate 47 (insulating member) of the transport path substrate 42 is bonded onto the insulating film, and the dry film resist is bonded to the electrode substrate as shown in FIG. Each groove-shaped transport path 48 in a direction perpendicular to the electrode 46 and at an angle of 45 ° to the electrode 46
a, 48b are formed, and a fluororesin (PFA, P
The surface layer 49 was formed by coating with TFE or the like. At this time, the gap between the bottom surfaces of the transport paths 48a and 48b and the electrodes 46 is 0.3 to 2.2 μm.

Using the transfer board 30 of this embodiment, FIG.
When a drive waveform was applied from the drive circuit 60 shown in FIG. 7, it was confirmed that the charged toner moved in a predetermined direction.

Next, the transfer board 30 of the third embodiment is
Although the above specific example of the embodiment is used, a plurality of transport paths 4
In No. 8, the arrangement density in the central region A was equivalent to 150 dpi, and the arrangement density in the regions B, B on both sides was equivalent to 300 dpi. The transport substrate 30 of the fourth embodiment uses the above-described specific example of the first embodiment.
Is equivalent to an arrangement density of 300 dpi in the central area A,
The arrangement density in the regions B on both sides was set to 150 dpi.

When a drive waveform was applied from the drive circuit 60 shown in FIG. 15 using the transport substrate 30 of these specific examples, it was confirmed that the charged toner moved in a predetermined direction.

The transfer substrate 30 of the specific example of each of these embodiments
With respect to the above, using an experimental apparatus, the toner scattering and the toner conveyance state to the photosensitive member facing portion (the portion facing the photosensitive drum 1) were evaluated by video observation. Regarding toner scattering, toner scattering was not observed in any of the examples. This is presumed to be because the toner was strongly carried on the transport substrate 30 by electrostatic force in any case. Regarding the toner transport state, the case of the second embodiment is most preferable, and the order of the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, and the first embodiment is in that order. This is because the conveyance path 48 to the photoconductor facing portion is
(48a, 48b) density, drive electrode 46 and transport path 4
8 (48a, 48b) is presumed to depend on the gap at the bottom surface. Therefore, the gap between the electrode 46 and the transport path 48 is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 50 μm, and particularly preferably in the range of 0.5 to 10 μm.

In the case where the transfer substrate 30 of the fifth embodiment is used, the residual charge is easily generated by forming the transfer path 48 with an insulating material. Accordingly, the residual charge can be released, and a decrease in the electrostatic force with time due to the residual charge can be prevented, thereby improving the reliability.

Next, although the number of the transfer substrates 30 constituting the toner transfer device 31 may be one, in this embodiment, two transfer substrates 30 and 30 are used to transfer the transfer path 4 of the transfer substrate 30.
8 (48a, 48b) are arranged facing each other. At this time, the facing distance between the two transfer substrates 30 is in the range of 30 to 200 μm.

By using a plurality of transfer substrates 30 in this manner, the amount of toner that can be transferred per unit time can be increased, and the amount of toner to be transferred can be controlled by selecting the transfer substrate 30 to be driven. Will be able to

Next, the transport path member 33 and the reverse transport path member 39 constituting the developing device 6 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the conveyance path member. The transport path member 33 and the reverse transport path member 39 are formed along a transport direction by forming a set of three electrodes 72, 72,... On an insulating FPC board 71 as a support member. A surface coating layer that is provided in parallel in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and further has an insulative transport surface forming member 73 that forms a transport surface, and a surface coating layer that reduces contact resistance with toner on the surface of the transport surface forming member 73. 74 is formed.

The transport path member 33 and the reverse transport path member 39 also apply drive waveforms to the electrodes 7 similarly to the transport substrate 30 described above.
2, the charged toner can be electrostatically conveyed. The electrode 72 is the electrode 46 of the electrode substrate 41 of the transport substrate 30, the transport surface forming member 73 is the same as the insulating substrate 47 of the transport path substrate 42, and the surface coat layer 74 is the material described as the surface layer 49. Can be used. By using a deformable support member as a member on which the electrodes are provided, the arrangement becomes easier. Such a deformable support member can also be used as the support member for the transfer substrate described above.

Next, the developing operation using the developing device 6 in the image forming apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a view for explaining the developing principle of the image forming apparatus. First, as shown in the figure, the drive circuits 60, 60 for the transport substrates 30, 30 of the toner transport device 31 of the developing device 6 transmit the drive waveform V as described above.
By applying a, Vb, and Vc, the positively charged toner T is transported along the transport path 48 in a direction facing the photosensitive drum 1 and is sequentially supplied to the photosensitive drum 1 from the ejection side. . As a result, the ejected positively charged toner T adheres to a portion (image portion) on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 where negative charges are present, and the latent image is developed.

At this time, an AC voltage from an AC power supply 81 is applied to the ejection side of the transfer substrates 30, 30, and
When an AC electric field is generated between 0 and 30, the transfer substrate 3
An AC electric field causes the toner T spouted from 0 and 30 to be in a cloud state, and a toner cloud 82 is generated, and the toner uniformly adheres to the latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, thereby improving image quality.

As described above, the developing device is provided with the toner transport device according to the present invention, which transports the charged toner along the transport surface of the transport substrate with electrostatic force, and supplies and adheres the toner to the latent image carrier. As a result, the toner can be directly attached to the surface of the latent image carrier without contact, so that the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

Further, the deterioration of the toner is reduced as compared with the case where the developing roller is used as the developing means. That is, usually
The toner is charged by frictional charging, a film is formed on a developing roller together with a magnetic carrier, and the toner electrostatically attached to the carrier is formed into a magnetic brush, and is developed by being brought into contact with a latent image carrier. The mixture is kneaded by the developing roller, and is further pulverized into fine powder, SiO ₂ , TiO _{2
For example} , the additive is imprinted on the resin part of the toner such as _{2 and the} like, so that the characteristic of the toner is deteriorated and the function is impaired. On the other hand, by transporting the toner on the transport substrate as described above, the toner is further pulverized into fine powder,
Additives such as SiO ₂ and TiO ₂ are not imprinted on the resin portion of the toner, and characteristic deterioration is reduced.

Further, since the toner is conveyed to the latent image carrier without rotating the developer carrier such as the developing roller, the toner is not fixed in the developing device, and the toner is carried by electrostatic force. It is possible to reduce the scattering of toner from the seal portion around the developing portion, and to improve the image quality. Further, since the developing device can be formed compactly without using a special material, the cost can be reduced.

Next, the toner collecting operation of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the toner collecting operation. As described above, the toner flies from the transfer substrates 30 and 30 and adheres to the latent image area on the photosensitive drum 1, but not all the toner is used for development.
Some toner flies from 0 but is not subjected to development.

Therefore, toner gutters 38, 38 are provided on the outer side of the transfer substrates 30, 30, and the unused toner to be separated from the developing device 6 is adhered and collected. The toner gutters 38, 38 are provided with the reverse transport path members 39, 39 as described above.
39 also transports the toner to the supply side (the other end side) by electrostatic force with the same configuration as the transport substrates 30 and 30 described above, returns the toner to the toner box 32, and reuses the toner.

By providing the collecting means for collecting the unused toner flying from the transfer board 30 as described above,
The toner can be prevented from being scattered, and the collection means is provided with a means for conveying the toner to the supply side by electrostatic force, so that the toner can be reused and the cost can be reduced.

When a forward / reverse bias voltage is applied to the toner gutter 38 alternately with the toner, the toner is sucked and released, so that the scattered toner is collected and the collected toner is conveyed again. The substrate 30 can be returned to the ejection side and reused. In this case, it is not always necessary to return the collected toner to the toner box section 32 by the reverse conveyance path member 39.

Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a main part explanatory view for explaining a portion related to the toner conveying device 31 of the developing device 6. In this embodiment, the developing device 6
Each electrode 4 of the transfer substrates 30 of the toner transfer device 31
The drive circuit 91 that applies a drive waveform to the electrodes 6, 46,... Has three types of three-phase drive waveforms Va1, Vb1, Vc1 and three phases of frequency f2 for each electrode 46 of the transfer board 30. Drive waveforms Va2, Vb2, Vc2 of
Three-phase drive waveform Va of frequency f3 (f1>f2> f3)
3, Vb3 and Vc3 are output.

Then, the three-phase driving waveforms Va1, Vb1, Vc1 having the frequency f1 of the driving circuit 61 are applied to the electrodes 46, 46,...
Of the three-phase drive waveforms Va2, Vb2, and Vc2
, The electrodes 46, 46,...
Of the three-phase drive waveforms Va3, Vb3, and Vc3
Are applied to the electrodes 46, 46,... In a required area on the supply side of 0, respectively. The other configuration is the same as that of the developing device 6 of the embodiment, and the description and illustration are omitted.

With this configuration, the transport substrate 3
Drive waveforms Va, V applied to the respective electrodes 46 of 0, 30
The frequencies of b and Vc increase stepwise (in this example, three steps of f3, f2, and f1) from the supply side to the ejection side.
Here, since the suction force and the repulsion force acting on the charged toner change in a single time as the frequency of the drive waveform increases, the toner given from the supply side of the transport substrate 30 is:
As the frequency of the drive waveform applied to the electrodes 46, 46,... Increases, the moving speed increases, so that the toner is transported while being accelerated along the transport surface of the transport substrate 30, and is exposed from the ejection side (one end side). Fly toward the body drum 1.

As described above, the toner can be accelerated and fly toward the latent image carrier by applying the drive waveform with the frequency changed stepwise, so that the toner adheres to the latent image carrier more reliably. Can be done.

Next, a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 25 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the conveyance direction showing a sixth embodiment of the transfer board of the toner transfer device of the developing device in the same embodiment, FIG. 26 is a plan view of the transfer board, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a driving unit of the toner conveying device.

In this embodiment, the electrodes 46, 46,... Of the transfer board 30 of the toner transfer device 31 are arranged so as to be closer to the ejection side in the transfer direction. That is,
For example, as shown in FIG. 26, from the toner supply side to the toner ejection side, the electrodes 46 are arranged at 100 μm intervals in the region C, the electrodes 46 are arranged at 20 μm intervals in the region D, and the electrodes 46 are arranged at 10 μm intervals in the region E. In the region F, the electrode 46 is
They are arranged at intervals of μm. The width of the electrode 46 is set to 10 μm, assuming that the average particle size of the toner is 8 μm. The drive circuit 60 of the first embodiment applies a drive waveform to the electrodes 46, 46,... Of the transfer board 30.

In the case of such a configuration, the transfer substrate 30
As described above, since the arrangement interval of the electrodes 46 becomes narrower toward the one end side (ejection side) as described above, the suction force and the repulsive force act on the charged toner T more strongly.
The transport speed of the toner T gradually increases toward the ejection side and is accelerated, and the toner T finally flies (is ejected) from one end of the transport substrate 30.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of the image forming apparatus. In this embodiment, a toner transfer device 31 having a concave storage portion 90 for storing toner on the supply side of the transfer substrates 30 and 30 is provided, and the toner transfer device 31 shown in FIG. Drive waveforms Va, Vb, V
A drive circuit 91 for changing and applying the drive voltage c, and a drive circuit for changing and applying the drive waveforms Va, Vb and Vc to the lower transfer substrate 30 in a change pattern opposite to that shown in FIG. 8 as shown in FIG. And a circuit 92.

With this configuration, the toner is transported from the upper transport substrate 30 of the toner transport device 31 and ejected or flies toward the photosensitive drum 1 in the same manner as described above, but the lower transport is carried out. Since the drive waveform of the reverse change pattern is applied to the substrate 30, the toner is transported in the reverse direction (the direction from the ejection side to the supply side).

Therefore, the toner that rebounds without adhering to the photosensitive drum 1 is transported to the supply side by the lower transport substrate 30 and returned to the accumulation section 90.
The toner returned to the storage unit 90 of the upper transport substrate 30
While being transferred to the developing station. by this,
Effective utilization of toner can be achieved, and scattering of recoil toner can be prevented to improve image quality.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a main part of the image forming apparatus. In this embodiment, the drive waveform V is applied to the upper transfer substrate 30 of the toner transfer device 31 in a change pattern as shown in FIG.
a driving circuit 91 for changing and applying a, Vb, and Vc;
A mode in which the drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc are changed and applied to the lower transfer substrate 30 in a change pattern as shown in FIG. 18 and a drive pattern reverse to that in FIG. 18 as shown in FIG. A drive circuit 93 having a mode in which the waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc are changed and applied.

Then, a mode switching signal for switching modes is given to the drive circuit 93 from a control unit (not shown). The mode switching signal is a signal for selecting a mode to be applied by changing the drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc in a change pattern as shown in FIG. 20, for example, when the image forming apparatus is on standby.

With such a configuration, during recording for forming a normal image, the drive circuit 93 also applies the drive waveforms Va, Vb, Since Vc is changed and applied, both the upper and lower transfer substrates 30 and 30 transfer the toner to the flying side and fly, and fly the toner with a transfer amount twice that of one transfer substrate 30 for development. Can be.

In the standby mode, the drive circuit 93 changes and applies drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc to the lower transfer substrate 30 in a change pattern as shown in FIG. The transfer substrate 30 of the transfer substrate transports the toner in the reverse direction.
It is in a state of being circulated between 0 and 30, and does not fly. As described above, since the toner does not fly during standby or the like, the scattering of the toner is more reliably prevented, and the image quality can be improved.

Further, by providing two transfer substrates as described above, one of the transfer substrates is used as a transfer substrate for flying toner and also as a reverse transfer substrate for transferring toner to the supply side. The configuration is simplified.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 31 is an explanatory view of a main part of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 32 is a perspective explanatory view of a toner jet head of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 33 is an electrode of a control board of the toner jet head. It is a perspective explanatory view explaining a pattern.

This image forming apparatus includes a toner jet head 100 that flies charged toner in accordance with an image signal.
It has. The toner jet head 100 has a transport substrate 101 and a control substrate 102 facing each other.

As shown in FIG. 32, the transfer substrate 101 has the same configuration as the transfer substrate 30 described in the above embodiment, and a large number of electrodes 116, 116 are provided on a long flat support substrate 115. ,... Are formed as one set, and a transfer surface is formed on an electrode substrate 111 which is a first substrate provided at predetermined intervals along the transfer direction in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transfer direction, and an insulating substrate 117. The transfer path 118 is formed at a pixel density, and the transfer path substrate 112 on which a surface layer 119 for reducing the contact resistance with the toner is formed is bonded to the surface, and the toner is electrostatically transferred along the transfer surface. To be transported.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 33, the control board 102 sets a large number of three first electrodes 122, 122,... Are provided in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transport direction along the line, and cover the electrodes 122, 122,.
Are arranged on the insulating protective film 123 in a pixel unit along a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and a large number of second electrodes (individual electrodes) 124, 124.
Are formed by forming a protective film 125 covering the...

In this image forming apparatus, the transport substrate 1
By giving the drive waveform described in the embodiment to each electrode 116 of No. 01, the transport substrate 101 transports toner similarly to the transport substrate 30 described above. On the other hand, with respect to the first electrode 122 of the control substrate 102, the transfer substrate 101
In the same manner as described above, the toner is reversely conveyed to the supply side and circulates in the same manner as described above.

Here, the control substrate 102 is controlled according to the pixel signal.
When a drive waveform that generates an electric field that repels the charged toner with respect to the second electrode 124 is applied,
The toner transported by the transport substrate 101 is transferred to the transport substrate 10.
When a driving waveform for generating an electric field that ejects and flies out of the substrate 1 and attracts charged toner is applied, the transfer substrate 101
Then, the toner conveyed to the ejection side is suction-transferred to the control substrate 102 side. That is, by changing the drive waveform applied to the second electrode 124 of the control substrate 102 according to the pixel signal, it is possible to control the flying / non-flying of the toner from the transport substrate 101 in pixel units, so-called on-demand type toner. A jet head is obtained.

Therefore, the toner jet head 1
By attaching the toner flying from 00 to the recording medium T, a toner image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the recording medium T. This is subjected to a fixing process, whereby an image can be formed on the recording medium 130.

As described above, in this image forming apparatus, a latent image carrier is not required, and an image forming apparatus having a simple structure can be obtained. Further, since non-flying toner is circulated by controlling the flying / non-flying of the toner in pixel units, the saturation charge of the toner can be maintained, and the detachment and scattering of the toner are reduced.

Next, a developing device provided with the toner supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the developing device, and FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of a toner supply device in the developing device.

This developing device includes a developing roller 141 as a developing means for attaching toner to the latent image on the photosensitive drum 1.
A toner supply device 142 that conveys and flies the toner supplied from the toner hopper is provided on the side that supplies the toner to the (toner conveyance device 31 according to the invention).

The toner supply device 142 includes a plurality of transfer substrates 30 (including a case where the toner is caused to fly by a drive circuit) in the toner transfer device 31 described in each of the above-described embodiments. The toner charged by the roller 143 or the like is caused to fly toward the developing roller 141 while being sequentially transported by the transport substrate 30. A reverse transport substrate 1 for transporting the toner to the supply side is provided below the transport substrate 30.
44 are arranged.

By providing such a toner supply device 142, it is possible to supply a toner having a substantially uniform charge amount and mass to the developing roller 141, and it is possible to collect extremely fine toner without supplying the toner to the developing roller 141.

That is, as shown in FIG. 34, when the toner is conveyed and flies by using the above-described conveyance substrates 30, 30, the toner conveyance and the flying speed are determined by the charge amount q of the toner.
And the mass m, and the flying distance also varies depending on the initial flying speed, such as toner T1, T2, and T3. Therefore, by flying the toner, it is possible to select (classify) only the toner having a required flying distance.

Therefore, of the toner that flies from the toner supply device 142, the toner for which the flight distance is not obtained is collected by the reverse transport board 144 and returned to the supply side, or
A discharge accumulation unit is provided to accumulate and not to supply to the developing roller 141. At this time, since the flying distance of the toner having a small particle diameter is relatively short, the toner is not supplied to the developing roller 141. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the use of an extremely small toner of less than 5 μm for development. The toner can be made uniform. This toner supply device can be similarly applied to the above-described flying image forming apparatus.

[0104]

As described above, according to the toner conveying device of the present invention, the electrodes are provided on the support member at predetermined intervals substantially in parallel with each other in the direction intersecting the conveying direction. A second substrate having a first substrate and a transport surface having a surface layer having a small contact resistance with toner formed on the surface of the insulating member;
Since the transfer substrate provided with the substrate is provided, the toner can be reliably transferred by the electrostatic force, and the developing device and the image forming apparatus including the developing device can be reduced in size and cost. become able to.

Here, the electrode is 〜１０ to 10 of the toner particle size.
By arranging at a pitch of 0 times, the toner can be transported more reliably. Further, by forming the surface layer from a material whose critical surface tension does not exceed 30 dyne / cm, the contact resistance to the toner is reduced, and the toner can be transported reliably at a low voltage. In this case, a surface layer having low contact resistance can be easily formed by using a fluorine resin material as the material.

Further, a conductor film or a semiconductor film is formed between the electrodes of the first substrate and the insulating substrate of the second substrate via an insulating film between the electrodes, so that the residual film on the insulating substrate is formed. The charge can be reduced, and the toner can be transported stably with high reliability over time.

Further, by forming a groove that forms a transport path including a transport surface in the second substrate, the toner can be efficiently guided in the transport direction. In this case, by forming the grooves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the electrodes and in a direction forming an angle of about 45 degrees, the toner transport amount can be stably increased, and the toner transportability is improved. Further, by forming the grooves so as to have density in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, it is possible to increase the toner transport amount and secure a stable toner transport amount.

Further, the distance between the electrode surface and the transfer surface is set to 0.1.
When the thickness is in the range of 5 to 10 μm, the toner can be reliably transported at a low driving voltage.

Further, by providing at least two transfer substrates, the amount of toner can be increased.
In this case, by arranging the two transfer substrates with the transfer surfaces facing each other, the toner can be reversely transferred and circulated between the transfer substrates when toner transfer is unnecessary.

According to the developing device of the present invention, since the toner conveying device of the present invention is provided for adhering toner on the latent image carrier, the size and cost of the device can be reduced. Toner scattering and the like can be reduced.

Here, the transfer substrate of the toner transfer device is configured such that the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transfer direction, so that the toner can be transferred while being accelerated. In addition, since the toner supply device has a storage unit for storing toner on the toner supply side of the transfer board, unnecessary toner can be collected and stored, or the supplied toner can be temporarily stored. And the amount of toner transported can be secured.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the developing device for developing the latent image on the latent image carrier by attaching toner onto the latent image carrier is the developing device of the present invention. It is possible to reduce the size and cost of the device, and to improve the image quality without toner scattering.

Here, by providing a means for applying a drive waveform having a higher frequency to the downstream electrode in the transport direction of the electrodes of the toner transport device of the developing device than the upstream electrode in the transport direction, the toner is provided. It can be transported while accelerating and can be made to fly toward the latent image carrier, so that the toner can be more securely attached and the image quality is improved.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, an image forming apparatus for forming an image by adhering toner on a recording medium is provided with the toner conveying device of the present invention. A flying image forming apparatus can be obtained at a low cost.

Here, the transfer board of the toner transfer apparatus has a configuration in which the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transfer direction, so that the toner can be made to fly with a simple circuit configuration. In addition, it is also possible to provide a means for applying a drive waveform having a higher frequency to an electrode on the downstream side in the transport direction than an electrode on the upstream side in the transport direction among the electrodes of the toner transport device,
The toner can fly with a simple substrate configuration. Further, the toner transport device has a transport substrate that transports and flies the toner, and a control substrate that is disposed to face the transport surface of the transport substrate and controls flying / non-flying of the toner from the transport substrate. This makes it possible to obtain a low-cost flying image forming apparatus with a simple configuration.

According to the toner supply device of the present invention, the toner supply device for supplying the toner to the developing device includes the toner transport device of the present invention for transporting the toner to the developing device. The charge amount / mass (q / m) of the toner flying up to the above can be made uniform, and the extremely fine toner can be prevented from being supplied to the developing unit from the developing unit.

Here, the transfer board of the toner transfer apparatus is configured such that the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transfer direction, so that the toner can be transferred while being accelerated and fly. . The provision of a means for applying a drive waveform having a higher frequency to the electrode on the downstream side in the transport direction among the electrodes of the toner transport device than the electrode on the upstream side in the transport direction can also transport and fly the toner while accelerating. Will be able to do it.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a developing device of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view along a transport direction of a transport substrate according to a first embodiment in the toner transport device of the developing device.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part along a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view of an electrode substrate of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer path substrate of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view along a transport direction of a transport substrate according to a second embodiment in the toner transport device of the developing device.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part along a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer path substrate of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of an essential part of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer path substrate of a transfer substrate according to a third embodiment in the toner transfer device of the developing device.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer path substrate of a transfer substrate according to a fourth embodiment in the toner transfer device of the developing device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view along a transport direction of a transport substrate according to a fifth embodiment in the toner transport device of the developing device.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part along a direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a driving unit of the toner conveying device.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the principle of toner transfer by the transfer substrate;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a change pattern of a drive waveform applied to the transfer substrate.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of a change pattern of the drive waveform applied to the transfer substrate.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram for explaining still another example of the change pattern of the drive waveform applied to the transfer substrate.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram for explaining still another example of the change pattern of the drive waveform applied to the transfer substrate.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a conveyance path member and a reverse conveyance path member of the developing device.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the principle of the developing operation in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a toner collecting operation in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory view of a main part of a toner conveying device of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view along the transport direction of the transport substrate of the toner transport device of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory plan view of the transfer board.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a driving unit of the toner conveying device.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram of main parts of a toner conveying device part of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram of main parts of a toner conveying device part of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining a toner conveying device of the image forming apparatus;

FIG. 32 is an explanatory perspective view for explaining a control board of the toner conveying device;

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus including the toner supply device according to the invention.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram for describing a toner classification operation performed by the toner supply device;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photoreceptor drum (latent image carrier), 5, 8 ... Scanning optical system, 13 ... Polygon mirror, 15 ... Charging device, 16 ... Developing device, 17A, 17B ... Feeding unit, 20 ... Transfer charger, 21 ... Separation charger, 23: fixing roller pair, 3
0: transport substrate, 31: toner transport device, 33: transport path member, 38: toner gutter, 39: reverse transport path member, 41:
Electrode substrate, 42 ... transport path substrate, 45 ... support substrate, 46 ...
Electrodes, 47: insulating substrate, 48: transport path, 49: surface layer, 60: drive circuit, 90: storage unit, 100: toner transport device, 101: transport substrate, 102: control substrate, 142
... Toner supply device.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yoichiro Miyaguchi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Takeshi Takemoto 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Makoto Shino 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. (reference) 2H077 AC13 EA11 EA16 EA20

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A toner transport device for transporting toner by electrostatic force, comprising: a first substrate provided on a support member with electrodes substantially parallel to each other at predetermined intervals in a direction crossing the transport direction; A toner transport device, comprising: a transport substrate formed by laminating a second substrate having a transport surface having a surface layer with a small contact resistance with the toner on a surface of an insulating member. 2. The toner conveying device according to claim 1, wherein said electrodes are arranged at a pitch of 1/2 to 100 times the particle size of the toner. 3. The toner conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the surface layer has a critical surface tension of 30 dyne / cm.
A toner conveying device characterized by being formed from a material not exceeding cm. 4. The toner conveying device according to claim 3, wherein the material is a fluororesin material. 5. The toner conveying device according to claim 1, wherein an insulating film is interposed between the electrode of the first substrate and the insulating substrate of the second substrate. And a conductive film or a semiconductor film. 6. The toner transport device according to claim 1, wherein a groove forming a transport path including the transport surface is formed in the second substrate. 7. The toner conveying device according to claim 6, wherein the groove is formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the electrode and in a direction forming an angle of approximately 45 degrees. 8. The toner conveying device according to claim 6, wherein the grooves are formed to have density in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction. 9. The toner conveying device according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the electrode surface and the conveying surface is within a range of 0.5 to 10 μm. . 10. The toner transport device according to claim 1, further comprising at least two transport substrates. 11. The toner transport device according to claim 10, wherein the two transport substrates are disposed with their transport surfaces facing each other. 12. A developing apparatus for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier by adhering toner onto the latent image carrier, comprising the toner conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. A developing device, characterized in that: 13. The developing device according to claim 12, wherein the arrangement interval of the electrodes is narrower toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport substrate of the toner transport device. 14. The developing device according to claim 12, further comprising a storage section for storing toner on a toner supply side of the transfer board of the toner transfer device. 15. An image forming apparatus having a developing device for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier by adhering toner onto the latent image carrier, wherein the developing device is any one of claims 12 to 14. An image forming apparatus, which is the developing device according to any one of the preceding claims. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein a driving waveform having a higher frequency than an electrode on the downstream side in the transporting direction among electrodes of the toner transporting device of the developing device with respect to an electrode on the downstream side in the transporting direction. An image forming apparatus comprising: means for applying an image. 17. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by adhering toner on a recording medium, wherein the image forming apparatus forms the image.
An image forming apparatus comprising the toner conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the arrangement interval of the electrodes is narrower toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport substrate of the toner transport device. 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein a driving waveform having a higher frequency is applied to an electrode on the downstream side in the conveying direction among the electrodes of the toner conveying device than an electrode on the upstream side in the conveying direction. An image forming apparatus comprising: 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the toner transport device is arranged to face a transport substrate that transports and flies the toner and a transport surface of the transport substrate. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a control board for controlling the flying / non-flying of the toner from a transport board. 21. A toner supply device for supplying a toner to a developing device, comprising the toner transport device according to claim 1 for transporting the toner to the developing device. Toner supply device. 22. The toner supply device according to claim 17, wherein the arrangement interval of the electrodes becomes narrower toward the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport substrate of the toner transport device. 23. The toner supply device according to claim 21, wherein a driving waveform having a frequency higher than that of an electrode on the downstream side in the transporting direction of an electrode on the downstream side in the transporting direction among the electrodes of the toner transporting device is provided. A toner supply device comprising means for applying the toner.