JP2002258601A - Image forming device, developing device and fine powder carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the cost of an image forming device low, to realize driving to carry toner at low voltage and also to obtain a high-quality image. SOLUTION: This image forming device is equipped with a carrying base board 31 and a driving circuit 42 for pumping the toner by electrostatic force in the vicinity of a photoreceptor drum 1. Driving waveform double-phased in terms of driving frequency is applied to a plurality of carrying base electrodes, which are held within specified frequency.

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, a developing apparatus and a fine powder conveying apparatus.

[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 attaching and developing a visible image to form a visible image, and transferring this toner image to a recording medium (including an intermediate transfer member).

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 not transferred 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.

As a developing device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-19 / 1997
As described in JP-A-7781 and JP-A-9-329947, there is also known a developing method using a so-called jumping developing method in which toner is transferred from a developing roller to a latent image carrier in a non-contact manner.

Further, as a developing device, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As described in JP-A-9615, toner is conveyed on the surface of the developing roller using electrostatic force, and toner is separated from the surface of the developing roller by suction force generated between the developing roller and the latent image carrier. The toner is made to adhere to the latent image carrier by using a toner that adheres to the body surface, or a transport substrate that transports the toner by electrostatic force, as described in JP-A-59-181375. In some cases, the toner is transported to a position, and the toner is separated from the transport surface by suction force generated between the latent image bearing member and the toner adhered to the surface of the latent image bearing member.

Another image forming apparatus is disclosed in
As described in JP-A-1-170591, JP-A-11-115235, and JP-A-11-179951, a control electrode is provided between a developing roller for carrying toner and a recording medium. By arranging back electrodes on the back, and generating an electric field between the back electrode and the developing roller, the toner can fly in the direction of the recording medium, and the flying of the toner is selectively controlled by the control electrode. A so-called flying type image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium is also known.

[0007]

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, when the toner is charged by friction charging or corona discharge charging, saturated charged toner and unsaturated charged toner are mixed and have a large charge distribution. When such a toner is forcibly transferred to the developing roller using a magnetic brush or a transfer roller, the developer once carried on the developing roller at the developing speed of the developing roller (about 100 cm / sec linear velocity) Of these, the toner having a small charge is detached, the toner is scattered, and the formed image is easily stained.

Further, in a developing device that performs so-called jumping development, it is necessary to exchange charged toner with a high voltage, so that a high voltage power supply is required, which leads to an increase in size and cost of the device. There are issues.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has a simple structure, can be manufactured at low cost, and can be driven at a low voltage by using a TPM (Toner-Phase-Match) electrostatic transfer technique. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and a developing apparatus capable of obtaining high image quality, and to provide a fine powder conveying apparatus suitable for the image forming apparatus and the developing apparatus.

[0011]

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a pumping means for pumping toner by electrostatic force near a latent image carrier.

Here, the pumping means applies a multi-phase drive waveform at a drive frequency at which toner is pumped to the transfer board on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals and a plurality of electrodes of the transfer board. Means. In this case, the driving frequency at which the toner is pumped is preferably in the range of 18 KHz to 45 KHz.

The pumping means includes a carrier board on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, and a multi-phase drive in which a drive waveform pattern of each phase temporally overlaps the plurality of electrodes of the carrier board. Means for applying a waveform. In this case, it is preferable that the superposition of the driving waveforms of the respective phases is within the range of 20 to 50% of the driving waveform pattern.

Further, the pumping generating means includes a carrier substrate on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, and means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform having a different polarity to the plurality of electrodes of the carrier substrate. Things.

In the case where a means for applying a driving waveform for pumping the toner is provided, the transport substrate has an integrated area mainly for transporting the toner, and the toner is applied to the electrodes in the area for transporting the toner. It is preferable to include means for applying a drive waveform different from the drive waveform to be pumped. In this case, it is preferable that the driving frequency of the driving waveform applied to the electrode in the region of the transport substrate where the toner is mainly transported is in the range of 1 KHz to 20 KHz.

Furthermore, the pumping means arranges a plurality of electrodes at a predetermined interval and in a plurality of layers via an insulating film, and the electrodes of each layer partially overlap or approach each other in the toner conveying direction between the respective layers. It can be provided with a transfer substrate provided by the above. In this case, it is preferable that the transport substrate has an integrated region mainly for transporting the toner, and is provided with means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform to a plurality of electrodes of the transport substrate.

In these image forming apparatuses, it is preferable to provide a slit for dropping unnecessary toner at a portion where the toner is pumped by the pumping means.

The developing device according to the present invention includes a transport substrate that transports the toner along a transport surface and pumps the toner by electrostatic force.

Here, a multi-phase drive waveform of a drive frequency at which toner causes pumping, or a multi-phase drive waveform in which a drive waveform pattern of each phase is temporally superimposed on the transport substrate,
Alternatively, it is preferable that a plurality of electrodes to which multi-phase driving waveforms having different polarities are applied are provided at required intervals in the toner transport direction.

A plurality of electrodes are arranged on the transfer board in a plurality of layers at a required interval in the toner transfer direction and with an insulating film interposed therebetween in a region where the toner is pumped, and the electrodes of each layer are arranged between the respective layers in the toner transfer direction. It is preferable that a part of them is provided so as to overlap or be close to each other.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image by attaching toner to a recording medium. The image forming apparatus includes a pumping means for pumping toner by electrostatic force, and a pumping means for pumping the toner by electrostatic force. Control means for controlling the passage / blocking of the toner.

Here, the pumping generating means includes a carrier substrate on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, a multi-phase driving waveform of a driving frequency at which toner pumps the plurality of electrodes of the carrier substrate, or It is preferable to include means for applying a multi-phase driving waveform in which the driving waveform patterns of the respective phases are temporally superimposed, or a multi-phase driving waveform having a different polarity.

In addition, the pumping means arranges a plurality of electrodes at required intervals and in a plurality of layers with an insulating film interposed therebetween, and partially overlaps or approaches the electrodes of each layer in the toner conveying direction between the respective layers. It is preferable to provide the provided transfer board.

A fine powder transfer device according to the present invention is a fine powder transfer device provided with a transfer substrate for transferring a fine powder along a transfer surface with an electrostatic force, wherein the fine powder is pumped on the transfer substrate with an electrostatic force. It is provided with a means for causing it to be. In this specification, the term “fine powder” is used to mean particles, fine particles, powder, and the like.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the driving frequency at which the toner is pumped is 0.1 KHz.
It is preferably in the range of 10 to 10 KHz. further,
The distance between the toner conveying surface and the latent image carrier is in the range of 2 to 10 times the toner pumping height, or in the range of 1/2 to 2 times the toner pumping height. It is preferred that Furthermore, it is preferable to dispose a counter electrode facing the latent image carrier with the toner conveyance surface therebetween, and apply a bias voltage between the counter electrode and the latent image carrier.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to 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.

The electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1 is visualized by applying toner to the developing device 16 having the fine powder conveying device according to the present invention. The visual image is the transfer paper (recording medium) 1 fed from the paper feed unit 17A or 17B by the paper feed rollers 18A or 18B.
9 is transferred by corona discharge of the transfer charger 20. The transfer paper 19 to which the visible image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the separation charger 21,
The visible image is conveyed by the conveyance belt 22, passes through the pressure contact portion of the fixing roller pair 23, and is fixed, and is discharged to a discharge tray 24 outside the apparatus.

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, a description will be given of a first embodiment of the developing device 16 provided with the fine powder conveying device according to the present invention in this image forming apparatus with reference to FIGS. 2 is an explanatory view of a developing device portion of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a transport substrate of the developing device, FIG. 4 is a top view of the transport substrate, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for describing application of a drive waveform to a substrate.

The developing device 16 transports the charged toner to the one end side along the transport surface by electrostatic force, and pumps the toner by electrostatic force in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1; A flexible transport substrate 33 for feeding the toner charged on the substrate 31 from the toner box 32; a charging roller 34 for charging the toner to be supplied to the toner box 32; and a charging blade 35 arranged in contact with the peripheral surface of the charging roller 34 And a toner supply screw 3 for stirring the toner in the toner supply unit 36.
7, and a toner collection unit 38 that collects the toner that has come off one end of the transfer board 31 and returns the toner to the toner box unit 32.

The image forming apparatus includes a first drive circuit 41 and a second drive circuit for applying a drive waveform (about 5 to 100 V) for toner transport and toner pumping to the electrodes of the transport substrate 31 of the developing device 16. 42 are provided. A DC bias (approximately 100 to 200 V), which is a developing bias voltage, is applied between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transport substrate 31.
Is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transport substrate 31 has a large number of electrodes 52, 52, 52,... On a support substrate 51 having substantially the same width as the photosensitive drum 1 in the axial direction.
Are arranged in a set at a required interval in the direction perpendicular to the carrying direction along the carrying direction, and an insulating carrying surface forming member 53 for forming a carrying surface is laminated thereon. A surface coat layer 54 for reducing contact resistance with toner is formed on the surface of the surface forming member 53.

Here, as the support substrate 51, an insulating film such as SiO ₂ is formed on a substrate made of an insulating material such as a glass substrate, a resin substrate or a ceramic substrate, or a substrate made of a conductive material such as SUS. Can be used. The electrode 52 is made of Al, Ni-
A conductive material such as Cr is formed in a thickness of 0.1 to 0.2 μm,
This is patterned and formed into an electrode shape using a semiconductor technology such as a photolithography technology. The interval between the electrodes 52 is preferably 2 to 10 times the toner diameter in order to secure a favorable transport speed and transport amount. Further, it is preferable that the width of the electrode 52 is 1 to 3 times the diameter of the toner in order to secure a favorable transport speed and a transport amount.

As the transfer surface forming member 53, for example, Si
O₂, SiON, TiN, Ta₂O ₅Etc. thickness 0.5
It is formed by forming a film with a thickness of １1 μm. This conveying surface forming member
By using a material having a large relative dielectric constant as 53,
As a result, the drive voltage can be reduced,
The drive recoil of the particles (toner) and the transport speed increase. table
The surface coat layer 54 has a contact resistance between the transport surface and the charged toner interface.
Is a film having a function of reducing the amount of PTFE, for example,
0.1-0.3 µm thick fluororesin material such as PFA
It is formed by coating.

The flexible transfer board 33 has the same basic structure as the transfer board 31 except that a large number of electrodes 62 are arranged at required intervals on an insulating FPC board 61 which also serves as a support board and a transfer surface forming member. Then, a surface coat layer 64 is formed on the transfer surface side of the FPC board 61.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first drive circuit (drive power supply) 41 is a set of three electrodes 52, 52, and 52 in a region 55 of the transfer substrate 31 where toner is mainly transferred, and each electrode 52 Pulsed driving voltage (driving waveform) of multiple phases (here, three phases, but it can be six phases)
Va1, Vb1, and Vc1 are applied, respectively. The second drive circuit (drive power supply) 42 includes three electrodes 52, 52 in a region 56 of the transfer board 31 where toner pumping is mainly performed.
52 as one set, and each electrode 52 has two phases (here, 3
It is a phase, but it can be six phases. ) Are applied, respectively, to drive pulses Va2, Vb2, and Vc2.

Here, the first drive circuit 41 outputs pulse drive voltages Va1, Vb1, Vc1 at the first drive frequency f1, and the second drive circuit 42 outputs pulse drive voltages Va2, V2.
b2, Vc2 is a second drive frequency f2 (f2> f1) where toner higher than the first drive frequency f1 causes pumping.
To output. Specifically, the first drive frequency f1 is 1 KH
Within the range of z to 20 KHz, the second drive frequency f2 is 18
It is preferable to select within the high frequency range of KHz to 45 KHz according to the range of the toner diameter to be used, the required conveying speed, the degree of pumping, and the like.

Next, a description will be given of toner conveyance and pumping by electrostatic force by the conveyance substrate 31 of the developing device 16 in the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 6, pulse-shaped drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc that change between the ground G and the positive voltage + are applied to the electrodes 52 of the transport substrate 31 at different timings. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the negatively charged toner T is present on the transfer substrate 31, and “G”, “G”, and “+” are respectively indicated by a plurality of continuous electrodes 52 of the transfer substrate 31. , “G”, and “G” are applied, the negatively charged toner T is located on the “+” electrode 52.

At the next timing, the plurality of electrodes 52 have "+", "G", "G", "+",
“G” is applied, and a repulsive force acts on the negatively charged toner T with the “G” electrode 52 on the left side in the figure and a suction force acts on the negatively charged toner T with the “+” electrode 52 on the right side. , The negatively charged toner T moves to the “+” electrode 52 side. Further, at the next timing, “G”, “+”, “G”, “G”, “+” are respectively applied to the plurality of electrodes 52 as shown in FIG. And the attraction force, respectively, the negatively charged toner T is further applied to the “+” electrode 5.
Move to side 2.

By thus changing the potential of the drive waveform applied to the electrode 52 and apparently moving the drive waveform, the negatively charged toner T moves while being pulled by the "+" electrode 52 side, so that it is conveyed. The negatively charged toner T is transported along the transport surface of the substrate 31. In the case of the positively charged toner, the toner can be conveyed by reversing the drive waveform change pattern.

Here, as the drive frequency of the pulse-like drive waveform applied to the electrode 52 of the transport substrate 31 increases, the moving speed (transport speed) of the toner also increases, but the toner T moves to the "+" electrode 53. When trying to use that electrode 5
When 3 changes to “G”, a pumping phenomenon occurs in which the toner T jumps to move to the next electrode 53 side of the electrode 53.

According to an experiment, when the driving frequency of the pulse-like driving waveform is in the range of 1 KHz to 20 KHz, the toner T is mainly conveyed, and the driving frequency is 18 KHz to 45 KHz.
Within the range, the pumping phenomenon of the toner T became large. In this case, the driving frequencies partially overlap because the occurrence of the pumping phenomenon is also affected by the toner particle size, the driving voltage, and the like.

Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, the first drive circuit 41 applies 1 to the electrodes 52, 52, 52,.
By applying pulse-shaped drive voltages (drive waveforms) Va1, Vb1, and Vc1 having a first drive frequency f1 of KHz to 20 KHz, the toner T is transported to the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1 along the transport surface of the transport substrate 31. I do.

Then, the second drive circuit 42 sends the transfer board 3
18 to 45 KHz for the electrodes 52, 52, 53,... In a region 56 (developing portion) near the photosensitive drum 1 of FIG.
Of the pulse-shaped drive voltage (drive waveform) at the second drive frequency f2
By applying Va2, Vb2, and Vc2, the toner T is pumped in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1 as shown in FIG. That is, the transport substrate 31 and the second drive circuit 42 constitute a pumping means for pumping toner by electrostatic force in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1 as a latent image carrier.

In this case, among the toners T to be pumped, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a toner T that rebounds in the traveling direction of the toner T, but as a whole, it slowly moves in the traveling direction (conveying direction). Be transported. At this time, according to an experiment, the toner being pumped is 50 μm to 300 μm.
m, the toner being pumped is accelerated by the DC bias between the photosensitive drum 1 and the carrier substrate 31 to 500 μm.
It has been confirmed that pumping is diffused to １1 mm.

As described above, the toner is pumped in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1 so that the toner is suction-fixed to the latent image portion formed on the photosensitive drum 1 with a strong Coulomb force. Since the cloning force is weak or the toner is repelled by positive and negative charges and the toner is not fixed, the static image can be developed with the toner. Then, since the toner is pumped and collides with the photosensitive drum 1, unnecessary toner that may adhere to the non-latent image portion and weak adsorption force of the surface layer of the toner multiply adhered to the latent image portion are weak. Since the toner is peeled and removed (this effect is called a scavenger effect), it is possible to obtain an image having sharpness.

In this case, the bias voltage applied to the photosensitive drum 1 for pumping a larger amount of toner is sufficient to be 30 to 200 V as described above.
Low voltage can be achieved. That is, in the conventional so-called jumping developing method, in order to separate the charged toner from the developing roller and transfer it to the photoconductor, an applied voltage higher than the adhesive force of the toner to the developing roller is required.
A bias voltage of ~ 900V must be applied. In contrast, according to the present invention, the adhesive force of the toner is usually 5
Since the pressure is 0 to 200 nN, the adhesive force to the transfer substrate 31 becomes substantially zero due to the pumping, so that a force for peeling the toner from the transfer substrate 31 is not required, and 30 to 20 nN is required.
Even if the bias voltage is 0 V, the toner can be sufficiently transferred to the photoconductor.

As described above, the TPM (Toner-Phase-Mat)
ch) Non-contact transport and development can be performed by using an electrostatic transport technology and by providing a pumping means for pumping toner with electrostatic force near the latent image carrier.
The development roller is free from friction, crushing, scattering, filming, etc. of the toner, and has a simple structure, low cost, low voltage, and sharp high image quality. Become.

Further, by carrying out electrostatic transfer of the toner using the transfer board 31, it is possible to control the micro transfer of the toner by configuring the transfer board 31 between the electrodes with the electrode size corresponding to the toner size. it can. Q / m for toner
Is -15 to 20 μc / g, 2 V / μm
With the above-mentioned electric field strength, it can be transported. Therefore, the drive potential of the drive waveform depends on the electrode configuration of the transport substrate 31, but 5 V to 200 V is sufficient.

As a result, by performing the electrostatic transfer of the toner and the development by the electrostatic pumping of the toner, the portion related to the developing device of the image forming apparatus has a toner transfer voltage of 10%.
Even at 0 V, a developing voltage of ± 200 V, and a low DC bias voltage, development with a large S / N ratio can be performed, and the voltage of the entire apparatus can be further reduced. In addition, the electrostatic transport of the toner causes the electric field (electric field intensity), frequency, waveform,
Further, by controlling the dielectric constant and surface state of the transfer material, and further controlling the force between the surfaces by the interface and shape of the transfer substrate and the critical Eg, the transfer and pumping can be obtained as phenomena. ) Is also extremely small.

Further, as described above, when the toner is pumped by changing the frequency of the drive waveform applied to the transfer substrate (by increasing the drive frequency of the developing unit), the electrode pattern of the transfer substrate is transferred. And the pumping section can be the same, and the configuration of the transfer substrate is simplified.

Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device portion according to the present invention provided with the powder conveying device according to the present invention in the image forming device, and FIG. And FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of driving waveforms output from the same driving circuit.

In this image forming apparatus, the developing device 1
6 with respect to the electrodes 52, 52, 52,.
A drive circuit 46 is provided that applies the phase drive waveforms Va3, Vb3, and Vc3 by superimposing the drive waveform patterns of the phases over time. In other words, the driving circuit 46
As shown in FIG. 11, three-phase driving waveforms Va3, Vb3, and Vc3 in which the driving waveform patterns (pulses) of the respective phases are superimposed for the time Ta are output to the three consecutive electrodes 52.

As described above, the three-phase driving waveforms Va3 and Vb
3. When Vc3 overlaps with time, the toner is pumped because the suction force is simultaneously applied to the charged toner from the two electrodes 52, 52 which become "+". In this case, according to an experiment, when the drive waveform patterns (pulses) of the respective phases are superimposed within a range of 20 to 50% of the pulse width (the superimposition time Ta in FIG.
(At 50%), it was confirmed that the required amount of toner pumping occurred. This is presumed that when the temporal superposition is smaller than 20% of the pulse width, the suction force by the next electrode is weak, and when it exceeds 50%, the suction force by the current electrode is too strong and pumping does not occur much. You.

That is, by providing a drive circuit (means) for applying a multi-phase drive waveform in which the drive waveform patterns of the respective phases are temporally superposed, the toner can be pumped. Can be the same for the transfer unit and the pumping generation unit, and the configuration of the transfer substrate is simplified.

In this case, since the toner is driven by one drive circuit, the toner is transported while being pumped on the transport substrate 31. As in the first embodiment, the toner is mainly transported. A means (such as the first drive circuit 41 of the above-described embodiment) for applying a multi-phase drive waveform in which a drive waveform pattern is not temporally superimposed on an electrode in an area where the operation is performed.
Can also be provided.

Next, a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device part according to the present invention provided with the powder conveying device according to the present invention in the image forming device, and FIG. And FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of driving waveforms output from the same driving circuit.

In this image forming apparatus, the developing device 1
6 with respect to the electrodes 52, 52, 52,.
A drive circuit 47 for applying drive waveforms Va4, Vb4, and Vc4 having different phase polarities is provided. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the drive circuit 47 applies a positive “+” and a ground G to three consecutive electrodes 52 of the transfer substrate 31.
, A pulse-shaped drive waveform Vb4 that changes between negative “−” and ground G, and a pulse-shaped drive waveform V that changes between positive “+” and ground G
Apply c4.

As described above, when the polarities of the three-phase driving waveforms are different (positive / negative polarity and zero potential), the next electrode has the same polarity as the toner with respect to the charged toner to move to the next electrode. Therefore, the toner receives a repulsive force, so that such toner is sent backward, and as a whole, a part of toner is sent backward, and the toner is pumped. In this case, experiments confirmed that the toner was conveyed at a low speed as a whole while pumping.

That is, the provision of the drive circuit (means) for applying the drive waveforms of the two phases having different polarities can also cause the toner to be pumped, and the electrode pattern of the transfer board is formed between the transfer portion and the pumping portion. It can be the same, and the configuration of the transfer substrate is simplified.

In this embodiment, since the toner is driven by one drive circuit, the toner is transported while being pumped on the transport substrate 31, but the toner is mainly transported similarly to the first embodiment. Means (such as the first drive circuit 41 of the first embodiment) for applying a double-phase drive waveform of the same polarity to the electrode in the region where the operation is performed may be provided.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
15 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a developing device portion according to the present invention provided with the powder transport device according to the present invention in the image forming apparatus, FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a transport substrate of the developing device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram which is used for describing electrode arrangement of the transfer substrate.

In this image forming apparatus, the developing device 1
6 is provided with a transfer board 71, and the transfer board 71
And the above-mentioned first drive circuit 41 for applying a drive waveform.

As shown in FIG. 16, the transfer substrate 71 has a large number of electrodes 52, 52, 52... On a support substrate 51 having substantially the same width as the drum 1 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1.
A set of books is arranged at required intervals in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction along the transport direction, and a transport surface forming member 53 that is an insulating layer that forms a transport surface is laminated. In the area where the toner is pumped, three more electrodes 56, 56, 56,... Are set as one set and are arranged at predetermined intervals along the transport direction in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. In addition, a transfer surface forming member 57 which is an insulating layer forming a transfer surface is laminated, and a surface coat layer 54 for reducing contact resistance with toner is formed on the exposed surfaces of the transfer surface forming members 53 and 57. The electrodes 52 and 56 are formed in the pumping region.
Are arranged in a two-layer structure.

Here, the lower electrode 52 and the upper electrode 56
Are arranged close to each other or partially overlapped.
For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the lower electrode 52 has a width W1.
Is 1 to 3 times the toner particle size (here, a value within the range of 10 to 15 μm), and the gap G1 between the electrodes 52, 52 is 2 to 10 times the toner particle size (here, 20 to 100).
It is within the range of μm. ).

On the other hand, the upper electrode 56 overlaps (overlaps) the lower electrode 52 by a width D1 on both sides in the toner movement direction like the electrode 56a, as shown in FIG.
The lower electrode 5 on both sides in the toner movement direction like the electrode 56b
2 and 52 are formed so as to be close to each other, or the electrode 56c
And the lower electrode 52 and the width D2 on both sides in the toner movement direction.
Or a gap of width D2 is formed between the lower electrode 52 and the lower electrode 52 on the downstream side in the toner movement direction like the electrode 56d, and the lower electrode 52 and the width D1 are formed on the upstream side in the toner movement direction. Only overlap (overlap). Here, the upper electrodes 56 are arranged in an overlapping and close pattern as shown in FIG.

The first drive circuit 41 applies three layers of drive waveforms Va1, Vb1, and Vc1 to the transfer board 71.
(These are the driving waveforms of the driving frequency that does not cause toner pumping as described above.) When the charged toner is applied, the repelling force and suction force generated between the lower layer electrode 52 and the upper layer electrode 56 are applied to the charged toner. The toner is pumped because the repulsive force and the suction force generated during the operation overlap.

That is, when the distance between the electrodes 52 is large, the electric field is strong in the horizontal direction (toner conveyance direction), and the toner is conveyed in the horizontal direction on the surface of the substrate 71, but there is no space between the electrodes 52. If (zero), if small,
The charged toner is repelled by the electric field from the lateral direction due to the driving waveform, flies upward in the substrate 71, and toner pumping is developed. In this case, the vertical and horizontal directions of the pumping of the toner and the moving speed of the toner can be controlled by the arrangement pattern of the upper electrode 56.

As described above, by providing a pumping section having a structure in which electrodes are partially overlapped or closely stacked with electrodes on the transfer substrate via an insulating layer, even if only one drive circuit (drive power supply) is provided, And toner pumping can be performed.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 18 is a schematic explanatory view of the developing device portion according to the present invention in the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the developing device portion.

In this image forming apparatus, a transfer board (pumping board) 82 mainly for pumping toner is disposed with a transfer board 31 and a slit 81 therebetween. The width of the slit 81 is, for example, 0.05 to 1 mm. Then, a drive circuit 48 for applying a drive waveform for causing the electrodes of the transfer substrate 31 to perform transfer and pumping, for example, a combination of the above-described first and second drive circuits 41 and 42, a drive circuit 46 or 47 And a driving circuit 49 for applying a driving waveform that causes toner to be pumped to the electrodes of the pumping substrate 82, for example, the second driving circuit 42, the driving circuit 46 or 47, and the like. Things are provided.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 19, the toner T is pumped on the transfer board 31 and adheres and develops according to the latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, and excess toner is And is collected by the toner collecting unit 38. Further, the toner T that has reached the pumping substrate 82 is also pumped by the pumping substrate 82, and is mainly used for developing a scavenger effect for removing multiple toner and unnecessary toner on the photosensitive drum 1.

As described above, by providing a slit for dropping excess toner at the pumping occurrence site, the amount of toner on the transfer board can be maintained to the extent that efficient pumping can be performed.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 20 is a schematic explanatory view of the image forming apparatus, and FIGS. 21 and 22 are explanatory views showing different examples of the aperture member of the image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus includes a transfer board 91 for pumping toner supplied from a toner supply section 90 while transferring the same, and a drive circuit 92 for applying a drive waveform for pumping toner to the electrodes of the transfer board 91. When,
An aperture member 94 is provided between the recording medium 93 to be transported and the transport substrate 91 and includes an intermediate electrode for controlling passage / blocking of toner, and a drive circuit 95 for controlling the aperture member 94 is provided. .

The configuration of the toner supply unit 90 is similar to that of the developing device 16 described above. The transfer board 91 has the same configuration as the transfer board 31 or the transfer board 71 described above. The drive circuit 92 includes the first and second drive circuits 41 and 42 and the drive circuits 46 and 47 described above according to the configuration of the transfer board 91.
The same configuration as above can be adopted.

The recording medium 93 is, for example,
The sheet is conveyed by being electrostatically attracted to a conveyance belt 103 stretched between the first and second belts 102 and 102. A back electrode 104 is arranged at a position opposite to the transfer substrate 91 on the back side of the transfer belt 103,
A DC power supply 105 is provided between the transfer substrate 91 and the back electrode 104.
From the DC bias voltage.

As shown in FIG. 21, for example, the aperture member 94 has a large number of through-holes 97 through which a toner can pass through a substrate 96 made of polyimide, ceramics, or the like. An aperture electrode 98 is formed. Also, for example, as shown in FIG.
A large number of through holes 97 through which the toner can pass can also be formed in a staggered manner. The size and pitch of the through holes 98 of the aperture member 94 are determined according to the target pixel density (dpi). The drive circuit 95 turns on / off a voltage applied to each of the intermediate electrodes 98, 98,... Of the aperture member 94 in accordance with the image signal, thereby opening and closing (toner passing / blocking) the through hole 87 in accordance with the image signal. .

In the image forming apparatus thus configured, the toner is pumped on the transfer board 91, and the pumped toner is applied to the intermediate electrode 9 of the aperture member 94.
8 passes through the through hole 97 which is turned on (passed), and DC
Since the toner flies toward the recording medium 93 and adheres to the recording medium 93 by the bias voltage, the toner adheres to the recording medium 93 according to the formed image. Therefore, an image can be formed by fixing the toner image.

In this case, since the toner is pumped on the transfer board 91, the adhesion to the transfer board 91 becomes almost zero as described above,
This eliminates the need for a force for peeling off the toner, and allows the toner to fly and adhere to the recording medium even with a bias voltage of 30 to 200 V. That is, since the bias is applied and the toner is sucked from the state where the toner is released from the substrate, the image force (Coulomb force) and the initial flying force of the toner peeling from the substrate are not required, and it is easy with a low voltage bias. Can be suctioned.

Further, it is possible to perform direct printing and drawing based on a digital image signal without requiring a latent image carrier (photoconductor), and an intermediate electrode (aperture electrode) can correspond to a pixel so that an arbitrary pixel can be formed. Size and refinement are also possible.

As described above, by pumping the toner with electrostatic force, it is possible to obtain a so-called flying type image forming apparatus having a small number of parts, low power consumption and compactness. In this case, the pumped toner is directly attached to the transfer paper by flying. However, the toner image is formed on an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt, and the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer member to the transfer paper. You can also. Such an intermediate transfer member is also included in the “recording medium”.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this image forming apparatus, the eleventh drive circuit (drive power supply) 111 and the first
2 drive circuit 112. As described above, when the driving frequency is 1 KHz to 20 KHz, the toner is mainly conveyed.
Even within the frequency range of 10 Kz, the pumping phenomenon occurs along with the transport. According to an experiment, it has been confirmed that the toner conveyance speed increases in the range of 9 KHz to 12 KHz. Further, the driving frequency of 18 K
In the range of HZ to 45 KHz, pumping is almost complete, and toner conveyance is extremely small.

In this image forming apparatus, the eleventh drive frequency f11 of 10 KHz to 15 KHz is applied from the eleventh drive circuit 111 to the electrodes 52, 52, 52,. Drive voltage (drive waveform) Va11, Vb11, V
By applying each of c11, the transport operation of transporting the toner T to the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1 along the transport surface of the transport substrate 31 is mainly performed.

.. From the twelfth drive circuit 112 to the three electrodes 52, 52, 52,...
By applying pulse-like drive voltages (drive waveforms) Va12, Vb12, and Vc12 having a twelfth drive frequency f12 of 10 KHz, toner conveyance and toner pumping are performed. As in the above-described embodiments, development can be performed by performing such toner pumping.

Here, the driving frequency and the pumping flying height will be described.
In the range of 45 KHz, the toner pumping behavior matches the high frequency and becomes agile up and down, and the pumping flying height is about 100 to 150 μm. growing.

The driving frequency is 18 KHz to 45 KHz.
, The toner pumping behavior is slower than in the case of the high frequency, but the pumping flying height is 300 to 45.
As a result, the scavenger effect of background contamination against toner adhesion other than the latent image is increased, and low voltage driving can be achieved.

Next, the distance between the toner conveying surface and the latent image carrier (photosensitive member) will be described. The photosensitive member is arranged within a distance of 2 to 10 times the pumping height of the charged toner from the electrostatic conveying surface. By doing so, low potential difference development of 50 V to 100 V becomes possible because there is almost no adhesive force of the toner to the transport substrate.

Further, by disposing the photosensitive member within a distance of 1/2 to 2 times the flying height of the charged toner from the electrostatic transfer surface, there is almost no adhesion of the toner to the transfer substrate. Low potential difference development at 50 V becomes possible, and the scavenger effect of the transported toner increases.

Next, an image forming apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this image forming apparatus, an electrode film 57 facing the photoreceptor 1 is formed on the support substrate 51 as the transport substrate 31 over substantially the entire area of the facing region, and an insulating film 58 is formed on the electrode film 57. The electrode 52, the transfer surface forming member 53, and the surface coat layer 54 are formed on the insulating film 58.

Then, a bias voltage is applied between the electrode film 57 and the photosensitive member 1 from the bias power supply 43 in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. This makes it possible to form a sharp image in which the edge effect of the latent image does not occur.

In the embodiment of the present invention,
Although the description has been given of the example in which the fine powder conveying device according to the present invention is applied to the developing device of the image forming apparatus, the magnitude of the pumping of the toner depends on q / m (charge and mass) of the toner. The present invention can be applied to a classifier for classifying (sorting) fine powder other than toner, as well as to a classifier for classifying only the q / m toner.

[0094]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the pumping means for pumping the toner by electrostatic force near the latent image carrier is provided, the structure is simple and the cost is reduced. And low voltage driving is possible, and high image quality is obtained.

Here, the pumping generation means applies a multi-phase drive waveform at a drive frequency at which toner is pumped to the transfer substrate on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, and to the plurality of electrodes of the transfer substrate. The configuration is simplified by including the means. In this case, since the driving frequency at which the toner is pumped is in the range of 18 KHz to 45 KHz, the toner can be mainly pumped, and the scavenger effect of the background stain on the adhesion of the toner other than the latent image increases.

Further, the pumping generating means includes a transfer substrate on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, and a multi-phase drive in which a drive waveform pattern of each phase is temporally superimposed on the plurality of electrodes of the transfer substrate. The provision of the means for applying a waveform simplifies the configuration. In this case, since the superposition of the driving waveform of each phase is within the range of 20% to 50% of the driving waveform pattern, toner pumping can be reliably generated.

Further, the pumping generating means includes a transfer substrate on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, and means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform having a different polarity to the plurality of electrodes of the transfer substrate. This simplifies the configuration of the transfer substrate.

In the case where a means for applying a drive waveform for pumping the toner is provided, the transport substrate has an integrated area for mainly transporting the toner, and the toner is applied to the electrodes in the area for transporting the toner. By providing a means for applying a driving waveform different from the driving waveform to be pumped, toner conveyance and toner pumping can be generated at different portions. In this case, since the drive frequency of the drive waveform applied to the electrode of the transfer substrate mainly in the region where the toner is transferred is within the range of 1 KHz to 20 KHz,
Mainly, toner conveyance can be performed.

Further, the pumping generation means arranges a plurality of electrodes at a required interval and in a plurality of layers via an insulating film, and the electrodes of each layer partially overlap or approach each other in the toner conveying direction between the respective layers. The configuration on the drive circuit side is simplified by providing the transfer substrate provided in this manner. In this case, the transport substrate integrally has an area where toner is mainly transported,
By providing a means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform to the plurality of electrodes of the transport substrate, toner transport and toner pumping can be performed by the same drive circuit.

In these image forming apparatuses, by providing a slit for dropping unnecessary toner at a portion where the toner is pumped by the pumping means, proper toner pumping can be performed, and the image quality is further improved.

According to the developing device of the present invention, since the transporting substrate for transporting the toner along the transporting surface and pumping the toner by electrostatic force is provided, the configuration can be simplified, the cost can be reduced, and the low voltage driving can be performed. Is obtained.

Here, a multi-phase driving waveform having a driving frequency at which toner is pumped, or a multi-phase driving waveform in which driving waveform patterns of respective phases are temporally superimposed on the transport substrate,
Alternatively, by providing a plurality of electrodes to which multi-phase drive waveforms having different polarities are applied at required intervals in the toner transport direction, the configuration of the transport substrate is simplified.

A plurality of electrodes are arranged on the transfer board in a region where the toner is to be pumped, at a required interval in the toner transfer direction and in multiple layers via an insulating film, and the electrodes of each layer are arranged in the toner transfer direction between the respective layers. The configuration on the drive circuit side is simplified by providing a part of the drive circuit overlapping or close to each other.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for forming an image by adhering toner to a recording medium, wherein the pumping generating means for pumping the toner by electrostatic force and the pumping generating means. Since control means for controlling the passage / blocking of the pumped toner is provided, the structure can be simplified, the cost can be reduced, low voltage driving can be performed, and high image quality can be obtained.

Here, the pumping generation means includes a transfer substrate having a plurality of electrodes arranged at a predetermined interval, a multi-phase drive waveform having a drive frequency at which toner pumps the plurality of electrodes of the transfer substrate, or The provision of the means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform in which the drive waveform patterns of the respective phases are superimposed temporally or a multi-phase drive waveform having a different polarity makes the configuration of the transfer substrate simple.

Further, the pumping means arranges a plurality of electrodes at required intervals and in a plurality of layers via an insulating film, and partially overlaps or approaches the electrodes of each layer in the toner conveying direction between the respective layers. The provision of the provided transfer board simplifies the configuration on the drive circuit side.

According to the fine powder transfer device of the present invention, there is provided a fine powder transfer device provided with a transfer substrate for transferring the fine powder along the transfer surface with an electrostatic force. , The structure of the image forming apparatus and the developing apparatus can be simplified, the cost can be reduced, the voltage can be reduced, and the classification and sorting of the fine powder can be performed with a simple structure. Become like

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the driving frequency at which the toner is pumped is 0.1 KHz.
When the frequency is within the range of 10 to 10 KHz, the toner can be transported while being pumped, and the scavenger effect of background contamination against the adhesion of toner other than a latent image increases, and low-voltage development can be achieved.

Furthermore, since the distance between the toner conveying surface and the latent image carrier is within the range of 2 to 10 times the flying height of the toner pumping, low-voltage development becomes possible. When the distance between the conveying surface and the latent image carrier is within the range of 1/2 to 2 times the toner flying height, further low-voltage development becomes possible and the scavenger effect of the conveying toner increases. .

Further, by disposing a counter electrode facing the latent image carrier with the toner conveying surface interposed therebetween, and applying a bias voltage between the counter electrode and the latent image carrier, the edge effect of the latent image can be obtained. A sharp image free from occurrences can be obtained.

[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 an explanatory diagram of a developing device portion of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a transfer substrate of the developing device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory top view of the transfer board.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining application of a drive waveform to a transfer substrate of the developing device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining drive waveforms output from first and second drive circuits of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the principle of toner transfer by the transfer substrate;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of toner pumping in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device part according to the present invention provided with the powder conveying device according to the present invention in a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a connection relationship between a drive circuit of the image forming apparatus and a transport substrate of the developing device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a drive waveform output from the drive circuit.

FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device according to the present invention including a powder conveying device according to the present invention in a third embodiment of the image forming device according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a connection relationship between a drive circuit of the image forming apparatus and a transport substrate of the developing device.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a driving waveform output from the driving circuit.

FIG. 15 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention including the powder conveying device according to the present invention in a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory sectional view of a transfer substrate of the developing device.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining electrode arrangement of the transfer substrate;

FIG. 18 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device part according to the present invention in a fifth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory view serving to explain the operation of the developing device part;

FIG. 20 is a schematic explanatory view of a sixth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory top view showing an example of an aperture member of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory perspective view showing another example of the aperture member of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 23 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining a seventh embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 24 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining an eighth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photoreceptor drum (latent image carrier), 5 and 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
1, 71, 91: transport substrate, 33: transport path member, 38:
Toner collecting section, 41: first drive circuit, 42: second drive circuit, 46, 47: drive circuit, 51: support substrate, 52: electrode, 53: transport surface forming member, 54: surface coat layer, 81
... Slit, 82 ... Pumping substrate, 94 ... Aperture member, 101 ... Third drive circuit, 102 ... Fourth drive circuit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Nobuaki Kondo 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Minoru Suzuki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Share Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Makoto Shino 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Yutaka 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Takemoto Takemoto 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. 2H073 BA03 BA06 BA15 BA45 CA02 CA14 2H077 AC01 AC13 AD13 AD17 AD36 BA08 EA16 FA29 FA12 FA26 FA29

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by attaching a toner to a latent image carrier and developing a latent image on the latent image carrier, wherein the toner is electrostatically charged in the vicinity of the latent image carrier. An image forming apparatus comprising a pumping generating means for performing pumping. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pumping generating means includes: a transfer board on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals; and said toner pumping said plurality of electrodes on said transfer board. Means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform at a drive frequency of the image forming apparatus. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the driving frequency at which the toner is pumped is 18 KH.
An image forming apparatus characterized by being in a range of z to 45 KHz. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pumping generating means includes a transfer board on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at a predetermined interval, and driving of each phase with respect to the plurality of electrodes of the transfer board. An image forming apparatus comprising: means for applying a multi-phase drive waveform in which waveform patterns are temporally superimposed. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the driving waveforms of the respective phases are superimposed by two driving waveform patterns.
An image forming apparatus characterized by being within a range of 0 to 50%. 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pumping means includes a transfer substrate on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals, and a plurality of electrodes having different polarities with respect to the plurality of electrodes of the transfer substrate. Means for applying a phase drive waveform. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transport substrate integrally has a region for mainly transporting toner, and an electrode for the region for transporting toner. An image forming apparatus comprising: means for applying a drive waveform different from a drive waveform for pumping the toner. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a frequency of a drive waveform applied to an electrode in a region of the transfer substrate where toner is mainly transferred is 1 KHz to 20 KH.
An image forming apparatus characterized by being within z. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pumping means arranges a plurality of electrodes at required intervals and in a plurality of layers with an insulating film interposed therebetween, and the electrodes of each layer are provided with toner between each layer. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a transfer substrate provided with a part thereof overlapping or approaching in the transfer direction. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the transfer board has an integrated area for mainly transferring toner, and a multi-phase drive waveform is applied to a plurality of electrodes of each phase of the transfer board. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an applying unit. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a slit for dropping unnecessary toner is provided at a portion where the toner is pumped by the pumping means. . 12. A developing device for developing by attaching toner to a latent image, wherein the developing device includes a transport substrate that transports the toner along a transport surface and pumps the toner with electrostatic force. Developing device. 13. The developing device according to claim 12, wherein a multi-phase driving waveform of a driving frequency at which the toner causes pumping or a driving waveform pattern of each phase is temporally superimposed on the transport substrate. A developing device comprising a plurality of electrodes to which a multi-phase driving waveform or a multi-phase driving waveform having a different polarity is applied at a predetermined interval. 14. The developing device according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of electrodes are arranged on the transport substrate in a region where the toner is pumped at a required interval in the toner transport direction and with an insulating film interposed therebetween. A developing device in which electrodes of each layer are provided so as to partially overlap or approach each other in the toner conveying direction between the respective layers. 15. An image forming apparatus for forming an image by attaching toner to a recording medium, wherein a pumping means for pumping the toner by electrostatic force, and a control of passing / blocking of the toner pumped by the pumping means. An image forming apparatus comprising: 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the pumping generation means includes: a transfer board on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged at required intervals; and the toner pumping the plurality of electrodes on the transfer board. Means for applying a multi-phase driving waveform having a driving frequency that causes the above, or a multi-phase driving waveform in which the driving waveform patterns of the respective phases are superimposed temporally, or a multi-phase driving waveform having a different polarity. Characteristic image forming apparatus. 17. An image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said pumping means arranges a plurality of electrodes at required intervals and in a plurality of layers with an insulating film interposed therebetween, and the electrodes of each layer are provided with toner between each layer. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a transfer board provided with a part thereof overlapping or approaching in the transfer direction. 18. A fine powder transport device comprising a transport substrate for transporting fine powder along a transport surface by electrostatic force, comprising: means for pumping the fine powder on the transport substrate by electrostatic force. A fine powder conveying device characterized by the above-mentioned. 19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the driving frequency at which the toner is pumped is 0.1K.
An image forming apparatus characterized by being in the range of 10 Hz to 10 KHz. 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an interval between the toner conveying surface and the latent image carrier is in a range of 2 to 10 times a pumping flying height of the toner. An image forming apparatus comprising: 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an interval between the toner conveying surface and the latent image carrier is in a range of 1/2 to 2 times a pumping flying height of the toner. An image forming apparatus, comprising: 22. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a counter electrode facing the latent image carrier with the toner conveyance surface interposed therebetween is arranged, and the counter electrode and the latent image carrier are arranged in a pair. An image forming apparatus, wherein a bias voltage is applied between the two.