JP2004198744A - Electrostatic carrying device, developing device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that faulty carrying is caused by the accumulation of powder because a driving signal is not applied to a part existing ahead of disconnection when the disconnection occurs on a carrying electrode and the constitution is not applied to ETH(Electrostatic Transport and Hopping) development. <P>SOLUTION: A carrying substrate 1 is constituted by repeatedly forming and arranging three carrying electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c as one set on a supporting base substrate 11 at specified intervals in a direction nearly orthogonal to a powder moving direction so as to go along in the powder moving direction, and further forming a surface protecting layer 13 consisting of an insulating member on the surfaces thereof so as to form the carrying surface 14, and then providing common electrodes 15a, 15b and 15c respectively connected to the electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c at both ends along in the powder moving direction on both sides of the electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to an electrostatic transport device, a developing device, a process cartridge, and an image forming device.
[0002]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-139144
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2002-341656
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art As an image forming apparatus such as a copying apparatus, a printer, and a facsimile, a latent image is formed on a latent image carrier using an electrophotographic process, and a developer (hereinafter, also referred to as “toner”) is formed on the latent image. There is a type in which an image is formed by attaching and developing a toner image into a visible image as a toner image and transferring the toner image to a recording medium (including an intermediate transfer member).
[0003]
In such an image forming apparatus, as a toner conveying apparatus for conveying the toner, an apparatus using a rotatable screw is generally used. For example, it is known that toner in a pipe is conveyed in the axial direction of the screw by rotating a screw provided along the inside of the pipe.
[0004]
However, in such a toner conveying device, a relatively large motor is used to rotate the screw in the pipe, so that there is a problem that the device area becomes large and the rotating noise is large. Further, when toner is clogged between the inner wall of the pipe and the screw, the toner is melted by frictional heat, which may cause an increase in torque or poor conveyance.
[0005]
On the other hand, other toner conveying devices include a device that conveys the toner together with the airflow by applying or entraining the airflow on the toner, a device that conveys the toner by helping the toner to slide down along the slope due to vibration, a device that conveys the toner, There are also known devices for transporting an image by an electric field.
[0006]
Among these, in an apparatus that transports the toner together with the air flow, the transport density of the minute particulate matter is reduced by air and becomes sparse, and this is a low-efficiency transport method. Further, in a device that transports toner that assists transportation by vibration, relatively large energy is required to cause the vibration, and there is a disadvantage that the transportation direction is limited to the direction of gravity.
[0007]
Therefore, the apparatus for transporting the charged toner using the above-described electric field does not involve abrasion or vibration of the mechanical part, so that it is possible to maintain a long-term stable image forming operation without noise. Transport equipment
[Patent Document 1]
It is disclosed in Patent Document 2 and the like.
[0008]
A general toner conveying device using this electric field will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 38 is an explanatory plan view of the toner conveying device, and FIG. 39 is an explanatory sectional view of the conveying electrode portion.
[0009]
In this toner transport device, a large number of transport electrodes 502 made of a thin film having a predetermined electrode width are arranged at predetermined electrode intervals on a support substrate 501 made of an insulator, and an insulating film 503 for preventing short circuit is provided on the surface thereof. Are formed to cover the transport electrode 502 and configure the transport substrate 500 with the surface of the insulating film 503 as the transport surface 504. The power supply electrodes 505a, 505b, and 505c are provided on the support substrate 501 on one end side of the transport electrodes 502. In addition,
In Patent Document 1, each of the power supply electrodes 505a, 505b, and 505c and the transport electrode 502 have a structure in which they are laminated with an insulating film interposed therebetween.
[0010]
Here, for example, three-phase driving voltages (driving signals) va, vb, vc which are shifted in phase from each other are supplied to the transport electrode 502 via the feeding electrodes 505a, 505b, 505c to generate a traveling wave electric field. Thus, the charged toner can be transported in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 38 by the action of the electric field.
[0011]
In such a toner transport device, in order to accurately transport the toner by the electric field, the toner movement control must be performed such that the toner is separated from one electrode and stopped on the other electrode. In addition, the above-described movement control must be performed on all the electrodes.
[0012]
By the way, on the carrier substrate, a large number of linear carrier electrodes having a width of about 0.01 to 1 mm are formed at intervals of about 0.01 to 1 mm and arranged in a row in a comb shape using photolithography technology. In this case, the electrode width needs to be matched with the particle size from the viewpoint of control by the electric field with respect to the toner, and the width is preferably narrow from the viewpoint of low voltage driving.
[0013]
However, in the case where thousands of narrow transport electrodes are formed in the electrode formation, no matter how the electrodes are formed in a clean room environment, it is difficult to select no defect, and defects such as disconnection may occur. . When a part of such a transport electrode is disconnected, for example, as shown in FIG. 40, when a disconnection 510 occurs in the middle of one transport electrode 502, a voltage is applied to a portion beyond the location of the disconnection 510. Cannot be supplied, and no electric field is generated in a portion ahead of the transport electrode 502. Therefore, the toner stops at the transport electrode immediately before the disconnection of the toner, and a toner pool 511 is generated. The toner is no longer conveyed.
[0014]
Further, in a conventional toner conveying device using an electric field, if there are relatively coarse particles agglomerated in the toner to be conveyed, the contact area with the conveyance substrate increases, and the traveling wave electric field for these particles increases. The transportability is poor, and the machine stops at the defective portion.
[0015]
When the toner stops on the transfer board in this way, the stopped toner blocks the transfer path and hinders the transfer of other toner, so that the transferability is deteriorated and the transfer failure occurs. And it becomes difficult to obtain good visualization.
[0016]
In this case, as a means for preventing the transfer failure of the charged toner, it is conceivable to increase the signal voltage applied to each transfer electrode and increase the intensity of the generated electric field to increase the transfer force. It is necessary to consider higher dielectric strength between the electrodes.
[0017]
Therefore,
In the transfer device described in Patent Literature 1, a counter electrode is disposed to face the transfer electrode with a gap therebetween, and an alternating electric field is generated between the transfer electrode and the counter electrode, and the transfer device is charged by the alternating electric field. By causing the toner to fly between the transport electrode and the counter electrode, the toner is transported in the transport direction by a traveling wave electric field generated between the transport electrodes.
[0018]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as mentioned above
As described in Patent Document 1, in order to generate an alternating electric field with a counter electrode facing a transfer electrode of a transfer substrate at a predetermined interval, the transfer electrode is driven to transfer the charged toner. In addition to the transport input power supply for inputting a voltage, a power supply for generating an alternating electric field for causing charged toner to fly between the transport electrode and the counter electrode must be provided, which complicates the configuration.
[0019]
Also, as described above, when the transport electrode is disconnected in the longitudinal direction, the voltage is supplied to the connection side with the transport input power supply, but the voltage is not supplied to the portion beyond the disconnection point, so that the toner Therefore, even if an alternating electric field generated by the counter electrode is used, the transportability is poor as in the above, and the defective portion stays at the defective portion.
[0020]
Further, in such a configuration using the counter electrode, the applicant has
It cannot be applied to ETH development as disclosed in Patent Document 2. The ETH (Electrostatic Transport & Hopping) phenomenon refers to a phenomenon in which powder is given the energy of a phase-shift electric field, the energy is converted into mechanical energy, and the powder itself fluctuates dynamically. . The ETH phenomenon includes a movement (conveyance) of powder in a horizontal direction (meaning a direction along a conveying surface) and a movement (hopping) in a vertical direction (meaning a vertical direction of a conveying surface) due to electrostatic force. This is a phenomenon in which the powder jumps on the surface of the electrotransport substrate with a component in the traveling direction due to the phase-shift electric field. Development utilizing this ETH phenomenon is referred to as ETH development.
[0021]
Therefore, the present inventors
In addition to the conventional electrostatic transport device that presupposes the horizontal transport of toner as described in Patent Document 1, a solution that can be applied to an electrostatic transport device applicable to ETH development will be found. As a result of intensive studies, the present invention has been accomplished, and an electrostatic transport device capable of stably moving powder with a simple configuration, a developing device using the electrostatic transport device, and a process cartridge And an image forming apparatus.
[0022]
In order to solve the above problems, in the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention, the transport electrodes for generating electrostatic force for moving the powder on the support substrate are substantially parallel to the moving direction at predetermined intervals and substantially orthogonal to the moving direction. A transfer substrate that is repeatedly formed and arranged in the direction, and further has a transfer surface formed of an insulating member on the surface, and a common electrode interconnected at both ends of the transfer electrode is formed on the transfer substrate. Configuration. In this specification, the term “powder” is used to include “particles”, “fine particles”, “powder”, “fine powder”, “powder”, “fine powder”, and the like.
[0023]
Here, it is preferable that an input terminal for applying an n-phase (n is an integer of 3 or more) drive signal application terminal is provided on the common electrode interconnected at both ends of the transport electrode. A drive signal application input terminal may be provided on one side of the common electrode on both sides to be connected, and the drive signal application input terminal may not be provided on the other side. In addition, the drive signal application input terminal may be arranged at a position extended outside the common electrode in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction.
[0024]
In addition, the n-phase common electrode and the transport electrode connected to each common electrode are in different layers, or the common electrode and the transport electrode connected to this common electrode are at least two of the n-phases. The phases can be arranged in the same layer for each phase.
[0025]
Further, the common electrodes on both sides may be connected to each other in a low-resistance pattern other than the transport electrodes. Further, it is preferable that the common electrode has a wider electrode width than the transport electrode.
[0026]
Furthermore, a common electrode interconnected by integral formation and a carrier electrode connected to the common electrode, or a common electrode interconnected via a contact hole and a carrier electrode connected to the common electrode May be included. In the case of interconnection using this contact hole, it is preferable that the common electrode and the transport electrode are stacked in this order from the surface of the support substrate.
[0027]
Further, the common electrode and the transport electrode can be provided on different surface sides of the support substrate. Further, at least two transfer substrates having transfer surfaces opposed to each other can be provided.
[0028]
The developing device according to the present invention is configured to include the transport substrate of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention for moving the charged toner.
[0029]
The process cartridge according to the present invention has a configuration including the developing device according to the present invention.
[0030]
An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the developing device according to the present invention, or includes a plurality of process cartridges.
[0031]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view along the line CC of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view along the line DD of FIG.
[0032]
The electrostatic transport device has a transport substrate 1 having a plurality of electrodes for generating an electric field for transporting and hopping toner as a powder. The transport substrate 1 has an n-phase (n) Are integers of 3 or more), the drive signals Va (a phase), Vb (b phase), and Vc (c phase) are input. Note that, here, the ETH current
I will explain with the transfer board that generates the elephant, but
As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the present invention can be similarly applied to a transfer substrate that moves powder only in a horizontal direction.
[0033]
The transfer substrate 1 has a set of three electrodes (transfer electrodes) 12a, 12b, and 12c (collectively referred to as “transfer electrodes 12”) on a base substrate (support substrate) 11 at a predetermined interval. In the powder moving direction is repeatedly formed and arranged in a direction substantially orthogonal to the powder moving direction, further forming a surface protection layer 13 made of an insulating member formed of an inorganic or organic insulating material on the surface thereof, The surface of the surface protection layer 13 is a transfer surface 14. In this case, the surface protective layer 13 is a surface layer forming the transport surface 14, but a surface layer having more excellent compatibility with powder can be separately formed on the surface protective layer 13.
[0034]
On both sides of the transport electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c, common electrodes 15a, 15b and 15c interconnected at both ends with the transport electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c, respectively (these are collectively referred to as "common electrodes 15"). ) Are provided along the powder moving direction, that is, in a direction substantially orthogonal to the individual transport electrodes. In this case, the width of the common electrode 15 (this width is a width in a direction orthogonal to the powder moving direction) is larger than the width of the transport electrode 12 (the width is a width in the direction along the powder moving direction). I have.
[0035]
Further, drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c for inputting drive signals Va, Vb, and Vc, respectively, are provided at both ends of the common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c (these are referred to as "drive signal application input terminals"). 16 ").
[0036]
Here, as the support substrate 11, a substrate made of an insulating material such as a glass substrate, a resin substrate or a ceramics substrate, or a substrate made of a conductive material such as SUS is used. ₂ And a substrate made of a flexible and deformable material such as a polyimide film.
[0037]
In addition, as an electrode material of the transport electrode 12 and the common electrode 15, a conductive material such as Al, Ni—Cr, or the like can be used. The conductive material is patterned into a required electrode shape using a photolithography technique or the like. I have. In addition, the width of the transport electrode 12 in the powder advancing direction is set to be 1 to 20 times the average particle diameter of the powder to be moved, and the distance between the transport electrodes 12 and 12 in the powder advancing direction is also smaller. The average particle size is at least 1 and at most 20 times.
[0038]
As the surface layer 13, for example, SiO ₂ , TiO ₂ , TiO ₄ , SiON, BN, TiN, Ta ₂ O ₅ Etc. can be used. Further, an inorganic nitride compound, for example, SiN, Bn, W, or the like can be used. In particular, when the number of surface hydroxyl groups increases, the charge amount of the charged powder tends to decrease during transportation. Therefore, an inorganic nitride compound having a small number of surface hydroxyl groups (SiOH, silatol groups) is preferable.
[0039]
Also, here, the a-phase and b-phase transport electrodes 12a, 12b and the common electrodes 15a, 15b are interconnected via contact holes, and the c-phase transport electrode 12c and the common electrode 15c are integrally formed. To form an interconnected structure in which the integrated formation and the interconnection by the contact hole are mixed.
[0040]
Therefore, in the transport electrode 1, the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c and the transport electrode 12c are formed in the same layer position, and the interlayer insulating film 17 (surface) on the surface of the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c and the transport electrode 12c is formed. The transport electrodes 12a and 12b are formed at the same layer position via the same insulating material as the protective layer 13 or a different material.
[0041]
In order to manufacture such a transfer substrate 1, for example, a Ni—Cr film is formed as an electrode material on a support substrate 11 using an insulating substrate such as glass, and the c-phase common electrode 15 c and the transfer electrode 12 c are integrated. At the same time as the formation and patterning, the a-phase common electrode 15a and the b-phase common electrode 15c are etched and patterned with a cerium nitrate solution (Ce) in the same step. At this time, the drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c of the common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c are simultaneously patterned.
[0042]
Then, an interlayer insulating film (here, SiO ₂ Was used. ) 17 is formed on the entire surface in a thickness of 2 μm.
[0043]
Thereafter, a contact hole 18 is formed in the interlayer insulating film 17 using buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) at a connection position for interconnecting the a-phase common electrode 15a, the b-phase common electrode 15b and the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, respectively. I do.
[0044]
Subsequently, after Al for forming the transport electrodes 12a and 12b is formed on the surface of the interlayer insulating film 17, it is etched and patterned into an electrode shape with a phosphoric acid-based etchant, and the a-phase common electrode 15a and the b-phase common electrode are formed. The transport electrodes 12a and 12b interconnected via the contact holes 18 are formed on the electrodes 15b.
[0045]
Further, a surface protective layer 13 is formed on the surface. The drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c are formed except for the drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c when the interlayer insulating film 17 and the surface protection layer 13 are formed. Alternatively, the surface protection layer 13 and the interlayer insulating film 17 may be opened by etching.
[0046]
Next, an example of a drive circuit that supplies a drive signal to the transport substrate 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
This drive circuit includes a pulse signal generation circuit 21 that generates and outputs a pulse signal, and waveform amplifiers 22a, 22b, and 22c that receive pulse signals from the pulse signal generation circuit 21 to generate and output drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc. And
[0047]
The pulse signal generating circuit 21 receives, for example, an input pulse of a logic level, and performs a phase shift by 120 ° on each pulse. The pulse signal generating circuit 21 drives a switching unit included in the next-stage waveform amplifiers 22a to 22c, for example, a transistor to switch 100V. And generates and outputs a pulse signal having an output voltage of 10 to 15 V at a level capable of performing the above operation.
[0048]
In the waveform amplifiers 22a, 22b, and 22c, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the +100 V application time ta of each phase is set to about 33%, which is １ ／ of the repetition period tf (this is referred to as a “carrier voltage pattern”). 8 or 9, for example, the application time ta of +100 V or 0 V for each phase is set to about 67%, which is 2/3 of the repetition period tf (this is referred to as a "hopping voltage pattern"). 3) Output three-phase drive signals Va, Vb, and Vc.
[0049]
The drive signals Va, Vb, and Vc from the waveform amplifiers 22a, 22b, and 22c are applied to the a-phase common electrode 15a and the b-phase common electrode 15b via the drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c of the carrier substrate 1. , C-phase common electrode 15c.
[0050]
Here, for example, when drive signals Va, Vb, Vc of a carrier voltage pattern are applied to the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c of the carrier substrate 1, that is, the carrier electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c, the charged powder on the carrier substrate 1 Receiving the traveling wave electric field from the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c, the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, and 12c are transported in a predetermined direction. Further, when, for example, drive signals Va, Vb, Vc of a hopping voltage pattern are applied to the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c of the transfer substrate 1, that is, the transfer electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c, the charged powder on the transfer substrate 1 is transferred. Receiving the traveling wave electric field from the electrodes 12a, 12b, and 12c, it is transported in a predetermined direction while hopping.
[0051]
The present inventors set the total length of the transfer electrode 12 to L (width) / S (distance between electrodes) = 10/20 μm and the length of the transfer electrode 12 (length in the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction) to 60 mm. The transport substrate 1 on which the transport electrodes 12 were formed was manufactured as described above. As a result, five disconnections having a length of 3 μm to 10 μm were confirmed by microscopic observation.
[0052]
Therefore, a transport experiment was performed on the charged toner using the transport substrate 1 of this sample, and the drive signals Va, Vb, and Vc having a drive pulse voltage of 100 V and a drive frequency of 3 kHz with three phases shifted from each other were applied to the common electrode 15a. , 15b, and 15c.
[0053]
As a result, although toner accumulation occurred in the first disconnection portion from the toner transfer start point in the past, accumulation of toner did not occur in this sample, and accumulation was observed in other disconnection portions. However, it was confirmed that the toner was conveyed in a predetermined direction. The transport speed was 0.55 m / sec.
[0054]
As described above, since the common electrode interconnected at both ends of the transfer electrode is formed on the transfer substrate, a drive signal can be applied from both sides of the transfer electrode, and powder accumulation due to disconnection is reduced. As a result, the powder can be transported stably in the horizontal direction with electrostatic force, and can be applied to ETH development because a counter electrode is not used unlike the conventional case.
[0055]
Next, a second embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 is a plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF of FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along line GG of FIG. 10, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory cross-sectional view taken along line HH of FIG.
[0056]
In the present embodiment, the transfer substrate 1 is formed by patterning the a-phase, b-phase, and c-phase common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c and the drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c on the support substrate 11. Then, an interlayer insulating film 17 is formed on the surface thereof, contact holes 18 for the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c are formed in the interlayer insulating film 17, and the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c is formed and connected to the a-phase, b-phase, and c-phase common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c via the contact holes 18, respectively.
[0057]
When the transfer substrate 1 of the present embodiment was manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment, three disconnections occurred. However, as a result of confirming the same conditions as the above experimental conditions, the charged toner moved without stagnation. However, the transport speed was 0.50 m / sec.
[0058]
Next, a third embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 is a plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device, FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 15, FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line J-J of FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional explanatory view along the line KK in FIG. 15, and FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional explanatory view along the line LL in FIG.
[0059]
In the present embodiment, the transfer substrate 1 is formed by integrally forming the c-phase common electrode 15c, the transfer electrode 12c, and the drive signal application input terminal 16c on the support substrate 11, and forming an interlayer insulating film 17a on the surface thereof. The b-phase common electrode 15b, the transport electrode 12b, and the drive signal application input terminal 16b are integrally formed on the interlayer insulating film 17a, and the interlayer insulating film 17b is further formed on the surface thereof. After forming the a-phase common electrode 15a, the transport electrode 12a, and the drive signal application input terminal 16a and forming the surface protection layer 13 on the surface thereof, the portions corresponding to the drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c are formed. Were respectively opened by etching.
[0060]
As described above, here, each common electrode and each transport electrode are integrally formed, and are formed so as to be alternately stacked with the interlayer insulating film. Also in this case, according to the same experiment as before, it was confirmed that the toner moved without stagnation even if the disconnection occurred.
[0061]
In each of the above embodiments, the input terminals for applying the drive signal (drive voltage) are provided at the four ends in the same direction as the transport electrodes shown in the figure, so that any of the input terminals is connected to the drive power supply (drive circuit). Connection can be made, and connection can be made to any two places or all four places. As a result, the mountability can be widened, and the reliability for applying the drive signal (drive voltage) is improved.
[0062]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 is a plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device, FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line MM of FIG. 20, and FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along line NN of FIG. is there.
[0063]
In the present embodiment, the transport substrate 1 includes a common electrode 15a, 15b, 15c of a phase, a b phase, and a c phase, and input terminals 16a, 16b, 16c for driving signal application on one surface (back surface) of the support substrate 11. Are formed and covered with an insulating protective film 27, and the respective transport electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c of the a-phase, b-phase and c-phase are formed on the other surface (front surface) of the support substrate 11, respectively. It is covered with.
[0064]
The transport electrodes 12a, 12b, and 12c are connected to the common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c of the a-phase, b-phase, and c-phase, respectively, through through holes 28 formed in the support substrate 11.
[0065]
By disposing the a-phase, b-phase, and c-phase common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c on the back surface side of the support substrate 11, a step between the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, and 12c is eliminated, and The thickness of the entire substrate 1 can be reduced. However, it is disadvantageous in the manufacturing process from the first to third embodiments in that a through hole must be formed in the transfer substrate itself.
[0066]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device.
In the present embodiment, the configuration of the common electrode 15 and the transport electrode 12 (including the interconnection form) is the same as that of the first embodiment, and drive signals are applied to both ends of the common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c at one end. Input terminals 16a, 16b, 16c are provided, but the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c on the other end side are not provided with drive signal application input terminals.
[0067]
A sample was prepared for the transfer substrate 1 in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and a transfer confirmation experiment was performed on the obtained sample. At this time, the transfer electrode 12b between the b-phase common electrode 15b and the c-phase common electrode (20th from the top) was disconnected, but it was confirmed that the toner moved without stopping.
[0068]
This is an effect that a drive signal (drive voltage) is applied through the transport electrode 12 other than the disconnection by disposing the common electrode 15 at both ends of the transport electrode 12. Conventionally, in the same phenomenon, it has been confirmed that the toner stays in front of the disconnected transport electrode.However, since the drive voltage is not applied to the disconnected transport electrode, the distance between the transport electrodes becomes apparently wide, and the process proceeds. It is considered that the toner is deposited because the wave electric field does not reach.
[0069]
Note that such a configuration can be similarly applied to the transfer substrates of the second to fourth embodiments.
[0070]
Next, a sixth embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device.
In the present embodiment, the configuration of the common electrode 15 and the transport electrode 12 (including the interconnection form) is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the leading portions 19a, 19b, The drive signal application input terminals 16a, 16b, and 16c are arranged outside the common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c at the respective ends in a direction orthogonal to the powder transport direction.
[0071]
Note that such a configuration can be similarly applied to the transfer substrates of the second to fifth embodiments.
[0072]
Next, a seventh embodiment of the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate of the electrostatic transfer device.
In the present embodiment, in order to increase the efficiency of powder transfer, the wiring resistance is reduced and the powder transfer efficiency is improved in the embodiment of the first embodiment.
[0073]
That is, in the present embodiment, the common electrode 15 and the transport electrode 12 have the same configuration (including the interconnection form) as in the first embodiment, and the common electrodes 15a, 15b, and 15c at each end are used for powder transport. The external common electrodes 20a, 20b, and 20 were connected to each other in a region having no influence.
[0074]
In this case, as a method of forming the external common electrodes 20a, 20b, and 20c, a material having a lower resistivity than the material of the transfer electrode is used, or the wiring material is formed to be thicker, or a pattern of the same material as the transfer electrode is used. The width can be widened.
[0075]
Here, an external common electrode having a wide electrode width is formed with respect to the transport electrode 12 made of Al so that it can be formed in the same step (the step of forming the transport electrode and the common electrode) without increasing the number of process steps. , And then sputter ₂ Was formed to a thickness of 1 μm.
[0076]
As a result of preparing the sample of the present embodiment and confirming the transportation status using a spherical toner, it was confirmed that the toner was moved in a predetermined direction without stagnation. The transport speed was 0.7 m / sec at a driving pulse voltage of 100 V and a driving frequency of 3 kHz. In addition, even when the driving pulse voltage was 40 V and the driving frequency was 3 kHz, 0.55 m / sec was obtained, and it was confirmed that driving was performed at a low driving voltage.
[0077]
This embodiment can be similarly applied to the configurations of the second to sixth embodiments.
[0078]
Next, the interconnection between the common electrode and the transport electrode used in each of the above-described embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 26 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a contact hole portion of the transfer substrate according to the present invention, and FIG. 27 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a conventional contact hole portion.
[0079]
For the interconnection, there are a method of connecting the common electrode and the carrier electrode via a contact hole through an integral formation method. The method of integrally forming is preferable in terms of reliability on wiring, but can be used in the case of forming a single electrode in which the electrodes and the interlayer insulating film are made thin. As the size increases, the number of steps increases. Further, if the driving signals have the same driving voltage, the electric field strength due to the step between the lowermost electrode and the uppermost electrode is different, so that it is necessary to optimize the film thickness of the electrodes and the interlayer film. This can become increasingly important when the total number of electrodes is large.
[0080]
Therefore, in each of the above embodiments, both the forming method of joining via a contact hole conventionally used in semiconductor forming technology and the like for the conductor bonding and the method of mixing the above-mentioned integral forming are applied. .
[0081]
There are two methods for forming this contact hole. One is to form a transfer electrode 12 on a support substrate 11 and to form a contact hole 18 on an interlayer insulating film 17 formed on the transfer electrode 12, as shown in FIG. 15 is formed.
[0082]
As described above, in forming the contact hole on the transport electrode, the resist pattern is formed by performing alignment using a contact hole forming mask. The general shape of the contact hole is often a square (square, rectangular) shape. Therefore, the wall surface of the hole is formed so as to be nearly steep, and the bottom and upper portions of the contact hole are connected to the later common electrode. When an electrode material (Al) is formed and a common electrode is formed, disconnection may occur at the bottom and the top due to voids and poor coverage.
[0083]
In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the positioning of the contact hole and side etching in the etching. This is because the four sides have the same shape and are isotropically etched and become sharp. If the position of the contact hole and the amount of side etching are large, a hole is formed in a form falling from the transport electrode.
[0084]
In this embodiment, when an 8 μm hole is formed as a contact hole 18 on the transport electrode 12 having a width (w) direction of 10 μm, there is only a margin of 2 μm (1 μm left and right). In the case where the negative electrode shifts and the electrode drops, the contact area becomes small in the subsequent connection with the common electrode, and the contact resistance increases.
[0085]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 26, first, a common electrode 15 is formed on a support substrate 11, a contact hole 18 is formed on an interlayer insulating film 17, and then a transfer electrode 12 is formed.
[0086]
As a result, the width of the common electrode 15 (500 μm in the present embodiment) is wide, so that even if the contact hole 18 is misaligned and the side etch becomes slightly large, the electrode will not fall.
[0087]
Further, in the present embodiment, the contact hole 18 is formed in an elliptical shape in the direction of the transport electrode 12 for the purpose of improving the reliability of the bonding. As described above, by adopting a small value of R, the inclination of the wall surface can be made smooth by using the fact that the etching rate of the corner becomes slow, and disconnection due to steps and voids can be prevented. Although an elliptical contact hole is used, the present invention is not limited to this shape, and other shapes such as a rhombus and a star may be used.
[0088]
Next, a first embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention including the developing device according to the present invention including the electrostatic transport device 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 overall outline and operation of the image forming apparatus will be described. A photosensitive drum 101 (for example, an organic photosensitive member: OPC) as a latent image carrier is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. When a document is placed on the contact glass 102 and a print start switch (not shown) is pressed, a scanning optical system 105 including a document illumination light source 103 and a mirror 104 and a scanning optical system 108 including mirrors 106 and 107 move. Then, the original image is read.
[0089]
Here, the scanned document image is read as an image signal by the image reading element 110 disposed behind the lens 109, and the read image signal is digitized and subjected to image processing. 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 113, and then emitted onto the photosensitive drum 101 via a mirror 114. The photosensitive drum 101 is uniformly charged by the charging device 115, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 by writing with a laser beam.
[0090]
Then, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is visualized by attaching toner by a developing device 116 according to the present invention including the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention, and the visible image is The toner image is transferred to the transfer paper (recording medium) 119 fed from the paper feed unit 117A or 117B by the paper feed rollers 118A or 118B by corona discharge of the transfer charger 120. The transfer paper 119 onto which the visible image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 by the separation charger 121, transported by the transport belt 122, passes through the pressure contact portion of the fixing roller pair 123, and forms the visible image. The sheet is fixed and discharged to a discharge tray 124 outside the apparatus.
[0091]
On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning device 125, and the charge remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is erased by the discharging lamp 126.
[0092]
Next, a developing device 116 according to the present invention including the electrostatic transport 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 116 includes a toner hopper 131 that stores powdered toner, an agitator 132 that stirs the toner in the toner hopper 131, and charges the toner in the toner hopper 131 to supply the toner to the toner box 133. The charging roller 134 and a doctor blade 135 disposed in contact with the peripheral surface of the charging roller 134 and the toner in the toner box 133 are conveyed by electrostatic force to the toner toward the photosensitive drum 101 as a latent image carrier. The electrostatic transport device 136 according to the present invention for ejecting toner, a toner recovery member 138 for recovering toner not subjected to development, and a toner box 133 for transporting the toner recovered by the toner recovery member 138 by electrostatic force. And a toner reverse transport member 139 which is an electrostatic transport device according to the present invention.
[0093]
The electrostatic transport device 136 has two transport surfaces 14, 14, each of which has a leading end portion near the photosensitive drum 1, transports charged toner with electrostatic force, and ejects the toner from the leading end toward the photosensitive drum 101. The transfer substrates 1 and 1 are arranged at predetermined intervals with the transfer surfaces 14 and 14 facing each other.
[0094]
Further, sending substrates 143, 143 for transferring and sending the toner in the toner box unit 133 by electrostatic force between the transfer substrates 1, 1 are provided. One end of each of the sending substrates 143, 143 is connected to the transfer substrate 141, 141, and the other end is disposed on the charging roller 134 side. The transfer substrate 143 has the same configuration as the transfer substrate 1 (a deformable support substrate such as a polyimide film is used for the support substrate), and the electrostatically charged toner is transferred to the transfer substrate 1 ( It may be accompanied by hopping.)
[0095]
In addition, drive circuits 150a and 150b for applying drive signals Va, Vb and c to the plurality of transport electrodes 12 of the transport substrates 1 and 1 are provided. The drive signals Va, Vb, Vc from the drive circuits 150a, 150b are applied to the plurality of transport electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c via the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c of the transport substrates 1, 1, as described above. Is done.
[0096]
Although illustration of the connection relation is omitted, the drive signals Va, Vb, Vd from the drive circuits 150a, 150b are also applied to each transport electrode of the sending substrate 143. Further, here, the drive circuits 150a and 150b are provided for each of the transfer substrates 1 and 1, however, one drive circuit may be shared. However, if a drive circuit is provided for each transfer substrate, that is, if a different drive signal can be applied, the phase of the drive signal between the opposing transfer electrodes can be made different.
[0097]
In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 30, the toner in the toner hopper 131 of the developing device 116 is carried to the charging roller 134 while being stirred by the agitator 132, and the rotation of the charging roller 134 (left in FIG. The toner is charged to a predetermined polarity by frictional charging with the doctor blade 135 and fed into the toner box 133.
[0098]
The three-phase drive signals Va, Vb, and Vc are applied to the sending substrates 143 and 143, and the toner in the toner box 133 is transported along the sending substrate 143 and sent between the transport substrates 1 and 1. When the three-phase drive signals Va, Vb, and Vc are applied to the transfer substrate 1, the transfer substrate 1 is smoothly transferred along the transfer substrate 1 by a large transfer amount, and is moved in the direction of the opposing portion to the photosensitive drum 101. Are supplied sequentially from the ejection side.
[0099]
As a result, the ejected charged toner adheres to a portion (image portion) on the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 where the opposite polarity charge exists, and the latent image on the photosensitive drum 101 is developed. At this time, the toner transfer by the transfer board 1 is efficiently and reliably performed, so that a sufficient amount of toner required for development can be secured.
[0100]
In this case, if an AC electric field is generated by applying an AC voltage from an AC power supply 153 between the tip electrodes 152 and 152 of the transfer substrates 1 and 1, the toner ejected from between the transfer substrates 1 and 1 generates the AC electric field. As a result, a toner cloud 154 in a cloud state is generated, and the toner uniformly adheres to the latent image on the photosensitive drum 101, so that the image quality is improved.
[0101]
Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention including the developing device according to the present invention including the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 31 is a schematic configuration diagram of a developing device portion of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 32 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a main part of the developing device.
[0102]
The developing device 116 of the image forming apparatus includes an electrostatic transport device 136 including the transport substrate 1 for performing ETH development. That is, here, the transport substrate 1 includes a toner transport unit 1T for transporting the toner supplied from the toner feed substrate 143 toward the developing unit side, and the toner transported by the toner transport unit 1T. Is formed continuously and integrally with a toner hopping part 1P constituting a developing part for hopping in the vicinity of.
[0103]
Further, a drive circuit 162 for applying drive signals Va, Vb, Vd to the plurality of electrodes 12 of the transport substrate 1 is provided. Further, a configuration is also possible in which an electrode 163 and a DC power supply 164 for applying a DC bias (100 V to 200 V), which is a developing bias voltage, are provided between the toner hopping unit 1 P of the transport substrate 1 and the photosensitive drum 101.
[0104]
Here, the toner transport section 1T of the transport substrate 1 is a section that transports the toner toward the toner hopping section 1P side, which is a developing section, and electrostatically transports the powder toward the latent image carrier with an electrostatic force. The toner hopping unit 1P is a part that hops the toner by electrostatic force near the photosensitive drum 101 and constitutes a developing unit. To form an electrostatic transfer device for hopping.
[0105]
In this case, since the electrode configuration and the applied drive signal of the toner transport unit 1T and the toner hopping unit 1P of the transport substrate 1 are the same, the toner on the transport substrate 1 is also transferred to the toner hopping unit 1P in the toner transport unit 1T. Is carried and hopping. In other words, the term "toner transport unit" is used to mean a portion that has a purpose of transporting toner to a developing unit, and the "toner hopping unit" is used to mean a portion that has a purpose of hopping toner. This does not mean that hopping is not performed in the toner transport unit and that toner transport is not performed in the toner hopping unit.
[0106]
The transfer substrate 1 is provided with a plurality of electrodes 12 for generating a traveling-wave electric field on a support substrate 11 as described in the above-described electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention, and the surface of the electrodes 12 is provided with a surface protective layer. 13. Then, the drive signals Va, Vb, Vc from the drive circuit 162 are applied to the transport electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c via the common electrodes 15a, 15b, 15c of the transport substrate 1 as described above.
[0107]
The developing operation in the image forming apparatus thus configured will be described. The charged toner in the toner box unit 33 is transported by the electrostatic force by the toner feed substrate 143 to reach the toner transport unit 1T of the transport substrate 1, and The toner is further conveyed toward the photoreceptor drum 101 by electrostatic force in the toner conveying unit 1T and sent to the toner hopping unit 1P.
[0108]
In the toner hopping section 1P, the toner T hops as shown in FIG. Since the toner is hopping in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 101 as described above, in order to cause the toner to adhere only to the latent image portion of the photosensitive drum 101, the following electric field may be generated. That is, the average value of the pulse-shaped drive voltage applied to the transport electrode 12 of the toner hopping unit 1P and the electric field due to the latent image portion voltage formed on the photosensitive drum 101 are related to the suction of toner toward the photosensitive drum 101, and The average value of the pulse-shaped drive voltage applied to the transport electrode 12 of the toner hopping 1P and the electric field due to the non-latent image portion voltage formed on the photosensitive drum 101 are set in a direction relationship in which the toner is repelled from the photosensitive drum 101 side. I do.
[0109]
At this time, since the already hopped toner has no attraction force with the transfer substrate 1, it can be easily transferred to the latent image carrier (photosensitive drum 101) side, and high image quality can be obtained. Development can be performed at a low voltage.
[0110]
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 photosensitive member, an applied voltage higher than the adhesive force of the toner to the developing roller is required. A bias voltage must be applied. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the adhesive force of the toner is usually 50 to 200 nN. However, since the adhesive force on the transport substrate 1 becomes substantially zero because the toner hops on the transport substrate 1, the toner This eliminates the need for a force to separate the toner from the transfer substrate 1 and makes it possible to sufficiently transfer the toner to the photoconductor at a low voltage.
[0111]
Then, the toner that has been sent to the toner hopping unit 1P but is not used is discharged and collected by the toner collection member 138 because the toner is also conveyed together with the hopping in the toner hopping unit 1P.
[0112]
Next, a third embodiment of an image forming apparatus provided with a process cartridge according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 34 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 35 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge configuring the image forming apparatus.
[0113]
The image forming apparatus 200 is an example of a laser printer that forms a full-color image with four colors of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (Bk), and is adapted to image signals for each color. Four optical writing devices 201M, 201C, 201Y, and 201Bk (hereinafter, also collectively referred to as “optical writing devices 201”) that emit laser beams, four process cartridges 202M, 202C, 202Y, and 202Bk for image formation, and an image. Paper feed cassette 203 that stores the recording paper onto which the paper is transferred, a paper feed roller 204 that feeds the recording paper from the paper feed cassette 203, a registration roller 205 that conveys the recording paper at a predetermined timing, A transfer belt 206 that conveys the image to a transfer portion of a process cartridge; A location 209, has a configuration including a discharge roller 210 or the like for discharging the discharge tray 211 recording paper after fixing.
[0114]
The configuration of the four process cartridges 202M, 202C, 202Y, and 202Bk is the same (hereinafter, also collectively referred to as “process cartridge 202”). As shown in FIG. 35, each process cartridge 202 has an image carrier in a case. A drum-shaped photoconductor 221, a charging roller 222, a developing device 223 including the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention, a cleaning blade 224, and the like are integrally provided, and are configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. ing. By providing the developing device 223 in the detachable process cartridge 202, it is possible to improve the maintainability and to easily replace the developing device 223 with another device.
[0115]
Further, in the developing device 223, a toner supply roller 225, a charging roller 226, a transport substrate 1 constituting the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention, a toner sending substrate 227 to the transport substrate 1, and a toner return roller for returning collected toner 228 are provided, and each color toner is stored. On the back side of the process cartridge 202, a slit 230 serving as a window into which a laser beam from the optical writing device 201 is incident is provided.
[0116]
Each of the optical writing devices 201M, 201C, 201Y, and 201Bk is composed of an optical deflector such as a semiconductor laser, a collimator lens, and a polygon mirror, a scanning image forming optical system, and the like. ), A laser beam modulated in accordance with the image data for each color input from each of the process cartridges 202M, 202C, 202Y, and 202Bk is scanned to form an electrostatic image (electrostatic latent image). Write.
[0117]
Then, when the image formation is started, the photoconductors 221 of the process cartridges 202M, 202C, 202Y, and 202Bk are uniformly charged by the charging roller 222, and the photowriting devices 201M, 201C, 201Y, and 201Bk respond to the image data. The irradiated laser beam forms an electrostatic latent image of each color on each photoconductor.
[0118]
The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 221 is developed and visualized by toner of each color by ETH development using the transport substrate 1 of the developing device 223. Further, the toner not subjected to the development is transported by the transport substrate 1 and returned to the entrance side of the toner sending substrate 227 by the toner return roller 228. As described above, by performing development using the developing device including the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention, a high-quality image can be formed as described above.
[0119]
On the other hand, the recording paper in the supply cassette 203 is fed by the supply roller 204 in synchronization with the image formation of each color of each of the process cartridges 202Bk, 202Y, 202C, and 202M, and is transferred to the transfer belt 206 at a predetermined timing by the registration roller 205. It is conveyed toward. Then, the recording paper is carried on the transfer belt 206 and sequentially conveyed toward the photoconductors 221 of the four process cartridges 202Bk, 202Y, 202C, and 202M, and the toner of each color of Bk, Y, C, and M on each photoconductor is The images are sequentially superimposed and transferred. The recording paper onto which the four color toner images have been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 209 including a fixing belt 207 and a pressure roller 208, where the color image composed of the four color toner images is fixed, and is discharged to a paper output tray 211. Is done.
[0120]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention including the process cartridge according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 36 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 37 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge constituting the image forming apparatus.
[0121]
In this image forming apparatus, process cartridges 260Y, 260M, 260C, and 260Bk of respective colors (hereinafter, also collectively referred to as “process cartridge 260”) are juxtaposed along a transfer belt (image carrier) 251 extending horizontally. Tandem type color image forming apparatus. Although the process cartridges 260 have been described in the order of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, they are not specified in this order and may be arranged in any order.
[0122]
The process cartridge 260 includes a plurality of components such as an image carrier 261, a charging unit 262, a developing unit 263 including the transfer substrate 1 of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention, and a cleaning unit 264. The process cartridge is integrally connected to the image forming apparatus, and the process cartridge is detachably mountable to a main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.
[0123]
Normally, a color image forming apparatus has a plurality of image forming units, so that the apparatus becomes large. Further, when each unit such as a developing device, cleaning, charging, etc. breaks down individually or when the replacement time comes due to the end of its life, the device is complicated and it takes a lot of trouble to replace the unit.
[0124]
Therefore, a compact and highly durable color image forming apparatus which can be replaced by a user can be provided by integrally combining at least the components of the image carrier and the developing means as a process cartridge 260. .
[0125]
Here, the developing toner on the image carrier 262 developed by the process cartridges 260Y, 260M, 260C, and 260Bk of each color is sequentially transferred to the transfer belt 251 to which a horizontally extending transfer voltage is applied.
[0126]
In this way, the images of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are formed, transferred onto the transfer belt 251 in a multiplex manner, and transferred collectively to the transfer material 253 by the transfer unit 252. Then, the multiple toner image on the transfer material 253 is fixed by a fixing device (not shown).
[0127]
Each of the image forming apparatuses described in the above embodiments includes a developing unit (apparatus) including the electrostatic transport device according to the present invention, so that the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost, and toner scattering can occur. No image quality can be improved.
[0128]
In the above-described embodiment, toner is described as an example of the powder, but the present invention can be similarly applied to an apparatus for transporting powder other than toner. Also, the drive signal applied to the transport electrode has been described by taking three phases as an example, but may be four phases, six phases, or the like.
[0129]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the electrostatic transfer device of the present invention, since the transfer substrate has a configuration in which the common electrodes interconnected to both ends of the transfer electrode are formed, disconnection of the transfer electrode and the like are performed. Therefore, the generation of a powder pool can be reduced even if the generation of the powder occurs, and the powder can be stably moved with a simple configuration, and can be applied to the ETH development.
[0130]
According to the developing device of the present invention, since the transport substrate of the electrostatic transport device of the present invention for moving the charged toner is provided, it is possible to perform small, stable and high-quality development.
[0131]
According to the process cartridge according to the present invention, since the configuration including the developing device according to the present invention is provided, a small process cartridge capable of performing stable high-quality development can be obtained.
[0132]
According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the image forming apparatus includes the developing device according to the present invention or includes a plurality of process cartridges, high-quality development can be performed and a high-quality image can be formed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate of a first embodiment of an electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a drive circuit that applies a drive signal to the transport substrate.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the drive signal.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of the drive signal.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining still another example of the drive signal.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate according to a second embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 10;
FIG. 13 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line GG of FIG. 10;
FIG. 14 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line HH in FIG. 10;
FIG. 15 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate according to a third embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line JJ of FIG. 15;
18 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line KK in FIG.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory sectional view taken along line LL in FIG. 15;
FIG. 20 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate according to a fourth embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
21 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line MM in FIG. 20;
FIG. 22 is an explanatory sectional view taken along the line NN in FIG. 20;
FIG. 23 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate of a fifth embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 24 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate according to a sixth embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 25 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate according to a seventh embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention.
FIG. 26 is an explanatory cross-sectional view for explaining interconnection by contact holes in the transfer substrate of each embodiment of the electrostatic transfer device according to the present invention;
FIG. 27 is an explanatory cross-sectional view for explaining interconnection by contact holes in a comparative example;
FIG. 28 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 29 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a developing device according to the present invention of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram for describing a developing operation of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 31 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention;
FIG. 32 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a developing device according to the present invention of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram for describing a developing operation of the image forming apparatus;
FIG. 34 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the invention.
FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram of a process cartridge according to the present invention of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 36 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention;
FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram of a process cartridge according to the present invention of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 38 is an explanatory plan view of a transfer substrate of a general electrostatic transfer device.
FIG. 39 is a configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of the transport apparatus.
FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram illustrating occurrence of a toner conveyance failure by the conveyance device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Transfer board, 11 ... Support board, 12a, 12b, 12c ... Electrode, 13 ... Surface protection layer, 14 ... Transport surface, 15a, 15b, 15c ... Common electrode, 16a, 16b, 16c ... Drive signal application input terminal , 20a, 20b, 20c: external common electrode, 101: photosensitive drum (latent image carrier), 116: developing device, 136: electrostatic transport device, 202, 260: process cartridge.

Claims (17)

In an electrostatic transfer device provided with a transfer substrate for moving powder with electrostatic force, the transfer substrate has a transfer electrode for generating electrostatic force for moving the powder on a support substrate at a predetermined interval. It is repeatedly formed and arranged substantially parallel to a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction, and further has a transfer surface formed of an insulating member on the surface, and a common electrode interconnected at both ends of the transfer electrode is formed. An electrostatic carrier device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The electrostatic transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the common electrode interconnected at both ends of the transfer electrode is provided with an n-phase (n is an integer of 3 or more) drive signal application input terminal. An electrostatic carrier device characterized by: 3. The electrostatic transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the drive signal application input terminal is provided on one side of a common electrode on both sides interconnected with the transfer electrode, and the drive signal application input is provided on the other side. An electrostatic transport device characterized in that no terminals are provided. 4. The electrostatic transport device according to claim 2, wherein the drive signal application input terminal is disposed at a position extended outside the common electrode in a direction orthogonal to the movement direction. 5. Electrostatic transport device. 5. The electrostatic transport device according to claim 2, wherein the n-phase common electrode and the transport electrode connected to each common electrode are in different layers. 5. The electrostatic transport device according to claim 2, wherein the common electrode and the transport electrode connected to the common electrode have at least two phases out of n phases in the same layer for each phase. 6. Characteristic electrostatic transfer device. 7. The electrostatic transport device according to claim 1, wherein the common electrodes on both sides are interconnected in a low-resistance pattern other than the transport electrodes. The electrostatic transport device according to claim 1, wherein the common electrode has a wider electrode width than the transport electrode. 9. The electrostatic transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising the common electrode integrally formed and interconnected, and the transfer electrode connected to the common electrode. . 9. The electrostatic transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising the common electrode interconnected via a contact hole and the transfer electrode connected to the common electrode. Transport device. 10. The electrostatic transfer device according to claim 9, wherein a common electrode and a transfer electrode are stacked in this order from the surface of the support substrate. 4. The electrostatic transport device according to claim 1, wherein the common electrode and the transport electrode are provided on different surfaces of the support substrate. 5. The electrostatic transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising at least two transfer substrates having transfer surfaces opposed to each other. The electrostatic transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the developing device is configured to develop the latent image on the latent image carrier by depositing the charged toner on the latent image carrier. A developing device comprising a transfer substrate. 15. A process cartridge including at least a developing unit and detachable from an image forming apparatus main body, wherein the developing unit is the developing device according to claim 14. 15. An image forming apparatus comprising a developing device for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier by attaching a charged toner, wherein the developing device is the developing device according to claim 14. . An image forming apparatus for forming a color image, comprising a plurality of the process cartridges according to claim 15.

Images