JP3938573B2 - Wet image forming device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wet image forming apparatus that transfers a carrier liquid in a toner image formed using a liquid developer to a transfer material after removal.

  A wet image forming apparatus that obtains a toner image using a liquid developer containing toner particles and a carrier liquid can use submicron-sized extremely fine toner particles, so that high image quality can be realized, and a small amount of toner is sufficient. Since the image density can be obtained, there are advantages such as being economical, realizing a texture similar to printing (for example, offset printing), and realizing energy saving because toner can be fixed on a sheet at a relatively low temperature.

  In such a wet image forming apparatus, it is necessary to remove the carrier liquid that wets the surface of the photoconductor before transferring the toner image formed on the photoconductor to the transfer material during image formation. In particular, in a pressure transfer system in which a photoconductor and a transfer material are brought into pressure contact with each other and the toner particles on the surface of the photoconductor are transferred to the transfer material by using the adhesive force of the toner particles. It has been confirmed that the transfer is carried out very efficiently when the carrier liquid is sufficiently removed from the image surface. Conversely, if the surface of the photoconductor is wet with a carrier liquid during transfer, transfer efficiency deteriorates. Therefore, particularly in the pressure transfer system, it is necessary to sufficiently dry the toner image before the transfer process in order to obtain good transfer.

For this reason, conventionally, an apparatus has been developed that recovers the carrier liquid removed from the surface of the toner image by using a blowing nozzle with a carrier liquid removing blade. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)
For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-83806 (page 5, FIG. 7), in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-83806, in the gap between a photosensitive member and a thin elastic plate that covers the photosensitive member by a blowing nozzle, the toner image transport direction. The carrier liquid that has flowed in the opposite direction to the toner image transport direction is removed by a carrier liquid removing blade that is close to the photosensitive member.

  However, when the carrier liquid is caused to flow backward by the gas from the blowing nozzle and recovered to the carrier liquid removing blade as in (Patent Document 1), if the wind velocity by the blowing nozzle is strong, the carrier liquid that flows backward near the surface of the photoreceptor is the carrier. Even at a position facing the liquid removing blade, it is pushed by the wind and slips through the gap between the photosensitive member and the carrier liquid removing blade. Therefore, the carrier liquid that has passed through the carrier liquid removal blade contaminates the setting means provided near the carrier liquid removal blade on the upstream side in the toner image conveyance direction, or in the case of an IOI type color image forming apparatus. May cause color mixing in the developing device and may impair image quality.

  On the other hand, if the wind speed from the blow nozzle is low, the carrier liquid that flows backward near the surface of the photoconductor approaches the carrier liquid removal blade, and the carrier liquid escapes from the tip of the carrier liquid removal blade due to the reflected air from the carrier liquid removal blade. This causes a phenomenon that good removal cannot be obtained. That is, in order to smoothly remove the carrier liquid flowing backward by the blow nozzle, it is difficult to adjust the wind speed of the blow nozzle and the operability is inferior, and the carrier liquid slipped through the carrier liquid remove blade is the cause. There is a risk of image quality deterioration due to poor toner particle setting or color mixing.

  Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-described problems, and a carrier liquid that is moved from above a toner image without causing toner particle setting failure or color mixing of the developing device due to a backflowing carrier liquid during image formation with a liquid developer. A wet-type image forming apparatus that can remove toner and increase the speed of toner image drying, enables high-speed and high transfer efficiency to form a toner image by a pressure transfer method, and obtain a high-quality toner image without contamination at high speed The purpose is to provide.

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image carrier, and a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image by supplying a liquid developer comprising a carrier liquid and toner particles to the image carrier, A transfer device that transfers the toner image onto a transfer medium and a space between the toner image forming unit and the transfer device, and a gas is blown onto the image holding member to cause the carrier liquid to flow along the image holding member. A spraying device that moves from above the toner image; and a downstream of the gas spray direction that blocks the gas flow path and generates a resistance air flow that resists the gas spray direction, thereby generating a predetermined flow on the image carrier. A resistance device that forms a reservoir of the carrier liquid in a region and a reservoir removal device that contacts the liquid reservoir and removes the carrier liquid from the surface of the image holding member are provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there are provided an image holding member and a toner image forming unit for forming a toner image by supplying a liquid developer comprising a carrier liquid and toner particles to the image holding member. A setting device that applies an electric field toward the image carrier to the toner particles in the toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image to a transfer medium, and from the toner image forming unit to the transfer device. A spraying device for spraying a gas to the image carrier and moving the carrier liquid from above the toner image along the image carrier, and a gas flow downstream of the gas spraying direction. A resistance device that blocks a path and generates a resistance airflow that resists the gas blowing direction to form a reservoir of the carrier liquid in a predetermined area on the image holding member; and a contact with the reservoir Serial is a carrier liquid which is provided a liquid accumulation removal device for removing from the image bearing member surface.

  According to the present invention, the carrier liquid that has moved from the toner image can be reliably removed. Therefore, the toner image can be dried at high speed, and a high-quality transfer image with high transfer efficiency can be obtained at high speed. In addition, the peripheral device is not contaminated by the carrier liquid moved and removed from the toner image, and a wet image forming apparatus that obtains a high-quality toner image free of contamination at high speed can be put to practical use.

  The present invention generates a resistance airflow that resists the gas from the spray nozzle, forms a liquid pool with a carrier liquid in a predetermined region of the photoreceptor, and reliably removes the carrier liquid with a liquid pool removing device. .

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an image forming unit 10 of a wet full-color electrophotographic apparatus which is a wet image forming apparatus. The image forming unit 10 is an image carrier and has a photosensitive drum 11 in which an organic or amorphous silicon photosensitive layer is provided on a conductive substrate such as aluminum. Around the photosensitive drum 11, yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan in which carrier liquid and toner particles are sequentially dispersed on the photosensitive drum 11 along the rotation of the photosensitive drum 11 in the arrow s direction. Image forming units 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12BK, which are first to fourth toner image forming portions that perform toner image formation using the liquid developer of (C) and black (BK), are arranged.

  The carrier liquid is made of a well-known petroleum insulating solvent (trade name Isopar L, manufactured by Exxon), and the toner particles are obtained by adding a coloring pigment and a charge control agent to a thermoplastic resin having a glass transition point of 45 ° C. It is formed with a particle size of about 0.6 μm.

  Although the image forming units 12Y to 12BK have basically the same configuration except for the color of each liquid developer, the yellow (Y) image forming unit 12Y disposed upstream is referred to. The other image forming units 12M to 12BK are denoted by the same reference numerals and suffixes indicating the respective colors, and description thereof is omitted. The yellow (Y) image forming unit 12Y includes a well-known corona charger or scorotron charger, and the like. The charger 14Y uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and the yellow (Y) image forming unit from a laser irradiation device (not shown). The exposure unit 17Y forms a yellow (Y) electrostatic latent image by selectively irradiating a laser beam 16Y corresponding to the optical signal.

  Further, the image forming units 12Y to 12BK contain liquid developers 18Y to 18BK of the respective colors, supply the liquid developers 18Y to 18BK to the photosensitive drum 11, visualize the electrostatic latent image, and then onto the photosensitive drum 11. Developing rollers 20Y to 20BK for forming toner images, and squeeze rollers 21Y to 21BK provided at a slight gap of 20 to 50 μm from the photosensitive drum 11 for simultaneously removing the toner image after development and removing the carrier liquid, Developing devices 22Y to 22BK.

  At the downstream of the black image forming unit 12BK around the photosensitive drum 11, a charge having the same polarity as the toner particles is applied to the full-color toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11, and the photosensitive drum 11 is applied to the toner particles. A set charger 24 is provided which is a set device that generates an electric field toward the side, reduces floating toner particles, and increases the adhesion strength of the toner particles to the photosensitive drum 11 side. A surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is provided downstream of the set charger 24 to remove the carrier liquid from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after the carrier liquid is moved from the toner image by the air flow after the development is completed.

  An intermediate transfer roller 22b that is pressed against the photosensitive drum 11 by a pressure roller 22a is provided downstream of the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 is subjected to adhesive force of toner particles. Are used, and a transfer device 22 that performs secondary transfer onto the sheet P or the like, and a cleaner 23 that removes toner particles remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 after transfer are provided.

  Next, the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 includes a spray nozzle 26 that is a spray device that sprays gas onto the photosensitive drum 11, a resistance device that blocks gas from the spray nozzle 26 and a shielding wall 27 that is a shielding member, and a photosensitive member. The carrier liquid guide plate 30 is a liquid pool removing device that contacts the liquid pool 28 of the carrier liquid formed on the surface of the body drum 11 and removes the liquid pool 28 from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. The carrier liquid guide plate 30 has a carrier liquid recovery pipe 31 and a removed liquid recovery tank 32 for guiding the carrier liquid removed from the photosensitive drum 11.

  The spray nozzle 26 has a slit width w of 1 mm, and is connected to a 0.5 kw blower 26a. By adjusting the output of the blower 26a, 3 to 40 m / s is obtained as the wind speed measured at a position of 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26. The blowing angle θ1 of the gas from the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 by the blowing nozzle 26 is 95 degrees, and the tip of the nozzle 26 has a gap of 5 mm from the photosensitive drum 11. The shielding wall 27 is arranged downstream in the direction of gas blowing by the blowing nozzle 26, and the angle θ2 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is 120 degrees. On the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, the distance from the position immediately below the slit of the spray nozzle 26 to the position where the extended line of the shielding wall 27 intersects with the photosensitive drum 11 is about 30 mm.

  The carrier liquid guide plate 30 prevents the gas flow formed by the spray nozzle 26 and the shielding wall 27 from being affected, and allows the carrier liquid in the liquid reservoir 28 to be efficiently discharged while in contact with the liquid reservoir 28. In order to be able to guide, the tip of the 1 mm thick polyethylene long plate is processed to an acute angle of 5 degrees, and the tip of the carrier liquid guide plate 30 has a 200 μm gap from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the angle θ3 formed by the extension line of the carrier liquid guide plate 30 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is 10 degrees.

  Next, the gas flow of the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the gas blown from the blowing nozzle 26 contacts the photoconductive drum 11, and the carrier liquid on the surface of the toner image formed on the photoconductive drum 11 is rotated upstream along the photoconductive drum 11. And move from the toner image. Most of the gas blown to the photosensitive drum 11 flows upstream in the rotational direction along the polarity of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 as indicated by an arrow m. Thereafter, the gas collides with the shielding wall 27 and changes the flow path, partly in the opening direction in the direction of arrow n and partly in the direction of arrow p in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow m.

  The carrier liquid that has received the gas in the direction of the arrow p and is pushed back from the toner image surface along the photosensitive drum 11 to the upstream side in the rotational direction is 20 mm upstream from the gas contact position T by the spray nozzle 26. A steady liquid pool 28 having a circumferential width of about 5 mm is formed at the liquid pool position U at a distance. The tip of the carrier liquid guide plate 30 is disposed so as to contact the lower part of the liquid reservoir 28.

  Next, the effect | action which demonstrates removal of the carrier liquid in the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism 20 is described. The photosensitive drum 11 is first charged by the charger 14Y in the yellow (Y) image forming unit 12Y according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 11 in the direction of the arrow s by the start of the image forming process, and then not shown corresponding to the image information. A laser beam 16Y corresponding to yellow image information irradiated from the laser light emitting device is selectively irradiated to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a yellow (Y) image. Further, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is developed by the developing device 18Y, and a yellow (Y) toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11. Similarly, magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) toner images are sequentially superimposed on the photosensitive drum 11 by subsequent image forming units 12M to 12BK to form a full-color toner image. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 reaches the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 after the image is set through the set charger 24.

  In the surplus carrier liquid removal mechanism 20, the output of the blower 26 a is adjusted so that the wind speed measured at a position 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26 is 15 m / s. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is pushed back on the upstream side in the rotational direction along the photosensitive drum 11 from the carrier liquid on the surface by the gas having a wind speed of 15 m / s from the blowing nozzle 26 on the image made of toner particles. An image made of toner particles on the photosensitive drum 11 is conveyed toward the transfer device 22. However, when demonstrating the removal of the carrier liquid, the toner image on the formed photosensitive drum 11 is removed by the cleaner 23 without performing the transfer by the transfer device 22.

  The carrier liquid pushed back to the upstream side in the rotation direction along the photosensitive drum 11 receives the gas from the shielding wall 27 in the direction of the arrow p, and the circumferential width of the photosensitive drum 11 at the liquid pool position U is about. A 5 mm liquid reservoir 28 is formed. That is, the carrier liquid is not pushed back further upstream from the liquid pool position U regardless of the gas from the spray nozzle 26. The liquid reservoir 28 is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 through the carrier liquid guide plate 30, flows into the carrier liquid recovery pipe 31, and is recovered in the removed liquid recovery tank 32.

  As described above, the carrier liquid on the toner image formed by the image forming unit 10 is removed by the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20, and the drying rate of the obtained image is measured. As a result, the black (BK) developing device 18BK is just passed. The drying rate of the toner image was 14 wt%, whereas the drying rate of the toner image immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 was 33 wt%. Here, the drying rate is the ratio of the solid content contained in the toner image.

  Actually, the measurement of the drying rate immediately after passing through the developing device 18BK and immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 stops the photosensitive drum 11 and the blower 26a when passing through the developing device 18BK and when passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20, respectively. The toner images immediately after passing through the developing device 18BK and immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 are scraped with a blade, respectively, and the ratio (solid content concentration) between the weight immediately after scraping and the weight after drying (solid weight) ) The drying rate may be measured by irradiating the toner image immediately after passing the developing device 18BK and immediately after passing the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 with laser light, and measuring the reflectance from the toner image with a laser sensor.

  In this embodiment, when a continuous 10,000 sheet printing test was performed, a steady liquid pool 28 was formed at the liquid pool position U between the spray nozzle 26 and the shielding wall 27, and at the same time, the carrier liquid guide plate 30. The steady flow of the removal liquid flowing along At this time, there was no carrier liquid passing through the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 and heading further toward the upstream set charger 24 or developing device 18BK. That is, the carrier liquid pushed back to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 by the gas from the spray nozzle 26 is completely removed by the carrier liquid guide plate 30, and contamination of the set charger 24 and color mixing of the developing device 18BK. Was not seen. Further, about 35 wt% of the carrier liquid contained in the toner image immediately after passing through the developing device 18BK was collected in the removal liquid collection tank 32.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the drying angle of the toner image immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is measured by changing the blowing angle θ1 of the gas to the photosensitive drum 11 by the blowing nozzle 26 to remove the carrier liquid. When the ease of control was examined, the results shown in Table 1 of FIG. 5 were obtained. That is, when θ1 is 90 degrees, the gas from the spray nozzle 26 is divided into two upstream and downstream in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11, and the carrier liquid cannot be efficiently pushed back to the upstream side. The toner image drying rate immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 was 18 wt%, and the increase from 14 wt% immediately after passing through the developing device 18BK was small.

  When θ1 is in the range of 95 to 120 degrees, a substantially good liquid pool is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and the toner image drying rate immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is 30 wt% or more. In particular, when θ1 is 95 degrees, it is easy to form a stable liquid reservoir 28 at the liquid reservoir position U. On the other hand, when θ1 is 135 degrees, the position where the liquid pool is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 is shifted to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11, and the carrier liquid is transferred to the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the photosensitive drum 11. There was a slight phenomenon of flowing through the gap to the direction of the set charger 24. However, in this case, when the blower 26a was adjusted to reduce the wind speed of the spray nozzle 26 to 8 m / s, slipping of the carrier liquid toward the set charger 24 was eliminated.

  When θ1 is 140 degrees, most of the gas from the spray nozzle 26 passes through the gap between the shielding wall 27 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 and the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 toward the set charger 24. Therefore, it is difficult to make a liquid pool. That is, the carrier liquid pushed back to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor drum 11 hardly stalls at the liquid pool position U, and does not create a liquid pool, and urges the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the photoconductor drum 11. It passed well and most of the carrier liquid flowed in the direction of the set charger 24 and further to the developing device 18BK. From the above results, the wind speed measured at a position 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26 is 15 m / s, the angle θ2 of the shielding wall 27 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is 120 degrees, and the extension line of the carrier liquid guide plate 30 is the photosensitive member. When the angle θ3 formed with respect to the surface of the drum 11 is 10 degrees, the spraying angle θ1 of the gas to the photosensitive drum 11 by the spray nozzle 26 may be in the range of 95 degrees to 135 degrees, and more desirably 95 degrees. 120 degrees.

  Next, in this embodiment, the mounting angle θ2 of the shielding wall 27 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is changed, and the drying rate of the toner image immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is measured to remove the carrier liquid. When the ease of control was examined, the results shown in Table 2 of FIG. 6 were obtained. That is, when θ2 is 80 degrees, the liquid pool is small, the toner image drying rate immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is 25 wt%, and the increase from the drying rate of 14 wt% immediately after passing through the developing device 18BK is small.

  When θ2 is in the range of 90 to 140 degrees, a substantially good liquid pool is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and the toner image drying rate immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is 30 wt% or more. On the other hand, when θ2 was 150 degrees, the liquid pool was small, and a phenomenon that the carrier liquid slipped through the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the photosensitive drum 11 and flowed in the direction of the set charger 24 was observed. From the above results, the wind speed measured at a position 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26 is 15 m / s, the spray angle θ1 of the spray nozzle 26 with respect to the photosensitive drum 11 is 95 degrees, and the extension line of the carrier liquid guide plate 30 is the photoreceptor. When the angle θ3 formed with respect to the surface of the drum 11 is 10 degrees, an appropriate range of the angle θ2 of the shielding wall 27 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 may be a range of 90 degrees to 140 degrees.

  Further, in this embodiment, the angle θ3 formed by the extended line of the carrier liquid guide plate 30 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is changed, and the drying rate of the toner image immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 20 is measured. When the removal ability of the liquid reservoir 28 on the photosensitive drum 11 was examined, the results shown in Table 3 of FIG. 7 were obtained. That is, θ3 is preferably as parallel as possible to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. The wind speed measured at a position 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26 is 15 m / s, the spray angle θ1 of the spray nozzle 26 with respect to the photosensitive drum 11 is 95 degrees, and the angle θ2 of the shielding wall 27 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is 120 degrees. In this case, when θ3 becomes wider than 20 degrees, a phenomenon occurs in which the carrier liquid passes through the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the photosensitive drum 11 and flows in the direction of the set charger 24.

  With this configuration, the carrier liquid pushed back from the toner image surface to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 by the gas from the spray nozzle 26 is steadily at the liquid pool position U by the gas from the shielding wall 27. It can be formed in the liquid reservoir 28. Further, the liquid pool 28 is reliably removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 through the carrier liquid guiding plate 30 steadily without passing through the gap between the carrier liquid guiding plate 30 and the photosensitive drum 11. Therefore, the carrier liquid that has passed through the carrier liquid guide plate 30 does not cause contamination of the set charger 24 or color mixing of the developing device 18, and the carrier liquid that has moved from the toner image can be reliably removed. Therefore, good pressure transfer is possible in the subsequent transfer process. Furthermore, since the recovery efficiency of the carrier liquid into the removal liquid recovery tank 32 can be improved, energy saving can be obtained by improving the recycling efficiency of the carrier liquid.

  Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment described above except that the structure of the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism is different, but the other parts are the same as in the first embodiment. The same reference numerals are assigned and detailed description thereof is omitted. In the surplus carrier liquid removal mechanism 36 of the present embodiment, a gas recovery pipe 37 that guides the gas in the open space A around the photosensitive drum 11 that reaches the shielding wall 27 from the spray nozzle 26 is provided. The gas recovery pipe 37 is integrally connected to the shielding wall 27, and has a carrier liquid recovery filter 37a for recovering the vaporized carrier liquid at the gas discharge end. The gas in the open space A guided to the gas recovery pipe 37 is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port of the full-color electrophotographic apparatus through the carrier liquid recovery filter 37a.

  A slit 31 a of about 1 mm is formed between the shielding wall 27 at the tip of the carrier liquid recovery tube 31 and the carrier liquid guide plate 30. A trap 38 and a suction pump 40 are provided at the recovery side end of the carrier liquid recovery pipe 31, and the carrier liquid transmitted from the carrier liquid guide plate 30 to the slit 31 a is sucked and recovered in the trap 38.

  In the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 36, the carrier liquid on the surface of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 by the gas having a wind speed of 15 m / s measured at a position 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26 is the photosensitive drum. 11 is pushed back upstream in the rotational direction. The gas blown to the photosensitive drum 11 then hits the shielding wall 27 and changes the flow path. A part of the gas is guided to the gas recovery pipe 37 as indicated by the arrow r direction, and after the carrier liquid is recovered by the carrier liquid recovery filter 37a, it is exhausted outside the full-color electrophotographic apparatus.

  The other part of the gas is directed in the direction of the arrow p and is sprayed onto the carrier liquid pushed back from the toner image surface along the photosensitive drum 11 to the upstream side in the rotational direction. The carrier liquid that has received the gas from the spray nozzle 26 in the open space A and the gas in the direction of the arrow p from the shielding wall 27 has a distance of 20 mm upstream from the contact position T of the gas by the spray nozzle 26 in the rotation direction. At the liquid pool position U, a constant liquid pool 28 having a circumferential width of the photosensitive drum 11 of about 5 mm is obtained. The liquid reservoir 28 is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 through the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and is sucked into the carrier liquid recovery pipe 31 from the slit 31a between the shielding wall 27 and the carrier liquid guide plate 30 to recover the carrier liquid. It is guided to the pipe 31 and collected in the trap 38.

  In this embodiment, when a continuous 100,000-sheet printing test was performed, in the open space A, a steady liquid reservoir 28 was formed at the liquid reservoir position U between the spray nozzle 26 and the shielding wall 27, and at the same time the carrier A steady flow of the removal liquid flowing along the liquid guide plate 30 was generated. At this time, there is no carrier liquid passing through the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 and further toward the upstream set charger 24 or the developing device 18BK, and contamination of the set charger 24 and the developing device. 18BK color mixing was not seen. The carrier liquid pushed back to the open space A is completely removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 and then reliably recovered by the carrier liquid recovery filter 37a and the trap 38. The recovery amount of the carrier liquid is the developing device 18BK. It was about 40 wt% of the carrier liquid contained in the toner image immediately after passing.

  With this configuration, the carrier liquid pushed back into the open space A by the gas from the spray nozzle 26 can be formed in the liquid reservoir 28 at the liquid reservoir position U as in the first embodiment. Further, the liquid reservoir 28 is steadily removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 through the carrier liquid guiding plate 30 without passing through the gap between the carrier liquid guiding plate 30 and the photosensitive drum 11, and is reliably removed by the carrier liquid. Contamination of the set charger 24 and color mixing of the developing device 18 do not occur, and the carrier liquid that has moved from the toner image can be reliably removed, and good pressure transfer can be performed in the subsequent transfer process. Further, the gas containing the carrier liquid in the open space A and the pushed-back carrier liquid can be reliably collected in the carrier liquid collection filter 37a and the trap 38, respectively, and the collection efficiency of the carrier liquid can be improved. This can save energy by improving the recycling efficiency of the carrier liquid.

  Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment described above in that the configuration until the charging device 22 is reached after passing through the image forming units 12Y to 12BK is the same as the first embodiment. The same components as those described in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. A set roller 40 as a set device is provided downstream of the black image forming unit 12BK around the photosensitive drum 11 of this embodiment with a gap of 100 μm from the photosensitive drum 11.

  The set roller 40 is formed by coating the surface of an aluminum hollow pipe with Teflon resin (Teflon, registered trademark). By applying a set voltage to the set roller 40 and applying a charge having the same polarity as the toner particles to the full-color toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 11, an electric field is generated on the toner particles toward the photoconductor drum 11. This reduces the floating toner particles and increases the adhesion strength of the toner particles to the photosensitive drum 11 side.

  Downstream of the set roller 40, an excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 that moves and removes the carrier liquid from the toner image by the air flow, and a drying unit 42 are provided. The shielding wall 27 on the downstream side in the gas blowing direction by the blowing nozzle 26 of the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 constitutes a part of the suction nozzle 46 that sucks the liquid reservoir 28 that is transmitted through the carrier liquid guide plate 30. The suction nozzle 46 sucks the carrier liquid from the slit 46a between the shielding wall 27 and the carrier liquid guide plate 30 by the suction pump 47, and collects it in the trap 48 through the duct 46b.

  The drying unit 42 pierces the photosensitive drum 11 between the multistage nozzle block 42a that blows high-speed air toward the downstream of the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 and the multistage nozzle block 42a to reach the transfer device 22. A covering hood 42b is provided. The blowing angle of the high-speed air to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by the multistage nozzle block 42 a is 90 degrees or less, and most of the high-speed air flows downstream in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11. The high-speed air blown from the multi-stage nozzle block 42a downstream in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 efficiently flows through the gap between the hood 42b and the photosensitive drum 11 along the curvature of the photosensitive drum 11, and continues until just before transfer.

  When the image forming process is performed in the image forming unit 10, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) toner images are sequentially formed on the photosensitive drum 11 by the image forming units 12Y to 12BK. After a full color toner image is formed by superimposing, the image is set by the set roller 40 and then reaches the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 41.

  In the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 41, the carrier liquid on the surface of the toner image formed on the photoconductive drum 11 is rotated by the photoconductive drum 11 by the gas whose wind speed measured at a position 5 mm from the tip of the spray nozzle 26 is 15 m / s. Pushed back in the direction upstream. The gas blown to the photosensitive drum 11 then hits the shielding wall 27 and changes the flow path. A part of the gas goes in the opening direction in the direction of the arrow n as in Example 1, and a part goes in the direction of the arrow p.

  The gas in the direction of the arrow p is blown to the carrier liquid pushed back from the toner image surface along the photosensitive drum 11 to the upstream side in the rotation direction. The carrier liquid on the photosensitive drum 11 receives the gas from the spray nozzle 26 and the gas in the direction of the arrow p from the shielding wall 27, and is 20 mm upstream from the gas contact position T by the spray nozzle 26 in the rotation direction. In the liquid pool position U, the photosensitive drum 11 becomes a steady liquid pool 28 having a circumferential width of about 5 mm. The liquid reservoir 28 is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 through the carrier liquid guide plate 30, is sucked into the suction nozzle 46 through the slit 46a, is guided to the duct 46b, and is collected in the trap 48.

  The toner image from which the surface carrier liquid has been removed by the gas from the spray nozzle 26 then reaches the drying unit 42. In the drying unit 42, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is sprayed with high-speed air adjusted by the multistage nozzle block 41 so that the wind speed measured at a position of 5 mm from the slit of the multistage nozzle block 41 is 80 m / s. . Thereafter, the toner image is exposed to high-speed air flowing through the gap between the hood 42 b and the photosensitive drum 11 along the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and is sufficiently dried to reach the transfer device 22.

  The toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 by the transfer device 22 is a transfer material that is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer roller 22b that is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 11 by the load of the pressure roller 22a, and further conveyed in the direction of arrow t. Secondary transfer is performed on the paper P. The full color image transferred onto the paper P is discharged through a fixing process. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 11 is freed of residual toner particles by the cleaner 23, and a series of image forming processes is completed to prepare for the next image forming process.

  As a result of measuring the drying rate of the toner image formed in the image forming unit 10 in this manner, the drying rate of the toner image immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 is 33 wt%, and the drying immediately before passing immediately after passing through the drying unit 42. The rate was 85 wt%, and the drying rate of the toner image was in an optimum range for pressure transfer.

  In this embodiment, by adjusting the wind speed of the blower 26a of the spray nozzle 26 of the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 or the multistage nozzle block 42a of the drying unit 42, it is immediately after passing the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 or immediately after passing the drying unit 42. The toner image drying rate is easily variable, and when there is a distribution of image density differences in the same toner image, adjustments are made to obtain a drying rate in the proper range to prevent transfer failure due to overdrying. Easily possible. From the experiment, the drying rate immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 can be adjusted in the range of 20 wt% to 50 wt%, and the drying rate immediately after passing through the drying unit 42 can be adjusted in the range of 70 wt% to 100 wt%. .

  In this example, when 100,000 sheets of image output tests were performed continuously, the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 41 formed a steady liquid pool 28 at the liquid pool position U on the photosensitive drum 11, and at the same time, the carrier liquid. A steady flow of the removal liquid flowing along the guide plate 30 was generated, and the liquid reservoir 28 on the photosensitive drum 11 could be reliably removed. At this time, no carrier liquid passing through the gap between the carrier liquid guide plate 30 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 was seen, and contamination of the set roller 40 and color mixing of the developing device 18BK were not seen.

  Further, in the drying unit 42, the carrier liquid in the toner image can be dried at a high speed, the drying rate of the toner image at the time of transfer can be maintained in an optimum range, and high-quality printing at a high speed can be obtained.

  If configured in this manner, as in the first embodiment, the liquid reservoir 28 can be constantly formed at the liquid reservoir position U on the photosensitive drum 11 by the gas from the spray nozzle 26 and the gas from the shielding wall 27. The liquid reservoir 28 can be reliably removed from the surface of the photoconductive drum 11 through the carrier liquid guide plate 30 steadily without causing contamination of the set roller 40 or color mixing of the developing device 18. Accordingly, the subsequent drying unit 42 can easily speed up the drying of the toner image, transfer defects due to poor drying can be prevented, and a high-quality transfer image can be obtained regardless of the increase in process speed. Further, by reliably removing the liquid reservoir 28, the recovery efficiency of the carrier liquid can be improved, and energy saving can be obtained by improving the recycling efficiency of the carrier liquid.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the fourth embodiment, a drying unit is further provided in the second embodiment described above, and the other components are the same as those in the second embodiment. Therefore, the same components as those described in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. A detailed description thereof will be omitted. A drying unit 50 is provided downstream of the surplus carrier liquid removal mechanism 36 of the present embodiment.

  The drying unit 50 includes a multi-stage nozzle block 51 and a hood 52 that covers the photosensitive drum 11 with a gap between the multi-stage nozzle block 51 and the transfer device 22. The multi-stage nozzle block 50 a forms an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and blows high-speed air toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 and the hot-air blowing nozzle 53 that blows low-temperature hot air. The multistage high-speed nozzle 54 is integrally incorporated. At the downstream end of the hood 52, a recovery port 56a of an air recovery pipe 56 that recovers high-speed air that has passed through the gap with the photosensitive drum 11 is provided. An air filter 57 for removing the carrier liquid in the high-speed air is provided at the collection end of the air collection pipe 56.

  When the image forming process is performed in the image forming unit 10, the toner image reaches the drying unit 50 after the carrier liquid on the toner image is removed and collected by the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 36. In the drying unit 50, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is sprayed with warm air of 60 ° C. from the warm air spray nozzle 53 at a low speed of 30 m / s. Next, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is blown by high-speed air at 60 ° C. adjusted so that the wind speed measured at a position of 5 mm from the slit of the multi-stage high-speed nozzle 54 is 80 m / s by the multi-stage high-speed nozzle 54. Thereafter, the toner image is exposed to high-speed air flowing through the gap between the hood 52 and the photosensitive drum 11 along the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, sufficiently dried, and reaches the transfer device 22.

  The high-speed air that has passed through the gap between the photosensitive drum 11 and the hood 52 is recovered from the recovery port 56a to the air recovery tube 56, and after the carrier liquid is removed by the air filter 57, the air is discharged from the exhaust port of the full-color electrophotographic apparatus. To be released.

  When the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 reaches the transfer device 22, the toner image is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer roller 22 b that is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 11 by the load of the pressure roller 22 a, and further transferred to the paper P. The full color image transferred onto the paper P is discharged through a fixing process. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 11 is freed of residual toner particles by the cleaner 23, and a series of image forming processes is completed to prepare for the next image forming process.

  As a result of measuring the drying rate of the toner image formed in the image forming unit 10 in this way, the drying rate of the toner image immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 36 is 33 wt%, and the drying rate immediately after passing through the hot air blowing nozzle 53 is The drying rate immediately before the transfer immediately after passing through the drying unit 50 was 90 wt%, and the drying rate of the toner image was in an optimum range for pressure transfer.

  In the present embodiment, the hot air blowing nozzle is immediately after passing through the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 36 by adjusting the wind speed of the blower 26a of the blowing nozzle 26 of the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 36, the hot air blowing nozzle 53 or the high-speed multistage nozzle 54. 53 or the drying rate of the toner image immediately after passing through the drying unit 50 can be easily changed, and when the image density difference is distributed in the same toner image, a proper range of drying is performed to prevent transfer failure due to overdrying. Adjustment to obtain a rate is easily possible. From the experiment, the drying rate immediately after passing the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 36 can be adjusted in the range of 20 wt% to 50 wt%, and the drying rate immediately after passing the hot air blowing nozzle 53 can be adjusted in the range of 40 wt% to 85 wt%. Yes, the drying rate immediately after passing through the drying unit 50 was adjustable in the range of 70 wt% to 100 wt%.

  In this example, when 100,000 images were continuously output, the surplus carrier liquid removal mechanism 36 did not cause contamination of the set charger 24 and color mixing of the developing device 18BK. The liquid reservoir 28 on the photosensitive drum 11 can be surely removed by the carrier liquid guide plate 30 at the same time, and the toner image is dried at a high speed by the drying unit. The drying rate was maintained within the optimum range, and high-quality image output at high speed was obtained.

  In this embodiment, hot air is blown to the toner image by the hot air blowing nozzle 53 for high-speed drying of the toner image. However, the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 36 or the multistage high-speed nozzle 54 also blows hot air as appropriate. This speeds up the drying process. However, the drying of the toner image proceeds according to the image density distribution state and the atmosphere in the apparatus, and the drying rate of the toner image when the carrier liquid does not remain in the image, for example, when passing through the position of the hot air blowing nozzle 53 is In the case of 75 wt% or more, when the hot air is blown and dried with the multistage high-speed nozzle 54, the image is overdried or a film is formed in which toner particles are fused together, resulting in transfer failure. Accordingly, in such a case, spray drying at a temperature below the glass transition point of the toner particles is suitable for the multistage high-speed nozzle 54.

  With this configuration, the liquid reservoir 28 can be formed on the photosensitive drum 11 in a steady manner, and the liquid reservoir 28 formed without causing contamination of the set charger 24 and color mixing of the developing device 18. 30 can be reliably removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. Accordingly, it is possible to easily realize the high speed drying of the toner image by the subsequent drying unit 50. In addition, the drying unit 50 can further increase the speed of the toner image by the warm air from the hot air blowing nozzle 53, can prevent transfer failure due to poor drying, and can transfer high-quality images regardless of further increase in the process speed. An image can be obtained. Further, by reliably removing the liquid reservoir 28, the recovery efficiency of the carrier liquid can be improved, and energy saving can be obtained by improving the recycling efficiency of the carrier liquid.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The fifth embodiment is the same as the first embodiment described above except that the structure of the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism is different, but the other parts are the same as in the first embodiment. The detailed description is omitted. The surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 60 of this embodiment includes a spray nozzle 61 that is a spray device that sprays gas onto the photosensitive drum 11, a resistance device that blocks gas from the spray nozzle 61, a shield wall 62 that is a shield member, and a photoreceptor drum. 11 is provided with a carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 which is a liquid pool removing device that contacts the liquid pool 63 of the carrier liquid formed on the surface 11 and removes the liquid pool 63 from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. A trap 66 and a suction pump 67 are provided at the suction side end of the carrier liquid suction nozzle 64, and the carrier liquid from the carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 is collected in the trap 66.

  The spray nozzle 61 can adjust the wind speed from the tip of the spray nozzle 61 by adjusting the output of the blower 61a. The blowing angle θ4 of the gas from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 11 by the blowing nozzle 61 is 45 degrees, and the tip of the blowing nozzle 61 has a gap of 5 mm or less from the photosensitive drum 11. The shielding wall 62 is disposed downstream of the blowing direction of the gas by the blowing nozzle 61, and the angle θ5 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is 90 degrees. On the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, the distance from the position immediately below the tip of the spray nozzle 61 to the position where the extended line of the shielding wall 62 intersects the photosensitive drum 11 is about 40 mm.

  The interior of the spray nozzle 61 is finely partitioned by a current plate 61a as shown in FIG. The gas blown from the blowing nozzle 61 is collected near the center in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by the rectifying plate 61a. The shielding wall 62 is bent gently in a letter shape at the center in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 so that the gas from the spray nozzle 61 is likely to gather near the center in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. The carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 is an aluminum thin tube having an inner diameter of 3 mm, and is close to the vicinity of the center in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 where the gas blown from the blowing nozzle 61 is concentrated, while maintaining a gap of 200 μm with the photosensitive drum 11. Are arranged as follows.

  In the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 60, the gas blown from the blowing nozzle 61 comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 11, and the carrier liquid on the surface of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 is made near the center in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. Then, the toner is conveyed in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 11 and moved from the toner image. Thereafter, the gas blown onto the photosensitive drum 11 collides with the shielding wall 62 and changes the flow path, and a part thereof is directed in the opening direction in the arrow v direction and a part is directed in the arrow x direction.

  The carrier liquid that has received the gas in the direction of the arrow x and moved from the toner image surface along the photosensitive drum 11 to the downstream side in the rotation direction is 30 mm downstream from the contact position Y of the gas by the spray nozzle 61 in the rotation direction. At a liquid pool position Z at a distance, a steady liquid pool 63 is formed which has a width of about 20 mm in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 11 and a width of about 5 mm in the circumferential direction and is concentrated near the longitudinal center of the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. . The tip of the carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 is arranged so as to contact the liquid reservoir 63.

  The full-color toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 by the image forming units 12Y to 12BK reaches the excess carrier liquid removing mechanism 60 after passing through the set charger 24. In the surplus carrier liquid removing mechanism 60, the toner image on the photoconductive drum 11 is rotated downstream of the photoconductive drum 11 in the rotational direction of the photoconductive drum 11 from the surface of the carrier liquid on the image made of toner particles by a gas having a wind speed of 15 m / s from the spray nozzle 61. Thus, it is moved near the center in the longitudinal direction.

  The carrier liquid moved downstream in the rotation direction along the photosensitive drum 11 receives the gas in the direction of the arrow x from the shielding wall 62 and has a circumferential width of about 20 mm and a circumference at the liquid accumulation position Z. A liquid reservoir 63 having a width of about 5 mm in the direction is formed. The liquid pool 63 is sucked and removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by the carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 and collected in the trap 66.

  When a continuous 100,000-sheet printing test was performed in this example, a steady liquid pool 63 was formed at the liquid pool position Z between the spray nozzle 61 and the shielding wall 62, and the carrier liquid in the liquid pool 63 was The carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 was sequentially removed by suction. At this time, neither the transfer device 22 on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 11 nor the set charger 24 on the upstream side was contaminated. The carrier liquid removed by the carrier liquid suction nozzle 64 and collected in the trap 66 was about 35 wt% of the carrier liquid contained in the toner image immediately after passing through the developing device 18BK.

  From the experiment, the spray angle θ4 of the gas to the photosensitive drum 11 by the spray nozzle 61 in this embodiment may be in the range of 20 degrees to 90 degrees, and more preferably 45 degrees to 85 degrees. The angle θ5 of the shielding wall 62 with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 may be in the range of 45 degrees to 135 degrees, and more preferably 60 degrees to 120 degrees.

  Further, in this embodiment, the gas is concentrated by the spray nozzle 61 in the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 11 to form liquid pools on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 11, and the carrier liquid suction nozzles disposed respectively. The carrier liquid may be removed by suction.

  If comprised in this way, the liquid pool 63 which concentrated regularly in the liquid pool position Z with the gas from the spray nozzle 61 and the gas from the shielding wall 62 can be formed, and it does not pollute the circumference | surroundings, but a carrier liquid suction nozzle At 64, the carrier liquid can be reliably removed by suction. Therefore, good pressure transfer is possible in the subsequent transfer process. The carrier liquid sucked and removed can be reliably collected in the trap 66, the recovery efficiency of the carrier liquid can be improved, and energy saving can be obtained by improving the recycling efficiency of the carrier liquid.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified without changing the spirit thereof. For example, if a toner image is formed using a liquid developer, the configuration of the image forming unit is as follows. The type and number of liquid developers to be used are not limited. When obtaining a color image, a plurality of types of liquid developers may be superimposed on a transfer medium instead of on the image holding member. Furthermore, the resistance device is not limited to the shielding member, and may be an airflow generation member that generates a resistance airflow.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming unit of a color electrophotographic apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism of Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the carrier liquid guide plate of Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the gas in the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism of Example 1 of this invention. 3 is a table 1 showing a drying rate of a toner image according to a spray angle by a spray nozzle of Example 1 of the present invention. 6 is a table 2 showing a drying rate of a toner image according to an attachment angle of a shielding wall in Example 1 of the present invention. It is Table 3 which shows the liquid pool removal capability by the attachment angle of the carrier liquid guide plate of Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism of Example 2 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the image formation part of the color electrophotographic apparatus of Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism and drying unit of Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism and drying unit of Example 4 of this invention. It is the schematic block diagram which looked at the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism of Example 5 of this invention from the side surface. It is the schematic block diagram which looked at the excess carrier liquid removal mechanism of Example 5 of this invention from the photosensitive drum longitudinal direction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image formation part 11 ... Photoconductor drum 12Y, 12M, 12C, 12BK ... Image formation unit 14Y, 14M, 14C, 14BK ... Charging device 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17BK ... Exposure part 18Y, 18M, 18C, 18BK ... Development Device 20 ... Surplus carrier liquid removal mechanism 22 ... Transfer device 23 ... Cleaner 24 ... Set charger 26 ... Spray nozzle 26a ... Blower 27 ... Shielding wall 28 ... Liquid reservoir 30 ... Carrier liquid guide plate 31 ... Recovery pipe 32 ... Removal liquid recovery tank

Claims (5)

An image carrier;
A toner image forming unit that forms a toner image by supplying a liquid developer comprising a carrier liquid and toner particles to the image carrier;
A transfer device for transferring the toner image to a transfer medium;
A spraying device that is provided between the toner image forming unit and the transfer device, and sprays a gas onto the image holding member to move the carrier liquid from the toner image along the image holding member;
Downstream of the gas blowing direction, the gas flow path is blocked to generate a resistance air flow that resists the gas blowing direction, thereby forming a reservoir of the carrier liquid in a predetermined region on the image holding body. A resistance device;
A wet image forming apparatus comprising: a liquid pool removing device that contacts the liquid pool and removes the carrier liquid from the surface of the image holding member. An image carrier;
A toner image forming unit that forms a toner image by supplying a liquid developer comprising a carrier liquid and toner particles to the image carrier;
A setting device that applies an electric field toward the image carrier to the toner particles in the toner image;
A transfer device for transferring the toner image to a transfer medium;
A spraying device that is provided between the toner image forming unit and the transfer device, and sprays a gas onto the image holding member to move the carrier liquid from the toner image along the image holding member;
Downstream of the gas blowing direction, the gas flow path is blocked to generate a resistance air flow that resists the gas blowing direction, thereby forming a reservoir of the carrier liquid in a predetermined region on the image holding body. A resistance device;
A wet image forming apparatus comprising: a liquid pool removing device that contacts the liquid pool and removes the carrier liquid from the surface of the image holding member.   The wet image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resistance device is a shielding member that extends into the flow path so as to intersect the flow path of the gas.   3. The wet image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid pool removing device is a liquid pool removing blade that is not in contact with the image holding member.   The wet image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid pool removing device is a liquid pool suction member.

Images