JPH09325583A - Device and method for forming image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form an image without causing the deterioration of the image due to the movement of an image forming medium. SOLUTION: Toner 102 on the sleeve 300 of a toner supply means 200 (transparent belt) is irradiated with light emitted from an optical scanning means 90. The toner irradiated with the light generates heat and partly melts, thereafter, an electrostatic power is applied to the toner by a voltage impressed between the sleeve 300 and an electrode 252 being a driving force generating means, then, the toner is moved on a transparent belt 200 so as to form the image. The image 104 on the transparent belt 200 is transferred and fixed on a paper 150. Thus, the deterioration of the image is prevented, and then, the image resolution is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method which are used in printers, facsimiles, copiers and the like and which form images with high resolution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 4-109955 discloses an image forming apparatus in which the movement of an image forming medium is controlled by light. Further, Japanese Patent Application No. 6-48236 discloses an image forming apparatus which controls an image forming medium by the force of light and which drives the image forming medium by exerting a second force. .

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, the image forming medium irradiated with the light is moved in the traveling direction of the light by receiving the driving force of the light thereafter. Therefore, a distribution is generated in the moving direction of the image forming medium at the start of the movement depending on the place where the image forming medium receives light, the positional relationship between the image forming media, and the like. Therefore, the width of the image forming medium on the recording medium becomes wider than the width of the light irradiation portion due to the width widening while moving in the space.
The image resolution is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus that form an image without causing deterioration of the image due to movement of the image forming medium. It is to provide a forming method.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming medium, a supplying means for supplying the image forming medium, and a method for irradiating the supplied image forming medium with light. An optical scanning unit that selects an image forming medium irradiated with the light in the image forming medium, and a driving force generating unit that applies a driving force to the selected image forming medium and moves the recording medium to form an image. In the image forming apparatus having, the image forming medium is non-photosensitive, the optical scanning means is provided on the driving force generating means side with respect to the supply means,
The light is incident on the image forming medium in a direction in which a driving force is exerted.

Another feature of the present invention is that the light scanning means heats at least a part of the powder of the image forming medium to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the image forming medium by the light, thereby forming the image. To choose the medium.

Another feature of the present invention is image forming medium conveying means for conveying the moved image forming medium,
A transfer unit that transfers the conveyed image forming medium to the recording medium is provided between the driving force generating unit and the recording medium.

Another feature of the present invention is that the light scanning means is arranged between the driving force generating means and the light scanning means, and the image forming is made of a light transmissive member. It is to irradiate the supplied image forming medium through the medium conveying means. Another feature of the present invention is that the driving force generating means has an electrode having a gap through which the image forming medium can pass, and the selected image forming medium is driven by an electric field generated by the electrode, Moving to the image forming medium conveying means through the gap.

Another feature of the present invention is that the image forming medium is composed of at least two types of medium having different colors,
The supply means is composed of a plurality of supply means for supplying the respective image forming media, and the light scanning means irradiates the light to the respective image forming media through separate optical paths.

Another feature of the present invention is that the image forming medium is composed of at least two types of medium having different colors.
The supply means supplies the respective image forming media in a mixed state, and the optical scanning means supplies a plurality of lights having different wavelengths corresponding to the colors of the respective image forming media to the mixed and supplied image forming media. It is to sequentially irradiate the same optical path and select the image forming medium of each color.

Another feature of the present invention is to irradiate an image forming medium with light to select the portion of the image forming medium irradiated with the light and to drive the selected image forming medium. In the image forming method for moving an image on a recording medium to form an image, the image forming medium is non-photosensitive, and the light is incident from a direction in which a driving force is applied to the image forming medium.

Another feature of the present invention is that an input section for inputting information, a control circuit section for processing the input information, and an image forming an image based on the processed information. In the printer having the forming device, the image forming device is any one of the image forming devices.

According to the present invention, the image forming medium is non-photosensitive, the optical scanning means is provided on the side of the driving force generating means with respect to the supplying means, and the light is incident on the image forming medium in the direction of exerting the driving force. To be done. Further, the optical scanning unit selects the image forming medium by heating at least a part of the powder of the image forming medium to the melting point of the image forming medium or higher with light.

The image forming medium conveying means conveys the image forming medium moved by the driving force generating means. Further, the transfer means transfers the conveyed image forming medium to a recording medium.

Further, the optical scanning means is provided with the image forming medium which is provided by transmitting the light through the image forming medium conveying means which is disposed between the driving force generating means and the optical scanning means and which is composed of a light transmissive member. To irradiate.

Further, the driving force generating means has an electrode having a gap through which the image forming medium can pass, and the selected image forming medium is driven by an electric field generated by the electrode to convey the image forming medium through the gap. Move to means.

As described above, by moving the image forming medium selected by the light to the light incident side by using the driving force, the spread during the movement is suppressed, and the deterioration of the image due to the movement of the image forming medium occurs. It is possible to realize a non-image forming apparatus.

Further, the image forming medium is composed of at least two kinds of medium having different colors, the supplying means is composed of a plurality of supplying means for supplying each image forming medium, and the optical scanning means is provided with the respective light paths through the different optical paths. Irradiate the image forming medium.

Further, the image forming medium is composed of at least two kinds of media having different colors, the supplying means supplies the respective image forming media in a mixed state, and the optical scanning means supplies the respective images to the mixed and supplied image forming medium. A plurality of lights having different wavelengths corresponding to the color of the forming medium are sequentially irradiated through the same optical path to select the image forming medium of each color.

As described above, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus for forming a multicolor image by using the image forming medium of plural colors.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus and an image forming method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall construction of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a powdery toner is used as the image forming medium. The optical scanning unit 90 for selecting the toner of the image portion has a transparent electrode 172 on the outer peripheral side.
It is installed inside the transparent belt 170 formed with.
The transparent electrode 172 has an I formed on the transparent belt 170.
A thin film of TO is used.

The optical scanning means 90 reflects a beam 80 from a semiconductor laser of a light source (not shown) by the rotating polyhedron 45 and changes the optical path by the mirrors 40 and 42 to change f-θ.
The toner is collected by the lens 36, passes through the transparent belt 170 and the slit 254 of the electrode 252, and is supplied to the toner supply unit 20.
The metal sleeve 300 in 0 is irradiated.

The beam 80 is scanned along the side surface of the cylindrical metal sleeve 300 as the rotary polyhedron 45 rotates. The sleeve 300 is made of aluminum or nickel. The toner 100 in the toner supply unit 200 is
The toner layer 102 having a constant thickness is formed on the rotating sleeve 300 while being charged by friction with the blade 214.

Toner layer 10 reaching the irradiation portion of beam 80
2 is irradiated with the intensity-modulated beam 80. Beam 8
The toner irradiated with 0 passes through the slit 254 by the electrostatic force generated by the voltage applied between the sleeve 300 and the electrode 252 which is the driving force generating means, and passes through the transparent belt 17
Move up 0. In the present embodiment, since the toner is charged with a negative charge, a negative voltage is applied to the sleeve 300 and a positive voltage is applied to the electrode 252.

The toner image 104 thus formed on the transparent belt 170 reaches the transfer means as the transparent belt 170 moves. 1 paper for transparent belt 170
Electrode 250 of transfer means and transparent electrode 1 provided on the back surface of 50
A voltage is applied between 72 to transfer the toner image 104 on the transparent belt 170 onto the paper 150.

The toner image 106 on the paper 150 is fixed on the paper by a fixing device 230 using a heat roll. The toner remaining on the transparent belt 170 without being transferred is collected by the cleaner 220.

FIG. 2 shows the principle that the light-irradiated toner is selected and moves to the transparent belt 170. As shown in FIG. 2, the toner generates heat by absorbing light, and when heated above the melting point of the toner, at least a part of the toner powder is decomposed, and the decomposed product is ejected to the light incident side. To do.

For this reason, the toner is once pressed against the sleeve 300 side, but then repels, so that the toner sleeve 30 is pushed.
Adhesion to 0 decreases. Therefore, the sleeve 3 is set so that the electrostatic force acting on the transparent belt 170 side acts on the charged toner.
When a voltage is applied between 00 and the electrode 252, the toner with reduced adhesive force is moved by the electrostatic force to move to the transparent belt 170 side after light irradiation.

FIG. 3 shows a comparison in resolution between the conventional image forming method and the image forming method of this embodiment. In the image forming method of this embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, the adhesion force of the toner is weakened by receiving the light 80 from the moving direction of the toner, and the toner is driven by electrostatic force to move.

Therefore, when the toner jumps out, it has almost no initial velocity and moves along the line of electric force 500 formed by the electrode 252. That is, the transparent belt 17
The spread of the toner moved to 0 is within the range of the electric lines of force 500 felt by the toner that has passed through the slit 254.
Therefore, even if the space between the sleeve 300 and the transparent belt 170 is moved, the resolution does not decrease, and an image can be formed while maintaining the resolution of the irradiated light.

In this embodiment, when a voltage is applied between the electrode 252 and the transparent electrode 172 so as to attract the toner to the transparent electrode 172 side as shown in FIG.
The electric field distribution between the slit 254 of 52 and the transparent electrode 172 is formed so as to converge on the transparent electrode 172 side.

Therefore, the toner moved by the electrostatic force is subjected to the converging action of this electric field to improve the resolution of the toner image formed on the transparent belt 170.

In the conventional image forming method shown in FIG. 3B, the toner is driven in the same direction as the traveling direction of the light 80.
The toner moves at an initial velocity due to the driving force generated by receiving the light.

Further, depending on the irradiation position of the light on the toner, the shape of the toner, and the like, the toner ejection distribution 502 is widened. Therefore, the toner image spreads by moving in the space like the toner movement locus 504, and the resolution of the toner image deteriorates on the transparent belt 170.

As described above, the image forming method of this embodiment can obtain an image having a higher resolution than the conventional one.

In the method of converging and scanning the laser beam as in this embodiment, the resolution can be easily increased by reducing the laser spot. In this embodiment, the semiconductor laser used as the light source has a wavelength of 850 nm and an output of 500 mW. The wavelength of light may be selected within a range that is well absorbed by the toner, and when a black toner is used as in this embodiment, a wide range of wavelengths from ultraviolet to visible and infrared can be selected.

In this embodiment, it is desirable that the power of light at the converging point is 100 mW or more. If it is 100 mW or more, one or more sheets of A4 size can be printed in one minute with a resolution of 300 dpi. High output L other than the light scanning method
An ED array or a semiconductor laser array may be used.

As the light source, a lamp capable of emitting high-energy light such as a xenon flash lamp may be used, and light whose intensity is modulated by a spatial modulator such as a liquid crystal panel may be applied to the entire surface of a certain region. In this way, by using a lamp and a spatial modulator, you can form an image on a large area at once,
The time required for image formation can be shortened.

In this embodiment, a powdery toner is used as the image forming medium. The toner of this example is obtained by adding carbon black as a colorant, a charge control agent, and a release agent to a plastic base such as polystyrene, polyester, and styrene-acrylic copolymer, and improving fluidity on the surface. The external additive for is added.

It is necessary for the light source to output a wavelength in the range absorbed by the toner, but since carbon black absorbs light in a wide wavelength range well, semiconductor lasers and Ar lasers are used.
Various lasers such as a laser and an Nd-YAG laser can be used. When using a color toner, it is necessary to use light having a wavelength having a large light absorption in accordance with the dye used. Also, the toner should absorb light well on the surface.

Since the image forming medium of this embodiment does not contain a photosensitive substance, it can be produced at a lower cost than a photosensitive toner. Further, since the toner produced by the polymerization method is used, it is excellent in homogenizing the shape. It is desirable that the toner has a low softening temperature and a small heat capacity in order to be easily melted by light. It is desirable that the particle size be small in order to reduce the heat capacity.

In this embodiment, paper is used as the recording medium, but a plastic film or the like can be used instead of paper.

As the image forming medium conveying means for conveying toner, a transparent drum made of glass, hard plastic or the like can be used in addition to the transparent belt. Further, the life of the transparent belt can be extended by forming a protective film made of a transparent dielectric material such as SiN / SiO ₂ / Al ₂ O ₃ on the transparent electrode 172.

In the present embodiment, the repulsion due to the heating of the toner is used, but the electric charge amount of the toner may be increased by utilizing the discharge phenomenon. When the toner is heated and decomposed, a decomposed product is generated from the toner, and the decomposed product is easily traced to cause discharge. If the charge amount of the toner is increased by utilizing this discharge phenomenon, the electrostatic force acting on the toner is increased, and the toner can be moved to the image forming medium conveying means as in the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the toner supply means 20
A voltage is applied between the slit electrode 252 provided at 0 and the sleeve 300 to drive the toner. Furthermore, FIG.
When a voltage is applied between the electrode 252 and the transparent electrode 172 so as to attract the toner to the transparent electrode 172 side as shown in FIG.
The electric field distribution between 2 and 2 is formed so as to converge on the transparent electrode 172 side.

Therefore, the toner moved by the electrostatic force gathers in the traveling direction of the transparent belt due to the converging action of the electric field, and improves the resolution of the toner image formed on the transparent belt.

In order to effectively use this convergence effect,
The width of the slit needs to be equal to or less than the distance between the electrode 252 and the transparent belt 170, and is preferably 20 to 1
It is 00 μm. However, the electrode 252 is not always necessary for image formation, and the sleeve 300 and the transparent electrode 172 are not necessary.
If a voltage is applied between the transparent belt 1 and the transparent belt 1 as in this embodiment.
A toner image can be formed on 70.

In this embodiment, the electrode 252 is used as the driving force generating means for driving the toner, and the toner is driven by electrostatic force. However, when a magnetic toner is used, magnetic force may be used. it can.

In order to ensure reliable transfer by the electrode 250 of the transfer means in this embodiment, it is desirable to recharge the toner image 104 on the transparent belt 170 using a charger before it reaches the transfer portion.

In this embodiment, since no photoconductor is used,
It is not necessary to charge the photoreceptor, which is necessary for the electrophotographic process.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. Toner supply unit 200 and optical scanning unit 90
Uses the same as in FIG. The beam 80 from the optical scanning unit 90 is focused on the toner layer 102 from between the electrode 252 and the sleeve 300 to be scanned. The toner irradiated with the beam 80 passes through the slit 254 by the electrostatic force generated by the voltage applied between the sleeve 300 and the electrode 252, and is further imaged on the paper 150 by the electrostatic force generated by the voltage applied to the electrode 250. To form. The toner image 106 on the paper 150 is the fixing device 23 using a heat roll.
0 fixes it on the paper.

In this embodiment, since the image is directly formed on the paper 150 without using the image forming medium conveying means as the intermediate transfer member, the intermediate transfer member and the cleaner 200 are not required, and the structure is simple. The adjacent device can also be downsized. The incident side of light in the present invention is not limited to the same direction as the optical axis of the light, and the image forming medium is not the same as the holding body that holds the image forming medium such as the sleeve 300 as in the present embodiment. Refers to all held sides.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The present embodiment is an image forming apparatus that forms a color image by using color toner. In this embodiment, an Nd-YAG laser that oscillates at an infrared wavelength is used as a light source. In addition, four color toners of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan are used as the image forming medium, and four toner supply means 20 for supplying the respective toners are provided.
It has 1, 202, 203, and 204.

The yellow, magenta and cyan color toners contain the dye IR-165 which is transparent at visible wavelengths but absorbs infrared wavelengths. The toner also contains a pigment and a charge control material.

First, YA is applied to the black toner supply means 201.
The beam 81 of the G laser is focused and irradiated while scanning. The toner irradiated with the beam 81 absorbs the laser light and generates heat. An image of black toner is formed on the transparent belt 170 according to the same principle as that of the embodiment of FIG. This toner image is transferred to the paper by applying a voltage between the electrode 250 and the transparent electrode 172. The toner that was not transcribed remained clear
Na 220 collects.

Subsequently, the same operation is performed for the yellow toner. In this case, the toner supplying means 202 for yellow is used. The polygon mirror, which is the light source and the light scanning unit 91,
The same one as that used for forming the black image is used, and although not shown in the figure, the optical path is switched by an optical path switch device using a mirror.

The toner irradiated with the beam 82 absorbs the laser light by the infrared absorbing dye and generates heat. The yellow toner image is formed on the transparent belt 170 by the same principle as the embodiment of FIG. The paper 150 on which the black toner image is formed rotates in the image forming apparatus and reaches the transfer unit again. The toner image on the transparent belt 170 is also formed on the electrode 250.
By applying a voltage between the transparent electrode 172 and the transparent electrode 172, it is transferred to the paper.

The same operation is carried out for the toner supplying means 203 and 204 for magenta and cyan toners, respectively.
And using the beams 83 and 84, the image of each color is superimposed on the paper 150. In this way, a color image of four color toner is formed on the paper. This color image is fixed using a fixing device.

In this embodiment, since each color is transferred onto the paper, it is necessary to synchronize the paper and the position where the image is formed on the belt. Here, the head position of the belt is detected, and irradiation of the beam of each color is started based on the head position signal. When cleaning is performed only once after transferring all colors, the marking for synchronous detection is formed with the toner of the color to be formed first, the marking is detected using the photo sensor, and after a certain period of time after detection. It is also possible to use a method of starting the image formation after a while.

Although four color images are formed using the same light source in this embodiment, different light sources may be provided for the respective colors. In this case, the degree of freedom in designing the optical path increases.

When not forming a full-color image as in this embodiment but forming only two colors, immediately after forming the first color, the second color is formed on the transparent belt and simultaneously transferred onto the paper. Good.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The toner supply means 204 contains a black toner, and the toner supply means 205 contains a mixture of yellow, magenta and cyan color toners. First, the toner supply unit 205 for black and the optical scanning unit 95 are used to irradiate the beam 85 while scanning it. The same optical scanning unit 95 as that in FIG. 1 is used, and a black toner image is formed on the transparent belt 170 as in FIG.

Subsequently, the beam supplying unit 206 is irradiated with the beam 86 by using the optical scanning unit 96. The beam 86 has three wavelengths of light corresponding to yellow, magenta, and cyan superimposed on the same optical path. The transparent belt 170 selectively modulates the toner of each color by modulating the light of each wavelength according to the color of the image.
Move it up.

The toner image on the transparent belt 170 is transferred onto the paper 150 by applying a voltage between the electrode 250 and the transparent electrode 172 in the transfer means. The toner image formed on the paper is fixed on the paper 150 by the fixing device 230. The toner remaining without being transferred is collected by the cleaner 220.

By forming the black color first as in the present embodiment, the beam 85 for the color that is subsequently irradiated is absorbed by the black toner previously formed and the toner supplying means 2
Since the toner in No. 05 is not irradiated, even if the beam 85 is irradiated, the color toner does not stick to the black toner.

Therefore, when the black portion is judged by the image processing from the overlapping degree of yellow, magenta, and cyan and replaced with black, even if the light for yellow, magenta, and cyan is irradiated after the black image is formed, the color is changed. -Since it does not hit the toner, it is possible to suppress unnecessary consumption of the toner,
The load on the circuit for image processing is reduced. In this embodiment,
A color image can be obtained during one rotation of the transparent belt, and the time required for image formation can be shortened.

The color image forming section will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. Toners of three colors are randomly attached on the sleeve 300. Each toner is used as a light source.
Due to the difference in the absorption spectra of the above, light having a wavelength at which each toner has a large absorption and a wavelength at which another toner has a small absorption is used.

In this embodiment, a wavelength of 488n is used for yellow.
m Ar laser or 442 nm wavelength He-Cd laser
A harmonic wave of a Nd-YAG laser having a wavelength of 532 nm is used for the laser and magenta, and a He-Ne laser having a wavelength of 633 nm or a semiconductor laser having a wavelength of 650 nm is used for cyan.

Dichroic mirrors 57, 58, 59 corresponding to yellow, magenta, and cyan light that specifically reflect light of each wavelength and transmit light of other wavelengths.
Further, the optical paths of the three types of light are made the same, and they are condensed by the f-θ lens. The toner that absorbed the light is the sleeve 300 and the electrode 2
It is attracted by the voltage applied between 52 and 52 and moves to the transparent belt 170 side.

Toner-1 for yellow, magenta and cyan
Since 17, 118, and 119 absorb the light of the wavelengths matched with the absorption of the respective toners, the toner can be selected by selectively modulating the light of the respective wavelengths. The sleeve 300 is preferably rotated so as to be faster than the speed of the transparent belt 170. In the present embodiment, it is desirable to determine a toner that consumes a lot from the image signal and replenish the toner so that the density of each toner becomes substantially uniform.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a printer using the image forming apparatus of FIG. The image signal 430 is input through the interface 420 which is a signal input unit. The control circuit unit 421 controls the optical scanning unit, the intermediate transfer body, the paper feed, and the like. Control microcomputer 422 which is a central processing unit
Receives an image signal from the interface 420, forms an image data 432, and sends it to the laser drive circuit section 423. The laser drive circuit section 423 controls the light emission of the light source based on the image data 432.

Further, the control microcomputer 422 instructs the paper feed control circuit section 426 about the paper feed timing,
Upon receiving the paper position signal, the optical scanning control circuit unit 424, the intermediate transfer member control circuit unit 425, and the laser drive circuit 423 are synchronized to form an image. Further, the control microcomputer 422 detects the sensor signal 434 from each sensor such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor inside the printer,
Image forming conditions are controlled according to the environment.

The paper 150 is inserted by the paper feed cassette 290, guided by the guide 280, and transported by the transport roller 240 to reach the image forming apparatus 400. The paper 150 after the image formation passes through the fixing device 230, and the toner is fixed on the paper 150. After that, the paper 150 is guided to the discharge port 270 and discharged by the action of the guide pawl 282.

A printer using the above-mentioned image forming apparatus can form a high resolution image with a simpler structure than an electrophotographic system without using a photoconductor.

Further, the image forming apparatus of the present invention can of course be used in an image forming section such as a copying machine or a facsimile.

[0077]

According to the present invention, since an image can be formed without causing deterioration of the image due to the movement of the image forming medium, a high-performance and high-quality image forming apparatus can be provided. .

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming principle of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a comparative explanatory diagram of the principle of high resolution.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a color image forming unit.

8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printer using the image forming apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

36 ... f-θ lens, 40, 42 ... Mirror, 45 ... Rotating polyhedron, 57, 58, 59 ... Dichroic mirror, 8
0, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 8
8, 89 ... Beam, 90, 91, 95, 96 ... Optical scanning means, 100 ... Toner, 102 ... Toner layer, 104, 10
6 ... Toner image, 117 ... Yellow toner, 118 ... Magenta toner, 119 ... Cyan toner, 150 ... Paper, 1
70 ... Transparent belt, 172 ... Transparent electrode, 200, 20
1, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206 ... Toner
Supplying means, 214 ... Blade, 220 ... Cleaner, 23
0 ... Fixing device, 240 ... Conveying roller, 250, 252 ... Electrode, 254 ... Slit, 270 ... Discharge port, 280 ... Guide, 282 ... Guide claw, 290 ... Paper feed cassette, 300
... sleeve, 400 ... image forming device, 420 ... interface
Face, 421 ... Control circuit section, 422 ... Control microcomputer, 423 ... Laser drive circuit section, 424 ... Optical scanning control circuit section, 425 ... Intermediate transfer body control circuit section, 426 ...
Paper feed control circuit unit, 430 ... Image signal, 432 ... Image data, 434 ... Sensor signal, 500 ... Electric force line, 502
... toner jump-out distribution, 504 ... toner movement locus

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image forming medium, supply means for supplying the image forming medium, and irradiation of light to the supplied image forming medium to select the image forming medium irradiated with the light. In the image forming apparatus, the image forming medium is a non-photosensitive material, and an optical scanning unit that drives the selected image forming medium and a driving force generating unit that forms an image by moving a driving force on the selected image forming medium. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the light scanning means is provided on the driving force generating means side with respect to the supplying means, and the light is incident on the image forming medium in a direction in which the driving force is exerted. 2. The image scanning medium according to claim 1, wherein the light scanning unit heats at least a part of powder of the image forming medium to a melting point of the image forming medium or more by the light to select the image forming medium. An image forming apparatus comprising: 3. The driving force according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming medium conveying unit that conveys the moved image forming medium; and a transfer unit that transfers the conveyed image forming medium to the recording medium. An image forming apparatus provided between the generating means and the recording medium. 4. The image according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the light scanning means is arranged between the driving force generating means and the light scanning means and configured by a light transmissive member. An image forming apparatus which irradiates the supplied image forming medium through a forming medium conveying means. 5. The driving force generating means according to claim 1, further comprising an electrode provided with a gap through which the image forming medium can pass, and the selected image forming medium is generated by the electrode. The image forming apparatus is driven by the electric field and moves through the gap to the image forming medium conveying unit. 6. The image forming medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image forming medium is composed of at least two types of medium having different colors, and the supplying means includes a plurality of supplying means for supplying the respective image forming media. The image forming apparatus, wherein the optical scanning unit irradiates the image forming medium with the light through different optical paths. 7. The image forming medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image forming medium is composed of at least two types of medium having different colors, and the supplying means supplies the respective image forming media in a mixed state to supply the light. The scanning means selects the image forming medium of each color by sequentially irradiating the mixed and supplied image forming medium with a plurality of lights having different wavelengths corresponding to the colors of the image forming media through the same optical path. A characteristic image forming apparatus. 8. A printer having an input section for inputting information, a control circuit section for processing the input information, and an image forming apparatus for forming an image based on the processed information, A printer, wherein the image forming apparatus is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 9. An image forming medium is irradiated with light to select the portion of the image forming medium irradiated with the light, and a driving force is exerted on the selected image forming medium to move it onto the recording medium. An image forming method for forming an image according to claim 1, wherein the image forming medium is non-photosensitive, and the light is incident from a direction in which a driving force is exerted on the image forming medium. 10. The image forming medium according to claim 9, wherein at least a part of the powder of the image forming medium is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the image forming medium by the light. Image forming method. 11. The image forming medium conveying means according to claim 9, wherein the moved image forming medium is conveyed, and the conveyed image forming medium is transferred onto the recording medium. Image forming method. 12. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein the image forming medium conveying means transmits the light and irradiates the image forming medium with the light through the image forming medium conveying means.