JPH11268328A - Toner, method and apparatus for forming image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a back fly, facilitate cleaning at a minute opening part, lower facility costs and increase an image formation speed by using a toner which does not inject charges of the same polarity as that of a confronting electrode even when adhering on the confronting electrode or a recording member. SOLUTION: A voltage corresponding to an image signal is impressed to a confronting electrode 2 and a control electrode part 32 of a toner control member 3, whereby a toner 7 carried by a toner hold body 1 is let to fly and move through a toner pass hole 31 to the confronting electrode 2. The toner is adhered on the confronting electrode 2 or a recording member 6 on the confronting electrode 2, whereby images are formed. In the thus-constituted image-forming apparatus, the used toner 7 is one that does not inject charges of the same polarity as that of the confronting electrode 2 even when adhered on the confronting electrode 2 or recording member 6. Moreover, the toner has a fly amount of not larger than 0.1 mg/cm<2> from the toner hold body when an electric field of an intensity 2.0×10<6> V/m is formed for 100 msec.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium on which a toner carried on a toner carrier is selectively caused to fly, and the toner carrier and a counter electrode facing the toner carrier or a recording member on the counter electrode. Further, the present invention relates to an image forming method, an image forming apparatus, and a toner used for forming an image by attaching the toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a powder image forming method, an image forming method called direct toning or toner projection has been known. In this image forming method, an electric field is applied to a charged toner layer or toner cloud by applying a voltage to a control electrode portion provided around a hole or a slit,
This is to selectively fly toner at a specific position and move the toner through holes or slits to directly form an image on a recording member such as paper.

An image forming apparatus adopting such an image forming method includes a sleeve-shaped toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode member as a counter electrode arranged to face the toner carrier 1, and a toner. It is composed of a toner control member having minute holes to be passed and a control electrode.
The toner carrier is disposed inside a toner container containing the toner, and the toner is applied to the surface of the toner carrier by a known technique employed when the toner carrier is carried by a known electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Carry.

The toner control member is mounted so as to close an opening formed at an appropriate position in the toner container, and is provided between the toner carrier and the counter electrode member to transfer toner from the toner carrier to the counter electrode member. Control flight. Then, a flying electric field for causing the toner carried on the toner carrier to fly toward the opposite electrode member is formed between the toner carrier and the opposing electrode member provided opposite to the toner carrier.

In such an image forming apparatus, for example, the toner is negatively charged, the toner carrier is grounded, a high DC voltage is applied to the counter electrode member, and the image signal voltage is applied to the control electrode of the toner control member. Is applied, an electric field acts on the toner on the toner carrier. As a result of the action of the electric field, the Coulomb force applied to the toner exceeds the sum of the adhesive force and the image force acting between the toner and the toner carrier, and the toner starts to fly toward the counter electrode member. As a result, the toner passes through the minute holes of the toner control member and continues to fly by being attracted by the flying electric field formed by the voltage applied to the counter electrode member. For example, the toner is transported on the counter electrode member in a predetermined direction. The paper stops on the paper to be printed, and an image is recorded on the paper.

Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9,
A plurality of image forming apparatuses as described above (4 in the illustrated example).
A multi-color image forming apparatus is known which is configured so as to form a multi-color image (hereinafter, a "multi-color image generating apparatus" described in JP-A-6-234233). 8 and 9, reference numerals 10, 11, 12, and 13 denote developing units that form images of different colors, 14 denotes a developing roll (corresponding to a toner carrier in the image forming apparatus), 15 denotes a toner container, 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes a first electrode layer (corresponding to a toner control member in the image forming apparatus);
1 is a rear electrode (corresponding to a counter electrode member in the image forming apparatus).

[0007]

However, when the test pattern was made into a pudding using a non-magnetic insulating toner by the above-described multicolor image forming apparatus, the developing roller as a toner carrier was moved from a developing roller to a counter electrode member. Of the toner flying toward the rear electrode, 5% to 10% of the toner flew in the direction opposite to the original flight direction (hereinafter, the phenomenon that the toner flies in the reverse direction is referred to as “reverse flying"
). As a result of continuous printing without cleaning the toner that has flown in the reverse direction, the number of prints is 5 to 50 (this number is the image area ratio of the test pattern: the pattern image of the test pattern paper). (Depending on the occupying ratio), clogging occurred in the toner passage hole of the first electrode layer as the toner control member, and white stripes appeared on the entire image portion of the printed paper. Further, even in the case of paper on which white stripes do not appear, the image line corresponding to the above-described clogged portion becomes thin, or the background of the paper has a scattered background stain, resulting in poor image quality of the print. Decreased. In this experiment, the average particle size of the toner was 7.0 μm, and the average charge amount on the developing roller was −10 μC / g.

For this reason, in order to maintain the print quality of the image forming apparatus based on the above-described image forming method at the highest level, every time printing on one sheet is completed in the image forming process. It is necessary to clean the first electrode layer serving as the toner control member to prevent the toner passage holes of the first electrode layer from being clogged.

However, in this image forming apparatus, it is necessary to use a special cleaning device having a high cleaning performance in order to remove the toner clogged in the minute toner transmission holes, which causes an increase in the cost of the apparatus. is there. Further, in the multicolor image generation device,
In order to be able to clean the toner passage hole, every time printing on the paper is completed, the opposite electrode belt also serving as a conveyance means of the paper is moved from the portion of the first electrode layer as the toner control member. It is necessary to retreat and move the cleaning device closer to the toner control member. For this reason, in an image forming apparatus equipped with such a cleaning device, the configuration is complicated, and the moving process of the toner control member and the cleaning device is added to the image forming process. Is significantly reduced.

In the above-described image forming method, an aggregate of toner forming a unit image such as a dot flies in a stream, and after the leading portion of the aggregate reaches a sheet and the last portion thereof reaches a sheet. There is a time lag before reaching. And, due to this time lag, the dots do not form a perfect circle,
It is formed in an elliptical shape extending in the paper movement direction. Therefore, if the moving speed of the sheet is too high, the quality of the image is degraded due to the disorder of the dot shape. Therefore, in order to increase the moving speed of the sheet and, consequently, the printing speed, it is desirable to shorten the time lag as much as possible by increasing the flying speed of the aggregate of toner that has been made to fly to form dots. In order to increase the flying speed of the toner, the electrostatic force that contributes to the flying of the toner, that is, the product of the electric field strength and the charge amount of the toner may be increased. However, if the electric field strength is set too high, a discharge is generated, so the electric field strength needs to be suppressed to such a level that no discharge is generated. Further, when the charge amount of the toner is too large, there is a problem that the quality of a formed image is deteriorated due to the following two causes. 1. The so-called image scattering occurs in which the newly adhering toner is electrostatically repelled by the electric charge of the toner already adhering on the sheet and moves out of the dot adhering area on the sheet. 2. In the case of a configuration in which the toner image attached to the counter electrode is transferred to the recording member, the toner particles are electrostatically repelled at the time of the transfer, and transfer scattering occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and a first object of the present invention is to eliminate reverse flight, facilitate cleaning at a minute opening, reduce the cost of equipment, and Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method capable of increasing the image forming speed.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide an image forming method capable of improving image quality by eliminating image scattering or transfer scattering.

A third object of the present invention is to facilitate the cleaning of the toner adhered to the minute opening, reduce the cost of equipment or apparatus, increase the image forming speed, or improve the quality of the formed image. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner capable of improving the performance.

A fourth object of the present invention is to facilitate the cleaning of the toner attached to the minute opening, reduce the cost of the apparatus and increase the image forming speed, or improve the quality of the formed image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of achieving the following.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner carrying member for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrying member, and a toner carrying member. A monochromatic image comprising a toner control member disposed between the body and the counter electrode, the toner control member having a plurality of independent or a series of minute openings and a plurality of control electrodes controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening; Using a single image forming unit for forming an image or a plurality of image forming units for forming different multicolor images, the counter electrode and the control electrode section of the toner control member respond to an image signal. By applying a voltage, the toner carried on the toner carrier is selectively caused to fly, and the toner transferred to the counter electrode through the minute opening is transferred to the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode. Adhered on An image forming method for forming a single-color image or a multi-color image by using a toner that does not inject a charge of the same polarity as the counter electrode even when the toner adheres to the counter electrode or the recording member. It is a feature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the first aspect, wherein an electric field having a strength of 2.0 × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is formed for 100 [msec]. The flying amount from the toner carrier is 0.1 [mg / cm ² ].
It is characterized by using the following toner.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the first aspect, wherein a toner containing a positively charging titanium oxide powder is used as the external additive.

In the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, even if the toner flying from the particle carrier adheres to the above-mentioned counter electrode, the above-mentioned recording member, or an aggregate of toner which adheres to the above-mentioned counter electrode, Is not injected. Therefore, the reverse flight of the attached toner due to the electrostatic repulsion with the counter electrode and the recording member is eliminated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a plurality of independent electrodes arranged between the toner carrier and the counter electrode, each of which is independent of one another or in a series. One image forming unit for forming a single color image, comprising a plurality of minute openings and a toner control member having a plurality of control electrodes for controlling toner passage through each minute opening, or a multicolor image different from each other By applying a voltage corresponding to an image signal to the counter electrode and the control electrode portion of the toner control member by using a plurality of image forming units for forming the toner, the toner carried on the toner carrier is An image type for forming a monochromatic image or a multi-color image by selectively flying and attaching toner transferred to the counter electrode side through the minute opening onto the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode. A method, wherein an amount of electric charge of the same polarity as the counter electrode injected by adhesion on the counter electrode or the recording member is repelled from the counter electrode or the recording member toward the particle carrier. The present invention is characterized in that a toner whose amount is smaller than a flying amount is used.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the fourth aspect, wherein an electric field having a strength of 2.0 × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is formed for 100 [msec]. The flying amount from the toner carrier is 0.9 [mg / cm ² ]
It is characterized by using the following toner.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the fifth aspect, further comprising a negatively charged silica powder as an external additive, which is positively charged as a whole toward the counter electrode. An image forming method using a toner which flies or contains a powder of silica, alumina or titanium oxide for positive charging. Things.

According to the invention of claim 4, 5 or 6, the toner flying from the particle carrier adheres to the counter electrode, the recording member or an aggregate of toner adhering thereto, and the like. Even if charges of the same polarity are injected, the amount of injected charges does not cause reverse flight due to electrostatic repulsion with the counter electrode and the recording member. Therefore, the reverse flight of the attached toner is eliminated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a toner carrier and the counter electrode. A toner control member having a plurality of independent or a series of a plurality of minute openings and a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each of the minute openings,
By using one image forming unit for forming a single color image or a plurality of image forming units for forming different multi-color images, the control electrodes of the toner control member and the counter electrode are used to generate image signals. By applying a corresponding voltage, the toner carried on the toner carrier is selectively fly,
An image forming method for forming a monochromatic image or a multicolor image by adhering toner transferred to the counter electrode side through the minute opening onto the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode, Even if a charge having the same polarity as that of the counter electrode is injected by being attached to the counter electrode or the recording member, the remaining charge after the injection is applied to the subsequent toner flying after the attachment. It is characterized by using a toner that does not electrostatically change the position of adhesion on the electrode or on the recording member.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the seventh aspect, wherein an electric field having a strength of 2.0 × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is formed for 100 [msec]. The flying amount from the toner carrier is 0.2 [mg / cm ² ].
As described above, the toner is characterized by using a toner having a concentration of 0.4 [mg / cm ² ] or less.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the seventh aspect, wherein a toner containing silica or alumina powder for positive charging is used as the external additive.

According to the seventh, eighth or ninth aspect of the present invention, the toner flying from the particle carrier adheres to the counter electrode, the recording member, or an aggregate of toner adhering thereto, and the like, and Even if charges of the same polarity are injected, the amount of residual charge after the injection indicates the position of adhesion on the counter electrode or the recording member with respect to subsequent toner flying after the adhesion. Do not change electrostatically. As a result, the subsequent toner adheres to a regular position on the counter electrode or the recording member, and the image or transfer scattering is eliminated.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier,
A toner control member disposed between the toner carrier and the counter electrode, the toner control member having a plurality of independent or series of minute openings and a plurality of control electrodes controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening; Using one image forming unit for forming a single color image or a plurality of image forming units for forming different multicolor images, an image signal is supplied to the counter electrode and the control electrode section of the toner control member. The toner carried on the toner carrier is selectively caused to fly by applying a voltage corresponding to the above, and the toner transferred to the counter electrode through the minute opening is transferred to the counter electrode or the counter electrode. An image forming method for forming a single-color image or a multi-color image by adhering on the recording member, even if a charge of the same polarity as the counter electrode is injected by adhering on the counter electrode,
The residual charge after the injection is characterized by using a toner that does not repel itself electrostatically and does not fly over the counter electrode or the recording member during the transfer.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the tenth aspect, wherein when the electric field having an intensity of 2.0 × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is formed for 40 [msec], the toner carrying method is carried out. The toner is characterized by using a toner having a flying amount from a body of 0.5 [mg / cm ² ] or more and 0.9 [mg / cm ² ] or less.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the tenth aspect, further comprising a negatively charged silica powder as an external additive, and being positively charged as a whole toward the counter electrode. Flying, or contains powder composed of a mixture of two or more of a mixed powder of silica powder for negative charging and titanium oxide powder for positive charging, silica powder for positive charging, or alumina powder for positive charging It is characterized by using toner.

In the invention according to claim 10, 11 or 12, the toner flying from the particle carrier adheres to the counter electrode or an aggregate of toner adhering to the counter electrode, and the like.
Even if a charge of the same polarity as that of the counter electrode is injected, the residual charge amount at the time of the transfer causes the toner to repel each other and not to fly over the counter electrode or the recording member. As a result, the toner adhering to the counter electrode is transferred to a proper position on the recording member at the time of the transfer, thereby eliminating transfer scattering.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner carrier for supporting a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a toner carrier and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of independent or continuous series of fine openings and a plurality of control electrodes for controlling the passage of toner through each of the fine openings. Image unit, or
In a plurality of image forming units that form different multicolor images, by applying a voltage corresponding to an image signal to the counter electrode and the control electrode portion of the toner control member,
After selectively flying from the toner carrier, passing through the minute opening and moving to the counter electrode side, a single color image or a multi-color image is attached by adhering to the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode. A toner for forming an image, comprising:
It is characterized by being used in the image forming method of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12.

According to the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to eliminate the reverse flight of the toner or the scattering of the image or the transfer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a toner carrier and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of independent or continuous series of fine openings and a plurality of control electrodes for controlling the passage of toner through each of the fine openings. Image unit, or
By providing a plurality of image forming units that form different multi-color images from each other, by applying a voltage according to an image signal to the counter electrode and the control electrode unit of the toner control member,
The toner carried on the toner carrier is caused to fly selectively, and the toner transferred to the counter electrode through the minute opening is attached to the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode to form a monochrome image. Or an image forming apparatus for forming a multicolor image, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises:
It is characterized by using 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 toner.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12
By using the image forming method described above, it is possible to eliminate the reverse flight of the toner or the scattering of the image or the transfer.

[0035]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus having a basic configuration for applying the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a conventional image forming apparatus employing such an image forming method. The image forming apparatus includes a sleeve-shaped toner carrier 1 that carries a toner, a counter electrode member 2 as a counter electrode that is arranged to face the toner carrier 1, a toner control member 3, and the like. The toner carrier 1 is disposed inside a toner container 4 for storing toner. The toner carrier 1 is provided on the surface of the toner carrier 1 when a known electrophotographic image forming apparatus carries toner on the toner carrier. The toner can be carried by a known technique. In the present image forming apparatus, the toner that is negatively charged by friction between the doctor blade 5 or a toner supply member (not shown) and the toner carrier 1 is carried on the toner carrier 1 by electrostatic force. Thus, the toner layer is formed.

The toner control member 3 is attached so as to close an opening formed in the lower wall of the toner container 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the toner control member 3 is provided between the toner carrier 1 and the counter electrode member 2.
In order to control the flying of the toner from the nozzle to the counter electrode member 2, a toner passage hole (hereinafter referred to as “hole”) 31 as a plurality of minute openings and an inner diameter φ formed around each hole
Have a ring-shaped control electrode 32 of 0.160 mm. The diameter φ of the holes 31 and the pitch Ph between the holes 31 in a direction (axial direction of the toner carrier 1) orthogonal to the conveying direction of the paper 6 as a recording medium (recording member) are images to be recorded on the paper 6. Is set according to the resolution of. In this image forming apparatus, a hole 31 having a diameter φh of 0.140 mm is provided on a substrate made of polyimide having a thickness of 0.075 mm so that an image having a pitch Ph of 0.0845 mm can be formed so that an image having a resolution of about 300 dpi can be recorded. It is formed by. The holes 31 are formed in eight rows (31-1 to 31-8) in a region where the width W of the paper 6 in the conveying direction is about 2 mm, and the total number of the holes 31 is 2,300. A ring-shaped control electrode 32 having an inner diameter φ of 0.160 mm, which is electrically independent from each other, is formed around each hole 31. Each control electrode 32 is a power supply circuit for applying a voltage corresponding to image information. It is connected to the.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of an image recording section of an image forming apparatus employing such an image forming method. The toner carrier 1 carrying the toner 7 is grounded, and the toner 7 carried on the toner carrier 1 is placed between the toner carrier 1 and the opposing electrode member 2 provided opposite thereto. A power supply 8 is connected as a flying electric field forming means for forming a flying electric field for flying toward. This power supply 8 applies a DC high voltage having a polarity opposite to the average charging polarity of the toner 7 to the counter electrode member 2.

Further, between the toner carrier 1 and the counter electrode member 2, a toner control having a toner passage hole 31 as a minute opening and a control electrode 32 provided around the toner passage hole 31. A toner control member 3 as a member is provided. A power supply (hereinafter, referred to as an “image power supply”) that applies a control voltage generated based on image information to each control electrode 32 is provided between the toner carrier 1 and each control electrode 32 of the toner control member 3. 9) is connected. The image power supply 9 controls each control electrode 32 based on image information.
Are applied to each other.

In the illustrated apparatus, the distance Li between the control electrode 32 of the toner control member 3 and the counter electrode member 2 is 0.5 mm, and the distance L between the control electrode 32 and the toner carrier 1 is L.
k is 0.05 mm, and the peripheral speed of the toner carrier 1 is 300 mm
/ Sec, and the transport speed of the paper 6 is 100 mm / sec.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the flying state of the toner. For example, when the toner is negatively charged, the toner carrier 1 is grounded, a high DC voltage of, for example, +0.9 kV is applied to the counter electrode member 2, and the image signal voltage Vblack of +325 V is applied to the control electrode 32 for 200 μsec, the toner carrier is charged. An electric field of 6 × 10 ⁶ V / m can be applied to the toner 7 on the body 1. As a result of this action, toner 7
Exceeds the sum of the adhesive force and the mirror image force acting between the toner 7 and the toner carrier 1, the toner 7 starts to fly toward the counter electrode member 2, and the toner control member 3 Through the hole 31, is continuously attracted by the flying electric field formed by the voltage applied to the opposing electrode member 2, and hits the paper 6 being conveyed on the opposing electrode member 2 in a predetermined direction by conveying means (not shown). Stopping, and the image is recorded on the paper 6. By applying a non-image signal voltage Vwhite of −50 V, for example, to the control electrode 32 corresponding to the non-image portion where the toner is not adhered to the paper 6, the voltage is applied to the non-image portion. It is possible to eliminate toner flying.

By the way, in order to know the cause of the above-mentioned reverse flight of the adhered toner, the charge amount of the reverse flight toner was measured using a known Faraday gauge. Polarity). Further, the state of the toner during flight and after landing was photographed with a high-speed camera of 27,000 frames per second and observed.
Rather than immediately starting the reverse flight of the toner, after the leading toner lands on the opposing electrode member 2, 1.2 to
After 3.7 msec, it was found that the backward flight of the adhered toner was started.

From this result, after the toner 7 charged to the normal polarity (in this case, the negative polarity) lands on the counter electrode member 2, the charging polarity of the toner 7 is reversed to the opposite polarity after the above-mentioned time has elapsed. It is clear. However, according to the video image captured by the above high-speed camera, the flying toner jumps or rolls slightly at the time of landing, but it is known that the toner stays in a short time, so it is frictionally charged within the above time. This does not mean that the polarity has changed.

Therefore, it is considered that such a reversal of the charged polarity of the toner occurred due to the injection of the charge of the opposite polarity from the counter electrode member 2 during the above-mentioned time. However, the base of the toner 7 is made of a polyester resin and is a complete insulator. Therefore, the counter electrode member 2 and the toner control member 3 are attached to the toner base made of the insulator.
And the charge of the opposite polarity cannot be injected due to the action of the electric field between the toner and the polarity control agent (C) embedded in the toner.
It is difficult to imagine that the charges of CA), dyes, pigments and the like have moved.

In view of the above, the present inventors have paid attention to the negatively charged silica a externally added to the surface of the toner for the purpose of weakening the adhesion of the toner and improving the fluidity of the toner. did. The diameter of the fine powder of the silica a for negative charging is as very small as 0.1 μm or less, but is large enough to eliminate van der Waals force which is a main factor of the adhesion of the toner.

Therefore, a toner-like powder having an average particle size of 7.0 μm consisting of only the polyester resin from which the coloring material such as the polarity control agent (CCA) and dyes and pigments has been removed is prepared by a known pulverization method. A pseudo toner in which silica a for negative charging was externally added to the surface by a known hybridization method was prepared. The amount of the negatively charged silica a is 1 wt.
%.

Then, the pseudo toner is set in the electrostatic flying test apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 5, and the application time (pulse width) of the applied voltage Vs to the pseudo toner is changed.
An experiment (hereinafter, referred to as Experiment 1) for measuring the flying amount of the pseudo toner by a known method was performed. The electrostatic flying experiment apparatus 100 forms a crater-shaped depression 101a having a depth d = 0.1 m and a diameter φD = 10 mm substantially at the center of a grounded metal plate 101 corresponding to the toner carrier 1. The pseudo toner is squeezed with a rubber blade into the recess 101a, and is filled in a flat shape, and above the metal plate 101, in parallel with the metal plate 101, L = 1.
The counter electrode plate 102 corresponding to the counter electrode member 2 is provided with a gap of 0 mm. Then, the counter electrode plate 102 of the electrostatic flight experiment apparatus 100
A pulse of −2 kV (same level as the actual machine) is applied from a high-voltage pulse power supply (not shown) for 100 μsec to 1000 msec.
And the weight of the pseudo toner flying and adhering to the counter electrode plate 102, that is, the flying amount, was measured. It should be noted that the value of the flying amount has a positive correlation with the easiness of charge injection of the toner, and the larger the value, the easier the charge is injected.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the flying amount of the pseudo toner and the pulse width in Experiment 1 above. In an image forming unit for forming a single-color image, the toner flying and adhering to the paper 6 or the counter electrode member 2 forms an electric field formed by applying the voltage Vs (the electric field has an intensity of about 2 × 10 ⁶ V / m. ) Is exposed for about 20 msec. Referring to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the amount of the pseudo toner is large (about 1.4 mg / cm ² ) under such conditions. The conditions of the actual machine and the conditions of Experiment 1 are not completely equal. However, the cause of the flying of the negatively charged toner that has flown in the opposite direction is that the charge of the opposite polarity (here, plus) is injected due to the adhesion to the paper 6 or the like, and the charge of the opposite polarity becomes the normal polarity (minus) of the toner in the initial state. Neutralizes the charge of
Further, it is considered that the toner was injected in a large amount up to the amount that caused the toner to fly. In the actual machine, there are toners that do not fly back, but the reason that they do not fly is the amount of the external additive attached,
This is probably because the amount of triboelectric charge or the electric field exposure time differs for each toner.

Next, the inventors of the present invention have prepared a pseudo toner prepared by changing the type of the external additive to be added in various ways, by setting an electric field intensity (actual electric field intensity) which can be set in an actual machine, specifically -2 kV to
Electric field strength when a voltage Vs of +2 kV is applied,
Experiment for measuring the flying amount of toner when exposed to the electric field for 20 msec (hereinafter referred to as Experiment 2)
Was done. As external additives, negative charging silica a, negative charging silica b, positive charging silica a,
Six types of silica for positive charging, alumina, and titanium oxide for positive charging were used. In Experiment 2, if the external additive used in the pseudo toner that does not cause reverse flight is added in an amount that does not cause reverse flight to the toner actually used, reverse flight does not occur in the actual machine. become. However, in order to ensure the fluidity of the toner in an actual machine, it is necessary that the toner contains about 1.0 wt% of an external additive.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the value of the applied voltage Vs and the flying amount of the pseudo toner in Experiment 2 described above.
In the figure, A is the amount of the negatively charged silica a, B is the negatively charged silica b, C is the positively charged silica a, D is the positively charged silica b, E is the alumina, and D is the positively charged titanium oxide. 6 is a graph showing a change in the graph. As shown in the drawing, it can be seen that the flying amount of the pseudo toner in Experiment 2 greatly changes depending on the type of the external additive added. The external additives can be classified into three or four types according to the flying amount shown in FIG. For example,
When the voltage Vs is set to a negative value and a positive charge is injected into the pseudo toner, a large amount (1.0 mg / cm {"2")
The negatively charged silicas a and b used in the pseudo toner flying above and a small amount (about 0.3 mg / cm @ 2)
The positive charging silicas a, b, and alumina used for the pseudo toner that flew in ＾) and the positive charging titanium oxide used for the pseudo toner that did not fly at all can be classified into three types. When the voltage Vs is positive and a negative charge is injected into the pseudo toner, a large amount (1.0
mg / cm {more than "2"}), the negatively charged silica a used for the pseudo toner and a medium amount (about 0.6).
mg / cm {“2”}) and the negatively charged silica b used in the pseudo toner flying in a small amount (about 0.3 mg / cm).
The positively charged silica a, b and alumina used for the pseudo toner that flew in {2}}, and the positive toner used for the pseudo toner that hardly caused flight (0.1 mg / cm {2} or less) It can be classified into four types: titanium oxide for charging. Note that the initial charge amount of the pseudo toner in Experiment 2 was approximately −10 μC when the positive voltage Vs was applied.
/ G, +10 μC when a negative voltage Vs is applied
/ G.

As described above, the greater the flying amount of the toner, the easier the charge injection. Therefore, the six types of pseudo toners containing these six types of external additives are separated from the grounded metal plate 101 by the external additives. From the charge injected into
It can be seen that there are various types up to almost no charge injection.

Note that by completely preventing such charge injection, the highest quality image is not always obtained.
For example, by using such charge injection, an appropriate amount of reverse polarity charge is injected into the toner, so that image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated. That is, as described above,
In order to reduce the disturbance of the dot shape, it is necessary to increase the charge amount of the toner to increase the flying speed. However, if the charge amount is too high, image scattering and transfer scattering will occur. Therefore, if a reverse polarity charge is injected into the toner adhered to the paper 6 or the like, image scattering and transfer scattering due to electrostatic repulsion between toners can be eliminated.

Therefore, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment has the basic structure shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and uses toner to which various kinds of external additives or a combination of external additives are added and adjusted. This eliminates the reverse flight of the toner and the scattering of the image and the transfer.

[First Example] Next, a first example of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment, a toner containing 1.0 wt% of positively charged titanium oxide as an external additive is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of the toner is less than about 0.1 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. However, in the intermediate transfer belt, image scattering in which toner of the third color and fourth color is scattered around characters during full-color printing, or transfer in which toner is scattered around characters of paper 6 when transferring a developed image to paper 6 Scattering occurred. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment using the toner containing 1.0 wt% of the titanium oxide for positive charging as the external additive, the reverse flight of the toner can be eliminated, but the scattering of the image and the transfer cannot be eliminated. . Then, according to the first embodiment, 0.1 mg / cm ＾.
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of less than “2” ＾, it is considered that the reverse flight of the toner can be eliminated, but the image scattering and the transfer scattering cannot be eliminated.

[Second Example] Next, a second example of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment, a toner containing 1.0 wt% of silica a for positive charging as an external additive is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.3 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, image scattering in which toners of the third color and the fourth color scatter around characters during full-color printing is almost eliminated. However, when the developed image was transferred to the paper 6, transfer scattering occurred in which toner was scattered around the characters of the paper 6. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the second embodiment using the toner containing 1.0 wt% of the silica a for positive charging as the external additive, the reverse flying of the toner and the image scattering can be eliminated, but the transfer scattering cannot be eliminated. . According to the second embodiment, in the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about 0.3 mg / cm {“2”},
It is considered that the reverse flight of the toner and the scattering of the image can be eliminated, but the scattering of the transfer cannot be eliminated.

[Third Example] Next, a third example of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the third embodiment, a toner containing 1.0 wt% of silica b for positive charging as an external additive is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.3 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, image scattering in which toners of the third color and the fourth color scatter around characters during full-color printing is almost eliminated. However, when the developed image was transferred to the paper 6, transfer scattering occurred in which toner was scattered around the characters of the paper 6. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the third embodiment using the toner containing 1.0 wt% of the silica b for positive charging as the external additive, the reverse flying of the toner and the image scattering can be eliminated, but the transfer scattering cannot be eliminated. . Then, similarly to the above-described second embodiment, the third embodiment also shows that approximately 0.3 mg / cm {“2”}.
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a small flying amount, it is considered that reverse flying of toner and image scattering can be eliminated, but transfer scattering cannot be eliminated.

[Fourth Example] Next, a fourth example of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the fourth embodiment, a toner containing 1.0 wt% of alumina as an external additive is used after being negatively charged. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.3 mg /
cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, image scattering in which toners of the third color and the fourth color scatter around characters during full-color printing is almost eliminated. However, the visible image is paper 6
When toner was transferred to the paper 6, the toner was scattered around the characters on the paper 6, resulting in transfer scattering. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the fourth embodiment using the toner containing 1.0 wt% of alumina as the external additive, the reverse flying of the toner and the scattering of the image can be eliminated, but the scattering of the transfer cannot be eliminated. As in the second and third embodiments, the fourth embodiment is also applicable to a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about 0.3 mg / cm {“2”}. It is considered that the toner can prevent the reverse flight of the toner and the scattering of the image, but cannot solve the scattering of the transfer.

Fifth Example Next, a fifth example of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the fifth embodiment, a toner containing 1.0 wt% of negatively charged silica b as an external additive is used after being charged to a positive polarity. The flying amount of the toner is about 0.6 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, a toner containing 1.0 wt% of negatively charged silica b as an external additive is applied in a positive electric field (by negative electric charge injection).
In the image forming apparatus of the fifth embodiment used, all of the reverse flight of the toner, the scattering of the image, and the scattering of the transfer can be eliminated.
According to the fifth embodiment, approximately 0.6 mg / cm ／.
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about “2” ＾, it is considered that all of reverse toner flying, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.

[Sixth Embodiment] Next, a sixth embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the sixth embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of negatively charged silica a and 0.5 wt% of positively charged silica a as external additives is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is
It is about 0.8 mg / cm {"2"}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the sixth embodiment using a toner containing 0.5 wt% of the negatively charged silica a and 0.5 wt% of the positively charged silica a as the external additives, the reverse flight of the toner All of image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.
According to the sixth embodiment, approximately 0.8 mg / cm ／.
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about “2” ＾, it is considered that all of reverse toner flying, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.

[Seventh Embodiment] Next, a seventh embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the seventh embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of negatively charged silica a and 0.5 wt% of positively charged silica b as external additives is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is
It is about 0.8 mg / cm {"2"}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh embodiment using the toner containing 0.5 wt% of the negative charging silica a and 0.5 wt% of the positive charging silica b as the external additives, the reverse flight of the toner All of image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.
And like the sixth embodiment, from the seventh embodiment,
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of approximately 0.8 mg / cm {“2”}, it is considered that all of the reverse flying of the toner, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated. .

[Eighth Embodiment] Next, an eighth embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
The image forming apparatus according to the eighth embodiment has a negative charging silica a as an external additive of 0.5 wt% and an alumina of 0.5 w%.
The toner contained in each of the t% is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.8 mg.
/ Cm {"2"}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, as external additives, 0.5% by weight of negative charge silica a and 0.5% by weight of alumina were used.
In the image forming apparatus of the eighth embodiment using the toners containing the respective toners, all of the reverse flight, the image scattering and the transfer scattering of the toner can be eliminated. In addition, similarly to the sixth and seventh embodiments, the eighth embodiment also shows that approximately 0.8 mg / c
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about m {“2”}, the reverse flight of the toner,
It is considered that all of the image scattering and the transfer scattering can be eliminated.

Ninth Embodiment Next, a ninth embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described.
In the image forming apparatus of the ninth embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of negatively charged silica a and 0.5 wt% of positively charged titanium oxide as external additives is charged to negative polarity and used. The flying amount of the toner is about 0.6 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the ninth embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of silica a for negative charging and 0.5 wt% of titanium oxide for positive charging as external additives is used.
All of the reverse flying of the toner, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated. As in the case of the fifth embodiment, the ninth embodiment also shows that in the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about 0.6 mg / cm {“2”}, It is considered that all of the reverse flight of the toner, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.

[Tenth Embodiment] Next, a tenth embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus of the tenth embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of negatively charged silica b and 0.5 wt% of positively charged silica a as external additives is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.8 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the character during full color printing,
When the developed image was transferred to the paper 6, almost no transfer scattering that caused the toner to scatter around the characters on the paper 6 was observed. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the tenth embodiment using a toner containing 0.5 wt% of the negatively charged silica b and 0.5 wt% of the positively charged silica a as the external additives, the reverse flight of the toner All of image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated. Then, similarly to the sixth, seventh and eighth embodiments, the tenth embodiment also shows that approximately 0.8 mg / cm ＾ “2”.
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about ＾, it is considered that all of reverse toner flying, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.

[Eleventh Example] Next, an eleventh example of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus of the eleventh embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of negatively charged silica b and 0.5 wt% of positively charged silica b as external additives is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.8 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the character during full color printing,
When the developed image was transferred to the paper 6, almost no transfer scattering that caused the toner to scatter around the characters on the paper 6 was observed. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the eleventh embodiment using a toner containing 0.5 wt% of the negatively charged silica b and 0.5 wt% of the positively charged silica b as the external additives, the reverse flight of the toner, All of image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated. Then, similarly to the sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth embodiments, the eleventh embodiment also shows that approximately 0.8 mg / cm 2.
In the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about “2” ＾, it is considered that all of reverse toner flying, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.

[Twelfth Embodiment] Next, a twelfth embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus of the twelfth embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of silica b for negative charging and 0.5 wt% of alumina as external additives is charged to negative polarity and used. The flying amount of this toner is about 0.8 mg / cm {“2”}. When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, the twelfth embodiment uses a toner containing 0.5 wt% of silica b for negative charging and 0.5 wt% of alumina as external additives.
In the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, all of the reverse flight of the toner, the scattering of the image, and the scattering of the transfer can be eliminated. As in the sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh embodiments, the twelfth embodiment also employs a toner flying method using a toner having a flying amount of about 0.8 mg / cm {“2”}. In the case of the image forming apparatus, it is considered that all of the reverse flight of the toner, the scattering of the image, and the scattering of the transfer can be eliminated.

[Thirteenth Embodiment] Next, a thirteenth embodiment of the image forming apparatus having the configuration of the above embodiment will be described. In the image forming apparatus of the thirteenth embodiment, a toner containing 0.5 wt% of negatively charged silica b and 0.5 wt% of positively charged titanium oxide as external additives is used after being charged to a negative polarity. The flying amount of the toner is about 0.6 mg / cm ² . When an image of a test pattern was continuously printed by this apparatus, almost no reverse flying toner was generated. Further, in the intermediate transfer belt, not only the image scattering in which the third color and the fourth color toner are scattered around the characters at the time of full color printing, but also the toner scatters around the characters in the paper 6 when transferring the developed image to the paper 6. Almost no transfer scattering occurred. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the thirteenth embodiment using the toner containing 0.5 wt% of the negatively charged silica b and 0.5 wt% of the positively charged titanium oxide as the external additives, the reverse flight of the toner All of image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated. As in the case of the fifth and ninth embodiments, the thirteenth embodiment also shows that in the case of a toner flying type image forming apparatus using a toner having a flying amount of about 0.6 mg / cm ² , It is considered that all of reverse flight, image scattering and transfer scattering can be eliminated.

In the image forming method and apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, the most basic image forming process has been described as an example. However, this image forming method and apparatus is not limited to the toner charging method and the configuration of the control electrode plate. Can be applied to a direct-toning type image forming method and apparatus in which toner charged by an electric field formed by an image signal voltage is separated from a toner carrier by electrostatic force and toner is caused to fly by the electrostatic force. Needless to say.

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, an example in which paper such as paper 6 is used as a recording member and an image is formed by attaching toner onto the recording material has been exemplified. An electrode layer (for example, an aluminum foil layer) that functions as the counter electrode on the back of the paper, in addition to insulators such as paper and paper
May be formed. Further, the counter electrode may be made of a rotating endless belt-shaped metal thin film, and may be configured to transfer the attached toner to a recording member such as paper.

[0068]

According to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, the reverse flight of the adhered toner due to electrostatic repulsion with the counter electrode and the recording member can be eliminated. There is an excellent effect that the image forming speed can be improved by reducing the number of times of toner cleaning, and the cost can be reduced by simplifying the cleaning device.

According to the seventh, eighth, or ninth aspect of the present invention, the subsequent toner can be adhered to a regular position on the counter electrode or on the recording member to eliminate image or transfer scattering.
There is an excellent effect that the quality of the formed image can be improved.

According to the tenth, eleventh or twelfth aspect of the present invention, at the time of the transfer, the toner adhered on the counter electrode is transferred to a regular position on the recording member, so that transfer scattering can be eliminated. Therefore, there is an excellent effect that the quality of the formed image can be improved.

According to the thirteenth or fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the reverse flight of the toner or the scattering of the image or the transfer can be eliminated, so that the number of toner cleaning operations can be reduced to improve the image forming speed, and the cleaning device can be simplified. It is possible to reduce the cost of the equipment or the apparatus, or to improve the quality of the formed image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a pattern of a control electrode in a toner control member of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic diagram of an image recording unit of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flying state of toner in the image forming unit.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an experimental apparatus for measuring reverse flying toner in the image forming unit.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a flying amount of pseudo toner and a pulse width of an applied voltage Vs in Experiment 1.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relationship between a value of an applied voltage Vs and a flying amount of a pseudo toner in Experiment 2;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional multicolor image forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming unit of the multicolor image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 toner carrier 2 counter electrode member 3 toner control member 4 toner container 5 doctor blade 6 paper 7 toner 8 power supply 22 first electrode layer 23 rear electrode 31 toner passage hole 32 control electrode 34 lead wire 103 neutralizing electrode 104 shield electrode

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Kuramoto 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a plurality of independent or series of fine openings disposed between the toner carrier and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening,
By using one image forming unit for forming a single color image or a plurality of image forming units for forming different multi-color images, the control electrodes of the toner control member and the counter electrode are used to generate image signals. By applying a corresponding voltage, the toner carried on the toner carrier is selectively fly,
An image forming method for forming a monochromatic image or a multicolor image by adhering toner transferred to the counter electrode side through the minute opening onto the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode, An image forming method comprising using a toner which does not inject charges of the same polarity as that of the counter electrode even when the toner adheres to the counter electrode or the recording member. 2. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein
An electric field having an intensity of × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is set to 100 [m
The amount of flying from the toner carrier when formed during sec], an image forming method which comprises using a toner to 0.1 [mg / cm ^2] or less. 3. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein a toner containing a positively charging titanium oxide powder is used as an external additive. 4. A toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a plurality of micro-openings arranged between the toner carrier and the counter electrode independent of each other or in series. And a toner control member having a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening,
By using one image forming unit for forming a single color image or a plurality of image forming units for forming different multi-color images, the control electrodes of the toner control member and the counter electrode are used to generate image signals. By applying a corresponding voltage, the toner carried on the toner carrier is selectively fly,
An image forming method for forming a monochromatic image or a multicolor image by adhering toner transferred to the counter electrode side through the minute opening onto the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode, The amount of electric charge of the same polarity as that of the counter electrode injected by the adhesion on the counter electrode or the recording member is made smaller than the amount of charge repelled from the counter electrode or the recording member and flying toward the particle carrier. An image forming method using a toner. 5. The image forming method according to claim 4, wherein said image forming method comprises:
An electric field having an intensity of × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is set to 100 [m
An image forming method using a toner having an amount of flight from the toner carrier when formed during [sec] of 0.9 [mg / cm ² ] or less. 6. The image forming method according to claim 5, further comprising a negatively charged silica powder as an external additive, and flying toward the counter electrode by being positively charged as a whole, or And an image forming method using a toner containing powder of silica, alumina or titanium oxide for positive charging. 7. A toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a plurality of independent or series of fine openings disposed between the toner carrier and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening,
By using one image forming unit for forming a single color image or a plurality of image forming units for forming different multi-color images, the control electrodes of the toner control member and the counter electrode are used to generate image signals. By applying a corresponding voltage, the toner carried on the toner carrier is selectively fly,
An image forming method for forming a monochromatic image or a multicolor image by adhering toner transferred to the counter electrode side through the minute opening onto the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode, Even if a charge having the same polarity as that of the counter electrode is injected by being attached to the counter electrode or the recording member, the remaining charge after the injection is applied to the subsequent toner flying after the attachment. An image forming method using a toner that does not electrostatically change the position of adhesion on an electrode or on a recording member. 8. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein said image forming method comprises the steps of:
An electric field having an intensity of × 10 ⁶ [volts / m] is set to 100 [m
sec], the amount of flight from the toner carrier when formed is from 0.2 [mg / cm ² ] to 0.4 [mg / cm ² ].
/ Cm ² ] or less. 9. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein a toner containing silica or alumina powder for positive charging is used as the external additive. 10. A toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a plurality of independent or series of fine openings disposed between the toner carrier and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening, one image forming unit for forming a monochromatic image, or
By applying a voltage corresponding to an image signal to the counter electrode and the control electrode unit of the toner control member by using a plurality of image forming units that form different multicolor images, the toner carrier The toner carried on the recording medium is selectively fly, and the toner transferred to the counter electrode through the minute opening is attached to the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode to form a single-color image or a multi-color image. An image forming method for forming an image, wherein even if a charge having the same polarity as the counter electrode is injected by being attached to the counter electrode, the remaining charge after the injection causes the electrodes to electrostatically repel each other. An image forming method using a toner that does not fly on the counter electrode or the recording member during the transfer. 11. The image forming method according to claim 10, wherein:
An electric field having an intensity of 2.0 × 10 ⁶ [volts / m]
[Msec] The flying amount from the toner carrier when formed is 0.5 [mg / cm ² ] or more and 0.9 [mg / cm ² ].
/ Cm ² ] or less. 12. The image forming method according to claim 10, further comprising a negatively charged silica powder as an external additive, and flying toward the opposite electrode by being positively charged as a whole, or A toner containing a powder composed of a mixture of two or more of a mixed powder of a negatively charged silica powder and a positively charged titanium oxide powder, a positively charged silica powder, or a positively charged alumina powder. Characteristic image forming method. 13. A toner carrier for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrier, and a plurality of independent or series of fine openings disposed between the toner carrier and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening, one image forming unit for forming a monochromatic image, or
In a plurality of image forming units that form different multicolor images, by applying a voltage corresponding to an image signal to the counter electrode and the control electrode portion of the toner control member,
After selectively flying from the toner carrier, passing through the minute opening and moving to the counter electrode side, a single color image or a multi-color image is attached by adhering to the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode. A toner for forming an image, comprising:
A toner used in the image forming method of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12. 14. A toner carrying member for carrying a toner, a counter electrode facing the toner carrying member, and a plurality of independent or series of fine openings disposed between the toner carrying member and the counter electrode. And a toner control member having a plurality of control electrode units for controlling the passage of toner through each minute opening, one image forming unit for forming a monochromatic image, or
By providing a plurality of image forming units that form different multi-color images from each other, by applying a voltage to the counter electrode and the control electrode section of the toner control member in accordance with an image signal,
The toner carried on the toner carrier is caused to fly selectively, and the toner transferred to the counter electrode through the minute opening is attached to the counter electrode or a recording member on the counter electrode to form a monochrome image. Or an image forming apparatus for forming a multicolor image, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises:
An image forming apparatus using 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 toner.