JPS58122882A - Image-forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably form an image, by a method wherein dusts or a toner adhered within an opening is removed by a spark discharge in proximity to the opening, in an image-forming device utilizing an electric field generated within an opening. CONSTITUTION:A base electrode 3 is normally grounded electrically, and when an AC voltage is impressed on a toner-conveying member 7, the toner 11 on the member 7 is agitated between the base electrode 3 and the member 7. In this case, when a voltage is impressed between a signal electrode 1 and the base electrode 3 from a signal power source 10, the toner 11 agitated is attracted by the signal electrode 1 by passing through the opening 4, is further accelerated and is adhered to a recording member 5. When the absence of the member 5 is detected by a detecting element 14, a voltage higher than that for a recording operation is impressed from a DC electrode 9, a spark discharge is brought about between a back electrode 6 and the base and control electrodes 3, 1, whereby the opening 4 is cleaned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an image forming apparatus that utilizes an electric field generated in an aperture,
This invention relates to a device that obtains a single image by controlling the passage of ions, which are charged particles, as well as particulate developing steel (hereinafter referred to as toner) such as charged toner and Toden ink, through an aperture using electrical signals. It is.

Conventionally, as a direct recording technique for modulating and forming IIklgI on a toner receiving member, US Pat. No. 368
No. 9935. This method uses a toner control member that has two electrodes placed through an insulating layer and holes in a row, and this control member charges the toner and controls the passage of nine toner, which acts as a toner supply source. An attempt is made to obtain an image by toner that has passed onto a recording member provided on the opposite side. However, in this conventional method, toner is not supplied uniformly, which tends to cause unevenness in the m image on the IeiIk member, high-speed recording is 1 distance, and the openings of the 1llJ control member are clogged with toner. Due to this problem, it has not been put into practical use.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional examples described above and at the same time stabilizes the supply of charged particles such as ions and toner and enables stable Ii & IIgI formation over a long period of time.

The present invention achieves the above object, and includes an insulating member having an aperture for passing the charged particles, nine apertures corresponding to the aperture, and at least one pair of electrodes connected through the insulating member. This image forming apparatus has a control member for controlling charged particles, and a counter electrode provided on an image receiving member for receiving modified charged particles.

In the above device, nine dust particles adhere to the inside of the opening of the control member 11+
)? -1 Furthermore, in order to remove ozone compounds and the like generated when corona ions are used as charged particles, the present invention proposes to utilize spark discharge near the opening. As an example of this spark discharge, a spark discharge between nine electrode pairs via an insulating member, or a spark discharge between at least one electrode pair and a charged particle source or an opposing tortoise is effective.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further explained according to an example in which toner is used as the charged particles.

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a control member to which the present invention can be applied, and Fig. 1B is a sectional view taken along line I-I in Fig. 1A.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of modulation of charged particles by the control member, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a shoe according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a modulation member, in which the voltage is applied to -Iv- independently at the one-line signal electrode in the figure, and the base electrode is grounded at 5d or a constant potential is applied. The signal electrode 1 and the base electrode 3 are electrically connected to each other by an insulating member 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a hole which penetrates the signal electrode 1, the base electrode 3, and the insulating member 2 with the same width. and,
Electrodes 1 and 3 constitute an electrode pair.

To explain the toner modulation operation by the control member 12fl), 6 in the figure is the back electrode which is the electrode facing the control member, 5 is the recording member which is the supporting member, and the lever member 5 is the back electrode 6. The numeral 07 in close contact with the toner conveying member 7 is a toner conveying section made of a non-magnetic material, and the numeral 11 is a one-component insulating magnetic toner which is uniformly applied onto the toner conveying member 7. 1st
The control member described in FIG. They are facing each other. Nine, the AC power source 8 is connected to the base electrode, the DC power source 9 is connected to the back electrode 6 and the base electrode 6, and the signal power source 10#i is connected to the signal electrode 1 and the pace electrode Ik3. In the above configuration, when the base electrode 3F1 is normally electrically grounded and an AC voltage or a biased DC voltage is applied to the toner transport member 7 by the AC power supply 8, the toner 11 on the toner transport member 7 is transferred to the base electrode. 6 and the toner conveying member 7. At this time, when a voltage is applied from the signal electrode 11110 to the signal electrode 1 and the base electrode 6, the moving toner 11 passes through the aperture s4 and is attracted to the signal electrode 1. Furthermore, the back electrode 6 and the base electrode 6 Since a DC voltage is applied from the DC power source 9 to the connection, the toner 11 is further accelerated and adheres to the recording member 5.

When there is no signal voltage from the signal power supply 10 to the signal electrode 1 and the base electrode 3, or when an electric field in the opposite direction is applied within the aperture, the dynamic toner does not pass through the aperture 4. Furthermore, due to the action of the electric field caused by the alternating voltage between the base electrode 6 and the toner conveying member 7, the toner moves back and forth and at the same time has a cleaning effect.As described in 01, when a signal is applied to the signal side 1 in an image manner, the toner is transferred to the recording member. An image is formed by the toner image, and
The toner image is fixed on the recording member 5 by heating or pressure.

In a hard place, the control member having the above structure may become incapable of controlling the MJ through which toner passes due to toner or particles in the air adhering to the aperture 4 and blocking the aperture due to its use. be.

Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and the same members or the same functions as those in Fig. 1 or 2 are given the same symbols. 16 in Fig. 0 is a recording member. A detection element such as a microswitch, an ultrasonic detection element, or a receiver':/l
, an optical means that combines an element and a power source can be used, and is used to control the DC power source 9. 12 near the opening 4 indicates a spark discharge generated between the back electrode 6, the signal electrode 1, and the base electrode 6. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, when the recording member 5 is moved in the direction of arrow A and the toner conveying member 7 is moved in the direction of arrow entry and -j in the direction of arrow B, the toner continues to be transferred. In the present invention, it is difficult to perform 1m image recording over a long period of time because the toner 11 is blocked with toner etc. In the present invention, the recording The presence or absence of the recording member 5 is detected by the detection element 14 of the member, and if there is no recording member 5, a voltage higher than that during recording operation is applied from the DC power supply 9 to the back electrode 6, the base electrode 6, and the control electrode. A spark discharge is generated between the toner 1 and the toner 11a caused by this spark discharge, and the toner 11a bound to the aperture 4 is repelled by the energy of this spark discharge, and the aperture 4 is cleaned. Note that the potential difference between the back electrode 6 and the pace electrode is
Approximately 500V is sufficient when recording an image for tchron;
When cleaning the opening, a voltage of about 1500 V is applied from the DC power supply 9 to the back electrode 6 to the grounded base electrode to generate a spark discharge between the signal electrode and the base electrode.

Incidentally, in order to maintain the line of the tit signal section 1 during spark discharge during this cleaning, the section 1 electrode may be grounded. Also, 16
From the point of view of maintaining the power line #i10, the current that generates the spark discharge should be several tens to hundreds of microamperes, 1! ! Good results can be obtained by inserting a test resistor of about 15 MIj between the back electrode and the DC power supply as shown in FIG. If not, the output voltage from the DC power supply 9 is increased and the back electrode 6 is
By a simple method of causing a spark discharge between the signal electrode 1 and the base electrode 3, it is possible to prevent the toner from clogging the opening 4 of the control member A11 and toner transport member 7141.
The effect is that even good toner accumulated in the openings of the base electrode 6 of No. 1 is blown away.

Therefore, there is no need for operations such as replacing the control member due to toner clogging or cleaning the aperture 4 with a thin needle as in the past, and it becomes possible to stably form images over a long period of time.

In Fig. 5, the mechanism of toner modulation is the same as in Fig. 6, but the recording member is a reel paper instead of a cut sheet.
5 is used. In this case, the DC power supply 9 is controlled by the signal from the signal power supply 10.

That is, when a signal voltage for recording is applied, the voltage necessary for recording a 1 m image is applied between the pace electrode 3 and the back electrode 6, and when not recording, the spark as described in the explanation of Fig. 6 is applied. A high voltage sufficient to cause discharge is applied to the backside electrode IiK. An advantage of this method is that the toner 11m accumulated in the apertures 4 is transferred onto the recording member 5. It is also possible to generate a straight broken line on the recording member by this spark discharge, and use this broken line as a cutting target.

As explained above, with the nine configurations, a spark discharge is caused between the nine back electrodes, the pace electrode, and the signal electrode via the back electrode or the toner conveying member, thereby removing not only toner particles in the openings but also foreign matter such as dust. By doing so, it is possible to obtain the effect of constantly cleaning the openings. or.

In the explanation, a back electrode or a back electrode via a toner transport member is used; however, as a modification, it is also possible to use another external electrode such as a flat plate or needle electrode in place of the above back electrode. .

By the way, in the above embodiment, 3.
112 vA for spark discharge between the signal electrode 1 and the pace electrode 6. Even if a voltage that causes spark discharge is applied between the signal electrode 1 and the charged particle source that is the toner transport member 7 during non-recording, the same effect as explained in FIGS. 6 and 5 can be obtained. , in a device that uses toner as the charged particles and uses this toner repeatedly, the toner 1 in the aperture 4
Since the toner is pulled back toward the toner conveying member, the quality of the toner on the toner conveying member is likely to change.There is no problem in the short term, but in long-term use, the polarity of the toner may change. The material should be selected with due consideration given to its lifespan. In the above modification, a spark discharge is generated by the potential difference between the pace electrode and the signal electrode, and at the same time, a potential difference is created that attracts the toner 11& to the back electrode or the charged particle generation source. Alternatively, discharge may be performed between one of the base electrode and the signal electrode and one of the back electrode or the charged particle source. Historically, in addition to toner, it is also effective for removing solidified casing ink, and when the charged particle beam is a corona discharge, it is also effective for removing compounds generated by ozone and the like. Of course, when the control member has other electrodes, those electrodes may be used as objects of spark discharge.

Although the mechanism by which the particles repelled by the discharge fly out of the openings has not been analyzed in a one-dimensional manner, it is assumed that the following example a is the case. It seems to be understood from 3rd #A
f'menden! When a spark discharge occurs between the IA 6 and the base electrode 4ii3 or the signal electrode 1, the toner 11a attached to the wall of the aperture 4 is peeled off from the wall of the aperture 4 by the discharge energy, and the back electrode 6 is It is believed that because there is a strong electric field that attracts the toner 11, the toner 111 that has been peeled off as described above is moved to the back surface electrode 4ii6 and the aperture 4 is cleaned by this strong electric field. It will be done.

As explained above, the present invention is capable of repelling foreign matter in the toner in or near the apertures by using the energy of the discharge by a simple method of causing a spark discharge in or near the apertures of the control member. This eliminates the need for replacing the control means or cleaning the apertures, which was conventionally required, as the apertures are blocked, making it possible to obtain stable images over a long period of time. 0

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1A can be used with the device of the present invention! A plan view showing an embodiment of an IC control means, FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the knee line in FIG. 1A, and FIG.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and Figures 4 and 5 are diagrams showing other embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example. In Figure 1, 1 and 2.3 are modified BJ4s materials, 5 is a distribution member, and 6 is an opposite pole, and the back side 17 is a toner conveying member. Applicant: Canon Co., Ltd. -1~1 Agent: Gi Marushima -1゜-1,

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus in which a member for controlling the passage of charged particles is disposed between a source of charged particles and an image receiving member, an insulating member having an aperture for modulating the charged particles and corresponding to the aperture are provided. a charged particle control member having at least one pair of electrodes interposed therebetween, and a counter electrode on the side of the image receiving member, and a spark discharge between the pair of electrodes;
In addition, a spark discharge between the charged particle source or the counter electrode and the pair of electrodes, or a spark discharge between the charged particle source or the counter electrode and at least one of the pair of electrodes, removes foreign matter in the aperture of the control member. Image forming device to be removed.