Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090035025 | DEVELOPING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND PROCESS CARTRIDGE - A disclosed developing apparatus employs a flare roller that is a toner carrier in which electrodes of two different phases are provided at fine intervals. Density irregularities or scumming in a developed image due to a potential difference between the flare roller and a latent image carrier are prevented by maintaining a constant potential on the flare roller surface. A voltage is applied to the electrodes on the flare roller such that an electric field that varies with time is generated between the electrodes, whereby a toner cloud is produced by the movement or hopping of toner over the flare roller. Thereby the toner attaches to a latent image on the latent image carrier, thus developing the latent image. In one embodiment, a bias with an average potential equal to an average potential of the bias applied to the electrodes is applied to a toner layer thickness regulating member. | 02-05-2009 |
20090067879 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developing device for a toner powder cloud development system, which can achieve high image quality and can be made compact. The developing device has a two-component development unit, a toner carrier, and an alternating current power source. The toner carrier, which is arranged opposing a latent image carrier, has a plurality of electrodes disposed in a line in a prescribed direction on the surface thereof, and mutually insulated. The alternating current power source supplies a voltage such that an electric field across the plurality of electrodes is temporally switched. The inter-electrode electric field causes the toner being carried on the surface of the toner carrier to carry out hopping, thereby forming a toner powder cloud and carrying out development. The movement speed of the latent image carrier and the linear velocity of the toner carrier are set at approximately equivalent speeds. | 03-12-2009 |
20090067889 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developing device constituted to be capable of reliably making toner flare, and carrying out developing normally in the developing area, by preventing toner from adhering to the toner carrier. A developing device having a toner carrier which is disposed in opposition to a latent image carrier and which carries toner for developing an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier, the developing device including: a plurality of electrodes aligned at a predetermined interval within the toner carrier; voltage application means for applying a voltage to the electrodes so that the electric field between the plurality of electrodes varies with time, wherein the electric field between the electrodes causes the toner on the toner carrier to hop and form a cloud; and a toner adhesion prevention member that is provided upstream of a developing area where the latent image carrier is in opposition to the toner carrier and that prevents adhesion of toner to the toner carrier. According to the developing device, it is possible to prevent toner from adhering to the toner carrier, and it is possible to make the toner flare reliably. | 03-12-2009 |
20090123193 | DEVELOPMENT DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS THAT USES THIS DEVICE - A development device capable of suppressing the occurrence of development defects caused by partial damage to an electrode of a toner bearing roller. The development device is provided with a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer, which are laminated so as to overlap one another in a normal direction with respect to the surface of the roller part of the toner bearing roller. A plurality of openings, which are independently arranged in a matrix in both the roller surface movement direction and an orthogonal-to-movement direction which is the direction orthogonal thereto, are provided in, of these electrode layers, the second electrode layer existing in the upper location that is closer to the roller surface, over the entire latent image bearable area of a photosensitive body in the orthogonal-to-movement direction. The toner on the surface of the roller part is caused to hop between a plurality of spots directly beneath the openings that respectively exist directly beneath the plurality of openings in the second electrode layer, and a plurality of spots between the openings that respectively exist between the plurality of openings in the second electrode layer, within the entire area of the first electrode layer which is uniformly formed in the roller circumferential direction. | 05-14-2009 |
20090257786 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developing device includes a toner carrying member and an electric-field forming unit. The electric-field forming unit forms electric fields having different characteristics at a first area of the surface of the toner carrying member located within a developing area and a second area of the surface of the toner carrying member located out of the developing area such that a hopping height of toner at the first area is higher than that at the second area. | 10-15-2009 |
20090257791 | DEVELOPING UNIT, PROCESSING UNIT, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developing unit includes a brush member that includes a base member and a plurality of raisings that are erected on a surface of the base. The brush member traps toner within the raisings and causes a flicker movement in the raisings of the brush so that the toner trapped within the raisings is shaken and flown due to the flicker movement to the surface of a toner carrying member. | 10-15-2009 |
20100021195 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FIXING AN IMAGE - An apparatus and method for image fixing are disclosed. A fixing device includes a fixing member, a pressure member, a heater, and a pressure controller. The fixing member and the pressure member face with each other to form a nip. The heater heats a surface of the fixing member when the fixing member rotates. The pressure controller changes a pressure generated at the nip, according to an operation of the fixing device. | 01-28-2010 |
20100021214 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND PROCESS CARTRIDGE - A toner carrying member includes a plurality of electrodes arranged in a first direction intersecting with a second direction in which its surface moves. A voltage applying unit applies a bias to the electrodes such that an electric field direction is changed temporally in an alternate manner between adjacent electrodes. An adjusting member adjusts an amount of toner carried on the toner carrying member. A toner-cloud facilitating member includes a conductive member arranged between the toner supplying member and the adjusting member in the second direction in opposite to the toner carrying member. | 01-28-2010 |
20110064432 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A disclosed developing device includes a toner carrying member having electrodes, a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the toner carrying member, and a hopping electric field generator unit generating electric field to cause the toner hopping on the toner carrying member by applying a pulse voltage to the electrodes. The hopping electric field generator unit includes a pulse voltage generator circuit generating the pulse voltage, a first direct-current power source supplying bias to the pulse voltage generator circuit for regulating a peak value of the pulse voltage, and a second direct-current power source having a same polarity with a toner charging polarity, and outputting a variable voltage level. The hopping electric field generator unit controls the peak value of the pulse voltage by changing an output of the first power source and a mean thereof by changing an output of the second power source. | 03-17-2011 |
20110164892 | DEVELOPMENT DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE INCORPORATING SAME, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A development device includes a developer container, a rotary developer carrier that is disposed facing the latent image carrier and including multiple outer electrodes arranged in a circumferential direction of the developer carrier, an inner electrode electrically insulated from the multiple outer electrodes, an insulation layer disposed between the inner and outer electrodes, and a surface layer overlaying the outer electrodes and electrically insulating the multiple outer electrodes from each other, a bias power source to generate electrical fields that change with time by applying a first and second bias voltages to the inner and outer electrodes, respectively, an electrical field adjuster to regulate the electrical fields in accordance with a thickness of the surface layer of the developer carrier, and a controller. | 07-07-2011 |
20110182626 | DEVELOPMENT DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE INCORPORATING SAME, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A development device includes a toner carrier including first and second groups of electrodes, a toner supplier, and an electrical field generator to generate an electrical field for causing toner to hop along the surface of the toner carrier. The electrical field generator includes a positive-phase pulse voltage generation circuit, a negative-phase pulse voltage generation circuit, a first DC power source for supplying a bias for setting a peak value of pulse voltages, a second DC power source to output a variable voltage having a polarity identical to a polarity of toner charge, a first diode having an anode and a cathode connected to a lower potential side of the positive-phase pulse voltage generation circuit and an output terminal thereof, and a second diode having an anode and a cathode connected to the lower potential side of the positive-phase pulse voltage generation circuit and an output terminal thereof. | 07-28-2011 |
20120057891 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier; a latent image writer to write a latent image on the latent image carrier; a developing unit including a toner carrier having first and second electrodes insulated via an insulator member and a voltage applying unit to apply voltages to the first and second electrodes having a potential difference to generate first electric fields to cause the toner to hop from the toner carrier to the latent image carrier to develop a toner image; and a transfer unit to transfer the developed toner image to a transferring member. When alternating voltages having a same phase and same amplitude are applied to the first and second electrodes to form second electric fields between the latent image carrier and the toner carrier, the toner is discharged from the toner carrier to the latent image carrier in a toner discharge mode. | 03-08-2012 |
20120063797 | DEVELOPING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier to carry a latent image, a developing device having a toner carrier with first and second electrodes to develop the latent image by transferring the toner to a developing region between the toner carrier and the latent image carrier while causing the toner to hop between the first and second electrodes and attaching the hopping toner to the latent image, a pulsed power supply to output a first periodic pulse voltage having a mean potential the same as a normal toner charge and a second periodic pulse voltage, a smoothing circuit to make the first periodic pulse voltage smooth to generate a direct voltage, and a toner layer thickness regulator member to regulate, on receiving the direct voltage, a thickness of the toner layer in a region between a toner supply position at which toner is supplied and the developing region. | 03-15-2012 |
20120063815 | DEVELOPMENT DEVICE, PROCESS CARTRIDGE INCORPORATING SAME, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A development device includes a developer container; a rotary cylindrical developer carrier including an outer electrode including multiple electrode portions arranged in a circumferential direction of the developer carrier, an inner electrode provided on an inner circumferential side of the developer carrier from the outer electrode, an insulation layer disposed between the outer electrode and the inner electrode, and a surface layer; and a bias power source to apply a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage to the inner electrode and the outer electrode, respectively. The first bias power source causes an electrical potential difference that changes with time between the inner electrode and the outer electrode to cause the developer to hop on a circumferential surface of the developer carrier. At least one of the first bias voltage and the second bias voltage has a cyclic waveform in which pulse-on time is reduced. | 03-15-2012 |
20140320906 | DATA READER AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A data reader includes a memory board provided to a removable member and a reading member including a reading terminal. The memory board includes a positioning opening, a ground terminal provided to the positioning opening, and a contact terminal. The reading member includes an engagement projection that fits in the positioning opening and is disposed adjacent and parallel to the reading terminal. The engagement projection includes a uniform diameter portion, a tapered portion extending from the uniform diameter portion, and an apparatus-side ground terminal to contact the ground terminal of the memory board when the engagement projection fits in the positioning opening. The apparatus-side ground terminal includes a portion projecting laterally from the uniform diameter portion from an end of the uniform diameter portion toward a reading member base and an extended portion at the end of the uniform diameter portion, covered with the tapered portion. | 10-30-2014 |
20140321886 | TONER CARTRIDGE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCORPORATING SAME - A toner cartridge includes a toner container to store toner and two rotary agitation members to rotate to agitate toner in the toner container. The toner container has two arc-shaped portions adjacent to each other at an inner bottom wall of the toner container. The two rotary agitation members has edges to rotate along the two arc-shaped portions with rotation phases thereof shifted from each other. The two rotary agitation members are placed with rotation trajectories thereof partially overlapping each other. | 10-30-2014 |