Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090180796 | Image Forming Apparatus, A Developing Device And An Image Forming Method - An image forming apparatus, includes: a latent image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image; a housing that stores toner inside; a toner carrier roller that is shaped approximately like a cylinder, is mounted to the housing rotatably about a rotational axis, rotates while carrying toner on a surface thereof to convey the toner to an opposed position facing the latent image carrier outside the housing, and is provided, on the surface thereof, with a plurality of convex sections which are regularly arranged in an axial direction parallel to the rotational axis and in a circumferential direction orthogonal to the axial direction and parallel to a circumferential surface of the toner carrier roller and a concave section which surrounds the convex sections; a seal member that is arranged in abutting contact with the surface of the toner carrier roller moving from the outside the housing toward the inside the housing at a position downstream of the opposed position in a rotation direction of the toner carrier roller to prevent toner leakage from the inside the housing; and a moving mechanism that relatively moves the toner carrier roller relative to the seal member in the axial direction. | 07-16-2009 |
20090185819 | Developing Device, an Image Forming Apparatus and an Image Forming Method - A developing device, includes: a housing that stores toner inside; a toner carrier roller that is shaped approximately like a cylinder, is mounted to the housing rotatably about a rotational axis, rotates while carrying the toner on a surface thereof to convey the toner to outside of the housing, and is provided, on the surface thereof, with a plurality of convex sections which are regularly arranged and a concave section which surrounds the convex sections, the convex sections including top surfaces that coincide with a part of a curved surface of single cylinder and have electrical conductivity; and a seal member that is arranged in abutting contact with the surface of the toner carrier roller moving from the outside the housing toward the inside the housing at a position downstream of the opposed position in a rotation direction of the toner carrier roller to prevent toner leakage from the housing, a contact surface of the seal member being made of a material located at a position to charge the toner with a polarity opposite to its charging polarity in triboelectric series. | 07-23-2009 |
20090185838 | Method of Manufacturing Toner Carrier Roller, Developer Apparatus, and Image Forming Apparatus - A method of manufacturing a toner carrier roller that is shaped like a cylinder on an outer circumferential surface of which concave and convex sections for carrying toner are provided, includes: preparing a roller base member which is shaped like a cylinder; forming helix-like first grooves on the outer circumferential surface of the roller base member; and forming helix-like second grooves, which cross the first grooves, on the outer circumferential surface of the roller base member, wherein a pitch ratio of the first grooves and the second grooves is a non-integer ratio. | 07-23-2009 |
20090208255 | Development Roller, Development Device, and Image Forming Apparatus - A development roller includes a base unit having a base recess and a base projection formed in a predetermined area of a circumference surface of the base unit, and a surface layer formed on the circumference surface of the base unit and having a recess and a projection formed respectively in accordance with the base recess and the base projection of the base unit. | 08-20-2009 |
20090208256 | Development Roller, Development Device, and Image Forming Apparatus - A development roller includes a base unit having a base recess and a base projection that are formed in a predetermined area of a circumference surface of the base unit by pressing a regular pattern in pressure machining, and a surface layer formed on the circumference surface of the base unit and having a recess and a projection formed respectively in accordance with the base recess and the base projection of the base unit. A thickness of the surface layer is larger than a maximum height of a base swollen portion close to the side edge of the base projection from a regular surface of the base projection. | 08-20-2009 |
20090214271 | Development Roller, Development Device, Image Forming Apparatus, and Method of Manufacturing Development Roller - A development roller includes a base unit having a base recess and a base projection that are formed in a predetermined area of a circumference surface of the base unit, and a surface layer formed on the circumference surface of the base unit and having on the circumference thereof a recess and a projection formed respectively in accordance with the base recess and the base projection of the base unit. Surface hardness of the projection is higher than surface hardness of the recess. | 08-27-2009 |
20090290900 | Developing Device, Image Forming Apparatus, and Method of Manufacturing Developing Device - A developing device includes: a housing that stores toner therein; a toner carrying roller that is attached to the housing by a shaft and is rotated in a predetermined rotation direction while carrying charged toner on a surface of the toner carrying roller to transport the toner to the outside of the housing; and a seal member that extends in a direction of a rotation axis of the toner carrying roller and has one end fixed to the housing and the other end in contact with the surface of the toner carrying roller to prevent the toner from leaking out of the housing, wherein a plurality of convex portions having top surfaces constituting a part of the same cylindrical surface are formed on the surface of the toner carrying roller, and at least a part of the seal member in contact with the surface of the toner carrying roller is made of a material having a contact angle of 105° or more with respect to water. | 11-26-2009 |
20090297231 | Image Forming Apparatus and Image Forming Method - An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image on a surface thereof, a toner carrying roller that is disposed to face the image carrier and rotates in a predetermined rotation direction with charged toner carried on a surface thereof so as to transport the toner in an opposing position for facing the image carrier, and a bias applying unit that develops the electrostatic latent image with the toner by applying an AC voltage as a developing bias to the toner carrying roller. In addition, periodical concavo-convexes that are formed of a plurality of convex portions arranged at a constant pitch in a circumferential direction and concave portions that surround the plurality of convex portions are formed on the surface of the toner carrying roller. When the arrangement pitch is denoted by P, the frequency of the developing bias is denoted by F, and the moving speed of the surface of the toner carrying roller for the circumferential direction is denoted by V, a quotient acquired from dividing V by F is a value acquired from multiplying P by a natural number or an approximately natural number. | 12-03-2009 |
20100014890 | Image Forming Apparatus - Provided is an image forming apparatus including: a rotatable image carrier; a protective agent supplying unit supplying a protective agent to the image carrier; a first charging unit charging the image carrier to the same polarity as a regular charging polarity of a toner; a second charging unit charging the protective agent supplied to the image carrier to the opposite polarity to the regular charging polarity of the toner; an exposure unit forming an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier; a development unit developing the electrostatic latent image of the image carrier; and a transfer unit transferring the image of the image carrier, wherein the second charging unit is disposed between the protective agent supplying unit and the development unit. | 01-21-2010 |
20100014901 | Image Carrier Cleaning Device, Image Carrier Cleaning Method, and Image Forming Apparatus - An image carrier cleaning device includes: a first charging member which charges an image carrier to the same polarity as that of a toner after a transfer operation of a toner image formed by the toner charged to a predetermined polarity and having an external additive added thereto; a cleaning member which comes into contact with the image carrier charged by the first charging member; and a second charging member which applies an electric charge having a polarity opposite to a polarity of the toner to the image carrier having passed through the cleaning member. | 01-21-2010 |
20100150617 | DEVELOPING ROLLER MANUFACTURING METHOD, DEVELOPING ROLLER, DEVELOPING DEVICE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A method of manufacturing a developing roller, including: a first rolling process for forming a first inclined groove which is continuous in a helical shape, by rotating a first die having blades inclined with respect to an axial direction and a circumferential direction, and a non-bladed die, and feeding an unprocessed developing roller between the first die and the non-bladed die; and a second rolling process for forming a second inclined groove which is continuous in a helical shape and intersects with the first inclined groove, by rotating a second die having blades inclined with respect to an axial direction and a circumferential direction in the direction opposite to that of the first die, and the non-bladed die in the same direction opposite to that in the first rolling process, and feeding the developing roller between the second die and the non-bladed die. | 06-17-2010 |
20100150618 | DEVELOPING ROLLER, DEVELOPING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND DEVELOPING ROLLER MANUFACTURING METHOD - A developing roller having a first inclined groove and a second inclined groove, which are continuous in a helical shape inclined with respect to an axial direction and a circumferential direction and which intersect with each other, formed in the surface thereof, wherein the first inclined groove and the second inclined groove have different groove depths. | 06-17-2010 |
20100150619 | DEVELOPMENT DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - Provided is a development device including: a development roller in which continuous spiraling inclined grooves having different inclinations with respect to an axial direction are formed so as to cross each other; and a feed roller which is in contact with the development roller and feeds toner to the development roller, wherein transportation force, which is used for transporting the toner on the development roller from one side to the other side of the axial direction of the development roller, is generated by the rotation of the feed roller. | 06-17-2010 |
20100247187 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes: a latent image carrier which circumferentially rotates in a predetermined rotational direction; a lubricant applying unit which applies a lubricant on a surface of the latent image carrier in a predetermined application position; a developing unit which adheres a toner including an additive having an abrasion effect onto the surface of the latent image carrier on which the lubricant is coated to form a toner image, in a development position located on a downstream side of the application position in the rotational direction; and a conductive blade which cleans and removes the toner on the surface of the latent image carrier in contact with the surface of the latent image carrier, and charges the surface of the latent image carrier, in a cleaning and charging position located on an upstream side of the development position in the rotational direction. | 09-30-2010 |
20100248129 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes: a latent image carrier which circumferentially rotates in a predetermined rotational direction; a conductive blade which cleans a surface of the latent image carrier by being in contact with the surface of the latent image carrier, and charges the surface of the latent image carrier at a first electric potential having the same polarity as normal charged polarity of a toner according to application of direct current voltage having the same polarity as the normal charged polarity of the toner, in a predetermined cleaning and charging position; and a charger which provides electric charge having reverse polarity to the normal charged polarity and adjusts an electric potential of the surface of the latent image carrier to a second electric potential, in a secondary charging position located on a downstream side of the cleaning and charging position in the rotational direction. | 09-30-2010 |
20100248131 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - Provided is an image forming apparatus including: a latent image carrier; a lubricant applying unit configured to bring a conductive contact member into contact with a surface of the latent image carrier; a development unit configured to attach toner to the surface of the latent image carrier; and a conductive blade brought into contact with the surface of the latent image carrier at a cleaning position, wherein a bias is applied to at least one of the conductive contact member and the conductive blade such that the surface of the latent image carrier is electrified, and wherein, as the durability of the conductive blade is prolonged, a ratio of the electrification of the surface of the latent image carrier by the conductive blade and the electrification of the surface of the latent image carrier by the conductive contact member is changed. | 09-30-2010 |