Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080199229 | Transfer-fixing device, image forming apparatus, and transfer-fixing method - A transfer-fixing device includes a transfer-fixing member, a pressing member, a heating device, and a temperature equalizer. The transfer-fixing member carries the toner image. The pressing member presses against the transfer-fixing member to form a nip portion to which the recording medium is conveyed. The heating device heats the transfer-fixing surface of the recording medium conveyed toward the nip portion. The temperature equalizer equalizes a temperature distribution of a surface of the transfer-fixing member in a width direction of the transfer-fixing member after the surface of the transfer-fixing member passes through the nip portion. | 08-21-2008 |
20090041492 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus, which reduces toner spatter and produces a good quality image when forming a toner image using the direct recording method. An image forming part includes: a toner carrier for carrying toner; and toner controlling means, which is disposed between the toner carrier and recording paper on which the toner is made to adhere, and which has a plurality of toner passage holes, the toner controlling means having a control electrode for controlling the passage of toner on the toner carrier side surface in the area around the toner passage hole, and forming a toner image by causing the toner to fly to the recording paper, and the image forming apparatus having liquid applying/humidifying means for either applying a liquid to or humidifying the imaging surface of the recording paper prior to forming a toner image. | 02-12-2009 |
20100061751 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - The present invention provides an image forming apparatus, which is able to prevent the adherence of toner on the surface of toner controlling means and around a toner passage hole, and to stably carry out toner passage ON/OFF control when forming an image using the direct recording method. This image forming apparatus includes: a toner carrier; recording medium means; toner controlling means, disposed between the toner carrier and recording medium means, and having a plurality of toner passage holes; and cloud electrode means disposed between the toner carrier and toner controlling means, a toner cloud being formed by applying an AC bias between the toner carrier and cloud electrode means. A control electrode and a common electrode are disposed in toner controlling means, and when the toner of the toner carrier is able to pass through the toner controlling means toward recording medium means, a loop-shaped line of electric force is formed between the recording medium means side and the toner controlling means common electrode, the loop-shaped line by-passing the control electrode. | 03-11-2010 |
20100104319 | DIRECT IMAGE-RECORDING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS EQUIPPED THEREWITH - A direct image-recording device in which a predetermined gap set between an image carrier and a hole forming member can be maintained, and an image forming apparatus provided with the direct image-recording device. In the direct image-recording device including: housing that accommodates an agent; an agent carrier that is rotatably supported by the housing and faces outside from an opening formed in the housing; a sheet-like hole forming member having a plurality of holes formed therein and facing the agent carrier at a predetermined distance therefrom; and a plurality of electrodes, by which the agent flies, provided at the hole forming member correspondingly to each of the plurality of holes and form an electric field causing the agent to fly selectively from the agent carrier toward the hole, a positioning member is provided at the housing so as to cover the agent carrier, the positioning member being configured to hold the hole forming member along the axial direction of the agent carrier by a side wall of the positioning member that has open portions formed in locations at least opposing the plurality of holes formed in the hole forming member, and configured to position the holes relative to the agent carrier so that the relative positions of the agent carrier and the holes are in a predetermined positional relationship. | 04-29-2010 |
20110229232 | LUBRICANT APPLYING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, PROCESS UNIT, AND SOLID LUBRICANT - A lubricant applying device includes: a solid lubricant; an applying member that applies lubricant powder scraped off from the solid lubricant to an application target; a holding member that holds the solid lubricant; a biasing unit that biases the holding member to bring the solid lubricant on the holding member into contact with the applying member; and a regulating unit that regulates, when a force of a direction orthogonal to an endless movement direction of the applying member is applied from the applying member to the solid lubricant at a frictional surface therebetween, movement of the solid lubricant and the holding member in the orthogonal direction. | 09-22-2011 |
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 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080219717 | TRANSFER-FIXING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND TRANSFER-FIXING METHOD - The transfer-fixing device includes an image carrier, a pressing member, a heater, and an electrical field generator. The image carrier carries a toner image. The pressing member presses against the image carrier to form a transfer-fixing nip between the pressing member and the image carrier. The heater heats the toner image carried by the image carrier so that a temperature of the toner image is not higher than Tm +10 degrees centigrade when a toner softening point is Tm degrees centigrade. The electrical field generator forms a transfer electrical field at the transfer-fixing nip. | 09-11-2008 |
20090003898 | CLEANING DEVICE, FIXING DEVICE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A cleaning device including a cleaning member that moves in a predetermined direction and is in contact with a cleaning target that moves in a predetermined direction and which is directly or indirectly heated by a heater, to remove toner particles on a surface of the cleaning target. A contact surface of the cleaning member with the cleaning target includes a plurality of regions of different toner-releasing ability. | 01-01-2009 |
20090016786 | TRANSFER FIXING MEMBER, TRANSFER FIXING DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A transfer fixing member containing a base, and an outermost surface layer composed of an elastic material in which a conductive material is dispersed, wherein when a pressure applied to a surface of the transfer fixing member by making a toner image bearing member in contact with the transfer fixing member upon transferring of a toner image on the toner image bearing member onto the transfer fixing member is 0.2 kg/cm | 01-15-2009 |
20090116880 | Image transfer fixation apparatus and image formation apparatus - A transfer fixation apparatus includes: a fixing member that carries the toner image; a pressurizing member that becomes in contact with the fixing member with pressure to form a nip through which the recording target medium is transported; and a plurality of heating members that are provided at relatively upstream positions when viewed from the relatively downstream nip and apply heat to the surface of the recording target medium that is transported toward the nip, wherein the number of heating members that apply heat to the surface of the recording target medium is changed depending on whether the transfer of the toner image is performed only on the front side of the recording target medium or the transfer of the toner image is performed also on the reverse side of the recording target medium after the transfer of the toner image on the front side of the recording target medium. | 05-07-2009 |