Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Seung-young Byun

Woo-yong Park

Hyun-seong Shin

Jun-hee Cho

Jong-woo Kim

Myung-ho Kyung

Yong-su Kim

Kwang-ho No

Kyu-cheol Shin

In-yong Song

Chung-guk Baek

Jun-Hee Cho

Joong-gwang Shin

Cheol-young Han

Kee-son Chang

Geun-Yong Park

Jae-young Jang

Yong-kook Kim

Ji-won Seo

Wan-Ha Kim

Woo-Jung Shim

Sam-seuk Choi

Hyeong-jin Ahn

A waste toner collecting apparatus using a disposable OPC drum utilizes an inside space of the disposable OPC drum as a waste toner container to collect waste toner. The waste toner collecting apparatus comprises a waste toner removing unit contacting one side of the OPC drum to remove the waste toner from the OPC drum, first transport unit transporting the waste toner, which is removed by the waste toner removing unit from the OPC drum, in one direction, a second transport unit transporting waste toner, which is transported by the first transport unit, to one side of a storage unit, and a screw member moving the waste toner, which is moved to one side of the storage unit, to the other side of the storage unit to store the waste toner within the storage unit from the one side to the other side without leaving an unused hollow space. A user can conveniently remove the waste toner by replacing only the OPC drum instead of individually replacing the OPC drum and the waste toner container.

Waste toner collecting apparatus using OPC drum

A device for and a method of cleaning a photoreceptor medium of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus include a magnet which is installed in a lengthwise direction of the photoreceptor medium and is separated from an outer surface of the photoreceptor medium, and a magnetic fluid which fills a space between the magnet and the outer surface of the photoreceptor medium and closely contacts the outer surface of the photoreceptor medium. Accordingly, abrasion of the photoreceptor medium can be prevented, and since the developer does not stick to the magnetic fluid, a decrease in a cleaning efficiency can be prevented.

Device for and method of cleaning photoreceptor medium of electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A developer unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a blocking blade having a magnetic fluid and a magnet. The magnetic fluid contacts a developer roller and the metering blade to prevent a developer from flowing to both ends of the metering blade. The magnetic fluid is fixed to the magnet which applies a pressure to the magnetic fluid so that the magnetic fluid contacts the developer roller and the metering blade. Since the magnetic fluid contacts the developer, wear of elements of the developer unit can be reduced, thereby securing durability of the developer unit. Also, a wrap-around phenomenon of the developer can be prevented.

Developer unit of electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A method of detecting toner depletion in an image forming apparatus. The method includes comparing an accumulation pixel number Qt that is obtained by accumulating and counting a number of pixels of a printed image, with a reference pixel number Qr, calculated from an amount of toner received in a developing unit, and recognizing that the image forming apparatus is in a toner low state if the accumulation pixel number Qt is larger than the reference pixel number Qr. The method further includes comparing a concentration Di of the printed image with a predetermined reference concentration Dr and detecting toner depletion in the case of the toner low state. The method further includes determining whether the developing unit is a new developing unit, if the developing unit is reinstalled in the toner depletion state.

Method of detecting toner depletion in image forming apparatus

A liquid developer imaging system and a method using the system for developing an image, including a cartridge for containing a developing solution; a developing container for receiving the developing solution supplied from the cartridge via a predetermined supply line; a developing roller partly submerged in the developing solution contained in the developing container, installed to be rotated facing a photosensitive object; and a metering blade for scraping off the developing solution coated on the surface of the developing roller to a predetermined thickness, is provided. According to the system, a developing supply structure can be considerably simplified because a high-density developing solution is directly used in developing an image without a process of diluting the solution, and an image can be developed to have high definition because the concentration of the developing solution coated on the developing roller is regularly controlled by a metering blade.

Liquid developer imaging system

A liquid electrophotographic printer employs a continuously circulating photoreceptor web having a non-image region with a potential higher than an image region. A laser scanner forms a latent electrostatic image in the image region, and a development unit develops the latent image using an ink having toner particles dispersed in a liquid carrier. The development unit includes a developer roller with a surface potential in between that of the image and non-image region for forming the toner image by attaching the toner particles to the image region; a toner removal roller with a surface potential between that of the image and non-image regions after they pass through the developer roller, for removing toner particles remaining in a liquid carrier film in the non-image region; and a squeeze roller with a surface potential higher than any of the foregoing, for squeezing the liquid carrier out of the toner image by compression.

Liquid electrophotographic printer and printing method

A developing unit of a liquid electrophotographic printer includes a developing roller, for forming a development gap with a photoreceptor web where developer is filled and developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor web, a squeegee roller installed at the rear end of the developing roller for closely pressing the photoreceptor web to squeegee surplus developer, and a cleaning mechanism for removing toner particles of the developer adhering to a surface of the squeegee roller using an electrical force. Since the toner particles adhering to the squeegee roller are removed, contamination of a developed image is prevented and a clean image can be printed.

Cleaning structure for a developing unit of liquid electrophotographic printer

A squeezing apparatus of a liquid electrophotographic color printer for removing carrier of a developer from the developer without causing any damage to an image developed on a photosensitive medium. The squeezing apparatus includes a dual-structure squeezing roll that has a squeezing roll section of a low peel force for squeezing out and removing the carrier from the developer applied to the image area of the photosensitive medium, by its passive-rotational movement while being forced against the image area of the photosensitive medium by a certain force. The squeezing apparatus also includes a pair of friction roll sections, each friction roll section disposed at an end of the squeezing roll section with a gap to oppose each other at a certain interval, the friction roll sections having a high dry-friction coefficient and are passive-rotated while being forced into tight contact with the non-image area of the photosensitive medium by a certain force. The squeezing roll section is made of a material having a low peel force such as silicon, and the friction roll sections are made of a material having a high dry-friction coefficient such as urethane. Accordingly, the attraction of the toner of the photosensitive medium onto the squeezing roll by the low peel force of the squeezing roll section, and the slippage of the squeezing roll during a rotation of the squeezing roll by a high friction force of the friction roll sections are prevented. Accordingly, the image smearing by the slipping of squeezing roll and squeezing offset error can be prevented. Further, by forming the squeezing roll section with a material of a low friction coefficient, the driving load is reduced during the reverse-rotation of the squeezing roll in the drip line removing mode, and damage to the photosensitive medium is reduced.

Squeezing apparatus of a liquid electrophotographic color printer

Growing community of inventors

Seongnam-si, South Korea

Seung-young Byun