Pfu Limited

Shigeki Uesugi

Motoharu Ichida

Seiichi Takeda

Masanari Takabatake

Shigeharu Okano

Yutaka Nakashima

Akihiko Inamoto

Satoru Moto

Masanobu Hongo

Satoshi Miyamoto

Hironaga Hongawa

Hitoshi Terashima

Satoshi Sakai

Tadashi Nishikawa

Jiyun Du

Yasuhiko Kishimoto

Tatsuo Nozaki

Hideaki Shibata

Tadasuke Yoshida

Yoshiaki Fujimoto

Isao Nagata

Eri Yamanishi

Yoshiro Kawamoto

Satoshi Moriguchi

Satoshii Moriguchi

Yoshiaki Kawamoto

A full-color electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention is configured such that a toner image is formed on an intermediate transfer member. The intermediate transfer member is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening start temperature of resin contained in a liquid toner and equal to or lower than the withstand temperature of a photoconductor member. A carrier-removing roller to which bias can be applied abuts the intermediate transfer member so as to remove a carrier while packing softened toner by the force of an electric field induced by bias. In a transfer section for transfer to a printing medium, a backup roller presses the printing medium against the intermediate transfer member, and the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer member to the printing medium. Before being pressed against the toner image on the intermediate transfer member, the printing medium is heated. Bias is applied to the backup roller such that the toner image on the intermediate transfer is attracted toward the printing medium by the action of an electric field, thereby assisting transfer. By so doing, the intermediate transfer member does not need to undergo cooling before coming into contact with the photoconductor member, thereby avoiding occurrence of thermal damage to the photoconductor member.

Full-color electrophotographic apparatus using liquid toner containing resin

A liquid-development electrophotographic apparatus utilizes a nonvolatile, high-viscosity, high-concentration liquid toner as a liquid developer. A developing section is in contact with photosensitive drums , on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, so that the liquid developer is supplied onto photosensitive drums - . Toner particles contained in the liquid developer adhere to the photosensitive drums - according to an electric field established between the developing section and the photosensitive drums - to form toner images. The toner images are transferred from the photosensitive drums - to an intermediate transfer section. A transfer-and-fixation section includes a heater to melt-transfer the toner images onto the printing medium. A development section is disposed at a lower portion of the apparatus to prevent smudging of the printing medium and the intermediate transfer section even when the liquid toner spills.

Liquid-development electrophotographic apparatus

The present invention provides a toner recycling control system which stably feeds a liquid developer of an appropriate concentration to a liquid developing apparatus employing a high-viscosity liquid developer; appropriately adjusts the concentration of residual developer collected after development and after transfer; and feeds the adjusted developer to the developing apparatus. The toner recycling control system collects a post-development residual developer from a developer-bearing body and a post-transfer residual developer from an image-bearing body; performs developer concentration adjustment to yield an adjusted developer; and feeds the adjusted developer back to the developer-bearing body. Thus, the toner recycling control system includes a concentration adjustment tank which stores the collected developer and is replenished with a concentrated developer and carrier liquid for developer concentration adjustment; and a buffer tank which receives and stores a liquid developer which has undergone concentration adjustment in the concentration adjustment tank. Once adjusted to an appropriate concentration, the liquid developer is fed to the developer-bearing body from the buffer tank.

Toner recycle control system of electrophotographing device using viscous liquid developing solution

A liquid-development full-color electrophotographic apparatus utilizes a development section having a liquid toner as a liquid developer to form a toner image according to an electric field established between the development section and a photosensitive drum. The toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum onto an intermediate transfer roller according to an electric field established between the intermediate transfer roller and the photosensitive drum, from the intermediate transfer roller to an intermediate transfer belt, and then to a transfer-and-fixation section, which melt-transfers the toner image onto a printing medium. A voltage controlled according to electric characteristics of each color toner is applied to the corresponding photosensitive drums while the roller is grounded. A toner cohesion enhancement unit is provided for enhancing the degree of toner cohesion of a toner image transferred and reverse transfer is suppressed.

Liquid-development full-color electrophotographic device

Provided are an applicator roller for conveying and applying liquid toner onto a developing roller in the form of a level, thin layer, and a conductive blade which comes into contact with a liquid toner layer on the developing roller. A predetermined amount of liquid toner passes through a gap between the conductive blade and the developer roller; and voltage is applied to the conductive blade so as to establish a state such that toner particles contained in the liquid toner are sparsely scattered in a surface region of a level, thin toner layer on the developing roller. Subsequently, the liquid toner, whose surface region is in a state such that toner particles are sparsely scattered, is brought into contact with an image bearer body for performing development.

Liquid developing electrophotographic device

A toner image is transferred from a photosensitive member onto an intermediate transfer belt . Toner particles transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt are melted through application of heat, and the molten toner is transferred onto a printing medium. A carrier-removing roller is disposed downstream of a position where a toner layer on the intermediate transfer belt is melted through application of heat. Through utilization of a phenomenon that toner particles (resin component) are melted and integrated in a heating process and a phenomenon that the carrier solvent (liquid component) is isolated in the heating process, the carrier solvent is removed efficiently. Also, there is disposed at the position of the heating process a carrier-removing roller for removing the carrier solvent from the intermediate transfer belt while the toner layer on the intermediate transfer belt is being melted through application of heat.

Electrophotographic device of liquid toner developing type

A wet-type electrophotography apparatus using a non-volatile, high-viscosity, high-concentration liquid toner as a liquid developer and having a photoconductive medium, a prewetting device applying a film of prewetting solution to the surface of the photoconductive medium, a developing roller feeding the liquid developer to the photoconductive medium while making contact with the photoconductive medium, and causing toner particles in the liquid developer to adhere to the photoconductive medium in accordance with a electric field formed between the developing roller and the photoconductive medium, so that a toner image formed on the photoconductive medium is transferred directly to a printing medium, or to a printing media via an intermediate transfer medium to obtain a printed image. The apparatus also has oil removal means making contact with the formed toner image surface to remove the excess prewetting solution and the excess carrier solution in the liquid toner from the toner image surface on either the photoconductive medium or the intermediate transfer medium.

Wet-type electrophotography apparatus, using non-volatile, high viscosity, high concentration liquid toner

Growing community of inventors

Unoke-machi, Japan

Shigeki Uesugi