Eastman-kodak Company

Timothy W Reynolds

Edward Michael Eck

Philip A Stern

Paul Essic Thompson

Gerard M Darby

An apparatus and related method for a self-cleaning toner roller device adjacent a toner roller. The cleaning device having one or more shields to capture the toner debris from the toner roller, a toner debris receptacle to collect the toner debris, and a controller to move the applicator from an operational mode to a self-cleaning mode.

Self-cleaning electrophotographic toning roller system

An electrostatic scavenger roller within the development apparatus of an electrostatographic copier or printer for recovering unwanted charged carrier particles (DPU) from the image-bearing surface of such copier or printer after development. The scavenger roller, which is mounted rotatably adjacent the image-bearing surface and within reach of first magnetic fields on the alternating pole magnets of a rotatable development roller, includes a magnetic drive disk at each end thereof. Each of the magnetic drive disks consists of a series of alternating pole magnets fixedly disposed inside the scavenger roller for rotation therewith, and each generates a second magnetic field which overlaps the first magnetic fields of the development roller. As such, rotation of the development roller magnetically induces rotation of the magnetic disks and, hence, rotation of the scavenger roller, thereby bringing the electrostatically recovered carrier particles (DPU) thereon, around and into the first magnetic fields for magnetic recapture by the magnetic development roller.

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Rochester, NY, United States of America

Timothy W Reynolds