JPH11288175A - Image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide an image forming method capable of forming a stable developing electric field with a small and simple member and obtaining a high-quality image. SOLUTION: A driving roller 46 which is rotatably disposed in a hollow portion of the developing sleeve 41 so as to extend along the axial direction of the developing sleeve 41 is provided. The developing roller 41 is rotated by a cleaning blade 47 as a pressing member disposed in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 41 so as to apply pressure to the driving roller 46. Forming the developing solution layer on the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 41, and forming a developing electric field in a developing region between the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing sleeve 41;
The developing solution on the developing sleeve 41 is moved to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 10 to develop the electrostatic latent image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method for a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like.
After forming a thin layer of liquid developer on the developer carrier, and using the liquid developer on the developer carrier to visualize the electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier, The present invention relates to an image forming method for transferring to a transfer material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of image forming method, a developing device is used which develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier as an image support such as a photoreceptor with toner as charged particles. ing. In order to reduce the size of the developing device, it has been proposed to use a high-concentration and high-viscosity developer in which the toner concentration of a developer in which toner is dispersed in an insulating liquid is set to be higher. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-209922 discloses a liquid development method for an electrostatic latent image formed by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image support with toner, which is a charged visualized particle, By contacting the image support with a high-viscosity liquid developer of 100 to 10000 mPas in which toner is dispersed at a high concentration in an insulating liquid applied on a developer support having conductivity, A liquid developing method for an electrostatic latent image, comprising a developing step of supplying the liquid developer to a latent image surface of an image support.

[0003] Further, such a thin layer of liquid developer serves as a developing device for visualizing an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier. A developer carrier for supplying a liquid developer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “developer”) is constituted by a flexible endless belt-shaped developing belt, and the developing belt is stretched over a plurality of belt rollers. 2. Description of the Related Art A developing device has been known which has a configuration in which a developing solution in a developing solution tank is thinned and applied onto the developing belt by an application roller while being driven to rotate.

[0004]

However, in a developing device using a flexible endless belt-shaped developing belt as a developer carrying member, the method of driving the developing belt becomes a problem. That is, as described above, in the case of a configuration in which the developing belt is driven by applying tension by a plurality of belt rollers, the rotation shaft of each belt roller is used to prevent the developing belt from shifting in the axial direction. It is necessary to keep the parallelism with high accuracy. For this reason, in an image forming method using such a developing device, it is necessary to provide a belt roller shaft adjusting mechanism for preventing the developing belt from shifting in a supporting portion of a belt roller which stretches the developing belt. In addition, the structure for supporting the developing belt as a developer carrier and the driving system are complicated and costly. Further, in this image forming method, a configuration in which a plurality of belt rollers are arranged in the developing belt of the developing device and the number of components is large is used, and the developing device itself becomes large. In the case of an image forming apparatus having a plurality of developing devices, there is a problem that the entire image device becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a high-quality image by forming a stable developing electric field with small and simple members. It is an object of the present invention to provide a possible image forming method.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the image forming method of the present invention, a liquid developer layer in which a toner is dispersed in a dielectric carrier liquid is formed on a developer carrier. An image forming method for developing an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier by bringing a liquid developer on the developer carrier into contact with the latent image carrier on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, comprising: A driving roller having a developer carrying member formed of a hollow cylindrical member having a property, rotatably disposed in a hollow portion of the developer carrying member along an axial direction of the developer carrying member; The developer carrier is rotated by a pressing member disposed in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the developer carrier so as to apply pressure to the developer carrier, and the developer carrier is applied by an application roller for applying the liquid developer to the developer carrier. The liquid developer layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the latent image carrier and the developer carrier are formed. A developing electric field is formed in a developing region between the developer and the developer, and the liquid developer on the developer carrier is moved to an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier, and the electrostatic developer on the latent image carrier is moved. The latent image is developed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method of the first aspect, at least one of the driving rollers is provided.
A contact portion with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a voltage is applied to the drive roller to form a development electric field in a development area between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method of the first aspect, at least a contact portion of the pressing member with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a voltage is applied to the pressing member. Is applied to form a development electric field in a development region between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method of the first aspect, at least one of the coating rollers is provided.
A contact portion with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a voltage is applied to the application roller to form a development electric field in a development area between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier. It is characterized by the following.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method of the first aspect, the driving roller, the pressing member,
Any two or more members of the application roller, at least, a contact portion with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a contact portion with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member. A developing electric field is formed in a developing area between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier by applying a voltage to the developing member.

[0011] The image forming method according to the sixth aspect is characterized in that:
The image forming method according to any one of 2, 3, 4 and 5, wherein a gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as the application roller.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the first aspect.
In the image forming method of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, a conductive gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as the application roller, and a conductive metering blade is used on the surface. Characterized in that a developing electric field is formed in a developing region between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier by applying a voltage to the metering blade in contact with a peripheral surface of a gravure roller. It is.

[0013] The image forming method according to claim 8 is the method according to claim 1,
The image forming method according to any one of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, wherein at least the conductive member of the conductive member has a volume resistance of 0 to 10 ₈ Ω · cm. is there.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming method according to the first aspect.
In the image forming apparatus of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, the pressing member is a cleaning blade for scraping a liquid developer supplied to a peripheral surface of the developer carrier. Is characterized by the following.

In the image forming method according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the developer is rotated by rotating the drive roller while the developer carrier is held between the drive roller and the pressing member. Since the carrier is rotated, simplification and cost reduction of the support structure and driving means of the developer carrier,
Further, the size of the developing device can be reduced.

Further, in these image forming methods,
The developer carrier is sandwiched between the driving roller and the pressing member, so that the driving roller and the pressing member are surely brought into contact with each other. Since the contact is ensured, a stable developing electric field can be formed in the developing area between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier with small and simple members, and a high quality image can be obtained.

In particular, in the image forming method according to the present invention, since a gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as the coating roller, the excess of the developer supplied to the surface of the coating roller is used. The developing solution is removed by the engraved portion on the surface of the gravure roller, the amount of the developing solution supplied to the surface of the coating roller is accurately measured, and the developing solution having a uniform thickness is formed on the latent image carrier. Supplied to form a high quality image.

In the image forming method of the present invention, a gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as the coating roller, and a metering blade having a conductive surface is provided around the gravure roller. Since it is in contact with the surface, surplus developer of the developer supplied to the surface of the application roller is more reliably removed by the engraved portion of the surface of the gravure roller and the metering blade. The amount of the developer supplied to the surface of the coating roller is measured more accurately, and the developer having a uniform thickness is supplied to the latent image carrier, thereby forming a high quality image.

In the image forming method according to the ninth aspect, the pressing member is constituted by a cleaning blade for scraping the liquid developer supplied to the peripheral surface of the developer carrier. The driving means for the developer carrier is more compact and less expensive.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic copying machine (hereinafter simply referred to as a "copying machine") as an image forming apparatus will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine according to the present embodiment has a photosensitive drum 10 as a latent image carrier, a charging roller 20 as charging means for the photosensitive drum 10, and a latent image writing means. Exposure device 30, developing device 40 as developing means for the latent image, and transfer roller 5 as transferring means
0, a cleaning device 60 as cleaning means for the photosensitive drum 10, a static elimination device 70 as static elimination means for the photosensitive drum 10, and the like.

Further, the developing device 40 in the copying machine
Is a developing sleeve 41 as a developer carrier, and 100 to 1000 mP in which toner is dispersed in a dielectric carrier.
a · s, a developer tank 43 for storing a high-viscosity developer 42, an application roller 44 arranged so that the lower part is immersed in the developer 42 in the developer tank 43, and an application roller 44 A developing blade 42 for thinning the developing solution 42 pumped by the developing sleeve 41;
A driving roller 46 for rotationally driving the developer, and a developer 42 applied to the developing sleeve 41 by the applying roller 44.
And a cleaning blade 47 for scraping off the developing sleeve 41 from above. In the developing device 40, the developer is 100 to 1000 mP.
Although the high-viscosity developing solution 42 of a · s is used, it goes without saying that it is also possible to use a developing solution having a normal viscosity.

In FIG. 1, the photosensitive drum 10 is
The charging roller 20 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential while being driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow. Thereafter, the reflected light from the original is image-formed and projected by an optical system (not shown) of the exposure device 30, so that a latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photosensitive drum 10. The latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the developing sleeve 4 of the developing device 40.
The photosensitive drum 10 and the developing sleeve 41 are thinly coated and thinned on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 by a high-viscosity developer 42.
Is developed in the nip portion, and is visualized as a toner image.

The toner image visualized by the developing device 40 is fed from a paper feeding device 80 including a paper feeding cassette 81, a paper feeding roller 82, a separation roller 83, etc., toward the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 in the direction of an arrow. Transfer paper 84 conveyed to
Is transferred at a nip portion between the photosensitive drum 10 and the transfer roller 50. The transfer paper 84 onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 10 by a separating device (not shown), and is fixed by a fixing device 90 including a heating roller 91 and a pressure roller 92 as a fixing unit for the toner image. After the fixing process is performed, the sheet is discharged onto a tray (not shown) provided outside the apparatus main body.

On the other hand, when the toner image is transferred, the untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 10 without being transferred to the transfer paper 84 is transferred onto the photosensitive drum 10 by the cleaning blade 61 of the cleaning device 60. And is collected in the developer collection container 62. And
In the photosensitive drum 10 from which the untransferred toner has been removed, the residual charge remaining on the latent image forming surface is discharged by the discharging device 70 in preparation for the next charging.

Here, the developing solution tank 43 of the developing device 40 shown in FIG.
By a gear pump 48 as a circulating means 2, the chamber is largely divided into two chambers, a developer supply chamber 43a and a developer recovery chamber 43b. The application roller 44 is connected to a developer supply chamber 4 provided on the developer discharge side of the gear pump 48.
3a, and is disposed above the application roller 44.
The developer in the developer supply chamber 43a, which is pushed up by the pressure of the gear pump 48, is supplied. At this time, the excess developer not supplied on the peripheral surface of the application roller 44 is kept as it is by the gravity of the developer, and the developer recovery chamber 4 provided on the developer suction side of the gear pump 48
Returned to 3b.

The latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 by being applied onto the developing sleeve 41 by the applying roller 44 is not used for developing the latent image on the developing sleeve 4.
1 is removed from the developing sleeve 41 by a cleaning blade 47, and the developer collecting chamber 4 on the developer suction side of the gear pump 48 is moved by gravity.
3b.

At this time, if the developing solution application surface (peripheral surface) of the developing sleeve 41 after the development of the latent image is not cleaned, the developing solution in a portion which is not consumed by the development of the latent image and does not correspond to the latent image is developed. Remains on the developing sleeve 41. Therefore, in this case, the developing sleeve 4
Even when a new developing solution is applied on the developing sleeve 1, the latent image is formed on a thin layer of the developing solution newly formed on the developing sleeve 41 due to the effect of the developing solution remaining on the developing sleeve 41. Since the residual developer remains as it is as a change in the layer thickness, the residual developer causes a ghost, and the image quality of the toner image transferred to the transfer paper 84 is significantly deteriorated.

On the other hand, the developing solution 42 is obtained by dispersing toner in a carrier liquid which is an insulating liquid.
If left for a long time, the carrier liquid and the toner may be separated, or the dispersion state of the toner in the carrier liquid may be uneven. Further, the cleaning blade 47 removes the toner from the developing sleeve 41,
The developer returned to the developer recovery chamber 43b has a toner concentration in the developer that changes in accordance with the image area ratio. It is necessary to readjust the toner density.

For this reason, in a developing device using such a developing solution 42, a stirring means for dispersing and mixing the toner in the carrier liquid is required in the developing solution tank 43. The developing device of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes:
A stirring roller 49 as the stirring means is disposed in a circulation path of the developer 42 connecting the gear pump 48 and the developer recovery chamber 43b. As a result, the developer 42 stored in the developer tank 43 is transferred to the gear pump 4.
8, the toner circulated between the developer supply chamber 43a and the developer recovery chamber 43b and dispersed in the carrier liquid by a stirring roller 49 disposed in the circulation path, to a predetermined amount. Is stirred to a concentration of. Here, as the stirring roller 49, for example, a screw roller having spiral blades can be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the developing device has a developing tank 43 sealed except for a surface of the developing sleeve 41 in contact with the photosensitive drum 10, as shown in FIG. The structure is such that the developer 42 in the developer tank 43 does not spill out due to the inclination or shaking of the apparatus main body. Further, in this developing device, the shape of the developing solution tank 43 can be expanded in the direction of gravity by incorporating the circulating means of the developing solution 42, so that the device main body can be made compact.

In this developing device, the developing solution 42
Although the gear pump 48 is shown as the circulating means, the circulating means is not limited to the gear pump 48, but may be any kind as long as it can supply the developer 42 to the coating roller 44. For example, a circulating unit having a configuration in which a piston and a -directional valve are combined may be used.

On the other hand, the developing sleeve 41 is preferably a flexible member from the viewpoint of avoiding damage to the surface of the photosensitive drum 10, and for example, the surface is wound with an elastic material such as rubber. Rolled rollers, rollers having a low elasticity member such as sponge inside, or a cylindrical belt member are conceivable. Further, as a material of the developing sleeve 41, nylon, polyimide, or the like can be used.

Here, when a cylindrical belt member is used as the developing sleeve 41, the driving method thereof becomes a problem. That is, when the driving roller and the driven roller drive the developing belt including the cylindrical belt member as the developing sleeve 41 while stretching it, as described above,
In order to prevent the developing belt from shifting in the axial direction, it is necessary to accurately maintain the parallelism between the rotation axes of the driving roller and the driven roller.

For this reason, in a developing device using a developing belt composed of such a cylindrical belt member, the developing belt has a large number of parts in which a plurality of belt rollers are arranged. However, there is a problem that the supporting structure and the driving means are complicated and expensive, and the developing device itself becomes large. In particular, in the case of an image forming apparatus provided with a color image forming apparatus having a plurality of developing devices, there is a problem that the entire image apparatus becomes large.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a hollow cylindrical member is used as the developing sleeve 41, and the developing roller 41 made of the cylindrical member has a hollow portion. A single drive roller 46 having a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the developing sleeve 41 is rotatably disposed, and the drive roller 46 rotatably supports a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 41. A developing device having a configuration in which a cleaning blade 47 as a pressing member is arranged in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 41 so as to apply pressure to the driving roller 46 via the developing roller 41 is used.

In the developing device having this configuration, the developing sleeve 41 is held between the driving roller 46 and the cleaning blade 47 while the driving roller 46 is
Is rotated, the developing sleeve 41 is driven and rotated by a frictional force between the developing sleeve 41 and the driving roller 46. Therefore, in this developing device, the deviation of the developing sleeve 41 can be suppressed only by maintaining the parallelism between the drive roller 46 and the cleaning blade 47, and the parallelism of the plurality of belt rollers as described above can be reduced. The deviation of the developing sleeve 41 can be relatively easily prevented as compared with the case where the deviation of the developing sleeve 41 is prevented with high accuracy. As described above, in this developing device, the number of components of the supporting portion and the driving portion of the developing sleeve 41 can be reduced.
The simplification, cost reduction, and downsizing of the developing body can be achieved.

When a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 is developed using the developing sleeve 41, a latent image potential is applied to a developing area between the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing sleeve 41. It is necessary to form a developing electric field according to the above.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the developing sleeve 41 as the developer carrier is formed of a hollow cylindrical member having conductivity, and As a driving roller 46 that supports the inner peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 41 and rotationally drives the developing sleeve, a driving roller whose contact portion with at least the developing sleeve 41 is formed of a conductive member is used. A voltage for forming a developing electric field of a predetermined potential is applied to the developing region between the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing sleeve 41 by the power supply E1 to the power supply E1.

Here, the developing three 41 and the driving roller 4
6 are in contact with each other at a predetermined pressure, so that the voltage applied to the drive roller 46 by the power source E1 becomes the same potential even in the developing sleeve 41. In particular, since the developing sleeve 41 and the driving roller 46 are configured to surely come into contact with each other because the developing sleeve 41 is rotationally driven by the driving roller 46, the developing sleeve 41 and the driving roller 46 are stable. The applied voltage can be applied.

As another method of forming a developing electric field of a predetermined potential in a developing area between the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing sleeve 41, as shown in FIG. The cleaning blade 47 pressed against the surface may be formed of a conductive member, and a predetermined voltage may be applied to the cleaning blade 47 by the power supply E2.

As described above, this cleaning blade 47 has a function of cleaning the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 41 and a function of pressing the developing sleeve 41 against the driving roller 46. Therefore, since the cleaning blade 47 and the developing sleeve 41 have a very stable and close contact structure, the voltage applied to the cleaning blade 47 becomes the same potential even in the developing sleeve 41, A stable voltage is applied to 41.

Here, an example has been described in which a cleaning blade 47 for scraping off the developer on the developing sleeve 41 is used as a pressing means for pressing the developing sleeve 41 against the driving roller 46. The pressing means is not limited to this as long as it has a function of bringing the developing sleeve 41 into pressure contact with the driving roller 46. For example, the pressing means may be in contact with the driving roller 46 with the developing sleeve 41 interposed therebetween. It is also possible to use an opposing roller disposed at an opposing portion as the pressing means. The opposing roller may be formed of a conductive member, and a voltage for forming a developing electric field having a predetermined potential in the developing area may be applied to the opposing roller. However, in this case, in order to ensure the contact between the opposing roller and the developing sleeve 41, the period from when the developing sleeve 41 is cleaned to when the developer 42 is applied by the application roller 44 is used. It is desirable to dispose the opposed roller on the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 41. However, as shown in FIG. 3, by using the cleaning blade 47 as the pressing means and applying a voltage to the cleaning blade 47, an inexpensive developing device capable of supplying a stable voltage with a more compact configuration is provided. realizable.

Further, as another method of forming a developing electric field of a predetermined potential in a developing area between the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing sleeve 41, as shown in FIG. The power supply E3 may be configured to apply a predetermined voltage. That is, the application roller 44 is always in contact with the developing sleeve 41 during image formation (at the time of development) in order to apply the developer 42 to the developing sleeve 41. Therefore, even if a predetermined voltage is applied to the application roller 44 by the power supply E3, a stable voltage can be supplied to the developing sleeve 41.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the drive rollers 46, the cleaning blade 47, and the application roller 44 are supplied to the power supplies E1, E2, and E3, respectively.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a predetermined voltage is applied in combination, not individually.

Further, as the application roller 44, FIG.
As shown in (1), a gravure roller having an engraved surface may be used. The developing solution supplied to the surface of the coating roller 44 composed of a gravure roller whose surface is engraved is mixed with the metering blade 45 and the coating roller 44.
Since the surplus developer is removed by the engraved portion on the surface of, the amount of the developer on the surface of the application roller 44 can be accurately measured. Therefore, by applying a developing solution onto the developing sleeve 41 using an applying roller 44 composed of a gravure roller having an engraved surface,
A precisely measured amount of the developing solution is transferred onto the developing sleeve 41 so that a thin layer of the developing solution having a uniform thickness can be formed on the developing sleeve. At this time, the application roller 44
Is rotated so that the direction of movement of the portion of the developing sleeve 41 facing the developing roller 41 is opposite to the direction of movement of the portion of the developing sleeve 41 facing the coating roller 44. Non-uniformity of the thin layer can be eliminated.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, a power source E4 is used to form the developing electric field on a metering blade 45 for regulating the amount of developing solution held on the surface of the coating roller 44. May be configured to be applied. At this time, a conductive material is used as the metering blade 45. As described above, the metering blade 45 is in strong contact with the application roller 44 that is constantly in contact with the developing sleeve 41. Voltage can be supplied stably.

Further, the volume resistance of at least the conductive portion of the conductive member such as the driving roller 46, the cleaning blade 47, the coating roller 44, and the metering blade 45 is set to a value in the range of 0 to 10 ₈ Ω · cm. In this case, a voltage can be stably supplied to the developing sleeve 41 via each of these members.
A stable developing electric field was formed in the developing region between the developing sleeve 41 and the developing sleeve 41, and a high-quality image could be obtained.

[0049]

According to the first to ninth aspects of the present invention,
Since the developing device can be configured with a small number of parts, simplification and cost reduction of the support structure and the driving means of the developer carrier,
And, the size of the developing device can be reduced, and the developer carrier is sandwiched between the driving roller and the pressing member, whereby the driving roller and the pressing member are surely brought into contact with each other, Since the coating roller is also securely contacted with the developer carrier, it is small and simple with few members,
There is an excellent effect that a stable developing electric field can be formed in a developing area between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier, and a high quality image can be obtained.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 6, since a gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as the application roller, an excess of the developer supplied to the surface of the application roller is used. The developer is removed by the engraved portion on the surface of the gravure roller, the amount of the developer supplied to the surface of the coating roller is accurately measured, and the developer having a uniform thickness is supplied to the latent image carrier. Thus, there is an excellent effect that a high quality image is formed.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as the application roller, and a conductive metering blade is provided on the peripheral surface of the gravure roller. Because it is in contact with, the excess developer of the developer supplied to the surface of the application roller, the engraved portion of the surface of the gravure roller, and more reliably removed by the metering blade,
The amount of the developing solution supplied to the surface of the coating roller is measured more accurately, and the developing solution having a uniform thickness is supplied to the latent image carrier, whereby an excellent effect of forming a high quality image is obtained. is there.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the pressing member is constituted by a cleaning blade for scraping off the liquid developer supplied to the peripheral surface of the developer carrier. There is an excellent effect that the driving means of the agent carrier can be configured more compactly and at lower cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of a developing device in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing another configuration of the developing device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing still another configuration of the developing device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing still another configuration of the developing device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing still another configuration of the developing device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing still another configuration of the developing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 photoconductor drum 20 charging roller 30 exposure device 40 developing device 41 developing sleeve 42 developing solution 43 developing solution tank 44 coating roller 45 metering blade 46 driving roller 47 cleaning blade 48 gear pump 49 stirring roller 50 transfer roller 60 cleaning device 70 static eliminator 80 paper feeding device 84 transfer paper 90 fixing device E1, E2, E3, E4 power supply

Claims (9)

[Claims] A liquid developer layer in which a toner is dispersed in a dielectric carrier liquid is formed on a developer carrier, and a liquid on the developer carrier is formed on a latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. An image forming method for developing an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier by bringing a developer into contact with the developer carrier, the developer carrier comprising a hollow cylindrical member having conductivity. A driving roller rotatably disposed along the axial direction of the developer carrying member in the hollow portion of the developer carrying member, and a pressing member disposed in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the developer carrying member to apply pressure to the driving roller. The liquid developer layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the developer carrier by an application roller for applying the liquid developer to the developer carrier, and the latent image carrier and the developing device are rotated. Forming a developing electric field in a developing area between the developer carrier and the liquid developer on the developer carrier; Moving the image to an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier and developing the electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier. 2. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein at least a contact portion of said drive roller with said developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a voltage is applied to said drive roller to form said latent image. An image forming method, wherein a developing electric field is formed in a developing region between an image carrier and the developer carrier. 3. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein at least a contact portion of the pressing member with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a voltage is applied to the pressing member to form the latent image. An image forming method, wherein a developing electric field is formed in a developing region between an image carrier and the developer carrier. 4. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein at least a contact portion of the application roller with the developer carrier is formed of a conductive member, and a voltage is applied to the application roller to form the latent image. An image forming method, wherein a developing electric field is formed in a developing region between an image carrier and the developer carrier. 5. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein at least a contact portion of at least two of the driving roller, the pressing member, and the application roller with the developer carrier is electrically conductive. A contact portion with the developer carrying member applies a voltage to a member constituted by a conductive member, and develops a developing area between the latent image carrying member and the developer carrying member. An image forming method comprising forming an electric field. 6. An image forming method according to claim 1, wherein a gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as said application roller. 7. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein a conductive gravure roller having an engraved surface is used as said coating roller. A conductive metering blade is brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the gravure roller, a voltage is applied to the metering blade, and a developing electric field is applied to a developing region between the latent image carrier and the developer carrier. Forming an image. 8. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein at least the conductive member of the conductive member has a volume resistance of 0 to 10 ₈ Ω · cm. An image forming method, characterized in that: 9. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, wherein said pressing member applies a liquid developer supplied to a peripheral surface of said developer carrier. An image forming method, which is a cleaning blade for scraping.