US 2003/0118362 A1Published application

Image forming apparatus

AssigneeKonica Corporation

InventorsHiroshi Akita, Kunio Shigeta, Takenobu Kimura, Yotaro Sato

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Abstract

In an image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is reverse-developed by a developing device with a development bias applied, through conveying a two-component developer layer containing toner particles having a volume-average particle diameter of 3 to 5 μm by a developer carrying member rotatably provided, a developed toner image is transferred onto a recording medium or an intermediate transfer body, and untransferred toner particles remaining on an image forming body having passed a transfer region are removed by a cleaning member provided in pressure contact with the surface of the image forming body. The length in an axis direction of the image forming body of an useless toner image formed on the image forming body at the starting time and the ending time of an image formation sequence denoted by L, the total charge quantity of the toner particles making up the useless toner image is 0.04L μC or less.

Claims17

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus comprising:

(a) a rotary image forming body;
(b) a charging device for charging a surface of the image forming body;
(c) an exposure device for imagewise exposing the surface of the image forming body to form an electrostatic latent image;
(d) a developing device for reverse-developing the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image through conveying a layer of two-component developer containing toner particles having a volume-average particle diameter of 3 μm to 5 μm to a developing region by a developer carrying body with a development bias applied, that is rotatably provided opposite to the image forming body through the developing region positioned between the image forming body and the developer carrying body;
(e) a transfer device for transferring the toner image formed on the image forming body onto a recording medium or onto an intermediate transfer body in a transfer region;
and
(f) a cleaning device for removing untransferred toner particles remaining on the image forming body which have passed the transfer region, by a cleaning member provided in pressure contact with the surface of the image forming body,
wherein a total charge quantity of the toner particles forming the useless toner image is 0.04L μC or less where L denotes a length in a lengthwise direction of an useless toner image representing the untransferred toner particles remaining on the image forming body, formed on the image forming body at a starting time and an ending time of an image formation sequence.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.