Cleanerless electrographic imaging device

An imaging device, for use in an electrographic imaging process, which comprises:

• an image-carrying element;
• image exposure means for forming a charged latent image on a surface of the image-carrying element;
• developing means for forming a visible image on the surface of the image-carrying element as a function of developing said latent image with a developer and, at substantially the same time, recovering residual developer, not transferred to an image-receiving element in the preceding image transfer process, from the image-carrying dement carrying said residual developer;
• image transfer means for transferring the visible image from the image-carrying element to an image-receiving element;
• and
• distribution roller means, made of an elastic and electrically conductive material, having depressions on its exterior surface for uniformly scattering and distributing the residual developer, which was not transferred to the image-receiving element in the above image transfer process, over the surface of the image-carrying element and, at substantially the same time, dedectrifying the charged surface of the image-carrying element with an AC electric field and, in combination therewith, freshly charging the deelectrified surface of the image-carrying element with a DC voltage.