Image forming apparatus using gates and electrodes for selectively passing toner

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a supply device including at least one developer support associated with a source of particle developer material of one kind of color and/or characteristics, each of said at least one developer support defining a surface adapted to carry developer material of the kind of color and/or characteristics contained in its associated source;
• at least one element defining a non-moving, opposing electrode configuration disposed facing the at least one developer support;
• a high-voltage power source for supplying a high voltage to produce a potential difference between the at least one developer support and the opposing electrode configuration;
• a control electrode comprising an insulative substrate, a plurality of gates extending substantially transversely through the substrate, and one or more electrodes provided around each of the gates, the control electrode being disposed between the at least one developer support and the opposing electrode configuration;
• a conveyor belt for conveying a recording medium in a selected direction along a substantially planar path between the opposing electrode configuration and the control electrode;
• and
• a control circuit for selectively applying predetermined voltages to each of the electrodes around the gates to create electrical potential states in the gates controlling the passage of developer material through the gates so as to form a predetermined image on a surface of the recording medium as it is conveyed between the opposing electrode configuration and the control electrode, characterized by reducing means for reducing a component of the electric force acting on the developer material after the disposition thereof onto the surface of the recording medium in a direction opposite to the selected direction of conveying the recording medium,
• said reducing means being provided at a downstream side of each of the at least one element of the opposing electrode configuration, and
• said reducing means being such that a downstream side of each of the at least one element of the opposing electrode configuration includes a portion that slants away from the supply device at an angle with respect to the selected direction so as to become Gradually increasingly spaced away from the conveying belt.