Wet type electrophotography apparatus to evenly apply developing solution on a developing roller

A wet type electrophotography apparatus using a non-volatile, high-viscosity, high-concentration liquid toner as a developing solution, comprising:

• an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
• a developing roller to feed said developing solution via a surface contacting said image carrier and causing toner particles in said developing solution to deposit on said image carrier;
• a developing solution applying device to transport and apply said developing solution to said developing roller, the developing solution applying device comprising a plurality of interconnecting rotating rollers to spread said developing solution, the plurality of interconnecting rotating rollers including a final-stage rotating roller, wherein a film of said developing solution on a surface of said final stage rotating roller is applied to said contact surface of said developing roller;
• and
• an electrically conductive roller provided independently of said final-stage rotating roller, said electrically conductive roller rotating in contact with said developing roller,
• wherein a bias voltage is fed to said electrically conductive roller to apply a film of said developing solution on the surface of said final-stage rotating roller to said contact surface of said developing roller in accordance with an electrical field formed between said electrically conductive roller and said developing roller by said bias voltage.

A wet type electrophotography apparatus using a non-volatile, high-viscosity, high-concentration liquid toner as a developing solution, comprising:

• an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
• a developing roller to feed said developing solution via a surface contacting said image carrier and causing toner particles in said developing solution to deposit on said image carrier;
• a developing solution applying device to transport and apply said developing solution to said developing roller, the developing solution applying device comprising a plurality of interconnecting rotating rollers to spread said developing solution, including a final stage rotating roller, wherein a film of said developing solution on a surface of the final-stage rotating roller is applied to said contact surface of said developing roller;
• and
• an electrically conductive blade contacting said developing roller, and a bias voltage is fed by said electrically conductive blade to form an electrical field to cause toner particles to deposit on said developing roller.

A wet type electrophotography apparatus using a non-volatile, high-viscosity, high-concentration liquid toner as a developing solution, comprising:

• an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
• a developing roller to feed said developing solution via a surface contacting said image carrier and causing toner particles in said developing solution to deposit on said image carrier;
• a developing solution applying device comprising a plurality of interconnecting rotating rollers to transport and apply said developing solution to said developing roller while spreading with said interconnecting rotating rollers, the plurality of interconnecting rotating rollers including a final-stage rotating roller contacting said developing roller, wherein a bias voltage is fed to said final-stage rotating roller to apply a layer of said developing solution on a surface of said final-stage rotating roller to said contact surface of said developing roller in accordance with an electrical field formed by said bias voltage between said final-stage rotating roller and said developing roller;
• and
• a monitoring device to monitor the thickness of said developing solution layer applied to the surface of said final-stage rotating roller and controlling said layer thickness to a predetermined value.

A wet type electrophotography apparatus using a non-volatile, high-viscosity, high-concentration liquid toner as a developing solution, comprising:

• an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed;
• a prewetting solution applying device to apply a prewetting solution to said image carrier, said prewetting solution applying device comprising a prewetting solution applicator roller rotating in contact with said image carrier and having high insulation properties, and at least one interconnecting contact roller rotating in contact with said applicator roller, wherein a thickness of a layer of said prewetting solution is controlled to a predetermined thickness by feeding said prewetting solution in an amount which builds up a prewetting solution pool between said prewetting solution applicator roller and said contact roller, and adjusting a state of contact between the applicator roller and the contact roller to adjust the amount of said prewetting solution passing between the rollers;
• and
• a developing device to feed a film of a liquid toner as a developing solution on said image carrier while maintaining a double-layer construction with said prewetting solution layer applied to said image carrier by said prewetting solution applying device, and causing toner particles to deposit on said image carrier in accordance with an electrical field formed between said developing device and said image carrier.