Image forming apparatus

Abstract

In an image forming apparatus including a toner image forming section, a transfer section, a recording medium supplying section, and a control unit, an image forming unit that forms, for example, a yellow toner image causes liquid-repellent particles to be adhered onto a part of a photoreceptor drum other than an electrostatic latent image, causes fixing fluid to be adhered onto a part of the electrostatic latent image such that only the fixing fluid is transferred onto an image forming roller, and causes the fixing fluid to be supplied on the image forming roller.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other and further objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be more explicit from the following detailed description taken with reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional enlarged view illustrating the configuration of a main part of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of a liquid-repellent particle supplying section;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of a fixing fluid supplying section;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of an image forming roller;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of a developing section;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the configuration of a developing device having different configuration.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a toner image forming section for forming a toner image; anda transfer section for transferring the toner image onto a recording medium directly or through an intermediate transfer medium,wherein the toner image forming section includes an image bearing member that bears an electrostatic latent image thereon;an electrostatic latent image forming section for forming the electrostatic latent image on the image bearing member;a liquid-repellent particle supplying section for supplying liquid-repellent particles to a region excluding the electrostatic latent image in a region on the image bearing member where the electrostatic latent image is formed, the liquid-repellent particles being particles having a liquid-repellent property with respect to fixing fluid that acts to swell or soften toner;a fixing fluid supplying section for supplying the fixing fluid to a region corresponding to the electrostatic latent image in the region on the image bearing member where the electrostatic latent image is formed; anda developing section for forming a toner image by supplying toner to a region, to which the fixing fluid is supplied, on the image bearing member.

2. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image bearing member is a photoreceptor, and the electrostatic latent image forming section includes a charging section for charging a surface of the photoreceptor, and an exposure section for exposing the surface of the charged photoreceptor to signal light corresponding to image information so as to form an electrostatic latent image.

3. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the toner image forming section includes a fixing fluid recovering section provided between the fixing fluid supplying section and the developing section, for selectively recovering only fixing fluid adhered onto liquid-repellent particles on the image bearing member.

4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the toner image forming section further includes a fixing fluid holding section for holding fixing fluid that is selectively transferred thereonto from the image bearing member, and the developing section causes toner to be supplied to the fixing fluid on the fixing fluid holding section so as to form a toner image.

5. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the developing section supplies charged toner to the fixing fluid on the image bearing member or the fixing fluid holding section.

6. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the developing section is provided to be spaced apart from the image bearing member or the fixing fluid holding section with a gap therebetween.

7. The image forming apparatus of claim 4, wherein the fixing fluid holding section includes a drying section for drying fixing fluid on the fixing fluid holding section and toner that is swollen or softened by the fixing fluid.

8. The image forming apparatus of claim 7, wherein the drying section is a heating section for heating the fixing fluid holding section to a temperature equal to or larger than a glass transition temperature of toner.

9. The image forming apparatus of claim 4, wherein the transfer section transfers a toner image formed by toner that is swollen or softened by the fixing fluid on the fixing fluid holding section, onto an intermediate transfer medium or a recording medium, and the toner image forming section includes a toner recovering section for recovering toner remaining on the fixing fluid holding section after transferring the toner image onto the intermediate transfer medium or the recording medium.

10. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein a toner image forming section includes a plurality of image forming units for forming toner images having different colors, and a multi colored image is formed by transferring and overlaying the toner images having different colors which are formed in each image forming unit onto a recording medium or an intermediate transfer medium.