Shigeru Inaba

Production of thin, uniform toner layers through use of a contact blade with mono-component development systems

The authors focus on the effects of contaminants on the uniformity of the toner layers resulting from the direct observation of the toner flow and metering phenomena. The authors have improved earlier observation methods to observe directly and analyze the toner transportation and toner behavior in the layer thickness control area. Using the improved method, they have experimented with the various kinds of toner transportations and layer thickness control systems. They concentrated on disruption of toner layers by contaminant infiltration and found that static toner and friction force against the toner on the developing sleeve are most important in preventing a contaminant from entering the metering area. Based on these results, they found a highly stable layer-forming method, called the contact blade method. which minimizes the effects of infiltration by contaminants. >