Patent ID: 7039343
Filing Date: 2006-05-02
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus using a high viscosity, high density developing liquid comprising a carrier liquid and toner dispersed in said carrier liquid, said image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier; latent image forming means for forming a latent image on said image carrier; developing means for developing the latent image with the developing liquid to thereby produce a corresponding toner image; excess liquid removing means for removing an excess developing liquid from said image carrier after development to thereby regulate a film thickness; and image transferring means for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to a recording medium; said excess liquid removing means comprising: a removing member held in contact with said image carrier and having a surface movable at substantially the same speed as a surface of said image carrier; varying means for varying a liquid removing force of said removing means; and control means for controlling said varying means in accordance with a property of the recording medium, wherein said developing means for developing includes means for applying a predetermined development electric field for a predetermined developing time so as to cause a predetermined amount of toner to be deposited, wherein said removing member comprises a plurality of removing members, and said varying means comprises moving means for selectively moving at least one of said plurality of removing members into or out of contact with said image carrier.