JPH04330473A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a developing device in which the lump of toner is prevented from being formed by efficiently and quickly stirring toner for replenishment which is supplied to a developing unit and faulty transfer is eliminated by breaking up the formed lump of toner to toner particles. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a toner replenishment part 7 which supplies the toner for replenishment stored in a toner hopper 3 to the developing unit 1, and a stirring roller 17 which is positioned near the replenishment part 7 and stirs the toner for replenishment and carrier, and a magnet 20 is disposed at a part opposed to the roller 17, then the replenishing path 19 of the toner for replenishment and developer is formed between the magnet 20 and the roller 17.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a magnetic brush development method in which an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier in a copying machine, facsimile, printer, etc. is developed with a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier. The present invention relates to a developing device of this type.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, latent image carriers (hereinafter referred to as
2. Description of the Related Art A developing device using a magnetic brush developing method is known, which develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor using a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier.

As is well known, in this type of developing device, only the toner in the developer contained in the developing device is consumed by repeated development, and the developer concentration decreases. For this reason, this type of developing device generally includes a toner supply section for supplying replenishment toner contained in a toner storage section into the developing device.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in a developing device using a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier,
Toner particles supplied from the toner supply unit may combine with each other due to frictional heat or the like to generate toner lumps. In order to prevent the generation of toner lumps, it is sufficient to stir the replenishment toner, but in conventional developing devices, even if they have a stirring means for stirring the developer, it is not possible to efficiently and efficiently stir the replenishment toner. It was difficult to stir quickly, and it was not possible to completely prevent the formation of toner lumps. For this reason,
In conventional developing devices, when this toner mass adheres to the photoconductor, the adhesion between the area around the toner mass adhesion area of the photoconductor and the transfer paper becomes poor, resulting in transfer failure (transfer failure). .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and its object is to prevent the formation of toner lumps by efficiently and quickly stirring the replenishment toner supplied into the developing device. An object of the present invention is to provide a developing device capable of eliminating transfer defects by decomposing generated toner lumps into toner particles.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a magnetic brush that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier with a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier. The developing device is a development type, and includes a toner replenishment section that supplies replenishment toner stored in a toner storage section into the developing device, and a stirring member that is located near the toner replenishment section and stirs the replenishment toner and carrier. A magnet is disposed at a portion facing the stirring member, and a passage for the supplied toner and developer is formed between the magnet and the stirring member.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a magnetic brush development method in which an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier is developed with a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier. The apparatus includes a toner replenishment section that supplies replenishment toner stored in a toner storage section into a developing device, and a stirring member that is located near the toner replenishment section and stirs the replenishment toner and carrier. A magnet is disposed at a portion facing the stirring member to form a passage for the supplied toner and developer between the magnet and the stirring member, and the stirring member is made of a magnetic material.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a toner path regulating member that prevents passage of the replenished toner and developer at a position facing the magnet while sandwiching the stirring member. composition.

[0009]

[Operation] According to the present invention, stress is applied to the replenishing toner by the sliding movement of the agitating member that agitates the replenishing toner and carrier near the toner replenishing section, and the agitating member disposed at a location opposite to the agitating member applies stress to the replenishing toner. Due to the magnet, the developer stands up between the magnet and the stirring member.

Further, according to the present invention, since the stirring member is made of a magnetic material, a stronger magnetic field is concentrated between the magnet and the stirring member.

Further, according to the present invention, a toner path regulating member for preventing passage of the replenishment toner and developer is disposed at a position facing the magnet while sandwiching the agitating member. The supplied toner is reliably conveyed between the magnet and the stirring member.

0012

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. However, in order to avoid complicating the explanation, illustrations and disclosures thereof will be omitted to avoid complicating the explanation, as well as the configuration and operation within the range that can be clearly recalled from the description of this specification, as well as the above-mentioned and other objects and novel features of the present invention. , or simplify it.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a developing device in which the present invention is implemented.
Shown below. In FIG. 2, a toner hopper 3 is disposed above the side of a casing 2 of the developing device 1. As shown in FIG. A cylindrical cartridge storage portion 4 is formed on the side of the toner hopper 3 . A removable toner cartridge 5 is installed in the cartridge storage section 4 . An agitator 6 is rotatably disposed inside the toner cartridge 5. The agitator 6 is connected to a drive system (not shown) and rotates in the direction of arrow a, thereby transferring replenishment toner stored in the toner cartridge 5 to the toner hopper 3.

The replenishment toner transferred into the toner hopper 3 is replenished into the developing device 1 through a toner replenishing portion 7 at the lower part of the toner hopper 3. This toner replenishing section 7 is provided with a toner replenishing roller 8 and seal members 9 and 10. The sealing members 9 and 10 are made of polyurethane foam, for example, and are disposed so as to sandwich the toner replenishment roller 8, so that the seal members 9 and 10 are sealed when toner is not replenished, that is, when the toner replenishment roller 8 is not rotating. This prevents the supplied toner from falling into the developing device 1.

A toner concentration sensor 11 is provided in the casing 2 of the developing device 1 . This toner concentration sensor 1
1 is composed of a magnetic sensor that detects the mixing ratio of toner and carrier in the developer based on the magnetic permeability of the developer. An increase in toner concentration is detected by a decrease in the magnetic permeability of the agent.

[0016] Further, in order to stabilize the amount of toner adhering to the photoreceptor 12, this developing device, for example,
The toner concentration of the developer is controlled using a photo sensor (not shown) (hereinafter referred to as a P sensor) that detects the amount of toner attached on the developer. This P sensor is
It functions to measure the image density of the latent image pattern formed on the photoreceptor 12 after development, and to apply feedback such as increasing the toner density if the image density is less than a predetermined image density. How to give this feedback is on this page.
The rotation amount of the toner replenishing roller 8 may be directly controlled by the output of the sensor, or the toner concentration sensor 1
The control level of the first detection signal may be corrected.

In this developing device, the toner density sensor 11 and the P sensor control the toner density of the developer in order to stabilize the density of the image formed on the photoreceptor 12. That is, in this developing device, since the amount of charge of the carrier in the developer usually changes over time and due to environmental conditions, the toner concentration of the developer is changed in order to control the amount of charge.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, based on the detection signals of the toner concentration sensor 11 and the P sensor 130, the central control unit (CPU) 140 determines whether the toner concentration of the developer is lower than a predetermined control value. If it is determined that the CPU 140 is running, a toner replenishment signal is output from the CPU 140 to the driver 150, the toner replenishment clutch 16 is activated, and the toner replenishment roller 8 and the agitator 6 are rotated in predetermined directions. As a result, the replenishment toner conveyed into the toner hopper 3 is conveyed in a fixed amount by the V-shaped groove formed on the surface of the toner replenishment roller 8, and the seal member 10 on the toner scraping side The toner is peeled off from the toner, falls onto a cross-winged stirring roller 17, and is supplied into the developing device 1. At this time, the amount of toner replenishment, that is, the rotation timing and rotation amount of the toner replenishment roller 8 is determined by the toner replenishment clutch 16 by the CPU 140.
By turning on/off the toner concentration of the developer is controlled to be maintained at a predetermined control value.

By the way, as is well known, the softening point of toner is set at a relatively low temperature that is not much different from atmospheric temperature in order to improve its fixability to transfer paper. especially,
Image forming apparatuses with increased image processing speeds use toners with lower softening points because it is necessary to instantly fix toners on transfer paper. For this reason, the internal temperature of the image forming apparatus may rise due to continuous use, etc.
When the ambient temperature is relatively high, the toner starts to soften, and if this continues for a long time, the toner melts and hardens, and the toner replenishing roller 8 may become locked. In particular, in the case of copying machines, there are many heat sources such as the heater of the fixing device, the lamp of the exposure optical system, and the power supply section, and the developing device itself becomes a heat source due to its movement. Depending on the arrangement of the developing device, the toner contained in the developing device 1 may be directly affected by these heat sources.

On the other hand, in the toner replenishing section 7, the agitator 6 is operated, the toner replenishing roller 8 and the sealing member 9,
Due to the influence of frictional heat caused by sliding with the developing device 10, replenishing toner is often supplied into the developing device 1 in a state in which the toner particles are bonded to each other, even if they are not completely melted. That is, in this type of image forming apparatus, normally, toner particles having a diameter of about several microns to about 10 microns tend to become toner agglomerates with a diameter of several tens of microns to several hundred microns. Furthermore, the replenishment toner supplied from the toner replenishment section 7 is
It is not very charged and is in a state where it is very easy to float. Therefore, this replenishment toner is incorporated into the developer and becomes charged by friction with the carrier.
In this state before being charged, it is particularly easy to scatter and adhere to the area around the toner replenishing portion 7 of the toner hopper 3 and the like. Therefore, in this type of developing device, there is a problem that the toner attached around the toner replenishing part 7 grows and becomes a larger toner lump, and this toner lump falls into the developer due to its own weight, vibration, etc. Occur. This phenomenon of falling toner lumps is particularly likely to occur under conditions where the above-described toner concentration control is executed in a state where the toner concentration is high, or where the toner expense rate due to development is high and toner replenishment operations are performed frequently.

[0021] The toner lumps generated in this manner become the cause of transfer defects, that is, transfer omissions, when a toner image is transferred to a transfer paper. That is, the transfer of the toner image onto the transfer paper is carried out, for example, by using the photoreceptor 1 as shown in FIG.
The positive polarity toner T deposited on the photoconductor 12 due to the negative potential on the transfer charger 13 is attracted by the negative charge on the transfer charger 13.
This is performed by moving toward the conveyed transfer paper 14 while closely contacting the photoreceptor 12. Therefore, if a toner mass TK exists in the toner T forming this toner image, this toner mass TK causes the transfer paper 14 to move against the photoreceptor 12.
As a result, the adhesion of the toner mass TK is inhibited and a
An air gap G as shown in FIG. Due to the generation of such an air gap G, the transfer electric field between the photoreceptor 12 and the transfer paper 14 is effectively weakened, and the negative charge of the transfer charger 13 is unable to pull the toner T around the toner mass TK, causing the transfer. A dropout occurs.

[0022] In the normal case as shown in Fig. 4,
Normally, a conveying section consisting of a rigid guide plate or the like is provided on the back side of the transfer paper 14, so in reality, the transfer paper 14 is
As shown in the figure, the toner mass TK is rarely bent, and the toner mass TK is often crushed, resulting in a deterioration in image quality. However, Fig. 5
As shown in FIG. 3, a transfer paper 14 is wound around a transfer drum 15 made of a thin cylindrical body such as Mylar, and while the transfer paper 14 is rotated in contact with the photoreceptor 12, toner images of each color are superimposed and transferred. In an image forming apparatus such as a full-color copying machine that uses a transfer method, as shown in FIG.
The transfer paper 14 and the transfer drum 15 tend to be dented at the portions that come into contact with the toner mass TK, and an air gap G is easily generated around the toner mass TK. In addition, in this type of transfer method, since the transfer paper side also has a curvature, compared to the linear conveyance type transfer method, the area where the toner T can be moved to the transfer paper 14 side, that is, the transfer in FIG. Since the nip width N (width of contact between the transfer paper 14 and the photoreceptor 12) is narrow and the transfer paper 14 quickly separates from the photoreceptor 12, the transfer conditions are disadvantageous. Therefore, in this type of transfer method, transfer defects are more likely to occur than in linear conveyance type transfer methods, and even relatively small diameter or soft toner lumps can cause transfer defects. Therefore, preventing the generation of toner lumps within the developing device has become a major technical issue.

Therefore, in consideration of the above-mentioned situation in which toner lumps are generated, the present invention creates an environment in which toner lumps are less likely to be generated, and further decomposes the generated toner lumps at an early stage so as to prevent the toner lumps from forming on the photoreceptor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device configured so as not to send toner lumps into the developing device.

[0024] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is characterized in that the toner particles that are being combined with each other are decomposed before reaching the photoreceptor. As described above, the toner supplied from the toner replenishing section 7 by the rotation of the toner replenishing roller 8 is directed in the direction of arrow B (rotation direction of the stirring roller 17) by the rotation of the stirring roller 17, as shown in FIG. Most of it is guided and supplied to the pumping roller 18. At this time, some of the remaining toner falls in the direction of arrow A against the rotation of stirring roller 17 and is directly supplied to scooping roller 18 .

Incidentally, as described above, the toner particles supplied into the developing device 1 are often bonding to each other. Therefore, in order to more reliably stir this replenishment toner and prevent the toner particles from bonding with each other, a casing 2 is placed between the replenishment toner and developer replenishment path 19 along the direction of arrow B of the replenishment toner. A magnet 20 is placed at a portion facing the stirring roller 17.
Place. As a result, the developer passing through this replenishment path 19 is brought into a state of standing spikes due to the magnetic force of the magnet 20 . In addition, the developer passing through this replenishment path 19 includes:
Stress generated by sliding of the pumping roller 18 is applied. Therefore, at this point, the replenishment toner particles, which have been bonded to each other, are subjected to stress in a spiked state, whereby the bonds between the toner particles are separated and the toner lumps are decomposed.

By forming the stirring roller 17 with a magnetic material, it is possible to further increase the stirring force of the supplied toner and further promote the decomposition of the toner lumps. That is,
Since the stirring roller 17 is made of a magnetic material, the magnetic field generated is maximum when the blades of the stirring roller 17 face the magnet 20. Therefore, this magnetic field concentrates on the replenishment path 19, causes the developer to stand up in spikes with stronger magnetic force, and increases the stress applied to the replenishment toner in this spiked state, thereby separating bonds between toner particles more reliably. .

Note that the magnet 20 in this embodiment
The placement position and the strength of the magnetic force do not need to be specified, but they should be set to a level that does not reduce the life of the developer by applying excessive stress, and at least to a level that can break up toner lumps. .

On the other hand, the replenishment toner that does not pass through this replenishment path 19 and falls in the direction of arrow A against the rotation of the stirring roller 17 and is directly supplied to the pumping roller 18 is not sufficiently stirred. The photoreceptor 12 is removed by the lifting roller 18.
Since there is a high possibility that the toner mass will be transported toward the toner, the toner mass will not be decomposed and the amount of charge will be insufficient, which may cause toner scattering or transfer failure. Therefore, in order to prevent the replenishment toner from flowing in the direction of arrow A in FIG. A toner path regulating member 21 is disposed. The toner path regulating member 21 in this embodiment is arranged using a separator 22, as shown in FIG.

The separator 22 is a member for returning the developer whose supply to the developing roller 24 has been regulated by the doctor 23 toward the pumping roller 18 again. The separator 22 shown in this embodiment includes a screw 25 that takes in the developer from the back side of the developing device 1 and discharges the taken developer from the front side of the developing device 1, and a screw 25 that takes in the developer from the back side of the developing device 1, and a screw 25 that takes in the developer from the back side of the developing device 1. It has inclined fins 26 that stir the developer while moving it toward the developer. Further, the doctor 23 is disposed close to and opposite to the developing roller 24.
Excessive outflow of the developer from the developing device 1 is regulated so that the amount of developer supplied onto the photoreceptor 12 is always constant.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, by forming the end of the separator 22 on the stirring roller 17 side to extend close to the rotation path of the stirring roller 17, the The developer is returned onto the agitation roller 17 again, and the replenishment toner is dropped in the direction of arrow A against the rotation of the agitation roller 17 without passing through the replenishment path 19 and is directly supplied to the pumping roller 18. Toner path is blocked. As a result, the toner supply section 7
All of the replenishment toner replenished from the agitation roller 17 can be introduced in the direction of arrow B along the rotational direction of the agitation roller 17.

By the way, in this embodiment, the separator 2
The end of No. 2 on the stirring roller 17 side is connected to the toner path regulating member 21.
Although the toner path regulating member 21 is shown as an example, the toner path regulating member 21 may be, for example, a partition plate provided between the stirring roller 17 and the pumping roller 18 and supported by both side plates of the developing device 1. . Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an elastic member 27 made of Mylar or a plate spring is attached to the end of the separator 22 as the toner path regulating member 21 so as to bite into the rotation path of the stirring roller 17. It may be placed in By providing such an elastic member 27, the replenishment toner supply route indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1 can be completely blocked, and the replenishment toner can be stirred more reliably.

Furthermore, since the developer conveyed on the separator 22 slides down toward the stirring roller 17 with great force, the point at which the developer falls from the separator 22 and the replenishment toner from the toner replenishing section 7 are different from each other. By arranging the toner path regulating member 21 so that the toner path regulating member 21 coincides well with the falling point of the toner, the toner lumps of the supplied toner can be broken down and charged by the impact when the developer falls.

Next, an embodiment will be described in which problems caused by toner adhering to the periphery of the toner replenishing section are improved. This embodiment is characterized in that the developer is configured to come into contact with the toner replenishing section, so that the replenishing toner cannot adhere to the toner replenishing section. That is, in the developing device of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Toner supply part outer surface 3a of
The shape is formed along the developer conveying surface of the separator 22 and the rotation locus of the stirring roller 17. In this way, by forming the shape of the toner replenishing part outer surface 3a of the toner hopper 3, the developer moves while always being in contact with the toner replenishing part outer surface 3a, so there is no space for toner to fly around, and this toner replenishing part Replenishment toner cannot adhere to the outer surface 3a. Therefore, according to this developing device,
It is possible to eliminate problems caused by toner adhering to the periphery of the toner supply unit, that is, to prevent this adhering toner from growing into toner lumps.

By the way, as mentioned above, the separator 22
When the shape of the toner replenishing portion outer surface 3a of the toner hopper 3 is formed so as to follow the developer conveying surface of
Since the lower part of the toner hopper 3 is interposed between the lower part of the toner hopper and the lower part of the toner hopper, there is a high possibility that toner lumps will be generated by the replenishment toner adhering to the outer wall surface 3b of the replenishment toner path formed by the lower part of the toner hopper. A possible method for preventing the formation of such toner lumps is, for example, to lower the toner replenishing roller 8 to the lower part of the toner hopper to eliminate the outer wall surface 3b of the replenishing toner path formed by the lower part of the toner hopper. However, in this method, since the developer is constantly in contact with the circumferential surface of the toner replenishment roller 8, new problems arise, such as preventing the constant replenishment of toner and damaging the seal members 9 and 10. There is a possibility that this may occur.

Therefore, as another method for preventing the formation of such toner lumps, as shown in FIG.
A pair of elastic bodies 28 made of Mylar, a leaf spring, a rubber plate, or the like are mounted facing each other so that the lower ends of the elastic bodies 28 bite into the rotation path of the stirring roller 17. According to this method, each elastic body 28 is vibrated as the stirring roller 17 rotates, so even if replenishment toner adheres to the elastic body 28, the attached toner may not grow into a toner mass. This toner can then fall toward the stirring roller 17.

On the other hand, as another method for improving the above-mentioned problem caused by toner adhering to the periphery of the toner supply section, for example, the lower part of the toner hopper 3 may be cleaned periodically to remove the adhering toner. It may be configured to be removed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, along the lower surface of the toner replenishing part of the toner hopper 3, so as to be in contact with this lower surface,
A cleaning member 29 made of urethane foam or the like is disposed, and a cleaning member holder 30 supporting the cleaning member 29 is used to clean the cleaning member 29 shown in FIG.
The cleaning member 29 is configured to be periodically moved in the direction of arrow C of 0 to remove toner attached to the lower surface of the toner supply portion of the toner hopper 3. Here, the cleaning member 29
is formed in such a shape that it is stored in a position away from the toner replenishing port 3c bored in the lower part of the toner hopper 3 during normal life (when not being cleaned), as shown in FIG. Further, a cleaning member holder 30 for moving the cleaning member 29 is slidably supported by a holder guide 31 for smooth movement. Furthermore, the cleaning member holder 30 is formed in a shape that bypasses the toner replenishing port 3c formed in the lower part of the toner hopper 3 during normal use (when not cleaning) so as not to interfere with toner replenishment. In addition, the cleaning member 29,
The shape and structure of the cleaning member holder 30 and the like are not limited to the illustrated example; for example, the cleaning member 29 may be configured to move in the direction of arrow D in FIG. It may also be configured to drive.

Still another method for improving the above-mentioned problem caused by toner adhering to the periphery of the toner replenishing section is to use a solenoid or the like to close the developing device 1.
Alternatively, the toner hopper 3 may be configured to vibrate. In addition, when the developer unit is configured to be moved toward and away from the photoconductor, such as the developer unit of a twin-color copying machine, vibrations generated when the developer unit moves toward and away from the photoreceptor are used. It may be configured to remove adhered toner. As mentioned above, when removing adhered toner using the cleaning member 29 or mechanical vibration, there is a risk that the removed toner will form toner lumps, so after this toner removal operation, the toner stirring step is not performed. It is desirable to put it into operation. For example, after this toner removal operation, the developing roller 24, the stirring roller 17, the pumping roller 18, etc. are operated to fully decompose the toner lumps, and then the operation program is set so that the image forming operation can be started. Set. Moreover, at this time, it is preferable to drive only the minimum necessary stirring members such as the stirring roller 17 if possible. Furthermore, it is desirable to set the cleaning cycle of adhered toner to be short in order to prevent the growth of toner lumps.

By the way, since an image forming apparatus equipped with this type of developing device has many heat sources as described above, toner blocking occurs due to the softened toner in the toner hopper, and toner replenishment is interrupted. The amount of toner supplied per roller rotation speed may drop below the specified amount, or toner clumps may occur. Therefore, in this type of developing device, in order to stabilize its developing performance, the toner hopper 3 is
It is desirable to prevent toner blocking by cooling the developing device 1 (for example, the area indicated by the broken line E in FIG. 11). Further, since the output of the toner concentration sensor may fluctuate due to changes in the environmental temperature, it is preferable to cool the sensor in order to maintain its function. As a cooling means for the developing device 1, for example, a fan 32 having a built-in motor may be provided as shown in FIG. In this case, by connecting a duct to the intake side of the fan 32 to take in outside air, the cooling efficiency can be increased. Here, when cooling only the outside of the developing device 1, the cooling is not limited to air cooling, and may be water cooling.

As described above, in this type of developing device, the developing performance can be stabilized by installing the fan 32. Also, by using this fan 32, as shown in FIG.
Then, some or all of the cool air from the fan 32 is transferred to the duct 3.
3, it is possible to prevent toner from adhering to the periphery of the toner supply section 7. That is, in FIG. 11, the cool air from the fan 32 sent into the toner replenishment section 7 of the developing device 1 passes through the toner replenishment section at the lower part of the toner hopper 3 and then enters the main body of the image forming apparatus, as shown by the chain arrow F. On the other hand, it is discharged to the outside of the developing device 1 through a pressure relief filter 35 disposed on a developing device guide 34 that removably supports the developing device 1 . Therefore, according to this developing device, the cold air from the fan 32 sent into the toner replenishing section 7 of the developing device 1 prevents toner from adhering to the periphery of the toner replenishing section 7 . In the developing device shown in FIG. 11, the cool air from the fan 32 is used for cleaning the toner replenishing section 7. A part of the cold air 32 may be blown to the developing device 1 and the toner concentration sensor 11. Further, a filter 36 may be provided at the exhaust portion of the duct 33, if necessary. Further, the fan 32 may blow air continuously or intermittently. However, when driving the toner replenishment roller 8, etc. (when replenishing toner)
In order to prevent the toner from scattering, it is desirable to stop the drive of the fan 32 or to block the air outlet of the duct 33 to at least prevent air from being blown to the toner replenishing section 7.

[0040]

According to the present invention, the agitation properties of the developer are improved, the generation of toner lumps is prevented, and the omission of image transfer and deterioration of image quality are also prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a developing device in which the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a drive control means of a developing device in which the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the transfer section of the developing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a copying machine equipped with a developing device according to the present invention.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the transfer section of the copying machine shown in FIG. 5. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Developing device 2 Casing 3 Toner hopper 7 Toner supply section 8 Toner supply roller 17 Stirring roller 19 Supply route 20 Magnet 21 Toner path regulating member 24 Developing roller

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic brush development type developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier with a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier, wherein a replenisher is stored in a toner storage section. It has a toner replenishing section that supplies toner into the developing device, and a stirring member that is located near the toner replenishing section and stirs the supplied toner and carrier, and a magnet is disposed at a portion facing the stirring member. A developing device characterized in that a passage path for the supplied toner and developer is formed between the magnet and the stirring member. 2. A magnetic brush developing type developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier with a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier, wherein a replenisher is stored in a toner storage section. It has a toner replenishing section that supplies toner into the developing device, and a stirring member that is located near the toner replenishing section and stirs the supplied toner and carrier, and a magnet is disposed at a portion facing the stirring member. A developing device characterized in that a passage for the supplied toner and developer is formed between the magnet and the stirring member, and the stirring member is made of a magnetic material. 3. A toner path regulating member for preventing passage of the supplied toner and developer is disposed at a position facing the magnet while sandwiching the agitating member. developing device.