JP2014006379A - Developing device and image forming apparatus with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A developing device that prevents floating toner in a developing container from leaking to the outside of the developing device and prevents the use of deteriorated floating toner for development, and an image forming apparatus including the developing device.
A developing device 2 is provided with a storage unit 50 for storing toner floating in the vicinity of a facing portion R of the magnetic roller 21 and the developing roller 20. The storage unit 50 includes an opening 50a that opens below the facing portion R, and a storage chamber 50b that communicates below the opening 50a and stores toner.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a composite machine thereof, and an image forming apparatus including the developing device, and in particular, eliminates toner scattering when supplying toner to an image carrier. The present invention relates to a developing device and an image forming apparatus including the developing device.

  An electrophotographic image forming apparatus irradiates the peripheral surface of an image carrier on which a photosensitive layer is formed with light based on image information read from an original image or image information transmitted from an external device such as a computer. Then, an electrostatic latent image is formed, toner is supplied from the developing device to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, and then the toner image is transferred to a sheet. The paper after the transfer process is subjected to a toner image fixing process and then discharged to the outside.

  In recent years, the image forming apparatus has a complicated apparatus configuration with high-speed processing and color printing, and the development roller and the toner stirring member in the developing apparatus have to be rotated at high speed to cope with the high-speed processing. The internal pressure of the developing device tends to be a positive pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. When the pressure inside the developing device becomes positive, when toner is supplied from the developing device to the image carrier, a part of the toner becomes floating toner and leaks from the toner supply port of the developing device facing the image carrier, There is a risk of scattering toner and contaminating the inside of the image forming apparatus.

  Therefore, related techniques for eliminating toner scattering have been known. For example, a developing device described in Patent Document 1 has a developing roller for supplying toner to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developer as a magnetic brush, and a toner in the carried magnetic brush. A magnetic roller to be supplied to the roller, and a duct in which an inlet is disposed in the vicinity of the toner supply port to the image carrier of the developing device and an outlet is located above the surface of the magnetic roller. Nearby toner enters the duct from the entrance, exits from the exit, is guided to the surface of the magnetic roller, and prevents the toner floating near the toner supply port from leaking out of the developing device.

JP 2011-112760 A (paragraph [0042], FIG. 2)

  In the developing device described in Patent Document 1, the toner floating near the toner supply port is returned onto the magnetic roller. However, the toner floating in the developing device is peeled off from the developing roller at a portion where the magnetic roller and the developing roller are opposed to each other. In many cases, it is deteriorated. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a good image when the floating toner deteriorated together with the developer carried on the magnetic roller is supplied from the magnetic roller to the developing roller.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and prevents the floating toner in the developing container from leaking out of the developing device, and the deteriorated floating toner is used for development. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device for preventing the above-mentioned problem and an image forming apparatus having the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first invention provides a stirring member for stirring and transporting a developer containing toner and a magnetic carrier in a developing container, and a developer supplied from the stirring member as a magnetic brush on the surface. A developer carrier that carries and carries the carried magnetic brush by rotation, a regulating member that regulates the magnetic brush on the developer carrier to a predetermined layer thickness, and each of the developer carrier and the image carrier A toner carrying member disposed on the surface and carrying the toner in the magnetic brush conveyed by the rotation of the developer carrying member, and supplying the carried toner to the image carrying member. In a developing device that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a carrier into a toner image, toner floating in the developer container is stored in the vicinity of the developer carrier and the opposing portion of the toner carrier. The reservoir Is set, the reservoir is in an opening which opens downward of the opposing portion, a storage chamber for storing the toner communicates with the lower side of the opening, characterized in that it has a.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above developing device, the storage chamber is disposed along a side of the magnetic roller and the stirring member disposed below the magnetic roller. Yes.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above developing device, the storage chamber has a slope portion in the vicinity of the opening.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the above developing device, the inclined surface portion is disposed in close contact with the upper surface of the regulating member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above developing device, a driving source capable of switching a rotation direction between a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a front side from the driving source. A clutch portion for intermittently rotating the driving force to the developing roller; and a control means for controlling the rotation direction of the drive source. The clutch portion includes a ratchet tooth and an engagement portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the ratchet tooth. A ratchet mechanism that transmits a rotational driving force in the first direction of the driving source to the developing roller, but does not transmit a rotational driving force in the second direction of the driving source to the developing roller. The control means is configured to execute a toner recovery mode in which the drive source is rotated in a first direction during image formation and the drive source is rotated in a second direction during non-image formation. Yes.

  According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including the developing device having the above-described configuration.

  According to the first aspect, the toner on the toner carrier that has not been supplied to the image carrier is peeled off from the toner carrier by the magnetic brush and floats in the vicinity of the facing portion. The floating toner in the vicinity of the opposing portion enters the opening of the storage unit, and the floating toner that has entered from the opening is stored in the storage chamber of the storage unit, so that the toner does not scatter outside the developing device and has once floated. Since the toner is not supplied to the developer carrier or the toner carrier again, there is no possibility that the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier is developed using the floating toner.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus including a developing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a developing device according to a first embodiment. The perspective view which shows the ratchet mechanism used for the image development apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the ratchet mechanism of the state which interrupted | blocked transmission of the rotational drive force which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Further, the use of the invention and the terms shown here are not limited thereto.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is a tandem type color printer, and the rotatable photoconductors 11a to 11d use an organic photoconductor (OPC photoconductor) as a photosensitive material for forming a photosensitive layer, and are black, yellow, cyan. , And magenta. Around each of the photoreceptors 11a to 11d, developing devices 2a to 2d, an exposure unit 12, chargers 13a to 13d, and cleaning devices 14a to 14d are disposed.

  The developing devices 2a to 2d are arranged to face the right sides of the photoconductors 11a to 11d, respectively, and supply toner to the photoconductors 11a to 11d. The chargers 13a to 13d are arranged on the upstream side of the developing devices 2a to 2d with respect to the rotation direction of the photoconductors 11a to 11d so as to face the surfaces of the photoconductors 11a to 11d. Charge uniformly.

  The exposure unit 12 scans and exposes the photoconductors 11a to 11d based on image data such as characters and pictures input to an image input unit (not shown) from a personal computer or the like. 2d below. The exposure unit 12 is provided with a laser light source and a polygon mirror, and a reflection mirror and a lens are provided corresponding to each of the photoconductors 11a to 11d. Laser light emitted from the laser light source is applied to the surfaces of the photoconductors 11a to 11d from the downstream side in the photoconductor rotation direction of the chargers 13a to 13d via the polygon mirror, the reflection mirror, and the lens. Electrostatic latent images are formed on the surfaces of the photoreceptors 11a to 11d by the irradiated laser light, and the electrostatic latent images are developed into toner images by the developing devices 2a to 2d.

  The endless intermediate transfer belt 17 is stretched around the tension roller 6, the driving roller 25, and the driven roller 27. The driving roller 25 is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown), and the intermediate transfer belt 17 is driven to circulate by the rotation of the driving roller 25.

  Photoconductors 11a to 11d are arranged below the intermediate transfer belt 17 so as to be in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 17 along the rotational direction (arrow direction in FIG. 1). The primary transfer rollers 26a to 26d face the photoconductors 11a to 11d with the intermediate transfer belt 17 interposed therebetween, and are in pressure contact with the intermediate transfer belt 17 to form a primary transfer portion. In the primary transfer portion, the toner images on the photoconductors 11a to 11d are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 17 at a predetermined timing as the intermediate transfer belt 17 rotates. As a result, a toner image is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17 by superimposing four color toner images of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black.

  The secondary transfer roller 34 faces the drive roller 25 via the intermediate transfer belt 17 and presses against the intermediate transfer belt 17 to form a secondary transfer portion. In this secondary transfer portion, the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17 is transferred to the paper P. After the transfer, the belt cleaning device 31 cleans the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 17.

  A paper feed cassette 32 that stores paper P is disposed below the image forming apparatus 1, and a stack tray 35 that feeds manual paper is disposed to the right of the paper feed cassette 32. On the left side of the paper feed cassette 32, a first paper transport path 33 for transporting the paper P sent from the paper feed cassette 32 to the secondary transfer portion of the intermediate transfer belt 17 is disposed. Further, on the left side of the stack tray 35, a second paper transport path 36 for transporting paper fed from the stack tray 35 to the secondary transfer unit is disposed. Further, on the upper left side of the image forming apparatus 1, a fixing unit 18 that performs a fixing process on the paper P on which the toner image is formed, and a third unit that conveys the paper P on which the fixing process has been performed to the paper discharge unit 37. A paper transport path 39 is provided.

  The paper feed cassette 32 can be replenished by pulling it out of the image forming apparatus 1 (the front side of the paper surface in FIG. 1). The paper P stored therein is a pickup roller 33b and a pair of roller rollers 33a. As a result, the sheet is fed one by one to the first sheet conveyance path 33 side.

  The first paper transport path 33 and the second paper transport path 36 merge before the registration roller pair 33c, and the registration roller pair 33c takes the timing of the image forming operation and the paper feeding operation in the intermediate transfer belt 17. Thus, the sheet P is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit. The sheet P conveyed to the secondary transfer unit is secondarily transferred with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 17 by the secondary transfer roller 34 to which a transfer bias is applied, and is conveyed to the fixing unit 18.

  The fixing unit 18 includes a fixing belt heated by a heater or the like, a fixing roller inscribed in the fixing belt, a pressure roller disposed in pressure contact with the fixing roller via the fixing belt, and the like. The fixing process is performed by heating and pressurizing the paper P on which the image is transferred. After the toner image is fixed on the sheet P by the fixing unit 18, the toner image is reversed by the fourth sheet conveyance path 40 as necessary, and the toner image is secondarily transferred to the back surface of the sheet P by the secondary transfer roller 34. Fixing is performed by the fixing unit 18. The paper P on which the toner image is fixed passes through the third paper transport path 39 and is discharged to the paper discharge unit 37 by the discharge roller pair 19a.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a developing device used in the image forming apparatus 1 described above. 2 shows the developing device as viewed from the back side of the paper surface of FIG. 1. In the following description, the configuration and operation of the developing device 2a corresponding to the photoreceptor 11a shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The configurations and operations of the developing devices 2b to 2d are the same as those of the developing device 2a, and thus the description thereof is omitted, and the reference numerals a to d indicating the developing devices and the photosensitive members of the respective colors are omitted.

  The developing device 2 includes a developing roller 20 that is a toner carrier, a magnetic roller 21 that is a developer carrier, a regulating blade 24 that is a regulating member, a stirring member 42, a developing container 22, and the like.

  The developing container 22 constitutes the outline of the developing device 2 with resin, and the lower part thereof is partitioned into a first transport path 22c and a second transport path 22d by a partition portion 22b. The first transport path 22c and the second transport path 22d contain a developer composed of a magnetic carrier and toner. Further, the developing container 22 rotatably holds the stirring member 42, the magnetic roller 21, and the developing roller 20. Further, the developer container 22 is formed with a toner supply port 22a that exposes the developing roller 20 toward the photoconductor 11 as an image carrier. The toner supply port 22 a is formed by an upper wall portion 22 e of the developing container 22 and a sheet plate 51 attached to the side wall portion of the developing container 22.

  The developing roller 20 faces the photoreceptor 11 and is disposed on the left side of the photoreceptor 11 with a certain interval. Further, the developing roller 20 forms a developing region D for supplying toner to the photoconductor 11 at a facing position close to the photoconductor 11. The magnetic roller 21 is opposed to the developing roller 20 at a certain interval, and is disposed obliquely to the left of the developing roller 20. Further, the magnetic roller 21 supplies toner to the developing roller 20 at the facing portion R close to the developing roller 20. The regulating blade 24 is fixedly held by the developing container 22 obliquely below and to the right of the magnetic roller 21. The stirring member 42 is disposed substantially below the magnetic roller 21.

  The stirring member 42 includes two members, a first stirring member 43 and a second stirring member 44. A second stirring member 44 is provided in the second conveyance path 22d below the magnetic roller 21, and a first stirring member 43 is provided in the first conveyance path 22c adjacent to the left side of the second stirring member 44. It is done.

  The first and second stirring members 43 and 44 stir the developer to charge the toner in the developer to a predetermined level. Thus, the toner is held on the magnetic carrier. Further, the first and second transport paths 22c and 22d are communicated with each other at both ends in the longitudinal direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 2) of the partition 22b that partitions the first transport path 22c and the second transport path 22d. A communication part (not shown) is provided. When the first stirring member 43 rotates, the charged developer is transported in the first transport path 22c, and further transported into the second transport path 22d from one communicating portion provided in the partition portion 22b. When the developer is transported in the second transport path 22d by the rotation of 44, the developer circulates in the first transport path 22c and the second transport path 22d. Then, the developer is conveyed from the second stirring member 44 to the magnetic roller 21.

  The magnetic roller 21 includes a roller shaft 21a, a magnetic pole member M, and a rotating sleeve 21b made of a nonmagnetic material. The magnetic roller 21 carries the developer supplied from the second stirring member 44, and only the toner from the carried developer is developed by the developing roller 20. To supply. The magnetic pole member M is composed of a plurality of magnets with different polarities at the outer peripheral portion formed in a sector shape, and is fixed to the roller shaft 21a by adhesion or the like. The roller shaft 21a is supported by the developing container 22 in a non-rotatable manner with a predetermined interval between the magnetic pole member M and the rotating sleeve 21b in the rotating sleeve 21b. The rotating sleeve 21b is rotated in the direction of an arrow (counterclockwise direction) by a driving mechanism including a motor and gears (not shown), and a bias in which an AC voltage is superimposed on a DC voltage is applied. On the surface of the rotating sleeve 21 b, the charged developer is carried by forming a magnetic brush by the magnetic force of the magnetic pole member M, and the magnetic brush is adjusted to a predetermined layer thickness by the regulating blade 24.

  As the rotating sleeve 21b rotates, the magnetic brush is carried and conveyed on the surface of the rotating sleeve 21b. When the magnetic brush rises and contacts the developing roller 20 by the magnetic pole member 20b provided on the developing roller 20, only the toner of the magnetic brush is obtained. Is supplied to the developing roller 20 in accordance with the bias applied to the rotating sleeve 21b.

  The developing roller 20 includes a fixed shaft 20a, a magnetic pole member 20b, a developing sleeve 20c formed in a cylindrical shape with a nonmagnetic metal material, and the like.

  The fixed shaft 20a is supported by the developing container 22 so as not to rotate. A developing sleeve 20c is rotatably held on the fixed shaft 20a, and a magnetic pole member 20b made of a magnet is fixed to the developing sleeve 20c by bonding or the like at a predetermined interval. The developing sleeve 20c is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 (counterclockwise direction) by a driving mechanism including a motor and gears (not shown). Further, a developing bias in which an AC voltage is superimposed on a DC voltage is applied to the developing sleeve 20c.

  As described above, the developer is circulated through the first and second conveying paths 22c and 22d while being stirred by the first and second stirring members 43 and 44, and the toner is charged. The agent is conveyed to the magnetic roller 21. Then, the developer is carried as a magnetic brush (not shown) on the magnetic roller 21, and the magnetic brush on the magnetic roller 21 is regulated to a predetermined layer thickness by the regulating blade 24, and then the magnetic roller 21 and the developing roller 20. The toner thin layer is formed on the developing roller 20 by the potential difference between the bias applied to the magnetic roller 21 and the bias applied to the developing roller 20 and the magnetic field.

  The toner thin layer formed on the developing roller 20 is conveyed to a facing portion (developing region D) between the photoconductor 11 and the developing roller 20 by the rotation of the developing roller 20. Since a predetermined bias is applied to the developing roller 20, the toner flies due to a potential difference between the developing roller 20 and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 11 is developed.

  The toner that is not used for development and remains on the developing roller 20 is conveyed again to the facing portion R between the developing roller 20 and the magnetic roller 21 by the rotation of the developing roller 20 and is collected by the magnetic brush on the magnetic roller 21. . Then, after the magnetic brush is peeled off from the magnetic roller 21 at the same polarity part of the magnetic pole member M of the magnetic roller 21, it falls into the second transport path 22d. In the facing portion R, toner that has not been used for development is peeled off from the developing roller 20 by the magnetic brush on the magnetic roller 21, so that toner that has not been collected on the magnetic roller 21 out of the peeled toner is removed. It floats in the vicinity of the facing portion R. In the developing container 22, the internal pressure is high at the facing portion R, and the toner floating in the facing portion R may leak from the toner supply port 22 a of the developing container 22 along the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 20. is there.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the floating toner from leaking from the toner supply port 22a of the developing container 22, the storage unit 50 is disposed in the vicinity of the facing portion R, and the toner floating in the storage unit 50 is stored. Like to do.

  The storage unit 50 extends in the axial direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface) of the magnetic roller 21 in the developing container 22 and has a space formed adjacent to the side of the magnetic roller 21 and the second stirring member 44. It has an opening 50a and a storage chamber 50b.

  The opening 50 a is formed with a relatively wide opening that opens a region facing the outer circumferential surface of the developing roller 20 below the facing portion R, and floats in the vicinity of the facing portion R and the outer circumferential surface of the developing roller 20. The toner is easy to fall and enter the opening 50a.

  The storage chamber 50b is for storing floating toner that has entered from the opening 50a, and is formed in a space in which the upper side is relatively wide and the lower side is relatively narrow. The right side surface portion of the storage chamber 50 b is formed upright by the standing wall of the developing container 22 and the sheet plate 51 attached to the developing container 22. The left side surface portion of the storage chamber 50b is a sheet plate 52 that faces the outer peripheral surface of the magnetic roller 21 and is disposed substantially vertically, and an inclined surface portion 50c that is formed by an inclined surface that is attached to the sheet plate 52 and descends downward. , And a standing wall portion 50d facing the right side surface portion of the storage chamber 50b connected to the inclined surface portion 50c.

  The inclined surface portion 50c is disposed in close contact with the upper surface of the regulating blade 24, and the standing wall portion 50d is disposed in close contact with the outside of the side wall portion of the second transport path 22d. Since the storage chamber 50b is configured as described above, it is possible to increase the volume of the storage chamber 50b that stores floating toner while suppressing the development container 22 from being enlarged.

  With the above configuration of the storage unit 50, the floating toner in the vicinity of the facing portion R enters the opening 50a of the storage unit 50, and the floating toner that has entered from the opening 50a is stored in the storage chamber 50b. 22 and the floating toner is not directly supplied to the magnetic roller 21 and the developing roller 20, so that the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 11 is not developed using the floating toner. .

(Second Embodiment)
3 and 4 show a ratchet mechanism used in the developing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ratchet mechanism, and FIG. It is a perspective view of a ratchet mechanism in the state where it did. In the second embodiment, the developer container 22 is vibrated to drop toner adhering to the vicinity of the opening 50a of the storage unit 50 into the storage chamber 50b. In order to vibrate the developer container 22, the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. The developing device 2 is provided with a ratchet mechanism 60 to swing the ratchet mechanism 60.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ratchet mechanism 60 that is a clutch portion has ratchet teeth 61 and a protrusion 63 that is an engaging portion, and rotates from a motor 53 that is a driving source toward the developing roller 20 (see FIG. 2). The driving force is intermittent.

  The ratchet teeth 61 are composed of at least two sawtooth teeth and are formed at one end of the driven shaft portion 65 in the axial direction. The developing gear 66 is fixed to the other axial end of the driven shaft 65 and rotates integrally with the driven shaft 65. The driven shaft portion 65 and the developing gear 66 are rotatably supported by the developing container 22 (see FIG. 2). The developing gear 66 meshes with a gear train (not shown), and when the developing gear 66 rotates, the developing roller 20 and the magnetic roller 21 are rotated. The first and second stirring members 43 and 44 rotate in predetermined directions, respectively.

  At least two protrusions 63 are provided opposite to the ratchet teeth 61 so as to be engageable and disengageable, and are formed at one end of the driving shaft 67 in the axial direction. A cylindrical hole 67a is formed in the other axial end of the driving shaft 67, and the cylindrical hole 67a is fitted to the rotary shaft 55 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The rotation shaft 55 is formed with a rectilinear guide groove 55a extending in the axial direction, while a convex portion (not shown) is formed in the cylindrical hole 67a, and the convex portion of the cylindrical hole 67a is fitted into the rectilinear guide groove 55a. The driving shaft portion 67 is guided by the rotating shaft 55 so as to be movable in the axial direction. Further, an urging member such as a coil spring (not shown) is provided in the cylindrical hole 67 a of the driving shaft portion 67 in contact with the end surface of the cylindrical hole 67 a and the end surface of the rotating shaft 55. As a result, the driving shaft portion 67 is pressed against the rotating shaft 55 toward the driven shaft portion 65 by the biasing member.

  Accordingly, the protrusion 63 is urged toward the ratchet teeth 61 and is engaged with the ratchet teeth 61 (the state shown in FIG. 3). When the motor 53 is driven to rotate in the first direction, the rotation shaft 55 rotates in the direction of the arrow Ka in FIG. Due to the rotation of the rotation shaft 55 in the direction of the arrow Ka, the driving shaft portion 67 rotates together with the rotation shaft 55 due to the engagement of the rectilinear guide groove 55a and the convex portion, and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the developing gear 66 by the ratchet mechanism 60. . By the rotation of the developing gear 66 in the direction of arrow Ka, the developing roller 20, the magnetic roller 21, and the first and second stirring members 43 and 44 rotate in predetermined directions, respectively.

  The motor 53 can be driven to rotate in a first direction and in a second direction which is the opposite direction, and the rotation direction is controlled by the control unit 70 (control means).

  The control unit 70 includes a microcomputer and a storage element such as a RAM and a ROM, and controls input / output according to a program set in the storage element. The first and second rotational directions of the motor 53 are controlled in accordance with the instruction. When the control unit 70 rotates the motor 53 in the first direction in the printing mode, the rotational driving force of the motor 53 is transmitted to the developing gear 66 by the ratchet mechanism 60, and the developing roller 20 and the like rotate, thereby The electrostatic latent image is developed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the toner recovery mode is instructed, the control unit 70 rotates the motor 53 in the second direction. When the motor 53 rotates in the second direction, the rotation shaft 55 rotates in the arrow Kb direction. Due to the rotation of the rotation shaft 55 in the direction of the arrow Kb, the driving shaft portion 67 rotates together with the rotation shaft 55 by the engagement of the straight guide groove 55a and the convex portion (see FIG. 3). In this case, since the protrusion 63 does not engage with the ratchet teeth 61 and the rotational driving force of the rotating shaft 55 is not transmitted to the developing gear 66, the developing roller 20 and the like do not rotate.

  Specifically, when the rotating shaft 55 rotates in the direction of the arrow Kb, the protrusion 63 rides on the slope of the sawtooth teeth of the ratchet teeth 61 and resists the biasing member built in the driving shaft portion 67 as shown in FIG. Move to the left in the axial direction. When the rotation shaft 55 further rotates in the direction of the arrow Kb, the rotation shaft 55 moves away from the apex of the inclined surface of the sawtooth, and moves to the right side in the axial direction (ratchet teeth 61 side) in FIG. . When the rotation shaft 55 is continuously rotated in the direction of the arrow Kb, the rotation driving force of the rotation shaft 55 is not transmitted to the developing gear 66 by the ratchet mechanism 60, and the protrusion 63 is in contact with the ratchet teeth 61 as shown in FIG. Swings in the direction of arrow X.

  As the protrusion 63 swings in the arrow X direction, the developing container 22 (see FIG. 2) that supports the driven shaft portion 65 vibrates, and the toner adhering to the vicinity of the opening 50a of the storage unit 50 enters the storage chamber 50b. It becomes easy to fall.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a developing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a composite machine thereof, and an image forming apparatus including the developing device. In particular, when supplying toner to an image carrier. The present invention can be used in a developing device that eliminates toner scattering and an image forming apparatus including the developing device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2a-2d, 2 Developing apparatus 11 Photosensitive body (image carrier)
20 Developing roller (toner carrier)
21 Magnetic roller (developer carrier)
22 Developing container 22a Toner supply port 22c First transport path 22d Second transport path 24 Regulating blade (regulating member)
42 Stirring member 43 1st stirring member 44 2nd stirring member 50 Storage part 50a Opening part 50b Accommodating chamber 50c Slope part 50d Standing wall parts 51, 52 Sheet plate 53 Motor (drive source)
55 Rotating shaft 55a Linear guide groove 60 Ratchet mechanism (clutch part)
61 Ratchet teeth 63 Protrusion (engagement part)
65 Drive shaft portion 66 Developing gear 67 Drive shaft portion 67a Cylindrical hole 70 Control portion (control means)

Claims (6)

An agitating member for agitating and conveying a developer containing toner and a magnetic carrier in a developing container;
A developer carrier that carries the developer supplied from the stirring member on the surface as a magnetic brush, and conveys the carried magnetic brush by rotation;
A regulating member for regulating the magnetic brush on the developer carrying member to a predetermined layer thickness;
The toner in the magnetic brush, which is disposed opposite to each of the developer carrier and the image carrier and is conveyed by the rotation of the developer carrier, is carried on the surface, and the carried toner is supplied to the image carrier. A toner carrier,
In the developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier into a toner image,
In the vicinity of the opposing portion of the developer carrier and the toner carrier, a storage unit for storing toner floating in the developer container is disposed,
2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage portion includes an opening portion that opens below the facing portion, and a storage chamber that communicates below the opening portion and stores toner.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage chamber is disposed along a side of the magnetic roller and a side of the stirring member disposed below the magnetic roller.   The developing device according to claim 2, wherein the storage chamber has a slope portion in the vicinity of the opening.   The developing device according to claim 3, wherein the slope portion is disposed in close contact with an upper surface of the regulating member. A drive source capable of switching the rotation direction between a first direction and a second direction which is the opposite direction of the first direction;
A clutch portion for intermittently rotating the driving force from the driving source to the front developing roller;
Control means for controlling the rotation direction of the drive source,
The clutch portion includes a ratchet tooth and an engaging portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the ratchet tooth, and transmits the rotational driving force of the driving source in the first direction to the developing roller. A ratchet mechanism that does not transmit the rotational driving force in the second direction to the developing roller,
The control unit can execute a toner recovery mode in which the drive source is rotated in a first direction during image formation and the drive source is rotated in a second direction during non-image formation. The developing device according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising the developing device according to claim 1.

Images