JPH1184875A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (with correction) [PROBLEMS] To stably and slidably contact a surface of a developing roller with a large area and to remain on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to development of a latent image formed on a photosensitive drum. The toner that has coagulated and adhered can be reliably scraped off. SOLUTION: To cover an opening 12 of a developer container,
A metal plate 15 that is elastically deformable so that the surface of the developing roller 13 is pressed and slid over a predetermined circumferential length over the entire width; a plurality of holes are provided in the metal plate 15; The developing roller 13 is disposed so as to be supported and fixed at two positions on the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13, and the developer 14 not contributing to the surface of the developing roller 13
The scraper is scraped off by the edge formed with the hole of the metal plate 15 which is in sliding contact with the developer and returned to the developer container 9, and the new developer 14 is discharged from the hole of the metal plate 15 located on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13. It is configured to be supplied to.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device,
In particular, it is possible to stably contact the agglomerated toner removing member on the surface of the developing roller using a sleeveless magnet roller to stably remove the agglomerated toner on the developing roller surface, and to constantly supply new developer to the developing roller. The present invention relates to a developing device that can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Developing devices in an electrophotographic apparatus or an electrostatic recording apparatus include those using a two-component developer consisting of a toner and a carrier, those using a one-component developer consisting of only a magnetic toner, and those using only a non-magnetic toner. Some of them use a developer. In various developing devices using such toner, when a developing device is mounted in a copying machine and a developing operation is repeated many times by a well-known non-contact or contact developing method, for example, a streaky or mottled pattern is formed on a developed image. The unevenness of density occurs, and a streak in the circumferential direction of the roller corresponding to the unevenness of the developed image occurs in the toner layer on the surface of the developing roller.
The occurrence of such density unevenness is caused by the fact that the remaining toner is charged by the regulating member or the sheet member and is different from the charge amount of the newly adsorbed toner. In order to solve such a problem, a conventional developing device is provided with the configuration shown in FIG.
(For example, Japanese Patent No. 2557)
No. 826).

That is, the developer container 50 contains a one-component developer 51 made of only a non-magnetic toner and has an opening 52 at a lower part. The developer container 50 covers the opening 52 of the developer container 50. Then, the developing roller 53 is
The photosensitive drum 54 is rotatably provided at 0 and is arranged to face a photosensitive drum 54 as a latent image holding member. This developer container 50
One end of an elastic sheet-like member 55 is fixed to an end of the opening 52. The elastic sheet-like member 55 is an elastic member for forming a toner layer, and is disposed so as to be in surface contact with the developing roller 53. A one-component developer 51 consisting of only a non-magnetic toner supplied from a developer container 50 is applied to the surface of the developing roller 53 to form a thin toner layer.

Further, one end of an elastic sheet plate 56 is fixed to a position of the opening 52 of the developer container 50 opposite to the position where the elastic sheet member 55 is formed. Part of the toner (photosensitive drum 54) that is in surface contact with roller 53 and adheres to the surface of
(A toner that did not contribute to the development of the toner). The elastic sheet plate 56 is formed of an elastic mesh plate which is in circumferential contact with the developing roller 53, or an elastic flat plate having minute irregularities on the surface.
After the developing roller 53 rotates and causes toner to adhere to the surface in the developer container 50 and develops the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54, it does not contribute to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54. The toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller 53 is scraped off by the elastic sheet plate 56. The photosensitive drum 54 scraped off by the elastic sheet plate 56
The toner which does not contribute to the development of the latent image formed in the toner container 50 passes under the pressure of the elastic sheet-like member 57 for toner recovery and is returned to the inside of the developer container 50.

[0005]

In the conventional developing device constructed as described above, the developing device does not contribute to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54 in surface contact with the rotating developing roller 53. An elastic sheet plate 56 for scraping off the toner remaining on the surface of the roller 53 is a one-sided support for fixing one end to the opening 52 of the developer container 50, and does not require a strong pressing force. When an image is to be obtained, the elastic sheet plate 56 cannot make uniform sliding contact, so that sliding contact of the elastic sheet plate 56 with the surface of the developing roller 53 becomes unstable, and residual toner adhered to the surface of the developing roller 53 is removed. The expected effect of reliably scraping is not obtained. In particular, when a sleeveless magnet roller is used for the developing roller 53 and a magnetic toner is used for the developer,
The magnetic toner is strongly attracted to the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) by the action of magnetic force, and it is easy to move from the surface position of the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) where the magnetic toner is attracted to another surface position. Not. For this reason, the magnetic toner remaining on the surface of the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54 and the developing of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54 Between the magnetic toner newly adsorbed by the magnetic force of the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) on the surface of the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) from which the magnetic toner has separated and contributed to the magnetic toner , And this has a bad influence on the image formation of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54. Generally, the magnetic toner is a sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53).
In the state of being attracted to the surface, a sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) is newly provided on the surface of the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) from which the magnetic toner has been peeled off by contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54. The magnetic toner remaining on the surface of the sleeveless magnet roller (developing roller 53) without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 54 is smaller than the magnetic toner absorbed by the action of the magnetic force of the sleeveless magnet. The rotation of the roller (developing roller 53) causes the magnetic sheet member 5 to rotate.
5 and 57, and the charge due to the contact with the magnetic sheet members 55 and 57 is added, so that the charge amount is large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to stably and slidably contact a surface of a developing roller with a large area, and to remain on the surface of a developing roller without contributing to development of a latent image formed on a photosensitive drum and to coagulate and adhere to the surface. The purpose of the present invention is to ensure that the existing toner can be scraped off.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing device in which a developer is accommodated in a developer container having an opening formed in a lower portion, and is disposed near the opening of the developer container. A developing roller that carries the developer by the developing roller and supplies the developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum, in the developer container so as to cover the opening of the developer container. And, provided a metal plate that can be elastically deformed so as to press and slide the surface of the developing roller for a predetermined circumferential length over the entire width, and the metal plate has a plurality of holes,
And two upstream and downstream rotation directions of the developing roller.
It is disposed so as to be supported and fixed at a position, and the developer remaining without being contributed to the surface of the developing roller is scraped off by an edge formed with a hole of a metal plate that is in sliding contact with the developing roller and returned to the developer container, A new developer is supplied to the developing roller from a hole in the metal plate located on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller. With this configuration, the metal plate can be brought into press-sliding contact with the surface of the developing roller with a predetermined peripheral surface length over the entire width of the developing roller. The toner can be slid, and the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be reliably scraped off.

In the developing device according to the present invention, the developing roller is constituted by a rotatable sleeveless magnet roller, and the developer is constituted by magnetic toner. With such a configuration, the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be reliably scraped off. Can be supplied to the developing roller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the metal plate has a thickness of 0.05 mm to 0.3 mm. With this configuration, the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be reliably scraped off.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of holes in the metal plate are formed by photoetching. With this configuration, a plurality of holes in the metal plate can be accurately and easily formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of holes of a metal plate formed by photoetching are formed in slits inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the center line of the developing roller. With this configuration, the edge of the slit formed in the metal plate can be pressed and slid over the entire surface of the developing roller by rotating the developing roller once, so that the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be developed. The toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller and condensing and adhering thereto without contributing to the toner can be reliably scraped off over the entire surface of the developing roller.

In the developing device according to the present invention, the edge of the slit formed by photoetching is formed such that the side contacting the developing roller is sharp. With this configuration, the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller and condensing and adhering thereto without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be more reliably scraped off.

[0013] In the developing device according to the present invention, the plurality of holes formed in the metal plate are formed in a hexagonal shape, and a pair of parallel sides of six sides forming the hexagon are opposed to each other. The side is formed at a position along the rotation direction of the developing roller. With this configuration, the edge of the hexagonally formed hole in the metal plate is pressed and slid over the entire surface of the developing roller by rotating the developing roller once, and the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is rotated. The toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the image and cohering and adhering thereto can be reliably scraped off over the entire surface of the developing roller.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the developing device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a corona charger 2 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 around the photosensitive drum 1 and original data read by a scanner or the like are projected by an LED or the like, and are latently projected on the photosensitive drum 1. An optical projection device 3 for forming an image, a developing device 4 for developing this latent image, and a toner image developed on a transfer material sent from a paper feeding unit (not shown) loaded with roll paper (or cut paper). A transfer corona discharger 5 for transferring, an AC separation corona discharger 6 for separating a transfer material from the photosensitive drum 1, a photosensitive drum 1 after transfer
A cleaning device 7 for removing the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and an eraser lamp 8 for uniformly removing the surface potential of the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and these are arranged so as to sequentially act on the photosensitive drum 1. Have been.

Further, the toner image separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by the AC separating corona discharger 6 and transferred onto the transfer material is transferred by a transfer belt and a guide plate of a fixing device for fixing the toner image so as not to be separated from the transfer material. You. A fixing device for fixing the toner image on the transfer material as a permanent image is disposed at the end of the guide plate.

At the upper end of the developer container 9 of the developing device 4,
A toner cartridge 10 is attached, and a toner supply port 11 is provided at a lower end of the toner cartridge 10.

The developer container 9 of the developing device 4 has an opening 12 facing a part of the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and a part of the peripheral surface is exposed from the opening 12 to expose the photosensitive drum 1. The developing roller 13 is provided so as to be close to. The developing roller 13 is constituted by a sleeveless magnet roller in which a permanent magnet is fixedly arranged inside.
The developer 14 contained in the developer container 9 is attracted to the surface of the developer container by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet to form a thin toner layer. The thin toner layer formed on the surface of the developing roller 13 is brought close to the photosensitive drum 1 and is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 on which the latent image is formed to perform development. During the development of the photosensitive drum 1, the developer 14 remaining on the surface of the developing roller 13 without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 and cohering and adhering thereto is surely scraped off by the metal plate 15. You.

The metal plate 15 has a thickness of 0.05 mm or more.
A 0.3 mm thin metal plate, specifically, a stainless steel plate (martensitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, austenitic stainless steel), a phosphor copper plate, or the like is used. The thickness of the metal plate 15 is 0.05 mm
Although it can be used in a range of about 0.3 mm, when the thickness of the metal plate 15 increases, it is necessary to press the surface of the developing roller 13 with a strong pressure, and the thickness of the metal plate 15 exceeds 0.3 mm. And the surface contact with the surface of the developing roller 13 becomes unstable. Further, the reason why the thickness of the metal plate 15 is set to 0.05 mm or more is that the thickness of the metal plate 15 is made thinner than 0.05 mm because the workability is poor, and the thickness of the metal plate 15 is set to 0.05 mm. Because it is enough. The thickness of the metal plate 15 is in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.3 mm.
It is in the range of 0.08 mm to 0.2 mm.

The metal plate 15 is formed in a Z-shape as shown in FIG.
A mounting member for mounting the metal plate 15, a plurality of slits 19 inclined at a predetermined angle (not a right angle) with respect to the direction of the center line of the developing roller 13 are formed in the main body 18 by photoetching. The slit 19 formed in the main body 18 allows the developer 14 remaining on the surface of the developing roller 13 without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 during the development of the photosensitive drum 1 to cohere. On the upstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13, while being securely scraped off from the surface of the developing roller 13 and returned into the developer container 9,
This is for supplying new developer 14 to the developing roller 13 from inside the developer container 9 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13. The edge of the slit 19 formed by the photoetching is, as shown in the sectional view of FIG.
The surface of the main body 19 is formed in a rectangular shape at right angles. The holes formed in the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 are
The reason why the slit shape is inclined at a predetermined angle (not a right angle) with respect to the direction of the center line 3 is that the aperture ratio of the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 can be increased by forming the slit shape. The edge can be moved obliquely with respect to the surface, and it is easy to scrape off the developer 14 remaining on the surface of the developing roller 13 without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 and adhering and adhering. Because it is.

As shown in FIG. 1, the metal plate 15 is provided at the upper end portion 20 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9 where the upper portion 16 of the metal plate 15 is located on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13. The lower portion 17 is screwed to the lower end 21 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9 which is located on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13, and the metal plate 15 as a whole has the upper portion 16 and the lower portion 17 for development. It is supported and fixed to the agent container 9 (specifically, this screw is stopped at more than a dozen locations at a pitch of 30 mm). When the metal plate 15 is fixed to the upper end 20 and the lower end 21 of the opening 12, the opening 12
The line connecting the upper end portion 20 of the developing roller 13 and the lower end portion 21 of the opening 12 is located inside the position of the peripheral surface of the developing roller 13. 4 is pressed against the surface of the developing roller 13 as shown in FIG.
3, a curved surface is formed along the surface of the developing roller 3, and the surface of the developing roller 13 is in surface contact. Therefore, the developing roller 13
Is rotated, the surface of the developing roller 13 comes into sliding contact with the main body 18 of the metal plate 15, and the developer 14 that has cohered and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 13 is scraped off by the slit 19 formed in the main body 18 of the metal plate 15. The scraped developer 14 is returned into the developer container 9.

The edge of the slit 19 formed on the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 by photoetching is shown in FIG.
As shown in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 1, the surface of the main body 19 may be formed so that a taper is formed, and the side in contact with the developing roller 13 is sharpened. By forming the side in contact with the developing roller 13 so as to be sharp, the edge of the sharp slit 19 comes into contact with the surface of the developing roller 13, and the developer 14 that has cohered and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 13 is formed. Can be more reliably scraped off.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the metal plate 15 is attached by screwing the upper portion 16 of the metal plate 15 to the upper end portion 20 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9, Although the lower portion 17 is screwed to the lower end 21 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9, an engaging member 22 is attached to the lower end 21 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9 as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a method in which the lower portion 17 of the metal plate 15 is hooked on the engagement member 22 and the upper portion 16 of the metal plate 15 is screwed and fixed to the upper end portion 20 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9 may be employed. Although not shown, the lower plate 17 of the metal plate 15 is hooked directly on a part of the lower end 21 of the opening 12 of the developer container 9, and the upper portion 16 of the metal plate 15 is attached to the developer container 9. A method in which the container 9 is fixed to the upper end portion 20 of the opening 12 by screwing may be used. With this configuration, the metal plate 15 can be attached, and the worn metal plate 15 can be easily replaced.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 35 denotes a developer container 9;
Is a sensor for monitoring the amount of the developer 14 stored in the printer. Reference numeral 36 denotes a stirring device provided in the developer container 9 for periodically stirring the developer 14 contained in the developer container 9. In particular, this stirrer 36
Is a method in which the developer 14 remaining on the surface of the developing roller 13 without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is aggregated and adhered by the metal plate 15 on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13. The developer 14 has a function of mixing the developer 14 scraped off from the surface and returned into the developer container 9 with the developer 14 contained in the developer container 9.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the metal plate. In the figure, a metal plate 23 is formed in a Z-shape similarly to the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 2, and the present embodiment is different from the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 15 has a plurality of slits 19 formed by photo-etching at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction of the center line of the developing roller 13, whereas the metal plate 23 in the present embodiment The point is that a plurality of hexagonal holes 25 are formed by etching.
A pair of opposing parallel sides of six sides forming the hexagon of the plurality of hexagonal holes 25 are provided at positions along the rotation direction of the developing roller 13. In addition, the positional relationship between the two holes 25 in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13 is such that the center position of the lower hexagonal hole 25 is located at the center of the two adjacent hexagonal holes 25 in the upper stage. It is arranged to be. With such an arrangement, when the developing roller 13 is rotated once, the entire surface of the developing roller 13 is positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to the center line of the developing roller 13 of the hole 25 formed in a hexagonal shape. The developer 14 that has been brought into contact with the edge and agglomerated and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 13 can be reliably scraped off. Thus, the main body 24 of the metal plate 23
The plurality of hexagonal holes 25 formed on the surface of the developing roller 13 are also in sliding contact with the surface of the developing roller 13 similarly to the slits 19 formed on the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. It has an action of scraping off the agent 14.
The edges of the plurality of hexagonal holes 25 formed in the main body 24 of the metal plate 23 may be formed in a rectangular shape perpendicular to the surface of the main body as in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. As in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 7, the taper may be formed on the surface of the main body so that the side in contact with the developing roller 13 is sharp. Furthermore, the hexagonal size of the hole 25 is
The size depends on other factors, such as the thickness of the metal plate 15, the usage of the metal plate 15, the type of the developer 14 contained in the developer container 9, and the optimum size can be variously selected. Not something.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the metal plate. In the figure, a metal plate 26 is formed in a Z-shape similarly to the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 2, and this embodiment is different from the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 15 has a plurality of slits 19 formed by photoetching at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction of the center line of the developing roller 13, whereas the metal plate 26 in the present embodiment The point is that a plurality of diamond-shaped holes 28 are formed by etching. The positional relationship between the two holes 28 in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13 is such that the apex position of the lower diamond-shaped hole 28 is located at the center of the two adjacent diamond-shaped holes 28 in the upper stage. Are arranged as follows. By arranging in this way,
When the developing roller 13 is rotated once, the entire surface of the developing roller 13 is
The edge of the side having a predetermined angle with respect to the center line of No. 3 abuts, so that the developer 14 that has adhered and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 13 can be reliably scraped off. The main body 2 of the metal plate 26
The plurality of rhombus-shaped holes 28 formed in 7 are in sliding contact with the surface of the developing roller 13, similarly to the slits 19 formed in the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. It has an action of scraping off the developer 14.
The edges of the plurality of diamond-shaped holes 28 formed in the main body 27 of the metal plate 26 may be formed in a rectangular shape perpendicular to the surface of the main body as in the sectional view shown in FIG. As in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 7, the taper may be formed on the surface of the main body so that the side in contact with the developing roller 13 is sharp. Furthermore, the hexagonal size of the hole 28 is
The size depends on other factors, such as the thickness of the metal plate 26, the state of use of the metal plate 26, the type of the developer 14 housed in the developer container 9, and the like. Not something.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the metal plate. In the figure, a metal plate 29 is formed in a Z-shape similarly to the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 2, and this embodiment is different from the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 15 has a plurality of slits 19 formed by photoetching at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction of the center line of the developing roller 13, whereas the metal plate 29 in the present embodiment The point is that a plurality of parallelogram-shaped holes 31 are formed by etching. The positional relationship between the two holes 31 in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13 is such that the midpoint position of the parallelogram-shaped hole 31 in the lower stage is the two parallelogram-shaped holes 31 adjacent to each other in the upper stage.
Are arranged at the center between the midpoints. With this arrangement, when the developing roller 13 is rotated once, the entire surface of the developing roller 13 has a side having a predetermined angle with respect to the center line of the developing roller 13 of the hole 31 formed in a parallelogram shape. Of the developing roller 13
The developer 14 that has cohered and adhered to the surface can be scraped off. A plurality of parallelogram-shaped holes 31 formed in the main body 30 of the metal plate 29 are similar to the slits 19 formed in the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 shown in FIG.
Has a function of scraping off the developer 14 that has adhered and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 13. The edges of the plurality of parallelogram-shaped holes 31 formed in the main body 30 of the metal plate 29 may be formed in a rectangular shape perpendicular to the surface of the main body, similarly to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. Similarly to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG.
May be formed so that the side in contact with is sharp. Further, the size of the parallelogram of the hole 31 varies depending on other factors, such as the thickness of the metal plate 29, the use state of the metal plate 29, the type of the developer 14 contained in the developer container 9, and the like. Various sizes can be selected, and there is no particular limitation.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the metal plate. In the figure, a metal plate 32 is formed in a Z-shape similarly to the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 2, and this embodiment is different from the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. 15 has a plurality of slits 19 formed by photoetching a plurality of slits 19 inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction of the center line of the developing roller 13, whereas the metal plate 32 in the present embodiment The point is that a plurality of circular holes 34 are formed by etching.

Two-stage holes 34 in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13
Is that the center position of the lower circular hole 34 is
It is arranged so as to be located at the center between the center lines of two circular holes 34 adjacent to each other in the upper stage. With this arrangement, when the developing roller 13 is rotated once, the entire surface of the developing roller 13 is brought into contact with the edge of the hole 34 formed in a circular shape, and the developing roller 13 is aggregated and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 13. The agent 14 can be reliably scraped off. A plurality of circular holes 34 formed in the main body 33 of the metal plate 32 are in sliding contact with the surface of the developing roller 13 similarly to the slits 19 formed in the main body 18 of the metal plate 15 shown in FIG. Has the function of scraping off the developer 14 that has cohered and adhered to the surface of the developer. The plurality of circular holes 34 may be true circular or elliptical. In the case of the elliptical shape, the ellipse may have a long diameter in the rotation direction of the developing roller 13 or may have a long diameter in the central axis direction of the developing roller 13. Also,
The edges of the plurality of circular holes 34 formed in the main body 33 of the metal plate 32 may be formed in a rectangular shape perpendicular to the surface of the main body as in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. Similar to the cross-sectional view, the developing roller 13
May be formed so that the side in contact with is sharp. Further, the size of the diameter of the circle of the hole 34 varies depending on other factors, such as the thickness of the metal plate 32, the use state of the metal plate 32, the type of the developer 14 contained in the developer container 9, and the like.
The optimum size can be variously selected, and is not particularly limited.

[0030]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the metal plate can be brought into sliding contact with the surface of the developing roller with a predetermined peripheral surface length over the entire width of the developing roller. The surface of the developing roller can be stably and slidably contacted with the surface of the photosensitive drum, and the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is securely scraped off. Can be.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be reliably scraped off. Thus, a new developer can always be supplied to the developing roller.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum can be reliably scraped off. it can.

According to the invention described in claim 4 of the present application, a plurality of holes in a metal plate can be formed accurately and easily.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the edge of the slit formed in the metal plate can be pressed and slid over the entire surface of the developing roller by making one rotation of the developing roller. The toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the formed latent image and cohering and adhering thereto can be reliably scraped off over the entire surface of the developing roller.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller and cohering and adhering thereto without scraping the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is more reliably scraped off. Can be.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, by rotating the developing roller once, the edge of the hexagonally formed hole in the metal plate is pressed and slid over the entire surface of the developing roller. The toner remaining on the surface of the developing roller without contributing to the development of the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum and adhered and adhered can be reliably scraped off over the entire surface of the developing roller.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the metal plate shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial view showing a cross section of the metal plate shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a contact state between a metal plate and a developing roller illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial view showing an embodiment of another cross section of the metal plate shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partial view showing another embodiment in which a metal plate is attached.

FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view showing another embodiment of the metal plate.

FIG. 8 is an overall perspective view showing another embodiment of the metal plate.

FIG. 9 is an overall perspective view showing another embodiment of the metal plate.

FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view showing still another embodiment of the metal plate.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part showing a conventional developing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 …………………………………………………
… Photosensitive drum 2 ………………………………………………
Corona charger 3 ……………………………………………………
Optical projection device 4 ……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………… Transfer corona discharger 6 ………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Cleaning device 8 …………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………
… Developer container 10 ……………………………… Toner cartridge 11 ……………………………………………………………… …
Toner supply port 12 ……………………………………………
… Opening 13 ………………………………………………
… Developing roller 14 …………………………………………………
…… Developer 15,23,26,29,32 …………………………
……… Metal plate 16 ………………………………………………
............ Top 17 ……………………………………………
………… Bottom 18, 24, 27, 30, 33 ……………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…… Slit 20 …………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……… Lower end part 22 ………………………………………………
… Engaging member 25, 28, 31, 34 ………………………………
………… Hole 35 ……………………………………………
…… Sensor 36 …………………………………………………
…… Agitator

Claims (7)

[Claims] A developer container having an opening formed in a lower portion of the developer container, the developer being carried by a developing roller disposed near an opening of the developer container; In a developing device for supplying an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum, a predetermined peripheral surface is provided in the developer container so as to cover an opening of the developer container and to cover a surface of the developing roller over the entire width. An elastically deformable metal plate is provided so as to be in sliding contact with the length, the metal plate is provided with a plurality of holes, and is supported and fixed at two positions on the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller. The developer remaining without being contributed to the surface of the developing roller is scraped off by an edge formed with a hole of a metal plate that is pressed and slidably brought into contact with the developing roller and returned to the developer container. The metal located on the side A developing device wherein a new developer is supplied to a developing roller from a hole in a plate. 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developing roller is a rotatable sleeveless magnet roller, and the developer is a magnetic toner. 3. The metal plate has a thickness of 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm.
The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the size is 3 mm. 4. The metal plate according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of holes are formed by photo-etching.
3. The developing device according to claim 1. 5. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of holes in the metal plate formed by the photoetching are slits inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a center line of the developing roller. . 6. The developing device according to claim 5, wherein an edge of the slit formed by the photo-etching is formed such that a side contacting the developing roller is sharp. 7. A shape of the plurality of holes formed in the metal plate is a hexagonal shape, and a pair of opposing parallel sides of the six sides forming the hexagon are formed along the rotation direction of the developing roller. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developing device is provided at a different position.