JP2001034063A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control toner by a control member so that the toner may be made uniform on the surface of a toner carrier, irrespective of the reduction of the press contact force of the control member which is brought into press contact with the surface of the toner carrier in the case of controlling the amount of the toner on the surface of the toner carrier by the control member and triboelectrifying the toner, and then, to obtain a good image free from uneven density, etc., in the case of controlling the amount of the toner on the surface of the toner carrier by the control member and triboelectrifying the toner. SOLUTION: As for the developing device for bringing the control member 13 into press contact with the surface of the toner carrier 11 for carrying the toner 2 to an image carrier 1 so as to control the amount of the toner on the surface of the toner carrier and also to triboelectrify the toner on the surface of the toner carrier, resin or resin-based compound material having Young' modulus of 2000 to 10000 Mpa is formed to a board shape, and the thickness of the board is controlled within the extent of 0.1 mm to 0.35 mm so as to be used as the control member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and more particularly to a one-component developing type developing device using only toner as a developer. A regulating member is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier that conveys the toner to the image carrier, and the regulating member regulates the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier and frictionally charges the toner on the surface of the toner carrier. And a developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a developing device used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, a two-component developing system using a toner and a carrier as a developer has been known. A one-component developing system using only toner is known.

Here, in the case of a developing device of a two-component developing system, generally, a carrier and a toner are mixed and stirred in the main body of the device to charge the toner, and the developer charged with the toner is magnetized inside. The developer is supplied to a developer conveying member provided with a roller, and the developer is conveyed by the developer conveying member to a development area facing the image carrier, so that the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier is developed. Had become.

However, in the case of the above-described developing device of the two-component developing system, a mechanism for mixing and stirring the toner and the carrier is required, and there has been a problem that the size of the device is increased and the cost is increased.

For this reason, in recent years, attention has been paid to a one-component developing type developing device which uses only toner without using a carrier.

As shown in FIG. 1, a developing device of the one-component developing type uses an image carrier 1 as shown in FIG.
A plate-shaped regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 to be conveyed to the toner carrier 11, and the regulating member 13 regulates the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier 11. Is generally used in which the toner is frictionally charged, and the toner thus frictionally charged is conveyed to the image carrier 1 by the toner carrier 11 for development.

Here, as the plate-shaped regulating member 13 for regulating the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier 11 and frictionally charging the toner as described above, conventionally, generally, stainless steel, phosphor bronze, or the like is used. A metal member is used, and the use of an elastic material such as rubber or a resin member has been proposed.

On the other hand, in recent years, when the regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 as described above in order to reduce energy consumption in the developing device, the pressing force of the regulating member 13 is reduced. It has been studied to reduce the torque for driving the developing device.

However, when the pressing force of the regulating member 13 for pressing against the surface of the toner carrying member 11 is weakened, the pressing force of the regulating member 13 against the surface of the toner carrying member 11 tends to vary, and the toner carrying member 11 It is difficult to uniformly regulate the amount of toner on the surface, and the amount of toner conveyed to the image carrier 1 varies, causing problems such as uneven density in a formed image.

In recent years, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-160
As shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 742, when the regulating member is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier, the regulating member undergoes permanent deformation, and the pressure contact force of the regulating member pressed against the surface of the toner carrier varies. Proposals have been proposed to reduce the occurrence.

However, when the restricting member is permanently deformed as described above, when the restricting member is used for a long time, the restricting member is further deformed gradually, and the pressing force of the restricting member against the surface of the toner carrier gradually decreases. In addition, there has been a problem that the amount of toner conveyed to the image carrier changes.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a regulating member is pressed against the surface of a toner carrier which conveys toner to an image carrier, and the regulating member regulates the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier. It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described various problems in a developing device configured to frictionally charge toner on the surface of a toner carrier.

That is, in the present invention, the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is regulated by the regulating member, and when the toner is frictionally charged, the pressure contact force of the regulating member for pressing against the surface of the toner carrier is reduced. Even in such a case, it is an object to ensure that the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is uniformly regulated by the regulating member for a long period of time, so that a good image without density unevenness or the like can be stably obtained. It is.

[0014]

In the developing device according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a regulating member is brought into pressure contact with the surface of a toner carrier for conveying toner to an image carrier, and the regulating member is pressed. In the developing device in which the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is regulated and the toner on the surface of the toner carrier is frictionally charged, the regulating member has a Young's modulus of 2000.
It is formed in a plate shape with a resin or a resin-based composite material in a range of from 1 to 10,000 MPa, and has a thickness of from 0.1 mm to 0.35 mm.
We decided to use the ones in the range.

Here, if a regulating member formed in a plate shape with a resin or a resin-based composite material having a Young's modulus of less than 2000 MPa is used, it becomes difficult to sufficiently regulate the toner on the surface of the toner carrier, and This restricting member is liable to be permanently deformed and cannot stably regulate the toner on the surface of the toner carrier. On the other hand, the restricting member formed of a resin or a resin-based composite material having a Young's modulus exceeding 10,000 MPa has a plate shape. When the member is used, when the pressing force of the regulating member to be pressed against the surface of the toner carrier is weakened,
The pressing force of the regulating member against the surface of the toner carrier is likely to vary, making it difficult to uniformly regulate the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier.

If the thickness of the restricting member is too large, the pressing force of the restricting member against the surface of the toner carrier varies when the pressing force of the restricting member pressed against the surface of the toner carrier is reduced. On the other hand, when the thickness of the regulating member is too thin, it becomes difficult to sufficiently regulate the toner on the surface of the toner carrier, and
This restricting member is likely to be permanently deformed, and the toner on the surface of the toner carrier cannot be stably regulated.

On the other hand, as in the developing device of the present invention, the regulating member has a Young's modulus of 2,000 to
When a resin or resin-based composite material having a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.35 mm is formed in a plate shape using a resin or a resin-based composite material in the range of 000 MPa, the pressing force of the regulating member for pressing against the surface of the toner carrier is used. Even when is weakened, the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is uniformly regulated by the regulating member for a long period of time, and a good image free from density unevenness can be stably obtained.

In the developing device according to the present invention, when the regulating member regulates the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier, if the pressure of the regulating member in contact with the surface of the toner carrier is excessively increased, the developing device is The torque for driving the toner carrier increases, and the regulating member may be permanently deformed. On the other hand, if the pressure of the regulating member that is brought into contact with the surface of the toner carrier is too weak, the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is reduced. Is difficult to regulate. For this reason, the linear pressure at which the above-mentioned regulating member is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier is preferably in the range of 5 N / m to 50 N / m, more preferably 10 N / m.
-30 N / m.

In the developing device according to the present invention, the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is regulated by the regulating member, and when the toner on the surface of the toner carrier is frictionally charged, the toner is quickly charged. In order to achieve this, as shown in claim 3,
In this regulating member, at least a portion of the surface of the toner carrier that comes into contact with the toner is preferably formed of a conductive material, and further formed of a material that charges the toner to a regular polarity so that the toner is appropriately charged. Is preferred.

Here, as the resin or resin-based composite material used for the above-mentioned regulating member, for example, polycarbonate,
Polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyether ketone, polyether imide, polyacrylate / polyamide copolymer, various liquid crystal polymers, various glass reinforced resins, various carbon A reinforced resin or the like can be used.

In order to quickly charge the toner by the regulating member, a conductivity-imparting agent may be added to the resin or the resin-based composite material, or the toner may be appropriately charged by the regulating member. It is also possible to add a charge-imparting agent to the resin or resin-based composite material as described above, and as the conductivity-imparting agent, for example, Ketjen black, acetylene black, furnace black Fine particles of carbon black or a metal oxide such as a carbon black or a metal oxide. Examples of the charge imparting agent include a nigrosine dye, a triphenylmethane dye, a calixarene dye, a quaternary ammonium salt compound, and imidazole. Compounds and the like can be used.

Further, it is possible to provide a coating layer made of another material by plating, coating or sticking on a portion of the regulating member which comes into contact with the toner on the surface of the toner carrier. It is also possible to add the above-mentioned conductivity imparting agent or charge imparting agent to the layer.

Here, when a coating layer is provided on the regulating member by coating or pasting, examples of the material forming the coating layer include polyamide, polycarbonate, polyvinyl butyral, polyester, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, silicone resin, and the like. Fluororesin, phenolic resin, epoxy resin, methacrylic resin,
Urea resin, polyurethane, SBR, NBR, silicone rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, acrylic rubber, various thermoplastic elastomers, and the like can be used.

When a coating layer is provided on the regulating member by plating, the coating layer can be provided by electroless plating. For example, electroless nickel plating, electroless nickel-phosphorus alloy plating, electroless nickel-copper alloy plating, Electrolytic nickel-boron alloy plating or the like can be performed, and it is also possible to perform various electroplating after electroless plating.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the developing device of this embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 2, an elastic layer 1 is provided around the outer periphery of the metal roller 11a.
The toner carrier 11 provided with the toner carrier 1b is provided so as to face the image carrier 1 with a required distance d therebetween.

In this developing device, the toner 2 is accommodated in the device main body 10 and a toner feeding member 12 is provided.
The toner 2 contained in the apparatus main body 10 is
1, the toner carrier 11 is rotated, and the toner 2 supplied to the surface of the toner carrier 11 is conveyed to a development area facing the image carrier 1.

While the toner 2 thus supplied to the surface of the toner carrier 11 is being conveyed to the developing area facing the image carrier 1, the regulating member 13 having one end attached to the apparatus main body 10 has another The end is the toner carrier 11
The surface of the toner carrier 11 is regulated by the regulating member 13 and the toner 2 is frictionally charged.

Here, in the developing device of this embodiment, the regulating member 13 has a Young's modulus of 2000 to 2000.
A plate formed of a resin or a resin-based composite material in a range of 10,000 MPa and having a thickness in a range of 0.1 mm to 0.35 mm is used. Is in the range of 5 N / m to 50 N / m. In this way, the torque for rotating the toner carrier 11 due to the pressure contact of the regulating member 13 does not increase, and the toner 2 on the surface of the toner carrier 11 is stably and uniformly formed by the regulating member 13 for a long period of time. Be regulated.

After regulating the amount of the toner 2 on the surface of the toner carrier 11 by the regulating member 13 and frictionally charging the toner 2, the toner 2 is transferred to the image carrier 1 by the toner carrier 11. The toner 2 held on the toner carrier 11 is applied to the image carrier 1 by applying a developing bias voltage in which an AC voltage is superimposed on a DC voltage from a power supply 14 to the toner carrier 11. The image is supplied to the formed electrostatic latent image for development.

When the development is performed in this manner, the amount of the toner 2 on the surface of the toner carrier 11 is uniform, so that a good image without density unevenness can be stably obtained.

After the development in this way,
The toner 2 remaining on the surface of the toner carrier 11 without being used for development is guided to the apparatus main body 10 by the toner carrier 11, and a static elimination member 15 provided below the apparatus main body 10 is provided.
The toner 2 is brought into contact with the toner, and the frictionally charged toner 2 is neutralized and returned into the apparatus main body 10.

In the developing device of this embodiment, the toner carrier 11 is provided so as to be opposed to the image carrier 1 with a required distance d. However, as shown in FIG. Is provided so as to be in contact with the image carrier 1, and a developing bias voltage composed of a DC voltage is applied to the toner carrier 11 from a power supply 14 to form the toner 2 held on the toner carrier 11 on the image carrier 1. It is also possible to supply the developed electrostatic latent image to perform development.

Further, in the developing device in each of the above-described embodiments, the regulating member 13 is a one-piece type as shown in FIG.
5 is used.
As shown in (1), it is also possible to use a regulating member 13 provided with a coating layer 13a made of another material at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11.

Next, the developing devices of Examples 1 to 10 using the regulating member satisfying the conditions of the present invention and Comparative Example 1 using the regulating member not satisfying the conditions of the present invention.
Each of the developing devices of Nos. 1 to 6 was mounted on a modified copy machine (SP3000 manufactured by Minolta Co., Ltd.) to form an image, and the density unevenness of the formed image was evaluated.

Here, in these developing devices, the toner produced as described below was used.

In producing the toner, 10 parts of a polyester resin (manufactured by Kao Corporation: Tuffton NE-1000) is used.
0 parts by weight, 8 parts by weight of carbon black (Cabot: Mogal L), charge control agent (Orient Chemical:
Bontron S-34) at a ratio of 3 parts by weight and a release agent (Viscol TS-200 manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) at a ratio of 2.5 parts by weight.
After mixing at 00 rpm for 3 minutes, the mixture was kneaded using a twin-screw kneading extruder, and the kneaded material was cooled, coarsely pulverized, and further finely pulverized by an ultrasonic jet pulverizer (manufactured by Nippon Pneumatic). It was pulverized and classified by an elbow jet (manufactured by Matsuzaka Trading Co., Ltd.) to obtain toner particles. And
Hydrophobic silica (Cabotil TS-500, manufactured by Cabot Corp.) is added to the toner particles at a ratio of 0.8% by weight, and the number of revolutions is 2500 rpm by a Henschel mixer.
For 90 seconds to obtain a negatively charged toner whose surface was treated with hydrophobic silica.

Example 1 In the developing device of Example 1, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.1 mm was used. The regulating member 13 is formed of a plate material and provided with a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane having a thickness of 10 μm at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11. The linear pressure applied to the surface of No. 11 was 5 N / m. The Young's modulus of the plate material in the regulating member 13 is:
The thickness was measured based on JISC-2318, and the thickness was measured using a micrometer.

(Embodiment 2) In the developing device of Embodiment 2, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) having a Young's modulus of 6000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm was used. And a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane having a film thickness of 10 μm is provided at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrying member 11. The line pressure to be pressed against the surface of the body 11 is 30 N / m
I made it.

Example 3 In the developing device of Example 3, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a plate material of polycarbonate (PC) having a Young's modulus of 2000 MPa and a thickness of 0.35 mm was used. And a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane having a film thickness of 10 μm on a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11.
The linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 is set to 30 N / m.

Example 4 In the developing device of Example 4, as shown in Table 1 below, a glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide having a Young's modulus of 10,000 MPa and a thickness of 0.3 mm was used as the regulating member 13. Enhanced PP
S) having a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane having a film thickness of 10 μm at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11,
The linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was set at 50 N / m.

(Embodiment 5) In the developing device of Embodiment 5, as shown in Table 1 below, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm was used as the regulating member 13. This regulating member 13 is formed of a plate material and provided with a coating layer 13 a formed by electroless Ni plating at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11.
The linear pressure to be pressed against the surface of was set to 25 N / m.

Example 6 In the developing device of Example 6, as shown in Table 1 below, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm was used as the regulating member 13. A sheet made of a plate material and having a coating layer 13a provided by attaching a chip of a styrene-based elastomer having a thickness of 1 mm to a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11,
The linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was 25 N / m.

Example 7 In the developing device of Example 7, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a conductive polycarbonate having a Young's modulus of 2200 MPa and a thickness of 0.2 mm (conductive type) was used. (PC) was used, the coating layer 13a was not provided, and the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was 10 N / m.

Example 8 In the developing device of Example 8, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm was used. The regulating member 13 is formed of a plate material and provided with a coating layer 13 a made of a polyamide resin having a film thickness of 10 μm at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11. 25N / m linear pressure to be pressed against the surface of
I made it.

(Embodiment 9) In the developing device of Embodiment 9, as shown in Table 1 below, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm was used as the regulating member 13. A plate member was used, and the coating layer 13a was not provided. The linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was 25 N / m.

(Embodiment 10) In the developing device of Embodiment 10, as shown in Table 1 below, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm was used as the regulating member 13. A sheet made of a plate material and having a coating layer 13a provided by attaching a 0.2 mm-thick polyvinylidene fluoride (PVF) chip to a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11 is used. The regulating member 13 is
The linear pressure to be pressed against the surface of was set to 25 N / m.

Comparative Example 1 In the developing device of Comparative Example 1, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a plate material of polycarbonate (PC) having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.5 mm was used. And a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane having a film thickness of 10 μm is provided at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11.
The linear pressure applied to the surface of No. 1 was 50 N / m.

Comparative Example 2 In the developing device of Comparative Example 2, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plate material having a Young's modulus of 4000 MPa and a thickness of 0.075 mm was used. And a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane having a film thickness of 10 μm is provided at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the toner carrier 11. The linear pressure to be pressed against the surface of was 5 N / m.

Comparative Example 3 In the developing device of Comparative Example 3, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a polyethylene (PE) plate material having a Young's modulus of 1500 MPa and a thickness of 0.3 mm was used. The coating layer 13a was not provided, and the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was 25 N / m.

Comparative Example 4 In the developing device of Comparative Example 4, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a polyurethane (PUR) plate material having a Young's modulus of 800 MPa and a thickness of 0.188 mm was used. And the covering member 13a is not provided.
3 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 with a linear pressure of 10N.
/ M.

Comparative Example 5 In the developing device of Comparative Example 5, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, a polyamide (PA) plate material having a Young's modulus of 1700 MPa and a thickness of 0.3 mm was used. The coating layer 13a was not provided, and the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was 15 N / m.

Comparative Example 6 In the developing device of Comparative Example 6, as the regulating member 13, as shown in Table 1 below, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVF) having a Young's modulus of 1500 MPa and a thickness of 0.2 mm was used. The cover member 13a is not provided, and the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 is set to 1
0 N / m.

(Comparative Example 7) In the developing device of Comparative Example 7, as shown in Table 1 below, the regulating member 13 is made of a SUS plate having a Young's modulus of 190000 MPa and a thickness of 0.05 mm. The coating layer 1
3a was not provided, and the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 was pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 was set to 20 N / m.

Here, each of the developing devices of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7 was replaced with a commercially available copying machine (Minolta:
In order to form an image by mounting the modified SP3000) on a modified product, the toner carrier 11 is opposed to the image carrier 1 via a required distance d as in the developing device shown in FIG. When a DC voltage of −400 V is applied from the power supply 14 to the carrier 11, the peak-to-peak value Vpp is 2
By applying a developing bias voltage on which an AC voltage of kV, a frequency of 2 kHz and a duty ratio of 40% is superimposed, the toner 2 is supplied from the toner carrier 11 to the image carrier 1 to develop an electrostatic latent image, An image was formed.

When evaluating the density unevenness, 5000 images were formed as described above, and the density unevenness in the formed image was visually checked. 、: When density unevenness occurs and poses a problem in practice, the result is indicated by x in Table 1 below.
It was shown to.

[0057]

[Table 1]

As is apparent from these results, in each of the developing devices of Examples 1 to 10 using the regulating member satisfying the conditions of the present invention, the regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 as described above. 5N / m to 50N /
m, the toner carrier 11
The toner 2 on the surface of the toner is stably and uniformly regulated by the regulating member 13, so that a good image without density unevenness can be obtained.

On the other hand, the Young's modulus is 2000 MPa.
Even with the restricting member 13 made of the above resin,
The developing device of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 using the regulating member 13 whose thickness is too thin or too thick, or whose Young's modulus is 2
The developing devices of Comparative Examples 3 to 6 using the regulating member 13 made of a resin having a modulus of less than 000 MPa, and a Young's modulus of 10,000
In the developing device of Comparative Example 7 using the SUS regulating member 13 far exceeding the MPa, the toner 2 on the surface of the toner carrier 11 is not uniformly regulated by the regulating member 13 and the density of the formed image is Unevenness occurred.

Next, as described above, each of the developing devices of Examples 1 to 10 was replaced with a commercially available copying machine (SP3000 manufactured by Minolta).
After copying the white image and the black image, the test image is copied, and the adhesion state of the toner in the non-image portion of the copied test image is checked. Table 2 below shows a case where a good image was obtained, and a case where a large amount of toner adhesion caused a practical problem.

[0061]

[Table 2]

As is apparent from this result, the portion of the surface of the toner carrier 11 that contacts the toner 2 is a regulating member 13 made of a material that frictionally charges the toner 2 negatively.
In each of the developing devices of Examples 1 to 9 using the above, after a white image is copied, toner is prevented from adhering to a non-image portion of a copied test image and fogging is suppressed, and a good image is obtained. Further, in each of the developing devices of Examples 1 to 7 using the regulating member 13 in which the portion of the surface of the toner carrier 11 that makes contact with the toner 2 is made conductive, after copying a black image in which fogging is likely to occur. No fog occurred even when the test image was copied.

Next, similarly to the developing device of the second embodiment, the restricting member 13 is made of a plate material of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) having a Young's modulus of 6000 MPa and a thickness of 0.25 mm. A film thickness of 10 μm is formed at a portion in contact with the toner 2 held on the surface of the body 11.
While a coating layer 13a made of conductive urethane is provided, the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 is 3 to 6 as shown in Table 3 below.
0 N / m range, and as described above, Examples 1 to 1
The density unevenness of the formed image was evaluated in the same manner as in the case of 0 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7, and the results are shown in Table 3 below.

Further, as described above, the development is performed by changing the linear pressure for pressing the regulating member 13 against the surface of the toner carrier 11 within the range of 3 to 60 N / m, and the pressure contact force on the toner carrier 11 increases. The rotation of the toner carrier 11 was checked to determine whether or not the rotation was uneven.
The case where rotation unevenness occurred was indicated by x, and also shown in Table 3 below.

[0065]

[Table 3]

As is apparent from this result, the regulating member 1
When the linear pressure is set in the range of 5 N / m to 50 N / m when pressing the surface of the toner carrier 3 against the surface of the toner carrier 11,
The toner 2 on the surface of the toner carrier 11 is
3, a uniform image is obtained stably and uniformly, and a good image without density unevenness is obtained. In addition, the pressing force against the toner carrier 11 is increased, and the rotation of the toner carrier 11 is not uneven. Was.

On the other hand, if the linear pressure at which the regulating member 13 is pressed against the surface of the toner carrier 11 is reduced to 3 N / m, the toner 2 on the surface of the toner carrier 11 is not regulated uniformly by the regulating member 13. When the density unevenness occurs in the formed image and the linear pressure for pressing the regulating member 13 against the surface of the toner carrier 11 is increased to 60 N / m, the pressure contact force on the toner carrier 11 becomes too strong, The rotation of the carrier 11 was uneven.

[0068]

As described above in detail, in the developing device according to the present invention, the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is regulated by pressing the toner against the surface of the toner carrier for conveying the toner to the image carrier. In addition, as a regulating member for frictionally charging the toner, a member formed of a resin or a resin-based composite material having a Young's modulus of 2000 MPa or more and having a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.35 mm is used. Therefore, even when the linear pressure of the regulating member pressed against the surface of the toner carrier is set to a weak range of 5 N / m to 50 N / m, the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier is uniform over a long period by the regulating member. , And a good image without density unevenness or the like can be obtained stably.

Further, in the developing device according to the present invention, when the regulating member is formed of a conductive material on the surface of the toner carrier, which is in contact with the toner, the regulating member causes the toner on the surface of the toner carrier to be quickly rubbed. As a result, the fogging was suppressed in the formed image, and a good image was stably obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing a state in which a regulating member formed in a plate shape is pressed against the surface of a toner carrier in a conventional developing device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of a developing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial explanatory view showing a regulating member used in the developing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial explanatory view showing a regulating member provided with a coating layer used in the developing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image carrier 2 Toner 11 Developer carrier 13 Regulator 13a Coating layer

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 26, 2000 (200.4.2
6)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0057

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0057]

[Table 1]

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H077 AD06 AD13 AD17 AD23 AD36 AE03 AE04 CA10 EA11 EA16 FA13 FA14 FA22 FA25

Claims (3)

[Claims] A regulating member is pressed against the surface of a toner carrier that conveys toner to an image carrier, the regulating member regulates the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier, and regulates the amount of toner on the surface of the toner carrier. In the developing device, the Young's modulus is formed in a plate shape from a resin or a resin-based composite material having a Young's modulus in the range of 2000 to 10000 MPa, and the thickness thereof is 0.1 mm to 0.35 mm. A developing device characterized by using an object within the range. 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein
A developing device, wherein a linear pressure for pressing the regulating member against the surface of the toner carrier is in a range of 5 N / m to 50 N / m. 3. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the regulating member that contacts the toner on the surface of the toner carrier is made of a conductive material.