JP2002116622A - Developer amount regulating member and developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer amount regulating member and a developing device by which an image having neither irregular density nor stripes can be obtained without deteriorating toner by regulating the toner on a developing sleeve at the time of developing in long-time image formation even though polymerized spherical toner is used. SOLUTION: A developing blade 4 is constituted by integrally molding an elastic member 4b on a supporting member (holder) 4a consisting of a sheet metal made of metal or the like, and the member 4b abuts on the surface of the developing sleeve by specified abutting force so as to regulate the toner on the developing sleeve. In order to prevent the toner from being deteriorated by the regulation of the blade 4 in long-time development even though the polymerized toner is used, the member 4b is made of silicone rubber and impregnated with silicone oil, whereby the dynamic friction coefficient of its surface is set to <0.2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device for developing and visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic system, and more particularly to a developing device including a carrier. The present invention relates to a developer amount regulating member used in a developing device using a one-component developer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus,
A developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum (drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member) of an image carrier basically includes a developing sleeve (developing) in a developing container containing a one-component developer toner. And a developing blade (developing amount regulating member). The developing device is used by arranging the developing sleeve so as to be positioned at a predetermined minute interval from the photosensitive drum. Is done.

A developing blade is carried on a developing sleeve to regulate the amount of toner conveyed to a developing section facing the photosensitive drum. The developing blade comes into contact with the surface of the developing sleeve, By passing the toner on the developing sleeve through the gap between the contact portions, a thin layer of toner is formed on the developing sleeve to regulate the amount of toner. Simultaneously with this regulation, the toner is rubbed at the contact portions. Thus, a triboelectric charge (tribo) having a polarity suitable for developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum is applied to the toner.

This developing blade is formed by laminating a rubber layer of which charge is controlled on a rubber thin plate alone or a metal plate made of metal or the like as a support member. A urethane rubber plate subjected to a control process or the like is used. For a toner having a positive charging series, a sheet metal laminated with a silicone rubber layer subjected to a charge control process or the like is used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a developing blade in which a rubber elastic member 104b is integrally formed with a supporting member (holder) 104a made of metal or the like is also known. The developing blade 104 is attached to a developing container of a developing device by a holder 104a.
Constitutes a support for the rubber elastic member 104b, and presses the rubber elastic member 104b, which comes into contact with the surface of the developing sleeve and regulates the amount of toner on the developing sleeve, into the holder 104.
a stipulates.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a conventional developing device,
Polymerized spherical toner is used to obtain colorized and high-definition images.The polymerized toner containing oil is soft, so it deteriorates when stress is applied when frictionally charged between the developing sleeve and the developing blade. It's easy to do. As a result, there has been a problem that the toner deteriorates during long-term use, and the toner is fused to the developing blade, causing toner dropping and image defects.

As a countermeasure, the pressure of pressing the developing blade against the developing sleeve is reduced in consideration of the fact that the toner is soft. However, for so-called non-mag toners that do not contain magnetic substances, the developing blade is required to have particularly high triboelectric charging ability, and a minimum pressing pressure is required to secure a certain amount of triboelectric charge to the toner. It is becoming. Therefore, when the non-mag toner on the developing sleeve passes between the developing sleeve and the developing blade, the non-mag toner is stressed by being pressed by the developing blade, and the surface layer of the toner is deteriorated by the stress. We fuse. As a result, image defects such as density unevenness and white stripes occur on the image.

Further, since the toner has a low melting point, if the frictional resistance of the toner material is large when the toner is rubbed by the developing blade on the developing sleeve, the heat generated at that time softens the toner and causes the developing blade or the like to be softened. It becomes easy to fuse. In addition, the toner has been miniaturized (particle size is about 5 μm),
When the developer is pressed onto the developing sleeve by the developing blade, the external additive added to the toner tends to easily stay in irregularities on the surface of the developing blade. As a result, the toner easily stays on the surface of the developing blade, and the staying toner fuses to the surface of the developing sleeve or the developing blade, similarly causing density unevenness and white stripes.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that uses a polymerized toner without causing deterioration of the toner due to the regulation on the developing sleeve during development for a long period of image formation. An object of the present invention is to provide a developer amount regulating member and a developing device which can obtain an image without a streak.

[0010]

The above object is achieved by a developer amount regulating member and a developing device according to the present invention. In summary, the present invention provides a developer amount regulating member that contacts a developer carrier of a developing device and regulates an amount of a one-component developer on the developer carrier, wherein the regulating member includes the developing device. A silicone rubber elastic member is provided on a support member attached to the apparatus, and a coefficient of dynamic friction of a surface of the silicone rubber elastic member that contacts the developing sleeve is 0.2.
A developer amount regulating member.

According to the present invention, the silicone rubber elastic member is impregnated with silicone oil. The silicone oil is an amino-modified silicone oil.

According to the present invention, there is provided a developing device comprising the above-mentioned developer amount regulating member.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the developing blade of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a developing apparatus provided with the developing blade of FIG.

The developing blade 4 of the present invention comprises a support member (holder) 4a made of a thin plate of metal or the like and an elastic member 4b made of silicone rubber formed integrally with the support member 4a. As shown in FIG. The developing blade 4 is connected to the developing device 1
By attaching the elastic member 4 b to the peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 3 with a predetermined pressing force, the elastic member 4 b is attached to the developing container 2.

The supporting member 4a of the developing blade 4 includes a heat-resistant and rust-resistant zinc-coated steel sheet, a zinc light steel sheet, a silver alloy steel sheet, and a sheet metal such as a stainless steel sheet, a phosphor bronze sheet, an aluminum sheet, and a heat-resistant resin sheet. Is used. The thickness of the support member 4a is about 0.1 to 5 mm,
Usually, 1.2 to 1.6 mm is frequently used.

In the present invention, polymerization, lowering of melting point, miniaturization,
Even when the spherical toner is used, the developing blade 4 is used to prevent the toner from being deteriorated due to the regulation of the toner on the developing sleeve by the developing blade 4 during the long-term development.
It is a great feature that the dynamic friction coefficient of the surface of the silicone rubber elastic member 4b is set to less than 0.2.

The coefficient of kinetic friction of the surface of the developing blade 4 in contact with the developing sleeve 3, that is, the surface of the elastic member 4b is set to 0.1.
When it is smaller than 2, the toner slides on the surface of the developing blade 4 is improved. As a result, conventionally, the toner easily adheres to the surface of the developing blade. However, according to the present invention, the flow of the toner on the surface of the developing blade is improved, and the toner stays between the developing blade 4 and the developing sleeve 3. Is extremely reduced, and the deterioration of the toner is prevented even after long-time use.

Conventionally, silicone rubber, which is easy to scrape rubber itself, has been considered to be effective as a measure against deterioration of soft toner and fusion of toner to a developing blade. The amount of shaving of the rubber itself depends on the toner, and if the shaving amount is too large, there is a problem that the durability is shortened. If the shaving amount is too small, toner fusion occurs. Furthermore, soft rubber which is easy to scrape is greatly deformed, and it is important to select an appropriate material.

Therefore, according to the present invention, silicone rubber is used for the elastic member 4b of the developing blade 4, and the smoothness of the surface of the silicone rubber elastic member 4b is enhanced with respect to soft toner so that the amount of silicon rubber shaved is made appropriate. Therefore, the coefficient of kinetic friction of the silicone rubber was specified to be less than 0.2.

In order to reduce the dynamic friction coefficient of the elastic member 4b, it is preferable to select a material having a small surface energy as much as possible. Silicone rubber is generally preferable because its surface energy is smaller than that of other rubber materials. Although various silicone rubbers can be used, the LTV liquid silicone rubber having a small amount of filler (affecting the crosslink density of the silicone rubber) is smaller between the HTV millable silicone rubber and the LTV liquid silicone rubber. The coefficient of kinetic friction is small and more suitable.

In order to reduce the dynamic friction coefficient of the elastic member 4b, it is preferable that the surface processing conditions of the elastic member be such that the surface roughness is reduced (however, the appropriate roughness differs depending on the material). When the elastic member is formed of a sponge-like silicone rubber foam, the dynamic friction coefficient is controlled by a cell diameter,
It is necessary to appropriately select adjustments such as polishing conditions (speed, direction, etc.). However, since the roughness standard of the elastic member surface is determined by the toner diameter and the like, it is difficult to control the dynamic friction coefficient with the surface shape of the elastic member.

In order to reduce the dynamic friction coefficient of the elastic member 4b, it is effective to impregnate silicone rubber with silicone oil. With other types of oils, the effect of lowering the coefficient of kinetic friction by impregnating the silicone rubber with the oil is not obtained as much as the silicone oil.

By coating the surface of the silicone rubber with another material, the kinetic friction coefficient of the surface can be reduced, but the surface properties are impaired and the abrasion characteristic of the silicone rubber is deteriorated. Furthermore, a method of lowering the dynamic friction coefficient of the silicone rubber surface by mixing particles with a low dynamic friction coefficient or the like with the silicone rubber raw material and vulcanizing the mixture is also conceivable. Must be mixed, which often hinders the physical properties of the silicone rubber. For example, the rubber hardness becomes very high, and when used as a developing blade, the toner is deteriorated.

It is important that oil such as silicone oil is impregnated after vulcanization of silicone rubber. If oil is mixed with the silicone rubber raw material before vulcanization, the physical properties of the silicone rubber itself will change. Further, in the amino-modified silicone oil, the amine in the amino-modified component inhibits vulcanization of the silicone rubber, so that it cannot be mixed before vulcanization.

In order to increase the oil impregnating effect, the viscosity of the oil is selected (generally, the lower the viscosity, the better).
It is necessary to properly select the heat treatment temperature (in general, a higher temperature is better), the type of rubber, and the like.

As described above, by adopting a method of vulcanizing silicone rubber and then impregnating oil, it is possible to easily modify the rubber surface without impairing the physical properties specific to silicone rubber and reduce the kinetic friction coefficient of the surface. It is possible to lower it to a small extent. In the case of a developing blade using silicone rubber, the developing blade comes into contact particularly with the toner and the developing sleeve, and wear of the silicone rubber side prevents deterioration of the toner and fusion of the toner to the developing blade. Post-vulcanization oil impregnation that makes this possible is very beneficial.

Examples of the silicone oil include straight silicone oils such as dimethyl silicone oil, methylphenyl silicone oil and methyl hydrogen silicone oil, and various organic groups are added to a part of the methyl groups while making use of the characteristics of dimethylpolysiloxane of these oils. Modified silicone oils, such as polyether-modified silicone oil, epoxy-modified silicone oil, amino-modified silicone oil, carboxy-modified silicone oil, mercapto-modified silicone oil, carbinol-modified silicone oil, methacryl-modified silicone oil, and long-chain alkyl-modified silicone Oil is effective.

Among these, amino-modified silicone oil has a strong softening effect due to amino-modified silicone, and when exuded on the surface of silicone rubber, the silicone polymer skeleton is attached to the rubber surface by the polarity of the amino group. Since the oil film is formed on the rubber surface by being effectively oriented, the dynamic friction coefficient of the silicone rubber surface can be easily reduced.

Developing blade 4 using silicone rubber
As a method of manufacturing a silicone rubber material, centrifugal molding, T
A sheet is formed by die extrusion, etc., and then the sheet is cut into a short length to form a silicone elastic member 4a, which is bonded to a sheet metal as a support member 4a by hot melt or the like. And a method in which a silicone rubber material is injected and injection-molded into the mold to form the silicone rubber elastic member 4a on the support member 4a. Further, a method of calendering or laminating a silicone rubber material on a thin metal foil of the support member 4a can be employed.

Various silicone rubbers such as LTV liquid silicone rubber, HTV millable silicone rubber, modified products thereof, and blends thereof with other materials can be used as the silicone rubber material to be injected and injection molded.

When the silicone rubber elastic member 4b of the developing blade 4 is impregnated with silicone oil, it is performed after the silicone rubber elastic member is molded as described above.

Measurement of the coefficient of dynamic friction of silicone rubber is described in J
It can be measured by the method described in ISK7125 “Test method for friction coefficient of plastic film and sheet”. In the present invention, the dynamic friction coefficient of silicone rubber was measured using a testing machine in accordance with this method and using a metal as a material to be worn.

The developing device of the present invention will be described. FIG.
As shown in (1), the developing device 14 includes a developing sleeve (developer carrier) 3, an elastic roller 5, and a developing blade (developer amount regulating member) 4 in a developing container 2 containing a one-component developer toner 6. Is provided.

The developing sleeve 3 is installed at the opening of the electrophotographic photosensitive member in the form of a drum, that is, the opening of the developing container 2 facing the photosensitive drum 1, and its substantially right half peripheral surface protrudes into the developing container 2, and is substantially left semicircular. The surface is laterally exposed so as to be exposed outside the developing container 2. The developing sleeve 3 is positioned at a predetermined minute gap from the photosensitive drum 1, and is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow b in the direction of movement in the same direction at the opposing portion with respect to the direction of rotation of arrow a of the photosensitive drum 1. .

As described above, the developing blade 4 is formed by integrally molding the silicone rubber elastic member 4b with the holder 4a, and is attached to the developing container 2 above the developing sleeve 3 by the holder 4a. The developing blade 4 is inclined in a downward direction toward the upstream side in the rotation direction of the developing sleeve 3, and the elastic member 4 b faces the upper surface of the peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 3 in the rotating direction, and is pressed by a predetermined pressing force. Touched.

According to the present invention, the silicone rubber elastic member 4b of the developing blade 4 is adjusted to have a dynamic friction coefficient of less than 0.2 as it is on the surface or by impregnation with silicone oil.

The elastic roller 5 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the portion of the developing sleeve 3 opposite to the photosensitive drum 1 and has a contact portion facing the arrow b direction of the developing sleeve 3. It is supported rotatably in the direction of arrow c.

The toner 6 accommodated in the developing container 2 is supplied to the vicinity of the developing sleeve 3 while being carried by the rotating elastic roller 5, and at the contact portion between the developing sleeve 3 and the elastic roller 5, The upper toner 6 is the developing sleeve 3
Rubs against the surface of the developing sleeve 3 and is carried. Toner 6 carried on developing sleeve 3
Is transported to the abutting portion of the developing blade 4 with the rotation of the developing sleeve 3, enters between the developing blade 4 and the developing sleeve 3 at the abutting portion, and is regulated while passing therethrough. Is formed on the surface of the developing sleeve 3 as a thin toner layer, and receives sufficient triboelectric charging by rubbing between the developing sleeve 3 and the developing blade 4.

The toner 6 whose layer thickness has been regulated and charged as described above is supplied to the developing blade 4 and the developing sleeve 3.
And is conveyed to the developing section facing the photosensitive drum 1. Then, in the developing section, by applying an alternating voltage in which, for example, DC and AC are superimposed as a developing bias between the developing sleeve 3 and the photosensitive drum 1, the toner 6 on the developing sleeve 3 becomes static on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The latent image is transferred and adhered to the latent image, and the latent image is developed and visualized as a toner image.

The toner 6 remaining on the developing sleeve 3 without being consumed in the developing in the developing section is collected into the developing container 2 from the lower portion of the developing sleeve 3 at the opening as the developing sleeve 3 rotates. The collected toner 6 is applied to the developing sleeve 3 by the elastic roller 5 at the contact portion with the developing sleeve 3.
Stripped from At the same time, new toner 6 is supplied and carried on the developing sleeve 3 by the elastic roller 5, and the new toner is regulated by the developing blade 4 as described above.

Most of the stripped toner is conveyed and mixed into the toner 6 in the developing container 2 with the rotation of the elastic roller 5, and the charged charge of the stripped toner is dispersed.

As the toner 6, a known magnetic toner or non-magnetic toner can be used.
5 μm is preferred. Of course, a polymerized, low-melting, fine, or spherical toner can also be used.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an electrophotographic apparatus suitable for employing the developing device of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the photosensitive drum 1 basically has a photosensitive layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of a conductive support such as aluminum. The photosensitive drum 1 is driven to rotate at a predetermined peripheral speed clockwise in FIG.

To form an image, the rotating photosensitive drum 1
Is uniformly primary-charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by a corona discharger 12, and then subjected to an exposure (laser beam scanning exposure, slit exposure of a document image, etc.) L with target image information by an exposure unit. Then, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The latent image sequentially reaches the position of the developing device 14 as the photosensitive drum 1 rotates. The latent image is developed by the developing device 4 and visualized as a toner image.

The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 in this manner is then transferred between a photosensitive drum 1 and a transfer charger 15 at a predetermined timing in accordance with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1 from a paper feeding means (not shown). Are sequentially transferred to the surface of the transfer material P conveyed to the transfer section. In the present embodiment, the transfer charger 15 is a corona discharger, and transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 to the surface of the transfer material P by performing charging of the opposite polarity to the toner from the back surface of the transfer material P.

The transfer material P to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and sent to the heat fixing unit 18, where the toner image is fixed there, and then, as an image formed product, the image forming apparatus is used. Output outside the machine. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 1 is cleaned by a cleaning unit 16 to remove adhered contaminants such as untransferred toner, and the surface is cleaned and then used for the next image formation.

The photosensitive drum 1 has a primary charger 1
2, such as the developing device 14 and the cleaning means 16,
One or a plurality of image forming means of the electrophotographic apparatus can be combined, integrated as a process cartridge, and removably installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus. The detachable mechanism of the process cartridge is
For example, a guide means such as a rail of the apparatus body may be used.

The electrophotographic apparatus which can use the developing apparatus of the present invention includes a copying machine, a laser beam printer, and an LED.
An electrophotographic application device such as a printer or an electrophotographic plate making system may be used.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described.

Example 1 A mold having a mirror-finished surface opposite to the portion where the elastic member 4b of the developing blade 4 is formed was heated, and then a silicone rubber primer (DY35- manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Silicone Co., Ltd.) was placed in the mold. 067) coated with a 1.6 mm-thick gin-coated steel sheet, and LTV silicone rubber (DY3 manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Toray Co., Ltd.) is placed in the mold.
5-7002) using an LSR injection molding machine (5
20C). After vulcanizing by holding at 180 ° C. for 40 seconds, the molded product was taken out of the mold and subjected to a heat treatment at 200 ° C. for 1 hour to obtain a developing blade having a silicone rubber elastic member having a hardness of 40 °. Thereafter, amino-modified silicone oil (SF8417 manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd.) is applied to the rubber elastic member of the developing blade.
Was impregnated at 200 ° C. for 4 hours, the rubber elastic member was cut into a predetermined length, and used as a developing blade of Example 1.

The dynamic friction coefficient of the rubber elastic member of the developing blade impregnated with the silicone oil was measured. Further, the developing blade was attached to the developing device 14 in FIG. 2, and a large number of image forming experiments were performed by the image forming device in FIG. 3, and the obtained images were evaluated for density unevenness and white stripes. As the toner 6, a non-magnetic toner having a small particle diameter with an average particle diameter of about 5 μm was used. Table 1 shows the results.

Example 2 In Example 1, the silicone rubber elastic member of the developing blade was similarly impregnated with dimethyl silicone oil (SH200 manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Silicone Co., Ltd.) for 4 hours at 200 ° C. instead of amino-modified silicone oil. .
Others were the same as Example 1.

Table 1 shows the coefficient of kinetic friction of the rubber elastic member of the developing blade and the results of image forming experiments on a large number of sheets.

Example 3 In Example 1, the developing blade was used without impregnating the silicone rubber elastic member of the developing blade with oil.
Others were the same as Example 1.

Table 1 shows the coefficient of kinetic friction of the rubber elastic member at that time and the results of image forming experiments on a large number of sheets.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 A mold having a mirror-finished surface facing the portion where the rubber elastic member 4b of the developing blade is formed was heated, and then the HTV was placed in the mold.
A 1.6 mm-thick gin-coated steel sheet coated with a silicone rubber primer (SH2260 manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Silicone Co., Ltd.) is placed, and the HTV is applied to the sheet metal.
Silicone rubber (SE4706U, manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Silicone Co., Ltd.) was press-molded with a press molding machine,
Vulcanization was carried out at 0 ° C. for 25 minutes. Thereafter, the molded product is removed from the mold, subjected to a heat treatment at 200 ° C. for 1 hour, cut into a predetermined length, and the hardness of the silicone rubber elastic member is set to 40.
Degree of developing blade was obtained. This developing blade was used by being attached to a developing device without impregnating the rubber elastic member with oil. Others were the same as Example 1.

Table 1 shows the coefficient of kinetic friction of the rubber elastic member and the results of an image forming experiment on a large number of sheets.

[0059]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, the meanings of the symbols are as follows. A: Excellent image without density unevenness and white stripes. ：: Good image with almost no density unevenness and white stripes. Δ: An image having some density unevenness and white stripes but having no practical problem. X: A poor image with many density unevenness and white stripes. The coefficient of kinetic friction is the average of three measurements.

As can be seen from Table 1, in Example 1, the silicone rubber elastic member of the developing blade was impregnated with amino-modified silicone oil, and its surface had a coefficient of kinetic friction of 0.12. Even when used for development in image formation, the toner does not deteriorate, and as a result, a uniform thin toner layer can be formed on the developing sleeve, and an excellent image without density unevenness and white stripes can be obtained. I was able to. In Example 2, the silicone rubber elastic member of the developing blade was impregnated with dimethyl silicone oil, and the coefficient of kinetic friction on the surface was 0.15, which was higher than that of Example 1. However, the image had almost no density unevenness and almost no white stripes. And a good image. In Example 3, although the silicone rubber elastic member of the developing blade was not impregnated with oil, the coefficient of kinetic friction was 0.19, and the streaks of the image were somewhat large, but were of no practical problem.

On the other hand, the elastic member of the developing blade of Comparative Example 1 used silicone rubber, but was not impregnated with oil, and had a dynamic friction coefficient of 0.25. Therefore, when used for the regulation of toner having a small particle diameter, during development in forming a large number of images, the toner deteriorates on the developing sleeve, and the toner is fused to the surface of the developing sleeve or the developing blade,
As a result, the image was not uniformly charged, and as a result, a lot of density unevenness and white stripes occurred in the image, resulting in a poor image.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The elastic member of the developer amount regulating member that contacts the developer carrier of the developing device and regulates the amount of the one-component developer on the developer carrier is formed of silicone rubber, and the dynamic friction of the surface of the silicone rubber elastic member is formed. The coefficient was reduced to less than 0.2 by impregnating the surface with silicone oil, etc., so even when using a polymerized toner, the deterioration of the toner due to the regulation on the developer carrier during long-term image formation development was restricted. It is possible to obtain a good image without density unevenness or stripes of the image without generation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a developing blade of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a developing device equipped with the developing blade of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus using the developing device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional developing blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 photosensitive drum 3 developing sleeve 4 developing blade 4a supporting member 4b silicone rubber elastic member material 5 elastic roller 6 toner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A developer amount regulating member that contacts a developer carrier of a developing device and regulates an amount of a one-component developer on the developer carrier, wherein the regulating member is attached to the developing device. A silicone rubber elastic member is provided on the supporting member, and a dynamic friction coefficient of a surface of the silicone rubber elastic member that abuts on the developing sleeve is less than 0.2. 2. The developer amount regulating member according to claim 1, wherein said silicone rubber elastic member is impregnated with silicone oil. 3. The developer amount regulating member according to claim 2, wherein said silicone oil is an amino-modified silicone oil. 4. A developing device comprising the developer amount regulating member according to claim 1.