JP2003098821A - Developing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable transport of a required quantity of toner for developing and suppressing scatter of toner, etc., in an electrostatic transport system. SOLUTION: A developing apparatus 16 has a carry substrate 31 for transporting charged toner toward an end along a transporting face by using electrostatic force and pumping the toner in the vicinity of a photoconductor drum 1 by using electrostatic force. A transporting area 55 for transporting the toner and a pumping area 56 for developing are provided on the transporting substrate 31. The transport area 55 is driven by the first drive circuit 41 at a frequency, corresponding to a quantity of image signals.

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 supplying a toner to make a latent image visible, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile having the developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One of developing methods for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier as a toner image is TPM (To.
There is an electrostatic transfer method using an electrostatic transfer technology. In this method, a time-varying electric potential is sequentially applied to the electrode group of a carrier substrate provided with a plurality of electrodes at predetermined intervals, and an alternating electric field is generated between the electrodes to alternately generate attractive force and repulsive force. By generating the charged toner, the charged toner is moved along the carrier substrate, and is also raised and floated (pumping) toward the image carrier by the lines of electric force to develop the toner. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-181375 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 5-31147 disclose techniques for continuously carrying toner by adhering carrier electrode substrates. Development is performed by a pumping method that does not involve transport by positive / negative alternating drive of two electrodes.

[0003]

Conventionally, a fixed amount of charged toner is simply moved along a carrier substrate.
For this reason, there may be a case where an amount not necessary for development at that time is conveyed, and there is a problem such as toner scattering due to excessive supply. Further, in the two-electrode positive / negative alternating drive method, only vertical vibration is obtained, and there is a problem that toner is deposited on the transport substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device which can convey toner only in an amount necessary for development and can suppress toner scattering and the like, and an image forming apparatus having the developing device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a developing device which can obtain pumping with less toner accumulation and has a high developing efficiency, and an image forming apparatus having the developing device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention described in claim 1, the toner is supplied to the latent image carrier on which the latent image is formed based on the image information to form the latent image. In a developing device for making a visible image, a carrying substrate having a plurality of electrodes for carrying toner by electrostatic force is provided, and a carrying region for carrying toner to the carrying substrate and a toner are pumped to develop a latent image. The pumping area is provided, and the drive frequency for the electrodes in the transfer area is controlled according to the image signal amount.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a developing device that supplies toner to a latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed based on image information to make the latent image visible is provided with a plurality of electrodes. And a transporting substrate for transporting toner by electrostatic force, and a transporting region for transporting toner to the transporting substrate and a pumping region for pumping the toner to develop a latent image are formed with the same electrode pattern of three phases or more. The drive frequency for the electrodes in the transfer area is set to be higher than the drive frequency for the electrodes in the pumping area.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a developing device that supplies toner to a latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed based on image information to visualize the latent image includes a plurality of electrodes. And a transport substrate for transporting toner by electrostatic force, and a transport region for transporting toner to the transport substrate and a pumping region for pumping toner to develop a latent image are formed by an electrode pattern of three or more phases. The distance between the electrodes in the transfer area is set larger than the distance between the electrodes in the pumping area.

According to the invention of claim 4, claims 1 to 3
In the developing device described in any one of 1 to 3, a toner scattering guard electrode for preventing toner scattering in the pumping area is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the developing device according to the fourth aspect, there is provided a toner receiving member for accommodating the toner falling from the toner scattering guard electrode.

According to the invention of claim 6, claims 1 to 3 are provided.
In the developing device according to any one of 1 to 3, there is provided a recycling mechanism for returning the toner, which has not been used for development, from the downstream side of the pumping region in the toner transport direction to the upstream side of the transport region. ing.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the developing device according to the sixth aspect, the recycle mechanism is integrally provided with a toner scattering guard electrode for preventing toner scattering in the pumping area. I am collecting.

According to the invention of claim 8, claim 6 or 7
In the developing device described above, the recycle mechanism has a structure for conveying the toner by electrostatic force.

According to the invention of claim 9, claims 6 to 8 are provided.
In the developing device described in any one of the above ones, the recycle mechanism includes a charging unit that charges the toner.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus for forming a latent image on a latent image carrier based on image information, and the latent image is visualized by a developing device, the developing device comprises: The configuration is as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, a schematic configuration and operation of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The photoconductor drum 1 as an image carrier is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction. When a document is placed on the contact glass 2 and a print start switch (not shown) is pressed, the scanning optical system 5 including the document illumination light source 3 and the mirror 4, and the scanning optical system 8 including the mirrors 6 and 7 are provided.
Is moved to read the original image. The scanned original image is read as an image signal by the image reading element 10 arranged behind the lens 9, and the read image signal is digitized and image-processed. The laser diode (LD) is driven by the image-processed signal, and the laser light from the laser diode (LD) is reflected by the polygon mirror 13 and then is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 1 via the mirror 14. The photoconductor drum 1 is a charging device 1
It is uniformly charged by 5, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by writing with a laser beam.

The electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is developed by the electrostatic transport type developing device 16 to be visualized as a toner image. The toner image is transferred from the paper feeding unit 17A or 17B to the transfer paper (recording material) 19 fed by the paper feed roller 18A or 18B by the corona discharge of the transfer charger 20. Transfer paper 19 on which the toner image is transferred
Are separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the separation charger 21. Then, the toner image is conveyed by the conveyor belt 22, the toner image is fixed at the pressure contact portion of the fixing roller pair 23, and then the sheet is ejected to the sheet ejection tray 24 outside the apparatus. The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning device 25, and the electric charge remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is erased by the discharging lamp 26.

Next, the developing device 16 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 16 conveys the charged toner to one end side by electrostatic force along the conveyance surface, and also conveys the toner in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 1 with a conveyance substrate 31 that pumps the toner by electrostatic force. , A toner box 32, a charging roller 34 that charges the toner and supplies the toner to the transport substrate 31, a charging blade 35 that contacts the peripheral surface of the charging roller 34, a toner supply unit 36, and the inside of the toner supply unit 36. Driving waveforms (5 to 100) for toner feeding and toner pumping with respect to a toner supply screw 37 for stirring toner and an electrode of a transport substrate 31 described later.
First drive circuit 41 and second drive circuit 4 for applying
It has 2 etc.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transport substrate 31 has a supporting substrate 51 having a width substantially the same as that of the photosensitive drum 1 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1, and a large number of substrates provided on the supporting substrate 51. Electrode 52, a thin insulating layer 53 covering the surface of the electrode 52, and a surface coating layer 54 provided on the surface of the insulating layer 53. As shown in FIG. 4, the electrodes 52 extend in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1, and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the transport direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1. The surface coat layer 54 is provided to reduce contact with toner. As the supporting substrate 51, a substrate made of an insulating material such as a glass substrate, a resin substrate or a ceramic substrate, or a substrate made of a conductive material such as SUS and having an insulating film such as SiO ₂ formed thereon is used. it can. The electrode 52 is made of a conductive material such as Al or Ni—Cr on the support substrate 51 in an amount of 0.1 to 0.2 μm.
A film having a thickness of m is formed and patterned into an electrode shape by using a semiconductor technique such as a photolithography technique. The interval between the electrodes 52 is preferably 2 to 10 times the toner diameter in order to secure a good transport speed and transport amount. The width of the electrode 52 in the carrying direction is preferably 1 to 3 times the toner diameter in order to secure a good carrying speed and carrying amount.

As the insulating layer 53, for example, SiO ₂ , S
iON, TiN, Ta ₂ O _{5 and the} like are formed to a thickness of 0.1 μm or less. By using a material having a large relative permittivity as the insulating layer 53, it is possible to reduce the driving voltage, and the driving recoil of particles (toner) and the conveying speed increase. The surface coat layer 54 is a film having a function of reducing the contact resistance between the transport surface and the charged toner interface, and is coated with a fluororesin material such as PTFE or PFA to a thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 μm. Is forming.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first drive circuit 41 as a drive power source has three electrodes 52, 52, 52 in a transfer area 55 of the transfer substrate 31 for mainly transferring toner as one set, and each electrode is set as a set. Multiphase (here, three phases) pulsed drive voltages (drive waveforms) Va1, Vb1, and Vc1 are applied to 52, respectively. Similarly, the second drive circuit 42 as a drive power source has a set of three electrodes 52, 52, 52 in a pumping region 56 for mainly performing toner pumping of the carrier substrate 31, and sets a multi-phase (here, three-phase) to each electrode 52. ) Pulsed drive voltage (drive waveform) Va2, Vb2, Vc2
Are applied respectively. The pulsed drive voltage by the first drive circuit 41 and the second drive circuit 42 may be, for example, 6-phase.

Next, the toner conveying and pumping operations by the developing device 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 6, ground G and a positive voltage +
The pulse-shaped drive waveforms Va, Vb, and Vc that change between and are applied at different timings. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, there is the negatively charged toner T on the transport substrate 31,
Assuming that “G”, “G”, “+”, “G”, and “G” are respectively applied to the plurality of continuous electrodes 52 of the transport substrate 31, the toner T is the “+” electrode 52. Located on top.

At the next timing, the plurality of electrodes 52 are respectively marked with "+", "G", "G", "+", as shown in.
“G” is applied, and repulsive force acts on the toner T with the “G” electrode 52 on the left side in the drawing and suction force acts with the “+” electrode 52 on the right side. Therefore, the toner T moves to the “+” electrode 52 side. Further, at the next timing, the plurality of electrodes 52 are respectively "G", as shown in
“+”, “G”, “G”, and “+” are applied to the toner T
Similarly, since the repulsive force attracting force acts on the toner, the toner T further moves to the “+” electrode 52 side.

By thus changing the potential of the drive waveform applied to the electrode 52 and apparently moving the drive waveform, the toner T moves while being pulled toward the "+" electrode 52 side, so that the carrier substrate 31 Along the transport surface of the toner T
Is transported. In the case of positively charged toner, it can be conveyed by reversing the change pattern of the drive waveform.

As the driving frequency of the pulse-shaped driving waveform applied to the electrode 52 of the carrier substrate 31 is increased, the moving speed (conveying speed) of the toner is also increased, but the toner T is "+".
When the electrode 52 changes to “G” when trying to move to the electrode 52, the toner T causes a jumping phenomenon in which the toner T jumps to the electrode 52 further to the electrode 52 as shown in FIG. . According to the experiment, the toner T is mainly transported within the driving frequency range of 1 KHz to 20 KHz and the driving frequency of 18 KHz to
In the range of 45 KHz, the toner T pumping phenomenon became large. In this case, the driving frequencies partially overlap because the occurrence of the pumping phenomenon is affected by the toner particle size, the driving voltage, and the like.

The toner transport speed depends on the driving frequency in the phase transport of three or more phases. For example, frequency 3-9KHz
Is about 0.3 m / s, and the frequency is 10 to 20 KHz.
Is about 0.6 m / s. In the pumping region, for example, the flying height is 300 to 600 μm in the vicinity of 0.6 KHz, although it depends on the magnitude of the voltage. However, the transport speed is 0.02-0.1 m / s in the pumping area.
And become slow. The present embodiment is characterized in that the drive frequency is controlled so that the toner transport amount that matches the image signal amount, that is, an appropriate amount is always obtained by utilizing the drive frequency dependence characteristic of the toner transport speed.

Although not shown, the first drive circuit 41 and the second drive circuit 42 are controlled by a control means (for example, a main controller of a copying machine). The control unit controls the first drive circuit 41 based on the image information (latent image forming signal) from the image reading unit, and sets the drive frequency to match the image signal amount. For example, in the ROM of the control means,
A relational data table between the image signal amount and the driving frequency obtained by an experiment or the like (including computer simulation) is stored in advance, and the driving frequency suitable for the momentary image signal amount is selected.

The control of the second drive circuit 42 is always performed so that constant high speed pumping and slow conveyance can occur in the gap between the latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. A pumping property may be improved by applying a developing bias voltage (about 100 to 200 V) by a DC power supply between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transport substrate 31. Similar to the above embodiment,
The transfer area 55 and the pumping area 56 are formed with the same (at the same intervals) electrode patterns of three phases or more, and the transfer area 55
The driving frequency for the electrode 52 in (1) may be set to be higher than the driving frequency for the electrode 52 in the pumping area 56 so that the toner conveyed at a high speed in the conveying area 55 jumps into the pumping area 56 (second embodiment).

FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment. In each of the following embodiments, the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the configuration and the function already performed is omitted unless particularly necessary. Further, only the main part will be described. In the present embodiment, the transfer region 55 and the pumping region 56 are formed in an electrode pattern of three or more phases, as in the above-described embodiment. However, the distance between the electrodes 52 in the transfer region 55 is determined by the distance between the electrodes 52 in the pumping region 56. It is characterized by making it larger than the distance. Since the pumping function is obtained by adjusting the distance between the electrodes, only one drive circuit 43 is provided. In the present embodiment as well, the drive frequency is controlled according to the image signal (the same applies to other embodiments below). Since the distance between the electrodes 52 is large in the carrying region 55, the toner fly in the carrying direction is large, and the carrying speed is high. Since the gap between the electrodes 52 is narrow in the pumping region 56, the toner particles collide with each other, and the flight in the height direction increases.

A fourth embodiment is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. As shown in FIG. 10, the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, except that toner scattering guard electrodes 44 and 45 for preventing toner scattering are provided. In the pumping area 56, a toner cloud including high flying is generated, so that toner scattering occurs due to turbulent air flow due to the rotating air flow of the photosensitive drum 1. In order to prevent this toner scattering, the developing casing and the photosensitive drum 1
A toner scattering guard electrode 45 is provided in the space between and. In this embodiment, the toner scattering guard electrode 44 is provided in the space between the developing casing and the photosensitive drum 1 even above the transport area 55.

The toner scattering guard electrodes 44 and 45 have electric potentials of opposite polarities with respect to the toner, and the toner that is approached by being pumped or floating floats in the toner scattering guard electrode 4.
It adheres to 4, 45. As shown in FIG. 11, the toner scattering guard electrode 45 includes a toner receiving member 46 made of plastic.
The toner T, which is fixed (not shown in FIG. 10), is stored in the gutter-shaped storage portion of the toner receiving member 46.
The toner scattering guard electrode 44 has the same mounting structure. The toner collected in the toner receiving member 46 is removed together with the toner receiving member 46 and is periodically discarded.

12 and 13 show a fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, in this embodiment, the carrier substrate 1
Below the pumping area 5 in the toner transport direction.
6 has a recycling mechanism for returning the toner (including scattered toner) that has not been used for development from the downstream side of 6 to the upstream side of the transport area 55. As shown in FIG. 13, the recycling mechanism has a recycling substrate 48 and the like for transporting the toner by electrostatic force similarly to the transportation substrate 31. Although not shown, the recycling mechanism has a driving circuit for applying a driving waveform to the electrodes in addition to the recycling substrate 48. Further, a toner scattering guard electrode 49 for preventing toner scattering is integrally provided on the uppermost stream of the recycling substrate 48 in the recycling direction. By integrally providing the toner scattering guard electrode 49 on the recycle substrate 48, it is not necessary to provide the toner receiving member 46.

The toner-scattering guard electrode 49, like the toner-scattering guard electrodes 44 and 45, has a potential of the opposite polarity to the toner. The toner flying and trying to come out of the pumping region 56 is attracted to the toner scattering guard electrode 49, and then electrostatically conveyed by the recycling substrate 48. The toner returned to the upstream side of the transport area 55 is charged again by the charging roller 47 and supplied to the transport substrate 31. The recycling substrate 48 may be configured to simply convey the toner by sliding on the inclined surface. In this case, a scooping blade for supplying toner to the charging roller 47 may be provided on the downstream side of the recycling substrate 48.

In the recycling mechanism having the electrostatic transport function, the amount of power failure of the toner is slightly deteriorated during the electrostatic transport process. In order to restore the charge amount of the toner, as shown in FIG. 14, a corona charger 60 as a charging unit for recharging the toner may be provided in the middle of the recycling substrate 48 (sixth embodiment). In this case, it becomes possible to supply the transfer substrate 31 immediately after recycling. Since the flow of recycled toner is a thin toner film, charging can be efficiently performed only from the surface. Charging is performed by showering ionic charges by the corona charger 60. The recharged toner is attracted and conveyed by the electric field of the recycling substrate 48. As shown in FIG. 15, a wire AC corona discharge electrode 61 may be provided as a charging means (seventh embodiment). Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the wire AC corona discharge electrodes 61 may be provided at opposing positions with the recycling mechanism 48 interposed therebetween (eighth embodiment).

As a charging means for the recycle substrate 48, a charging brush 62 (two in this embodiment) may be provided as shown in FIG. 17 (the ninth embodiment). The charging brush 62 on the upstream side rotates in the direction opposite to the toner recycling / conveying direction to wind up the toner and efficiently attach it to the brush. The toner is contact-charged by contact with the charging brush 62 facing the downstream side, and the charge amount is restored. A single charging brush 62 and a charging blade 63 may be combined (the tenth embodiment). Also,
As a configuration for obtaining a similar charging mechanism, as shown in FIG. 18, magnetic brushes 64 (two in this embodiment) may be provided (the eleventh embodiment), and one magnetic brush 64.
The charging blade 65 may be combined with the charging blade 65 (twelfth embodiment).

[0035]

According to the invention of claim 1 or 10,
In a developing device that supplies toner to a latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed based on image information to visualize the latent image,
A carrier substrate having a plurality of electrodes for carrying toner by electrostatic force is provided, and a carrying region for carrying the toner to the carrying substrate and a pumping region for pumping the toner to develop a latent image are provided. Correspondingly, since it is configured to control the drive frequency for the electrodes in the transfer area,
It is possible to prevent image contamination due to excessive toner supply and conveyance deterioration due to toner clogging. Further, since the excess toner is small in the pumping area, the toner can be efficiently ejected and the developing function can be enhanced.

According to the invention of claim 2 or 10, in the developing device for supplying the toner to the latent image carrier on which the latent image is formed based on the image information to visualize the latent image, Electrode having three electrodes or more, and a transport substrate for transporting toner by electrostatic force, and a transport region for transporting toner to the transport substrate and a pumping region for pumping the toner to develop a latent image have electrodes of three or more phases. Since it is formed in a pattern and the driving frequency for the electrodes in the transfer area is set to be higher than the driving frequency for the electrodes in the pumping area, it is possible to shift from high-speed transfer to a slow pumping operation and enhance the pumping function. .

According to the invention described in claim 3 or 10, in the developing device for supplying the toner to the latent image carrier on which the latent image is formed based on the image information to visualize the latent image, A transport substrate for transporting toner by electrostatic force, and a transport region for transporting the toner to the transport substrate and a pumping region for pumping the toner to develop a latent image with three or more electrode patterns. Since the electrodes are formed and the distance between the electrodes in the transfer area is made larger than the distance between the electrodes in the pumping area, it is possible to shift from high-speed transfer to a slow pumping operation and enhance the pumping function.

According to the invention of claim 4 or 10, in the developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a toner scattering guard electrode for preventing toner scattering in the pumping region is provided. Therefore, image deterioration due to toner scattering can be suppressed.

According to the invention as defined in claim 5 or 10, the developing device according to claim 4 has a toner receiving member for accommodating the toner falling from the toner scattering guard electrode. Post-treatment of the toner can be easily performed.

According to the sixth or tenth aspect of the invention, in the developing device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the toner that has not been used for development is supplied from the downstream side of the pumping region in the toner conveying direction. Since the recycling mechanism for returning the toner to the upstream side of the transport area is provided, the toner can be effectively used.

According to the seventh or tenth aspect of the invention, in the developing device according to the sixth aspect, the recycle mechanism is integrally provided with a toner scattering guard electrode for preventing toner scattering in the pumping area. Since the configuration is adopted, it is possible to prevent toner scattering and recycle toner with a simple configuration.

According to the invention described in claim 8 or 10, in the developing device according to claim 6 or 7, the recycle mechanism is configured to convey the toner by electrostatic force. Can be reliably and smoothly carried.

According to the ninth or tenth aspect of the invention, in the developing device according to any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, the recycling mechanism has a charging means for charging the toner. Further, since the toner whose charge has deteriorated can be restored, the amount of waste toner can be reduced, and the toner usage efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a developing device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a carrier substrate.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a carrier substrate.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an electrical connection relationship of a transfer board.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart relating to application of drive waveforms.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a principle of electrostatic conveyance of toner.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a toner pumping state.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of a developing device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of a developing device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a mounting state of a toner scattering guard electrode in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of a developing device according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic front view showing a main part of a recycled substrate according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a main portion of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a front view of the main parts of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a front view of the main parts of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a front view of the main parts of the ninth and tenth embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the main parts of the eleventh and twelfth embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Photoreceptor drum as latent image carrier 31 Transport board 52 electrodes 55 Transport area 56 Pumping area 45 Toner scattering guard electrode 46 Toner receiving member 60 Corona charger as charging means

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takemoto Takeshi             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, stock             Company Ricoh (72) Inventor Yutaka Ebi             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, stock             Company Ricoh F term (reference) 2H077 AA37 AC13 AD04 AE10 CA11                       CA19 DB14 EA16

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A developing device for supplying a toner to a latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed on the basis of image information to visualize the latent image, wherein the latent image carrier is provided with a plurality of electrodes to electrostatically generate the toner. A transport substrate for transporting is provided, and a transport region for transporting toner and a pumping region for pumping toner to develop a latent image are provided on the transport substrate, and the electrodes are driven in the transport region in accordance with the image signal amount. A developing device characterized by controlling the frequency. 2. A developing device for supplying a toner to a latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed based on image information to visualize the latent image, wherein the latent image carrier is provided with a plurality of electrodes to electrostatically generate the toner. A transporting substrate for transporting the toner to the transporting substrate, and a pumping region for pumping the toner to develop a latent image with the same electrode pattern of three or more phases. A developing device, wherein a driving frequency for the electrodes is set higher than a driving frequency for the electrodes in the pumping region. 3. A developing device for supplying toner to a latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed on the basis of image information to visualize the latent image, wherein the latent image carrier is provided with a plurality of electrodes to electrostatically generate the toner. A transport substrate for transporting, and a transport region for transporting toner to the transport substrate and a pumping region for pumping the toner to develop a latent image are formed in an electrode pattern of three or more phases, and between the electrodes in the transport region. Is larger than the distance between the electrodes in the pumping region. 4. The developing device according to claim 1, further comprising a toner scattering guard electrode for preventing toner scattering in the pumping area. 5. The developing device according to claim 4, further comprising a toner receiving member for containing the toner dropped from the toner scattering guard electrode. 6. The recycling device according to claim 1, wherein the toner that has not been used for development is returned from the downstream side of the pumping region in the toner transport direction to the upstream side of the transport region. A developing device having: 7. The developing device according to claim 6, wherein the recycling mechanism is integrally provided with a toner scattering guard electrode for preventing toner scattering in the pumping region. 8. The developing device according to claim 6, wherein the recycle mechanism has a structure for conveying the toner by electrostatic force. 9. The developing device according to claim 6, wherein the recycling mechanism includes a charging unit that charges the toner. 10. An image forming apparatus for forming a latent image on a latent image carrier based on image information, and visualizing the latent image by a developing device, wherein the developing device is one of claims 1 to 9. An image forming apparatus according to any one of the above.