JPH08305146A - Developing device in electrophotographic recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a developing device in which, immediately after a toner hopper is replenished with toner, the added fresh toner and toner remaining in the toner hopper are sufficiently dispersedly mixed with each other and therefore, a recorded image of satisfactory quality can be obtd. CONSTITUTION: The developing device comprises: a device case 21 having the toner hopper used for storing toner and also having a replenishment opening through which the toner hopper is replenished with toner; a supply roller 24 which is provided in the device case; and a developing roller 23 which is provided in the device case, receives toner shifted by the supply roller, and attaches the toner to a photoreceptor drum. In the developing device, the device case is equipped with a means 27 in which, when the toner hopper requires toner replenishment, toner remaining under the supply roller and developing roller is shifted to the toner hopper from under the supply roller and developing roller.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device in an electrophotographic recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a developing device in an electrophotographic recording apparatus used in a recording section of a facsimile apparatus, there is a developing apparatus having a structure shown in FIG.

In FIG. 15, reference numeral 1 denotes an apparatus case, which is a toner hopper 1a for accumulating toner T and a roller arrangement portion 1b.
And a toner replenishing port 2 on the upper surface of the toner hopper 1a.
Are formed. A developing roller 3 and a supply roller 4 located inside the developing roller 3 are arranged in parallel in a roller arrangement portion 1b of the apparatus case 1, and the rollers 3 and 4 are rotatably supported by the apparatus case 1. ing.

On the upper side of the developing roller 3, a holding rod 6 to which a developing blade 5 made of an elastic material is attached is arranged in parallel with the developing roller 3 and is supported by the apparatus case 1. The developing blade 5 has a minute gap with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 3. Toner hopper 1 of device case 1
Inside a, an agitator 7 is arranged, which is rotatably supported by the apparatus case 1. The developing roller 3
The supply roller 4 is connected to a power source G for applying a voltage.

This developing device is provided adjacent to the photosensitive drum 11 in the electrophotographic recording device. When the recording device performs the developing operation, the agitator 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the rotation driving device (not shown), and the device case 1
The toner T stored in the toner hopper 1a is agitated. The developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4 provided in the apparatus case 1 are rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by a rotation driving device (not shown).

The toner hopper 1 is rotated by the rotation of the supply roller 4.
The toner T stored in a is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 3, and the toner T placed on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 3 passes through the developing blade 5 and adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 3. And is formed as a thin layer, and is charged by the friction with the developing roller 3 when passing through the developing blade 5 to give an electric charge.

When the toner T is consumed and it is necessary to replenish the toner hopper 1a with toner, a required amount of toner T is introduced into the toner hopper 1a through the toner replenishing port 2 of the apparatus case 1 to replenish the toner. To do.

[0008]

However, such a conventional developing device has the following problems.

When the toner is put into the toner hopper 1a of the apparatus case 1, a part of the toner T enters and accumulates under the developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4. The toner T collected in the lower portion of the developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4 is rotated by the rotation of the supply roller to cause the developing roller 3 to rotate.
However, the toner T accumulated in the other portion of the toner hopper 1a is consumed and remains due to the positional relationship even when it is time to replenish the toner (hereinafter referred to as residual toner).

The lower part of the developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4 in the apparatus case 1 is a part shielded by the developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4 from the toner hopper. Therefore, when the toner T is thrown into the toner hopper 1a at the time of toner replenishment, the toner T thrown into the toner hopper 1a does not directly overlap with the toner under the developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4 and does not mix. .

Therefore, when the developing operation is carried out, on the one hand, the new toner introduced into the toner hopper is moved to the developing roller 3 by the supply roller 4, and on the other hand, the residual toner under the developing roller 3 and the supply roller 4 is removed. The toner is moved to the developing roller 3 by the supply roller 4, and the new toner group and the residual toner group are simply mixed with each other and are not sufficiently diffused. Sent.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a toner particle size distribution of a new toner group and a residual toner group. From this diagram, it can be seen that the particle size distributions of the new toner and the residual toner are different. The adhesive force of the toner particles to the developing roller and the photoconductor drum is related to the particle size of the toner. Therefore, since the toner having a specific particle diameter is easily developed, the particle diameter distribution between the new toner and the residual toner changes.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the toner particle size distribution on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller immediately after toner supply.
From this diagram, since the new toner having a different particle size distribution and the residual toner are mixed, the particle size distribution ratio of 8 μm suitable for development becomes low immediately after toner replenishment.

FIG. 13 shows the developing roller 3 and the developing blade 5.
6 and 7 formally show the state in which the particles of the toner T are triboelectrically charged. When the particle diameters of the toner T particles are not uniform, the toner particle Ts having a small particle diameter cannot be sufficiently contacted with the developing roller 3 and the developing blade 5 due to being blocked by the particles of the toner T having a large particle diameter. It becomes difficult to be electrically charged. Immediately after the toner is replenished, since the particle size distribution of the toner is widened, the number of particles of the toner that are not sufficiently charged increases, and image fogging is likely to occur in a recorded image.

FIG. 14 shows the toner T of the developing roller when image recording is performed on 20 sheets of recording paper after toner supply.
The particle size distribution of is shown. When recording is performed on several tens of recording papers immediately after toner supply, the toner T inside the toner hopper 1a is sufficiently agitated during that time, and the residual toner is sufficiently dispersed in new toner. Therefore, the particle size distribution of the toner on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 3 becomes substantially uniform with the particle size distribution of the new toner, and the image fog that has occurred in the recorded image is eliminated.

When the dozens of recording papers are developed after the toner is replenished as described above, the toner in the toner hopper is agitated and the residual toner is uniformly dispersed in the new toner. Immediately after that, there was a problem that the quality of the recorded image deteriorates because the residual toner is not uniformly dispersed with the new toner.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. Immediately after the toner is replenished to the toner hopper, the replenished new toner and the toner remaining in the toner hopper are sufficiently dispersed, and a recorded image of good quality is obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device in an electrophotographic recording device capable of obtaining the above.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, a developing device in an electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention has a toner hopper for accumulating toner, and a device having a replenishing port for replenishing the toner in the toner hopper. In a developing device including a case, a supply roller provided in the device case, and a developing roller which is provided in the device case and receives the toner moved by the supply roller, and attaches the toner to a photosensitive drum, In the apparatus case, when toner needs to be replenished to the toner hopper, the toner remaining on the lower portion of the supply roller and the developing roller is transferred from the lower portion of the supply roller and the developing roller to the toner hopper. It is characterized in that a means for moving to is provided.

[0019]

When the toner in the toner hopper of the apparatus case is consumed for recording and the toner needs to be replenished, the "toner remaining on the lower side of the supply roller and the developing roller is replaced by the toner remaining on the supply roller and the developing roller. The toner remaining on the lower part of the supply roller and the developing roller is moved to the toner hopper from the lower part of the supply roller and the developing roller by the means for moving the lower part to the toner hopper.

Then, the toner is supplied from the toner supply port into the toner hopper to supply the toner. The toner replenished in the toner hopper overlaps the upper side of the residual toner in the toner hopper so as to cover it.

Next, the new toner supplied to the toner hopper and the residual toner in the toner hopper are agitated by the agitator provided in the apparatus case and sufficiently moved in the process of being moved to the rotating supply roller provided in the apparatus case. Stir well and disperse sufficiently evenly.

As a result, in the toner consisting of the new toner and the residual toner, both of the toners are uniformly dispersed, so that the particle size distribution is integrated into the particle size distribution of the new toner. When the toner thus collected in the particle size distribution of the new toner is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller and passes through the developing blade, the toner particles having a small particle size are also sufficiently triboelectrically charged.

As a result, even after the toner is replenished, the occurrence of image fog in the recorded image is reduced and the deterioration in the quality of the recorded image is suppressed, as in the case after recording several tens of sheets. You can

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is applied to a developing device in an electrophotographic recording device used in a recording section of an accumulator device.

FIG. 1 shows the overall construction of the developing device.
And FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the mechanism for moving the toner to the lower side of the developing roller and the supplying roller. 1 to 3, reference numeral 21 denotes an apparatus case, which has a toner hopper 21a for accumulating the toner T and a roller arrangement portion 21b.

The toner hopper 21a includes the photoconductor drum 11
Parallel to the space where the agitator can be rotated as described later, and the toner remaining on the lower side of the supply roller and the developing roller described later on the photosensitive drum side with respect to this space It has a space for disposing "means for moving from the lower side of the developing roller to the toner hopper". Toner hopper 21a
A toner supply port 22 is formed on the upper surface of the.

The roller arranging portion 21b is provided in the toner hopper 21.
It is located above the space for arranging "a means for moving the toner remaining at the lower side of the supply roller and the developing roller to the toner hopper from the lower side of the supply roller and the developing roller" in a.

A developing roller 23 and a supply roller 24 located inside the developing roller 3 are arranged in parallel with the photosensitive drum 11 in the roller arrangement portion 21b of the apparatus case 21. The shaft is the device case 2
It is rotatably supported on the wall 1.

Below the developing roller 23, a holding rod 26 to which a developing blade 25 made of an elastic material is attached is arranged in parallel with the developing roller 23, and this is supported by a wall portion of the apparatus case 21. The developing blade 25 has a minute gap with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 3.

A toner receiving plate 27 is provided inside the apparatus case 21 at a location below the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 24 (also at a location below the developing blade 25).
Is provided. The toner receiving plate 27 has a length that is the same as or longer than the developing roller 23, and has a width that covers the lower region of the supply roller 24.

The toner receiving plate 27 is arranged in parallel with the developing roller 23, and a pair of shafts 28 protruding from both ends are rotatably supported on the wall of the apparatus case 21. At least one shaft 28 of the toner receiving plate 27 is attached to the device case 2
A holding drive mechanism including an electric motor (not shown) provided on the outside of 1 is driven to rotate between a horizontal position A and a lower hanging position B.

The toner receiving plate 27 shows an example of "means for moving the toner remaining on the lower side of the supply roller and the developing roller to the toner hopper from the lower side of the developing roller".

In the figure, numeral 29 is an agitator shaft longer than the developing roller 23, which is a toner hopper 21a of the apparatus case 21.
Is arranged in parallel with the developing roller 23 and is rotatably supported by the wall of the apparatus case 21. This agitator shaft 2
A pair of arms 30 extending in the radial direction of the agitator axis are attached to both ends of the agitator 9, and an agitator plate 31 is arranged between the tip ends of the pair of arms 30.

The agitator plate 31 is longer than the developing roller 23, and shafts 32 protruding from both ends thereof are rotatably supported by a pair of arms 30. Agitator shaft 2
9, the pair of arms 30 and the agitator plate 31 constitute an agitator.

An excavator portion 21a for picking up the toner accumulated in the toner hopper 21a when the pair of arms 30 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing is formed in a portion of the agitator plate 31 located outside the shaft 32.

Tension coil springs 33 are stretched over both ends of a portion of the agitator plate 31 located inside the arm 32 with respect to the shaft 32 and the pair of arms 30, and the tension coil springs 33 keep the agitator plate 31 at a fixed position. Is stationary. The agitator plate 31 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing so that the shovel portion 21a is brought into sliding contact with the toner receiving plate 27 at the horizontal position A and is rotated in the opposite direction to the pair of arms 30. Has become.

The developing roller 23 and the supply roller 4 are respectively connected to a power source G for applying a voltage.

This developing device is provided adjacent to the photosensitive drum 11 in the electrophotographic recording device. The operation when the recording apparatus performs the developing operation will be described. When performing the developing operation, the toner is put in the toner hopper 21a of the apparatus case 21. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the toner receiving plate 27 is held at the horizontal position A by a holding drive mechanism including an electric motor.

A rotational force is applied to the agitator shaft 29 by a rotation drive device (not shown), and the pair of arms 30 attached to the agitator shaft 29 are rotated in the counterclockwise direction shown by the arrows in the figure and attached to the pair of arms 30. The agitator plate 31 is also rotated in the same direction while drawing a circular locus around the agitator shaft 29.

When the agitator plate 31 is rotated upward from the bottom of the toner hopper 21a toward the toner receiving plate 27, the shovel portion 31a of the agitator plate 31 scoops up the toner accumulated in the toner hopper 21a and moves it. The coil spring 33 supporting the agitator plate 31 has a spring force capable of holding the agitator plate 31 at a stationary position against the resistance applied to the agitator plate 31 when the toner is scooped up.

When the arm 30 rotates to the toner receiving plate 27 as shown in FIG. 2, the shovel portion 31a of the agitator plate 31 comes into contact with the lower surface of the toner receiving plate 27 stopped at the horizontal position. When the arm 30 further rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the excavator portion 31a on which the toner is placed slides on the surface of the toner receiving plate 27, and the agitator plate 31 also moves together.

The agitator plate 31 is pushed by the toner receiving plate 27 and resists the spring force of the coil spring 33 and rotates about the shaft 32 in the direction opposite to the arm 30 to move the shovel portion 31a.
Will stand. As a result, the toner Ta picked up by the shovel portion 31a falls on the upper surface of the toner receiving plate 27.

Then, when the shovel portion 31a passes over the toner receiving plate 27, the resistance of the toner receiving plate 27 is released, so that is pulled by the coil spring 33 and rotated about the shaft 32 to the original rest position. It The agitator plate 31 continues to rotate further.

In this way, the agitator plate 31 is rotated together with the arm 30, and the toner accumulated in the toner hopper 21a is sequentially carried and placed on the upper surface of the toner receiving plate 27 by the above-described operation every one rotation. Further, each time the agitator plate 31 rotates, the toner in the toner hopper 21a is agitated.

On the other hand, the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 24 provided in the apparatus case 1 are rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by a rotation driving device (not shown). The toner Ta accumulated on the toner receiving plate 27 by the rotation of the supply roller 24 is carried to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 23.

Subsequently, the toner Ta placed on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 23 passes through the developing blade 25 and adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 23 to form a thin layer, and also passes through the developing blade 25. Developing roller 23
It is charged by friction with and is given an electric charge. further,
The toner Ta is moved from the developing roller 23 to the surface of the photoconductor drum 11 to develop the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 11.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the case where the toner Ta is consumed and the toner is supplied to the toner hopper 21a will be described. At this point, the toner Ta remains on the toner receiving plate 27.

When the toner needs to be replenished, the mechanism for holding and driving the toner receiving plate 27 is driven as shown in FIG. 5, and the toner receiving plate 27 is rotated downward from the horizontal position A. It is located at the drooping position B. Then, the toner Ta remaining on the toner receiving plate 27 is
It slides down from the toner receiving plate 27 and moves to the bottom of the toner hopper 21a.

That is, when toner needs to be replenished to the toner hopper 21 of the apparatus case 21, "the toner Ta remaining at the lower side of the developing roller 23 and the supplying roller 24 is removed by the developing roller 23 and the supplying roller 24. Means for moving from the lower part to the toner hopper 21a "
As a result, the toner remaining on the lower side of the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 24 is moved to the toner hopper 21a from the lower side of the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 24.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the toner receiving plate 2
The mechanism for holding and driving 7 is driven, and the toner receiving plate 27
Is rotated upward from the drooping position B and is positioned at the horizontal position A.

In this state, a required amount of toner Tb is introduced into the toner hopper 21a through the toner replenishing port 22 of the apparatus case 21 shown in FIG. 7 to replenish the toner. The toner Tb replenished to the toner hopper 21a overlaps the upper side of the residual toner Ta in the toner hopper 21a so as to cover it.

Subsequently, as in the case described above, a pair of arms 30 are moved by the rotation driving device via the agitator shaft 29.
Is rotated, and the agitator plate 31 is rotationally moved in a circular locus. The replenished new toner Tb in the toner hopper 21 and the residual toner Ta in the toner hopper 21a are sufficiently agitated by the rotationally moving agitator plate 31 and sufficiently uniformly dispersed.

That is, since the new toner Tb and the residual toner Ta are in the toner hopper 21a and overlap each other, they are easily mixed and diffused by the agitator and uniformly dispersed.

Further, the toner is carried on the toner receiving plate 27 by the agitator plate 31 which rotates while being uniformly dispersed. Further, the toner on the toner receiving plate 27 is agitated and evenly dispersed in the process of being moved to the developing roller 23 by the rotating supply roller 24.

As a result, in the toner in which the new toner Tb and the residual toner Ta are dispersed, both the toners are uniformly dispersed, so that the particle size distribution is concentrated on the particle size distribution of the new toner Tb. Then, when the toner thus aggregated in the particle size distribution of the new toner Tb is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 23 and passes through the developing blade 25, the toner particles having a small particle size are sufficiently frictionally charged. .

As a result, even after the toner is replenished, the occurrence of image fog in the recorded image can be reduced and the deterioration of the quality of the recorded image can be suppressed, as in the case after recording several tens of sheets. You can In the agitator of this embodiment, the agitator plate 31 can operate stably with a simple structure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the particle size distribution of toner on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller when the method of the present invention is carried out. According to this diagram, the particle size distribution of the toner on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller when the method of the present invention is carried out is 8 μm, which is suitable for development, as compared with the particle size distribution in the conventional developing device. The rate is high.

Further, when the reflectance of fogging on the image immediately after toner replenishment is measured in the conventional case and the case of the present invention, it is −5.3 in the conventional case, but in the case of the present invention. It is -2.6, and it can be seen that in the case of the present invention, fogging of the image immediately after toner replenishment can be reduced.

The structure for the agitator to convey the toner in the toner hopper 21a to the toner receiving plate 27 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the examples shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can be given. 8 and 9, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 8 shows another example of this structure. In this example, an elastic agitator plate 41 made of an elastic material, for example, a spring material made of metal, is provided at the tip ends of the pair of arms 30.
Is installed.

When the pair of arms 30 are rotated counterclockwise and pass through the toner receiving plate 27 from the lower side to the upper side, the elastic agitator plate 41 comes into contact with the toner receiving plate 27 to move and elastically deform. Then, the scooped-up toner is dropped onto the toner receiving plate 27. When the elastic agitator plate 41 passes through the toner receiving plate 27, it returns to its original shape. The agitator plate 41 has a simple structure.

FIG. 9 shows another example of this configuration. In FIG. 9, 51 is a pair of L-shaped arms 51.
The pair of arms 51 are formed with elongated holes 52a and 52b which are parallel and orthogonal to the movement direction of the arms 51, respectively.

Reference numeral 53 designates an L-shaped agitator plate arranged between the pair of arms 51. Both ends of the agitator plate 53 are respectively provided with shafts 54 to form elongated holes 52 of the pair of arms 51.
It is rotatably and movably supported by a and 52b. A spring force is applied to the agitator plate 53 by a tension coil spring 55 so that the agitator plate 53 is kept stationary with respect to the pair of arms 51. This stationary position is a position where the agitator plate 53 is stationary in a direction in which the toner in the toner hopper 21a of the apparatus case 21 can be picked up.

Then, when the pair of arms 51 are rotated counterclockwise and pass through the toner receiving plate 27 from the lower side to the upper side, the agitator plate 53 comes into contact with the toner receiving plate 27. The agitator plate 53 is pushed by the toner receiving plate 27 with the rotation of the pair of arms 51 and is stretched by the coil spring 55.
Against the spring force of the arm 51, the long holes 52a, 5 of the pair of arms 51
The toner which is rotated along 2b and picked up falls on the toner receiving plate 27.

When the agitator plate 53 passes through the toner receiving plate 27, it is displaced to its original rest position by the spring force of the tension coil spring 55. With this configuration, the agitator plate 53 can operate stably.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be modified in various ways. For example, "means for moving the toner remaining on the lower side of the developing roller to the toner hopper from the lower side of the developing roller"
Is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various other configurations can be cited.

[0067]

As described above, according to the developing device in the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention, when the toner in the toner hopper of the apparatus case is consumed and the amount becomes small, it becomes necessary to replenish the toner. The toner remaining on the lower part of the supply roller and the developing roller is moved to the toner hopper from the lower part of the supply roller and the developing roller by the means ". Is moved to the toner hopper from a position below the supply roller and the developing roller, and in that state, the toner is supplied to the toner hopper from the toner supply port to supply the toner.

As a result, the new toner replenished in the toner hopper overlaps the upper side of the residual toner in the toner hopper so as to cover it, and the new toner replenished in the toner hopper and the residual toner in the toner hopper are fed by the rotating supply roller. In the process of being moved to the developing roller, it is sufficiently stirred and sufficiently dispersed.

Therefore, the particle size distribution of the toner in which the new toner and the residual toner are dispersed is concentrated on the particle size distribution of the new toner, and when the toner is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller and passes through the developing blade, the particle size is reduced. Even toner particles having a small particle size are sufficiently tribocharged. As a result, even immediately after replenishing the toner, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of image fog in the recorded image and suppress the deterioration of the quality of the recorded image, as in the case after recording several tens of sheets.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a unit for moving an agitator and toner in the developing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing means for moving an agitator and toner in the developing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the developing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the developing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the developing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the developing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of the agitator.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of a different agitator.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a toner particle size distribution on the developing roller immediately after toner supply in the developing device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a toner particle size distribution immediately after toner supply in the developing device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a toner particle size distribution on a developing roller immediately after toner replenishment in a conventional developing device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing toner charging between a developing roller and a developing blade immediately after toner replenishment in a conventional developing device.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a conventional developing device 20 after toner supply.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a toner particle size distribution on the developing roller when recording is performed on a single sheet of recording paper.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a conventional developing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 ... Device case, 21a ... Toner hopper, 22 ... Toner supply port, 23 ... Developing roller, 24 ... Supply roller, 25 ... Developing blade, 26 ... Holding rod 27 ... Toner receiving plate, 28 ... Shaft, 29 ... Shaft, 30 ... Arm, 31 ... Agitator plate, 41 ... Agitator plate, 51 ... Arm, 52a ... Oblong hole, 52b ... Oblong hole, 53 ... Agitator plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device case having a toner hopper for storing toner and having a supply port for supplying toner to the toner hopper, a supply roller provided in the device case, and a supply roller provided in the device case. In the developing device, the developing device is provided with a developing roller for receiving the toner moved by the toner and adhering the toner to the photosensitive drum. When the toner supply to the toner hopper is necessary in the device case, the supplying roller and the A developing device in an electrophotographic recording apparatus, which is provided with means for moving the toner remaining on the lower side of the developing roller to the toner hopper from the lower side of the supply roller and the developing roller.