JPH09197822A - Developing device and process cartridge using the device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developing device and a process cartridge capable of preventing the bend or the breakage of a stirring shaft and further preventing the tooth-skipping or the breakage of a driving gear and a faulty image from being caused by the offset of toner. SOLUTION: By providing toner offset preventing plates 61a and 61b in a toner container 28 and dividing the container 28 into three sections, a situation that all the toner is one-sidedly gathered to the right side is prevented. Then, fitting holes 62a and 62b are formed on the plates 61a and 61b so as to support the stirring shaft 50. Thus, the bend of the shaft 50 is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and a process cartridge using the developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a printer forms a latent image by selectively exposing a uniformly charged image carrier to light.
While developing this latent image with toner as a developer,
The toner image is transferred to a recording medium to record an image. In such an apparatus, the toner must be replenished each time it is used up, but this toner replenishment work is not only troublesome, but it may be contaminated. Further, maintenance of each member can be performed only by a specialized service person, and this is often inconvenient for the user.

The above-mentioned image carrier, charging device, developing device,
By integrating the cleaning unit etc. into an integrated structure into a cartridge, the user can refill the toner and replace parts such as the image bearing member which has reached the end of life by mounting the cartridge in the main body of the apparatus. What has been made easy has been put to practical use.

A conventional example of such a cartridge is shown in FIGS. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the cartridge, and FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of the developing device of the cartridge. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. The process cartridge 100 shown in FIG. 8 is attachable / detachable to / from an image forming apparatus main body (not shown), and includes a photosensitive drum 4 as an image carrier, and a charging unit serving as a charging unit arranged around the photosensitive drum 4. The roller 5, the developing device 7, and the cleaner device 60, which is a cleaning unit, are integrally assembled to form a unit. As shown in detail in FIG. 9, the developing device 7 includes a toner container 28 as a developer container for containing the toner T as a developer, a stirring plate 40 as a sales means for stirring the toner T, a developing chamber 41, and a toner. A developer carrying member (hereinafter referred to as a developing sleeve) 58 carrying T, and a developer layer thickness regulating member (hereinafter referred to as a developing blade) having elasticity for regulating the layer thickness of the toner T on the developing sleeve 58. ) 59 and the like.

The agitating plate 40 attached to the agitating shaft 50 rotates in the direction of an arrow 51 to feed the toner T into the developing chamber 41. The main body of the image forming apparatus includes an issuer 53 that emits a predetermined light beam and a light receiving portion 52 that receives the light beam. The side surface and the bottom surface of the toner container 28 on the optical path are made of a transparent material such as acrylic. The lens parts 54 and 55 thus formed are provided. When the toner T remains in the toner container 28, the light beam is blocked by the toner T and does not reach the light receiving portion 52. However, when the toner T is consumed and there is no toner in the toner container 28, the light beam reaches the light receiving unit 52, and the light receiving unit 52 detects the light beam to detect that the toner has run out. ing.

In FIG. 8, 25 is a pair of registration rollers, 8 is a transfer roller, 9 is a fixing device composed of a fixing roller 12 and a pressure roller 13, and these are provided on the image forming apparatus main body side. There is. Further, P is a recording material.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the toner sometimes deviates in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge, that is, in the left-right direction of FIG. 10, during transportation or the like. In particular, when the toner is biased in the left-right direction in FIG. 10 due to transportation or the like, the toner is stiffened by the vibration during transportation, and the stirring plate 40 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body.
When starting to rotate, an excessive load was applied to try to force the stirring plate 40 to be forced, which could lead to a situation in which the drive gear jumps or breaks, or the stirring shaft 50 deforms or breaks.

Further, since the agitation shaft 50 is supported only at both ends, there is a possibility that the agitation shaft 50 may be gradually bent or otherwise deformed due to long-term use other than vibration during transportation.

If the stirring shaft 50 bends due to the above reasons, not only the toner T cannot be stably supplied to the developing chamber 41, but also a lens portion through which a light beam is passed to detect the presence or absence of the toner T (see FIG. In some cases, the toner T on the lens portion 55) of No. 8 cannot be scraped off, and even if the toner T runs out, it may not be detected.

Further, if the toner T is offset as shown in FIG. 10, there is no toner T on the left side of FIG. 10 when an image is formed, so the toner T is not supplied to the developing sleeve 58 and only the left side is developed. It could not be done, and the image defect might occur.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device and a process cartridge capable of preventing the agitation shaft from being bent or broken due to the deviation of the toner, and further, the gear jump or damage of the drive gear and the image defect. There is.

[0012]

According to the first invention of the present application, the above object is to provide a developer container containing a developer, and the developer on a developer carrier inside the developer container. In a developing device provided with a stirring means for feeding the toner and a stirring shaft having both ends axially supported by the developer container and rotating or rotating the stirring means, the stirring shaft includes a shaft supporting portion and an intermediate portion at both ends. This is achieved by being pivotally supported by the support member.

Further, according to the second invention of the present application,
The above object is achieved in the above-mentioned first invention, in which the supporting member also serves as a partition plate for partitioning the inside of the developer container.

Further, according to a third invention of the present application, the above object is that in the first invention or the second invention, the stirring shaft connects a plurality of rod-shaped members in the longitudinal direction. Achieved by

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention,
The above object is achieved in any one of the first to third inventions, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the contact surface of the supporting member with the stirring shaft in the longitudinal direction of the stirring shaft is semicircular or substantially semicircular. It

Further, according to the fifth invention of the present application, the above-mentioned object is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the developing device according to any one of the first to fourth inventions is provided. This is achieved by forming a process cartridge in which the developer carrying member is integrated.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention,
The above object is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the process cartridge according to the fifth aspect of the present invention includes an image carrier, a charging unit for charging the image carrier, and a surface of the image carrier. This is achieved by providing an integrated process cartridge including at least one of the cleaning means for removing the residual developer.

That is, in the first invention of the present application, the stirring shaft for rotating or rotating the stirring means is supported by the supporting member not only at the shaft supporting portions at both ends but also at the intermediate portion. Bending of the agitation shaft is less likely to occur than in the conventional case where it is supported only at the left and right ends.

Further, in the second invention according to the present application, since the supporting member of the first invention also serves as a partition plate for partitioning the inside of the developer container, all the developer in the developer container is contained. Does not shift to one side. Further, when the developer in the developer container is dispersed and stored in a plurality of places, even if the developer is biased due to vibrations such as transportation, the stiffened state is relatively loose, and when the stirring means rotates or rotates. This reduces the load on the drive gear and prevents the drive gear from jumping or being damaged and the stirring shaft from being bent or damaged.

Further, in the third invention according to the present application, since the stirring shaft of the first invention or the second invention connects a plurality of rod-shaped members in the longitudinal direction, the shaft support portions at both ends. Also, it flexes freely according to the coaxiality of the support member to prevent torque increase.

In the fourth invention according to the present application, in the supporting member according to any one of the first to third inventions, the contact surface with the stirring shaft has a sectional shape in the longitudinal direction of the stirring shaft. Since it is a semi-circular shape or a substantially semi-circular shape, the contact area with the agitation shaft is greatly reduced, torque is prevented from increasing, and the amount of developer entering is greatly reduced to reduce the generation of coarse particles.

Further, in the fifth invention of the present application, the developing device and the developer carrying member according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, which are detachable from the image forming apparatus main body, are provided. Since the process cartridge is integrated, the maintainability is improved, and the developer is stirred well, and the developing operation is performed well.

In the sixth invention of the present application, the process cartridge of the fifth invention, which is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body, is used for charging the image carrier and the image carrier. At least one of the charging means and the cleaning means for removing the residual developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier is provided as an integrated process cartridge, which improves the maintainability and is good. A good image forming operation is performed by agitating various developers.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 4 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image carrier, and the photosensitive drum 4 has a photosensitive layer on its surface and serves as a charging unit. The surface of the charging roller 5 is uniformly charged. Next, the laser light L is emitted from the laser optical unit 6 onto the photosensitive drum 4 based on the image information input from an external computer or the like, whereby an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the photosensitive drum 4. To be done. Next, in the developing device 7, the portion of the photosensitive drum 4 irradiated with the laser beam L is developed (reverse development) with the toner T as a developer having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the photosensitive drum 4 being charged. Form a visible image on top. next,
The paper feed cassette 1 is timed so that the visible image reaches the transfer position formed by the photosensitive drum 4 and the transfer roller 8.
The recording material P supplied from 0 is nipped between the photosensitive drum 4 and the transfer roller 8, and a visible image is transferred onto the recording material P. The recording material P is fixed on the fixing roller 12 and the pressure roller 13.
The visible image is fixed on the recording material P by being nipped by the fixing device 9 formed by the roller pair. Thereafter, the recording material P is discharged onto the discharge tray 14. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 4 is cleaned by the cleaning blade 15 to remove residual toner and the like, and then proceeds to the charging step again.

Next, the step of conveying the recording material P will be described in detail. A plurality of recording materials P are stacked in the paper feed cassette 10, and the tip of the recording material P has a tension spring 16
It is pressed against the surface of the paper feed roller 18 by the stacking plate 17 that is biased and rotated by the. When the user loads the recording material P into the apparatus, the user can pull out the sheet cassette 10 in the right direction (the direction of the arrow B) in the drawing. This time,
Since the paper feed spring support shaft 19 moves upward along the slide grooves 20 formed on both side walls (front and back sides of the paper) of the paper feed cassette 10, the stacking plate 17 reaches the bottom of the paper feed cassette 10. Since it lowers, the recording material P can be smoothly loaded.

The paper feed roller 18 is fixed to a paper feed drive shaft 21, and a clutch and a solenoid (both not shown) are provided at the shaft end of the paper feed drive shaft 21.
The rotation drive control of the paper feed roller 18 is possible. Separation pawls 22 are provided at the left and right corners of the leading end of the recording material on the paper feed roller side, and a cassette inlet guide 23 is urged rotatably by a spring (not shown) near the leading end. There is. A guide portion 24 that guides the recording material P from the paper feed cassette 10 is formed in the main body of the apparatus, and guides the recording material P and guides it to the registration roller pair 25.

When a solenoid (not shown) is turned on by a paper feed start signal, the driving force of a paper feed drive gear (not shown) is driven by a drive shaft 2 via a clutch (not shown).
1, the paper feed roller 18 rotates, and the recording material P is guided to the cassette entrance guide 23. At this time, due to the relationship of the coefficient of friction, only the topmost recording material P is derived. Shortly thereafter, the recording material P reaches the nip portion of the registration roller pair 25 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 18.

On the other hand, the registration roller pair 2 is provided in the main body of the apparatus.
5 is provided with a second inlet 26 for introducing a recording material P from other than the paper feed cassette 10. With such a configuration, it is possible to introduce the recording material P into the apparatus main body from other feeding means, such as a plurality of decks and cassettes under the apparatus main body, and the like. Has been realized.

A sensor lever 27 is provided on the upstream side of the registration roller pair 25 in the recording material conveying direction. The sensor lever 27 is rotatably supported by the frame of the apparatus main body, and detects the leading end of the recording material P with a photo interrupter (not shown) or the like. After detecting the position of the leading edge of the recording material P, the recording material P is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 4 and the transfer roller 8 by the registration roller pair 25 in synchronization with the leading edge of the visible image on the photosensitive drum 4.

Further, a plurality of guide ribs 29, which are guide members, are formed in the longitudinal direction on a part of the surface of the toner container 28 as a developer container of the developing device 7, and the guide ribs 29 are formed during the above-mentioned conveyance. By using the recording material P as a guide member, the recording material P can be conveyed to the photosensitive drum 4 with high accuracy. After that, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 4 by the image forming process described later is transferred to the recording material P by the transfer roller 8 pressed against the photosensitive drum 4 with a predetermined pressure. At that time, a bias of DC500 to 2000V having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 8, and the toner is electrostatically adsorbed on the surface of the recording material P.

As an auxiliary means for separating the recording material P from the photosensitive drum 4 after the transfer is completed, a discharging needle (not shown) is embedded in the tip portion on the upstream side of the fixing entrance guide 30, and recording of a kind which is difficult to separate. The material P can be smoothly separated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording material P from being wound around the photosensitive drum 4 due to poor separation of the recording material P. Furthermore, in the unlikely event that the recording material P
Even if the separation failure occurs, the rush prevention guide 31 is provided on the opposite side of the fixing entrance guide 30, so that a serious jam can be avoided.

The transferred recording material P is guided to the fixing device 9 by the fixing inlet guide 30. The fixing device 9 includes a fixing roller 12 having a halogen heater 32 therein as a heat source. A pressure roller 13 is pressed against the fixing roller 12 with a predetermined pressure, and a fixing gear 12 (not shown) is driven. It is rotationally driven by a drive gear. Fixing roller 12
The temperature is detected by a thermistor (not shown) that is in contact with the surface of the fixing roller 12, and the temperature is controlled by a controller in the electrical component section (not shown) of the apparatus body. Further, as a safety measure against the runaway of the halogen heater 32, a non-contact thermo switch (not shown) is arranged above the fixing roller 12.

The recording material P passes through the nip portion between the heated fixing roller 12 and the pressure roller 13, so that the toner image on the recording material P is permanently fixed on the recording material P. The recording material P after fixing is separated from the surface of the fixing roller 12 by a separating claw (not shown), and then conveyed upward by the pulling roller pair 33 arranged above the fixing roller 12. At this time, the pulling roller 33 is rotationally driven at a relative speed several% faster than the fixing roller 12, and therefore, the recording material P is conveyed while being forcibly pulled, so that the recording material P is not curled or wrinkled. It has a structure that can be prevented. Thereafter, the recording material P is discharged out of the apparatus by a discharge roller 34, and is stacked on a discharge tray 14 provided at a discharge port 35.

The above-mentioned transfer roller, fixing unit, pulling roller and the like are integrally fixed to the front cover 2 and are rotatably supported by the shaft 36 of the apparatus main body. The front cover 2 can be divided and can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body.

Next, the developing device and the process cartridge including the same in this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge 100 includes a photosensitive drum 4, which is an image carrier, a charging roller 5 arranged around the photosensitive drum 4, a developing device 7, and a cleaner device 6.
0 is integrally incorporated to form a unit.
As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the developing device 7 includes a toner container 28 containing a toner T, which is a developer, and a stirring plate 4 as a stirring unit that rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing to stir the toner T.
0, a developing chamber 41, a developing sleeve 58 as a developer carrying member carrying the toner T, a developing blade 59 for regulating the layer thickness of the toner T on the developing sleeve 58, and the like.

When the photosensitive drum 4 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is primarily charged by the charging roller 5 to which a voltage is applied, and a laser scanning device (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus is shown. (3), an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 by being irradiated with the laser exposure L. Further, this electrostatic latent image is transferred to the developing device 7
On the developing sleeve 58, the toner image is developed by the toner T whose layer thickness is regulated by the developing blade 59.

By the way, in the developing device 7, as shown in detail in FIG. 3, the toner T is contained in the toner container 28, and the toner T is held in the developing chamber by the stirring plate 40 which rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure. You can continue to send to 41.

Then, as described in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the toner T is consumed and disappears in the toner container 28, the light beam emitted from the light emitting body 53 passes through the lens portions 54 and 55 and the light receiving portion 52. It is possible to detect that the toner T has been exhausted when the toner reaches.

In such a cartridge, there is a case where the toner T is offset as in the above-mentioned conventional example, an image defect due to the deflection of the agitation shaft 50, or an erroneous detection of no toner occurs.

Therefore, according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a toner deviation preventing plate 61 as a supporting member and a partition plate is provided in the toner container 28 to prevent deviation of the toner T.
The stirring shaft 50 is prevented from bending. That is, the AA cross section of FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 4, but since the toner deviation preventing plates 61a and 61b partition the inside of the toner container 28 into three parts in FIG. 4, the conventional example shown in FIG. As described above, all the toner does not deviate to the right side.
The toner that has been biased by the vibration of transportation or the like is brought into the compacted state due to the weight of the toner itself. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the toner is dispersed in three places, the compacted state is obtained. Is relatively loose, the load when the stirring plate 40 rotates is reduced, and it is possible to prevent jumping or damage of the drive gear and bending or damage of the stirring shaft 50.

In this way, the toner T is stably supplied to the developing chamber 41, and when the toner T runs out, it can be reliably detected.

Further, as described above, since the toner T is dispersed in three places, the toner T is quickly supplied to the entire range of the developing sleeve 58 in the longitudinal direction, and the image defect can be prevented.

On the other hand, the toner deviation preventing plates 61a and 61b
The holes 62a and 62b that are fitted with the stirring shaft 50, respectively.
Is provided, and the right end of the stirring shaft 50 is the toner container 28.
Since the dowel 63 and the left end of the dowel 63 are supported by the bearing portion 64, they are supported at a total of four places. Therefore, as compared with the case where the stirring shaft 50 is supported only at the left and right ends as in the conventional case, it is significantly effective in preventing the bending of the stirring shaft 50. In addition, the bearing portion 64 and the fitting hole 62
If the coaxiality of the a, 62b and the dowel 63 is more accurate than the straightness of the stirring shaft 50, the straightness of the stirring shaft 50 can be corrected, so that the stirring shaft having a slight bend can be used.

However, in this case, by correcting the stirring shaft 50, the friction between the stirring shaft and the bearing portion increases and the rotational torque increases, so that a plurality of stirring shafts should be connected as shown in FIG. If used, it is possible to maintain the straightness of the same degree as the coaxiality of the fitting holes 62a and 62b and the dowel 63, and prevent the torque from increasing. That is, the stirring shaft is 50a, 5
0b and 50c are connected, and a fitting hole 70 also serving as a rotation stopper and a dowel 71 are fitted in the respective connecting portions, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a connecting portion between the stirring shafts 50a and 50b. The stirring shaft 50a has a fitting hole 70, and 50b has a fitting dowel 71. The fitting hole 70 and the fitting dowel 71 are provided with a so-called D cut in which a part of a circle is cut into a straight line, whereby the stirring shafts 50a and 50b are provided.
It prevents the idle rotation. The fitting hole 70 and the fitting dowel 7
By increasing the fitting backlash of No. 1 so as not to hinder the rotation, the bearing portion 64 and the fitting hole 62 that pivotally support the stirring shaft are provided.
Since the bending can be freely performed corresponding to the coaxiality of the a, 62b and the dowel 63, it is possible to prevent the torque from increasing due to the correction of the stirring shaft. The stirring shafts 50b and 5
The connection with 0c is also similar to the above 50a and 50b, and the fitting method by D-cut is described as a method for preventing the rotation of each stirring shaft, but the method is not limited to the same method, and the fitting hole and the fitting are not limited. The cross section of the dowel may be a polygon such as a triangle or a quadrangle. If the polygonal shape is used, the phase of the stirring plate in the longitudinal direction can be intentionally shifted if necessary.

FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the fitting hole 62a for supporting the stirring shaft 50b in FIG. In FIG. 7, the inner surface of the fitting hole 62a, that is, the surface that comes into contact with the stirring shaft 50b is R-shaped as shown in the figure. By doing so, the frictional force with the stirring shaft 50b is reduced and the torque is increased. In addition to preventing, there are also the following effects.

When the stirring shaft 50b rotates or rotates,
The toner T enters between the agitation shaft 50b and the fitting hole 62a and is rubbed to bond the toners to each other, so that so-called coarse particles of toner particles larger than the toner particles are formed.
Such coarse particles appear as black granular points on the image, which causes deterioration of image quality.

However, according to the present invention, by making the inner surface of the fitting hole 62a R-shaped as shown in FIG.
Since the contact area with the toner T can be significantly reduced, the amount of the toner T entering can be significantly reduced, and the generation of coarse particles can be reduced. In addition,
The fitting hole 62b and the stirring shaft 50c have the same structure.

[0050]

As described above, the first embodiment according to the present application is described.
According to the invention, since the stirring shaft for rotating or rotating the stirring means is supported by the supporting members not only at the shaft supporting portions at both ends but also at the intermediate portion, the stirring shaft is prevented from bending and the stirring plate is started to rotate. It is possible to reduce the load of the drive gear, prevent tooth jumping and damage of the drive gear, and make the developer supply to the developing chamber stable, and prevent erroneous detection of defective images and no developer.

According to the second invention of the present application,
Since the support member of the first invention also serves as a partition plate for partitioning the inside of the developer container, it prevents all the developers in the developer container from being biased, and makes the stepped state relatively loose. The load when the agitating means rotates or rotates can be reduced to prevent tooth jumping or damage of the drive gear and bending or damage of the agitation shaft.

Further, according to the third invention of the present application, since the stirring shaft of the first invention or the second invention connects a plurality of rod-shaped members in the longitudinal direction, the shafts at both ends are connected. It is possible to bend freely in accordance with the coaxiality of the support and the support member, and prevent torque increase.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
In the support member according to any one of the first to third inventions, the contact surface with the stirring shaft has a semicircular or substantially semicircular cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction of the stirring shaft. It is possible to prevent the torque from increasing, and to greatly reduce the amount of the developer entering, thereby reducing the generation of coarse particles.

Further, according to the fifth invention of the present application, the developing device and the developer carrier which are detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and which are any one of the first to fourth inventions. Since the above process cartridge and the process cartridge are integrated, the maintainability can be improved, and the developer can be stirred well and the developing operation can be performed well.

According to the sixth invention of the present application,
The process cartridge according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and includes an image carrier, a charging unit for charging the image carrier, and residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier. Since the process cartridge has at least one of the cleaning means for removal and is integrated, it is possible to improve the maintainability and to perform good image formation operation by stirring the developer well. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus to which a process cartridge according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a process cartridge to which the developing device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the developing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a connecting portion of a stirring shaft according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of a support portion of a stirring shaft according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional process cartridge.

9 is a diagram showing a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a conventional developing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Photosensitive Drum (Image Carrier) 5 Charging Roller (Charging Means) 7 Developing Device 28 Toner Container (Developer Container) 40 Stirring Plate (Stirring Means) 50 Stirring Shaft 58 Developing Sleeve (Developer Bearing) 60 Cleaner Device (Cleaning) Means) 61 Toner deviation prevention plate (support member, partition plate) 100 Process cartridge T Toner (developer)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A developer container containing a developer, a stirring means for feeding the developer to a developer carrying member inside the developer container, and both ends of which are rotatably supported by the developer container. A developing device having a stirring shaft for rotating or rotating the means, wherein the stirring shaft is rotatably supported by a supporting member at a shaft support portion and an intermediate portion of the both ends. 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the support member also serves as a partition plate that partitions the interior of the developer container. 3. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the stirring shaft connects a plurality of rod-shaped members in the longitudinal direction. 4. The development according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the contact surface of the support member with the stirring shaft in the stirring shaft longitudinal direction is semicircular or substantially semicircular. apparatus. 5. An image forming apparatus main body, which is detachable from the main body,
A process cartridge, wherein the developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a developer carrier are integrated. 6. The image forming apparatus main body is detachable,
The process cartridge according to claim 5, an image carrier,
At least one of a charging unit for charging the image carrier and a cleaning unit for removing the residual developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier is provided and integrated. Process cartridge.