Patent ID: 9274456
Filing Date: 2016-03-01
CPC Classification: G03G

Claim Text:
1. A developing device, comprising; a housing with a pair of wall portions; a developing roller rotatably supported in the housing between the pair of wall portions and configured to carry developer; a developer supply path arranged along the developing roller and configured such that the developer is conveyed in a first direction and supplied to the developing roller; a developer conveyance path arranged along the developer supply path and configured such that the developer is conveyed in a second direction opposite to the first direction while being agitated; a pair of communication paths arranged at inner sides of the pair of wall portions and allowing communication between end parts of the developer conveyance path and end parts of the developer supply path; a supply-side conveying member arranged in the developer supply path and configured to convey the developer in the first direction by being driven and rotated, the supply-side conveying member including a first receiving portion arranged to face the communication path at an upstream end of the developer supply path in the first direction and configured to receive the developer from the developer conveyance path in a third direction perpendicularly intersecting the first direction, the supply-side conveying member including a supply-side spiral member having a hollow spiral shape with a plurality of spiral revolutions formed around a rotational axial center at a side downstream of the first receiving portion in the first direction and having a hollow interior inward of the spiral revolutions, a first rib member extending longer than the supply-side spiral member in the first direction to include the first receiving portion and bridging adjacent ones of the spiral revolutions of the supply-side spiral member, an upstream end part of the supply-side spiral member in the first direction is arranged downstream of the first receiving portion in the first direction, the supply-side spiral member not being arranged in the first receiving portion; and an agitating-side conveying member arranged in the developer conveyance path and configured to convey the developer in the second direction by being driven and rotated and includes a first transferring portion arranged to face the first receiving portion at a downstream end of the developer conveyance path in the second direction and configured to transfer the developer to the developer supply path in the third direction.