Patent ID: 8165510

Claim:
A development device for developing a latent image formed on a latent image carrier, comprising: a toner carrier configured to oppose the latent image carrier and carry toner particles to be adhered to the latent image formed on the latent image carrier; a toner supplier configured to supply the toner particles to the toner carrier and having a time constant τ 1 based on a resistive load of the toner supplier and a capacitance of the toner carrier; and a surface electrical potential controller configured to control a surface electrical potential of the toner carrier and having a time constant τ 2 based on a resistive load of the surface electrical potential controller and the capacitance of the toner carrier, wherein the time constant τ 2 is smaller than the time constant τ 1 , the toner carrier comprising: a plurality of electrodes provided aligned in parallel on the surface of the toner carrier in a predetermined direction and electrically insulated from each other; and a voltage supplier configured to supply the plurality of electrodes with a voltage so as to periodically switch electrical fields between each electrode of the plurality of electrodes to cause the toner particles carried on the surface of the toner carrier to form a cloud while hopping on the surface of the toner carrier.