Patent ID: 8577246

Claim:
A developer containing device for containing a developer, comprising: a partition located between an outer space and an inner space for containing said developer; a bearing arranged on said partition; a rotation shaft carried by said bearing and extending from said outer space into said inner space; a sealing member arranged on an inner space side of said partition for isolating said bearing from said inner space by fixing one end side of said sealing member to said partition and keeping the other end side of said sealing member in contact with a surface of said rotation shaft, said sealing member being spaced apart from said bearing so that said sealing member forms a closed space between said bearing and said sealing member; a communication groove arranged at the surface of said rotation shaft for connecting said outer space to said closed space; a communication passage arranged in said partition for connecting said outer space to said closed space; and wherein said communication groove and said communication passage form a path configured to circulate air between said outer space and said closed space so that air flows through said communication groove and said communication passage in opposite directions.