Patent ID: 8295737

Claim:
A developing device, comprising: a developer carrier, which rotates while carrying a developer on a surface thereof, supplies a toner to a latent image on a surface of a latent image carrier at a section where the developer carrier faces the latent image carrier, and develops the latent image; a supply conveyance path, which has a supply conveying member that conveys the developer in an axis line direction of the developer carrier while supplying the developer to the developer carrier; a circulation conveyance path, which has a circulation conveying member that conveys the developer reaching a downstream end in a conveyance direction of the supply conveyance path to an upstream in the conveyance direction of the supply conveyance path; a developer discharge port for discharging part of the developer existing in the vicinity of the downstream end in the conveyance direction of the supply conveyance path to an exterior of the developing device, when the bulk of the developer existing in the vicinity of the downstream end in the conveyance direction of the supply conveyance path exceeds a predetermined height level; and a recovery conveyance path, which has a recovery conveying member that conveys the developer recovered from the developer carrier after passing through the section where the developer carrier faces the latent image carrier, in the axis line direction of the developer carrier and in the same direction as the direction of the supply conveying member, the recovery conveying member conveying toner to the circulation conveying member.