Developing apparatus with means for carrying developer by utilizing the

Abstract

A developer is stored in a developer storing section arranged above, below or beside an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. A carrying path, provided on its surface with a mechanism to generate an electric field curtain, carries the developer from the developer storing section toward the image carrier. One end of the carrying path is arranged within the storing section and the other end, in the vicinity of the image carrier. As mechanism to generate the electric field curtain, a plurality of electrodes are buried in an insulating layer of the carrying path, and an A.C. voltage is applied from outside to these electrodes. A developing electrode section arranged at the end of the carrying path toward the image carrier, opposite to said image carrier and in a downward direction, develops the electrostatic latent image by making the developer carried over the carrying path adhere to the image carrier. The developer which did not adhere to the image carrier is recovered into the developer storing section via a recovering path. The recovering path here is arranged underneath and substantially in parallel to the carrying path.