DEVELOPING DEVICE AND DEVELOPING METHOD

摘要

A developing device having a plurality of toner carrying members for carrying toner on their outer peripheral surfaces, the plurality of toner carrying members being placed along a rotating direction of an image carrying member and out of contact with the image carrying member; and a developer carrying member for carrying a developer composed of toner and carriers and for supplying the toner to the plurality of toner carrying members. In the developing device, AC bias voltages are applied to the toner carrying members so as to cause the toner carried by the toner carrying members to stick to an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrying member by the effect of electric fields induced by a voltage of the electrostatic latent image and the AC bias voltages applied to the toner carrying members. The amount of developing toner sticking on the image carrying member immediately after the image carrying member has passed a development area in an upstream side in the rotating direction of the image carrying member is larger than the amount of developing toner sticking on the image carrying member immediately after the image carrying member has passed a development area in a downstream side in the rotating direction of the image carrying member.