| 摘要 |
PURPOSE: To surely clean a whole detection surface of the toner detection sensor and to surely detect the toner end time by providing the toner detection sensor so that the bottom end of detection surface matches with the inner wall surface of the toner hopper. CONSTITUTION: The bottom end part of the toner detection detection surface 30a is attached so as to approximately match with the inner wall surface of the hopper side plate part 25. Furthermore, on the top end part of the toner detection sensor detection surface 30a, the guide rib 50 whose height is almost the same as the projecting amount of the top end part of the detection surface 30a is additionally composed. Since the dead space liable to deposit the toner covering the detection surface 30a is eliminated in this way, and more the cleaning part 35e of the elastic wire 35 is guided above the toner detection sensor detection surface 30a by the guide rib 50, without catching the top part of the detection surface, and smoothly rotated in the toner hopper 24 in company with the rotation of the agitator 26. Then, the cleansing part 35e of the elastic wire 35 is held in contact with the whole detection surface 30a, and the toner stuck on the detection surface 30a is surely removed. |
