| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To reduce the load placed on the driving system of a toner supply means by supplying toner from a cartridge which incorporates agitating blades to a toner hopper through a slanting path where a toner emptiness detecting means is provided, and conveying the toner to a toner supply roller by the rotation of the agitating blades. CONSTITUTION:The toner is supplied to the slanting path 17 with the agitating blades 6 incorporated in the toner cartridge 5. A heat generating body 18 is provided on the slanting path 17 to dry the toner and the emptiness detecting device 40 is provided to detect the amount of toner. The toner hopper is formed on the bottom part of the slanting path 17, and the toner is conveyed with the agitating blades 16 and supplied to the toner supply roller 20 through a control blade 21. This constitution loads the bottom surface of the slanting path 17 with part of the weight of the toner supplied from a toner supplementing part 2 to a toner supply part 11, so the toner is prevented from being compressed to flocculate, thereby reducing the load on the driving system of the toner supply means. |
