| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To accurately detect the toner end with a high precision by pushing an actuator member with toner on the outside of the locus of rotation of an agitator and turning the actuator member to inhibit generation of a toner end signal at the time of scooping up even toner on the outside of said locus by the agitator. CONSTITUTION:An actuator member 13 is provided on the outside of and in the vicinity of a locus 12 of rotation of an agitator 7 below a bottom 6a of a toner replenishing vessel in the agitator rotation direction. When the agitator 7 scoops up even toner existing on the upper face of the sensor 10 on the outside of the locus 12 in circumstances where toner fluidity is low, the actuator member 13 is pushed by this toner and is turned. Then, the toner end signal is not generated when the actuator member 13 is turned in the state where the toner presence/absence detecting sensor 10 detects the absence of toner. Thus, the toner end is accurately detected with a high precision though environmental conditions such as humidity are changed. |
