| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To make it possible to reliably detect the existence of the pulverulent body in a storage container by operating a detector with a period different from that of a stirrer arranged in the vicinity thereof, and carrying out logical operations on the results of the detection thereby performed a plurality of times to give a decision. CONSTITUTION:A stirrer which periodically operates is arranged near a detector, and logical operations are carried out on the results of the detection performed by means of said detector a plurality of times with a period different from that of said stirrer to decide whether a pulverulent body exists or not. For example, when the existence of a pulverulent developer in a developer container 2 of an electrophotographic apparatus is to be detected by a detector 6 to give a decision, while a stirrer 7 with a brush 8 is being rotated, the detector 6 is operated a plurality of times with a period different from that of the stirrer, and logical operations are carried out on the results of said detection to give a decision. Thereby, if the pulverulent body has temporarily formed into a bridge shape or been unevenly distributed, a reliable decision can be given without any misjudgement. |
