Image Forming Apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming unit that transfers toner onto a recording medium to form an image thereon;
• a toner container that collects toner not transferred on the recording medium;
• a driving force supplying unit that supplies a driving force;
• a toner conveying unit that receives the driving force from the driving force supplying unit and moves to convey the toner accumulated in the toner container;
• a driving force transmission unit that receives the driving force via the toner conveying unit;
• a moving member that is provided in conjunction with the toner container and is driven by the driving force transmission unit to move in accordance with an amount of the toner accumulated in the toner container and the movement of the toner conveying unit, the toner conveying unit conveying the toner toward the moving member;
• a detecting unit that outputs a detection result that changes depending on the movements of the moving member;
• a determining unit that determines, based on the detection result, whether or not the amount of the toner accumulated in the toner container has reached a predetermined accumulation level,
• wherein the detecting unit comprises a light emitting portion emitting a light and a light receiving portion receiving the light emitted from the light emitting portion, a light path being formed between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion,
• wherein the moving member comprises a receiving section, a shielding section that is configured to periodically move between a first position blocking the light path and a second position allowing the light path to be formed between the light emitting portion and light receiving portion, and a connecting section that connects the receiving section and the shielding section,
• wherein the receiving section is configured to periodically move between a third position and a fourth position by being driven by the driving force transmission unit if the amount of the toner accumulated in the toner container fail to reach a predetermined accumulation level, and the receiving section is configured to be positioned at the fourth position without being driven by the driving force transmission unit if the amount of the toner accumulated in the toner container has reached a predetermined accumulation level, and
• wherein the shielding section is configured to move in conjunction with the movement of the receiving section to periodically block the light path if the receiving section is movable between the third position and the fourth position, and the shielding section is configured to be positioned at either one of the first position and the second position if the receiving section is positioned at the fourth position.