Image forming apparatus
AssigneeKYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
InventorNaoki Mizutani
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This image forming apparatus includes: a waste toner recovery bottle that recovers waste toner; a detection member that is flexible and is loaded in the waste toner recovery bottle, and that bulges upwards in accordance with the recovered amount of waste toner collected in the waste toner recovery bottle; and a recovered amount detection unit that detects the recovered amount using the bulging of the detection member. The recovered amount detection unit detects that the waste toner recovery bottle is full before the bulging of the detection member protrudes beyond a plane that includes an outer wall surface of the waste toner recovery bottle.
Claims13
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a waste toner recovery bottle that recovers waste toner;
- a detection member that is flexible and is fitted in the waste toner recovery bottle, and that bulges upwards in accordance with the recovered amount of waste toner collected in the waste toner recovery bottle;
- and
- a recovered amount detection unit that has a contact member includes a curved portion that curves towards the inside of the waste toner recovery bottle and detects the recovered amount by the bulging of the detection member, wherein
- the recovered amount detection unit detects that the waste toner recovery bottle is full before the bulging of the detection member protrudes beyond a plane that includes an outer wall surface of the waste toner recovery bottle;
- the detection member sags towards an inside of the waste toner recovery bottle;
- a concave portion, that is concave toward the inside of the waste toner recovery bottle from a top surface of the waste toner recovery bottle, is formed in the waste toner recovery bottle;
- an aperture portion is formed in the concave portion;
- the detection member is positioned in the aperture portion;
- and
- a dimension of an inner radius of the contact member is substantially the same as a dimension of an inner radius of the aperture portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.