Patent ID: 7965952

Claim:
A remaining amount of developer detection device comprising: a remaining amount of developer detection section configured to detect a remaining amount of developer in a development device; an operation amount computation section configured to compute an operation amount of the development device corresponding to a developer consumption amount of the development device; and a remaining amount detection control section configured to accumulate in a storage section the operation amount of the development device corresponding to the developer consumption amount of the development device computed by the operation amount computation section and detect the remaining amount of developer in the development device based on the accumulated operation amount stored in the storage section, wherein the remaining amount of developer detection section includes: a detection member configured to change a rotational position corresponding to the remaining amount of developer in the development device and include a rotational shaft and a plate-like member attached to the rotational shaft and located near a supply member that supplies a developer in a direction toward a development region such that the plate-like member goes up in a direction in which a distance between the plate-like member and the supply member is increased and goes down in a direction in which a distance between the plate-like member and the supply member is decreased in a space in the development device; a driving force transmission device configured to apply a driving force to the detection member at a time of detecting the remaining amount of developer in the development device such that the plate-like member goes up in the direction in which the distance between the plate-like member and the supply member is increased and goes down in the direction in which the distance between the plate-like member and the supply member is decreased; and a sensor configured to detect a rotation state of the plate-like member when the plate-like member goes down to near a lowermost position thereof, wherein provided that the remaining amount of developer detection section has detected the remaining amount of developer that has been reduced to a first threshold, the remaining amount detection control section initializes the accumulated operation amount stored in the storage section and starts accumulating in the storage section a new operation amount of the development device corresponding to a developer consumption amount of the development device computed by the operation amount computation section, and determines whether the remaining amount of developer in the development device is in a toner-end status based on the new operation amount accumulated in the storage section.