Patent ID: 8380105

Claim:
A developing device for use with an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, said developing device comprising: a developer carrying member that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member with developer; a developer chamber provided with said developer carrying member; a developer accommodating chamber that accommodates the developer to be supplied to said developer chamber, and comprises (a) a wall surface separating said developer accommodating chamber from said developer chamber, the wall surface being provided with an opening for permitting passing of the developer therethrough, and (b) a bottom surface; a rotation shaft rotatably supported in said developer accommodating chamber; and a light transmitting member mounted to said developer accommodating chamber at a position upstream of the opening and downstream of the bottom surface of said developer accommodating chamber with respect to a rotational direction of said rotation shaft, said light transmitting member passing a detection light through an inside of said developer accommodating chamber in order to detect the amount of the developer in said developer accommodating chamber, wherein said rotation shaft includes: a developer feeding member, which has flexibility and is mounted to said rotation shaft at one end thereof with respect to the direction of the radius of gyration of said rotation shaft, the developer feeding member feeding the developer while deforming in contact with an inner wall of said developer accommodating chamber at the other end thereof by rotation of said rotation shaft; a receiving portion that receives the developer falling from said developer feeding member by the rotation of said rotation shaft, and wherein said developer carrying member is disposed above a rotational axis of said rotational shaft.