Image forming apparatus provided with automatic discharging mechanism

Claim 1

An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing bath for storing a developing powder; a recovery vessel for recovering degraded developing powder from said developing bath; a discharging shutter for opening and closing an opening formed on a bottom of said developing bath; a carrying means disposed under said discharging shutter for carrying said degraded developing powder into said recovery vessel; means for sensing a presence of the developing powder in said developing bath; and a control unit for controlling operations of said discharging shutter and said carrying means, said control unit including means for determining a degrading time of the developing powder stored in said developing bath, a shutter control means for causing said discharging shutter to open said opening based on the degrading time determined by said determining means and for causing said discharging shutter to close said opening based on a sensed result by said means for sensing a presence of the developing powder in said developing bath, the sensed result indicating no presence of the developing powder, and a carrying control means for controlling the driving operation of said carrying means for a predetermined time after closing of said opening by said discharging shutter.