Lexmark International, Inc.

Jason Carl True

Benjamin Keith Newman

Robert Watson McAlpine

Raymond Jay Barry

Joshua Carl Poterjoy

Thad Carlton Switzer

Michael Craig Leemhuis

James Anthany Carter, Ii

Kevin Dean Schoedinger

Gregory Alan Cavill

Donald Wayne Stafford

Martin Victor DiGirolamo

David Starling MacMillan

Steven Wayne Parish

Delbert Lester Elliott

Philip Scot Carter

William Keith Richardson

Mark William Johnson

Richard Kent Anderson

Keisha Josephine Thomas

Brian Scott Carpenter

Mark Duane Foster

William George Goff, Iii

Whitney April Greer

James Thomas Welch

Raymond James Barry

James Anthony Ii Carter

Ii Carter James Anthony

A toner container according to one example embodiment includes a housing having a reservoir for holding toner. A rotatable shaft is positioned in the reservoir and has a rotational axis. A toner agitator is rotatably coupled to the rotatable shaft. A first electrical conductor and a second electrical conductor are positioned on the housing. The first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor form a capacitor having a capacitance that changes in response to a change in an amount of toner in the reservoir between the first electrical conductor and the second electrical conductor. The first electrical conductor includes a rod positioned in the reservoir at the rotational axis of the rotatable shaft and extending along the rotational axis of the rotatable shaft.

Capacitive toner level sensor

An electrophotographic image forming device according to one embodiment includes a controller configured to provide a page countdown for a replaceable toner cartridge of the image forming device on a display screen. The controller, upon detecting an installation of an imaging unit previously mated with a first toner cartridge that was out of usable toner and detecting a presence of a second toner cartridge, is configured to determine whether the second toner cartridge is out of usable toner. The controller is configured to determine a number of pages remaining for a page countdown associated with the life of the second toner cartridge and whether the toner sump of the imaging unit contains sufficient toner to print the number of pages remaining for the page countdown associated with the life of the second toner cartridge if the second toner cartridge is out of usable toner.

Transferable page countdown for a replaceable unit between image forming devices

A toner container including a first electrode disposed within the toner container, a second electrode electrically connected to the first electrode and disposed within the toner container, and a sense electrode disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The sense electrode and the first electrode form a first capacitor having a first capacitance that changes in response to a change in toner amount existing therebetween. The sense electrode and the second electrode form a second capacitor having a second capacitance that changes in response to a change in toner amount existing therebetween.

An electrophotographic image forming device according to one example embodiment includes a replaceable unit having a reservoir for storing toner and a rotatable shaft positioned within the reservoir. The replaceable unit has a first magnet and a second magnet connected to the shaft and rotatable around an axis of rotation of the shaft in response to rotation of the shaft. An amount of angular offset between the first magnet and the second magnet varies depending on an amount of toner in the reservoir. A sensor is positioned to sense the first magnet and the second magnet at a point in their rotational paths. A processor is in electronic communication with the sensor and configured to determine an angular offset between the first magnet and the second magnet and to adjust an estimate of the amount of toner remaining in the reservoir based on the determined angular.

Toner level sensing using rotatable magnets having varying angular offset

An electrophotographic image forming device according to one embodiment includes a controller configured to provide a page countdown for a replaceable toner cartridge of the image forming device on a display screen. The controller, upon detecting a toner cartridge that is out of usable toner, is configured to determine a number of pages remaining for a page countdown associated with the toner cartridge. The controller is configured to determine whether a toner sump of an imaging unit positioned in the image forming device to receive toner from the toner cartridge contains sufficient toner to print the number of pages remaining for the page countdown associated with the life of the toner cartridge. The controller is configured to continue the page countdown if the imaging unit contains sufficient toner and to reset the page countdown if the imaging unit does not contain sufficient toner.

A method for providing a page countdown for a replaceable unit of an image forming device according to one embodiment includes calculating a number of pages remaining until the replaceable unit will reach the end of its life. The calculated number of pages remaining until the replaceable unit will reach the end of life is displayed on a display screen. After the calculated number of pages remaining is displayed, the displayed number of pages remaining is decreased in response to printing of pages by the image forming device, the number of pages remaining is recalculated and a discrepancy between the displayed number of pages remaining and the recalculated number of pages remaining is tracked. If the discrepancy exceeds a predetermined error threshold, the recalculated number of pages remaining is displayed and the displayed number of pages remaining continues to be decreased from the displayed recalculated number of pages remaining.

Methods for providing a page countdown for a replaceable unit of an image forming device

A method for providing a page countdown for a replaceable unit of an image forming device according to one embodiment includes calculating a number of pages remaining until the replaceable unit will reach the end of its life. The calculated number of pages remaining until the replaceable unit will reach the end of life is displayed on a display screen. After the calculated number of pages remaining is displayed, the displayed number of pages remaining is decreased by one for each page printed, the number of pages remaining is recalculated and a discrepancy between the displayed number of pages remaining and the recalculated number of pages remaining is tracked. If the discrepancy exceeds a predetermined error threshold, the recalculated number of pages remaining is displayed and the displayed number of pages remaining continues to be decreased by one for each page printed from the displayed recalculated number of pages remaining.

A method for providing a page countdown for a replaceable toner cartridge according to one embodiment includes, upon detecting a toner cartridge that is out of usable toner, determining a number of pages remaining for a page countdown associated with the toner cartridge. Whether a toner sump of an imaging unit positioned to receive toner from the toner cartridge contains sufficient toner to print the number of pages remaining is also determined. If the toner sump of the imaging unit contains sufficient toner, the page countdown continues from the number of pages remaining. If the toner sump of the imaging unit does not contain sufficient toner, the number of pages remaining for the page countdown is reset based on the amount of toner available in the toner sump of the imaging unit and the page countdown continues from the reset number of pages remaining.

Methods for providing a transferable page countdown for a toner cartridge between image forming devices

A developer unit for use in an image forming device according to one example embodiment includes a housing having an inlet port for receiving toner, a sump for holding received toner and a developer roll rotatably mounted in the housing for transferring toner from the sump. A rotatable agitator is positioned in a lower portion of the sump and a pivotable agitator is positioned in an upper portion of the sump. A biasing member biases the pivotable agitator toward a stop in the pivot path of the pivotable agitator. The pivotable agitator includes an engagement feature positioned in the rotational path of the rotatable agitator when the pivotable agitator is in its home position. As the rotatable agitator rotates, the rotatable agitator engages and disengages the engagement feature causing the pivotable agitator to pivot away from and toward its home position.

Toner agitator system for a developer unit for an image forming device

A toner release coating may be applied to a toner regulating member such as a doctor blade. The toner release coating may reduce toner adhesion at a doctoring pre-nip location of the doctor blade. The toner release coating may be formed from a mixture of lubricating particulate and polymeric binder resin in a liquid carrier.

Toner release coating

The present disclosure relates to a surface energy reduction material in the form of a topcoat or additive to a coating that may be applied to a toner regulating member such as a doctor blade which may reduce toner build-up about a nip region, pre-nip region, and/or post-nip region. The surface energy reduction material may be include any material having a surface energy of less than or equal to 35 dynes/cm, for example, between 15-30 dynes/cm, including all values and ranges therein. The surface energy reducing materials may include any material that provides a 25% or more reduction of the surface energy of the doctor blade compared to an untreated doctor blade, for example, greater than or equal to 50% reduction or greater than or equal to 75% reduction, including all values and ranges therein.

Doctor blade surface energy modification

Toner transfer in an imaging device having a developer roller ( ) that applies toner to a photoconductive roller is determined by counting pels ( ) and by counting operating cycles ( ). Additionally in the embodiment, various device factors including darkness setting and type of toner are also applied to the totals. An adjustment factor, stored in a toner cartridge memory, is originally substantially one and may be adjusted based on subsequent knowledge or observations of the results. A page count of pages imaged is also used dependently as a second basis for amount of toner transferred.

Determining toner usage

Toner usage is measured with good accuracy. Printing tends to darken with the depletion of toner from a source. A toner cartridge employed in a printer ( ) has the capability at the cartridge of determining the amount toner used. In an embodiment this is by a torsion spring ( ) drive to a toner paddle ( ). At turn-on and cover open, the amount of toner is measured at the cartridge ( ). That is stored in NVRAM ( ) when it is very different from the current amount stored in NVRAM. At certain amount levels observed at the cartridge the amount in NVRAM is revised to the new amount. Between those levels the amount of toner used is tracked by counting pels ( ). Use amounts are converted to operating factors in a table ( ), and the operating factors are applied to the printer to keep the darkness of printing more constant. Writing to NVRAM is minimized.

Growing community of inventors

Lexington, KY, United States of America

Jason Carl True