The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 30, 1996
Filed:
Sep. 02, 1994
Yoshio Yamaguchi, Kawasaki, JP;
Toshio Tooda, Kawasaki, JP;
Fujitsu Limited, Kawasaki, JP;
Abstract
Disclosed are a toner empty detecting method of and a toner empty detecting apparatus for detecting an empty state of toners in a toner hopper. The toner empty detecting method comprises: a step of taking in the output of the detecting element with every constant period; a step of comparing a detected value relative to a take-in value with an average value of the detected values during a detection period of last time; a step of counting the number of times when the detected value is smaller than the average value during a detection cycle of this time; and a step of generating a toner empty output when the count value is larger than the predetermined value. The toner empty detecting apparatus comprises: a toner sensor for detecting the toners in the toner hopper; and a control circuit for comparing a detected value relative to a take-in value when taking in an output of the toner sensor with every constant period with an average value of the detected values during a detection period of last time, comparing the count value with a predetermined value and generating an empty output when the count value is larger than the predetermined value. Even if there is a scatter in output level of the toner detection sensor, the toner empty can be thereby stably detected.