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:
Nov. 16, 2004
Filed:
Dec. 16, 2002
Shinichi Itoh, Yokohama, JP;
Other;
Abstract
Disclosed is a toner recycle device for supplying recovered toner into a developing device again and reusing it. The ratio of the amount of the recovered toner to be supplied into the developing device to the amount of new toner is arbitrarily increased or reduced. Further, as the remaining amount of the new toner reduces, one or a plurality of the following three processing steps of a toner save mode are executed: (1) to increase the ratio of the amount of the recovered toner, which is supplied into the developing device, to the amount of the new toner; (2) to reduce the total amount of the recovered toner and the new toner to be supplied; and (3) to stop the new toner to be supplied into the developing device and to supply only the recovered toner. Furthermore, an ordinary mode and the toner save mode are automatically switched or arbitrarily switched manually.