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:
Dec. 10, 2013
Filed:
Mar. 11, 2013
Applicants:
Hidemasa Suzuki, Tokyo, JP;
Koji Masuda, Kanagawa, JP;
Inventors:
Hidemasa Suzuki, Tokyo, JP;
Koji Masuda, Kanagawa, JP;
Assignee:
Ricoh Company, Limited, Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G 15/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
In a reflective optical sensor in an image forming apparatus, an output from each N number of light-receiving elements (N≧3), obtained when M number of light-emitting elements (M≧3) included in a light-emitting unit emit detecting light, is separated into an amount of specularly reflected light and an amount of diffusely reflected light. The toner density of a pattern, which is formed on a supporting member in the image forming apparatus, is calculated based on a sum of the amounts of specularly reflected light and a sum of the amounts of diffusely reflected light.