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:
May. 13, 2014
Filed:
Mar. 22, 2012
Tatsuhiko Yoshii, Osaka, JP;
Koji Murata, Osaka, JP;
Naoki Mizutani, Osaka, JP;
Takeshi Fujimura, Osaka, JP;
Naoki Yamane, Osaka, JP;
Tatsuhiko Yoshii, Osaka, JP;
Koji Murata, Osaka, JP;
Naoki Mizutani, Osaka, JP;
Takeshi Fujimura, Osaka, JP;
Naoki Yamane, Osaka, JP;
Kyocera Document Solutions Inc., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A toner transportation device includes a first toner case that contains toner; a second toner case including a main body containing toner transported from the first toner case, a second discharge port located in the main body that discharges toner, and a second transportation unit rotatably positioned in the main body, and that transports toner to the second discharge port; a second driving unit that drives the second transportation unit; a detecting unit that detects the number of rotations of the second transportation unit and outputs a rotation detection signal; and a control unit that estimates the amount of toner remaining in the first toner case based on an accumulated number of rotations represented by the rotation detection signal.