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  Methods and apparatus for determining toner level in electro-photographic print enginesUSPTO Application #: 20060197970Title: Methods and apparatus for determining toner level in electro-photographic print engines Abstract: The toner in the toner cartridge is determined by taking each of the rasterized images output by the RIP and evaluating the pixel levels over the surface thereof. The average value is determined as a percentage of the maximum toner that can be applied to the page. This is then subtracted from a toner value and a remaining toner level determined. Further, all pages of the rasterized document can be evaluated to predetermine the toner level after printing. If this falls below a predetermined minimum, printing is inhibited for that document. (end of abstract) Agent: Law Office Of James Trosino - San Francisco, CA, US Inventors: Michael W. Barry, Jack N. Bartholmae, Francis A. Rowe, E. Neal Tompkins, Peter A. Zuber USPTO Applicaton #: 20060197970 - Class: 358001130 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060197970. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/867,879, filed Jun. 15, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/044,539, filed on Mar. 19, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,977,752, which is a Continuation-in-Part of Ser. No. 08/698,999, filed Aug. 16, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,711, which is a Continuation-in-Part of Ser. No. 08/511,641, filed Aug. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,657,741. BACKGROUND [0002] Electrophotographic print engines have been utilized with both printers and copiers. In a printer, the print engine is typically interfaced with a computer to select and organize fonts or bit map the images. In a copier application, the print engine is interfaced with an input device that scans the image onto the photoconductor drum of the print engine. However, a CCD device could also be utilized in this application in the form of a CCD scanner. In either of the applications, a conventional print engine for a monochrome process would typically feed a single sheet of paper and pass it by the photoconductor drum for an image transfer process and then pass it to a fuser. Thereafter, the completed sheet will be output. Multiple copy print jobs will sequentially feed the paper in a serial manner. The speed of the printer is a function of the speed at which the image can be created, the speed at which the image can be transferred to the paper and the speed of the fuser. As increased output is required, the speed of each of these elements must be increased. [0003] In a monochrome process, only one transfer operation is required. However, in a multipass color process, multiple images must be superimposed on one another on the sheet of paper in a direct transfer system, thus requiring multiple passes of the paper or image carrier through the print engine. In a double transfer system, the image is disposed on an intermediate drum and then the composite image transferred to the paper or image carrier. In a multiple print job on a direct transfer system, this requires each sheet of paper to be printed in a serial manner by passing it through the print engine. For either the monochrome process or the color process, a conventional serial feed print engine has the output thereof defined by the speed of the input device and the speed of the print engine itself. [0004] One technique that has been utilized to increase throughput is a tandem print engine. In a tandem print engine, multiple colors can be disposed on the sheet of paper or the image carrier at different stations that are disposed in serial configuration. In this manner, the speed is the same for one, two, three or four color printing. [0005] When dealing with multiple print engines, there can be a problem that exists with respect to insuring that there is adequate "color balance." In general, all color devices have a native range of colors in which they operate. This is called the color gamut of that device. Any color that falls within this gamut can be reproduced. Any color that falls outside cannot. This gamut is defined by the hardware of the device and its addressability. A monitor uses a phosphors of some given type and is addressed in 8 bits per channel of RGB. This native gamut or range of colors changes for every different device. If it is desirable to reproduce a color on some devices, two things have to occur. First, those devices would have to be able to make that color, meaning, have that given color inside their gamuts. Second, the color would have to be correctly described, or defined as it moves from one device to another. RGB, CMYK, Lab, LCH, are all methods that devices can utilize to describe colors. They do not always have a direct translation between them, however. A method is needed to correctly translate between these methods. The analogy is as if one person would speak German and another spoke French, wherein an intermediate or interpreter would be required in order to provide communication. One method for solving this problem is to use a device independent (or color independent) space. A number of years ago, the CIE created a device independent space (XYZ) that defines color based on the light source they are viewed under, and the color response of the eye. A color independent space is a mathematical way to map device gamuts to see where they intersect. Where they intersect represents the colors they share. It is also the best platform for determining which color to use if gamuts do not intersect. Also, in this master color space, all colors are described or defined using the same terms, independent of any device. In this space, all colors are brought to a common ground. Once a color is defined in XYZ space, it can be sent and accurately reproduced on any device whose gamut in XYZ space includes that color. The reproduction of any color is accomplished by correlating the device native gamut to the color independent space. [0006] During a conventional print operation, toner is used up at a rate that is actually defined by the amount of information that is disposed on the given page multiplied by the number of pages. Typically, systems incorporate some type of page counter that, when it exceeds a predetermined number of pages, indicates that the toner is low. This, of course, is reset when a new toner cartridge is disposed in the printer. However, this toner decision is made strictly based upon the number of pages and not the amount of toner actually depleted from the toner cartridge. This is due to the fact that some pages have a very light toner usage compared to others. For example, an image having a large percentage of black area associated therewith will utilize a large amount of toner, whereas a page having very light gray regions will utilize a small amount of toner. As such, the determination of a low toner level in a cartridge is extremely inaccurate. SUMMARY [0007] The present invention disclosed and claimed herein comprises a method for determining the actual toner density level in a toner cartridge for a printer. Each page in a multi-page document is rasterized and then the rasterized image evaluated to determine what percentage of the pixels are turned on and to what level they are turned on. An average value is then generated to determine the percent toner relative to a full page that is to be utilized by the printer. When the page is printed, a toner density value register is decremented such that the toner density value will represent the toner that remains in the cartridge. [0008] In another aspect of the present invention, each page of the multi-page document is rasterized and evaluated prior to printing. The toner usage for the entire document is then decremented from the toner density value and this value compared to a minimum value. If it falls below the minimum value, then printing is inhibited. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] Features of the present invention can be more clearly understood from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same elements throughout, and in which: [0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an overall block diagram of the virtual printing system; [0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed block diagram of the virtual printing system; [0012] FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c illustrate three general processing configurations; [0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a cutaway side view of a three module multiple print engine operated in accordance with the virtual printing system; [0014] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart illustrating the parsing operation; [0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart for the duplex operation for a face up output; [0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart for the duplex operation for a face down output. [0017] FIG. 8 illustrates a diagrammatic view of the stacking configuration to define a collation and gathering operation; [0018] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of the overall job parsing operation; [0019] FIG. 10 illustrates the parsing operation for each printer at given jobs; [0020] FIG. 11 illustrates process flow for the job parsing operation; Continue reading... Full patent description for Methods and apparatus for determining toner level in electro-photographic print engines Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Methods and apparatus for determining toner level in electro-photographic print engines patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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