Patent ID: 7565085
Filing Date: 2009-07-21
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An image forming apparatus which forms, in accordance with an input signal, an image by using toner supplied to a developer tank from a toner supplying section, the image forming apparatus comprising: toner supply amount detecting means for detecting an amount of toner supplied to the developer tank from the toner supplying section; detecting means for detecting a signal value of each pixel of the image; a storage section for storing therein a weighting coefficient table indicating a weighting coefficient corresponding to the signal value; weighting process means for (i) acquiring, from the weighting coefficient table, the weighting coefficient corresponding to the signal value detected, and (ii) carrying out, by using the weighting coefficient acquired, a weighting process with respect to the signal value thus detected; toner consumption amount estimating means for (i) accumulating the signal value which has been subjected to the weighting process, and (ii) estimating, in accordance with a value obtained by accumulating the signal value, an amount of toner that is consumed in the image forming apparatus; and correcting means for carrying out a correcting process of rewriting the weighting coefficient table in accordance with the amount of toner that is supplied as detected by the toner supply amount detecting means, wherein the correcting means carries out the correction process a plurality of times by the time an amount of toner remaining in the toner supplying section becomes a predetermined amount, and wherein the correcting means rewrites the weighting coefficient table in a current correction process in accordance with a cumulative amount of toner supplied between a previous correction process and the current correction process.