Patent Publication Number: US-10775729-B2

Title: Remaining toner amount detecting apparatus, remaining toner amount detecting method, and recording medium

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-007334, filed on Jan. 18, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a remaining toner amount detecting apparatus, a remaining toner amount detecting method, and a recording medium. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In an image forming apparatus of the electrophotographic method, there is a technology in which the toner amount in a toner bottle is detected as a change in the capacitance, to recognize the toner amount. 
     For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a plurality of pairs of electrodes are provided on the outside of the peripheral surface of a toner bottle along a longitudinal direction, the capacitance between the electrodes is measured for each pair of electrodes, and the toner distribution in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle is calculated based on the change in the measured capacitance. Accordingly, the toner amount in the toner bottle can be more accurately detected. 
     Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-66789 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remaining toner amount detecting apparatus for detecting a remaining toner amount in a toner bottle, the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus including at least one pair of electrodes that are configured to face each other with the toner bottle interposed between the electrodes; a first estimator configured to estimate the remaining toner amount based on a capacitance between the electrodes of the at least one pair of electrodes; a second estimator configured to estimate the remaining toner amount by counting a number of pixels in a printed image; and an estimation selector configured to use either one of the first estimator or the second estimator to output the remaining toner amount, based on a temperature or a humidity inside an apparatus in which the toner bottle is mounted. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a remaining toner amount detecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view illustrating an enlarged view of one of four toner bottles according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of along a line III-III in  FIG. 2  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example in which an electrode pair is arc-shaped along an outer peripheral surface of a toner bottle according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a failure when the electrode pair is arc-shaped according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a failure when the electrode pair is arc-shaped according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a functional block diagram of the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the remaining toner amount detection process according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating switching of a remaining toner amount detecting method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the capacitance method of the related art such as in Patent Document 1, when the humidity in the apparatus in which the toner bottle is placed is extremely high (for example, the humidity is 90% or more), there is a problem in that the toner amount cannot be correctly detected and a larger amount of toner than the actual amount of toner is detected. In this case, the toner absorbs the moisture in the air, and because the dielectric constant of toner is higher than that of water, an error occurs in the measured capacitance. Further, at a high temperature, the resin member to which the electrodes are attached is deformed due to thermal expansion, and, therefore, the distance between the electrodes changes, and the toner amount cannot be correctly detected. 
     A problem to be addressed by an embodiment of the present invention is to detect the remaining toner amount more accurately. 
     Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate the understanding of the description, the same elements in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and overlapping descriptions are omitted. 
       FIG. 1  is a hardware configuration diagram illustrating a remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to an embodiment. 
     The remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  is mounted in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, and detects the remaining toner amount in each of four toner bottles  60 Y,  60 M,  60 C, and  60 K in which toner of the corresponding color (yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B)) used for forming an image by the image forming apparatus is contained. The remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  can be mounted as a part of a toner supplying apparatus  70  (see  FIG. 2 ) that supplies toner from the toner bottles  60 Y,  60 M,  60 C, and  60 K to a developing device of the image forming apparatus. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  includes an engine control substrate  10 , a remaining toner amount detecting substrate  20 , and pairs of plate electrodes (plate electrode pairs)  30 Y,  30 M,  30 C, and  30 K respectively disposed above and below the corresponding toner bottles  60 Y,  60 M,  60 C, and  60 K of the respective colors. Note that the four toner bottles  60 Y,  60 M,  60 C, and  60 K have the same configuration except that the color of the toner to be used is different, and the plate electrode pairs  30 Y,  30 M,  30 C, and  30 K have the same configuration except that the color of the toner to be used is different, and, therefore, in the following description and drawings, these may be referred to collectively as the toner bottle  60  and the plate electrode pair  30 , respectively. 
     The engine control substrate  10  is an apparatus for controlling the printing engine of the image forming apparatus. The engine control substrate  10  includes an engine control Central Processing Unit (CPU)  11 , which mainly manages engine control, a Flash Read-Only Memory (FROM)  12 , which stores an engine control program, and an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)  13 , which stores a machine-specific setting value. Further, when the internal Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) of the engine control CPU  11  alone is insufficient, an external Random Access Memory (RAM)  14  may be mounted. 
     The engine control CPU  11  performs the following four control operations according to the present embodiment. 
     (1) Pixel count 
     (2) Temperature and humidity detection 
     (3) Remaining toner amount detection control by pixel count 
     (4) Control to switch between the remaining toner amount detection control by a capacitance method and the remaining toner amount detection control by the pixel count 
     The “pixel count” of the above-described (1) is a process of counting the number of pixels printed for each printed image, after the toner bottle  60  is attached to the image forming apparatus. The “remaining toner amount detection control by pixel count” in the above-described (3) is a process of estimating the toner usage amount based on the counted number of pixels and calculating the remaining toner amount in the toner bottle  60  based on the estimated toner usage amount. 
     The “temperature and humidity detection” in the above-described (2) is a process of detecting the temperature and humidity inside the image forming apparatus. A temperature and humidity sensor  40  is connected to the engine control CPU  11 , and the internal temperature and humidity of the image forming apparatus are calculated based on the output of the temperature and humidity sensor  40 . Note that the mounting position of the temperature and humidity sensor  40  may be any position as long as the temperature and humidity in the apparatus can be detected, and, therefore, there is no specified position. However, when the temperature and humidity sensor  40  is mounted near the fixing heater, it is highly likely that the correct temperature and humidity in the apparatus cannot be detected, and, therefore, the mounting position of the temperature and humidity sensor  40  is preferably a position that is not near the fixing heater. The switching control of the detection method of the remaining toner amount in the above-described (4) will be described later with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
     The remaining toner amount detecting substrate  20  includes a capacitance detecting microcomputer  21 . The capacitance detecting microcomputer  21  detects the remaining toner amount by the capacitance method, as a control operation according to the present embodiment. 
     The capacitance detecting microcomputer  21  is connected to the engine control CPU  11  mounted on the engine control substrate  10  by serial communication. The capacitance detecting microcomputer  21  is connected to the plate electrode pair  30  disposed above and below the toner bottle  60  of each color. The capacitance detecting microcomputer  21  detects a capacitance value between the electrodes of the plate electrode pair  30  and calculates the remaining toner amount in each toner bottle  60  based on the detected capacitance value. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating an enlarged view of one of the four toner bottles  60  in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view along a line III-III in  FIG. 2 . 
     The toner bottle  60  is supported by two guide units  64  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The toner bottle  60  is substantially cylindrical and, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the toner bottle  60  is formed mainly of a cap  63  held in a non-rotating manner in a toner container housing unit of the image forming apparatus and a container body  61  with which a gear  62  is integrally formed. The container body  61  is rotatably held relative to the cap  63 , and the gear  62  engages with a drive output gear  73  of the toner supplying apparatus  70 . When a driving motor  74  rotates the drive output gear  73 , the drive is transmitted to the gear  62  of the container body  61 , and the container body  61  is driven to rotate while the outer peripheral surface is guided by the guide units  64 . 
     As the container body  61  rotates, the toner contained inside the container body  61  is conveyed from the left side to the right side in  FIG. 2  along the longitudinal direction of the container body  61 , by a spiral projection  65  formed in a spiral manner on the inner peripheral surface of the container body  61 . The conveyed toner is discharged from the toner bottle  60  and the toner is supplied to a hopper unit  71  of the toner supplying apparatus  70 . That is, as the container body  61  of the toner bottle  60  is rotatably driven by the driving motor  74  as appropriate, the toner is supplied to the hopper unit  71  as appropriate. The toner inside the hopper unit  71  is supplied to the developing device of the image forming apparatus by the rotation of a toner conveying screw  72 . Each of the toner bottles  60 Y,  60 M,  60 C, and  60 K of one of the colors is replaced with a new toner bottle  60  when the toner bottle  60  reaches the end of the service life thereof (when almost all of the contained toner is consumed and the toner bottle  60  becomes empty). 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , one electrode of the plate electrode pair  30  is attached to an upper wall surface  66  of the toner bottle  60  and the other electrode of the plate electrode pair  30  is attached to a lower wall surface  67  of the toner bottle  60 . That is, almost the entire toner bottle  60  is covered by the two electrodes of the plate electrode pair  30  from the upper direction and from the lower direction. 
     The plate electrode may be any electrically conductive member and, in the present embodiment, the plate electrode is a plate member made of iron. The capacitance detecting microcomputer  21  measures the capacitance between the two electrodes of the plate electrode pair  30  disposed as described above. The method of measuring the capacitance may be a general method, and in the present embodiment, the capacitance is measured by the charging method. Here, the “charging method” is a method in which a constant voltage and a constant current are applied between the electrodes and the capacitance is measured based on the relationship of the time point of reaching the charged state with the voltage and current. The capacitance varies according to the dielectric constant between the electrodes and the dielectric constant of toner is high relative to the dielectric constant of air, and, therefore, by measuring the capacitance, it is possible to detect the change in the toner amount in the toner bottle  60 , and the remaining toner amount can be recognized. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example in which each electrode in an electrode pair  30 A has an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle  60 .  FIGS. 5  and  6  are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating a failure in a case where the electrode pair  30 A is made to have an arc shape. The overview of the cross-sectional views of  FIGS. 4 to 6  is the same as that of  FIG. 3 . 
     In the present embodiment, each electrode of the electrode pair  30  is preferably a flat plate electrode; however, electrodes other than flat plate electrodes may be applied, such as the electrode pair  30 A formed in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle  60 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . However, the electrode pair  30 A having an arc shape has the following disadvantages. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the toner in the toner bottle  60  may be unevenly distributed. As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , in the case of the arc-shaped electrode pair  30 A, the density of the electric lines of force differs between the A region at the end portion of the electrode and the B region at the center portion of the electrode. Therefore, there may be a difference in the capacitance between a state in which toner is unevenly distributed in the toner bottle  60  and a state in which toner is uniformly distributed. On the other hand, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , when the plate electrode pair  30  is used, even when the toner is unevenly distributed as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a constant value can be measured as the capacitance value regardless of the uneven distribution of the toner. 
       FIG. 7  is a functional block diagram of the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1 . As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to the present embodiment includes a capacitance detecting unit  101 , a first estimating unit  102 , a pixel counting unit  103 , a second estimating unit  104 , an estimation selecting unit  105 , and a temperature and humidity detecting unit  106 , as functions related to the remaining toner amount detection described above. 
     The capacitance detecting unit  101  detects the capacitance between the electrodes of the plate electrode pair  30  based on the output of the plate electrode pair  30 . 
     The first estimating unit  102  estimates the remaining toner amount in the toner bottle  60  based on the capacitance detected by the capacitance detecting unit  101 . That is, the first estimating unit  102  performs a remaining toner amount detection process of the capacitance method. 
     The pixel counting unit  103  counts the number of pixels of a printed image and outputs the accumulated number after the toner bottle  60  is attached to the image forming apparatus as the pixel count value. 
     The second estimating unit  104  estimates the remaining toner amount in the toner bottle  60  based on the pixel count value counted by the pixel counting unit  103 . That is, the second estimating unit  104  performs the remaining toner amount detection process based on the pixel count. 
     The temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  detects the temperature and humidity in the apparatus in which the toner bottle  60  is mounted based on the output of the temperature and humidity sensor  40 . 
     The estimation selecting unit  105  uses one of the first estimating unit  102  and the second estimating unit  104  for outputting the remaining toner amount based on the information of the temperature and humidity of the image forming apparatus detected by the temperature and humidity detecting unit  106 . 
     More specifically, the estimation selecting unit  105  selects the first estimating unit  102  when the temperature detected by the temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  is less than a predetermined threshold value θ 1  and the humidity detected by the temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  is less than a predetermined threshold value θ 2 , and uses the remaining toner amount detection process of the capacitance method for outputting the remaining toner amount. On the other hand, when the temperature is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value θ 1  or the humidity is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value θ 2 , the estimation selecting unit  105  selects the second estimating unit  104  and uses the remaining toner amount detection process based on the pixel count to output the remaining toner amount. That is, when the temperature or humidity becomes greater than or equal to the threshold value θ 1  or θ 2 , the estimation selecting unit  105  switches the estimating unit used for outputting the remaining toner amount from the first estimating unit  102  to the second estimating unit  104 , and when the temperature or humidity falls below the threshold value θ 1  or θ 2 , the estimation selecting unit  105  switches the estimating unit used for outputting the remaining toner amount from the second estimating unit  104  to the first estimating unit  102 . 
     The functions of the pixel counting unit  103 , the second estimating unit  104 , the estimation selecting unit  105 , and the temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  illustrated in  FIG. 7  are implemented by reading and writing data with respect to the RAM  14  or the EEPROM  13  under the control of the engine control CPU  11  by loading predetermined computer software (a remaining toner amount detection program) stored in the FROM  12  into hardware such as the engine control CPU  11 , the RAM  14 , and the like, of the engine control substrate  10  of  FIG. 1 . Further, the functions of the capacitance detecting unit  101  and the first estimating unit  102  illustrated in  FIG. 7  are implemented under the control of the CPU inside the capacitance detecting microcomputer  21 , by loading predetermined computer software (a remaining toner amount detection program) into the capacitance detecting microcomputer  21  of the remaining toner amount detecting substrate  20 . That is, by executing the remaining toner amount detection program according to the present embodiment on a computer, the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  functions as the capacitance detecting unit  101 , the first estimating unit  102 , the pixel counting unit  103 , the second estimating unit  104 , the estimation selecting unit  105 , and the temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  of  FIG. 7 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a remaining toner amount detecting method according to the present embodiment will be described.  FIG. 8  is a flowchart of a remaining toner amount detection process performed by the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to the present embodiment. The process of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 8  is repeatedly executed during the operation by the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  at any timing, for example, at predetermined cycles. 
     In step S 1 , the temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  detects the temperature and humidity in the image forming apparatus in which the toner bottle  60  is mounted, based on the output of the temperature and humidity sensor  40 . The temperature and humidity detecting unit  106  outputs the information of the detected temperature and humidity to the estimation selecting unit  105 . 
     In step S 2 , the estimation selecting unit  105  determines whether the temperature detected in step S 1  is less than a predetermined temperature threshold value θ 1  and the humidity detected in step S 1  is less than a predetermined humidity threshold value θ 2  (estimation selecting step). Here, the threshold values θ 1  and θ 2  are set to be the lower limits of temperature and humidity where the accuracy of the remaining toner amount detecting method of the capacitance method decreases. When the condition is satisfied (YES in step S 2 ), the process proceeds to step S 3 , and when the condition is not satisfied (NO in step S 2 ), the process proceeds to step S 4 . 
     In step S 3 , as a result of the determination of step S 2 , the temperature inside the apparatus is less than the threshold value θ 1  and the humidity inside the apparatus is less than the threshold value θ 2 , and the temperature/humidity condition is such that the accuracy of the remaining toner amount detecting method of the capacitance method does not decrease, and, therefore, the estimation selecting unit  105  selects the first estimating unit  102  for outputting the remaining toner amount (estimation selecting step, first estimation step). That is, the estimation selecting unit  105  estimates the remaining toner amount based on the capacitance of the plate electrode pair  30 . 
     In step S 4 , as a result of the determination of step S 2 , the temperature inside the apparatus is greater than or equal to the threshold value θ 1  or the humidity inside the apparatus is greater than or equal to the threshold value θ 2 , and the condition is high temperature or high humidity such that the accuracy of the remaining toner amount detecting method of the capacitance method decreases, and, therefore, the estimation selecting unit  105  selects the second estimating unit  104  for outputting the remaining toner amount (estimation selecting step, second estimation step). That is, the estimation selecting unit  105  estimates the remaining toner amount based on the pixel count. 
     Note that in the condition determination of step S 2 , only either one of the temperature or the humidity may be used. 
     Next, the effect of the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a diagram for describing the switching of the remaining toner amount detecting method. The vertical axis of  FIG. 9  indicates the remaining toner amount in the toner bottle  60 , and the horizontal axis indicates the usage time after the toner bottle  60  is attached to the image forming apparatus. That is,  FIG. 9  illustrates the transition in which the remaining toner amount gradually decreases with the passage of the usage time. 
     The remaining toner amount detection by the capacitance method is more accurate than the remaining toner amount detection control by a strain sensor; however, the remaining toner amount detection by the capacitance method depends on the temperature and humidity environment, and the accuracy tends to decrease in the extreme HH (high temperature and high humidity) environment. When the humidity is extremely high (for example, 90% or more), the toner absorbs moisture in the air, and the dielectric constant of the toner is higher than that of water, and, therefore, the toner amount cannot be correctly detected, and the toner amount is detected to be greater than the actual toner amount. Further, at a high temperature (for example, 38° C. or more), the distance between the electrodes may change due to thermal expansion of the resin member to which the electrodes are attached, and the toner amount may not be correctly detected. 
     On the other hand, in the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to the present embodiment, by performing the process illustrated in the flowchart of  FIG. 8 , the estimation selecting unit  105  uses, for outputting the remaining toner amount, either one of the remaining toner amount detecting method of the capacitance method by the first estimating unit  102  or the remaining toner amount detecting method based on the pixel count by the second estimating unit  104 , based on the temperature and humidity in the apparatus in which the toner bottle is mounted. More specifically, when the temperature becomes greater than or equal to the predetermined temperature threshold value θ 1  or when the humidity becomes greater than or equal to the predetermined humidity threshold value θ 2 , the estimating unit used for outputting the remaining toner amount is switched from the first estimating unit  102  to the second estimating unit  104 , and when the temperature falls below the predetermined temperature threshold value θ 1  and the humidity falls below the predetermined humidity threshold value θ 2 , the estimating unit used for outputting the remaining toner amount is switched from the second estimating unit  104  to the first estimating unit  102 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 9 , the remaining toner amount is detected according to the remaining toner amount detection control by the capacitance method by the first estimating unit  102 , during a period from the start of usage to a time point X when the temperature or the humidity in the apparatus is detected to be a predetermined value (for example, a temperature threshold value θ 1 =38° C. or a humidity threshold value θ 2 =90%). 
     Then, at the time point X, when the temperature or humidity inside the apparatus is detected to be a temperature threshold value θ 1  or a humidity threshold value θ 2 , the detection accuracy of the capacitance method decreases, and, therefore, the method is switched to the remaining toner amount detection based on the pixel count by the second estimating unit  104 . In the remaining toner amount detection by the pixel count, the number of pixels per printed image is counted; the detection error per image is small, and, therefore, the estimation accuracy of the remaining toner amount is higher than that of the capacitance method under high temperature or high humidity, so that the remaining toner amount can be detected more accurately. 
     Further, at the time point Y, when the temperature and humidity inside the apparatus are detected to be below the temperature threshold value θ 1  and the humidity threshold value θ 2 , the remaining toner amount detecting method is returned from the remaining toner amount detection control by the pixel count by the second estimating unit  104  to the remaining amount detection control by the capacitance method by the first estimating unit  102 . 
     As described above, by performing the process illustrated in the flowchart of  FIG. 8 , the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to the present embodiment can switch the remaining toner amount detecting method from the capacitance method by the first estimating unit  102  to the method based on the pixel count by the second estimating unit  104  when the condition becomes a high temperature condition or a high humidity condition at which the accuracy of the remaining toner amount detecting method by the capacitance method decreases. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the accuracy of estimating the remaining toner amount. Accordingly, it is possible to more accurately detect the remaining toner amount and more accurately detect near end of the toner bottle  60 . 
     Incidentally, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the temperature and humidity sensor  40  is mounted in the apparatus or a separate sensor is provided in the apparatus. However, the value measured by the temperature and humidity sensor  40  may differ from the actual temperature and humidity around the toner bottle  60 , and, therefore, even if the temperature and humidity sensor  40  detects the threshold values θ 1  and θ 2 , the actual temperature and humidity around the toner bottle  60  may be less than the threshold values. In this case, the remaining toner amount detecting method may be inadvertently switched, even though it is not necessary to switch to the remaining toner amount detection by the pixel count. 
     Therefore, when switching from the remaining toner amount detection by the pixel count to the remaining toner amount detection by the capacitance method, or when switching from the remaining toner amount detection by the capacitance method to the remaining toner amount detection by the pixel count, the switching may be delayed until the estimation selecting unit  105  actually switches the estimating unit to be used for outputting the remaining toner amount. Accordingly, an environmental condition in which the detected value of the temperature and humidity sensor  40  and the temperature and humidity around the toner bottle  60  are close to each other can be realized, so that the control method can be switched at a more correct timing and it is possible to prevent the remaining toner amount detecting method from switching needlessly. 
     Further, in the remaining toner amount detecting apparatus  1  according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the electrode pair for measuring the capacitance is the plate electrode pair  30  made of flat plate electrodes. Accordingly, the distance between the electrodes facing each other is constant, and, therefore, it is possible to prevent the impact of the uneven distribution of toner in the toner bottle  60 , so that the value of the measured capacitance can be stabilized. Thus, the accuracy in estimating the remaining toner amount can be improved. 
     As described above, the present embodiment has been described with reference to the specific examples. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. The specific examples, to which design modifications have been appropriately made by those skilled in the art, are also encompassed by the present disclosure as long as they possess the features of the present disclosure. The elements provided in each of the specific examples described above, and the arrangement, conditions, shape, and the like, may be appropriately modified without being limited to those exemplified. Each element provided by each of the above-described specific examples may vary in combination as appropriate, unless there is a technical inconsistency. 
     In the embodiment described above, one plate electrode pair  30  is disposed outside of the toner bottle  60  as an example; however, the number of electrode pairs may be at least one, and a plurality of plate electrode pairs  30  may be disposed along the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle  60 . 
     In the above-described embodiment, the plate electrode pair  30  is disposed outside the toner bottle  60 . However, for example, a pair of electrodes having a shape other than a flat plate, such as an arc shape illustrated in  FIGS. 4 to 6 , may be disposed. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, the remaining toner amount can be detected more accurately. 
     The remaining toner amount detecting apparatus, the remaining toner amount detecting method, and the recording medium are not limited to the specific embodiments described in the detailed description, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.