Patent ID: 8718496

Claim:
A toner container, comprising: at least one mechanism for handling toner within the toner container; and at least two electrodes disposed within the toner container, the at least two electrodes forming at least one capacitor having a capacitance that changes in response to a change in an amount of toner existing between the at least two electrodes; wherein at least one of the at least two electrodes includes a component of the at least one mechanism that handles toner within the toner container; wherein the at least two electrodes includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a sense electrode disposed between the first and the second electrodes, the sense electrode and the first electrode forming a first capacitor, and the sense electrode and the second electrode forming a second capacitor, the first and second electrodes being electrically coupled to each other; wherein the sense electrode includes one or more slots formed through a body thereof and wherein the toner container further comprises a movable toner agitator disposed within the toner container and having one or more blades, the toner agitator being disposed adjacent the sense electrode such that movement of the toner agitator causes the one or more blades to pass through the one or more slots of the sense electrode.