Patent ID: 6929417

Claim:
A method for sensing a paper low condition for fan-folded tickets in a ticket printer, comprising: providing an aperture in a bottom portion of a paper tray which supports a stack of fan-folded tickets, the aperture being positioned at one end of said paper tray underneath an end of said stack of fan-folded tickets; positioning a reflective sensor underneath the aperture such that light from the reflective sensor passes through the aperture and is reflected off of a bottom ticket of said stack of fan-folded tickets and back to said reflective sensor when said bottom ticket is covering said aperture, indicating the presence of said fan-folded tickets; and sensing a paper low condition when enough tickets are printed such that the end of said ticket stack is lifted off the bottom portion of the paper tray and away from the aperture such that said light is not reflected back to said reflective sensor; wherein the end of said ticket stack is lifted off of the bottom portion of the paper tray and away from the aperture when either one or two tickets are left in said paper tray.