Patent ID: 8384403

Claim:
A system to detect an electrical charge and a layer thickness of a layer of toner particles in a printer or copier, comprising: a measurement arrangement that has a first electrode and at least one second electrode situated adjacent the first electrode; an endless intermediate image carrier on a generated surface of which a toner image can be generated; a drive unit that drives the intermediate image carrier so that its generated surface is directed in a revolving manner past the first and the second electrodes situated opposite the generated surface; an evaluation unit electrically connected with the first electrode and the second electrode; the evaluation unit detecting an electrical current flowing between the first and second electrodes and the evaluation unit; the evaluation unit determining the layer thickness of the layer of toner particles on the intermediate image carrier arranged in a detection region at the intermediate image carrier in a first measurement procedure with aid of the detected current; and the same evaluation unit also determining the electrical charge of the layer of toner particles in the detection region of the intermediate image carrier in a second measurement procedure with aid of the detected current.