Patent 7515844 was granted and assigned to RICOH COMPANY,LTD. on April, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An image density control method for an image forming apparatus in which, in order to keep the development capability constant over time, the toner density in the developer is manipulated to an appropriate range by changing the toner density control reference value in accordance with the toner replacement amount in a fixed time period by ascertaining changes in the image coverage of the output images, and by changing the image forming conditions at predetermined execution intervals.