JP2000056648A - Waste toner recovering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance recovery efficiency regardless of the form of a waste toner container. SOLUTION: An aperture 12 for receiving waste toner is formed at one part of the waste toner container 11 storing the waste toner, and the container 11 is equipped with a waste toner carrying means 13 feeding the waste toner to a side opposed to the aperture 12 of the container 11 from the aperture 12 and a partition 25 forming plural small sections 21 communicating with the means 13 at a proper angle and arranged in the carrying direction of the means 13 inside the container 11. The means 13 is provided with a carrying condition that the waste toner is fed to the small section 21 positioned distant from the aperture 12 preferentially to the small section 21 positioned near to the aperture 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for transferring a toner-developed visual image carried on an image carrier to a transfer material to form an image, and removing the image from the surface of the image carrier after the transfer. The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting device that collects toner, and is used in various image forming apparatuses that mainly form an image by an electrophotographic method, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and a microfilm reader printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional waste toner collecting apparatus of this type, a residual toner scraped off from the surface of an image carrier by a cleaning blade or the like is dropped into a cleaning case as it is, and the cleaning case is rotated by a paddle. And a storage unit which is squeezed and stored in a collection unit. On the other hand, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 02-58087 and 02-18587, the toner received in the cleaning case is conveyed in one longitudinal direction by a conveying means and sent to a waste toner container. And the waste toner container is replaced with a new waste toner container every time the waste toner container becomes full. In this case, the full waste toner container is discarded.

[0003]

If the capacity of a waste toner container or the like is small, it fills up in a short time. Therefore, the waste toner container is frequently replaced with a new one, and the used one is discarded each time. It is. Therefore, it is desired to increase the size of the waste toner container. However, the larger the capacity of the waste toner container, the smaller the ratio of the feeding area of the feeding means to the total capacity of the waste toner container, and thus it becomes difficult to store the toner in the entire area at high density. In addition, the larger the capacity of the waste toner container, the more corners where waste toner is difficult to spread due to the rational arrangement of the waste with other equipment and the mechanical requirements such as durability. For example, the storage capacity is too large as compared with the bulking of the waste toner, for example, it becomes a square shape, or a partition wall for reinforcement is required and the waste toner is prevented from reaching the whole. There is a problem that it does not improve.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste toner collecting device capable of improving the storage efficiency regardless of the form of the waste toner container.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a waste toner collecting apparatus according to the present invention has an opening for receiving waste toner in a part of a waste toner container containing waste toner. Waste toner conveying means for feeding waste toner toward the side opposite to the opening of the waste toner container, and a plurality of small sections arranged in the conveying direction of the waste toner conveying means so as to communicate with the waste toner conveying means at a right angle or at an angle. A partition formed in the toner container is provided in the waste toner container, and the waste toner conveying means is configured to convey the waste toner in such a manner that a small section farther from the opening preferentially sends waste toner than a small section closer to the opening. One of the features is that the condition is satisfied.

As described above, if the waste toner container has a partition wall forming a plurality of small sections inside, the container can have sufficient mechanical strength in any container form, so that the degree of freedom in design is improved. Then, it is easy to match the arrangement conditions with the surroundings. In addition, the waste toner received from the opening provided in a part of the waste toner container is sent from the opening toward the side opposite to the opening of the waste toner container by the sheet conveying means, and is sent to the waste toner conveying means. According to the transport condition of the waste toner transport unit, the smaller the partition is located farther from the opening, according to the transport conditions of the waste toner transport unit, in order to receive the waste toner transport unit in each of the small partitions arranged in the transport direction so as to communicate at a right angle or an angle. Since the waste toner is sent in preference to the small section located near the opening, the sent waste toner is sequentially stored and compressed from the smallest section on the most downstream side in the conveying direction of the waste toner conveying means. Since the waste toner is stored and compressed in one of the upstream small compartments in a state where the downstream small compartment is full, each small compartment is difficult to reach the waste toner. Even in the case of having a certain container form, each small section can successively store waste toner at a high density, and the storage efficiency is high, and a large amount of waste toner is stored in a small volume to form an image. Space can be saved in the apparatus and the like, and the replacement cycle of the waste toner container can be lengthened.

If there is a hole through which the small sections adjacent to the partition walls forming the small sections communicate, the waste toner can flow between the adjacent small sections and one upstream side from the downstream small section. And, conversely, from the upstream small section to the one downstream section, replenishment is performed in accordance with the difference in the level of the clogging of the waste toner. A higher density of waste toner throughout can be achieved more quickly and in a shorter time.

[0008] By having a detecting means for detecting the fullness of the waste toner in the small section closest to the opening, even though the waste toner is stored in the entire waste toner container, the waste toner is finally stored. Then, when the waste toner container is full in the small section closest to the opening to be compressed, the full waste toner in the waste toner container can be correctly detected.

[0009] Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and drawings. Each feature of the present invention can be used alone or in combination in various combinations as far as possible.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below together with embodiments thereof with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 to provide an understanding of the present invention.

The present embodiment is an example of a main part around an image carrier when used in various image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a microfilm reader / printer for forming an electrophotographic image. It is.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a photosensitive drum 1 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed by analog or digital image exposure is used as an image carrier. The latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is visualized by toner development by a developing device (not shown). The visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred by a transfer device (not shown) to a suitable transfer material such as a paper or an OHP sheet that is conveyed and passed therethrough, and an image is formed.

The photosensitive drum 1 not transferred at this time
The upper residual toner is scraped into the casing 6 of the cleaning device 3 by the cleaning blade 4 and the cleaning brush 5 of the cleaning device 3. A transfer coil 7 is provided at the bottom of the casing 6 to transfer the scraped toner to one side in the longitudinal direction, drop the toner into the opening 12 of the waste toner container 11, and into the waste toner container 11 as waste toner. Be contained.

Here, the opening 12 is provided in a part of the waste toner container 11, and a conveying pipe as a waste toner conveying means for feeding the waste toner from the opening 12 toward the side opposite to the opening 12 of the waste toner container 11. 13 is provided to convey waste toner in the longitudinal direction. The waste toner container 11 includes a partition 25 that forms a plurality of small sections 21 in the waste toner container 11 that are arranged in the transport direction of the transport pipe 13 so as to communicate with the transport pipe 13 at a right angle or at an angle.
The transport pipe 13 has a transport condition in which the smaller section 21 located farther from the opening 12 preferentially sends waste toner than the smaller section 21 located closer to the opening 12.

The transport pipe 13 of the present embodiment transports waste toner to one side in the longitudinal direction at a constant speed by an internal transport coil 13a. However, the transport pipe 13 of one embodiment shown in FIGS. As described above, the outlet 31 communicating with the small section 21 at a position away from the opening 12 is larger than the outlet 31 communicating with the small section 21 at a position closer to the opening 12, so that the outlet 31 can be moved away from the opening 12. A certain small section 21 satisfies the transport condition for sending waste toner with priority over a small section located closer to the opening 12.

In another embodiment shown in FIG.
3 is opened continuously with respect to each of the small sections 21, and the opening width increases toward the downstream side in the transport direction, so that the smaller the section 21 located farther from the opening 12 is, The transport condition for sending the waste toner with higher priority than the small section located at a position close to the opening 12 is satisfied.

As described above, since the waste toner container 11 has the partition walls 25 forming the plurality of small sections 21 therein, sufficient mechanical strength can be obtained in any type of container. Therefore, the degree of freedom in design is improved, and it is easy to meet various surrounding conditions. Further, the waste toner is sent to the entire area of the waste toner container 11 through the opening 12 provided in a part of the waste toner container 11. The waste toner received from the opening 12 of the waste toner container 11 is opened by the transport pipe 13. 12, is sent toward the side opposite to the opening 12 of the waste toner container 11, and is received in each small section 21 arranged in the transport direction of the transport pipe 13 so as to communicate with the transport pipe 13 at a right angle or at an angle. Transport pipe 13
According to the above-mentioned transport conditions.

That is, as the small section 21 is farther from the opening 12, the smaller section 21 is closer to the opening 12.
Since the waste toner is sent with higher priority than the waste toner, the waste toner to be sent is sequentially stored from the lowermost section 21 in the transport direction of the transport pipe 13 and compressed, and the downstream smaller section 21 is compressed. Since the waste toner is stored and compressed in one of the small compartments 21 on the upstream side in a full state, each of the small compartments 21 has a container form having a corner portion where the waste toner is difficult to reach. In each of the small sections 21, the waste toner can be sequentially stored at a high density from the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport pipe 13, and the storage efficiency is high and a large amount of waste toner is stored in a small volume. As a result, space can be saved in the image forming apparatus and the like, and the replacement cycle of the waste toner container 11 can be lengthened.

The waste toner container 1 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a flat container having a square planar shape, and the transport pipe 13 is arranged along one side thereof. The opening 12 of the waste toner container 11 is located at one end of the transport pipe 13. Accordingly, the opening 12 is located at one corner of the waste toner container 11 having a rectangular shape in a plane, and the small sections 21 and the partition walls 25 are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport pipe 13 in the longitudinal direction of the transport pipe 13. have.

The waste toner received in some of the openings 12 is simply transported along one side of the waste toner container 11 by the transport pipe 13, but is sequentially transferred to each small section 21 from the downstream in the transport direction according to the transport conditions. The waste toner can be stored at high density in all of the small sections 21. For this, the small sections 21 are sequentially arranged in the transport direction of the transport pipe 13 so that the transport pipe 13
The condition of being in a direction perpendicular to the transport pipe 13 is not essential, and may be any arrangement, angle, or arrangement that does not interfere with the transport conditions.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the partition wall 25 forming the small section 21 has a hole 32 through which the adjacent small sections 21 communicate. As a result, waste toner can flow between the adjacent small sections 21 through the holes 32, and from the downstream small section 21 to the one upstream small section 21, and
Conversely, one small section 21 on the downstream side from the small section 21 on the upstream side
In addition, since the replenishment is performed according to the difference in the level of the clogging of the waste toner, the waste toner is likely to be stored at high density over the entire waste toner container 11 eventually. This includes hole 32
Although it may be one, it is preferable that an appropriate number be distributed over the entire area of the partition wall 25 because the work described above can be obtained in each part of the small sections 21. However, each of the small sections 21 as described above
The size and the number of the waste toner are not suitable for preventing the waste toner from being sequentially stored.

In this embodiment, the detecting means 4 for detecting the fullness of the waste toner in the small section 21 closest to the opening 12 is also provided.
1, the waste toner container 11 is stored in the entire waste toner container 11, but the waste toner container 11 is filled with the waste toner in the small compartment 21 where the waste toner is finally stored. The entire waste toner can be correctly detected.

When this is viewed in a concrete configuration in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the most upstream small section 2 of the transport pipe 13 is shown.
When the transfer coil 13a is full of waste toner and cannot be further fed, the transfer coil 13a in the transfer pipe 13
The driving load of the drive gear 46 increases, and the
Due to the load applied to the waste toner container 11, the rotational force about the shaft 42 supporting the waste toner container 11
Is rotated in the direction of arrow A. Waste toner container 11 is shaft 4
When rotated around 2, the waste toner full detection lever 43 provided on the waste toner container 11 is disengaged from the waste toner full detection sensor 44, so that the waste toner full detection sensor 44 detects that the waste toner container 11 is full. To detect.

The present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and the image carrier for carrying a toner-developed visual image may be of a belt type or formed from an electrostatic latent image. For example, an image carrier may be used in which a visible image formed by, for example, a member other than the photoconductor is transferred and carried, and the transferred image is transferred to a transfer material again to form an image. Further, there are various specific configurations for removing the residual toner after transfer on the surface of the image carrier and dropping or supplying the toner to the opening of the waste toner container of the present invention as long as the object can be achieved. May be adopted. Further, the specific configuration of the waste toner container of the present invention is also free, and the design of the container, the position of the opening, the way of providing the partition, and the like can be variously changed.

Further, the waste toner container is conveyed in a direction in which a plurality of small sections are arranged from the position of the opening to the side facing the opening, and
As the waste toner conveying means for storing and compressing the waste toner under predetermined conveying conditions, various means other than the illustrated ones can be adopted. There are various types of conveying bodies for conveying the waste toner, such as a screw or blade type.

[0026]

According to the waste toner collecting apparatus of the present invention, since the waste toner container can have a sufficient mechanical strength in any form by the partition walls forming a plurality of small sections therein, the degree of freedom in design can be improved. Along with the improvement, the waste toner received from the opening provided in a part, in order to be received in each small section, is sequentially stored from the small section on the most downstream side in the conveying direction of the waste toner conveying means, The waste toner is stored in one of the upstream sub-compartments and compressed as the downstream sub-compartments are filled, and each of the sub-compartments is difficult to reach the waste toner. Even in the case where the container has a container shape having corners, it is possible to sequentially store waste toner at a high density in each small section, and the storage efficiency is high and a large amount of waste toner is stored in a small volume. To save space in image forming equipment It can bets, it is possible to lengthen the replacement cycle of the waste toner container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a cleaning device around an image carrier and a waste toner collecting device of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention together with one embodiment thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a waste toner container of the waste toner collecting device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a transport pipe provided in the waste toner container of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conveyance pipe provided in the waste toner container of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photoconductor drum 3 cleaning device 6 casing 7 transfer coil 11 waste toner container 12 opening 13 transfer pipe 13a transfer coil 21 small section 25 partition wall 31 feed-out port 32 hole 41 detection means 42 shaft 43 waste toner full detection lever 44 waste toner full detection sensor 46 Drive gear

Claims (3)

[Claims] An opening for receiving the waste toner in a part of the waste toner container accommodating the waste toner, a waste toner conveying means for feeding the waste toner from the opening toward a side opposite to the opening of the waste toner container; The waste toner container is provided with a partition wall in the waste toner container that forms a plurality of small sections in the waste toner container that communicate with the waste toner transport unit at a right angle or at an angle and are arranged in the transport direction of the waste toner transport unit. A waste toner collecting apparatus characterized in that there is a conveyance condition for sending waste toner preferentially to a small section located at a position farther away from a small section located at a position closer to an opening. 2. The waste toner collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the partition forming the small section has a hole through which the adjacent small sections communicate. 3. The waste toner collecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit configured to detect a full state of the waste toner container in a small section closest to the opening.