JP2001005362A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image forming device which is capable of recovering efficiently biodegradably developers and reducing the environmental pollution by disposal of recovered developers. SOLUTION: This image forming device 10 includes a cleaning device 24 and the toners 18b, made to remain on the surface of a photosensitive drum 12 are recovered by a rubber blade 24a disposed at the cleaning device 24. The toners 18b are biodegradable, and the recovered toners 18b are brought into contact with biocatalysts (microorganisms, such as bacteria or enzymes) supplied from a housing 24b in a storage section 1. Furthermore, the recovered toners 18b and the biocatalysts are agitated by an agitating screw 24d and, therefore, the recovered toners 18b is brought uniformly into contact with the biocatalysts. As a result, efficient progress of the biodegradation of the recovered toners 18b is made possible and the environmental pollution by the disposal of the toners is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using a biodegradable developer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art One example of this type of conventional image forming apparatus is as follows.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 6-10 filed on Apr. 15, 1994
No. 2802 [G03G 2/00, B09B 3
/ 00] and JP-A-7-92788 [G03G 15/08], which was published on April 7, 1995. In the former waste toner processing apparatus, the waste toner decomposed substance is discharged from the second storage unit to the first storage unit in accordance with the discharge of the waste toner to the first storage unit that stores the waste toner. Therefore, the decomposed waste toner is effectively treated.

The latter toner container for developing an electrostatic latent image contains n-type semiconductor particles and / or biodegradable plastic or photodegradable plastic in a container forming material such as propylene resin. If the toner container for developing an electrostatic latent image is buried in soil for four months, the container is biodegraded, thereby avoiding environmental pollution.

[0004]

However, in these prior arts, in the former case, the waste toner decomposed material is discharged in accordance with the discharge of the waste toner, but the waste toner and the waste toner are disposed at predetermined positions. Since the decomposed substances are discharged, the contact between the waste toner and the waste toner decomposed substances is biased,
The progress of biodegradation was inefficient.

[0005] In the latter case, contamination by the container can be avoided to some extent, but since the developer is not treated at all, environmental contamination is inevitable. Also, in order to eliminate environmental pollution, biodegradable toners using biodegradable resins are being actively developed, but it takes a considerable amount of time to be biodegraded in the soil, so there is no environmental burden at all. Do not mean.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently biodegrading a collected developer and reducing environmental pollution due to disposal of the collected developer.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus which uses a biodegradable developer, forms the developer on the surface of an image carrier, and transfers the developer formed on the image carrier to paper. A recovery container for recovering the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the end of the transfer, a storage unit provided in the recovery container and storing a biocatalyst for biodegrading the recovered developer, and a recovery container. And an agitating means for agitating the collected developer and the biocatalyst to advance the biodegradation of the collected developer.

[0008]

In this image forming apparatus, an image of a developer corresponding to desired information is formed on the surface of an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum using a biodegradable developer. Then, the image of the developer formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum is transferred to the paper. When the transfer is completed, the developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum is collected in a collection container such as a cleaning device. Further, a biocatalyst (a microorganism or an enzyme such as a bacterium or a fungus) that biodegrades the collected developer (recovered developer) is stored in a storage section provided in the recovery container. Since the stirring means stirs the collected developer and the biocatalyst in the collection container, the collected developer and the biocatalyst can be uniformly contacted.

For example, the detecting means detects the stored amount of the collected developer, and when the collected developer becomes full, the warning means warns the discard of the collected developer. In response, the operator discards the collected developer. can do.

Further, since the recovery container is provided with a recovery developer waste port, only the recovery developer can be taken out and disposed.

Further, the storage section has a supply means for supplying the biocatalyst into the collection container. Therefore, when the developer remaining on the surface of the photoconductor is collected in the collection container, the biocatalyst is supplied from the storage unit by the supply unit. As described above, the recovered developer and the biocatalyst can be brought into contact with each other with a simple mechanism.

Further, the number of developments may be counted by the counting means, and the indicating means may be activated according to the number of developments. That is, the biocatalyst can be automatically supplied when needed.

[0013] The image forming apparatus is further provided with a temperature adjusting means for adjusting at least a part of the inside of the collection container to a constant temperature. For example, by driving a heater, a fan, or the like, a portion where the collected developer and the biocatalyst are stirred is adjusted to a constant temperature. Therefore, the biocatalyst is maintained at the optimum temperature for propagation, and the biodegradation proceeds smoothly. In addition, it is possible to prevent the biocatalyst from being killed by the high temperature.

[0014]

According to the present invention, since the collected developer and the biocatalyst are brought into uniform contact, the biodegradation of the collected developer can proceed efficiently in the collection container, and the collected developer is discarded. Environmental pollution can be reduced.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016]

Referring to FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a photosensitive drum 12 as an image carrier, and the photosensitive drum 12 is provided substantially at the center of the main body of the image forming apparatus 10. A charger 14 is provided above the photoconductor drum 12, and an exposure device 16 is provided diagonally above and to the right of the photoconductor drum 12. Therefore, the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 is uniformly charged by the charger 14, and the uniformly charged surface is irradiated with laser light corresponding to desired information. Therefore, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 12.

On the right side of the photosensitive drum 12, a developing unit 18 is provided. The developing unit 18 includes a developing roller 18a and a biodegradable developer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "toner") 18b. The developing roller 18a is provided so as to be in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 12, and supplies the toner 18b to the photosensitive drum 12. That is, the toner 18 b is attached to the electrostatic latent image, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 12.

The toner 18b will be described in detail.
The toner 18b is composed of a binder resin (binder resin), a colorant (carbon black, dye, etc.) and a compounding agent. As the binder resin, any known biodegradable resin can be used. For example, polycaprolactone, polybutyric acid, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene bricol, polyurethane, polyamide, polyethylene adibide, fatty acid polyester , Polyglycolide, aliphatic polyglycolic acid, polyhydroxybrillate and derivatives thereof.

Further, pullulan, 3-hydroxybutyrate-3-hydroxyvalerate copolymer, 3-hydroxybutyrate-4-hydroxyvalerate copolymer, 3
-Hydroxybutyrate-4-hydroxybutyrate copolymer, polycaprolactam-polyethylene blend copolymer, polycaprolactam-6-nylon blend copolymer, aliphatic polyester-aromatic polyester copolymer, aliphatic polyester-polyamide Copolymer, glycolide-lac value copolymer, water-soluble poly-α-amino acid, 6-nylon oligomer, ethylene isophthalate-caprolactam copolymer, amide-aliphatic polyester block copolymer, ethylene mixed with starch An acrylic acid copolymer, an ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer mixed with gelatinized starch, a carbon dioxide-ethylene oxide copolymer, and the like can also be used.

Further, a starch-polyethylene blend composite, a starch-polypropylene blend composite, a cellulose-chitosan mixture, a cellulose ester, an amylose ester, a softwood glucomannan, a galactoglucomannan, a softwood 4-o-methylglucuronoarabinoxylan, Hardwood 4-o-glucuronoxylan, hardwood lignin, esterified wood flour, and the like can also be used.

Such binder resins (biodegradable resins) can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

Further, as a compounding agent, a charge controlling agent, a releasing agent, a magnetic powder and the like can be used. The charge control agent includes a positive charge control agent and a negative charge control agent, and one of them is used depending on the polarity of the generated toner 18b. As the positive charge control agent, an organic compound having a basic nitrogen atom, for example, a basic dye, an aminopyrine, a pyrimidine compound, a polynuclear polyamino compound, an aminosilane, or a filler surface-treated with these compounds can be used. it can. Further, as the negative charge control agent, compounds having a carboxyl group such as a metal alkylsalicylate chelate, for example, a metal complex dye, a fatty acid soap, and a metal naphthenate can be used. The positive and negative charge control agents are added in a proportion of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, more preferably 0.5 to 8 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin.

Examples of the release agent include aliphatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic metal salts, higher aliphatics, aliphatic esters or partially saponified portions thereof, silicone oil, various waxes and the like. Among them, the weight average molecular weight is 1
It is preferable to use an aliphatic hydrocarbon of about 000 to 10,000. Specifically, low molecular weight propylene,
It is optimal to use one or a combination of two or more of a low molecular weight olefin polymer composed of an olefin unit having 4 or more carbon atoms, such as a parffin wax.
The release agent is blended in an amount of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, more preferably 0.5 to 8 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin.

Examples of the magnetic powder include various ferrites such as ferric oxide, iron sesquioxide, iron oxide zinc, iron yttrium oxide, iron cadmium oxide, iron cadolinium oxide, iron copper oxide, iron oxide lead, and neodymium oxide. , Iron barium oxide, iron magnesium oxide, iron manganese oxide, iron lanthanum oxide, iron powder, cobalt powder, nickel powder and the like can be used. The magnetic powder is blended in a ratio of 0.1 to 2.0 parts by weight, more preferably in a ratio of 0.1 to 0.5 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin.

The image forming apparatus 10 also includes a transfer roller 20
And the transfer roller 20 is provided so as to be in contact with the lower part of the photosensitive drum 12. With this transfer roller 20,
The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 is transferred to a sheet (not shown) fed and conveyed. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a fixing roller 22, and the fixing roller 22 is provided on the left side of the transfer roller 20. The fixing roller 22 fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet by heat and pressure. Therefore, the toner image is permanently fixed on the sheet, and is discharged from the image forming apparatus 10.

Further, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a cleaning device 24, a heater 26, a temperature detector 28, and a fan 30. The cleaning device 24 includes the photosensitive drum 1
2, a rubber blade 24a provided in the cleaning device 24 is disposed so as to be in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 12. Further, the heater 26 is provided between the photosensitive drum 12 and the cleaning device 24, and a temperature detector 28 and a fan 30 are provided further left of the cleaning device 24. In addition, the temperature detector 28
It is provided near the cleaning device 24. The cleaning device 24 collects the toner (residual toner) 18 b remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 after the transfer roller 20 transfers (develops) the toner image. That is, the residual toner 18b is scraped off by the rubber blade 24a,
It is collected from the side of the cleaning device 24.

Collected residual toner (collected toner) 18
b is stored in a portion of the cleaning device 24 where the stirring screw 24d is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the stirring screw 24d is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning device 24. As shown in FIG. 3A, a housing 24b for housing a biocatalyst 24e such as a microorganism or an enzyme such as a bacterium or a fungus is provided in an upper portion of the cleaning device 24, and a living body 24e is provided on a bottom surface of the housing 24b. A supply port 24k for supplying the catalyst 24e is provided. Further, a shutter 24 for opening and closing the supply port 24k is provided.
c is provided. In FIG. 2, the stirring screw 24d is used.
, The housing 24b and the shutter 24c are omitted.

While the shutter 24c is opened and closed, the biocatalyst 24e falls freely and is supplied to the portion provided with the stirring screw 24d. Thus, the biocatalyst 24e can be supplied by a simple mechanism. Subsequently, the recovered toner 18b and the biocatalyst 24e are stirred by the stirring screw 24d. Therefore, the collected toner 18b and the biocatalyst 24e are uniformly contacted. The main chain of the polymer (binder resin) is a biocatalyst 24 such as a microorganism or an enzyme.
e, the collected toner 18b is uniformly biodegraded. In this embodiment, the biocatalyst 24e is supplied by a mechanism for opening and closing the shutter 24c formed in a plate shape. However, as shown in FIG. 3B, a blade is provided on the rotating shaft. Using the rotating shutter 24f of the shape,
A biocatalyst 24e may be supplied. In this case, the supply port 24k is opened and closed by rotating the rotary shutter 24f by a predetermined angle about the rotation axis, and the biocatalyst 2
4e is supplied.

Further, in the cleaning device 24, FIG.
As can be understood from FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, the photo sensor 24g for detecting the stored amount of the collected toner 18b and the collected toner 18
b is disposed, and a disposal port 24h is disposed.
A cap 24i is attached to 4h. That is, the collected toner 18b and the biocatalyst 24e are stirred by the stirring screw 24d, and the stirred collected toner 18d is conveyed toward the waste port 24h. The photosensor 24g outputs a high-level signal when receiving light from a light-emitting unit (not shown), and outputs a low-level signal when not receiving light from the light-emitting unit. That is, when the light from the light emitting unit is not received, the collected toner 18b is full because the light is blocked by the collected toner 18b.

Therefore, when the collected toner 18b is full, the collected toner 18b can be discarded by removing the cap 24i. That is, only the collected toner 18b may be taken out from the cleaning device 24, collected in a toner bottle (not shown) formed of, for example, a resin, and discarded. It is to be noted that a toner bottle having a shape fitting into the waste port 24g may be mounted so that the collected toner 18b can be directly collected in the toner bottle by the stirring screw 24d.

The temperature detector 28 is connected to the cleaning device 24.
, That is, the temperature of a portion (storage portion) 24j in which the collected toner 18b is stored. In accordance with the detected temperature, a heater (not shown) or a fan 30 provided on the heater 26 and the fixing roller 22 is driven, and the lower portion (reserved portion) 24j of the cleaning device 24 is adjusted to a constant temperature. That is, the constant temperature is set to an optimal temperature for the biocatalyst 24e to propagate, and when the temperature is lower than the certain temperature, the storage part 24j is heated by the heater 26, and when the temperature is higher than the certain temperature, the storage part 24j is Cooling. For this reason, while culturing the biocatalyst 24e, it is possible to prevent the biocatalyst 24e from being killed by the high temperature. In this embodiment, the heaters provided on the heater 26 and the fixing roller 22 are driven, but either one of the heaters may be driven. In addition, since the storage portion 24j can be heated by the residual heat of the heater provided in the fixing roller 22, the heater 26 is driven in a region where the temperature is low throughout the year or in a winter where the temperature is low. Is also good. That is, it is not necessary to provide the heater 26 depending on the use area.

FIG. 3 shows an electrical circuit diagram of such an image forming apparatus 10. That is, the image forming apparatus 10 includes the CPU 40, and the CPU 40
And to a print control circuit 46 and a buffer memory 48 via a bus 44. The print control circuit 46 is connected to the electrical charger 14, the exposure unit 16, the fixing roller 24, the shutter 24c, the photo sensor 24g, the heater 26, the temperature detector 28, the fan 30, and the motor 50. The motor 50 is for rotating the stirring screw 24d, and a motor (not shown) for driving the photosensitive drum 12, the transfer roller 20, the fixing roller 22, and the like that are rotated during development is separately provided. Provided.

When an operator gives an instruction such as printing using the operation panel 42, the CPU 40 gives an instruction to the print control circuit 46 in response to the instruction, and the above-described circuits are controlled. Given to. further,
The buffer memory 48 temporarily stores data corresponding to images or characters transmitted from the host,
, Is converted into laser beam data (toner data) for forming an electrostatic latent image, and is provided to the exposure device 16 via the print control circuit 40.

The CPU 40 also includes a counter 40a, which counts the number of developments. That is, the CPU 40 can know the number of developments by the count value of the counter 40a, and when the number of developments reaches a predetermined number (1000 in this embodiment), the CPU 40 instructs the print control circuit 46 to open and close the shutter 24c once. Then, the biocatalyst 24e is supplied. Then, under the instruction of the CPU 40, the motor 50 is driven to rotate by the control of the print control circuit 46, and the stirring screw 24d is rotated for a predetermined time (five minutes in this embodiment). Therefore, the collected toner 18
d and the biocatalyst 24e are stirred. The biocatalyst 2 can be controlled by the operator on the operation panel 42.
4e may be supplied as needed. Further, in this embodiment, the biocatalyst 24e is supplied every time the development is performed 1000 times. However, this varies depending on the type of the image forming apparatus 10, and can be set to a desired number. Further, the stirring time (5 minutes) is determined by the CPU.
Counted by a timer 40b provided in 40,
The stirring time can be freely set.

The temperature of the lower portion (reserved portion 24i) of the cleaning device 24 detected by the temperature detector 28 is given to the CPU 40 via the print control circuit 46. CP
U40 waits for a predetermined time (10 minutes in this embodiment) to elapse after the development is completed. In other words, immediately after image formation, the temperature temporarily rises due to the fixing roller 22 and the like, so that the process waits until a steady state is reached. Note that the timer (40b) provided in the CPU 40
Minutes) are counted. After 10 minutes have elapsed, the output of the temperature detector 28 is enabled, and the CPU 40 responds accordingly.
The print control circuit 46 is instructed to drive the heater 26 or the fan 30. Therefore, as described above, the storage portion 24i is adjusted to a constant temperature. This constant temperature is stored in the memory 40c provided in the CPU 40, and can be freely set depending on the biocatalyst 24e used.

Further, the operation panel 42 includes a liquid crystal panel 4.
2a is provided, and when the collected toner 18b is full, that is, when the output of the photo sensor 24g becomes low level,
It warns that the collected toner 18b needs to be discarded. In this embodiment, a warning message such as "Please discard the collected toner" is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 42a. In response, the operator sets the collected toner 1
Discard 8b. Although the liquid crystal panel 42a is provided to display a warning message, a warning sound may be given to an operator. Further, in this embodiment, when the collected toner 18b is full, the collected toner 18b
b is discarded, but almost one month after the biocatalyst 24e is supplied to the collected toner 18b, the biocatalyst is almost biodegraded. Therefore, the collected toner 18b is collected in a toner bottle and stored for about one month. Disposal can reduce the burden on the environment. In addition, biodegradation proceeds to a considerable extent, and the recovered toner 18b becomes carbon dioxide,
Since it is decomposed into water and ammonia, the amount of the collected toner 18b to be discarded can be reduced.

That is, the CPU 40 executes the biodegradation process of the collected toner 18b shown in FIG. 5, and executes the temperature adjustment process for adjusting the cleaning device 24 main body to a constant temperature shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 10
When the main power is turned on, the biodegradation process is started, and it is determined in step S1 whether or not the development has been completed. Step S
If "NO" in step 1, it is determined that the development is not completed, and the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, step S1
If "YES" is determined in step S3, it is determined that the development has been completed, the counter 40a is incremented in step S3, and it is determined in step S5 whether the development has been performed a predetermined number of times. That is, it is determined whether the count value is a multiple of 1000.
If “NO” in the step S5, it is determined that the value is not a multiple of 1000, and the process returns to the step S1.

On the other hand, if "YES" in the step S5, it is determined that the number of times of development is a multiple of 1000, and in a step S7, the shutter 24c is opened and closed, ie, the biocatalyst 24 is opened.
e, and the recovered toner 18b and the biocatalyst 24e are stirred by the stirring screw 24d in step S9. In a succeeding step S11, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time (5 minutes) has elapsed. If “NO” in the step S11, that is, if five minutes have not elapsed after the stirring is started,
It returns to step S9 as it is. On the other hand, if “YES” in the step S11, that is, if five minutes have elapsed, the print control circuit 46 is instructed in a step S13 to stop the motor 50. Subsequently, in step S15, the collected toner 18b
Is determined to be full. That is, it is determined whether or not the output of the photo sensor 24g has become low. If "NO" in the step S15, it is determined that the collected toner 18b is not full, and the step S1 is performed as it is.
Return to On the other hand, if “YES” in the step S15,
It is determined that the collected toner 18b is full, and step S1
In step 7, a warning (message) for discarding the collected toner 18b is displayed, and the process returns to step S1. The collected toner 18b
Is discarded, the output of the photosensor 24g becomes high level, and accordingly, the CPU 40 deletes the message.

When the main power supply of the image forming apparatus 10 is turned on, a temperature adjustment process is started, and step S shown in FIG.
At 21, it is determined whether the development is completed. Step S
If "NO" in the step S21, it is determined that the development is not completed, and the process returns to the step S21. On the other hand, step S
If "YES" in 21, it is determined that the development is completed,
In step S23, it is determined whether a predetermined time (10 minutes) has elapsed. If "NO" in the step S23, it is determined that 10 minutes have not elapsed since the completion of the development, and the process returns to the step S23 as it is. On the other hand, if “YES” in the step S23, that is, if 10 minutes have elapsed, it is determined whether or not the output (detected temperature) of the temperature detector 28 is equal to a constant temperature in a step S25. In step S25, "Y
ES ”, it is determined that the storage portion 24j is at a constant temperature, and the heater 26 and the fixing roller 2 are determined in step S31.
Then, the heater or fan 30 of Step 2 is turned off, and Step S2
Return to 1.

On the other hand, if "NO" in the step S25, it is determined that the storage portion 24j is not the constant temperature, and it is determined whether or not the detected temperature is higher than the constant temperature in a step S27. If "YES" in the step S27, it is determined that the temperature of the storage portion 24j is higher than a certain temperature, and the storage portion 24j is cooled in a step S29, that is, the fan 3
0 is driven, and the process returns to step S25. On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S25, it is determined that the temperature of the storage portion 24j is lower than the predetermined temperature, and the storage portion 24j is heated in the step S33, that is, the heater provided in the heater 26 and the fixing roller 22 is provided. And returns to step S25.

According to this embodiment, since the recovered toner and the biocatalyst are stirred by the stirring screw using the biodegradable toner, the recovered toner and the biocatalyst can be uniformly contacted. Therefore, the biodegradation of the collected toner can be efficiently advanced in the cleaning device, and environmental pollution due to the disposal of the collected toner can be reduced.
In addition, since the storage part is adjusted to a constant temperature, the cultivation of the biocatalyst can be promoted, and the biocatalyst can be prevented from being killed by high temperature.

In this embodiment, the temperature is adjusted to a constant value after a predetermined time has elapsed after the development is completed. However, the environment temperature is high and the device is not used (developed) for a long time. In such a case, the biocatalyst may be killed. Therefore, even if it is not after the development, if the development is not performed, the temperature may be adjusted to a constant temperature every time a predetermined time elapses.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the cleaning device shown in FIG. 1 embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cleaning device shown in FIG. 1 embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of the processing of the CPU shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of another process of the CPU shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus 12 ... Photoreceptor drum 14 ... Charger 16 ... Exposure device 18 ... Developing device 20 ... Transfer roller 22 ... Fixing roller 24 ... Cleaning device 26 ... Heater 28 ... Temperature detector 30 ... Fan

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 2H005 AA01 CA01 CA09 CA20 2H027 DA11 DA32 DA45 DD03 DE02 DE07 DE10 EA09 EA11 EC06 EC10 EC19 ED28 EE08 EE10 GB07 HB02 HB12 HB13 JA01 JA11 JB05 JB06 JB07 JB16 JB03 J03 CA06 CA08 FA09

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus which forms a developer on a surface of an image carrier using a biodegradable developer, and transfers the developer formed on the image carrier to paper. A collection container for collecting the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the transfer, a storage unit provided in the collection container and storing a biocatalyst for biodegrading the collected developer, and An image forming apparatus, comprising: a stirring means for stirring the collected developer and the biocatalyst, wherein the biodegradation of the collected developer proceeds. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: detecting means for detecting the stored amount of the collected developer; and warning means for warning that the collected developer is discarded when the collected developer is full.
The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said collection container has a disposal port for discarding said collected developer. 4. The storage unit includes a supply unit that supplies the biocatalyst from the storage unit into the collection container. When the developer is collected in the collection container, the supply unit supplies the biocatalyst to the collection container. 4. Supplying, wherein
The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: counting means for counting the number of developments; and activation means for activating said supply means according to the number of developments. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature adjusting unit for adjusting at least a part of the inside of the collection container to a constant temperature.