JP2001296779A - Waste toner recovery container and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner recovery container and an image forming device capable of securing sufficient capacity for recovery of waste toner and realizing an installation space which hardly exerts influence on the external size of equipment. SOLUTION: A waste toner drop port 111a is provided on the upper surface of the nearly center part of the end on the opposite side of a vibration generating device 113. The height H of the container 111 is made smaller, and the handles 111b of the container 111 are formed at both-side ends of the port 111a being a place where the waste toner is not accumulated. The container 111 is arranged in a space just under an intermediate transfer unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting container and an image forming apparatus for collecting, as waste toner, toner remaining without being transferred to an image forming member used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, colorization of copying machines, printers, and the like in an electrophotographic process using a toner as an image forming body is rapidly progressing, and the amount of waste toner generated tends to increase. In such an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a vibration mechanism is provided in a container for collecting waste toner, and the toner is collected uniformly and as much as possible in the container.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional waste toner collecting container. 6, reference numeral 11 denotes a waste toner collecting container, 11a denotes a waste toner drop opening, B denotes a vibration direction, W denotes a width of the waste toner collecting container 11, D denotes a depth of the waste toner collecting container 11, and H denotes a waste toner collecting container 11. Height. The operation of the conventional waste toner collecting container 11 thus formed will be described.

[0004] Toner falls from the waste toner dropping port 11a, and the toner accumulates directly below the waste toner dropping port 11a. At this time, by applying a vibration or an impact in the direction B to the waste toner collecting container 11, the toner is moved so that the waste toner is uniformly deposited on the waste toner collecting container 11. In such a waste toner collecting container 11, the width W, the depth D, and the height H are made as large as possible in order to increase the waste toner collecting capacity as much as possible.

[0005]

However, in the configuration of the conventional waste toner collecting container, if the waste toner collecting container is arranged using the dead space without affecting the external shape of the apparatus, the container becomes small. As a result, it is difficult to secure a sufficient waste toner collection capacity. Further, in order to secure a sufficient waste toner collecting capacity, the waste toner collecting container becomes large and a space for installation is required, so that the external shape of the apparatus has to be enlarged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a waste toner collecting container and an image forming apparatus which can secure a sufficient waste toner collecting capacity and hardly affect the external shape of the apparatus.

[0007]

A waste toner collecting container according to the present invention is a waste toner collecting container which is vibrated by vibrating means provided on an image forming apparatus main body side, and is provided at an end opposite to the vibrating means. A waste toner drop port is provided on the upper surface of the substantially central portion.

According to the present invention, a sufficient waste toner collecting capacity can be secured, and a waste toner collecting container which hardly affects the external shape of the apparatus can be realized.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is a waste toner collecting container which is vibrated by vibrating means provided on the image forming apparatus main body side, wherein the end of the waste toner collecting container is substantially at the center opposite to the vibrating means. A waste toner dropping port is provided on the upper surface. With this configuration, the waste toner collecting container can be installed in a low space, and the waste toner is dropped from the center of the end of the container to apply a vibration impact. Therefore, a large amount of waste toner can be accumulated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a handle for attachment / detachment is provided at both end portions on the side where the waste toner drop port is provided.
As a result, it is possible to effectively use a range in which the waste toner is not accumulated in the waste toner collecting container.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit comprising a photosensitive drum, an exposing means, and a developing roller, each of which is arranged in tandem, and circulates in an image forming arrangement direction. And an intermediate transfer belt unit for collectively transferring a color image formed by sequentially transferring toner images of each color developed on the photosensitive drum to a transfer material; and a paper storage disposed below the intermediate transfer belt unit. And an image forming apparatus including a waste toner collecting container that collects waste toner discharged from the image forming unit and the intermediate transfer belt unit between the intermediate transfer belt unit and the paper storage unit. ,
The waste toner collecting container can be mounted in a dead space having a large plane area below the intermediate transfer unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the waste toner collecting container is a waste toner collecting container which is vibrated by vibrating means provided on the image forming apparatus main body side, and the end of the waste toner collecting container is substantially opposite to the vibrating means. A waste toner drop port is provided on the upper surface of the central portion, and thereby, the same operation as the first aspect of the invention is achieved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a handle for attachment / detachment is provided at both ends on the side where the waste toner collecting port is provided, whereby the same effect as the second aspect of the invention is exerted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the waste toner collecting container is detachably attached to the waste toner dropping port from the side where the waste toner drop opening is provided. This makes it easy to attach and detach the waste toner collecting container.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a waste toner collecting container according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a waste toner collecting container vibrating device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is waste toner collecting according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of a container.

In FIG. 1, 111 is a waste toner collecting container, 116 is an intermediate transfer unit, 117 is a waste toner transport unit, 118 is a fixing device, 119 is a laser unit, 120 is an intermediate transfer body cleaning unit, and 121 is
Reference numerals a to 121d denote developing units having different toner colors, and reference numeral 122 denotes a paper feeding unit.

The operation of collecting waste toner will be described with reference to FIG. The waste toner generated in each of the developing units 121a to 121d and the intermediate transfer body cleaning unit 120 is transported in the direction D by rotation of a spiral shaft. Further, a waste toner collecting container 111 in which waste toner is disposed below the intermediate transfer unit 116 by the waste toner transport unit 117
Let it fall. Further, the waste toner dropping port 111a is arranged at the center of the vibration direction end of the upper surface of the waste toner collecting container 111.

At this time, the waste toner collecting container 111 is vibrated to give an impact, so that the waste toner is sent backward, so that the waste toner can be uniformly and fully collected. In this case, the depth direction coincides with the vibration direction of the waste toner collecting container 111. From the experimental results of the present inventor, the height of the waste toner collecting container 111 is
It is desirable to make the thickness as thin as 1/4 or less of the width of.

In FIG. 3, H denotes a waste toner collecting container 11.
1 is the height, W is the width, D is the depth, and B is the vibration direction. The direction of the depth D of the waste toner collecting container 111 and the vibration direction B are the same.

The shape of the waste toner collecting container 111 will be described. The width W and the depth D of the waste toner collecting container 111 are made as large as possible in the space of the device, and the height H of the waste toner collecting container 111 is set to 1/4 or less of the width W. Further, the waste toner dropping port 111a is connected to the waste toner collecting container 111.
Formed on the upper surface of the substrate.

Next, the operation of the waste toner collecting container 111 will be described with reference to FIG. 112 is an urging device, 113 is a vibration generator provided on the image forming apparatus main body side, 114 is
Is a frame, 114a is a stop plate, and 115 is a guide member. The waste toner drop port 111 a is provided on the upper surface of the substantially central portion of the end opposite to the vibration generator 113. The direction of W1 by the urging device 112, that is, the vibration generator 113
The waste toner collecting container 111 urged to the side is pushed in the direction of W2 by the vibration generator 113, and when the pushing is suddenly released, the waste toner collecting container 111 collides with the stop plate 114a, and an impact force is generated. By repeating this operation, the waste toner collecting container 111 is subjected to impact vibration.

Due to the shape and impact vibration of the waste toner collecting container 111 as described above, the toner dropped from the waste toner falling port 111a moves in the direction of W1 and starts to accumulate from one surface and the waste toner falling port 111a It accumulates in the vicinity. With the above configuration, the waste toner collecting container 111 can be made thinner and a large amount of toner can be collected.

The waste toner collecting container 111 is mounted directly below the intermediate transfer unit 116 and between the waste toner collecting container 111 and the sheet feeding unit 122. Immediately below the intermediate transfer unit is a place where a low dead space with a large area and low height is likely to occur due to the configuration of the equipment.
It is a place near the waste toner outlet of each unit. Therefore, a thin, large-capacity waste toner collecting container 11
1 is optimal.

Next, an embodiment corresponding to the second aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 111 denotes a waste toner collecting container;
b denotes a handle for attachment / detachment, and broken lines T1 to T4 indicate the accumulation state of waste toner. The handles 111b are provided at both end portions on the side where the waste toner falling port 111a is provided. Further, the waste toner collecting container 111 is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body from the side where the waste toner drop port 111a is provided. The toner dropped from the waste toner drop opening 111a is deposited by the impact vibration in a shape such as T1, T2, and T3 as indicated by a dotted line, and becomes full at the position of T4. At this time, since the toner does not accumulate near the corners on both sides of the waste toner drop port 111a, if the handle 111b is formed at this location, the outer shape and capacity of the container are not affected. Of course, not only the handle but also other functions can be formed.

[0025]

According to the present invention, a thin and large-capacity waste toner collecting container and an image forming apparatus having the same can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a waste toner collecting container according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a vibration device for a waste toner collecting container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a waste toner collecting container according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional waste toner collecting container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 111 Waste toner collecting container 111a Waste toner drop port 111b Handle 113 Vibration generator

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Yoshihiro Mizoguchi 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Ogata 1006 Kadoma, Kazuma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Takashi Yoshihara 1006 Kadoma, Kazuma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. AB02 AD03 BB02 BB23 BB42 2H034 BF00 CA04 CA05

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A waste toner collecting container vibrated by vibrating means provided on an image forming apparatus main body side, wherein a waste toner dropping port is provided on an upper surface of a substantially central portion of an end opposite to the vibrating means. A waste toner collecting container. 2. A waste toner collecting container according to claim 1, wherein a handle for attachment and detachment is provided at both end portions on the side where said waste toner drop port is provided. A plurality of image forming units each including a photosensitive drum, an exposing unit, and a developing roller, the image forming units being arranged in tandem; An intermediate transfer belt unit that collectively transfers a color image formed by sequentially transferring the toner images of each color developed on the drum to a transfer material,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet storage unit disposed below the intermediate transfer belt unit; wherein the image forming apparatus discharges the image from the image formation unit and the intermediate transfer belt unit between the intermediate transfer belt unit and the sheet storage unit. An image forming apparatus comprising a waste toner collecting container for collecting waste toner to be collected. 4. The waste toner collecting container is a waste toner collecting container vibrated by vibrating means provided on the image forming apparatus main body side, and a waste toner collecting container is disposed on an upper surface of a substantially central portion at an end opposite to the vibrating means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a toner drop port is provided. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a handle for attachment / detachment is provided at both end portions on the side where the waste toner drop port is provided. 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said waste toner collecting container is detachably mounted on a side where said waste toner drop opening is provided.