JP2002296999A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which prevents dirt of an image quality by preventing the inside of the image forming apparatus, a recording paper, etc., from being soiled with toner scattered by cleaning small holes of a developer passage control member. SOLUTION: A toner recovery mechanism 402 which recovers waste toner scattered from small holes 23 by cleaning is provided under the vicinity of small holes 23 of a developer passage control member 4, and thus waste toner is prevented from dropping down to soil the inside of the image forming apparatus, the recording paper, etc.

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 applied to a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus for ejecting a developer to a recording member to form an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in offices, with the improvement of personal computer capabilities and the advancement of network technology,
High-performance printers that can handle large volumes of documents,
Facsimiles and copiers are becoming widespread. On the other hand, color documents are also increasing due to the rapid spread of inkjet printers and the like. However, engines capable of outputting satisfactory black-and-white or color documents, including speed, are under development and are expected to appear.

One conventional image forming apparatus uses a direct marking method of forming an image directly on a recording member. For example, an image forming apparatus disclosed in JP-B-44-26333 proposes a developer injection type apparatus which is one of direct marking methods. This is because an image signal is input to an image signal electrode provided in a print head to generate an accelerating electric field, a charged developer passes through a small hole near the image signal electrode, and the developer is applied to a counter electrode. The recording material is caused to land on the recording member to form an image.

In this type of image forming apparatus, the small holes of the print head must have a fine size of about 100 μm. For this reason, dust or dust scattered in the apparatus in these small holes is likely to clog the small holes, and the developer used for image formation is likely to be clogged in the small holes. When the small holes are clogged in this manner, the dots of the image formed on the recording member may be thinned or may not appear. Therefore, as a means for removing foreign substances that have entered the small holes, an ultrasonic vibration generator that fixes a vibrating body to the developer passage control member including the small holes and the image signal electrodes and ultrasonically vibrates the vibrating body is used. And driving the ultrasonic vibration generator to apply mechanical vibration to the small holes and the image signal electrodes.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus of a reference example. In the flexible sheet-like developer passage control member 1001, a large number of small holes 1004 are arranged in a line along the width direction of the developer passage control member 1001. A flexible sheet-like developer passage control member 1001 is bent with the developing roller 1003 carrying the charged developer on its surface inside. Further, the distal end side of the bent developer passage control member 1001 is fixed by a fixture 1008, and the other end side is pulled by a spring 1002.
A small hole 1 is provided inside the developer passage control member 1001.
The diaphragm 1005 is provided so as to be in contact with the column 004. An ultrasonic generator 1006 serving as a vibrating means is connected to one end of the diaphragm 1005.
The other end of 005 is fixed to the apparatus by a vibration absorbing fixture 1007 which is a fixture having a vibration absorbing function.

[0006] Then, by applying ultrasonic vibration from the ultrasonic generator 1006 to the developer passage control member 1001 via the diaphragm 1005, the developer in the small hole is removed, and prevention and elimination of clogging. Is being planned.

[0007]

However, a part of the shaken toner scatters and may contaminate the inside of the image forming apparatus and the recording paper. As a result, image quality contamination may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and prevents contamination of the inside of an image forming apparatus and recording paper with toner scattered by cleaning small holes of a developer passage control member. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that prevents image quality contamination.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a toner collecting mechanism for collecting waste toner scattered from a small hole by cleaning below a small hole of a developer passage control member. The provision prevents waste toner from spilling downward and contaminating the inside of the image forming apparatus and the recording paper.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a developer carrier for carrying and transporting a charged developer, and a plurality of small holes through which the developer passes. A developer passage control member that is formed in a row in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the developer is conveyed, and controls the passage of the developer through the small holes according to an external signal, A back electrode for generating an electric field for causing the developer to fly between the developer carrier and an image receiving medium on which the developer having passed through the small hole is attached, and a back electrode for the developer passage control member. A cleaning mechanism for removing the developer adhered to the small holes from the small holes, and a cleaning mechanism provided near and below the small holes so as to face the image receiving medium, Not collected A configuration provided with the, a waste toner collecting mechanism for collecting the developer.

With this configuration, the developer not collected on the image receiving medium can be collected by the waste toner collecting mechanism provided near the small hole of the developer passage control member. As a result, it is possible to prevent the developer removed by the cleaning mechanism from scattering and contaminating the inside of the image forming apparatus, the recording paper, and the like, thereby preventing image quality contamination.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the waste toner collecting mechanism is disposed along and facing the plurality of small holes,
A configuration is provided that includes a toner receiving member that receives and collects the removed developer on the facing surface.

With this configuration, of the developer removed by the cleaning mechanism, the developer that has not been collected on the image receiving medium can be collected by the toner receiving member provided below the small hole of the developer passage control member. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the waste toner collecting mechanism is disposed inside the toner receiving member, and the waste toner collected by the toner receiving member is removed. A configuration is provided that includes a transporting unit that transports the developed developer from one side to the other in the longitudinal direction of the toner receiving member and transports the developer to the outside of the toner receiving member.

With this configuration, the developer collected in the toner receiving member can be transported to the outside of the toner receiving member by the transporting means, so that the waste toner receiving member can be prevented from overflowing with the developer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the conveying means is disposed inside the toner receiving member and along the longitudinal direction of the toner receiving member. A shaft and a blade formed to protrude spirally about the shaft, and the blade removes the removed developer collected by the toner receiving member by rotating about the shaft. The configuration is such that the blade is a spiral blade that is conveyed along the toner receiving member and conveyed to the outside of the toner receiving member.

With this configuration, the spiral blade allows
The developer collected in the toner receiving member can be transported outside the toner receiving member.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the conveying means is wound inside the toner receiving member so as to face the small hole, By rotating along the longitudinal direction of the toner receiving member, it is a transport belt that transports the collected and removed developer along the toner receiving member and transports the developer to the outside of the toner receiving member. take.

With this configuration, the developer collected by the toner receiving member can be transported to the outside of the toner receiving member by the transport belt.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, the waste toner collecting mechanism applies a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode to the transport means. A configuration having a power supply means for applying voltage is adopted.

According to this configuration, since the transport means can be applied to a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode, the developing material which is not attracted by the back electrode and is not collected on the image receiving medium can be surely drawn to the transport means. In this way, all the developer removed from the small holes is attracted to the back electrode or the transport unit, and is collected on the image receiving medium or the transport unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the power supply means causes the transport means to have a polarity opposite to that of the rear electrode in synchronization with a timing of applying a voltage to the rear electrode. Is applied.

As described above, by applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode to the conveying means in synchronization with the voltage application timing of the back electrode, the developer passing through the small hole can be subjected to the back electrode or the waste toner collecting mechanism. Can be reliably recovered.

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG.
A single housing member 2 having two housing portions 2 a to 2 d is provided detachably from the main body case 3. These housing portions 2a to 2d are provided with toners 8a to 8d as developers of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black means.
Developer supply unit (hereinafter referred to as developing device)
It is configured to be detachable by horizontally inserting and removing 5a to 5d.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing a detailed configuration of a recording portion of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The print head 1 has housing portions 2a to 2d whose right surfaces are open.
And a developer passage control member 4 disposed on the left side of the housing portions 2a to 2d, and developing devices 5a to 5d detachably installed in the housing portions 2a to 2d.

On the left side of the print head 1, a back electrode 6 is disposed at an appropriate interval, and an intermediate image receiving belt 7 serving as an image receiving medium is provided between the back electrode 6 and the print head 1.
Is configured to pass through. The back electrode 6
Is disposed in the main body case 3, and the housing member 2 is removably positioned and fixed to the right part thereof.

The developing devices 5a to 5d are arranged in a developer container 9 for accommodating toners 8a to 8d as a developer, and are arranged on the left side of the developer container 9 so as to face the developer supply opening. A developing roller 11 which is a developer carrying means; a regulating blade 12 which regulates a toner layer carried by the developing roller 11 and conveyed outside the developer supply opening; and toners 8a to 8d in the developer accommodating container 9 And a supply roller 13 for supplying toner 8a to 8d to the developing roller 11 by agitating the toner and frictionally charging the toner.

Outside the both ends of the developing roller 11 in the axial direction,
A regulating collar 14 as first spacer means for contacting the back electrode 6 to regulate the distance between the developing roller 11 and the back electrode 6 at a constant value has an outer peripheral surface contacting the back electrode 6 and an inner peripheral surface thereof for developing. The regulating collar 1 is disposed in contact with the outer diameter portion of the roller 11 or the outer diameter portion of the coaxial guide shaft 15 extending to both sides from the developing roller 11.
4, the distance between the back electrode 6 and the developing roller 11 is, for example, 150 to 1000 μm, and in this embodiment, 350 μm.
m. A guide shaft 15 coaxial with the developing roller 11 is provided to project from both ends of the developer container 9. A drive gear (not shown) for transmitting a rotational driving force to the developing roller 11 is provided on at least one side of the guide shaft via a one-way clutch (not shown) for rotating the developing roller 11 only in the CCW direction. It is arranged. With this configuration, the developing devices 5a to 5d are
a gear train (not shown) at the front stage in a state where it is mounted on a to 2d
The developing roller 11 is rotationally driven by a driving force of a driving unit (not shown) separately.

The developing roller 11 is made of a metal such as aluminum or iron, or an alloy. In this embodiment, an aluminum cylinder having an outer diameter of 20 mm and a thickness of 1 mm is used. The regulating blade 12 is made of an elastic member such as urethane and has a hardness of 40 to 80 degrees (JI
SK6301A scale), free end length (length of portion protruding from attachment portion) is 5 to 15 mm, and developing roller 1
The linear pressure on the developing roller 1 is suitably 5 to 40 g / cm.
One to three layers of the toners 8a to 8d are formed on the substrate 1. In the present embodiment, the regulating blade 12 is electrically floated.

The toners 8a to 8d are sandwiched between the developing roller 11 and the regulating blade 12, and receive a small charge from the developing roller 11 to receive and charge the toner. In this embodiment, the toner 8 uses a non-magnetic material having a negative charge of −10 μC / g and an average particle diameter of 8 μm.

The supply roller 13 is formed by providing a synthetic rubber such as urethane foam on a metal shaft (iron of 8 mm in this embodiment) of about 2 to 6 mm on a metal shaft such as iron, and has a hardness of 30 degrees (rolled shape). Is measured according to the method of JIS K6301A scale), which assists charging of the toner 8 and controls supply. The amount of biting into the developing roller 11 is preferably about 0.1 to 2 mm.

The developing roller 11, the regulating blade 12, and the supply roller 13 may be electrically grounded, or a DC or AC voltage may be applied, or the regulating blade 12 may be electrically floated.

The back electrode 6 functions as a counter electrode and forms an electric field between the back electrode 6 and the developing roller 11. The back electrode 6 is made of metal or resin in which a conductive filler is dispersed. Back electrode 6
To apply a DC voltage of about 500 to 2000 V,
In the present embodiment, a voltage of 1000 V is applied.

Guide shafts (not shown) of the developing devices 5a to 5d are inserted into both end walls of the housing member 2 opposite to both ends of the developing roller 11 in the axial direction, thereby positioning the developing devices 5a to 5d. A guide groove (not shown) is formed.

A fixing portion 19 for fixing one end of the developer passage control member 4 is formed on one side of the developer supply opening 10 of the housing member 2. On the other side of the developer supply opening 10, a stay portion 20 having an arc-shaped cross section that bends the other end of the developer passage control member 4 rightward is formed. Further, at the right end thereof, a spring hook 21 is provided at an appropriate interval. A head stopper 28 is provided upright at a predetermined position between the stay 20 and the spring hook 21.

The developer passage control member 4 is constituted by a flexible printed circuit board (FPC). That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of small holes 23 are formed in the insulating base material 22 at a minute pitch along the width direction of the intermediate image receiving belt 7 to form one or a plurality of small hole rows 24. are doing. A ring-shaped image signal electrode (control electrode) 39 is formed on the surface of the insulating base material 22 so as to surround each small hole 23. Further, a diaphragm electrode 40 is formed on the back surface of the insulating base material 22. FIG. 3 shows Embodiment 1
FIG. 4 is a view showing a developer passage control member according to FIG.

The insulating base material 22 is made of a sheet-like flexible insulating material. The material of the insulating base 22 is preferably polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, or the like, and the thickness of the insulating base 22 is 10 to 100 μm.
m is appropriate. In the present embodiment, a polyimide having a thickness of 50 μm is used for the insulating base material 22. The diameter of the small hole 23 is 145 μm, the inner diameter of the image signal electrode 39 is 150 μm,
The diaphragm electrode 40 has a ring shape with an outer diameter of 250 μm and an inner diameter of 250 μm.

Further, an insulating layer 41 made of a thin resin layer of 1 to 10 μm is provided on the surface of each of the image signal electrodes 39 and 40. The image signal electrode 39 is made of a metal foil such as copper having a thickness of about 5 to 30 μm.

Each of the image signal electrodes 39 is also made of the insulating base material 2.
2 are independently connected to an image signal output unit serving as an image signal voltage switching unit via a lead wire 42 wired on the surface of the second device. Normally, a voltage of 400 V or less is applied to the image signal electrode 39, and in this embodiment, a voltage of 300V is applied for dot formation, and a voltage of -100V is applied for non-dot formation.

The developer passage control member 4 having the above structure is attached to the housing portions 2a to 2d. Specifically, one end of the developer passage control member 4 is fixed to the housing 2 by a fixing screw 25.
It is fixed to the fixing portions 19a to 2d. The other end of the developer passage control member 4 is connected to the developing device 5a by the stay 20.
It bends in the direction of 5d. In the vicinity of the other end 4a of the developer passage control member 4, a plurality of spring hook holes 4b are formed at intervals in the width direction of the developer passage control member 4. A tension spring 26 is bridged between each of the spring hook holes 4b and the spring hook 21.

Thus, the developer passage control member 4 is suspended by the tension spring 26. The tension spring 26 is constituted by a coil spring. By the tension spring 26, the developer passage control member 4 is pulled toward the other end 4a. Since the head stopper 28 is provided upright at the point where the developer passage control member 4 is pulled, the other end 4a of the developer passage control member 4 comes into contact with the head stopper 28, and the developer passage control member 4 Going beyond that is regulated.

Returning to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described. A lid 36 is attached to the housing member 2 via a hinge 37 so as to be openable and closable. Pressing springs 38a to 3d corresponding to the developing units 5a to 5d
8d is attached. With this configuration, the housing 2
After the developing devices 5a to 5d have been inserted into the developing devices 5a to 5d, when the lid 36 is closed, the pressing springs 38a to 38d are turned into the developing devices 5a to 5d.
In the direction of the developer passage control member 4.

On the other hand, the developer passes through between the developer passage control member 4 and the back electrode 6 mounted on each of the housings 2a to 2d in order to rotate and rotate. An image receiving belt 7 is provided. The intermediate image receiving belt 7 is wound around a pair of belt rollers 29 and 30. A transfer roller 31 that transfers the toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate image receiving belt 7 to the recording paper 50 is provided so as to face one of the belt rollers 29. The recording paper 50 is stacked and accommodated in a paper tray 49 that can be inserted and removed at the lower right of the main body case 3. A paper feed roller 51 that conveys the recording paper 50 is arranged near the paper discharge port of the paper feed tray 49. A paper feed guide 32 for guiding the recording paper 50 fed by the paper feed roller 51 to the nip between the belt roller 29 and the transfer roller 31 is provided. A conveyance guide 53 for guiding the recording paper 50 is provided on the discharge side of the belt roller 29 and the transfer roller 31, and the toner image transferred to the recording paper 50 is fixed to the recording paper 50 by thermocompression along the conveyance guide 53. Fixing device 54 and recording paper 5 after fixing
A paper discharge roller 55 that discharges 0 to a paper discharge tray 56 is sequentially arranged.

A box-shaped waste toner unit 60 is provided on the rear side of the belt roller 30. The waste toner unit 60 is provided in a detachable configuration. Inside the waste toner unit 60, a shaft 61 is fixedly provided on a housing of the waste toner unit 60. A blade 62 is attached to the front side of the shaft 61.

The tip of the blade 62 projects from the housing of the waste toner unit 60. The tip of the blade 62 contacts the surface of the intermediate image receiving belt 7 at a position just behind the belt roller 30. As a result, the toner remaining on the intermediate image receiving belt 7 without being transferred to the recording paper 50 is scraped off by the blade 62. The scraped toner is stored in the waste toner unit 60.

Next, the positioning of the developing roller 11 and the developer passage control member 4 in the above-described embodiment will be described.

When the developing devices 5a to 5d are inserted into the housing portions 2a to 2d of the housing member 2 to a predetermined position and the lid 36 is closed, pressing springs 38a to 38 attached to the inner surface of the lid 36 are provided.
d urges the developing devices 5a to 5d toward the back electrode 6 side.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the developing roller 11 presses the developer passage control member 4 toward the back electrode 6 with the pressing force F1. At this time, the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 11 is
But does not directly contact the developer passage control member 4. Therefore, in a state where the spacer 27 is interposed between the developing roller 11 and the developer passage control member 4, the pressing force F2 acts on the developer passage control member 4 from the back side to the front side.

As described above, the developer passage control member 4 is pressed toward the developing roller 11 with the spacer 27 interposed therebetween. As a result, the developer passage control member 4 and the developing roller 11 press each other with the spacer 27 interposed therebetween, so that the developer passage control member 4
Is maintained at the thickness of the spacer 27. And an image signal electrode (not shown)
The distance between the toner and the toner layer on the developing roller 11 is
7 and the thickness of the insulating layer of the developer passage control member 4.

Next, a cleaning mechanism for removing toner 8a to 8d or dust or dust scattered in the apparatus, which has clogged the small holes of the developer passage control member 4, will be described with reference to FIG.

With respect to the developer passage control member 4, the small holes 23
A vibrating mechanism is provided for removing the toner 8a to 8d when the toner 8a to 8d adheres to the inside or the periphery of the toner. That is, the metal diaphragm 43 is arranged along the small hole row 24 between the small hole row 24 and the fixing portion fixed by the fixing portion 19 and the fixing screw 25 on the back surface of the developer passage control member 4. It is stuck.
As the diaphragm 43, specifically, for example, a stainless plate having a plate width of 5 mm and a plate thickness of 0.2 mm can be used.

An ultrasonic vibration generator 44 for generating ultrasonic vibration is fixedly supported on one of the outer wall portions of both end walls of the housing member 2, and a tip extending to one end of the vibration plate 43 has an It is screwed and fixed to the output end of the sound wave vibration generator 44. The vibration frequency of the ultrasonic vibration generator 44 is 1M
A sine wave of less than or equal to Hz may be used. For example, a sine wave of about 20 KHz is preferably used. This is because, when the vibration frequency increases, the toners 8a to 8d and the developer passage control member 4 vibrate in the same manner, and it becomes impossible to prevent the toners 8a to 8d from being attached or deposited. Diaphragm 4
3 is configured to transmit ultrasonic vibration while permitting relative displacement between the ultrasonic vibration generator 44 and the diaphragm 43.

After the image formation is completed or before the image formation, the vibration plate 43 is vibrated by the ultrasonic vibration generator 44, and the toners 8a to 8d attached to the small holes 23 of the developer passage control member 4 are shaken off. . In this way, the small holes 23
Can be cleaned.

At this time, the toner 8a to 8
The d is attracted to the back electrode 6 by the electric field formed by the back electrode 6, and adheres to the intermediate image receiving belt 7 and is conveyed. Then, the toners 8a to 8d are scraped off by the blade 62. The scraped toner 8a
To 8d are stored in the waste toner unit 60.

However, not all of the toners 8a to 8d shaken off by cleaning the small holes 23 of the developer passage control member 4 adhere to the intermediate image receiving belt 7. For example, when a large amount of the shaken-down toners 8a to 8d is present, the toner may not be collected by the intermediate image receiving belt 7 and may fall down.

Further, the shaken toners 8a to 8d
Are not necessarily opposite in polarity to the intermediate image receiving belt 7. Some of the shaken toners 8a to 8d may have the same polarity as the back electrode 6 for some reason. The toners 8a to 8d having the opposite polarity to the back electrode 6 are attracted to the back electrode 6 and thus easily adhere to the intermediate image receiving belt 7. Since it repels, it does not easily adhere to the intermediate image receiving belt 7.

Further, the shaken toners 8a to 8d
However, even if the polarity is opposite to that of the intermediate image receiving belt 7, there is a possibility that the polarity does not have a sufficient magnitude. In this case, the shaken toners 8a to 8d are attracted to the back electrode 6 to some extent, but may not be attracted until they adhere to the intermediate image receiving belt 7.

Therefore, the small holes 2 of the developer passage control member 4
3 scattered by cleaning the toner 8a
To 8d are scattered without being collected by the intermediate image receiving belt 7,
It may fall down due to gravity and contaminate the inside of the image forming apparatus and the recording paper.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a waste toner collecting mechanism for collecting the scattered toners 8a to 8d by cleaning the small holes 23 of the developer passage control member 4 is provided separately from the back electrode 6 and the intermediate image receiving belt 7. It has a configuration that includes.

Hereinafter, the waste toner collecting mechanism according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a waste toner collecting mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In the flexible sheet-like developer passage control member 4, a plurality of small hole rows 24 are arranged in a line along the width direction of the developer passage control member 4. Further, inside the developer passage control member 4, the diaphragm 4
3 are provided so as to be in contact with each other. And the diaphragm 4
An ultrasonic vibration generator 44, which is a vibration means, is connected to one end of 3 and the other end of the diaphragm 43 is fixed to the apparatus by a vibration absorbing fixture 401, which is a fixture having a vibration absorbing function.

The small hole array 2 of the developer passage control member 4
A waste toner collecting mechanism is provided in the vicinity of the lower part of the printer 4. The waste toner collecting mechanism includes a unit for receiving the scattered waste toner, a conveying unit for conveying the received waste toner, a power supply unit for applying a voltage to the conveying unit, and a unit for collecting the conveyed waste toner. Have been.

As means for receiving the scattered waste toner,
A waste toner receiver 402 is provided. Waste toner tray 4
02 has a cylindrical shape with a semicircular cross section, and has an opening 403 along the longitudinal direction. Further, the waste toner receiver 402 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is along the small hole row 24 and opposed to each other. That is, the opening 403 is arranged along the small hole row 24 above the waste toner receiver 402, that is, on the small hole row 24 side.

By providing the waste toner receiver 402 in this manner, the toner 8a to 8d
Is dropped downward by gravity, the waste toner receiver 40
2 enters the waste toner receiver 402 through the opening 403. Then, the toner 8a shaken down from the small hole row 24
8d are received and collected by the surface of the waste toner receiver 402 facing the small hole row 24.

Further, inside the waste toner receiver 402, spiral blades 4 are provided as conveying means for the collected waste toner.
04 and a motor 407 are provided.

The spiral blade 404 is connected to the waste toner receiver 4.
02 is provided along the longitudinal direction and opposite to the small hole row 24. The spiral blade 404 includes a shaft portion 405 provided along the longitudinal direction of the waste toner receiver 402 and a blade portion 406 formed to protrude spirally around the shaft portion 405. .

The end of the shaft 405 is provided at the end of the shaft 405.
Motor 40 as a driving means for rotating the motor 40 in a certain direction.
7 are provided. Thus, by driving the motor 407, the spiral blade 4
04 can be rotated. By rotating the spiral blade 404, the blade portion 406 can convey the collected waste toner in a predetermined direction along the longitudinal direction of the waste toner receiver 402.

Further, the spiral blade 404, that is, the shaft portion 405 and the blade portion 406 are formed of a conductive material. A metal plate 408 is provided at the end of the shaft 405.
Are in contact. The metal plate 408 is in contact so as not to hinder the rotation of the shaft 405. Further, the metal plate 408 is connected to a power source 409 which is a power source for generating a predetermined voltage.

The power supply 409 applies a bias having a polarity opposite to the polarity (“+ (plus)”) of the voltage generated by the back electrode 6, that is, a “− (minus)” bias. Thus, a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode 6 can be applied to the spiral blade 404.

In the first embodiment, the spiral blade 4
Although a description will be given of a mode in which a voltage is applied to the device 04 via a metal plate 408, any device may be used as long as it does not hinder the rotation of the spiral blade 404 and applies a voltage.

At the end of the spiral blade 404 on the transport direction side, a cylindrical transport tube 410 and a waste toner storage unit 60 connected to the transport tube 410 are provided as means for collecting waste toner. . Thus, the conveyed waste toner can be collected in the waste toner storage unit 60 by the spiral blade 404. In addition,
Although the waste toner storage unit 60 has been described as a means for storing the transported waste toner, the spiral blade 4
A waste toner storage unit for exclusively storing the waste toner conveyed by the printer 04 may be provided.

Next, a waste toner collecting operation of the waste toner collecting mechanism according to the first embodiment will be described.

In order to start the collecting operation of the toner collecting mechanism, the power source 409 switches the shaft portion 4 when a voltage is applied to the back electrode.
A voltage having a polarity (−) opposite to that of the back electrode is applied to the spiral blade 404 via the line 05. Next, the motor 407 is driven to rotate the spiral blade 404 in the direction of arrow a.

Next, by driving the ultrasonic vibration generator 44, the position of the small hole row 24 of the developer passage control member 4 is vibrated through the vibration plate 43. As a result, the toners 8a to 8d clogged in the small holes 23 are removed.

Toners 8 a to 8 removed from small hole array 24
Although d is scattered, since a positive voltage is applied to the back electrode 6, the negatively charged toner among the scattered toners 8a to 8d is attracted to the back electrode 6. Then, the toner adheres to the intermediate image receiving belt 7 and is collected.

On the other hand, the positively charged toner having the same polarity as the back electrode 6 and scattered without adhering to the intermediate image receiving belt 7 is
The spiral blade 404 that is negatively charged is drawn.

Then, the toner attracted to the spiral blade 404 enters the opening 4 into the waste toner receiver 402.
Recovered from 03. Waste toner receiver 4 from opening 403
02 is further attracted to the spiral blade 404 and adheres to the blade 406.

At this time, the spiral blade 404 has an arrow a
The collected waste toner is conveyed by the blade portion 406 of the spiral blade 404 in the direction of arrow b, that is, to the side of the spiral blade 404. Then, the waste toner transported in the direction of arrow b is collected by the waste toner storage unit 60 through the transport tube 410.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the intermediate image receiving belt 7 is provided by the waste toner receiver 402 provided in the vicinity of the small hole row 24 of the developer passage control member 4 in the vicinity.
Waste toner that has not been collected can be collected. As a result, the inside of the image forming apparatus and the recording paper can be prevented from being contaminated by the toner scattered from the small holes 23 by the cleaning, and the image quality can be prevented from being stained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the waste toner collected in waste toner receiver 402 can be transported to waste toner storage unit outside waste toner receiver 402 by spiral blade 404, so that waste toner receiver 402 Overflow of waste toner can be prevented.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the spiral blade 404 can be applied to a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode 6, the toner not attracted by the back electrode 6 can be surely drawn to the spiral blade 404. it can. In this way, all the waste toner removed from the small holes 23 is transferred to the back electrode 6 or the spiral blade 404.
And is collected by the intermediate image receiving belt 7 or the spiral blade 404.

In the above-described embodiment, in order to form a color image, a plurality of developing devices 5a to 5d accommodating developers 8a to 8d of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black means are used. Although the configuration is provided with the developer passage control member 4, a configuration in which a single developing device and a developer passage control unit are provided to perform monochromatic recording may be used.

(Embodiment 2) An image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention includes a waste toner collecting mechanism having a different structure from the waste toner collecting mechanism according to Embodiment 1. is there.

More specifically, in the first embodiment, the spiral blade 404 is used as the conveying means for conveying the waste toner. In the second embodiment, the conveying belt is used as the conveying means for conveying the toner. Hereinafter, the waste toner collecting mechanism according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing a detailed configuration of a recording portion of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a waste toner collecting mechanism according to the second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, a waste toner collecting mechanism is provided in the vicinity of the developer passage control member 4 below the small hole row 24. As in the first embodiment, the waste toner collecting mechanism according to the second embodiment includes a unit that receives the scattered waste toner, a transport unit that transports the received waste toner, and a power unit that applies a voltage to the transport unit. And means for collecting the transported waste toner.

In the second embodiment, as means for receiving the scattered waste toner, the waste toner receiver 601 includes the small hole array 24.
Along and facing each other. The waste toner receiver 601 has an opening 6 on the upper side, that is, the small hole row 24 side.
02 and a rectangular cross section. That is,
The waste toner receiver 601 has an opening 403 arranged in the longitudinal direction, that is, along the small hole row 24.

By providing the waste toner receiver 601 in this manner, the toner 8a to 8d
Is collected by the waste toner receiver 601 from the opening 602 of the waste toner receiver 601 when the toner falls by gravity.

In the waste toner receiver 601, a conveyor belt 603 is provided as a means for conveying the collected waste toner.
, Transport pulleys 604a and 604b, and motor 407
Are provided.

The transport belt 603 is disposed so that the transport portion extends along the longitudinal direction of the waste toner receiver 601 and faces the small hole row 24. Further, the transport belt 60
3 is wound by transport pulleys 604a and 604b. Further, the transport belt 603 includes a transport pulley 604.
a, 604b rotates along the longitudinal direction of the waste toner receiver 601 to remove the waste toner.
1 is conveyed in a certain direction along the longitudinal direction.

A motor 407, which is a driving means for rotating the shaft 605 in a fixed direction, is provided at an end of the shaft 605 of the transport pulley 604a. Thus, by driving the motor 407, the transport pulley 604a can be rotated about the shaft 605.
Then, by rotating the transport pulley 604a,
The transport belt 603 rotates, and the waste toner collected on the transport belt 603 can be transported in a certain direction.

Further, the transport belt 603 and the transport pulley 60
4a and 604b are made of a conductive material. The metal plate 408 is in contact with the end of the shaft 605. The metal plate 408 is in contact so as not to hinder rotation of the shaft 605. Further, the metal plate 408 is connected to a power source 409 which is a power source for generating a predetermined voltage.

The motor 40 of the conveyor belt 603 is
A blade 606 is provided in the vicinity of the end opposite to the side provided with 7 so as to be in contact with the conveyor belt 603. The blade 606 scrapes off the waste toner attached to the transport belt 603 and collects the waste toner in the waste toner storage box 607.

In the second embodiment, the waste toner is collected in the waste toner storage box 607, but may be collected in the waste toner storage unit 60 as in the first embodiment. .

Next, a waste toner collecting operation of the waste toner collecting mechanism according to the second embodiment will be described.

When a voltage is applied to the back electrode, a voltage having a polarity (−) opposite to that of the back electrode is applied to the transport belt 603 from the power source 409 via the shaft 605 and the transport pulley 604a.
Next, the motor 407 is rotated in the direction of arrow c, and the transport belt 603 is rotated in the direction of arrow b.

Next, by driving the ultrasonic vibration generator 44, the position of the small hole array 24 of the developer passage control member 4 is vibrated through the vibration plate 43. As a result, the toners 8a to 8d clogged in the small holes 23 are removed.

Toners 8a to 8 removed from row of small holes 24
Although d is scattered, since a positive voltage is applied to the back electrode 6, the negatively charged toner among the scattered toners 8a to 8d is attracted to the back electrode 6. Then, the toner adheres to the intermediate image receiving belt 7 and is collected.

On the other hand, the positively charged toner having the same polarity as the back electrode 6 and scattered without adhering to the intermediate image receiving belt 7 is
The sheet is drawn to the negatively charged conveyor belt 603.

The toner attracted to the conveyor belt 603 is supplied to the opening 602 inside the waste toner receiver 601.
Recovered from. Waste toner receiver 601 from opening 602
The waste toner collected inside is further transported by the conveyor belt 60.
3 and adheres to the upper transport surface of the transport belt 603.

At this time, since the transport belt 603 is rotating in the direction of the arrow b, the collected waste toner is transported by the transport belt 603 in the direction of the arrow b, that is, in the side direction.
Then, the waste toner transported in the direction of arrow b is scraped off from the transport belt 603 by the blade 606 and collected in the waste toner storage box 607.

As described above, also in the second embodiment, the waste toner scattered from the small holes 23 receives the waste toner 6.
01 can be reliably collected. As a result, the inside of the image forming apparatus and the recording paper can be prevented from being contaminated by the toner scattered from the small holes 23 due to the cleaning, and image quality contamination can be prevented.

Further, the waste toner collected in the waste toner receiver 601 is conveyed by the conveyor belt 603 to the waste toner receiver 601.
Can be conveyed to the waste toner storage box 607 outside the waste toner storage box 607, so that the waste toner receiver 601 can be prevented from overflowing with waste toner.

Further, since the transport belt 603 can be applied with a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode 6, toner not attracted by the back electrode 6 can be surely drawn to the transport belt 603. As described above, all the waste toner removed from the small holes 23 is drawn to the back electrode 6 or the transport belt 603, and is collected by the intermediate image receiving belt 7 or the transport belt 603.

In the present invention, as means for conveying the waste toner, the spiral blade 404 or the conveying belt 6 is used.
Although the description has been made with reference to No. 03, any transporting means may be used as long as it is a means for transporting the waste toner from a position facing the small hole array 24 to a position not facing the small hole array 24.

[0105]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the waste toner can be collected by a waste toner collecting mechanism provided below the small hole of the developer passage control member, the waste toner spills downward and contaminates other developer passage control members, recording paper, etc. It is possible to prevent contamination.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing a detailed configuration of a recording portion of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a partial plan view showing a front surface side of a developer passage control member according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3B is a longitudinal sectional view showing a cross section of the developer passage control member according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing the back surface side of the developer passage control member according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a waste toner collecting mechanism according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing a detailed configuration of a recording portion of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a waste toner collecting mechanism according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a reference example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 print head 2 housing member 3 main body case 4 developer passage control member 5 a to 5 d developing device 6 back electrode 7 intermediate image receiving belt 8 a to 8 d toner 9 developer storage container 11 developing roller 13 supply roller 23 small hole 24 small hole array 29, 30 Belt roller 31 Transfer roller 43 Vibration plate 44 Ultrasonic vibration generator 402, 601 Waste toner receiver 404 Spiral blade 407 Motor 408 Metal plate 409 Power supply 410 Transport tube 603 Transport belt 604a, 604b Transport pulley 606 Blade 607 Waste toner storage box

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C162 AE12 AE25 AE31 AE47 AE74 AE84 AE93 AE94 AJ07 AJ26 CA02 CA12 CA24 2H029 AB16 AB18 AC02 AC05 AD01 AD07 AE02 2H134 GA08 GB02 HD01 JA01 JA02 JB02 KA20 KH01 KH07

Claims (7)

[Claims] A developer carrying member that carries and transports the charged developer; and a plurality of small holes through which the developer passes are formed in a row in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the developer is transported. A developer passage control member for controlling the passage of the developer through the small hole in response to a signal from the image forming apparatus, and an image receiving medium for attaching the developer passing through the small hole to the developer passage control member. A rear electrode for generating an electric field for causing the developer to fly between the developer carrier and a cleaning device for removing the developer from the small holes of the developer passage control member; A waste toner collecting mechanism that is provided in the vicinity of below the small hole and is opposed to the small hole, and that collects the developer that is not collected by the image receiving medium among the developers removed by the cleaning mechanism. With An image forming apparatus characterized in that: 2. The toner recovery mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner collecting mechanism includes a toner receiving member disposed along and opposite to the plurality of small holes, for receiving and collecting the removed developer on an opposite surface. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The waste toner collecting mechanism is disposed inside the toner receiving member, and conveys the removed developer collected by the toner receiving member from one of the longitudinal directions of the toner receiving member to the other. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a conveying unit configured to convey the toner to the outside of the toner receiving member. 4. A blade formed inside the toner receiving member and arranged along the longitudinal direction of the toner receiving member so as to spirally protrude about the axis. And the blade rotates around the shaft to cause the blade to convey the removed developer collected by the toner receiving member along the toner receiving member and to convey the developer outside the toner receiving member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is a spiral blade. 5. The conveying means is wound inside the toner receiving member so as to face the small hole, and is rotated along a longitudinal direction of the toner receiving member, thereby recovering the collected toner. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is a conveyance belt that conveys the removed developer along the toner receiving member and conveys the developer outside the toner receiving member. 6. The waste toner collecting mechanism according to claim 3, further comprising a power supply unit that applies a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode to the transport unit. Image forming device. 7. The power supply unit applies a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the back electrode to the transport unit in synchronization with a voltage application timing of the back electrode.
The image forming apparatus as described in the above.