JP2003066803A - Waste toner recovering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner recovering device which is capable of detecting the fully filled state of waste toners and preventing the occurrence of a hindrance in image forming processing using an image carrying member. SOLUTION: A rotationally moving shaft 262 is disposed in a position deviating in a horizontal direction (+Y) from the waste toners T freely falling on a lower side of an inflow port 253 within a recovering container 25 and this rotationally moving shaft 262 is mounted with a flap 263. As the amount of the deposition of the freely falling waste toners T increases, the flap 263 is rotationally moved and displaced in a direction R while a rear surface 263a of the flap 263 comes into contact with the already recovered and deposited deposits (waste toners T) D. This displacement is detected by a photointerruptor and the fully filled state of the waste toners is detected. A front surface 263b of the flap 263 is coated by a fluororesin, etc., by which the adhesion of the waste toners T to the front surface 263b can be prevented and the accuracy of detecting the fully filled state can be improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning member for scraping off waste toner remaining on an image carrier such as a photoconductor or a transfer medium from the image carrier, and a waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member. A collection container to collect,
The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting device provided with a full detector for detecting a full state of waste toner collected in the collecting container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional waste toner collecting device. In this waste toner collecting device, the cleaning blade 11 scrapes off the waste toner remaining on the image carrier belt 12, and the toner conveying member 13 moves in the direction of arrow P.
When the toner is scraped off, the waste toner scraped from the image carrier belt 12 is conveyed to the collecting container 14 and collected. Further, a full detector 15 is provided to detect that the waste toner is full in the collection container 14.

The full detector 15 is an actuator 15 that rotates as the amount of waste toner in the collection container 14 increases.
1, an optical shutter 152 that rotates together with the actuator 151, and a photo interrupter 153 that outputs a signal indicating whether or not the waste toner is full according to the rotating operation of the optical shutter 152. That is, while the waste toner is not full, the optical shutter 152 blocks the light receiving portion of the photo interrupter 153 to turn off the signal, while the collection of waste toner progresses and the amount of waste toner in the collection container 14 increases. Then, along with the increase, the actuator 151 rotates in the direction of the arrow Q, and the optical shutter 152 also rotates together with it, and when the waste toner becomes full, the optical shutter 152 causes the photo interrupter 153 to rotate. The signal is switched on by moving away from the light receiving part of.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional device shown in FIG. 7, the rear surface of the actuator 151 is the recovery container 1.
The waste toner existing in No. 4 is brought into contact with the waste toner, and the waste toner in the collecting container 14 is rotationally displaced as the waste toner increases. The full state is detected based on the rotary displacement.
When the waste toner adheres to the surface of No. 1, the actuator 15
In some cases, the rotation displacement operation of No. 1 is obstructed, and the fullness detection accuracy is deteriorated. Further, if the detection of the full state by the full detector 15 is delayed, the waste toner may leak from the collection container 14, or the waste toner carrying force of the toner carrying member 13 may impinge on the collection container 14 and cause the container to be destroyed. As a result, the image forming process using the image carrier may be hindered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to prevent the trouble of the image forming process using the image carrier by accurately detecting the full state of the waste toner. It is an object to provide a waste toner collecting device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a cleaning member for scraping off waste toner remaining on an image carrier from the image carrier, a recovery container for recovering the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member, and a recovery container. A waste toner collecting device having a full detector for detecting the full state of the waste toner collected in the container, and in order to achieve the above object, the full detector has a rear surface thereof collected in a collecting container. A movable member that is displaced as the amount of waste toner in the collection container increases while being in contact with the waste toner, and a sensor that detects the displacement of the movable member. The surface roughness of the surface of the toner is smaller than the average particle diameter of the waste toner (claim 1).

In the invention thus constituted, the movable member is displaced as the amount of waste toner in the collection container increases while the back surface of the movable member is in contact with the waste toner collected in the collection container. Since the surface roughness of the movable member is smaller than the average particle size of the waste toner, the waste toner is prevented from adhering to the surface of the movable member. As a result, as the amount of waste toner in the collection container increases, the movable member can be reliably displaced, and the full state of waste toner can be accurately detected.

In the above invention, the surface roughness of the movable member is made smaller than the average particle diameter of the waste toner to prevent the waste toner from adhering to the surface of the movable member. By selecting the material of the movable member based on the charging sequence, the waste toner may be more effectively prevented from adhering to the surface of the movable member. That is, when the waste toner is negatively charged, the surface side of the movable member is made of a material on the negative polarity side of the waste toner in the charging column, while when the waste toner is positively charged, the movable member When the surface side is made of a material having a positive polarity side with respect to the waste toner in the charging train, the adhesion of the waste toner to the surface of the movable member is effectively suppressed, and the detection accuracy of the full state is further improved. ).

Regarding the structure of the full detector,
As long as the back surface of the movable member is in contact with the waste toner collected in the collection container and the movable member is displaced along with the increase of the waste toner in the collection container, the full state of the waste toner can be detected. However, the detection accuracy can be further improved by freely dropping the waste toner into the collection container to collect the waste toner and configuring the full detector as follows. That is, since the waste toner scraped off the image carrier by the cleaning member is freely dropped and collected in the collection container, it is possible to prevent the waste toner from being packed in the collection container. Further, a rotary shaft is provided at a position horizontally separated from the free-falling waste toner, and a movable member attached to the rotary shaft is rotationally displaced as the waste toner increases, and the rotational displacement is detected by a sensor. Alternatively, the full state of the waste toner may be detected by the above-mentioned configuration, and with such a configuration, the full state can be detected with high accuracy (claim 3).

[0010]

1 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus equipped with an embodiment of a waste toner collecting device according to the present invention. This image forming apparatus forms a full-color image by superposing four color toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), or uses only black (K) toner. Is a device that forms a monochrome image. In this image forming apparatus, when an image signal is given to the main controller of the control unit from an external device such as a host computer, the engine controller controls each part of the engine section EG in response to a command from the main controller to copy paper, Transfer paper, paper and O
An image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the sheet S such as the HP transparent sheet.

In this engine section EG, seven units are provided: (a) photoconductor unit 2; (b) yellow developing unit 3Y; (c) magenta developing unit 3M; (d) cyan developing unit 3C; (e ) Black developing unit 3K; (f)
The intermediate transfer unit 4 and (g) fixing unit 5 are detachable from the apparatus body 6. Then, with all the units 2, 3Y, 3M, 3C, 3K, 4, 5 attached to the apparatus body 6, as shown in FIG. 1, the photoconductor 21 of the photoconductor unit 2 is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. While rotating to D1, along the rotation direction D1 around the photoconductor 21, the charging unit 22, the developing units 3Y, 3M, 3C,
A rotary developing unit 3 composed of 3K and a cleaning unit 23 corresponding to the waste toner collecting device of the present invention are arranged.

Seven units 2, 3Y, 3M, 3C, 3
Among the K, 4, and 5, the photoconductor unit 2, the photoconductor 21, the charging unit 22, and the cleaning unit 23 are housed,
These can be integrally attached to and detached from the apparatus body 6. A charging bias is applied to the charging unit 22 to uniformly charge the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21.

Further, the photoconductor unit 2 is provided with a cleaning unit 23 upstream of the charging unit 22 in the rotation direction D1 of the photoconductor 21, and remains attached to the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21 after the primary transfer. The waste toner that remains is scraped off and collected in a collection container as described later. Thus
The surface of the photoconductor 21 is cleaned. The cleaning unit 23 corresponding to the waste toner collecting device of the present invention
The configuration and operation of will be described in detail later.

In this image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, the exposure unit 8 irradiates the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 21 charged by the charging unit 22 with the laser beam L. The exposure unit 8 scans and exposes the laser light L on the photoconductor 21 according to the image signal from the engine controller 1 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 21 corresponding to the image signal.

The electrostatic latent image thus formed is developed with toner by the developing unit 3. That is, in this embodiment, as the developing unit 3, the developing unit 3K for black, the developing unit 3C for cyan, and the developing unit 3 for magenta are used.
A developing unit 3Y for M and yellow is rotatably provided around the axis. The developing units 3K, 3C, 3M and 3Y are rotationally positioned and selectively positioned at the contact or separation position with respect to the photoconductor 21 to develop a DC component or a DC component superimposed with an AC component. A bias is applied to apply the selected color toner to the surface of the photoconductor 21. As a result, the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 21 is visualized in the selected toner color.

The toner image developed by the developing section 3 as described above is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 41 of the intermediate transfer unit 4 in the primary transfer region TR1. That is, the intermediate transfer unit 4 includes an intermediate transfer belt 41 that is wound around a plurality of rollers, and a drive unit (not shown) that rotationally drives the intermediate transfer belt 41, and when transferring a color image to the sheet S. In order to form a color image by superimposing the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoconductor 21 on the intermediate transfer belt 41, when the monochrome image is transferred to the sheet S, the color image is formed on the photoconductor 21. Only the black toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 41 to form a monochrome image.

The image thus formed on the intermediate transfer belt 41 is secondarily transferred onto the sheet S taken out from the cassette 9 in a predetermined secondary transfer region TR2. Further, the sheet S on which the image is thus formed is conveyed to the discharge tray portion provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 6 via the fixing unit 5.

Next, the structure and operation of the cleaning unit 23 corresponding to the waste toner collecting device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning unit as an embodiment of the waste toner collecting device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a waste toner collecting operation in the cleaning unit of FIG. In the following description, for convenience, the width direction of image formation is referred to as the “X direction”, and the direction in which the waste toner freely falls, that is, the vertical direction is referred to as the “Z direction”, and is orthogonal to both directions X and Z. The horizontal direction is called the "Y direction".

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning section 23 has a cleaning blade 24, and scrapes off the waste toner T remaining on the photoconductor 21.

The cleaning section 23 is provided with a recovery container 25 for recovering the cleaning blade 24. This recovery container 25 is the photoconductor unit 2
The recovery container main body 251 fixed to the main body 20 and the cover member 252 that can be attached so as to close the opening 251a of the recovery container main body 251. Attached to 251 to form a collection space for the waste toner T. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an inflow port 253 is opened on the side of the top of the recovery container body 251 facing the photoconductor 21, and the waste toner T scraped off by the cleaning blade 24 is inflow port 253. Through the inside of the collection container 25 (collection space) to fall freely. Therefore, on the bottom side of the collection container 25,
The waste toner T accumulates without forming packing while forming a mountain-shaped distribution. In this embodiment,
The bottom surface 254 of the recovery container 25 is inclined by, for example, about 5 ° so as to become lower as it goes in the (+ Y) direction.
As a result, the accuracy of fullness detection by the fullness detector 26 described below is improved. The reason will be described later in detail.

The full detector 26 detects the full state of the waste toner T collected in the collecting container 25, and as shown in FIG. 4, from the center position and the patch forming position in the width direction X of image formation. It is provided separately. The reason for adopting such an arrangement is as follows.

In the central printing type image forming apparatus which has been widely used in the past, when the waste toner T is dropped into the collection container 25 and collected, the distribution of the inflow amount of the waste toner T in the width direction X of the image formation is distributed. For example, as shown in FIG. That is, the inflow amount of the waste toner T increases at the center position in the X direction and decreases toward the image forming end portion. Further, in an image forming apparatus that regularly forms a patch image in order to stabilize the image density, the patch forming position is the maximum inflow position.

Now, looking at the behavior of the waste toner T which falls freely, the waste toner T scraped off by the cleaning blade 24 has already been collected in the collecting container 25 (the waste toner T). ) D is piled up on the top of the mountain shape, and the deposition height near the top is temporarily increased. However, in the apparatus for collecting the waste toner T by freely dropping the waste toner T in this manner, Since the packing of the toner T does not occur, when the inclination angle of the waste toner T near the top of the toner T exceeds the angle of repose of the waste toner T, the toner T flows to a low area, and the deposition height near the top is the same as the original. It stays around the same level or rises slightly. Further, in the image forming apparatus, various driving units are present, and when vibration generated from the driving unit is applied to the collection container 25, the vibration causes the vibration to occur in a region where the waste toner T collected in the collection container 25 is low. As it flows, the deposition height of the deposit (waste toner T) D is leveled to some extent.

Therefore, for example, the real fair 7-25809
If the structure is such that the waste toner T is full at a position where the amount of the waste toner is maximum as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-2004-242242, the waste toner T collected in the collection container 25 near the top is collected. When the accumulation height temporarily increases, it is detected, and the waste toner T is full even though there is a space (non-accumulation space) in which the waste toner T can be collected. Will be detected. Therefore, there is a problem that the recovery space of the recovery container 25 cannot be efficiently used.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the full detector 2
6 is provided apart from the center position and the patch formation position in the width direction X of image formation. As a result, the efficiency of collecting the waste toner T in the collection container 25 is improved, the cleaning unit (waste toner collecting device) 23 is downsized, and the image forming apparatus is downsized.

In the full detector 26, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 6, the sneak-in restriction member 261 is fixed to the collection container body 251 in correspondence with the full detection position, and the waste toner T is full from the full detection position (+ X direction side and −X direction side). We are trying to improve the detection accuracy by preventing it from wrapping around.

A turning shaft 262 extends substantially parallel to the X direction so as to penetrate through the side surfaces of the wraparound restricting member 261 and the recovery container main body 251, and the sneak restricting member 261 and the recovery container inside the recovery container 25. Body 25
It is rotatably supported with respect to 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the disposing position of the rotating shaft 262 is such that the collecting container 2
5 inside of 5 below the inlet 253 (Z direction side)
Waste toner T that freely falls in the collection container 25
It is located in a position horizontally deviated from (+ Y).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, one end of the flat plate-shaped flap 263 is fixed to the one end (the -X direction side) of the rotary shaft 262 so as to correspond to the wraparound regulating member 261. On the other hand, the other end of the flap 263 extends to the bottom side of the collection container 25, and the flap 263 is surrounded by the sneak-in restricting member 261 and is located inside the full detection position.
It is rotatable in unison with 2. Therefore, when the waste toner T scraped off by the cleaning blade 24 and free-falling is accumulated at the full detection position, FIG.
As shown in (b), the back surface 263a of the flap 263 comes into contact with the deposit (waste toner) D, and the flap 263 rotates around the pivot shaft 262 as the center of rotation in accordance with the increase in the amount of the deposit D in FIG. Rotate around R. Thus, in this embodiment, the flap 263 functions as the "movable member" of the present invention.

Here, in this embodiment, the flap 26
In order to reduce the surface roughness of the surface 263b on the opposite side of the back surface 263a from the average particle diameter of the waste toner T, the surface 263b is subjected to smoothing treatment such as fluororesin coating or mirror finishing. I am giving it. As a result, the waste toner T that freely falls falls on the surface 263b.
To prevent it from adhering to.

Further, the other end side (+ X direction side) of the rotating shaft 262 extends to the outside of the recovery container main body 251 through the side wall surface of the recovery container main body 251 as shown in FIG. A substantially L-shaped optical shutter 264 is attached to the tip of the optical shutter 264, and the optical shutter 264 rotates integrally with the rotary shaft 262 together with the rotary displacement of the rotary shaft 262 and the flap 263. Further, the photo interrupter 265 is fixed to the main body 20 of the photoconductor unit 2, and outputs a signal indicating whether or not the waste toner is full according to the rotating operation of the optical shutter 264. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, while the flap 263 is not in contact with the deposit D of the waste toner T, the optical shutter 264 blocks the light receiving portion of the photo interrupter 265 and the signal from the photo interrupter 265 is turned off. On the other hand, when the accumulation amount of the waste toner T is increased and the flap 263 is rotationally displaced as shown in FIG. 3B, the optical shutter-264 causes the photo interrupter 265 to rotate together with the rotational displacement. The signal from the photo interrupter 265 is turned on by the displacement movement from the light receiving part of, and the full state can be detected.

Next, the waste toner collecting operation and the full detection operation of the cleaning unit (waste toner collecting device) 23 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. While the amount of the waste toner T collected in the collection container 25 is zero or small, the flap 263 is not in contact with the deposit (waste toner) D as shown in FIG. The angle (operating angle) θ formed by the back surface 263a and the vertical line VL passing through the rotary shaft 262 is zero, the optical shutter 264 blocks the light receiving portion of the photo interrupter 265, and the signal from the photo interrupter 265 is not full. Is a signal indicating that (OFF signal).

When the image forming process is repeated and the waste toner T is accumulated in the collecting container 25, the deposit D finally comes into contact with the back surface 263a of the flap 263. Particularly, in this embodiment, the bottom surface 2 of the recovery container 25 is
Since 54 is inclined, for example, about 5 ° so as to become lower in the rotational displacement direction R, when the waste toner first contacts the back surface 263a of the flap 263, the flap 26
3 is more likely to be displaced in the rotational displacement direction R as compared with the case where it is not inclined. The reason is as follows.

When the free-falling waste toner T is deposited, the deposit D has a mountain shape, and the amount of deposition increases, and after the slope of the deposit D contacts the back surface 263a of the flap 263. The flap 263 starts to be rotationally displaced. At this time, the smaller the angle between the slope and the back surface 263a (corresponding to symbol φ in FIG. 3), the less force the flap 263 has as the deposit D increases, and the more reliable movement in the rotational displacement direction R becomes. It becomes easy to displace. In this regard, by inclining the bottom surface 254 of the collection container 25 as described above, the slope contacting the back surface 263a of the flap 263 can be inclined more gently than when the bottom surface 254 is set horizontally, and the flap 263 is provided. Can be more reliably rotated in the rotational displacement direction R, and fullness detection can be made more reliable.

Here, in order to reduce the angle formed by the slope of the deposit D and the back surface 263a (corresponding to the reference symbol φ in FIG. 3), the flap 263 does not contact the deposit D in the initial state. The other end 263c of 263 may be located on the side (+ Y direction side) opposite to the drop side of the waste toner T with respect to the vertical line VL.
The 63 can be more reliably rotated in the rotational displacement direction R, and the fullness detection can be made more reliable.

Thus, after the back surface 263a of the flap 263 comes into contact with the deposit D, the amount of deposit increases as the waste toner T is collected, and as shown in FIG. 3B, the amount of deposit increases. Accordingly, the flap 263 is rotationally displaced in the rotational displacement direction R about the rotational shaft 262 as the rotational center. Then, when the angle θ reaches a predetermined full angle α, the optical shutter-264 causes the photo interrupter 26 to operate as shown in FIG.
The photo interrupter 265 is moved from the light receiving unit of No. 5 by displacement.
The signal from turns on and the full condition is detected.

Here, in the case where the waste toner T is freely dropped and deposited as described above to be collected, the repose angle of the waste toner which is not considered at all in the prior art of packing the waste toner in the collection container is considered. It is desirable to determine the full angle α above. This is because when the waste toner T is collected by free fall, the inclination angle of the slope of the deposit D is almost the angle of repose of the waste toner T, and therefore the full angle α is α ≦ 90 ° −β. However, it is desirable to set β to the angle of repose of the waste toner.

In the image forming apparatus in which the signal indicating the full state is output, the control unit for controlling the entire apparatus uses a display panel (not shown) or an external device (host computer or the like) connected to the image forming apparatus to discard the waste toner. Displays a message indicating that the cleaning unit 23 is full, or blinks a warning lamp to notify the user that maintenance of the cleaning unit 23 is necessary.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the waste toner T scraped off from the photoconductor 21 by the cleaning blade 24 is configured to be freely fallen into the recovery container 25. Since it is possible to prevent the waste toner T from being packed in the container 25,
It is possible to increase the size of the collection container 25, reduce the frequency of waste toner disposal, and improve maintainability. In addition, from the waste toner T that freely falls, the horizontal direction (+
Y) is provided with a rotary shaft 262 at a position deviated from the rotary shaft 2
Since the flap 263 attached to 62 is rotationally displaced as the amount of the deposit D increases, and is detected to detect the full state of the waste toner T, the full state of the waste toner can be accurately measured. It can be detected well. As a result, it is possible to prevent problems such as waste toner leaking from the collection container 25 due to delay in detection of the full state.

Further, according to the above embodiment, in the widthwise direction (X direction) of image formation, the inflow amount of the waste toner T is relatively large, and the deposit D becomes high, and the position deviates from the patch formation position. Is the full detection position, the efficiency of collecting the waste toner T in the collecting container 25 can be improved, and the cleaning unit (waste toner collecting device) 23 can be downsized, and further the image forming apparatus can be downsized. it can.

Further, since the waste toner T scraped off by the cleaning blade 24 is freely dropped into the collection container 25, a part of the waste toner T is on the surface 2 of the flap 263.
May be scattered on 63b. Where its surface 263
If the waste toner T adheres at b, it may hinder the rotational displacement operation of the flap 263, which may cause a decrease in the full detection accuracy. However, in the above-described embodiment, by performing a smoothing process such as coating the surface 263b with a fluororesin, the scattered waste toner T can be prevented from adhering to the surface 263b, and the fullness detection accuracy can be improved. Can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the bottom surface 25 of the collection container 25
However, the present invention can be applied to the case where the bottom surface 254 is a horizontal surface.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the flap 263 corresponding to the movable member of the present invention has a flat plate shape, but the shape of the flap 263 is not limited to this, and the cross-sectional shape is inverted. It may be finished into a shape or a convex shape. In the case where the movable member is configured in this way, as in the case of using the flat-plate flap 263, a portion of the movable member that comes into contact with the waste toner is used as an action portion, and this action portion is connected to the rotating shaft 262. The angle formed by the straight line with the vertical line VL is the operating angle θ, and the photo interrupter 265 detects the full state of the waste toner T when the operating angle θ reaches the full angle α preset corresponding to the full state. It is desirable to configure it.

Further, in the above embodiment, the flap 263 is used.
The waste toner T is prevented from adhering by performing a smoothing process on the surface 263b of the toner. For example, when the waste toner T is negatively charged, the waste toner T is charged on the surface 263b side in the charging column. Even if it is made of a material on the negative polarity side, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Of course, when the waste toner T is positively charged, the surface 263b side may be made of a material on the positive polarity side of the waste toner T in the charging train. Further, the treatment for reducing the surface energy of the flap 263 may be added to prevent the waste toner T from adhering.

Further, in the above embodiment, the full detection position is removed from the central portion of the image forming apparatus in which the amount of waste toner (inflow amount) becomes maximum in the central portion in the width direction X of image formation. However, if the position where the amount of waste toner is maximum is different from this, a position deviating from the maximum position may be set as the full detection position.

Further, as described above, in the image forming apparatus, when the vibration generated from the driving unit is applied to the collecting container 25, the vibration causes the waste toner T collected in the collecting container 25 to flow to a low area. This is effective in increasing the collection efficiency of the waste toner T. Therefore, it is desirable to enhance the recovery efficiency by integrally configuring the entire cleaning unit 23 or the recovery container 25 alone with the driven unit that operates by receiving the driving force from the drive unit.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the waste toner collecting device (cleaning unit 23) for collecting the waste toner remaining on the photoconductor 21 as the image carrier, but the intermediate transfer belt is used. The present invention can be applied to a waste toner collecting device for collecting the waste toner remaining on the transfer medium such as 41.

Further, the waste toner collecting device according to the above embodiment is incorporated in a printer for printing an image provided by an external device such as a host computer on a sheet such as copy paper, transfer paper, paper and OHP transparent sheet. However, the present invention includes a copying machine, a facsimile machine, etc.
The present invention can be applied to a waste toner collecting device incorporated in all electrophotographic image forming apparatuses. For example, waste toner scraped off by a cleaner blade is conveyed to a collecting container via a waste toner conveying mechanism such as an auger, and the waste toner conveyed from the inlet of the collecting container is configured to freely fall. The present invention can also be applied to a recovery device. Further, free fall of the waste toner to collect it in the collection container is not an essential constituent element of the present invention, and a collection method for collecting the waste toner in the collection container is arbitrary, for example, as in the conventional apparatus of FIG. The present invention can be applied to a waste toner collecting device that forcibly sends waste toner to the collecting container 14 by the toner conveying member 13 to collect the waste toner.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the surface roughness of the surface of the movable member is smaller than the average particle size of the waste toner, it is possible to prevent the waste toner from adhering to the surface of the movable member. However, the movable member is reliably displaced as the amount of waste toner in the collection container increases, and the full state of waste toner can be accurately detected (claim 1).

Further, according to the present invention, when the waste toner is negatively charged, the surface side of the movable member is made of a material on the negative polarity side of the waste toner in the charging column, while the waste toner is positively charged. In this case, the surface side of the movable member is made of a material having a positive polarity side than the waste toner in the charging column, so that the waste toner is effectively suppressed from adhering to the surface of the movable member and is in a full state. It is possible to improve the detection accuracy of (claim 2).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus equipped with an embodiment of a waste toner collecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning unit that is an embodiment of the waste toner collecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a waste toner collecting operation in the cleaning unit of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a deposition height and an inflow amount of waste toner in a width direction (X direction) of image formation.

5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the cleaning unit of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of components that make up a full detector.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional waste toner collecting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 ... Photosensitive member (image bearing member) 23 ... Cleaning part (waste toner collecting device) 24 ... Cleaning blade (cleaning member) 25 ... Collection container 26 ... Full detector 41 ... Intermediate transfer belt (image carrier) 253 ... Inflow port (of collection container) 263 ... Flap (movable member) 263a ... Back surface (of movable member) 263b ... (of movable member) surface 264 ... Optical shutter (full detector) 265 ... Photo interrupter (full detector) T ... Waste toner VL ... vertical line

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning member for scraping off the waste toner remaining on the image carrier from the image carrier, a recovery container for recovering the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member, and a recovery container for recovering the waste toner in the recovery container. A full toner detector for detecting a full state of the waste toner, wherein the full detector has a back surface thereof in contact with the waste toner collected in the collecting container, Of the movable member and a sensor for detecting the displacement of the movable member, and the surface roughness on the surface opposite to the back surface of the movable member is wasted. A waste toner collecting device characterized by being smaller than the average particle size of the toner. 2. A cleaning member for scraping off the waste toner remaining on the image carrier from the image carrier, a recovery container for recovering the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member, and a recovery container for recovering the waste toner in the recovery container. A full toner detector for detecting a full state of the waste toner, wherein the full detector has a back surface thereof in contact with the waste toner collected in the collecting container, In the case where the waste toner is negatively charged, the surface side of the movable member is charged. When the waste toner is positively charged while being composed of a material on the negative polarity side of the waste toner in the row,
A waste toner collecting device, wherein a surface side of the movable member is made of a material having a positive polarity side with respect to the waste toner in a charging column. 3. The recovery container has an inflow port for waste toner, and the waste toner is freely dropped into the recovery container via the inflow port to be recovered, and the full detector is configured to operate the recovery container. Further includes a rotating shaft provided below the inflow port and at a position horizontally separated from the waste toner that freely falls in the recovery container, and the movable member is 3. The waste toner recovery according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner recovery is attached to the rotation shaft and rotationally displaced as the waste toner in the recovery container increases, and the sensor detects the rotational displacement of the movable member. apparatus.