JP2003316224A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to sequentially accurately grasp an accumulation amount of waste toner by announcing the transition of the accumulation amount of the waste toner at a low cost as needed. <P>SOLUTION: In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, and removing the waste toner remaining on the image carrier after transferring to be collected to a collection part, the accumulation amount of the collected waste toner is calculated from an amount of consumption toner and transfer efficiency. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The structure of an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer member is often adopted, for example, in an image forming apparatus having a full color or multiple image forming function.

This is a plurality of color component images of a desired full-color image or multiple images on a first image carrier (photosensitive drum) such as an electrophotographic photosensitive member or an electrostatic recording dielectric member by an appropriate image forming process means. Component color toner images are sequentially formed, and those component color toner images are sequentially superimposed and transferred at the primary transfer portion onto an intermediate transfer member as a second image carrier, which is generally a rotating belt type. Then, a full-color image or a multi-toner image corresponding to a desired full-color image or a multi-image is formed on the intermediate transfer body. The toner image synthetically formed on the intermediate transfer member is collectively transferred onto a transfer material at a secondary transfer portion, and the transfer material is introduced into a fixing device to fix the image, thereby obtaining a full-color image formed product.

An image forming apparatus using a belt as the second image carrier (intermediate transfer member) will be described with reference to FIG. The intermediate transfer unit 100 is shown in FIG.
Further, the cleaner unit 120 is mainly shown, and only one of the plurality of image forming units is shown.

Component color toner images corresponding to a plurality of color component images formed on the photosensitive drum 101 are transferred to the photosensitive drum 101.
Then, the primary transfer portion T1 sandwiched between the primary transfer counter rollers 102 successively superimposes and transfers, and a target full-color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 103. The full-color image on the intermediate transfer belt 103 is collectively transferred onto a transfer material P at a secondary transfer portion T2 formed by a secondary transfer roller 118 and a secondary transfer counter roller 105, and an image is fixed by a fixing device (not shown). Thus, a full-color formed product is obtained.

The intermediate transfer unit 100 includes a primary transfer counter roller 102, an intermediate transfer belt 103, a triaxial drive roller 104 supporting the intermediate transfer belt 103, a secondary transfer counter roller 105,
Further, it is provided with a tension roller 106 as a movable roller, and is detachable from the apparatus main body.

The tension of the intermediate transfer belt 103 is kept constant by pressing a bearing 107 of a swingable tension roller 106 with a compression spring 108.

Further, around the intermediate transfer belt 103, a cleaner unit 120 for cleaning the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 103 as a transfer residue without being transferred by the secondary transfer is arranged. The cleaner unit 120 includes a cleaning blade 121 as a cleaning member that contacts the intermediate transfer belt 103, a cleaner container 122 that stores the residual toner removed by the cleaning blade 121, and a screw 123 that conveys the removed waste toner 131. ing. The cleaning blade 121 is held in the cleaner container 122. Further, a tension roller 106 is provided as a backup roller on the opposite side of the cleaning blade 121.
Are arranged. The cleaner unit 120 is positioned by the bearing members at both ends of the tension roller 106 and fixed to the intermediate transfer unit 100. Therefore, the cleaning performance can be maintained with a simple structure. The waste toner 131 removed by the cleaning blade 121 is sent by the screw 123 and the waste toner bottle 130
Is discharged to. Then, when the waste toner 131 accumulated in the waste toner bottle 130 becomes full, the optical axis of the light transmission type waste toner full detection sensor 132 arranged near the entrance of the waste toner bottle 130 is blocked, so the main body is stopped. Let waste toner 131
Is designed to prevent the inside of the machine from overflowing and polluting the surrounding area.

[0009]

However, in the above-described conventional example, the full state of the waste toner bottle 130 is detected when the optical axis of the full-toner detection sensor 132 is blocked, so that even if the job is in the middle of the job. In some cases, the machine suddenly stopped and printing could not be continued.

There is also a method of disposing another pair of similar sensors in parallel with and below the full tank detection sensor 132 and issuing a full tank advance notice when the lower optical axis is blocked. , The number of prints that could be printed from the notice to the full tank varied. Further, it has been a problem that the cost is increased by the increase in the number of sensors.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which can predict the change in the amount of waste toner accumulated at any time at low cost and allows the user to sequentially and accurately grasp the amount of accumulated waste toner.

[0012]

A typical constitution according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to transfer a toner image formed on an image bearing member onto a transfer material and leave the toner image on the image bearing member after the transfer. In the image forming apparatus that removes the waste toner and collects the waste toner in the collection unit, the accumulated amount of the collected waste toner is calculated from the consumed toner amount and the transfer efficiency.

In the above arrangement, the user can be informed of the amount of replenished toner and the amount of waste toner accumulated in the recovery unit from the transfer efficiency, so that the amount of accumulated waste toner can be grasped successively. .

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]

[General Description of Image Forming Apparatus]

First, the overall structure of the color image forming apparatus will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the overall configuration of a laser printer which is one form of a color image forming apparatus.

The color laser printer is, as shown in FIG. 1, yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, black Bk.
An image forming section having a photoconductor drum 1 (1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K), which is an electrophotographic photoreceptor rotating at a constant speed for each color, and a color image developed and multi-transferred in the image forming section. Material 2 that holds the sheet and is fed from the feeding unit
And an intermediate transfer member 18 for further transferring to The transfer material 2 on which the color image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 50 to fix the color image on the transfer material 2, and is discharged to the discharge unit 65 on the upper surface of the apparatus by the discharge roller. The color developing devices for the four colors are detachably attached to the printer body.

Next, the structure of each part of the image forming apparatus will be sequentially described in detail.

[Photosensitive drum]

The photosensitive drum 1 is a container 3 of a holder of a developing device.
(3Y, 3M, 3C, 3K), the developing unit is detachably supported by the printer body, and the unit can be easily replaced according to the life of the photosensitive drum 1. ing. The photoconductor drum 1 according to the present embodiment is formed by coating an organic photoconductor layer on the outside of an aluminum cylinder, and is rotatably supported by a container 3 of a holder of the photoconductor drum 1. By transmitting the driving force of a drive motor (not shown) to one end on the rear side in the figure, the photosensitive drum 1 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure in accordance with the image forming operation.

[Charging means]

The charging means 5 uses a roller charging method, and the charging roller uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 with an applied voltage.

[Exposure means]

The exposure of the photosensitive drum 1 is performed by the scanner unit 6 (6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K). That is, when the image signal is given to the laser diode, the laser diode irradiates the polygon mirror 6a (6Ya, 6Ma, 6Ca, 6Ka) with the image light corresponding to the image signal. The polygon mirror 6a is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor, and the image light reflected by the polygon mirror 6a is rotated through the imaging lens 6b (6Yb, 6Mb, 6Cb, 6Kb) at a constant speed to select the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. Exposure, and as a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1.

[Developing means]

The developing means has four developing units 4 (4Y, 4M, 4C, 4Y, 4Y, 4M, 4C, which enable development of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in order to visualize the electrostatic latent image.
4K). Each of the four color developing devices 4 is provided at a position facing the photoconductor drum 1 with a sleeve 3S (3YS, 3MS,
3CS, 3KS) are arranged at a minute interval with respect to the photoconductor drum 1 and a visible image is formed on the photoconductor drum 1 by toner of each color.

To the developing device 4 for each color, the toner in the container is fed by the feeding mechanism, and the powder obtained by mixing the toner (non-magnetic) and the developer (magnetic) on the outer periphery of the sleeve 3S is rotated clockwise in the figure. Coat the outer circumference. After that, the toner in the powder is developed according to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1.

Further, the toner containers 4T (4TY, 4TM, 4TC) of the respective colors, which are separately arranged in the developing device 4 of the respective colors, are provided.
4TK) and toner is replenished as needed. Further, the amount of toner replenished from the toner container 4T is controlled by the number of revolutions of the toner feeding screw, and the amount of replenished toner and the amount of residual toner are measured at any time from the number of revolutions of the screw.

[Intermediate transfer member]

The intermediate transfer member 18 as an image bearing member is shown in synchronism with the outer peripheral speed of the photoconductor drum 1 in order to multiple-transfer the toner image on the photoconductor drum 1 visualized by each developing device during the color image forming operation. The intermediate transfer body 18, which rotates in the clockwise direction and has undergone multiple transfer, sandwiches and conveys the transfer material 2 with the secondary transfer roller 60 to which a voltage is applied, whereby the toner images of the respective colors on the intermediate transfer body are transferred to the transfer material 2. Is simultaneously transcribed.

The intermediate transfer member (intermediate transfer belt) 18 according to this embodiment is formed of a seamless resin belt having a peripheral length of about 1000 mm, and has a driving roller 14, a secondary transfer counter roller 15,
The tension roller 16 is stretched around three axes, and springs 21 are loaded on both ends of the tension roller 16 to absorb the change amount even if the circumferential length of the intermediate transfer member 18 changes due to temperature and humidity in the main body or changes with time. It can be configured.

Guide ribs 19 made of rubber are attached to the entire circumference of both inner edges of the intermediate transfer member 18 with an adhesive. Further, flanges 20 and 20 'made of resin are provided at both ends of the tension roller 16 with a slope, and the guide rib 19 and the flanges 20 and 20' form an intermediate transfer member.
The movement in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of 18 (hereinafter referred to as the "shift") is restricted. When the deviation of the intermediate transfer body 18 occurs, one of the guide ribs 19 provided on the intermediate transfer body 18 has flanges 20 arranged at both ends of the tension roller 16,
It hits one of the 20 'slopes and regulates further deviation.

The intermediate transfer member 18 is supported by the main body with the driving roller 14 as a fulcrum, and the driving force of a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to one end of the driving roller 14 in the rear of the drawing to form an image forming operation of the intermediate transfer member 18. According to the above, it is rotated clockwise in the drawing. Furthermore, this intermediate transfer unit
13 can be easily attached and removed in the right direction in the figure.

[Paper feeder]

The paper feeding unit feeds the transfer material 2 to the image forming unit, and includes a cassette 7 containing a plurality of transfer materials 2, a paper feeding roller 8, a feeding roller 9, and a retard roller for preventing double feeding. 10, a paper feed guide 11, a conveyance roller pair 61, and a registration roller pair 12.

At the time of image formation, the paper feed roller 8 is driven and rotated in accordance with the image forming operation to separate and feed the transfer materials 2 in the cassette 7 one by one, and at the same time, the paper feed guide 11 guides the transfer material 2 to convey the roller pair 61. To the registration roller pair 12 via. The pair of registration rollers 12 moves the transfer material 2 during the image forming operation.
Non-rotating operation to make the stand still and the transfer material 2 is an intermediate transfer member.
The rotation operation for transporting toward 18 is performed in a predetermined sequence, and the position of the image and the transfer material 2 at the time of the next transfer step is aligned.

[Transfer part]

The transfer section is composed of a swingable transfer roller 60. The transfer roller 60 has a metal shaft wound with a medium-resistance foamed elastic body, is movable up and down in the drawing, and has a drive. While the four-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 18, that is, until the toner image on the intermediate transfer member 18 reaches the secondary transfer portion T2, the image is not disturbed, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. As shown, the transfer roller 60 is located below and separated from the intermediate transfer member 18.

After that, the transfer roller 60 is moved to a position at an upper position shown by a solid line in the drawing by a cam member (not shown), that is, to the intermediate transfer member 18 via the transfer material 2 in accordance with the timing of transferring the color image onto the transfer material 2. It is pressed with a predetermined pressure. At this time, a bias is simultaneously applied to the transfer roller 60, and the toner image on the intermediate transfer body 18 is transferred to the transfer material 2. Here, since the intermediate transfer member 18 and the transfer roller 60 are respectively driven, the transfer material 2 sandwiched between the two is simultaneously transferred at the predetermined speed in the left direction in the figure at the same time as the transfer step is performed. It is sent to the fixing unit 50 which is.

[Intermediate transfer member cleaning section]

The cleaner unit 30 for cleaning the intermediate transfer member 18 includes a cleaning blade 31 and a pressure spring for pressing the cleaning blade 31 against the intermediate transfer member 18.
36 and a cleaner container 34 for holding them.

The cleaning blade 31 is made of urethane rubber and is formed on a blade holding plate 33 made of a metal plate. The intermediate transfer member 18 is rotated by a pressure spring 36 about a shaft 32 held in a cleaner container 34 as a rotation center. Since it is pressed against the intermediate transfer member 18 at a predetermined angle, it can uniformly contact the intermediate transfer member 18.

A tension roller 16 is arranged as a backup roller on the opposite side of the cleaning blade 31 so that the cleaning blade 31 can contact the intermediate transfer member 18 with a predetermined contact pressure. The toner image is scraped off from the intermediate transfer member 18 at the point of contact with the cleaning blade 31, and the intermediate transfer member 18 is cleaned.

The waste toner collected by the cleaning blade 31 is collected in the cleaner container 34, and the cleaner container 34
The toner is sent to and collected by a waste toner bottle 40 separately arranged in the main body by a screw 35 arranged at the bottom of the. The screw 35 transmits the driving force of a drive motor (not shown) to one end of the screw
It is designed to rotate in the transport direction.

[Waste Toner Bottle]

As shown in FIG. 2, the waste toner bottle 40 has a construction in which the discharge port δ of the cleaner unit 30 is inserted into the waste toner intake port γ, so that the toner leakage at the connecting portion of both units can be prevented. Further, since the waste toner bottle 40 is held by the waste toner bottle holding member 70 arranged in the main body, even if the waste toner accumulates, no load is applied to the connecting portion. Further, the waste toner bottle holding member 70 is configured to move up and down in conjunction with the contact / separation operation of the intermediate transfer body unit 13, and when exchanging other unrelated consumables or when there is no relation such as during jam processing. There is no need to put on and take off.

[Fixing section]

The fixing section 50 is for fixing the toner image formed by the developing means on the transfer material 2 via the intermediate transfer body 18, and as shown in FIG. A fixing roller 51 for applying heat to the fixing roller 51 and a pressure roller 52 for pressing the transfer material 2 to the fixing roller 51. Each roller is a hollow roller and has a heater (not shown) therein. The transfer material 2 is configured to be rotated and driven at the same time. That is, the transfer material 2 holding the toner image is conveyed by the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52, and the toner is fixed on the transfer material 2 by applying heat and pressure.

[Image forming operation]

Next, the operation when the image is formed by the apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

First, the sheet feeding roller 8 shown in FIG. 1 is rotated to separate one sheet of the transfer material 2 in the sheet feeding cassette 1, and the sheet is conveyed to the registration roller pair 12.

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 1 and the intermediate transfer member 18 respectively rotate in the direction of the arrow shown at a predetermined peripheral speed V (hereinafter referred to as "process speed").

An arbitrary point on the outer circumference of the intermediate transfer member 18 is S in FIG.
When the photosensitive drum 1 whose surface is uniformly charged by the charging unit 5 is reached at the exposure position E (EY,
Laser exposure is performed at the positions of (EM, EC, EK) to form an image. A contact portion T1 (T1Y, T1M, T1) with the intermediate transfer member 18 counterclockwise from the exposure position E of the photosensitive drum 1.
C, T1K) and from the point S in the figure of the intermediate transfer member 18 to T
The distances up to 1 are equal, so that after a lapse of time, the exposure position E at the beginning of image writing and the point S on the intermediate transfer member 18 coincide at the position T1. That is, the image is formed counterclockwise on the intermediate transfer member 18 with the point S as the tip.

The scanner portion 6Y irradiates the yellow image with laser light to form a yellow latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. Simultaneously with the formation of this latent image, the yellow developing device 4Y is driven to apply a voltage of substantially the same potential as the charging polarity of the photoconductor drum 1 so that the yellow toner adheres to the latent image on the photoconductor drum 1. Develop. At the same time, the yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is primarily transferred to the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member 18 at the first transfer position T1Y slightly downstream of the developing section.
At this time, a voltage having a characteristic reverse to that of the yellow toner is applied to the intermediate transfer member 18 to perform the primary transfer.

When the image to be formed is A3 size, the length is 420 m
m, and an image is formed from the outer peripheral point S of the intermediate transfer member 18 to the point L1.

Similarly, magenta, cyan, and black color images are sequentially formed on the photoconductor drums 1M, 1C, and 1K, and the toner images are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer body 18 in a superimposed manner.

As described above, latent image formation and development and toner transfer to the intermediate transfer member 18 are performed in the order of yellow, magenta, cyan and black at the primary transfer positions T1Y, T1M and T1.
C, T1K is performed, and a full-color image including four types of toners of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer member 18.

Before the transfer of the black toner to the intermediate transfer member 18 is completed, that is, the primary transfer of the fourth color black toner is completed and the image front end S of the intermediate transfer member 18 on which the full color image is formed is the secondary transfer portion T2. The transfer material 2, which has been waiting by the pair of registration rollers 12 described above, is started to be conveyed at the right timing before reaching the position.

When the image of each color is formed on the intermediate transfer body 18 of the above four colors, the image forming apparatus stands by below, and the transfer roller 60 which is not in contact with the intermediate transfer body 18 is simultaneously cammed upward (not shown).
The transfer material 2 is pressed against the secondary transfer portion T2 of the intermediate transfer member 18 at the same time, and at the same time, a bias having a characteristic opposite to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 60, so that the full-color image on the intermediate transfer member 18 is transferred to the transfer material 2. Transfer four colors at once.

The transfer material 2 which has passed through the secondary transfer portion T2 is peeled from the intermediate transfer member 18 and conveyed to the fixing portion 50 to fix the toner. The image is discharged upward with the image surface facing downward, and the image forming operation is completed.

[Waste Toner Collection Configuration]

Next, the structure for detecting the accumulated amount of waste toner, which is the core of the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 3, the intermediate transfer body unit 13 has a boss for positioning the cleaner unit 30.
24 and 24 'are arranged in two places. The boss 24, 24 '
The tensioner 1 at both ends of the tension roller 16.
7 and 17 'are formed integrally with each other, and even if the tension roller 16 moves, the axis O of the tension roller shaft 16a and
The line O'connecting the axes of the bosses 24, 24 'at both ends is always kept parallel. The tensioner 17 'at the rear of FIG.
On one side, there is an oblong hole 25 into which the screw drive input section 41 of the cleaner unit 30 fits, and when the cleaner unit 30 is set, it serves as a rotation stop.
Further, the cleaner unit 30 has a detent member 42 on the front side in the figure, and the detent member 42 is positioned on one side of the tensioner 17 on the front side in the figure.

Further, the positioning grooves 43, 43 'provided in the cleaner unit 30 are fitted into the bosses 24, 24', and further, the cleaner unit 30 is fixed to the intermediate transfer body unit 13 by the latches 44, 44 '. Can be positioned. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a cleaning blade 31 for cleaning the intermediate transfer member 18 is arranged in the cleaner container 34 at a portion facing the tension roller 16, and a swing shaft 32 is used as a rotation center. , Intermediate transfer body
It is held so as to be in contact with 18 at a predetermined angle. Further, the cleaning blade 31 is configured to contact with a compression spring 36 with a predetermined contact pressure. Also,
The cleaning blade 31 is fixed to the blade holding plate 33.

Therefore, the cleaning blade 31 is
Since a constant contact state can always be maintained regardless of the position of the tension roller 16, it is possible to maintain good cleaning performance with a very simple structure and low cost.

The waste toner 90 collected by the cleaning blade 31 on the intermediate transfer member 18 without being completely transferred to the transfer material 2 at the secondary transfer portion T2, as shown in FIG. The toner is conveyed forward by the waste toner conveying screw 35 arranged at the bottom of the above, and is dropped and collected from the connecting portion between the cleaner container 34 and the waste toner bottle 40 to the waste toner bottle 40. The waste toner carrying screw 35 is rotated by transmitting a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) to a driving input portion 41 (see FIG. 3) at the rear end.

Further, there is a shutter at the connection portion of the cleaner unit 30 that opens and closes in accordance with the attachment / detachment operation of the waste toner bottle 40, so that the waste toner 90 does not leak when the cleaner unit 30 is carried alone. It has become.

The drive source of the waste toner conveying screw 35 is a fixing drive source, and the number of motors can be reduced, and the structure is simplified.

If the life of the intermediate transfer body unit 13 and the life of the cleaner unit 30 do not match, it is inefficient to replace both units at the same time, so that each unit can be replaced independently.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, while the waste toner bottle 40 is held by the waste toner bottle holding member 70 arranged on the main body side plate 53, the waste toner bottle 40 above the waste toner bottle 40 is removed. The inlet γ and the outlet δ of the cleaner unit 30 are fitted and connected and positioned. At this time, the waste toner bottle 40 is held by the waste toner bottle holding member 70 while maintaining a gap in the horizontal direction in the drawing,
The positioning of the cleaner unit 30 and the waste toner bottle 40 is not affected, and the posture of the waste toner bottle 40 can be maintained.

Therefore, the position of the tension roller 16 is changed (horizontal and horizontal directions in FIG. 4) due to the time-dependent change of the intermediate transfer member 18 and the expansion and contraction due to heat, and accordingly the discharge port δ of the cleaner unit 30 is changed. Even if the position of the connecting portion with the waste toner bottle 40 changes due to the position change, the waste toner bottle holding member 70 is also moved and held following the change.

Therefore, the weight of the waste toner bottle 40, which is increased when the waste toner 90 is accumulated in the waste toner bottle 40, can be supported by the waste toner bottle holding member 70, and the discharge of the cleaner unit 30 can be performed. An unnecessary external force is applied to the outlet δ, so that the waste toner conveying screw 35 is bent and a noise is generated, or an adverse effect such as an increase in driving torque does not occur.

As described above, since the waste toner bottle 40 is configured to move in synchronization with the cleaner unit 30, the cleaner unit 30 can be directly connected to the waste toner bottle 40 without a connecting member, The number of parts is reduced and the configuration can be simplified. Furthermore, since the connecting portion can be fitted, the sealing performance can be improved without using a separate sealing member.

As shown in FIG. 5, the waste toner bottle 40
Is provided with a shutter 73 for preventing the waste toner 90 collected from the waste toner inlet γ from easily spilling when removed from the main body. A seal member 74 is attached to the shutter 73, and the shutter 73
Is urged by the spring 75 toward the waste toner intake γ,
The waste toner intake γ is completely sealed. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the waste toner discharge port δ of the cleaner unit 30 is inserted into the waste toner intake port γ, the shutter 73 has the waste toner bottle 40.
It is configured to be pushed open along the guide that is placed in.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the cleaner unit 30, the waste toner 90 scraped off by the cleaning blade 31 is prevented from scattering or leaking out of the cleaner unit 30. In order to prevent and surely collect in the cleaner container 34, an end seal 37 for closing the gap between the cleaner container 34 and the intermediate transfer member 18 is provided near both ends of the cleaning blade 31. ing. The end seal 37 is made of an elastic material such as sponge. The end seal in the present embodiment
No. 37 uses the one in which the PTFE fiber pile is adhered on the moltoprene. Further, the cleaning blade 31
A squi sheet 38 is arranged in the cleaner container 34 so as to be in contact with the intermediate transfer member 18 on the upstream side of the contact position of the cleaning blade 31 in parallel with.
The squi sheet 38 is attached to a sheet metal 39 with a double-sided tape, and the sheet metal 39 is attached to the cleaner container 34 with a double-sided tape.

[Waste Toner Amount Detection Configuration]

In this embodiment, the accumulated amount of the waste toner 90 is calculated, and the user is notified of the life (full state) of the waste toner bottle 40 and the life advance notice.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the concept of the waste toner amount detection configuration. The waste toner amount detection calculation formula is shown based on this flowchart.

The time when the empty waste toner bottle 40 is mounted is set to zero, and the accumulated toner consumption amount (cc) Ty, which is the accumulated amount of the toner consumption amount of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, is detected from the toner consumption amount detected at any time. , Tm, Tc, Tb, respectively, and then the total sum Ta of the integrated toner consumption amounts is calculated.

Ta = Ty + Tm + Tc + Tb ...

From the transfer efficiency Tr at the secondary transfer portion T2 (90% in this embodiment), the amount Tw of waste toner is

Tw = Ta × (1-Tr) ...

It becomes If the capacity of the waste toner bottle 40 is W (about 1000 cc in the present embodiment) based on the waste toner amount Tw, the filling rate Wa of the waste toner bottle 40 is

[0085] Wa = {Tw / (W × λ)} × 100

It is Where λ is the waste toner bottle 40
Indicates a safety factor (for example, 0.95) to prevent overflow.

Since the amount of waste toner accumulated in the waste toner bottle 40 can be grasped at any time by the formula, the filling rate Wa of the waste toner bottle 40 can be notified to the user in a timely manner, and the above Wa =
When the value is 100 (%), the user can be notified of the replacement of the waste toner bottle 40. Also, for example, the above Wa = 80 (%)
At that time, the user can be notified of the full tank advance notice.

By detecting the amount of waste toner as described above, the user can predict the change in the amount of waste toner accumulated at any time at low cost without increasing the number of sensors, etc. It becomes possible to grasp.

[Second Embodiment]

Next, a second embodiment of the structure for detecting the amount of waste toner will be described. Since the basic configuration of the device is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, only the detection configuration different from that of the above-described embodiment will be described here.

In order to measure the operating atmosphere of the image forming apparatus and optimize the transfer conditions and the like, an environment sensor is arranged in the main body. However, as shown in FIG. 9, from the output of the environment sensor,
Transfer efficiency T corresponding to each environment (change in temperature and humidity)
By performing correction to r '(transition at 80 to 95% in this embodiment), a more accurate calculation can be performed. That is, the toner consumption amount Ty ′, Tm ′, T for each color consumed for each sheet
c ', Tb' are detected, and the total amount of toner consumption Ta '
To calculate.

[0092] Ta '= Ty' + Tm '+ Tc' + Tb '...'

Then, from the transfer efficiency Tr 'corrected from the output of the environment sensor at each time, the waste toner amount Tw at each time is obtained.
i is

[0094] Twi = Ta '* (1-Tr') ... '

It becomes From the above Twi, the filling rate Wa ′ of the waste toner bottle 40 is

[0096] Wa ′ = {ΣTwi / (W × λ)} × 100 ... ′

It becomes In this way, by correcting the transfer efficiency according to the environment in which the device is placed (environmental information such as temperature and humidity), and detecting the waste toner amount based on the corrected transfer efficiency and the consumed toner amount, It can be detected accurately.

[Third Embodiment]

Next, the third embodiment of the structure for detecting the amount of waste toner will be described. Note that, also in this embodiment, since the basic configuration of the device is the same as the above-described embodiment,
Here, only the detection configuration different from the above-described embodiment will be described.

In the image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 10, transfer efficiency is improved between a low print ratio image such as a full color image, a mono color image, or a halftone image and a high print ratio image such as a photographic image. There is a difference in Therefore, when the latent image is formed on the output image, the printing ratio of the output image is estimated from the pixel count to correct the transfer efficiency.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transfer efficiency Tr ″ (70
(Transition at ~ 97%) is replaced by Tr in the formula,
This enables more accurate detection of the amount of waste toner. That is, the toner consumption amount Ty ″, T consumed for each print image
Detects m ″, Tc ″, and Tb ″, and sums the total consumption T
a ″ is calculated as follows.

[0102] Ta "= Ty" + Tm "+ Tc" + Tb "..."

Then, using the transfer efficiency Tr ″ corrected from the print ratio estimated from the output of the environment sensor and the pixel count at each time, the waste toner amount Twi of the print image at that time is

[0104] Twi = Ta ″ × (1-Tr ″) ... ″

It becomes: From the above Twi, the filling rate Wa ″ of the waste toner bottle 40 is

[0106] Wa ″ = {ΣTwi / (W × λ)} × 100 …… ″

It becomes From the above calculation results, not only the filling rate of the waste toner bottle 40 but also the waste toner bottle 40
It is also possible to indicate how many reference images can be printed and how many current jobs can be printed before 40 is full.

[Fourth Embodiment]

Next, a fourth embodiment of the structure for detecting the amount of waste toner will be described. Note that, also in this embodiment, since the basic configuration of the device is the same as the above-described embodiment,
Here, only the detection configuration different from the above-described embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 11, the waste toner bottle holding member 70 is provided with a full tank detection sensor 71 for detecting the full state of the waste toner bottle 40, and the waste toner amount of the first embodiment described above. In addition to the detection configuration, the full tank detection sensor 71
When the toner is detected, it is detected as full.

This prevents the waste toner 90 from overflowing the waste toner bottle 40 and the full-toner warning even though the estimated transfer efficiency Tr is extremely different for some reason. It will be a safety device.

The full tank detection sensor 71 is a light transmission type sensor, and a light emitting portion 71a and a light receiving portion 71b are arranged on both sides below the waste toner intake γ. The waste toner bottle 40 includes the light emitting portion 71a and the light receiving portion 71b.
The part on the optical axis that connects the two is formed of a transparent member and can transmit the sensor light. When the collected waste toner 90 is accumulated in the waste toner bottle 40 and the sensor light of the waste toner full detection sensor 71 is blocked as shown in FIG. 11, the waste toner bottle 40 needs to be replaced. It is a mechanism to issue a warning indicating that.

By the method described above, it is possible to solve the problem that the waste toner bottle 40 becomes full without any warning and the engine stops, at a low cost and with a simple structure.

Although the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt as the intermediate transfer member 18 has been described as an example of the configuration described in each of the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this, and a photosensitive belt or a transfer belt is used. The configuration is also effective for the image forming apparatus.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer member 18 is removed and collected by the cleaner unit 30 is shown. However, the cleaner unit according to the present invention can be used as a photosensitive drum as an image carrier. The residual transfer residual toner may be removed and collected.

[0116]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
Since it is possible to notify the user of the amount of replenished toner and the amount of waste toner accumulated in the recovery unit from the transfer efficiency, the remaining life of the waste toner to be collected can be accurately configured with a simple structure and at low cost. You can figure it out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main cross-sectional view showing the outline of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a relationship between a cleaner unit and a waste toner bottle.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a relationship between an intermediate transfer body unit and a cleaner unit.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the shapes of a cleaner unit and a waste toner intake port portion of a waste toner bottle.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a waste toner bottle is removed from the main body.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a relationship between a cleaner unit and an intermediate transfer body unit.

FIG. 7 is a top view showing a cleaner unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the concept of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the concept of an implementation form of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the concept of an implementation form of the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which waste toner is full in a waste toner bottle according to the fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a main cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

γ ... Waste toner intake δ ... Discharge port E ... Exposure position O ... axis T1 ... Primary transfer position T2 ... Secondary transfer part 1 ... Photosensitive drum 2 ... Transfer material 3S ... Sleeve 4 ... Developer 4T ... toner container 5 ... Charging means 6 ... Scanner section 6a ... Polygon mirror 6b ... Imaging lens 7 ... Cassette 8 ... Paper feed roller 9 ... Feed roller 10 ... Retard roller 11… Paper feed guide 12… Registration roller pair 13 ... Intermediate transfer unit 14… Drive roller 15… Secondary transfer counter roller 16… Tension roller 16a ... Tension roller shaft 17, 17 '... Tensioner 18 ... Intermediate transfer member 19… Guide ribs 20, 20 '… Flange 21 ... Spring 24, 24 '... Boss 25… Oval hole 30… Cleaner unit 31… Cleaning blade 32… Oscillation axis 33… Blade holding plate 34… Cleaner container 35… screw 36 ... Pressure spring 37… Edge seal 38… Squishy sheet 39… Sheet metal 40… Waste toner bottle 41… Screw drive input section 42… Rotation prevention member 43, 43 '… Positioning groove 44,44 '… Latch 50… Fixing section 51… Fixing roller 52… Pressure roller 53… Main body side plate 60… Secondary transfer roller 61… Conveyor roller pair 62, 63, 64 ... Ejection roller pair 65… Ejection tray 70… Waste toner bottle holding member 71… Full sensor 71a ... Light emitting part 71b ... Light receiving part 73 ... Shutter 74… Seal member 75… Spring 90… Waste toner

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoichiro Maebashi             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non non corporation (72) Inventor Masanori Yamagata             3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Non non corporation F term (reference) 2H027 DA11 DA14 DA46 DB01 DD03                       DD07 GA30 GB07 GB10 HB02                       HB12                 2H134 GA01 GA06 GB02 HD06 HD11                       HD18 HD19 JA02 JB02 KA25                       KA28 KA30 KA40 KB12 KB15                       KD08 KH07 KH09 KH16

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier to a transfer material, removing waste toner remaining on the image carrier after the transfer, and collecting the waste toner in a collecting unit. An image forming apparatus, wherein the amount of accumulated toner is calculated from the amount of consumed toner and the transfer efficiency. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer efficiency is corrected by environmental information. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer efficiency is corrected by estimating a print ratio of a print image from pixel count information of a controller. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a full tank detecting unit that detects a full tank state of the waste toner collected in the collecting section.