JP2006065344A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-cost image forming apparatus capable of attaining the miniaturization of the apparatus while satisfactorily securing the installation space for a discharge toner recovery part. <P>SOLUTION: A photoreceptor unit discharge toner recovery part 17 is arranged inside a photoreceptor unit 10, and also, an intermediate transfer unit discharge toner recovery part 49 is arranged inside an intermediate transfer unit 40. Since respective discharge toner recovery parts 17 and 49 are installed in sections regarded as dead spaces in a conventional manner, the miniaturization of the apparatus is attained by the amount of the installation space for respective discharge toner recovery parts 17 and 49 as compared with the case that respective discharge toner recover parts 17 and 49 are installed in other parts in the apparatus. Besides, the length of a transporting path for transporting the discharge toner to respective discharge toner recovery parts 17 and 49 can be made shorter than that in the case where respective discharge toner recovery parts 17 and 49 are installed away from respective cleaning apparatuses 12 and 42, that is, on the back side of the apparatus, then, the cost reduction of the components for transporting the discharge toner is attained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image carrier unit having an image carrier that carries a toner image on the surface, and residual toner on the image carrier. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a cleaning device for cleaning and a waste toner recovery unit for recovering residual toner removed by the cleaning device.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus provided with a photosensitive member or an intermediate transfer member as an image carrier, a cleaning device is provided for each of the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member and the intermediate transfer member after image formation. It has been known. FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of a configuration around a photosensitive member and an intermediate transfer member of a conventional image forming apparatus. In the illustrated example, a photosensitive member 200 and an intermediate transfer member 201 that contacts the photosensitive member 200 are arranged as units, and cleaning devices 202 and 203 are provided for each of them.

  6 is a perspective view of the periphery of the photosensitive member 200 and the intermediate transfer member 201 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. The residual toner removed and collected by each of the cleaning devices 202 and 203 is transported to a waste toner recovery unit 206 provided at the rear of the device by a transport pipe 205 having a transport screw therein and recovered as waste toner 207. The The collected waste toner 207 is held in the waste toner collection container 208 of the waste toner collection unit 206 until the maintenance time set for each image forming apparatus. The waste toner collection container 208 is removed from the waste toner collection unit 206 together with the waste toner 207 during maintenance, and is replaced with a new waste toner collection container 208. For this reason, the waste toner collection container 208 needs to have a collection volume (collection space) that can hold the waste toner 207 that is removed during the next maintenance after being replaced during the maintenance. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a large installation space for installing the waste toner collecting container 208 in view of the layout inside the apparatus.

However, in the recent trend of apparatus miniaturization, it is very difficult to secure a large installation space for the waste toner collection container 208.
Conventionally, from the viewpoint of layout and installation space, the waste toner collection container 208 can only be installed in a limited space such as the rear of the apparatus as shown in FIG. The operability at the time was bad. Further, since the installation space is limited, the position of the waste toner collection container 208 is located at a position where it is actually removed, that is, a position away from the cleaning devices 202 and 203 of the photosensitive member 200 or the intermediate transfer member 201. It was often installed. For this reason, as compared with the case where the waste toner collection container 208 is installed near each of the cleaning devices 202 and 203, more components are required for transporting the waste toner 207 to the waste toner collection container 208. There was a risk of increasing costs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost image forming apparatus capable of downsizing the apparatus while ensuring a sufficient installation space for the waste toner recovery unit. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises an image carrier unit having an image carrier that carries a toner image on its surface, a cleaning device that removes residual toner on the image carrier, In the image forming apparatus having a waste toner collecting unit for collecting the residual toner removed by the cleaning device, the waste toner collecting unit is disposed inside the image carrier unit.

  In this image forming apparatus, since the waste toner collecting portion is disposed in a portion of the image carrier unit that was a conventional dead space, the waste toner collecting portion is disposed in another portion inside the apparatus. Compared to the above, it is not necessary to provide an installation space for the waste toner collection unit, and the apparatus can be reduced in size by the installation space for the waste toner collection unit. Further, as compared with the case where the waste toner collecting unit is arranged at a position away from the cleaning device such as the back of the device, the waste toner collecting unit can be arranged closer to the cleaning device. Since the length of the transport path from the toner to the waste toner collecting unit can be short, it is possible to reduce the cost of components for transporting the waste toner. The image carrier unit includes a photoconductor unit and an intermediate transfer unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the waste toner collecting section includes a waste toner collecting container having a predetermined volume for storing residual toner, and the waste toner collecting unit is disposed on the image carrier unit. The toner collection container can be easily attached or detached, or the waste toner collection container can be easily attached to or detached from the apparatus main body integrally with the image carrier unit.

  In this image forming apparatus, when the waste toner collection container is full of waste toner, the waste toner collection container can be replaced independently of the image carrier unit or integrally attached and detached. Good operability when attaching and detaching.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the volume of the waste toner collecting container is estimated to be recovered from the image carrier unit in the same time as the life of the image carrier unit. It is characterized by being set so as to be substantially the same.

  In this image forming apparatus, when the life of the image carrier unit is reached, the waste toner collection container is almost full of waste toner, and the replacement time of the image carrier unit and the replacement time of the waste toner collection container Can be substantially matched. Therefore, the waste toner collection container and the image carrier unit need only be replaced at the same time, and the number of work steps required for replacement can be reduced compared to the case where the waste toner collection container and the image carrier unit are exchanged separately. Can do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the second or third aspect, wherein the waste member collecting container includes a conveying member capable of conveying the waste toner to a position inside the waste toner collecting container and away from the waste toner inlet. The toner collection container is provided.

  If waste toner stays inside the waste toner collection container, for example, near the waste toner inlet, the waste toner collection container is not completely filled with waste toner and can accommodate only a small amount of waste toner smaller than the volume of the waste toner collection container. It will disappear. In this image forming apparatus, the waste toner is prevented from staying inside the waste toner collection container by the conveying member, and the waste toner is uniformly held in the waste toner collection container. The same amount of waste toner can be accommodated. Therefore, the volume of the waste toner collection container can be made the minimum necessary size compared to the case where the capacity of the waste toner collection container is set to be large in consideration of the retention of the waste toner.

  According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, since the waste toner collecting section is disposed in the portion of the image carrier unit that was a conventional dead space, the apparatus is reduced in size by the installation space of the waste toner collecting section. There is an excellent effect that can be achieved. Further, since the length of the transport path from the cleaning device to the waste toner collecting unit can be shortened, there is an excellent effect that the cost of components for transporting the waste toner can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 2, there is an excellent effect that the operability at the time of attaching and detaching the waste toner collecting container is good.

  In particular, according to the third aspect of the invention, the waste toner collecting container can be replaced simultaneously with the replacement of the image carrier unit, and an excellent effect can be achieved in that the number of man-hours for the replacement can be reduced. .

  In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the volume of the waste toner collection container is set to the minimum necessary size as compared with the case where the capacity of the waste toner collection container is set larger in consideration of the retention of the waste toner. There is an excellent effect that can be done.

Embodiment 1
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic color printer (hereinafter referred to as a color printer) which is an image forming apparatus will be described.
First, the schematic configuration and operation of the color printer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The color printer 1 includes a photosensitive unit 10, a writing optical unit 20, a developing unit 30, an intermediate transfer unit 40, a secondary transfer unit 50, a fixing unit 60, a duplex printing paper reversing unit 70, and the like. Then, black: black (hereinafter referred to as “Bk”), Cyan: cyan (hereinafter referred to as “C”), magenta: magenta (hereinafter referred to as “M”), yellow: yellow (hereinafter referred to as “Y”) are displayed on the photosensitive unit 10. The image is successively visualized on the photosensitive belt 11, and these are superposed to form a final four-color full-color image.

  The photosensitive belt 11 rotates in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow A. Around the photosensitive belt 11, a photosensitive member cleaning device 12, a charging roller 13, a selected developing device of the developing unit 30, an intermediate transfer belt 41 of the intermediate transfer unit 40, and the like. Is arranged. The photosensitive belt 11 is stretched between a driving roller 14, a primary transfer counter roller 15, and a stretching roller 16, and is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow A by a driving motor (not shown). When the photosensitive belt 11 having a joint is used, a joint mark is provided in a non-image forming area at the end of the photosensitive belt 11, and detection is performed by a sensor (not shown), and image formation is performed while avoiding the joint.

  The writing optical unit 20 converts the color image data into an optical signal, performs optical writing corresponding to each color image, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive belt 11. The writing optical unit 20 includes a semiconductor laser 21 as a light source, a laser light emission drive control unit (not shown), a polygon mirror 22, three reflecting mirrors 23a, b, and c.

  Further, the developing unit 30 moves the respective developing devices in the left-right direction in the drawing in order to make contact with and separate from the photosensitive belt 11. It comprises a contact / separation mechanism (not shown). Each developing device 31K, C, M, and Y includes a developing sleeve 32K, C, M, and Y that rotates while carrying a developer on the surface in order to develop the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 11. Developer paddles 33K, C, M, and Y that rotate to pump up and stir the developer, and developer storage cases 34K, C, M, and Y that store the developer. Each of the developer storage cases 34K, C, M, and Y stores a one-component developer made of toner of each color as a developer. In the illustrated example, the Bk developing unit 31K containing black toner, the C developing unit 31C containing cyan toner, the M developing unit 31M containing magenta toner, and the Y developing unit 31Y containing yellow toner are sequentially arranged from the lower side of the apparatus main body. It has become. The toner in each developing device 31K, C, M, Y is charged with a predetermined polarity, and a developing bias is applied to each developing sleeve 32K, C, M, Y by a developing bias power source (not shown), and the developing sleeve 32K. , C, M, and Y are biased to a predetermined potential with respect to the photosensitive belt 11. Further, when the electromagnetic clutch (not shown) for transmitting the drive from the motor (not shown) to each of the developing devices 31K, C, M, Y is turned on, the contact / separation mechanism is driven by the developer containing case 34K, C, M with the driving force. , Y are moved to the photosensitive belt 11 side (right side in the figure). At the time of development, any one selected from the developing devices 31K, 31C, 31M, and 31Y moves and contacts the photosensitive belt 11. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic clutch is turned off and the drive transmission is released, the developing unit that is in contact with the photosensitive belt 11 moves in a direction away from the photosensitive belt 11 (left side in the figure).

  In the standby state of the main body of the color printer, the developing unit 30 has all the developing devices 31K, C, M, and Y set at positions separated from the photosensitive belt 11, and when the printing operation is started, the color image data is displayed. Based on this, optical writing with a laser beam and formation of an electrostatic latent image are started (hereinafter, an electrostatic latent image based on Bk image data is referred to as a Bk electrostatic latent image; the same applies to C, M, and Y). Before the leading edge of the electrostatic latent image reaches the Bk developing position so that the leading edge of the Bk electrostatic latent image can be developed, the Bk developing sleeve 32K is started to rotate, and the Bk electrostatic latent image is transformed with Bk toner. develop. Thereafter, the developing operation of the Bk electrostatic latent image area is continued. When the rear end portion of the Bk electrostatic latent image passes the Bk developing position, the Bk developing unit 31K is separated from the photosensitive belt 11 and immediately proceeds to the next. The developing device of the color is in contact with the photosensitive belt 11. This is completed at least before the leading edge of the electrostatic latent image based on the next image data reaches the developing position.

  The intermediate transfer unit 40 includes an intermediate transfer belt 41, a belt cleaning device 42, a position detection sensor 43, and the like. The intermediate transfer belt 41 is stretched around a drive roller 44, a primary transfer roller 45, a secondary transfer counter roller 46, a cleaning counter roller 47, and a tension roller 48, and is driven and controlled in the direction of arrow B by a drive motor (not shown). . A plurality of position detection marks (not shown) are provided in the non-image forming area at the end of the intermediate transfer belt 41, and one of these position detection marks (position detection at the start of the image forming operation). The position detection mark 43 that first passes through the sensor 43 is detected by the position detection sensor 43, and image formation is started at this detection timing. The belt cleaning device 42 includes a cleaning brush 42a, a contact / separation mechanism (not shown), and the like, while transferring the first color Bk image to the intermediate transfer belt 41, and 2, 3, 4 While the color image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 41, the cleaning brush 42a is separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 41 by the contact / separation mechanism.

  Further, transfer paper is stored in the transfer paper cassette 80 of the color printer 1, and is fed and conveyed in the direction of the registration roller pair 82 by paper feed rollers 81a, b, and c. Further, a manual feed tray 83 for manual paper feed such as OHP paper or thick paper is provided on the right side surface of the color printer 1.

  The secondary transfer unit 50 includes a swinging mechanism (not shown) having a clutch or the like for contacting and separating the secondary transfer roller 51 and the secondary transfer roller 51 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 41. ing. The secondary transfer roller 51 swings about the rotation axis of the swing mechanism in synchronization with the timing when the transfer paper reaches the transfer position. The secondary transfer roller 51 and the secondary transfer counter roller 46 bring the transfer paper and the intermediate transfer belt 41 into contact with each other with a constant pressure. The secondary transfer roller 51 maintains the positional accuracy of the parallelism with the secondary transfer counter roller 46 by a positioning member (not shown) provided in the intermediate transfer unit 40. Further, the contact pressure of the secondary transfer roller 51 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 41 is made constant by a positioning roller (not shown) provided on the secondary transfer roller 51. At the same time as the secondary transfer roller 51 is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 41, a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the secondary transfer roller 51, and the superimposed toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 41 are collectively transferred onto the transfer paper.

  In the color printer 1 configured as described above, when the image forming cycle is started, first, the photosensitive belt 11 is rotated clockwise by the arrow A and the intermediate transfer belt 41 is rotated counterclockwise by the arrow B by a drive motor (not shown). . A position detection mark (not shown) provided on the intermediate transfer belt 41 is detected by a position detection sensor 43, and Bk toner image formation and C toner image formation are performed on the photosensitive belt 11 in accordance with the detection timing of the position detection mark. M toner image formation and Y toner image formation are performed, and a toner image is finally formed on the intermediate transfer belt 41 in the order of Bk, C, M, and Y. At this time, the bias applied to the primary transfer roller 45 is generally increased in voltage sequentially, but differs depending on the resistance characteristics of the intermediate transfer belt 41 and the like.

  The Bk toner image formation is performed as follows. The charging roller 13 uniformly charges the photosensitive belt 11 by an applied voltage of a power source (not shown). The laser beam LD for writing is exposed based on the Bk color image signal. When this exposure is performed, the charge proportional to the exposure light amount disappears in the exposed portion of the photosensitive belt 11 that is initially charged uniformly, and a Bk electrostatic latent image is formed. When the Bk toner on the Bk developing sleeve 32K comes into contact with the Bk electrostatic latent image, the toner does not adhere to the remaining portion of the photosensitive belt 11, and the exposed portion, that is, the exposed portion is exposed. Bk toner is attracted to the portion, and a Bk toner image similar to the electrostatic latent image is formed. The Bk toner image formed on the photosensitive belt 11 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 41 at the primary transfer position. At this primary transfer position, a nip is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 41 and the photosensitive belt 11 by the primary transfer roller 45 and the primary transfer counter roller 15, and a Bk toner image is formed on the primary transfer roller 45. The Bk toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 41 by applying a reverse polarity bias.

  Some untransferred residual toner on the photoreceptor belt 11 is cleaned by the photoreceptor cleaning device 12 in preparation for reuse of the photoreceptor belt 11.

On the photosensitive belt 11 side, the process proceeds to the C image forming process after the Bk image forming process, and writing by the laser light LD is performed with the C image data in accordance with the detection timing of the position detecting sensor 43, and the C electrostatic latent image is obtained. Is formed. Then, after the rear end portion of the previous Bk electrostatic latent image passes and before the front end portion of the C electrostatic latent image arrives, the Bk developing device 31K is retracted from the developing position, and the C developing device 31C is developed. The C electrostatic latent image is developed with C toner. Thereafter, the development of the C electrostatic latent image area is continued, but when the rear end portion of the C electrostatic latent image passes, the C developing device 31C is retracted from the developing position as in the case of the previous Bk developing device 31K. Then, the next M developing unit 31M is moved to the developing position. This is also completed before the leading edge of the next M electrostatic latent image reaches the developing position.
The M and Y image forming steps are the same as the Bk and C steps described above, and the description thereof is omitted.

  On the intermediate transfer belt 41, Bk, C, M, and Y toner images sequentially formed on the photosensitive belt 11 are sequentially aligned on the same surface to form a four-color superimposed toner image. In the next transfer step, the toner images of these four colors are collectively transferred onto the transfer paper.

  At the time when the image forming operation is started, the transfer paper is fed from either the transfer paper cassette 80 or the manual feed tray 83 and is waiting at the nip of the registration roller pair 82. Then, when the leading edge of the four-color superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 41 approaches the secondary transfer roller 51, the registration roller pair 82 is driven so that the leading edge of the transfer paper coincides with the leading edge of the toner image. The transfer paper and the toner image are aligned. Then, the transfer paper is superimposed on the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 41 and passes through the secondary transfer position. At this time, the transfer paper is charged by the transfer bias by the secondary transfer roller 51, and most of the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper.

  Then, the transfer paper onto which the four-color superimposed toner images are collectively transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 41 is conveyed to the fixing unit 60, and the toner image is melted at the nip portion between the fixing belt 61 and the pressure roller 62 controlled to a predetermined temperature. The image is fixed, sent out of the apparatus main body (in the direction of arrow C), and stacked on the paper discharge tray 84 in the reverse direction to obtain a full color copy.

  When performing duplex printing, the transfer paper that has passed through the fixing unit 60 is guided in the direction of arrow D by the duplex switching claw 85 and is sent to the duplex printing paper reversing unit 70. After the trailing edge of the transfer paper passes through the reverse switching claw 71, the reverse roller pair 72 stops and the transfer paper also stops. Then, the reverse roller pair 72 starts reverse rotation after a certain blank time, and the transfer paper starts to switch back. At this time, the reverse switching claw 71 is switched, and the transfer paper is guided in the direction of arrow E and sent to the registration roller pair 82. The transfer sheet sent to the registration roller pair 82 stands by at the nip of the registration roller pair 82 with the front and back reversed. Then, the registration roller pair 82 is driven at a predetermined timing, the transfer paper is sent to the secondary transfer position, and the four-color superimposed toner image is collectively transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 41, and then the toner image is melted by the fixing unit 60. It is fixed and sent out of the main body.

  On the other hand, the surface of the photoconductor belt 11 after the primary transfer is cleaned by the photoconductor cleaning device 12 and is uniformly discharged by a charge removal lamp (not shown). Further, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 41 after the toner image is transferred to the transfer paper is cleaned by pressing the cleaning brush 42a of the belt cleaning device 42 with a contact / separation mechanism.

  Next, the waste toner collecting unit 49 which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a unit frame of the intermediate transfer unit 40 and a waste toner collecting unit 49 provided inside the unit. In FIG. 2, the intermediate transfer belt 41, the drive roller 44, and the like are not shown. Since the frame excluding the intermediate transfer belt and each roller that drives the intermediate transfer belt normally has no functionally necessary components, a waste toner collection unit 49 is disposed in a dead space inside the frame. It is. Since the waste toner collecting unit 49 is installed in the dead space inside the intermediate transfer unit 40, it is not necessary to secure a space for installing the waste toner collecting unit 49 in another part inside the apparatus main body, and the apparatus can be easily installed. Miniaturization can be achieved.

  A square pipe-shaped guide cover 102 and a waste toner collecting container 103 that is guided and stored in the guide cover 102 so as to be drawn through the openings 100a and 101a formed in the pair of unit frames 100 and 101 are provided. Is provided. A waste toner inlet opening 102 a for introducing waste toner into the waste toner collection container 103 is formed on the upper surface of the guide cover 102 on the back side in the figure. The waste toner removed and collected by the belt cleaning device 42 (see FIG. 1) is collected and held in the waste toner collection container 103 through the waste toner inlet opening 102a. Since the waste toner collection container 103 is guided so as to be able to be pulled out with respect to the guide cover 102, when the waste toner collection container 103 is full of waste toner, the waste toner collection container 103 is pulled out from the guide cover 102 and removed. Then, it is replaced with an empty new waste toner collecting container 103. Since the direction in which the waste toner collection container 103 is pulled out is the front side of the apparatus (front side in the figure), the waste toner collection container 103 can be easily replaced, and the workability is excellent.

Further, the waste toner collecting portion 49 can be disposed closer to the belt cleaning device 42 than the case where the waste toner collecting portion 49 is disposed away from the belt cleaning device 42 such as the back of the apparatus main body. it can. As a result, the length of the conveying path from the belt cleaning device 42 to the waste toner collecting unit 49 can be shortened, so that the cost of components for conveying the waste toner can be reduced.
The position of the waste toner inlet opening 102a is not limited to the upper end portion of the guide cover 102, but may be provided on the side surface portion of the guide cover 102 indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in the drawing. Further, it can be provided on the bottom surface of the guide cover 102. Therefore, the position of the waste toner inlet opening can be freely set in accordance with the layout of each component constituting the color printer.

Further, the intermediate transfer unit 40 itself is configured to be easily removable from the apparatus main body. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the detaching mechanism of the intermediate transfer unit 40. In FIG. 3, a pair of unit side slide rails 104 and 105 are provided at lower ends of a pair of unit frames 100 and 101 (unit frame 101 is not shown). 104 and 105 are engaged with a pair of apparatus main body side slide rails 106 and 107 provided on the apparatus main body side. With these slide rails, the intermediate transfer unit 40 can be pulled out and attached to the front side (front side in the figure), which is the operation surface side. That is, the intermediate transfer unit 40 can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and the waste toner collection container 103 can be attached to and detached from the intermediate transfer unit 40. As a result, when the waste toner collection container 103 becomes full of waste toner, the waste toner collection container 103 is replaced independently, or the collected waste toner is discarded and the waste toner collection container 103 is mounted again. Can do. Further, when the intermediate transfer unit 40 is replaced or maintained, the waste toner collection container 103 can be replaced or the collected waste toner can be discarded at the same time.
As shown in the figure, a lid 108 having a waste toner inlet opening 108 a may be provided at the top of the waste toner collection container 103. By providing the lid 108, it is possible to prevent the waste toner collected when the waste toner collection container 103 is removed from the intermediate transfer unit 40 from being scattered.

  Further, the capacity of the waste toner collecting container 103 can be set to be substantially the same as the amount of waste toner that is expected to be collected in the same time as the life of the intermediate transfer unit 40. As a result, the replacement timing of the waste toner collection container 103 can be adjusted to the replacement timing of the intermediate transfer unit 40. Therefore, the replacement work that has been performed separately in the past is only the replacement of the intermediate transfer unit 40. Since it is not necessary to perform the replacement individually, the maintenance cost can be reduced. Specifically, for example, if the replacement time of the intermediate transfer unit is 350 hours in normal use and 1300 cc of waste toner can be expected to be removed and collected from the intermediate transfer unit 40 after 350 hours of operation, the waste toner recovery is performed. The capacity of the container 103 is set to 1300 cc.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the waste toner collection unit 49 is installed in the dead space inside the intermediate transfer unit 40, thereby securing a space for installing the waste toner collection unit 49 in other parts of the apparatus main body. Therefore, the apparatus can be easily downsized. In addition, since the length of the transport path from the belt cleaning device 42 to the waste toner collecting unit 49 can be short, the cost of the components for transporting the waste toner can be reduced. Further, since the waste toner collection container 103 of the waste toner collection unit 49 is integrated with the intermediate transfer unit 40 or can be individually detached from the intermediate transfer unit 40 to the operation surface side, exchanging workability is excellent.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the waste toner collecting unit 49 is provided in the intermediate transfer unit 40 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the waste toner collecting unit 17 is also provided in the photoreceptor unit 10. ing. Since the waste toner collecting unit 17 provided in the photoreceptor unit 10 has the same configuration as the waste toner collecting unit 49 provided in the intermediate transfer unit 40, description thereof is omitted.

[Modification 1]
In the waste toner collecting container 103 of the first embodiment, if the collected waste toner stays in the vicinity of the waste toner inlet opening 108a of the lid 108 and is not uniformly held in the container, the waste toner is replaced earlier than a predetermined replacement time. I will have to. Therefore, it is possible to provide a means for uniformly holding the waste toner.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration in which a transport screw 109 is provided in the waste toner collecting container 103 along the longitudinal direction of the container. A gear 110 is fixed to the transport screw 109, and the gear 110 meshes with a drive gear (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side in a state where the waste toner collecting container 103 is stored in the intermediate transfer unit 40. Then, the conveying screw 109 is rotated. The collected waste toner is transported by the transport screw 109 from the rear (the back side in the figure) to the front (the front side in the figure) where the waste toner inlet opening 108 a is formed, and uniformly in the waste toner collection container 103. Can be held in. As a result, the collected waste toner does not stay in the vicinity of the waste toner inlet opening 108a, and is uniformly held in the waste toner collection container 103. The waste toner collection container 103 stores the amount of waste toner substantially equal to its capacity. Can be held. Thereby, the waste toner collecting container 103 can be made compact, and the replacement time can be prevented from being earlier than the predetermined replacement time.

  Further, as a means for uniformly holding the waste toner in the waste toner collection container 103, in addition to the configuration in which the conveying screw 109 is provided, the waste toner collection container 103 has a waste toner inlet opening 108a on the bottom surface from the rear to the front. The shape may have a downward slope. In addition, a drive member for vibrating the waste toner collection container 103 may be provided so that the waste toner collection container 103 is vibrated. Further, the bottom surface of the waste toner collecting container 103 may have the above-described inclination and may be configured to give vibration.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a unit frame of an intermediate transfer unit 40 and a waste toner collecting unit 49 provided inside the unit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a desorption mechanism of the intermediate transfer unit 40. The perspective view which shows the structure which provided the conveyance screw 109 along the longitudinal direction of the container in the waste toner collection container 103 which concerns on a modification. FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating an example of a configuration around a photosensitive member and an intermediate transfer member of a conventional image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the periphery of the photosensitive member and the intermediate transfer member of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5 as viewed from the back side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color printer 10 Photoconductor unit 12 Photoconductor cleaning apparatus 17 Waste toner collection part of photoconductor unit 40 Intermediate transfer unit 42 Belt cleaning device 49 Waste toner collection part of intermediate transfer unit 103 Waste toner collection container 109 Conveying screw

Claims (4)

An image carrier unit comprising an image carrier carrying a toner image on the surface;
A cleaning device for removing residual toner on the image carrier;
In an image forming apparatus having a waste toner recovery unit that recovers residual toner removed by the cleaning device,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the waste toner collecting section is disposed inside the image carrier unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The waste toner recovery section has a waste toner recovery container having a predetermined volume for storing residual toner;
The waste toner collection container can be easily attached to and detached from the image carrier unit, or the waste toner collection container can be easily attached to and detached from the apparatus main body integrally with the image carrier unit. Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The volume of the waste toner collecting container is set to be substantially the same as the amount of waste toner expected to be collected from the image carrier unit at the same time as the life of the image carrier unit. apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the waste toner collection container is provided with a conveyance member capable of conveying the waste toner to a position inside the waste toner collection container and away from the waste toner inlet.

Images