JP2008268447A - Waste toner recovery device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner recovery device which is capable of highly accurately and highly reliably detecting the operation of a waste toner conveying member and to provide an image forming apparatus provided with the waste toner recovery device. <P>SOLUTION: A contact member 34 which projects axially from the rotating shaft 33a of a conveying screw 33 so as to be longer than spiral conveying parts 35a and 35b is attached to the conveying screw 33. The conveying screw 33 is rotated in a container main body 25, so that the top end of the contact member 34 comes in slidable contact with the inwall 25b of the upper surface part 25a of the container main body 25, to generate a vibration. This vibration is detected to detect the vibration corresponding to the rotational speed of the conveying screw 33, so that an abnormal state can be quickly detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a waste toner collecting apparatus that collects waste toner collected by a cleaning mechanism that is generated along with the formation of a toner image, and the waste toner collecting apparatus. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus of a type in which a toner image is formed on an image carrier such as a photoconductor by an electrophotographic process and the toner image is transferred onto a recording medium such as a transfer paper, or a plurality of images by an electrophotographic process. A color image in which a color toner image is formed on an intermediate transfer belt by sequentially transferring toner images of different colors formed on a carrier onto the intermediate transfer belt, and the color toner image is transferred onto a recording medium. Forming devices are known.
In these image forming apparatuses, when the toner image is transferred, the toner remains on the image carrier or the intermediate transfer belt. Therefore, the remaining toner is collected as waste toner by the cleaning device, and the collected waste toner is discarded. The toner is collected and stored in a toner recovery container. When the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection container is almost full, the waste toner collection container is removed and replaced with an empty waste toner collection container.
When the waste toner stored in the waste toner collection container approaches a full state, this full state is detected by a sensor and displayed on a panel or the like of the image forming apparatus to prompt replacement of the waste toner collection container. I am doing so. When an optical sensor is used as this sensor, the light emitted from the light emitting unit is blocked before the waste toner in the waste toner collection container approaches the full state, and the waste toner in the waste toner collection container is full. It may be falsely detected that a full state is approached before the state is approached. In order to solve such a problem, a flexible seal is attached to the upper part of the waste toner collection container main body, and when the waste toner becomes full, it is detected that the flexible seal is pushed up by the waste toner. There has been proposed a waste toner collecting apparatus that detects a full state by the above. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
JP 2006-85112 A

However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to satisfactorily detect whether the waste toner in the waste toner collection container is full, but when the waste toner approaches the full state in the waste toner collection container, The waste toner is clogged in the vicinity of the waste toner input port of the waste toner collection container, the waste toner is solidified, and the waste toner conveying means disposed in the waste toner collection container is easily damaged.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and the operation of the waste toner conveying member can be performed with high accuracy and high reliability so that it can cope with an abnormality such as breakage of the waste toner conveying means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste toner collecting apparatus that can detect the image and an image forming apparatus including the same.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a container main body for transporting and storing waste toner collected by a cleaning device from the cleaning device, and the container main body provided in the container main body. A waste toner collecting container including a transport unit configured to transport the waste toner charged in the container in a horizontal direction, wherein the transport unit includes a contact member that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the container body, and the rotation operation of the transport unit And vibration detecting means for detecting vibration generated by sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container main body.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting apparatus according to the first aspect, the inner wall of the container body that is in sliding contact with the contact member is disposed on an upper portion of the container body.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the waste toner collecting apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the detected portion for transmitting the vibration generated by the sliding contact between the inner wall of the container body and the contact member to the vibration detecting means. It is characterized by having.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the vibration detecting means is disposed above a sliding contact portion of the inner wall of the container body with the contact member. It is characterized by doing.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the vibration detecting means detects vibration caused by sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container body. It is a contact-type sensor which performs.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the vibration detecting means detects vibration caused by sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container body. It is a non-contact type sensor.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image carrier that carries a toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image on the image carrier to a transfer target, and a toner image on the image carrier after the toner image is transferred. 7. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning device that collects residual toner as waste toner; and a waste toner collection device that stores waste toner collected by the cleaning device, wherein the waste toner collection device is any one of claims 1 to 6. A waste toner collecting apparatus according to claim 1.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the image carrier, a charging device for charging the surface of the image carrier, and an electrostatic formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier. A developing device that supplies toner to a latent image and develops it into a toner image, and a process cartridge that is integrated with at least one of the cleaning devices.

  According to the present invention, the conveying means for conveying the waste toner charged into the container main body in the horizontal direction has the contact member that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the container main body, and is generated when the conveying means rotates. By providing vibration detecting means for detecting vibration generated by sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container main body, the waste toner can be dealt with even when an abnormality such as breakage of the waste toner conveying means occurs. It is possible to provide a waste toner collecting apparatus capable of detecting the operation of the conveying member with high accuracy and high reliability, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

The inventor of the present application has examined the accident of damage to the waste toner conveying means disposed in the waste toner collecting container, and as a result, when the waste toner in the waste toner collecting container becomes full, the rotating means such as a screw is used. It was noted that the rotational speed further fluctuates when the rotational speed of the waste toner conveying means decreases and the waste toner solidifies. Then, the rotation speed of the waste toner conveying means is attached to the waste toner conveying means with a contact member that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the waste toner collecting container, and vibration generated by the sliding contact between the inner wall of the waste toner collecting container and the contact member is detected as vibration. Thus, the full state of the waste toner in the waste toner collection container and the abnormal state of the waste toner are detected.
Also, when detecting the rotation speed of the conveying means by detecting the vibration of the sliding part such as the bearing between the conveying means and the container main body, when the waste toner is not stored in the initial container, the container itself However, if waste toner accumulates over time, the vibration is reduced by the weight of the waste toner. Therefore, in the present invention, a contact member that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the waste toner collection container is attached to the conveying means, and vibration generated by sliding contact between the inner wall of the waste toner collection container and the contact member is reliably ensured over time by the vibration detection means. The vibration can be detected.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view schematically showing a color printer which is an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the main body case 2 of the color printer 1, a printer engine 3, an optical writing device 4 that emits a light beam, a paper feed cassette 5 that is a recording medium storage unit that stores a recording medium P that is a transfer target, a toner image Are provided with a fixing device 6 for fixing the recording medium P to which toner has been transferred, a waste toner collecting container 7 for collecting waste toner generated after transferring the toner image, and the like.
The printer engine 3 is a portion that forms a toner image and transfers the formed toner image to the recording medium P, and includes four photoconductors 8 (8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K) that are image carriers, and each photoconductor 8. The charging roller 9, which is a charging device, a developing device 10, a cleaning device 11, a primary transfer roller 12, an intermediate transfer belt 13 which is an image carrier and a transfer target, and a secondary transfer roller 14 which is a transfer device are arranged around the charging device. The cleaning device 15 and the like are included. Here, in the description of the present specification and drawings, Y, C, M, and K subscripts indicate yellow, cyan, magenta, and black colors, respectively, and these subscripts are omitted as necessary. .
The photoconductor 8 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is connected to a drive motor (not shown), and rotates around the center line in the arrow direction by the drive force from the drive motor. A photosensitive layer on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8.
The charging roller 9 is disposed in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 or is disposed with a small gap from the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8. When a voltage is applied to the charging roller 9 from a power supply unit (not shown), corona discharge is generated between the charging roller 9 and the photoconductor 8, and the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 is made uniform. Charged.

The optical writing device 4 emits a light beam corresponding to the image data, and exposes the outer peripheral surface of the uniformly charged photoreceptor 8. By this exposure, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8.
The developing device 10 supplies toner to the photoreceptor 8. The supplied toner adheres to the electrostatic latent image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8, and the electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 is visualized as a toner image.
The intermediate transfer belt 13 is a loop-shaped belt formed of a resin film or rubber as a base, and is wound around a drive roller 16, an entrance roller 17, and a tension roller 18, and is driven by a drive motor (not shown). The coupled driving roller 16 is driven to rotate and is transferred in the arrow A direction. The entrance roller 17 and the tension roller 18 are driven to rotate by the frictional force with the intermediate transfer belt 13 as the intermediate transfer belt 13 rotates in the direction of arrow A.
The primary transfer roller 12 is disposed on the inner peripheral surface side (inside the loop) of the intermediate transfer belt 13, and a toner image on each photoconductor 8 is formed by applying a transfer voltage to the primary transfer roller 12. The image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 13. The toner images formed on the respective photoreceptors 8 are sequentially transferred and superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 13, and a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13.

The first cleaning device 11 cleans the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 13. By this cleaning, toner, paper dust, and the like remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 8 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 13 are collected as waste toner.
The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13 is transferred to the secondary transfer roller 14 at the timing when the recording medium P is sent to the transfer position where the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the secondary transfer roller 14 are in contact with each other. When the working voltage is applied, it is transferred to the recording medium P. The recording medium P is fed from the sheet feeding cassette 5 and is conveyed by the conveyance roller 19 and the registration roller 20, and is transferred to the fixing device 6 after the toner image is transferred. The recording medium P to which the toner image has been transferred is subjected to fixing processing by applying heat and pressure in the fixing device 6, and the toner image melted by this fixing processing is fixed to the recording medium P. The recording medium P for which the fixing process has been completed is discharged onto a discharge tray 21 formed on the upper surface of the main body case 2.
The second cleaning device 15 cleans the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 after the color toner image is transferred to the recording medium P. By this cleaning, toner, paper dust, and the like remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 after the toner image is transferred are collected as waste toner.

The waste toner collection container 7 transports and feeds the waste toner collected by the first cleaning device 11 and the second cleaning device 15 from the first and second cleaning devices 11 and 15, It is the part that accumulates. The waste toner collection container 7 is detachably attached to the main body case 2, and is removed from the main body case 2 when the waste toner in the waste toner collection container 7 is almost full, and an empty waste toner collection container. 7 is attached.
A photosensitive member 8 that is a constituent member of the printer engine 3, and a charging roller 9, a developing device 10, and a cleaning device 11 that are arranged around each photosensitive member 8 and housed in a case as a unit are integrally configured. Process cartridges 23 (23Y, 23C, 23M, and 23K) are formed. Each process cartridge 23 is detachably mounted in the main body case 2. Since the photosensitive member 8, the charging roller 9, the developing device 10, and the cleaning device 11 are unitized as a process cartridge 23, replacement and maintenance work is facilitated, and the positional accuracy between the members is high. Therefore, the quality of the formed image can be improved. In this embodiment, the photosensitive member 8, the charging roller 9, the developing device 10, and the cleaning device 11 have been described by taking the process cartridge 23 as an example. However, there are various process cartridge configurations. For example, at least one of the charging roller 9, the developing device 10, and the cleaning device 11 and the photosensitive member 8 are housed in a case and unitized.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the side cover 24 provided on the main body case 2 is opened. By opening the side cover 24, the printer engine 3 and the waste toner collection container 7 appear, and the process cartridge 23, the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the waste toner collection container 7 can be replaced and other maintenance can be performed. The intermediate transfer belt 13, the rollers 16, 17, 18 and the second cleaning device 15 are housed in a belt case 13a and unitized.
In such a configuration, when an image forming operation is started, a toner image is formed on each photoconductor 8, and the toner images formed on each photoconductor 8 are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 13. As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13. The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13 is transferred to the recording medium P by the action of the secondary transfer roller 14, and the recording medium P on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed by the fixing device 6 and then discharged. The paper is discharged onto the tray 21.

During this image forming operation, the toner remaining on the photoconductor 8 is collected as waste toner by the first cleaning device 11, and the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 13 is waste toner as the second cleaning device 15. It is collected by. The waste toner recovered by the first cleaning device 11 passes through the first waste toner pipe 26 and enters the container body 25 of the waste toner recovery container 7 which is a waste toner recovery device from the first input port 28. Is done. The waste toner collected by the second cleaning device 15 passes through the second waste toner pipe 27 and is fed into the container body 25 from the second slot 29.
Here, the container body 25 is formed with first and second input ports 28 and 29, and the waste toner collected by the first cleaning device 11 passes through the first waste toner pipe 26 to be the first input. The waste toner collected by the second cleaning device 15 is led to the second inlet 29 through the second waste toner pipe 27. For this reason, it is not necessary to collect the waste toner collected by the first and second cleaning devices 11 and 15 into the container body 25, and a pipe for guiding the waste toner into the container body 25 is provided. It can be simplified, and the number of bent portions in the pipe that guides the waste toner can be reduced to prevent clogging of the waste toner in the pipe.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the waste toner collecting container 7. The waste toner collection container 7 is formed by a container main body 25, first and second waste toner pipes 26, 27 connected to the container main body 25, and the like. The container body 25 is formed in a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape along the direction in which the waste toner collection container 7 is attached to and detached from the main body case 2, and the first and second waste toner pipes 26 and 27 are in the longitudinal direction of the container body 25. Are connected to two first and second inlets 28 and 29 formed on the upper surfaces of both ends. One first waste toner pipe 26 conveys the waste toner collected by the first cleaning device 11 (11Y, 11C, 11M, 11K; see FIG. 1) for cleaning the photoreceptor 8 into the container body 25. It is a pipe for charging. The first waste toner pipe 26 is formed with four connection ports 31 to which the waste toner discharge portions 30 (30Y, 30C, 30M, 30K; see FIG. 2) of the cleaning devices 11 are connected. Inside the toner pipe 26, a conveying screw (not shown) for conveying the waste toner discharged from the cleaning device 11 toward the first insertion port 28 is disposed. The other second waste toner pipe 27 is a pipe for transporting and feeding the waste toner collected by the second cleaning device 15 that cleans the intermediate transfer belt 13 into the container body 25. A connection port 32 to which a waste toner discharge unit (not shown) is connected is formed, and the waste toner discharged from the cleaning device 15 is directed to the second input port 29 inside the second waste toner pipe 27. A conveying screw (not shown) for conveying is disposed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the container body 25 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First and second input ports 28 and 29 are formed on the upper surfaces of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the container body 25, and the first and second input ports 28 and 29 are respectively formed in the first and second input ports 28 and 29. The waste toner pipes 26 and 27 are connected (see FIG. 3). In the container main body 25, a conveying screw 33 that is a conveying means extending along the longitudinal direction of the container main body 25 (the direction connecting the two input ports 28 and 29) is accommodated and provided to be rotatable around the center line. It has been. The conveying screw 33 is disposed in the upper part in the container main body 25. The conveying screw 33 is connected to a drive motor (not shown) provided in the main body case 2 by attaching the waste toner collecting container 7 in the main body case 2 so that the rotational driving force is transmitted. Yes.
The conveying screw 33 is formed with conveying spiral portions 35a and 35b in opposite directions from both end sides toward the central portion. The two conveying spiral portions 35a and 35b are configured to remove the waste toner T introduced from the first and second insertion ports 28 and 29 by rotating the conveyance screw 33 by a drive motor. It is formed so as to be conveyed from the side to the center side. The waste toner T introduced into the container main body 25 from the first and second inlets 28 and 29 is stored in the container main body 25 and stored to a height in contact with the conveyance screw 33. By rotation, the conveying screw 33 is conveyed from both end sides to the center side as indicated by an arrow B. The two conveyance spiral portions 35a and 35b have the same diameter and the same spiral portion pitch, and are formed with the same ability to convey waste toner. Further, the two conveying spiral portions 35a and 35b are formed to have the same length.

A contact member 34 is attached to the transport screw 33 so as to protrude longer than the transport spiral portions 35 a and 35 b in the axial direction from the rotation shaft 33 a of the transport screw 33. Therefore, when the conveying screw 33 rotates in the container body 25, the tip of the contact member 34 slides on the sliding contact part 25c of the inner wall 25b of the upper surface part 25a of the container body 25 to generate vibration, and this vibration is generated in the container body. 25. Since this frequency becomes a frequency corresponding to the rotation speed of the conveying screw, for example, one for one rotation of the conveying screw, the conveying screw is detected by detecting this frequency (frequency). It becomes possible to grasp the rotation state of 33. Accordingly, when the waste toner T stored in the container main body 25 is small, the load due to the waste toner T is small, and the conveying screw 33 rotates at a predetermined rotational speed, but is stored in the container main body 25. As the used waste toner T approaches a full state, the load due to the waste toner T increases and the rotation speed of the conveying screw 33 decreases. By detecting the vibration of the container body 25 by the contact member 34 corresponding to the rotation speed of the conveying screw 33, it is possible to detect whether or not the container body 25 is full. In addition, the waste toner T stored in the container body 25 is solidified to increase the load on the conveyance spiral portions 35a and 35b of the conveyance screw 33, or the solidification waste toner causes the conveyance spiral portions 35a and 35b to become solid. Even when the load is reduced and the rotation speed of the conveying screw becomes slower than the predetermined rotation speed or becomes an abnormal speed that causes fluctuations in the rotation speed, such as becoming faster, the rotation speed of the conveying screw 33 is adjusted. Since vibration is detected, it is possible to quickly detect an abnormal state.
In this way, when an abnormality is detected by the vibration sensor 40 in the waste toner storage state in the container body, the detection result is displayed on the display unit on the operation panel of the color printer 1 and the machine is simultaneously operated. The operator who stops and sees the display can open the side cover 24 at an appropriate timing, remove the waste toner collection container 51, and install a new waste toner collection container 51.

As shown in FIG. 5, at the center of the upper surface portion 25 a of the container main body 25, vibration generated by the sliding contact of the contact member 34 with the sliding contact portion 25 c of the inner surface 25 b of the container main body 25 along with the rotational driving of the conveying screw 33. A detected part 36 for transmission is formed. Therefore, when the vibration sensor 40 as the vibration detecting means is attached on the detected portion 36, the frequency of the vibration can be detected easily and reliably. The material of the detected portion 36 differs depending on the type of the vibration sensor. In the case of a contact sensor or a laser displacement sensor, any material other than a material that absorbs vibration is acceptable. For example, a sheet metal or a mold is used. In the case of a capacitance type displacement sensor and an eddy current type displacement sensor, a conductive material is used in terms of sensor performance.
As the vibration sensor 40, the above-described sensor can be used. However, by using the contact sensor 40a, it is possible to reliably detect the vibration transmitted to the detected portion. An example of the contact sensor 40a is a piezoelectric element. A piezoelectric element is one of passive elements using a piezoelectric effect that has a characteristic of converting a force applied to a piezoelectric body into a voltage or conversely converting a voltage into a force. By converting the externally applied vibration into a voltage by the piezoelectric effect, the vibration can be detected electrically. Therefore, the vibration state can be easily measured by using the piezoelectric element as the vibration detecting means. Further, vibration detection using an acceleration sensor in addition to the piezoelectric element is also possible.
In addition, by using the non-contact sensor 40b, it is possible to reliably detect the vibration transmitted to the detected portion 36 as in the contact sensor 40a. When the non-contact sensor 40b is used, the sensor can be separated from the container body 25 for non-contact, and the structure of the waste toner collection container 7 as a replacement part can be simplified, and an inexpensive waste toner collection container can be provided. Can be provided. In addition to the detection method using a laser, the non-contact sensor 40b can be detected by a capacitance type displacement sensor, an eddy current type displacement sensor, or the like when the detected member is made conductive.

In the present embodiment, a vibration sensor 40 that detects vibration of the detected part 36 is disposed above the detected part 36. If the detected portion 36 is formed below or on the side of the container body 25, there is no problem if the waste toner T is not sufficiently stored in the initial container 25. In other words, the vibration of the detected portion 36 is suppressed by the weight and pressure of the waste toner T. Therefore, by providing the detected portion 36 on the upper portion of the container main body 25 that can reduce the influence of the weight and pressure of the waste toner T as much as possible, it is possible to reliably generate vibration until the waste toner reaches the upper portion of the container main body over time. The vibration sensor 40 can reliably detect vibration.
Further, the vibration sensor 40 can be directly mounted on the sliding contact portion 25c with the contact member 34 that generates the vibration of the container body 25 without providing the detected portion 36, but the detected portion 36 is provided. Thus, it is preferable to detect the vibration of the detected portion 36 because the vibration can be detected more reliably.
As described above, in the waste toner collecting apparatus of the present embodiment, the waste toner is transported horizontally by the transporting means and diffused uniformly in the container, so that the transporting means is not operating normally. Accumulated around the waste toner inlet, it is falsely detected that it is close to full, but it overflows from the inlet, and clogs toner in the path from the cleaning device to the waste toner transport device, There is a risk of causing various problems such as overflowing into the image forming apparatus and contaminating each part in the apparatus. However, the rotation operation of the waste toner conveying means is performed by attaching a contact member that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the waste toner collecting container to the waste toner conveying means, and vibration detection means that detects vibration generated by the sliding contact between the inner wall of the waste toner collecting container and the contact member. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem can be prevented beforehand.

Next, a waste toner collecting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same part as the part demonstrated in FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 5 is shown with the same code | symbol, and description is also abbreviate | omitted.
The basic structure of the waste toner collecting container of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. The difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that a contact member 34 is provided. Position. Moreover, the position of the sensor 40 is also changed in accordance with changing the type of the sensor 40. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the structure of the container main body 51 of the waste toner collecting container 50. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state where the contact member 34 provided on the conveying screw 33 is in direct contact with the detected part 36.
Since the contact member 34 comes into contact with the detected part 36, the vibration generated by the rotation operation of the conveying screw 33 can be directly transmitted to the detected part 36, so that the vibration can be detected without loss by the vibration sensor 40. it can. When an abnormality is detected by the vibration sensor 40, the detection result is displayed on the display unit on the operation panel of the color printer 1, and at the same time, the machine is stopped. 24, the waste toner collection container 51 is removed, and a new waste toner collection container 51 is installed.
As described above, when the inner surface 36a of the detected part 36 and the contact member 34 are in direct sliding contact with each other, if the sliding contact position of the contact member 34 is other than the detected part 36, vibration occurs via the container body 25. However, if the sliding contact position is below the detected portion 36, vibration can be reliably transmitted to the detected portion without loss due to transmission.
Further, as shown in the first embodiment described above, in the case of the contact sensor 40, since it is necessary to directly contact the detected portion 36, it is disposed in the container body 25. As described above, in the case of the non-contact type sensor 40 b, it can be separated from the container main body 25 and disposed in the main body case 2. As described above, when the vibration sensor 40 is separated from the container main body 25 and disposed in the main body case 2, it is preferable because the replacement of the waste toner collecting container 7 becomes simple. In the first embodiment described above, a contact sensor is used as the vibration sensor, the contact member 34 is brought into sliding contact with the inner wall 25a of the container body 25, and the installation position of the sliding contact portion and the detected portion 36 is separated. However, also in the first embodiment, the contact sensor is used, and the contact member 34 is slidably brought into contact with the inner surface 36a of the detected portion 36 as in the second embodiment. And the second embodiment can be used in appropriate combination as necessary.

1 is a longitudinal side view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a side cover of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1 is opened. 1 is a perspective view of a waste toner recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a container body of a first embodiment used in a waste toner collecting apparatus according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which notched some cut | disconnected on the AA line of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the container main body of 2nd Embodiment used for the waste toner collection | recovery apparatus by this invention. It is sectional drawing which notched some cut | disconnected on the BB line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Printer engine, 4 ... Optical writing device, 5 ... Paper feed cassette, 6 ... Fixing device, 7 ... Waste toner collection container, 8, 8Y, 8C, 8M, 8K ... Photoconductor, 9 ... Charging roller, 10 ... Developing device, 11 ... first cleaning device, 13 ... intermediate transfer belt, 15 ... second cleaning device, 23, 23Y, 23C, 23M, 23K ... process cartridge, 25 ... container body, 25a ... upper surface portion, 25b ... Inner surface, 25c ... sliding contact portion, 26, 27 ... waste toner pipe, 28, 29 ... loading port, 31, 32 ... connection port, 33 ... conveying screw, 34 ... contact member, 35a, 35b ... conveying spiral portion, 36 ... Detected portion, 36a ... inner surface, 40 ... vibration sensor

Claims (8)

A container main body that transports and stores the waste toner collected by the cleaning device; and a transport unit that is provided in the container main body and transports the waste toner charged in the container main body in a horizontal direction. In the waste toner collection container provided,
The conveyance means includes a contact member that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the container body, and vibration detection means that detects vibration generated by the sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container body that occurs as a result of the rotation of the conveyance means. A waste toner collecting device comprising: The waste toner recovery device according to claim 1,
The waste toner collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall of the container body that is in sliding contact with the contact member is disposed on an upper portion of the container body. The waste toner recovery device according to claim 1 or 2,
A waste toner collecting apparatus comprising: a detected portion that transmits vibration generated by sliding contact between the inner wall of the container body and the contact member to the vibration detecting means. The waste toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The waste toner collecting apparatus, wherein the vibration detecting means is disposed above a sliding contact portion of the inner wall of the container main body with the contact member. The waste toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The waste toner collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detecting means is a contact type sensor that detects vibration caused by sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container body. The waste toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The waste toner collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detecting means is a non-contact type sensor that detects vibration caused by sliding contact between the contact member and the inner wall of the container body. An image carrier that carries a toner image, a transfer device that transfers the toner image on the image carrier to a transfer target, and a toner that remains on the image carrier after the transfer of the toner image is recovered as waste toner. In an image forming apparatus comprising a cleaning device and a waste toner collecting device for storing waste toner collected by the cleaning device,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner collecting device is the waste toner collecting device according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7.
The image carrier, a charging device that charges the surface of the image carrier, a developing device that supplies toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier and develops the toner image, and the cleaning device An image forming apparatus comprising: a process cartridge integrally formed with at least one apparatus.

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