JP2010152022A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that reduces burden of a user and improves workability during disposal of waste toner. <P>SOLUTION: In the image forming apparatus which has a toner image forming section that forms a toner image to transfer to a recording medium, a conveyance mechanism of the recording medium, and a controlling section that controls operation of transferring the toner image to the recording medium by performing integrated control on the toner image forming section and the conveyance mechanism, the toner image forming section has a waste toner collecting section that collects residual toner after transfer of the toner image as a waste toner, and a waste toner developing section that attaches the waste toner collected by the waste toner collecting section to a photoreceptor, and the controlling section transfers the waste toner to the recording medium at the predetermined timing by performing integrated control on the toner image forming section including the waste toner developing section and the conveyance mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

 The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer.

  Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, residual toner adhering to a photosensitive member or an intermediate transfer member is removed by a cleaner and collected in a dedicated waste toner container so that the waste toner container is full. The waste toner container was taken out from the apparatus main body and discarded.

For example, in Patent Document 1 below, a plurality of detachable toner wastes are provided on a conveyance path connected to a toner waste collection source such as a cleaner in order to reduce the labor of toner waste collection work as described above. A technique is disclosed in which a collection container is connected and a collection container filled with toner waste is separated from the conveyance path, and an empty collection container is connected to the conveyance path instead.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-119622

 As described above, in the prior art, it is necessary to take out and discard the collection container from the apparatus main body every time the waste toner is full, and replace it with an empty collection container, which is a heavy burden on the user. In addition, waste toner may be scattered at the time of disposal, and workability is not good.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides an image forming apparatus capable of reducing the burden on the user and improving workability when performing a waste toner disposal operation. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, as a first solution means for an image forming apparatus, a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image and transfers the toner image to a recording medium, a transport mechanism for the recording medium, And a control unit that controls the transfer operation of the toner image onto the recording medium by integrally controlling the toner image forming unit and the conveyance mechanism. A waste toner collecting unit that collects toner as waste toner; and a waste toner developing unit that attaches the waste toner collected by the waste toner collecting unit to a photosensitive member, and the control unit includes the waste toner developing unit. The waste toner is transferred to a recording medium at a predetermined timing by integrally controlling the toner image forming unit and the transport mechanism.

  Further, as a second solving means relating to the image forming apparatus, in the first solving means, the control unit integrally controls the toner image forming unit including the waste toner developing unit and the transport mechanism, thereby When transferring a toner image formed using normal toner on one side of the recording medium, the waste toner is transferred to the other side of the recording medium.

 Further, as a third solving means related to the image forming apparatus, in the first solving means, the control unit includes the waste toner developing unit when an image to be formed on the recording medium is a monochrome image. The toner image forming unit and the conveyance mechanism are integratedly controlled to form a toner image that is a source of the monochrome image using the waste toner, and the toner image is transferred to the recording medium.

 Further, as a fourth solving means according to the image forming apparatus, in the second or third solving means, the toner image forming unit includes a waste toner container that accumulates waste toner collected by the waste toner collecting unit. And a waste toner transport mechanism for transporting waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner development unit, and the control unit controls the waste toner transport mechanism to control the waste toner development from the waste toner container. It is characterized in that the waste toner is transported to the part.

Further, as a fifth solving means related to the image forming apparatus, in the first solving means, the toner image forming unit includes a waste toner container for storing waste toner collected by the waste toner collecting unit, and the waste toner container. A full sensor for detecting whether or not the toner container is full, and a waste toner transport mechanism for transporting waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit,
The control unit notifies the user when the waste toner container is full by the full sensor, and informs the user of the fact, and when the user performs an operation of selecting the waste toner discharge mode, A waste toner is transported from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit and transferred to a recording medium by integrated control of the toner image forming unit including the mechanism and the waste toner developing unit and a conveyance mechanism. .

Further, as a sixth solving means relating to the image forming apparatus, in the first solving means, the toner image forming unit includes a waste toner container for storing waste toner collected by the waste toner collecting unit, and the waste toner container. A full sensor for detecting whether or not the toner container is full, and a waste toner transport mechanism for transporting waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit,
When the waste toner container is detected to be full by the full sensor, the control unit notifies the user to that effect, and when the user performs a monochrome image mode selection operation, the waste toner transport mechanism And the toner image forming unit including the waste toner developing unit and the conveyance mechanism are integrated to transport the waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit, and form the recording medium using the waste toner. A toner image as a base of a monochrome image to be formed is formed, and the toner image is transferred to the recording medium.

 According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit is transferred to the recording medium and discharged to the outside. As a result, it is possible to greatly reduce the burden on the user when performing the waste toner disposal operation. Further, since the waste toner is discharged in a state of being fixed on the recording medium, the waste toner is scattered around. It is possible to improve workability.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals) in which functions of a copier, a printer, and the like are integrated into one unit will be described as an example.
FIG. 1A is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1A, the image forming apparatus 100 is transmitted from the document reading device 1 for reading a document and the image data of the document read by the document reading device 1 or from the outside via a communication line. The MFP main unit 2 forms an image on a sheet (recording medium) based on the image data.

 The document reading apparatus 1 includes a scanner unit 10 and an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 20. The scanner unit 10 reads a document set on the platen glass 11 or a document automatically fed by the ADF 20, and includes a platen glass 11, a white reference plate 12, a full rate carriage 13, a half rate carriage 14, A condenser lens 15 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) sensor 16 are provided.

 The platen glass 11 is a glass plate for setting originals to be read one by one. The white reference plate 12 is a white plate for acquiring white reference data for shading correction. The full-rate carriage 13 is provided below the platen glass 11 so as to be reciprocally movable in the left-right direction (scanning direction) along the platen glass 11 by a carriage transport mechanism (not shown), and emits illumination light obliquely upward. And a mirror 13b that reflects reflected light of illumination light toward a half-rate carriage 14 described later.

 Similar to the full-rate carriage 13, the half-rate carriage 14 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction along the platen glass 11 by a carriage transport mechanism (not shown). And a mirror 14b that reflects incident light from the mirror 14a toward a condenser lens 15 to be described later. The carriage transport mechanism controls the ratio of the movement amount of the full rate carriage 13 and the movement amount of the half rate carriage 14 to 1: 0.5. Thereby, the optical path length of the illumination light until reaching the condenser lens 15 is controlled to be constant.

 When reading an original set on the platen glass 11, the original is scanned by moving the full rate carriage 13 and the half rate carriage 14 in the scanning direction. However, when the original is automatically fed by the ADF 20 described later, The full-rate carriage 13 and the half-rate carriage 14 are waited at a predetermined document reading position, and the document is scanned by moving (conveying) the document side.

 The condensing lens 15 condenses incident light from the mirror 14 b of the half-rate carriage 14 and forms an image on the light receiving surface of the CCD sensor 16. The CCD sensor 16 operates in synchronization with a timing signal supplied from a CCD drive unit (not shown), and photoelectrically converts light received by the light receiving surface, thereby generating an analog voltage signal corresponding to the read image of the document. Generate and output to AFE (analog front end: not shown). The AFE amplifies the analog voltage signal with a predetermined gain setting value, and then digitally converts it to generate image data of the read original. The image data is generated by the control unit 60 of the MFP main body 2. Is stored in the image data memory 63 (see FIG. 2).

 The ADF 20 automatically and sequentially feeds a plurality of documents set on the document placing tray 22 one by one, and includes a platen cover 21, a document placing tray 22, a pickup roller 23, a registration roller 24, and a platen roller 25. And a paper discharge roller 26 and the like. The platen cover 21 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the scanner unit 10. The platen cover 21 serves as a document pressing cover when a document is set on the platen glass 11 for reading, a pickup roller 23, a registration roller. 24, a platen roller 25, a paper discharge roller 26, and other members used for an automatic paper feed mechanism. FIG. 1A shows a state in which the platen cover 21 is closed.

 The document placing tray 22 is a tray for setting a document to be read. The pickup roller 23 is a roller for picking up the documents set on the document placing tray 22 one by one and carrying them out to the registration rollers 24. The registration roller 24 is a roller for conveying the document to the platen roller 25 at a predetermined timing. The platen roller 25 is a roller for conveying the document to the paper discharge roller 26 via a predetermined document reading position. The paper discharge roller 26 is a roller for discharging the original after reading to the outside. The rotation operations of these rollers are controlled by the control unit 60 of the MFP main body 2.

   The MFP body 2 forms a toner image by electrophotography based on the image data of the document read by the document reading device 1 or the image data transmitted from the outside via a communication line, and records the toner image. The toner image forming unit 3 to be transferred to the paper as the medium, the fixing unit 4 for fixing the toner image transferred to the paper by the toner image forming unit 3, and the paper through the toner image forming unit 3 and the fixing unit 4 A paper transport mechanism 5 for transporting to the outside and paper feed cassettes 6, 7, and 8 for storing various sizes of paper are provided. Further, the MFP main body 2 is provided with a manually accessible tray 9 that can be opened and closed on the front side. The sheet placed on the manual tray 9 can be conveyed by the sheet conveying mechanism 5.

   The toner image forming unit 3 includes an intermediate transfer belt 31 and toner image forming units F (FY, FM, FC, respectively) corresponding to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK). FB), a driving roller 32, a tension roller 33, a secondary transfer roller 34, a cleaner (waste toner collecting section) 35, and a waste toner container 36, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. , A full sensor 37, a waste toner transport mechanism 38, and a waste toner developing unit 39.

 The intermediate transfer belt 31 is an intermediate transfer body for primary transfer of the toner images of the respective colors formed by the toner image forming units F (FY, FM, FC, FB), and is applied to the driving roller 32 and the tension roller 33. It is stretched and is configured to rotate clockwise in FIG.

   Each of the toner image forming units F (FY, FM, FC, FB) includes a photosensitive drum Fa, a charging unit Fb, an exposure unit Fc, a developing unit Fd, and a primary transfer roller Fe. A cleaning device and a static eliminator. The photosensitive drum Fa is set in a cylindrical shape, and an electrostatic latent image and a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image are formed on a peripheral surface thereof. The charging unit Fb is disposed so as to face the photosensitive drum Fa and charges the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum Fa. The exposure unit Fc forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning laser light on the peripheral surface of the charged photosensitive drum Fa based on image data. The developing unit Fd forms (develops) a toner image based on the electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum Fa by attaching toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum Fa.

 The primary transfer roller Fe is disposed opposite to the photosensitive drum Fa with the intermediate transfer belt 31 interposed therebetween, and primarily transfers the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum Fa to the intermediate transfer belt 31. The secondary transfer roller 34 is disposed opposite to the drive roller 32 with the intermediate transfer belt 31 interposed therebetween, and the intermediate transfer belt is applied to a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying mechanism 5 from any of the sheet feeding cassettes 6, 7, and 8. The toner image transferred to the surface 31 is secondarily transferred.

 The cleaner 35 includes a cleaning roller, a cleaning blade, and the like, removes residual toner from the intermediate transfer belt 31, collects it as waste toner, and sends it to a waste toner container 36. The waste toner container 36 is a container for accumulating waste toner collected by the cleaner 35 and is detachably attached to the MFP main body 2. The full sensor 37 is a sensor for detecting whether or not the waste toner container is full (for example, a piezoelectric vibration element generally used for detecting the remaining amount of toner), and a signal indicating the detection result is provided. Output to the controller 60.

 The waste toner transport mechanism 38 transports waste toner from the waste toner container 36 to the waste toner developing unit 39. The waste toner developing unit 39 is a developing unit dedicated to waste toner provided separately from the developing unit Fd using normal toner (yellow toner) in the toner image forming unit FY, and is transported from the waste toner transport mechanism 38. Waste toner to be deposited is adhered to the photosensitive drum Fa.

 The fixing unit 4 fixes a toner image secondarily transferred onto a sheet, and includes a heating roller 41 that fixes the toner by applying pressure and heating. The paper transport mechanism 5 includes pickup rollers 51, 52, and 53 for carrying out the paper one by one from the paper feed cassettes 6, 7, and 8, and the toner image forming unit 3 (secondary transfer with the driving roller 32). The paper feed rollers 54, 55, and 56 for transporting the paper to and from the roller 34, and the paper discharge roller 57 for discharging the fixed paper to the outside. The paper feed cassettes 6, 7, and 8 are attached to the MFP main body 2 so as to be freely drawable, and accommodate various sizes of paper.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 100 described above. In FIG. 2, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 60 denotes a control unit, reference numeral 61 denotes a ROM (Read Only Memory), reference numeral 62 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory), reference numeral 63 denotes an image data memory, reference numeral 64 denotes an operation display unit, and reference numeral 65 denotes a communication I / O. F. Reference numeral 200 denotes a PC (Personal Computer) for giving a print instruction to the image forming apparatus 100 from the outside.

  The control unit 60 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM 61, image data stored in the image data memory 63, operation signals input from the operation display unit 64, full sensor Based on the output signal 37, the print instruction signal received from the PC 200 via the communication I / F 65, and the image data (that is, the print job), each functional unit (the document reading device 1, the toner image forming unit 3). Image forming operation (toner image forming operation, transfer of toner image onto paper) is performed by integrated control of the waste toner conveying mechanism 38 and the waste toner developing unit 39 (including the fixing unit 4 and the paper conveying mechanism 5). Operation and toner image fixing operation).

 The ROM 61 is a read-only nonvolatile memory that stores a control program used by the control unit 60 and other setting data. The RAM 62 is a volatile working memory used as a temporary storage destination of data when the control unit 60 executes a control program and performs various operations. The image data memory 63 is, for example, a flash memory, and is rewritable that stores image data of a document read by the image reading device 1 and image data for printing transmitted from the PC 200 under the control of the control unit 60. It is a non-volatile memory.

  The operation display unit 64 is configured by, for example, a touch panel, displays a screen for notifying the user of various operation keys and various information under the control of the control unit 60, and operates various operation keys displayed on the touch panel. Input information is output to the control unit 60 as an operation signal. The communication I / F 65 is an interface for performing communication between the image forming apparatus 100 (specifically, the control unit 60) and the external PC 200, and is connected to the PC 200 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). .

  Next, an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, particularly a transfer operation of waste toner onto a sheet, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This will be described in detail. In the following description, it is assumed that a certain amount of waste toner is accumulated in the waste toner container 36.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, the control unit 60 is copied by the user based on an operation signal input from the operation display unit 64 or a print instruction signal and image data received from the PC 200 via the communication I / F 65. When it is detected that the start key is pressed or the occurrence of a print job is detected (step S1), if the copy start key is pressed, the image data of the document obtained by controlling the document reading device 1 or the printing is printed. When the job is generated, the image data for printing received from the PC 200 is stored in the image data memory 63 (step S2).

 Subsequently, the control unit 60 performs integrated control of the toner image forming unit 3 and the paper transport mechanism 5, so that each color toner is applied to one surface (front surface) of the paper based on the image data stored in the image data memory 63. The toner image formed using is transferred (secondary transfer) (step S3). Specifically, the control unit 60 controls each toner image forming unit F (FY, FM, FC, FB) of the toner image forming unit 3 to form a toner image of each color on the photosensitive drum Fa of each unit. The toner images of the respective colors are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31 sequentially, and the paper transport mechanism 5 is controlled to transport a predetermined size of paper between the driving roller 32 and the secondary transfer roller 34. Then, a toner image based on the image data is transferred to the surface of the paper.

 Subsequently, the control unit 60 performs integrated control of the toner image forming unit 3 including the waste toner transport mechanism 38 and the waste toner developing unit 39 and the paper transport mechanism 5, so that the waste toner is supplied to the other surface (back surface) of the paper. The toner image formed using the transfer is transferred (step S4). Specifically, the control unit 60 controls the waste toner transport mechanism 38 to transport the waste toner from the waste toner container 36 to the waste toner developing unit 39 (the waste toner is stored in the waste toner developing unit 39 to some extent). In some cases, it may not be transported). The control unit 60 controls the charging unit Fb and the exposure unit Fc of the toner image forming unit FY to form a predetermined electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum Fa, and then controls the waste toner developing unit 39. Then, the waste toner is attached to the photosensitive drum Fa to form a toner image, and the toner image is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31. Then, the control unit 60 controls the paper transport mechanism 5 to transfer the toner image using the waste toner to the back surface of the paper by returning the paper between the driving roller 32 and the secondary transfer roller 34 again. Let

 Here, as the toner image formed using the waste toner, any image such as a lattice pattern, other figures, or characters may be adopted. Alternatively, the transfer may be performed so that the waste toner is uniformly dispersed on the paper. In addition, it is desirable that the concentration of the waste toner transferred to the back surface of the paper is lower than that of the toner image transferred to the front surface so that the user does not feel strange. Or it is good also as a density | concentration which a user cannot visually recognize.

 Then, as described above, the control unit 60 transfers the toner image formed using the waste toner to the sheet, and then controls the sheet conveying mechanism 5 and the fixing unit 4 to convey the sheet to the fixing unit 4. Then, the toner images on both sides of the paper are fixed, and the paper after the fixing processing is discharged to the outside (step S5).

 By the image forming operation as described above, an image based on the scanned image data or image data for printing is formed on the surface of the discharged paper, and an image using waste toner is formed on the back surface. Will be. That is, the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner container 36 is automatically discharged every time a copying operation or a printing operation is performed, and the replacement cycle of the waste toner container 36 is greatly extended. As a result, the burden on the user when the waste toner container 36 is replaced, that is, when the waste toner is discarded can be greatly reduced. Further, since the waste toner is discharged in a state of being fixed on the paper, the waste toner is not scattered around and the workability can be improved.

 Assuming that the waste toner container 36 is full, an operation display unit 64 displays a screen for notifying the user that the waste toner container 36 is full based on the output signal of the full sensor 37. The control unit 60 is provided with a function to be displayed on the screen. As a result, the user can recognize that the waste toner container 36 is full and can replace the waste toner container 36.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The following modifications can be considered.
(1) The above embodiment has been described assuming that the image to be formed on the paper is a color image. On the other hand, when the image to be formed on the paper (that is, the image formed on the document to be read or the printed image) is a monochrome image, the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner container 36 is the residual of each color. Since this is a mixture of toners (that is, black), this waste toner can be reused as a toner for monochrome images.

  As described above, when the waste toner is reused as the toner for the monochrome image, the controller 60 may be provided with the following functions. That is, the control unit 60 determines whether the image to be formed on the sheet is a color image or a monochrome image based on the image data stored in the image data memory 63. After controlling the charging unit Fb and the exposure unit Fc of FY to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum Fa based on the image data of the monochrome image, the waste toner developing unit 39 is controlled to expose the waste toner. A toner image is formed by adhering to the body drum Fa, and the toner image is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31. Then, the control unit 60 controls the paper transport mechanism 5 to transport a predetermined size of paper between the driving roller 32 and the secondary transfer roller 34, thereby forming waste paper on the surface of the paper. The toner image that is the original of the monochrome image is secondarily transferred (in the case of double-sided copying or double-sided printing, it is transferred to both sides of the paper).

(2) In the above embodiment, the case where the waste toner container 36 is provided has been described. For example, the amount of waste toner consumed from the waste toner container 36 is equal to or greater than the amount of waste toner collected by the cleaner 35. If so, the configuration may be such that the waste toner container 36 is not used by connecting the cleaner 35 and the waste toner developing unit 39 by the waste toner transport mechanism 38. With such a configuration, it is possible to completely eliminate the replacement work of the waste toner container 36 by the user.

(3) In the above embodiment, the case where the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner container 36 is automatically discharged every time the copy operation or the print operation is performed has been described. On the other hand, the configuration may be such that the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner container 36 is transferred to a sheet with an instruction from the user as a trigger.

  Specifically, the control unit 60 may be provided with the following functions. That is, the control unit 60 first causes the operation display unit 64 to display a screen for notifying the user that the waste toner container 36 is full based on the output signal of the full sensor 37. At this time, when the user selects the “waste toner discharge mode”, the control unit 60 switches the toner image forming unit 3 including the waste toner transport mechanism 38 and the waste toner developing unit 39 and the paper transport mechanism 5. By performing the integrated control, the waste toner is transported from the waste toner container 36 to the waste toner developing unit 39, and the toner image formed using the waste toner is transferred to a sheet. Note that the paper to be used may be an unnecessary back paper or a paper set in the image forming apparatus 100 in advance.

  In this case, since the user can discard the waste toner only by discarding the discharged paper, the burden on the user when performing the waste toner disposal operation can be greatly reduced. Further, since the waste toner is discharged in a state of being fixed on the paper, the waste toner is not scattered around and the workability can be improved. Note that, in such “waste toner discharge mode”, it is assumed that the discharged paper is discarded. Therefore, as a toner image formed using the waste toner, a large amount of waste such as a solid black image is used. It is desirable to make the image capable of consuming toner. Further, it is desirable to repeat the image forming operation as described above until the remaining amount of waste toner in the waste toner container 36 falls to a predetermined value.

(4) In the modification of the above (3), the case where the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner container 36 is transferred to the paper and discharged in the “waste toner discharge mode” is triggered by the instruction from the user as a trigger. When the “monochrome image mode” is selected, the waste toner stored in the waste toner container 36 may be reused.

  Specifically, the control unit 60 may be provided with the following functions. That is, the control unit 60 first causes the operation display unit 64 to display a screen for notifying the user that the waste toner container 36 is full based on the output signal of the full sensor 37. At this time, when the user selects the “monochrome image mode”, the control unit 60 integrates the toner image forming unit 3 including the waste toner transport mechanism 38 and the waste toner developing unit 39 and the paper transport mechanism 5. By controlling, the waste toner is transported from the waste toner container 36 to the waste toner developing unit 39, and a toner image that is a source of a monochrome image to be formed on the paper is formed using the waste toner, and the toner image is formed on the paper. Transfer.

  More specifically, the control unit 60 controls the charging unit Fb and the exposure unit Fc of the toner image forming unit FY based on the image data stored in the image data memory 63, so that the monochrome image is applied to the photosensitive drum Fa. After forming the electrostatic latent image based on the image data, the waste toner developing unit 39 is controlled to attach the waste toner to the photosensitive drum Fa to form a toner image. The toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31. Primary transfer. Then, the control unit 60 controls the paper transport mechanism 5 to transport a predetermined size of paper between the driving roller 32 and the secondary transfer roller 34, thereby forming waste paper on the surface of the paper. The toner image that is the original of the monochrome image is secondarily transferred (in the case of double-sided copying or double-sided printing, it is transferred to both sides of the paper).

 Such a “monochrome image mode” cannot be executed when the waste toner container 36 is empty. When the waste toner container 36 is empty, a screen for notifying the user of the fact is displayed on the operation display unit 64. It is desirable to provide the control unit 60 with a function to display. Alternatively, the control unit 60 may be provided with a function of automatically returning to the “normal mode” when the waste toner container 36 becomes empty.

(5) In the above embodiment, the case where the waste toner developing unit 39 is provided separately from the developing unit Fd using normal toner has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even toner separation may be possible. For example, the developing unit Fd using normal toner may be shared as a waste toner developing unit.

(6) In the above embodiment, the MFP has been described as an example of the image forming apparatus 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, or a facsimile. . In the above embodiment, the tandem type image forming apparatus 100 has been exemplified. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to other types of image forming apparatuses. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 31 is collected as waste toner is exemplified, but the configuration may be such that the residual toner on the photosensitive drum Fa is collected as waste toner.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Image forming apparatus, 1 ... Document reading apparatus, 2 ... MFP main body, 10 ... Scanner part, 20 ... ADF (Auto Document Feeder), 3 ... Toner image forming part, 4 ... Fixing part, 5 ... Paper conveyance mechanism, 6 , 7, 8 ... paper feed cassette, 60 ... control section, 61 ... ROM (Read Only Memory), 62 ... RAM (Random Access Memory), 63 ... image data memory, 64 ... operation display section, 65 ... communication I / F 200 ... PC (Personal Computer)

Claims (6)

The toner image forming unit that forms a toner image and transfers the toner image to the recording medium, the recording medium transport mechanism, and the toner image forming unit and the transport mechanism are integrated to control the transfer operation of the toner image to the recording medium. In an image forming apparatus comprising a control unit for
The toner image forming unit includes a waste toner collecting unit that collects residual toner after transfer of the toner image as waste toner, and a waste toner developing unit that adheres the waste toner collected by the waste toner collecting unit to a photoconductor. With
The image forming apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the toner image forming unit including the waste toner developing unit and a conveyance mechanism to transfer the waste toner to a recording medium at a predetermined timing.  The controller is configured to control the toner image forming unit including the waste toner developing unit and the conveyance mechanism to transfer a toner image formed using normal toner on one surface of the recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner is transferred to the other surface of the recording medium.  When the image to be formed on the recording medium is a monochrome image, the control unit performs integrated control of the toner image forming unit including the waste toner developing unit and a conveyance mechanism, thereby using the waste toner. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a toner image that is a source of a monochrome image is formed, and the toner image is transferred to the recording medium. The toner image forming unit further includes a waste toner container that accumulates the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit, and a waste toner conveyance mechanism that conveys the waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit. ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the waste toner transport mechanism to transport the waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit. The toner image forming unit includes a waste toner container for accumulating the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit, a full sensor for detecting whether the waste toner container is full, and the waste toner container from the waste toner container. A waste toner transport mechanism for transporting waste toner to the waste toner developing section;
The control unit notifies the user when the waste toner container is full by the full sensor, and informs the user of the fact, and when the user performs an operation of selecting the waste toner discharge mode, A waste toner is transported from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit and transferred to a recording medium by integrated control of the toner image forming unit including the mechanism and the waste toner developing unit and a conveyance mechanism. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The toner image forming unit includes a waste toner container for accumulating the waste toner collected by the waste toner collection unit, a full sensor for detecting whether the waste toner container is full, and the waste toner container from the waste toner container. A waste toner transport mechanism for transporting waste toner to the waste toner developing section;
When the waste toner container is detected to be full by the full sensor, the control unit notifies the user to that effect, and when the user performs a monochrome image mode selection operation, the waste toner transport mechanism And the toner image forming unit including the waste toner developing unit and the conveyance mechanism are integrated to transport the waste toner from the waste toner container to the waste toner developing unit, and form the recording medium using the waste toner. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a toner image that is a source of a monochrome image to be formed is formed, and the toner image is transferred to the recording medium.

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