JP2010164633A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of facilitating maintenance work of a cleaning unit and achieving downsizing thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus (color printer 1) includes: image forming units (a plurality of process units 5); a belt (intermediate belt 61) which faces a plurality of photoreceptor drums 51 from beneath; and the cleaning unit 9 for collecting deposits deposited on the belt. The cleaning unit 9 is arranged on the same side as that of the image forming units with respect to the belt, and the unit 9 can be drawn from the apparatus body 10 together with the image forming units. The deposit container (waste toner box 93) of the cleaning unit 9 includes: a plurality of hollow chambers 93A to 93E connected so as to be spaced from each other in the vertical direction; and rotary conveying bodies (agitators 94 and 95) placed in each chambers 93A to 93E for scraping up the deposits in the chamber to the upper chamber with rotation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a color laser printer.

  In general, as an image forming apparatus such as a color laser printer, a plurality of developing units that respectively store different color toners, a plurality of photosensitive drums to which toner is supplied from each of the plurality of developing units via a developing roller, and a plurality of developing units There is known a belt including a belt disposed opposite to the photosensitive drum and a plurality of transfer units that draw toner held by the plurality of photosensitive drums toward the belt. In this image forming apparatus, a plurality of photosensitive drums are arranged in parallel, and a transfer bias corresponding to the charging polarity of the toner when the paper conveyed by the belt passes between each photosensitive drum and each transfer device. Is applied to each transfer unit, the different color toner held on each photosensitive drum is attracted by each transfer unit and sequentially transferred onto the sheet, and color printing on the sheet is performed.

As such an image forming apparatus, in order to facilitate the maintenance of the photosensitive drum, the photosensitive drum of each color is integrally held by the photosensitive drum unit, and the photosensitive drum unit is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. Are known. Also, an image equipped with a cleaning unit that contacts the conveyor belt to remove and collect deposits in order to remove deposits such as toner and paper dust that have adhered to the conveyor belt due to paper jams. Forming devices are known.
For example, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the photosensitive drum unit is disposed above the conveyance belt, and the cleaning unit is disposed below the conveyance belt through which the sheet does not pass.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-98772

In an image forming apparatus including a cleaning unit, it is necessary to maintain the cleaning unit in order to discard the deposits removed and collected from the transport belt.
However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, since the cleaning unit is disposed below the conveyor belt, the conveyor belt has to be removed during maintenance of the cleaning unit, and there is a problem that maintenance work is complicated.
Further, when the photosensitive drum unit is disposed above the transport belt and the cleaning unit is disposed below the transport belt, there is a problem that the height of the apparatus becomes large and the apparatus becomes large.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus capable of facilitating maintenance work of a cleaning unit and reducing the size of the apparatus.

  The present invention that solves the above-mentioned problems includes an image forming unit having a plurality of photosensitive drums arranged in parallel, a belt arranged facing the plurality of photosensitive drums from below, and contacting the belt and adhering to the belt An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning member that collects collected deposits; and a cleaning unit that includes a deposit container that accommodates the collected deposits, wherein the cleaning unit forms the image on the belt. The unit is arranged on the same side as the unit and is configured to be able to be pulled out from the apparatus main body integrally with the image forming unit, and the adhering material container includes a plurality of hollow rooms connected side by side in the vertical direction, It is provided in a room, and it has a rotation conveyance body which scrapes up the deposit in a room to the upper room by rotating.

  According to the present invention, since the cleaning unit is disposed on the same side as the image forming unit with respect to the belt, the cleaning can be performed with the same ease as detaching the image forming unit from the apparatus main body without removing the belt. Unit maintenance can be performed. Further, since the cleaning unit can be pulled out from the apparatus main body integrally with the image forming unit, maintenance is easily performed by one operation of pulling out the integrated unit at the time of maintenance of either the cleaning unit or the image forming unit. be able to.

  Further, since the cleaning unit is disposed on the same side as the image forming unit with respect to the belt, the apparatus can be reduced in size as compared with the structure in which the image forming unit and the cleaning unit are separately disposed above and below the belt. . In addition, a plurality of rooms are arranged in the vertical direction, and the adhering matter is picked up and collected by the rotating conveyance body to the upper room, so that a large amount of adhering matter can be collected even if the cleaning unit is arranged above the belt together with the image forming unit. It can be recovered.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate the maintenance work of the cleaning unit and to reduce the size of the apparatus.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of a color printer as an example of an image forming apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which pulled out the drawer. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which removed the process cartridge and the cleaning unit from the drawer. It is sectional drawing (a) which shows each chamber of a cleaning unit, and sectional drawing (b) which shows each gear in a gear box simply by a pitch circle. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship among a communication path, an intermediate transfer belt, and an agitator. It is a perspective view showing a waste toner box. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of arrangement | positioning of each room.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of a color printer as an example of an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drawer is pulled out. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the process cartridge and the cleaning unit are removed from the drawer.

  In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user when using the color printer. That is, in FIG. 1, the right side toward the paper surface is “front side (front side)”, the left side toward the paper surface is “rear side (back side)”, the back side toward the paper surface is “right side”, and it faces the paper surface. Let the near side be the “left side”. In addition, the vertical direction toward the page is defined as the “vertical direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a color printer 1 includes a paper feed tray 2, a paper feed unit 3, a scanner unit 4, a plurality of process cartridges 5 as an example of an image forming unit, a belt unit 6, and a fixing device. 7 is mainly provided.

  The paper feed tray 2 is a tray that accommodates the paper P, and is detachable in the front-rear direction with respect to the apparatus main body 10 from the front side of the apparatus main body 10.

  The paper feed unit 3 is a device that supplies the paper P in the paper feed tray 2 to the belt unit 6, and includes a known paper feed roller, registration roller (reference numeral omitted), and the like.

  The scanner unit 4 has a known structure mainly including a laser light emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror, a lens, a reflecting mirror, and the like that are not shown. The scanner unit 4 irradiates the surface of a photosensitive drum 51 of each process cartridge 5 to be described later with high-speed scanning.

  Each process cartridge 5 includes a rotatable photosensitive drum 51 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, as well as a known charger, a toner storage chamber, a supply roller, a developing roller, and the like that are not shown. Each process cartridge 5 is detachably supported by the drawer 8 in a state where the photosensitive drums 51 are arranged in parallel at the front and rear (see FIG. 3).

  The drawer 8 can be pulled out and removed from the opening 10A that is opened and closed by the front cover 12 (see FIG. 2). The drawer 8 is provided with a detachable cleaning unit 9 for cleaning the intermediate transfer belt 61 of the belt unit 6 (see FIG. 3). The structure of the cleaning unit 9 will be described in detail later.

  In the process cartridge 5, first, the photosensitive drum 51 charged by the charger is exposed to the laser light emitted from the scanner unit 4, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 51. . Thereafter, the toner in the toner storage chamber is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 51 via a supply roller or the like, and the toner image is carried on the photosensitive drum 51.

  The belt unit 6 includes an endless intermediate transfer belt 61 arranged facing each photosensitive drum 51 from below, and a driving roller and a driven roller (reference numeral omitted) for rotating the intermediate transfer belt 61 while stretching it. A plurality of primary transfer rollers 62 for transferring the toner images on the respective photosensitive drums 51 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 are provided.

  A secondary transfer roller 63 that attracts the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 61 and transfers it to the paper P is provided on the rear side of the intermediate transfer belt 61. As a result, the toner image on each photosensitive drum 51 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 61 and then transferred to the paper P by the secondary transfer roller 63.

  The fixing device 7 is a device that heat-fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper P, and includes a known heating roller 71, pressure roller 72, and the like. Then, the paper P thermally fixed by the fixing device 7 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body 10 by a conveyance roller (not shown).

<Structure of cleaning unit>
Next, the structure of the cleaning unit 9 will be described in detail. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (a) showing each room of the cleaning unit, a cross-sectional view (b) simply showing each gear in the gear box by a pitch circle, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between an intermediate transfer belt and an agitator. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a waste toner box.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 9 is disposed on the same side as each process cartridge 5 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 61, and is supported by the drawer 8, so that the apparatus main body 10 is integrated with each process cartridge 5. (See FIG. 2). The cleaning unit 9 mainly includes a cleaning roller 91 as an example of a cleaning member, a recovery roller 92, and a waste toner box 93 as a deposit container.

  The cleaning roller 91 is a roller that collects deposits attached to the intermediate transfer belt 61 in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61, and specifically, between the cleaning roller 91 and the backup roller BR disposed on the inner surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61. The deposit is collected by applying a predetermined bias to the. The cleaning roller 91 is rotatably supported by the drawer 8 as shown in FIG.

  The collection roller 92 is disposed so as to be in sliding contact with the rear upper side of the cleaning roller 91, and collects the deposits collected by the cleaning roller 91. The collection roller 92 is rotatably supported by the waste toner box 93.

  The waste toner box 93 is a container that stores the deposits collected by the collection roller 92, and is disposed obliquely above the collection roller 92. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, the waste toner box 93 includes five hollow (multiple) rooms 93 </ b> A to 93 </ b> E connected side by side in the vertical direction and the vertical direction (multiple rooms are arranged. Storage portion 93 </ b> F formed along (direction).

  Each of the rooms 93A to 93E is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction, and is arranged in a zigzag manner in the front and rear. In the following description, for convenience, the rooms 93A to 93E are referred to as the first room 93A, the second room 93B, the third room 93C, the fourth room 93D, and the fifth room 93E in order from the bottom. I will call it.

  On the front side of the first chamber 93A, an inflow port A1 (opening) that opens toward the collection roller 92 (the roller that sends the deposits into the first chamber 93A) is formed. A communication passage AB (opening) communicating with the first chamber 93A and the second chamber 93B is formed. A blade 100 is provided at the upper end of the inlet A1 to scrape off the deposits carried by the collection roller 92.

  The blade 100 is a plate-like member and is disposed so as to be in sliding contact with the collection roller 92. The blade 100 is fixed to the upper end of the inflow port A1 by a substantially L-shaped reinforcing plate 110.

  A receiving member 120 is provided below the blade 100 to receive deposits scraped off by the blade 100. The receiving member 120 is formed of an elastically deformable sheet-like member, and is arranged so that one end thereof is fixed to the lower end of the inflow port A <b> 1 and the other end is in sliding contact with the collection roller 92. In this way, the receiving member 120 is slidably brought into contact with the collecting roller 92 to prevent the deposits from falling from between the receiving member 120 and the collecting roller 92.

  In addition, a first agitator 94 as an example of a rotary transport body that rotates to scrape the internal deposits to the second chamber 93B obliquely upward by rotating is provided in the first chamber 93A. Specifically, the first agitator 94 includes a rotatable rotation shaft 94A disposed so as to pass through the center of the first chamber 93A, a proximal end portion fixed to the rotation shaft 94A, and a distal end portion of the first chamber 93A. Two conveying plates 94B that are in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of 93A are provided. The transport plate 94B is formed of a sheet-like member that can be elastically deformed, and transports the deposit in a bent state.

  The first agitator 94 rotates clockwise in FIG. That is, the first agitator 94 rotates the deposit accumulated on the bottom A2 of the first chamber 93A away from the opening (inflow port A1) into which the deposit has flowed, and is obliquely upward rearward. The deposits are fed into a certain communication path AB.

  A communication path AB with the first room 93A described above is formed on the lower front side of the second room 93B, and the second upper room 93B communicates with the third room 93C on the upper front side. A communication path BC (opening) is formed. In the second chamber 93B, there is provided a second agitator 95 as an example of a rotary conveying body that rotates to scrape the internal deposits to the third chamber 93C obliquely above.

  The second agitator 95 includes a rotatable rotation shaft 95A disposed so as to pass through the center of the second chamber 93B, an arm portion 95B extending radially outward from the rotation shaft 95A, and a proximal end at the distal end of the arm portion 95B. And a conveying plate 95C that is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the second chamber 93B. The conveyance plate 95 </ b> C is formed of a sheet-like member that can be elastically deformed, and conveys deposits in a bent state.

  The second agitator 95 rotates clockwise in FIG. In other words, the second agitator 95 rotates the deposit accumulated in the bottom B2 of the second chamber 93B away from the opening (communication path AB) into which the deposit has flowed, and is inclined obliquely upward to the front. The deposit is sent into a certain communication path BC.

  The communication path BC with the second room 93B described above is formed on the lower rear side of the third room 93C, and the third room 93C and the fourth room 93D are connected on the upper rear side. A communication path CD (opening) is formed. An extension extending from the bottom C2 of the third chamber 93C into the second chamber 93B (a chamber located upstream in the conveyance direction of the deposit) is provided at the lower end of the communication passage BC of the third chamber 93C. Part C3 is formed.

  Specifically, the extending portion C3 is formed in an inclined surface shape extending to the inner side of a virtual inner surface B3 obtained by extending the cylindrical inner surface of the second chamber 93B and tilting downward toward the front. . As a result, the deposits transported by the second agitator 95 in the second chamber 93B can be received by the extension C3 before falling to the bottom B2, and the deposits received by the extension C3 are inclined. It slides well on the extension part C3 and accumulates on the bottom C2 of the third chamber 93C.

  Further, in the third chamber 93C, a second agitator 95 similar to the second agitator 95 in the second chamber 93B described above is arranged in a state where the left and right are reversed. Then, the second agitator 95 in the third chamber 93C rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4 in order to convey the deposit accumulated on the bottom C2 of the third chamber 93C away from the communication path BC. It has become.

  The fourth room 93D has substantially the same structure as the second room 93B. That is, the fourth room 93D has a communication path CD with the third room 93C formed diagonally below and a communication path DE with the fifth room 93E formed diagonally above the front. The second agitator 95 is disposed in the same direction as the second agitator 95 in the second chamber 93B and rotates in the same direction (clockwise).

  Further, an extension portion D3 similar to the extension portion C3 formed in the third chamber 93C is formed at the lower end of the communication path CD of the fourth chamber 93D. Therefore, the deposit sent from the third chamber 93C slides on the inclined extending portion D3 and moves to the bottom D2 of the fourth chamber 93D, and then moves away from the communication path CD by the second agitator 95. To the communication path DE.

  The fifth room 93E has substantially the same structure as the third room 93C. That is, the fifth chamber 93E is the same as the communication passage DE formed obliquely below, the extension E3 formed at the lower end of the communication passage DE, and the second agitator 95 in the third chamber 93C. A second agitator 95 is provided which is arranged in the direction and rotates in the same direction (counterclockwise).

  Further, unlike the third room 93C, the fifth room 93E is formed with a communication path EF to the accommodation part 93F on the upper front side thereof. Therefore, the deposit sent from the fourth chamber 93D slides on the inclined extending portion E3 and moves to the bottom E2 of the fifth chamber 93E, and then moves away from the communication path DE by the second agitator 95. To the communication path EF.

  In addition, the width (length in the left-right direction) of each of the communication paths AB to DE described above is formed with the same length, and the width (length in the left-right direction) of the conveying plates 94B, 95C of the agitators 94, 95 is the same length. It is formed with. Specifically, the communication path AB will be described as a representative. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication path AB is formed with a width Y equal to or greater than the width X of the intermediate transfer belt 61. Further, the transport plate 94B of the first agitator 94 is formed with a width Z that is equal to or greater than the width Y of the communication path AB.

  As a result, the adhering matter sent within the width X of the intermediate transfer belt 61 by the cleaning roller 91 and the collection roller 92 is surely scraped off by the conveying plate 94B of the first agitator 94 wider than the communication path AB. The paper is fed all at once into the communication path AB wider than the intermediate transfer belt 61 with little leakage. Therefore, it is suppressed that the deposit | attachment accumulates biased in the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the accommodating portion 93F is a room extending from the upper part of the fifth room 93E to the lower part of the third room 93C, and the second agitator of the fifth room 93E located at the top. The deposit | attachment carried out by 95 can be accommodated. Specifically, the storage portion 93F is disposed above the collection roller 92 adjacent to the first chamber 93A.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the waste toner box 93 configured as described above is provided with a handle 96 in a rotatable manner. The handle 96 is a U-shaped member, and both ends thereof are rotatably supported by the waste toner box 93. The handle 96 is constantly pressed against the upper surface of the waste toner box 93 by a biasing member (not shown), and is raised by the user or the like, so that the user 96 is placed between the handle 96 and the waste toner box 93. A gap for entering a finger such as is formed.

  A gear box 97 is provided on the left side surface of the waste toner box 93. A plurality of gears G1 to G7 are provided in the gear box 97 as shown in FIG. The gear G1 is a gear that rotates integrally with the collection roller 92, and power is transmitted from a drive source on the apparatus main body side via a coupling portion 97A shown in FIG.

  The gear G3 is a gear that rotates integrally with the first agitator 94, and is connected to the gear G1 via the idle gear G2. The gear G3 meshes with the upper gear G4 to transmit a driving force to the upper gear G4.

  The gear G4 is a gear that rotates integrally with the second agitator 95 in the third chamber 93C. The gear G4 is engaged with the two rear gears G5 and G6, thereby transmitting a driving force to the gears G5 and G6.

  The gear G5 is a gear that rotates integrally with the second agitator 95 in the second chamber 93B, and the gear G6 is a gear that rotates integrally with the second agitator 95 in the fourth chamber 93D. The gear G6 meshes with the front obliquely upper gear G7 to transmit a driving force to the gear G7. The gear G7 is a gear that rotates integrally with the second agitator 95 in the fifth chamber 93E.

  By arranging the plurality of gears G1 to G7 as described above, the agitators 94 and 95 are rotated in the above-described directions so that the deposits are transported satisfactorily.

According to the above, the following effects can be obtained in the present embodiment.
Since the cleaning unit 9 is disposed on the same side as each process cartridge 5 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 61, it is as easy as detaching each process cartridge 5 from the apparatus main body 10 without removing the intermediate transfer belt 61. Now, the cleaning unit 9 can be maintained. Further, since the cleaning unit 9 can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 10 integrally with each process cartridge 5, the integrated unit (drawer 8) is pulled out at the time of maintenance of either the cleaning unit 9 or each process cartridge 5. Maintenance can be easily performed with one operation.

  Further, since the cleaning unit 9 is disposed on the same side as each process cartridge 5 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 61, the apparatus is compared with a structure in which each process cartridge and the cleaning unit are separately disposed above and below the intermediate transfer belt 61. Can be miniaturized.

  A plurality of chambers 93A to 93E are arranged in the vertical direction, and the adhering material is scraped up and collected by the agitators 94 and 95, so that the cleaning unit 9 is disposed above the intermediate transfer belt 61 together with each process cartridge 5. Also, a large amount of deposits can be recovered.

  The communication paths AB to DE are formed with a width Y greater than or equal to the width X of the intermediate transfer belt 61, and the agitators 94 and 95 (conveying plates 94B and 95C) are formed with a width Z greater than or equal to the width Y of the communication path AB. The deposits accumulated within the belt width can be passed through the communication paths AB to DE all at once by the agitators 94 and 95, and the deposits can be prevented from being biased and accumulated in the belt width direction.

  Since the agitators 94 and 95 of the rooms 93A to 93E rotate in a direction away from the deposits accumulated in the bottoms A2 to E2 from the openings (A1, AB to DE) into which the deposits flowed, It is possible to suppress the deposits from flowing back into the room upstream in the transport direction.

  Since the rooms 93A to 93E are arranged in a zigzag manner in the front and rear, the dead space can be reduced and the cleaning unit 9 can be downsized.

  Since the extension portions C3 to E3 are provided in the third to fifth chambers 93C to 93E, the deposits conveyed through the upper space in the chamber on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the deposits at the extension portions C3 to E3. Can scoop well.

  Since the accommodating part 93F which can accommodate the deposits carried out from the 5th chamber 93E located in the uppermost position was formed along the several rooms 93C-93E, more deposits can be collect | recovered.

  Since the accommodating portion 93F is disposed above the collection roller 92, the dead space above the collection roller 92 can be effectively utilized.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can utilize with various forms so that it may illustrate below.
In the embodiment, the storage portion 93F capable of storing the deposits carried out from the fifth room 93E positioned at the uppermost position is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. You may employ | adopt the structure which removed the part 93F. Even in this case, deposits can be collected in the rooms 93A to 93E.

  In the above embodiment, the extension portions C3 to E3 are provided in the three rooms 93C to 93E. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the extension portion may be provided at least in the uppermost room.

  In the embodiment, the plurality of rooms 93A to 93E are arranged in a zigzag, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of rooms 200, 201, 202 are stepped along the diagonally upward direction. You may arrange in a shape. Also in this embodiment, the second agitator 95 similar to that of the above embodiment is provided in each of the rooms 200, 201, and 202, and the attached matter can be sent obliquely upward by rotating clockwise in the drawing.

  Even in this embodiment, by arranging the accommodation unit 210 along (adjacent to) the plurality of rooms 200, 201, and 202, it is possible to effectively use the dead space and collect a large amount of deposits. In this embodiment, the blade 100 as in the above embodiment may be provided as appropriate.

  The rotating transport body is not limited to the agitator 94, 95 having the elastically deformable transport plates 94B, 95C as in the above-described embodiment. Also good.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the color printer 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine and a multifunction machine.
In the above-described embodiment, the intermediate transfer belt 61 is used as an example of a belt. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a transport belt that transports a recording sheet to and from each photosensitive drum may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the cleaning roller 91 is used as the cleaning member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a member that is not in a roller shape may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color printer 5 Process cartridge 8 Drawer 9 Cleaning unit 10 Apparatus main body 51 Photosensitive drum 61 Intermediate transfer belt 91 Cleaning roller 92 Recovery roller 93 Waste toner box 93A-93E Room 93F Storage part 94 1st agitator 95 2nd agitator A1 Inflow port A2 , B2, C2, D2, E2 Bottom AB, BC, CD, DE, EF Communication path C3, D3, E3 Extension

Claims (5)

An image forming unit having a plurality of photosensitive drums arranged in parallel;
A belt disposed facing a plurality of photosensitive drums from below;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning member that contacts the belt and collects deposits adhered to the belt; and a cleaning unit that includes a deposit container that accommodates the collected deposits.
The cleaning unit is disposed on the same side as the image forming unit with respect to the belt, and is configured to be able to be pulled out from the apparatus main body integrally with the image forming unit.
The deposit container is
A plurality of hollow rooms connected side by side in the vertical direction;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotary conveyance body that is provided in each room and that rotates to scrape up deposits in the room to an upper room. The opening formed between the rooms is formed with a width equal to or greater than the width of the belt,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary conveyance body is formed with a width equal to or greater than a width of the opening. The plurality of chambers are each formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and arranged in a zigzag,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating conveyance body of each room rotates the deposit accumulated at the bottom of the room in a direction away from the opening into which the deposit has flowed. apparatus. In the room located at least at the top of the plurality of rooms,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an extending portion is formed extending from the bottom into a room located upstream in the conveyance direction of the deposit. The accommodating part which can accommodate the deposit | attachment carried out by the rotary conveyance body of the room located in the highest position among these several rooms is formed along these several rooms. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.

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