JP2010224284A - Waste toner recovery device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner recovery device which has a toner fixing prevention member capable of preventing the sticking of waste toner to be held among blades of a transfer screw for a long period, and to provide an image forming apparatus with the waste toner recovery device. <P>SOLUTION: When a solenoid 45 is operated to draw a plunger 45a in the solenoid 45, an attachment/detachment link 44 is rotated, a projection 42a of a waste toner fixing prevention part 42 slides and contacts the waste toner T1 among the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 to release the waste toner T. Meanwhile, when the solenoid 45 is operated to project the plunger 45a, and to rotate the attachment/detachment link 44. As a result, the projection 42a is separated from the waste toner T1 among the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, and deformation by pressurization of the projection 42a with the waste toner T1 or pressurization of the projection 42a with the blades 33b and a rotational axis 33a of the transfer screw 33 is suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting apparatus that collects waste toner discharged from a toner cleaning device of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine that forms a toner image, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

In an image forming apparatus configured as an electronic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having at least two of these functions, waste toner collected by cleaning an image carrier such as a photoreceptor is transported to a collection container. It has been known from Patent Document 1 and the like to employ a waste toner collecting device that stores the collected toner and replaces the collecting container when the container is full.
In the waste toner collection device described in Patent Document 1, waste toner discharged from the cleaning device of the image forming apparatus is received and collected from a collection port into a collection container. In addition, it is disclosed that waste toner accumulated under the recovery port is moved into an empty space in the recovery container by a transfer screw so that the space in the waste toner recovery container can be used without waste. However, in the waste toner collecting device described in Patent Document 1, if the waste toner deposited below the collection port adheres to the transfer screw due to the accumulation, the transfer force by the transfer screw is reduced, and the toner There has been a problem that the transfer and diffusion become insufficient, and the waste toner from the cleaning means accumulates in the vicinity of the recovery port and eventually closes the discharge port.

Further, Patent Document 1 discloses that a sheet-like partition member that partitions the vicinity of the recovery port and the rear portion is provided. The partition member is formed with a hole whose center is the same as the rotation center of the rotation shaft of the transfer screw for transferring waste toner, and the inner diameter of the hole is smaller than the outer diameter of the spiral blade of the transfer screw. It is supposed to be. It is also disclosed to form a plurality of dividing lines extending radially from the inner periphery of the hole. The function of this partition member is basically to prevent the waste toner transferred to the rear part from returning to the vicinity of the recovery port. However, the partition member slides between the waste toner and the spiral blades of the transfer screw. It is inferred that it also has a function of preventing sticking of waste toner between the spiral blades of the transfer screw.
However, the inner peripheral portion of the hole forming the hole of the partition member is always in contact with the spiral blade of the transfer screw and waste toner even when the transfer screw is not operating. There is a problem that the inner peripheral portion of the toner and the spiral blade portion of the transfer screw are deformed, and the sticking of the waste toner between the spiral blades of the transfer screw cannot be sufficiently suppressed.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and a waste toner fixing preventing member capable of preventing the fixing of waste toner held between blades of a transfer screw over a long period of time is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste toner collecting apparatus having the same and an image forming apparatus having the same.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a recovery container in which waste toner recovered by a cleaning device is discharged and stored from the cleaning device, and the recovery of the waste toner recovered in the recovery container. A waste toner collecting apparatus having a transfer means for transferring in a container, wherein the transfer means is a screw having a spiral blade attached to a rotating shaft rotatably attached between side walls of the recovery container; The projecting piece that transports the waste toner in a predetermined direction by the rotation of the blade accompanying the rotation of the blade, and slidably contacts the waste toner held between the blade and the blade of the screw to release the waste toner attached to the screw. A waste toner fixing preventing member having the protrusion disposed so that the protruding piece can come into contact with and separate from the waste toner held between the blades of the screw. That.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting apparatus according to the first aspect, the waste toner adhering prevention member includes the protruding piece that is in sliding contact with the waste toner held between the blades of the screw. A holding member to be held is rotatably supported, and the protruding piece is disposed so as to be able to contact and separate from waste toner held between the blades of the screw by rotating the holding member. It is characterized by that.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the waste toner fixing prevention member is configured such that the projecting piece is a blade of the screw during the transfer operation of the waste toner by the rotation of the screw. And the waste toner held between the blade and the blade, and when the waste toner is not transferred by the screw, the protruding piece is separated from the waste toner held between the blade and the blade of the screw. It is controlled as follows.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the screw has a connecting portion that connects the spiral blade to the blade. The connecting portion is rotated by rotation of the screw, and waste toner is scraped out to the outside of the rotation shaft of the screw.
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 protruding piece of the waste toner fixing preventing member is made of a sheet material.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the protruding piece of the waste toner fixing preventing member is in a trailing direction with respect to a rotational direction of the screw. It is in sliding contact with the waste toner.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image carrier that carries a toner image on its surface and rotates, and the toner remaining on the image carrier after the transfer of the toner image carried on the surface of the image carrier is a waste toner. The waste toner collecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the waste toner collecting device includes a cleaning device that collects waste toner and a waste toner collecting device that stores waste toner collected by the cleaning device. It is a waste toner collecting device.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the image bearing member is a photosensitive member on which a toner image is formed by an electrostatic photographic process. A process cartridge that is a unit for housing at least one of a charging device, a developing device, and a cleaning device, which are means for forming a toner image on the photoreceptor, and is detachably mounted in the case. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, a screw having a spiral blade attached to a rotating shaft rotatably attached between the side walls of the recovery container is used as the transfer means, and the rotation of the blade accompanying the rotation of the screw A waste toner sticking prevention member having a projecting piece for transporting the waste toner in a predetermined direction and slidingly contacting the waste toner held between the blades of the screw to release the waste toner adhering to the screw Since the piece is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the waste toner held between the blades of the screw, the waste toner held between the blades and the blades of the transfer screw can be fixed for a long time. It is possible to provide a waste toner collecting apparatus having a waste toner fixing prevention member that can be prevented, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

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. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a side cover provided on a main body case of the printer shown in FIG. 1 is opened. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a waste toner recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a front wall omitted. It is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view in which a side wall is omitted for explaining a state in which a protruding piece of a waste toner fixing preventing member used in the waste toner collecting device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the waste toner fixing preventing member used in the waste toner collecting device shown in FIG. 3 with a side wall omitted for explaining a state in which a protruding piece is separated from waste toner between blade portions of a transfer screw.

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 according to the present embodiment, a printer engine 3, an optical writing device 4 that emits a light beam, and a paper feed that is a recording medium storage unit that stores a recording medium P that is a transfer target. A cassette 5, a fixing device 6 for fixing the recording medium P on which the toner image is transferred, a waste toner collecting container 7 for collecting waste toner generated after transferring the toner image, and the like are provided.
The printer engine 3 is a portion that forms a toner image and transfers the formed toner image to the recording medium P, and is an image carrier yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), black (K). Are provided with four photoconductors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K, respectively. Further, the printer engine 3 includes a charging roller 9 that is a charging device disposed around each of the photoconductors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K, a developing device 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K, a cleaning device 11, a primary transfer roller 12, An intermediate transfer belt 13 as an image carrier and a transfer target, a secondary transfer roller 14 as a transfer device, a belt cleaning device 15 and the like are provided. Here, in the description of the present specification and drawings, the subscripts Y, C, M, and K indicate yellow, cyan, magenta, and black colors, respectively, and these subscripts are used as necessary. Omit.

Each of the photoconductors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a drive motor (not shown) is connected to the rotation shafts of these photoconductors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K. As shown by the arrow by the driving force, it rotates around the center line. 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 photoconductors 8Y, 8C, 8M, 8K The outer peripheral surface is uniformly charged. The optical writing device 4 emits light beams LY, LC, LM, and LK corresponding to yellow, cyan, magenta, and black image data, and uniformly charged photosensitive members 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K. The outer peripheral surface of is exposed. By this exposure, electrostatic latent images corresponding to the image data of the respective colors are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the photoreceptors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K.
The developing devices 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10K contain yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toners, respectively, and the electrostatic latent images formed on the photoreceptors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K have different colors. Supply toner. The supplied toner adheres to the electrostatic latent images corresponding to the image data of the respective colors formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the photoreceptors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K, and the photoreceptors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K The electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface is visualized as a toner image of each color.

The intermediate transfer belt 13 is an endless loop belt formed of a resin film or rubber as a base, and is wound around a driving roller 16, an entrance roller 17, and a tension roller 18, and a driving motor (not shown). When the drive roller 16 connected to is rotated, it is rotated and transferred in the direction of arrow A. 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 of the loop) of the intermediate transfer belt 13, and a transfer voltage is applied to these primary transfer rollers 12, whereby each of the photoconductors 8Y, 8C, and 8M. , 8K toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 13. The toner images formed on the photoconductors 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8K are sequentially transferred and overlaid on the intermediate transfer belt 13, and four color toner images are stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 13 to form a color image. A toner image is formed.
The cleaning device 11 cleans the outer peripheral surface of each photoconductor 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 photoconductor 8 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 13 are removed from the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 8 and collected as waste toner. .
The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13 is subjected to the secondary transfer at the timing when the recording medium P is fed by the registration roller 20 to the transfer position where the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the secondary transfer roller 14 are in contact with each other. When the transfer voltage is applied to the roller 14, the image 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 belt 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 removed from the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 and collected as waste toner.
In the printer 1 according to this embodiment, a waste toner collecting device 7 is detachably disposed from the case body 2 between the optical writing device 4 and the paper feed cassette 5. The waste toner collecting device 7 is a portion in which the waste toner collected by the cleaning devices 11 and 15 is input from the cleaning devices 11 and 15 and the input waste toner is stored. The waste toner collecting device 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 collecting device 7 is almost full, so that the empty waste toner collecting device is removed. 7 is attached. The details of the waste toner collecting device will be described later.

  The photosensitive member 8 that is a component of the printer engine 3, the charging roller 9, the developing device 10 and the cleaning device 11 arranged around each photosensitive member 8 are unitized and housed in a case 22, and the process cartridge 23 ( 23Y, 23C, 23M, and 23K). 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 a side cover provided on the main body case of the printer shown in FIG. 1 is opened. By opening the side cover 24, the printer engine 3 and the waste toner collecting container 7 appear, and the process cartridge 23, the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the waste toner collecting container 7 of the printer engine 3 are replaced, and other maintenance is performed. Can do. The intermediate transfer belt 13, the rollers 16, 17, 18 and the cleaning device 15 are housed in a belt case 13a and unitized.
Next, a waste toner collecting apparatus which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration in which the front wall of the waste toner collecting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is omitted. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view in which a side wall is omitted for explaining a state in which a protruding piece of a waste toner fixing prevention member used in the waste toner collecting apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the waste toner fixing preventing member used in the waste toner collecting apparatus shown in FIG. is there.

As shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner collection device 7 according to the present embodiment includes a rectangular waste toner collection container 30 having a collection port 30a for receiving waste toner fed from the cleaning device 15 or the like on the upper surface. Yes. In the waste toner collecting container 30, the toner 30 is rotatably supported by bearings 30 d and 30 e attached to the side walls 30 b and 30 c of the waste toner collecting container 30 along the longitudinal direction of the container 30. A transfer screw 33 having a rotating shaft 33a is provided.
The transfer screw 33 has a spiral blade 33b on the outer periphery of the rotation shaft 33a, and the rotation shaft 33a is rotated by the rotation drive of the drive motor 31 via the gear 32. The blade 33b is rotated so that the waste toner T in the waste toner collection container 30 is transferred in the direction of arrow B. Accordingly, the waste toner T fed from the collection port 30a and accumulated below the collection port 30a is broken by the rotation of the transfer screw 33, so that the crest is crushed from the collection port 30a toward the back of the waste toner collection container 30. The waste toner T is spread and stored in the container 30 without any bias.

However, if the transfer screw 33 is left embedded in the waste toner T, the waste toner T adheres to the blades 33b and the rotary shaft 33a of the transfer screw 33, and the transfer capability of the transfer screw 33 decreases, resulting in waste. The toner T cannot be transferred in the depth direction of the waste toner collecting container 30. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the waste toner T1 held between the blades of the spiral blade 33b of the transfer screw 33 is brought into sliding contact with the blade 33b of the transfer screw 33 and the rotating shaft 33a. A waste toner adhering prevention member 40 having a protruding piece 42a for releasing the waste toner is disposed.
The waste toner sticking prevention member 40 has a waste toner sticking prevention part 42 made of a sheet material having elasticity such as a polyester sheet whose one end is fastened to the holding member 41. The waste toner adhering prevention portion 42 is formed by projecting a projecting piece 42 a in a wavy shape through the recess 42 b at the other end of the sheet, and the projecting piece 42 a is located between the blades 33 b of the transfer screw 33. It is arranged like this. The wavy protruding piece 42 a is formed over a region D (see FIG. 3) having the spiral blade 33 b of the transfer screw 33.
Accordingly, when the transfer screw 33 is rotated, the projecting piece 42a is slidably brought into contact with the waste toner T1 held between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 and held between the blades of the transfer screw 33, and the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 are retained. The waste toner adhering to the rotary shaft 33a is released to prevent the waste toner T from adhering to the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 and the rotary shaft 33a.

In this case, the waste toner fixing portion 42 is disposed so as to be in the trailing direction with respect to the rotation direction C of the transfer screw 33 (see FIG. 4). When the waste toner fixing portion 42 is attached in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the transfer screw 33, the projecting piece 42a is greatly curved with the rotation of the transfer screw 33, and is then released. Noise and vibration are generated when opening. Since this noise is loud, it is harsh, and since vibration is close to the printer engine 3, there is a risk of adversely affecting image quality.
Therefore, in the waste toner collecting apparatus 7 of the present embodiment, the protruding piece 42 a of the waste toner sticking prevention unit 42 is in contact with the rotation direction C of the transfer screw 33 in the trailing direction. With this configuration, the projecting piece 42a is not greatly curved, the generation of noise and vibration is suppressed, and the toner is prevented from adhering to the transfer screw 33, and the resistance of the waste toner adhering prevention portion 42 to the transfer screw 33 is prevented. Can be reduced.
However, if the waste toner sticking prevention part 42 is always left in a state where it is disposed between the spiral blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, the waste toner T or the waste toner T on which the protruding pieces 42a of the waste toner sticking prevention part 42 are deposited are collected. It has been found that there is a case where it becomes difficult to properly dispose of the waste toner that is deformed and adheres between the spiral blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 due to the transfer screw 33 in contact therewith.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the projecting piece 42a of the waste toner adhering prevention unit 42 can be brought into contact with and separated from the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, and only while the transfer screw 33 rotates to transfer the waste toner. When the waste screw T1 is in sliding contact with the blade 33b of the transfer screw 33 and the transfer screw 33 does not rotate and does not transfer the waste toner T, the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner fixing prevention portion 42 is moved to the blade of the transfer screw 33. 33b is separated from the waste toner T1. As a result, the deformation of the protruding piece 42a is suppressed, and it is possible to maintain the long-term toner releasing function by the protruding piece 42a.
In this embodiment, as the contact / separation mechanism of the projecting piece 42a, as shown in FIG. 4, the other end of the holding member 41 that holds the waste toner adhesion preventing portion 42 is attached to the rotating shaft 43. Is supported rotatably between the side walls 30b and 30c, and the rotating shaft 43 is rotated so that the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner adhesion preventing portion 42 can be brought into contact with and separated from the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33. It is said.
That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a contact / separation link 44 that is urged to rotate in the direction of arrow E by a spring member (not shown) is attached to one end of the rotation shaft 43. 44 a is in contact with the plunger 45 a of the solenoid 45. As shown in FIG. 5, when the solenoid 45 is turned off and the plunger 45a is pulled into the solenoid 45, the contact / separation link 44 is rotated in the E direction by a spring member (not shown), and the waste toner adhering prevention portion 42 is obtained. The protruding piece 42a is in sliding contact with the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, and the waste toner T is released.

On the other hand, when the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner fixing preventing portion 42 is separated from the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, the solenoid 45 is turned on and the plunger 45a is moved in the direction of arrow F as shown in FIG. Stick out. By the protrusion of the plunger 45a, the contact / separation link 44 rotates the holding member 41 in the direction of the arrow G about the rotation shaft 43 against the rotational force of a spring member (not shown).
As a result, the waste toner sticking prevention unit 42 attached to the holding member 41 is separated from the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, and the waste toner T1 on the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner sticking prevention unit 42 is separated from the waste toner T1. It is possible to suppress deformation due to pressure contact or pressure contact with the blade 33b of the transfer screw 33 or the rotary shaft 33a.
In this embodiment, as the contact / separation mechanism of the projecting piece 42 a, a mechanism that allows the holding member 41 that holds the waste toner adhering prevention portion 42 to rotate is used, but the projecting piece 42 a is used as the rotation shaft of the transfer screw 33. The waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 can be brought into contact with and separated from the blades 33b by moving up and down with respect to the blades 33a and 33b. However, as shown in the above-described embodiment, when the holding member 41 is rotated so that the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 can be contacted and separated, the structure is simple and the operation capable of reliably contacting and separating is possible. Can be performed, which is preferable.

Further, the contact / separation mechanism of the projecting piece 42a according to the present embodiment causes the waste screw T1 to slide in contact with the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 only while the transfer screw 33 rotates to transfer the waste toner. At the time of non-operation in which the waste toner T is not transferred without being rotated, the protrusion 42a of the waste toner sticking prevention unit 42 is controlled to be separated from the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the conveying screw 33.
That is, the drive motor 31 that rotates the transfer screw 33 and the solenoid 45 that rotates the projecting piece 42a are connected to a control device (control unit) 50 as shown in FIG. Then, the control device 50 detects the amount of waste toner in the lower portion of the recovery port 30a of the waste toner recovery container 30 from the waste toner storage amount detection means (detection means) 51 that detects the storage amount of the waste toner in the waste toner recovery container 30. The drive motor 31 and the solenoid 45 are actuated by the detection signal when the collected amount reaches a predetermined amount to rotate the transfer screw 33, and the solenoid 45 is turned off, and the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner adhering prevention portion 42 is moved. The waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 is brought into sliding contact.
Such operations of the drive motor 31 and the solenoid 45 are operated for a predetermined time based on a detection signal from the detection means 51 that detects the amount of waste toner contained in the waste toner collection container 30. When the detection signal from the detection means 51 is received even after the predetermined time has elapsed, the replacement of the waste toner collection container 30 is displayed on the assumption that the amount of waste toner contained in the waste toner collection container 30 is full.

On the other hand, after the operation of the drive motor 31 and the solenoid 45 is operated for a predetermined time based on the detection signal from the detection means 51 for detecting the amount of waste toner contained in the waste toner collection container 30, the detection from the detection means 51 is performed. If no signal is detected, it is determined that the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collecting container 30 is not full, and the operation of the drive motor 31 and solenoid 45 is stopped (when not operating). As a result, the rotation of the transfer screw 33 is stopped, and the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner adhesion preventing portion 42 is separated from the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33.
As described above, the operation of the drive motor 31 and the solenoid 45 can be interlocked so that the waste toner T1 between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33 can be properly disengaged by the protruding piece 42a of the waste toner sticking prevention unit 42. At the same time, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the protruding piece 42a and to maintain the long-term toner releasing operation by the protruding piece 42a.
Moreover, in the transfer screw 33 which can be set in this embodiment, the connection part 46 which connects between the blade | wings 33b of the transfer screw 33 along the rotating shaft 33a is formed. Accordingly, when the transfer screw 33 is rotated, the waste toner T is scraped out to the outside in the rotation direction of the rotary shaft 33a by the connecting portion 46 to diffuse the waste toner in the width direction in the waste toner collection container 30. it can. Such a connection part 46 does not need to be formed at all between the blades 33b of the transfer screw 33, and is preferably formed with an appropriate interval. In this case, the connecting portion 46 may be formed not only in the same direction with respect to the rotation shaft 33a but also at a position facing the rotation shaft 33a, for example.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color printer, 2 Main body case, 3 Printer engine, 4 Optical writing device, 6 Fixing device, 7 Waste toner collection device, 8Y, 8C, 8M, 8K Photoconductor, 9 Charging roller, 10Y, 10C, 10M, 10K Development device , 11 Cleaning device, 12 Primary transfer roller, 13 Intermediate transfer belt, 14 Secondary transfer roller, 23Y, 23C, 23M, 23K Process cartridge, 30 Waste toner recovery container, 30a Recovery port, 31 Drive motor, 33 Transfer screw, 33a Rotating shaft, 33b blade, 40 Waste toner adhesion preventing member, 41 Holding member, 42 Waste toner adhesion preventing portion, 42a Projection piece, 42b Recessed portion, 43 Rotating shaft, 44 Contact / separation link, 45 Solenoid, 45a Plunger, 50 Control device 51 Waste toner capacity detection means

JP 2008-83626 A

Claims (8)

A waste toner recovery device comprising: a recovery container in which waste toner recovered by the cleaning device is discharged and stored from the cleaning device; and a transfer means for transferring the waste toner recovered in the recovery container in the recovery container In
The transfer means is a screw having a spiral blade attached to a rotation shaft rotatably attached between the side walls of the collection container, and the waste toner is moved in a predetermined direction by the rotation of the blade accompanying the rotation of the screw. Transferred to
A waste toner fixing preventing member having a projecting piece for sliding the waste toner held between the blades of the screw to come into contact with the screw and releasing the waste toner adhering to the screw. A waste toner collecting device, wherein the waste toner is disposed so as to be able to contact with and separate from the waste toner held between the two. A second aspect of the present invention is the waste toner collecting apparatus according to the first aspect,
The waste toner adhesion preventing member rotatably supports a holding member that holds the protruding piece that is in sliding contact with the waste toner held between the blades of the screw, and rotates the holding member. The waste toner collecting apparatus is characterized in that the protruding piece is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the waste toner held between the blades of the screw. The waste toner recovery device according to claim 1 or 2,
The waste toner fixing prevention member is configured to slide the waste toner in contact with the waste toner held between the blades of the screw during the transfer operation of the waste toner by the rotation of the screw. The waste toner collecting apparatus, wherein the protruding piece is controlled to be separated from the waste toner held between the blades of the screw when the operation is not performed. The waste toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The screw has a connecting portion for connecting the spiral blades to each other, and rotates the connecting portion by rotating the screw to scrape waste toner to the outside of the rotation shaft of the screw. Waste toner collection device characterized by the above. The waste toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The waste toner recovery device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion of the waste toner adhesion preventing member is made of a sheet material. The waste toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The waste toner recovery device, wherein the protrusion of the waste toner adhesion preventing member is in sliding contact with the waste toner in a trailing direction with respect to a rotation direction of the screw. An image carrier that carries a toner image on its surface and rotates, a cleaning device that collects toner remaining on the image carrier after transfer of the toner image carried on the surface of the image carrier as waste toner, and the cleaning In an image forming apparatus provided with a waste toner collecting device for storing waste toner collected by the 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 is a photoreceptor on which a toner image is formed by an electrophotographic process, and the charging device and the developing device are means for forming the toner image on the photoreceptor by the electrophotographic process. An image forming apparatus comprising: a process cartridge which is unitized with at least one of the cleaning devices and is detachably mounted in the case.

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