JP2011118272A - Waste toner collection container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently fill toner into a waste toner collection container. <P>SOLUTION: The waste toner collection container 50 configured to store the waste toner removed by a cleaning member and conveyed by a conveying member via a conveying path is constituted of foldable storage sections 56-1, 56-2, ..., 56-n continuously formed stepwise, each of the storage sections 56-1, 56-2, ..., 56-n is foldably set in the waste toner storage part of the waste toner container, and each of the storage sections 56-1, 56-2, ..., 56-n is successively expanded in accordance with an increase in amount of conveyed waste toner, so that the storage capacity is increased. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste toner collection container and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a waste toner collection container for storing waste toner removed by a cleaning member and conveyed via a conveyance path by a conveyance member, and the waste toner collection container. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided.

  Some image forming apparatuses perform image formation by an electrophotographic process such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, a plotter, or the like, or a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions. In recent years, image forming apparatuses have become more compact in the flow of energy saving and space saving. In addition, although the amount of waste toner discharged during the image creation process does not change, there is a demand from the viewpoint of the appliance that the replacement cycle of the waste toner collection container be as long as possible. Therefore, how to efficiently fill the waste toner collection container with the waste toner is an important issue.

  However, the waste transported to the waste toner collection container includes not only waste toner whose fluidity has deteriorated due to heat and stress by the cleaning drum of the photosensitive drum or intermediate transfer member, but also foreign matters such as paper dust. It is difficult to fill the waste toner or the like depending on the shape of the waste toner collecting container.

  Here, basically, a waste toner collection container that fills waste toner in the height direction using gravity is filled with waste toner more than a waste toner collection container that has a waste toner filling space in the horizontal or vertical direction. It's easy to do. However, since the waste toner collecting container is formed in various shapes depending on the configuration of the image forming apparatus, the waste toner collecting container is not always in an optimum shape for transporting the waste toner.

  By the way, as the waste toner collecting container is larger, it becomes more difficult to efficiently transport the waste toner into the interior thereof. Therefore, the waste toner cannot be transported well unless a large transport screw is attached. When the conveying screw becomes large in this way, a large motor for driving the conveying screw must be used, and the volume of the screw itself cannot be filled with waste toner, and the merit is reduced.

  In Patent Document 1, a conveying screw is provided in a waste toner collecting container, and in order to reduce torque applied to the screw, a continuous driving mode in which a powder conveying driving source is continuously driven and intermittent driving and stopping are repeated. A device having powder conveyance drive control means for switching to the drive mode is described.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a waste toner recovery device that transports via a waste toner transport path and collects the waste toner in a first waste toner recovery container. The waste toner recovery device includes the first waste toner recovery device. In addition to the container, there is described one provided with a second waste toner collection container that is used when the first waste toner collection container becomes full.

  In Patent Document 3, waste toner to be accumulated below the collection port is moved to a predetermined toner feed space portion in the container that is out of the position below the collection port by a toner conveying member, A toner full detection device detects a toner full state in the container, the toner full detection device detects a load fluctuation of the toner conveying member, and when the detected load becomes a load indicating toner full, a toner full state is detected. A waste toner collecting device which is a detection device for judging, wherein the toner conveying member passes through a partition member provided in the collecting container, and the toner is fed into the toner feeding space portion by the toner conveying member. Although it is allowed to be transported to the space, a member is described which is a member that suppresses back-turning from the space.

  In Patent Document 4, the container body of the waste toner collection bottle has a conveyance screw having both ends of the rotation shaft extending outside the container body, and the rotation axis of the conveyance screw with respect to the container body of the waste toner collection bottle is disclosed. There is a description in which direction positioning (thrust positioning) is performed at both outer ends of the container body.

  Patent Document 5 includes a toner recovery container that expands while accumulating toner in accordance with the amount of toner transported by the toner transport body and prevents the toner from leaking, and is based on the toner pressing force of the toner transport body. In addition, a toner recovery device is described in which toner is stored while being compressed in a toner recovery container.

  However, the one described in Patent Document 1 requires a configuration of a waste toner collecting container and control for using it. Furthermore, there is concern about the sticking of the waste toner on the screw surface, and it becomes a problem whether a sufficient conveying force can be maintained for a long time.

  Further, the one described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that replacement of waste toner takes twice as much work and the mechanical configuration becomes complicated.

  Further, in the case of the device described in Patent Document 3, if a partition member or the like prevents a waste toner from being conveyed, stress is applied to the waste toner at that portion, and the waste toner aggregates at the entrance of the conveyance member or the partition member. Will occur and will be damaged.

  Moreover, the thing of patent document 4 has a problem that abnormal noise etc. generate | occur | produce when an excessive torque is applied to a screw.

  The toner disclosed in Patent Document 5 may cause aggregation when excessive heat and pressure are applied to the waste toner. When the toner collection container is expanded by the pressing force of the waste toner, the toner conveyance path is formed. In such a narrow portion, there is a problem that the waste toner is aggregated or fixed, and further, the conveying screw is broken.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a waste toner collecting container capable of efficiently filling toner and an image forming apparatus including the waste toner collecting container.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a waste toner collection container for storing waste toner removed by the cleaning member and conveyed by the conveyance member via the conveyance path, wherein the waste toner collection container is a foldable storage compartment. The storage compartments are folded and installed in the waste toner container storage part, and the storage compartments are sequentially expanded as the amount of waste toner conveyed increases. The waste toner collecting container is characterized in that the storage capacity is increased.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to the first aspect, each of the storage compartments is partitioned and includes a first full detection unit that detects a waste toner full state for each storage compartment. It is characterized by that.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to the second aspect of the present invention, the first fullness detection means includes a single detector for detecting the full state of the storage compartment in the vicinity of the waste toner inlet. The first full detection means outputs when the full storage compartment is moved and the next storage compartment is expanded, indicating that the previous full state is reached. It is characterized by stopping.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to the second or third aspect, the second fullness detecting means for detecting that the storage section of the final stage is full is provided. The full detection means detects that the waste toner collecting container is full.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, when the first full detection unit detects a full state of the storage compartment in the previous stage of the final stage, A warning means for outputting a warning to the effect that the waste toner collecting container is almost full is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, each of the storage compartments is expanded by a belt device disposed below the storage compartment. Features.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein each of the storage compartments is driven to expand by a coil spring.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the waste toner collecting container is disposed in the waste toner container so as to be replaceable as a unit. To do.

  A ninth aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus comprising the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.

  According to the waste toner collecting container according to the present invention, a plurality of foldable storage compartments are connected in series, and each of the storage compartments is folded and installed in the waste toner container storage part. Each storage section is sequentially expanded as the amount of waste toner to be conveyed increases, and the storage capacity is increased, so that the waste toner collection container can be efficiently filled with waste toner.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus arranged around the image carrier. It is a schematic diagram showing a waste toner collection container according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage compartment of a waste toner collection container. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a waste toner collecting container according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a waste toner collecting container according to a second embodiment.

  The waste toner collection container of the present invention is removed by the cleaning member and stores waste toner conveyed by the conveyance member via the conveyance path. The waste toner collecting container includes a plurality of foldable storage compartments connected in series, and each of the storage compartments is folded and installed in the waste toner container storage portion. Is gradually expanded as the amount of waste toner conveyed increases, increasing the storage capacity.

  The larger the waste toner collection container, the more difficult it is to transport the waste toner. Therefore, it cannot be efficiently transported unless a large screw is attached, and the motor that drives the screw becomes large when the screw becomes large In addition, the volume of the screw itself cannot be filled with waste toner, and the merit is reduced. In contrast, in the waste toner collecting container according to the present invention, waste toner is stored in the storage compartments that are sequentially rotated without enlarging the screw so that the waste toner can be efficiently filled.

  In addition, each of the storage compartments of the waste toner collection container according to the present invention is partitioned, and includes first full detection means for detecting a waste toner full state for each storage compartment. In this example, the first full detection means can detect the full state of the waste toner for each storage compartment, so that the waste toner is sufficiently filled in each storage compartment, and the waste toner filling rate is increased in the entire container. be able to.

  Further, the first full detection means of the waste toner collecting container according to the present invention is configured such that one detector for detecting the full state of the storage compartment is disposed near the waste toner inlet. The first full detection means stops the output indicating that the preceding full state is reached when the full storage compartment is moved and the next storage compartment is expanded. According to this example, it is possible to detect the fullness of the waste toner in each storage section with a single detector, the number of parts can be reduced, and the detection of fullness is detected at the same position. The filling amount of the partition part can be kept constant, and each space can be moved stably.

The waste toner collecting container according to the present invention further comprises second full detecting means for detecting that the final storage compartment is full, and the second full detecting means includes the waste toner collecting container. It is to detect that it is full. In this example, since the last storage compartment does not move, the second full detection means can be performed at the position where the maximum amount of waste toner can be filled, and the waste toner recovery container is filled with the maximum amount of waste toner. can do.

  The waste toner collecting container according to the present invention outputs an alarm indicating that the waste toner collecting container is almost full when the first full detecting means detects a full state of the storage compartment in the preceding stage of the final stage. An alarm means is provided. According to this example, it is possible to notify the user that the waste toner collection container is almost full, and convenience can be improved.

  In the waste toner collecting container according to the present invention, each storage compartment is expanded by a belt disposed below the storage compartment. According to this example, even if the amount of waste toner stored in each storage section is large and the weight is increased, the transport force by the belt acts on each storage section, so that stable transport can be performed. .

  In the waste toner collecting container according to the present invention, each of the storage compartments is driven to expand by a coil spring. According to this example, the expansion drive of each storage part can be performed only by the coil spring, and the mechanism for the expansion drive can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, in the waste toner collecting container according to the present invention, the waste toner collecting container can be replaceably disposed as a unit in the waste toner container. According to this example, since the waste toner collection container is configured as a unit, the replacement of the waste toner collection container can be simplified.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the waste toner collection container. According to this example, the efficiency of filling the waste toner collecting container can be increased by reducing the screw and the screw driving mechanism.

  Embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following, a copier capable of forming a full-color image employing a tandem method will be described as the image forming apparatus. However, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the illustrated one, and may be a printer, a facsimile machine, It can be applied to various devices such as a composite device.

  The basic configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus will be described below. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the image forming apparatus disposed around the image carrier, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a waste toner collecting container according to the embodiment. 5A is a side view, FIG. 4B is a front view, FIG. 4C is a plan view, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of expanding a waste toner collection container according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the waste toner collecting container according to the embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes a sheet feeding unit 21 in which a sheet feeding tray 20 that stores sheets as recording materials is arranged at the lower part of the apparatus main body 110, and an image forming unit 30 is disposed above the sheet feeding unit 21. The image forming unit 30 is the image carrier 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K (Y: yellow, M: magenta, C: cyan, K: black, hereinafter, if there is no particular need to specify the color, simply the image carrier 1 As an intermediate transfer member composed of four image forming units as a plurality of image forming means provided with a flexible endless belt wound around a plurality of rollers 11, 12, and 13. A transfer belt 10, an optical writing unit 4 that is a latent image forming device that forms a latent image on each of the image carriers 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, a fixing device 23 that fixes a toner image on a sheet, and the like are disposed. . A transport path for transporting paper is formed between the paper feed tray 20 and the fixing device 23. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a calling roller, and reference numeral 22 denotes a registration roller.

  A space between the roller 11 and the roller 12 of the intermediate transfer belt 10 corresponds to a lower belt running side of the belt. The intermediate transfer belt 10 is provided with a secondary transfer roller 16 serving as a secondary transfer device facing a roller 13 at a portion facing the roller 13, and cleaning the belt surface at a portion facing the roller 11. A device 15 is provided.

  The image forming unit 30 is disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 10 by being disposed so as to face the lower running side. Each image forming unit includes an image carrier 1 in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 10. Around each image carrier 1, a charging roller 7, a developing device 9, and a cleaning device 17 are arranged. Transfer rollers 14 </ b> Y, 14 </ b> C, 14 </ b> M, and 14 </ b> K as transfer devices that perform primary transfer are provided inside the intermediate transfer belt 10 at positions where the respective image carriers 1 are in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 10.

  In this example, the image forming units basically have the same structure, and only the structure of one image forming unit is shown. The only difference between the image forming units is the difference in the color of the toner as the developer stored in each developing device 9.

  The optical writing unit 4 irradiates the surface of each image carrier 1 with light modulated laser light L to form a latent image for each color on the surface of the image carrier. In this embodiment, the image forming unit 30 It is arranged below.

  As shown in FIG. 1, toner bottles 31Y, 31M, 31C, and 31K (hereinafter referred to as toner bottle 31 unless otherwise specified) are usually provided in the upper part of apparatus main body 110. The toner is replenished only by replacement, and the entire process cartridge is replaced only when the process cartridge such as the image carrier 1 or the charging roller 7 is replaced.

In FIG. 1, the toner bottle 31 is arranged on the upper side of the machine for each color, and the toner is conveyed to the process cartridge for each color on the lower side to replenish the toner. With this configuration, it is usually only necessary to replace the toner bottle, so that the cost of the user can be reduced. Further, since the number of times of opening / closing and taking in / out of other parts of the apparatus is reduced, it is possible to prevent toner scattering at the shutter portion and the like, thereby improving maintenance.

When the image forming operation starts, the image carrier 1 of each image forming unit is rotated clockwise by a driving device (not shown), and the surface of each image carrier 1 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging roller 7. . The surface of each charged image carrier 1 is irradiated with laser light L from the optical writing unit 4 to form an electrostatic latent image on each surface. At this time, for example, the image information that is exposed to each image carrier 1 by an arithmetic unit using an image read by the scanner 40 is single-color image information obtained by separating a desired full-color image into color information of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. is there. The electrostatic latent image formed in this way is visualized as a toner image by toner stored in each developing device 9 when passing between each image carrier 1 and developing device 9.

  One of the plurality of rollers 11, 12, and 13 around which the intermediate transfer belt 10 is wound is driven to rotate counterclockwise by a driving device (not shown), thereby driving the intermediate transfer belt 10 to travel, The driven roller is rotated. On the intermediate transfer belt 10 that travels in this manner, the toner images of the respective colors formed by the respective image forming units are sequentially superimposed and transferred by the transfer roller 14, and a full-color toner image is carried on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10. .

  Residual toner adhering to the surface of each image carrier 1 after the transfer of the toner image is removed from the surface of each image carrier 1 by the cleaning device 17, and the surface of the image carrier 1 is neutralized by a static eliminator (not shown). The surface potential is initialized to prepare for the next image formation.

  On the other hand, the paper fed from the paper feed tray 20 is sent to the transport path, and the roller 13 and the secondary transfer roller 16 are fed by the registration roller pair 22 disposed on the paper feed side with respect to the secondary transfer roller 16. Feed to the opposite part. At this time, a transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity of the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 is applied to the secondary transfer roller 16, thereby collectively transferring the toner images on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 onto the sheet. Transcript. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 23, and heat and pressure are applied when passing through the fixing device 23 to melt and fix the toner image. Then, the sheet on which the toner image is fixed, that is, the printed sheet is conveyed to a discharge roller 24 positioned at the end of the conveyance path provided near the upper part of the apparatus main body 110, and a stacking unit configured on the upper part of the apparatus main body 110 To discharge. The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 10 after the toner image is transferred to the paper is removed by the belt cleaning device 15.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 configured as described above, four image forming units are provided so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 10, and toner images of each color are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10. Thus, the image forming time is greatly reduced as compared with a type having a developing device of four colors, transferring a toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 10 and then transferring it onto a sheet. In addition, since the stacking unit is formed on the upper part of the apparatus main body 110, the stacking unit does not jump out from the apparatus main body 110, and the installation area and the occupied area are reduced.

  The above description is for forming a full-color image on a sheet. However, in an actual image forming apparatus, a single-color image is formed using any one of the image forming units of the image forming unit 30. A two-color or three-color image may be formed. When two-color, three-color, or monochrome printing is performed using the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, an electrostatic latent image is formed only on the photosensitive drum of the necessary two-color, three-color, or black image forming unit. , Developed by the same unit, transferred to paper, and fixed by a fixing device.

  The image forming unit is a so-called process cartridge, and the image carrier 1, the developing device 9, the cleaning device 17, and the charging roller 7 are integrally formed.

  Next, the waste toner collection container 50 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a waste toner recovery container according to the embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a storage compartment of the waste toner recovery container. The waste toner collection container 50 of the present invention is directly conveyed to the waste toner collection container 50 from the waste toner discharge port of the developing device including the image carrier 1 as a photosensitive member, the charging roller 7 and the cleaning device 17. Since the image forming apparatus 100 according to this example is a tandem type image forming apparatus including a plurality of developing devices, the waste toner collecting ports 51 of the waste toner collecting container 50 are formed by the number of the developing devices. Further, the waste toner discharge port of the developing device is set in the image forming apparatus so as to enter the waste toner collection container 50, thereby conveying the waste toner into the waste toner collection container 50. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the first storage section to the fourth storage section are expanded.

  Here, the waste toner collection container 50 according to this example is described as storing only the waste toner discharged from the developing device 9, but of course the waste toner discharged from the intermediate transfer belt 10 is stored. Needless to say, the present invention corresponds to both configurations. In the figure, a configuration for conveying waste toner discharged from the developing device is described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner collection container 50 has four waste toner collection ports 51 corresponding to the four-color tandem device. The waste toner collection port 51 is connected to a waste toner discharge port of the developing device. Further, in the waste toner collecting container 50, a spiral waste toner conveying member 52 is installed in order to make the waste toner in the waste toner collecting container 50 uniform. The waste toner conveying member 52 is connected to the outside of the waste toner collecting container 50, and a gear 55 for applying a driving force to the waste toner conveying device 52 is provided. The gear 55 receives a driving force from a motor disposed in the apparatus main body 110.

  The waste toner collecting container 50 has two waste toner full detecting means for detecting that the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collecting container 50 is full, that is, a first full detecting means 56 and a first full capacity. Detection means 59 is provided. The first full detection means 58 and the second full detection means 59 are arranged at different height positions, and are configured by sensors using photo interrupters or the like, respectively, and are stored in the waste toner collection container 50. When the toner reaches the set position, the member is moved by the waste toner, and the sensor outputs a detection signal.

  The waste toner collecting container 50 according to this example includes four storage compartments for storing waste toner, that is, a first storage compartment 56-1 to a fourth storage compartment 56-n, and the first storage compartment 56-n. 1, the second storage compartment 56-2, the third storage compartment 56-3,..., The n-th storage compartment 56-n are expanded in order and filled with waste toner. Here, each of the storage compartments 56-1, 56-2,..., 56-n is expanded by the belt 53.

  The belt 53 has an endless shape, and is provided on a wall on the downstream side (front wall 71 to be described later, see FIG. 4) with respect to the belt moving direction of the storage compartments 56-1, 56-2,. The contact protrusions 54-1, 54-2, which contact and press, and the shielding protrusions which contact the upstream wall with respect to the belt moving direction (rear wall 72, see FIG. 4) and shield the hole 77. .. Are arranged at equal intervals. The driving force of each storage compartment is generated by the contact projections 1, 54, 2,... Pressing the front walls. For this reason, even if the waste toner weight increases, a driving force is applied to each storage section, and the drive can be stably performed.

  In addition, although the number of storage division parts can be set to four, for example, this can be made into arbitrary numbers. Here, in the first storage compartment 56-1 to the (n-1) th storage compartment, the filled storage compartment is filled with waste toner, and this is detected by the first full detection means 58. Sometimes, the storage compartment moves to the back side (right side in FIG. 3) of the waste toner collection container 50. FIG. 3 shows a state in which waste toner is filled up to the third storage compartment. As soon as the storage compartment moves, the full signal of the first full detection means 58 detected in the storage compartment before the movement is reset.

  Further, when the n-1 storage compartment 56- (n-1) is full and the nth storage compartment 56-4 is filled with waste toner, the waste toner full detection is detected by the first. The full detection unit 58 is switched to the first full detection unit 59, and when the full state is detected by the first full detection unit 59, an alarm to the effect that the waste toner collection container 50 is full is transmitted to the user. .

  Note that when the n-1 storage compartment, which is the storage compartment in front of the final storage compartment, is detected to be full, control is performed so that the waste toner near full display can be displayed on the main body of the image forming apparatus. Know the time and increase convenience.

  Next, a configuration example of each storage compartment will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the storage compartment of the waste toner collection container. Since each of the storage compartments 56-1 to 56-4 has the same configuration, the storage compartment will be described with the reference numeral 70 as an example. The storage compartment 70 is a container formed of a synthetic resin or the like, and is folded and stored in a small volume before filling with waste toner (FIG. 4A). It is moved and expanded by the formed contact protrusion 54 so that the waste toner can be filled (FIGS. 4B and 4C).

  The storage compartment 70 includes a front wall 71 on the moving downstream side and a rear wall 72 on the moving upstream side, two bottom walls 73 and 74 disposed at the lower portion between the front and rear walls 71 and 72, and front and rear Two side walls 75 and 76 that are foldable and arranged on the sides of the walls 71 and 72 are arranged. In addition, a hole 77 through which the protrusion 57 of the belt 53 passes is formed in the lower portion of the rear wall 72, and the shielding protrusion 57 is folded in the bottom walls 73 and 74 (FIG. 4A). Are formed with holes 78 and 79 for the passage of.

  When the belt 53 is driven and each of the storage compartments 56-1 to 56- (n-1) is expanded, for example, when 56-1 is expanded, the shielding protrusion 57-1 on the belt 53 is The contact protrusion 54-1 of the belt 53 presses the front wall 71 of the storage partition 56 through the hole 77. Thus, the storage compartment 56-1 is expanded by the operation (see FIGS. 4B and 4C), and the shielding projection 57-2 on the belt closes the hole 77 from the belt moving direction.

  Therefore, the shielding projection 57-1 is formed larger than the contact projection 54-1, and the projections of all stages pass as the size of the hole 77 decreases from that of the nth storage compartment. I try to make it bigger. In this way, the hole 77 is shielded by the shielding projections to prevent leakage of waste toner from each storage compartment to the adjacent storage compartment.

  The control procedure for expanding the waste toner collecting container 50 configured as described above is as follows. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for expanding the waste toner collecting container. First, when the waste toner is started to be collected in the waste toner collecting container 50, the waste toner is first stored in the first storage compartment 56-1 (step ST1), and the storage state of the first storage compartment 56-1 is changed to the first storage compartment 56-1. When the first storage section 56-1 becomes full (YES in step ST2), the first storage section is moved to move to the second storage section which is the next stage. Waste toner is stored in section 56-2 (step ST3). At this time, the full detection signal of the first full detection means 58 is reset and a full detection of the second storage section 56-2 is newly started (step ST4).

  Then, when the first full detection means 58 continues to monitor the target storage compartment (step ST5), and the like detects a full state of the storage compartment (YES in step ST5), this storage compartment is the last stage. It is determined whether the storage section is the preceding (n-1) stage (n-th stage) (step ST6). If it is not the previous storage section (NO in step ST6), the storage section is full. The process of moving the part and storing the waste toner in the storage compartment of the next stage is repeated until the storage compartment of the previous stage is reached (steps ST3 to ST5).

  When the full storage compartment is the front stage of the final stage, a full preliminary warning that the waste toner collection container 50 will be full is output soon (step ST7), and the (n-1) th stage storage compartment. The waste toner is stored in the final storage compartment, and the state of the storage compartment is monitored by the second fullness detection means 59 (step ST8). When the second full detection means 59 detects the full state of the last storage compartment 56-n, it outputs a warning that the waste toner collection container 50 is full and performs a predetermined full process (step ST10). ).

  Next, a waste toner collecting container 80 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a waste toner collecting container according to the second embodiment. The waste toner collecting container 80 according to this example is simpler and can be realized at a lower cost than the waste toner collecting container 50 according to the first embodiment.

  The waste toner collection container 80 according to the present example basically has the same structure as the waste toner collection container 50 according to the first embodiment, and the movement of each storage compartment is placed at the back of the waste toner collection container 80. The other components of the waste toner collection container 80 are the same as those of the waste toner collection container 50 according to the first embodiment, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. I will omit the explanation. In this example, the storage compartment 56 is moved by winding a string 91 or the like attached to the upstream surface with respect to the moving direction of the first storage compartment 56-1 with a coil spring 90.

  In the second embodiment, the first storage section 56-1 is pulled by the four coil springs 90, but the number of coil springs can be appropriately changed according to the total amount of waste toner to be stored. .

  Further, in the second embodiment, the storage compartment can be moved by installing a transport roller at the lower portion of the waste toner collecting container 80. If such a configuration is adopted, it is necessary to move the accommodation compartment. Therefore, the number of coil springs to be installed can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image carrier 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K Image carrier 4 Optical writing unit 7 Charging roller 9 Developing device 10 Intermediate transfer belt 11, 12, 13 Roller 14 Transfer roller 14Y, 14C, 14M, 14K Transfer roller 15 Belt cleaning device 16 Secondary transfer roller 17 Cleaning device 20 Paper feed cassette 21 Paper feed unit 22 Registration roller pair 23 Fixing device 24 Discharge roller 30 Image forming unit 31 Toner bottles 31Y, 31M, 31C, 31K Toner bottle 40 Scanner 50 Waste toner collection container 51 Waste toner collection port 52 Waste toner conveying member 53 Belt 54 Protrusion 55 Gear 56 First full detection means 56-1 First storage compartment 56-2 Second storage compartment 56-3 Third storage compartment 56-4 Fourth storage compartment 56-n nth storage compartment 57 Projection 58 First full detection means 5 The second full detecting means 70 storage compartment 71 front wall 72 rear wall 73 and 74 bottom wall 75, 76 side wall 77 holes 78, 79 hole portion 80 waste toner container 90 coil spring 91 the cord 100 the image forming apparatus 110 apparatus main body

JP 2007-328040 A JP 2006-258920 A JP 2008-83626 A JP 2009-63765 A JP-A-01-44975

Claims (9)

In a waste toner collecting container for storing waste toner removed by a cleaning member and transported by a transport member via a transport path,
The waste toner collecting container is configured by a plurality of foldable storage compartments connected in series,
Each of the storage compartments is folded and installed in a waste toner storage unit,
Each of the storage compartments is sequentially expanded as the amount of waste toner conveyed increases, and the storage capacity is increased.   2. The waste toner collection container according to claim 1, wherein each of the storage compartments is partitioned and includes a first full detection unit that detects a waste toner full state for each storage compartment. The first full detection means is configured such that one detector for detecting the full state of the storage compartment is disposed near the waste toner inlet,
The first full detection means stops output indicating that the preceding full state is reached when the full storage compartment is moved and the next storage compartment is expanded. 2. A waste toner collecting container according to 2.   The second fullness detecting means for detecting that the storage section at the final stage is full, wherein the second fullness detecting means detects that the waste toner collecting container is full. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 2 or 3.   3. A warning means for outputting a warning to the effect that the waste toner collection container is almost full when the first full detection means detects a full state of the storage compartment in the preceding stage of the final stage. The waste toner collection container according to claim 4.   6. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 1, wherein each of the storage compartments is expanded by a belt device disposed below the storage compartment.   7. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 1, wherein each of the storage compartments is driven to expand by a coil spring.   The waste toner collection container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the waste toner collection container is disposed in the waste toner container so as to be replaceable as a unit.   An image forming apparatus comprising the waste toner collecting container according to claim 1.