JP2012237777A - Waste toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner container that can be configured at a low cost, and suppresses waste toner from blowing out of a recovery port even when internal pressure fluctuation occurs during replacement work.SOLUTION: A waste toner container 23 according to the present invention includes: a recovery port of waste toner; and a waste toner storage space 34 that communicates with the recovery port. The storage space 34 is provided with a waste toner holding member 53 having waste toner collecting and holding function.

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste toner container for storing waste toner removed from the surface of an image carrier and an image forming apparatus including the waste toner container.

  Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using powder such as toner (hereinafter simply referred to as “toner”), an image forming operation is performed using an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum or an intermediate transfer belt. It has been broken. Further, after the image forming operation is completed, toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier (hereinafter referred to as “waste toner”) is collected from the surface of the image carrier by the cleaning device, and then is collected in the waste toner container. And is introduced into the waste toner container from the recovery port.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus in which a conveying screw is provided in a waste toner container and waste toner held between the blades of the conveying screw can be prevented from sticking for a long period of time. ing. Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus capable of collecting waste toner in a waste toner container at high density while realizing space saving of the waste toner container.

JP 2010-224284 A JP-A-5-341697

  The waste toner container as described above is usually formed of a thin resin material from the viewpoint of cost reduction and the like, and does not have high rigidity. Therefore, when the waste toner container is replaced, the waste toner container is deformed to cause an internal pressure fluctuation, and the waste toner is ejected to the outside from the recovery port of the waste toner container in accordance with the internal pressure fluctuation, so that the surroundings of the image forming apparatus and the replacement can be performed. There is a risk of contaminating the clothes of the worker who hits it. However, the conventional waste toner containers as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are not designed in consideration of coping with such problems, and prevent ejection of waste toner from the waste toner containers. I could not.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a waste toner container capable of suppressing ejection of waste toner from a recovery port even when internal pressure fluctuates during replacement work, while having an inexpensive configuration. And

  The waste toner container of the present invention is a waste toner container comprising a waste toner collection port and a waste toner storage space communicating with the recovery port, and the waste toner is collected in the storage space. A waste toner holding member having a holding function is provided.

  By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to collect waste toner in the storage space and stably hold it in the storage space. For this reason, even when the internal pressure fluctuates in the waste toner container at the time of replacement or the like, it is possible to prevent the waste toner in the accommodation space from being ejected from the recovery port to the outside.

  The waste toner holding member may be formed by laminating sheet materials.

  By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to form the waste toner holding member with a simple configuration, and it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and complication of the manufacturing process due to the provision of the waste toner holding member. It becomes possible.

  The waste toner holding member may be formed of a magnetic sheet.

  By adopting such a configuration, when the waste toner is a magnetic toner, it becomes possible to efficiently collect the waste toner by the magnetic adsorption force generated between the waste toner and the waste toner holding member. .

  The waste toner holding member may be a brush roller that is rotatably provided in the accommodation space.

  By adopting such a configuration, waste toner can be efficiently collected while rotating the brush roller.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the waste toner containers described above.

  The present invention makes it possible to provide a waste toner container capable of suppressing ejection of waste toner from a recovery port even when an internal pressure fluctuates during replacement work, while having an inexpensive configuration.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a monochrome printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a drum unit and a waste toner container in the monochrome printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a waste toner container in the monochrome printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a waste toner container shown in FIG. 3 in the monochrome printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the waste toner container which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the waste toner container which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

<First Embodiment>
First, the overall configuration of the electrophotographic monochrome printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a monochrome printer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the right side in FIG. 1 is the front side (front side) of the monochrome printer 1.

  The monochrome printer 1 includes a box-shaped printer main body 2. A paper feed cassette 3 for storing transfer paper (not shown) is provided at a lower portion of the printer main body 2. A paper tray 4 is provided. On the rear surface side (rear side) of the printer main body 2, a rear cover 5 that opens and closes with the lower end side as a fulcrum is provided.

  An exposure unit 6 composed of a laser scanning unit (LSU) is disposed in the front upper part of the printer main body 2, and an image forming unit 7 is provided in the rear part of the printer main body 2. The image forming unit 7 is rotatably provided with a photosensitive drum 8 as an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 8, a charger 9, a developing unit 10, a transfer unit 11, and a cleaning unit are provided. The apparatus 12 is disposed along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 8 (see arrow X in FIG. 1).

  A pair of stirring screws 15 is provided inside the developing unit 10, and a developing roller 16 is provided obliquely above the stirring screw 15. The transfer unit 11 includes a photoconductor drum 8 and a transfer roller 17.

  A transfer paper transport path 18 is provided at the rear of the printer main body 2 from below to above. A paper feeding unit 20 is provided at the upstream end (lower end) of the transport path 18, a fixing unit 21 is provided at the downstream part (upper part) of the transport path 18, and paper is discharged at the downstream end (upper end) of the transport path 18. A portion 22 is provided.

  Next, an image forming operation of the monochrome printer 1 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the monochrome printer 1 is turned on, various parameters are initialized, and initial settings such as temperature setting of the fixing unit 21 are executed. Then, when image data is input from a computer or the like connected to the monochrome printer 1 and an instruction to start printing is given, an image forming operation is executed as follows.

  First, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 is charged by the charger 9, exposure corresponding to image data is performed on the photosensitive drum 8 by laser light from the exposure device 6 (see arrow P in FIG. 1). An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8. Next, the developing unit 10 develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image with toner.

  On the other hand, the transfer paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 3 by the paper feed unit 20 is conveyed to the transfer unit 11 in synchronism with the image forming operation described above, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 8 is transferred to the transfer unit 11. Transferred onto transfer paper. The transfer paper onto which the toner image has been transferred is transported downstream in the transport path 18 and enters the fixing unit 21 where the toner image is fixed on the transfer paper. The transfer paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge unit 22 to the paper discharge tray 4. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 8 is collected by the cleaning device 12.

  Next, the cleaning device 12 and the waste toner container 23 connected to the cleaning device 12 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a drum unit and a waste toner container in the monochrome printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a waste toner container in the monochrome printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the waste toner container shown in FIG. 3 in the monochrome printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The cleaning device 12 includes a cleaning blade 24 (see FIG. 1) for bringing the tip portion into contact with the photosensitive drum 8, a first conveying screw 25 (see FIG. 1) provided above the cleaning blade 24, and a first conveying screw. 25, a second conveying screw (not shown) provided on the right side.

  The cleaning blade 24 extends in the left-right direction within the drum unit 14. The first conveying screw 25 extends in the left-right direction in the drum unit 14 similarly to the cleaning blade 24, and waste toner scraped off from the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 by the cleaning blade 24 is drum unit by the first conveying screw 25. 14 is configured to be conveyed rightward (see dotted line arrow A in FIG. 2).

  The second conveying screw extends in the front-rear direction of the right end portion of the drum unit 14. The rear end portion of the second conveying screw is located in the vicinity of the right end portion of the first conveying screw 25, and the waste toner conveyed rightward in the drum unit 14 by the first conveying screw 25 is moved by the second conveying screw. It is configured to be conveyed forward (see dotted arrow B in FIG. 2). The front end portion of the second conveying screw is located above a discharge port 26 (see FIG. 2) provided at the right front corner of the drum unit 14, and the waste toner conveyed forward by the second conveying screw is self-weighted. And is discharged from the discharge port 26 (see dotted arrow C in FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner container 23 is a large-capacity container having a flat shape. The waste toner container 23 includes a substantially rectangular lid body 27 and a container body 28 whose upper surface is covered with the lid body 27. A recovery port 30 is provided at a position corresponding to the discharge port 26 of the drum unit 14 at the right rear corner of the lid 27, and waste toner discharged from the discharge port 26 is discharged from the recovery port 30 to a waste toner container 23. It is configured to be introduced in.

  The container body 28 is formed of a thin resin material. As best shown in FIG. 4, a flange portion 31 is provided at the upper end portion of the container main body 28, and a lid 27 is welded to the flange portion 31. A screw storage portion 32 is provided at the rear end of the container body 28, a roller storage portion 33 is provided in front of the screw storage portion 32, and a waste toner storage space 34 is provided in front of the roller storage portion 33. ing.

  The bottom surface of the screw storage portion 32 is curved in an arc shape. A third conveying screw 35 is rotatably provided in the screw storage portion 32. The third conveying screw 35 includes a screw shaft 38 that extends in the left-right direction and is pivotally supported by the left and right walls 36 and 37 of the container body 28, and a spiral fin 40 that is provided around the screw shaft 38. The right end portion of the screw shaft 38 is located below the recovery port 30, and a screw drive gear 41 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is provided outside the left wall 36 of the container body 28 at the left end portion of the screw shaft 38. Is provided. When the screw drive gear 41 is rotated by a drive source (not shown), the screw shaft 38 and the spiral fin 40 are rotated accordingly, and the waste toner introduced into the waste toner container 23 from the recovery port 30 is discharged. It is configured to be conveyed to the left (see dotted line arrow D in FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface of the roller storage portion 33 is curved and is provided at a position lower than the bottom surface of the screw storage portion 32. Thereby, the screw storage part 32 and the roller storage part 33 are stepped. A partition wall 42 is provided between the screw storage portion 32 and the roller storage portion 33 in the stepped portion described above. When the waste toner in the screw storage portion 32 reaches a certain height or more, the waste toner gets over the partition wall 42 and falls into the roller storage portion 33.

  A sweep roller 43 having an elliptical cross section is rotatably provided in the roller storage portion 33. The sweep roller 43 extends in the left-right direction and is pivotally supported by the left and right walls 36 and 37 of the container body 28. At the left end of the sweep roller 43 in the longitudinal direction, a roller drive gear 44 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is provided outside the left wall 36 of the container body 28. When the roller drive gear 44 is rotated by a drive source (not shown), the sweep roller 43 is rotated in a predetermined direction (in FIG. 4, counterclockwise on the drawing, see arrow Y). The waste toner in the storage unit 33 is configured to be conveyed to the storage space 34.

  In the present embodiment, the sweep roller 43 has an elliptical shape, so that a gap is formed between the outer peripheral portion of the sweep roller 43 and the rear surface 45 of the roller storage portion 33. Therefore, the waste toner can be conveyed by pushing the waste toner from the roller storage portion 33 into the storage space 34.

  The bottom surface of the storage space 34 has a planar shape and is provided at a position lower than the bottom surface of the roller storage portion 33. Thereby, the roller storage part 33 and the storage space 34 are stepped. Between the roller storage portion 33 and the storage space 34, a sheet-like scraper 46 is provided in a substantially vertical posture in front of the sweep roller 43. The scraper 46 is provided above the stepped portion via a stepped portion and a conveyance interval 49. The lower end portion of the scraper 46 is provided at a position where the scraper 46 can come into contact with the sweep roller 43, and the scraper 46 scrapes off waste toner adhering to the surface of the sweep roller 43. The scraper 46 also has a function as a valve for preventing the backflow of waste toner from the storage space 34 to the roller storage portion 33.

  The storage space 34 communicates with the recovery port 30 via the screw storage portion 32 and the roller storage portion 33. Projected spaces 48 are formed on the left and right sides of the front end portion of the storage space 34 as the left and right sides of the front wall 47 of the container body 28 project forward. In FIG. 4, only the right protruding space 48 is displayed. The front portion of the bottom surface of the accommodation space 34 is inclined upward and forward as the inclined wall 51 is provided between the front wall 47 and the bottom wall 50 of the container body 28.

  In the storage space 34, a waste toner holding member 53 formed by stacking rectangular sheet materials 52 is stored. The waste toner holding member 53 is not fixed or locked to the lid body 27 or the container body 28. The waste toner holding member 53 is formed by bending a nonwoven fabric into a Z shape a plurality of times. As the non-woven fabric constituting the waste toner holding member 53, for example, a material in which fluorinated fibers are raised can be used. The waste toner holding member 53 thus formed has a function of collecting minute toner particles having a particle diameter of 6 to 8 μm contained in the waste toner. The waste toner holding member 53 is disposed such that the fold line 54 extends along the front and rear walls 47 and 55 of the container body 28, and the lowermost fold line 54 is in contact with or close to the inclined wall 51. .

  In order to replace the waste toner container 23 in the configuration as described above, the rear cover 5 is opened with the lower end side as a fulcrum as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Then, the drum unit 14, the developing unit 10, and the used waste toner container 23 are removed from the printer main body 2 in this order from the opening formed by the opening. When the removal is completed, the replacement new waste toner container 23, the developing unit 10, and the drum unit 14 are mounted on the printer main body 2 in this order, and the rear cover 5 is closed. Thereby, the replacement of the waste toner container 23 is completed.

  In this embodiment, the waste toner container 23 can be made inexpensive by forming the container main body 28 with a thin resin material. On the other hand, when the waste toner container 23 is replaced, the container main body 28 is deformed. There is a possibility that the internal pressure fluctuation may occur in the waste toner container 23.

  However, in the present embodiment, the waste toner in the container main body 28 is collected by the waste toner holding member 53 and stably held in the storage space 34. Therefore, even if the internal pressure fluctuation occurs in the waste toner container 23. In addition, it is possible to suppress the waste toner in the storage space 34 from being ejected from the recovery port 30 to the outside. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent the surroundings of the printer main body 2 and the clothes of the operator from being contaminated by the waste toner ejected from the collection port 30, and the operability of the waste toner container 23 can be kept good. In particular, when a large-capacity container is used as the waste toner container 23 as in the present embodiment, the container main body 28 is likely to be deformed due to fluctuations in internal pressure as compared with a small-capacity container, so the waste toner holding member 53 is disposed. Significant.

  In this embodiment, since the waste toner holding member 53 is formed by laminating the sheet materials 52, the waste toner holding member 53 can be formed with a simple configuration, and the waste toner holding member 53 is provided. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and complication of the manufacturing process.

  In this embodiment, since the installation of the waste toner holding member 53 is completed simply by placing the waste toner holding member 53 in the container main body 28, a member for fixing or locking the waste toner holding member 53 is used as the waste toner. There is no need to provide the container 23. In this respect also, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and complication of the manufacturing process.

  Further, the sheet material 52 has a larger surface area ratio (hereinafter referred to as “mass specific surface area”) than the block-like member, for example. Therefore, by forming the waste toner holding member 53 by laminating the sheet materials 52, the surface area of the waste toner holding member 53 is reduced while suppressing the reduction in the volume of the storage space 34 due to the provision of the waste toner holding member 53. It is possible to increase the function of collecting and holding waste toner.

  In the present embodiment, the sheet material 52 is laminated by bending a single nonwoven fabric into a Z shape, but in other different embodiments, a plurality of sheet materials 52 made of nonwoven fabric are placed at a predetermined interval. The sheet material 52 may be stacked by overlapping. In the present embodiment, the sheet material 52 is formed using a non-woven fabric, but in another different embodiment, the sheet material 52 may be formed using a woven fabric or a paper sheet.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the sheet material 52 having no unevenness on the surface is used (see FIG. 4). However, in other different embodiments, the sheet material 52 is rounded once or the like so that the sheet material 52 has a large number of unevenness. Then, the sheet material 52 may be laminated. In this case, since a gap naturally occurs between the stacked sheet materials 52, it is possible to prevent a reduction in the surface area of the waste toner holding member 53 due to the stacking. In this case, when the sheet materials 52 are stacked without placing the sheet materials 52 against each other, the gaps between the sheet materials 52 can be kept good.

  In the present embodiment, the waste toner holding member 53 is disposed so that the fold line 54 extends along the front and rear walls 47 and 55 of the container main body 28. However, in other different embodiments, the waste toner holding member 53 is different from the present embodiment. The waste toner holding member 53 may be arranged so that the fold line 54 extends along the left and right walls 36 and 37 by changing the arrangement direction of.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, the waste toner holding member 53 is formed by laminating the sheet material 52. However, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, a single-layer magnetic sheet 58 is formed. Thus, a waste toner holding member 53 is formed. The magnetic sheet 58 is a rubber magnet sheet, for example, and is disposed along the bottom wall 50 of the container body 28.

  In this way, by forming the waste toner holding member 53 using the magnetic sheet 58, when the waste toner is a magnetic toner, the waste is retained by the magnetic adsorption force generated between the waste toner and the waste toner holding member 53. The toner can be collected efficiently.

  Further, the magnetic sheet 58 has a large mass specific surface area, similarly to the sheet material 52 of the first embodiment. Therefore, by forming the waste toner holding member 53 with the magnetic sheet 58, the surface area of the waste toner holding member 53 is increased while suppressing the decrease in the volume of the storage space 34 due to the provision of the waste toner holding member 53. It is possible to enhance the waste toner collecting and holding function.

  In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the installation of the waste toner holding member 53 is completed simply by placing the waste toner holding member 53 in the container body 28. There is no need to provide the waste toner container 23 with a member for fixing or locking. In this respect also, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and complication of the manufacturing process.

  In the present embodiment, the waste toner holding member 53 is formed using a single-layer magnetic sheet 58, but in other different embodiments, the magnetic sheets 58 may be laminated. As a stacking method, the magnetic sheet 58 may be bent in a Z shape (see the first embodiment), or a plurality of magnetic sheets 58 may be stacked at intervals.

<Third Embodiment>
In both the first and second embodiments, the waste toner holding member 53 is formed by a sheet-like member, but in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, a pair of fur brush rollers 59, a waste toner holding member 53 is formed. Each fur brush roller 59 has a cross-sectional diameter of 40 mm, for example, and is rotatably provided in the accommodation space 34 by pivotally supporting both ends on the left and right walls 36 and 37 of the container body 28. A large number of brush hairs 60 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of each fur brush roller 59. The fur brush roller 59 is configured to rotate by a driving force from a driving source (not shown). By adopting such a configuration, waste toner can be efficiently collected while the fur brush roller 59 is rotated.

  Further, the fur brush roller 59 has a larger mass specific surface area than, for example, a roller having no brush bristles 60. Therefore, by forming the waste toner holding member 53 by the fur brush roller 59, the surface area of the waste toner holding member 53 is increased while suppressing a decrease in the volume of the storage space 34 due to the provision of the waste toner holding member 53. This makes it possible to enhance the collection and retention function of waste toner.

  In the present embodiment, a pair of fur brush rollers 59 are provided on the container body 28, but in another different embodiment, one or three or more fur brush rollers 59 may be provided on the container body 28. When magnetic toner is used as the toner, a magnetic brush roller may be used instead of the fur brush roller 59.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the case where the present invention is applied to the monochrome printer 1 has been described. However, in other different embodiments, other images such as a color printer, a copier, a digital multifunction peripheral, and a facsimile machine are used. It is also possible to apply the present invention to a forming apparatus.

1 Monochrome printer (image forming device)
23 Waste toner container 30 Collection port 34 Storage space 52 Sheet material 53 Waste toner holding member 58 Magnetic sheet 59 Fur brush roller (brush roller)

Claims (5)

A waste toner container comprising a waste toner collection port and a waste toner storage space communicating with the collection port,
A waste toner container having a waste toner holding member having a function of collecting and holding waste toner is provided in the housing space.   The waste toner container according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner holding member is formed by stacking sheet materials.   The waste toner container according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner holding member is formed of a magnetic sheet.   The waste toner container according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner holding member is a brush roller that is rotatably provided in the accommodation space.   An image forming apparatus comprising the waste toner container according to claim 1.