JP2013044884A - Developer recovery device, developer cartridge, developing device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recover and spread used developer uniformly over the entire area in a developer recovery chamber to improve storage efficiency of waste toner.SOLUTION: In a developer recovery chamber that has a recovery port for recovering used developer on one end, a developer conveying member is provided that has a first spiral screw part that conveys the used developer from the recovery port to the other end side of the developer recovery chamber and a second spiral screw part that conveys the used developer to the recovery port side, which are alternately arranged on the same shaft.

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer collecting device, a developer cartridge, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus that collect used developer.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, development is performed by removing toner remaining on the surface of a photoconductor after transferring a toner (developer) image, and collecting the removed toner as waste toner (used developer) in a waste toner collecting chamber. An agent recovery device is provided.

  A conventional developer collecting apparatus of this type includes a first screw and a conveying screw provided with a second helical screw having a smaller conveying force than the first helical screw on the same axis. The screw is disposed in the waste toner collecting chamber (developer collecting chamber) so that the spiral screw is located on the collecting port side, and the waste toner sent from the collecting port to the waste toner collecting chamber is transported by the screw (developer conveying member). Is rotated to the back side in the waste toner collection chamber (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-128754 A

However, in the above-described conventional technology, the used developer is transported from the recovery port to the back of the developer recovery chamber by the developer transport member having the first spiral screw and the second spiral screw having different transport forces. Therefore, there is a problem that it is insufficient to uniformly store the used developer in the entire developer recovery chamber.
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem.

  Therefore, the developer recovery apparatus of the present invention has a developer recovery chamber having a recovery port for recovering the used developer on one end side, and the used developer is transferred from the recovery port to the other end side of the developer recovery chamber. And a developer conveying member in which the first helical screw part for conveying the used developer and the second helical screw part for conveying the used developer to the recovery port side are alternately arranged on the same axis. .

  In the present invention as described above, when the used developer is recovered from the recovery port, the used developer is transported to the back side by the first spiral screw by the rotation of the developer transport member, and the second spiral screw As a result, the used developer is conveyed to the collection port side and collected so as to form a plurality of hills, and the used developer is further leveled over the entire area of the developer collection chamber by the first spiral screw and the second spiral screw. Therefore, the waste toner can be collected without forming a large mountain, so that the effect of improving the waste toner storage efficiency can be obtained.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of a developer recovery apparatus according to a first embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the developer collection apparatus of 1st Example Perspective view of developing device Cross section of waste toner collection chamber and side plate Side sectional view showing the structure of a printer as an image forming apparatus used in this embodiment Sectional view showing structure of developing device Longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of a developer recovery apparatus according to the second embodiment Explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the developer collection | recovery apparatus of 2nd Example.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the structure of a printer 100 as an image forming apparatus used in this embodiment. The developing device 10 shown in the figure contains toner as a developer inside and develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor, which will be described later, with toner. Can be removed. The LED head 17 is an exposure device that irradiates light, which will be described later, provided on the developing device 10 to form an electrostatic latent image, and the transfer belt unit 14 transfers a toner image onto the medium while conveying the medium. A transfer device for transferring. The fixing unit 15 is a fixing device that fixes the toner image transferred onto the medium to the medium. The discharge roller 16 is a discharging unit that discharges the medium after the toner image is fixed to the outside of the apparatus. It is a medium accommodating means capable of accommodating a medium such as paper.

  Next, the printing operation of the printer 100 will be described. First, the medium is fed out from the medium accommodating portion 11 and sent to the transfer belt unit 14, and conveyed to the developing device 10 by the transfer belt unit 14. The LED head 17 irradiates a photoconductor provided in the developing device 10 with light to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner accommodated in the developing device 10. In the printer 100 shown in FIG. 5, four developing devices 10 are continuously arranged side by side, and LED heads 17 are arranged corresponding to the four developing devices 10, whereby toner images having different colors are formed on the photosensitive members of the developing devices 10. Will be formed.

  The toner image formed on the photosensitive member is sequentially transferred onto a medium conveyed by the transfer belt unit 14, and the medium onto which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 15, and the toner image is fixed on the medium by the fixing unit 15. After that, the medium is discharged by the discharge roller 16, and the printing operation is completed.

Next, the developing device 10 will be described. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the developing device 10. In the figure, the image drum unit 9 is a developing device for developing toner, and the toner cartridge 1 is a developer cartridge containing toner therein, and this toner cartridge. 1 is detachably provided on the upper portion of the image drum unit 9.
The toner cartridge 1 has a toner storage chamber 20 as a developer storage chamber for storing toner, and a waste toner recovery chamber 24 as a developer recovery chamber for recovering waste toner as used developer. The storage chamber 20 and the waste toner collection chamber 24 are provided adjacent to each other.

  A toner supply unit 12 surrounded by a cylindrical member is provided at the lower part of the toner storage chamber 20, and a toner supply port 12 a for supplying toner to the image drum unit 9 is opened at the lower part of the toner supply unit 12. In addition, a stirring bar 23 that is a stirring member for conveying the toner to the toner supply port 12 is provided in the toner supply unit 12. In the waste toner collecting chamber 24, a collecting screw 25 is rotatably provided as a developer conveying member that conveys the waste toner collected in the waste toner collecting chamber 24 to the inside.

The image drum unit 9 includes a photosensitive member 2 as an electrostatic latent image carrier, a developing roller 4, a supply roller 5, a developing blade 6, a toner storage chamber 7, a cleaning blade 8, a first conveying spiral 13, a waste toner collecting chamber. 26 is provided.
The toner storage chamber 7 is a chamber for storing toner supplied from the toner cartridge 1 through the toner supply port 12, and is provided in the upper part of the image drum unit 9, and the photoreceptor 2 is in an opening at the lower part of the toner storage chamber 7. The LED head 17 is disposed immediately above the photoreceptor 2.

  The charging roller 3 is a charging member that uniformly charges the entire surface of the photosensitive member 2, and is disposed on the upstream side of the LED head 17 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive member 2, and the developing roller 4 is a photosensitive member. 2 is a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the toner 2 with toner, and is rotatably disposed in the toner storage chamber 7 so as to be positioned upstream of the LED head 17 in the rotation direction of the photoreceptor 2. ing.

The supply roller 5 is a supply member that supplies toner from the toner storage chamber 7 to the developing roller 4. The supply roller 5 is rotatably disposed in the toner storage chamber 7 so as to come into contact with the developing roller 4. 4 is a toner layer regulating member for thinning the toner on the toner 4, and is attached in the toner storage chamber 7 so that the tip thereof is in contact with the surface of the developing roller 4.
The cleaning blade 8 is a toner removing member that removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 2 after the transfer of the toner image, and is disposed on the most downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 2. The other end is fixed so as to contact.

The waste toner collecting chamber 26 is a chamber for collecting the waste toner removed by the cleaning blade 8, and a first conveying spiral which is a conveying member for conveying the waste toner collected in the waste toner collecting chamber 26 in one direction. 13 is rotatably provided.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the developing device 10. A housing-shaped side plate 27 having the same shape as the side surface is provided on one side of the developing device 10, and the waste toner is collected from the waste toner collecting chamber 26 in the side plate 27. A conveyor belt 18 that conveys waste toner to the collection chamber 24 is provided.

  4 is a cross-sectional view of the conveyance belt 18 and the waste toner collection chamber 24. A recess is provided at one end of the waste toner collection chamber 24, and a collection port 32 that is an opening for collecting the waste toner is provided in the recess. It has been. The side plate 27 is formed with a cylindrical waste toner discharge path 21 that fits into a recess of the waste toner recovery chamber 24, and the toner discharge port 21 faces the recovery port 32 in the waste toner discharge path 21. 22 and a second transport spiral 19 which is a second transport member for transporting the waste toner transported in the side plate 27 by the transport belt 18 to the toner discharge port 22 in the waste toner discharge path 21. Is arranged to be rotatable.

  Here, the waste toner collecting operation will be described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. The transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 after the toner image transfer is removed by the cleaning blade 8 and collected as waste toner in the waste toner collecting chamber 26. The waste toner accumulated in the waste toner collecting chamber 26 is transported to the side plate 27 side by the rotation of the first transport spiral 13 and is sent onto the transport belt 18 disposed in the side plate 27. At this time, the conveyor belt 18 is driven to travel in a predetermined direction, and the waste toner is conveyed above the side plate 27 by the conveyor belt 18.

  The waste toner transported above the side plate 27 is transported through the waste toner discharge path 21 by the rotation of the second transport spiral 19, and is collected from the toner discharge port 22 into the waste toner recovery chamber 24 through the recovery port 32. Is done.

Next, the developer recovery apparatus of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the developer recovery apparatus of this embodiment. The developer recovery apparatus includes a waste toner recovery chamber 24 and a recovery screw 25 provided in the waste toner recovery chamber 24. ing.
The recovery screw 25 includes a shaft portion 30 and a first spiral screw 28 and a second spiral screw 29 integrally formed on the shaft portion 30, and the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral screw 29 are shafts. A plurality, alternately two in the present embodiment, are provided in the direction.

  Both ends of the shaft portion 30 of the recovery screw 25 are rotatably supported at both ends of the waste toner recovery chamber 24, and one end of the recovery screw 25 penetrates the waste toner recovery chamber 24 and protrudes outside the waste toner recovery chamber 24. A gear 31 is attached to the protruding portion, and the recovery screw 25 is rotated when the gear 31 is rotated by a driving means (not shown).

  Further, the first spiral screw 28 is formed with an outer diameter D1 and a pitch P1 between the peaks, and spirals so as to convey the waste toner to the other end side of the waste toner collection chamber 24, that is, the side opposite to the collection port 32. The second spiral screw 29 is formed with an outer diameter D2 and a pitch P1 between the mountains, and is wound in a reverse direction with respect to the first spiral screw 28, and waste toner is collected in the waste toner collecting chamber 24. It is formed in a spiral shape so as to be conveyed to the collection port 32 side.

  The outer diameter D1 of the first spiral screw 28 is larger than the outer diameter D2 of the second spiral screw 29, and the pitch P1 between the peaks of the first spiral screw 28 is the pitch between the peaks of the second spiral screw 29. However, the entire collection screw 25 can convey waste toner from the collection port 32 side to the back side of the waste toner collection chamber 24.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the developer recovery apparatus of the first embodiment having the above-described configuration. Here, for the sake of easy understanding, the most upstream first spiral screw 28 closest to the recovery port 32 is provided. 28a, the first spiral screw 28 downstream of this, 28b, the second spiral screw 29 between the first spiral screws 28a and 28ba 29a, the second spiral downstream of the first spiral screw 28b The screw 29 is 29b.

  FIG. 2A shows a state in which the waste toner 33 is collected up to the position on the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw 29a that are closest to the collection port 32, and FIG. FIG. 2C shows a state where the waste toner 33 is collected up to a position downstream of the spiral screw 29 b, and FIG. 2C shows a state where the waste toner collection chamber 24 is almost filled with the waste toner 33.

  If the waste toner 33 transported from the waste toner collecting chamber 26 by the transport belt 18 as described above is dropped into the waste toner collecting chamber 24 from the recovery port 32 in the state where the recovery screw 25 is rotating, the waste screw 33 is discarded. The toner 33 is conveyed to the back side by the first spiral screw 28a located closest to the recovery port 32 of the recovery screw 25, and the waste toner 33 conveyed to the back side of the first spiral screw 28a is It is returned to the collection port 32 side by the second spiral screw 29a.

At this time, convection occurs between the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw 29a, and the waste toner 33 is transferred to the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw as shown in FIG. It accumulates in a hill around the position of 29a.
As the amount of waste toner 33 collected increases, the first helical screw 28a has a larger conveying capacity than the second helical screw 29b, so that the waste toner 33 is gradually conveyed downstream, and the second helical screw The waste toner 33 conveyed downstream from 29a is further conveyed to the back side by the first spiral screw 28b.

  The waste toner conveyed to the back side of the first spiral screw 28b is returned to the recovery port side by the second spiral screw 29b. At this time, the first spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 28b are returned as in the upstream side. Convection occurs between the spiral screws 29b, and as a result, the waste toner 33 accumulates in a hill shape around the positions of the first spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 29b as shown in FIG. Then, the waste toner 33 is smoothed by the rotation of the collection screw 25 and further sent, and the waste toner 33 reaches the back of the waste toner collection chamber 24 as shown in FIG.

  After that, when the amount of waste toner 33 collected further increased, it was formed between the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw 29a, and between the first spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 29b. As the hill grows upward and laterally, the waste toner 33 is smoothed and the waste toner collection chamber 24 is almost filled with waste toner as shown in FIG.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the first spiral for transporting the waste toner 33 to the back side to the recovery screw 25 for transporting the waste toner 33 from the recovery port 32 of the waste toner recovery chamber 24 to the back side. As a configuration in which a plurality of second spiral screws 29 that alternately convey the screw 28 and waste toner to the collection port 32 are arranged, the first spiral screw 28 that conveys waste toner to the back side when the collection screw 25 rotates, Since the second spiral screw 29 that transports the waste toner to the collection port 32 side accumulates the waste toner so as to form a plurality of hills, the waste toner 33 is leveled over the entire area of the waste toner collection chamber 24 and is locally Therefore, it is possible to collect the waste toner 33 without creating a large mountain, and the effect of improving the waste toner 33 accommodation efficiency can be obtained.

  In addition, although the present Example demonstrated the structure from which the outer diameter of the 1st spiral screw 28 and the 2nd spiral screw 29 differs, the winding number of the 1st spiral screw 28 is set to the winding number of the 2nd spiral screw 29. If the length is increased by increasing the length, even if the outer diameters of the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral screw 29 are the same, the same action and effect can be obtained.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the developer recovery apparatus of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral are arranged on the shaft portion 30 of the recovery screw 25. The screws 29 are integrally formed alternately at three locations in the axial direction. Here, the first spiral screw 28 is formed with an outer diameter D1 and a pitch P3 between the mountains, and the second spiral screw 29 is an outer portion. It is formed with a diameter D2 and a pitch P4 between mountains.

The outer diameter D1 of the first spiral screw 28 is larger than the outer diameter D2 of the second spiral screw 29, and the pitch P3 between the peaks of the first spiral screw 28 is the pitch between the peaks of the second spiral screw 29. The waste toner can be transported from the collection port 32 side to the back side of the waste toner collection chamber 24 as a whole in the collection screw 25 because the relationship is larger than P4.
Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the developer recovery apparatus of the second embodiment having the above-described configuration. Here, for the sake of easy understanding, the most upstream first spiral screw 28 closest to the recovery port 32 is provided. 28a, the first helical screw 28 on the downstream side is 28b, the first helical screw 28 on the further downstream side is 28c, and the second helical screw 29 between the first helical screws 28a and 28b is 29a, the second helical screw 29 between the first helical screws 28b and 28c is 29b, and the second helical screw 29 on the downstream side of the first helical screw 28c is 29c.

  FIG. 8A shows a state in which the waste toner 33 has been collected up to the position on the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw 29a that are closest to the collection port 32, and FIG. FIG. 8C shows a state in which the waste toner collection chamber 24 is almost filled with the waste toner 33. FIG. 8C shows a state in which the waste toner 33 is collected up to the position of the spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 29b.

  If the waste toner 33 transported from the waste toner collecting chamber 26 by the transport belt 18 as described above is dropped into the waste toner collecting chamber 24 from the recovery port 32 in the state where the recovery screw 25 is rotating, the waste screw 33 is discarded. The toner 33 is conveyed to the back side by the first spiral screw 28a located closest to the recovery port 32 of the recovery screw 25, and the waste toner 33 conveyed to the back side of the first spiral screw 28a is It is returned to the collection port 32 side by the second spiral screw 29a.

At this time, convection occurs between the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw 29a, and the waste toner 33 is transferred to the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw as shown in FIG. It accumulates in a hill around the position of 29a.
As the amount of waste toner 33 collected increases, the first helical screw 28a has a larger conveying capacity than the second helical screw 29b, so that the waste toner 33 is gradually conveyed downstream, and the second helical screw The waste toner 33 conveyed downstream from 29a is further conveyed to the back side by the first spiral screw 28b.

  The waste toner conveyed to the back side of the first spiral screw 28b is returned to the recovery port side by the second spiral screw 29b. At this time, the first spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 28b are returned as in the upstream side. Convection occurs between the spiral screws 29b, and as a result, the waste toner 33 accumulates in a hill-like shape around the positions of the first spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 29b as shown in FIG. 8B.

  After that, when the amount of waste toner 33 collected further increased, it was formed between the first spiral screw 28a and the second spiral screw 29a, and between the first spiral screw 28b and the second spiral screw 29b. As the hill grows upward and laterally, the waste toner 33 is smoothed and the waste toner collection chamber 24 is almost filled with the waste toner as shown in FIG. 8C.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the waste toner is transferred to the collection screw 25 that conveys the waste toner 33 from the collection port 32 of the waste toner collection chamber 24 to the back side. In this configuration, a plurality of second spiral screws 29 that alternately convey the first spiral screw 28 that conveys waste toner to the collection port 32 side are disposed, and the waste toner is conveyed to the back side when the collection screw 25 is rotated. Since the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral screw 29 that transports the waste toner to the collection port 32 side accumulate the waste toner so as to form a plurality of hills, the waste toner is discarded throughout the waste toner collection chamber 24. Since the toner is smoothed and can be collected without causing a large mountain locally, an effect of improving waste toner storage efficiency can be obtained. In addition, in the second embodiment, since the outer diameters and pitches of the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral screw 29 are changed, an effect of realizing more uniform waste toner conveyance can be obtained.

  In the second embodiment described above, the configuration in which the outer diameter and the pitch of the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral screw 29 are different has been described, but only the pitch of the first spiral screw 28 or the pitch. Even if the number of turns is changed, the same action and effect can be obtained, and fine adjustment of the conveying capacity can be achieved by appropriately changing the outer diameter, pitch, and number of turns of the first spiral screw 28 and the second spiral screw 29. It becomes possible.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the toner cartridge provided with the developer recovery device has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a waste toner recovery box that recovers waste toner from the transfer belt.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the printer is used as the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention can also be applied to a copier, a FAX, and a complex machine in which these are combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner cartridge 2 Photoconductor 3 Charging roller 4 Developing roller 5 Supply roller 6 Developing blade 7 Toner storage chamber 8 Cleaning blade 9 Image drum unit 10 Developing device 11 Medium storage part 12 Toner supply part 13 First conveyance spiral 14 Transfer belt unit 15 Fixing unit 16 Discharging roller 17 LED head 18 Conveying belt 19 Second conveying spiral 20 Toner storage chamber 21 Waste toner discharging path 22 Toner discharging port 23 Stirring bar 24 Waste toner collecting chamber 25 Collecting screw 26 Waste toner collecting chamber 27 Side plate 28 First spiral screw 29 Second spiral screw 30 Shaft portion 31 Gear 32 Collection port 33 Waste toner 100 Printer

Claims (10)

A first spiral screw portion for conveying the used developer from the collection port to the other end side of the developer collection chamber in a developer collection chamber having a collection port for collecting the used developer on one end side; A developer collecting apparatus comprising: a developer conveying member in which second spiral screw portions for conveying used developer to the collecting port side are alternately arranged on the same axis.   The developer collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the first spiral screw portion and the second spiral screw portion are provided.   3. The developer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a length of the first spiral screw portion is longer than a length of the second spiral screw portion. 4.   4. The developer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the first spiral screw portion is larger than a diameter of the second spiral screw portion. 5.   5. The developer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pitch of the first spiral screw portion is larger than a pitch of the second spiral screw portion. 6.   6. The developer according to claim 1, wherein a diameter and a pitch of the first spiral screw portion are larger than a diameter and a pitch of the second spiral screw portion, respectively. Recovery device.   A first spiral screw portion for conveying the used developer from the collection port to the other end side of the developer collection chamber in a developer collection chamber having a collection port for collecting the used developer on one end side; A developer cartridge comprising a developer collecting device including a developer conveying member in which second spiral screw portions for conveying used developer to the collection port side are alternately arranged on the same axis.   A first spiral screw portion for conveying the used developer from the collection port to the other end side of the developer collection chamber in a developer collection chamber having a collection port for collecting the used developer on one end side; It has a developer cartridge provided with a developer collecting device provided with a developer conveying member in which second spiral screw portions for conveying used developer to the collection port side are alternately arranged on the same axis. Development device.   A first spiral screw portion for conveying the used developer from the collection port to the other end side of the developer collection chamber in a developer collection chamber having a collection port for collecting the used developer on one end side; An image forming apparatus, comprising: a developer collecting device provided with a developer conveying member in which second spiral screw portions for conveying used developer to the collecting port side are alternately arranged on the same axis.   A first spiral screw portion for conveying the used developer from the collection port to the other end side of the developer collection chamber in a developer collection chamber having a collection port for collecting the used developer on one end side; A developing device having a developer cartridge provided with a developer collecting device provided with a developer conveying member in which second spiral screw portions for conveying used developer to the collecting port side are alternately arranged on the same axis is mounted. An image forming apparatus.

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