JP2023023397A - Image forming apparatus having revolvable housing - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cleaning device that has an increased capacity in use, allows easy removal of a transfer device and a toner recovery device, has increased maintainability, and has a small packaging size.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus of an embodiment comprises: an intermediate transfer belt 31 that rotates around a drive roller and a tension roller 34; a cleaning device 75 that recovers toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt; and a housing 74 that is connected with the cleaning device and stores the toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt. The housing includes revolving parts 82, 83 that rotate around a rotational axis extending in parallel to a longitudinal direction of the tension roller.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer device that conveys a toner image and transfers it onto a print medium. The transfer device includes an intermediate transfer belt, a tension roller that stretches the intermediate transfer belt, a drive roller that rotates the intermediate transfer belt, a primary transfer roller that primarily transfers a toner image onto the intermediate transfer belt, and the intermediate transfer belt. and a secondary transfer roller for secondarily transferring the toner image borne on the roller onto the print medium. Untransferred toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt without being transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to the print medium are recovered by a toner recovery device.

1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary imaging device that can be used to implement various examples disclosed herein; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary toner collection device; FIG. 1 is a side view of an exemplary toner collection device; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary toner recovery device with a portion broken away; FIG. 4 is a side view of the folded toner recovery device; FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the folded toner collecting device cut away; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing movement of the housing when the transfer device is pulled out from the image forming apparatus; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing movement of the housing when installing the transfer device inside the image forming apparatus; It is a figure which shows a mode that engagement of a latch is cancelled|released. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a modification of the toner recovery device; FIG. 5 is a side view showing a modification of the toner recovery device; FIG. 11 is a side view showing a modification of the image forming apparatus;

Exemplary image forming apparatuses are described below with reference to the drawings. In the description based on the drawings, the same elements or elements having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted. The drawings may be partially simplified or exaggerated for ease of understanding, and dimensional ratios, angles, and the like are not limited to those described in the drawings.

An image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure is, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a printer. This image forming apparatus includes a cleaning device that collects toner from the intermediate transfer belt, and a housing that accommodates toner particles collected from the intermediate transfer belt. The housing extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tension roller. It includes a pivot that rotates about a pivot axis.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus that forms a color image using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a conveying device 10 that conveys paper 5 as a print medium, and a plurality of developing devices 20C, 20M, 20Y, and 20K that develop electrostatic latent images. , a transfer device 30 for secondarily transferring the toner images of the respective colors onto the paper 5, and a plurality of photoreceptors 40C and 40M on which electrostatic latent images are formed. , 40Y, 40K (hereinafter referred to as "photoreceptor 40" unless it is necessary to distinguish individual components), a fixing device 50 for fixing the laminated toner image on the paper 5, and the paper 5 is ejected. and a toner collecting device 70 for collecting untransferred toner particles. The conveying device 10 , the developing device 20 , the transfer device 30 , the photoreceptor 40 , the fixing device 50 , the discharge device 60 and the toner recovery device 70 are housed inside the casing 15 of the image forming apparatus 1 .

The conveying device 10 conveys the paper 5, which is a print medium on which an image is formed, on the conveying path 12. As shown in FIG. The sheets 5 are stacked and accommodated in the cassette 7, picked up by the sheet feeding roller 11, and transported. The transport device 10 causes the paper 5 to reach the transfer area 13 via the transport path 12 at the timing when the toner image transferred to the paper 5 reaches the transfer area 13 .

Developing devices 20C, 20M, 20Y, and 20K are provided for each color. Each developing device 20 includes a developing roller 110 that causes the photoreceptor 40 to carry toner. The developing device 20 uses a two-component developer containing toner and carrier as the developer. In other words, in the developing device 20, the toner and carrier are adjusted to a desired mixing ratio, and further mixed and agitated to uniformly disperse the toner and provide the developer with the optimum amount of charge. This developer is carried on the developing roller 110 . Then, when the developing roller 110 rotates, the developer is conveyed to the developing area facing the photoreceptor 40 , and the toner contained in the developer carried by the developing roller 110 is formed on the peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 40 . It moves to the electrostatic latent image and develops the electrostatic latent image.

The transfer device 30 conveys the toner image formed by the developing device 20 to the transfer area 13 where the toner image is secondarily transferred onto the paper 5 . The transfer device 30 includes an intermediate transfer belt 31 which is an endless belt to which a toner image is primarily transferred from the photosensitive member 40, a tension roller 34 for stretching the intermediate transfer belt 31, idler rollers 35 and 36, and an intermediate transfer belt. 31; primary transfer rollers 32C, 32M, 32Y, and 32K that sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 31 together with the photoreceptors 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K; and a secondary transfer roller 33 .

The photoreceptors 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K are also called electrostatic latent image carriers, photoreceptor drums, and the like. Photoconductors 40C, 40M, 40Y, and 40K are provided for each color. Each photoreceptor 40 is provided along the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31 . A developing device 20 , a charging device 41 , an exposure unit 42 , and a cleaning device 43 are provided on the periphery of the photoreceptor 40 .

The charging device 41 is, for example, a charging roller that contacts the photoreceptor 40, and uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 40 to a predetermined potential. The exposure unit 42 exposes the surface of the photoreceptor 40 charged by the charging device 41 according to the image to be formed on the paper 5 . As a result, the potential of the portion of the surface of the photoreceptor 40 exposed by the exposure unit 42 changes, forming an electrostatic latent image. Developing devices 20C, 20M, 20Y, and 20K develop electrostatic latent images formed on photoreceptor 40 by toner supplied from toner tanks 18C, 18M, 18Y, and 18K provided facing developing devices 20, respectively. Develop to produce a toner image. The toner tanks 18C, 18M, 18Y and 18K are filled with cyan, magenta, yellow and black toners, respectively. The cleaning device 43 collects toner remaining on the photoreceptor 40 after the toner image formed on the photoreceptor 40 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31 .

The fixing device 50 causes the paper 5 to pass through a fixing nip area that is heated and pressurized, so that the toner image secondarily transferred to the paper 5 from the intermediate transfer belt 31 is adhered to the paper 5 and fixed. The fixing device 50 includes a heating roller 52 that heats the paper 5 and a pressure roller 54 that presses the heating roller 52 and drives it to rotate. The heating roller 52 and the pressure roller 54 are formed in a cylindrical shape, and the heating roller 52 is internally provided with a heat source such as a halogen lamp. A fixing nip area, which is a contact area, is provided between the heating roller 52 and the pressure roller 54 , and the toner image is fused and fixed on the paper 5 by passing the paper 5 through the fixing nip area.

The discharge device 60 includes discharge rollers 62 and 64 for discharging the paper 5 on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 50 to the outside of the apparatus.

The image forming apparatus 1 further includes a control section 80 . The control unit 80 is a computer including a processor, a storage unit, an input device, a display device, etc., and has a function of controlling the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1 . A storage unit of the control unit 80 stores a control program for controlling various processes executed by the image forming apparatus 1 by the processor.

Next, a printing process by the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. When an image signal of an image to be recorded is input to the image forming apparatus 1, the control unit 80 of the image forming apparatus 1 rotates the paper feed roller 11 to pick up and convey the paper 5 stacked in the cassette 7. . Then, the charging device 41 uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 40 to a predetermined potential (charging step). Thereafter, based on the received image signal, the exposure unit 42 irradiates the surface of the photoreceptor 40 with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image (exposure step).

The developing device 20 develops the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image (developing step). The toner image thus formed is primarily transferred from the photoreceptor 40 to the intermediate transfer belt 31 in the area where the photoreceptor 40 and the intermediate transfer belt 31 face each other (transfer step). The toner images formed on the four photoreceptors 40 are sequentially laminated on the intermediate transfer belt 31 to form one laminated toner image. Then, the laminated toner image is secondarily transferred onto the paper 5 conveyed from the conveying device 10 in the transfer area 13 where the drive roller 37 and the secondary transfer roller 33 face each other. The toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 31 after the layered toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 31 is secondarily transferred onto the paper 5 are recovered by the toner recovery device 70 .

The sheet 5 onto which the layered toner image has been secondarily transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 50 . The fixing device 50 heats and presses the paper 5 between the heating roller 52 and the pressure roller 54 when the paper 5 passes through the fixing nip area, thereby melting and fixing the laminated toner image onto the paper 5. (fixing process). After that, the paper 5 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by the discharge rollers 62 and 64 .

The toner recovery device 70 will be described in detail below. The toner recovery device 70 is provided adjacent to the intermediate transfer belt 31 and recovers untransferred toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 31 without being transferred onto the paper 5 . 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary toner collection device 70 and FIG. 3 is a side view of the toner collection device 70. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of the toner collecting device 70 cut away.

The toner recovery device 70 has a cleaning roller 71 , a blade 72 , a conveyor device 73 and a housing 74 . Cleaning roller 71 is positioned between tension roller 34 and idler roller 35 to collect toner particles from intermediate transfer belt 31 . The cleaning roller 71 is a substantially cylindrical roller made of a rigid body such as metal, and extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tension roller 34 .

The outer peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 71 is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 . The cleaning roller 71 rotates about the rotation axis while being in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 by receiving power from the electric motor. The cleaning roller 71 rotates in the same direction as or opposite to the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31 . The cleaning roller 71 receives bias power and is charged during image formation, and collects toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 31 without being transferred onto the paper 5 in the transfer area 13 by electrostatic force. Both ends of the cleaning roller 71 are rotatably supported by supports that support both ends of the tension roller 34 . Therefore, the toner recovery device 70 is connected to the transfer device 30 via the cleaning roller 71 .

The blade 72 is a scraper made of an elastic material such as metal or resin, and separates the toner particles from the cleaning roller 71 . For example, the blade 72 is a thin plate made of stainless steel extending in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31 (the direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31), and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 71 to prevent the cleaning roller 71 from Scrape off adhering toner particles. The cleaning roller 71 and blade 72 constitute a cleaning device 75 that collects toner from the intermediate transfer belt 31 .

The blade 72 has a substantially rectangular planar shape and includes a contact edge 72a and a trailing edge 72b. The contact edge portion 72 a extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cleaning roller 71 . The contact edge portion 72 a abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 71 and scrapes off toner particles adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cleaning roller 71 . The trailing edge 72b is located opposite the contact edge 72a. The toner particles separated from the cleaning roller 71 by the blade 72 move on the blade 72 from the contact edge portion 72 a toward the rear edge portion 72 b and are collected in the collection chamber 74 s inside the housing 74 .

The blade 72 is sandwiched between a pair of plate members 77 and 78 from the thickness direction of the blade 72 . The pair of plate members 77 and 78 are fastened together by fastening members such as screws. The plate member 78 is attached to the second swivel portion 83 of the housing 74 using fastening members such as screws.

The conveyor device 73, which is, for example, a screw conveyor, is provided inside the housing 74, and conveys untransferred toner particles collected in a collection chamber 74s, which will be described later, to the toner cartridge as waste toner or recycled toner.

The housing 74 is connected to the cleaning roller 71 and defines a recovery chamber 74s (see FIG. 4). The collection chamber 74 s is a space that accommodates toner particles collected from the intermediate transfer belt 31 . The blade 72 and conveyor device 73 are arranged in the collection chamber 74s. At least a part of the housing 74 rotates about the rotation axis AX, so that the housing 74 is in a developed state as shown in FIG. state) and a folded state as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 74 includes a fixed portion 81, a first swivel portion 82 and a second swivel portion 83. As shown in FIGS. The fixed portion 81 is a portion forming the upper portion of the housing 74 and cannot rotate with respect to the cleaning roller 71 . The fixed portion 81 has a pair of side walls 81a, an upper wall 81b and a peripheral wall 81c. The pair of side walls 81a are arranged so as to face each other across the recovery chamber 74s in the axial direction of the cleaning roller 71 . Each of the pair of side walls 81 a is connected to the cleaning roller 71 and has a fan shape that widens as the distance from the cleaning roller 71 increases. A side wall 81a of the fixed portion 81 has a recessed portion 81e that engages with a projecting portion 87a of a latch 85, which will be described later.

The upper wall 81b is connected to upper edges of the pair of side walls 81a so as to cover the recovery chamber 74s from above. The peripheral wall 81c extends along the circumferential surface centered on the central axis of the cleaning roller 71 and is connected to the pair of side walls 81a and upper wall 81b. As shown in FIG. 4, a protrusion 81d that protrudes toward the cleaning roller 71 is formed at the lower end of the peripheral wall 81c.

The first swivel portion 82 is a portion that forms an intermediate portion of the housing 74 and is rotatable around a rotation axis AX that coincides with the central axis of the cleaning roller 71 . The first turning portion 82 has a pair of side walls 82a and a peripheral wall 82c. The pair of side walls 82a are arranged so as to face each other across the recovery chamber 74s in the axial direction of the cleaning roller 71 . Each of the pair of side walls 82a is rotatably connected to the cleaning roller 71 and has a fan shape that widens as the distance from the cleaning roller 71 increases.

The peripheral wall 82c extends along the circumferential surface centered on the central axis of the cleaning roller 71 and is connected to the pair of side walls 82a. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of the peripheral wall 82c is formed with a protruding portion 82d that protrudes away from the cleaning roller 71, and the lower end of the peripheral wall 82c is formed with a protruding portion 82e that protrudes toward the cleaning roller 71. It is As shown in FIG. 4, when the first turning portion 82 rotates around the cleaning roller 71 in a direction away from the fixed portion 81, the projecting portion 82d of the first turning portion 82 comes into contact with the projecting portion 81d of the fixed portion 81. to restrict further rotation of the first turning portion 82 .

The first turning portion 82 has an outer shape smaller than that of the fixing portion 81 . That is, the distance between the pair of side walls 82 a of the first turning portion 82 is smaller than the distance between the pair of side walls 81 a of the fixed portion 81 . Also, the distance from the cleaning roller 71 to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 82 c of the first turning portion 82 is smaller than the distance from the cleaning roller 71 to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 81 c of the fixed portion 81 . Therefore, when the first turning portion 82 rotates around the cleaning roller 71 toward the fixed portion 81 , the first turning portion 82 retreats inside the fixed portion 81 . Then, as shown in FIG. 5 , at least part of the first turning portion 82 is accommodated inside the fixed portion 81 .

The second swivel portion 83 is a portion that forms the lower portion of the housing 74 and is rotatable around a rotation axis AX that coincides with the central axis of the cleaning roller 71 . The second turning portion 83 has a pair of side walls 83a, a lower wall 83b and a peripheral wall 83c. The pair of side walls 83a are arranged so as to face each other across the collection chamber 74s in the axial direction of the cleaning roller 71 . Each of the pair of side walls 83 a is rotatably connected to the cleaning roller 71 and has a fan shape that widens as the distance from the cleaning roller 71 increases.

The lower wall 83b is connected to the lower edges of the pair of side walls 83a so as to cover the recovery chamber 74s from below. A blade 72 and a conveyor device 73 are fixed on the lower wall 83b. The peripheral wall 83c extends along the circumferential surface centered on the central axis of the cleaning roller 71 and is connected to the pair of side walls 83a and lower wall 83b. As shown in FIG. 4, a protruding portion 83d protruding away from the cleaning roller 71 is formed at the upper end of the peripheral wall 83c. As shown in FIG. 4, when the second rotating portion 83 rotates around the cleaning roller 71 in a direction away from the fixed portion 81 and the housing 74 is unfolded, the protruding portion 83d of the second rotating portion 83 is moved to the second position. It comes into contact with the protruding portion 82e of the first turning portion 82 and restricts the second turning portion 83 from further turning.

The second turning portion 83 has an outer shape smaller than that of the first turning portion 82 . That is, the distance between the pair of side walls 83 a of the second turning portion 83 is smaller than the distance between the pair of side walls 82 a of the first turning portion 82 . Also, the distance from the cleaning roller 71 to the outer surface of the peripheral wall 83c of the second turning portion 83 is smaller than the distance from the cleaning roller 71 to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 82c of the first turning portion . Therefore, when the second turning portion 83 rotates around the cleaning roller 71 toward the fixed portion 81 , the second turning portion 83 retreats inside the first turning portion 82 . Then, as shown in FIG. 5 , at least part of the second turning portion 83 is housed inside the first turning portion 82 .

As described above, the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 of the housing 74 are rotatable about the turning axis AX. For example, when an external force is applied to the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83, the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 turn toward the fixed portion 81 around the turning axis AX. As a result, the second turning portion 83 moves from the operating position P1 to the retracted position P2. The operating position P1 is the lowest position of the second turning portion 83 . The retracted position P<b>2 is the highest position of the second swivel portion 83 and is a position within the fixed portion 81 . As shown in FIG. 5, when the second turning portion 83 moves to the retracted position P2, at least a portion of the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 are accommodated inside the fixing portion 81, and the housing 74 is folded. state. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the size of the housing 74 is reduced, and the volume of the collection chamber 74s of the housing 74 is reduced. The housing 74 is folded when the transfer device 30 is pulled out of the casing 15 of the image forming apparatus 1 for maintenance of the image forming apparatus 1, for example.

On the other hand, for example, when the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 turn around the turning axis AX in the direction away from the fixed portion 81 due to their own weight, the position of the second turning portion 83 moves from the retracted position P2. Move to position P1. As a result, the housing 74 is expanded as shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the size of the housing 74 is increased, and the volume of the recovery chamber 74s of the housing 74 is increased. During operation of the toner recovery device 70, the housing 74 is used in an unfolded state.

The second turning portion 83 of the housing 74 is provided with a latch 85 that engages the second turning portion 83 with the fixing portion 81 when the second turning portion 83 is arranged at the retracted position P2 and the housing 74 is in a folded state. It may be further provided. The latch 85 is substantially L-shaped when viewed from the side, and includes a base end portion 86 , a tip end portion 87 and an extension portion 88 . The base end portion 86 is fixed to the second turning portion 83 . The distal end portion 87 is located on the opposite side of the proximal end portion 86 , and the distal end portion 87 is formed with a convex portion 87 a that engages with a concave portion 81 e formed in the fixing portion 81 . The extending portion 88 is provided between the proximal portion 86 and the distal portion 87 . The extension portion 88 functions as a leaf spring that biases the tip portion 87 toward the side wall 81 a of the fixed portion 81 .

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 may further include an engagement release portion 90 arranged adjacent to the fixed portion 81 of the housing 74 to release the engagement between the fixed portion 81 and the latch 85 (see FIG. 7 ( a) see). The disengagement part 90 is, for example, a rod-shaped or wedge-shaped elongated member, and is arranged at a prescribed position within the casing 15 . When the toner recovery device 70 is placed at the specified installation position, the engagement release portion 90 releases the engagement between the fixing portion 81 and the latch 85 to separate the fixing portion 81 and the second turning portion 83. .

Next, functions of the toner recovery device 70 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c). During maintenance of the image forming apparatus 1 , the transfer device 30 is removed from the casing 15 of the image forming apparatus 1 . At this time, the transfer device 30 is pulled out in the X direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. When the transfer device 30 is pulled out in the X direction, the toner collection device 70 connected to the transfer device 30 moves in the X direction together with the transfer device 30 as shown in FIG. Contact. When the transfer device 30 moves further in the X direction, contact between the developing device 20 and the housing 74 acts to lift the second turning portion 83 upward, and the second turning portion 83 moves around the cleaning roller 71 toward the fixed portion 81 side. to rotate. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the second turning portion 83 moves upward.

When the transfer device 30 moves further in the X direction from the position shown in FIG. 7(b), the contact between the developing device 20 and the housing 74 causes the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 82 to move, as shown in FIG. 7(c). A force acts to lift the turning portion 83 upward, and the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 turn around the cleaning roller 71 further. As a result, the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 are stored inside the fixed portion 81, and the housing 74 is folded.

At this time, the latch 85 rotates as the second turning portion 83 rotates, and the convex portion 87a of the latch 85 moves to a position facing the concave portion 81e formed in the fixed portion 81 . The protrusion 87a of the latch 85 is engaged with the recess 81e by the biasing force of the extension 88. As shown in FIG. As a result, the second turning portion 83 is fixed to the fixing portion 81, and the housing 74 is locked in a folded state. Since the size of the housing 74 is reduced when the housing 74 is folded, interference between the toner collecting device 70 and the developing device 20 is avoided when the transfer device 30 is pulled out in the X direction. Therefore, the transfer device 30 and the toner recovery device 70 can be easily removed, and the maintainability of the image forming apparatus 1 can be improved.

8A and 8B show movement of the housing when the transfer device 30 and the toner recovery device 70 are installed in the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. When the transfer device 30 that has been removed for maintenance or the like is installed in the casing 15 of the image forming apparatus 1, the transfer device 30 is inserted along the Y direction shown in FIG. 8A. At this time, the toner recovery device 70 is inserted into the casing 15 together with the transfer device 30 with the housing 74 folded. When the toner recovery device 70 is moved to the specified installation position, the engagement between the fixing portion 81 and the latch 85 is released by the engagement release portion 90 arranged near the installation position.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9(a), when the toner collecting device 70 is moved to the installation position, the disengagement portion 90 is inserted between the fixing portion 81 of the housing 74 and the latch 85, and As shown in b), the engagement between the projection 87a and the recess 81e of the latch 85 is released. When the fixing portion 81 of the housing 74 is disengaged from the latch 85, the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 are fixed around the cleaning roller 71 by gravity as shown in FIG. 8(b). Rotating away from the portion 81 unfolds the housing 74 .

As described above, the toner collecting device 70 of the image forming apparatus 1 includes the first turning section 82 and the second turning section 83 that rotate around the axis of the cleaning roller 71 . The first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 rotate toward the fixed portion 81 about the rotation axis AX, so that at least a part of the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 moves inside the fixed portion 81. are housed in This places the housing 74 in a folded state and reduces the size of the housing 74 . As a result, interference between the toner collecting device 70 and the developing device 20 can be avoided when the transfer device 30 is pulled out from the casing 15 of the image forming apparatus 1, and as a result, maintainability of the image forming apparatus 1 is improved. Further, by packing the toner collecting device 70 with the housing 74 folded, the packing size can be reduced.

Although the housing 74 described above has two turning portions, the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83, the number of turning portions provided in the housing 74 may be one or three. There may be more than one. Further, the housing 74 may not have the fixed portion 81 and may have only the swivel portion. For example, the entire housing may consist of one or more pivots.

Also, the first turning portion 82 of the housing 74 may be made of an elastic material such as vinyl or rubber, and may have a structure that can be folded into a bellows shape in the circumferential direction around the turning axis AX. In this case, when an external force directed toward the fixed portion 81 is applied to the first turning portion 82, the first turning portion 82 is folded in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis AX, so that the size of the housing 74 is reduced. be able to.

Next, a modified example of the toner recovery device will be described. Differences from the toner recovery device 70 described above will be mainly described below, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. 10 and 11 are side views showing a toner recovery device 170 according to a modification. The toner recovery device 170 has a deployed state as shown in FIG. position P2).

As shown in FIG. 10, the toner recovery device 170 includes a blade 72, a conveyor device 73 and a housing 174. The blade 72 of the toner recovery device 170 has a contact edge portion 72 a that directly contacts the intermediate transfer belt 31 and recovers untransferred toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 31 from the intermediate transfer belt 31 .

The housing 174 defines a collection chamber 174 s that contains toner particles collected from the intermediate transfer belt 31 . Housing 174 includes fixed portion 181 and pivot portion 182 . The fixing portion 181 is fixed to supports that support both ends of the tension roller 34, for example. A seal member 183 may be provided between the fixed portion 181 and the intermediate transfer belt 31 to seal the recovery chamber 74s.

On the other hand, the swivel portion 182 is rotatably connected to the support via a rotating shaft extending along the extending direction of the contact edge portion 72 a of the blade 72 . That is, the turning portion 182 is rotatable around the rotation axis AX extending along the contact edge portion 72a. The rotation axis AX extends along the longitudinal direction of the tension roller 34 . The turning portion 182 moves between the operating position P1 and the retracted position P2 by turning around the turning axis AX. As shown in FIG. 11, in this housing 174, the size of the housing 74 is reduced by retracting the swivel portion 182 toward the fixed portion 181 around the rotation axis AX and arranging it at the retracted position P2. This prevents interference between the toner collecting device 170 and the developing device 20 when the transfer device 30 is pulled out from the casing 15 . Therefore, the transfer device 30 and the toner recovery device 170 can be easily removed, and the maintainability of the image forming apparatus 1 can be improved.

Conversely, by rotating the turning portion 182 about the rotation axis AX in the direction away from the fixed portion 181 and arranging it at the operating position P1, the size of the housing 174 is enlarged, and the toner collecting device 170 can be operated. Become.

Although the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes one toner recovery device 70, the image forming apparatus 1 may include a plurality of toner recovery devices. For example, the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 12 has two toner recovery devices 70A and 70B.

The toner recovery devices 70A and 70B have the same structure as the toner recovery device 70 described above. That is, each of the toner collecting devices 70A and 70B includes a cleaning roller 71 and a housing 74 that accommodates the toner particles collected by the cleaning roller 71. As shown in FIG. The housing 74 of the toner recovery devices 70A and 70B includes a fixed portion 81 that cannot rotate around the cleaning roller 71, a first turning portion 82 that can rotate around the cleaning roller 71, and a second turning portion that can rotate around the cleaning roller 71. a portion 83;

As shown in FIG. 12, the toner collecting device 70A is arranged between the tension roller 34 and the idler roller 35, and collects untransferred toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 31. As shown in FIG. The toner recovery device 70B is arranged downstream of the toner recovery device 70A in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 31, and recovers untransferred toner particles remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 31 without being recovered by the toner recovery device 70A. do.

The housing 74 of the toner recovery device 70A is folded by rotating the first rotating portion 82 and the second rotating portion 83 toward the fixed portion 81 around the rotation axis AX. Similarly, the housing 74 of the toner recovery device 70B is folded by rotating the first turning portion 82 and the second turning portion 83 toward the fixed portion 81 around the rotation axis AX. When the toner collecting device 70A and the housing 74 of the toner collecting device 70B are folded, the second turning portion 83 of the toner collecting device 70B and the second turning portion 83 of the toner collecting device 70B are connected to each other. A latch 85 is provided that engages the fixed portion 81 . The latch 85 fixes the second rotating portion 83 of the toner recovery device 70B to the fixed portion 81 of the toner recovery device 70A, and locks the housings 74 of the toner recovery device 70A and the toner recovery device 70B in a folded state.

It is to be understood that not necessarily all aspects, advantages and features described herein will be achieved or included in any one particular example and embodiment. Indeed, while various examples have been described and shown herein, it should be apparent that other examples may be modified in their arrangement and details. I claim all modifications and variations coming within the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter.

For example, although the toner collection device 70 described above includes the conveyor device 73, the conveyor device 73 may not necessarily be provided. Various examples disclosed in this specification can be appropriately combined within a consistent range.

Claims (15)

an intermediate transfer belt rotating around a drive roller and a tension roller;
a cleaning device for collecting toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt;
a housing coupled to the cleaning device and containing the toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt;
with
The image forming apparatus, wherein the housing includes a swivel portion that rotates about a swivel axis extending parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tension roller. The housing has a fixed portion fixed around the rotation axis,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said swiveling portion is retracted toward said fixed portion so as to reduce the size of said housing. The turning part is
a first pivoting part rotatable about the pivot axis so as to retreat into the fixed part;
a second pivoting portion rotatable about the pivot axis so as to retract into the interior of the first pivoting portion;
3. The image forming apparatus of claim 2, comprising: the cleaning device includes a cleaning roller that contacts the intermediate transfer belt and collects the toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said turning section rotates around a rotation axis of said cleaning roller. the cleaning device further comprising a blade contacting the cleaning roller to detach the toner particles from the cleaning roller;
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said blade is attached to said rotating portion. The housing engages the second swivel part with the fixed part when the first swivel part and the second swivel part are in a retracted position retracted inside the fixed part about the rotation axis. 4. The imaging device of claim 3, comprising a latch. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an engagement release portion disposed adjacent to said fixed portion of said housing for releasing engagement between said fixed portion and said latch. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the entire housing is configured by the swiveling portion. The cleaning device includes a blade extending in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said blade has a contact edge that contacts the surface of said intermediate transfer belt, said contact edge extending along said rotation axis. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveyor device for conveying toner collected in said housing to a toner cartridge. a cleaning device for collecting toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt;
a housing coupled to the cleaning device and containing the toner particles from the intermediate transfer belt;
with
The toner collecting device, wherein the housing includes a rotating portion that rotates around a rotation axis that extends parallel to the rotation axis of the intermediate transfer belt. The housing has a fixed portion fixed around the rotation axis,
12. The toner recovery device according to claim 11, wherein said swivel portion is retracted toward said fixed portion so as to reduce the size of said housing. 13. The toner recovery device according to claim 12, wherein at least part of said rotating portion is housed inside said fixed portion when said rotating portion is rotated toward said fixed portion. the cleaning device includes a cleaning roller that contacts the intermediate transfer belt;
12. The toner recovery device according to claim 11, wherein the rotating portion rotates around the rotation axis of the cleaning roller. The housing includes a latch that engages the swivel part with the fixed part when the swivel part rotates about the rotation axis and at least a part of the swivel part is housed inside the fixed part. 13. The toner collection device of claim 12, comprising:

Images