JP3009584B2 - Toner collection container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner collection container for storing waste toner that is removed from a photoreceptor after transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a toner collection container of this type is a toner to be discarded (hereinafter referred to as waste toner) collected from a surface of a photosensitive drum after transfer by a cleaning means.
If the waste toner in the housing is kept collected even after the inside of the housing is full, the waste toner in the housing is gradually compressed. It becomes difficult to transport waste toner into the inside. As a result, there is a possibility that waste toner accumulates in the vicinity of the cleaning unit and cleaning failure occurs.

Therefore, it is preferable to detect the fullness of the waste toner in the housing and to discard the full waste toner in response to the detection. As a fullness detection mechanism for detecting the fullness of the waste toner, the one shown in FIG. 6 is provided.
With reference to FIG.
A reed switch 901 that operates in response to a magnetic force is provided at a position close to the top surface of the top plate portion 900a of the “00”.
Further, a detection plate 902 that is pushed up by the waste toner stored in the housing 900 and rises is provided, and a permanent magnet 903 is fixed to an upper surface of the detection plate 902.

In the above-described full-state detecting mechanism, the housing 90
As the waste toner accumulates in the area 0, the detection plate 902 is raised, and the permanent magnet 903 is moved to the top plate 900a.
, The reed switch 901 is actuated by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 903, and a full state is detected.

[0005]

However, there are few cases where the waste toner in the housing 900 is uniformly and horizontally stored, and in many cases, the upper surface of the stored waste toner is inclined. Further, when the above-mentioned toner collecting container is applied to a clamshell type image forming apparatus, the toner collecting container may be inclined due to jam processing or the like. As a result, the upper surface of the accumulated waste toner is greatly inclined.

When the upper surface of the waste toner is inclined as described above, the detection plate 902 is also raised in an inclined state, and as shown in FIG. 6, the permanent magnet 903 is inclined and the top of the housing 900 is inclined. One side hits the lower surface of the plate portion 900a. When the permanent magnet 903 is tilted in this manner, it is not possible to exert a sufficient magnetic force on the reed switch 901 to operate it. For this reason, there is a possibility that the full state is not detected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a toner collection container that can reliably detect fullness when applied to a fullness detection mechanism responsive to magnetic force. I do.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner collection container having a housing for storing waste toner to be cleaned and removed from a photoconductor after transfer. A detection plate supported by the housing and capable of being lifted up by waste toner stored in the housing; and a top plate provided on an upper surface of the detection plate, wherein the top plate of the housing is provided when the detection plate is raised to a predetermined height. A permanent magnet abutting on the part,
Elastic support means interposed between the detection plate and the permanent magnet, and elastically supporting the permanent magnet in a state where the detection plate and the permanent magnet are allowed to be relatively inclined. Is what you do.

[0009]

According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, even when the detection plate is raised and filled up in an inclined state, the detection plate is provided by the elastic support means interposed between the detection plate and the permanent magnet. And the permanent magnet can be made horizontal along the top plate. Also, the repulsive force due to the compression of the elastic support means tends to level the detection plate.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. The toner collecting container according to one embodiment of the present invention is integrated with a cleaning device, and is used, for example, in a copying machine as an image forming apparatus shown in FIG. Referring to FIG.
A document placed on a document placing plate 2 is illuminated and scanned inside the copier body 1, and reflected light from the document is transferred to a photosensitive drum 4.
2, an image forming unit 4 for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 42 by a developing device 41 and then transferring the latent image to a sheet, and a sheet storage unit 6
Roller 51 having a half-moon shape in cross section from a paper tray 61 in the inside
And a paper transport unit 5 for discharging the paper through the image forming unit 4 and discharging the paper to a discharge tray 56 in the copying machine main body.

The copying machine main body 1 is supported by a lower unit 7 defined by a lower casing 71, and is rotatable relative to a predetermined rotation axis m provided at an end of the lower unit 7. An upper unit 8 is provided, which is partitioned by an upper casing 81. The upper unit 8 is of a so-called clamshell type that is opened and closed with respect to the lower unit 7.

The optical system 3 illuminates the original with a fluorescent lamp 39 having a reflecting plate 38 fixed to the first moving frame 3A, and reflects the light reflected from the original on the first moving frame 3A. The first mirror 31, the second mirror 32 and the third mirror 33 fixed to the second moving frame 3B, the lens 37, the third mirror
The fourth mirror 34, the fifth mirror 35, and the sixth mirror 36 fixed to the moving frame 3C are sequentially guided to the photosensitive drum 42.

The image forming section 4 has a charging charger 43, a developing device 41, a transfer charger 44, and a cleaning device 45 arranged around a photosensitive drum 42 in this order. The image forming unit 4 includes a charging charger 43
On the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42 uniformly charged by
After forming an electrostatic latent image by forming an original image, the electrostatic latent image is visualized into a toner image by a developing device 41, the toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer charger 44, and a residual toner is removed by a cleaning device. 45 for recovery.

The paper transport section 5 includes the paper feed rollers 51 for pulling out sheets one by one from a paper feed tray 61, a transport roller 52 for feeding paper from the manual paper feed section 60 or the paper tray 61, and a transport roller 52. The driving roller means 53a and the driven roller means 53b constituting the registration means 53 for temporarily awaiting the sheet by abutting the leading end of the sheet conveyed by the printer, and a fixing unit 54 for fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet. And a pair of discharge roller means 55.

Referring to FIG. 3, the cleaning device 4
A unit U including the photosensitive drum 5 and the photosensitive drum 42 is configured to be integrally insertable into and removable from the copying machine main body 1. The unit U has a pair of holding units U1 and U2 that hold both end portions of the photosensitive drum 42. Referring to FIG.
The cleaning device 45 has a cleaning housing 101 in which an opening 101a facing the photosensitive drum 42 is formed. The cleaning housing 101
An upper housing 121 and a lower housing 122 are detachably attached to each other by screws or the like.
A space inside the cleaning housing 101 is provided with a partition chamber 102 having an L-shaped cross section and a cleaning chamber 103 for scraping toner from the surface of the photosensitive drum 42.
And a storage chamber 104 for storing the scraped toner. The storage chamber 104 of the cleaning housing 101 corresponds to a toner collection container.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG.
A detection plate 125 is disposed in the upper housing 4 so as to be vertically movable by two pairs of ribs 123 and 124 facing the top plate 121a of the upper housing 121 and protruding below the top plate 121a. ing. The detection plate 125 is made of a flexible metal (eg, aluminum) thin plate.
A permanent magnet 127 is attached to the center of the upper surface 125a via a sponge member 126 as elastic supporting means having a predetermined elasticity. The sponge member 126 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is adhered to the upper surface of the detection plate 125. Further, the permanent magnet 127 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape,
It is adhered to the upper surface of the sponge member 126. With the permanent magnet 127 positioned at the highest position, the permanent magnet 1
A reed switch 130, which operates in response to the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 127 and serves as a means for detecting a full state, is provided at a position facing the plate 27 and the top plate 121a. The output signal of the reed switch 130 is provided to a control unit (not shown), and the control unit that has received the output signal issues a signal to the display unit to cause the operator to display, for example, a full notification.

The rib 123 has a columnar shape and penetrates an insertion hole 125b of a detection plate 125 formed at a position facing the permanent magnet 127. The rib 124 has a plate shape having a long cross-section along the longitudinal direction of the detection plate 125, and is formed at a position opposed to the permanent magnet 127 and located outside the insertion hole 125b. Through the insertion hole 125c. Rib 12
A screw 128 is fixed to the lower end of 4, so that the screw 128 prevents the detection plate 125 from coming off the rib 124.

Referring to FIG. 5, each insertion hole 125b, 12
The gap between 5c and the corresponding ribs 123 and 124 is set so as to allow a slight inclination or bending of the detection plate 125. That is, in FIG. 5, the M direction of the detection plate 125 in the paper surface, the detection plate 125
In a direction N around a longitudinal axis L. As described above, the detection plate 125 is provided with a degree of freedom that can be adapted to the inclination of the upper surface of the waste toner stored in the storage chamber 104.

Referring to FIG. 4, a main blade 105 whose lower end is in contact with the peripheral surface of photosensitive drum 42 is disposed above opening 101a. The main blade 105 is attached to the cleaning housing 101 via an attachment member 110, and scrapes off toner and the like remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 42 by the lower end as the photoconductor drum 42 rotates. On the other hand, the opening 10
A receiving blade 106 made of rubber or the like, which covers this lower portion, is disposed below 1a. This receiving blade 106
The upper end of the cleaning drum 101 is in proximity to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42, and prevents toner and the like scraped into the cleaning housing 101 from scattering outside the cleaning housing 101.

Below the main blade 105, there is provided a cleaning roller 107 which is mostly disposed in the cleaning chamber 103 and partially protrudes into the storage chamber 104. The cleaning roller 107 is rotatably supported by the cleaning housing 101, abuts on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42 through the opening 101a, and rotates with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 42. In the figure, since the photosensitive drum 42 is rotated clockwise, the cleaning roller 107 is rotated counterclockwise. This cleaning roller 10
7 displaces toner and paper dust adhering to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42 on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42, whereby the main blade 105 removes toner and the like on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42. Make it easier to scrape.

An upper portion 102a of the partition plate 102 is fixed to an upper portion of the cleaning housing 101.
The lower edge 102b is close to the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 107. Lower edge 102b of the partition plate 102
The gap S between the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 107 is
In order to increase the toner conveying force by the cleaning roller 107, it is preferable to set the distance to 1 mm to 2 mm.
In particular, it is more preferable to set it to 1.3 mm to 1.5 mm. By narrowing the gap S in this manner, the gap S
The conveying pressure of the toner conveyed through is increased. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the height of the toner stored in the storage chamber 104 is lower than the lower edge 1 of the partition plate 102.
Even when the pressure becomes higher than 02b, the cleaning roller 107 can smoothly transport the toner in the cleaning chamber 103 to the storage chamber 104 through the gap S. Therefore, as a result that toner does not unnecessarily accumulate in the cleaning chamber 103, excellent cleaning performance can be maintained for a long period of time. Further, since the cleaning roller 107 itself functions as a transport roller having a sufficient transport force, the structure is simpler, smaller, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with a case where a separate transport member is provided.

Below the position where the cleaning roller 107 is close to the lower edge 102b of the partition plate 102, the upper edge of the inclined scraper 108 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the cleaning roller 107. This scraper 1
Reference numeral 08 is fixed to a mounting member 109, and the mounting member 109 is supported by a detachable lid member 111 which forms a part of a lower portion of the cleaning housing 101. The cover member 111 also has the receiving blade 106 attached thereto. The scraper 108 separates the cleaning chamber 103 from the storage chamber 104 by contacting the cleaning roller 107.

In a portion of the storage room 104 adjacent to the cleaning room 103, the cleaning room 103
A transport paddle 112 having an L-shaped cross section is provided for sending the toner sent to the storage unit 04 to the back of the storage chamber 104 (to the left in the figure). The transport paddle 112 transports the toner by being driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing.

The operation of the cleaning device 45 will be described. Referring to FIG. 4, in the cleaning device 45,
The toner scraped into the cleaning chamber 103 by the main blade 105 falls to the upper part of the cleaning roller 107, and is carried to the storage chamber 104 through the gap S with the rotation of the cleaning roller 107, and the upper surface of the scraper 108 Go to The toner on the scraper 108 is conveyed further into the storage chamber 104 by the transport paddle 112, and the toner is stored in the storage chamber 104. Along with this, the detection plate 125 is pushed up by the upper surface of the stored toner, and rises in a normally inclined state.

When the inside of the storage room 104 is about to be filled, as shown in FIG. 1A, one end 127a of the permanent magnet 127 comes into contact with the lower surface of the top plate 121a. From this state, the toner is further accumulated and the detection plate 12
When the 5 is pushed up, as shown in FIG. 1B, the one end 126a of the sponge member 126 supporting the one end 127a of the permanent magnet 127 is compressed and contracted, so that the posture of the permanent magnet 127 is returned to the horizontal position. be able to. As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the waste toner is accumulated in the storage chamber 104 eccentrically, the inclination of the detection plate 125 is absorbed by the sponge member 126 so that the permanent magnet 127 is moved to the top plate portion. It can be directly opposed to the reed switch 130 in a horizontal state along the line 121a. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect the full state. Further, the repulsive force of the one end portion 126a of the compressed sponge member 126 generates a moment for rotating the detection plate 125 clockwise in FIG. 1B. As a result, the detection plate 125 itself can be returned to a horizontal position, and the upper surface of the accumulated toner can be leveled.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, instead of the sponge member 126,
An elastic rubber member having a predetermined elasticity or a compression coil spring can be used. Alternatively, the detection plate 125 may be hung from the top plate 121a with a string or a wire.

[0027]

According to the present invention, since the sponge member which allows the relative inclination of the detection plate and the permanent magnet is provided, even if the detection plate is raised in the inclined state and becomes full, the sponge member is used. The permanent magnet can be set in a horizontal position along the top plate while absorbing the inclination of the detection plate. Therefore, by applying the present invention to a fullness detection mechanism that is sensitive to magnetic force, it is possible to reliably detect fullness. Further, as a result of the repulsive force of the compressed and contracted portion of the elastic supporting means acting to return the detection plate to the horizontal position, the detection plate can level the upper surface of the waste toner horizontally.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic cross-sectional views of a toner collecting container according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A shows a state immediately before a full state is detected, and FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus to which the above-described toner collection container is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a unit including a cleaning device and a photosensitive drum integrally configured with a toner collection container.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cleaning device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the toner collection container.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional toner collecting container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Cleaning housing 121 Upper housing 121a Top plate part 125 Detecting plate 126 Sponge member (elastic support means) 127 Permanent magnet

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tadakazu Oogiri Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. 1-2-28 Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka (56) References JP-A-60-165679 (JP, A) JP-A-4-240685 (JP, A) JP-A-63-60478 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/10-21/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A housing for storing waste toner to be cleaned and removed from a photoreceptor after transfer, supported by the housing so as to be swingable and vertically movable, and pushed up by the waste toner stored in the housing. A detection plate which is provided on the upper surface of the detection plate and which is brought into contact with a top plate portion of the housing when the detection plate is raised to a predetermined height; And a resilient supporting means interposed between the magnet and the resilient supporting means for resiliently supporting the permanent magnet in a state where the detecting plate and the permanent magnet are allowed to be relatively inclined.