JP3501627B2 - Waste toner tank of electrophotographic apparatus and electrophotographic apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention transfers an image formed on an image bearing member such as a photoconductor, such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or a complex machine thereof, to record on a recording medium such as paper. It can be applied to electrophotographic devices. Specifically, such an electrophotographic apparatus is provided so as to be exchangeable, and powdery toner that has not been transferred to a recording medium among the toners attached to the image carrier is collected by an image carrier cleaning device or an image transfer device. The present invention relates to a waste toner tank that stores waste toner inside. And an electrophotographic apparatus equipped with the same.
To do.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic apparatus having a waste toner tank of this type, the waste toner is prevented from overflowing and polluting the inside of the apparatus every time a certain number of recording media is recorded. Some decided that the tank was full and replaced it with a new empty waste toner tank. However, the amount of collected waste toner differs depending on the recording method even for the same number of sheets, so that the waste toner tank must be replaced even though there is still a sufficient margin, which is uneconomical.

Further, some conventional electrophotographic apparatuses replace a waste toner tank by measuring the weight of the tank and determining that the tank is full when the weight exceeds a predetermined weight. However, even with this type, since the volume ratio differs even with the same weight depending on the use environment at the time of collection and the type of toner used, the waste toner tank is replaced even though there is a sufficient margin. It was uneconomical.

Therefore, in a conventional electrophotographic apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, a full sensor 2 such as a photo sensor or a piezoelectric sensor is provided in the waste toner tank 1 so that the waste toner tank 1 is full. There is a thing to detect that.

Reference numeral 3 in the drawing is a drum-shaped image carrier,
A cleaning device 4 removes residual toner on the image carrier 3 after transfer. Brush 5 of cleaning device 4
The toner scraped off by the blade 6 or the blade 6 is conveyed in the axial direction of the image carrier by a recovery coil (not shown) in the cleaning device 4, and is put into the waste toner tank 1 through the waste toner recovery port 1a.

The waste toner tank 1 has another waste toner collecting port 1b, and the toner collected from an image transfer device (not shown) provided around the image carrier 3 is used as another waste toner collecting port. 1b into the waste toner tank 1.

[0007]

However, even in such an electrophotographic apparatus, when the photo sensor is used as the fullness detection sensor 2, the case of the photo sensor is usually made of synthetic resin, and therefore, when it is wiped for cleaning, etc. Friction charged,
There is a problem that the toner falling in the waste toner tank 1 is electrostatically attracted from the waste toner recovery port 1b and malfunctions.

Further, when a piezoelectric sensor is used as the full-state detection sensor 2, since the sensor voltage is set to 0V by always energizing, there is a problem that the toner having the same polarity is electrostatically attracted and malfunctions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate wasteful operation of a fullness detection sensor in a waste toner tank used in an electrophotographic apparatus and to detect fullness accurately, and replace a waste toner tank with a new one with a new one. It is to eliminate waste and improve economic efficiency.

[0010]

Therefore, the invention described in claim 1 collects the toner which has not been transferred to the recording medium p, for example, as described in the following embodiments.
Together put in the inside of a plurality of waste toner collecting port 46a · 49a, in the waste toner tank 47 of an electrophotographic apparatus where the detected by full state detection sensor 52 that becomes full with waste toner, each of the waste toner collecting port 46a
A plurality of partition walls 53, 54 of the waste toner entering from the waste toner collecting port 46a, 49a 49a and the partitions between full state detection sensor 52 is prevented from adhering directly to the full state detection sensor 52, those of the partition wall 53/54
Partitioned into a plurality of collection port side sections a and c, and a common detection sensor
It is characterized in that it is formed by forming a side section b .

As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the toner that is blocked by the plurality of partition walls 53 and 54 and that falls in the waste toner tank 47 from the plurality of waste toner recovery ports 46a and 49a reaches the full detection sensor 52. Keep it from being pulled in and enter from multiple waste toner recovery ports 46a and 49a.
Waste toner that has entered the multiple collection port side compartments a and c first
, And the common inspection
Enter the knowledge sensor side section b, and in the detection sensor side section b
Fullness is detected by the fullness detection sensor 52.

The invention according to claim 2 is the electrophotographic apparatus.
In, Ru includes a waste toner tank according to claim 1,
It is characterized by

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of a laser copying machine provided with a waste toner tank according to the present invention. The illustrated laser copying machine comprises a box-shaped paper feed table A with casters 10 and a machine body B on which a paper discharge tray 11 is detachably attached.

The paper feed table A is provided with a plurality of paper feed cassettes 13 each containing a recording medium p such as a paper in a detachable upper and lower stage, and a paper feed roller 14 is provided on the upper right side of each paper feed cassette 13 in the figure. And a guide plate 16 that guides a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 15 that convey the paper p fed out by the paper feed rollers 14 and a recording medium p that is conveyed by the conveyance roller pairs 15 toward the machine body B. And so on.

On the main body B of the machine, a drum-shaped image carrier 20 is provided at the center slightly to the right. Around the image carrier 20
A charging device 21, a developing device 22, an image transfer device 23, and an image carrier cleaning device 2 are sequentially arranged in the rotational direction indicated by the arrow in the figure.
4, and a fixing device 25 on the left side of the image carrier cleaning device 24 in the figure. The image transfer device 23 is provided with a transfer belt 27 stretched over the roller 26, and a belt cleaning device 28 is provided on the outer periphery of the transfer belt 27.

At the top of the machine body B, an optical reading device 30 is provided.
The light source 31, the plurality of mirrors 32, the optical components such as the lens 33 are housed in the optical case 34, and the contact glass 35 is provided on the optical case 34. Then, it is attached to the machine body B, and a pressure plate 36 for pressing the document is provided on the contact glass 35 so as to be openable and closable.

Then, when making a copy using this laser copying machine, the pressure plate 36 is opened, and the original is set on the contact glass 35 with the copy surface facing down.
, Press the document from above, and press the start switch (not shown). Then, the traveling bodies 37 and 38 are moved along the contact glass 35 to scan the copy surface to read the image information.

At the same time, the image carrier 20 is rotated, and the surface of the image carrier 20 is uniformly charged by the charging device 21 in accordance with the rotation, and then the laser beam L is irradiated from the optical reading device 30 to write. Then, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the image carrier 20 according to the read image signal. Then, when passing through the position of the developing device 22, toner is attached to make the electrostatic latent image visible.

Further, one of the paper feed rollers 14 is selected and rotated, and the recording medium p is fed out from the corresponding paper feed cassette 13 and guided by the guide plate 16, while the conveying roller pair 15 is being guided.
And feeds it from the paper feed table A, and abuts between the pair of registration rollers 40 in the main body B of the machine.

Then, the registration roller pair 40 is rotated by aligning the visible image and the resist, and the recording medium p, which is abutted therebetween, is fed to the lower side of the image carrier 20. Then, the visible image on the image carrier 20 is transferred to the recording medium p by the image transfer device 23, and after the transfer, the recording medium p is conveyed to the fixing device 25, and the fixing device 25 transfers it. Fix the visible image. After fixing, the sheet is discharged by the pair of sheet discharging rollers 41 and stacked on the sheet discharging tray 11.

On the other hand, after the image transfer, the untransferred toner remaining on the image carrier 20 is scraped off and collected by the brush 43 and the blade 44 at the position of the image carrier cleaning device 24 as the image carrier 20 rotates. The recovery coil 45 conveys the image carrier 20 to one side in the axial direction. Then, it is put into the waste toner tank 47 from the waste toner recovery port 46a through the conveying pipe 46 shown in FIG.

The transfer belt 27 of the image transfer device 23
The untransferred toner remaining on the upper surface of the blade 4 moves at the position of the belt cleaning device 28 as the conveyor belt 27 rotates.
It is scraped off by 7 and collected, and similarly conveyed by the collecting coil 48 to one side in the axial direction of the image carrier 20. Then, the toner is put into the waste toner tank 47 from the waste toner collecting port 49a through the conveying pipe 49 shown in FIG.

By the way, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the waste toner tank 47 is provided with a tank portion 47a along the bottom of the main body B in parallel with the image carrier 20, and the tank portion 47 is provided.
An uptake portion 47b is formed in an upwardly V-shape from one end side of "a".
It will be extended.

Then, an opening m is provided at the tip of the inner surface of the intake portion 47b to close it with a seal member 50. A notch is provided at the center of the seal member 50, and the tip of the conveying pipe 46 is inserted into the waste toner tank 47 through the opening m from the notch.

Further, another opening n is provided in the middle of the inner surface of the intake portion 47b to close it with the seal member 51. A cut is provided at the center of the seal member 51, and the tip of the conveying pipe 49 is inserted into the waste toner tank 47 through the opening n from the cut.

In the illustrated laser copying machine, the image carrier 2 is provided to facilitate removal of jammed paper during jam processing.
The image transfer device 23 can be separated from 0. When the image transfer device 23 is moved, the transport pipe 49 is also moved accordingly, so that the diameter of the opening n of the waste toner tank 47 is larger than the outer diameter of the transport pipe 49 as illustrated so that the transport pipe 49 can also be moved. It's getting pretty big.

On the other hand, a full detection sensor 52 such as a photo sensor or a piezoelectric sensor is attached to the lower portion of the outer surface of the intake portion 47b, and the detection surface is exposed to the waste toner tank 47 so that the inside thereof is filled with the waste toner. Detect that.

In the present invention, the waste toner tank 47 is divided into the waste toner recovery port 46a and the full detection sensor 52 to form a recovery port side section a and a detection sensor side section b. A partition wall 53 is provided to prevent the waste toner entering from the waste toner recovery port 46a from directly adhering to the full detection sensor 52.

Then, the toner is blocked by the partition wall 53, enters the waste toner tank 47 through the waste toner recovery port 46a through the conveying pipe 46, and is prevented from being attracted to the full detection sensor 52 by the toner falling in the waste toner tank 47. To do.

Then, the waste toner entering from the waste toner recovery port 46a enters the recovery port side section a only after sliding on the slope, and as shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner is gradually transferred in the order of a, b, c, and d. After being accumulated and the recovery port side section a is full, the waste toner overflowing there enters the detection sensor side section b, and is accumulated in the order of e, f, and g, and the detection sensor side section b is full. The detection sensor 52 detects.

Further, the other waste toner recovery port 49a and the full detection sensor 52 are partitioned to form a recovery port side section c and a detection sensor side section b, and the waste toner entering from the waste toner recovery port 49a is directly full. A partition wall 54 is provided to prevent the detection sensor 52 from being attached.

Then, the toner is blocked by the partition wall 54 and similarly enters the waste toner tank 47 from the waste toner recovery port 49a through the conveying pipe 49, and the toner falling in the waste toner tank 47 is not attracted to the full detection sensor 52. To do so.

Then, the waste toner having entered from the waste toner collecting port 49a first enters the collecting port side section c, and similarly, the collecting port side section c is filled up, and the waste toner overflowing there is detected by the detection sensor side. The section b is entered, and the fullness of the detection sensor side section b is detected by the fullness detection sensor 52.

As a result, any waste toner recovery port 46
The waste toner that has entered from a.49a first enters the collection port side sections a and c, and then the waste toner overflowing there enters the detection sensor side section b and the detection sensor. The fullness detection sensor 52 of the side section b detects fullness.

In the laser copying machine shown in the figure, a biasing spring 55 is pressed against one end of the waste toner tank 47 to bias the waste toner tank 47 toward one side of the image carrier 20 in the axial direction. On the other end side, a moving mechanism 60 for moving the waste toner tank 47 in the axial direction of the image carrier 20 against the urging force of the urging spring 55 is provided as shown in FIGS. 5. The waste toner tank 47 is reciprocated in the direction indicated by the middle arrow.

In the moving mechanism 60, the timing belt 62, which is stretched between the plurality of pulleys 61, is rotationally driven by transmitting a driving force from a driving source (not shown). At this time, the intermediate gear 63 meshing with the timing belt 62 is rotated, the fitting portion 63a provided on the intermediate gear 63 is fitted to the fitted portion 64a of the cam gear 64, and the cam gear 64 is intermittently rotated.

Then, one end of the rocking lever 65 is pushed by the end face cam 64b provided on the cam gear 64, and the rocking lever 6 is moved.
5 is gradually rotated around the fulcrum shaft 66, and the swing toner 65 pushes the waste toner tank 47 to move it against the biasing spring 55.

When one end of the swing lever 65 falls on the end surface cam 64b, the waste toner tank 47 is returned by the urging force of the urging spring 55, and a shock is applied to a stopper (not shown) to bring the waste toner tank 47 into the vicinity of the intake portion 47b. Some toner in the tank section 4
Move to the back of 7a.

[0042]

Therefore, according to the present invention, in the waste toner tank used in the electrophotographic apparatus, the toner entering the waste toner tank through the plurality of waste toner recovery ports and dropping the waste toner tank into the plurality of partition walls. To prevent it from being drawn to the full detection sensor, and use multiple waste toner collection ports.
Waste toner that has entered from the
The storage area on the side of the collection port
Enter the service-side compartment and fill up the detection sensor-side compartment
Since the detection is performed by the detection sensor, malfunction of the full detection sensor can be eliminated so that the fullness can be accurately detected, waste of replacing a waste toner tank with a large margin with a new one can be eliminated, and economic efficiency can be improved.

[0043]

[0044]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a waste toner tank according to the present invention in use.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the intake portion as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory vertical sectional view for explaining a toner accumulation state in the waste toner tank.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the waste toner tank together with a moving mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of a moving mechanism in abbreviated form.

FIG. 6 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a laser copying machine including the waste toner tank.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional waste toner tank in use.

[Explanation of symbols]

46a / 49a Waste toner recovery port 47 Waste Toner Tank 52 Full detection sensor 53/54 partition wall a ・ c Recovery port side section b Detection sensor side section p recording medium

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 G03G 21/10-21/12 G03G 15/16-15/16 103

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for collecting toner that has not been transferred to a recording medium and introducing the collected toner into a plurality of waste toner collecting ports,
In the waste toner tank of an electrophotographic apparatus detected by the full state detection sensor that interior becomes full with waste toner, it
Double partition wall to prevent the waste toner entering from the waste toner collecting port partitions and the waste toner collecting port of, respectively between the full state detection sensor is attached directly to the full state detection sensor
The number includes a plurality of recovery ports side-ku, partitions in their partition wall
A waste toner tank for an electrophotographic device that forms a common detection sensor side section with an image. 2. A waste toner tank according to claim 1.
Electrophotographic device .