JP3649317B2 - Waste toner recovery device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting apparatus used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
First, the configuration of a conventional representative image forming apparatus A will be described with reference to FIG. A photosensitive member 2 is provided at the center of the apparatus main body 1. Around the photosensitive member 2, there are a charging roller 3 for charging the photosensitive member 2, an exposure device 4 for irradiating the photosensitive member 2 with a laser beam corresponding to an image signal, and forming an electrostatic latent image. A developing device 5 that develops the electrostatic latent image, a transfer belt 6 that is a transfer member that transfers the toner image on the photoreceptor 2 to the transfer paper S, and a cleaning unit 7 that cleans untransferred waste toner adhering to the photoreceptor 2. Etc. are arranged. On the downstream side of the transfer belt 6, a fixing device 8 that fixes the transfer image transferred onto the transfer sheet S is provided.
[0003]
Further, a sheet feeding device 9 for feeding the transfer sheet S to the photosensitive member 2 is provided below the apparatus body 1, and the transfer sheet S fixed by the fixing device 8 is printed on the side surface of the apparatus body 1. A paper discharge tray 10 is provided that is used when paper is discharged face up. A paper discharge tray 11 is used on the top surface of the apparatus main body 1 when the transfer paper S is discharged with its print side down. Is formed.
[0004]
The cleaning unit 7 includes a blade 12 as a cleaning member that comes into contact with the photoreceptor 2 and a waste toner collection container 13 that stores waste toner scraped off from the photoreceptor 2 by the blade 12. Further, a flade 14 is provided as a cleaning member for scraping off the waste toner adhering to the transfer belt 6, and a flat waste toner collecting container 15 is provided below the flade 14.
[0005]
In such an image forming apparatus A, the surface of the photoreceptor 2 is charged by the charging roller 3 in the process of rotating the photoreceptor 2 clockwise, and the charged portion of the photoreceptor 2 is irradiated with laser light from the exposure device 4. An electrostatic latent image is formed, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 5. By feeding the transfer paper S by the paper feeding device 9 in synchronization with the rotational movement of the photosensitive member 2 at this time, the toner image on the photosensitive member 2 is transferred to the transfer paper S, and the transfer paper S is transferred to the fixing device 8. The transferred image is fixed by the fixing device 8 when it is conveyed.
[0006]
The image forming apparatus A is of a type that transfers the transfer image on the photosensitive member 2 in the process of conveying the transfer sheet S in the horizontal direction by the transfer belt 6, but as shown in FIG. There is also a type of image forming apparatus B that transfers in the process of being conveyed.
[0007]
Although this type of image forming apparatus B will be described, the same parts as those of the image forming apparatus A are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Inside the apparatus main body 21, the photosensitive member 2 is provided close to one side, and a charging roller 3, an exposure device 4, a developing device 5, a transfer belt 6 as a transfer member, a cleaning unit 7 and the like are arranged around the photosensitive member 2. Has been. The transfer belt 6 is provided in a vertical direction so that the transfer paper S fed from below is conveyed upward, and a fixing device 8 is provided on the upper part thereof. A blade 14 as a cleaning member is brought into contact with the upper portion of the transfer belt 6, and a waste toner collecting container 22 for storing waste toner scraped off by the flade 14 is provided.
[0008]
In such an image forming apparatus B, the surface of the photosensitive member 2 is charged by the charging roller 3 in the process of rotating the photosensitive member 2 counterclockwise, and the charged portion of the photosensitive member 2 is irradiated with laser light from the exposure device 4. Then, an electrostatic latent image is formed, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 5. By feeding the transfer paper S by the paper feeding device 9 in synchronization with the rotational movement of the photosensitive member 2 at this time, the toner image on the photosensitive member 2 is transferred to the transfer paper S, and the transfer paper S is transferred to the fixing device 8. The transferred image is fixed by the fixing device 8 when it is conveyed.
[0009]
Although not limited to the above configuration, when collecting waste toner adhering to the photosensitive member or the transfer member, it is detected by a toner sensor whether the recovery capacity is sufficient or full. . In this case, the toner sensor is provided at the upper part of the waste toner collecting container and outputs a warning signal when the interior becomes full or nearly full. Therefore, the toner sensor needs to be arranged away from the waste toner falling path. .
[0010]
For example, in the case where the waste toner scraped by the blade 14 from the transfer belt 6 in the image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 6 is collected in the waste toner collection container 6, the waste toner collection container 15 is arranged in a horizontal state. Therefore, the opening surface is widened, and the toner sensor can be arranged at a position away from the bottom of the blade 14 in the horizontal direction.
[0011]
On the other hand, in the case where the waste toner scraped off by the blade 14 from the transfer belt 6 in the image forming apparatus B shown in FIG. The waste toner collection container 22 must be disposed along the transfer belt 6 outside the paper feed path of the transfer paper S because the waste toner collection container 22 is disposed in the vertical direction so as to be conveyed upward. Moreover, in order to reduce the size of the apparatus main body 21, the waste toner collection container 22 that collects the waste toner scraped off by the blade 14 has a longitudinal dimension (perpendicular to the paper surface) that is the axial direction of the photoreceptor 2. The length in the width direction (left and right direction in the drawing) is short, and the shape is inevitably deep in the vertical direction. For this reason, there is a space upper limit for attaching the toner sensor to the waste toner collection container 22 away from the waste toner fall path (below the blade 14) to the right in the drawing.
[0012]
This is not limited to the waste toner collecting container 22 that collects the waste toner adhering to the transfer belt 6 in FIG. 7, but adheres to a transfer member such as a transfer roller other than the transfer belt 6 or the photoreceptor 7. Even in the case of the waste toner collecting container 13 for collecting the waste toner to be generated, this may occur due to the arrangement of each part resulting from the design concept.
[0013]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the case of a component arrangement in which the toner sensor cannot be arranged apart from the waste toner dropping path, the falling waste toner adheres to the toner sensor, and the waste toner collection container is filled with waste toner. There is a problem of misrecognizing it as full even though it is not.
[0014]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a waste toner collecting apparatus that can correctly detect the waste toner collecting capacity regardless of the shape of the waste toner.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning member for scraping off waste toner adhering to a photoconductor for creating a toner image or a transfer member in contact with the photoconductor, and waste for storing waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member. in the waste toner collecting device including a toner recovery container, and a toner sensor waste toner is output the signals indicating that reaches a predetermined amount when the amount of the waste toner of the waste toner container has reached above a certain, A back surface of a holding member that has a shield that shields between the upper portion of the toner sensor and the cleaning member with a slightly larger area than the toner sensor inside the waste toner collecting container, and holds the back surface of the cleaning member on the front surface. The shield was held by . Therefore, the waste toner scraped off from the photosensitive member or the transfer member by the cleaning member is blocked by the shielding member and falls downward from the side of the shielding member without falling to the upper part of the toner sensor. Further, there is no need to separately provide a holding member that holds the shield.
[0017]
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the first SL mounting, the shield, the photoconductor substantially triangular shielding plane direction of the width is gradually wider along the longitudinal direction of the as it goes from the top downwards And a roof-like inclined surface which is inclined like a roof from the upper part to the lower part and slides down waste toner. Therefore, even if the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member exceeds the shielding surface of the shielding body to the back side, the waste toner is guided by the roof-like inclined surface and falls without passing through the upper part and the front surface of the toner sensor.
[0018]
The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2 , wherein the shield includes the roof-like inclined surfaces in multiple stages, and these roof-like inclined surfaces gradually become triangular as they go downward of the shield surface. The size is reduced and the height is reduced, and the protruding shape of the shielding surface in the rear side direction is gradually increased. Therefore, even if the amount of waste toner that exceeds the shielding surface of the shielding body on the back side is large, it is guided by the roof-like inclined surfaces arranged in multiple stages and falls without passing through the upper part and the front surface of the toner sensor.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those described in FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described using the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal front view showing a waste toner collecting device in the image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a support structure for a cleaning member and a shield, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which waste toner is dropped. The charging roller 3, the exposure device 4, the developing device 5, the transfer belt 6, the cleaning unit 7, and the fixing device 8 are arranged around the photoreceptor 2 with the same arrangement as in the image forming apparatus B shown in FIG. 7. Yes. Therefore, the image forming process is the same as that described above. A transfer roller 6 a to which a transfer bias is applied is in contact with the inner surface of the transfer belt 6.
[0020]
A toner recovery device 30 shown in FIG. 1 is an example corresponding to the image forming apparatus B of the type shown in FIG. The waste toner collecting device 30 includes a waste toner collecting container 31, a blade 14 as a cleaning member provided in the waste toner collecting container 31, a shield 32 formed of an elastic plastic film, and the shield 32. And a toner sensor 33 mounted on the inner surface of the waste toner collecting container 31. The toner sensor 33 is attached to the inner surface of the waste toner collection container 31 so as to be positioned below the middle portion of the blade 14 in the longitudinal direction. The toner sensor 33 is a type that normally includes a vibrating plate (not shown) and outputs a signal to that effect when the vibrating plate stops vibrating due to waste toner pressure. It is not limited to this.
[0021]
The waste toner collection container 31 is long in the longitudinal direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) along the axial direction of the photoreceptor 2 and short in the width direction (left and right direction in the paper surface) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It is formed in a deep shape in the vertical direction. A plate-like holding member 35 is fixed to the upper portion of the waste toner collecting container 31 via a bracket 34, and serves as a cleaning member that contacts the transfer belt 6 through the opening surface 36 of the waste toner collecting container 31 on the front surface of the holding member 35. The blade 14 is held, and the shield 32 is held on the back surface of the holding member 35.
[0022]
In FIG. 1, the length of the blade 14 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface and the length of the holding member 35 are substantially equal to the entire width of the transfer belt 6. The shield 32 has a slightly larger area than the front surface of the toner sensor 33, is disposed obliquely above the front surface of the toner sensor 33, and is fixed to the holding member 35. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the shield 32 is formed with an inverted V-shaped portion protruding from the upper edge of the holding member 35.
[0023]
In such a configuration, during printing, the photoreceptor 2 is driven counterclockwise, and the transfer belt 6 is driven clockwise. Untransferred waste toner adhering to the photoreceptor 2 is collected in a waste toner collection container 13 by the blade 12 of the cleaning unit 7, but the transfer belt 6 contacts the photoreceptor 2 during a period when the transfer paper is not fed. Waste toner also adheres to the transfer belt 6. The waste toner is scraped off into the waste toner collecting container 31 by the blade 14 when the transfer belt 6 rotates clockwise. T shown in FIG. 1 is waste toner.
[0024]
At this time, the waste toner T scraped off from the transfer belt 6 by the blade 14 is blocked by the shield 32 and does not fall onto the toner sensor 33 but falls from the side of the shield 32 downward. Further, since the shield 32 has an inverted V shape, as shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner T is V-shaped in the gap (corresponding to the thickness of the holding member 35) between the front surface of the shield 32 and the blade 14. Therefore, the waste toner T scraped off later falls along the V-shaped slope of the deposit. That is, the V-shaped deposit of waste toner T between the shield 32 and the blade 14 exhibits a function of distributing the waste toner T to the side while avoiding the front surface of the toner sensor 33. The waste toner T that falls to a portion away from the shield 32 falls directly below without touching the shield 32, and even if some drops to the upper edge of the holding member 35, the waste toner that subsequently falls Dropped by T. An arrow shown in FIG. 3 is a dropping path of the waste toner T.
[0025]
Therefore, even in the case of the waste toner collecting container 31 having a shape in which it is necessary to dispose the toner sensor 33 without increasing the distance with respect to the vertical plane passing directly under the blade 14, the waste toner T in the middle of dropping is the toner sensor. The state of adhering to 33 can be avoided. When the waste toner T is collected until the front surface of the toner sensor 33 is hidden, the output of the toner sensor 33 changes, and an alarm is issued based on this output. The alarm in this case includes driving of a buzzer, display on a display, or stop of a machine.
[0026]
Since the shield 32 is held by using the holding member 35 that holds the blade 14, it is not necessary to provide a separate holding member for holding the blade 14.
[0027]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is also omitted. 4A and 4B show a shield, in which FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 4B is a rear view, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cleaning member (blade) and a support structure for the shield.
[0028]
The shielding body 37 in the present embodiment has a substantially triangular shielding surface 38 whose width along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member 2 (see FIG. 1) gradually increases from the top to the bottom facing the blade 14. And a roof-like inclined surface 39 which is inclined like a roof from the upper part to the lower side and slides waste toner. One roof-like inclined surface 39 may be provided, but in the present embodiment, a plurality of roof-like inclined surfaces 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d are provided in multiple stages, and these roof-like inclined surfaces 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d are The size of the triangular shape is gradually reduced and the height thereof is gradually lowered as it goes downward from the shielding surface 38, and the length of the projection of the shielding surface toward the back side is gradually increased.
[0029]
Therefore, even if the waste toner T scraped off by the blade 14 exceeds the shielding surface 38 of the shielding body 37 on the back side, the waste toner T is guided by the roof-like inclined surface 39 and is disposed on the upper and front surfaces of the toner sensor 33. Fall without passing through. Even if the amount of waste toner T that exceeds the back surface side of the shielding surface 38 is large, the waste toner T passes through the upper and front surfaces of the toner sensor 33 by the roof-like inclined surfaces 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d arranged in multiple stages. It can be dropped without
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a toner sensor is provided in a waste toner collecting container for storing waste toner scraped off by a cleaning member from a photosensitive member or a transfer member in contact with the photosensitive member, and has a slightly larger area than the toner sensor. Since a shielding body that shields between the upper portion of the toner sensor and the cleaning member is provided inside the waste toner collecting container, the toner sensor is disposed far away from the waste toner falling path from the cleaning member. Even if it is difficult to arrange the parts, the waste toner scraped from the photosensitive member or the transfer member by the cleaning member is dropped to the bottom of the waste toner collecting container without dropping to the top of the toner sensor by the shield. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to avoid erroneous recognition that the waste toner collection container is full due to the waste toner adhering to the toner sensor.
[0032]
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the first SL mounting, the shield, the photoconductor substantially triangular shielding plane direction of the width is gradually wider along the longitudinal direction of the as it goes from the top downwards And provided with a roof-like inclined surface which is inclined like a roof from the upper part to the lower side at the periphery of the shielding surface, and the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member forms the shielding surface of the shielding body. Even if the toner exceeds the back side, the waste toner can be dropped by the roof-like inclined surface while avoiding the upper part and the front surface of the toner sensor.
[0033]
The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2 , wherein the shield includes the roof-like inclined surfaces in multiple stages, and these roof-like inclined surfaces gradually become triangular as they go downward of the shield surface. The size of the shield is reduced and the height is lowered, and the length of the projection of the shielding surface in the back side direction is gradually increased. Even if the amount of toner is large, it can be dropped by avoiding the top and front of the toner sensor by the roof-like inclined surfaces arranged in multiple stages.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal front view showing a waste toner collecting device in an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a support structure for a cleaning member and a shield.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which waste toner is dropped.
4A and 4B show a shielding body according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 4B is a rear view.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a support structure for a cleaning member and a shield. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an internal structure of a conventional image forming apparatus.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure of another conventional image forming apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Photosensitive member 6 Transfer member 14 Cleaning member 31 Waste toner collecting container 32 Shielding body 33 Toner sensor 35 Holding member 37 Shielding body 38 Shielding surfaces 39, 39a to 39d Roof-like inclined surface T Waste toner

Claims (3)

A cleaning member that scrapes off waste toner adhering to a photosensitive member that creates a toner image or a transfer member that contacts the photosensitive member, a waste toner recovery container that stores waste toner scraped off by the cleaning member, and the waste toner in the waste toner collecting device including a toner sensor waste toner is output the signals indicating that reaches a predetermined amount when the amount of the waste toner collection container reaches above a certain,
A back surface of a holding member that has a shield that shields between the upper portion of the toner sensor and the cleaning member with a slightly larger area than the toner sensor inside the waste toner collecting container, and holds the back surface of the cleaning member on the front surface. A waste toner collecting device characterized in that the shield is held in The shield includes a substantially triangular shield surface whose width in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor gradually increases from the top to the bottom, and the periphery of the shield surface has a roof shape from the top to the bottom. claim 1 Symbol mounting of the waste toner collecting device comprises a roof-shaped inclined surface that is inclined to slide down the waste toner. Said shield includes the roof-like inclined surfaces in multiple stages, these roof-shaped inclined surface, toward the lower side of the shielding surface, with the size of the triangular also low smaller becomes the height gradually, of the shielding surface 3. The toner recovery device according to claim 2, wherein the length of the protrusion in the rear side direction is set to a dimension that gradually increases.

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