JP4652064B2 - Waste toner recovery device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting apparatus applied to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and an image forming apparatus such as a printer connected to a computer.

  The image forming apparatus irradiates a peripheral surface of a rotating photoconductor drum as a rotating image carrier with an optical signal having strength based on image information that has been read or transmitted, and an electrostatic latent image formed thereby The toner is supplied to form a toner image, and the toner image is transferred to, for example, a sheet as a transfer target. In such an image forming apparatus, toner remains on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum after the transfer process to the paper. The cleaning device is used to remove and clean the residual toner and prepare for the next transfer process. In addition, a toner collecting device is provided for collecting and storing the waste toner removed by the cleaning device.

  As the toner recovery device, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known. First, the device described in Patent Document 1 includes a toner collection container and a dispersion member that disperses the toner provided in the toner collection container. The dispersion member includes a rotation shaft provided so as to cut the inside of the toner collection container and a spiral blade formed on the peripheral surface of the rotation shaft, and the rotation shaft is driven and rotated by driving of a predetermined drive motor. As a result, the helical stirring blade rotates integrally with the rotation shaft and the shaft center, thereby stirring the waste toner stored in the toner recovery container. By this agitation, toner accumulation is disrupted, and the storage capacity of the toner recovery container is improved.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, the toner collection container is attached to the image forming apparatus so as to be interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the exterior cover of the image forming apparatus, and particularly when the exterior cover is opened, the toner collection container is a spring. After being pulled out from the inside of the apparatus main body against the urging force, the locked state with the exterior cover is released, and it is struck against a predetermined frame or the like of the apparatus main body by the urging force of the spring.

Since the exterior cover is opened and closed at every predetermined maintenance of the image forming apparatus, the toner collection container is struck against the frame each time maintenance is performed, and the toner pile formed in the toner collection container by the impact at this time Objects are destroyed, thereby increasing the substantial storage capacity of the toner collection container.
JP 2004-102285 A JP 2004-126156 A

  However, in the waste toner recovery device described in Patent Document 1, toner that is not in the position of the rotation trajectory around the rotation axis of the spiral blades can benefit from the stirring effect of the rotation of the spiral blades. Therefore, there is a limit to the expansion of the capacity of the toner collection container, and there is a problem that the capacity increase as desired cannot be realized.

  Further, in the waste toner collecting apparatus described in Patent Document 2, since the uneven distribution of the toner in the toner collecting container depends on the opening period of the outer cover at the time of maintenance work including toner replenishment, maintenance is performed. Therefore, there is a problem that uneven distribution of toner in the toner collection container cannot be eliminated, for example, when the exterior cover is not opened or closed because it is not performed over a long period of time.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and prevents the waste toner from being unevenly distributed in the main body of the collecting apparatus for collecting and storing the waste toner, and always ensures the maximum storage capacity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste toner collecting device capable of performing the above.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning device for removing the waste toner remaining on the image carrier after the toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred to the transfer member and cleaning the image carrier. A waste toner collecting device applied to the image forming apparatus, comprising: a collecting device main body that stores the removed waste toner; and a sorting unit that distributes the collected waste toner in the collecting device main body. A loading port for loading waste toner is provided on the upper surface of the recovery device main body, and the distributing means is provided at a position facing the loading port and swings, and the swinging member The swinging member is pivotally supported so as to be swingable around a support shaft provided at a lower portion of the recovery device main body with an upper end facing the loading port. Swing member main body and the swing member main body Provided at the top, and a distribution member for distributing the swinging direction by receiving the waste toner loaded from said loading slot, it is characterized in.

According to such a configuration, the waste toner recovered by the cleaning device is recovered and stored in the recovery device main body via the loading port. Then, by swinging the swing member in the driving of the drive means, the waste toner loaded in the recovery apparatus main body from the loading port, rocking direction against the distribution member of the swing member that the swing Therefore, the waste toner is prevented from accumulating in a mountain shape in the collecting apparatus main body and being unevenly distributed, thereby increasing the substantial storage capacity of the waste toner collecting apparatus .

Further, by swinging the swinging member main body so as to be swingable around a support shaft provided at the lower part of the recovery apparatus main body with the upper end facing the loading port, the swinging part having the widest swinging range is provided. The upper end of the member can be made to face the loading port, and the waste toner can be distributed accordingly.

Furthermore, since the waste toner introduced into the collection device main body from the loading port is better sorted after being received by the sorting member provided on the top of the swinging member main body , the uneven distribution of the waste toner is more effective. Is prevented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the recovery device main body, a net body provided with a long hole that allows the swinging member to swing is disposed in the recovery device main body. It is characterized by being stretched in a state of being partitioned vertically.

According to this configuration, the swinging member can swing in a stable state with the swinging operation guided by the long hole provided in the mesh body, and the waste toner loaded into the collecting apparatus main body from the loading port. temporarily falls onto mesh member while being sorted et al by the swinging member, after leveling at the mesh member on order to be sprinkled towards the bottom of the recovery apparatus main body through the stitches, recovery device in the body The uneven distribution of waste toner is effectively prevented.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect , the collection device main body is provided with a viewing window closed with a transparent member on a wall surface parallel to the swinging direction of the swinging member. On the other hand, a wiping member for wiping the transparent member by swinging is attached to the swinging member.

  According to such a configuration, the state of collecting waste toner in the collecting apparatus main body is confirmed by visually checking the inside of the collecting apparatus main body through the viewing window or by detecting the full amount using the optical sensor. The swing member is attached with a wiping member that wipes the transparent member that covers the viewing window by swinging, and the transparent member of the viewing window is wiped by the wiping member every time the swing member swings. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the inside of the collecting apparatus cannot be visually recognized or detected through the viewing window due to the adhesion of waste toner.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the waste toner loaded into the collecting device main body from the loading port in a state where the swinging member is swung by driving of the driving means is transferred to the swinging swinging member. since it is distributed to the swing direction against, it is possible to prevent the waste toner is unevenly distributed deposited like a mountain in the collection device main body, whereby it is possible to increase a substantial storage capacity of the waste toner collecting device.

Further, by swinging the swinging member main body so as to be swingable around a support shaft provided at the lower part of the recovery apparatus main body with the upper end facing the loading port, the swinging part having the widest swinging range is provided. The upper end of the member can be made to face the loading port, and the waste toner distribution effect can be improved to prevent uneven distribution of the waste toner.

Furthermore, since the waste toner introduced into the collecting apparatus main body from the loading port is once received by the distributing member provided on the top of the swinging member main body and then distributed, the uneven distribution of the toner can be more effectively prevented. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the swinging member can swing in a stable state with the swinging operation being guided by the long hole provided in the mesh body, and from the loading port to the inside of the recovery device main body. since loaded waste toner is once dropped onto mesh member while being sorted et al by the swinging member, is sprinkled toward the bottom of the recovery apparatus main body through the stitches from the leveled this mesh member onto, In addition to the effect of preventing the waste toner from being unevenly distributed by the swinging of the swinging member, it is possible to more effectively prevent the waste toner from being unevenly distributed within the collecting apparatus main body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to visually recognize the waste toner collection state in the collection apparatus main body through the viewing window or to detect it using the optical sensor. The swing member is attached with a wiping member that wipes the transparent member that covers the viewing window by swinging, and the transparent member of the viewing window is wiped by the wiping member each time the swing member swings. Thus, it is possible to always reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the inside of the collecting apparatus cannot be visually recognized or detected through the viewing window due to the adhesion of the waste toner.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory front sectional view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which a waste toner collecting apparatus according to the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is used as a copying machine, and has an apparatus main body 11 having a box shape called an in-body discharge type, and the apparatus main body 11. The image reading unit 16 for reading a document image is provided at the top of the image reading unit 16. In the apparatus main body 11, an image forming unit 12 that forms an image based on image information of a document read by the image reading unit 16, and an image formed on the image forming unit 12 and transferred to a sheet is subjected to a fixing process. A fixing unit 13 to be applied and a paper storage unit 14 for storing a transfer paper are provided.

  The image reading unit 16 includes a document retainer 161 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 so as to be openable and closable, and an optical system unit disposed opposite to the document retainer 161 via a contact glass 163 in the upper housing of the apparatus body 11. 162. The contact glass 163 is dimensioned to a planar shape slightly smaller than the document presser 161 in order to read the document surface of the placed document. The document retainer 161 can be opened and closed by rotating forward and backward about a predetermined axis provided on one side of the upper surface of the apparatus main body.

  At an appropriate position of the image reading unit 16, an operation panel (not shown) for inputting processing conditions relating to document reading, copying processing, and the like is provided. The operation panel is provided with a display panel (not shown), a numeric keypad, a start button, a mode switching key, and the like.

  The optical system unit 162 includes a light source (not shown), a plurality of mirrors, a lens unit, and a CCD (charge coupled device). The light from the light source is reflected by the original surface, and the reflected light is input to the CCD as original information through the mirror and the lens unit. Document information as an analog amount input to the CCD is converted into a digital signal and stored in a predetermined storage device.

  The image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on a sheet (transfer object) P fed from the sheet storage unit 14, and in the present embodiment, it is downstream from the upstream side (the right side of the paper surface in FIG. 1). A magenta unit 12M, a cyan unit 12C, a yellow unit 12Y, and a black unit 12K are sequentially arranged toward the side.

  Each unit 12M, 12C, 12Y, 12K is provided with a photosensitive drum (image carrier) 121 and a developing device 122, respectively. Each photosensitive drum 121 is supplied with toner from a corresponding developing device 122 while rotating counterclockwise in FIG. Each developing device 122 is supplied with toner from a toner cartridge 128 arranged on the front side of the apparatus main body 11 (the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1).

  A charger 123 is provided at a position directly below each photosensitive drum 121, and an exposure device 124 is provided at a position further below the charger 123. Each photosensitive drum 121 is charged uniformly by the charger 123, and laser light corresponding to each color based on image data input by the image reading unit 16 is charged from each exposure device 124. By irradiating the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121. By supplying toner from the developing device 122 to the electrostatic latent image, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121.

  A transfer belt 125 stretched between the driving roller 125 a and the driven roller 125 b is provided at a position above the photosensitive drum 121 so as to contact the photosensitive drum 121. The transfer belt 125 is driven against a peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 121 by a transfer roller 125c provided corresponding to each photoconductive drum 121, while being synchronized with each photoconductive drum 121, a driving roller and a driven roller. It is designed to go around.

  Accordingly, when the transfer belt 125 circulates, the magenta toner image is transferred onto the surface of the transfer belt 125 by the photosensitive drum 121 of the magenta unit 12M, and then the photosensitive drum of the cyan unit 12C is placed at the same position on the transfer belt 125. The transfer of the cyan toner image by 121 is performed in the overcoating state, and then the transfer of the yellow toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 of the yellow unit 12Y to the same position of the transfer belt 125 is performed in the overcoating state. The transfer of the black toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 of the black unit 12K is performed in an overcoated state, whereby a color toner image is formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125. The color toner image formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125 is transferred to the paper P conveyed from the paper storage unit 14.

  A cleaning device 126 that removes and cleans residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 is provided at the left position of each photosensitive drum 121 in FIG. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 cleaned by the cleaning device 126 goes to the charger 123 for a new charging process.

  The waste toner removed from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by the cleaning device 126 is collected and stored in the waste toner collection device 20 according to the present invention through a predetermined path.

  A sheet conveyance path 111 extending in the vertical direction is formed at the left position of the image forming unit 12 in FIG. The sheet conveying path 111 is provided with a pair of conveying rollers 112 at appropriate positions, and the sheet P from the sheet storage unit 14 is directed toward the transfer belt 125 that is wound around the driving roller 125a by the driving of the conveying roller pair 112. It is designed to be transported. In the sheet conveyance path 111, a second transfer roller 113 that is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at a position facing the driving roller 125 a, and the sheet P being conveyed along the sheet conveyance path 111 is separated from the transfer belt 125. The toner image on the transfer belt 125 is transferred to the paper P by being pressed and sandwiched between the second transfer roller 113 and the second transfer roller 113.

  A transfer belt cleaning device 127 that removes residual toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at the right end of the transfer belt 125 in FIG. 1, and the transfer belt 125 that has completed the transfer process to the paper P is provided. In this case, the residual toner on the surface is removed by the transfer belt cleaning device 127 and cleaned, and is circulated toward the next transfer process.

  The fixing unit 13 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the paper P transferred by the image forming unit 12, and includes a fixing roller 131 having an energization heating element as a heating source therein, and FIG. On the left side, the fixing roller 131 and the pressure roller 132 arranged to face each other are provided. Then, the transfer-processed paper P led out from the image forming unit 12 via the transfer roller 113 is heated by the fixing roller 131 while being pressed and clamped between the fixing roller 131 and the pressure roller 132. Is fixed, and a stable color image is formed on the paper P.

  The sheet P with the color image for which the fixing process has been completed is discharged toward the in-body discharge tray 115 provided in the apparatus main body 11 through the discharge conveyance path 114 extended from the upper part of the fixing unit 13. It will be.

  The paper storage unit 14 has a paper tray 141 that is detachably mounted at a position below the exposure device 124 in the apparatus main body 11. A sheet bundle is stored in the sheet tray 141. The sheet P is fed out from the sheet bundle stored in the sheet tray 141 one by one by driving the pickup roller 142, and is introduced into the image forming unit 12 through the sheet conveyance path 111.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of the waste toner collecting device 20. In FIG. 2, the XX direction is referred to as the left-right direction, and the YY direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is referred to as the left, the + X direction is referred to as the right, the -Y direction is referred to as the front, and the + Y direction is referred to as the rear. As shown in this figure, the waste toner collecting device 20 removes from each photosensitive drum 121 a cleaning device 126 provided in each of a magenta unit 12M, a cyan unit 12C, a yellow unit 12Y, and a black unit 12K. The collected waste toner and the transfer belt cleaning device 127 collect and store the waste toner removed from the transfer belt 125 (FIG. 1), and the recovery device main body 30 for storing the removed waste toner, and the recovery device It has a basic structure that includes a sorting unit 40 Ru sorting the waste toner stored in the body 30. The distributing unit 40 is operated by driving of the driving unit 43.

  The recovery device main body 30 includes a bottom plate 31 that is long in the left-right direction, a front plate 32 that is erected from the front edge of the bottom plate 31, and the front plate 32 that is erected from the rear edge of the bottom plate 31. A back plate 33 having the same height, a pair of convex side plates 34 erected from the left and right side edges of the bottom plate 31, and a front upper edge of each side plate 34 from the upper edge of the front plate 32 A front top plate 35 that spans the upper part, a rear top plate 36 that spans from the upper edge of the back plate 33 to the rear upper edge of each side plate 34, and the front top plate 35 and the rear top plate. 36, and a bulging top plate 37 provided so as to bulge upward along a portion protruding above the side plate 34.

  A waste toner storage chamber 39 is formed in the recovery device main body 30. The waste toner storage chamber 39 is divided into five chambers by four partition plates 38 that are equally spaced in the left-right direction so that the waste toner from each of the cleaning devices 126. It has become.

  That is, the waste toner storage chamber 39 stores the waste toner sent from the transfer belt cleaning device 127 and the waste toner sent from the cleaning device 126 of the magenta unit 12M. A second storage chamber 392, a third storage chamber 393 for storing waste toner sent from the cleaning device 126 of the cyan unit 12C, and a fourth storage for storing waste toner sent from the cleaning device 126 of the yellow unit 12Y. It is divided into a chamber 394 and a fifth storage chamber 395 that stores waste toner sent from the cleaning device 126 of the black unit 12K.

  A flat top top plate 371 is formed on the top surface of the bulging top plate 37, and waste toners from the cleaning devices 126... 127 are placed on the top top plate 371 in the first to fifth storage chambers. Loading ports 372 for loading 391 to 395 are opened.

  In the waste toner storage chamber 39 (each of the first to fifth storage chambers 391 to 395) of the recovery apparatus main body 30 configured in this way, the waste toner storage chamber 39 is divided into two in the upper and lower positions at substantially the upper half position. A net body 301 is provided so as to stretch. The mesh body 301 is provided with a long escape hole (long hole) 302 in the front-rear direction, and the swinging member main body 411 is guided to the escape hole 302 by being inserted into the escape hole 302. However, it can swing back and forth.

The waste toner introduced into the waste toner storage chamber 39 via the loading port 372 is sprinkled on the mesh body 301 after being subjected to a sorting operation by the sorting means 40, and passes through the stitches of the mesh body 301. Further, it is directed toward the bottom of the waste toner storage chamber 39 in a state where uneven distribution is prevented.

Hereinafter, based on FIG. 3, the distribution means 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 as necessary. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of the distribution means 40 and is provided in any one of a plurality of waste toner storage chambers 39 (first to fifth storage chambers 391 to 395). The thing is shown as a representative. The direction display by X and Y in FIG. 3 is the same as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sorting means 40 includes a swinging member 41 that is pivotally supported around a first through shaft (support shaft) 401 provided through the collection device main body 30 in the left-right direction. The oscillating member 42 is configured to oscillate the oscillating member 41, and a driving means 43 (FIG. 2) for applying a driving force to the oscillating mechanism 42. The first through shaft 401 is provided through the partition plate 38 and the left and right side plates 34 at a position directly below the loading port 372 (FIG. 2) below the first to fifth storage chambers 391 to 395.

  The swinging member 41 is for swinging the waste toner falling into the waste toner storage chamber 39 through the loading port 372 by the swinging operation, and the swinging member main body has a long plate shape in the vertical direction. 411 and a cap member (distribution member) 412 attached to the top of the swinging member main body 411.

  The swing member main body 411 has a lower end that is rotatably fitted to the first through shaft 401, a top portion that is lower than the front top plate 35 and the rear top plate 36, and the mesh body. The vertical dimension is set so as to be positioned higher than 301. A guide hole 413 extending in the vertical direction is formed at a position below the central portion in the vertical direction of the swing member main body 411, and the swing member 41 receives driving force from the swing mechanism 42 through the guide hole 413. To get through.

  The shade member 412 distributes (sprays) waste toner falling through the loading port 372 in the front-rear direction, and is formed to have a convex arc shape in a side view. As the shade member 412 swings back and forth, the waste toner that has fallen from the loading port 372 is guided to the front and back arc inclined surfaces of the shade member 412 and distributed back and forth.

  The swing mechanism 42 includes a columnar body 421 that protrudes from the partition plate 38 toward the swinging member main body 411, a tip shaft 422 that protrudes concentrically at the tip (left end) of the columnar body 421, And a rocking gear 423 rotatably supported around the tip shaft 422. The cylindrical body 421 is fixed to the partition plate 38 so that the axis of the cylindrical body 421 faces the central position in the vertical direction of the guide hole 413 in a state where the swinging member main body 411 stands upright on the first through shaft 401. Has been.

  The swing gear 423 is set to have a diameter slightly longer than the length of the guide hole 413. A columnar projecting piece 424 projecting toward the left is projected on a surface of the swinging gear 423 facing the swinging member main body 411, and the guide piece 424 is in sliding contact with the guide hole 413. Is inserted. Therefore, when the swing gear 423 rotates around the tip shaft 422, the swing member main body 411 swings back and forth around the first through shaft 401 via the protrusion 424 and the guide hole 413.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drive means 43 includes a drive motor 430 installed horizontally on the recovery apparatus body 30 such that the drive shaft 431 extends in the left-right direction behind the lower left portion of the recovery apparatus body 30, and this drive. A drive gear 432 that is concentrically mounted on the drive shaft 431 of the motor 430 so as to be integrally rotatable, a first driven gear 433 having a larger diameter than the drive gear 432 that meshes with the drive gear 432, and the first driven gear 433 A second driven gear 434 is provided in the collection device main body 30 so as to be concentrically and integrally rotatable, and meshes with the swing gear 423. The first and second driven gears 433 and 434 are provided at a position slightly behind the cylindrical body 421 in a state of penetrating the pair of side plates 34 and the partition plates 38 in parallel with the cylindrical body 421. 402 is provided concentrically and integrally rotatable.

  According to the drive means 43, the drive of the drive motor 430 is transmitted to the drive gear 432 via the drive shaft 431, and the rotation of the drive gear 432 is transmitted to the first driven gear 433 engaged with the drive gear 432. The rotation of the first driven gear 433 is transmitted in a decelerated state, and is transmitted to the second driven gear 434 via the second through shaft 402, whereby the swinging gear 423 meshing with the second driven gear 434 is at the tip. It will rotate about the shaft 422. Then, the swing member 41 swings back and forth around the first through shaft 401 via the projecting piece 424 and the guide hole 413 due to the rotation of the swing gear 423 around the tip shaft 422.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a side cross-sectional view of the recovery device main body 30 for explaining the operation of the distribution means 40. FIG. 4A shows that the protrusion 424 of the swing gear 423 is positioned at the uppermost position. The state in which the moving member 41 is upright, (b) is the state in which the protruding member 424 of the swinging gear 423 is positioned forward, and the swinging member 41 is tilted forward, and (c) is the protrusion of the swinging gear 423. The state in which the swinging member 41 stands upright because the piece 424 is positioned at the lowest position, and (d) shows the state in which the swinging member 41 tilts rearward because the protruding piece 424 of the swinging gear 423 is positioned rearward. Each is shown. In addition, the direction display by Y in FIG. 4 (-Y is front, + Y is back) is the same as that of FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4A, in a state where the swinging member 41 stands upright because the protruding piece 424 of the swinging gear 423 is positioned at the uppermost position, the waste toner storage chamber 39 is connected via the loading port 372. The waste toner T introduced into the inside is distributed back and forth by the shade member 412 and falls to the bottom of the waste toner storage chamber 39 through the mesh body 301.

  Then, when the swinging gear 423 is rotated 90 ° around the first through shaft 401 via the second driven gear 434 by driving the drive motor 430 (FIG. 3), the swinging member 41 is moved to (b) of FIG. As shown in the figure, the toner is tilted forward at a predetermined angle, and at this time, a large amount of the waste toner T is sprinkled forward of the waste toner storage chamber 39 via the shade member 412.

  Subsequently, when the oscillating gear 423 further rotates 90 ° (180 ° in total) around the first through shaft 401 via the second driven gear 434 by continuing driving of the drive motor 430, the oscillating member 41 is As shown in (c), the state is restored to the upright state, and at this time, the waste toner T is distributed before and after the waste toner storage chamber 39 via the shade member 412.

  Furthermore, when the drive motor 430 continues to drive further and the swinging gear 423 further rotates about the first through shaft 401 by 90 ° (total 270 °) via the second driven gear 434, the swinging member 41 becomes as shown in FIG. As shown in (d) of FIG. 6, the toner is tilted at a predetermined angle toward the rear, and at this time, a large amount of the waste toner T is sprinkled behind the waste toner storage chamber 39 via the shade member 412.

  In this manner, the waste toner T introduced into the waste toner storage chamber 39 is introduced by the swinging member 41 swinging back and forth around the first through shaft 401 while the waste toner T is introduced into the waste toner storage chamber 39. Is swung back and forth by the shade member 412, and the inconvenience that the waste toner T that has fallen into the waste toner storage chamber 39 becomes unevenly distributed in the shape of a raised mountain at the center is reliably prevented. As a result, the waste toner T can be efficiently packed into the collecting apparatus main body 30, and the storage capacity of the collecting apparatus main body 30 can be improved.

As described above in detail, the waste toner collecting device 20 according to the present invention removes the waste toner T remaining on the photosensitive drum 121 after the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 121 is transferred to the paper P. This is applied to the image forming apparatus 10 provided with each of the cleaning devices 126... 127 for cleaning the photosensitive drum 121, the recovery device main body 30 for storing the removed waste toner T, and this recovery the waste toner T collected in the apparatus main body 30 is configured by a sorter 40 Ru sorting, on the upper surface of the collection device main body 30, the loading port 372 is provided for loading the waste toner T, the sorting means 40 The swinging member 41 is provided at a position facing the loading port 372 and swings, and the driving means 43 swings the swinging member 41.

According to such a configuration, the waste toner T collected by each of the cleaning devices 126... 127 is collected and stored in the collection device main body 30 via the loading port 372. Then, the waste toner T loaded into the collecting apparatus main body 30 from the loading port 372 hits the swinging swinging member 41 by swinging the swinging member 41 by driving of the driving means 43. since it is distributed to the rocking direction, it is possible to prevent the waste toner T is unevenly distributed deposited like a mountain in the recovery unit main body 30. in this makes it possible to increase the substantial storage capacity of the waste toner T collecting device .

  Further, since the swinging member 41 is pivotally supported around the first through shaft 401 provided at the lower portion of the collection apparatus main body 30 with the upper end facing the loading port 372, the swinging range is the most swinging range. Thus, the upper end of the swinging member 41, which is a wide area, can be made to face the loading port 372, so that the waste toner T can be efficiently distributed in the front-rear direction and the waste toner storage chamber. Thus, the uneven distribution of the waste toner T within 39 can be reliably prevented.

Further, the top of the swing member main body 411 of the swing member 41 is provided with a shade member 412 having a shade shape that receives and distributes the waste toner T loaded from the loading port 372. The waste toner T introduced into the waste toner storage chamber 39 of the collecting apparatus main body 30 is once received by the cap member 412 provided on the top of the swing member main body 411 of the swing member 41 and then the cap shape of the cap member 412. Accordingly, the waste toner T can be effectively distributed according to the swinging direction.

In addition to this, in the present embodiment, a state in which the net body 301 provided with an escape hole 302 that allows the swinging member 41 to swing in the collection device main body 30 divides the collection device main body 30 vertically. Since the escapement hole 302 for guiding the swinging of the swinging member 41 is provided in the net body 301, the swinging member 41 is swung by being guided by the escape hole 302. as well as stable, the waste toner T loaded in the recovery unit main body 30 from the loading port 372, falls on once netting 301 while being sorted et al by the swinging member 41, since the leveling on the mesh member 301 Since the stitches are sprinkled through the stitches toward the bottom of the collecting apparatus main body 30, uneven distribution of the waste toner T in the collecting apparatus main body 30 is more effectively prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

(1) FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing another embodiment of the sorting means 40. In this embodiment, a viewing window 342 is provided on the side plate (wall surface 34 parallel to the swinging direction of the swinging member 41) of the recovery apparatus main body 30 and is closed with a transparent member, for example, a glass plate 341. The oscillating member 41 is provided with a wiping member 414 made of, for example, a felt material for wiping the glass plate 341 by oscillating.

  If such a configuration is adopted, the state in which the waste toner T is collected in the collection device main body 30 by visually recognizing the inside of the collection device main body 30 through the observation window 342 or detecting the full amount of waste toner using an optical sensor. It can be confirmed and is convenient. The swing member 41 is attached with a wiping member 414 for wiping the glass plate 341 covering the view window 342 by swinging, and the glass plate 341 of the view window 342 is moved each time the swing member 41 swings. Since wiping is performed by the wiping member 414, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the inside of the collection apparatus main body 30 cannot be visually recognized or detected through the observation window 342 due to the adhesion of the waste toner T.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the drive means 43 includes the drive motor 430, the drive gear 432, the first driven gear 433 that meshes with the drive gear 432, and the first driven gear 433 that rotates together with the first driven gear 433. However, the present invention is not limited to the drive means 43 being constituted by the drive motor 430, the drive gear 432, the first driven gear 433, and the second driven gear 434. There are various modes such as increasing the number of gears according to the situation, or directly connecting the drive shaft 431 of the drive motor 430 to the second through shaft 402 without using a gear, or employing a worm gear structure. Can be applied.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the waste toner collecting device 20 is applied to the so-called tandem color printing image forming apparatus 10 in which a plurality of photosensitive drums 121 are arranged in parallel. The waste toner collecting device 20 is not limited to being applied to the image forming apparatus 10 for color printing, but may be applied to an image forming apparatus for monochrome printing.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the cap member 412 is applied as the distributing member. However, the present invention is not limited to the cap member 412 being a distributing member. Various shapes may be adopted depending on the situation.

1 is an explanatory front sectional view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which a waste toner collecting device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a waste toner collecting device. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a distribution unit, and representatively shows one provided in any one of a plurality of waste toner storage chambers (first to fifth storage chambers). It is explanatory drawing of the side surface sectional view of the collection | recovery apparatus main body for demonstrating the effect | action of a distribution means, (a) is the state in which the rocking | swiveling member stood upright because the protrusion of a rocking | gearing gear is located in the uppermost position, (B) is a state in which the swinging member is tilted forward by the protrusion of the swinging gear being positioned forward, and (c) is a state in which the swinging member is being moved by the protrusion of the swinging gear being at the lowest position. The upright state (D) shows the state in which the swinging member is tilted rearward because the protruding piece of the swinging gear is positioned rearward. It is a partially cutaway perspective view which shows other embodiment of the distribution means.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 111 Paper conveyance path 112 Conveyance roller pair 113 2nd transfer roller 114 Paper discharge conveyance path 12 Image forming part 12M Magenta unit 12C Cyan unit 12Y Yellow unit 12K Black unit 121 Photosensitive drum ( Image carrier)
122 Developing Device 123 Charging Device 124 Exposure Device 125 Transfer Belt 125a Drive Roller 125b Driven Roller 125c Transfer Roller 126 Cleaning Device 127 Transfer Belt Cleaning Device 128 Toner Cartridge 13 Fixing Unit 131 Fixing Roller 132 Pressure Roller 14 Paper Storage Unit 141 Paper Tray 142 Pickup Roller 16 Image Reading Unit 161 Document Presser 162 Optical System Unit 163 Contact Glass 20 Waste Toner Collection Device 30 Collection Device Main Body 31 Bottom Plate 32 Front Plate 33 Back Plate 34 Side Plate 35 Front Top Plate 36 Back Top Plate 37 Swelling Top Plate 371 top top plate 372 mounting slot 38 partition plate 39 the waste toner reservoir 391 to 395 first to fifth storage chamber 40 distributing means 401 first through shaft 402 second penetrating shaft 41 swing member 411 swing member main body 4 2 Shade member 413 Guide hole 414 Wiping member 42 Swing mechanism 421 Cylinder body 422 Tip shaft 423 Swing gear 424 Projection piece 4 43 Driving means 431 Driving means 432 Driving gear 433 First driven gear 434 Second driven gear P Paper (driven T) Waste toner

Claims (3)

The present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus including a cleaning device that removes waste toner remaining on an image carrier after the toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred to a transfer target and cleans the image carrier. A waste toner collecting device,
A recovery device main body for storing the removed waste toner;
And a sorting unit that sorts the waste toner collected in the collecting apparatus main body,
A loading port for loading waste toner is provided on the upper surface of the recovery device main body,
The distribution means includes a swing member that swings provided at a position facing the loading port, and a drive means that swings the swing member ,
The swing member includes a swing member main body pivotally supported around a support shaft provided at a lower portion of the recovery apparatus main body with an upper end facing the loading port, and a swing member main body A sorting member that is provided at the top and receives waste toner loaded from the loading port and sorts the waste toner in a swinging direction.
A waste toner collecting device. A net body provided with a long hole allowing the swinging member to swing is stretched in the recovery device main body in a state of partitioning the recovery device main body vertically. Item 2. The waste toner recovery device according to Item 1 . The collection device main body is provided with a viewing window closed with a transparent member on a wall surface parallel to the swinging direction of the swinging member, while the swinging member receives the transparent member by swinging. the waste toner collecting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the wiping member that wipes is attached.

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