JP4846341B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine having these functions, and more particularly to waste toner collection thereof.

  The image forming apparatus irradiates a peripheral surface of a rotating photosensitive drum as an image carrier with a light signal having strength based on predetermined image information, and supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed thereby. Thus, a toner image is formed, and the toner image is transferred onto, for example, a sheet as a transfer target. In such an image forming apparatus, untransferred toner remains on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum after the transfer process to the paper. A cleaning device is provided to remove the toner from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum and clean it, and to prepare for the next transfer process. In addition, the waste removed by the cleaning device is collected and stored in a toner recovery container. A toner recovery device is provided.

  However, in the conventional waste toner collecting device, as shown in FIG. 6A, the toner 40 stored in the toner collecting container 4 is powder, and therefore the apex directly below the toner inlet 42 in the container main body 41. There is a problem that the substantial storage capacity of the toner collection container 4 is greatly reduced.

As a waste toner collecting device for solving such a problem, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1 is known. In the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, 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 piles formed in the toner collection container by impact at this time As a result, the uneven distribution of the toner in the toner recovery container is eliminated, and the substantial storage capacity of the toner recovery container increases.
JP 2004-126156 A

  However, in the waste toner collecting apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the uneven distribution of the toner in the toner collecting container depends on the opening period of the exterior cover during the maintenance work including the toner replenishment, the maintenance is long. There is a problem in that the uneven distribution of toner in the toner collection container cannot be eliminated, for example, when the exterior cover is not opened and closed because it is not performed over time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the uneven distribution of toner in a toner collection container and always ensuring the maximum storage capacity. And

The present invention relates to a motor, a photosensitive drum that is rotationally driven by the motor, a cleaning unit that removes untransferred toner from the surface of the photosensitive drum, and a toner recovery that collects the toner removed by the cleaning unit. An image forming apparatus having a container, wherein a vibration transmission mechanism is provided for transmitting vibration generated when the motor is driven to rotate to the toner collection container, and is horizontally mounted from the operation side of the apparatus main body to the opposite side. The motor and the cleaning unit are unitized with the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit so that the motor and the toner recovery container are arranged on the operation side of the apparatus main body with respect to the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit. A toner recovery container is detachably connected to the cleaning unit, and a rotational driving force from the motor is transmitted to the photosensitive drum. The gear is supported by a plate, the motor is attached to the plate, and a hollow shaft is provided. The plate has a drum shaft provided on the photosensitive drum. The vibration transmitting mechanism is inserted into the shaft so as to be supported by the photosensitive drum, and the vibration transmitting mechanism projects at least a part of the plate toward a connection portion between the cleaning unit and the toner recovery container. The portion is brought into contact with the connecting portion .

  By the way, conventionally, a drum unit including a photosensitive drum and a drum drive unit including a motor exist separately, and a mechanism for connecting the drive through both couplings is employed. The arrangement is such that the drum unit is mounted from the side of the apparatus main body toward the joint portion of the mounted drum drive unit.

  However, in such an arrangement, the drum drive unit is arranged on the side opposite to the operation side of the apparatus, and the toner collection container is arranged on the operation side of the apparatus. If an attempt is made to provide a vibration transmission mechanism for transmitting to the toner recovery container, the configuration becomes very complicated.

  Also, with such an arrangement, it is difficult to align the drum shaft of the drum unit and the large-diameter gear of the drum drive unit, and the pitch between the large-diameter gear and the motor pinion is likely to shift, which may lead to degradation of image quality and noise. There is.

Therefore, in the present invention, the motor and the toner collection container are arranged on the operation side of the apparatus main body with respect to the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit which are horizontally mounted from the operation side of the apparatus main body to the opposite side. As described above, the motor is unitized with the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit, and the toner recovery container is detachably connected to the cleaning unit .

However, with such an arrangement, there is no risk of image quality degradation or noise generation, but vibration during motor rotation is reduced, making it difficult to transmit the vibration to the toner collection container. Therefore, in the present invention, the motor can substantially contact the toner collection container as the vibration transmission mechanism .

Specifically, in addition to directly contacting the motor with the toner recovery container and utilizing the vibration generated by the motor, a gear (large diameter gear) interposed between the motor and the photosensitive drum is used. It is conceivable to actively use the vibration generated in

Further, since the toner guided into the toner collection container accumulates in a mountain shape with the apex directly below the connecting portion between the cleaning unit and the toner collection container, the uneven distribution of the toner can be eliminated by breaking the mountain. It is effective to vibrate the vicinity of the connecting portion. Therefore, in the present invention, a gear for transmitting a rotational driving force from the motor to the photosensitive drum is provided, the gear is supported by a plate, the motor is attached to the plate, and a hollow A shaft is provided, and the plate is supported by the photosensitive drum such that a drum shaft provided on the photosensitive drum is inserted into the shaft, and the vibration transmission mechanism includes at least a part of the plate. It protrudes toward the connecting portion between the cleaning portion and the toner collecting container, and the protruding portion is brought into contact with the connecting portion .

  According to the present invention, since the vibration transmission mechanism for transmitting the vibration generated when the motor is rotationally driven to the toner collection container is provided, the toner is not dependent on the opening period of the exterior cover during the maintenance work. The pile of toner stored in the collection container can be broken to eliminate the uneven distribution of toner in the container, and the substantial capacity of the toner collection container can be increased. Therefore, the maximum storage capacity of the toner recovery container can always be ensured with certainty.

Further , the motor and the toner collection container are disposed on the operation side of the apparatus main body with respect to the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit which are horizontally mounted from the operation side of the apparatus main body to the opposite side. Since the motor is unitized with the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit, and the toner collection container is detachably connected to the cleaning unit, the configuration of the vibration transmission mechanism that transmits to the toner collection container is very simple. It will be something. In this arrangement, it is not necessary to align the drum gear of the drum unit including the photosensitive drum and the large-diameter gear of the drum drive unit including the motor, and the image quality can be reduced due to the deviation between the pitch of the large-diameter gear and the motor pinion. There is no risk of lowering or generating noise.

Further , since the motor can be substantially brought into contact with the toner collecting container as the vibration transmission mechanism, the vibration generated when the motor is driven to rotate is not limited to the above arrangement. Even if the vibration generated when the motor is driven to rotate is reduced with the noise reduction due to the noise, the vibration can be reliably transmitted to the toner collecting container.

Further , a gear for transmitting the rotational driving force from the motor to the photosensitive drum is provided, and the vibration transmission mechanism is generated by the motor because the gear support plate is in contact with the toner collection container. In addition to utilizing the vibrations that are generated, the vibrations generated by the gear interposed between the motor and the photosensitive drum are also positively utilized, so that both vibrations can be reliably generated in the toner recovery container. Can communicate.

Further , the vibration transmission mechanism has at least a part of the support plate protruding toward the connecting portion between the cleaning unit and the toner collecting container, and the protruding portion is in contact with the connecting portion. The vibration generated when the motor is driven to rotate is transmitted to the connecting portion between the cleaning portion and the toner collecting container, so that the toner accumulated in a mountain shape with the apex directly below the connecting portion in the toner collecting container is destroyed. The uneven distribution of the toner can be effectively eliminated.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this printer (an example of an image forming apparatus) 1 has a uniform peripheral surface of a photosensitive drum 103 that rotates in a direction A in the figure by a charging device 102 in a box-shaped printer main body 101. A laser beam B based on print data inputted from the outside is irradiated onto the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 103 by the exposure unit 104 such as LSU to form an electrostatic latent image, and the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 103 is formed. By supplying toner from the developing device 105 to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 103.

  On the other hand, the sheet P is conveyed from the sheet feeding device 200 toward the photosensitive drum 103 through the conveyance path 300, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 103 is transferred to the surface of the sheet P by the transfer roller 106. . The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 103 after the transfer is removed by a cleaning device 107, and the remaining charge on the photosensitive drum 103 thereafter is removed by a static eliminator (not shown).

  A cleaning device (cleaning unit) 107 cleans untransferred toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 103 after the transfer of the image onto the sheet is completed. The cleaning device 107 includes a predetermined casing formed with an opening facing the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 103, and a forward direction around the brush axis parallel to the photosensitive drum 103 (the rotation of the photosensitive drum 103). A fur brush that rotates in the opposite direction), and a blade that is provided on the downstream side of the fur brush in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 103 (above the fur brush) so that the tip is in sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 103. In addition, a screw feeder that carries the toner removed by the blade and collected by the fur brush to a toner collecting container 4 (see FIG. 2) of the unit 10 described later in detail is mounted.

  The sheet P on which the unfixed toner image from the photosensitive drum 103 is transferred by the transfer roller 106 is conveyed to the fixing roller unit 108, and the sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is left as it is (or not shown). After being reversed at the switchback unit and printed on both sides), the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 111 via the conveyance roller pair 109 and the discharge roller pair 110 in order. The image forming unit 100 that performs a printing process on the paper P using the normal electrophotographic technique by the charging device 102, the photosensitive drum 103, the exposure unit 104, the developing device 105, the transfer roller 106, the cleaning device 107, and the like. Is configured.

  The paper feeding device 200 includes paper feeding cassettes 210 and 220 that are detachably accommodated in two upper and lower cassette housing portions formed in the lower part of the printer main body 101. The paper feed cassettes 210 and 220 can store paper P in a state in which a plurality of papers P are stacked on the lift plates 211 and 221 as storage cassettes for the paper P, respectively. Pickup rollers 212 and 222 for taking out, and paper feed roller pairs 213 and 223 for sending out the paper P picked up by the pickup rollers 212 and 222 one by one to the conveying path 300 are provided.

  The conveyance path 300 includes a first conveyance path 301, a second conveyance path 302, a third conveyance path 303, and a fourth conveyance path 304, and the first conveyance path 301 supplies paper when performing printing processing on the paper P. The paper P taken out from the cassette 210 by the pickup roller 212 is sent out to the photosensitive drum 103 via the paper feed roller pair 213, the transport roller pair 214 and the registration roller pair 215. The second transport path 302 sends out the paper P taken out from the paper feed cassette 220 by the pickup roller 222 to the first transport path 301 via the paper feed roller pair 223 and the transport roller pair 224. The third conveyance path 303 is for delivering the sheet P sent out from the first conveyance path 301 from the photosensitive drum 103 toward the fixing roller unit 108. The fourth transport path 304 feeds the paper P sent out from the third transport path 303 from the fixing roller unit 108 to the discharge roller pair 110 via the transport roller pair 109.

  2 is an external perspective view showing a unit 10 in which the drum unit 3, the drum drive unit 2, and the toner collection container 4 are integrated. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main part. FIGS. 4 (a), (b), and (c) are the drum unit 2. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing each of the drum drive unit 3 and the toner recovery container 4, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the unit 10 of the present embodiment includes a drum unit 3 including a photosensitive drum 103 and a cleaning device 107 which are horizontally mounted from the operation side of the printer main body 101 to the opposite side, and a printer. The drum drive unit 2 including a DC motor (motor) 22 disposed on the operation side of the main body 101 and the toner recovery container 4 disposed below the drum drive unit 2 are further integrated.

  Of these, the drum drive unit 2 includes a large-diameter gear 21, a DC motor 22, a pinion gear 22a, a shaft 23, and plates 24 and 25, as shown in FIGS. Yes. Each of the plates 24 and 25 is formed by punching or notching a substantially rectangular thin plate at an appropriate location so that the large-diameter gear 21 and the like can be sandwiched between the plates 24 and 25. The plates 24 and 25 are fixed to each other by an appropriate number of members 25a, 25a,. A shaft 23 is caulked on the plate 25, and the plate 25 is hollow so as to receive the drum shaft 32 protruding from the drum unit 3 of FIG.

Further, the lower left side of the plate 24 in FIG. 4B is partially cut and raised to form a rectangular protrusion 6 (protrusion) . As shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the protrusion 6 extends to a position where it can come into contact with the vicinity of the toner inlet 42 in the ceiling of the container body 41 of the toner recovery container 4. As a result, the protrusion 6 is located at a connecting portion 36a (located near the toner inlet 42, see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) between the toner transport path 36 including the screw feeder of the cleaning device 107 and the toner collection container 4. The vibration transmission mechanism is configured to contact the toner collection container 4 with the vibration generated when the DC motor 22 is rotated.

  The large diameter gear 21 is inserted into the shaft 23 and is rotatable around the shaft 23. A coupling 21a is formed on the boss of the large-diameter gear 21 by cutting ratchet teeth (not shown), and this coupling 21a is a coupling 31 installed in the drum unit 3 in FIG. 4 (a). Can be connected to. On the other hand, a DC motor 22 is attached to the back side of the plate 25 so that power can be transmitted to the large-diameter gear 21 that meshes with the pinion gear 22a. Thereby, the pitch of the large-diameter gear 21 and the DC motor 22 becomes a constant interval, and when the gear accuracy is improved, smoother rotation can be obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the drum unit 3 constitutes the cleaning device 107 with the coupling 31, the drum shaft 32, the drum gear 33, the drum base tube 34, and the gear unit 35 that constitute the photosensitive drum 103. The rotational driving force transmitted from the DC motor 22 of the drum drive unit 2 in FIG. 4B to the large-diameter gear 21 on the drum unit 3 side connected to the coupling 21a is provided. Further transmitted to the coupling 31. The coupling 31 is fitted to the inner wall of the drum gear 33, and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the drum base tube 34. The coupling 31 is biased by a coil spring (not shown) from the rear. A drum shaft 32 protrudes from the drum unit 3 and is inserted into a hollow shaft 23 that is caulked to the plate 25 of the drum drive unit 2. As a result, the photosensitive drum 103 is positioned. The drum base tube 34 is connected to the drum shaft 32 via a drum gear 33 fixed to the base tube. The drum gear 33 further transmits the rotational driving force of the DC motor 21 of the drum driving unit 2 to the screw feeder of the cleaning device 107.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the toner recovery container 4 includes a container main body 41 and a toner inlet 42 formed in the ceiling portion, and the container main body 41 has a part of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The drum drive unit 2 has a recessed shape so as to avoid interference with the DC motor 22. In addition, the toner inlet 42 has, for example, a round hole shape, and the connection portion is inserted in a state where a tip portion 37 (see FIG. 3) protruding downward from the connection portion 36a of the toner conveyance path 36 is inserted therein. The toner collection container 4 is detachably connected to the connecting portion 36a by a not-illustrated locking mechanism provided at 36a.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drum drive unit 2 is fixed to the drum unit 3 with screws or the like from the right. Thereby, since the drum drive unit 2 and the drum unit 3 are integrated into the unit 10, the positional relationship between the two is not lost, and the large-diameter gear 21 can be smoothly meshed. Image quality will be improved.

  Further, the protruding portion 6 of the plate 24 is brought into contact with a connection portion 36 a between the toner inlet 42 of the toner recovery container 4 and the toner conveyance path 36. In this way, the vibrations of the DC motor 22 and the large-diameter gear 21 are actively transmitted to the toner collection container 4, and the toner discharged from the distal end portion 37 of the connection portion 36 a is contained in the toner collection container 4. Stays evenly. As a result, the capacity of the toner recovery container 4 is substantially increased.

  A unit 10 in which the drum driving unit 2, the drum unit 3, and the toner collection container 4 are integrated is placed in the printer main body 101 in FIG. 1 from the right side (operation side) to the left side (the opposite side) in FIG. Inserted. When the motor connector 26 is inserted into the relay base 5 attached to the frame 24, power supply to the DC motor 22 is performed.

  Hereinafter, a toner collecting operation in the unit 10 will be mainly described. FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the storage state of the toner in the toner recovery container 4, where FIG. 6A shows the state in the conventional example, and FIG. 6B shows the state in the present embodiment.

  2 and 3, since there is no print instruction from a control unit (not shown), the screw feeder in the toner conveyance path 36 of the drum unit 3 when the DC motor 22 of the drum drive unit 2 of the unit 10 is not rotating. Since the toner does not rotate, the toner is not collected in the toner collection container 4. Accordingly, at this time, toner does not enter the toner collection container 4 connected to the connecting portion 36a of the toner conveyance path 36.

  On the other hand, when there is a print instruction from the control unit and the DC motor 22 of the drum drive unit 2 rotates, the screw feeder in the toner conveyance path 36 of the drum unit 3 also rotates via the drum gear 33, and the toner carried out by that rotates. Since the toner is collected in the toner collection container 4, the toner enters the toner collection container 4 connected to the connection portion 36 a of the toner conveyance path 36. At this time, assuming that there is no vibration transmission mechanism as in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 6A, the toner 40 is a mountain having a vertex directly below the toner inlet 42 in the container main body 41 of the toner recovery container 4. It accumulates in the shape.

  However, in the unit 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6B, the vibrations of the DC motor 22 and the large-diameter gear 21 of the drum drive unit 2 are generated through the protrusions 6 serving as the vibration transmission mechanism. The toner 40 that is transmitted to the connection portion 36 a between the recovery container 4 and the toner conveyance path 36 of the drum unit 3 and discharged from the tip end portion 37 of the connection portion 36 a is uniformly retained in the container main body 41 of the toner recovery container 4. become.

  As described above, according to the unit 10 of the present embodiment, the vibration transmission mechanism that transmits the vibration generated when the DC motor 22 of the drum drive unit 2 is rotationally driven to the toner collection container 4 is provided. Without depending on the opening cycle of the exterior cover at the time, the toner pile stored in the toner collection container 4 is broken to eliminate the uneven distribution of the toner in the container 4, and the substantial capacity of the toner collection container 4 is reduced. Can be increased. Therefore, the maximum storage capacity of the toner collection container 4 can always be ensured with certainty.

  In the above embodiment, the toner collection container 4 is supported by locking the toner collection container 4 to the connecting portion 36a of the toner conveyance path 36 of the cleaning device 107. However, an appropriate support member is provided separately. The vibration from the DC motor 22 may be transmitted to the support member. However, it is preferable to transmit the vibration from the DC motor 22 to the vicinity of the toner inlet 42 of the toner recovery container 4 in order to efficiently collapse the toner staying in a mountain shape in the toner recovery container 4.

  In the above embodiment, the printer 1 has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to other image forming apparatuses (such as a copying machine).

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a unit in which a drum unit, a drum drive unit, and a toner collection container are integrated. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2. (A) (b) (c) is an external perspective view showing each of a drum unit, a drum drive unit, and a toner recovery container. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG.4 (b) including the circumference | surroundings. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a storage state of toner in a toner recovery container, in which FIG. 1A illustrates a state in a conventional example, and FIG. 2B illustrates a state in the present embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer (an example of an image forming apparatus)
10 unit 2 drum drive unit 21 large diameter gear 22 DC motor (motor)
24, 25 Plate 3 Drum unit 36 Toner transport path 36a Connection portion 37 Tip portion 4 Toner recovery container 41 Container body 42 Toner inlet 6 Protrusion (vibration transmission mechanism)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image formation part 101 Printer main body 103 Photosensitive drum 107 Cleaning apparatus (cleaning part)
200 Paper feeder 300 Transport path P Paper

Claims (1)

A motor; a photosensitive drum rotated by the motor; a cleaning unit that removes untransferred toner from the surface of the photosensitive drum; and a toner collection container that collects the toner removed by the cleaning unit. An image forming apparatus,
A vibration transmission mechanism for transmitting vibration generated when the motor rotates to the toner collection container ;
The motor and the toner recovery container are arranged on the operation side of the apparatus main body with respect to the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit which are horizontally mounted from the operation side of the apparatus main body to the opposite side. Unitizing the photosensitive drum and the cleaning unit, and detachably connecting the toner collection container to the cleaning unit,
A gear for transmitting a rotational driving force from the motor to the photosensitive drum;
The gear is supported by a plate;
The plate is provided with the motor and a hollow shaft,
The plate is supported by the photosensitive drum such that a drum shaft provided on the photosensitive drum is inserted into the shaft,
The vibration transmission mechanism is characterized in that at least a part of the plate protrudes toward a connection portion between the cleaning portion and the toner recovery container, and the protrusion portion abuts on the connection portion. Image forming apparatus.

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