JP5002466B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus configured to collect waste toner discharged from a cleaning device that removes residual toner on an image carrier in a waste toner bottle set at a predetermined use set position is known. .

  In such an image forming apparatus, when the waste toner bottle becomes full of waste toner, the apparatus is stopped, and an operation of replacing the full waste toner bottle with a new unused waste toner bottle is performed.

  However, when the bottle is replaced, if the operator does not immediately know where to store the unused waste toner bottle, the time required for replacing the bottle becomes longer, and the unusable time (down time) of the apparatus becomes longer. Efficient.

Therefore, conventionally, in order to solve the above inconvenience, a technique has been proposed in which a plurality of waste toner bottles are provided in the apparatus and the waste toner bottles for collecting the waste toner are selectively switched (Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-151213 A

  However, in the configuration as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the apparatus becomes large and the apparatus configuration becomes complicated, so that a sufficient merit cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an image forming apparatus capable of increasing the efficiency at the time of bottle replacement while suppressing the increase in size and complexity of the apparatus. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a cleaning device that removes residual toner on an image carrier and a waste toner that is discharged from the cleaning device. In an image forming apparatus provided with a bottle set unit which is a use set position of a waste toner bottle, the waste toner bottle can take a contraction form smaller than a volume used when collecting waste toner when not in use. In the vicinity of the bottle set unit, a spare bottle storage unit for storing the spare waste toner bottle in the contracted form is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, a holder portion for holding a waste toner bottle is provided in the spare bottle storage portion.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, since the spare bottle storage unit for storing the spare waste toner bottle is provided in the vicinity of the bottle set unit which is the use set position of the waste toner bottle, the bottle replacement is performed. Sometimes, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that an operator does not immediately know the storage location of unused waste toner bottles and the time required for bottle replacement becomes long. Thereby, since it is possible to suppress an increase in time required for bottle replacement, that is, an unusable time (downtime) of the apparatus, efficiency at the time of bottle replacement can be increased.

  Further, since the waste toner bottle in the contracted form is accommodated in the spare bottle accommodating portion, the apparatus is not increased in size. Further, since only a space for accommodating the waste toner bottles in the contracted form is ensured, the apparatus configuration does not become complicated.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, since the waste toner bottle can be stably held in the spare bottle storage section by the holder section, for example, when the cover of the image forming apparatus is removed during the bottle replacement operation. Thus, the waste toner bottle can be prevented from rolling out. Thereby, the workability | operativity of bottle replacement | exchange can be improved and efficiency can be improved more.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing the overall configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration around the bottle set portion of the printer shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a waste toner bottle for collecting waste toner. First, an outline of a printer 10 as an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the Y-Y direction is referred to as the left-right direction, in particular the -Y direction is referred to as the left, and the + Y direction is referred to as the right.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 includes a device main body 11 having a box shape. The apparatus main body 11 includes an image forming unit 12 that forms an image based on image information transmitted from an external device such as a computer, and a fixing process performed on the toner image formed by the image forming unit 12 and transferred to the paper P. A fixing unit 13 that performs transfer, a sheet storage unit 14 that stores a transfer sheet, and a toner supply unit 15 that supplies toner to the image forming unit 12. Formed on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 11 is a paper discharge section 16 having a paper discharge tray 17 through which the paper P after the fixing process is discharged.

  The image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on the paper P fed from the paper storage unit 14. In this embodiment, as the image forming unit 12, a magenta unit 12M using magenta toner (developer) sequentially disposed from the upstream side (the right side in FIG. 1) to the downstream side, and a cyan color unit In this example, a cyan unit 12C using toner, a yellow unit 12Y using yellow toner, and a black unit 12K using black toner are shown.

  Each unit 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K includes a photosensitive drum 121 and a developing device 122, respectively. The photosensitive drum 121 is for forming an electrostatic latent image and a toner image along the electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface, and is an extremely smooth amorphous silicon layer that is tough and has excellent wear resistance on the peripheral surface. Etc. are laminated. Each photosensitive drum 121 receives supply of toner from a corresponding developing device 122 while rotating counterclockwise in FIG. Each developing device 122 is supplied with toner from the toner supply unit 15.

  A charging device 123 is provided immediately below each photoconductor drum 121, and an exposure device 124 is provided further below each charging device 123. Each photosensitive drum 121 is charged uniformly by the charging device 123. A laser beam corresponding to each color based on image data input from a computer or the like is irradiated from each exposure device 124 to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 after charging, and the peripheral surface of each photosensitive drum 121 is electrostatically charged. A latent image is formed. 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 125a and the driven roller 125b is provided above the respective photosensitive drums 121 so as to be in contact with the respective photosensitive drums 121. The transfer belt 125 is driven by a drive roller 125 a and a driven roller while being synchronized with each photoconductive drum 121 while being pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 121 by a transfer roller 126 provided corresponding to each photoconductive drum 121. Circulate between the rollers 125b.

  Accordingly, when the transfer belt 125 circulates, the toner image of the magenta toner is transferred to the surface of the transfer belt 125 by the photosensitive drum 121 of the magenta unit 12M. The transfer of the image, and finally the black toner image, is performed in the overcoated state. As a result, 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 127 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. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 cleaned by the cleaning device 127 goes to the charging device 123 for a new charging process.

  Waste toner removed from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by the cleaning device 127 is collected and stored in a later-described waste toner bottle 30 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) through a predetermined path.

  A paper conveyance path 111 extending in the vertical direction is formed at the left position of the image forming unit 12. A registration roller pair 112 is provided at an appropriate position on the sheet conveyance path 111, and the sheet P fed from the sheet storage unit 14 is transferred to the transfer belt 125 that is wound around the driving roller 125 a by the driving of the registration roller pair 112. It is conveyed toward.

  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 125a. The sheet P is pressed and clamped between the transfer belt 125 and the second transfer roller 113 while being conveyed through the sheet conveyance path 111, whereby the toner image on the transfer belt 125 is transferred.

  The fixing unit 13 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the sheet transferred by the image forming unit 12 including the photosensitive drum 121 and the transfer belt 125 and includes a fixing device 131. The fixing device 131 is provided immediately above the second transfer roller 113, and the paper P supplied to the fixing unit 13 with the toner image on the transfer belt 125 transferred is subjected to fixing processing by the fixing device 131. The

  The fixing device 131 includes a fixing roller 132 having an energization heating element such as a halogen lamp inside, and a pressure roller 133 disposed so as to face the fixing roller 132 so that peripheral surfaces thereof are in contact with each other. Yes. When the image forming processed paper P sent from the image forming unit 12 passes through the nip portion between the fixing roller 132 and the pressure roller 133 by the driving of the fixing roller 132, heat from the fixing roller 132 is generated. The fixing process is performed. Thereafter, the paper P is discharged toward the paper discharge tray 17 of the paper discharge unit 16 through a paper discharge conveyance path 114 extending from the upper part of the fixing unit 13.

  The paper storage unit 14 includes a paper tray 141 that is disposed below the exposure device 124 in the apparatus main body 11 and is detachably mounted. The paper tray 141 is configured to include a box body whose upper surface is open on the entire surface, and stores a paper bundle P1 in which a plurality of paper sheets P are stacked. The uppermost sheet P of the sheet bundle P1 stored in the sheet tray 141 is fed out toward the sheet conveyance path 111 by driving a pickup roller 142 disposed at the downstream end (left end in FIG. 1). Thereafter, the sheet P is fed to the nip portion between the second transfer roller 113 and the transfer belt 125 in the image forming unit 12 through the sheet conveyance path 111 by driving the registration roller pair 112.

  The toner supply unit 15 includes four toner containers 20 (a magenta container 20M, a cyan container 20C, a yellow container 20Y, and a black container) corresponding to the units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K of the image forming unit 12, respectively. A container 20K) is provided. The toner is supplied from the corresponding containers 20M, 20C, 20Y, and 20K to the developing devices 122 of the units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K when the remaining amount decreases.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 has a waste toner bottle 30 for collecting waste toner discharged from the cleaning device 127 at a position below the image forming unit 12 and in front of the exposure device 124. A bottle set unit 40 which is a use set position is provided. In FIG. 1, a bottle set unit 40 and a later-described spare bottle storage unit 50 which are present in front of the cross-sectional portion are indicated by imaginary lines.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the waste toner bottle 30 includes a pair of casings 31 and 32 and a toner storage portion 33 that is sandwiched between the casings 31 and 32.

  An intake port 34 is attached to the casing 31 via a neck tube 35. In addition, although not shown, a transport mechanism for carrying toner discharged from the cleaning device 127 into the toner storage unit 33 is provided in the casing 31.

  The toner container 33 of the waste toner bottle 30 of the present embodiment is formed of, for example, a foldable film material whose volume (volume) can be changed, and can easily be in a contracted state with a small volume and an expanded state with a large volume. Can be migrated to.

  When the waste toner bottle 30 is not used, the toner container 33 is in a contracted state, and has a contracted form with a small volume (see FIG. 3B). The toner container 33 is configured to take an expanded form (see FIG. 3A) larger than the volume when not in use by shifting the toner container 33 from the contracted state to the expanded state. The expanded waste toner bottle is denoted by reference numeral 30A, and the contracted waste toner bottle is denoted by reference numeral 30A '.

  Further, in the waste toner bottle 30A ′ in the contracted form, the pair of casings 31 and 32 are locked to each other by the snap-fit method, and thereby the contracted form is maintained. In use, the casings 31 and 32 are unlocked from each other, and the casing 32 is moved relative to the casing 31 in the direction of arrow a in FIG.

  In addition, when a waste toner bottle 30A in an expanded form is set in the bottle setting unit 40, a neck tube holding unit 41 into which the neck tube 35 of the waste toner bottle 30A is fitted and held, and a casing 32 are fitted. A casing holding part 42 is provided. By these holding portions 41 and 42, the waste toner bottle 30A can be reliably set in the bottle setting portion 40.

  In the printer 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a spare bottle for storing a spare waste toner bottle 30 </ b> A ′ in a contracted form in the vicinity of the bottle setting unit 40 (right side in the drawing). A storage portion 50A is provided. The spare bottle storage portion 50A is a space portion set in accordance with the external dimensions (vertical, horizontal, height) of the waste toner bottle 30A ′ so that the waste toner bottle 30A ′ is stably stored. .

  Each of the bottle setting section 40 and the spare bottle storage section 50A is covered with an unillustrated cover during normal use of the printer 10 so that it cannot be seen. However, when replacing the bottle, the cover is removed. Immediately, the waste toner bottles 30A and 30A ′ can be easily visually recognized by the operator. The cover may be a single cover that covers both the bottle setting section 40 and the spare bottle storage section 50A.

  In the first embodiment, as described above, the spare bottle storage unit 50A for storing the spare waste toner bottle 30A ′ is provided in the vicinity of the bottle set unit 40 that is the use set position of the waste toner bottle 30A. Therefore, when the bottle is replaced, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the operator does not immediately know the storage location of the unused waste toner bottle and the time required for the bottle replacement becomes long. Thereby, since it is possible to suppress an increase in time required for bottle replacement, that is, an unusable time (downtime) of the apparatus, efficiency at the time of bottle replacement can be increased.

In the first embodiment, since the waste toner bottle 30A ′ in the contracted form is accommodated in the spare bottle accommodating portion 50A, the apparatus does not increase in size. Further, since only a space for accommodating the waste toner bottle 30A ′ in the contracted form is ensured, the apparatus configuration does not become complicated.
(Second Embodiment)
FIGS. 4 and 5 are explanatory views showing the configuration of the spare bottle storage part of the printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6 and 7 show the spare bottle storage part shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where a waste toner bottle is accommodated.

  Next, the configuration of the spare bottle storage unit 50B of the printer according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the spare bottle storage unit 50 </ b> B is provided on the right side of the bottle setting unit 40 as in the first embodiment, and further, compared with the one in the first embodiment, the waste toner bottle. 30 can be accommodated in a more stable state.

  Note that the waste toner bottle 30 of the second embodiment has a bellows-like (see FIG. 6) toner accommodating portion 33 that can easily shift between a contracted state and an expanded state, and the bellows portion contracts when not in use. Thus, the waste toner bottle 30B ′ having a contraction form with a small volume is formed, while a bellows portion is extended during use to form a waste toner bottle (not shown) with an expansion form having a large volume.

  The spare bottle storage section 50B is provided with a holder section 51 for holding the waste toner bottle 30B ′. The holder part 51 includes a first restriction part 52 and a second restriction part 53.

  The first restricting portion 52 is arranged along the peripheral surface of the substantially cylindrical toner accommodating portion 33 of the bottle 30B ′ when the waste toner bottle 30B ′ is accommodated, thereby moving the toner accommodating portion 33. It is for regulation. In addition, when the waste toner bottle 30B ′ is accommodated, the second restricting portion 53 is arranged along the peripheral surface of the cylindrical casing 31 of the bottle 30B ′ so as to restrict the movement of the casing 31. belongs to.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the second restricting portion 53 is provided with a pair of upper and lower locking claws 54. These locking claws 54 form a substantially C shape with the second restricting portion 53, and the casing 31 is pushed into the C shape so that the casing 31 is forcibly fitted into the second restricting portion 53. At the same time, it can be held securely.

  Note that a cover (not shown) is attached to the spare bottle storage portion 50B. Further, the bottle setting unit 40 of the second embodiment is covered with a cover 60.

  In the second embodiment, as described above, the waste toner bottle 30B ′ can be stably held in the spare bottle storage unit 50B by the holder unit 51. Therefore, for example, when the bottle is replaced, the printer cover is removed. In this case, the waste toner bottle 30B ′ can be prevented from rolling out. Thereby, the workability | operativity of bottle replacement | exchange can be improved and efficiency can be improved more.

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

  For example, the waste toner bottle 30 may be made of a foldable film material or a material having elasticity other than a bellows-like one.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the reserve bottle storage part was distribute | arranged to the right side of the bottle set part 40, it is not restricted to this, If it is a place other than a location difficult for an operator at the time of bottle replacement | exchange, the vicinity of the bottle set part 40 Can be placed in the right place.

  The spare bottle storage unit may be configured to be able to store two or more spare waste toner bottles.

1 is a front sectional view showing an overall configuration of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the front view which showed the structure of the bottle set part periphery of the printer shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a waste toner bottle for collecting waste toner, where (a) shows an expanded form waste toner bottle, and (b) shows a contracted form waste toner bottle. It is the perspective view which showed the structure of the preliminary | backup bottle storage part of the printer by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is right side explanatory drawing of the preliminary | backup bottle storage part shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a spare waste toner bottle is accommodated in the spare bottle storage unit illustrated in FIG. 4. It is right side explanatory drawing of the preliminary | backup bottle storage part shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Printer (image forming device)
30 (30A, 30A ′, 30B ′) Waste toner bottle 40 Bottle setting unit 50A, 50B Spare bottle storage unit 51 Holder unit 121 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
127 Cleaning device

Claims (2)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning device that removes residual toner on an image carrier; and a bottle set unit that is a use set position of a waste toner bottle for collecting waste toner discharged from the cleaning device.
When the waste toner bottle is not used, the waste toner bottle can take a contraction form smaller than a volume during use for collecting the waste toner.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a spare bottle storage unit for storing a spare waste toner bottle in the contracted form is provided in the vicinity of the bottle set unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a holder unit that holds a waste toner bottle is provided in the spare bottle storage unit.

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