JP5736874B2 - Waste toner collection container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine thereof, and a waste toner collection container installed therein.

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, untransferred toner remaining on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum, a photosensitive belt, an intermediate transfer belt, and an intermediate transfer drum after a transfer process is performed is cleaned. A technique is known in which untransferred toner collected by the cleaning unit and untransferred toner collected by the cleaning unit is discharged as waste toner from the cleaning unit and collected in a waste toner collecting container (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).
When the waste toner collection container is filled with the collected waste toner (or nearly full), the waste toner collection container is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body and replaced (maintenance) with an empty container. The

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a waste toner collecting container having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A transport member (waste toner transport means, paddle) for transporting the waste toner is provided in the container so that the waste toner is uniformly filled in the substantially rectangular parallelepiped waste toner collection container.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, etc., a protrusion is formed on a part of the bottom of the waste toner collection container so that the collection port is positioned upward when the waste toner collection container detached from the apparatus main body falls down. Technology is disclosed.

The waste toner collection containers described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above are substantially rectangular parallelepiped containers, and the waste space of the image forming apparatus main body cannot be effectively used, and the waste toner collection capacity is not so large. There was a problem. Therefore, the maintenance cycle of the waste toner collecting container is relatively fast.
In order to solve such problems, the wasteful space of the image forming apparatus main body excluding the functional units such as the image forming unit, the paper feeding unit, the fixing unit, and the paper transporting unit is used to the maximum to extend in the depth direction. A measure to increase the capacity of the waste toner collection container by forming a waste toner collection container so as to project a rectangular parallelepiped portion above the existing rectangular parallelepiped portion is conceivable. However, in that case, it is necessary to configure the waste toner collecting container so that the entire waste toner collecting container including the protruding portion is filled with waste toner, and the waste toner is collected when the waste toner is full. It is necessary to configure so that waste toner does not leak from the inside of the container when the container is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can completely collect waste toner in a large-capacity container as a whole, and waste toner in a state where the waste toner is full. It is an object of the present invention to provide a waste toner collection container and an image forming apparatus in which waste toner is difficult to leak from the inside of the container when the collection container is taken out from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a waste toner collecting container collects untransferred toner discharged from a cleaning unit that removes untransferred toner on an image carrier as waste toner, and an image forming apparatus main body. A waste toner collecting container that is detachably installed with respect to the waste toner container, and is formed so as to extend in the depth direction. The waste toner storage part stores waste toner, and protrudes above the waste toner storage part. And a waste toner inflow portion formed with an inflow port that communicates with a discharge port of a conveyance pipe through which waste toner discharged from the cleaning portion is conveyed, and the waste toner storage portion includes the waste toner storage portion A first conveying member configured to convey in a depth direction waste toner that has flowed in and accumulated through the toner inflow portion; and the waste toner inflow portion is formed from one end side in the width direction orthogonal to the depth direction. Conveys the waste toner toward the position of the central portion which does not reach the end side, comprise a second conveying member for transmitting a driving force to the first conveying member, wherein the second conveying member includes a shaft portion, wherein A screw portion wound only in a range from the one end side in the width direction of the shaft portion to the position of the center portion, and the waste toner storage portion corresponds to the other end side in the width direction. And a handle is provided at a position corresponding to the lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion .

A waste toner collecting container according to a second aspect of the present invention is the waste toner collecting container according to the first aspect, wherein the handle is the other end in the width direction in which the screw portion is not formed in the second conveying member. It is formed at a position corresponding to the side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the shaft portion of the second conveying member has a cam member at a part in the width direction. The first conveying member is formed in a lattice shape, and is connected to the flat plate portion provided in the waste toner storage portion, the flat plate portion, and the cam member of the second conveying member. An arm portion suspended from the arm, and the first conveying member is interlocked with the rotational driving of the second conveying member, and the abutting portion between the arm portion and the cam member is a drive transmitting portion. Thus, the flat plate portion swings while changing the inclination angle and position with respect to the depth direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a waste toner collecting container that collects untransferred toner discharged from a cleaning unit that removes untransferred toner on an image carrier as waste toner and that is disposed in a main body of an image forming apparatus. A waste toner collecting container that is detachably mounted on the waste toner container, is formed to extend in the depth direction, and is disposed to protrude above the waste toner storage section, and a waste toner storage section that stores the waste toner And a waste toner inflow portion formed with an inflow port that communicates with a discharge port of a conveyance pipe through which waste toner discharged from the cleaning portion is conveyed, and the waste toner storage portion includes the waste toner storage portion A first conveying member that conveys waste toner that has flowed in and accumulated through the inflow portion in the depth direction, and the waste toner inflow portion is configured to extend from one end side to the other end in the width direction orthogonal to the depth direction. In a single state separated from the image forming apparatus main body, the waste toner is transported toward a central position that does not reach the center, and includes a second transport member that transmits a driving force to the first transport member. The other end side of the waste toner inflow portion is higher than the one end side, and the portion corresponding to the lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion at the bottom of the waste toner storage portion is higher than the front end portion in the depth direction. It is formed so as to be left stationary.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the waste toner collecting container according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the bottom portion of the waste toner storage portion corresponds to the width direction in a portion corresponding to the lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion. A protrusion is formed on the other end side.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the waste toner collecting container according to the fourth or fifth aspect of the present invention, the second conveying member is a shaft having a cam member formed in a part in the width direction. And a screw portion wound from the one end side in the width direction of the shaft portion to the position of the central portion, and the first conveying member is formed in a lattice shape, and the waste toner A flat plate portion provided in the storage portion; and an arm portion connected to the flat plate portion and suspended from the cam member of the second conveyance member, wherein the first conveyance member is In conjunction with the rotational drive of the second conveying member, the contact portion between the arm portion and the cam member becomes a drive transmission portion, and the flat plate portion swings while varying the inclination angle and position with respect to the depth direction. It is.

A waste toner collecting container according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the waste toner inflow portion is in a width direction with respect to the waste toner storage portion. In which the one end side protrudes.

The waste toner collection container according to the invention of claim 8 is the waste toner collection container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the waste toner inflow portion has a plurality of inlets formed in a width direction. The plurality of inlets are formed so that the number formed on the one end side is larger than the number formed on the other end side.

Further, the waste toner collecting container according to the invention of claim 9, wherein, in the invention described in any one of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the waste toner inlet portion, corresponding to the intermediate transfer member as an image bearing member Untransferred toner discharged from the cleaning unit that flows into the intermediate transfer member into which waste toner flows in, and untransferred toner discharged from the cleaning unit corresponding to the image carrier on which the black toner image is formed. An inflow port for black that flows in as waste toner,
The intermediate transfer body inlet is formed on the one end side, and the black inlet is formed on the other end side.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the waste toner collecting container according to any one of the first to ninth aspects is installed detachably with respect to the main body of the image forming apparatus. Is.

  In the present invention, a waste toner inflow portion protrudes above a waste toner storage portion formed so as to extend in the depth direction, and a conveying member is installed in each of the waste toner storage portion and the waste toner inflow portion. Furthermore, the other end side of the waste toner inflow portion is formed so as to be higher than the one end side when it is detached from the image forming apparatus main body. As a result, the waste toner is collected uniformly throughout the large-capacity container, and when the waste toner collection container in a state where the waste toner is full is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body, the waste toner is collected from the inside of the container. A waste toner collecting container and an image forming apparatus that are difficult to leak can be provided.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows an image creation part. It is a block diagram which shows a waste toner collection container in the depth direction. It is a perspective view showing a waste toner collection container. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a waste toner collecting container and its inside. It is a side view showing a waste toner collection container. It is a front view showing a waste toner collection container. It is a perspective view which shows a 1st conveyance member. It is a top view which shows a 1st conveyance member. It is a side view which shows the arm part of a 1st conveying member. It is a perspective view which shows a 2nd conveyance member. It is a side view which shows a 2nd conveyance member. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a waste toner collecting container in a waste toner full state. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an operation of a movable member in a waste toner detection unit. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which a waste toner collecting container is placed on a stationary surface in a single state.

Embodiment.
Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds, The duplication description is simplified or abbreviate | omitted suitably.

First, the configuration and operation of the entire image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK as image forming units are arranged in parallel so as to face an intermediate transfer belt 17 as an intermediate transfer member. An image forming apparatus.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is an apparatus main body of a color copying machine as an image forming apparatus, 3 is a document conveying unit that conveys a document to a document reading unit 4, 4 is a document reading unit that reads image information of a document, and 6 is input image information. A writing unit (exposure unit) that emits laser light based on the above, 7 is a paper feeding unit that accommodates a recording medium P such as transfer paper, and 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK are colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black). A corresponding process cartridge as an image forming unit, 17 is an intermediate transfer belt (image carrier) on which toner images of a plurality of colors are transferred, and 18 is a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 17 on a recording medium P. A secondary transfer roller for transferring, a fixing unit 20 for fixing an unfixed image on the recording medium P, and a toner 28 for each process cartridge 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK. Because of the toner container, 30 denotes a waste toner container, the waste toner is collected.

Here, each of the process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK (image forming unit) includes a photosensitive drum 11 as an image carrier, a charging unit 12, a developing unit 13 (developing device), and a cleaning unit 15 (cleaning device). ) Are integrated (see FIG. 2). And each process cartridge 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10BK is replaced | exchanged for a new thing when the lifetime is reached.
A toner image of each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 (image carrier) in each of the process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK.

Hereinafter, an operation during normal color image formation in the image forming apparatus will be described.
First, the document is transported from the document table by the transport rollers of the document transport unit 3 and placed on the contact glass of the document reading unit 4. Then, the document reading unit 4 optically reads the image information of the document placed on the contact glass.
Specifically, the document reading unit 4 scans an image of a document on the contact glass while irradiating light emitted from an illumination lamp. Then, the light reflected from the original is imaged on the color sensor via the mirror group and the lens. The color image information of the original is read for each color separation light of RGB (red, green, blue) by the color sensor, and then converted into an electrical image signal. Further, an image processing unit (not shown) performs color conversion processing, color correction processing, spatial frequency correction processing, and the like on the basis of RGB color separation image signals, so that yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are processed. Get color image information.

  Then, image information of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is transmitted to the writing unit 6. Then, laser light (exposure light) based on the image information of each color is emitted from the writing unit 6 toward the photosensitive drums 11 of the corresponding process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK, respectively.

On the other hand, the four photosensitive drums 11 rotate in the clockwise direction in the figure. Referring to FIG. 2, first, the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is uniformly charged at a position facing the charging unit 12 (charging roller) (a charging process). Thus, a charged potential is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 as an image carrier. Thereafter, the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 11 reaches the irradiation position of each laser beam.
In the writing unit 6, laser light corresponding to the image signal is emitted from the light source corresponding to each color. Although not shown, the laser light is incident on the polygon mirror and reflected, and then passes through a plurality of lenses. The laser light after passing through the plurality of lenses passes through different optical paths for each of the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black color components (this is an exposure process).

  Laser light corresponding to the yellow component is irradiated onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 of the first process cartridge 10Y from the left side of the drawing. At this time, the yellow component laser light is scanned in the rotational axis direction (main scanning direction) of the photosensitive drum 11 by a polygon mirror (not shown) that rotates at high speed. Thus, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the yellow component is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 after being charged by the charging roller 12a.

  Similarly, the cyan component laser light is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 of the second process cartridge 10 </ b> C from the left side of the sheet, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image of the cyan component. The laser beam corresponding to the magenta component is irradiated onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 of the third process cartridge 10M from the left side of the paper, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the magenta component is formed. The black component laser light is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 of the process cartridge 10BK (black image forming unit), which is fourth from the left side of the drawing (the most downstream side with respect to the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt 17). Thus, an electrostatic latent image of the black component is formed.

Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 on which the electrostatic latent image of each color is formed reaches a position facing the developing unit 13 (see FIG. 2). Then, each color toner is supplied from each developing unit 13 onto the photosensitive drum 11, and the latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 is developed (this is a developing step).
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after the development process reaches a position facing the intermediate transfer belt 17 (intermediate transfer body) as an image carrier. Here, a primary transfer roller 14 is installed at each facing position so as to contact the inner peripheral surface of an intermediate transfer belt 17 as an intermediate transfer member. At the position of the primary transfer roller 14, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drum 11 are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 17 as an image carrier (in the first transfer process). is there.).

Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after the first transfer step reaches a position facing the cleaning unit 15 (see FIG. 2). The untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 (image carrier) is collected by the cleaning unit 15 (cleaning process).
Thereafter, the surface of the photoconductive drum 11 passes through the position of a static elimination unit (not shown), and a series of image forming processes on the photoconductive drum 11 is completed.

On the other hand, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17 on which the images of the respective colors on the photosensitive drum 11 are transferred in an overlapping manner travels in the direction of the arrow in the drawing and reaches the position of the secondary transfer roller 18. Then, the full color image on the intermediate transfer belt 17 is secondarily transferred onto the recording medium P at the position of the secondary transfer roller 18 (second transfer step).
Thereafter, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 17 reaches the position of the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9 (cleaning unit). Then, the untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 17 as the image carrier is collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9 (cleaning unit), and a series of transfer processes on the intermediate transfer belt 17 is completed.

Here, the recording medium P at the position of the secondary transfer roller 18 is conveyed from the paper supply unit 7 via the conveyance guide, the registration roller 19 and the like.
Specifically, the transfer paper P fed by the paper feed roller 8 from the paper feed unit 7 that stores the recording medium P is guided to the registration roller 19 after passing through the conveyance guide. The recording medium P that has reached the registration roller 19 is conveyed toward the position of the secondary transfer roller 18 in synchronization with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 17.

Thereafter, the recording medium P on which the full-color image is transferred is guided to the fixing unit 20. In the fixing unit 20, the color image is fixed on the recording medium P at the nip between the fixing roller and the pressure roller.
The recording medium P after the fixing step is discharged as an output image outside the apparatus main body 1 by the paper discharge roller 29 and then stacked on the paper discharge unit 5 to complete a series of image forming processes.

Next, the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the black process cartridge 10BK. The other three process cartridges 10Y, 10M, and 10C are configured substantially the same as the black process cartridge 10BK except that the color of the toner used in the image forming process is different. Are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge 10BK contains a photosensitive drum 11 as an image carrier, a charging unit 12 for charging the photosensitive drum 11, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 11. A developing unit 13 for developing and a cleaning unit 15 for collecting untransferred toner on the photosensitive drum 11 are integrally stored in a case.

Here, the photosensitive drum 11 as an image bearing member is a negatively charged organic photosensitive member, and a photosensitive layer or the like is provided on a drum-shaped conductive support. Although not shown, the photosensitive drum 11 has an undercoat layer that is an insulating layer, a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer as a photosensitive layer, and a protective layer (surface layer) in this order on a conductive support as a base layer. Are stacked.
The charging unit 12 is a charging roller formed by covering an outer periphery of a conductive metal core with an intermediate resistance elastic layer. Then, a predetermined voltage is applied to the charging unit 12 (charging roller) from a power supply unit (not shown), thereby uniformly charging the surface of the opposing photoconductive drum 11.

  The developing unit 13 (developing device) mainly includes a developing roller 13a facing the photoconductive drum 11, a first transporting screw 13b1 facing the developing roller 13a, and a first transporting screw 13b1 facing the first transporting screw 13b1 via a partition member. It is comprised by the 2 conveyance screw 13b2 and the doctor blade 13c facing the developing roller 13a. The developing roller 13a includes a magnet that is fixed inside and forms a magnetic pole on the peripheral surface of the roller, and a sleeve that rotates around the magnet. A plurality of magnetic poles are formed on the developing roller 13a (sleeve) by the magnet, and the developer is carried on the developing roller 13a.

In the developing unit 13, a two-component developer composed of a carrier and a toner is accommodated. In the present embodiment, a toner having a small particle diameter and a substantially spherical shape is used to improve the image quality.
Specifically, the toner is formed so that the circularity is 0.92 or more. The “circularity” is an average circularity measured by a flow type particle image analyzer “FPIA-2000” (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.). Specifically, 0.1 to 0.5 ml of a surfactant (preferably an alkylbenzene sulfonate) is added as a dispersant to 100 to 150 ml of water from which impure solids have been removed in advance. Further, about 0.1 to 0.5 g of a measurement sample (toner) is added. Thereafter, the suspension in which the toner is dispersed is subjected to a dispersion treatment with an ultrasonic disperser for about 1 to 3 minutes, and the dispersion liquid concentration is set to 3000 to 10000 / μl in the above-described analyzer. Then, the shape and distribution of the toner are measured.
The toner is formed so that the shape factor SF-1 and the shape factor SF-2 are both in the range of 100 to 180.
The toner has a volume average particle diameter (Dv) in the range of 3 to 8 μm, and a ratio (Dv / Dn) of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is 1.05. It is formed to be in the range of 1.40.
Further, the toner has a ratio of the major axis to the minor axis (r1 / r2) in the range of 0.5 to 1.0, and a ratio of the thickness to the minor axis (r3 / r2) of 0.7 to 1. In the range of 0.0, and the long axis r1 ≧ the short axis r2 ≧ the thickness r3 is satisfied.
Such a small particle size / spherical toner crosslinks a toner composition containing a polyester prepolymer having a functional group containing a nitrogen atom, a polyester, a colorant, and a release agent in the presence of resin fine particles in an aqueous medium. Alternatively, it can be produced by an extension reaction.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 15 (cleaning device) includes a cleaning blade 15a that contacts the photosensitive drum 11, and a non-transferred toner collected in the cleaning unit 15 as a waste toner collection container 30 (see FIG. 2). 3), a transfer coil 15b (transfer pipe 16), etc., which is transferred toward is provided. The cleaning blade 15a is made of a rubber material such as urethane rubber, and is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 at a predetermined angle and a predetermined pressure. As a result, deposits such as untransferred toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 11 are mechanically scraped and collected in the cleaning unit 15. The untransferred toner recovered in the cleaning unit 15 is transported to the waste toner recovery container 30 via the transport pipe 16 (a transport coil 15b is provided), and is recovered as waste toner. It is collected inside the container 30.
Similarly, referring to FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9 as a cleaning unit also includes a cleaning blade that is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 17 (intermediate transfer member) and the uncollected in the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9. A conveying coil (conveying tube 16) for conveying the transfer toner as waste toner toward a waste toner collecting container 30 (see FIG. 3) is installed. Then, the untransferred toner collected in the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9 is transported to the waste toner collection container 30 via the transport pipe 16 (a transport coil is provided), and is discarded as waste toner. The toner is collected in the toner collection container 30. The configuration and operation of the waste toner collection container 30 will be described in more detail later.
In addition to the untransferred toner, the adhering matter adhering to the photosensitive drum 11 and the intermediate transfer belt 17 is not only the untransferred toner but also paper dust generated from the recording medium P (paper), and the photosensitive member during discharge by the charging roller 12 (charging unit). There are discharge products generated on the drum 11, additives added to the toner, and the like. In the present application, these are collectively referred to as “untransferred toner”.

The image forming process described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
The developing roller 13a rotates in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction) in FIG. The developer in the developing unit 13 is replenished from the toner container 28 by a toner replenishing unit (not shown) by the rotation of the first transport screw 13b1 and the second transport screw 13b2 that are disposed so as to interpose a partition member therebetween. The toner circulates in the longitudinal direction while being agitated and mixed with the toner (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2).

  The toner that is frictionally charged and adsorbed on the carrier is carried on the developing roller 13a together with the carrier. The developer carried on the developing roller 13a then reaches the position of the doctor blade 13c. The developer on the developing roller 13a is adjusted to an appropriate amount at the position of the doctor blade 13c and then reaches a position facing the photosensitive drum 11 (development region).

  Thereafter, in the developing region, the toner in the developer adheres to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. Specifically, the latent image potential (exposure potential) of the image portion irradiated with the laser beam L and the electric field formed by the potential difference (development potential) between the development bias applied to the developing roller 13a cause the toner to become a latent image. (Toner image is formed).

  Thereafter, most of the toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 11 in the developing process is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 17. Then, the untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 is collected in the cleaning unit 15 by the cleaning blade 15a.

  Here, although not shown in the figure, the toner replenishing portion provided in the apparatus main body 1 includes a bottle-shaped toner container 28 configured to be replaceable, and holds and rotates the toner container 28, and the developing unit 13 is newly installed. And a toner hopper for replenishing toner. Also, a new toner (any one of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) is accommodated in the toner container 28. In addition, a spiral protrusion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the toner container 28 (toner bottle).

  The new toner in the toner container 28 is appropriately supplied from the toner supply port into the developing unit 13 as the toner in the developing unit 13 (existing toner) is consumed. Although illustration is omitted, the consumption of toner in the developing unit 13 is indirectly caused by a reflection type photosensor facing the photosensitive drum 11 and a magnetic sensor installed below the second conveying screw 23b2 of the developing unit 13. Or detected directly.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the waste toner collecting container 30 which are characteristic in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6 and the like, waste toner collection container 30 in the present embodiment is formed so that the shape seen from the side is substantially L-shaped. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the waste toner collection container 30 as viewed from the right side (right side of FIG. 1). FIG. 6 (and FIG. 13) shows the waste toner collection container 30 on the left side (FIG. 1). It is a detailed sectional view seen from the left side.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 7, the waste toner collecting container 30 mainly includes a waste toner inflow portion 32 into which the waste toner discharged from the cleaning units 9 and 15 is introduced, and a waste toner storage portion that stores the waste toner. 31.
The waste toner storage portion 31 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box-like portion formed so as to extend in the depth direction (the left-right direction in FIGS. 3 and 6 and the vertical direction in FIG. 1). A pushing member 41 as a first conveying member is installed in the inside. Further, the waste toner storage unit 31 is provided with a waste toner detection unit 54 (also see FIG. 14) that detects that the amount of waste toner accumulated in the container has reached a predetermined amount (predetermined height). ing.
The waste toner inflow portion 32 (second waste toner storage portion) is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped portion protruding above the waste toner storage portion 31, and a transport screw 51 as a second transport member is provided therein. is set up. The entire boundary of the waste toner inflow portion 32 and the waste toner storage portion 31 is open. 5 and 7, the inflow ports 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T into which the waste toner discharged from the cleaning units 9 and 15 flows into the ceiling portion 32a of the waste toner inflow portion 32. Are formed (in FIG. 3, FIG. 6, and FIG. 13, the reference numeral “32a1” is omitted). 4 and the like, the waste toner inflow portion 32 is formed so that one end side in the width direction (a portion surrounded by a broken line) protrudes from the waste toner storage portion 31. The protruding portion of the waste toner inflow portion 32 is also formed to make maximum use of the wasted space in the apparatus main body 1.
Then, the waste toner collecting container 30 configured as described above is discharged from the cleaning units 15 of the four process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK and discharged from the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9. Untransferred toner is collected as waste toner. Then, a large amount of waste toner is stored in the waste toner storage unit 31, and the waste toner is additionally stored in a part of the space of the waste toner inflow unit 32.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the ceiling portion of waste toner inflow portion 32, inflow port 32a1BK formed on the leftmost side in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the depth direction and the left-right direction in FIG. 7). (The black inlet) is used to flow the untransferred toner collected by the cleaning unit 15 of the black process cartridge 10BK into the waste toner inflow portion 32 as waste toner. The toner is discharged from the transport pipe 16 into the waste toner inflow section 32 in a state where the discharge port 16a (see FIG. 3) of the transport pipe 16 connected to the cleaning section 15 communicates with the inflow port 32a1BK.
In addition, in the waste toner inflow portion 32, the inflow port 32a1C formed second from the left in the width direction uses the untransferred toner collected by the cleaning portion 15 of the cyan process cartridge 10C as waste toner and serves as a waste toner inflow portion 32. In the state where the discharge port 16a of the conveyance tube 16 connected to the cyan cleaning unit 15 communicates with the inflow port 32a1C, the toner enters the waste toner inflow portion 32 from the conveyance tube 16. Is discharged.
Further, in the waste toner inflow portion 32, the inflow port 32a1M formed third from the left in the width direction is a waste toner inflow portion 32 using the untransferred toner collected by the cleaning portion 15 of the magenta process cartridge 10M as waste toner. In the state where the discharge port 16a of the conveyance tube 16 connected to the magenta cleaning unit 15 communicates with the inflow port 32a1M, the toner enters the waste toner inflow unit 32 from the conveyance tube 16. Is discharged.
Further, in the waste toner inflow portion 32, the inflow port 32a1Y formed fourth from the left in the width direction is a waste toner inflow portion 32 using the untransferred toner collected by the cleaning portion 15 of the yellow process cartridge 10Y as waste toner. In the state where the discharge port 16a of the conveyance tube 16 connected to the yellow cleaning unit 15 communicates with the inflow port 32a1Y, the toner enters the waste toner inflow portion 32 from the conveyance tube 16. Is discharged.
In addition, in the waste toner inflow portion 32, an inflow port 32a1T (which is an inflow port for the intermediate transfer member) formed on the rightmost side in the width direction receives untransferred toner collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9. In order to flow into the waste toner inflow portion 32 as waste toner, the discharge port 16a of the conveyance tube 16 connected to the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 9 communicates with the inflow port 32a1T from the conveyance tube 16. The toner is discharged into the waste toner inflow portion 32.
In addition, in FIG. 7 etc., illustration of the conveyance pipe | tube 16 respectively connected to five inflow port 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, 32a1T is abbreviate | omitted.

  Then, the waste toner (untransferred toner) that has flowed in from the five inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T (discharge port 16a) falls by its own weight and is discharged from the waste toner inflow portion 32 to the waste toner storage portion 31 (waste). It is a position below the toner inflow portion 32). The waste toner accumulated at that position is depth by a pushing member 41 (refer to an operation range indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3) as a first conveying member whose flat plate portion 41a swings in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is conveyed so as to be pushed into the back side of the direction (the right side in FIG. 3). When the waste toner is collected (filled) over the entire waste toner storage unit 31 (or close to it), the waste toner that has flowed in from the five inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T. Is accumulated in the waste toner inflow portion 32. The waste toner that has reached the vicinity of the position (height) of the transport screw 51 as the second transport member is in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3 and the white arrow direction in FIG. 7). ). When the waste toner accumulation unit 31 (waste toner full detection unit) detects that the amount of waste toner accumulated in the waste toner storage unit 31 and the waste toner inflow unit 32 reaches a predetermined amount, the control unit discards the waste toner. The conveyance of the waste toner to the toner recovery container 30 is stopped, and the state is notified to a display unit (not shown) of the apparatus main body 1. Then, the user (or service person) who recognizes the state performs replacement maintenance of the full waste toner collecting container 30.

The waste toner collecting container 30 is moved to the left side of FIG. 3 (the front side of the paper in FIG. 1) by opening the main body cover (not shown) of the apparatus main body 1 and moving to the left side of FIG. 1 can be taken out. Then, the new (empty) waste toner collecting container 30 is moved to the right side of FIG. 3 (the back side in FIG. 1) with respect to the apparatus main body 1 with the main body cover opened. Installed.
Here, in the present embodiment, the waste toner collection container 30 is provided with the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10BK, the writing unit 6 and the intermediate transfer belt 17 (in order to extend the maintenance cycle of the waste toner collection container 30. By utilizing the space excluding the functional part such as the intermediate transfer belt unit) to the maximum extent, the waste toner inflow part 32 (second waste toner storage part) is provided above the waste toner storage part 31 as described above, thereby providing a large capacity. It has become.

Here, the conveying screw 51 as the second conveying member is mainly composed of a shaft portion 51a and a screw portion 51b, and both ends in the width direction thereof are waste toner inflow portions via bearings (not shown). 32 cases are rotatably supported.
Specifically, referring to FIGS. 3, 7, 11, and 12, cam members 52 are respectively installed at both ends in the width direction of the shaft portion 51 a of the transport screw 51 (second transport member). . The cam member 52 rotates around the shaft portion 51a together with the conveying screw 51, and can be formed integrally with the shaft portion 51a or can be formed as a separate member from the shaft portion 51a. it can. It should be noted that the position of the shaft portion 51 a that is the rotation center of the cam member 52 is a position that is eccentric from the center of the circle of the cam member 52, so that the cam member 52 functions as a “cam” as the conveyance screw 51 rotates. Will do. The cam member 52 is for driving a pushing member 41 (first conveying member) described later, and the arm portion 41b of the pushing member 41 is suspended.
Further, in the shaft portion 51a of the conveying screw 51 (second conveying member), it is a position excluding the position where the cam member 52 is formed, and from the one end side in the width direction to the center position not reaching the other end side, A screw part 51b is formed (wound). In other words, the screw part 51b is formed in the shaft part 51a of the conveying screw 51 at a position excluding the position where the cam member 52 is formed and the other end side (the left side in FIG. 7). Further, the screw part 51b is disposed at a waste toner inflow part 32 formed so as to protrude to one end side in the width direction (the right end part in FIG. 7) above the waste toner storage part 31. This is for adjusting the balance in the width direction of the waste toner sent toward the portion 31 and the balance in the width direction of the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner inflow portion 32, and the shaft portion 51a described above. (The range from the one end side to the position of the central portion). That is, by installing the conveying screw 51 having the screw part 51b in the part formed so as to protrude to one end side in the width direction in the waste toner inflow part 32, it is possible to prevent the problem that the waste toner stays in that part. Can do. Furthermore, by forming the screw part 51b only on one end side in the width direction in the transport screw 51, the driving torque of the transport screw 51 can be reduced compared to the case where the screw part 51b is formed over the entire width direction.
The screw portion 51b is formed so as to convey waste toner in a direction away from the cam member 52 on one end side (the right end portion in FIG. 7). As a result, a problem that waste toner adheres to the cam member 52 and a drive transmission failure between the cam member 52 and the pushing member 41 (first transport member) occurs is prevented.
Referring to FIG. 7, a gear 71 that meshes with a drive gear (not shown) installed in the apparatus main body 1 is provided on one end side of the shaft portion 51 a of the transport screw 51 (second transport member). is set up. When the driving force is transmitted from the driving gear to the gear 71 and the conveying screw 51 is rotationally driven in a predetermined direction, the waste screw does not reach the other end side from the one end side in the width direction by the conveying screw 51. It is transported toward the position (transportation in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 7).

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 3, 7 to 9, etc., the pushing member 41 as the first conveying member includes a flat plate portion 41 a provided in the waste toner storage portion 31 and a waste toner inflow portion in the flat plate portion 41 a. 32, which are end portions in the depth direction on the side close to 32, and arm portions 41b respectively connected to both end portions in the width direction.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the flat plate portion 41 a of the pushing member 41 (first transport member) is formed in a substantially lattice shape. That is, the flat plate portion 41a is provided with a plurality of rectangular watermarks (through holes) in the vertical and horizontal directions when viewed from the vertical direction.
Here, in the flat plate portion 41a in the present embodiment, the lattice at the center in the width direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 9) is substantially orthogonal to the waste toner conveyance direction (the right direction in FIG. 9). The grids at both ends in the width direction are formed in a substantially parallelogram shape inclined toward the center with respect to the waste toner conveyance direction. Furthermore, it is formed so that the inclination angle of the lattice of the one side endmost portion (lower side in FIG. 9) in the width direction of the flat plate portion 41a is larger than the inclination angle of the lattice on the center side. Yes. With such a configuration, the waste toner is collected without being biased throughout the waste toner storage unit 31 by the swinging of the pushing member 41.
In the present application, “lattice” means that a plurality of rectangular watermarks (through holes) are regularly arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a plurality of watermarks (through holes) are randomly formed regardless of the rectangle. It is also included.

  Further, the arm portion 41b of the pushing member 41 (first conveying member) has a substantially O-shaped abutting portion 41b1 formed at the tip thereof, and the abutting portion 41b1 serves as a hook portion and the conveying screw 51. The cam member 52 is suspended (hanged). The abutting portion 41b1 between the arm portion 41b and the cam member 52 serves as a drive transmission portion for transmitting the driving force of the conveying screw 51 to the pushing member 41. That is, in the pushing member 41 (first transport member), the contact portion 41b1 between the arm portion 41b and the cam member 52 becomes a drive transmission portion in conjunction with the rotational drive of the transport screw 51 (second transport member). The flat plate portion 41a swings while changing the inclination angle with respect to the depth direction. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the cam member 52 rotates eccentrically about the shaft 51a, the flat plate portion 41a connected to the arm portion 41b in accordance with the operation thereof is It moves up and down in the direction of the arrow and slides in the depth direction. That is, the flat plate portion 41a swings while changing the inclination angle and position with respect to the depth direction. By such an operation of the grid-like flat plate portion 41a (pushing member 41), the waste toner accumulated below the waste toner inflow portion 32 is gradually pushed inward in the depth direction (FIG. 3). Move from the left side to the right side.) Thus, the waste toner is filled (collected) without wasting space over the entire area of the waste toner storage unit 31 extending in the depth direction.

Here, in the waste toner collecting container 30 in the present embodiment, the pushing member 41 (first transport member) is driven in conjunction with the drive of the transport screw 51 (second transport member). Furthermore, the position where the drive transmission part (the contact part 41b1 between the arm part 41b and the cam member 52) with the conveying screw 51 is different from the inside of the waste toner storage part 31 (width direction of the waste toner inflow part 32). It is arranged at both ends.
This makes it difficult for the waste toner stored in the waste toner storage section 32 to adhere to the drive connecting portion between the pushing member 41 and the conveying screw 51, so that the pushing member 41 is reliably driven in conjunction with the driving of the conveying screw 51. As a result, the occurrence of malfunction of the pushing member 41 is suppressed. Therefore, the waste toner is uniformly collected in the large-capacity waste toner collection container 30 as a whole.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the cam member 52 of the conveying screw 51 is at both ends in the width direction of the waste toner inflow portion 32, and the width direction in which the five inflow ports 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T are formed. Are disposed at positions outside the range. Further, the waste toner is transported toward the central portion in the width direction by the screw portion 51b of the transport screw 51.
With such a configuration, the waste toner flowing into the waste toner inflow portion 52 is less likely to directly adhere to the cam member 52 (or the drive connection portion 41b1 with the arm portion 41b). The effect of suppressing the malfunction is further ensured.

Here, in the present embodiment, referring to FIG. 3 and the like, in the waste toner inflow portion 32 (second waste toner storage portion), in the extending direction of the transport pipe 16 (the left-right direction in FIG. 3). A ceiling portion 32 a is formed so as to face the lower surface of the transport pipe 16. In addition, an inflow port 32a1 that communicates with the discharge port 16a of the transport pipe 16 is formed in the ceiling portion 32a.
Further, the ceiling portion 32a of the waste toner inflow portion 32 has an inclined portion that is inclined downward along the mounting direction at a position corresponding to the back side in the mounting direction with respect to the transport pipe 16 (right side in FIG. 3). (Taper part) is formed. By providing the inclined portion in the waste toner inflow portion 32 as described above, the attaching / detaching operation (particularly, the attaching operation) of the waste toner collecting container 30 with respect to the apparatus main body 1 (conveying pipe 16) can be performed smoothly.

6 and the like, the ceiling portion 32a of the waste toner inflow portion 32 has a positioning hole formed in the front end portion of the transport tube 16 on the front side in the mounting direction (right side in the drawing). A positioning pin that engages with a portion (not shown) is provided.
Specifically, the ceiling portion 32a is provided with an upright portion (wall surface) that rises upward on the front side in the mounting direction. A positioning pin is fixed on the standing part so as to stand in the horizontal direction. Then, the waste toner collection container 30 is attached to the conveyance pipe 16 (apparatus body 1), and the positioning pin of the waste toner collection container 30 is engaged with the positioning hole portion of the conveyance pipe 16, so that the conveyance pipe 16 (apparatus) The position of the waste toner collecting container 30 relative to the main body 1) is determined. In such a state, the discharge port 16a of the transport pipe 16 and the inflow port 32a1 of the waste toner collection container 30 communicate with each other, and waste toner flows into the waste toner collection container 30 through the transport pipe 16. Will be.

  Here, in the waste toner collection container 30 in the present embodiment, referring to FIG. 3 and the like, a waste toner detection unit 54 that detects that the waste toner collected in the container 30 has reached a predetermined amount, It is provided at a position facing the direction in which the pushing member 41 (first conveying member) swings (the direction indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 3). Specifically, the waste toner detection unit 54 is disposed above the waste toner storage unit 31 and near the waste toner inflow unit 32 (near the boundary between the waste toner storage unit 31 and the waste toner inflow unit 32). It is installed. Further, the waste toner detection unit 54 is disposed at the center in the width direction at a position facing the flat plate portion 41a of the pushing member 41.

Referring to FIG. 14 and the like, the waste toner detection unit 54 includes a rubber sheet 56 as a flexible member, a filler 55 as a movable member, a photo sensor 57 (optical sensor) as a detection unit, and the like. ing.
The rubber sheet 56 (flexible member) is installed (adhered) so as to close the opening 31a formed in the waste toner collection container 30 (waste toner storage unit 31), and the waste accumulated at that position is disposed. It is formed so as to be deformed by being pushed into the toner. The rubber sheet 56 can be formed of a rubber material having a thickness of 1 mm or less, for example.
The filler 55 (movable member) is installed so as to come into contact with the rubber sheet 56 from the outside of the waste toner collection container 30, and is supported by the waste toner collection container 30 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 55a. ing. The filler 55 is pushed and displaced by the deformation of the rubber sheet 56 as the amount of waste toner increases, and the displacement is detected by the photo sensor 57.

When the waste toner T collected in the container 30 is not full by the waste toner detection unit 54 configured in this way, the filler 55 is a photo as shown in FIGS. 6 and 14A. The posture that is not detected by the sensor 57 is maintained. On the other hand, when the waste toner T collected in the container 30 becomes full (or a state close to it), as shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. At the same time, it is displaced and rotated to a position detected by the photosensor 57.
Note that the photosensor 57 mainly includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and is a filler 55 interposed between the light emitting element and the light receiving element so that light emitted from the light emitting element and reaching the light receiving element is blocked. The attitude | position of the filler 55 mentioned above is detected by no.
In this embodiment, the photo sensor 57 is installed on the apparatus main body 1 side. However, the photo sensor 57 may be installed on the waste toner collection container 30 side.

  In the present embodiment, the waste toner detection unit 54 configured in this manner is installed at a position facing the direction in which the push-in member 41 swings, so that it accumulates in the vicinity of the waste toner detection unit 54. The waste toner is pushed toward the waste toner detector 54 (rubber sheet 56 and filler 55) by the pushing member 41 (it is pushed out). Therefore, compared with the case where the pushing member 41 is not installed at a position facing the swinging direction, the accuracy of waste toner full detection in the waste toner collecting container 30 can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the waste toner collection container 30 is filled with waste toner, the tip of the pushing member 41 (the tip on the left in FIG. 13) is lifted. . This is because the pushing member 41 is suspended from the conveying screw 51, and its tip is a free end. That is, when the waste toner is sufficiently filled in the back side of the waste toner storage unit 31 (on the left side in FIG. 13), the front end portion (free end) of the pushing member 41 is lifted by the waste toner. . That is, the pushing member 41 swings in a posture as shown in FIG. 6 when not full, and swings while being displaced in a posture shown in FIG. 13 when full.
Such a state further improves the effect of increasing the detection accuracy of the waste toner detection unit 54 by the pressing force of the pressing member 41 described above.

Here, in the present embodiment, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the waste toner detector 54 (rubber sheet 56 and filler 55) is opposed to the flat plate portion 41 a of the pushing member 41 (first conveying member). A planar portion 41a1 (formed in a flat plate shape) that is not formed in a lattice shape is provided at the position.
By providing the planar portion 41a1 on the pushing member 41 in this way, the pushing force of the waste toner by the pushing member 41 toward the waste toner detecting unit 54 can be increased. The effect of increasing the detection accuracy of the toner detection unit 54 is further improved.

In the present embodiment, when the waste toner detection unit 54 intermittently detects that the amount of waste toner collected in the container 30 has reached a predetermined amount, the waste toner collected in the container 30 is full. Control is performed to determine that the state is close to (near full). In contrast, when the waste toner detection unit 54 continuously detects that the amount of waste toner collected in the container 30 has reached a predetermined amount, the container is detected a predetermined number of times (for example, five times or more). Control is performed so as to determine that the waste toner collected in 30 is full (full state).
Specifically, when the near full state is detected by the waste toner detection unit 54, the state is notified to a display unit (not shown) of the apparatus main body 1. As a result, the user (or serviceman) who has recognized the state can foresee the time when the full state is reached to some extent, and therefore the device main body 1 suddenly stops and cannot be used. Can be avoided. When the full state is detected by the waste toner detection unit 54, the operation of the apparatus main body 1 is stopped at an appropriate timing by the control unit, and the conveyance of the waste toner to the waste toner collection container 30 is stopped. The state is notified to the display unit of the apparatus body 1. Then, the user (or service person) who recognizes the state performs replacement maintenance of the full waste toner collecting container 30.

  Here, the waste toner collecting container 30 in the present embodiment is formed such that the other end side of the waste toner inflow portion 32 is higher than the one end side when the waste toner collecting container 30 is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1. In other words, the waste toner collection container 30 is the other end side of the ceiling portion 32a of the waste toner inflow portion 32 (the side where the screw portion 51b is not formed in the transport screw 51) when the waste toner collection container 30 is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1. .) Is taken out in a higher state than one end side (the side where the screw part 51b is formed in the conveying screw 51).

Specifically, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the waste toner collecting container 30 is the other end side in the width direction of the waste toner storage portion 31 (the side where the screw portion 51 b is not formed in the transport screw 51). ) Is provided with a handle 31b (grip). In other words, the handle 31b is not provided at the center position in the width direction (position where the distance from the left end and the distance from the right end are the same distance), but the other end side (in FIG. 7). (It is on the left.)
More specifically, the handle 31b is located from the exterior surface at the position of the waste toner storage portion 31 corresponding to the lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion 32 (the front surface and the bottom surface on the side where the user performs the attaching / detaching operation). It is formed to be recessed. The user (or serviceman) holds the container 30 with his hand inserted into the handle 31b, and attaches / detaches the container 30 to / from the apparatus main body 1 in a predetermined direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 3). Will do.

  By providing the handle 31b at a position shifted to the other end side from the central position in this way, when the waste toner collecting container 30 that has become full is taken out (detached) from the apparatus main body 1, the guide of the apparatus main body 1 is provided. The engagement between the rail portion (not shown) and the engaging portion of the waste toner collecting container 30 (formed along the depth direction at both ends in the width direction of the waste toner storing portion 31) is released. At the moment, the waste toner collecting container 30 in a state where the handle 31b is gripped by the user loses the balance in the width direction due to the center of gravity and has one end side (right side in FIG. 7) compared to the other end side. It will be inclined downward. Therefore, it is a portion on one end side (the portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 4) in which a space is generated by the operation of the screw portion 51 b of the transport screw 51 (the operation for transporting waste toner to the other end side). ), A part of the waste toner on the other end side is moderately drowned along the inclination, and the balance of the waste toner collected in the waste toner collection container 30 (waste toner inflow portion 32) is further made uniform in the width direction. Will be. Accordingly, when the waste toner collecting container 30 in a state where the waste toner is full is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body 1, the inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T are removed from the inside of the waste toner collecting container 30. This makes it difficult for waste toner to leak to the outside. That is, the problem that waste toner accumulates in a heap only below a specific inlet among the five inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T is suppressed.

4, 7, and 15, the waste toner collection container 30 in the present embodiment is in a single state detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1, and the other end side of the waste toner inflow portion 32 is at the other end side. It is higher than the one end side, and the portion corresponding to the lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion 32 at the bottom of the waste toner storage portion 31 is higher than the front end portion in the depth direction (right side in FIG. 3). It is formed to be placed. That is, the waste toner collection container 30 is formed so as to be inclined and inclined downward in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 on a horizontal stationary surface.
Specifically, a protrusion 31 c is formed at the other end in the width direction at a portion corresponding to the lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion 31 at the bottom of the waste toner storage portion 31. That is, on the bottom surface of the waste toner collecting container 30, a protrusion 31c is provided on the other end side in the width direction, which corresponds to a portion below the waste toner inflow portion 31.
With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 15, when the waste toner collecting container 30 in a full state is taken out from the apparatus main body 1 and left on the stationary surface 200, the other end in the width direction is one end in the width direction. In the depth direction (the right side in FIG. 3) is inclined in a lower state than the front side in the depth direction (the left side in FIG. 3). Become. As a result, the waste toner collected in the waste toner collection container 30 tends to be biased in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Therefore, when the waste toner collection container 30 in a state where the waste toner is full is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body 1, the waste toner collection container 30 is passed through the inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T. This makes it difficult for waste toner to leak out.

As shown in FIG. 7, the waste toner collecting container 30 according to the present embodiment has one end side (a screw part 51b is formed in the conveying screw 51) among the five inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T. The number formed in the width direction is larger than the number formed in the other end side (the range in the width direction where the screw part 51b is not formed in the transport screw 51). It is formed as follows. Specifically, three inflow ports 32a1Y, 32a1M, and 32a1T are formed on one end side in the width direction (on the right side in FIG. 7), and on the other end side in the width direction (on the left side in FIG. 7). Has two inflow ports 32a1C and 32a1BK.
With this configuration, it is easy to adjust the balance in the width direction of the waste toner sent toward the waste toner storage unit 31 and the balance in the width direction of the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner inflow portion 32. Become. That is, by providing the screw part 51b of the transport screw 51 in a range where the number of inflow ports is large, the amount of waste toner that can be transported in the width direction can be increased, so that the balance in the width direction is easily adjusted.

Further, in the waste toner collecting container 30 in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the inlet 32a1T for the intermediate transfer member is formed on one end side in the width direction (on the right side in FIG. 7). The inflow port 321BK is formed on the other end in the width direction (the left side in FIG. 7). As a result, it is easy to adjust the balance in the width direction of the waste toner sent toward the waste toner storage portion 31 and the balance in the width direction of the waste toner accumulated in the waste toner inflow portion 32.
Specifically, in general, the monochrome image print frequency is higher than the print frequency of other color images, and the four color images are transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 17, so that the black inlet is used. The amount of waste toner that flows in from 32a1BK and the amount of waste toner that flows in from the inlet 32a1T for the intermediate transfer belt 17 (for intermediate transfer member) are wastes that flow in from the other inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, and 32a1C. More than the amount of toner. By disposing the inlets 32a1BK and 32a1T where the inflow amount of waste toner increases in this way at distant positions (on both ends in the width direction), the waste toner is conveyed and filled in a balanced manner in the width direction. (It is difficult to cause a problem that the height of the waste toner at both ends in the width direction becomes low).
Further, comparing the amount of waste toner flowing from the black inlet 32a1BK with the amount of waste toner flowing from the inlet 32a1T for the intermediate transfer belt 17 (for intermediate transfer member), generally, Since the latter tends to be a little more, the waste toner is transported and filled in a balanced manner in the width direction by arranging it on the screw part 51b side (one end side) and actively transporting it in the width direction. Will be.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the waste toner inflow portion 32 protrudes above the waste toner storage portion 31 formed to extend in the depth direction, and the waste toner storage portion 31 Conveying members 41 and 51 are installed in the waste toner inflow portion 32, respectively, and are formed so that the other end side of the waste toner inflow portion 32 is higher than the one end side when the conveyance members 41 and 51 are further detached from the image forming apparatus body 1. ing. As a result, the waste toner can be collected uniformly in the large-capacity waste toner collection container 30, and the waste toner collection container 30 in a state where the waste toner is full is taken out from the image forming apparatus main body 1. The waste toner is less likely to leak from the inside of the container 30.

In this embodiment, the process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10BK are configured by integrating the units in the image forming unit (the photosensitive drum 11, the charging unit 12, the developing unit 13, and the cleaning unit 15). Therefore, the image forming unit is made compact and the maintenance workability is improved. On the other hand, the waste toner collecting container 30 can be integrated with the process cartridge as a component of the process cartridge. Further, a part or all of the photosensitive drum 11, the charging unit 12, the developing unit 13, and the cleaning unit 15 are configured not to be constituent members of the process cartridge but to be installed in the apparatus main body 1 in a replaceable manner. You can also. In such a case, the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained.
In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to the image forming apparatus equipped with the two-component developing type developing unit 13 using the two-component developer. However, the one-component developing type using the one-component developer is used. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus in which the developing unit 13 is mounted.
The “process cartridge” includes a charging unit that charges the image carrier, a developing unit (developing device) that develops a latent image formed on the image carrier, and a cleaning unit (cleaning unit) that cleans the image carrier. At least one of the cleaning devices) and the image carrier are defined as a unit that is integrated and detachably installed on the image forming apparatus main body.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to the waste toner collecting container 30 in which the five toner inlets 32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, and 32a1T are formed in the waste toner inflow portion 32. In contrast, the present invention can naturally be applied to the waste toner collecting container 30 in which the waste toner inflow portion 32 has four or less or six or more inlets. In such a case, the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and it is obvious that the present embodiment can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, other than suggested in the present embodiment. is there. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the present embodiment, and the number, position, shape, and the like suitable for implementing the present invention can be achieved.

1 image forming apparatus body (apparatus body),
9 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning section (cleaning section),
10Y, 10M, 10C, 10BK process cartridge (imaging part),
11 Photosensitive drum (image carrier),
15 Cleaning section,
16 Conveying pipe,
16a outlet,
17 Intermediate transfer belt (image carrier, intermediate transfer member),
30 Waste toner collection container,
31 Waste toner reservoir,
31a opening,
31b handle,
31c protrusion,
32 Waste toner inflow part (second waste toner storage part),
32a Ceiling part,
32a1 inlet,
32a1Y, 32a1M, 32a1C, 32a1BK, 32a1T inlet,
41 pushing member (first conveying member),
41a flat plate part,
41b arm part, 41b1 contact part,
51 conveying screw (second conveying member),
51a shaft part, 51b screw part,
52 cam member,
54 Waste toner detector,
55 Filler, 56 Rubber sheet, 57 Photo sensor.

JP 2007-139905 A Japanese Patent No. 4286704 JP 2009-294406 A

Claims (10)

A waste toner collecting container that is disposed as a waste toner and that is detachably installed on the image forming apparatus main body, and that collects the untransferred toner discharged from a cleaning unit that removes the untransferred toner on the image carrier,
A waste toner storage section configured to extend in the depth direction and storing waste toner;
A waste toner inflow portion that protrudes above the waste toner storage portion and has an inflow port that communicates with a discharge port of a conveyance pipe through which waste toner discharged from the cleaning portion is conveyed;
With
The waste toner storage unit includes a first transport member that transports waste toner that has flowed in and accumulated through the waste toner inflow unit in a depth direction,
The waste toner inflow portion transports waste toner toward a central position that does not reach the other end side from one end side in the width direction orthogonal to the depth direction, and transmits a driving force to the first transport member. Comprising two conveying members,
The second transport member includes a shaft portion, and a screw portion wound only in a range from the one end side in the width direction of the shaft portion to the position of the central portion,
The waste toner storage container has a handle at a position corresponding to the other end side in the width direction and below the waste toner inflow portion . 2. The waste toner collection container according to claim 1, wherein the handle is formed at a position corresponding to the other end side in the width direction in which the screw portion is not formed in the second conveying member. The shaft portion of the second transport member has a cam member formed in a part in the width direction,
The first conveying member is
A flat plate portion formed in a lattice shape and provided in the waste toner storage portion;
An arm portion connected to the flat plate portion and suspended from the cam member of the second transport member;
Comprising
The first transport member is interlocked with the rotational drive of the second transport member, and a contact portion between the arm portion and the cam member serves as a drive transmission portion, and the flat plate portion has an inclination angle and position with respect to the depth direction. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner collecting container is swung while being varied. A waste toner collecting container that is disposed as a waste toner and that is detachably installed on the image forming apparatus main body, and that collects the untransferred toner discharged from a cleaning unit that removes the untransferred toner on the image carrier,
A waste toner storage section configured to extend in the depth direction and storing waste toner;
A waste toner inflow portion that protrudes above the waste toner storage portion and has an inflow port that communicates with a discharge port of a conveyance pipe through which waste toner discharged from the cleaning portion is conveyed;
With
The waste toner storage unit includes a first transport member that transports waste toner that has flowed in and accumulated through the waste toner inflow unit in a depth direction,
The waste toner inflow portion transports waste toner toward a central position that does not reach the other end side from one end side in the width direction orthogonal to the depth direction, and transmits a driving force to the first transport member. Comprising two conveying members,
In a single state detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the other end side of the waste toner inflow portion is higher than the one end side, and corresponds to the bottom of the waste toner storage portion below the waste toner inflow portion. A waste toner collecting container, characterized in that the waste toner collecting container is formed so as to stand still in a state where the portion is higher than a tip portion in the depth direction. 5. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 4, wherein a projection is formed on the other end side in the width direction at a portion corresponding to a lower portion of the waste toner inflow portion at a bottom portion of the waste toner storage portion. The second conveying member is
A shaft portion in which a cam member is formed in a part of the width direction;
A screw part wound from the one end side in the width direction of the shaft part to the position of the central part;
Comprising
The first conveying member is
A flat plate portion formed in a lattice shape and provided in the waste toner storage portion;
An arm portion connected to the flat plate portion and suspended from the cam member of the second transport member;
Comprising
The first transport member is interlocked with the rotational drive of the second transport member, and a contact portion between the arm portion and the cam member serves as a drive transmission portion, and the flat plate portion has an inclination angle and position with respect to the depth direction. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 4, wherein the waste toner collecting container swings while being variable. The waste toner collecting container according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner inflow portion is formed so that the one end side in the width direction protrudes from the waste toner storage portion. . The waste toner inflow portion has a plurality of inlets formed in the width direction,
The plurality of inflow ports are formed so that the number formed on the one end side is larger than the number formed on the other end side. A waste toner collecting container as described in 1. The waste toner inflow portion forms an inlet for an intermediate transfer member into which untransferred toner discharged from a cleaning portion corresponding to the intermediate transfer member as an image carrier is introduced as waste toner, and a black toner image. A black inflow port through which untransferred toner discharged from the cleaning unit corresponding to the image carrier is introduced as waste toner,
9. The waste according to claim 1, wherein the inlet for the intermediate transfer member is formed on the one end side, and the black inlet is formed on the other end side. Toner collection container.   An image forming apparatus, wherein the waste toner collecting container according to claim 1 is detachably installed on the main body of the image forming apparatus.

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