JP5954019B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for collecting waste toner discharged in an image forming process in a waste toner collecting container.

  In an image forming apparatus including a detachable waste toner collecting container (waste toner box), a configuration is known in which a temporary storage unit for temporarily storing waste toner is provided in the image forming apparatus main body. By storing the waste toner in the temporary storage unit, the continuous operation of the image forming apparatus is realized when the waste toner collecting container is taken out from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image including a buffer unit that temporarily stores waste toner transported from a cleaning container (cleaning device), and a waste toner container that stores waste toner transported from the buffer unit. A forming apparatus is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a conveying unit between the cleaning container and the buffer unit and between the buffer unit and the waste toner container. In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the waste toner container is full, the waste toner is transferred to the buffer unit by stopping the transport of the waste toner from the buffer unit to the waste toner container by the transport unit. Store temporarily. Thus, the image forming process can be continued even when the waste toner container is removed from the image forming apparatus main body for replacement.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus in which a toner storage unit including a sensor for detecting whether or not the amount of waste toner inside is full is provided immediately above a toner recovery container. The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is configured to move waste toner in the toner storage unit to the toner recovery container by opening the recovery port of the toner recovery container when the toner storage unit is full. .

Japanese Patent No. 3938150 JP 2008-203688 A

  The image forming apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not have a relationship between the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container and the amount of waste toner conveyed from the temporary storage unit to the waste toner collection container. Therefore, the temporary storage unit is used as a temporary waste toner container. In addition, the image forming apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 detect the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit, but do not have a uniformizing means for leveling the waste toner in the temporary storage unit. It is difficult to detect the amount of toner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a configuration in which waste toner amount detection means is provided to detect the amount of waste toner in a waste toner collection container is known. At that time, in order to accurately detect the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container, a uniformizing means for leveling the surface of the accumulated waste toner is installed together with the waste toner amount detection means.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a conventional waste toner collecting container. 12A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the waste toner collection container as seen from the front, FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view of the waste toner collection container as seen from the side, and FIG. 12C is an enlarged view of the main part of the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. is there. The waste toner collection container 200 shown in FIG. 12 is provided with a coil-shaped rotating member 203 as a uniformizing means inside the waste toner collection container main body 201 together with a waste toner amount detection unit 202 that detects the amount of waste toner. Yes.

  By the way, when the uniformizing means is used, there is a problem that a dead space is generated inside the waste toner collecting container. In the configuration using the coil-shaped rotating member 203, it is difficult for the waste toner to be uniformized above the center of rotation indicated by the broken line in the direction of gravity. Therefore, if the waste toner amount detection unit 202 is provided above the rotation center, it is difficult to accurately detect the waste toner amount (see FIGS. 12A and 12C). Usually, in order to accurately detect the amount of waste toner inside the waste toner collection container main body 201, the waste toner amount detection unit 202 is installed substantially horizontally with the rotation center of the rotation member 203. Further, when the waste toner is filled beyond the rotation center of the rotating member 203, the expectation control is performed, and therefore the waste toner is filled in a small amount to prevent the waste toner from overflowing. Therefore, in the present situation, the waste toner collection container main body 201 has a space in which the waste toner is not filled, that is, a dead space 204 (hatched portion).

  As described above, according to the conventional technique, when the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container is accurately measured, a dead space is generated, and the capacity of the entire waste toner collection container cannot be effectively used. Further, it has been difficult to accurately measure the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit.

  In view of the above situation, there has been a demand for a method of filling the waste toner collecting container with the waste toner without causing a dead space.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention temporarily stores waste toner generated by an image forming process, and includes a temporary storage unit provided with a first waste toner amount detection unit that detects the stored waste toner amount, A detachable waste toner collecting container that collects the temporarily stored waste toner stored in the storage unit, and a transport unit that transports the waste toner temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit to the waste toner collecting container. Then, the control unit, on the basis of the detection result of the first waste toner amount detecting section, and controls the conveyance of the waste toner by the conveyance unit to manage the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container.
The image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a second waste toner amount detection unit that detects the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container.
Then, the control unit detects the temporary fullness that the waste toner collection container is considered to be full from the detection result of the second waste toner amount detection unit, and then the first waste toner amount detection unit of the temporary storage unit The detection of the amount of waste toner is started, and based on the detection result, the transport of the waste toner to the waste toner collection container by the transport unit is controlled.
In addition, the control unit compares the detection result of the waste toner amount by the first waste toner amount detection unit of the temporary storage unit with the detection result of the waste toner amount by the second waste toner amount detection unit of the waste toner collection container. Then, using the detection result of the second waste toner amount detection unit, the capacity value at the time when the first waste toner amount detection unit detects that the temporary storage unit is full is corrected.
Here, assuming that the free capacity at the time of detecting the temporary fullness of the waste toner collecting container is Y and the capacity at the time of detecting the full capacity of the temporary storage unit is A, the temporary storage unit after detecting the temporary fullness is transferred to the waste toner recovery container. The allowable number K (natural number) of waste toner is expressed as K ≦ Y / A.

  According to the configuration of one aspect of the present invention, since the amount of waste toner sent to the waste toner collection container is detected by the first waste toner amount detection unit of the temporary storage unit, the waste toner collection container does not require a measuring unit. As a result, no dead space is generated in the waste toner collection container, and the waste toner can be filled to the full capacity of the waste toner collection container.

  According to the present invention, since the waste toner collecting container can be filled with the waste toner, the capacity of the waste toner collecting container can be utilized to the maximum.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a waste toner recovery mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic perspective view of the temporary storage part of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the front direction of the temporary storage part of FIG. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the side surface direction of the temporary storage part of FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of waste toner collection container full detection of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example when replacing a waste toner collection container of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of waste toner collection container full detection of the image forming apparatus according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a capacity inside a waste toner collecting container. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the conventional waste toner collection container.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description will be given in the following order. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the common component and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
1. 1st Embodiment (temporary storage part: the example which provided the equalization part and the detection part)
2. Second embodiment (waste toner collecting container: example in which a uniformizing unit and a detecting unit are provided)

<1. First Embodiment>
[Configuration example of image forming apparatus]
First, a configuration example of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method, and has four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). This is a tandem color image forming apparatus that superimposes toner. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a document transport unit 10, a paper storage unit 20, an image reading unit 30, an image forming unit 40, an intermediate transfer unit 50, a secondary transfer unit 60, a fixing unit 80, and a control. And a substrate 90.

  The document transport unit 10 includes a document feed table 11 on which a document is set, a plurality of rollers 12, a transport drum 13, a transport guide 14, a document discharge roller 15, and a document discharge tray 16. The documents G set on the document feeder 11 are conveyed one by one to the reading position of the image reading unit 30 by the plurality of rollers 12 and the conveying drum 13. The conveyance guide 14 and the document discharge roller 15 discharge the document G conveyed by the plurality of rollers 12 and the conveyance drum 13 to the document discharge tray 16.

  The image reading unit 30 reads an image of the document G transported by the document transport unit 10 or the document placed on the document table 31 and generates image data. Specifically, the image of the original G is irradiated by the lamp L. The reflected light from the document G is guided in the order of the first mirror unit 32, the second mirror unit 33, and the lens unit 34 and forms an image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 35. The image sensor 35 photoelectrically converts incident light and outputs a predetermined image signal. The output image signal is created as image data by A / D conversion.

  The image reading unit 30 has an image reading control unit 36. The image reading control unit 36 performs processing such as shading correction, dither processing, and compression on the image data created by the A / D conversion, and stores it in the RAM 103 (see FIG. 6) of the control board 90. The image data is not limited to data output from the image reading unit 30 and may be data received from an external device such as a personal computer connected to the image forming apparatus 1 or another image forming apparatus.

  The paper storage unit 20 is disposed in the lower part of the apparatus main body, and a plurality of paper storage units 20 are provided according to the size and type of the paper S. The sheet S is fed by the sheet feeding unit 21 and sent to the transport unit 23, and is transported by the transport unit 23 to the secondary transfer unit 60 that is a transfer position. Further, a manual feed portion 22 is provided in the vicinity of the paper storage portion 20. From the manual feed section 22, paper of a size not stored in the paper storage section 20, tag paper having a tag, special paper such as an OHP sheet is sent to the transfer position.

  An image forming unit 40 and an intermediate transfer unit 50 are disposed between the image reading unit 30 and the paper storage unit 20. The image forming unit 40 includes four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K in order to form toner images of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). .

  The first image forming unit 40Y forms a yellow toner image, and the second image forming unit 40M forms a magenta toner image. The third image forming unit 40C forms a cyan toner image, and the fourth image forming unit 40K forms a black toner image. Since these four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K have the same configuration, only the first image forming unit 40Y will be described here.

  The first image forming unit 40Y includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 41, a charging unit 42 arranged around the photoconductor 41, an exposure unit 43, a developing unit 44, and a cleaning unit 45. The photoconductor 41 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown). The charging unit 42 applies a charge to the photoconductor 41 and uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor 41. The exposure unit 43 performs electrostatic exposure on the surface of the photoconductor 41 by performing an exposure operation on the surface of the photoconductor 41 based on image data based on contents read from the document G or image data transmitted from an external device. A latent image is formed.

  The developing unit 44 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 41 using toner. The developing unit 44 attaches yellow toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 41. As a result, a yellow toner image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 41.

  The developing unit 44 of the second image forming unit 40M attaches magenta toner to the photoconductor 41, and the developing unit 44 of the third image forming unit 40C attaches cyan toner to the photoconductor 41. Then, the developing unit 44 of the fourth image forming unit 40K adheres black toner to the photoconductor 41.

  The cleaning unit 45 removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor 41. Toner removed by the cleaning unit 45 (hereinafter referred to as waste toner) is collected by the waste toner collection mechanism 120.

  The toner attached on the photoconductor 41 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 51 of the intermediate transfer unit 50. The intermediate transfer unit 50 includes an intermediate transfer belt 51 showing a specific example of the intermediate transfer member, and a plurality of rollers around which the intermediate transfer belt 51 is stretched. The intermediate transfer belt 51 is rotationally driven in a direction opposite to the rotation (movement) direction of the photoconductor 41 by a drive motor (not shown).

  A primary transfer roller 52 is provided at a position on the intermediate transfer belt 51 that faces the photoreceptor 41 of each of the image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K. The primary transfer roller 52 transfers the toner attached on the photoreceptor 41 to the intermediate transfer belt 51 by applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner to the intermediate transfer belt 51.

  When the intermediate transfer belt 51 is driven to rotate, the toner images formed by the four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K are sequentially transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 51. Thereby, on the intermediate transfer belt 51, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner images are overlapped to form a color image.

  A belt cleaning device 69 faces the intermediate transfer belt 51. The belt cleaning device 69 cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 51 that has finished transferring the toner image onto the paper S. The toner (waste toner) removed by the belt cleaning device 69 is collected by the waste toner collecting mechanism 120.

  A secondary transfer unit 60 is disposed in the vicinity of the intermediate transfer belt 51 and downstream of the transport unit 23 in the sheet transport direction. The secondary transfer unit 60 brings the paper S sent by the transport unit 23 into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 51 and transfers the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 51 onto the paper S.

  The secondary transfer unit 60 has a secondary transfer roller 61. The secondary transfer roller 61 is in pressure contact with a counter roller 56 that is one of a plurality of rollers of the intermediate transfer unit 50. A portion where the secondary transfer roller 61 and the intermediate transfer belt 51 come into contact becomes a secondary transfer nip portion 62. The secondary transfer nip 62 is a transfer position where the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 51 is transferred to the paper S.

  A fixing unit 80 is provided on the discharge side of the sheet S in the secondary transfer unit 60. The fixing unit 80 pressurizes and heats the paper S to fix the transferred toner image on the paper S. The fixing unit 80 includes, for example, a fixing upper roller 81 and a fixing lower roller 82 which are a pair of fixing members. The upper fixing roller 81 and the lower fixing roller 82 are arranged in pressure contact with each other, and a fixing nip portion is formed as a pressing portion between the upper fixing roller 81 and the lower fixing roller 82.

  A heating unit is provided inside the fixing upper roller 81. The roller portion of the fixing upper roller 81 is warmed by the radiant heat from the heating portion. Then, the heat of the roller portion of the fixing upper roller 81 is transmitted to the paper S, so that the toner image on the paper S is thermally fixed.

  The sheet S is conveyed so that the surface on which the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer unit 60 (the surface to be fixed) faces the fixing upper roller 81 and passes through the fixing nip portion. Accordingly, the sheet S passing through the fixing nip is subjected to pressure by the fixing upper roller 81 and the fixing lower roller 82 and heating by the heat of the roller portion of the fixing upper roller 81.

  A switching gate 24 is disposed downstream of the fixing unit 80 in the sheet conveyance direction. The switching gate 24 switches the transport path of the paper S that has passed through the fixing unit 80. That is, the switching gate 24 moves the paper S straight when performing face-up paper discharge in single-sided image formation. As a result, the paper S is discharged by the pair of paper discharge rollers 25. The switching gate 24 guides the paper S downward when face-down paper discharge and double-sided image formation in single-sided image formation.

When face-down paper discharge is performed, the paper S is guided downward by the switching gate 24, and then the front and back sides are reversed by the paper reverse conveyance unit 26 and conveyed upward. As a result, the paper S whose front and back are reversed is discharged by the pair of paper discharge rollers 25.
When double-sided image formation is performed, the sheet S is guided downward by the switching gate 24, the front and back sides are reversed by the sheet reversing conveyance unit 26, and sent again to the transfer position by the refeed path 27.

  A post-processing device that folds the paper S or performs stapling processing or the like on the paper S may be disposed on the downstream side of the pair of paper discharge rollers 25.

[Configuration example of waste toner recovery mechanism]
Next, the waste toner collecting mechanism 120 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of the waste toner collecting mechanism 120.

  The waste toner collecting mechanism 120 is provided in the lower part of the image forming apparatus. For example, the four photoreceptor waste toner collecting units 45a, the intermediate transfer member waste toner collecting unit 69a, the secondary transfer waste toner collecting unit 83a, A storage unit 130 and a waste toner collection container 140 are provided.

  The four photoreceptor waste toner collecting sections 45a are arranged adjacent to the vicinity of the respective cleaning sections 45 for each of the four image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K. A waste toner collection port 45b is provided at a predetermined position of the photoreceptor waste toner collection unit 45a. The photoreceptor waste toner collecting unit 45a collects the waste toner removed from the photoreceptor 41 by the cleaning unit 45 through the waste toner collecting port 45b.

  The intermediate transfer member waste toner collecting unit 69 a is disposed adjacent to the belt cleaning device 69. A waste toner collection port 69b is provided at a predetermined position of the intermediate transfer member waste toner collection unit 69a. The intermediate transfer member waste toner collecting unit 69a collects the transfer residual toner (waste toner) removed from the intermediate transfer belt 51 by the belt cleaning device 69 through the waste toner collecting port 69b.

  The secondary transfer waste toner recovery unit 83a is disposed adjacent to a secondary transfer roller cleaning unit (not shown). A waste toner collection port 83b is provided at a predetermined position of the secondary transfer waste toner collection unit 83a. The secondary transfer waste toner collection unit 83a collects the transfer residual toner (waste toner) removed from the secondary transfer roller 61 by the secondary transfer roller cleaning unit through the waste toner collection port 83b.

  The waste toner collected by the four photoreceptor waste toner collecting sections 45a is transported to the passage section 122 by the four transport sections 121. The conveyance unit 121 includes a conveyance member such as a screw driven by a driving unit (not shown) in the inside thereof, and conveys waste toner to the passage unit 122 by the conveyance member.

  The passage portion 122 has a hollow structure and communicates with the intermediate transfer member waste toner collecting portion 69a at the upper end and communicates with the secondary transfer waste toner collecting portion 83a at the lower end. The waste toner conveyed from the four photosensitive member waste toner collecting sections 45a and the waste toner collected in the intermediate transfer body waste toner collecting section 69a fall in the passage section 122, and the secondary transfer waste toner collecting section. It is sent to 83a.

  The waste toner recovered or transported to the secondary transfer waste toner recovery unit 83a is transported to the temporary storage unit 130 by the intermediate transport unit 124. The intermediate conveyance unit 124 can adopt the same configuration as the conveyance unit 121 as an example.

  The temporary storage unit 130 has a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape or a cylindrical shape, and can temporarily store the waste toner conveyed by the intermediate conveyance unit 124. The temporary storage unit 130 includes a final transport unit 131 (an example of the transport unit of the present invention) that transports the transported waste toner to the waste toner collection container 140, and a waste toner amount detection unit that detects the amount of internal waste toner. 135. It can be detected from the detection result of the waste toner amount detection unit 135 whether or not the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 is full. The waste toner conveyed to the temporary storage unit 130 is conveyed to the upper end of the passage unit 125 by the final conveyance unit 131.

  The passage portion 125 has a hollow structure, communicates with the temporary storage portion 130 at the upper end thereof, and communicates with the waste toner collection container 140 at the downstream side. The waste toner conveyed to the upper end of the passage portion 125 falls in the passage portion 125 and is collected in the waste toner collection container 140.

  The waste toner collection container 140 has a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape or cylindrical shape, and its capacity is larger than that of the temporary storage unit 130. The waste toner collection container 140 is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. When the waste toner collected in the waste toner collection container 140 becomes full, the user replaces the waste toner collection container 140 with a new waste toner collection container. .

[Configuration example of temporary storage unit]
Next, a configuration example of the temporary storage unit 130 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the temporary storage unit 130 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the temporary storage unit 130 in FIG. 2 in the front direction. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the temporary storage unit 130 in FIG. 2 in the side surface direction.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the temporary storage unit 130, the intermediate conveyance unit 124, and the secondary transfer waste toner collection unit 83a in which the waste toner collection port 83b is formed are separate. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIGS. 3-5, these are comprised integrally.

  The temporary storage unit 130 includes a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped temporary storage unit main body 130A, a waste toner inlet 133 into which waste toner is sent and a recovery unit 130B in which a waste toner recovery port 83b is formed, and a waste toner discharge port 134. The discharge unit 130C is configured.

  The collection unit 130B is disposed on the upper right side of the temporary storage unit main body 130A, for example, and is configured integrally with the temporary storage unit main body 130A. The waste toner inlet 133 provided on the upper surface of the collection unit 130B is fed with the waste toner collected by the four photoreceptor waste toner collection units 45a and the waste toner collected by the intermediate transfer member waste toner collection unit 69a. . The recovery unit 130B communicates with the temporary storage unit main body 130A, and the waste toner recovered by the recovery unit 130B is sent to the temporary storage unit main body 130A.

  The temporary storage unit main body 130A includes a screw-shaped conveyance member 131a for conveying waste toner and a uniformizing member 132a for leveling the waste toner.

  The conveyance member 131a is provided in the lower part in the temporary storage part main body 130A, and has a rotating shaft substantially horizontal in the longitudinal direction of the temporary storage part main body 130A (refer FIG. 4). The final conveyance unit 131 of FIG. 2 is configured by the conveyance member 131a and a rotation driving unit (not shown). As the conveying member 131a rotates, the waste toner that has been sent into the temporary storage unit main body 130A from the collection unit 130B and accumulated therein is conveyed to the waste toner discharge port 134 of the discharge unit 130C. Since the waste toner discharge port 134 communicates with the passage portion 125, the waste toner conveyed to the waste toner discharge port 134 falls in the passage portion 125 and is collected in the waste toner collection container 140.

  The uniformizing member 132a eliminates the unevenness of the surface of the waste toner accumulated in the temporary storage unit main body 130A and makes it flat. Further, the homogenizing member 132a is a rotating member that is provided at an upper portion in the temporary storage unit main body 130A and has a rotation axis that is substantially horizontal in the longitudinal direction of the temporary storage unit main body 130A (see FIG. 4). The uniformizing member 132 a has, for example, a plurality of wings 150, and the wings 150 are provided with a plurality of holes 151. The homogenizing member 132a and a rotation driving unit (not shown) constitute a homogenizing unit 132 (see FIG. 6). When the uniformizing member 132A rotates, the upper portion of the waste toner on which the wings 150 are accumulated is scratched and the waste toner passes through a plurality of holes 151 formed in the wings 150, whereby the surface of the waste toner is smoothed and flattened. . Therefore, the waste toner amount detection unit 135 detects an accurate waste toner amount. Here, an example in which the uniformizing member 132A has the wings 150 has been described, but the uniformizing member 132A may be coiled. Note that the above-described uniformizing unit 132 is more desirable, but may be omitted if there is an environment in which the amount of waste toner can be accurately detected without the uniformizing unit 132.

  A waste toner amount detection unit 135 is provided on the back side of the temporary storage unit main body 130A. The waste toner amount detection unit 135 is disposed at a height (broken line portion) substantially the same as the rotation axis of the uniformizing member 132a in order to accurately detect the waste toner amount (see FIGS. 4 and 5). When the waste toner amount detection unit 135 detects that the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 is full, the image forming apparatus 1 performs control to stop or temporarily stop the sending of waste toner to the temporary storage unit 130. Therefore, the temporary storage unit 130 has a space in which the waste toner is not filled in the temporary storage unit main body 130A, that is, a dead space 136 (hatched portion).

Here, when the waste toner is transported to the waste toner collection container 140 when it is detected that the temporary storage unit 130 is full, the number of times (allowable transport number) N that can be transported from the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140 is as follows. Is defined as
Total capacity of waste toner collecting container 140: Z [L]
Capacity at the time of full detection of the temporary storage unit 130: A [L]
N ≦ Z / A (N is a natural number)
In the present embodiment, when the waste toner is conveyed N times from the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140, it is determined that the waste toner collection container 140 is full. At least the value of N is stored in a nonvolatile storage medium such as the ROM 102 or the HDD 104.

  In the example illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, the intermediate conveyance unit 124 is built in the collection unit 130 </ b> B, but other configurations may be used instead of the intermediate conveyance unit 124. For example, both the opposing surfaces of the temporary storage unit main body 130A and the recovery unit 130B are opened to each other, and an opening / closing member that opens and closes the opening and a drive unit that opens and closes the opening / closing member to the temporary storage unit main body 130A. A configuration may be adopted in which the sending of waste toner is controlled.

[Hardware Configuration of Each Part of Image Forming Apparatus]
Next, the hardware configuration of each part of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the image forming apparatus 1.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100. The control unit 100 is configured on the control board 90 (see FIG. 1) described above.

  The control unit 100 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 for storing programs executed by the CPU 101, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a work area of the CPU 101. 103. The ROM 102 stores, for example, data on the number of times that the waste toner can be transported from the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140 (allowable transport number). As the ROM 102, for example, a programmable ROM that is normally electrically erasable is used.

  The CPU 101 controls the entire apparatus. The CPU 101 is connected to a hard disk drive (HDD) 104 and an operation display unit 105 via a system bus 107, respectively. The CPU 101 is connected to the communication unit 108, the image reading unit 30, the image processing unit 106, the image forming unit 40, the paper feeding unit 21, and the fixing unit 80 via the system bus 107. Further, the CPU 101 is connected to the final transport unit 131, the uniformizing unit 132, the waste toner amount detection unit 135, and the waste toner storage door state detection unit 141 via the system bus 107.

  The HDD 104 stores image data of an original image obtained by reading by the image reading unit 30, or stores output image data and the like. The operation display unit 105 is a touch panel including a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic ELD (Electro Luminescence Display). The operation display unit 105 displays an instruction menu for the user, information about the acquired image data, and the like. Further, the operation display unit 105 includes a plurality of keys, and receives input of various instructions, data such as characters and numbers by a user's key operation, and outputs an input signal.

  The communication unit 108 receives job information transmitted from a PC (personal computer) 110 which is an external information processing apparatus via a communication line. The received job information is sent to the control unit 100 via the system bus 107. In the job information, image data of an image to be formed, information on paper to be used associated with the image data, and the like are set.

  In this example, an example in which a personal computer is applied as an external device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other devices such as a facsimile device can be applied as the external device.

  The image reading unit 30 optically reads a document image and converts it into an electrical signal. For example, when reading a color original, image data having luminance information of 10 bits for each of RGB per pixel is generated. Image data generated by the image reading unit 30 and image data transmitted from the PC 110 showing an example of an external device connected to the image forming apparatus 1 are sent to the image processing unit 106 and subjected to image processing. The image processing unit 106 performs processes such as analog processing, A / D conversion, shading correction, and image compression on the received image data.

  For example, when color printing is executed by the image forming apparatus 1, R, G, B image data generated by the image reading unit 30 or the like is input to a color conversion LUT (Look up Table) in the image processing unit 106. Then, the image processing unit 106 performs color conversion of the R, G, and B data into Y, M, C, and K image data. Then, correction of gradation reproduction characteristics, screen processing such as halftone dots with reference to the density correction LUT, or edge processing for emphasizing thin lines is performed on the color-converted image data.

  The image forming unit 40 is driven and controlled by the control unit 100 to form a toner image on the paper S. The fixing unit 80 is driven and controlled by the control unit 100 and pressurizes and heats the sheet S to fix the toner image on the sheet S.

  The final transport unit 131 is driven and controlled by the control unit 100 and transports the waste toner to the waste toner discharge port 134 by rotationally driving the transport member 131 a of the temporary storage unit 130.

  The homogenizing unit 132 is driven and controlled by the control unit 100, and the homogenizing member 132a of the temporary storage unit 130 is rotationally driven to level the surface of the waste toner and make it uniform. The drive control of the uniformizing unit 132 is appropriately performed.

  The waste toner amount detection unit 135 detects that the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 is full, and notifies the control unit 100 of the detection result.

  The waste toner storage door state detection unit 141 detects the open / close state of the waste toner storage door that is opened and closed when the user replaces the waste toner collection container 140 and notifies the control unit 100 of the detection result.

[Waste toner collection container full detection process]
Next, a process for detecting whether or not the waste toner collection container 140 of the image forming apparatus 1 is full will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of the waste toner collection container full detection of the image forming apparatus 1.
First, the control unit 100 executes waste toner generated after the image forming process or during the image forming process, the four photosensitive member waste toner collecting units 45a, the intermediate transfer member waste toner collecting unit 69a, The toner is collected in the next transfer waste toner collecting unit 83a. Then, the intermediate conveyance unit 124 (see FIG. 2) is operated (ON), the collected waste toner is sent to the temporary storage unit 130, and the waste toner is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 130 (step S1). At this time, the final transport unit 131 (see FIG. 2) is not operating (OFF).

  Next, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the temporary storage unit 130 is full by the waste toner amount detection unit 135 provided in the temporary storage unit 130 (step S2). As a result of the determination, if it is not detected that the battery is full, the control unit 100 returns to the process of step S <b> 1 and continues to send waste toner to the temporary storage unit 130.

  On the other hand, when it is detected in step S2 that the storage is full, the control unit 100 drives (turns on) the final conveyance unit 131 to rotate the conveyance member 131a, and converts the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 into waste toner. It is transported to the collection container 140 (step S3). When it is detected that the temporary storage unit 130 is full, 1 is added to the number of full detections up to the previous time stored in the RAM 103 and the result is stored in the RAM 103. Here, while transporting the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140, the intermediate transport unit 124 is stopped for the purpose of more accurately detecting the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130. Is desirable.

  Note that the end of transport of the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130, that is, the stop of the final transport unit 131 is performed by detecting time. The time can be measured by a count value of a clock generated by a clock generation circuit (not shown) in the CPU 101, for example.

  Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines that the waste toner amount detection unit 135 indicates that the temporary storage unit 130 is full from the number of full detections stored in the RAM 103 and the value of the predetermined number N stored in the ROM 102 or the like. It is determined whether or not N times (the number of times of conveyance) have been detected (step S4). As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the specified number N is not reached, the control unit 100 returns to the process of step S1 and performs control to temporarily store the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130.

  On the other hand, when the full detection count is the specified number N in step S4, the control unit 100 determines that the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container 140 is full (step S5).

  Next, the control unit 100 displays a message requesting the user to replace the waste toner collection container 140 on the operation display unit 105 (step S6).

  Then, the control unit 100 ends the waste toner collection container full detection process and stops the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 (step S7).

  According to the first embodiment described above, the measuring unit (waste toner amount detection unit 135) is provided in the temporary storage unit, and when the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit becomes full, the waste toner is collected from the temporary storage unit. Transport the waste toner to the container. This is repeatedly executed until N times, which is the specified number of times (allowable transfer number), and when the waste toner is transferred a specified number of times, it is determined that the waste toner collection container is full. With this configuration, since the total amount of waste toner sent to the waste toner collection container is detected by the first waste toner amount detection unit of the temporary storage unit, the waste toner collection container need not be provided with a measuring unit. As a result, no dead space is generated in the waste toner collection container, so that the same amount of waste toner as the waste toner collection container can be filled, and the capacity of the waste toner collection container can be effectively utilized to the maximum. . Thus, by using the capacity of the waste toner collection container to the maximum, the time until the waste toner collection container is replaced is extended, and the cost of consumables can be reduced.

In addition, when the uniform storage unit is provided in the temporary storage unit, it is possible to more accurately detect the full amount of the waste toner in the temporary storage unit by eliminating the unevenness of the accumulated waste toner surface. Can be detected more accurately.
In addition, a uniformization unit is provided in the temporary storage unit (fixed) provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus instead of the waste toner collection container that is discarded after full detection. The reusing unit can be reused without being discarded, and the parts cost is reduced.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 100 stops the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 immediately after displaying the message, but the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 may be continued. For example, immediately after the message is displayed, the final conveyance unit 131 is stopped (OFF), and the waste toner is stored in the temporary storage unit 130. Thereafter, when it is detected that the temporary storage unit 130 is full, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped. That is, when the temporary storage unit 130 becomes full (N + 1) times, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped. Thereby, even after the temporary storage unit 130 is filled N times, it is necessary to continue the image processing process, and when the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 cannot be stopped, the image processing process can be continued. it can.

[Process when replacing waste toner collection container]
In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped immediately after displaying a message on the operation display unit 105. However, the waste toner collection container 140 can be replaced without stopping the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 by using the temporary storage unit 130 as a buffer for replacement of the waste toner collection container 140. Hereinafter, a process when replacing the waste toner collecting container of the image forming apparatus will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example when the waste toner collection container 140 of the image forming apparatus 1 is replaced.
First, the control unit 100 detects a replacement operation of the waste toner collection container 140 by the user (step S11). The replacement operation of the waste toner collection container 140 that has become full is a detection result of the waste toner storage door state detection unit 141 that detects an open / close state of a waste toner storage door (not shown) in which the waste toner collection container 140 is stored. It can be recognized from. When the replacement operation of the waste toner collecting container 140 is not detected, the process waits until the replacement operation is detected.

  On the other hand, when the replacement operation of the waste toner collection container 140 is detected, the control unit 100 operates (turns on) the intermediate conveyance unit 124 and sends the waste toner collected by each collection unit to the temporary storage unit 130. The waste toner is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 130 (step S12). At this time, the final transport unit 131 (see FIG. 2) is not operating (OFF).

Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the replacement of the waste toner collection container 140 is completed (step S13). Completion of replacement of the waste toner collecting container 140 can be confirmed by, for example, the following well-known and conventional method.
(1) It is detected that the detection result of a detection sensor (not shown) for confirming the presence / absence of the waste toner collection container 140 has changed from “Yes → No → Yes”.
(2) It detects that an individual recognition unit (RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), etc.) (not shown) provided in the waste toner collection container 140 has been changed.

  When the replacement of the waste toner collecting container 140 is completed in the process of step S13, the control unit 100 returns to the normal operation (step S14). The control unit 100 initializes the number of full detections stored in the RAM 103 after the replacement of the waste toner collection container 140 is completed.

  On the other hand, when the replacement of the waste toner collection container 140 is not completed in the process of step S13, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the waste toner amount detection unit 135 of the temporary storage unit 130 has detected that the waste toner amount is full. Determination is made (step S15). Here, when the full amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 is not detected, the control unit 100 proceeds to the process of step S12 and continues to send the waste toner to the temporary storage unit 130.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 is full, the control unit 100 ends the waste toner collection container full detection process and stops the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 (step S16). That is, when the temporary storage unit 130 becomes full (N + 1) times, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped.

  Thus, by using the temporary storage unit as a waste toner buffer, the waste toner collection container can be replaced while the image forming apparatus is operating.

<2. Second Embodiment>
As a second embodiment, a configuration in which a uniformizing unit and a waste toner amount detection unit are provided to detect the amount of waste toner in a waste toner collection container will be described. In this configuration, after the waste toner amount detection unit provided in the waste toner collection container detects full (hereinafter also referred to as temporary full), the waste toner amount is measured using the temporary storage unit (measurement means), and the waste toner is measured. Transport to collection container.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control system of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus 1A according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the image forming apparatus 1A.

  The image forming apparatus 1A further includes a uniformizing unit 142 and a waste toner amount detecting unit 143 in the waste toner collecting container 140 of the image forming apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1). The CPU 101 is connected to the homogenizing unit 142 and the waste toner amount detecting unit 143 via the system bus 107 in the same manner as other processing units.

  The homogenizing unit 142 can employ the same configuration as the homogenizing unit 132 provided in the temporary storage unit 130. In other words, the homogenizing unit 142 is driven and controlled by the control unit 100, and drives the homogenizing member (not shown) in the waste toner collecting container 140 to rotate, thereby leveling and homogenizing the surface of the waste toner. The drive control of the uniformizing unit 142 is appropriately performed.

  The waste toner amount detection unit 143 can employ the same configuration as the waste toner amount detection unit 135 provided in the temporary storage unit 130. The waste toner amount detection unit 143 detects that the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container 140 is full, and notifies the control unit 100 of the detection result.

[Waste toner collection container full detection process]
Next, a process for detecting whether or not the waste toner collection container 140 of the image forming apparatus 1A is full will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of waste toner collection container full detection of the image forming apparatus 1A.
First, the control unit 100 operates (turns on) the intermediate conveyance unit 124 and the final conveyance unit 131 and sends the waste toner collected by each collection unit to the waste toner collection container 140 via the temporary storage unit 130 ( Step S21).

  Next, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the waste toner collection container 140 is full by the waste toner amount detection unit 143 provided in the waste toner collection container 140 (step S22). As a result of the determination, if it is not detected that the battery is full, the control unit 100 returns to the process of step S21 and continues to send the waste toner to the waste toner collecting container 140.

  On the other hand, when it is detected in step S22 that it is full, the control unit 100 stops (turns off) the operation of the final transport unit 131 and temporarily stores the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 (step S23). ).

  Next, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the waste toner amount detection unit 135 of the temporary storage unit 130 detects that the waste toner amount of the temporary storage unit 130 is full (step S24). Here, when the waste toner amount full of the temporary storage unit 130 is not detected, the control unit 100 waits until the waste toner amount full of the temporary storage unit 130 is detected.

  On the other hand, when it is detected in step S24 that the storage is full, the control unit 100 drives (turns on) the final transport unit 131 to transport the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140 ( Step S25). When it is detected that the temporary storage unit 130 is full, 1 is added to the number of full detections up to the previous time stored in the RAM 103 and the result is stored in the RAM 103.

  Subsequently, the control unit 100 determines that the waste toner amount detection unit 135 indicates that the temporary storage unit 130 is full based on the number of full detection times stored in the RAM 103 and the value of the specified number K stored in the ROM 102 or the like. It is determined whether or not it has been detected K times (number of times of conveyance) (step S26).

Here, after the waste toner amount detection unit 143 of the waste toner collection container 140 detects full (temporary full), the number of times that the waste toner can be conveyed from the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140 (allowable conveyance). The number of times K can be defined as follows.
Empty capacity when waste toner collection container 140 is detected to be temporarily full: Y [L]
Capacity at the time of full detection of the temporary storage unit 130: A [L]
K ≦ Y / A (K is a natural number)

  As a result of the determination in step S26, when it is determined that the specified number of times K has not been reached, the control unit 100 returns to the process in step S23 and performs control to temporarily store the waste toner in the temporary storage unit 130.

  On the other hand, when the full detection count is the specified count K in step S26, the control unit 100 determines that the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container 140 is truly full (step S27). The processes in steps S23 to S27 described above correspond to the processes in steps S1 to S5 in FIG.

  Then, the control unit 100 ends the waste toner collection container full detection process, and stops the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 (step S28). Similarly to the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 100 may display a message for requesting the user to replace the waste toner collection container 140 on the operation display unit 105.

  In the second embodiment described above, the waste toner collection container is provided with a uniformizing unit and a waste toner amount detection unit to detect whether the waste toner collection container is full (temporary full). After detecting the temporary fullness of the waste toner collection container, when the amount of waste toner in the temporary storage unit becomes full, the waste toner is conveyed from the temporary storage unit to the waste toner collection container. This is repeatedly executed until the specified number of times (allowable transfer number) K is reached, and if the waste toner is transferred a specified number of times, it is determined that the waste toner collection container is truly full. According to the second embodiment configured as described above, the following operations and effects are provided in addition to the operations and effects described in the description of the first embodiment.

  As described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention, when the waste toner collection container is provided with the homogenization unit and the waste toner amount detection unit, the region beyond the rotation axis of the uniformization unit of the waste toner collection container is dead. It was a space. However, according to the second embodiment, the amount of waste toner corresponding to the dead space capacity of the waste toner collection container is measured using the waste toner amount detection unit in the temporary storage unit. Since the waste toner is filled to the full capacity of the waste toner collection container based on the measurement result of the temporary storage unit, as a result, the dead space can be eliminated and the capacity of the waste toner collection container can be utilized to the maximum. .

[Correction of free space in waste toner collection container]
Here, there is a case where there is a difference between the capacity at the time of temporary full detection detected by the waste toner amount detection unit 143 of the waste toner collection container 140 and the amount of waste toner conveyed from the temporary storage unit 130 to the waste toner collection container 140. Suppose. As a countermeasure, it can be considered that the detection result of the waste toner amount detection unit 143 of the waste toner collection container 140 is positive and the capacity at the time of full detection of the temporary storage unit 130 is corrected. The cause of the difference in the detection results includes the degree of compression of the waste toner when the waste toner is conveyed.

Here, each parameter is defined as follows.
Total capacity of waste toner collection container: Z [L]
Capacity at the time of detection of temporary fullness of waste toner collection container: X [L]
Free space when temporary full detection of waste toner collection container is detected: Y [L]
At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the relationship is Z = X + Y.

Capacity when full storage is detected in temporary storage: A [L]
Number of times transported from temporary storage unit to waste toner collection container: M
Suppose that M (natural number) that satisfies the following condition exists.
X ≒ M × A [L]

However, if the waste toner collection container is temporarily full at a number P (natural number) different from M, the capacity of the temporary storage unit when full is detected is corrected as follows, and then the waste toner collection container is temporarily full. Waste toner for the free capacity Y at the time of detection is filled.
A '= X / P [L]
* Capacity at the time of full storage detection (after correction): A '[L]

  In this way, the detection result of the waste toner amount detection unit of the waste toner collection container is set to be positive, and the capacity at the time of full detection of the temporary storage unit is corrected, thereby determining whether or not the waste toner collection container is full. It is done on the safe side. That is, even if there is a difference between the determination results on the waste toner collection container side and the temporary storage unit side, the waste toner is not collected beyond the capacity of the waste toner collection container.

  As mentioned above, this invention is not limited to each embodiment mentioned above, Of course, unless it deviates from the summary described in the claim, various other modifications and application examples can be taken. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A ... Image forming apparatus, 40 ... Image forming part, 40Y, 40M, 40C, 40K ... Image forming unit, 41 ... Photoconductor, 45 ... Cleaning part, 45a ... Photoconductor waste toner collection part, 45b ... Waste toner collection 50, intermediate transfer unit, 51 ... intermediate transfer belt, 52Y, 52M, 52C, 52K ... primary transfer roller, 60 ... secondary transfer unit, 69 ... belt cleaning device, 69a ... intermediate transfer member waste toner collecting unit, 69b ... Waste toner collection port, 83a ... Secondary transfer waste toner collection unit, 83b ... Waste toner collection port, 90 ... Control board, 100 ... Control unit, 120 ... Waste toner collection mechanism, 121 ... Conveying unit, 122 ... Passage unit 124 ... Intermediate transfer unit, 125 ... Passage unit, 130 ... Temporary storage unit, 130c ... Discharge port, 131 ... Final transfer unit, 131a ... Feeding member 132 ... Uniformation part 132a ... Uniformation member 133 ... Waste toner inlet 134 134 Waste toner discharge port 135 Waste toner amount detection part 140 Waste toner collection container 141 Waste toner storage door state Detection unit, 142 ... Uniformization unit, 143 ... Waste toner amount detection unit

Claims (5)

A temporary storage unit provided with a first waste toner amount detection unit for temporarily storing waste toner generated by the image forming process and detecting the stored waste toner amount;
A detachable waste toner collecting container for collecting waste toner temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit;
A transport unit configured to transport the waste toner temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit to the waste toner collection container;
A control unit for controlling the waste toner amount in the waste toner collection container by controlling the conveyance of the waste toner by the conveyance unit based on the detection result by the first waste toner amount detection unit;
A second waste toner amount detection unit that detects the amount of waste toner in the waste toner collection container ;
The control unit detects a temporary fullness that the waste toner collection container is considered to be full from a detection result of the second waste toner amount detection unit, and then detects a first waste toner amount of the temporary storage unit. The waste toner amount is started to be detected by the control unit, and based on the detection result, the transport of the waste toner to the waste toner collection container by the transport unit is controlled,
Further, the control unit is configured to detect a waste toner amount detection result by the first waste toner amount detection unit of the temporary storage unit and a waste toner amount of the second waste toner amount detection unit of the waste toner collection container. Comparing the detection results, using the detection result of the second waste toner amount detection unit, correcting the capacity value at the time of full detection of the temporary storage unit by the first waste toner amount detection unit,
The waste toner recovery container collects the waste toner from the temporary storage unit after detecting the temporary fullness, where Y is a free capacity when the temporary full detection of the waste toner recovery container is detected and A is a capacity when the full storage unit is detected. An image forming apparatus in which the allowable number of times K (natural number) of waste toner transported to a container is represented by K ≦ Y / A. When the control unit determines from the detection result of the first waste toner amount detection unit that the temporary storage unit is full of waste toner, the control unit controls the transport of the waste toner by the transport unit to control the temporary storage unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner is transported from the waste toner to the waste toner collection container. When the capacity of the waste toner collection container is Z and the capacity when the temporary storage unit is full is A, the allowable number of times N (natural number) of the waste toner transported from the temporary storage unit to the waste toner collection container is N ≦ Z / A,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit determines that the waste toner collection container is full when the waste toner is conveyed N times from the temporary storage unit to the waste toner collection container. 4. The control unit stops transporting waste toner by the transport unit when it is determined from the detection result by the first waste toner amount detection unit that the waste toner collection container is full. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temporary storage unit further includes a uniformizing unit for leveling a surface of the waste toner accumulated in the temporary storage unit.