JP6693046B2 - Toner collecting device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner collecting device and an image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, as a device that conveys toner collected by a cleaning unit that removes toner remaining on an image bearing member such as a photoconductor drum or an intermediate transfer member to a storage container, a device having There is disclosed a toner transporting device that internally incorporates a screw having a slightly smaller outer diameter and transports toner in one direction (substantially horizontal direction) by rotating the screw (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The toner carried by the toner carrying device is discharged from a toner discharge port provided on the downstream side of the toner carrying device in the carrying direction to a carrying path for carrying the toner to the storage container. Since this conveying path is provided in the vertical direction from the toner discharge port, the toner is conveyed in the vertical direction (gravitational direction) by free fall due to its own weight without providing a conveying means such as a screw. Further, the toner discharge port is fixed with a large opening amount for the purpose of suppressing clogging of waste toner.

JP, 2014-119644, A JP, 2010-199771, A

However, in the above-described conventional technique, when the printing process with a large amount of the waste toner (such as image printing with a high blackening rate) is performed in an environment of low temperature and low humidity where the waste toner has high fluidity, the waste toner is conveyed vertically. There is a problem that a large amount of smoke is generated when the container falls freely into the storage container and flows backward in the conveying path, so that the cleaning section and the image carrier are contaminated and an image defect occurs.
On the other hand, even when the opening amount of the toner discharge port is reduced or a shielding plate is provided for the purpose of reducing the backflow of the smoke, even in a high temperature and high humidity environment where the fluidity of the waste toner is low, In particular, when a printing process with a large amount of waste toner is performed, the waste toner accumulates in the vicinity of the toner discharge port, clogging of the waste toner occurs, and an image defect occurs.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner recovery device and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of image defects caused by waste toner in any environment.

The invention according to claim 1 was made to achieve the above object,
A cleaning unit that removes the toner remaining on the image carrier, a toner transport unit that transports the toner removed by the cleaning unit, and a toner discharge port provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the toner transport unit. In a toner collecting device including a vertical conveyance path that conveys toner in a vertical direction by free fall,
An opening amount adjustment unit for adjusting the opening amount of the toner discharge port,
An environment judgment unit that judges the environment inside the device,
An opening amount control unit that adjusts the opening amount of the toner discharge port by the opening amount adjustment unit based on a determination result by the environment determination unit;
Equipped with
The opening amount adjustment unit,
A movable part that advances and retracts in the carrying direction of the toner carrying part;
A position adjustment unit that moves the movable unit forward and backward to adjust the position of the movable unit;
Equipped with
The movable part closes the toner discharge port when the toner carrying part is detached from the position adjusting part and the vertical carrying path.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the toner recovery device according to claim 1,
Equipped with a temperature and humidity detector to detect the temperature and humidity inside the device,
The environment determination unit may perform the environment determination based on the temperature and the humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the toner collecting device according to the second aspect ,
A waste toner amount detecting unit for detecting the amount of waste toner conveyed by the toner conveying unit,
The environment determination unit may further perform the environment determination based on the waste toner amount detected by the waste toner amount detection unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the toner collecting device according to any one of the first to third aspects,
A contamination amount detection unit for detecting the contamination amount of the cleaning unit,
The environment determination unit may perform the environment determination based on the pollution amount detected by the pollution amount detection unit.

The invention according to claim 5 is
In the image forming device,
An image forming unit that forms an image based on image data,
A toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for collecting the toner remaining on the image bearing member after image formation by the image forming section,
It is characterized by including.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of image defects due to waste toner in any environment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of a toner conveyance path that conveys collected toner. FIG. 3 is a side view and a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of the toner transport device. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a control structure of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. It is a side view which shows an example of the opening amount adjustment by the opening amount adjustment part. FIG. 7 is a side view showing an example of a state in which the toner discharge port is closed by the movable portion. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the modified example 1. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image forming apparatus according to Modification 2.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is used, for example, as a printer, a digital copying machine, or the like, and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, an automatic document feeder 20, a scanner unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a paper feed unit. The unit 50, the control unit 10, the toner conveying device 61, the drive unit 70, the temperature / humidity detection unit 80, and the like are configured.

  The automatic document feeder 20 feeds the documents D stacked on the paper feed tray D1 one by one by a plurality of roller pairs and conveys them to the document reading region R, and the document S in which the image is read in the document reading region R. Are discharged to the discharge tray D2.

  The scanner unit 30 includes a light source 31, a movable scanning unit 32, and an optical system 34 that forms an image of a document on a line image sensor 33. For example, in the case of the static optical system type reading operation, the scanning unit 32 is fixed to the document reading area R, and the image of the document D conveyed by the automatic document conveying section 20 is read. Further, in the case of the moving optical system type reading operation, the scanning unit 32 is moved to read the image of the document D placed on the scanner unit 30. The analog signal of the original image photoelectrically converted by the line image sensor 33 is subjected to analog processing, A / D conversion, shading correction, image compression processing, and the like in the control unit 10 to obtain yellow, magenta, cyan, and black colors. It becomes digital image data.

The image forming unit 40 includes a yellow image forming unit Y, a magenta image forming unit M, a cyan image forming unit C, a black image forming unit K, an intermediate transfer member B, a fixing device F, and the like.
Each image forming unit YMCK forms a toner image of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black on the photoconductor drum 41, and primarily transfers the toner image of each color of YMCK formed on the photoconductor drum 41 to the intermediate transfer body B.
Since the configuration and operation of each image forming unit YMCK are the same, a series of image forming operations performed by the image forming unit 40 will be described below by taking the yellow image forming unit Y as an example.

  The yellow image forming unit Y includes a photosensitive drum 41, a charging device 42, an exposure device 43, a developing device 44, a primary transfer roller 45, a secondary transfer roller 46, a cleaning unit 47, and the like.

  The photoconductor drum 41 is composed of a photoconductor layer whose surface is composed of an organic semiconductor layer having a phthalocyanine pigment dispersed in polycarbonate and a charge transport layer.

The charging device 42 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 41.
The exposure device 43 exposes the non-image area of the photosensitive drum 41 based on the digital image data from the control unit 10 to remove the electric charge in the exposed portion, and forms an electrostatic latent image in the image area of the photosensitive drum 41. Form.

  The developing device 44 supplies toner, which is a developer, onto the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drum 41 to form a yellow toner image on the photoconductor drum 41.

The primary transfer roller 45 primarily transfers the yellow toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 41 to the intermediate transfer body B which is the transfer target.
Note that the other image forming units MCK similarly primary-transfer the magenta, cyan, and black toner images to the intermediate transfer member B. As a result, YMCK color toner images are formed on the intermediate transfer member B.

  The secondary transfer roller 46 secondarily transfers the toner image of each color of YMCK formed by being transferred to the intermediate transfer body B onto the paper P conveyed from the paper supply unit 50.

The image forming unit 40 heats and pressurizes the sheet P on which the toner images of Y, M, C, and K colors are secondarily transferred by the fixing device F, and then passes the sheet P through a predetermined transport path and discharges the sheet P to the outside.
The above is a series of image forming operations by the image forming unit 40.

The cleaning unit 47 removes residual toner, paper dust, and other residual substances remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 after the primary transfer. Further, the cleaning unit 48 removes the residue remaining on the intermediate transfer body B after the secondary transfer.
The cleaning unit 47 and the cleaning unit 48 are the same in that they remove the residue remaining on the photosensitive drum 41 or the intermediate transfer member B, and perform the same configuration and operation.

  The paper feed unit 50 is configured to include a plurality of trays, and each tray accommodates a plurality of different types of paper P. The paper feeding unit 50 feeds the paper P, which is accommodated by a predetermined transport path, to the image forming unit 40.

  The control unit 10 is configured to include a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The CPU expands various programs stored in the ROM into the RAM, and cooperates with the expanded programs to cooperate with the automatic document feeder 20, The operation of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 such as the scanner unit 30, the image forming unit 40, the paper feeding unit 50, etc. is comprehensively controlled (see FIG. 4). For example, the control unit 10 inputs an analog signal from the scanner unit 30, performs various image processing, and outputs image data of each color of YMCK generated by the image processing to the image forming unit 40. The control unit 10 also controls the operation of the image forming unit 40 to form an image on the paper P.

The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and thus forms an image on the sheet P. Along with this image forming process, in the developing device 44, part of the toner is discharged due to toner deterioration due to stirring of the stirring screw. Further, the cleaning unit 47 and the cleaning unit 48 discharge the removed toner.
Hereinafter, the toner discharged from the developing device 44, the cleaning unit 47, or the cleaning unit 48 is referred to as a collected toner T.

  The collected toner T discharged from the developing device 44 (44Y, 44M, 44C, 44K) is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a lateral development path 51 (51Y, 51M, 51C, 51K) that extends in the lateral direction. After that, the toner is conveyed to a developing collective conveying path (vertical conveying path) 52 extending in a substantially vertical direction.

  The collected toner T discharged from the cleaning unit 47 (47Y, 47M, 47C, 47K) passes through a cleaning horizontal conveyance path 53 (53Y, 53M, 53C, 53K) that extends in a substantially horizontal direction, and a cleaning assembly that extends in a substantially vertical direction. The sheet is conveyed to the conveying path (vertical conveying path) 54.

  The collected toner T discharged from the cleaning section 48 is conveyed to a cleaning conveyance path (vertical conveyance path) 56 extending in a substantially vertical direction via a cleaning section horizontal conveyance path 55 extending in a substantially horizontal direction.

  The collected toner T transported by the developing collective transport path 52, the cleaning collective transport path 54, and the cleaning transport path 56 is introduced into the collective transport path 57 and merges. The collected toner T that has been merged and conveyed through the collective conveyance path 57 is put into a collection box 59 that collects the collected toner T. The collected toner T accumulated in the collection box 59 is appropriately discarded by the user of the apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the toner carrying device (toner carrying unit) 61 has a mechanism for forcibly carrying the toner, and has a structure for preventing toner adhesion (packing). Is becoming Therefore, in the toner conveying device 61, in particular, the toner cannot be expected to freely fall, for example, the developing lateral conveying path 51, the cleaning lateral conveying path 53, the cleaning section lateral conveying path 55, and the collecting conveying path 57. Can be suitably applied to.

  The toner conveying device 61 has a screw blade 62 formed in a spiral shape, and a cylindrical toner conveying member 63 that stores the screw blade 62 and is a toner conveying path.

  The outer periphery 621 of the screw blade 62 has a contact portion 622 that contacts the inner wall 631 of the toner conveying member 63 and a non-contact portion 623 that does not contact the inner wall 631 of the toner conveying member 63 when the screw blade 62 is stationary or rotating. And have.

  The toner conveying device 61 also includes a screw shaft 64 that is parallel to the center line of the screw blade 62 and is connected to the screw blade 62. The toner conveying member 63 stores the screw shaft 64 together with the screw blade 62. ing.

  That is, in the toner transport device 61, a spiral screw blade 62 is eccentrically formed on a screw shaft 64 having a straight column shape from one end to the other end, and both ends of the screw shaft 64 serve as a toner transport path. It is rotatably fixed to the member 63.

  In the toner carrying device 61, the contact portion 622 of the screw blade 62 slides on the inner wall 631 of the toner carrying member 63 by the rotation of the screw shaft 64, and scrapes the collected toner T adhered to the inner wall 631 of the toner carrying member 63. You can do it.

  The drive unit 70 that rotationally drives the screw shaft 64 includes a motor 71 and a reduction gear group 72 connected to the output shaft of the motor 71, and the output shaft of the reduction gear group 72 is an end portion of the screw shaft 64. It is connected to the.

The drive unit 70 rotates the screw shaft 64 in the arrow d direction at a low speed by the rotation of the motor 71. The screw blade 62 is eccentrically rotated by the rotation of the screw shaft 64, and the collected toner T input from the toner input port 632 is conveyed from one end 624 of the screw blade 62 toward the other end 625. Further, due to the rotation of the screw blade 62, the contact portion 622 is brought into sliding contact with the inner wall 631 of the toner carrying member 63, and the collected toner T attached to the inner wall 631 of the toner carrying member 63 is scraped off.
By the above-described carrying operation, the collected toner T is discharged from the toner discharge port 633 provided near the other end 625. The collected toner T discharged from the toner discharge port 633 is fed into the collection box 59 via each vertical conveyance path (developing collective conveyance path 52, cleaning collective conveyance path 54, cleaning conveyance path 56, etc.).

Further, the toner conveying device 61 includes a movable portion 65 that moves forward and backward in the longitudinal direction (conveying direction), an adjustment cam (position adjusting portion) 66 that moves the movable portion 65 forward and backward to adjust the position of the movable portion 65, and Is configured. The movable portion 65 and the adjustment cam 66 function as the opening amount adjustment portion of the present invention.
The movable portion 65 is urged by an elastic member (not shown) in the direction of advancing in the longitudinal direction, that is, the direction in which the adjustment cam 66 is arranged (direction of arrow c), and is locked by the adjustment cam 66.
The adjustment cam 66 is an eccentric cam that rotates around a rotating shaft 66a provided at a position deviated from the center, and is provided on the arrow c direction side of the movable portion 65 to lock the movable portion 65.
As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 10 rotates the adjustment cam 66 to move the movable unit 65 back and forth in the longitudinal direction, and adjusts the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633. For example, when the control unit 10 wants to reduce the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633, the control unit 10 rotates the adjustment cam 66 from the state of the opening amount E1 shown in FIG. , And the opening amount E2 (E1> E2) shown in FIG. 5B is adjusted. Note that in this embodiment, the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 can be set to three levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small”.

  Further, the toner transport device 61 is detached at the same time as the cleaning unit 47 or the cleaning unit 48 is detached, leaving the adjustment cam 66. When the toner conveying device 61 is detached, as shown in FIG. 6, the movable portion 65 separated from the adjustment cam 66 advances in the longitudinal direction and completely closes the toner discharge port 633, so that the movable portion 65 is removed. , Functions as a shutter mechanism for preventing the scattering of waste toner.

The temperature / humidity detection unit 80 is provided around the cleaning unit 47 or the cleaning unit 48 and detects the temperature and humidity inside the apparatus. The temperature / humidity detection unit 80 may be provided around the photoconductor drum 41 or the like, but is more preferably provided around the waste toner transport path.
When the control unit 10 determines that the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 are high temperature and high humidity, the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 is increased. Move 65. Further, when the control unit 10 determines that the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 are low and low humidity, the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 to move the toner discharge port 633 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes small. The part 65 is moved.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.
First, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the temperature detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (step S101). That is, the control unit 10 functions as the environment determination unit of the present invention. Here, the predetermined temperature is a temperature at which the fluidity of the waste toner is lowered and the clogging of the waste toner may occur near the toner discharge port 633.
When determining that the temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature (step S101: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to the next step S102.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the temperature is not higher than or equal to the predetermined temperature, that is, the temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature (step S101: NO), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 is “small”. The movable part 65 is moved so as to be “(step S105). That is, the control unit 10 functions as the opening amount control unit of the present invention.

Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 is equal to or higher than a predetermined humidity (step S102). Here, the predetermined humidity is a humidity at which the fluidity of the waste toner is lowered and the waste toner may be clogged in the vicinity of the toner discharge port 633.
When it is determined that the humidity is equal to or higher than the predetermined humidity (step S102: YES), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 to move the movable unit 65 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “large”. (Step S103).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the humidity is not higher than or equal to the predetermined humidity, that is, the humidity is lower than the predetermined humidity (step S102: NO), the controller 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 is “medium”. The movable portion 65 is moved so as to be “(step S104).

As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the opening amount adjusting unit (the movable unit 65 and the adjusting cam 66) that adjusts the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 and the environment determination that determines the environment inside the device. And an opening amount control unit (control unit 10) for adjusting the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 by the opening amount adjusting unit based on the judgment result by the environment judging unit.
Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 can be adjusted after determining the environmental condition, so that the opening amount can be adjusted in an environment where the waste toner has a high fluidity. It is possible to reduce the backflow of the smoke by making the size smaller and to increase the opening amount to suppress the clogging of the waste toner in an environment where the fluidity of the waste toner is low. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of image defects due to the waste toner in any environment.

Further, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a temperature / humidity detection unit 80 that detects the temperature and humidity inside the apparatus, and the environment determination unit is based on the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80. , Make environmental judgments.
Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in an environment of low temperature and low humidity where the waste toner has high fluidity, the opening amount is reduced to reduce the backflow of the smoke, and the waste toner has high fluidity and high temperature. In a high-humidity environment, the opening amount can be increased to suppress the occurrence of clogging of waste toner, so that the occurrence of image defects due to waste toner can be suppressed in any environment.

Further, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the opening amount adjusting section moves the movable section 65 forward and backward in the transport direction of the toner transport section (toner transport apparatus 61) and the movable section 65 forward and backward to move the movable section 65. The position adjusting unit (adjustment cam 66) for adjusting the position of the unit 65, and the movable unit 65 closes the toner discharge port 633 when the toner conveying unit is detached from the position adjusting unit and the vertical conveying path. ..
Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment, it is possible to prevent the waste toner from leaking from the toner discharge port 633 when the toner transport unit is attached / detached. Occurrence can be suppressed.

  The specific description has been given above based on the embodiment according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be modified without departing from the gist thereof.

(Modification 1)
For example, in the above embodiment, the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 is adjusted based on the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a waste toner amount detection unit for detecting the amount of waste toner conveyed by the toner conveyance device 61 is provided, and in addition to the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80, detection is performed by the waste toner amount detection unit. The opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 may be adjusted according to the amount of waste toner.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first modification will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the amount of waste toner detected by the waste toner amount detection unit is equal to or larger than a predetermined amount (step S201). Here, the predetermined amount is an amount in which the fluidity of the waste toner is lowered and the clogging of the waste toner may occur in the vicinity of the toner discharge port 633.
When determining that the amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount (step S201: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to the next step S202.
On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the amount is less than the predetermined amount (step S201: NO), the process proceeds to step S206.

Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the temperature detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (step S202).
When determining that the temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature (step S202: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to the next step S203.
On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature (step S202: NO), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “medium”. Is moved (step S205).

Next, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 is equal to or higher than a predetermined humidity (step S203).
When the control unit 10 determines that the humidity is equal to or higher than the predetermined humidity (step S203: YES), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 to move the movable unit 65 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “large”. (Step S204).
On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the humidity is lower than the predetermined humidity (step S203: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to step S205 and moves the movable portion 65 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “medium”. To move.

When determining that the amount is less than the predetermined amount (step S201: NO), the controller 10 determines whether the temperature detected by the temperature / humidity detecting unit 80 is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature (step S206).
When the control unit 10 determines that the temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature (step S206: YES), the control unit 10 moves to step S205 and moves the movable portion 65 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 is “medium”. Let
On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature (step S206: NO), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “small”. Is moved (step S207).

As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first modification includes the waste toner amount detection unit that detects the amount of waste toner conveyed by the toner conveyance unit, and the environment determination unit further includes the waste toner amount detection unit. Environmental judgment is made based on the detected amount of waste toner.
Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of waste toner is small, the opening amount is reduced to reduce the backflow of the smoke, and when the amount of waste toner is large, the opening amount is increased. As a result, it is possible to suppress clogging of the waste toner, so that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of an image defect due to the waste toner under any environment.

(Modification 2)
Further, the cleaning unit 47 and the cleaning unit 48 are provided with a contamination amount detection unit for detecting the contamination amount, and instead of the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80, the contamination amount detected by the contamination amount detection unit is used. The opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 may be adjusted. As the contamination amount detection unit, for example, a reflection sensor that irradiates the blade of each cleaning unit with light and receives the reflected light can be applied.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the modified example 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the control unit 10 determines whether the contamination amount detected by the contamination amount detection unit is equal to or larger than a predetermined amount (step S301). Here, the predetermined amount is an amount that may cause an image defect due to contamination of each cleaning unit.
When determining that the amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount (step S301: YES), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 to move the movable unit 65 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “large”. (Step S302).
On the other hand, when the control unit 10 determines that the amount is less than the predetermined amount (step S301: NO), the control unit 10 controls the adjustment cam 66 so that the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 becomes “small”. Is moved (step S303).

As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the modified example 2 includes the contamination amount detection unit that detects the contamination amount of the cleaning units 47 and 48, and the environment determination unit determines the contamination amount detected by the contamination amount detection unit. Based on this, environmental judgment is made.
Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of contamination of the cleaning units 47 and 48 is small, the opening amount is reduced to reduce the backflow of the smoke and the amount of contamination of the cleaning units 47 and 48 is reduced. When the amount is large, it is possible to increase the opening amount and suppress the occurrence of clogging of the waste toner, so that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of image defects due to the waste toner under any environment.

(Other modifications)
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the movable portion 65 and the adjustment cam 66 are exemplified as the opening amount adjustment portion, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, any structure may be used as long as the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 can be adjusted.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the movable portion 65 closes the toner discharge port 633 when the toner conveyance device 61 is detached from the adjustment cam 66 and the vertical conveyance path, but the present invention is not limited to this. Absent. That is, the movable portion 65 may not block the toner discharge port 633 when the toner conveyance device 61 is attached or detached.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 can be set to three levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small”, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be set in two stages of “large” and “small”, or may be set in four or more stages.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 is adjusted based on the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 may be adjusted based on only the temperature.

Further, means for adjusting the opening amount of the toner discharge port 633 based on the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature / humidity detection unit 80, and toner discharge based on the contamination amount detected by the contamination amount detection unit according to the second modification. Both means for adjusting the opening amount of the outlet 633 may be provided. In this case, for example, the user may be allowed to select one of the means, or if the adjustment based on the temperature and humidity becomes impossible due to a failure of the temperature / humidity detection unit 80 or the like, the contamination amount is automatically set. You may make it transfer to adjustment based on.
In addition to the adjusting unit based on the temperature and the humidity and the adjusting unit based on the contamination amount, the adjusting unit based on the waste toner amount shown in the modification 1 may be provided.

  In addition, the detailed configuration of each device and the detailed operation of each device forming the image forming apparatus can be appropriately changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 Image Forming Apparatus 10 Control Unit (Environmental Judgment Unit)
20 Automatic Document Conveying Section 30 Scanner Section 40 Image Forming Section 44 Developing Devices 47, 48 Cleaning Section 50 Paper Feeding Section 51 Developing Lateral Conveying Path 52 Developing Collecting Conveying Path 53 Cleaning Horizontal Conveying Path 54 Cleaning Collecting Conveying Path 55 Cleaning Section Conveying Path 56 cleaning transport path 57 collective transport path 61 toner transport device (toner transport unit)
63 Toner Conveying Member 633 Toner Discharge Port 65 Movable Part (Opening Amount Adjusting Part)
66 Adjustment cam (opening amount adjustment unit; position adjustment unit)
70 Drive unit 80 Temperature / humidity detection unit

Claims (5)

A cleaning unit that removes the toner remaining on the image carrier, a toner transport unit that transports the toner removed by the cleaning unit, and a toner discharge port provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the toner transport unit. In a toner collecting device including a vertical conveyance path that conveys toner in a vertical direction by free fall,
An opening amount adjustment unit for adjusting the opening amount of the toner discharge port,
An environment judgment unit that judges the environment inside the device,
An opening amount control unit that adjusts the opening amount of the toner discharge port by the opening amount adjustment unit based on the determination result by the environment determination unit;
Equipped with
The opening amount adjustment unit,
A movable part that moves back and forth in the carrying direction of the toner carrying part;
A position adjustment unit that moves the movable unit forward and backward to adjust the position of the movable unit;
Equipped with
The toner collecting device, wherein the movable part closes the toner discharge port when the toner carrying part is detached from the position adjusting part and the vertical carrying path. Equipped with a temperature and humidity detector to detect the temperature and humidity inside the device,
The environment determination section, on the basis of the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity detection unit, toner collecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the environment determination. A waste toner amount detecting unit for detecting the amount of waste toner conveyed by the toner conveying unit,
The toner recovery device according to claim 2 , wherein the environment determination unit further performs the environment determination based on a waste toner amount detected by the waste toner amount detection unit. A contamination amount detection unit for detecting the contamination amount of the cleaning unit,
The environment determination section, on the basis of the amount of contamination that is detected by the amount of contamination detection unit, toner collecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the environment determination. An image forming unit that forms an image based on image data,
A toner recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for collecting the toner remaining on the image bearing member after image formation by the image forming section,
An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images