JPH01126671A - Toner recovering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably contain toner in a recovery container and to miniaturize a device by making the recovery container collide with a fixed member and giving a specific acceleration. CONSTITUTION:The recovery container 13 possesses a toner reception port 13a on one edge side and motion is given to the container in order to fill it with the toner. Namely, the container 13 moves to an opposite side with the energization of a spring 17 to collide with the fixed member 19 provided on a fixed frame 15 repeatedly when it is made to be displaced to one edge side where the toner reception port 13a of the collecting container 13 is provided by resisting the energization of the spring 17 by an actuation means 18 and the actuation means 18 releases the actuation with the stage part of a cam or the non-excitation of an electromagnet. With every motion, the container is made to collide with the fixed member 19 so that the acceleration of 0.5-3.0G (G means the acceleration of gravity) can be given. Thus, an image forming device can be made compact since the recovery container can be filled with the toner plentifully.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a toner collection device in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, and more specifically, toner collection device for removing toner from the surface of an image bearing member such as a photoreceptor drum with a cleaning device. , relates to a toner collection device that is dropped into a collection container and collected.

[Background of the invention]

In the toner collection device as described above, the toner receiving port of the collection container is provided on one edge side, and the collection container is opened by an eccentric rotating cam having a step on the circumference so that the collection container is filled with toner. The toner is displaced toward one end edge where the toner receiving port is provided against the spring bias, and the cam falls into a small diameter circumference at the stepped part, and the spring bias moves the cam toward the opposite side to the small diameter circumference of the cam. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-54369 discloses a toner recovery device that repeatedly applies large accelerations that can be stopped by a surface.

However, with this toner collection device, it is not possible to easily adjust the magnitude of the acceleration applied to the collection container, and the collection container is not sufficiently filled with toner to the side opposite to the edge where the toner receiving opening is provided. If you set a stepped eccentric cam or spring that gives such an acceleration, not only will the wear and tear on the cam and cam follower increase, but also the collision noise and vertical vibration of the collection container will increase and cannot be suppressed. Therefore, toner tends to accumulate in the toner receiving eye area, and in order to fully store toner in the collection container, the height of the collection container must be set not only at the toner receiving eye area but also at a distance from it. Even parts of the image forming apparatus have to be made higher, which poses problems such as an increase in the size of the image forming apparatus.

In addition, a toner collection device was developed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-11301 that uses an optical sensor to detect the pile of toner that accumulates in the toner receiving eye of the collection container, and uses that information to forcibly vibrate the collection container.
This toner recovery device is known from Japanese Patent No. 9-231575, but not only does the detection by the optical sensor tend to be inaccurate due to toner contamination, but the toner receiving opening of the recovery container is provided in the center, and the height There is a problem in that it is difficult to stably store toner in the collection container or to downsize the device because the toner must be kept at a high level.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made with the aim of solving the above-mentioned problems in the conventional toner collection device, and it reduces the occurrence of impact noise and vertical vibration, and increases the height of the collection container that has a toner receiving opening at one end. A toner recovery device that can provide sufficient acceleration to fill a recovery container with toner even without the use of toner, can easily adjust the acceleration, and can configure an image forming apparatus compactly. The purpose is to provide.

[Structure of the invention]

The present invention provides a toner recovery device in which toner on an image bearing surface of an image forming apparatus is removed by a cleaning device and collected by dropping the toner into a recovery container, wherein the recovery container has a toner receiving opening on one edge side, and It is made to reciprocate in the direction of the opposite edge, and collides with a fixed member every time it moves toward the opposite edge, giving an acceleration of 0.5G to 3.0G (G is the acceleration of gravity). The present invention provides a toner recovery device characterized by the following features, and this configuration achieves the above object.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below using illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with the toner collecting device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial side view showing an example of the toner collecting device of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are toner collecting devices. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a collection container; FIG. 6 is a graph showing changes in toner capacity and acceleration of the collection container; FIG. 7 is a graph showing acceleration of the collection container and toner 3 is a graph showing a state in which the battery is filled.

The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a photosensitive drum 1 which is an image bearing member.
rotates in the direction of the arrow, the charger 2 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and the image exposure device 3 using a laser beam scanner performs image exposure by dot exposure on the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 1. to form an electrostatic image, one of the developing devices 4 to 6 develops the electrostatic image into a toner image of yellow, cyan, magenta, etc., and the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 on which the toner image is formed. Transfer device 72 separator 8 and cleaning device are inactive? i! After passing through the position 9 and entering the second rotation, the charger 2 starts charging again, and the image exposure device 3 forms an electrostatic image.

Developing is performed using one of the developing devices 4 to 6 different from the previous one, and the same process is repeated even in the third rotation to form a color image on the photosensitive drum 1 consisting of a combination of three color toner images. , the color image is transferred by the transfer device 7 to the recording paper fed by the paper feeding means lO, and the recording paper to which the color image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by the separator 8, and the receiver is transferred to the transfer device. 11 and fixing device 12
The color image is fixed on the recording paper by the fixing device 12, and the recording paper is discharged outside the machine. Then, residual toner is removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 onto which the color image has been transferred by the cleaning device 9, and the state returns to the state where the next color image can be formed again.

The cleaning device f9 scrapes off toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 with a scraping member 9a, and removes the toner from the guide plate 9.
b to the toner transport means 9C, the toner transport means 9C transports the toner to one end in the width direction of the cleaning device 9, and drops it into the collection container 13 through a drop pipe 9d provided at the end. Although a blade is used as the scraping member 9a and a screw conveyor is used as the toner conveying means 9c, the toner is not limited to this, for example, it may be scraped off with a rotating brush or the like and conveyed with a belt conveyor or the like.

In the example of FIG. 1, the collection container 13 is placed below the transfer device 11 and the fixing device 12, but as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the collection container 13 is placed below the cleaning device 9. However, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, since the toner drop is large, the toner moves to the back of the toner receiving port 13a without forming a pile in the collection container 13. In addition, the position of the drop pipe 9d is shifted to the side of the transfer device 11, and the drop pipe 9d
Since the connection between the drop pipe 9d and the collection container 13 is located below the transfer device 11, even if toner should leak from the connection between the drop pipe 9d and the collection container 13, recording and is not contaminated, and furthermore, the collection container 1
The arrangement shown in FIG. 1 is preferable because it provides a degree of design freedom in that the image forming apparatus 3 can be taken out from the image forming apparatus to the left in the figure, to the front side, or to the back side.

Although the drive mechanism of the collection container 13 is omitted in Fig. 1,
The drive mechanism is the collection container 13 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.
Since the drive mechanism is the same as the one shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the collection container 13 has a toner receiving port 13a on one edge side, and as described below, is given a movement that allows it to be fully filled with toner, so that the cleaning device 9 In the image forming apparatus, the toner is integrally held in the holding tray 14 at least in the movement direction so that the toner can be installed compactly in the space created below the image forming apparatus and the collected toner can be removed from the image forming apparatus. .

The holding tray 14 is held by a fixed frame 15 of the image forming apparatus so as to be movable in the direction of one end edge having a toner receiving opening 13a in which the toner storage chamber of the collection container 13 extends and the opposite edge. A spring 17 tensioned between the spring hook 16 and a spring hook 16 provided on the side urges the collecting container 13 toward the edge opposite to the one end edge having the toner receiving opening 13a. The holding plate 14 is brought into contact with the fixed frame 15 by a slider made of resin or the like having an appropriate coefficient of friction so that the holding plate 14 reciprocates smoothly and does not bounce. Preferably, it is carried out in
The holding plate 14 is a stepped eccentric cam (Fig. 3) or a stepped surface cam (
Figure 4) or actuating means 1 such as an electromagnetically driven plunger
When the collecting container 13 is displaced toward the edge of one end having the toner receiving port 13a against the bias of the spring 17, and the actuating means 18 is released from operation by the stepped portion of the cam or the de-energization of the electromagnet, etc. , moves to the opposite side under the bias of the spring 17 and repeatedly collides with the fixing member 19 provided on the fixed frame 15. As the holding plate 14 collides with the fixing member 19 in this way, impact noise and vertical The generation of vibration is reduced, and it is possible to apply a large acceleration to move the toner received from the toner receiving port 13a to the opposite edge of the collection container 13, which is integrated with the holding tray 14, and fill the toner storage chamber sequentially from the back. Become.

Note that the acceleration can be easily controlled by moving the position of the spring hook 16 or the fixing member 19. When controlling by movement of the fixing member 19, it is limited to the maximum displacement range of the holding tray 14 given by the actuating means 18. Therefore, in the illustrated example, the position of the spring hook 16 is moved by a motor 20 provided on the fixed frame 15, and an acceleration sensor 21 is provided on the holding tray 14, and the control device uses the information from the acceleration sensor 21. 22 drives and controls the motor 20 to move the position of the spring hook 16 so that the acceleration can be kept constant regardless of changes in the amount of toner in the collection container 13.

However, even if the acceleration is not controlled as described above, the acceleration is applied by the collision with the fixed member 19, so that the acceleration is applied by the collision with the lower surface of the stepped portion of the stepped cam. When compared with a conventional toner collection device, the rate of decrease in acceleration accompanying an increase in the amount of toner in the collection container 13 is significantly reduced, and the collection container 13 can be filled with toner uniformly and at high density.

Figure 6 shows the relationship between the toner storage capacity of the collection container and the acceleration α when the acceleration is not controlled, and the dotted curves A and B
is the case of the conventional toner recovery device, and the solid curve C is the case of the toner recovery device of the present invention in which a urethane rubber buffer member 19a is provided on the collision surface of the fixed member 19. Note that other rubbers such as silicone rubber and natural rubber, rubber foam, leather, springs, etc. can also be used for the buffer member 19a. Regarding FIG. 6, in order to fill the collection container 13 with toner from the back side at a high density, α is preferably maintained at 1.0G or more. It is preferable that α does not exceed 2.0G from the viewpoint of suppressing vibration, but in the case of a conventional toner collection device, α1
．． If α is maintained at 00 or more, α will become larger than 2.0G when the amount of toner in the collection container 13 is small, making it impossible to suppress impact noise and vertical vibration, and α will be reduced to 2.0G.
If the amount of toner in the collection container 13 increases, α will be 1.0G or less, or even further.
3 cannot be filled with toner (becomes 0, 5)
It becomes below G.

On the other hand, in the case of the toner collection device of the present invention, it is possible to maintain α within the range of 1.0G to 2.0G without controlling α, reduce the generation of impact noise and harmful vibrations, and 1
3 can be filled with toner at high density.

The relationship between α and the state in which toner is filled into the collection container 13 is explained with reference to FIG. The child-filling region F is its growth front Fa
The toner particles grow in a row (
Therefore, when the toner overflows into the toner receiving port 13a, the collection container 13 is almost completely filled with toner, but when α becomes 0.5G, the toner filling 3
Since the growth front Fa of 8F is greatly retreated on the side wall side of the collection container 13 away from the toner receiving port 13a,
Even when toner overflows into the toner receiving port 13a, a considerable amount of empty space remains in the toner storage chamber of the recovery container 13 on the side wall side where the growth front Pa has retreated. If α is O, it goes without saying that even if toner overflows at the toner receiving port 13a, most of the other parts will remain empty. It is necessary for α to be 0.5G or more, and especially preferably 1.0 or more. In Fig. 7, the hatched area is the area where unfilled toner is present, and the white area is the area where there is almost no toner. It is a part.

The above-mentioned preferable upper limit of 2.0G is for the conventional toner collection device in which acceleration is obtained by collision with the lower surface of the stepped cam.In the toner collection device of the present invention, the impact noise is The upper limit can be increased to about 3.0G since the occurrence of harmful vibrations is reduced. In particular, in the example shown in FIG. 4 in which a stepped surface cam is used as the actuating means 18, force is applied in the axial direction of the cam. Compared to the example shown in the figure, impact noise and harmful vertical vibrations are much less generated. Furthermore, the toner collection device can be made compact and the drive system can be simplified.

As described above, in the toner recovery device of the present invention, a large acceleration is applied to the recovery container 13 with less generation of impact noise and harmful vibrations. It can be increased by widening the depth from the toner receiving opening 13a to the opposite edge side and the width in the direction perpendicular thereto, without increasing the height of the part having the toner receiving opening 13a or the overall height. Therefore, the collection container 13 can be installed in the image forming apparatus in a compact manner as described above. In order to further increase the toner capacity of the collection container 13, as shown in FIG.
If the height on the opposite side is made higher than the edge side where 3a is provided, the volume on the side where the toner is filled with high density increases,
- It is possible to increase the toner storage capacity with layer efficiency.

Acceleration sensor 2! In the examples shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in which the acceleration α is not only controlled to be constant, but also controlled so that α changes as shown in FIG. , or control the bag based on that information by using moving the spring hook 16 to keep α constant? ! ! 22 can determine when the collection container 13 is full of toner and issue a warning to remove or replace the toner in the collection container 13. In this case, if an impact pressure sensor is further provided at the collision part of the fixed member 19 or the holding plate 14, and the warning timing is determined from the ratio of the information from the sensor and the information from the acceleration sensor 21, the layer accuracy can be improved. can.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toner collection device is incorporated into the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, the collection container 13 is shaped as shown in FIG. uses a stepped surface cam as shown in FIG.
, the stroke of the holding plate 14 stopped by the fixing member 19 is about 5W, and the number of revolutions of the stepped surface cam is about 5O.
About rpm+, α is set by controlling the position of the spring hook 16.
An example is that the toner is kept constant in the range of 0G to 2.0G, and a warning is given that the collection container 13 is about to be full of toner based on the movement amount information of the spring hook 16. This prevents the recording paper from being contaminated with collected toner, reduces impact noise and vibration, and prevents the collection container from being contaminated.
3. It is possible to stably store full toner at a high density, lengthen the toner removal or replacement cycle of the collection container 13, and improve the durability of the toner collection device. can.

In order to allow the collection container 13 to be taken in and out horizontally, the holding tray 14 has its left wall in the direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction in the example of FIG. 1, and in the reciprocating direction in the example of FIG. The left side wall in one figure, and the right side wall (not shown in the example in Figure 3), are configured to collapse horizontally. Further, the collection container 13 can be taken in and taken out horizontally, and the drop pipe 9d is designed so that the toner does not come out from the part where the drop pipe 9d of the cleaning device 9 contacts the toner receiving port 13a of the collection container 13. A flange lid is provided at the bottom. This flange lid is placed in the drop pipe 9d so as to be in contact with the upper surface of the collection container 13 rather than being fixed to the drop pipe 9d.
It is preferable to slidably engage the outer shape of d.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The toner collection device of the present invention is capable of filling a collection container having a toner receiving port at one end with toner,
The image forming apparatus can be made more compact, and there is less impact noise and vertical vibration (and the cycle of removing toner from the collection container or replacing the collection container can be extended to match the maintenance cycle of the image forming apparatus). , it has the effect of being excellent in durability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of an image forming apparatus equipped with the toner collecting device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a part number showing an example of the toner collecting device of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a collection container, FIG. 6 is a graph showing changes in toner capacity and acceleration of the collection container, and FIG. 7 is a graph showing changes in acceleration and acceleration of the collection container. 7 is a graph showing a state in which toner is filled. 1... Photosensitive drum, 2... Charger, 3...
・Image exposure device, 4 to 6...Developing device, 7...
Transfer device, 8... Separator, 9... Cleaning device, 9a... Scraping member, 9b... Guide plate, 9c
... Toner conveyance means, 9d ... Drop pipe, 10.
...paper feeding means, 11... receiving and passing device, 12
...Fixing device, 13...Collection container, 13a
... Toner receiving port, 14 ... Holding tray, 15 ...
Fixed frame, 16... Spring hook, 17... Spring, 18... Actuation means, 19... Fixed member, 19a... Ganhong Shutong, 20... Motor, 21... Acceleration Sensor, 22...control device. Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Toner 4 length length (%)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a toner recovery device in which toner on the surface of an image carrier of an image forming apparatus is removed by a cleaning device and collected by dropping the toner into a recovery container, the recovery container has a toner receiving opening on one edge side, and the toner is opposite to the one edge. It is reciprocated in the direction of the side edge, and collides with the fixed member every time it moves toward the opposite edge, and the force is 0.5G to 3.0G (G is the acceleration of gravity).
A toner recovery device characterized in that it is given an acceleration of . (2) The toner recovery device according to claim 1, wherein the recovery container collides with the fixing member via a buffer member.