JPH0710746U - Waste toner processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The present invention reliably collects powdered waste toner by simple handling and discards the waste toner without causing problems such as scattering of the waste toner and soiling of an apparatus or an operator. An object is to obtain a waste toner processing device that can be processed. A heater 7 for heating and melting waste toner, a portion 8a for cooling and solidifying the waste toner, holes 4a, 4b, 8b for transporting the waste toner, and a transport coil 6 housed in the hole, A cutter 9 provided at the exit of the hole,
This is a waste toner processing device provided with a drive motor 12 for rotating the carrying coil 6.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a waste toner processing device for discarding powdery waste toner.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Toners are used for image recording in image recording devices such as copiers and laser printers. This toner is usually in the form of powder and is used as appropriate during image recording. On the other hand, unnecessary toner (for example, toner remaining on the outer periphery of the drum) that is not substantially used during the image recording process and remains in the apparatus is accumulated and discarded by a cleaning device or the like.

Here, since the toner discarded from such an image recording apparatus is powdery, it is easily scattered, and if the waste toner collecting method is improper or the collected waste toner is mishandled. The area around the image recording device and the worker are easily soiled. For this reason, various methods and structures have been proposed for accumulating and discarding waste toner remaining in the image recording apparatus.

For example, in the devices disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-38307 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-184962, the waste toner as described above is conveyed in a powder state by a conveying screw to a collecting container. It is configured to be accumulated inside.

However, in the collecting method (structure) having such a configuration, since the powdery waste toner is directly collected in the collecting container, a relatively large storage volume is required, and the collecting container becomes large in size. is there. In addition, after removing the collection container in which waste toner is accumulated from the main body of the image recording device, the waste toner is taken out from the collection container and disposed of at a predetermined toner disposal site, and the empty collection container is reused in the image recording device. Since it is installed and used, if the collection container is removed or the waste toner is taken out from the collection container at the toner disposal site, the surroundings of the image recording device and the worker are still easily polluted.

On the other hand, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-178158, the waste toner accumulated in the collecting container is disposed as it is in the collecting container, and in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-73776. The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is configured to heat-dissolve the powdery waste toner accumulated in the collecting container. Further, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-78277 attaches it to a cleaning web and winds it together with the cleaning web. It is designed to be collected and collected.

In each of these configurations, since the collection container removed from the image recording apparatus is discarded as it is, it is relatively easy to handle and the surroundings of the image recording apparatus and the worker are less likely to be contaminated. However, there is a drawback that the cost becomes high because the collection container is thrown away after each disposal. In addition, since the actual disposal of waste toner at the toner disposal site cannot be performed together with the collection container, it may occur when the waste toner is sent to the toner disposal site as it is from the image storage device. However, since it is necessary to take out the waste toner from the container after that, the handling has not been substantially improved.

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In consideration of the above facts, the present invention reliably collects powdery waste toner by simple handling, and efficiently and reliably disposes of waste toner without causing problems such as scattering of waste toner and soiling of the device or workers. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a waste toner processing device capable of processing.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The waste toner processing apparatus of the present invention includes a heating and melting means for heating and melting powdery waste toner, a cooling and solidifying means for cooling and solidifying the waste toner liquefied by the heating and melting means, and the cooling and solidification. A waste toner processing apparatus comprising: a crushing unit that crushes the waste toner solidified by the means; a conveying unit that continuously conveys the waste toner from the heating and melting unit to a cooling and solidifying unit; and a crushing unit, The carrying means is characterized by comprising a carrying coil member having a spiral shape, a through hole member for housing the carrying coil member, and a driving member for rotating the carrying coil member.

[0010]

[Action]

 In the waste toner processing device of the present invention, the conveying coil member in the through hole member is rotated by the driving member, so that the powdery waste toner is heated and melted from the heating and melting means to the cooling and solidifying means and the crushing means along the conveying coil member. Are continuously transported to. Focusing on the waste toner, the powdery waste toner is heated and melted by the heating and melting means, then the melted waste toner is solidified by the cooling and solidifying means, and the finally solidified waste toner is pulverized by a crushing step. Being crushed. This waste toner does not easily scatter, is easy to handle, and can be easily accumulated. Therefore, the workability is improved and the device and the worker are not contaminated. Further, even if it is necessary to touch the solid waste toner, the worker is not soiled.

[0011]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, the waste toner processing device according to the present invention reliably and efficiently collects powdery waste toner by simple handling, and does not cause problems such as waste toner being scattered and the device or an operator being dirty. It has an excellent effect that it can surely perform the waste treatment.

[0012]

【Example】

 The waste toner processing device according to the present invention mainly comprises a heating and melting means, a cooling and solidifying means, a crushing means, and a conveying means. FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of an embodiment of the waste toner processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view thereof.

The waste toner processing device 100 is provided inside an image processing device such as a copying machine or a laser printer (not shown), and is particularly provided near a waste toner cleaning device for collecting the waste toner around the drum. A waste toner cleaning device (not shown) uses the toner transfer pipe 1 to transfer the powdery waste toner 2 to the waste toner processing device 100.

A waste toner processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention mainly includes the following. The connection pipe 3, the main body 4, the cover 5, the transfer coil 6, the heater 7, the barrel 8, the cutter 9, the bearing 10, the gears 11a, 11b and 11c, the drive motor 12, the rotation container 14, the heat insulating material 15, and the shaft 16. .

The connecting pipe 3 has a hole 3 a, the main body 4 has holes 4 a, 4 b, and the powdery waste toner 2 is conveyed by the conveying coil 6 through these holes. Further, the barrel 8 has a hole 8b for accommodating the carrying coil 6, and the powdery waste toner 2 is carried to the barrel tip 8a through the hole which is the through-hole member.

Further, the transport coil 6 forms an axial surface 6a, and the waste toner is transported along the axial surface 6a by a certain amount in the axial direction.

The transfer coil 6 is fixed to a shaft 16, and the shaft 16 is supported by a bearing 10 with respect to the main body 4. A gear 11a is provided at the rear end of the shaft 16. Then, the gears 11a, 11b, 11c are arranged in a space 4c formed by the main body 4 and the cover 5 (a gear supporting method is not shown). The gear 11c is rotated by the output shaft (not shown) of the drive motor 12. With the above configuration, the rotation of the drive motor 12 is transmitted to the gear 11c, the gear 11b, and the gear 11a, and the carrier coil 6 is rotated.

The shape, size, and pitch of the carrier coil 6 can be variously changed. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a case where the winding pitch of the carrying coil 6 is evenly spaced, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the carrying coil in which the winding pitch of the carrying coil becomes narrower in the discharge direction of the waste toner. 5 (a) and an axial cross-sectional view thereof is shown in FIG. 5 (b), and a second modified example in which the axial surface of the carrier coil exists up to the axial center is shown in FIG. (A), A sectional view of the shaft is shown in Fig. 6 (b).

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the radial dimension of the carrier coil 6. The gap H between the inner diameter L2 of the barrel 8 and the outer diameter L1 of the carrier coil 6 is selected to be 5 to 10% of the outer diameter of the carrier coil. The gap allows the waste toner to be smoothly transported.

In the axial sectional view of the carrier coil according to the above embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the carrier coil 6 forms an axial surface 6a, and the shape, size, and pitch of the axial surface 6a are constant. The transport coil 6 can be easily produced in manufacturing, and the waste toner is transported by a certain amount along the axial direction.

In the structure of the first modification shown in FIG. 5, when the powdery waste toner 2 first enters the carrying coil 62, it enters the portion with a wide pitch. Subsequently, the powdery waste toner 2 is conveyed in the direction of the barrel 8 which is the heating and melting section because the pitch is gradually narrowed due to the movement of the axial surface 62a accompanying the rotation of the conveyance coil 62.

In the structure of the second modification shown in FIG. 6, the shaft center hole of the carrying coil does not communicate in the axial direction as in the first embodiment and the first modification, and the shaft of the carrying coil 63 is not communicated. The directional surface 63a reaches the axial center.

Further, the barrel 8 is fixed to the main body 4, the heater 7 is fixed to the outer periphery of the barrel 8, the heat insulating material 15 is provided on the outer periphery of the heater 7, and the cutter 9 is fixed to the barrel tip 8 a. The waste toner is cooled and solidified at the barrel tip 8a. The transfer coil 6 is housed inside the hole 8b of the barrel. Further, the container 14 is fixed to the main body 4 by the bolt 14 a and accumulates the solid waste toner 13.

The powdery waste toner 2 generated in the copying machine is sent from the end 1 of the carrying pipe. After that, the powdery waste toner 2 enters the connecting pipe 3 and reaches the conveying coil 6 through the holes 3a and 4a. The transport coil 6 is rotated by the drive motor 12, and the powdery waste toner 2 is transported to the side of the collection container 14 through the hole 8b which is a through hole member.

At this time, the powdery waste toner 2 is heated and melted by the barrel 8 heated by the heater 7 and comes out to the tip portion 6 b of the carrying coil 6. The heated and melted toner is naturally cooled and solidified around the barrel tip 8a, and the solidified waste toner is conveyed by the axial surface 6a of the conveying coil 6, the tip portion 6b and the cutter 9. The oil 6 is cut once per one rotation, and accumulated as solid waste toner 13 in the collection container 14.

In the above configuration, the heater 7 and the barrel 8 correspond to the heating and melting means, the barrel tip 8a corresponds to the cooling and solidifying means, and the carrier coil 6 and the holes 4a and 4b of the main body 4 are provided. The drive motor 12 and the drive motor 12 correspond to the conveying means, and the cutter 9 and the tip portion 6b of the conveying coil 6 correspond to the crushing means.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Waste toner is conveyed from the right to the left in the drawing by the rotation of the conveying coil. At first, the waste toner is the powdery waste toner A, and the powdery waste toner A coming out from the terminal end 1 of the toner carrying pipe successively enters the holes 4a and 4b, whereby the powdery waste toner A is compressed. Go. The compressed powdery waste toner A becomes molten waste toner C through an intermediate portion called transitional waste toner B as it approaches the barrel 8 heated by the heater 7. As a characteristic of these waste toners, the powdery waste toner A is in a free-flowing powder state, the transitional waste toner B is in a sticky gum state, and the molten waste toner C is in a sticky molten state.

In these portions, the powdery waste toner A and the molten waste toner C are easy to convey, but the transitional waste toner B is easily attached to the conveying means, and therefore difficult to convey. At this time, if the powdery waste toner A is continuously conveyed, the powdery waste toner A is jammed with the transitional waste toner B. Further, if the powdery waste toner A continues to be compressed, the powdery waste toner A may make a squeak noise and the conveying means may not function. (For example, this tends to occur when the transporting means is formed in a screw shape.) However, when the transporting coil which is the transporting means is used, the powdery waste toner A is axially moved even if the transitional waste toner B adheres to the transporting coil. Since the powdery waste toner A can be moved, the powdery waste toner A is less likely to be compressed, and no squeak noise is generated or the carrying coil is not stopped.

In FIG. 1, the conveyed powdery waste toner 2 enters a transition state before the melting state, which is a gum-like sticky state inside the barrel 8 by the heater 7. Here, if a surface treatment (for example, a Teflon coating surface treatment) for easily releasing the melted waste toner is applied to the surface of the transport coil 6, the waste toner in the transition state does not easily stick to the surface of the transport coil. Transported smoothly. Further, even if the inner surface of the barrel 8 which is a through-hole member is subjected to a surface treatment, the transportability of the waste toner is similarly improved. Transport If the surface of the coil 6 and the inner surface of the barrel 8 are both surface-treated, the transportability is still good.

The solid waste toner 13 obtained in this example is a melted and solidified waste toner having a density of about 1.0 gf / cm ³ and a conventional waste toner processing device (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-44975). The density of the waste toner obtained by the apparatus described in the publication) is about 0.4 gf / cm ³ . Comparing these, in the present embodiment, the amount of waste toner collected per unit volume is 2.5 times. Also, if the amount of recovery is constant, the size of the recovery container can be reduced. Since the solid waste toner 13 is plastic itself, it does not become dirty even if it is touched by hand and does not stain the periphery of the copying machine. Furthermore, since the contamination due to the scattering of powdery toner, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 28150/1990, does not occur, a shutter mechanism or the like is not necessary, and the number of parts can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a waste toner processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state of a main body and a barrel used in the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an axial cross-sectional view showing a carrier coil used in the above embodiment.

5A and 5B are a side view and an axial sectional view showing a first modified example of the carrier coil used in the above embodiment.

6A and 6B are a side view and an axial sectional view showing a second modification of the carrier coil used in the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

4a, 4b, 8b holes (perforated member) 6 transfer coil (transfer means, crushing means,
Carrier coil member 7 Heater (heating and melting means) 8 Barrel (through hole member, heating and melting means,
Cooling / solidifying means 8a Barrel tip part (cooling / solidifying means) 9 Cutter (crushing means) 12 Drive motor (driving member) 100 Waste toner processing device

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A heating and melting means for heating and melting powdery waste toner, a cooling and solidifying means for cooling and solidifying the waste toner liquefied by the heating and melting means, and a waste solidified by the cooling and solidifying means. A waste toner processing device comprising: a crushing unit for crushing toner; a transport unit for continuously transporting the waste toner from the heating and melting unit to a cooling and solidifying unit; and a crushing unit, wherein the transport unit is A waste toner processing device comprising: a spiral carrying coil member, a through-hole member for housing the carrying coil member, and a driving member for rotating the carrying coil member.