JPH07271259A - Waste toner detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate an erroneous detection due to the toner stuck onto the wall of a container by detecting that the container is filled with waste toner by the prescribed amount and giving caution when the top surface of the waste toner reaches the focus position of the optical sensor. CONSTITUTION:The reflection type optical sensor 21 is disposed at a position capable of directly detecting the top surface of the toner stored in the waste toner container 1. The optical sensor 21 has the detection focus at a specified distance and outputs the signal for showing that the top surface of the toner stored in the waste toner container 1 reaches the focus position. In this case, the optical sensor 21 is provided adjacently to the discharging port 15 of the device main body side so as to be confronted with the receiving port 18 of the waste toner container 1. The specified signal is outputted by the optical sensor 21 when the top surface of the stored toner reaches its focus position to give caution that the container is filled with the waste toner by the specified amount (full supply) through the appropriate display means to urge the worker to abandon the waste toner.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waste toner detection device for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and more particularly to a detection device for detecting the upper surface level of waste toner stored in a waste toner container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In such an image forming apparatus, the toner remaining on the photoconductor at the end of the image transfer process is removed from the photoconductor surface by a cleaning device such as a blade or a brush, and the removed toner (hereinafter referred to as waste toner).
Is carried to the outside of the cleaning device by a toner recovery device provided in connection with the cleaning device, and is housed in a waste toner container, which is generally a bottle or box shape.

A well-known toner collecting device is a conveying cylinder extending in a substantially horizontal direction from a cleaning device, a screw extending in the conveying cylinder, and a discharge port formed at the front end side of the conveying cylinder. A waste toner container that sequentially stores the toner that falls from the discharge port, and a detection device that detects the amount of waste toner stored in the waste toner container.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, the detection device has a light emitting element 2a and a light receiving sensor 2b which are horizontally opposed to each other so as to sandwich the waste toner container 1, and the waste toner container 1 is provided. When the toner collected inside reaches the level position (symbol A) of the elements 2a and 2b, the optical path of the light receiving sensor 2b from the light emitting element 2a is blocked and the waste toner reaches a predetermined amount (full). Detect.

[0005]

However, in such a device, the toner powder floating at the time of dropping from the discharge port is physically or electrostatically or due to other factors, the side wall (or peripheral wall) of the waste toner container 1. There is a phenomenon that it adheres to the inner surface of the toner to form a toner wall. Therefore, when the toner wall is formed in the portion corresponding to the light emitting element 2a or the light receiving sensor 2b, the waste toner container 1 Although the waste toner does not actually reach the level positions of the elements 2a and 2b, the adhered toner blocks the optical path between the elements, and the detection device makes an error as if the waste toner becomes full. There is a risk of detection.

In the above structure, when a waste toner container made of plastic or the like is used, the detection accuracy is affected by unevenness of the transmittance of the container wall at the time of molding, which may affect the detection accuracy. In addition to the above, there is a problem that the detection accuracy is affected by the positional relationship between the container and the detection device, or variations in the light receiving / light emission characteristics of the detection device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a simple waste toner detecting device which is free from erroneous detection (erroneous operation) and solves some of the above-mentioned problems that affect detection accuracy. The challenge is to provide it in a configuration.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a detection device for detecting the amount of toner stored in a waste toner container for storing toner discharged from a waste toner discharge port. Is a reflection type optical sensor having a focus at a predetermined distance, and is arranged at a position where it can be directly detected with respect to the upper surface of the toner stored in the waste toner container, and the upper surface of the stored toner is the focus of the optical sensor. It is characterized by detecting that the waste toner container is full of a predetermined amount when the waste toner container is almost at the position.

Further, in particular, the waste toner container has an upper receiving port which can be attached to and detached from the discharging port, and the optical sensor is provided adjacent to the discharging port so as to face the receiving port. There is.

In a preferred mode, the discharge port is formed at an end of a cylindrical body directed downward, and is located in a receiving port of the waste toner container. In another mode, the optical sensor has a light emitting section thereof. And / or the light receiving portion is arranged at a position higher than the outlet.

In still another aspect, the waste toner container has an opening on the upper wall thereof different from the receiving port, and the optical sensor is arranged facing the opening.

[0011]

In this structure, the waste toner discharged from the waste toner discharge port is gradually stored in the waste toner container,
When the upper surface reaches the focus position of the optical sensor, the optical sensor detects that the waste toner is filled up with a predetermined amount, and an appropriate display device indicates that (for example, the waste toner container is full, so the waste toner is discarded). To the effect. At the same time, when the waste toner is full, the operation of the machine can be temporarily prohibited until the waste toner is discarded. In accordance with such a warning, the worker removes the waste toner container from the discharge port, discards the waste toner in the container, and re-installs it again.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a main part of a waste toner detecting device according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 11 indicates a cleaning device in the image forming apparatus, which removes the toner remaining on the photoconductor at the end of the image transfer process as described above. The waste toner carrying port 12 formed on the outer side wall of the cleaning device 11 communicates with a waste toner collecting portion inside the cleaning device. A transfer cylinder 13 made of synthetic resin or the like is fixed to the side wall of the cleaning device 11 so as to extend in a substantially horizontal direction from the transfer port 12 toward the outside of the device. The conveying cylinder 13 is formed of a cylindrical body having a closed front end, forms a downwardly-directed cylindrical body 14 at a position on the front end side, and has a discharge port 15 for discharging waste toner at the end thereof. A screw 16 is arranged in the hollow inside of the conveying cylinder 13 so as to extend along the axial direction thereof to the waste toner collecting portion in the cleaning device. The screw 16 is connected to a driving device (not shown), rotates in a predetermined direction, and transports the waste toner collected in the cleaning device along the screw 16 to the discharge port 15 and discharges it into the waste toner container 1. To do.

The waste toner container 1 is made of, for example, a hollow container having a relatively thin thickness such as plastic, and is manufactured by blow molding or the like. The shape of the container is not limited within the scope of the present invention, such as a prismatic shape, a circular shape, or a geometrically complex shape, but for convenience of description, the illustrated example shows a cylindrical container.

The waste toner container 1 has a neck portion 17 protruding in a cylindrical shape on the upper portion thereof, and a receiving port 18 into which the above-mentioned cylinder body 14 can be inserted is formed at an upper end of the neck portion 17. The waste toner container 1 is provided so as to be attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus main body by a manual operation, that is, when the waste toner container 1 is attached, the cylindrical body 14 on the apparatus main body side is provided in the receiving opening 18 of the neck portion 17 described above.
It is done by inserting. By such insertion, the discharge port 15 of the cylindrical body 14 is positioned inside the waste toner container 1. Of course, the shape is not limited to the shape having the neck portion in this way, and the cylindrical body 14 and the neck portion 17 are omitted, and the discharge port 15 and the receiving port 18 formed on a plane are adjacently overlapped with each other. May be. In any of these cases, the size and the like are set so that the toner powder does not scatter from the gap between the discharge port 15 and the receiving port 18. In some cases, the sponge body or the like assists in preventing the toner scattering. A member may be provided on the periphery of the openings 15 and 18.

The reflection type optical sensor 21 is provided at a position where it can be directly detected with respect to the upper surface of the toner stored in the waste toner container 1.
Is provided. The optical sensor 21 has a detection focus at a predetermined distance, and when the upper surface of the toner stored in the waste toner container 1 reaches the focus position, emits a signal indicating that the toner storage reaches the position. . In the example of FIG. 1, the optical sensor 2
1 is provided adjacent to the discharge port 15 of the apparatus main body so as to face the receiving port 18 of the waste toner container 1, and when the cylindrical body 14 of the discharging port 15 is inserted into the receiving port 18, the optical sensor 21 is provided. The light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are located facing the receiving opening 18 or located in the receiving opening 18 so that the upper surface of the stored toner in the waste toner container 1 can be directly detected via the receiving opening 18. Preferably, the light emitting portion and / or the light receiving portion of the optical sensor 21 is arranged so as to be located above the discharge port 15.

As the optical sensor 21, for example, a paper sensor can be used, but it is not limited to this, and any other type of sensor can be used as long as it is a reflection type optical sensor having a detection focus at a predetermined distance. be able to. FIG. 4 shows an example of a reflective optical sensor 21 that can be used in the present invention. The illustrated optical sensor 21 is a light emitting element 21.
a (light emitting portion) and a light receiving sensor 21b (light receiving portion) are arranged adjacent to each other as one unit.
The light beam emitted downward from a in the figure is reflected by the object to be detected located at the focal position of the sensor 21, that is, the upper surface of the toner stored up to that position, and the light receiving sensor 21b.
Is configured to be incident on. Optical sensor 21
Is a proper signal that the upper surface of the stored toner reaches a focal position of the stored toner (or a maximum output is generated when the focal position is reached), and that the waste toner reaches a predetermined amount (full). A warning is given via the display means to prompt the operator to discard the waste toner. The effective sensitivity region of the optical sensor 21 depends on its focus characteristic, for example, from the focus position to the light receiving sensor 21b.
It is a specific range such as the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the light beam of the light emitting element 21a up to the immediate vicinity. In the example, the optical sensor 21 has a focal length of several tens of mm, and the waste toner container 1
The focus is set to the position of the eighth minute.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment. In this example, the waste toner container 1 has an opening 23 in the upper wall of the shoulder thereof, which is different from the receiving opening 18, and the optical sensor 21 faces the opening 23. The upper surface of the stored toner in the waste toner container 1 is directly detected through the opening 23. The opening 23 may naturally be a relatively small opening that allows such optical detection.

[0018]

With the above-described structure, the waste toner detecting device according to the present invention has a structure which directly and non-contactly detects the stored toner surface in the waste toner container without using the container. Compared to the configuration that detects through the wall of
It is possible to ignore the influence of the toner such as erroneous detection due to the toner adhering to the container wall and the non-uniformity of the transmittance of the waste toner container. Therefore, in the past, the container material was considerably limited. The selection range of container materials is expanded.

Further, in the light transmission type detection device through the container described in the above-mentioned conventional example, the floating mist of the waste toner caused by the drop of the waste toner from the discharge port hinders the light transmission, resulting in an erroneous detection. However, in the present invention, such floating fog causes a decrease in the light reflectance, so that the risk of false detection can be minimized. Furthermore, the optical sensor 21
Since (1) has (maximum) sensitivity at the focal position, even if the light receiving sensor surface is contaminated by the floating toner, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection due to the stain having priority on the focal characteristic.

Furthermore, when the light emitting portion and / or the light receiving portion of the sensor 21 is arranged above the discharge port 15, the contamination of these parts by the toner powder falling from the discharge port 15 should be avoided as much as possible. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a waste toner detecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing another example of the waste toner detecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of a reflective optical sensor used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional waste toner detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Waste Toner Container 15 Discharge Port 18 Receiving Port 21 Reflective Optical Sensor 21a Light Emitting Element 21b Light Receiving Sensor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A detection device for detecting a toner storage amount in a waste toner container for storing toner discharged from a waste toner discharge port, wherein the detection device is a reflection type optical sensor having a focus at a predetermined distance, The waste toner container is arranged at a position where it can be directly detected with respect to the upper surface of the toner stored in the waste toner container, and the waste toner container is filled with a predetermined amount when the upper surface of the stored toner is almost at the focus position of the optical sensor. Waste toner detection device that detects that. 2. The waste toner container has an upper receiving port that can be attached to and detached from the discharging port, and the optical sensor is provided adjacent to the discharging port so as to face the receiving port. The waste toner detection device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the discharge port is formed at an end portion of a cylindrical body directed downward and is located in a receiving port of the waste toner container. 4. The optical sensor includes a light emitting section and / or
4. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the light receiving unit is arranged at a position higher than the discharge port. 5. The waste toner container according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner container has an opening on an upper wall thereof different from the receiving opening, and the optical sensor is arranged facing the opening. Toner detection device.