JPH075503Y2 - Toner recovery device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a toner collecting device for collecting discharged toner in a copying machine equipped with a cleaning device for removing and discharging toner adhering to a photoconductor. Is.

(Prior Art) In a general copying machine, toner removed from a photoconductor by a cleaning device drops through a toner transport path into a toner collection container fixed to the copying machine main body and is received. However, when the toner is collected by the toner collecting container fixed to the main body of the copying machine as described above, the collected toner falls to a substantially constant position in the collecting container, and thus the toner has a mountain shape centered on the falling point. Therefore, the toner is not uniformly received in the collection container, and the storage efficiency of the container is poor.

In order to eliminate such a defect, for example, the actual development Sho 60-19070
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-242242 discloses a device for preventing the toner from accumulating in a mountain shape in the toner collecting container.
This apparatus comprises the toner collecting container and a container supporting frame which is detachably supported and is attached to the main body of the copying machine so as to be movable in a certain range in a substantially horizontal direction. The container support frame is urged in one direction by a spring, and the container support frame is intermittently opened by moving the container support frame in the direction opposite to the urging force of the spring by using a cam or the like and momentarily opening the container support frame. Vibration is applied so that the toner piles in the collection container are destroyed by this vibration. According to such an apparatus, the collected toner is uniformly contained in the container without being concentrated in one place.
Toner recovery efficiency can be improved.

However, in the case of such an apparatus, an excellent effect can be obtained when a certain amount of toner is collected in the collection container, but when a small amount of toner is stored in the collection container, , The total weight of the collection container is small,
Since the elastic force of the spring is too large for this weight, there is a problem that the sound generated by the impact at the time of recoil becomes louder than that in a state where the toner is collected to some extent, resulting in noise. Further, in the state where only a small amount of toner is collected, the toner does not overflow, so that it is not necessary to forcibly break the mountain.

(Purpose of the Invention) In view of the above circumstances, the present invention prevents the toner collecting container from being concentrated and stored in one place because the toner collecting container is instantaneously moved to collapse the toner pile. Provided is a toner recovery device in which the recovery efficiency is improved, and the toner recovery container does not move instantaneously when only a small amount of toner is stored, thereby preventing generation of noise due to movement of the toner recovery container. The purpose is to

(Constitution of the Invention) The present invention is a toner recovery device in which a toner recovery container for recovering the toner discharged by the cleaning device is attached to the main body of a copying machine equipped with a cleaning device for removing and discharging the toner adhering to the photoconductor. An apparatus, wherein the toner collecting container is attached to the main body so as to be displaceable in the vertical direction, is fixed to the main body side, and supports at least a part of the toner collecting container; and the toner collecting container. In the contact state, the toner recovery container is intermittently lifted, and a moving means for instantaneously opening after lifting is provided, and only when a predetermined amount of toner or more is recovered in the toner recovery container, the toner is collected by its own weight. The elastic force of the spring and the moving means are arranged so that the toner collecting container contacts the moving means against the elastic force of the spring member. The relative position of the toner collection container is set.

In such a configuration, when a predetermined amount of toner is stored in the toner collection container, the weight of the toner causes the toner collection container to move downward against the supporting force of the spring member and contact the moving unit. The action of the moving means causes the toner recovery container to repeatedly move instantaneously, whereby the pile of the toner contained therein is destroyed, and the toner is prevented from being concentrated and stored in one place.

When the toner recovery container does not contain a predetermined amount of toner or more, the elastic force of the spring holds the toner recovery container in a position where it does not come into contact with the moving means. The collection container does not move instantaneously and noise is prevented.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The copying machine in this embodiment has a photoconductor drum 1 as shown in FIG. 1, and a photoconductor 1a is arranged on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 1. The photosensitive drum 1 is driven to rotate about the drive shaft 2 in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
The known corona discharger 3 for charging, the optical system 4, the developing device 5, the conveying device 8 having the conveying rollers 6 and 7, the transfer corona discharger 9, and the peeling corona dischargeer are sequentially arranged along the rotation direction.
A belt type transport mechanism 11, a cleaning device 12, and a charge eliminating lamp 13 are provided.

The cleaning device 12 has a blade 15 held by a holding member 14 and a cleaning frame 16 that covers the blade 15. The blade 15 extends in the front direction in FIG. 1, and the free end of the blade 15 is the photosensitive member 1a.
The residual toner is removed by being pressed against. At the lower part of the cleaning frame 16, a receiver 16a for receiving the toner dropped from the blade 15 is formed, and a guiding member 17 which is in light contact with the photosensitive drum 1 so as to surely guide the toner to the receiver 16a. Is provided.

A discharge pipe 18 as shown in FIG. 2 extends from the side plate of the cleaning frame 16 so as to be continuous with the receptacle 16a. The discharge pipe 18 projects further outside the side plate a of the copying machine main body, and has a discharge port 18a that opens downward at the end thereof.

A conveying spiral 19 extending in the width direction of the copying machine body is provided inside the discharge pipe 18 and the receiver 16a. This transport spiral 19 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by an appropriate motor (not shown), and this rotation sends the toner in the receiver 16a to the discharge pipe 18 and the discharge port 1
It is configured to discharge from 8a.

A toner collection container 20 that receives (collects) the discharged toner is disposed below the discharge port 18a.
The toner recovery container 20 includes a tank support frame 21 and a toner recovery tank 22 supported by the tank support frame 21, and the toner recovery tank 22 is detachable from the tank support frame 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the toner recovery tank 22 has a receiving port 22a on its upper surface that communicates with the discharging port 18a, and the discharged toner is stored in the container 20 through the receiving port 22a.

The tank support frame 21 is an arm extending laterally from one side surface thereof.
21a is integrally formed, centering on the end of this arm 21a,
The pin 23 is rotatably attached to the side plate a of the copying machine body. A protrusion 21b is provided on the other side surface, and the lower end of a spring 25 fixed to a bracket 24 protruding from the side plate a is attached to the protrusion 21b. That is, in the toner collecting container 20, the end portion on the opposite side of the arm 21a is supported from above by the spring 25,
Due to the relationship between the elastic force of the spring 25 and the weight of the toner collected in the toner collection container 20, the toner collection container 20 is displaced to an appropriate position.

On the other hand, a cam 26 (moving means) which is rotationally driven together with the transport spiral 19 is fixed to the discharge-side end portion 19a of the transport spiral 19. The cam 26 has a step composed of a vertical wall 26a in the radial direction, and when it is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 (the same as the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2), the position of its upper end surface gradually increases. And has a shape that drops sharply immediately after that.

On the other hand, on the side surface of the tank support frame 21 on the side of the protrusion 21b, a dogleg-shaped contact plate 27 that extends upward from this side surface and further extends laterally so as to cover the cam 26 from above. Is fixed, and a protrusion 27a extending in the width direction is formed on the lower surface of the contact plate 27. Then, in a state where a predetermined amount of toner is collected in the toner collecting container 20, the protrusion 27a of the contact plate 27 causes the cam 2 to move due to the displacement of the toner collecting container 20.
6 so that the spring 25 and the cam 2
The relative positions of 6 and the contact plate (part of the toner collection container 20) 27 are set.

Next, the operation of the above device will be described. The toner removed from the photoconductor 1a by the blade 15 is transported by the transport spiral 19 and discharged from the discharge port 18a, and is collected in the toner collecting tank 22. Since the supporting force of the spring 25 with respect to the weight of the entire collecting container 20 is strong, the toner collecting container 20 is held at a high position as shown by the solid line in FIG.
Does not come into contact with the cam 26. On the other hand, even at this time, the collected toner is piled up in a mountain shape, but the toner is a small amount and does not overflow.

When the toner recovery progresses from such a state, the weight of the toner recovery container 20 gradually increases, and along with this, the toner recovery container 20 is gradually displaced downward. Then, when a predetermined amount of toner is collected and displaced to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4, the protrusion 27a of the contact plate 27 contacts the cam 26. In such a state, in a period in which the position of the upper end surface of the rotating cam 26 gradually rises, the toner collection container 20 is lifted by the cam 26 against gravity, but the contact point between the cam 26 and the protrusion 27a is increased. When the step composed of the upright wall 26a passes, the toner collection container 20 that has been lifted is momentarily opened and drops suddenly. Therefore, with the rotation of the cam 26, the toner collection container 20 repeats such a momentary movement, whereby the pile of toner formed in the toner collection tank 22 is destroyed, and the toner is stored in the tank 22. It is housed almost uniformly.

As described above, according to this apparatus, the cam that rotates the toner collecting container 20 in a state where a predetermined amount of toner is collected in the toner collecting container 20, that is, in a state in which the pile of accumulated toner needs to be destroyed. Contacting 26 and repeating the instantaneous movement, the pile of toner is destroyed and the toner collection container
The collection efficiency of 20 can be improved. Moreover, when only a small amount of toner is collected, that is, when it is not necessary to destroy the pile of accumulated toner and the weight of the entire toner collection container 20 is small, the toner collection container 20 does not contact the cam 26. Since no instantaneous movement is performed, it is possible to prevent the generation of noise due to impact as in the conventional case.

Further, this device utilizes the weight of toner to bring the cam 26 and the toner recovery tank into contact with and separate from each other.
There is an advantage that the above effect can be obtained with a simple configuration using only 25. Further, in such a configuration, the rotation of the cam 26 does not have to be turned on and off, and may be constantly rotationally driven. It is possible to use the drive source of.

In the present invention, the cam 26, which is the moving means, does not necessarily have to be coaxial with the transport spiral 19, and may be rotationally driven by another drive source. Therefore, the cam
26 does not necessarily have to be provided above the toner collection container 20, and may be configured to be lifted from the bottom of the toner collection container 20, for example. The shape of the cam 26 is not limited to the above embodiment, and the same effect can be obtained by using a cam having a projection on a part of the outer peripheral surface.

The spring 25 is not limited to the structure that supports the toner collecting container 20 from above, but may have a structure that supports the toner collecting container 20 from below, for example, by a compression spring. Further, the same effect can be obtained even if the toner recovery container 20 is attached to the main body of the copying machine so as to be slidable in the vertical direction and supported by a spring member instead of being rotatable.

(Advantages of the Invention) As described above, the present invention intermittently lifts the spring member supporting the toner collection container and the toner collection container by contacting the toner collection container, and instantaneously opens after the movement. And a moving unit for moving the toner collecting container into contact with the moving unit against the elastic force of the spring member by its own weight only when a predetermined amount of toner or more is collected in the toner collecting container. When the toner of a predetermined amount or more is collected, the toner collecting container is repeatedly moved instantaneously by the action of the moving means, and the pile of the collected toner is destroyed by this. The collection efficiency of the collection container is improved. Moreover, in a state where only a small amount of toner is collected in the toner collection container, that is, in a state where the entire container is lightweight and there is no need to break the mountain of the toner, the toner collection container is not affected by the moving means. Since no instantaneous movement is performed, it is possible to prevent the generation of noise due to impact as in the conventional case.

Further, the present invention utilizes the weight of the toner to bring the moving means and the toner recovery tank into contact with and separate from each other, and there is an advantage that the above effects can be obtained with a simple configuration using only the moving means and the spring member. Further, in such a configuration, it is not necessary to turn on and off the operation of the moving means, and the moving means may be always operated. Therefore, the driving source already provided in the copying machine is used as the means for operating the moving means. It is possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cutaway side view showing a structure around a photosensitive drum of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a cleaning device in the copying machine, and FIG. 3 is a toner recovery in the copying machine. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the toner collecting apparatus. 1a: photoconductor, 12: cleaning device, 20: toner collecting container, 25: spring (spring member), 26: cam (moving means), 27: contact plate (part of toner collecting container) .

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A toner collecting device comprising a main body of a copying machine equipped with a cleaning device for removing and discharging toner adhering to a photoconductor, and a toner collecting container for collecting the toner discharged by the cleaning device. In a state in which the toner collection container is attached to the main body so as to be displaceable in the vertical direction, is fixed to the main body side, and supports at least a part of the toner collection container, and the toner collection container is in contact with the spring member. The toner recovery container is intermittently lifted, and is provided with a moving means for instantaneously opening after lifting, and only when a predetermined amount or more of toner is recovered in the toner recovery container, the toner recovery container is moved by its own weight. The elastic force of the spring, and the elastic force of the spring, so that the spring member is displaced downward to a position in contact with the moving means against the elastic force of the spring member. Toner collecting device, characterized in that setting the relative position of the moving means and the toner container.