JPS63174088A - Abnormality detector for toner recovery bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a toner collection bottle abnormality detection device, and particularly to a toner collection bottle that can detect whether a collection bottle is loaded or not and that the collection bottle is full by one detection means. This invention relates to a bottle abnormality detection device.

(Prior Art) In copying machines and printers, a cleaning device is disposed at the latter stage of the transfer process, and removes toner remaining on the image forming member for each copying cycle, and transfers the removed toner to the main body frame by a transfer device. The device is configured to transport the materials to the outside of the container and collect them one by one into a collection bottle placed at a predetermined position.

Then, when the collection bottle is full of collected toner, the full state of the collection bottle is automatically detected, the full state is indicated by this detection signal, and the operator replaces the bottle with a new empty bottle. On the other hand, if the copying operation is performed without the collection bottle loaded, the toner that is sequentially transferred will scatter and contaminate the surrounding area, so it is necessary to perform the copying operation with the collection bottle loaded at all times.

A device shown in FIG. 3 is known as a device for detecting the full state of a collection bottle. In this known device, a collection bottle 3 is disposed on a mounting table 2 that is constantly pressed upward by a spring 1, and the collection bottle 3 is moved between the mounting table 2 and the bottle depending on the weight of the collected toner contained in the bottle 3. 3 is configured to move downward. Based on the relationship between the weight of the toner contained in the collection bottle 3 and the deformation and contraction length of the spring 1, the mounting table 2 is determined when the collection bottle 3 is full.
Find the amount of downward movement β, place the microswitch 4 a distance l below the reference position when the empty bottle is placed,
When the bottle is full, the mounting table 2 comes into contact with the actuator 4a of the microswitch 4, and the fullness of the collection bottle is detected.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-described known collection bottle fullness detection device, the mounting table is moved down according to the weight of collected toner contained in the bottle, and the bottle is filled from when it is empty. Since the detection means is placed below the deformation compression length l of the spring to detect whether the collection bottle is full, only the full state of the collection bottle can be detected.

On the other hand, there are many cases where a copying operation is mistakenly performed without the collection bottle being loaded, and in such a case, the toner transferred from the cleaning device scatters and contaminates the surrounding area.

To solve this inconvenience, a separate detection means is required to detect whether the collection bottle is loaded or not, in addition to the fullness detection device, and to detect an abnormal state of the collection bottle.

There is a drawback that two detection means are required for detection.

Furthermore, since the mounting table is configured to move down a predetermined distance depending on the weight of toner contained in the bottle, it is necessary to secure a distance space corresponding to the deformation and compression length of the collection bottle, making it difficult to detect when the bottle is full. There was a drawback that the size of the device increased in the vertical direction. On the other hand, in order to reduce the size in the vertical direction, there is a method of reducing the stroke length by using a spring with a large spring constant. This results in a large fluctuation in the detection accuracy, resulting in a significant decrease in detection accuracy.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, to be able to detect both the full state of a collection bottle and whether or not the bottle is loaded using one detection means, and to detect abnormalities in the collection bottle with high precision. The present invention provides an abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle that can detect an abnormality.

(Means for Solving the Problems) ゛ The abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle according to the present invention includes a mounting table on which a collection bottle containing toner removed by a cleaning device is placed, and a mounting table that is placed upwardly. 4 members, an elastic member for pressing toward the container, a stop for positioning the mounting table at a reference position via the collection bottle, and one detecting means for detecting displacement of the mounting table from the reference position, The reference position is located below the vertical position of the mounting table when no collection bottle is loaded by a compressive deformation length approximately equivalent to the weight of the collection bottle in the full state of the elastic member. This is a characteristic feature.

(Function) The mounting table on which the collection bottle is placed is pressed upward by an elastic member, and a stopper member is provided for positioning the mounting table at the reference position via the collection bottle.

The reference position is a position that is lower than the position of the mounting table in which no collection bottle is loaded by the compressive deformation length ++Il of the elastic member corresponding to the weight of the collection bottle in the full state. With this configuration, when the collection bottle is not loaded on the mounting table, the mounting table is displaced above the reference position, and when the weight of the collection bottle exceeds the weight when it is full, it is displaced below the reference position. As a result, by simply detecting whether or not the mounting table is located at the reference position, it is possible to detect both whether the collection bottle is loaded or not and whether the collection bottle is full using one displacement detection means.

(Example) Fig. 1 shows the configuration of an example of an abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle according to the present invention, and Fig. 1a is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view showing the state when the collection bottle is at the reference position. , 1st
1 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing a state in which the collection bottle is not loaded, and FIG. 1C is a diagrammatic sectional view showing a state when the collection bottle is full of toner. The toner transferred from the toner transfer device 10 is collected in a collection bottle l.
1 and collect it. The toner transfer device 10 is connected to a cleaning device (not shown), rotates a screw roller 10b installed in a cylinder 10a, and transfers the toner removed by the cleaning device in the direction of arrow a. The transferred toner falls into the collection bottle 11 through the discharge port 10C and is collected.

This collection bottle 11 is loaded onto the mounting table 12. The mounting table 12 is constantly pressed upward by a coil spring 14 whose one end is fixed to a horizontal portion of the main body frame 13. A light shielding piece 15 is fixed to the side end of the mounting table 12 on the main body frame 13 side, and a detection means for detecting displacement of the mounting table 12 is provided at a position in the vertical direction corresponding to the light shielding piece 15 of the main body frame 13. Attach the working photo ink converter 16. This photo ink printer 16 has a light source and a light receiving element that are spaced apart in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and a light shielding piece 15 passes vertically in the space between the light source and the light receiving element. The ON signal is generated only when the light shielding piece 15 blocks the optical path between the light source and the light receiving element (in the state shown in FIG. 1a), and when the light shielding piece 15 does not block the optical path, In the state shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C), an OFF signal is generated. And photo ink rubber 16
When an on signal is generated from the main unit, the control device on the main body side confirms that there is no abnormality with the collection bottle (the collection bottle 11 is installed in the correct position and the amount of collected toner in the collection bottle is not full). When the off signal is generated, it is displayed that an abnormality has occurred in the collection bottle 11 (the collection bottle is not loaded or the collection bottle is full). The vertical position where the photo ink cartridge 16 is attached is taken as a reference position, and the stopper member 17 is positioned above this reference position by a distance corresponding to the length from the bottom of the collection bottle 11 to the shoulder 11a. Attach to the frame. The collection bottle 11 has a spring 14
The collection bottle 11 is pressed upward by
The shoulder portion 11a of is in contact with the stopper member 17. As a result, the mounting table 12 is moved to the stopper member 1 via the collection bottle 11.
7, it is positioned at the reference position. 1st
As shown in the figure, when the collection bottle 11 is not loaded, that is, when the spring 14 is in an uncompressed state, the mounting table 12 is positioned above the reference position by a distance Δl in the vertical direction. This distance Δl is set approximately equal to the compression deformation length of the spring 14 when a full recovery bottle is placed. The distance Δl can be any value as long as it is smaller than the distance from the reference position to the stopper member 17. Therefore, the spring constant of the spring 14 can be set to an arbitrary value, and by using a relatively small spring constant, the distance Δl can be set large, and the load per unit deformation length of the spring can be reduced. . To load the collection bottle 11, push down the mounting table 12 below the reference position, place the collection bottle 11 thereon, and use the upward pressing force of the spring 14 to load the collection bottle 11.
The shoulder portion 11a of is brought into contact with the stopper member 17.

Therefore, the collection bottle 11 is positioned and fixed by the pressing force of the spring 14 and the stopper member 17. When the collection bottle 11 is loaded onto the mounting table 12, the mounting table 1
The light shielding piece 15 attached to 2 blocks the optical path of the photo ink converter 16, the output signal from the photo ink converter 16 switches from an off signal to an on signal, and the collection bottle 11 is loaded in the correct position. is detected. As the image forming apparatus operates, collected toner is sequentially stored in the collection bottle 11 from the toner transport device 10 through the discharge port 10c. By repeating the copying operation, collected toner is gradually accumulated in the collected bottle 11, and the weight of the collected bottle containing the collected toner gradually increases. If the weight of this collected bottle is lighter than the weight when it is full, the spring 140
Since the elastic force is greater than the weight of the collected bottle, the mounting table 12 remains stationary and the photo ink club 16 continues to generate an ON signal. On the other hand, when the collection bottle 11 becomes full with collected toner, the weight of the bottle 11 containing the collected toner overcomes the elastic force of the spring 14, and the mounting table 12 begins to move downward from the reference position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1C, the light-shielding piece 15 attached to the mounting table 12 is removed from the optical path of the photo ink converter 16, an off signal is generated from the photo ink converter 16, and the collection bottle becomes full. It is detected that the When this detection signal is received, an abnormality in the collection bottle is displayed on the display section of the apparatus main body, and the operator replaces the collection bottle with a new empty collection bottle. By replacing the bottle, the mounting table 12 is moved to the reference position, and an image forming operation can be performed. With this configuration, it is possible to detect whether the collection bottle is loaded or not and to detect that the collection bottle is full by using one displacement detection means.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a modified example of the abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle according to the present invention, and the same members as those used in FIG. 1 will be described with the same reference numerals. In this example, a mechanically operated microswitch 20 is used as a means for detecting displacement of the mounting table.

The microswitch 20 is attached to the stopper member 17 so that its actuator 20a faces downward. Since the collection bottle 11 is pressed upward by the spring 14, the shoulder 11b of the collection bottle 11 comes into contact with the actuator 20a of the microswitch 20, and the mounting table 12 is moved through the collection bottle 11 and the microswitch 20 to the stopper member. 17, it is positioned at the reference position. Note that the conditions for setting the reference position are the same as in the embodiment described above. When the collection bottle 11 is not placed, the actuator 20a of the microswitch 20 is protruded downward by the built-in spring, and an off signal is generated from the microswitch 20. When the collection bottle 11 is loaded, the actuator 20a turns off the collection bottle. When the collection bottle 11 comes into pressure contact with the shoulder, an ON signal is generated, and when the collection bottle 11 becomes full, the collection bottle 11 moves downward and comes out of contact with the actuator 20a of the microswitch, generating an OFF signal. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether the collection bottle is loaded or not and to detect whether it is full by using only one mechanically operated microswitch.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a coil spring was used as the elastic member to move the mounting table upward, but the coil spring is not limited to this, and various springs can be used. Furthermore, an elastic member such as an elastic sheet member can also be used. can.

Furthermore, the stopper member can be shaped to appropriately engage with the shoulder of the collection bottle, and the collection bottle can be reliably positioned and fixed using the elastic force of the spring.

(Effects of the Invention) The effects of the present invention explained above are summarized as follows.

(1) The mounting table on which the collection bottle is to be placed is pressed upward by a spring, and the weight corresponds to the weight of the collection bottle in a full state than the vertical position of the mounting table when no collection bottle is loaded. Compression deformation length of the spring 1
11! The position below is set as the reference position, and the stopper member that comes into contact with the collection bottle is configured to position the mounting table at the reference position when a non-full collection bottle is placed. When there is no toner, the mounting table is displaced above the reference position, and when the weight of toner contained in the collection bottle exceeds a predetermined full weight, the mounting table is displaced below the reference position. As a result, it is possible to detect whether the collection bottle is loaded or not and to detect whether the collection bottle is full by using only one displacement detection means for detecting whether or not the mounting table is displaced from the reference position. Therefore, the structure of the abnormality detection device can be simplified and manufacturing costs can be further reduced.

(2) Since the amount of displacement of the mounting table during the operation of the printer device is extremely small, that is, when using a photo ink ladle as the detection means, it is about the width of the light beam, and when using a mechanically operated microswitch, it is about the width of the actuator. Since the operating length is sufficient, the vertical dimension of the device can be reduced. As a result, the space around the front force bar can be used effectively.

(3) Since the free length of the spring that presses the mounting table upward can be set large, the load weight of the unit deformation length of the spring can be set small, and therefore the detection accuracy can be further improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1A-C are diagrammatic cross-sectional views showing the structure of an example of the abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the structure of a modified example of the abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle according to the present invention. Diagrammatic sectional view FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional toner collection bottle abnormality detection device. 11... Collection bottle 12... Placement stand 13.
・Body frame 14 ・Spring 15 ・
... Light-shielding piece 16 ... Photo ink protector 17 ... Stopper member 20 ... Micro switch Fig. 2 Fig. 3/3 (main body 7L-4) Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A mounting table on which a collection bottle containing toner removed by a cleaning device is placed, an elastic member that presses the mounting table upward, and a mounting table that holds a collection bottle through the collection bottle. a stopper member for positioning the bottle at a reference position, and one detection means for detecting displacement of the mounting table from the reference position, and the reference position is set to a vertical position of the mounting table when no collection bottle is loaded. 1. An abnormality detection device for a toner collection bottle, characterized in that the elastic member is located below the direction of the collection bottle by a compressive deformation length approximately corresponding to the weight of the collection bottle in a full state.