JP3096191B2 - Waste toner collecting device in image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waste toner collecting device in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus main body is vertically moved by an upper main body provided with a photoreceptor, an exposure device, a cleaning device and the like, and a lower main body provided with a developing device, a transfer device, a separation device and the like. The main body of the apparatus can be opened and closed, or the paper feeding apparatus, the image forming section, the transfer apparatus, the fixing apparatus, and the like can be unitized and these units can be pulled out from the main body of the apparatus. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image forming apparatus which facilitates removal of a paper jam inside the apparatus and maintenance and inspection.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor after the transfer step is cleaned by a cleaning device such as a blade or a brush, and the photoreceptor from which the toner has been removed is removed in the next copying step. Prepare for. On the other hand, the toner removed by the cleaning device (hereinafter referred to as waste toner) is carried to an external waste toner collection device provided in connection with the cleaning device, collected in a waste toner collection container connected thereto, and discarded. Is done. In these apparatuses, the waste toner conveying device and the waste toner collecting container are separated from each other in order to simplify maintenance and inspection or to prevent the configuration of the apparatus from being complicated.

With respect to such a waste toner collecting device, the present inventors have disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-242778 a device provided with a waste toner collecting device for receiving an outlet of a waste toner conveying cylinder of a cleaning device. A device has been disclosed in which the action device of the toner transport cylinder or the waste toner collecting device is released in conjunction with the opening operation, and the scattering of toner from the discharge port generated when the waste toner collecting container is attached or detached is minimized. .

[0005]

In such an apparatus, the waste toner collecting container cannot be removed unless the upper portion of the main body is opened or the unit is pulled out.
The mounting method of the waste toner collecting container becomes complicated. Further, when the door on the side of the apparatus main body is closed due to forgetting to attach the waste toner collecting container, the apparatus main body operates without the collecting apparatus, and the inside of the apparatus is contaminated with waste toner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and includes a method for removing and attaching a waste toner collecting container, a communication between a waste toner discharging opening and a waste toner collecting container, and a waste toner discharging opening associated with an operation of pulling out a unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple device configuration for opening / closing and securing the position of a toner detector.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a transport cylinder extending substantially horizontally outward from a waste toner transport port, a discharge port formed to face the transport cylinder downward, and a periphery of the transport cylinder. Opening and closing cover member having an opening capable of exposing the discharge port, means for urging the cover member to a position where a peripheral wall of the cover member covers the discharge port of the transport cylinder in a normal state, and Toner times placed
In the waste toner collecting device in an image forming apparatus having a container, said cover member in conjunction with openable lock fitting for locking in a predetermined loading position of the toner container, the opening and closing operation of the lock fitting the have a lever for operating the opening and closing direction, further wherein the lock fitting
In the open state by the protrusion at the tip of the lock bracket.
The operation of closing the door of the image forming apparatus
To close the door .

[0008]

With such a means, when the waste toner collecting container is attached to the side of the apparatus main body and the lock fitting is operated to lock the waste toner collecting container, the cover member of the toner discharge port is interlocked with the operation of the lock fitting. Operated by lever,
The waste toner transport port of the transport cylinder is opened and communicates with the opening of the waste toner collection container to collect waste toner in the collection container.
It is Ru can be. Furthermore, the case of performing the withdrawing operation of the unit, the outlet of the transport tube is away from the waste toner collecting device, closing the waste toner discharge port by rotating by the action of the biasing means, such as the cover member, for example a spring. Also, you Itewa the open state of the lock fitting, and controls the copying operation without closed the door of the device the body by colliding with the protruding portion of the tip.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Broadly speaking, a roll paper feeder 1 disposed on the front side (left side in FIG. 1) of the apparatus main body, an image forming apparatus 2 disposed in the center, a fixing device 3 disposed at the rear, and a transfer material discharger 4, a transfer material transporting device 5 for connecting the image forming device 2 and the fixing device 3, a document transporting device 6 and an optical projecting device 7 arranged on the upper side. As is well known, the original conveyed by the original conveying device 6 is projected onto the photosensitive drum of the image forming apparatus 2 by the optical projection device 7, and a toner image corresponding to the original is formed thereon. This toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper supplied from the roll paper feeder 1, is fixed, and is discharged by the discharger 4.

More specifically, the image forming apparatus 2 has a photosensitive drum 21 which rotates in the direction of the arrow during operation. Around the photosensitive drum 21, a charging corona discharger 22, a developing device 23, and a transfer corona discharger are provided. Electric device 24, separated corona discharger 25,
The cleaning device 26 and the eraser 27 are arranged so as to sequentially act on the photosensitive drum 21.

When a light image is projected by the optical projection device 7 on the photosensitive drum 21 charged by the corona discharger 22 as described above, a latent image corresponding to the light image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum of the photosensitive drum 21. Formed. This latent image is
To form a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto a transfer material by the action of the transfer corona discharger 24.
Next, the transfer material is separated from the photosensitive drum 21 by the separation corona discharger 25 and then sent to the fixing device 3 by the transfer material transport device 5. After the separation, the photosensitive drum 21 is then cleaned by the cleaning device 26, the charge is eliminated by the eraser, and the photosensitive drum 21 is prepared for the next image formation.

The cleaning device 26 uses a cleaning means such as a cleaning blade 28 to scrape off the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum of the photosensitive drum 21. The waste toner removed by the cleaning device 26 is sent to the waste toner collecting device 40 (FIG. 3) provided outside the cleaning device by the discharge screw in the transport tube 30 through the inside of the transport tube 30.

FIG. 2 shows a waste toner collecting apparatus 40 according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a waste toner collecting container 32 is disposed at a predetermined position on a main body of the device and a lock fitting 33 to be described later is closed. FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and a part of each is omitted for convenience of description. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the waste toner collecting device 40 according to the present invention includes a transport cylinder 30 for discharging waste toner from the cleaning device 26 to the outside, and a cover member provided at a distal end portion of the transport cylinder 30. 31, a waste toner collecting container 32 for collecting waste toner, and a waste toner collecting container 32
And a toner that opens and closes the discharge port of the cover member 31 and moves the waste toner detector 34 into and out of the toner collection container in conjunction with the operation of the lock metal 33. A detecting device 35, and the cover member 31 is formed by a pull-out operation of the image forming unit.
And a device that closes the discharge port.

A cylindrical cover member 31 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the transport cylinder 30 is provided around the leading end portion of the transport cylinder 30 for transporting the waste toner, and is rotatably provided around the axis. Have been. The cover member 31 has a lever 36 extending radially outward from a part of the peripheral wall. The cover member 31 has a length (width) sufficient to close the discharge port 37 of the transport cylinder 30 and forms a discharge port 38 that can be aligned with the discharge port 37 at a part thereof. The cover member 31 is, as shown in FIG.
5 can be moved between a position where the outlet 7 is aligned with the outlet 38 of the cover member 31 and a position where the peripheral wall of the cover member 31 blocks the outlet 37 by being shifted from the outlet 37 as shown in FIG. Around the axis of the cover member 31, a coil spring (not shown) having one end fixed and the other end hooked to the cover member 31 is provided.
1 is biased counterclockwise. Although not shown, a suitable stopper member is provided so as to be in contact with the cover member 31, and the movement range thereof is limited so that the cover member 31 is not further moved counterclockwise than the position shown in FIG. ing. Reference numeral 41 denotes a transport cylinder for guiding the toner discharged from the transport cylinder 30 into a waste toner collecting container described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the waste toner collecting device 40 further includes a waste toner collecting container 32 and a storage frame 39 for loading the waste toner collecting container 32 at a predetermined position. The storage frame 39 is provided on a side surface of the image forming apparatus. The storage frame 39 is formed of a frame having one open side, and the waste toner collecting container 32 is removably loaded from the open portion. The waste toner collection container 32 is made of a material such as paper that can be disposed of by itself, and the upper surface of the waste toner collection container 32 communicates the waste toner transport cylinder 41 with the waste toner collection container 32. Is provided in the waste toner collecting container.

Further, the waste toner collecting device 40 has a lock fitting 33 for locking the waste toner collecting container 32, and the lock fitting 33 includes the waste toner collecting container 3.
2, a pair of parallel levers 43, a tension spring 44, a device cover 45a,
5b. A crank lever 46 and a waste toner detecting device 35 are provided in contact with a lower portion of the lever 43.

The lock fitting 33 is provided so as to be pivotable with respect to the apparatus main body around a pivot 47 provided at the tip of the lever 43 so as to be able to operate integrally with the clamp 42. 42 is pivoted. The lever 43 is pivotally mounted by a pivot 48 provided on the device cover 45a, and pivots around the pivot 48 through an elongated hole 49 formed in the device cover 45b in accordance with the operation of the lock fitting 33. The clamp 42 is locked by hooking the tip claw of the clamp 42 in the engagement hole 50 of the apparatus cover 45b, so that the lock fitting 33 holds down the rear surface of the waste toner collecting container and fixes it. The tension spring 44 has one end hooked to a circular hole 51 provided in the device cover 45a and the other end hooked to a circular hole 52 of the clamp 42. When the lock fitting 33 is closed, the tip of the clamp 42 It is urged in the direction toward the hole 50.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
An L-shaped crank lever 46 is provided to be engageable with the lever 43 inside b. Crank lever 4
6 is provided so as to be pivotable about a pivot 53, and a tension spring 56 is attached between a pin 54 provided on one side thereof and a hole 55 provided in the device cover 45b. It is always clockwise biased. At one end of the crank lever 46, a pin 57 is provided so as to be in contact with an upper portion of a waste toner detecting device 35 described later.
As the crank lever 46 pivots, the pin 57 moves substantially up and down so that the waste toner detector 34 is disposed at a predetermined position in the waste toner collecting container 32. Also,
A pin 58 is provided at the other end (upper end) of the crank lever 46 so as to be able to abut on the lever 36 of the cover member 31. By rotating the member 31, the outlet 37
Open and close.

The above-described toner detecting device 35 includes a pivot 60
A lever 61 pivotally provided by the
Detector 34 fixed to the free end side of
1 has a torsion spring 62 which is biased so as to be open in a normal state, that is, counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. The upper side of the lever 61 is a pin 57 of the crank lever 46.
, And is interlocked with the operation of the pin 57.
That is, the toner detector 34 fixed to the free end of the lever 61 is protruded and retracted into the waste toner collecting container 32 according to the operation of the crank lever 46.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
2 and 3 show a state in which the lock fitting 33 of the waste toner collecting device 40 is closed. When the lock fitting 33 is pressed down and closed, the clamp 42 is locked to the device cover 45b. At this time, the lever 43 descends about the pivot 48,
The lock fitting 33 presses and fixes the surface of the waste toner collecting container 32. A pin 58 provided on the crank lever 46 rotates counterclockwise about the pivot 53 of the crank lever 46 in conjunction with the lever 43. When the crank lever 46 pivots, the pin 58 provided on the crank lever 46 moves to the left as viewed in the figure, and rotates the lever 36 of the cover member 31 provided on the transfer cylinder 30 so as to be able to rotate. The discharge port 30 is opened to communicate with the waste toner collecting container 32 through the transport cylinder 41. Further, the pin 57 provided on the crank lever 46 pushes the lever 61 of the toner detecting device 35 by the pivotal movement of the crank lever 46. The toner detecting device 35 pivots around a pivot 60 provided at one end of the toner detecting device 35 to dispose the toner detector 34 in the waste toner collecting container 32. Toner detector 35
A known toner detector such as a piezoelectric device, a magnetic sensing device, and an optical sensing device can be used. This allows
When the amount of waste toner stored in the waste toner collecting container 32 exceeds a predetermined amount, the waste toner detector 35 detects this and warns the operator to replace the waste toner collecting container.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the lock fitting 33 of the waste toner collecting device 40 is released, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in the state of FIG. When the lock member 33 is pulled forward and the clamp 42 locked in the hole 50 of the device cover 45b is released and the lock member 33 is pulled up, the lever 43 integrated with the lock member is moved to the device cover 45a. It pivots counterclockwise about a pivot 48 provided. Thereby, the lock fitting 3
The waste toner collection container 32 fixed by 3 can be removed from the storage frame 39 provided on the side of the apparatus.

The crank lever 46 held down by the lever 43 when the lock fitting 33 is closed is
With the operation of the lever 43, the lever 43 pivots clockwise about the pivot shaft 53 by the action of the tension spring 56. As a result, the pin 58 provided at the upper end of the crank lever 46 moves to the right as viewed in FIG. 3, and the lever 36, which has contacted the pin 58, and thus the cover member 31 is biased by a coil spring or the like (not shown). The transport cylinder 3 is rotated by the action of the
The 0 opening 37 is closed. When the lever 43 pivots upward, the lever 61 of the toner detecting device which has been pressed by the lever 43 is released, and the torsion spring 62
Causes the toner detecting device 35 to pivot about the pivot 60, and pulls up the toner detector 34 from the waste toner collecting container 32.

The lock fitting 33 with the lock fitting 33 opened
Is protruded from the closed state of the lock fitting 33 toward the side of the apparatus (FIG. 4). For this reason, the lock fitting 3
When opening 3, the decorative door 63 provided on the side of the apparatus main body cannot be closed, an interlock switch (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body does not operate, and the power of the apparatus is not turned on.

On the other hand, in addition to the above configuration, the image forming apparatus has an image forming section which is unitized and provided so as to be able to be pulled out or opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body. The image forming unit includes a photosensitive drum 21, a developing unit 23, and a cleaning device 26. As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming unit is moved in a substantially horizontal direction toward a front side of the apparatus main body by a guide rail or the like (not shown). The transport tube 3 extending from the cleaning device 26 by this withdrawal
0 moves away from the transport cylinder 41. By interposing a sponge or the like between the transport cylinder 30 and the transport cylinder 41, scattering of toner during opening and closing of the discharge port and movement of the transport cylinder can be suppressed. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport cylinder 30 having the cover member 31 and the transport cylinder 41 provided in the waste toner collecting device 40 are joined, and the pin 58 of the crank lever 46 interlocks with the operation of the lock fitting 33. By rotating the lever 36 of the cover member 31, communication between the transport cylinder 30 and the waste toner collecting container 32 is established. As shown in FIG. 6, when the image forming unit is pulled out, the transport cylinder 30 provided in the image forming unit moves, and the lever 36 of the cover member 31 is separated from the pin 58 of the crank lever 46, and is provided on the cover member 31. The opening 37 of the transport cylinder 30 is closed by the action of a coil spring (not shown), so that the toner does not spill.

[0025]

The waste toner collecting apparatus of the present invention operates (1) detaches the waste toner collecting container by operating one lock fitting, and (2) opens and closes the opening of the waste toner conveying cylinder.
Rukoto can, moreover is also excellent for safety when you have forgotten the set of the waste toner collecting device. Further, the waste toner collecting device can be operated so as not to spill the toner with respect to the pull-out operation of the unit, and the maintenance and inspection can be performed .
Also, the operation of the lock bracket and the toner detector should be linked.
By operating the lock bracket, the toner detector discards the toner
Ru can be performed action be disposed collection container at the same time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a lock member of the waste toner collecting device according to the present invention is closed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2 and partially omitted.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state where a lock member of the waste toner collecting device according to the present invention is opened.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 4 and partially omitted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where an image forming unit is pulled out in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 26 Cleaning Device 30 Conveyor Tube 31 Cover Member 32 Waste Toner Collection Container 33 Lock Fitting 34 Toner Detector 40 Waste Toner Collection Device 46 Crank Lever

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/10-21/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A transport cylinder extending substantially horizontally outward from a waste toner transport port; a discharge port formed to face downward in the transport cylinder; and a cover capable of covering the periphery of the transport cylinder and exposing the discharge port. An openable and closable cover member having an opening, a means for urging the cover member to a position where a peripheral wall of the cover member covers an outlet of the transfer cylinder in a normal state, and a cover member disposed below the opening.
In the image forming apparatus having the toner collecting container, a lock member that can be opened and closed to lock the toner collecting container at a predetermined loading position, and an opening and closing operation of the lock member conjunction with the have a lever for operating the cover member in the closing direction, further wherein
When the lock is in the open state, the tip of the lock
Block the operation of closing the door of the image forming
Waste toner collecting device in an image forming apparatus, characterized in that to enable the operation of closing the door in the state.