JP3302579B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for attaching a toner to a latent image formed on the surface of a photoreceptor to form a toner image and transferring the toner image to paper.
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for removing toner remaining on the surface of a photoreceptor after transfer and collecting the toner in a container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine or a facsimile machine, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptor,
The latent image is developed into a toner image by bringing the toner into contact with the latent image by bringing the toner into contact with the surface of the photoconductor.
The toner image is transferred onto a sheet, subjected to a heat and pressure treatment, and fixed on the sheet, thereby forming an image.

Most of the toner on the surface of the photoconductor is transferred to the paper by transfer, but a small amount of toner remains on the surface of the photoconductor after the transfer. The remaining toner is removed from the surface of the photoconductor by the cleaning device so as not to disturb the next image formation, transferred by the transfer device, and stored in the toner collection container. An opening serving as a toner storage port is provided at an upper portion of the side wall of the container, and an end of the transfer device is connected to the opening.

[0004] The container containing the collected toner is replaced with an empty container during maintenance work. For example, in a medium-sized electronic copier, the container has a capacity to accommodate 2 kg of toner,
It is set so as to be able to store the collected toner of 120,000 times of image formation, and is replaced when the number of times of image formation reaches nearly 120,000 times.

[0005]

However, since the toner is a powder, the toner that has fallen into the container from the opening does not move much, and the toner has the highest peak at the point of drop and a low peak in the vicinity thereof. There is a height difference on the upper surface of the toner inside. The toner in the container gradually increases in height in such a mountain state, and the toner reaches the opening before the toner reaches another portion at the same height as the opening.

For this reason, the toner reaches the opening with the capacity of the container, that is, the toner amount smaller than the amount that the container can originally store. Therefore, the capacity of the container is not sufficiently used, and the container needs to be replaced at an early stage, and the replacement frequency is increased. When the container replacement time is determined by the number of image formations corresponding to the capacity of the container, the amount of toner in the container is not checked until the number of image formations reaches the predetermined number. May overflow from the opening, or the opening may be closed by toner.

[0007] The toner overflowing from the opening stains the periphery of the container. Further, when the opening is closed, the toner transfer device cannot transfer the toner, which causes a failure of the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the frequency of container replacement by making full use of the capacity of the toner recovery container and reliably storing the recovered toner until the container replacement time. I do.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a latent image is formed into a toner image by attaching toner to the surface of a photoreceptor having a latent image formed thereon, and the toner image is transferred from a paper feed tray. In an image forming apparatus that transfers toner to a supplied sheet and removes toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor after transfer and collects the collected toner in a container, a first sheet feeding tray feeds a sheet for transferring a toner image. Position and a second position for replenishing paper, and
Provide a means to move the container in conjunction with the movement of the tray
Pull out the paper tray from the first position to the second position
Moving the container from the second stop position to the first stop position
And move the paper feed tray from the second position to the first position.
The container from the first stop position to the second
To the stop position .

The paper feed tray is moved each time paper is supplied. At this time, the container moves in conjunction with the movement of the paper feed tray.
The toner inside the container is shaken, and the height difference of the upper surface of the toner in the container that occurs when the container is stationary is leveled. Therefore, each time paper is supplied to the paper feed tray, the upper surface of the toner in the container is leveled and the surface becomes flat.

In the present invention, the latent image is formed into a toner image by attaching toner to the surface of the photoreceptor having the latent image formed thereon, and the toner image is transferred to a sheet of paper. In an image forming apparatus that removes and collects in a container, an urging means for urging the container in a predetermined direction, a stopping means for stopping the container energized by the urging means,
An inclined surface provided on the side wall of the container and inclined with respect to the predetermined direction, and movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the predetermined direction, advances toward the container, and transfers the toner image at the advanced position. Paper feed tray that supplies paper to the paper tray and receives paper replenishment at a position retracted from the container, and a paper feed tray,
A protrusion that comes into contact with the inclined surface when the paper feed tray is at the advanced position and moves the container in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction from the position where the container is stopped by the stopping means against the urging force of the urging means; Is provided.

In a state in which the sheet feeding tray is retracted for replenishing sheets, the container is moved in a predetermined direction by the urging means and is stopped by the stopping means. After the paper is replenished, when the paper feed tray is advanced toward the container, the projection provided on the paper feed tray comes into contact with the inclined surface of the side wall of the container, and the force in the direction opposite to the urging force of the urging means is applied to the container. Join. With this force opposing the urging force of the urging means, the container is moved from the stop position. When the sheet feeding tray is retracted again, the leading end of the sheet feeding tray guide does not contact the inclined surface, and the container returns to the stop position by the stopping means by the urging force of the urging means.
That is, the container moves according to the position of the paper feed tray.
When the container moves, the toner contained in the container shakes, and the top surface thereof is leveled and flattened.

Specifically, a paper feed guide for guiding the movement of the paper feed tray is defined as the protrusion. The paper feed tray guide is used both for guiding the movement of the paper feed tray and for moving the container.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic copying machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A contact glass 2 on which a document is placed is provided on an upper surface of the copying machine 1, and a photosensitive drum 3 which rotates counterclockwise in FIG. Above the photosensitive drum 3, a scanning optical system 4 for irradiating the original with light and guiding the reflected light L to the photosensitive drum 3 to form an image on the surface thereof is provided.

Around the photosensitive drum 3, a charging device 5, a developing device 6, a transfer device 7,
A separation device 8, a cleaning device 9, and a static elimination device 10 are provided. A paper feed tray 11 for supplying paper P on which an image is formed is mounted below the photosensitive drum 3, and a paper transport device 12 for transporting the paper P from the paper feed tray 11 is provided. . Further, a fixing device 13 is installed at the most downstream of the transport path of the paper P.

The paper feed tray 11 can store 500 sheets of paper. When the paper in the paper feed tray 11 runs out, it is necessary to replenish the paper. However, the paper feed tray 11 is configured to be pulled out to the near side of the copying machine 1 to replenish the paper.

The charging device 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 by corona discharge. The potential of the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 3 is attenuated by receiving the light L, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 6 develops the latent image into a toner image by bringing the toner charged to a polarity opposite to that of the electrostatic latent image into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 and attaching the toner to the latent image. The transported paper P is in close contact with the photosensitive drum 3 after development, and the paper P moves with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 3.

The transfer device 7 controls the paper P by corona discharge.
Is charged to a polarity opposite to that of the toner image. As a result, the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 3 to the sheet P, and is transferred. The separating device 8 separates the paper P that is in close contact with the photosensitive drum 3 by applying an AC electric field. Cleaning device 9
Has a blade 9a made of resin that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 3, and wipes off toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 even after transfer.

The static eliminator 10 has a lamp, and irradiates light to completely remove the charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3. The surface of the photoconductive drum 3 from which the charge has been removed is charged again by the charging device 5, and the next electrostatic latent image is formed.

The sheet P on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed to the fixing device 1.
It is led to 3. The fixing device 13 presses the sheet P with a pair of rollers, and heats the toner with one roller to fuse the toner to the sheet P. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the sheet P. The sheet P after fixing is discharged out of the copying machine.

A toner collecting container 30 is attached to the lower rear of the inside of the copying machine 1, and the photosensitive drum 3 by the cleaning device 9 is provided below the cleaning device 9.
Is provided with a transfer device 14 that receives the toner wiped from the surface of the container and transfers the toner to the container 30. The transfer device 14
It has a transfer roller 15 having a spiral fin formed on the outer peripheral surface, and moves the toner dropped from the cleaning device 9 to the rear side by the rotation of the roller 15. Transfer device 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a transfer tube which reaches the inside of the container 30 from the rear side, and the toner moved by the roller 15 flows into the container 30 through the transfer tube.

2 and 3 show the configuration of the container 30 and the periphery of the container 30 of the copying machine 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a view of the copier 1 as viewed from the rear with the rear panel removed, and FIG. 3 is a view as viewed from above. Near the upper end of the front side wall of the container 30,
A long opening 31 is provided in the lateral direction, and the transfer pipe 16 of the transfer device 14 is inserted into the opening 31.

The height from the bottom of the container 30 to the lower end of the opening 31 is approximately 25 cm. The capacity is 2 kg, which corresponds to the amount of toner collected in 120,000 image formations. This amount of toner has a height of approximately 1 cm below the opening 31 when the upper surface is flattened.

On the floor of the copying machine 1, four rotatable rollers 2
1 is provided, and the container 30 is placed on the roller 21. A spring 22 is provided on a side panel of the copying machine 1, and walls 23 and 25 are erected on the floor. The container 30 is urged by the spring 22 and stops against the wall 23 when no force is received from the other.

The movement of the container 30 in a direction perpendicular to the biasing direction of the spring 22 is regulated by the rear panel 24 and the wall 25. The contact area between the rear panel 24 and the wall 25 and the container 30 is small, and the container 30 is easily moved by the rollers 21. In addition, the rear panel 24 is provided with a protrusion 24a directed inward, and the upward movement of the container 30 is regulated by the protrusion 24a.

A concave portion 32 is formed in the lower portion of the front side wall of the container 30, and the wall surface of the concave portion 32 near the spring 22 is an inclined surface 33 oblique to the direction of the urging force of the spring 22. The portion of the concave portion 32 far from the spring 22 is a slope 33
The groove 34 is deeper than the deepest portion of the groove 34. The wall surface 34a connected to the inclined surface 33 of the groove 34 is perpendicular to the direction of the urging force of the spring 22.

On the both sides of the rear portion of the above-mentioned paper feed tray 11, round protrusions 11a and 11b with a tip are provided. These projections 11a and 11b function as guides for smoothing the movement of the paper tray 11 when it is pulled out or pushed in, and also as mechanisms for preventing the paper tray 11 from dropping when it is pulled out. I do. Two protrusions 1
One of the protrusions 11a of the sheet feed tray 1a, 11b
When the printer 1 is inserted into the copying machine 1 by being pushed in, it engages with the concave portion 32 of the container 30.

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the engagement of the projection 11a and the concave portion 32 of the container 30. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the paper feed tray 11 is pulled out. At this time, the projection 11a and the recess 32 do not engage. The container 30 urged by the spring 22 contacts the wall 23 and stops.

FIG. 3B shows a state in which the paper feed tray 11 is being pushed in, and the protrusion 11 a has advanced from the state of FIG. At this time, the tip of the projection 11a is in contact with the inclined surface 33 of the concave portion 32, and moves the container 30 in the direction of the spring 22 from the stop position in (a) against the urging force of the spring 22.

FIG. 3C shows a state in which the paper feed tray 11 is completely pushed in and mounted on the copying machine 1. The protrusion 11a is the recess 3
The container 30 has moved into the direction of the spring 22 further than the state of FIG. At this time, the wall surface 34a is in contact with the protrusion 11a, and the container 30 receiving the urging force of the spring 22 is stopped by the protrusion 11a.

In normal use, the container 30 is in the position shown in FIG. When the paper in the paper feed tray 11 runs out, the paper feed tray 11 is pulled out to replenish the paper, and the container 30 moves to the position shown in FIG.
After refilling the paper, when the paper feed tray 11 is remounted, the container 3
0 returns to the position shown in (c) through the position of (b).

When the copying machine 1 is used, the collected toner that has been transferred by the transfer device 14 and dropped from the transfer pipe 16 into the container 30 does not move much and becomes highest at the drop point. However, when replenishing the paper, the container 30 swings due to the reciprocation between the position (a) and the position (c), and the toner inside also swings, so that the upper surface is leveled and flattened.

As described above, the container 30 can contain the collected toner for 120,000 image formations, and is replaced every 120,000 image formations. The height of the toner in the container 30 at the time of replacement is 24 cm. On the other hand, the paper feed tray 11 stores 500 sheets of paper. Therefore, at least 240 paper replenishments are performed before the container 30 is replaced, and the toner rise from the replenishment of the paper to the next replenishment of the paper is at most 1 mm. Therefore, it can be said that the upper surface of the toner in the container 30 is always flat.

Therefore, in the copying machine 1, the collected toner does not reach the opening 31 and does not overflow from the container 30. Further, there is no possibility that the end of the transfer pipe 16 is blocked by the toner.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the toner collecting container is swung with a simple configuration, thereby flattening the toner upper surface in the container and fully utilizing the capacity of the container. Making it possible. Here, an example in which the container is swung in conjunction with the paper feed tray is shown, but if the device has a door, the container may be swung in conjunction with opening and closing of the door.

Although the direction of movement of the container and the direction of movement of the paper feed tray are substantially perpendicular to each other, when the two are moved in the same direction, it is not necessary to form an inclined surface on the container and the configuration can be simplified. can do. Although it is possible to use the driving force of a motor as another method of rocking the container, it is not preferable because the device configuration becomes complicated.

The present invention can be applied not only to a copying machine but also to other apparatuses, as long as the image forming apparatus develops a latent image by attaching toner. For example, it may be a facsimile machine or a printer.

[0038]

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect,
By shaking the container, the height of the toner in the container is leveled, and it is possible to fully store the toner near the opening of the container. That is, it is possible to prevent the toner from reaching the opening despite the presence of a space at a position lower than the opening. Therefore, even if toner is stored according to the amount that can be stored in the container, the toner overflows from the opening and contaminates the inside of the image forming apparatus, or the toner is clogged near the opening and the toner cannot be stored in the container. Absent. Further, there is no need to replace the container until the original storable amount of toner is stored, and the frequency of container replacement can be reduced.

Further, since the container can be swung by a normal operation when the image forming apparatus is used to replenish the paper feed tray, there is no fear of forgetting the operation, and the user is forced to perform a troublesome operation. Not even. Furthermore, the paper feed tray guide provided normal to the sheet feeding tray configured to replenish the paper drawer from being attached to the device, combined result, as compared with the case of providing a dedicated moving means as means for swinging the container The number of parts is reduced, and the device configuration is not complicated.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, the position of the container can be changed, and when the container is moved, the contained toner can be swung to level the upper surface thereof. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the toner from reaching the opening even though the space exists at a position lower than the opening of the container. Does not occur in the vicinity of the opening.

In addition, since the container moves in conjunction with the movement of the paper feed tray, the user simply replenishes the paper and moves the container securely without being conscious, and evens out the toner height. Can be Further, if the moving direction of the paper feed tray and the moving direction of the container are matched, the depth of the apparatus must be increased, but since the moving direction of the paper feeding tray and the moving direction of the container are substantially perpendicular to each other, There is no need to increase the depth of the device just for movement.

In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the paper feed tray guide is also used for moving the container, so that the above-mentioned effects can be obtained without complicating the structure of the paper feed tray and the configuration of the entire apparatus. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating a configuration of a toner collecting container and a copying machine in a peripheral portion thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a toner collecting container and a copying machine in a peripheral portion thereof.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between engagement between a protrusion formed on a paper feed tray and a recess formed on a side wall of the container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 electronic copying machine 3 photoreceptor drum 4 scanning optical system 5 charging device 6 developing device 7 transfer device 8 separation device 9 cleaning device 10 static elimination device 11 paper feed tray 11a protrusion (paper feed tray guide) 12 paper transport device 13 fixing device 14 Transfer device 15 Transfer roller 16 Transfer tube 21 Roller 22 Spring (biasing means) 23 Wall (Stop means) 24 Rear panel 30 Toner recovery container 31 Opening 32 Depression 33 Inclined surface 34 Groove

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naoyuki Ishida 1-2-2, Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Inside Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiko Miyazaki 1-2-28, Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Inside (72) Inventor Tetsuya Ichigotani 1-2-2, Tamazo, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Inside Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shoji Hirano 1-2-28, Tamazo-ku, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-93976 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/10-21/12

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, wherein said latent image is formed into a toner image by attaching toner to a surface of the photoconductor on which the latent image is formed, and the toner image is transferred to a sheet supplied from a paper feed tray. An image forming apparatus that removes toner remaining on the surface of the sheet and collects the toner in a container, wherein a first position for supplying paper for transferring the toner image and a second position for supplying paper for transferring the toner image are provided. And a means for moving the container in conjunction with the movement of the paper feed tray, and pulling out the paper feed tray from the first position to the second position. The container is moved from the second stop position to the first stop position by the
An image forming apparatus, wherein the container is moved from the first stop position to the second stop position by pushing the container from the first position to the first position. 2. A toner is formed on the surface of a photoconductor on which a latent image is formed.
The latent image is adhered to form a toner image, and the toner image is formed on paper.
To the surface of the photoreceptor after the transfer.
In an image forming apparatus that removes toner and collects it in a container
hand, Urging means for urging the container in a predetermined direction, Stopping the container urged by the urging means
Means for stopping; Provided on the side wall of the container, and oblique to the predetermined direction.
Of the slope, Movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the predetermined direction,
Advance toward the container and roll the toner image at the advanced position.
Supply paper for copying, and at the position retracted from the container
A paper tray for receiving paper, The paper tray is provided on the paper tray, and the paper tray is
Abutting against the inclined surface when the
The container is stopped by the stopping means against the urging force of the step.
From the stopped position in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction.
An image forming apparatus comprising: 3. The projection guides the movement of the paper feed tray.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is a sheet tray guide that performs the operation.
apparatus.