JP5997687B2 - Foreign material collection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foreign matter collecting apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a foreign matter collecting apparatus including a foreign matter collector that collects foreign matter in the air flowing through a duct is known. The foreign matter collector has a filter, and foreign matter in the air flowing through the duct is collected by the filter. In this type of foreign material collecting apparatus, there is a problem of a decrease in collection efficiency due to clogging of the filter. In order to solve this problem, various techniques have been proposed so far.

  For example, in what is shown in patent document 1, the filter which consists of a flexible member is arrange | positioned in the vertical part of a duct. According to this, when the blower fan operates, the filter is deformed by being pushed by the air flowing from the lower side. And when this ventilation fan stops, the foreign material adhering to this filter is shaken off by releasing the deformation | transformation of a filter.

JP 2008-015090 A

  However, in the conventional foreign matter collecting apparatus shown in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to configure the filter with a flexible member, so that the strength of the filter cannot be sufficiently ensured. As a result, there is a problem that the durability of the filter is lowered. In addition, since the amount of deformation of the filter is limited, there is a problem that the foreign matter adhering to the filter cannot be sufficiently shaken off only by the impact when the filter is restored (when the deformation is released).

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the filter from being clogged and to prolong the life of the filter.

  The foreign matter collecting apparatus according to the present invention includes a duct portion, a blower fan that circulates air through the air passage in the duct portion, and a foreign matter for collecting foreign matter in the air that circulates in the air passage of the duct portion. And a collector.

  The foreign matter collector includes a shaft member that is rotatably supported with respect to the duct portion, a filter and a wind receiving body that are fixed to the shaft member at different rotational phases, and When the fan is actuated, the wind receiver is retracted out of the air path by the wind pressure of the air acting on the wind receiver and the filter is in a first state in which the air path is blocked. The entire foreign matter collector is rotated around the axis of the shaft member by gravity or by a spring force, and the filter is moved out of the air passage and the wind receiver moves to a second state where the air passage is blocked. Thus, the foreign matter adhering to the filter is shaken off by the impact at the time of the transition.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, clogging of a filter can be suppressed and the lifetime of a filter can be extended.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a laser printer provided with a foreign matter collecting apparatus in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the foreign material collecting apparatus. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the foreign matter collecting apparatus. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG.

Embodiment 1
-Overall configuration-
FIG. 1 shows a laser printer 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) provided with a foreign matter collecting apparatus 100 in the present embodiment. The printer 1 has an apparatus main body 60 having an image forming unit 20. A paper feed unit 10 is provided in the lower part of the apparatus main body 60, and a paper discharge unit 50 is formed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 60. A plurality of transport roller pairs 11 to 13 that sandwich and transport the paper P are disposed in the paper transport path from the paper supply unit 10 to the paper discharge unit 50. In the following description, “left side” and “right side” mean the left side and right side of FIG. 1, respectively, and “front side” and “rear side” are the front side and the back side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Means side.

  The paper feed unit 10 includes a paper feed cassette 10a in which sheet-like paper P is accommodated, and a pickup roller 10b for taking out the paper P in the paper feed cassette 10a and sending it out of the cassette. . The paper P sent out of the cassette from the paper feed cassette 10 a is supplied to the image forming unit 20 through the transport roller pair 11.

  The image forming unit 20 includes a photosensitive drum 21, a charger 23, an exposure device 25, a developing device 27, a transfer device 29, and a fixing device 40. At the time of image formation, first, the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is charged by the charger 23, and thereafter, original image data (for example, image data of the original image received from the external terminal) is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by the exposure device 25. ) Is applied. Thus, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is developed as a toner image by the developing device 27. As a result, a toner image is formed (carried) on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. This toner image is transferred onto the paper P supplied from the paper supply unit 10 by the transfer device 29. The sheet P after the toner image is transferred is supplied to the fixing unit 40 by the rotation of the transfer roller in the transfer unit 29.

  In the fixing device 40, the toner image is fixed on the paper P by heating and pressurizing the paper P supplied from the transfer device 29 between the fixing roller 40 a and the pressure roller 40 b. Then, the sheet P on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 40 is sent out to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction by both rollers 40a and 40b. The paper P sent out from the fixing device 40 is discharged to the paper discharge unit 50 through a plurality of conveying roller pairs 12 and 13.

  -Details of foreign matter collection device-

  The foreign matter collecting apparatus 100 is disposed on the upper right side of the image forming unit 20 in the apparatus main body 60. The foreign matter collecting device 100 is a device for collecting foreign matter such as toner scattered from the developing device 27, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the foreign matter collecting apparatus 100 includes a duct portion 101, a blower fan 102, and a foreign matter collecting body 103.

  The duct portion 101 extends in the vertical direction, and its horizontal cross section has a rectangular shape. The blower fan 102 is provided at the lower end portion in the duct portion 101. When the blower fan 102 is operated, an air flow from the lower side to the upper side is formed in the air passage 101k in the duct portion 101. The foreign matter collection body 103 is provided in the middle portion of the duct portion 101 in the vertical direction.

  The foreign matter collector 103 includes a wind receiver 103a, a filter 103b, and a shaft member 103f. A wind receiver housing recess 101 f is formed in the left wall 101 a of the duct portion 101. The wind receiver housing recess 101f is a space for storing the wind receiver 103a when the foreign object collector 103 is in the first state, as will be described later. The wind receiver housing recess 101f is located outside the air passage 101k. Specifically, the wind receiver housing recess 101 f is formed on the left side adjacent to the air passage 101 k in the duct portion 101.

  A recovery box portion 104 is formed outside the left wall portion 101a of the duct portion 101. The collection box unit 104 has a collection space 104k for collecting the foreign matter collected by the filter 103b. A stopper portion 101c for restricting the position of the filter 103b projects from the inner wall surface of the upper end portion of the collection box portion 104. In this embodiment, the stopper portion 101c is constituted by a horizontal plate portion that protrudes from the inner wall surface of the collection box portion 104.

  The shaft member 103f is disposed so as to extend in the front-rear direction, and both end portions thereof are rotatably supported by the front side wall portion and the rear side wall portion of the duct portion 101, respectively.

  The filter 103b collects foreign matters such as toner contained in the air when the air flows in the thickness direction. The filter 103b is formed in a mesh shape that permits the air flow while blocking the toner particle flow. The filter 103b is formed in a plate shape as a whole.

  The wind receiver 103 a receives the wind pressure of the air blown from the blower fan 102 and rotates the entire foreign matter collector 103. The wind receiver 103a is formed in a plate shape as a whole.

  Both the wind receiver 103a and the filter 103b are fixed to the shaft member 103f in the form of a rotating door. The wind receiver 103a and the filter 103b are fixed to the shaft member 103f at different rotational phases. In the present embodiment, the wind receiver 103a and the filter 103b are fixed with a phase interval of 90 ° in the circumferential direction with respect to the shaft member 103f.

  The foreign matter collector 103 has a first state and a second state. In the second state (states (a) and (c) in FIG. 3), the wind receiver 103a is supported horizontally and the filter 103b is supported vertically by the shaft member 103f. The filter 103b is in contact with the protruding end of the stopper portion 101c. The stopper portion 101c restricts the foreign matter collector 103 from attempting to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 due to its own weight (that is, gravity). In the second state, the wind receiver 103a is located in the air passage 101k and blocks at least a part (all in the present embodiment) of the cross section of the air passage 101k. On the other hand, the filter 103b is arranged in the collection space 104k of the collection box unit 104 so as to block the communication part 105 between the collection space 104k and the air passage 101k.

  In the first state (the state shown in FIG. 3B), the wind receiver 103a is supported vertically by the shaft member 103f and the filter 103b is supported horizontally. In the first state, the wind receiver 103a is housed in the wind receiver housing recess 101f. Thus, the wind receiver 103a is located outside the air passage 101k. On the other hand, the filter 103b is located in the air passage 101k and blocks at least a part (all in the present embodiment) of the cross section of the air passage 101k.

  The foreign matter collector 103 is configured to be able to shift from the first state to the second state and from the second state to the first state by rotating around the axis of the shaft member 103f.

  The operation of the foreign matter collecting apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the white arrow in FIG. 3 indicates the flow of the air flow, and the black arrow indicates the rotation direction of the foreign matter collector 103.

  First, in a state where the blower fan 102 is stopped, the foreign matter collector 103 is in the second state (see the left side view of FIG. 3). When the blower fan 102 is activated, an air flow is formed in the air passage 101k from the lower side to the upper side. As a result, upward wind pressure acts on the wind receiver 103a that blocks the cross section of the air passage 101k. As a result, the foreign matter collector 103 starts to rotate in the counterclockwise direction around the axis of the shaft member 103f and stops when the wind receiver 103a comes into contact with the bottom wall of the wind receiver housing recess 101f. Then, the foreign material collector 103 shifts from the second state to the first state (see the central view of FIG. 3). In this state, since the filter 103b blocks the cross section of the air passage 101k, foreign matter in the air is collected by the filter 103b. The foreign matter collector 103 is maintained in the first state by the wind pressure acting on the filter 103b. After that, when the blower fan 102 stops, the wind pressure does not act on the filter 103b, so that the entire foreign matter collecting body 103b starts to rotate around the axis of the shaft member 103f by the weight of the filter 103b in the clockwise direction in the figure. It stops when it comes into contact with the stopper portion 101c. Then, the foreign material collector 103 shifts from the first state to the second state. The foreign matter 150 (for example, toner) adhering to the filter 103b is shaken off by the impact (also referred to as inertial force) during the transition. The shaken foreign material 150 falls downward by gravity and is collected in the collection box unit 104 (see the right side of FIG. 3).

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when the blower fan 102 is actuated, the foreign matter collector 103 is retracted from the air passage 101k by the wind pressure of the air acting on the wind receiver 103a and the filter. When 103b enters the first state that blocks the air passage 101k, when the blower fan 102 stops, the entire foreign matter collector 103 rotates around the axis of the shaft member 103f due to gravity, and the filter 103b moves out of the air passage 101k. By moving to the second state in which the wind receiver 103a is retracted and blocks the air passage 101k, the foreign matter 150 attached to the filter 103b is shaken off by the impact at the time of the transition.

  According to this, the foreign material 150 adhering to the filter 103b can be reliably shaken off as compared with the case where the filter 103b is formed of a flexible member, for example. Moreover, since the strength of the filter 103b can be sufficiently ensured, the durability of the filter 103b can be improved. Therefore, the life of the filter 103b can be extended.

  Moreover, in the said Embodiment 1, the collection | recovery box part 104 for collect | recovering the foreign material adhering to the filter 103b is provided in the outer side of the air path 101k of the duct part 11. FIG. And the said foreign material collection body 103 is comprised so that the filter 103b may be located in the collection | recovery box part 104 in the said 2nd state.

According to this, the foreign substance 150 shaken off from the filter 103b due to the impact when the foreign substance collector 103 shifts from the first state to the second state can be reliably collected by the collection box unit 104. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the foreign matter shaken off from being discharged into the air passage 101k and adhering to the filter 103b again.
<< Embodiment 2 >>

  4 and 5 show the second embodiment. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the direction in which the duct portion 101 extends. In the following embodiments, the same components as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  That is, in this embodiment, the duct part 101 is extended in the horizontal direction (for example, left-right direction in this embodiment). The blower fan 102 is disposed at the right end portion in the duct portion 101. When the blower fan 102 is activated, an air flow from the right side to the left side is formed in the duct portion 101. The recovery box portion 104 is connected to the lower wall portion of the duct portion 101. The collection space 104k in the collection box unit 104 and the air passage 101f in the duct unit 101 communicate with each other via the communication unit 105.

  The foreign matter collection body 103 includes a blocking body 103c and a biasing member 106 in addition to the wind receiving body 103a, the filter 103b, and the shaft member 103f. Since the shape and the like of the wind receiver 103a and the filter 103b are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. The blocking body 103 a is formed in a plate shape that faces the shape of the communication portion 105.

  The wind receiving body 103a, the blocking body 103c, and the filter 103b are arranged in a T shape when viewed from the axial direction of the shaft member 103f. That is, the wind receiver 103a, the blocking body 103c, and the filter 103b are fixed in a door shape at a phase interval of 90 ° in the circumferential direction with respect to the shaft member 103f. The wind receiving body 103a and the blocking body 103c are arranged symmetrically (in a straight line when viewed from the axial direction of the shaft member 103f) with the shaft member 103f interposed therebetween.

  The foreign matter collector 103 has a first state and a second state. In the second state, the wind receiving body 103a and the blocking body 103c are vertically supported by the shaft member 103f, and the filter 103b is horizontally supported. The filter 103b is located in the collection space 104. The filter 103b is disposed so as to block the communication portion 105 between the recovery space 104k and the air passage 101k. The wind receiver 103a is located in the air passage 101k. And this wind receiving body 103a is arrange | positioned so that at least one part (all h in this embodiment) of the cross section of this air path 101k may be interrupted | blocked. The blocking body 103 c is located in the collection space 104 k, and the left side surface is in contact with the inner wall surface of the collection box unit 104.

  In the first state (the state in the center of FIG. 5), the wind receiving body 103a and the blocking body 103c are supported horizontally and the filter 103b is supported vertically by the shaft member 103f. The wind receiver 103a is located outside the air passage 101k in the duct portion 101. That is, the wind receiver 103a is housed in a wind receiver housing recess 101f formed in the lower wall portion 101d of the duct portion 101. The blocking body 103c is disposed so as to block the communication portion 105 between the recovery space 104k and the air passage 101k. The filter 103b is located in the air passage 101k and is disposed so as to block at least a part (all in the present embodiment) of the cross section of the air passage 101k.

  The urging member 106 urges the entire foreign substance collector 103 around the axis of the shaft member 103f in the clockwise direction in the figure (that is, the direction in which the foreign substance collector 103 is shifted from the second state to the first state). To do. The urging member 106 is constituted by a torsion spring, for example.

  The operation of the foreign matter collecting apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the white arrow in FIG. 5 shows the flow of the air flow, and the black arrow shows the rotation direction of the foreign matter collector 103.

  In a state where the blower fan 102 of the foreign matter collecting apparatus 100 is stopped, the foreign matter collecting body 103 is in the second state (the state shown in the upper view of FIG. 5).

  When the blower fan 102 is operated, an air flow from the right side to the left side is formed in the air passage 101k. As a result, a leftward wind pressure acts on the wind receiver 103a that blocks the cross section of the air passage 101k. As a result, the foreign matter collector 103 starts to rotate in the counterclockwise direction around the axis of the shaft member 103f and stops when the wind receiver 103a comes into contact with the bottom wall of the wind receiver housing recess 101f. Then, the foreign material collector 103 shifts from the second state to the first state (see the central view of FIG. 5). In this state, since the filter 103b blocks the cross section of the air passage 101k, foreign matter in the air is collected by the filter 103b. The foreign matter collector 103 is maintained in the first state by the wind pressure acting on the filter 103b. The blocking body 103c blocks communication between the air passage 101k and the collection space 104k.

  After that, when the blower fan 102 stops, the wind pressure does not act on the filter 103b, so that the entire foreign matter collector 103 is rotated around the axis of the shaft member 103f in the clockwise direction in the figure by the spring force of the urging member 106. When the blocking body 103c comes into contact with the left side wall portion of the collection box portion 104 for the first time, it stops. Then, the foreign material collector 103 shifts from the first state to the second state. Then, the foreign matter 150 (for example, toner) adhering to the filter 103b is shaken off by the impact (also referred to as inertial force) during the transition. The shaken foreign material 150 falls downward by gravity and is collected in the collection box unit 104 (see the right side of FIG. 5).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the blower fan 102 is actuated, the foreign matter collector 103 is retracted from the air passage 101k by the wind pressure of the air acting on the wind receiver 103a and the filter. When 103b enters the first state that blocks the air passage 101k, when the blower fan 102 stops, the entire foreign matter collector 103 rotates around the axis of the shaft member 103f due to gravity, and the filter 103b moves out of the air passage 101k. By moving to the second state in which the wind receiver 103a is retracted and blocks the air passage 101k, the foreign matter 150 attached to the filter 103b is shaken off by the impact at the time of the transition.

  Therefore, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment.

  Moreover, in the said Embodiment 2, the foreign material collection apparatus 100 is provided with the urging member 106 which urges | biases the foreign material collection body 103 to the surroundings of the axial center of the shaft member 103f, and this urging member 106 is a foreign material collection body. 103 is urged in a direction to shift from the first state to the second state.

  Thereby, when the foreign matter collector 103 shifts from the first state to the second state when the blower fan 102 is stopped, an impact (inertial force) acting on the foreign matter attached to the filter 103b can be increased. Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the filter 103b can be more effectively shaken off. As a result, the life of the filter 103b can be extended.

  Further, in the second embodiment, when the foreign matter collector 103 is in the first state, the communication between the air passage 101k and the recovery space 104k is blocked by the blocking body 103c. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the foreign matter 150 collected in the collection space 104k from returning to the air passage 101k and adhering to the filter 103b.

  << Other embodiments >>

  The present invention may be configured as follows.

  That is, in the first embodiment, the stopper portion 101c that restricts the rotation of the filter 103b is provided, but the stopper portion 101c is not necessarily required. That is, for example, by making the weight of the filter 101c sufficiently larger than the weight of the wind receiver 103a, the foreign matter collector 103 is brought into the second state with the blower fan 102 stopped without providing the stopper portion 101c. Can be maintained.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the foreign matter collecting device 100 is applied to the laser printer 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the foreign matter collecting device 100 may be any device and environment in which foreign matter exists in the air. It can also be applied to.

  In the above embodiment, the toner is exemplified as an example of the foreign matter. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, paper powder.

  In each of the above embodiments, the example in which the foreign matter collecting device 100 is arranged in the linear air passage 101k is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the foreign matter collecting device 100 may be arranged in a substantially L-shaped channel. Good.

  Further, the present invention includes a configuration in which any of the above-described embodiments are appropriately combined.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a foreign matter collecting apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Foreign material collection apparatus 101 Duct part 101k Air path 102 Blower fan 103 Foreign material collection body
103a Wind receiving body 103b Filter 103c Blocking body 103f Shaft member 104 Recovery box portion 104f Recovery space 105 Communication portion 106 Energizing member 150 Foreign matter

Claims (4)

A foreign matter collecting apparatus comprising a duct portion, a blower fan for circulating air in the air passage in the duct portion, and a foreign matter collector for collecting foreign matter in the air flowing in the air passage of the duct portion Because
The foreign matter collector includes a shaft member that is rotatably supported with respect to the duct portion, a filter and a wind receiving body that are fixed to the shaft member at different rotational phases, and When the fan is actuated, the wind receiver is retracted out of the air path by the wind pressure of the air acting on the wind receiver and the filter is in a first state in which the air path is blocked. The entire foreign matter collector is rotated around the axis of the shaft member by gravity or by a spring force, and the filter is moved out of the air passage and the wind receiver moves to a second state where the air passage is blocked. Therefore, the foreign matter collecting apparatus is configured to shake off the foreign matter attached to the filter by an impact during the transition. In the foreign material collection apparatus of Claim 1,
On the outside of the air duct of the duct part, a recovery box part for recovering foreign matter adhering to the filter is provided,
The foreign matter collection body is configured so that the filter is positioned in the collection box portion in the second state. In the foreign matter collection device according to claim 1 or 2,
In the first state, the foreign material collector is configured to rotate around the axis of the shaft member by gravity and shift to the second state when the blower fan is stopped in the first state. Collection device. In the foreign material collection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An urging member for urging the foreign matter collector around the axis of the shaft member;
The urging member is a alien substance collecting device that urges the alien substance collecting body in a direction to shift from the first state to the second state.

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