JP7574582B2 - Powder storage container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a powder container and an image forming device.

Some electrophotographic image forming devices are equipped with a powder container that collects waste toner generated when cleaning image carriers such as photoconductors and intermediate transfer bodies. The powder container is equipped with a full detection sensor that detects when the container is full of powder.

The full detection sensor is an optical sensor and has a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section. Light from the light-emitting section of the full detection sensor is irradiated into the powder storage container, and the light-receiving section receives the light that has passed through part of the powder storage container. For this reason, the part of the powder storage container where the full detection sensor is attached is made of a material that transmits light.

In such a powder container, if the part where the full container full detection sensor is attached becomes contaminated with powder, it will erroneously detect that the container is full.

A conventional powder storage container is composed of a waste toner storage section and a full detection section. A conveying screw is provided at the top of the waste toner storage section. As with the above, the full detection section has a section through which the light of the optical sensor passes. A shielding wall is provided between the waste toner storage section and the full detection section. The top of the shielding wall is open, and when the waste toner storage section becomes full, waste toner flows from above the shielding wall into the full detection section, and it is detected that the container is full (Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-178406 A

However, in conventional technology, the full detection section is located downstream in the direction in which the powder entering the collection port flows. As a result, powder that enters the collection port and scatters horizontally can flow into the full detection section from the space above the shielding wall. Therefore, in conventional technology, the light-transmitting member of the full detection section can be contaminated by the powder that flows in from the space above the shielding wall, resulting in a false detection of full when the section is not. In addition, in conventional technology, a conveying screw is provided above the waste toner storage section, which causes the conveying screw to scatter more powder, contributing to false detection.

The object of the present invention is to provide a powder storage container that can prevent or suppress false detection of the presence or absence of powder in the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming device equipped with a powder storage container that can prevent or suppress erroneous detection of the presence or absence of powder in the container.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means:

(1) a powder collection port through which powder is supplied;
a sensor mounting portion having an opening for taking in the powder and on which a presence/absence sensor for detecting the presence/absence of the powder is mounted;
a scattering prevention wall that is closed on an upstream side of an opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port and is open on a downstream side of the opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port;
a conveying member disposed inside the powder collecting device, the conveying member conveying the powder supplied from the powder collecting port in a direction away from the powder collecting port,
A powder storage container, wherein a flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port is a powder conveying direction by the conveying member.

(2) a powder collection port through which powder is supplied;
a sensor mounting portion having an opening for taking in the powder and on which a presence/absence sensor for detecting the presence/absence of the powder is mounted;
a scattering prevention wall that is closed on an upstream side of the opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow of the powder supplied from the powder collection port and is open on a downstream side of the opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow of the powder supplied from the powder collection port,
The presence/absence sensor is a full detection sensor and a near-full detection sensor,
the sensor mounting portion is a full detection sensor mounting portion to which the full detection sensor is attached, and a near-full detection sensor mounting portion to which the near-full detection sensor is attached,
A powder storage container, wherein the full detection sensor mounting portion is arranged at the same position or at a lower position in the vertical direction than the near-full detection sensor mounting portion .

(3) The powder storage container according to (1) above, wherein the powder collection port is disposed at an end opposite to a powder transport direction by the transport member.

(4) The presence/absence sensor is a full detection sensor and a near-full detection sensor,
the sensor mounting portion is a full detection sensor mounting portion to which the full detection sensor is attached, and a near-full detection sensor mounting portion to which the near-full detection sensor is attached,
The powder storage container according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the full detection sensor mounting portion is positioned closer to the powder collection port than the near-full detection sensor mounting portion.

(6) A powder storage container according to any one of (1) to ( 4 ) above;
a presence/absence sensor that detects the presence or absence of powder in the powder storage container;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

In the present invention, a scattering prevention wall is provided for the opening of the sensor mounting part provided in the powder storage container, with the upstream side blocked in the direction along the flow of the powder supplied from the powder collection port and the downstream side open. Therefore, in the present invention, even if the powder that has entered the container from the powder collection port scatters, it will not enter directly into the sensor mounting part, and contamination of the sensor mounting part can be prevented or suppressed. As a result, the present invention can prevent or suppress erroneous detection of the presence or absence of powder in the container.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view illustrating a powder storage container. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a side view seen in the direction B in FIG. 2 . This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion circled E in FIG. 6 . FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a sensor attachment portion of a powder storage container in a comparative example, showing the inside of the powder storage container viewed from below toward above.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. Also, the dimensional ratios in the drawings have been exaggerated for the convenience of explanation, and may differ from the actual ratios.

(Image forming apparatus)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

The image forming device 100 includes a control unit 110, an image forming unit 120, a fixing unit 130, an operation display unit 140, an image reading unit 170, a paper feed conveying unit 180, and a powder storage container 10.

The control unit 110, like a typical computer, reads and executes various programs as appropriate to realize the various functions of the image forming device 100.

Image forming unit 120 has image forming unit 121Y that forms yellow (Y) images, image forming unit 121M that forms magenta (M) images, image forming unit 121C that forms cyan (C) images, and image forming unit 121K that forms black (K) images.

Image forming unit 121Y has photoconductor drum 125Y, charging unit 126Y arranged around photoconductor drum 125Y, developing unit 127Y, drum cleaner 128Y, and optical writing unit 129Y. Image forming units 121M, 121C, and 121K have the same configuration as image forming unit 121Y except for differences in color, so their description will be omitted. In the following description, they will be written without the symbols Y, M, C, and K unless a distinction is particularly necessary.

The fixing unit 130 includes a heating roller equipped with a heater, a fixing roller, a tension roller, and a fixing belt wound around these rollers, and fixes the image transferred onto the paper S.

The operation display unit 140 is, for example, a liquid crystal display with a touch sensor superimposed on the display surface, and displays an operation screen and receives various operation inputs from the user.

The image reading unit 170 reads the image of the document. The read image is formed by the image forming unit 120 in response to instructions from the operation display unit 140.

The paper feed conveying section 180 includes multiple pairs of conveying rollers driven by a conveying motor (not shown). A large number of sheets of paper S are stored inside the paper feed tray 181. The sheets of paper S stored in the paper feed tray 181 are sent out one by one from the top and conveyed toward the image forming section 120. At this time, the fed paper S is abutted against a pair of registration rollers 185 to correct the skew and adjust the conveying timing.

An output tray 188 is provided on the outside of the housing of the image forming device 100 to receive the paper S output after printing.

The powder storage container 10 stores waste toner. Details of the powder storage container 10 will be described later.

The operation of the image forming device 100 is a typical electrophotographic image forming operation, so a detailed explanation will be omitted, but the outline is as follows.

The image forming device 100 writes an image information signal onto the surface of the photoconductor drum 125 using the optical writing unit 129, and forms a latent image based on the image information signal on the surface of the photoconductor drum 125. The latent image is developed by the developer in the developing unit 127, and a toner image, which is a visible image, is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 125.

The toner images of each color are sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 122 and transferred onto the paper S by the secondary transfer roller 123. The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 125 is scraped off by the drum cleaner 128 and collected as waste toner in the powder storage container 10 through the waste toner duct 90.

The paper S onto which the image has been transferred is transported to the fixing section 130, where the toner image is fixed onto the paper S, and the paper is output to the output tray 188.

(Powder storage container)
The powder container 10 will now be described.

Figure 2 is a partially broken perspective view for explaining the powder storage container 10. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a side view taken in direction B in Figure 2. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in Figure 2. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in Figure 2, taken from below to above the inside of the powder storage container 10. Figure 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the circled portion E in Figure 6.

In the description of the embodiment, the arrows X, Y, and Z shown in FIG. 2 indicate directions in a Cartesian coordinate system, with X and Y being horizontal directions and Z being vertical directions. In the description of the embodiment, the positive direction of Z (the direction of the arrow) is referred to as up or upward, and the negative direction of Z (the opposite direction of the arrow) is referred to as down or downward.

A powder collection port 11 is provided at one end (collection port side end 10a) of the powder storage container 10. The powder collection port 11 is connected to the waste toner duct 90.

In this embodiment, the end opposite the collection port end 10a is referred to as the rear end 10b.

Inside the powder storage container 10, a transport member 12 is provided to transport powder from the powder collection port 11 in a substantially horizontal direction. The transport member 12 extends from the collection port side end 10a to the back end 10b of the powder storage container 10. The transport member 12 is coil-shaped or screw-shaped, and rotates around the longitudinal center of the axis by the motor 31. The transport member 12 transports powder in a direction away from the powder collection port 11 inside the powder storage container 10 by rotation. The powder transport direction is the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 2. In other words, in this embodiment, the powder collection port 11 is disposed at the end (collection port side end 10a) in the opposite direction to the powder transport direction by the transport member 12.

The powder that enters through the powder collection port 11 is transported by the transport member 12 in a direction away from the powder collection port 11. At this time, some of the powder that entered through the powder collection port 11 scatters inside the powder storage container 10. The scattered powder flows in the direction of the rear end 10b (the direction of the arrow X in Figure 2) to diffuse from the powder collection port 11 into a larger space.

In this embodiment, the powder collection port 11 is located at the end opposite the powder transport direction (the collection port side end 10a), so that most of the powder that enters through the powder collection port 11 can be transported inside the powder storage container 10 in a direction away from the powder collection port 11.

In addition, in this embodiment, by locating the powder collection port 11 at the collection port side end 10a, powder can be accumulated from one end of the container to the other, making effective use of the capacity of the powder storage container 10. Although the powder collection port 11 is located at the collection port side end 10a, it is sufficient that it is located at a position at least close to the end of the transport member 12 in the opposite direction to the powder transport direction, due to errors due to the case thickness and shape of the powder storage container 10. The powder collection port 11 is sufficient to be located above the transport member 12.

Two sensor mounting parts are provided on one side of the powder storage container 10. The two sensor mounting parts are a full detection sensor mounting part 15 and a near-full detection sensor mounting part 16. The full detection sensor mounting part 15 is installed in a position close to the powder collection port 11. The near-full detection sensor mounting part 16 is installed in a position farther from the powder collection port 11 than the full detection sensor mounting part 15.

The full detection sensor mounting portion 15 and the near-full detection sensor mounting portion 16 (hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the two, they will be referred to as sensor mounting portions 15 and 16) both protrude from one side of the powder storage container 10. The side on which the sensor mounting portions 15 and 16 are installed is one of the faces in the direction along the powder transport direction by the transport member 12. The sensor mounting portions 15 and 16 are recessed when viewed from the inside of the powder storage container 10. The sensor mounting portions 15 and 16 have openings 15a and 16a for introducing powder into the respective recesses.

Presence sensors that detect the presence or absence of powder from the outside are attached to the sensor attachment parts 15 and 16. The presence sensors include a full detection sensor 21 attached to a position close to the powder collection port 11, and a near-full detection sensor 22 attached to a position farther from the powder collection port 11 than the full detection sensor 21.

The full detection sensor 21 is installed at the same position as the near-full detection sensor 22 or at a lower position in the vertical direction. The full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22 are fixed to the image forming device 100. Therefore, the full detection sensor mounting portion 15 and the near-full detection sensor mounting portion 16 are each provided to match the positions of the full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22 when the powder storage container 10 is set in the image forming device 100.

The powder that enters the powder storage container 10 is transported by the transport member 12, so it accumulates from the back side of the powder storage container 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to detect the powder that accumulates at the back side first, a near-full detection sensor 22 is installed at the back side, i.e., at a position far from the powder collection port 11. Then, when the powder that accumulates from the back side accumulates close to the powder collection port 11, it is detected by the full detection sensor 21.

In this embodiment, the powder storage container 10 can be used effectively by providing two sensors, namely, a full detection sensor 21 and a near-full detection sensor 22.

For example, if one sensor only detects fullness, the continuous printing will stop if it detects fullness during continuous printing. On the other hand, if one sensor only detects near-fullness, which is just before fullness, a message to replace the powder storage container 10 will appear even if there is still room in the container, and the container will not be used effectively.

In this regard, in this embodiment, for example, in continuous printing after detection by the near-full detection sensor 22, it is possible to display a message during continuous printing indicating that printing may stop or to prompt the user to replace the powder in advance. Also, in cases where printing is not continuous, the powder storage container 10 can be used until it becomes full of powder and is detected by the full detection sensor 21.

In addition, in this embodiment, the full detection sensor 21 is installed vertically at the same position as the near-full detection sensor 22 or below it. As described above, in this embodiment, powder accumulates first at the rear side where the near-full detection sensor 22 is attached. If the full detection sensor 21 is installed vertically above the near-full detection sensor 22, more powder will be transported to the rear side, which is in the near-full state. This may cause the excessively accumulated powder to come into contact with the transport member 12 at the rear side, stopping the movement of the transport member 12. In this embodiment, by installing the full detection sensor 21 vertically at the same position as the near-full detection sensor 22 or below it, excessive accumulation of powder can be prevented.

The full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22 are both optical sensors. The optical sensor has a light emitting unit 25 and a light receiving unit 26. The optical sensor changes its signal output state depending on whether or not light from the light emitting unit 25 reaches the light receiving unit 26. For example, the optical sensor stops outputting a signal when the light receiving unit 26 receives light from the light emitting unit 25, and outputs a signal when the light receiving unit 26 does not receive light. The optical sensor may be reversed, outputting a signal when the light receiving unit 26 receives light from the light emitting unit 25, and stopping outputting a signal when the light receiving unit 26 does not receive light. The control unit 110 determines whether the sensor is full or near-full depending on the presence or absence of signals from the full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22. The control unit 110 displays the determined state on the operation display unit 140.

When the powder storage container 10 is attached to the image forming device 100, the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 are placed between the light emitting part 25 and the light receiving part 26 of the full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22. Both sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 have a light-transmitting member. Light from the light emitting part 25 of the full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22 passes through the inside of the powder storage container 10 through the light-transmitting member, and reaches the light receiving part 26 again through the light-transmitting member. Therefore, the light from the light emitting part 25 is blocked when there is powder inside each of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16.

The sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 are each provided with a scattering prevention wall 17. The scattering prevention wall 17 is provided in front of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 with a gap 17G (see Figures 6 and 7). The scattering prevention wall 17 extends from the top to the bottom inside the powder storage container 10. The scattering prevention wall 17 is provided so as to cover at least a portion of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16.

The scattering prevention wall 17 has a connection portion 18 that is connected to the inner wall of the powder storage container 10. The connection portion 18 is a part of the scattering prevention wall 17. The connection portion 18 is located closer to the powder collection port 11 than the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting portions 15 and 16, respectively. As a result, the scattering prevention wall 17 closes the upstream side in the direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port 11, while the downstream side in the direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port 11 is open. In the following description, the upstream side in the direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port 11 is simply referred to as the upstream or upstream side, and the downstream side in the direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port 11 is simply referred to as the downstream or downstream side.

The scattering prevention wall 17 closes the upstream side of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, respectively, by means of the connection part 18. In particular, the scattering prevention wall 17, including the connection part 18, extends from above to below, thereby reliably closing the upstream side of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, respectively, from above. On the other hand, the downstream side of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, respectively, is open without the scattering prevention wall 17.

The length 17L of the scattering prevention wall 17 in the powder transport direction is set to a length that can block the upstream side of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16. For example, the length 17L of the scattering prevention wall 17 in the powder transport direction is preferably 1/10 or more of the length of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 in the powder transport direction, and more preferably 1/2 or more of the length of the openings 15a and 16a in the powder transport direction. By making the length 17L 1/10 or more of the length of the openings 15a and 16a, the upstream side of the openings 15a and 16a can be reliably blocked. In addition, by making the length 17L 1/2 or more of the length of the openings 15a and 16a, the amount of scattered powder that goes around the scattering prevention wall 17 and enters the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 from the downstream side can be reduced.

In the full detection sensor mounting part 15 shown in FIG. 6, the length 17L of the scattering prevention wall 17 in the powder transport direction is half the length 15L of the opening 15a in the powder transport direction. In addition, in the near-full detection sensor mounting part 16 shown in FIG. 7, the length 16L of the opening 16a in the powder transport direction is the same as the length 17L of the scattering prevention wall 17 in the powder transport direction.

If the length 17L of the scattering prevention wall 17 in the powder transport direction is made longer than the length of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 in the powder transport direction, the length should be such that the accumulating powder can enter the interior (recess) of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 from the downstream side.

The lower end of the scattering prevention wall 17 is located vertically at the same level as or lower than the lower ends of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, respectively.

The openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 are closed on the upstream side and open on the downstream side due to the presence of the scattering prevention wall 17. The downstream side is opposite to the powder transport direction by the transport member 12 and faces the back side of the powder storage container 10. In this embodiment, the downward vertical direction is also open.

As already explained, the powder that has entered the powder storage container 10 is transported by the transport member 12, and is therefore accumulated from the back side of the powder storage container 10. Therefore, the powder enters the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 from the open back side and bottom. Therefore, the spacing of the gap 17G is set so that the powder can enter the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 from this gap 17G as the powder accumulates in the powder storage container 10. The spacing of the gap 17G is, for example, about 0.5 mm to 30 mm. With such a spacing of the gap 17G, the powder enters the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 as it accumulates. The spacing of the gap 17G is not limited to this range, and is determined arbitrarily depending on the size of the powder storage container 10, the size of the powder, and the like.

The above-described embodiment provides the following advantages:

As already explained, the powder from the waste toner duct 90 is supplied to the inside of the powder storage container 10 from the powder collection port 11. Therefore, the powder supplied to the powder storage container 10 is scattered so as to flow from the powder collection port 11 to the back side.

The openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 are blocked on the upstream side by a scattering prevention wall 17. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the powder supplied from the powder collection port 11 scatters inside the container, the powder does not directly enter the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16.

Therefore, in this embodiment, contamination of the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 due to scattering of powder can be prevented or suppressed before the powder accumulates. Therefore, in this embodiment, false detection by the full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22 can be prevented or suppressed compared to the case where there is no scattering prevention wall 17 (described later).

Comparative Example
In order to facilitate understanding of this embodiment, a comparative example in which the scattering prevention wall 17 is not provided will now be described.

Figure 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the near-full detection sensor mounting portion when the inside of the powder storage container in the comparative example is viewed from bottom to top (the same cross-sectional position as Figure 7).

As shown in FIG. 8, in the comparative example, the near-full detection sensor mounting portion 16 does not have a scattering prevention wall 17. The other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment.

In the comparative example, since there is no scattering prevention wall 17, the powder scattered when being transported by the transport member 12 directly enters the inside of the near-full detection sensor mounting part 16. As a result, in the comparative example, the inside of the near-full detection sensor mounting part 16 becomes contaminated with powder. When this happens, in the comparative example, even though no powder has accumulated, the near-full detection sensor detects the container as near-full, resulting in a false detection. Although not shown, if there is no scattering prevention wall 17, a similar false detection would occur in the full detection sensor mounting part 15.

In the embodiment, as already explained, by providing the scattering prevention wall 17, powder scattered inside the container does not directly enter the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, and false detection is prevented or reduced to a lesser extent than in the comparative example.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various combinations are possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the scattering prevention wall 17 is open at the bottom, but the bottom does not have to be open. For example, the scattering prevention wall 17 may be provided upstream of the openings 15a and 16a of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, from the ceiling above the powder storage container 10 to the bottom below. Even in such a configuration in which the bottom is not open, the powder accumulates from the back side, so it enters the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16 from the open downstream side (back side), and the near-full or full state is detected. Therefore, even in a configuration in which the bottom is not open, the scattering prevention wall 17 prevents or inhibits the scattered powder from entering the inside of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16, as in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, it is possible to prevent or inhibit erroneous detection due to contamination of the sensor mounting parts 15 and 16.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the full detection sensor 21 is located closer to the powder collection port 11 than the near-full detection sensor 22, but this is not limited to the above. For example, in a configuration in which the conveying member 12 is not provided and the powder accumulates from the powder collection port 11 and naturally flows to the back, it is preferable to locate the near-full detection sensor 22 closer to the powder collection port 11 than the full detection sensor 21.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the full detection sensor 21 and the near-full detection sensor 22 are used as the presence/absence sensors, but only one presence/absence sensor may be used. One presence/absence sensor is, for example, the near-full detection sensor 22. By using only one near-full detection sensor, it is possible to prevent the powder storage container 10 from becoming full during continuous printing. When only the near-full detection sensor 22 is used, the position of the near-full detection sensor mounting portion 16 of the powder storage container 10 is set to match the position of the near-full detection sensor 22 installed in the image forming device 100.

Of course, only the full detection sensor 21 may be provided as a presence/absence sensor. In that case, the powder storage container 10 can be used until it is full. When only the full detection sensor 21 is used, the position of the full detection sensor mounting portion 15 of the powder storage container 10 is set to match the position of the full detection sensor 21 installed in the image forming device 100.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the powder storage container 10 stores waste toner, but the powder storage container 10 of the present invention may also be used as a container for storing powder other than waste toner.

In addition, the conditions and numerical values used in the description of the embodiments are for illustrative purposes only, and the present invention is not limited to these conditions and numerical values. The present invention can be modified in various ways based on the configuration described in the claims, and these modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

10 Powder container,
10a collection port side end portion,
10b rear end portion,
11 Powder collection port,
12 conveying member,
15 Full detection sensor mounting portion,
15a Opening for mounting the full-content detection sensor;
16 Near-full detection sensor mounting part,
16a Near-full detection sensor mounting opening,
17. Shatterproof walls,
17G gap,
21 full detection sensor,
22 Near-full detection sensor,
25 light irradiation unit,
26 light receiving unit,
31 motor,
90 Waste toner duct,
100 Image forming apparatus,
110 control unit,
120 Image forming unit,
125 photosensitive drum,
128 Drum cleaner,
129 Optical writing unit,
130 Fixing unit,
140 Operation display unit,
170 Image reading unit,
180 Paper feed transport section.

Claims (5)

a powder collection port through which powder is supplied;
a sensor mounting portion having an opening for taking in the powder and on which a presence/absence sensor for detecting the presence/absence of the powder is mounted;
a scattering prevention wall that is closed on an upstream side of an opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port and is open on a downstream side of the opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port;
a conveying member disposed inside the powder collecting device, the conveying member conveying the powder supplied from the powder collecting port in a direction away from the powder collecting port,
A powder storage container, wherein a flow direction of the powder supplied from the powder collection port is a powder conveying direction by the conveying member. a powder collection port through which powder is supplied;
a sensor mounting portion having an opening for taking in the powder and on which a presence/absence sensor for detecting the presence/absence of the powder is mounted;
a scattering prevention wall that is closed on an upstream side of the opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow of the powder supplied from the powder collection port and is open on a downstream side of the opening of the sensor attachment portion in a direction along the flow of the powder supplied from the powder collection port,
The presence/absence sensor is a full detection sensor and a near-full detection sensor,
the sensor mounting portion is a full detection sensor mounting portion to which the full detection sensor is attached, and a near-full detection sensor mounting portion to which the near-full detection sensor is attached,
A powder storage container, wherein the full detection sensor mounting portion is arranged at the same position or at a lower position in the vertical direction than the near-full detection sensor mounting portion. The powder storage container according to claim 1 , wherein the powder collection port is disposed at an end portion opposite to a powder transport direction by the transport member. The presence/absence sensor is a full detection sensor and a near-full detection sensor,
the sensor mounting portion is a full detection sensor mounting portion to which the full detection sensor is attached, and a near-full detection sensor mounting portion to which the near-full detection sensor is attached,
The powder storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the full detection sensor mounting portion is disposed at a position closer to the powder collection port than the near-full detection sensor mounting portion. A powder storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
a presence/absence sensor that detects the presence or absence of powder in the powder storage container;
An image forming apparatus comprising: