JPH0721690B2 - Toner recovery device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a toner recovery device used in a copying machine, a facsimile, etc., and more specifically, it is particularly suitable for a miniaturized copying machine, a facsimile, etc. The present invention relates to a toner collecting device used.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, there has been provided a toner collecting device in which a toner collecting container is located in the vicinity of a photoconductor drum so that it is not necessary to convey the collected toner by using a screw conveyor or the like.

Such a toner collecting device has a cleaning blade for scraping off the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum, and a toner receiving member facing below the cleaning blade, and further has a toner receiving member. A toner scraping plate is rotatably attached so as to contact the upper surface of, or a toner discharge belt is attached, and a toner recovery container is arranged on the downstream side of the toner scraping plate or the toner discharge belt ( (See Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-178169).

By adopting such a configuration, the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade can be guided to the toner collection container arranged in the position close to the photosensitive drum, and the toner transport distance can be shortened. Correspondingly, it is possible to significantly reduce the stain on the inside of the main body of the apparatus by the toner.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In the toner collecting device having the above structure, the toner is simply moved to the toner collecting container side by the toner scraping plate or the toner discharging belt. There is a problem that the actual toner storage area in the container is only the area lower than the toner scraping plate or the toner discharge belt, and the toner recovery amount is small.

More specifically, there is a strong demand for downsizing of copiers, facsimiles, etc., and in order to satisfy this demand, the paper transport path is arranged as close as possible to the lower surface of the photosensitive drum. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the height of the toner collecting container, which is disposed close to the photoconductor drum, especially the bottom surface thereof from interfering with the paper transport path. Also, regarding the disposition position of the toner scraping plate or the toner discharging belt, in order to effectively drop the toner scraped off by the cleaning blade onto the toner receiving member, the toner scraping plate and the toner discharging belt are disposed substantially at the center of the photosensitive drum. It is necessary to be in a state of facing each other.

Therefore, the volume of the area lower than the toner scraping plate or the toner discharging belt in the toner collecting container is inevitably small, and the toner collecting amount is small.

<Objects of the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a toner recovery device capable of recovering toner over almost the entire range of a toner recovery container.

<Means for Solving Problems> In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a toner collecting device of the present invention has a toner receiving port formed at a predetermined position on the lower side of a toner collecting container, and is placed close to the toner receiving port. A toner feeding member for feeding the collected toner is attached, and the outer surface of the lower end edge portion of the toner receiving opening is circular so as to define a toner passage for guiding the collected toner to the toner collecting container with the porous roller member. The peripheral surface of the porous roller member having a cross section is made to be close to the peripheral surface substantially along one tangential direction, and the upper end edge of the toner receiving port is pressed against the porous roller member. The member is rotationally driven in the direction from the lower end edge of the toner receiving port toward the upper end edge.

<Operation> In the toner collecting device having the above-described configuration, the toner feeding member conveys the collected toner toward the toner receiving port, and through the space formed between the toner receiving port and the lower end edge of the toner receiving port, the toner feeding member is almost The collected toner can be ejected in the tangential direction.

Therefore, when the collected toner amount is small, the discharged collected toner drops toward the bottom surface of the toner collection container, and when the collected toner amount increases and is collected above the toner receiving port, Due to the ejection force of the feeding member, it is possible to feed the collected toner against the dead weight of the toner inside the toner collection container.

Particularly, in the above structure, the outer surface of the lower edge portion of the toner receiving port is formed in a circular cross section so as to define a toner passage for guiding the collected toner to the toner collecting container with the porous roller member. The ejection force can be further increased because the members are arranged close to each other along the one tangential direction of the peripheral surface of the member and the upper end edge of the toner receiving port is pressed against the porous roller member.

<Example> Hereinafter, detailed description will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating an example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a toner collecting device, which includes a photosensitive drum (1) and a charger (2).
The cleaning blade (3), the toner collecting container (4), and the sponge roller (5) as a porous roller member are integrally attached to the apparatus body (6) in a removable manner. Then, a static elimination lamp (7) is attached to a predetermined position of the apparatus body (6).

More specifically, the photosensitive drum (1)
Charger charger (2) and cleaning blade (3)
The housing (9) integrally supporting the sponge roller (5) and the sponge roller (5) is formed integrally with the toner collecting container (4), and is provided at a predetermined position on the guide rail formed on the apparatus body (6). A flange portion (11) that engages with (10) is formed. Then, a toner receiving port (1) is provided at a lower portion of a side wall of the toner collecting container (4) near the photoconductor drum (1).
2) and the sponge roller (5) is formed between the toner receiving opening (12) and the photosensitive drum (1) in the direction from the lower end of the toner receiving opening (12) to the upper end (A in the figure). Direction) is attached so that it can rotate. Further, in the side wall on the side where the toner receiving port (12) is formed, the upper wall (13) is made of a relatively thin plate material, and the lower wall (14) is made of a relatively thick plate material. Further, the lower wall (14) is formed in such a shape that the upper end side of the sponge roller is cut off obliquely, and a relatively narrow toner passage (16) is formed between the inclined surface (15) and the sponge roller (5). ) Has been formed. Further, the lower end of the upper wall (13) is brought into pressure contact with the sponge roller (5) to deform the sponge roller (5) at this portion.

In addition, (17) is a seal blade attached to the cleaning blade (3) in a facing state, (18) is a paper feeder, (19) is a transfer charger, and (20) is a separation charger. .

In the toner collecting device having the above-described structure, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum (1) is scraped off by the cleaning blade (3) in the state where the development and transfer steps (not shown) are completed, and the sponge roller (5) and the sealer are sealed. Let it fall naturally between the blade (17). Since the sponge roller (5) constantly rotates in the direction of arrow A, the toner that has naturally dropped enters the small hole portion of the sponge roller (5) in sequence and between the sponge roller (5) and the surface thereof. When the toner is conveyed by a frictional force and passes through a relatively narrow toner passage (16) formed between the inclined surface (15), it is almost tangential to the tangential direction (direction B in the figure) by the rotational force of the sponge roller (5). ) Is discharged.

In this case, if the amount of collected toner inside the toner collection container (4) is small, the discharged toner drops spontaneously and is sequentially deposited from the bottom of the toner collection container (4).

Further, the amount of collected toner inside the toner collecting container (4) increases, and as shown in FIG.
When the state of blocking 2) is reached, the toner contained in the toner collection container (4) will hinder the sending of toner through the toner receiving port (12). As for the ejection force, the sponge roller (5) gives a large moving force, and the toner passage (16) is narrow, so that the large moving force is almost uniformly given to the toner passing through the toner passage (16). From the above, the toner can be reliably sent to the toner collecting container (4) despite the above obstacles, and the toner collecting container (4)
Can be used for toner storage.

In particular, in this embodiment, the sponge roller (5) has a circular cross section, and the toner passage (17) is provided between the sponge roller (5) and the peripheral surface of the sponge roller (5) in a state of being close to each other. ), The proximity of the two is maintained while the sponge roller (5) is rotating, and the width of the toner passage (17) does not change. Therefore, as a result that the conveying force of the sponge roller (5) acting on the collected toner in the toner passage (17) is always constant, not only the amount of collected toner can be increased but also the toner is collected during operation. There is no risk that the toner collected in the container (4) will flow back into the toner passage (17).

Moreover, since the tip end surface (16) of the lower wall (14) of the toner receiving opening (12) is brought close to the sponge roller (5) and the cross section of the sponge roller (5) is circular, The toner passage (17) formed between the tip surface (16) and the sponge roller (5) is kept narrow regardless of the rotation phase of the sponge roller (5). Therefore, even if vibration or the like is received when the apparatus is stopped, it is possible to reliably prevent the collected toner from flowing back to the toner passage (17) side.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, it is possible to detect the toner recovery amount inside the toner recovery container using an optical sensor or the like. It is possible to make various design changes within the range of not changing.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, toner can be fed from the lower side of the toner collection container regardless of the amount of toner inside the toner collection container, and the toner collection container can be filled with almost the entire volume of toner. Since it can be used for accommodation, there is a unique effect that the toner recovery amount can be increased even if the vertical distance between the bottom surface of the toner recovery container and the toner feeding member is reduced.

Particularly, in the present invention, the sponge roller has a circular cross-section, and the toner passage is defined between the sponge roller and the outer surface of the lower edge portion in a state of being close to each other. During the rotation of, the proximity state of both is maintained, and the toner passage width does not change. Therefore, as a result that the carrying force of the sponge roller acting on the collected toner in the toner passage is always constant, not only the amount of collected toner can be increased, but also
There is no risk that the toner collected in the toner collection container during operation will flow back into the toner passage.

Moreover, since the lower end edge of the toner receiving port is brought close to the porous roller member and the cross section of the porous roller member is formed in a circular shape, it is formed between the lower end edge and the porous roller member. The toner passage is kept narrow regardless of the rotational phase of the porous roller member. Therefore,
Even when vibration is received when the device is stopped,
There is an advantage that the collected toner can be reliably prevented from flowing back to the toner passage side.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the toner recovery device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view explaining the operation when the amount of recovered toner is large. (4) …… Toner collection container, (5) …… Sponge roller, (12) …… Toner receiving port, (13) …… Upper wall, (14) …… Lower wall, (15) …… Sloping surface, ( 16) Toner passage

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A toner receiving port is formed at a predetermined position on the lower side of a toner collecting container, and a porous roller member for feeding the collected toner is attached in the vicinity of the toner receiving port. Further, a lower end edge portion of the toner receiving port is attached. An outer surface of the porous roller member is formed along a tangential direction of a peripheral surface of the porous roller member having a circular cross section so as to define a toner passage for guiding the collected toner to the toner collecting container between the outer surface and the porous roller member. Further, the upper end edge of the toner receiving port is pressed against the porous roller member, and the porous roller member is rotationally driven in a direction from the lower end edge of the toner receiving port toward the upper end edge. A toner recovery device characterized by being a thing.