JPH07334052A - Waste toner discharge device of image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Waste toner is solidified and its volume is extremely reduced, and the waste toner is cut into a certain shape and discharged to increase the storage amount of waste toner. Provided is a waste toner discharging device capable of easily performing post-processing. [Structure] A cleaning device 3, a waste toner container 4,
The fixing device 5 is provided with a fixing roller 6 having a heater 7 therein, and a waste toner relay pipe 9 connecting the fixing device 5 and the waste toner container 4 is provided. A waste toner outflow pipe 8 having a spiral screw 12 and a cutting device 45 for cutting the discharged waste toner 18 at its outlet 16 was connected to the tip of a waste toner relay pipe 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waste toner discharging device for an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a waste toner discharging device 1 of this type of image forming apparatus, (1) as shown in FIG. 4, a supply toner supplying port 22 for supplying toner into a developing device 20 and a toner supplying device. In a toner cartridge 21 having a waste toner recovery port 23 for recovering the waste toner 18 collected by the cleaning device 3 in a hollowed-out site 25, a replenishment toner storage site 24 communicating with the toner supply port 22 and A partition plate 26 that isolates the waste toner collecting part 25 communicating with the waste toner collecting port 23 is provided, and the waste toner 18 is collected in the waste toner collecting part 25 to rationalize the waste toner 18 collecting space. 3-35558
It is disclosed in the publication and is publicly known. Further, (2) the waste toner collecting device 30 shown in FIG. 5 for storing the waste toner 18 collected by the cleaning device for removing the residual toner on the photoconductor is provided with the rotatable toner collecting container 31, and the toner collecting container 31 Is closed at its upper part by an upper lid 36 which is rotatable with respect to the toner collecting container 31, and a protrusion 36 ′ provided at the center of the upper lid 36.
Bearing provided on the casing 34 of the cleaning device storage cartridge that is detachably incorporated in the main body of the image forming apparatus.
The toner outlet 32 connected to the cleaning device is engaged with the round hole 37 provided at a position offset from the center of the upper lid 36 while engaging with the toner collecting port 31a.
In addition to the bottom surface thereof being dropped into the pedestal 33, the prismatic pillar receiver 31b provided at the center of the bottom surface of the pedestal 33 is provided at the prism 39 provided at the center of the rotary table 38 and at a position offset from the center. A compression spring 35 is provided which is engaged with the drive pin 33 'and is provided between the receiving table 33 and the rotary table 38. In such a case, the toner recovery container 31 of the waste toner 18 is placed on the receiving table 33, the motor M is started, and the rotary table 38 is continuously rotated in one direction by the pinion P at a slow speed to rotate. The toner recovery container 31 is rotated through the platform 38 and the prism 39, and the waste toner 18 is dropped from the toner discharge port 32 located at a position deviated from the rotation centers 31a and 31b from a certain height into the toner recovery container 31. Waste toner
18 is accommodated with an average accumulated height, and the volume of the waste toner 18 accommodated is compacted and reduced by vibrating the toner recovery container 31 slightly up and down against the compression spring 35, and the upper lid is closed. A device which can be attached to and detached from the pedestal 33 with the lid closed is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-328786 and is publicly known. In FIG. 4, 2 is a photoreceptor, 5 is a fixing device, 6 is a fixing roller, 7 is a heater,
Reference numeral 40 is a waste toner conveying device, 41 is a paper feed tray, 42 is a transfer / separation zone charger, 43 is a conveyor belt, and 44 is a charger.

[0003]

The conventional waste toner discharging device as described in the above (1) and (2) collects the waste toner as powder, and solidifies it and cuts it into a fixed shape. However, there is a problem that the volume of the waste toner itself cannot be extremely reduced, and further, the handling and the post-treatment cannot be easily performed, such as scattering and contamination during handling.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional waste toner discharging device as described above, solidify the waste toner to extremely reduce the volume, and cut the waste toner into a fixed shape and discharge it. Another object of the present invention is to provide a waste toner discharging device that can increase the amount of waste toner stored and can easily perform waste toner handling and post-processing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 removes the toner remaining on the photoconductor after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper. An image forming apparatus including a cleaning device, a waste toner container that stores toner collected by the cleaning device, and a fixing device that includes a heater and a fixing roller that fixes a toner image transferred to a transfer paper , A waste toner relay pipe connecting the fixing device and the waste toner container,
A waste toner outflow pipe, which has a spiral screw driven inside the heater and has a cutting device for cutting the discharged waste toner at its outlet, is connected to the tip of the waste toner relay pipe. To do. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the temperature of the heater rises to a set temperature, the spiral screw rotates, and the waste toner is conveyed by the heater while being melted, solidified, and discharged. At this time, it is cut by a cutting device. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cutting device forms a fan-shaped opening by partially opening the fan-shaped opening,
When a waste toner is discharged by being pushed out by the rotation of the spiral screw, it is composed of a cutter having a blade formed at the opening end facing the rotation direction of the spiral screw of the fan-shaped opening, and a supporting member supporting the cutter. The waste toner is cut by the blade and dropped from the opening.

[0006]

In this invention as described above, the invention of claim 1 is a cutting device which has a spiral screw located inside the heater of the fixing device and is driven to rotate, and cuts the waste toner discharged at the outlet thereof. The provided waste toner outflow pipe is connected to the tip of the waste toner relay pipe, the waste toner is conveyed from the waste toner container to the waste toner outflow pipe through the waste toner relay pipe, and is melted by the heater in the waste toner outflow pipe. While being pushed out to the outlet by the spiral screw, the cutting device cuts the waste toner discharged from the waste toner outflow pipe and solidified. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the temperature of the heater rises to a set temperature, the spiral screw rotates, and the waste toner is conveyed by the heater while being melted and solidified and discharged by the cutting device. Claim 3
According to the invention, a cutter having a blade formed at the opening end facing the rotation direction of a spiral screw having a fan-shaped opening formed by partially opening the fan-shaped opening is supported by a supporting member and provided at the outlet of the waste toner discharging device. However, when the waste toner is pushed out and discharged by the rotation of the spiral screw, the waste toner is cut by the blade and dropped from the opening.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiments of the present invention, the same parts as those in the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.
Mainly different parts will be described.

1 and 2 showing an embodiment of the present invention, a waste toner discharging device 1 is provided with a waste toner relay pipe 9 for connecting a fixing device 5 and a waste toner container 4, and a fixing roller 6
A waste toner outflow pipe 8 having a spiral screw 12 located inside a heater 7 provided inside thereof and driven to rotate, and provided with a cutting device 45 at an outlet 16 thereof for cutting discharged waste toner 19
Is connected to the tip of the waste toner relay tube 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driving means 11 for rotating the spiral screw 12 comprises a drive shaft 52 rotated by a motor (not shown), gears 53 and 54, and a clutch 58. The rotational drive of the main shaft 51 of the spiral screw 12 is performed by engaging the gear 53 fixed to the drive shaft 52 and the gear 54 rotatably inserted in the main shaft 51 with the rotational torque transmitted by the clutch plate 55, The torque is transmitted via a retainer plate 56 attached to the main shaft 51, and a clutch 58 composed of a clutch plate 55, a retainer plate 56 and a spring 57 acts as a torque limiter to stabilize the rotating torque. In the case of overload, rotation of the main shaft 51 is not transmitted. The operating force of the torque limiter reaches the temperature necessary for fixing when the power of the heater 7 is input, and at the same time, the temperature of the waste toner outflow pipe 8 and the main shaft 51 rises, the waste toner 18 is melted by the main shaft 51, and the main shaft 51 is lightly loaded. Therefore, the spiral screw 12 is set to rotate.

A cutting device 45 for cutting the waste toner 18 conveyed to the outlet 16 of the waste toner outflow pipe and pushed out is as shown in FIG. 3, and is a disc-like member for closing the outlet 16 of the waste toner outflow pipe. A part of 46 is opened in a fan shape to form a fan-shaped opening 47, and a blade 48 having a length substantially the same as the radius of the spiral screw 12 is provided at the opening end facing the rotation direction of the spiral screw 12 and a cutter 49. And a supporting member 50 for supporting a cutter 49 formed by extending a part of the disk-shaped member 46, and aligning the fan-shaped center of the fan-shaped opening 47 with the center of the 12-rotation shaft of the spiral screw. The support member 50 is provided at the outlet 16 of the waste toner outflow pipe.
Then, the waste toner discharging apparatus 1 is supported and mounted on a casing (not shown). The size of the fan-shaped opening 47 is set to an appropriate size according to the rotation speed of the spiral screw 12, that is, the discharge amount of the waste toner 18.

In such a structure, the waste toner 18 of the cleaning device 3 is easily sent into the waste toner outflow pipe 8 by the spiral screw 10 in the waste toner relay pipe 9, and the waste toner outflow pipe 8 is discharged. When the temperature reaches a preset temperature, it is heated and melted by the heater 7 while being conveyed by the spiral screw 12 provided in the waste toner outflow pipe 8, and the volume is extremely reduced and solidified. When it is extruded by the spiral screw 12 from the outlet 16 of the waste toner outflow pipe, it is cut by the blade 48 into a constant shape, falls from the fan-shaped opening 47, and is collected in a waste toner collecting container (not shown). .

[0012]

The present invention is as described above. The invention of claim 1 is a cleaning device for removing the toner remaining on the photoconductor after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper, and the cleaning device collects the toner. In an image forming apparatus including a waste toner container that contains toner and a fixing device that has a heater inside and a fixing roller that fixes the toner image transferred to the transfer paper, the fixing device and the waste toner container are provided. A waste toner relay pipe is provided with a waste toner relay pipe connected to the heater, and has a spiral screw located inside the heater and driven to rotate, and provided with a cutting device at its outlet for cutting the discharged waste toner. Since it is connected to the tip of the waste toner, the waste toner is melted and solidified to extremely reduce the volume, and it can be cut into a certain shape and discharged to increase the storage amount of the waste toner. Touch Without hand or the like soiling even, there is an effect that the handling of the waste toner is easily and postprocessing can be obtained a compact waste toner discharging device in a small space can be easily performed. The invention of claim 2 is
When the temperature of the heater rises to the set temperature and the spiral screw rotates and the waste toner is conveyed, it is melted by the heater and solidified and discharged. The solid matter of the toner can be easily cut into a certain shape, the amount of waste toner stored can be increased, and the waste toner can be easily handled and post-processed. According to a third aspect of the invention, the cutting device includes a cutter having a fan-shaped opening formed by partially opening the fan-shaped opening, and a cutter having a blade formed at an opening end of the fan-shaped spiral screw which faces the rotation direction of the spiral screw. When the waste toner is pushed out by the rotation of the spiral screw and discharged, the waste toner is cut by the blade and dropped from the opening. There is an effect that the toner can be easily cut into a fixed shape without soiling the hands and the like with the cutter, the waste toner can be stored easily, and the handling thereof can be facilitated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing essential parts of the waste toner outflow pipe and the cutting device of the above.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the above cutting device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a photosensitive member, a cleaning device, a fixing device, a developing device, and a waste toner discharging device of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing another waste toner collecting device of the above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Waste Toner Discharge Device 2 Photoreceptor 3 Cleaning Device 4 Waste Toner Container 5 Fixing Device 6 Fixing Roller 7 Heater 8 Waste Toner Outflow Pipe 9 Waste Toner Relay Pipe 10, 12 Spiral Screw 11 Drive Means 14 Waste Toner Relay Pipe Exit 16 Waste Toner outlet pipe outlet 18 Waste toner 19 Solid waste toner 45 Cutting device 46 Disc-shaped member 47 Fan-shaped opening 48 Blade 49 Cutter 50 Support member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transfer device having a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on a photoconductor after transferring a toner image to a transfer paper, a waste toner container for containing toner collected by the cleaning device, and a heater inside thereof. An image forming apparatus having a fixing device provided with a fixing roller for fixing the toner image transferred onto the waste toner container, comprising a waste toner relay pipe connecting the fixing device and a waste toner container and located inside the heater. A waste toner discharging device comprising a waste toner outflow pipe connected to a tip of a waste toner relay pipe, the waste toner outflow pipe having a spirally driven screw and having a cutting device for cutting the waste waste toner at an outlet thereof. 2. The cutting device cuts when the temperature of the heater rises to a set temperature, the spiral screw rotates, and the waste toner is melted and solidified and discharged by the heater while being conveyed. Item 1. The waste toner discharging device according to item 1. 3. The cutting device supports a cutter, a part of which is fan-shaped to form a fan-shaped opening, and a blade having a blade formed at an opening end of the fan-shaped opening that faces the rotation direction of the spiral screw. The waste toner discharging device according to claim 1, further comprising a supporting member, wherein the waste toner is cut by the blade and dropped from the opening when the waste toner is pushed out and discharged by the rotation of the spiral screw.