JPH1020730A - Collected toner storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to increase the amount of stored toner in a collected toner storage container without disturbing the stored toner flat without generating noise and without requiring a larger installation space than the collected toner storage container. A toner transport member (screw member) for transporting received collected toner in a direction away from a toner receiving port is provided above a collected toner storage container.
A or a belt-shaped moving member 5B).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a collected toner storage device for storing collected toner from a cleaning unit such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and an image removing device (recycle copy machine).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and an image removing device (recycle copying machine) is a device that collects toner such as residual toner on a photoreceptor removed by cleaning means and fixed toner on paper. And a collected toner storage container for storing the toner. The collected toner storage container is generally formed of a housing arranged such that a toner discharge port for receiving the collected toner from the cleaning unit communicates with a toner discharge port of the cleaning unit. Therefore, in the collected toner storage container, the collected toner dropped into the toner storage container through the toner receiving port is piled up at the lower portion of the toner receiving port and stored first from a portion near the toner receiving port. You. For this reason, in the collected toner storage container, the toner receiving port is closed by the collected toner accumulated in the lower portion of the toner receiving port, and the collected toner is further stored in spite of a margin in the toner storage capacity. May not be possible.

In order to solve such a problem, conventionally, a collected toner storage container is provided so as to be swingable,
JP-A-57-88476 discloses a "toner receiving container device in an electrophotographic apparatus" in which the container is swung to make full use of the capacity of the container.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209686 discloses a method in which a holder of a toner collection container (collection toner storage container) is provided with a vibration device that moves toner dropped in the container to a wider side of the container, so that the content of the toner collection container can be effectively used. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-54369 discloses a "toner recovery device".

[0004]

However, in the "toner receiving container device in an electrophotographic apparatus or the like" described in the above-mentioned conventional Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-88476, the toner container is inclined to break the mountain of toner. Therefore, a large installation space is required, which is not suitable for a large-capacity storage container.

Further, in the "toner recovery apparatus" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-54369, noise is generated since a shock (vibration) is applied to the toner storage container to break down the mountain of toner. It has drawbacks, and is particularly disadvantageous for large-capacity collected toner storage containers. That is, in this toner recovery device, the impact is applied to the toner storage container by the action of the spring and the cam. As a result, the effect of moving the stored toner (flattening) is reduced.

Therefore, it is desirable that this type of collected toner storage device satisfy the following conditions. The ability to flatten stored toner without generating noise. The collected toner container has a large amount of stored toner and does not require a larger installation space than the collected toner container.

Particularly, in an image removing apparatus (recycle copying machine) which removes a toner image on a sheet once fixed to allow the sheet to be recycled, unlike an ordinary copying machine or the like, the image is fixed on the sheet. Since a large amount of collected toner is removed from the cleaning unit and a large amount of collected toner is stored in the collected toner storage container, a large-capacity collected toner storage container is required. That is, in a normal copying machine, if the transfer rate of the toner image to the transfer paper is 90%, 10%
% Of the residual toner is collected in the collection toner storage container from the cleaning unit. In the recycle copying machine, 100% of the toner fixed on the paper is collected in the collection toner storage container from the cleaning unit. Therefore, a collected toner storage container having a capacity ten times that of a normal copying machine is required. Further, in the collected toner storage device of the recycling copier, impurities such as paper powder are mixed in the collected toner, and the mobility of the collected toner is unstable. This makes it uncertain that the stored toner is flattened. Therefore, the collected toner storage device of the recycle copy machine is required to have a configuration capable of reliably flattening the collected and stored collected toner in a mountain shape.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a toner transfer member for transferring the collected toner received through the toner receiving port in a direction away from the toner receiving port. In this way, by transferring the received collected toner in a direction away from the toner receiving port, the collected toner deposited at the lower portion of the toner receiving port does not generate noise or swing the collected toner storage container. Smoothing is ensured.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a collected toner storage device of the present invention, a received collected toner is placed on an upper portion of a collected toner storage container having a toner receiving port for receiving collected toner from a cleaning unit in a direction away from the toner receiving port. A toner transfer member to be transferred is provided.

The toner transferring member may be any member having a function of transferring the received collected toner in a direction away from the toner receiving port. For example, a spiral fin may be provided around a rotation shaft. Or a belt-like moving member that moves in the longitudinal direction of the collected toner storage container.

[0011]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a collected toner storage device according to the present invention. 1 and 2, the collected toner 2 scraped off from the photoconductor or the sheet by a cleaning unit 1 of an image forming apparatus (not shown) is transferred to a conveying screw 3 provided at the bottom of the cleaning unit 1.
Is rotated, the toner is dropped and collected from the toner discharge port 1a of the cleaning unit 1 through the toner receiving port 4a of the collected toner storage container 4 communicating with the toner discharge port 1a.

The collected toner container 4 in this embodiment.
2 is formed of a rectangular cylindrical housing that is long in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.
A toner transfer member 5 for transferring the toner in a direction away from a is provided.

The toner transfer member 5 in this embodiment is composed of a screw member 5A having a spiral fin 5b provided around a rotation shaft 5a, and the screw member 5A is a driven portion at its end. 5c (the pin here)
When driven by engaging with a drive system (not shown) of the image forming apparatus, the fin 5b integral with the rotation shaft 5a is rotated in a predetermined direction. The rotation direction of the screw member 5A is set to a direction that generates a conveying force for transferring the collected toner 2 received by the fin 5b away from the toner receiving port 4a (the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 1).

Here, in the collected toner storage device having no toner transfer member 5 described above, the collected toner that has fallen into the toner storage container 4 through the toner receiving port 4a is not shown in FIG.
As indicated by the symbol A, the toner is accumulated in a mountain-like shape below the toner receiving port 4a and is stored first in a portion near the toner receiving port 4a. 2, the toner receiving port 4a is closed, and the toner receiving port 4a is quickly filled up, although the toner storage capacity has room.

On the other hand, in the collected toner storage device of this embodiment, the screw member 5A as the toner transfer member 5 is used.
As a result, the collected toner 2 indicated by the symbol A in FIG. 1 deposited in a mountain shape below the toner receiving port 4a is transferred in a direction away from the toner receiving port 4a by the action of the fins 5b. As the amount of collection increases, the state can be accumulated and stored up to the state indicated by reference numeral B and further to the state indicated by reference numeral C.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the collected toner storage device of the present invention. In this embodiment, the toner transfer member 5 described above is used.
Is constituted by a belt-shaped moving member 5B that moves in the longitudinal direction of the collected toner storage container 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the moving member 5B in the present embodiment includes a pair of pulleys 5d and 5e rotatably supported at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper part of the collected toner container 4, and these pulleys 5d and 5e. In FIG. 3, the belt 5f is rotated in a counterclockwise direction by driving one pulley by driving means (not shown).

The belt 5f is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a plurality of blades 5g for conveying the collected toner 2 are integrally formed at a predetermined pitch on the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the rotation of the belt 5f causes the collected toner 2 indicated by the symbol A in FIG. The toner is transported in a direction away from the toner receiving port 4a by the action of (1), so that as the amount of collected toner increases, the toner can be accumulated and stored up to the state shown by the symbol B and further to the state shown by the symbol C.

[0018]

According to the present invention, a toner transfer member (such as a screw member or a belt-like moving member) for transferring the received collected toner in a direction away from the toner receiving port is provided above the collected toner storage container. By arranging, no noise is generated, and the stored toner can be securely transported and collapsed flat, without requiring a larger installation space than the collected toner storage container.
The amount of toner stored in the collected toner storage container can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of a collected toner storage device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of another embodiment of the collected toner storage device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 Cleaning unit 2 Collected toner 3 Conveying screw 4 Collected toner storage container 4a Toner receiving port 5 Toner conveying member 5A Screw member 5B Belt-shaped moving member 5a Rotating shaft 5b Fin 5c Driven portion 5d, 5e Pulley 5f Belt 5g Blade

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masatoshi Saito 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A collected toner storage device for storing collected toner from a cleaning unit, comprising: a collected toner storage container having a toner receiving port for receiving the collected toner; And a toner transfer member for transferring the received collected toner away from the toner receiving port. 2. The collected toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the toner transfer member is a screw member having a spiral fin provided around a rotation shaft. 3. The collected toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the toner transfer member is a moving member that moves in a longitudinal direction of the collected toner storage container.