JPS613184A - Waste toner disposing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect surely the quantity of an internal waste toner while operating an image carrier as it is, by providing a member which is displaced with the pressing action due to the waste toner stored in a device and a switch member which is opened by this displacement of said member. CONSTITUTION:According as the waste toner gathered by a cleaning device is guided by a screw coil 11 and is recovered and accumulated in a photosensitive body when a copying machine is operated, a slide member 10 is displaced left by the pressure of the waste toner. A projection 10a is brought into contact with a cap 14; and when the slide member is displaced furthermore, the cap 14 is separated from a photosensitive body 3 against the action of a spring 15. Thus, the earth state of the photosensitive body is released, and a potential difference required for formation of a latent image on the surface of the photosensitive body does not appear, and a toner image is not formed, and the waste toner is not generated, and copies are in the blank state, thereby reporting it to an operator that it is undesired to continue the work.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic transfer process such as an electrophotographic copying machine, and particularly to a waste toner processing apparatus thereof.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved) A well-known image forming process in which a transferable toner image formed on the surface of a moving image carrier is transferred to a transfer material, and then the process of removing residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier is repeated. In the forming device,
A device configured to sequentially feed removed residual toner into an image carrier formed into a cylindrical shape is already known.

FIG. 4 schematically shows such a configuration applied to a copying machine, and this will be briefly explained.

A document tray M is provided on the top surface of the copying machine body 100 so as to be able to reciprocate in the left and right directions in the figure, and is irradiated by a light source 1 provided in the copying machine body below, and its reflected light image is transmitted to the lens array 2. The image is formed on a photoreceptor 3 formed in the shape of a rotating cylinder. At this time, since the surface of the photoreceptor is charged by the charger 4, the optical image becomes a static latent image when formed. This latent image is formed into a toner image by the toner supplied by the developing device 5, and then this toner image is supplied from the cassette C, is transferred to the photoreceptor in close proximity to it, passes through the conveyance path 7a, and is fixed. The image is fixed by the section 7b and taken out from the machine.

On the other hand, toner that does not contribute to the transfer and remains on the surface of the photoreceptor reaches the cleaning device 9 and the cleaning blade 9
The scraped toner is guided by a flexible screw coil and discharged from the cleaning device, and is guided and stored inside the photoreceptor along a flexible tube G that houses this screw coil. .

The illustrated copying machine has a photoconductor 3. The cleaning device 9 and the charger 4 are housed together in a cartridge as shown by the chain line 11, and this is slidably placed on guide paths R, R2 provided in the main body of the copying machine. The structure is such that the entire cartridge can be replaced with a new one after paper passes.

In this way, devices in which the photoreceptor is the center and several components required for image formation arranged around it are integrated into one piece are becoming more popular as they are convenient and can greatly reduce running costs. , especially in small-sized copying machines. In this case, it is optional to integrate the photoreceptor and other members, but as shown in Figure 1, at least the photoreceptor and the cleaning device are integrated, and the waste toner discharged from the cleaning device is removed. By configuring it so that it is stored inside the photoreceptor in a sealed state,
Since a relatively large amount of waste toner can be processed without separately providing a discharged waste toner container, it is convenient to form a cartridge, and the inside of the machine is not contaminated by waste toner, which is convenient. Furthermore, when an organic semiconductor is used as the photoconductor light guide layer, the lifespan of this material is about 10,000 to 20,000 sheets, so it is easy and preferable to match the amount of waste toner reprocessed with the lifespan of the photoconductor. Also, although it depends on the size of the photoreceptor, it is relatively easy to increase its capacity as a waste toner container, so it is necessary to consider the life of the photoconductive layer of the photoreceptor before disposing of waste toner. This makes it possible to freely make improvements to the photoconductive layer without having to take any other wayward thinking.

However, even with this type of waste toner collection means, the amount of waste toner changes significantly depending on the condition of the original, the type of transfer paper, the environment, etc., and it is natural that a larger amount than expected is collected. The risk of Type 4 problems such as increased torque and uneven rotation of the drive motor could not be avoided.

The present invention was made to deal with such a situation, and it is possible to reliably detect the amount of waste toner stored in the photoconductor and thereby increase the standard number of copies to be made in advance. In particular, in the case of a cartridge type image forming apparatus, it is possible to provide a large-sized apparatus with a large number of standard sheets, and furthermore, it is possible to promote the improvement of the characteristics of the organic semiconductor photoconductive layer. The purpose of this invention is to obtain a waste toner processing device.

(Technical means for solving the problem and its operation) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an image bearing member and a cleaning device disposed close to the image bearing member, and the waste toner collected by the cleaning device is collected. In an image forming apparatus configured to be housed inside an image carrier, a member that is displaced by a pressing action of waste toner stored inside;
This device has a switch member that opens when this member is displaced, and by configuring it in this way,
To surely detect the amount of waste toner inside an image carrier while it is operating.

(Description of Embodiments) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a photoreceptor functioning as a waste toner collection container and its vicinity in the case where the present invention is applied to a copying machine similar to the one shown in FIG. 4 described above.

Photoreceptor 3Fi, frame material F forming the cartridge,
The mounting members attached to F and B2 are rotatably mounted via four bearings, and are connected to a drive source (not shown) by a gear 12 fixed to one side of the photoreceptor 3. It shall rotate.

On the right side of the photoreceptor 3 in the drawing, a drum flange 3a is mounted on a mounting member via a bearing, and a member member 13 is disposed on the drum flange 3a to prevent the stored toner from escaping. ing. The mounting member B2 has a hollow shape, and a flexible tube G surrounding a screw coil 11 for discharging collected waste toner of a cleaning device (not shown) from the cleaning device is attached to its outer end. , the waste toner discharged from the cleaning device is sent to the screw coil 11.
is guided by the photoreceptor and sequentially accumulates in the cavity within the photoreceptor.

As described above, the drive gear 12 is attached to the left end of the photoreceptor 3 in the drawing, and in the illustrated embodiment, the gear 12 is pivotally supported by the mounting member B1 via a bearing.

A slide member 10 is housed within the photoreceptor and is disposed so as to be gradually displaced to the left in the drawing by the pressure of waste toner accumulated inside. The slide member 10 is formed into a relatively short, almost cylindrical shape, and has an appropriate number of ribs 10b formed on its outer peripheral surface, and these ribs 10b abut against the wall surface of the photoreceptor, allowing it to slide with a small frictional force. The parts are movable.

Furthermore, a projection 10a is formed at the center of the slide member and projects to the left in the figure, and this projection is arranged so as to face the space provided in the mounting member B described above. .

In the empty space in the mounting member B1 attached to the frame material F,
A metal cap 14 is disposed at a position facing the protrusion 10a, and this cap is biased to the right in the figure by a spring 15 and comes into contact with the photoreceptor, and the other end of the spring is grounded by a grounding material 16. The potential difference of the latent image can be obtained by contacting the

A member 17 made of maltbrene or the like is disposed on the right side periphery of the slide member O in the figure, and this member further includes a stopper member 1 fixed at a fixed position within the photoreceptor.
8 defines its initial position, and in this position, the protrusion 10a is in a position where it does not come into contact with the cap 14.

With this configuration, when the copying machine operates and the waste toner collected by the cleaning device is guided to the screw coil 11 and collected and accumulated in the photoreceptor, the slide member 10 is moved by the pressure. As the slide member is further displaced, the protrusion Oa comes into contact with the camp 14, and as the slide member is further displaced, the cap 14
The photoreceptor 3 moves away from the photoreceptor 3 against the action of the spring 15. As a result, the ground state of the photoconductor is released, and the potential difference for forming a latent image on the surface of the photoconductor does not appear, and since no toner image is formed, there is no generation of waste toner, and the copy is a blank sheet. This will notify the operator that further work is not desirable.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which only the side of the photoreceptor, in particular, where the slide member that is displaced by the pressure of waste toner is present, is different from that shown in FIG. 1. Corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals.

A positioning member 18 for the slide member 20 is attached within the photoreceptor, and the slide member 20 is biased to the right in the figure, toward the positioning member, by a spring 21 surrounding the projections 20a and 20a.

A microswitch SW attached to the attachment member B1 is disposed at a position facing the tip of the protrusion 20a.

As waste toner accumulates in the photoreceptor 3, the slide member 20 is displaced to the right in the figure due to the pressure, and the protrusion 20a opens (snaps or closes) the micro switch SWt.
Thereafter, appropriate measures can be taken, such as, for example, cutting off the output of the charger to stop toner image formation, or using a buzzer to notify the operator that further operation of the copying machine is inappropriate. .

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the photoreceptor, showing the same portion as FIG. 2. FIG.

The slide member 30 inside the photoreceptor is guided by a guide rod 3b fixed to the side wall of the photoreceptor to slide and displace within the photoreceptor, and is maintained at its initial position by a spring 22 and a collar 23 fixed to the guide rod. is determined.

The protrusion 30a, which is integral with the slide member 30, faces an opening formed in a mounting member B that supports the photoreceptor, and the photointerrupter 19 is attached to the mounting member.

The protrusion 30 is caused by the pressure of waste toner accumulated inside the photoreceptor.
If a protrudes and enters the gap between the photointerrupters, the light beam will be interrupted, and the use of the copying machine will then be appropriately stopped in a known manner.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to an embodiment in which it is applied to a cartridge type copying machine as shown in FIG. (2) Effects of the Invention Since the present invention has the configuration described above, it is possible to collect waste toner regardless of the original operation of the moving image carrier. Since the amount can be detected reliably, large amounts of waste toner can be accurately controlled without the need for a separate waste toner collection container, which greatly contributes to improving the effectiveness of this type of waste toner collection device. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a cylindrical image carrier, Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional side views of main parts showing other embodiments, and Fig. 4 is a cartridge type. A schematic side view showing the configuration of a known copying machine, 3. Photoreceptor, l 0 , 20, 30. Slide member. 14・Metal cap, 15 Spring, 13.17・Seal member, 18 Positioning material, 21.22・Spring. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In a waste toner processing device that removes residual toner on the surface of an image carrier and collects this toner inside the image carrier, the pressure of the waste toner accumulated inside the image carrier causes the image to be removed. A waste toner processing device comprising: a member that moves outward from a carrier; and a detection means that detects movement of the member to a predetermined position. (2) Claim 1 in which the image carrier is a rotating cylindrical body
The waste toner processing device described in Section 1. (3) The waste toner processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection means is a ground contact of the image carrier. (4) The waste toner processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection means is a microswitch. (5) The waste toner processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection means is means for detecting the presence or absence of a moving member.