JP2002072810A - Collected toner carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely carry collected toner and to dispose of it, and to decrease the amount of toner remaining on a conveyor belt as much as possible as to a toner carrying device which uses the conveyor belt. SOLUTION: A drive hole 35a is not formed in a belt body part on which a long-sized boss part 31a" abuts, thus the long-sized boss part provided to a roller pushes up an elastic belt at a constant interval and sticking toner can be shaken off by the vibration generated when the belt is released from being pushed up. Consequently, toner which is left sticking on the belt is reduced and waste toner can securely be carried to a waste toner bottle, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copying machine, a printer,
The present invention relates to an improvement in a collected toner conveying device used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus, and more particularly to a collected toner conveying device capable of efficiently conveying collected toner removed from a photoreceptor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image by transferring and fixing a toner image formed on a photoreceptor onto transfer paper, and a cleaning device removes toner remaining on the photoreceptor after transfer. And then conveyed to a waste toner bottle or the like for disposal. As a means for conveying the collected toner removed by the cleaning device to a waste toner bottle or the like, a conveyance belt is generally used. JP-A-61-186980 discloses that an endless elastic belt is used as a transport belt for transporting collected toner.
Although this is stretched by rollers and driven to rotate, the collected toner that has fallen on the upper surface of the elastic belt is simply dropped using the gravity at the reversal part of the elastic belt,
The toner easily adheres and remains on the elastic belt surface after the reversal, and there is no means for forcibly dropping the adhered toner. Next, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-104371 discloses that the collected toner removed from the photoreceptor is not received directly on the belt surface, but is received by a toner receiving member arranged on the upper surface of the belt at a predetermined pitch. There is disclosed a technique in which toner is attracted and conveyed onto a toner receiving member by a magnetic force of a provided magnet, and the toner is dropped from the toner receiving member at a reversing portion of the belt. However, the toner conveying device described in this publication relies on magnetic force to attract and convey toner, and thus the toner conveying force has low reliability.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toner conveying apparatus using a conveying belt, which surely conveys and discards the collected toner and reduces the amount of toner remaining on the conveying belt. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner conveying device which can be reduced as much as possible.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image carrier for supporting a toner image, and a method for transferring the toner image on the image carrier onto a recording medium. A cleaning device for removing the toner remaining on the image carrier, a collected toner conveying device for collecting the toner removed by the cleaning device and conveying the collected toner to a required location;
Wherein the recovered toner conveying device includes an elastic belt that is stretched endlessly by at least two rollers and driven to rotate, the elastic belt includes a belt-shaped belt main body, and an outer periphery of the belt main body. At least two driving bosses are provided on the outer peripheral surface of one of the at least two rollers at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction. Projected, at least one driving boss is a short boss, the other driving boss is a long boss, and the belt body has a driven hole into which the short boss fits. At least one is formed along the longitudinal direction of the belt main body, and the driven hole is not provided in the belt main body portion in contact with the long boss portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image carrier for carrying a toner image, and a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on the image carrier after transferring the toner image on the image carrier onto a recording medium. And a collected toner conveying device that collects the toner removed by the cleaning device and conveys the toner to a required location, wherein the collected toner conveying device is stretched endlessly by at least two rollers. And an elastic belt that is driven to rotate.The elastic belt includes a belt-shaped belt main body, and a blade portion protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the belt main body at a required interval. One of the rollers is an eccentric roller whose rotation center is disposed at an eccentric position, and at least one drive boss is protruded from an outer peripheral surface of the eccentric roller,
A plurality of driven holes into which the driving bosses are fitted are formed in the belt main body at a predetermined pitch along a longitudinal direction of the belt main body. The invention according to claim 3 is an image carrier that carries a toner image, a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the image carrier after transferring the toner image on the image carrier onto a recording medium, and A collected toner conveying device for collecting the toner removed by the cleaning device and conveying the collected toner to a required location, wherein the collected toner conveying device is endlessly stretched by at least two rollers and is rotationally driven. An elastic belt, wherein the elastic belt includes a belt-shaped belt main body, and a blade portion protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the belt main body at a required interval, and one of the at least two rollers is provided. A driving boss portion and a swinging boss portion are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the belt body at least one at a predetermined interval in a circumferential direction, and the belt boss is fitted with the driving boss portion. Kinematic hole at least one formed along the longitudinal direction of the belt body, wherein the swing boss is not provided with the hole for the driven to abut the belt body portion.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which the collected toner conveying device of the present invention is applied. This image forming apparatus includes a reading unit 1 for forming an image using a well-known electrophotographic process,
A writing unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a paper feed unit 4, an automatic document feeder 5, and the like are provided. Image information obtained by reading the original 7 on the contact glass 6 by the reading unit 1 undergoes necessary processing by an image processing unit (not shown) or the like, and is supplied from the writing unit 2 to the image forming unit 3 as laser light. . The image forming unit 3 includes a photosensitive drum (image carrier) 11,
The cleaning unit 16 includes a charging unit 12, a developing unit 13, a transfer unit 14, and a fixing unit 15, and a cleaning device 16 is disposed downstream of the transfer unit 14. The cleaning device 16 is configured to remove the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 by a cleaning blade or the like, and to transport the removed toner toward the collected toner transport device 25 by the discharge screw 20 or the like. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a configuration of a connecting portion between the discharge screw 20 and the collected toner conveying device 25, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view thereof.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part. The discharge screw 20 is disposed in the pipe 21 and rotates to convey the toner T in the direction shown by the arrow and to send it to the collected toner conveying device 25. The recovered toner conveying device 25 includes an endless elastic belt (conveying belt) 30 disposed in a casing 26 that communicates with the pipe 21, and at least two rollers 31 that stretch and support the elastic belt 30 and rotate and drive in the direction of the arrow. ,
32, and a waste port 33 formed at an appropriate position below the casing 26. A waste toner bottle 34 is communicated with the waste port 33. The elastic belt 30 includes a belt-shaped belt body 35 made of an elastically deformable material, and an elastically deformable plate-shaped blade portion 36 protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the belt body 35 at a required circumferential interval. Have. When the elastic belt 30 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow, the blades 36
The toner T that has been elastically deformed and moved while holding the leading end thereof in contact with the lower side wall 26a and the bottom surface 26b of the casing 26 and has been retained.
To the disposal port 33 without leaking. Two rollers 3
Drive bosses 31 a ′ and 31 a ″ are provided on at least one of the rollers 1 and 32, for example, on the outer peripheral surface of the drive roller 31.
Are at least one at a required interval along the circumferential direction of the roller.
It is projected one by one. One drive boss 31a '
Denotes a short boss portion, and the other drive boss portion 31a ″
Is a long boss portion.

4 (a) and 4 (b), the belt body 35 has one driven hole 35a into which the short boss portion 31a 'is fitted, or the belt body 35 has a driven hole 35a. A plurality is formed at a predetermined pitch along the longitudinal direction. A characteristic configuration of the present invention is that at least one formation position of the driven hole 35a formed in the belt main body 35 is located at a position where the long boss portion 31a ″ provided on the drive roller 31 cannot be fitted. That is, it is formed intentionally.
As shown in FIG. 7, the present embodiment is characterized in that the driven hole 35a is not provided at at least one position where the long boss portion 31a "of the belt body abuts.
Specifically, for example, the short boss 3
1a ', a plurality of driven holes 35a are formed at a predetermined circumferential pitch so as to fit with the long boss portions 31a ".
The belt body at the position corresponding to the tip of the belt body is not formed, and is made a holeless portion. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tip of the long boss portion 31a ″ and the driven hole 35a
When the belt main body portion where no is formed matches, the elastic belt 30 rides on the long boss portion 31a ″,
Inverts downward while elastically deforming. The long boss portion 31
When the belt body 35 that has been pushed out is released by the progress of the rotational movement of a ″, the toner T attached to the blade portion 36 is reliably shaken off by the vibration at the time of release. The boss 31a "has a function of swinging the elastic belt. As described above, in this embodiment, the driven hole 35a to be formed at the belt main body position to be fitted with the long boss portion 31a ″ is not provided at at least one position. The long boss portion 31a "deforms the elastic belt 30, and then releases the deformed state, so that the toner attached to the belt can be shaken off by the impact and vibration (oscillation effect) generated when the deformation is released. Becomes Therefore, the waste toner bottle is reliably disposed of. At this time, since the running of the belt occurs at a constant cycle, the toner shake-off effect is enhanced. The number, pitch, position, and the like of the driven holes 35a, as well as the number and pitch of the driving bosses 31a 'and 31a ", can be changed.

Next, in an embodiment corresponding to claim 2, the driving roller 31 is eccentrically rotated about an eccentric shaft 31A as an eccentric roller, and is projected on the peripheral surface of the driving roller 31 at a predetermined circumferential pitch. The circumferential pitch of the plurality of driving bosses 31a provided is made equal to the circumferential pitch of the driven holes 35a provided in the belt main body 35 so that the driving boss 31a is always in the driven hole 35a. It can be fitted. For this reason, when the drive roller 31 is in the rotation position shown by the solid line, the drive boss 31a closest to the rotation shaft 31A is fitted into the driven hole 35a on the belt body 35 side. When the drive roller 31 is at the rotation position indicated by the chain line, the drive boss 31a farthest from the rotation shaft 31A is
It is fitted in the driven hole 35a on the fifth side. Therefore, the transport speed (running speed) of the elastic belt 31 is not constant, and vibration is applied to the elastic belt 31. For this reason, it is possible to shake off the toner attached to the belt due to the vibration, and the waste toner bottle is reliably disposed of. At this time, the change in the speed and the vibration of the belt occur at a constant cycle, so that the toner shake-off effect is enhanced.
On the other hand, the driving boss always fits in the driven hole,
The driving force of the elastic belt does not decrease, and a stable toner conveying ability can be secured. Next, in an embodiment corresponding to claim 3, as shown in FIG. 6, a driving boss portion 40 and a swing boss portion 41 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of a normal driving roller 31 which rotates non-eccentrically. At least one projection is provided at a predetermined interval in the direction. On the other hand, the belt body 35 has a driven hole 35 into which the driving boss 40 is fitted.
a is formed at least one along the longitudinal direction of the belt body. Further, the driven hole 35a is not provided at a position on the belt body 35 side where the tip of the swinging boss 41 contacts. That is, the tip of the swinging boss 41 is configured to always contact the belt main body portion (portionless portion) where the driven hole 35a does not exist and push it up in the outer diameter direction. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, the belt body portion pushed up by the swinging boss portion 41 is
Is further rotated by 180 degrees or more in the direction of the arrow to swing the boss 4
When the belt 1 is detached from the belt body, the push-up is released and returns to a normal position and moves. As the rotational movement of the swinging boss 41 proceeds, the belt body 35 that has been pushed out is released, and the toner T attached to the blades 36 and the like is reliably shaken off by the vibration at the time of release. It is. As described above, in this embodiment, at least one driven hole 35a to be formed at the belt body position to be fitted with the swinging boss portion 41 is not provided, so Working boss 4
1 deforms the elastic belt 30 and then releases the deformed state, so that the toner attached to the belt can be shaken off by the impact and vibration generated when the deformation is released. Therefore, the waste toner bottle is reliably disposed of. At this time, since the running of the belt occurs at a constant cycle, the toner shake-off effect is enhanced. By providing a plurality of driving bosses 40 as in this embodiment, the transmission of the driving force to the elastic belt is ensured, and a decrease in the toner transportability can be prevented. It is to be noted that the number, pitch, position, and the like of the driven holes 35a corresponding to the numbers and the formation pitches of the driving boss portions 40 and the swing boss portions 41 can be variously changed. Note that the present invention can be applied to a general apparatus for conveying powder by a belt-shaped conveying means.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a toner conveying device using a conveying belt, the collected toner is surely conveyed and discarded, and the amount of toner remaining on the conveying belt is minimized. Can be. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a driven hole is not provided in a belt body portion at which at least one of a plurality of driving bosses provided on an outer peripheral surface of a driving roller abuts. A driving boss provided on a roller (a driving roller and / or a driven roller) periodically pushes up the elastic belt, and the attached toner can be shaken off by vibration generated when the pushing up is canceled. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of toner remaining on the belt and to reliably transport the waste toner to the waste toner bottle or the like. According to a second aspect of the present invention, a drive roller (or / and a driven roller) having a drive boss portion fitted into a driven hole provided in the belt body is an eccentric roller, and the eccentric rotation shaft is used as a center. Since the elastic belt is rotated, the elastic belt is always swung, and the toner attached to the elastic belt can be shaken off. On the other hand, the driving boss always fits in the driven hole, so that the driving force of the elastic belt does not drop. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a driving boss portion and a swinging boss portion are alternately arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the driving roller, and the driving boss portion is fitted into the driven hole of the belt body to ensure the driving force. The boss portion for swinging is brought into contact with the holeless portion of the belt main body to expand and deform the belt main body. Vibration occurs, and the toner adhered to the elastic belt can be shaken off reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view of an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an example of a collected toner conveying device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 reading unit, 2 writing unit, 3 image forming unit, 4 paper feeding unit, 5 automatic document feeder, 6 contact glass,
7 Original, 11 Photoconductor drum (image carrier), 12 Charging unit, 13 Developing unit, 14 Transfer unit, 15 Fixing unit, 1
6 cleaning device, 20 discharge screw, 21
Pipe, 25 collected toner conveying device, 26 casing,
Reference Signs List 30 elastic belt, 31 drive roller, 31a 'short boss portion, 31a "long boss portion, 33 waste port, 34
Waste toner bottle, 35 belt body, 36 blades, 4
0 Drive boss, 41 Swing boss.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image carrier that carries a toner image; a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the image carrier after transferring the toner image on the image carrier onto a recording medium;
A recovery toner transport device that recovers the toner removed by the cleaning device and transports the toner to a required location. The recovery toner transport device is stretched endlessly by at least two rollers and rotated. An elastic belt to be driven, the elastic belt includes a belt-shaped belt main body, and a blade portion protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the belt main body at a required interval, and one of the at least two rollers is provided. At least two driving bosses are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction at a predetermined interval. At least one driving boss is a short boss and the other driving boss is a long boss. A boss portion, wherein at least one driven hole into which the short boss portion is fitted is formed in the belt main body along a longitudinal direction of the belt main body, and a belt to which the long boss portion abuts. A recovery toner conveying device, wherein the driven hole is not provided in the belt main body. 2. An image carrier for carrying a toner image, a cleaning device for removing a toner remaining on the image carrier after transferring the toner image on the image carrier onto a recording medium, and
A recovery toner transport device that recovers the toner removed by the cleaning device and transports the toner to a required location. The recovery toner transport device is stretched endlessly by at least two rollers and rotated. An elastic belt to be driven, the elastic belt includes a belt-shaped belt main body, and a blade portion protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the belt main body at a required interval, and one of the at least two rollers is provided. The roller is an eccentric roller whose rotation center is disposed at an eccentric position, and at least one driving boss is protruded from an outer peripheral surface of the eccentric roller, and the driving boss is fitted to the belt body. 2. The collected toner conveying device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of driven holes are formed at a predetermined pitch along the longitudinal direction of the belt body. 3. An image carrier that carries a toner image, a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the image carrier after transferring the toner image on the image carrier onto a recording medium,
A recovery toner transport device that recovers the toner removed by the cleaning device and transports the toner to a required location. The recovery toner transport device is stretched endlessly by at least two rollers and rotated. An elastic belt to be driven, the elastic belt includes a belt-shaped belt main body, and a blade portion protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the belt main body at a required interval, and one of the at least two rollers is provided. A driving boss portion and a swinging boss portion are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller at least one each at a predetermined interval in a circumferential direction at a predetermined interval, and the driven boss portion is fitted to the belt body. Wherein at least one hole is formed along the longitudinal direction of the belt main body, and the driven hole is not provided in the belt main body portion where the swinging boss abuts. -Transport device.