JP6308114B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having at least a waste toner container.

  In an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic apparatus, waste toner that has become unnecessary after being cleaned by a photoconductor cleaning unit or a transfer cleaning unit is sent to a waste toner container and collected. Patent Document 1 proposes an image forming apparatus in which a waste toner container is integrally provided with a filter that collects ozone generated in the image forming apparatus, toner, paper dust, and the like.

  In recent years, it has been desired that ultrafine particles (UFP) be prevented from spreading to the outside of an image forming apparatus due to an increase in awareness of environmental problems. Ultra fine particles (UFP) refers to particles having a diameter of 100 nm or less among suspended particulate matter (SPM). It has been found that the ultra fine particles are mainly generated from silicone rubber used as an elastic layer such as a heating roller of a fixing unit.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-311611

  Since the filter used in Patent Document 1 is for removing toner, paper powder, and the like as described above, ultrafine particles having an extremely small particle diameter of 100 nm or less cannot be collected. Further, ultrafine particles are continuously generated from the image forming apparatus, and in order to continuously reduce the divergence from the apparatus to the outside, it is necessary to continue collecting the ultrafine particles. Ultrafine particles are thought to be harmful to human health, and the challenge is to continue collecting ultrafine particles.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can continuously collect ultrafine particles and that scatters ultrafine particles to the outside even when used for a long period of time.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a waste toner container, wherein the waste toner container is generated from a waste toner collecting portion for collecting waste toner and the inside of the image forming apparatus. An ultrafine particle collecting unit that sucks contaminated air containing ultrafine particles and discharges clean air, and the ultrafine particle collecting unit captures ultrafine particles in the contaminated air and a VOC. possess a VOC filter for collecting the ultrafine particles filter has finer eyes than filters for the VOC, the filter for ultrafine particles are disposed on the downstream side of the contaminated air than filters for the VOC, the image forming device, and a detection means for detecting the full the waste toner collecting portion, displays the waste toner container exchange message on the operation unit when full detecting the waste toner collecting portion That an image forming apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which ultrafine particles can be continuously collected, and even when used for a long period of time, the ultrafine particles are less emitted to the outside. In addition, since the waste toner collecting unit and the ultrafine particle collecting unit are integrated into one unit, the number of parts is reduced, and the user's trouble at the time of replacement can be saved.

1 is a schematic diagram of a printer in the present embodiment. It is a perspective view showing a waste toner container in the present embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the filter for ultrafine particles in this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which looked at the ultrafine particle collection part in this embodiment from the bottom face. It is a graph which shows a time-dependent change of the ultrafine particle collection rate in the filter for ultrafine particles. It is a perspective view which shows the waste toner container in other this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the filter for VOC in this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the filter for VOC in this embodiment.

Hereinafter, a printer (an example of an image forming apparatus) according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the printer will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printer 100 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 includes a fixing unit 50, a discharge unit 60, a photoreceptor cleaning unit 70, a transfer cleaning unit 80, a waste toner container 1, and the like.

  Waste toner that is no longer needed from the photoreceptor cleaning unit 70 and the transfer cleaning unit 80 is collected in the waste toner collecting unit 2 of the waste toner container 1 through the waste toner passage 71.

  The fixing unit 50 and the discharge unit 60 are provided with ducts 51 and 61 for sucking ultrafine particles and volatile organic compounds (VOC), respectively. The ducts 51 and 61 are connected to the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 of the waste toner container 1 by a tube 52 made of silicone rubber.

Next, the configuration of the waste toner container 1 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the waste toner container 1 is partitioned into upper and lower two spaces by a partition plate 11. The waste toner container 1 is formed thin with a resin material. The upper space is a waste toner collecting unit 2 that collects waste toner, and the lower space is an ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 that collects ultrafine particles.

  The waste toner container 1 has a quadrangular prism shape (may be a cylindrical shape) neck 1a at the top. The upper portion of the neck portion 1a is opened and becomes an opening portion, and is connected to the waste toner passage 71. Waste toner is collected in the waste toner collecting portion 2 from the opening.

  The ultrafine particle collection unit 3 which is a lower space of the waste toner container 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an intake port 31 is provided on the side surface on the upstream side (left side in the drawing) of air (contaminated air), and the downstream side ( An exhaust port 32 for air (clean air) is connected to the side surface on the right side of the drawing. Here, the contaminated air refers to the air before cleaning containing ultra fine particles, etc., and the clean air refers to the ultra fine particles etc. in the contaminated air collected by the ultra fine particle filter 33 (see FIG. 3 etc.). Means clean air.

  A tube 52 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the end (right side of the drawing) of the intake port 31. An air suction device (not shown) is connected to the end (left side of the drawing) of the exhaust port 32. The suction device is configured to suck air (contaminated air) into the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 and discharge air (clean air) outside the collecting unit 3. In this embodiment, a sirocco fan (multi-blade fan) is used as the suction device. Of course, the fan is not limited to a sirocco fan, and an axial fan or the like can also be applied.

  The ultrafine particle collection unit 3 includes a filter (ultrafine particle filter) 33 (see FIG. 3) that collects ultrafine particles in the contaminated air. The ultrafine particle filter 33 is not particularly limited as long as it can collect ultrafine particles, and examples thereof include a non-woven fabric using an electret and a non-woven fabric having polyolefin as a main fiber. As the ultrafine particle filter 33, as shown in FIG. 3, a nonwoven fabric processed into a pleat shape that is continuously bent in a V shape is used.

  FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 that is a lower space of the waste toner container 1 as viewed from below. The ultrafine particle filter 33 is continuously arranged from the air (contaminated air) suction side (left side in the drawing) of the ultrafine particle collection unit 3 to the air (clean air) discharge side (right side in the drawing). In the present embodiment, the five ultrafine particle filters 33 are continuously arranged in a V shape.

  Ultrafine particles in the air (contaminated air) sucked into the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 via the intake port 31 by the suction device are collected by the ultrafine particle filter 33 and air ( It is discharged out of the collection unit 3 as clean air).

Next, full detection of the waste toner collecting unit 2 and the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 will be described.
In the present embodiment, as full detection known means for detection known the full waste toner collecting unit 2, an optical sensor (not shown) or the like is used. To a predetermined position of the waste toner collecting portion 2 when the waste toner is accumulated has a structure for blocking light, thereby, the full waste toner collecting unit 2 and tested knowledge, to issue a full message on the operation unit It has become.

On the other hand, since the weight and bulk density of the ultrafine particles are very small, it is difficult to grasp the fullness of the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 with an optical sensor or the like. Therefore, the ultrafine particle collector 3, full test knowledge of the ultrafine filter 33, each section of the printer 100 monitors the collection rate of the (developing machine or a photosensitive body or the like) based on the driving time of the ultrafine filter 33 This is done by detecting fullness. Specifically, the time when the waste toner container 1 is replaced is stored in the memory in the driving time of the developing machine and the photoconductor in the printer 100, and the driving time of the developing machine and the photoconductor passes from that time. In this case, the fullness of the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 is detected.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing the change with time of the ultrafine particle collection rate in the ultrafine particle filter 33. In the present embodiment, a nonwoven fabric using electrets is used as the ultrafine particle filter 33. As shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that the collection rate of the ultrafine particles decreases with the passage of time. When the collection rate of ultrafine particles is less than 70%, it is difficult to continuously collect ultrafine particles. In FIG. 5, after 300 hours have elapsed, the collection rate of ultrafine particles becomes less than 70%, and it is difficult to continuously collect ultrafine particles. For this reason, in this embodiment, the full particle collection unit 3 is detected after 300 hours and a full message is output to the operation unit.

  It is preferable to notify the user of the replacement message for the waste toner container 1 at the earlier timing of when the waste toner collection unit 2 is detected as full or when the ultrafine particle collection unit 3 is detected as full. In view of the trouble of replacement, it is more preferable to set the full detection of the waste toner collecting unit 2 and the full detection of the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 at the same timing. This can be set by devising the size and shape of the waste toner collecting unit 2 and the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3.

(Other embodiments)
Since the fixing unit 50 and the discharging unit 60 are likely to become high temperature, a lot of VOC is generated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a filter (ultrafine particle VOC filter) 41 that collects VOC is disposed in the ultrafine particle collection unit 3 below the waste toner container 1.
FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which an ultrafine particle VOC filter 41 is disposed in the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 at the lower part of the waste toner container 1.

  The VOC filter 41 is not particularly limited as long as it can collect VOC, and examples thereof include an activated carbon filter. As the VOC filter 41, a filter having a coarser grain than the ultrafine particle filter 33 is used.

  7 and 8 are explanatory views showing a schematic configuration of the ultrafine particle VOC filter 41. FIG. The ultrafine particle VOC filter 41 has a honeycomb structure in which a plurality of nonwoven fabrics 42 are laminated.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the VOC filter 41 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the rectangular parallelepiped ultrafine particle collecting unit 3. In the above embodiment, the ultrafine particle filter 33 is disposed on the entire surface of the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 (see FIG. 4). However, in this embodiment, the ultrafine particle filter 33 is located downstream of the VOC filter 41. It is desirable to arrange only in the space 3b (right side of the drawing). Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange the ultrafine particle filter 33 in the space 3a on the upstream side (left side in the drawing).

  The ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 in this embodiment has a VOC filter 41 on the upstream side (intake port 31 side) of air (contaminated air), and the ultrafine particle filter 33 on the downstream side (exhaust port 32 side). Have. Thus, by arranging the ultrafine particle filter 33 and the VOC filter 41, not only ultrafine particles but also VOC can be removed together. In addition, since the fine particle filter 33 with fine meshes is arranged downstream and the VOC filter 41 with coarser meshes is arranged upstream, the effect of collecting ultrafine particles can be continued for a long time.

  Ultrafine particles in the air (contaminated air) sucked into the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 by the suction device are collected by the ultrafine particle filter 33, and the VOC in the air (contaminated air) is for VOC. It is collected by the filter 41 and is discharged out of the collection unit 3 as air (clean air) through the exhaust port 32.

  It has been found that the ultrafine particles are mainly generated from silicone rubber used as an elastic layer such as a heating roller of the fixing unit 50. According to the inventor's confirmation, since the ultrafine particles are generated when the resin material is also at a high temperature, it is considered that a large amount of ultrafine particles are also generated from the housing resin, bearings, gears, and the like of the fixing unit 50. According to the present embodiment, even when a large amount of ultrafine particles are generated from the silicone rubber used as an elastic layer such as a heating roller of the fixing unit 50, the housing resin, the bearing, or the gear of the fixing unit 50, the ultrafine particle collecting unit. 3 enables continuous collection of ultrafine particles. Therefore, even when used for a long time, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the ultrafine particles are less emitted to the outside.

  In addition, by providing the waste toner container 1 with the waste toner collection unit 2 and the ultrafine particle collection unit 3, the user can exchange them periodically. Since the waste toner collecting unit 2 and the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 are integrated into one unit, the number of parts is reduced, and the user's trouble at the time of replacement can be saved. Furthermore, by providing full detection in both the waste toner collecting unit 2 and the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3, it is possible to inform the user of the replacement time. Periodic replacement is possible because the machine operating time is monitored and displayed on the operation unit, so that replacement can be made reliably. By exchanging, ultrafine particles can be continuously collected, and the image forming apparatus does not cause health damage.

  In the above embodiment, the VOC filter 41 is disposed on the upstream side (intake side) of the ultrafine particle collection unit 3, and the ultrafine particle filter 33 is disposed on the downstream side (exhaust side) of the ultrafine particle collection unit 3. However, the arrangement position of each filter is not particularly limited. The arrangement order of the ultrafine particle filter 33 and the VOC filter 41 can be reversed. For example, the ultrafine particle filter 33 is disposed upstream of the ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 (intake side), A VOC filter 41 may be disposed on the downstream side (exhaust side) of the particulate collection unit 3.

  Further, the number of arranged ultrafine particle filters 33 and VOC filters 41 is not particularly limited. The ultrafine particle collecting unit 3 only needs to have at least the ultrafine particle filter 33, and the VOC filter 41 can be omitted.

Further, in the above embodiment, using an optical sensor as a full detection detecting function of the waste toner collecting portion 2, but is not limited thereto. Also, full detection detecting function of the waste toner collecting portion 2 can be omitted.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a printer having only a printing function, and can be applied to, for example, a multi-function machine or a copier that has various functions such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copier. .

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  The present invention is applicable to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Waste toner container 2 Waste toner collection part 3 Ultrafine particle collection part 33 Ultrafine particle filter 41 VOC filter 100 Printer (image forming apparatus)

Claims (7)

An image forming apparatus having a waste toner container,
The waste toner container includes a waste toner collecting unit that collects waste toner;
An ultrafine particle collection unit that sucks contaminated air containing ultrafine particles generated from within the image forming apparatus and discharges clean air;
Ultrafine particles collecting unit, and a VOC filter for trapping ultrafine particles filter and VOC for trapping ultrafine particles in the contaminated air possess, the nanoparticle filter for eye than filters for the VOC Finely, the ultrafine particle filter is disposed on the downstream side of the contaminated air with respect to the VOC filter,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Detecting means for detecting fullness of the waste toner collecting section;
With
An image forming apparatus , wherein a replacement message for the waste toner container is displayed on an operation unit when the waste toner collecting unit is detected to be full . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The waste toner is further provided with detection means for detecting the fullness of the ultrafine particle collection unit by monitoring a change with time of the collection rate of the ultrafine particle filter based on the drive time of each part of the image forming apparatus. and full detecting the collecting unit, wherein and the full state detection ultrafine particle collector characterized that you set the waste toner collecting portion and ultrafine particle sampling unit volume to be set to the same timing Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner container has a space of two upper and lower chambers, an upper space is a waste toner collecting portion, and a lower space is an ultrafine particle collecting portion. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrafine particle filter is made of a nonwoven fabric processed into a pleat shape. In the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Wherein the interior of the ultrafine particle sampling unit, an image forming apparatus according to claim Rukoto toward the discharge side of the suction side of the air the are arranged in succession as ultrafine particulate filter is V-shaped. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The collection rate of ultrafine particles filter calculates the become time less than 70%, the image forming apparatus according to claim you to view the full message on the operation unit when the elapsed that time. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An image forming apparatus , wherein ducts for sucking ultrafine particles and VOC are formed in the fixing unit and the discharge unit, respectively, and each duct is connected to an ultrafine particle collecting unit of a waste toner container .

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