JP2011118040A - Image forming unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The size of a developer container can be reduced, the used developer container can be lightened, and a collected material storage tank for storing adhered material remaining on an image carrier is filled with collected material. However, an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that do not give an excessive load to the transport mechanism are provided.
An image forming unit includes a photosensitive drum, a developer accommodating portion, and a developing roller. The developer accommodated in the developer accommodating portion is placed on the photosensitive drum by the developing roller. A developing unit 230 to be supplied, a cleaning unit 224 that removes deposits on the photosensitive drum 221, a transport mechanism 250 that transports the removed deposits, a collected material storage tank 240 that stores deposits, and a developer storage A partition wall 271 is provided to separate the portion 231 and the collected material storage tank 240, and the partition wall 271 includes a connecting passage 273 that communicates with the developer storage section 231 and the recovered material storage tank 240.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming unit for forming an image by an electrophotographic method and an image forming apparatus including the image forming unit.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, after a toner image formed on a photosensitive drum is transferred to a sheet, waste toner (adhered matter) remaining (attached) on the photosensitive drum is removed and conveyed to transfer the toner cartridge. A technique for collecting in a waste toner chamber has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this toner cartridge, a partition between the unused toner chamber and the waste toner chamber is configured by a movable wall so that the waste toner chamber can be enlarged and the unused toner chamber can be reduced when the waste toner is accommodated. .

JP 2003-345116 A

  However, when the capacity of the waste toner chamber of the toner cartridge is large, there is a problem that the size of the toner cartridge, which is a member that is frequently replaced, becomes large, and the handling of the toner cartridge becomes inconvenient.

  In addition, when the waste toner chamber is provided in the toner cartridge, the toner cartridge is heavy due to the weight of the waste toner (collected material) even if the unused toner cartridge is emptied. There is also a risk of misrecognizing that the toner used remains.

  Further, when the capacity of the waste toner chamber is small, the waste toner chamber may be filled with the collected toner, which causes an excessive driving load on the mechanism for transporting the waste toner and waste that does not enter the waste toner chamber. There is a problem that toner leaks into the image forming apparatus.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the developer container that supplies the developer to the developing unit, and to store the used developer container. An image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that can reduce the body and do not place an excessive load on the transport mechanism even when the collected material storage tank that stores the adhered material remaining on the image carrier is full of the collected material. It is to provide.

  The image forming unit according to the present invention includes an image carrier, a developer container, and a developer carrier, and the developer contained in the developer container is transferred to the image carrier by the developer carrier. A developing unit to be supplied on top, a cleaning unit for removing deposits on the image carrier, a transport mechanism for transporting the deposits removed by the cleaning unit, and the deposits transported by the transport mechanism And a partition wall that separates the developer container and the collected material container, and the partition wall includes a connecting passage that communicates with the developer container and the collected material tank. It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, since the deposits of the image carrier are stored in the collected material storage tank separated from the developing section by the partition wall, the developer storing body for supplying the developer to the developing section can be reduced in size and used. There is an effect that the used developer container can be lightened.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the recovered material storage tank is almost full of recovered material, a part of the recovered material moves to the developing unit through the connection passage, so that an excessive load is not applied to the transport mechanism. effective.

1 is a side view schematically showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing a structure of an image forming unit according to a first embodiment. 1 is an external perspective view schematically showing an image forming unit according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the inside (a state where an upper wall is removed) of the image forming unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view schematically showing a structure and a state (when there are few recovered materials) of a connecting passage between a developer storage unit and a recovered material storage tank of a developing unit in the image forming unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure and state of a connecting passage between a developer container of a developing unit and a collected material storage tank in the image forming unit according to the first embodiment (when many collected materials are present). It is a sectional side view which shows roughly the structure of the image forming unit which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure of a guide wall provided in a developer accommodating portion of an image forming unit according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a structure and a state (when there are few recovered items) of a connecting passage between a developer storage unit and a recovered material storage tank of a developing unit in an image forming unit according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure and state (when there are many recovered items) of a connecting passage between a developer storage unit and a recovered material storage tank of a developing unit in an image forming unit according to a second embodiment. It is a sectional side view which shows roughly the structure of the image forming unit which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure of a guide wall provided in a developer accommodating portion of an image forming unit according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a structure and a state (when there are few recovered materials) of a connecting passage between a developer storage portion and a recovered material storage tank of a developing portion in an image forming unit according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a structure and a state (when there are a large number of recovered materials) of a connecting passage between a developer storage portion of a developing unit and a recovered material storage tank in an image forming unit according to a third embodiment.

First embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is, for example, an electrophotographic printer. However, the present invention can be applied to various image forming apparatuses such as a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and a device having these in combination.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a housing 1, a paper cassette 11 that stores a recording paper 10 as a recording medium, and one recording paper 10 in the paper cassette 11. An image for forming a developer image (toner image) on a hopping roller 12 to be taken out, registration rollers 13 and 14 for feeding out the taken recording paper 10, and a photosensitive drum 221 as an image carrier. And a forming unit 2. Further, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a transfer roller 15 that transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 221 onto the recording paper 10, and a fixing unit that fixes the transferred toner image onto the recording paper 10. The heat roller 16 and the backup roller 17 are included, and the discharge rollers 18, 19, 20, and 21 discharge the recording paper 10 holding the fixed toner image to the outside of the housing 1.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, a paper feed mechanism including a hopping roller 12 and its driving unit (not shown) takes out the recording paper 10 from the paper cassette 11, 14, the recording paper 10 is passed through a transfer position between the image forming unit 2 and the transfer roller 15 by a paper feeding mechanism including a conveyance belt (not shown) and a driving unit (not shown). At this time, the toner image formed on the image carrier 221 of the image forming unit 2 is transferred onto the recording paper 10 by the transfer roller 15 and its driving unit (not shown), and the transferred toner image is heated. It is heated and pressed by the roller 16, the backup roller 17, and their drive unit (not shown) and fixed on the recording paper 10. The recording sheet 10 on which the image is fixed is conveyed by discharge rollers 18, 19, 20, and 21 and their drive units (not shown) and discharged to the outside of the housing 1.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the structure of the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view schematically showing the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment. Further, FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the inside (state in which the upper wall is removed) of the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the image forming unit 2 includes an image forming unit main body 210 that does not include the toner cartridge of the image forming unit 2, and a toner cartridge 260 as a replaceable developer container. Have. The image forming unit main body 210 includes an image forming unit 220, a collected material storage tank 240, and a transport mechanism 250.

  The image forming unit 220 is uniformly charged with a photosensitive drum 221 as an image carrier, a driving unit (not shown) that rotates the photosensitive drum 221, and a charging unit 222 that uniformly withstands the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 221. An exposure unit 223 that selectively exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 221 to form an electrostatic latent image; a developing unit 230 that supplies a developer (toner) onto the photosensitive drum 221 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed; A cleaning unit (for example, a cleaning blade) 224 that removes (scratches off) deposits (residual toner, paper dust, and the like) remaining on the photosensitive drum 221 without being transferred, and a scraped attachment. It has a film-like scattering prevention member 225 for preventing the scattering of the kimono (collected matter).

  The developing unit 230 includes a developer accommodating unit 231 that accommodates the developer supplied from the toner cartridge 260, a rotating bar 232 that agitates the developer in the developer accommodating unit 231, and a developing roller 233 as a developer carrying member. And a supply roller 234 for supplying the developer in the developer accommodating portion 231 to the developing roller 233, and a blade 235 for making the thickness of the developer layer on the surface of the developing roller 233 substantially constant.

  The collected material storage tank 240 is formed as a part of the image forming unit main body 210, and has a storage portion (space) 241 for storing the deposit (recovered material) scraped off from the photosensitive drum 221 by the cleaning unit 224. Have.

  The transport mechanism 250 removes the deposit (collected material) scraped from the photosensitive drum 221 by the cleaning unit 224 in the direction of the central axis of the photosensitive drum 221 (in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2 and in the direction Da in FIG. 4). The spiral spring 251 and its driving unit (not shown) which are long spiral members to be transported to a certain), and then the collected material toward the upper opening of the collected material storage tank 240 (in FIG. A conveying path 252 for conveying in a parallel direction (Db direction in FIG. 4), a spiral spring (not shown) that is a long spiral member, and a driving means (not shown) such as a driving unit; Thereafter, the spiral spring 253, which is a long spiral member, transports the collected material to the back of the collected material storage tank 240 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2 and the direction Dc in FIG. 4). It has driver of benefactor and (not shown). However, the structure of the transport mechanism 250 is not limited to the above example, and may be another mechanism as long as the recovered material scraped off from the photosensitive drum 221 can be transported to the recovered material storage tank 240.

  The developer container 231 and the collected material container 240 of the developing unit 230 are formed as a part of the image forming unit main body 210. The developer container 231 and the collected material container 240 of the developing unit 230 are partitioned by a partition wall 271 and a seal member 272. On the upper end side (toner cartridge side) of the partition wall 271, a connecting passage 273 that connects the collected material storage tank 240 to the developer storage portion 231 is provided. The connecting passage 273 includes a first opening 273a on the collected material storage tank 240 side of the partition wall 271, a second opening 273b on the developer storage section 231 side of the partition wall 271, a first opening 273a, and a second opening. And a connecting hole portion 273c for connecting the opening portion 273b. As shown in FIG. 4, it is desirable to provide a plurality of connecting passages 273 so as to be arranged in a line. However, the number of the connecting passages 273 may be one (for example, a through hole elongated in the horizontal direction).

  A wall surface of the connecting passage 273 on the developer accommodating portion 231 side is provided with a film-like member 274 as a flexible opening / closing member so that the connecting passage 273 can be closed. By providing the connecting passage 273 on the upper end side of the partition wall 271, the movement of the recovered material from the recovered material storage tank 240 to the developer storage portion 231 of the developing unit 230 is suppressed until the recovered material storage tank 240 becomes nearly full. be able to. In addition, the upper end side of the partition 271 through the connecting passage 273, that is, the upper portion of the developer accommodating portion 231 is the pressure of the developer in the developer accommodating portion 231 (in the direction from the developer accommodating portion 231 toward the recovered material accommodating tank 240. Therefore, if the collected material is clogged up to a position higher than the connection passage 273 in the collected material storage tank 240, the recovered material in the collected material storage tank 240 is relatively easily separated by gravity. It can move (inflow) to the developer storage tank 231 side.

  The film-like member 274 is provided, for example, on the developer accommodating portion 231 side of the partition wall 271. The film-like member 274 opens the connection passage 273 when a force is applied from the recovered material storage tank 240 side to the developer storage portion 231 side, and the film-like member 274 moves from the recovered material storage tank 240 side to the developer storage portion 231 side. The connection passage 273 is closed when no force is applied and when a force is applied from the developer storage portion 231 side toward the collected material storage tank 240 side. The film-like member 274 has a function of moving the collected material in the collected material storage tank 240 into the developer container 231, but does not move the developer in the developer container 231 into the collected material container 240. Any other structure may be used.

  Specifically, the film-like member 274 has, for example, a shape bent into an L shape, and one end thereof is inserted into a hole of a rib portion provided in the partition wall 271. The film-like member 274 is fixed by pressing one end of the film-like member 274 toward the partition wall 271 with the seal member 272. The film-like member 274 may be flat without being bent into an L-shape, and may be attached to the wall surface of the partition wall 274 with a double-sided tape or the like. Since problems such as peeling off when bent under pressure can be considered, it is desirable to have an L-shaped folding structure. Further, even when the film-like member 274 is L-shaped and is fitted in and fixed to the hole of the rib portion, a minute gap may be formed due to dimensional tolerance, variation, etc., so the film-like member 274 and the partition 271 may be formed. A sponge or the like may be provided as a seal member. The film-like member 274 is, for example, a PET film, has a thickness of 0.25 mm, a distance from the displacement fulcrum to the free end of 10 mm, and is configured to bend about 0.1 mm when subjected to a pressure of 300 Pa.

  The toner cartridge 260 includes a supply developer container 261 that stores supply toner (not shown), an inner cylinder member 262, a lever 263 attached to the inner cylinder member 262, and a stirring member 264. By manually rotating the lever 263 and rotating the inner cylinder member 262, the shutter 262a of the inner cylinder member 262 is opened, and the toner is supplied into the developer accommodating section 231 of the developing section 230 by its own weight and the stirring member 264. Is done.

  The toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 is supplied to the developing roller 233 by the supply roller 234, and a thin film of toner is formed on the surface of the developing roller 233 by the blade 235. Further, the surface of the photosensitive drum 221 is uniformly charged by the charging unit 222, an electrostatic latent image is formed by the exposure unit 223, and the electrostatic port image is developed by the developing roller 233. A toner image is formed. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 221 is transferred by the transfer member 15 to the recording paper 10 sent from the cassette 11 by the paper feeding mechanism and paper feeding mechanism constituted by the hopping roller 12 and the registration rollers 13 and 14. Thereafter, toner is fixed in a fixing unit including a heat roller 16 and a backup roller 17 and discharged by discharge rollers 18, 19, 20, and 21.

  The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 221 without being transferred is scraped off by the cleaning unit 224. The toner scraped off from the photosensitive drum 221 by the cleaning unit 224 is configured by a spiral spring 251 or a spiral spring (not shown) while preventing the film-like scattering prevention member 225 from leaking out of the image forming unit. The collected material transport mechanism 250 sends the collected material to the collected material storage tank 240 through the recovery medium 252.

  A rotation bar 232 for detecting the amount of toner in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing unit 230 is disposed inside the image forming unit main body 210. The rotating bar 232 has a crank shape and rotates when it is pushed on one side by a drive gear (not shown), but the rotating direction side is in a free state. It is the structure which can fall freely by. However, if there is enough toner, it cannot fall freely due to the load of the toner, and since it begins to fall free after the toner is low, the rotation speed changes in part of the rotation locus according to the toner amount. Is used to detect the amount of toner. In addition to the toner amount detection, the rotating bar simultaneously performs toner agitation in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion.

  FIG. 5 is a side sectional view schematically showing the structure and state of the connecting passage between the developer container of the developing unit and the collected material storage tank in the image forming unit according to the first embodiment (when the collected material is small). It is. FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure and state of the connecting passage between the developer container of the developing unit and the collected material tank in the image forming unit according to the first embodiment (when there are many collected materials). It is.

  As described above, the transfer residual toner and paper dust remaining on the photosensitive drum 221 after passing through the transfer roller 15 in FIG. 2 are scraped off by the cleaning unit 224 and sent to the Da direction in FIG. It is sent in the direction Db of FIG. Finally, it is sent to the collected material storage tank 240 through the recovery port 252 in FIG. The collected material is partially dropped in the middle and collected in the collected material storage tank 240 while being sent in the longitudinal direction by the spiral spring 253 and gradually accumulated in the collected material storage tank 240. It reaches the passage 273. The force received by the film-like member 274 at this time is the difference between the pressure from the collected material on the collected material storage tank 240 side and the pressure of the toner on the developing unit 230 side. When the pressure on the collected material storage tank 240 increases and the difference exceeds a certain value, the film-like member 274 is displaced through the connecting passage 273 as shown in FIG. Collected material comes in. 5 and 6, reference numeral 211 denotes the upper wall of the image forming unit main body 210. The collected material flowing into the developer accommodating portion 231 is supplied to the developing roller 233 from the contact portion between the developing roller 233 and the supply roller 234 while being mixed with unused toner on the developing portion 230 side, and developed on the photosensitive drum 221 again. used.

  The rotating bar 232 for detecting the toner amount in the developer container 231 of the developing unit 230 has a crank shape as described above and rotates clockwise in FIGS. By this rotation, the toner in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230 is also stirred. As shown in FIG. 4, the collected material flowing in from the connection passage 273 is also agitated and mixed with the toner in the developer accommodating portion 231 by the rotating bar 232. In the developing unit 230, since the collected material flows from a portion away from the position where the development process of the photosensitive drum 221 is performed, it flows into the developer storage unit 231 of the developing unit 230 before the development to the photosensitive drum 221. The collected material is hardly mixed with the unused toner, so that the print quality is hardly deteriorated. When the amount of toner in the developer accommodating portion 231 is large and the pressure in the direction from the developing portion 230 toward the collected matter accommodating tank 240 is high, the film-like member 274 has a partition wall 271 as shown in FIG. Since the connecting passage 273 is closed and cannot be displaced, the unused toner on the developing unit 230 side does not flow back into the collected material storage tank 240.

  As described above, according to the image forming unit 2 and the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the collected material is stored in the developer storage tank 240 from the recovered material storage tank 240 unless the recovered material storage tank 240 is nearly full. Since it does not move to the tank 231 and the collected material is not reused, high print quality can be maintained until the life of the image forming unit main body 210.

  Further, according to the image forming unit 2 and the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, even in the case where the recovered material 242 increases due to the influence of the use environment change or the frequent occurrence of jams, Since a part of the recovered material 242 can move into the developer accommodating portion 231 through the connection passage 273, the structure such as a gear is damaged due to an increase in the load of the recovered material transport mechanism 250, and the recovered material is disposed in the recovered material accommodating tank 240. Thus, it is possible to avoid problems such as toner leakage due to being unable to be accommodated in the printer. For this reason, it is possible to avoid greatly degrading the print quality or incurring an increase in the size of the image forming unit 2.

Second embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a side sectional view schematically showing the structure of the image forming unit 2a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding components as those in FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the guide wall 281 provided in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the image forming unit 2a according to the second embodiment.

  In the image forming unit 2a according to the second embodiment, the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 is filled in the vicinity of the second opening 273b of the connecting passage 273 in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230a. In order to prevent this, the first embodiment is characterized in that a guide wall 281 made of a flexible elastic member or the like for guiding the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 (that is, regulating the inflow direction of the toner) is provided. This is different from the image forming unit 2. As shown in FIG. 8, the guide wall 281 covers the fixed portion 281a fixed to the upper wall 211 of the image forming unit main body 210a, and the second opening 273b of the connecting passage 273 from the fixed portion 281a. And a wall portion 281b extending to the vicinity of the partition wall 271. The guide wall 281 is provided between the toner supply port (position where the shutter 262a is opened) of the toner cartridge 260 and the connecting passage 273, and the tip of the wall portion 281b is 1 mm from the wall surface of the partition wall 271 on the developing unit 230a side. It arrange | positions so that the clearance gap of a grade may be formed. For example, the guide wall 281 can be formed by adhering a PET film to the inside of the upper wall 211 of the image forming unit main body 210 a, but can also be formed integrally with the upper wall 211. Further, the structure, material, and mounting method of the guide wall 281 are not limited to the above example, and the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 is in the second opening of the connecting passage 273 in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230a. Other shapes may be used as long as the structure prevents the vicinity of the portion 273b from being filled.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows the structure and state of the connecting passage 273 between the developer container 231 and the collected material storage tank 240 of the developing unit 230a in the image forming unit 2a according to the second embodiment (when the collected material 242 is small). FIG. FIG. 10 shows the structure and state of the connecting passage 273 between the developer container 231 of the developing unit 230a and the collected material storage tank 240 in the image forming unit 2a according to the second embodiment (when there are many collected items 242). FIG.

  In the first embodiment, the toner in the toner cartridge 260 is sent to the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230a by the stirring member 264 and the own weight in the toner cartridge 260. The toner that has entered the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230 is charged into the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230 a while being stirred by the rotation of the developing roller 233 and the supply roller 234 and the rotation of the rotating bar 232. . In the second embodiment, the toner sent by the rotary bar 232 is rectified by the guide wall 281 and pushed downward (downward in FIG. 2) of the supply roller 234. For this reason, the toner density in the vicinity of the connecting passage 273 is lower than other portions in the developing unit 230a, and even when there is sufficient toner in the toner cartridge 260, the collected material 242 in the collected material storage tank 240 is not removed from the developing unit. It becomes easy to flow into the 230a side. The collected material that has flowed into the collected material storage tank 240 flows in the downward direction of the supply roller 234 from the gap while being mixed with the toner in the developing portion 230a that has entered from the gap between the partition wall 271 and the guide wall 281, and is further developed. The toner is mixed with the toner in 230a and finally used for development.

  As described above, according to the image forming unit 2a and the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, the recovered material 242 is not moved into the developing unit 230a unless the recovered material storage tank is nearly full. High print quality can be maintained until the lifetime of the image forming unit main body 210a.

  Further, according to the image forming unit 2a and the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, even in the case where the recovered material 242 increases due to the influence of the use environment fluctuation or the frequent occurrence of jams, Since a part of the recovered material 242 can move into the developer accommodating portion 231 through the connection passage 273, the structure such as a gear is damaged due to an increase in the load of the recovered material transport mechanism 250, and the recovered material is disposed in the recovered material accommodating tank 240. Thus, it is possible to avoid problems such as toner leakage due to being unable to be accommodated in the printer. For this reason, it is possible to avoid greatly degrading the print quality or incurring the enlargement of the image forming unit 2a.

  Furthermore, according to the image forming unit 2a and the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment, even when a large amount of toner is present on the developing unit 230a side and the toner density in the developing unit 230a is high, it is somewhat. Since a certain collected material can flow into the developing unit, it is less likely to cause problems due to the collected material storage tank becoming fuller than in the first embodiment.

Third embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a side sectional view schematically showing the structure of the image forming unit 2b according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the same or corresponding components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing the structure of the guide wall 282 provided in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the image forming unit 2b according to the third embodiment.

  In the image forming unit 2b according to the third embodiment, the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 is filled in the vicinity of the second opening 273a of the connecting passage 273 in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230b. In order to prevent the toner from being supplied, a flexible guide wall 282 made of an elastic member for guiding the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 (that is, regulating the inflow direction of the toner) is provided according to the first embodiment. Different from the image forming unit 2. As shown in FIG. 12, the guide wall 282 includes a fixed portion 282a fixed to the upper wall 211 of the image forming unit main body 210, and a portion 282b extending downward from the fixed portion 282a (vertically downward in FIG. 11). A wall portion 282d extending from the portion 282b in the direction toward the partition wall 271 (inclined downward in FIG. 11) and a wall portion 282d extending from the portion 282c to the vicinity of the partition wall 271 so as to cover the second opening 273b of the connecting passage 273. And have. The guide wall 282 is provided between the toner supply port of the toner cartridge 260 (the position where the shutter 262a is opened) and the connecting passage 273, and is 1 mm at the tip of the wall portion 282d with respect to the wall surface of the partition wall 271 on the developing unit 230b side. There is a gap of a degree. For example, the guide wall 282 can be formed by adhering a PET film to the upper wall 211 of the image forming unit main body 210b, but can also be formed integrally with the upper wall 211. Further, the structure, material, and mounting method of the guide wall 282 are not limited to the above example, and the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 is supplied to the second opening of the connecting passage 273 in the developer accommodating portion 231 of the developing portion 230b. Other shapes may be used as long as the structure prevents the vicinity of the portion 273b from being filled.

  Further, the guide wall 282 that guides the flow of the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 260 is configured to interfere (contact) with the rotation bar 232 in the rotation locus of the rotation bar 232. However, in the third embodiment, the rotating bar 232 also serves as a sensor for detecting the amount of toner in the developing unit 230b. Therefore, the developing is performed by free fall after the interference with the guide wall 282 is eliminated. The interference position is set so that it can be detected that the toner amount in the portion 230b has decreased.

  FIG. 13 schematically shows the structure and state of the connecting passage 273 between the developer container 231 and the collected material storage tank 240 of the developing unit 230b in the image forming unit 2b according to the third embodiment (when the collected material 242 is small). FIG. FIG. 14 schematically shows the structure and state of the connecting passage 273 between the developer container 231 and the collected material storage tank 240 of the developing unit 230b in the image forming unit 2b according to the third embodiment (when the collected material 242 is large). FIG.

  The toner sent by the rotation bar 232 is rectified by the guide wall 282 and pushed downward (downward in FIG. 11) of the supply roller 234, and the toner density in the vicinity of the connection passage 273 is different from that in the developing unit 230b. Even when there is a sufficient amount of toner in the toner cartridge 260, the collected material 242 on the collected material storage tank 240 side easily flows into the developing unit 230b.

  In the third embodiment, when the guide wall 282 interferes (contacts) with the rotation bar 232 in the rotation trajectory of the rotation bar 232, the guide wall 282 is displaced to the broken line position shown in FIG. Thereafter, when the interference is eliminated, the original position indicated by the solid line is restored. That is, the guide wall 282 is vibrated by the rotating bar 232. In the process of displacement of the guide wall 282, the film-like member 274 of the connecting passage 273 and the guide wall 282 are set so as to interfere with each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. When the film-like member 274 is displaced beyond the fixed amount, the film-like member 274 vibrates by repeating interference and non-interference with the guide wall 282. When the guide wall 282 and the film member 274 vibrate, the clogging is eliminated even when the collected material or the unused toner in the developing unit 230b is temporarily clogged in the gaps between the respective leading ends.

  Further, in the third embodiment, even when a large amount of toner is present on the developing unit 230b side and the toner density in the developing unit 230b is high, a certain amount of collected material 242 is contained in the developing unit 230b. Therefore, it is difficult to cause a problem due to the collected material storage tank 240 becoming fuller than in the first embodiment. In addition, since the clogging occurs in a particularly narrow portion in the inflow path of the collected material 242 to the developing unit 230b, the inflow is not hindered.

Fourth embodiment.
The image forming unit and the image forming apparatus according to the first to third embodiments are intended to solve the following problems (1) to (3) of the related art.
(1) When the capacity of the waste toner chamber of the toner cartridge is large, the size of the toner cartridge, which is a member that is frequently replaced, becomes large, and the handling of the toner cartridge becomes inconvenient (2) Toner cartridge When the waste toner chamber is provided in the toner cartridge, even if the toner cartridge is emptied of unused toner, the toner cartridge is heavy due to the weight of the waste toner. (3) When the capacity of the waste toner chamber is small, the waste toner chamber may be filled with the collected toner, and the mechanism for transporting the waste toner is excessive. Problems such as driving load and waste toner that does not enter the waste toner chamber leaks into the image forming apparatus. However, (1) Toner The problem is that the size of the cartridge becomes large and the handling of the toner cartridge becomes inconvenient, and (2) the toner cartridge is heavy due to the weight of the waste toner even if the unused toner is empty. In order to solve the problem of making the user misrecognize, an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus having the configuration of the fourth embodiment described below may be used.

  The image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment is different from the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment in that the connecting passage 273 is not necessarily provided. In other respects, the image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment is the same as the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, FIG. 2 is referred to for the description of the fourth embodiment. The image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment includes an image forming unit main body 210 and a developer container 260 that can be attached to and detached from the image forming unit main body 210 as in FIG. , A photosensitive drum 221, a developing unit 230 that supplies the developer contained in the developer containing unit 231 to the photosensitive drum 221 by the developing roller 233, a cleaning unit 224 that removes deposits on the photosensitive drum 221, and a cleaning. It has the conveyance mechanism 250 which conveys the deposit | attachment removed by the part 224, and the collection | recovery material storage tank 240 which accommodates the deposit | attachment conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 250. FIG.

  However, the image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment stores the developer in the partition wall 271 that separates the developer storage portion 231 and the collected material storage tank 240, similarly to the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment. A connecting passage 273 communicating with the portion 231 and the recovered material storage tank 240 may be provided.

  Further, in the case where the connection passage 273 is provided, the image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment is arranged on the developer accommodating portion 231 side of the partition wall 271 similarly to the image forming unit 2 according to the first embodiment. When a force is applied from the collected material storage tank 240 side to the developer storage unit 231 side, the connection passage 273 is opened, and a force from the recovered material storage tank 240 side to the developer storage unit 271 side is not applied. Further, a film-like member 274 may be provided as an opening / closing member that closes the connection passage 273 when a force is applied from the developer accommodating portion 271 side toward the collected material accommodating tank 240 side.

  Furthermore, the image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment may include the same guide wall 281 or 282 as the image forming units according to the second and third embodiments.

  As described above, according to the image forming unit and the image forming apparatus including the image forming unit according to the fourth embodiment, the collected material storage tank 240 separated by the developing unit 230 and the partition wall 271 is attached to the photosensitive drum 221. Since the kimono is accommodated, the toner cartridge 260 for supplying the developer to the developing unit 230 can be reduced in size, and the used toner cartridge can be lightened.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case of image forming apparatus, 2, 2a, 2b Image forming unit, 10 Recording paper, 11 Paper cassette, 12 Hopping roller, 13, 14 Registration roller, 15 Transfer roller, 16 Heat roller, 17 Backup roller, 18 , 19, 20, 21 Discharging roller, 210, 210a, 210b Image forming unit main body, 211 Upper wall of image forming unit main body, 220, 220a, 220b Image forming unit, 221 Photosensitive drum, 222 Charging unit, 223 Exposure unit, 224 Cleaning unit, 225 scattering prevention member, 230, 230a, 230b developing unit, 231 developer storage unit, 232 rotating bar, 234 supply roller, 235 blade, 236 unused toner, 240 recovered material storage tank, 241 in recovered material storage tank Space, 242 Collected matter, 250 Conveying mechanism, 251 Spiral spring, 252 Conveying path, 253 Spiral spring, 260 Toner cartridge, 261 Supply developer accommodating portion, 262 Inner cylinder member, 264 Stirring member, 263 Lever, 271 Partition, 272 Seal Members, 273 connecting passages, 274 film-like members, 281 and 282 guide walls.

Claims (13)

An image carrier;
A developing unit that has a developer container and a developer carrier, and supplies the developer contained in the developer container onto the image carrier by the developer carrier;
A cleaning unit for removing deposits on the image carrier;
A transport mechanism for transporting the deposit removed by the cleaning unit;
A collected material storage tank for storing the deposits transported by the transport mechanism;
A partition wall that separates the developer container and the collected material container,
The image forming unit, wherein the partition has a connecting passage communicating with the developer container and the collected material container. The connecting passage is
A first opening on the collected material storage tank side of the partition;
A second opening on the developer accommodating portion side of the partition;
The image forming unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a connecting hole portion that connects the first opening and the second opening. On the developer container side of the partition,
When a force from the collected material storage tank side toward the developer storage unit side is applied, the connection passage is opened,
When no force is applied from the collected material storage tank side to the developer storage unit side, and when a force is applied from the developer storage unit side to the collected material storage tank side, the connection passage is The image forming unit according to claim 2, further comprising an opening and closing member.   The image forming unit according to claim 3, wherein one end of the opening / closing member is fixed to the partition wall, and the other end of the opening / closing member is a free end.   The image forming unit according to claim 3, wherein the opening / closing member is a film-like member.   The said conveyance mechanism has a conveyance path which conveys the said deposit | attachment removed by the said cleaning part from the said cleaning part to the said collection | recovery object accommodating part. Image forming unit. The partition wall extends in the vertical direction,
The image forming unit according to claim 1, wherein the connection passage is disposed in the vicinity of an upper end in a vertical direction of the partition wall. The developing unit is
A developer supply port supplied from a detachable developer container;
The image forming unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a guide wall disposed between the supply port and the connecting passage of the partition wall. The developing unit is
A developer supply port supplied from a detachable developer container;
A flexible guide wall made of an elastic member disposed between the supply port and the connecting passage of the partition wall, and a rotating member that vibrates the guide wall in contact with the guide wall. The image forming unit according to claim 1. An image forming unit main body;
A developer container detachably attached to the image forming unit main body,
The image forming unit main body includes:
An image carrier;
A developing unit that has a developer container and a developer carrier, and supplies the developer contained in the developer container onto the image carrier by the developer carrier;
A cleaning unit for removing deposits on the image carrier;
A transport mechanism for transporting the deposit removed by the cleaning unit;
An image forming unit comprising: a collected material storage tank for storing the deposits transported by the transport mechanism.   11. The image according to claim 10, further comprising a partition wall having a connecting passage that communicates with the developer container and the collected material container, with the developer container and the collected material container being separated from each other. Forming unit. On the developer container side of the partition,
When a force from the collected material storage tank side toward the developer storage unit side is applied, the connection passage is opened,
When no force is applied from the collected material storage tank side to the developer storage unit side, and when a force is applied from the developer storage unit side to the collected material storage tank side, the connection passage is The image forming unit according to claim 11, further comprising an opening / closing member.   An image forming apparatus comprising the image forming unit according to claim 1.

Images