JP2014182240A - Powder recovery device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder recovery device configured to prevent powder from being spilled when mounted/dismounted, and an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: A toner conveyed by a conveyance member 1611K is discharged from an outlet 1621K of a discharge part 162K, and passes through a recovery port 9152c, and falls through an extension space 9152b in a gravitational direction G shown in Fig. 6. A toner receiving unit 915 receives the toner discharged from the discharge part 162K in an internal space 9152. Around an opening end of the recovery port 9152c, a projection 9153 in contact with an opening/closing member 9154 blocks powder entering an area H, which is shown in one example with a solid line circle, between the opening/closing member 9154 and the receiving unit 915.

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder recovery apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers use toner, which is an example of powder, for forming an image. In addition, a waste toner collecting device that collects waste toner generated in the image forming apparatus is used.
As a waste toner collecting device, one having a shutter that slides in a direction in which the waste toner collecting device is attached and that opens and closes a waste toner discharge port and a receiving port is known (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). (See Patent Document 3).

JP 2005-25053 A JP 2000-133030 A JP-A-6-59605

  An object of the present invention is to provide a powder recovery apparatus and an image forming apparatus that suppress powder spillage when attached and detached.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connecting portion to which a discharging portion for dropping and discharging the conveyed powder is detachably connected and a gravity direction of the connecting portion, and drops from the discharging portion through the opening. A recovery part that recovers the powder, an opening / closing member that slides between the discharge part and the recovery part to open and close the opening, and protrudes from the periphery of the opening toward the opening / closing member, A powder recovery apparatus comprising: a protrusion that contacts the opening / closing member and prevents powder from entering between the recovery portion and the opening / closing member.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protrusion provided on either the opening / closing member or the connecting portion, and applying a force between the opening / closing member and the connecting portion to push the opening / closing member against the protruding portion. The powder recovery apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

  The invention according to claim 3 is the powder recovery apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening / closing member further includes a guide that moves in contact with the protrusion. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the powder according to the third aspect further includes a rail that guides the guide in the moving direction of the opening / closing member with the guide sandwiched between the side surfaces of the protruding portion. It is a body recovery device.

  The invention described in claim 5 is an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium with powder, a discharge unit that discharges unnecessary powder generated during image formation in the image forming unit, and An image forming apparatus comprising the powder recovery apparatus according to claim 4.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a powder recovery apparatus that suppresses powder spillage when it is attached and detached as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a powder recovery apparatus in which powder spillage when attached and detached is further suppressed as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a powder recovery apparatus in which the opening / closing member moves smoothly as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a powder recovery apparatus in which the opening / closing member moves more smoothly than in the case where this configuration is not provided.
According to the invention described in claim 5, as compared with the case where the powder recovery device described in any one of claims 1 to 4 is not provided, contamination in the device due to powder is suppressed and output is achieved. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that suppresses a decrease in image quality.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the toner collecting device removed from the image forming unit and the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the image forming unit and the waste toner collecting device viewed from the back side. The AA arrow longitudinal cross-sectional view of a waste toner collection | recovery apparatus. (A) is a cross-sectional view showing a discharge unit and a receiving unit when the waste toner collecting device is connected to the image forming unit, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in (a). FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a receiving unit when the waste toner collecting device is detached from the image forming unit. Sectional drawing which shows a modification.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus 1.
An image forming apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an apparatus that forms an image on a sheet P that is an example of a recording medium. The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that supports not only the paper P but also a resin recording medium represented by an OHP sheet.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is a tandem type color printer in which four image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K that perform image formation of different colors are arranged in parallel. The image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K correspond to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) colors, respectively.

  Since the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K have the same configuration, the image forming unit 10K corresponding to black (K) will be described below.

  In FIG. 1, an image forming unit 10K includes a photoconductor 11, a charger 12 that charges the surface of the photoconductor 11, an exposure device 13 that irradiates the photoconductor 11 with exposure light based on an image signal supplied from the outside, and the like. A developing device 14 that develops the surface of the photoreceptor 11 with toner, which is an example of powder, a primary transfer device 15 that transfers an unfixed toner image formed with toner onto the intermediate transfer belt 20, and an intermediate transfer belt 20. A photosensitive member cleaning blade 16 that scrapes off residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member 11 without being transferred by the primary transfer unit 15 is provided.

The photoreceptor 11 has a cylindrical surface and rotates in the direction of arrow A around the axis of the cylinder.
The developing device 14 employs a two-component developing system. The developing device 14 contains a two-component developer composed of a magnetic carrier and toner. A developing roll 141 is disposed in the developing device 14.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a secondary transfer device 30 that transfers an unfixed toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 20 onto the paper P, a fixing device 40 that fixes the unfixed toner image onto the paper P, and a paper A paper transport unit 50 that transports P along the transport path R1, a paper container 60 that stores the paper P, a discharge paper storage unit 70 that receives the paper P on which image formation by the image forming apparatus 1 has been completed, and a paper A belt cleaning blade 80 that scrapes residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 20 without being transferred onto the P by the secondary transfer unit 30 from the intermediate transfer belt 20 is provided.

The intermediate transfer belt 20 is an endless belt-like member supported by belt support rolls 21, 22, 23, and 24, and the arrows pass through the image forming units 10 </ b> Y, 10 </ b> M, 10 </ b> C, and 10 </ b> K and the secondary transfer unit 30 in this order. Move around in the B direction.
The fixing device 40 includes a fixing roll 41 having a heating source 411 and a pressure roll 42 provided so as to face the fixing roll 41.

The paper transport unit 50 transports the paper P along the transport path R1. More specifically, the paper transport unit 50 includes a take-out roll 51 that takes out the paper P from the paper container 60, a transport roll 52 that transports the paper P disposed along the transport path R1, and the secondary transfer device 30. Includes a registration roll 53 that feeds the paper P to the secondary transfer device 30 in accordance with the timing of transferring the toner image, and a discharge roll 54 that discharges the paper P to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1.
The paper transport unit 50 transports the paper P along a transport path R1 that sequentially passes from the paper container 60 through the secondary transfer device 30 and the fixing device 40.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming units 10 </ b> Y, 10 </ b> M, 10 </ b> C, 10 </ b> K and the intermediate transfer belt 20 are provided to be inclined in the same direction with respect to the image forming apparatus 1. Thereby, size reduction of the image forming apparatus 1 is achieved.

  The image forming apparatus 1 receives and collects unnecessary toner scraped from the photoreceptor 11 by the photoreceptor cleaning blade 16 and unwanted toner scraped from the intermediate transfer belt 20 by the belt cleaning blade 80. And a waste toner collecting device 90 which is an example of the powder collecting device. A detailed description of the structure of the waste toner collecting container 90 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes four toner cartridges 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K that store toner of colors corresponding to the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K, and toner cartridges 18Y, 18Y, Toner cartridge loading portions 181Y, 181M, 181C, and 181K loaded with 18M, 18C, and 18K.
The toner cartridges 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K are detachably loaded in the toner cartridge loading portions 181Y, 181M, 181C, and 181K, and can be exchanged by being pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus 1.

  Further, the developing devices 14 of the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K and the toner cartridges 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K are replenishment paths that replenish the toner in the toner cartridges 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K to the developing device 14. 182Y, 182M, 182C, and 182K.

  The toner cartridges 18Y, 18M, 18C, and 18K, the toner cartridge loading portions 181Y, 181M, 181C, and 181K, and the supply paths 182Y, 182M, 182C, and 182K have the same configuration, and thus represent them. The toner cartridge 18K, the toner cartridge loading unit 181K, and the supply path 182K corresponding to black (K) will be described.

The replenishment path 182K is a flexible plastic cylinder, one end of which is connected to a toner cartridge loading unit 181K connected to a delivery outlet through which the toner contained in the toner cartridge 18K is sent out, and the other end is connected to an image. It is connected to the toner receiving port of the developing device 14 of the forming unit 10K.
In the replenishment path 182K, an auger (not shown) for replenishing the toner contained in the toner cartridge 18K to the developing device 14 is incorporated, and a rotational driving force of a stepping motor (not shown) is transmitted to the auger. It is like that.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In the image forming unit 10 </ b> K corresponding to black (K), the photoconductor 11 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A, and a charge is applied to the surface of the photoconductor 11 by the charger 12. The exposure device 13 forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the photoconductor 11 with exposure light based on an image signal supplied from the outside.
More specifically, the exposure device 13 forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 11 by irradiating exposure light corresponding to data corresponding to black (K) in the image signal. The developing unit 14 develops the electrostatic latent image with black (K) toner to form an unfixed toner image. More specifically, the toner is charged by stirring in the developing device 14, and the toner is electrically attached to the electrostatic latent image formed by the charger 12 and the exposure device 13 via the developing roll 141. Thus, an unfixed toner image drawn with toner is formed.

  The toner is supplied from the toner cartridge 18K to the developing unit 14 of the image forming unit 10K through a supply path 182K connected to the developing unit 14. The photoconductor 11 holds an unfixed toner image. The toner image held on the surface of the photoreceptor 11 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 20 by the primary transfer unit 15. After the unfixed toner image held on the surface of the photoconductor 11 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 20, the residual toner remaining on the photoconductor 11 is scraped off by the photoconductor cleaning blade 16. Although the detailed structure will be described later, the toner scraped off in this way is conveyed toward the waste toner collecting device 90.

  The three image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K corresponding to colors other than black (K) are also unfixed toner images corresponding to the respective colors in the same manner as the image forming unit 10K corresponding to black (K). Form. The intermediate transfer belt 20 is supported by the support rolls 21 to 25 and moves in the direction of arrow B. The image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 20 with unfixed toner of each color. The image is superimposed and transferred. In this way, an unfixed toner image corresponding to the image data is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 20, and the unfixed toner image is held and moved.

  On the other hand, the paper P in the paper container 60 is taken out by the take-out roll 51 and is transported in the direction toward the secondary transfer device 30 along the transport path R1 by the transport roll 52 and the registration roll 53. The secondary transfer device 30 transfers a non-fixed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 20 onto the paper P by applying a transfer bias potential between the intermediate transfer belt 20 and the paper P.

  After the unfixed toner image is transferred onto the paper P, the residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 20 is scraped off by the belt cleaning blade 80. Although the detailed structure will be described later, the toner scraped off in this way is conveyed toward the waste toner collecting device 90.

  The paper P is further transported in the direction toward the fixing device 40 along the transport path R1, and the paper that has passed through the secondary transfer device 30 between the fixing roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 facing each other of the fixing device 40. When P is conveyed, the unfixed toner constituting the unfixed toner image on the paper P is melted by the heating source 411 of the fixing roll 41 and fixed on the paper P. In this way, an image composed of a fixed toner image is formed on the paper P.

  The sheet P on which the image is formed is further transported along the transport path R <b> 1 in the direction toward the discharge roll 54 and is discharged by the discharge roll 54. The discharged paper P is stacked in the discharged paper storage unit 70.

Next, the structure around the waste toner collecting device 90 in the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail.
2 is an external perspective view showing the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K shown in FIG. 1 and the waste toner collecting device 90 removed from the image forming apparatus 1, and FIG. 3 is an image shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K and the waste toner collecting device 90 as viewed from the back side.

2 and 3, the image forming apparatus 1 removes toner scraped from the photoreceptor 11 by the photoreceptor cleaning blade 16 shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to each of the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K. Toner discharge paths 161Y, 161C, 161M, and 161K leading to the waste toner collecting device 90 are provided.
Further, each toner discharge path 161Y, 161C, 161M, 161K is formed with discharge portions 162Y, 162C, 162M, 162K for discharging the toner at one end. One end where the discharge portions 162Y, 162C, 162M, and 162K are formed protrudes from the image forming portions 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K.

  The image forming apparatus 1 also includes a toner discharge path 801 that guides the toner scraped from the intermediate transfer belt 20 shown in FIG. 1 to the waste toner collecting device 90 by the belt cleaning blade 80 shown in FIG. . The toner discharge path 801 also has a discharge portion 802 for discharging the toner at one end. One end where the discharge portion 802 is formed protrudes in the same direction as the toner discharge paths 161Y, 161C, 161M, 161K. The discharge unit 802 corresponds to an example of the discharge unit.

In FIG. 3, a housing 901 of the waste toner collecting device 90 is detachably connected to each of five discharge units 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, 162K, and from each of the discharge units 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, 162K. Toner receiving portions 911, 912, 913, 914, and 915, which are examples of five connecting portions that receive toner, are provided.
More specifically, each of the five toner receiving portions 911, 912, 913, 914, 915 has openings 9111, 9121, 9131, 9141, 9151, and these openings 9111, 9121, 9131, 9141, 9151 are included. The discharge sections 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, and 162K are inserted and connected to each other.

Hereinafter, the internal structure of the waste toner collecting device 90 will be described in detail.
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the waste toner collecting device 90 shown in FIGS.
In FIG. 4, a housing 901 of the waste toner collecting device 90 includes a collecting unit 92 that collects the toner received by the toner receiving units 911, 912, 913, 914, and 915.

  Further, the waste toner collecting device 90 includes a conveyance pipe 93 that is interposed between the toner receiving units 911, 912, 913, 914, and 915 and the collecting unit 92 inside the housing 901 and conveys the toner therein. Is provided. In addition, a transport member 95 that transports toner in the transport pipe 93 is provided inside the transport pipe 93.

  The conveying member 95 includes a rotating shaft 951 extending in the direction in which the conveying tube 93 extends, and a blade 952 spirally wound around the rotating shaft 951. The spiral winding direction of the blades 952 will be described later.

  The diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the conveying pipe 93 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the conveying member 95 at each position. For this reason, the backflow of the toner in the transport pipe 93 is prevented, and the volume of the collection unit 92 is sufficiently secured. Further, in such a conveyance pipe 93 and conveyance member 95, the waste toner collection container 90 from which the toner is collected in the collection unit 92 is removed from the discharge units 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, and 162K shown in FIGS. The toner is prevented from moving from the collecting unit 92 to the toner receiving units 911, 912, 913, 914, and 915 when tilted in the inclined state. For this reason, when the waste toner collection container 90 is attached to the discharge units 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, 162K, the discharge units 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, 162K are not obstructed by the toner, and the toner receiving unit 911. , 912, 913, 914, and 915.

Further, on the peripheral surface of the transport pipe 93, there are inflow ports 931, 932, 933, 934, and 935 through which the toner received by the toner receiving portions 911, 912, 913, 914, and 915 flows into the transport pipe 93. Outflow ports 941, 942, 943, 944 through which the toner flows out from the inside of the transport pipe 93 to the collection unit 92 are provided.
Here, the spiral winding direction of the blades 952 is reversed from the upper left outlet 941 in FIG. Therefore, when the conveying member 95 rotates, the toner located in the lower right in FIG. 4 from the outlet 941 among the toner in the conveying pipe 93 is conveyed in the direction of arrow D from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. The toner located in the upper left in FIG. 4 from the outlet 941 among the toner in the transport pipe 93 is transported in the direction of arrow E from the upper left to the lower right in FIG.

  Further, in the transport pipe 93, outlets 941, 942, 943, 944 with respect to the inlets 931, 932, 933, 934, 935 are provided at positions shifted to the downstream side in the toner transport direction by the transport member 95. ing. The amount of this deviation is, for example, 1.5 times the helical pitch of the blades 952. When the outlets 941, 942, 943, 944 are displaced in this way with respect to the inlets 931, 932, 933, 934, 935, when the outlets 941, 942, 943, 944 are displaced in this way, The certainty of preventing toner movement is high.

  Each of the five toner discharge paths 801, 161Y, 161C, 161M, 161K and the five toner receiving portions 911, 912, 913, 914, 915 have the same configuration. As a representative example, the toner discharge path 161K corresponding to black (K) and the toner receiving portion 915 will be taken up, and a state where the discharge portion 162K of the toner discharge path 161K is inserted into the opening 9151 of the toner receiving portion 915 will be described.

Here, in order to make it easier to understand the state where the discharge portion 162K of the toner discharge path 161K is inserted into the opening 9151 of the toner reception portion 915, FIG. 5 shows the toner reception portion 915 in a state where the discharge portion 162K is not inserted. The schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of was shown.
6A is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the discharge portion 162K of the toner discharge path 161K is inserted into the opening 9151 of the toner receiving portion 915 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6B is a view in FIG. It is a schematic diagram of a BB cross section.
In FIGS. 5 and 6, the gravity direction G is indicated by an arrow. A toner T is also shown.

  In FIG. 5, the toner receiving unit 915 includes an internal space 9152 as an internal space 9152, a cylindrical space 9152 a having an opening 9151 in the horizontal direction in FIG. 5, and an extended space extending downward from the back of the cylindrical space, which is the gravity direction in FIG. 5. 9152b. The extended space 9152b is connected to the inflow port 935. The extension space 9152b has a toner recovery port 9152c which is an example of an opening toward the cylindrical space 9152a.

The cylindrical space 9152a is disposed between the collection unit 92 and the toner receiving unit 915, and is pushed toward the opening 9151 by a spring E, which is an example of an elastic body, so as to be outside the collection port 9152c and the cylindrical space 9152a. An opening / closing member 96 is disposed that blocks the space between the open space and slides by the insertion of the discharge portion 162K to open and close the recovery port 9152c.
Specifically, the opening / closing member 96 has a substantially cylindrical shape having a bottom 96 a, and an opening 96 b is formed below the opening / closing member 96.

  In FIG. 5, when the opening / closing member 96 is pushed toward the opening 9151 by the spring E, the recovery port 9152c is closed at the bottom 96a. On the other hand, in FIG. 6, the opening / closing member 96 is moved to the back by the insertion of the discharge portion 162K to open the recovery port 9152c. More specifically, the collection port 9152c and the opening 96b of the opening / closing member 96 overlap to open the collection port 9152c.

Further, a protruding portion 9153 that protrudes toward the opening / closing member 96 and contacts the opening / closing member 96 is formed on the periphery of the collection port 9152c on the toner receiving portion 915 side.
Further, a sponge S is provided in the vicinity of the opening 96 b on the inner peripheral surface of the opening / closing member 96.

  In FIG. 6, the discharge portion 162K is a round and tubular portion made of resin and protrudes in the lateral direction of FIG. In the vicinity of the tip of the discharge portion 162K, a discharge port 1621K for discharging the toner T opens downward in the gravity direction G in FIG.

In FIG. 6, the discharge part 162 </ b> K is inserted into the opening 9151. The discharge portion 162 </ b> K inserted into the opening 9151 is further inserted into the opening / closing member 96. At this time, the discharge portion 162K is inserted into the opening / closing member 96 while crushing the sponge S.
The discharge portion 162K and the opening / closing member 96 are inserted to the back of the cylindrical space 9152a, and are pushed in until the discharge port 1621K reaches the extension space 9152b. In this state, the sponge S is crushed and fills the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the opening / closing member 96 near the opening 96b and the outer periphery of the discharge portion 162K, and prevents the toner T from leaking to the outside.
At this time, the opening / closing member 96 slides while contacting the protrusion 9153 to open / close the opening 9152C.

In the toner discharge path 161K, a conveyance member 1611K is provided that rotates to convey the toner T in the toner discharge path 161K in a direction toward the discharge port 1621K of the discharge unit 162K. The toner T conveyed by the conveying member 1611K falls and is discharged from the discharge port 1621K of the discharge unit 162K, passes through the recovery port 9152c, and falls in the extension space 9152b downward in FIG. That is, the toner receiving unit 915 receives the toner discharged from the discharge unit 162K in the internal space 9152.
At this time, around the opening end of the collection port 9152c, the toner T that the protrusion 9153 that contacts the opening / closing member 96 enters between the opening / closing member 9154 and the receiving portion 915 (the region H indicated by a solid line as an example). Disturb.

(Modification)
In FIG. 7, the schematic diagram corresponded in the BB cross section of Fig.6 (a) of the powder recovery apparatus in a modification was shown. The same members as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 7, the powder recovery apparatus according to the modified example further includes a protrusion 97 that is provided on either the opening / closing member 96 </ b> A or the receiving portion 915 </ b> A and presses the opening / closing member 96 </ b> A toward the protruding portion 9153. As a result, the opening / closing member 96A and the protruding portion 9153 are more closely contacted with each other than the opening / closing member 96A and the protruding portion 9153 are brought into contact with each other due to the weight of the opening / closing member 96A, and the powder enters between the opening / closing member 9154 and the receiving portion 915. Is more disturbed.

The opening / closing member 96 </ b> A has a guide 96 </ b> Ac that moves in contact with the protruding portion 9153.
By providing the guide 96Ac that moves in contact with the projecting portion 9153, the opening / closing member 96A moves smoothly in the moving direction without shaking in the rotational direction, and the powder entering between the opening / closing member 96A and the receiving portion 915 is more hindered. It is done.

The receiving portion 915A further includes a groove-shaped rail 9154 that is formed of a protruding portion 9153A and a protruding portion 9153A that faces the protruding portion 9153 and that guides the opening / closing member 96A in the moving direction with the guide 96Ac interposed therebetween.
By having the groove-shaped rail 9154 that guides in the moving direction of the opening / closing member 96A with the guide 96Ac interposed therebetween, the opening / closing member 96A does not move in the rotational direction as compared with the case without the protruding portion 9153A. Since the two projecting portions 9153 and 9153A are opposed to each other and move more smoothly, powder entering between the opening / closing member 96A and the receiving portion 915 is further restricted.

The above is the description of the toner conveyance device of the embodiment and the modification and the image forming apparatus using the same, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments are possible. .
For example, other modified examples in which the protrusion 97 is not provided in the modified example and other modified examples in which the protruding portion 9153A facing the protruding portion 9153 is not formed are also possible.

  For example, the toner conveying device according to the embodiment and the modification may be used in a developing device that uses a two-component developer as a developer, or may be used in a developing device that uses a one-component developer.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K ... Image forming part, 11 ... Photoconductor, 12 ... Charger, 13 ... Exposure device, 14 ... Developing device, 141 ... Developing roll, 15 ... Primary transfer device, 16 ... Photoconductor cleaning blade, 801, 161Y, 161C, 161M, 161K ... Toner discharge path, 1611K ... Conveying member, 802, 162Y, 162C, 162M, 162K ... Discharge unit, 1621K ... Discharge port, 20 ... Intermediate transfer belt, 30 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Secondary transfer device, 40 ... Fixing device, 41 ... Fixing roll, 411 ... Heat source, 42 ... Pressure roll, 50 ... Paper P conveyance part, 80 ... Belt cleaning blade, 90 ... Waste toner collection device, 901 ... Housing Body, 911, 912, 913, 914, 915... Toner receiving portion, 9111, 9121, 9131, 9141, 9151. Interior space, 9152A ... cylindrical space, 9152B ... extension space, 92 ... recovery unit.

Claims (5)

A connecting part to which a discharging part for dropping and discharging the conveyed powder is detachably connected;
A collecting part that is provided in the gravity direction of the connecting part and collects the powder dropped from the discharging part through the opening;
An opening and closing member that slides between the discharge portion and the collection portion to open and close the opening;
Protruding portions that protrude from the periphery of the opening toward the opening / closing member and that contact the opening / closing member and prevent the powder from entering between the collecting portion and the opening / closing member. A powder recovery device. It further includes a protrusion provided on either the opening / closing member or the connecting portion, and applying a force between the opening / closing member and the connecting portion to push the opening / closing member against the protruding portion. The powder recovery apparatus according to claim 1. The powder recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing member further includes a guide that moves in contact with the protruding portion. The powder recovery apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a rail that sandwiches the guide with a side surface of the protruding portion and guides the opening / closing member in a moving direction. An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium with powder;
A discharge unit that discharges unnecessary powder generated during image formation in the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: the powder recovery apparatus according to claim 1.

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