Cleaning device, waste toner recovery device, and image forming apparatus

Abstract

A cleaning device, a waste toner recovery device, and an image forming device are provided. The cleaning device includes: a cleaning unit that cleans waste toner from an image holding member that holds a toner image formed by an image forming unit on its surface and moves in a cycle; a receiving port that receives waste powder recovered from the image forming unit; and a waste toner transfer unit that transfers the cleaned waste toner toward a waste toner storage unit. The cleaning device transfers the waste powder received at the receiving port to the waste toner storage unit by passing the waste powder received at the receiving port through the inside of the cleaning device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cleaning device, a waste toner recovery device, and an image forming device. Background Art

[0002] There is known an image forming device having: an image carrier on which a toner image is formed; an intermediate transfer belt on which the toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred; an image carrier cleaning unit that removes toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier; and an intermediate transfer body cleaning unit that removes toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer body. The image forming device is configured such that the recovery toner storage parts of the image carrier cleaning unit and the intermediate transfer body cleaning unit are shared, and the recovered toner from the image carrier cleaning unit and the recovered toner from the intermediate transfer body cleaning unit are introduced into a relay transfer unit from different directions and stored in the recovery toner storage part via the relay transfer unit (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-219372). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to convey, by a cleaning device, waste powder discharged from an image forming unit and waste toner from an image holding body. The cleaning device cleans waste toner from the image holding body and conveys the waste toner toward a waste toner storage part.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cleaning device having:

[0005] a cleaning unit that cleans waste toner from an image holding body that holds a toner image formed by an image forming unit on its surface and moves in a cycle;

[0006] a receiving port that receives waste powder recovered from the image forming unit; and

[0007] a waste toner transfer unit that transfers the cleaned waste toner toward a waste toner storage part,

[0008] the cleaning device conveys the waste powder received at the receiving port to the waste toner storage part by passing the waste powder through the inside of the cleaning device.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the cleaning device has a waste powder transfer unit that is separated from the waste toner transfer unit inside the cleaning device, receives the waste powder from one end side of the cleaning device, and transfers the waste powder toward the other end side.

[0010] According to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the waste powder conveying unit is closed so that the waste powder does not leak into the cleaning unit.

[0011] According to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the waste powder conveying unit is disposed at a position sandwiching the waste toner conveying unit from the cleaning unit.

[0012] According to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the waste toner conveying unit and the waste powder conveying unit have a conveying screw that is shared and rotates in the same direction to convey the waste toner and the waste powder.

[0013] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, the waste powder includes toner and a carrier.

[0014] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a waste toner recovery device having:

[0015] a first conveying unit for conveying waste powder recovered from an image forming unit for forming a toner image;

[0016] The cleaning device receives the waste powder from the first conveying unit and conveys it; and

[0017] and a second conveying unit configured to convey the waste toner and the waste powder conveyed by the cleaning device so as to drop toward the waste toner storage portion.

[0018] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, the first conveying unit is disposed on the front surface side of the device body at one end side of the cleaning device.

[0019] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising:

[0020] a first conveying unit for conveying waste powder collected from an image forming unit that forms a toner image on the front surface side of the apparatus main body;

[0021] a cleaning device that discharges the waste toner collected from an image holding body that holds the toner image on its surface and the waste powder conveyed by the first conveying unit toward a waste toner storage portion provided on the back side of the device body; and

[0022] The second conveying unit conveys the waste toner and the waste powder so as to drop toward the waste toner storage portion.

[0023] (Effect)

[0024] According to the first aspect, it is possible to convey the waste powder discharged from the image forming unit and the waste toner from the image holding member by using a cleaning device, which cleans the waste toner from the image holding member and conveys it toward the waste toner storage unit.

[0025] According to the second aspect, by providing a conveyance path for waste powder inside the cleaning device, it is possible to convey the waste toner and the waste powder recovered from the image forming unit separately toward the waste toner storage unit.

[0026] According to the third and fourth aspects, it is possible to suppress the movement of waste powder toward the cleaning unit.

[0027] According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to share the conveyance screws of the waste toner conveyance unit and the waste powder conveyance unit.

[0028] According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to recover the carrier used in the image forming unit together with the waste toner.

[0029] According to the seventh and ninth aspects, when a blockage of waste powder occurs in the conveyance path of the waste powder, it is possible to easily eliminate the blockage compared with a structure in which the conveyance path is arranged on the back side of the apparatus main body.

[0030] According to the eighth aspect, when a blockage of waste powder occurs in the conveyance path of the waste powder, it is possible to easily eliminate the blockage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view showing an example of the schematic structure of the image forming apparatus.

[0032] Figure 2 is a diagram for explaining the structures of the photoreceptor unit and the developing device.

[0033] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic view showing the structure of the cleaning device.

[0034] Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining the rotational driving of the first conveyance auger and the second conveyance auger of the cleaning device.

[0035] Figure 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the waste toner conveyance portion on the front surface side of the image forming apparatus.

[0036] Figure 6 is a diagram showing the structure of the waste toner dropping portion on the back side of the image forming apparatus.

[0037] Figure 7 is a top view schematic diagram showing the overall structure of the waste toner recovery path of the present embodiment. Detailed Embodiments

[0038] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the following embodiments and specific examples are listed to further describe the present disclosure in detail. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments and specific examples.

[0039] In addition, in the description using the following drawings, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the ratios of the respective dimensions are different from the actual ones. For ease of understanding, illustrations of components other than those required for the description are appropriately omitted.

[0040] In addition, for ease of understanding the subsequent description, in the drawings, the front-rear direction is set as the X-axis direction, the left-right direction is set as the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction is set as the Z-axis direction.

[0041] (1) Overall Structure and Operation of the Image Forming Apparatus

[0042] (1.1) Overall Structure of the Image Forming Apparatus

[0043] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view showing an example of the schematic structure of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0044] The image forming apparatus 1 is configured to include an image forming unit 10, a paper feeding device 20 installed below the image forming unit 10, and a paper discharging unit 30 provided at one end of the image forming unit 10 for discharging the printed paper.

[0045] The image forming unit 10 is configured to include a system control device 11 (not shown), an exposure device 12, a photoreceptor unit 13 as an image forming unit, a developing device 14, a transfer device 15, paper conveying devices 16a, 16b, 16c, and a fixing device 17, and forms a toner image on a recording medium fed from the paper feeding device 20.

[0046] The paper feeding device 20 supplies a recording medium to the image forming unit 10. That is, the paper feeding device 20 is configured to include a plurality of paper stacking units 21, 22 for storing recording media of different types (for example, material, thickness, paper size, paper texture), and supplies the recording medium sent out from any one of these plurality of paper stacking units 21, 22 to the image forming unit 10.

[0047] The paper discharging unit 30 discharges the recording medium after the image is output by the image forming unit 10. Therefore, the paper discharging unit 30 has a paper discharging storage unit for discharging the recording medium after the image output. In addition, the paper discharging unit 30 may also have a function of performing post-processing such as cutting or stapling (staple binding) on the stack of papers output from the image forming unit 10.

[0048] (1.2) Structure and Operation of the Image Forming Unit

[0049] In the image forming apparatus 1 having such a structure, the recording medium fed out from the paper stacking units 21 and 22, which is specified for each sheet to be printed in the printing job according to the timing of image formation, is fed into the image forming unit 10.

[0050] The photoreceptor units 13 (Y, M, C, K: hereinafter, simply referred to as photoreceptor unit 13 without distinction) are respectively arranged in parallel below the exposure device 12 and have a photoreceptor drum 31 that is rotationally driven. Along the rotation direction of the photoreceptor drum 31, a charger 32, an exposure device 12, a developing device 14, a primary transfer roller 52, and a cleaning device 33 are arranged.

[0051] The developing device 14 has a developing housing 41, and a developer is stored inside the developing housing 41. A developing roller 42 is disposed in the developing housing 41 and is arranged opposite to the photoreceptor drum 31. The developer with a restricted layer thickness is supplied to the developing roller 42, thereby forming a toner image on the photoreceptor drum 31.

[0052] Each developing device 14 (Y, M, C, K: hereinafter, simply referred to as developing device 14 without distinction) is configured in substantially the same manner except for the developer stored in the developing housing 41, and respectively forms toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).

[0053] A replaceable toner cartridge T for storing the developer (toner containing a carrier) is installed above the developing device 14. A toner cartridge guide (not shown) is arranged to supply the developer from each toner cartridge T (Y, M, C, K) to the developing device 14.

[0054] The surface of the rotating photoreceptor drum 31 is charged by the charger 32, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the latent image forming light emitted from the exposure device 12. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor drum 31 is developed into a toner image by the developing roller 42.

[0055] The transfer device 15 is composed of the following components: an intermediate transfer belt 51 as an image holding body, to which the toner images of each color formed by the photoreceptor drums 31 of the respective photoreceptor units 13 are transferred multiple times; a primary transfer roller 52 that sequentially transfers (primary transfer) the toner images of each color formed by the respective photoreceptor units 13 to the intermediate transfer belt 51; and a secondary transfer roller 53 that collectively transfers (secondary transfer) the toner images of each color transferred overlappingly on the intermediate transfer belt 51 to the recording medium.

[0056] Each toner image of each color formed on the photosensitive drum 31 of each photosensitive unit 13 is electrostatically transferred (primary transfer) to the intermediate transfer belt 51 in sequence by the primary transfer roller 52, forming an overlapping toner image formed by overlapping the toner images of each color. A predetermined transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 52 from a power supply device (not shown) controlled by the system control device and the like.

[0057] The overlapping toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 51 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit TR as the intermediate transfer belt 51 moves. The secondary transfer unit TR presses the secondary transfer roller 53 against the support roller 65 via the intermediate transfer belt 51.

[0058] When the overlapping toner image is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit TR, the sheet P is supplied to the secondary transfer unit TR from the paper feeding device 20 corresponding to this timing. Then, a predetermined secondary transfer voltage is applied to the support roller 65 opposed to the secondary transfer roller 53 across the intermediate transfer belt 51 from a power supply device controlled by the system control device, and the multiple toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 51 are uniformly transferred to the sheet P.

[0059] The residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 51 after the transfer of the multiple toner images is removed by the cleaning device 70 and recovered to the waste toner storage box 100 as an example of the waste toner storage unit.

[0060] The residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 is removed by the cleaning device 33 and recovered to the waste toner storage box 100 via the cleaning device 70. The surface of the photosensitive drum 31 is recharged by the charger 32.

[0061] The fixing device 17 has: an annular fixing belt 17a that rotates unidirectionally; and a pressure roller 17b that contacts the circumferential surface of the fixing belt 17a and rotates unidirectionally. A fixing area is formed by the crimping of the fixing belt 17a and the pressure roller 17b.

[0062] The recording medium after transferring the toner image in the transfer device 15 is conveyed to the fixing area of the fixing device 17 via the paper conveying device 16a in a state where the toner image is not fixed. The toner image is fixed to the recording medium conveyed to the fixing device 17 by the action of heating and crimping by a pair of the fixing belt 17a and the pressure roller 17b.

[0063] The recording medium after fixing is fed into the paper discharging unit 30 via the paper conveying device 16b.

[0064] In addition, in the case of performing image output on both sides of a recording medium, the front and back surfaces of the recording medium are reversed by the paper transport device 16c and then fed again into the secondary transfer unit TR of the image forming unit 10. Then, after the transfer of the toner image and the fixing of the transferred image, the recording medium is fed into the paper discharge unit 30. The recording medium fed into the paper discharge unit 30 is discharged to the paper discharge storage unit after post-processing such as cutting or stapling (staple binding) as required.

[0065] (2) Waste toner recovery path

[0066] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the structures of the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14, Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the cleaning device 70, Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the rotational drive of the first transfer auger 75 and the second transfer auger 76 of the cleaning device 70, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the waste toner transfer unit 80 on the front surface side of the image forming apparatus 1, Figure 6 is a diagram showing the structure of the waste toner dropping path 90 on the back surface side of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0067] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the case of recovering waste toner from the photoreceptor unit 13, the developing device 14, and the transfer device 15, which are image forming units, will be described.

[0068] (2.1) Discharge of waste toner and waste developer

[0069] Figure 2 The cleaning device 33 of the photoreceptor unit 13 shown cleans the recovery material on the photosensitive drum 31 after the toner image is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 51. The recovery material includes residual developer (toner and external additives), foreign substances such as paper powder attached to the photosensitive drum 31 from the recording medium, etc.

[0070] The cleaning brush 33A rotates counterclockwise as shown by the arrow B in Figure 2 while in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 (the photosensitive drum 31 rotates clockwise as shown by the arrow A in Figure 5 ) to float the recovery material on the photosensitive drum 31 for easy removal.

[0071] The cleaning blade 33B removes the recovery material by scraping off the recovery material that has been floated on the photosensitive drum 31 by the cleaning brush 33A.

[0072] And, a toner recovery auger 33C is provided below the cleaning device 33 and extends along the rotation axis toward the outside of the cleaning device 33 (the waste toner transfer unit 80, refer to Figure 5)The toner removed by the cleaning blade 33B through rotation is conveyed, and the toner removed from the cleaning brush 33A by the friction strip 33Aa and stored in the cleaning device 33 is conveyed.

[0073] In the developing device 14, the developer (toner containing a carrier) supplied into the developing housing 41 is agitated in the developing housing 41 by the agitation screw conveyor 43, and is conveyed to the developing roller 42 by the supply screw conveyor 44. Then, a part of the developer is finally discharged to the outside of the developing device 14 as waste developer (hereinafter simply referred to as developer) (the waste toner conveying section 80, refer to Figure 5 ).

[0074] In this way, by supplying new developer into the developing housing 41 and discharging the remaining developer, development can be performed using the newly supplied developer without continuously using the developer containing the deteriorated carrier.

[0075] (2.2) Recovering waste toner from the transfer device 15

[0076] A cleaning device 70 is provided on the downstream side in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 51 of the secondary transfer section TR on the intermediate transfer belt 51 of the transfer device 15.

[0077] As Figure 3 shown, the cleaning device 70 is composed of a housing 71, a cleaning brush 72, a cleaning blade 73, a blade 74, a first transfer screw conveyor 75, a second transfer screw conveyor 76, a cover member 77, and a film 78. The cleaning device 70 recovers the untransferred toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 51 after secondary transfer from the intermediate transfer belt 51. The cleaning device 70 is provided so as to be detachable with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 51.

[0078] The cleaning brush 72 rotates clockwise as shown by the arrow B in Figure 3 while being in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 51 (the intermediate transfer belt 51 moves as shown by the arrow A in Figure 3 ), and floats the recovered matter (residual toner, paper powder, etc.) on the intermediate transfer belt 51 so as to be easily removed.

[0079] The cleaning blade 73 removes the recovered matter by scraping off the recovered matter floating on the intermediate transfer belt 51 due to the cleaning brush 72.

[0080] The blade 74 is made of, for example, a thin metal plate, removes the recovered matter by scraping off the recovered matter not completely removed by the cleaning blade 73, and seals the opening of the housing 71 to the intermediate transfer belt 51 together with the film 78, thereby preventing the recovered matter in the housing 71 from spraying out of the cleaning device 70.

[0081] On the housing 71, a first transfer path 71b and a second transfer path 71c separated by a partition wall 71a are formed. The first transfer path 71b and the second transfer path 71c are formed to extend from the front surface side of the apparatus main body intersecting the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 51 toward the back surface side (in the Y direction), and a first transfer auger 75, which is an example of a transfer screw and an example of a waste toner transfer unit, and a second transfer auger 76, which is an example of a waste powder transfer unit, are disposed inside.

[0082] The first transfer auger 75 transfers the recovered material removed from the intermediate transfer belt 51 by the cleaning brush 72 and the cleaning blade 73 toward the waste toner dropping path 220 described later.

[0083] The second transfer auger 76 receives the waste toner and the developer discharged from the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14 from the waste toner transfer section 80 described later, and transfers them toward the waste toner dropping path 90.

[0084] The second transfer path 71c is closed by a cover member 77 so that the recovered material transferred inside the second transfer path 71c does not leak into the housing 71. Here, when the developer containing the carrier and the toner discharged from the developing device 14 enters between the edge of the cleaning blade 73 and the intermediate transfer belt 51, there is a possibility that the carrier may damage the intermediate transfer belt 51, or the developer may be caught between the cleaning blade 73 and the intermediate transfer belt 51, resulting in a defect in the edge of the cleaning blade 73 and poor cleaning of the intermediate transfer belt 51. In the present embodiment, the second transfer path 71c is closed by the cover member 77, suppressing the leakage of the transferred developer into the housing and suppressing the damage to the edge of the cleaning blade 73 caused by the developer.

[0085] Figure 4 It is a diagram for explaining the rotational drive of the first transfer auger 75 and the second transfer auger 76 on the back surface side of the cleaning device 70. As Figure 4 shown, the first transfer auger 75 and the second transfer auger 76 have gears G1 and G2 at their ends, and the gears G1 and G2 receive the rotational driving force from the input gear G0, and the input gear G0 is rotationally driven from a drive source (not shown) via a coupling (not shown).

[0086] Here, the input gear G0, the gears G1, and G2 have the same number of teeth and module, and the input gear G0 rotates in the direction of arrow A shown in Figure 4 , whereby the gears G1 and G2 rotate in the direction of arrow B shown in Figure 4 . Thus, the first transfer auger 75 and the second transfer auger 76 are shared and rotate in the same direction, thereby transferring the recovered material toward the waste toner dropping path 90, respectively.

[0087] (2.3) Waste toner transfer section

[0088] Figure 5 FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the waste toner transfer section 80. A waste toner transfer section 80, which is an example of a first transfer unit, is provided on the front surface side of the image forming apparatus 1. The waste toner transfer section 80 transfers waste toner and waste developer (hereinafter referred to as waste powder), which are recovered from the photosensitive member unit 13 and the developing device 14, as recovered materials.

[0089] The waste toner transfer section 80 is arranged to extend horizontally (in the X direction) along each photosensitive member unit 13 (Y, M, C, K) and each developing device 14 (Y, M, C, K), and each of the photosensitive member units 13 (Y, M, C, K) and each of the developing devices 14 (Y, M, C, K) are arranged along the intermediate transfer belt 51.

[0090] The waste toner transfer section 80 includes the following components: a transfer tube 81, which is hollow as a whole and houses the waste powder therein; and a transfer screw conveyor 82, which transfers the waste powder.

[0091] Formed on the transfer tube 81 are: a receiving port 81a, which receives the waste toner discharged from the toner recovery screw conveyors 33C (Y, M, C, K) of each photosensitive member unit 13 (Y, M, C, K) respectively; and a receiving port 81b, which receives the developer of each developing device 14 (Y, M, C, K).

[0092] In addition, a discharge port 81c is formed on the transfer tube 81, and the discharge port 81c discharges the waste powder conveyed by the transfer screw conveyor 82 to the cleaning device 70.

[0093] The transfer screw conveyor 82 forms spiral blades around the rotation axis, receives a rotational force from a drive source (not shown), and rotates along the inner wall of the transfer tube 81, thereby conveying the waste powder received from the receiving ports 81a and 81b in the transfer tube 81 (see the X direction and arrow R1 in FIG. Figure 5 .

[0094] When the waste powder conveyed in the transfer tube 81 by the transfer screw conveyor 82 reaches the discharge port 81c, it drops into the waste powder receiving port 71A of the cleaning device 70.

[0095] (2.4) Waste toner dropping path

[0096] Figure 6It is a cross-sectional schematic view showing the waste toner dropping path 90. A waste toner dropping path 90, which is an example of a second transfer unit, is provided on the back side of the image forming apparatus 1. The waste toner dropping path 90 receives the waste powder discharged from the cleaning device 70, stirs it, and makes it drop toward the waste toner storage box 100 (-Z direction).

[0097] The waste toner dropping path 90 is composed of the following components: a tubular member 91; a stirrer 92 that moves forward and backward in the internal space of the tubular member 91 in a vibrating manner in the vertical direction to decompose the waste powder adhering to the inner wall; and a drive source (not shown) that transmits the driving force for moving the stirrer 92 forward and backward. The waste toner dropping path 90 is disposed substantially vertically at the discharge ports 71B and 71C of the cleaning device 70.

[0098] The waste toner dropping path 90 uses the stirrer 92 to stir the waste powder received from the first transfer path 71b and the second transfer path 71c of the cleaning device 70, and makes it drop toward the waste toner storage box 100 (refer to Figure 6 the arrow R in).

[0099] (2.5) Waste toner recovery path

[0100] Figure 7 It is a top view schematic showing the overall structure of the waste toner recovery path of this embodiment. The waste toner recovery path is constituted by connecting the following components as a transfer path: a waste toner transfer unit 80 that receives the waste toner recovered by the cleaning device 33 of the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developer discharged from the developing device 14 on the front surface side of the apparatus main body, and transfers them toward the waste powder receiving port 71A of the cleaning device 70; a cleaning device 70 that scrapes off the residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 51 of the transfer device 15 and transfers it to the waste toner dropping path 90, and receives the waste powder from the waste toner transfer unit 80 and passes the waste powder through its interior and transfers it to the waste toner dropping path 90; and a waste toner dropping path 90 that receives the waste toner and waste powder discharged from the first transfer path 71b and the second transfer path 71c of the cleaning device 70 and makes them drop into the waste toner storage box 100.

[0101] In this embodiment, a waste toner transfer unit 80 is disposed on the front surface side of the apparatus main body. The waste toner transfer unit 80 transfers the waste toner recovered by the cleaning device 33 of the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developer discharged from the developing device 14. Thus, in the case where the waste powder is blocked in the waste powder transfer path, compared with the structure in which the waste toner transfer unit is disposed on the back side of the apparatus main body, the blockage can be easily eliminated.

[0102] In this embodiment, the waste toner conveying unit 80 disposed on the front surface side of the apparatus main body conveys the waste powder discharged from the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14, and causes them to pass through the inside of the cleaning device 70 and be discharged to the waste toner dropping path 90 disposed on the back surface side of the apparatus main body. The cleaning device 70 removes the residual toner from the intermediate transfer belt 51. Thus, it is possible to convey the waste powder recovered from the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14, which are image forming units, toward the waste toner storage box 100 without providing a dedicated transfer path.

[0103] In addition, by disposing the waste toner dropping path 90 on the back surface side of the apparatus main body, the waste toner storage box 100 can be made larger than the structure disposed on the front surface side of the apparatus main body. The waste toner dropping path 90 causes the waste powder recovered from the photoreceptor unit 13 and the developing device 14, the residual toner recovered from the transfer device 15, etc. to drop toward the waste toner storage box 100. Moreover, the waste toner storage box 100 can be taken out from the front surface side of the apparatus main body.

Claims

1. A cleaning device, comprising: a cleaning unit that cleans waste toner from an image holding body that holds a toner image formed by the image forming unit on a surface and circulates; a receiving port for receiving waste powder recovered from the image forming unit; as well as a waste toner conveying unit that conveys the cleaned waste toner toward a waste toner storage portion, The cleaning device allows the waste powder received at the receiving port to pass through the interior of the cleaning device, thereby conveying the waste powder to the waste toner storage portion. The cleaning device includes a waste powder conveying unit which is separated from the waste toner conveying unit in the cleaning device, receives the waste powder from one end side of the cleaning device, and conveys the waste powder toward the other end side.

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, in, The waste powder conveying unit is closed so that the waste powder does not leak into the cleaning unit.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, in, The waste powder conveying unit is disposed at a position across the waste toner conveying unit from the cleaning unit.

4. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in, The waste toner conveying unit and the waste powder conveying unit have a conveying screw that is shared and rotates in the same direction to convey the waste toner and the waste powder.

5. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in, The waste powder contains toner and carrier.

6. The cleaning device according to claim 4, in, The waste powder contains toner and carrier.

7. A waste toner recovery device, comprising: a first conveying unit for conveying waste powder recovered from an image forming unit for forming a toner image; The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which receives and conveys the waste powder from the first conveying unit; and and a second conveying unit configured to convey the waste toner and the waste powder conveyed by the cleaning device so as to drop toward the waste toner storage portion.

8. The waste toner recovery device according to claim 7, in, The first conveying unit is disposed on the front surface side of the device body at one end side of the cleaning device.

9. An image forming device comprising: a first conveying unit for conveying waste powder collected from an image forming unit that forms a toner image on the front surface side of the apparatus main body; The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which discharges the waste toner collected from the image holding body and the waste powder conveyed by the first conveying unit toward a waste toner storage portion provided on the back side of the device body, the image holding body holding the toner image on the surface and circulatingly moving; and The second conveying unit conveys the waste toner and the waste powder so as to drop toward the waste toner storage portion.

Images