Image forming apparatus and recycling device

Abstract

The present application provides an image forming apparatus and a recovery apparatus. The image forming apparatus of the present application includes a black image holding member that holds a black toner image; a yellow image holding member that holds a yellow toner image; a magenta image holding member that holds a magenta toner image; a cyan image holding member that holds a cyan toner image; a special color image holding member that holds a special color toner image other than the black, yellow, magenta, and cyan; and a plurality of recovery sections that recover waste toner, respectively, the recovery sections including a first recovery section that recovers waste toner removed from the black image holding member and waste toner removed from the special color image holding member.

Description

Image forming apparatus and recycling apparatus Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image recovery apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-132112 discloses an image forming apparatus that includes a photoreceptor cleaning device for recovering waste toner from a photoreceptor and an intermediate transfer body cleaning device for recovering waste toner from an intermediate transfer body.

[0003] Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-331007 discloses an image forming apparatus equipped with a cleaning device for recovering waste toner from a photoreceptor belt. This image forming apparatus's cleaning device includes a black waste toner bottle for recovering black waste toner and a non-specific color waste toner bottle for recovering non-specific color waste toner. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In an image forming apparatus, when multiple recovery units are used to recover waste toner removed from image holding components by a cleaning unit, the amount of waste toner recovered by each recovery unit sometimes deviates.

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to suppress deviations in the amount of waste colorant recovered by each recovery unit when waste colorant is recovered to multiple recovery units.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is provided, comprising: a black image holding member for holding a black toner image; a yellow image holding member for holding a yellow toner image; a magenta image holding member for holding a magenta toner image; a cyan image holding member for holding a cyan toner image; a spot color image holding member for holding spot color toner images other than black, yellow, magenta, and cyan; and a plurality of recovery units for recovering waste toner, each recovery unit including a first recovery unit that recovers waste toner removed from the black image holding member and waste toner removed from the spot color image holding member.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of recycling units includes a second recycling unit that recycles waste toner removed from at least one of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member.

[0008] According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the plurality of recycling units, the second recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from two or more of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member, and the number of colors of waste toner recycled by the first recycling unit is equal to the number of colors of waste toner recycled by the second recycling unit.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of spot color image holding members are provided that hold different spot color toner images from each other. Among the plurality of recycling units, the first recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from one of the spot color image holding members, and the second recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from other spot color image holding members that are different from that spot color image holding member.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, among the plurality of recycling units, the first recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from one of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member, waste toner removed from the black image holding member, and waste toner removed from one of the spot color image holding members; the second recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from both of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member that were not recycled by the first recycling unit, and waste toner removed from the other spot color image holding members.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a transfer body is further provided for transferring toner images formed on the black image holding member, the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, the cyan image holding member, and the spot color image holding member. Among the plurality of recovery units, a third recovery unit, different from the first recovery unit, is used to recover waste toner removed from the transfer body.

[0012] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, among the plurality of recycling units, the third recycling unit recycles the waste toner removed from the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, the cyan image holding member, and the waste toner removed from the transfer body.

[0013] According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of image holding members for removing waste toners collected by the first recycling unit are all disposed below in the vertical direction, compared to any one of the plurality of image holding members for removing waste toners collected by recycling units other than the first recycling unit.

[0014] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is provided, comprising: a black image holding member for holding a black toner image; a yellow image holding member for holding a yellow toner image; a magenta image holding member for holding a magenta toner image; a cyan image holding member for holding a cyan toner image; a transfer body for transferring toner images formed on the black image holding member, the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member; a recycling unit for recovering waste toner removed from the black image holding member; and other recycling units for recovering waste toner removed from at least one of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member, as well as waste toner removed from the transfer body.

[0015] According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a recycling apparatus is provided, comprising: a first recycling unit that recycles waste toner removed from a black image holding member that holds a black toner image, and waste toner removed from a spot color image holding member that holds spot color toner images other than black, yellow, magenta, and cyan; and a second recycling unit that recycles waste toner removed from at least one of a yellow image holding member that holds a yellow toner image, a magenta image holding member that holds a magenta toner image, and a cyan image holding member that holds a cyan toner image.

[0016] According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, a recycling apparatus is provided, comprising: a recycling unit that recycles waste toner removed from a black image holding member that holds a black toner image; and other recycling units that recycle waste toner removed from at least one of a yellow image holding member that holds a yellow toner image, a magenta image holding member that holds a magenta toner image, and a cyan image holding member that holds a cyan toner image, as well as waste toner removed from a transfer body that transfers toner images formed on the black image holding member, the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member.

[0017] Invention Effects

[0018] According to the first scheme described above, when waste colorant is recovered to multiple recovery units, deviations in the amount of waste colorant recovered by each recovery unit can be suppressed.

[0019] According to the second scheme described above, waste toner removed from the black image holding component, yellow image holding component, magenta image holding component, cyan image holding component and spot color image holding component can be recovered using the first recovery unit and the second recovery unit.

[0020] According to the third scheme described above, compared with the case where the number of colors of the waste colorant recovered by the first recovery unit and the number of colors of the waste colorant recovered by the second recovery unit are different, the difference in the amount of waste colorant recovered by the first recovery unit and the second recovery unit can be reduced.

[0021] According to the fourth scheme described above, compared with the case where the waste toner removed from one spot color image holding member and the waste toner removed from other spot color image holding members are recovered using the same recovery unit, the difference in the amount of waste toner recovered by the first recovery unit and the second recovery unit can be reduced.

[0022] According to the fifth scheme described above, compared with the case where the waste toner removed from the yellow image holding member, magenta image holding member, and cyan image holding member is recovered using the same recovery unit, the difference in the amount of waste toner recovered by the first recovery unit and the second recovery unit can be reduced.

[0023] According to the sixth scheme described above, compared with the case where the waste toner removed from the transfer body is recovered by the first recovery unit, the excess toner dose recovered by the first recovery unit can be suppressed.

[0024] According to the seventh scheme described above, compared with the case where the waste toner removed from the yellow image holding member, magenta image holding member, and cyan image holding member is recovered by the first recovery unit, the excess toner dose recovered by the first recovery unit can be suppressed.

[0025] According to the eighth scheme described above, after dividing the waste colorant recovery path into a vertically upward side and a vertically downward side, the waste colorant can be easily guided to the first recovery section and other recovery sections.

[0026] According to the above-mentioned ninth scheme, when the waste colorant is recovered to multiple recovery units, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the waste colorant dosage recovered by each recovery unit.

[0027] According to the above-mentioned 10th scheme, when the waste colorant is recovered to multiple recovery units, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the waste colorant dosage recovered by each recovery unit.

[0028] According to the above-mentioned 11th scheme, when the waste colorant is recovered to multiple recovery units, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the waste colorant dosage recovered by each recovery unit. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the image forming apparatus used in this embodiment.

[0030] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the recycling unit used in Embodiment 1.

[0031] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the recycling unit used in Embodiment 2.

[0032] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the recycling unit used in Embodiment 3.

[0033] Figure 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the image forming apparatus used in Embodiment 4.

[0034] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the recycling unit used in Embodiment 4.

[0035] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the recycling unit used in Embodiment 5. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0037] (Implementation Method 1)

[0038] Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the image forming apparatus 100 used in this embodiment.

[0039] The image forming apparatus 100 shown in the figure is an image forming apparatus of the intermediate transfer method, commonly referred to as a tandem type. The image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a plurality of image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, 1P that form tonal images of each color component by electrophotography.

[0040] Image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K respectively form images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) (these colors are sometimes referred to as common colors below). Additionally, image forming unit 1P forms a spot color image that differs from the common colors. Here, a spot color is a color that differs from the common colors; examples include colors that are difficult to achieve using common colors such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners. Examples of such spot colors include white, transparent, light cyan, light magenta, orange, purple, green, fluorescent pink, fluorescent yellow, and metallic colors such as gold and silver colored with metallic pigments, but these are not limited to these examples.

[0041] In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a primary transfer unit 10, which sequentially transfers the toner images of each color component formed by each image forming unit 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, 1P to the intermediate transfer belt 15 in one pass. The image forming apparatus 100 is also provided with a secondary transfer unit 20, which uniformly transfers the overlapping toner images transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 15 to the paper 50 in a second pass.

[0042] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a fixing unit 60, which fixes the toner image after secondary transfer onto the paper 50. Additionally, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a control unit 40, which is composed of a program-controlled CPU and controls various components within the image forming apparatus 100. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a UI (User Interface) 45, which comprises a display panel and the like, and receives and displays information from the user.

[0043] Each image forming unit 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P, which functions as part of the image forming section, is equipped with the following electrophotographic apparatus. First, a charger 12 for charging the photosensitive drum 11 is provided around the photosensitive drum 11, which rotates in the direction of arrow A. Additionally, a laser exposure unit 13 is provided for writing an electrostatic latent image onto the photosensitive drum 11. It should be noted that the exposure beam based on the laser exposure unit 13 is represented by the symbol Bm in FIG1. ​​It should also be noted that in the following description, the photosensitive drum 11 provided in the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P will sometimes be referred to as photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K, and 11P, respectively. Photosensitive drum 11Y is an example of a yellow image holding component, photosensitive drum 11M is an example of a magenta image holding component, photosensitive drum 11C is an example of a cyan image holding component, photosensitive drum 11K is an example of a black image holding component, and photosensitive drum 11P is an example of a spot color image holding component.

[0044] In addition, a developing device 14 is provided, which collects a developer containing a carrier and a toner, and uses the toner to make the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 visible. A primary transfer roller 16 is also provided, which transfers the toner images of each color formed on the photosensitive drum 11 to the intermediate transfer belt 15 using a primary transfer section 10. A drum cleaner 17 is also provided, which removes toner residue from the photosensitive drum 11. The drum cleaner 17 is, for example, a cleaning blade that contacts the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 and scrapes off the toner residue. It should be noted that in the following description, the drum cleaners 17 provided in the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P are sometimes referred to as drum cleaners 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17K, and 17P, respectively.

[0045] The intermediate transfer belt 15 is cyclically moved at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG1 by a drive roller 31 driven by a motor (not shown). The primary transfer unit 10 is configured to include a primary transfer roller 16 that is arranged opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 15. Furthermore, the toner images on each photosensitive drum 11 are sequentially electrostatically attracted by the intermediate transfer belt 15, forming overlapping toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 15.

[0046] The secondary transfer unit 20 comprises a secondary transfer roller 22 disposed on the toner image holding side of the intermediate transfer belt 15 and a support roller 25. The secondary transfer roller 22 is arranged such that it clamps the intermediate transfer belt 15 and squeezes the support roller 25. Furthermore, the secondary transfer roller 22 is grounded, and a secondary transfer bias is formed between the secondary transfer roller 22 and the support roller 25, thereby transferring the toner image to the paper 50 conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 20. In addition, a belt cleaner 27 is provided to remove toner residue on the intermediate transfer belt 15. The belt cleaner 27 is, for example, a cleaning blade that contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 and scrapes off the toner residue on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15.

[0047] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a recycling unit 70, which recycles waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11 by the drum cleaners 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17K, and 17P of each image forming unit 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P, as well as waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 by the belt cleaner 27. It should be noted that the configuration of the recycling unit 70 will be described in detail below.

[0048] The basic image forming process of the image forming apparatus 100 will be explained.

[0049] In the image forming apparatus 100, image data is output by an image reading device (not shown). Then, the image data is processed by an image processing device (not shown) to convert it into grayscale data of four colors: Y, M, C, and K, and output to the laser exposure unit 13.

[0050] In the laser exposure unit 13, based on the input grayscale data of the pigment, an exposure beam Bm emitted from, for example, a semiconductor laser, is used to irradiate the photosensitive drums 11 of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K. In each photosensitive drum 11, after the surface is charged using the charger 12, the surface is scanned and exposed using the laser exposure unit 13 to form an electrostatic latent image. Subsequently, after a tonal image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 using the developing apparatus 14, the tonal image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 15 in a primary transfer section 10 where each photosensitive drum 11 contacts the intermediate transfer belt 15.

[0051] After the toner image is transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 in one pass, it is conveyed to the secondary transfer section 20 by the movement of the intermediate transfer belt 15. In the secondary transfer section 20, the secondary transfer roller 22 presses against the support roller 25 across the intermediate transfer belt 15. At this time, the paper 50 conveyed from the first paper collection section 53 or the second paper collection section 54 by the conveyor roller 52, etc., is sandwiched between the intermediate transfer belt 15 and the secondary transfer roller 22.

[0052] Subsequently, the unfixed toner image held on the intermediate transfer belt 15 is uniformly electrostatically transferred onto the paper 50 in the secondary transfer section 20. Afterward, the paper 50 with the electrostatically transferred toner image is peeled off the intermediate transfer belt 15 and conveyed to the conveyor belt 55 located downstream of the secondary transfer roller 22 in the paper transport direction. The conveyor belt 55 then conveys the paper 50 to the fixing unit 60.

[0053] The toner image on the paper 50, which is conveyed to the fixing device 60, is subjected to heat and pressure by the fixing device 60 and is fixed onto the paper 50. Afterwards, the paper 50 with the fixed image is discharged from the image forming apparatus 100.

[0054] On the other hand, the toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 11 after the first transfer is removed by the drum cleaner 17, and the toner adhering to the intermediate transfer belt 15 after the second transfer is removed by the belt cleaner 27. The toner (waste toner) removed by the drum cleaner 17 and the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to the recycling unit 70.

[0055] In this way, the image forming process using the image forming apparatus 100 is repeatedly executed according to the number of printed sheets.

[0056] Next, the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the recycling unit 70 used in Embodiment 1.

[0057] The recycling unit 70 of this embodiment has a plurality of recycling containers for recycling waste coloring agents. In this example, the recycling unit 70 has a first recycling container 71A, a second recycling container 71B, and a third recycling container 71C for recycling waste coloring agents. Furthermore, the first recycling container 71A, the second recycling container 71B, and the third recycling container 71C have the same configuration and equal volumes. Here, the first recycling container 71A is an example of the second recycling unit, the second recycling container 71B is an example of the first recycling unit, and the third recycling container 71C is an example of the third recycling unit.

[0058] Each recycling container (first recycling container 71A, second recycling container 71B, and third recycling container 71C) in the recycling unit 70 is equipped with a detection sensor (not shown) that detects when the amount of recycled waste color exceeds a preset reference amount. Afterwards, the user of the image forming apparatus 100 removes each recycling container from the image forming apparatus 100 and replaces it with a new recycling container based on the detection results of the detection sensors.

[0059] In this embodiment, the recycling unit 70 uses multiple recycling containers (first recycling container 71A, second recycling container 71B, and third recycling container 71C) to recycle waste toner. As a result, compared with the case of recycling waste toner using a single recycling container, the capacity of the recycling containers can be reduced, and the design freedom of the image forming apparatus 100 can be increased.

[0060] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 100, from the perspective of reducing the replacement frequency of the recycling containers, it is preferable to have a small difference in the amount of waste color tones recycled into the plurality of recycling containers (first recycling container 71A, second recycling container 71B, and third recycling container 71C). In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, by adopting the configuration described below, the difference in the amount of waste color tones recycled into the plurality of recycling containers (first recycling container 71A, second recycling container 71B, and third recycling container 71C) can be reduced.

[0061] As shown in Figure 2, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the first recycling container 71A recycles: yellow waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Y by the drum cleaner 17Y, magenta waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11M by the drum cleaner 17M, and cyan waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11C by the drum cleaner 17C.

[0062] Additionally, the second recycling container 71B recycles: waste black toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11K using the drum cleaner 17K, and waste spot color toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11P using the drum cleaner 17P.

[0063] In addition, the third recycling container 71C recycles waste colorant removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 using a cleaner 27.

[0064] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 100, the amount of toner consumed varies depending on the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P. Consequently, the amount of waste toner remaining on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K, and 11P in each image forming unit 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P, and the amount removed by the drum cleaners 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17K, and 17P, also differs.

[0065] For example, in image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P, the consumption of common color (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) toners tends to be greater than that of spot color toners. Therefore, the amount of waste toner removed from the surface of the spot color photosensitive drum 11P using the spot color drum cleaner 17P is greater than the amount of waste toner removed from the surface of the common color photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K using the common color drum cleaners 17Y, 17M, 17C, and 17K, respectively.

[0066] Furthermore, in the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K for common colors, the consumption of black toner tends to be greater than that of yellow, magenta, and cyan toners. Therefore, the amount of waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, and 11C using the black drum cleaner 17K is greater than the amount of waste toner removed from the surface of the black photosensitive drum 11K using the black drum cleaner 17K.

[0067] That is, the relationship between the waste tone doses removed from the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K, and 11P by the drum cleaners 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17K, and 17P of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, and 1P respectively is: photosensitive drum 11K > photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C > photosensitive drum 11P.

[0068] In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K (which has a high waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17K and spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11P (which has a low waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17P are recycled into the same recycling container (second recycling container 71B). Therefore, compared to, for example, the case where black waste toner is recycled to a first recycling container 71A (which is different from the spot color waste toner), the situation where the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for black waste toner is excessive compared to other recycling containers, or the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for spot color waste toner is insufficient compared to other recycling containers, can be prevented. As a result, the difference in waste toner dosage between the first recycling container 71A and the second recycling container 71B among the plurality of recycling containers can be reduced.

[0069] In addition, toners adhere from each of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K, and 11P to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 (see Figure 1), and the belt cleaner 27 removes waste toners of multiple colors from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15. Therefore, the amount of waste toners removed by the belt cleaner 27 can easily increase.

[0070] In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 by the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to a third recycling container 71C, which is different from the second recycling container 71B used to recycle the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K by the drum cleaner 17K. Therefore, compared to, for example, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 by the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to the same second recycling container 71B as the black waste toner, excess waste toner in the second recycling container 71B can be suppressed.

[0071] (Implementation Method 2)

[0072] Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as in Embodiment 1, and detailed descriptions are omitted here.

[0073] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the recycling unit 70 used in Embodiment 2.

[0074] The recycling unit 70 of this embodiment has a first recycling container 72A, a second recycling container 72B, and a third recycling container 72C for recycling waste coloring agents, respectively. Here, the first recycling container 72A is an example of the second recycling unit, the second recycling container 72B is an example of the first recycling unit, and the third recycling container 72C is an example of the third recycling unit.

[0075] As shown in Figure 3, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the first recycling container 72A recycles: yellow waste colorant removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Y by the drum cleaner 17Y, and magenta waste colorant removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11M by the drum cleaner 17M.

[0076] In addition, the second recycling container 72B recycles: cyan waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11C by the drum cleaner 17C, black waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11K by the drum cleaner 17K, and spot color waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P.

[0077] In addition, the third recycling container 72C recycles waste colorant removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 using a cleaner 27.

[0078] In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 1, the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K (which has a high waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17K and the spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11P (which has a low waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17P are recycled into the same recycling container (second recycling container 72B). Therefore, compared to, for example, the case where the black waste toner is recycled into a first recycling container 72A (which is different from the spot color waste toner), the situation where the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for black waste toner is excessive compared to other recycling containers, or the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for spot color waste toner is insufficient compared to other recycling containers, can be prevented. As a result, the difference in waste toner dosage between the first recycling container 72A and the second recycling container 72B among the plurality of recycling containers can be reduced.

[0079] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 1, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 (see Figure 1) using the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to a third recycling container 72C, which is different from the second recycling container 72B used to recycle the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K using the drum cleaner 17K. Therefore, compared to, for example, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 using the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to the same second recycling container 72B as the black waste toner, excess waste toner in the second recycling container 72B can be suppressed.

[0080] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the yellow waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11Y by the drum cleaner 17Y and the magenta waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11M by the drum cleaner 17M are recycled to the first recycling container 72A. In other words, in the recycling unit 70, waste toners of two common colors other than black (yellow, magenta, and cyan) are recycled to the first recycling container 72A.

[0081] On the other hand, in the recycling section 70, in addition to the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K by the drum cleaner 17K and the spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P, the cyan waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11C by the drum cleaner 17C is also recycled to the second recycling container 72B. In other words, in the recycling section 70, waste toner of one common color other than black (yellow, magenta, cyan) is recycled to the second recycling container 72B.

[0082] That is, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the number of common colors other than black recycled by the second recycling container 72B is less than the number of common colors other than black recycled by the first recycling container 72A.

[0083] Therefore, in the recycling unit 70, even when black waste colorant and common color waste colorants other than black are recycled using the same recycling container (second recycling container 72B), the excess amount of waste colorant recycled to the second recycling container 72B can still be suppressed compared to the case where the number of common colors other than black recycled by the second recycling container 72B is greater than the number of common colors other than black recycled by the first recycling container 72A.

[0084] (Implementation Method 3)

[0085] Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as in Embodiment 1, and detailed descriptions are omitted here.

[0086] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the recycling unit 70 used in Embodiment 3.

[0087] The recycling unit 70 of this embodiment has a first recycling container 73A and a second recycling container 73B for recycling waste coloring agents, respectively. Here, the first recycling container 73A is an example of the second recycling unit, and the second recycling container 73B is an example of the first recycling unit.

[0088] As shown in Figure 4, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the first recycling container 73A recycles: waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Y by the drum cleaner 17Y, waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11M by the drum cleaner 17M, and waste toner removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 15 by the belt cleaner 27.

[0089] In addition, the second recycling container 73B recycles: waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11K by the drum cleaner 17K, waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P, and waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11C by the drum cleaner 17C.

[0090] In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 1, the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K (which has a high waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17K and the spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11P (which has a low waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17P are recycled to the same recycling container (second recycling container 73B). Therefore, compared to, for example, the case where the black waste toner is recycled to a first recycling container 73A (which is different from the spot color waste toner), the situation where the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for black waste toner is excessive compared to other recycling containers, or the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for spot color waste toner is insufficient compared to other recycling containers, can be prevented. As a result, the difference in waste toner dosage between the first recycling container 73A and the second recycling container 73B can be reduced.

[0091] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 (see Figure 1) using the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to the first recycling container 73A. Therefore, compared to, for example, recycling the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 using the belt cleaner 27 to recycling containers other than the first recycling container 73A and the second recycling container 73B, the number of recycling containers required for the recycling unit 70 can be reduced.

[0092] (Implementation Method 4)

[0093] Next, Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as in Embodiment 1, and detailed descriptions are omitted here.

[0094] Figure 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the image forming apparatus 100 used in Embodiment 4.

[0095] The image forming apparatus 100 includes image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K that respectively form images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Additionally, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 1P that forms an image of a first spot color, and an image forming unit 1Q that forms an image of a second spot color different from the first spot color.

[0096] In addition, the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, 1P, and 1Q are provided with photosensitive drums 11, chargers 12, laser exposers 13, developing devices 14, primary transfer rollers 16, drum cleaners 17, etc., in the same manner as in Embodiment 1. In the following description, the photosensitive drums 11 provided in the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, 1P, and 1Q will sometimes be referred to as photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K, 11P, and 11Q, and the drum cleaners 17 will be referred to as drum cleaners 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17K, 17P, and 17Q.

[0097] Next, the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the recycling unit 70 used in Embodiment 4.

[0098] The recycling unit 70 of this embodiment has a first recycling container 74A, a second recycling container 74B, and a third recycling container 74C for recycling waste coloring agents, respectively. Here, the first recycling container 74A is an example of the second recycling unit, the second recycling container 74B is an example of the first recycling unit, and the third recycling container 74C is an example of the third recycling unit.

[0099] As shown in Figure 6, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the first recycling container 74A recycles: the first spot color waste colorant removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P, the yellow waste colorant removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Y by the drum cleaner 17Y, and the magenta waste colorant removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11M by the drum cleaner 17M.

[0100] Additionally, the second recycling container 74B recovers: cyan waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11C by the drum cleaner 17C, black waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11K by the drum cleaner 17K, and second spot color waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Q by the drum cleaner 17Q.

[0101] Additionally, the third recycling container 74C recycles waste colorant removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 (see Figure 5) using a cleaner 27.

[0102] In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K (which has a high waste toner dosage) by the drum cleaner 17K, and the second spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11Q (which has a low waste toner dosage) by the drum cleaner 17Q, are recycled into the same recycling container (second recycling container 74B). Therefore, compared to, for example, recycling the black waste toner and the two types of spot color waste toner into different recycling containers, the amount of waste toner recovered in the recycling container for the two types of spot color waste toner can be prevented from being too low compared to other recycling containers. As a result, the difference in waste toner dosage recovered into the first recycling container 74A and the second recycling container 74B can be reduced.

[0103] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the first spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P is recycled by the first recycling container 74A, and the second spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11Q by the drum cleaner 17Q is recycled by the second recycling container 74B. In other words, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the two colors of spot color waste toner are recycled using different recycling containers. Therefore, compared to, for example, recycling the two colors of spot color waste toner using the same recycling container, the difference in the amount of waste toner recycled to the first recycling container 74A and the second recycling container 74B can be reduced.

[0104] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, waste colorants of the first spot color, yellow, and magenta are recycled in the first recycling container 74A, and waste colorants of cyan, black, and the second spot color are recycled in the second recycling container 74B. That is, the amount of waste colorants recycled by the first recycling container 74A and the second recycling container 74B is equal. Therefore, compared to the case where, for example, the amount of waste colorants recycled by the first recycling container 74A and the second recycling container 74B are different, the difference between the amount of waste colorants recycled by the first recycling container 74A and the amount of waste colorants recycled by the second recycling container 74B can be reduced.

[0105] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 1, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 (see Figure 5) using the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to a third recycling container 74C, which is different from the second recycling container 74B used to recycle the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K using the drum cleaner 17K. Therefore, compared to, for example, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 using the belt cleaner 27 is recycled to the same second recycling container 74B as the black waste toner, excess waste toner dosage recycled to the second recycling container 74B can be suppressed.

[0106] In this embodiment, the vertical heights of image forming units 1P, 1Y, and 1M are set to be approximately the same, while image forming units 1C, 1K, and 1Q are all positioned below image forming units 1P, 1Y, and 1M in the vertical direction.

[0107] In the recycling unit 70, waste toners of three colors—first spot color, yellow, and magenta—are recycled in the first recycling container 74A, and waste toners of three colors—cyan, black, and second spot color—are recycled in the second recycling container 74B. That is, the recycling unit 70 is equipped with a first recycling container 74A for recycling waste toners of the colors corresponding to the image forming unit located vertically upwards, and a second recycling container 74B for recycling waste toners of the colors corresponding to the image forming unit located vertically downwards. Therefore, by dividing the waste toner recycling path based on the recycling unit 70 into a vertically upward side and a vertically downward side, the waste toners can be easily guided to each recycling container.

[0108] (Implementation Method 5)

[0109] Next, Embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as in Embodiments 1 and 4, and detailed descriptions are omitted here.

[0110] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the recycling unit 70 used in Embodiment 5.

[0111] The recycling unit 70 of this embodiment has a first recycling container 75A and a second recycling container 75B for recycling waste coloring agents, respectively. Here, the first recycling container 75A is an example of a second recycling unit, a third recycling unit, or another recycling unit, and the second recycling container 75B is an example of a first recycling unit or a single recycling unit.

[0112] As shown in FIG7, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the first recycling container 75A recycles: the first spot color waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P, the yellow waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Y by the drum cleaner 17Y, the magenta waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11M by the drum cleaner 17M, and the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 (see FIG5) by the belt cleaner 27.

[0113] Additionally, the second recycling container 75B recycles: cyan waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11C using the drum cleaner 17C, black waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11K using the drum cleaner 17K, and second spot color waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 11Q using the drum cleaner 17Q.

[0114] In the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 4, the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K (which has a high waste toner dosage) using the drum cleaner 17K, and the second spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11Q using the drum cleaner 17Q (which has a low waste toner dosage), are recycled into the same recycling container (second recycling container 75B). Therefore, compared to, for example, recycling the black waste toner and the two types of spot color waste toner into different recycling containers, the amount of waste toner recycled in the recycling container for the two types of spot color waste toner can be prevented from being too low compared to other recycling containers. As a result, the difference in waste toner dosage recycled into the first recycling container 75A and the second recycling container 75B can be reduced.

[0115] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, similarly to Embodiment 4, the first spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11P by the drum cleaner 17P is recycled using the first recycling container 75A, and the second spot color waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11Q by the drum cleaner 17Q is recycled using the second recycling container 75B. In other words, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the waste toners of the two colors are recycled using different recycling containers. Therefore, compared to, for example, recycling the waste toners of the two colors using the same recycling container, the difference in the amount of waste toner recycled to the first recycling container 75A and the second recycling container 75B can be reduced.

[0116] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, waste colorants of three colors—first spot color, yellow, and magenta—are recycled in the first recycling container 75A, and waste colorants of three colors—cyan, black, and second spot color—are recycled in the second recycling container 75B. That is, the amount of waste colorants recycled by the first recycling container 75A and the second recycling container 75B is equal. Therefore, compared to, for example, cases where the amount of waste colorants recycled by the first recycling container 75A and the second recycling container 75B differs, the difference between the amount of waste colorants recycled by the first recycling container 75A and the amount recycled by the second recycling container 75B can be reduced.

[0117] Furthermore, in the recycling unit 70 of this embodiment, the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 with a high waste toner content using the cleaner 27 is recycled to a first recycling container 75A, which is different from the second recycling container 75B used to recycle the black waste toner removed from the photosensitive drum 11K with a high waste toner content using the cleaner 17K. Therefore, compared to the case where the waste toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 using the cleaner 27 is recycled to a recycling container for black waste toner (e.g., the second recycling container 75B), the excess amount of waste toner recycled in the black waste toner recycling container compared to other recycling containers can be prevented.

[0118] In addition, compared with the case where the waste colorant removed from the intermediate transfer belt 15 by the cleaner 27 is recycled to recycling containers other than the first recycling container 75A and the second recycling container 75B, the number of recycling containers required by the recycling section 70 can be reduced.

[0119] In this embodiment, the vertical heights of image forming units 1P, 1Y, and 1M are set to be approximately the same, while image forming units 1C, 1K, and 1Q are all positioned below image forming units 1P, 1Y, and 1M in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the cleaner 27 is positioned at a height in the vertical direction that is closer to image forming units 1P, 1Y, and 1M than image forming unit 1C.

[0120] In the recycling unit 70, waste toners of the first spot color, yellow, and magenta, as well as waste toners removed by the cleaner 27, are recycled in the first recycling container 75A, and waste toners of cyan, black, and the second spot color are recycled in the second recycling container 75B. That is, the recycling unit 70 is provided with a first recycling container 75A for recycling waste toners generated by the image forming unit located vertically above and the cleaner 27, and a second recycling container 75B for recycling waste toners of the color corresponding to the image forming unit located vertically below. Therefore, by dividing the waste toner recycling path based on the recycling unit 70 into a vertically upward side and a vertically downward side, the waste toners can be easily guided to each recycling container.

[0121] The embodiments 1 to 5 of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments as long as it does not impair the purpose of the present invention, and can be modified as needed.

[0122] For example, the image forming apparatus 100 with an intermediate transfer belt 15 was illustrated above, but it can also be applied to an image forming apparatus of the so-called direct transfer method, in which an image formed on a photosensitive drum 11 is directly transferred to paper 50. In this case, the waste toner removed from each photosensitive drum 11 can be recycled in accordance with the methods described in Embodiments 1 to 5 above.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a black image holding member for holding a black toner image; a yellow image holding member for holding a yellow toner image; a magenta image holding member for holding a magenta toner image; a cyan image holding member for holding a cyan toner image; a spot color image holding member for holding spot color toner images other than black, yellow, magenta, and cyan; and a plurality of recovery units for recovering waste toner, the recovery unit comprising a first recovery unit that recovers waste toner removed from the black image holding member and waste toner removed from the spot color image holding member, the plurality of recovery units comprising a second recovery unit that recovers waste toner removed from at least one of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member.

2. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, In the plurality of recycling units, the second recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from two or more of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member, wherein the number of colors of waste toner recovered by the first recycling unit is equal to the number of colors of waste toner recovered by the second recycling unit.

3. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein, The image forming apparatus includes a plurality of spot color image holding members that hold mutually different spot color toner images. Among the plurality of recovery units, the first recovery unit recovers waste toner removed from one of the spot color image holding members, and the second recovery unit recovers waste toner removed from other spot color image holding members that are different from that spot color image holding member.

4. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein, Of the plurality of recycling units, the first recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from one of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member, waste toner removed from the black image holding member, and waste toner removed from the one spot color image holding member; the second recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from both of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member that were not recycled by the first recycling unit, and waste toner removed from the other spot color image holding members.

5. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The image forming apparatus further includes a transfer body for transferring toner images formed on the black image holding member, the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, the cyan image holding member, and the spot color image holding member, wherein a third recovery unit, different from the first recovery unit, recovers waste toner removed from the transfer body among the plurality of recovery units.

6. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein, Of the plurality of recycling units, the third recycling unit recycles waste toner removed from the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, the cyan image holding member, and the waste toner removed from the transfer body.

7. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The plurality of image holding members for removing waste toners collected by the first recycling unit are all positioned below in the vertical direction, compared to any one of the plurality of image holding members for removing waste toners collected by recycling units other than the first recycling unit.

8. An image forming apparatus comprising: a black image holding member for holding a black toner image; a yellow image holding member for holding a yellow toner image; a magenta image holding member for holding a magenta toner image; a cyan image holding member for holding a cyan toner image; a transfer body for transferring toner images formed on the black image holding member, the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member; a recycling unit for recovering waste toner removed from the black image holding member; and other recycling units for recovering waste toner removed from at least one of the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member, as well as waste toner removed from the transfer body.

9. A recycling apparatus comprising: a first recycling unit that recycles waste toner removed from a black image holding member that holds a black toner image, and waste toner removed from a spot color image holding member that holds spot color toner images other than black, yellow, magenta, and cyan; and a second recycling unit that recycles waste toner removed from at least one of a yellow image holding member that holds a yellow toner image, a magenta image holding member that holds a magenta toner image, and a cyan image holding member that holds a cyan toner image.

10. A recycling apparatus comprising: a recycling unit for recycling waste toner removed from a black image holding member holding a black toner image; and other recycling units for recycling waste toner removed from at least one of a yellow image holding member holding a yellow toner image, a magenta image holding member holding a magenta toner image, and a cyan image holding member holding a cyan toner image, as well as waste toner removed from a transfer body that transfers toner images formed on the black image holding member, the yellow image holding member, the magenta image holding member, and the cyan image holding member.

Images