Processing equipment

Abstract

To suppress contamination by powder falling off from an ejection unit of powder ejection means when separating powder collection means from a device housing, as compared with the case where powder catching means is not installed.SOLUTION: A processing device comprises: a device housing 1; powder processing means 2 for processing using powder and installed inside the device housing 1; powder collection means 3 for collecting powder discharged by the powder processing means 2 and detachably attached to the device housing 1; powder discharge means 4 extending from the powder processing means 2 toward the powder collection means 3 side and for conveying powder to be collected to the powder collection means 3 and discharging it; and powder catching means 5 located below the powder collection means 3 and provided on the side of the device housing 1 where the powder collection means 3 is detached, and for catching powder w falling off from a discharge unit 4a of the powder discharge means 4 when the powder collection means 3 is detached.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for processing using powder. [Background technology]

[0002] As a processing device that processes using powder, for example, the device described in Patent Document 1 is already known. Patent Document 1 discloses a developer recovery container having a recovery port formed facing a storage chamber in which recovered developer is stored, a pair of shutters that rotate toward the storage chamber on rotating shafts located at two positions on either side of the recovery port to open and close the recovery port, films attached to each shutter that overlap each other between the tips of the pair of shutters when the shutters are in a position to close the recovery port, sealing the gap formed between the tips, and a torsion spring that urges the shutters in the direction of closing the recovery port. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-95462 A (Mode for Carrying Out the Invention, FIG. 17) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technical problem that this invention aims to solve is to suppress contamination caused by powder falling from the discharge portion of the powder discharge means when the powder recovery means is detached from the device housing, in an embodiment in which a powder recovery means is detachably attached facing the opening of the device housing, and the powder used in the powder processing means that should be recovered is recovered in the powder recovery means via a powder discharge means, compared to a case in which no powder receiving means is provided. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The invention of claim 1 comprises an apparatus housing, powder processing means provided within the apparatus housing for processing using powder, powder recovery means detachably attached to the apparatus housing for recovering powder discharged by the powder processing means, powder discharge means extending from the powder processing means towards the powder recovery means for transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means for discharging it, and powder receiving means located below the powder recovery means and provided on the side of the apparatus housing from which the powder recovery means is detached, for receiving powder falling from a discharge portion of the powder discharge means when the powder recovery means is detached, wherein the apparatus housing has an opening for detaching the powder recovery means, the powder discharge means extends toward the side of the device housing where the opening is located, The powder recovery means is The side where the opening is located It is attached to At a location facing the powder discharge means The processing apparatus is characterized in that the discharge portion of the powder discharge means has a recovery port to which it can be connected.

[0006] The invention of claim 2 comprises an apparatus housing, powder processing means provided within the apparatus housing and performing processing using powder, powder recovery means detachably attached to the apparatus housing and recovering powder discharged by the powder processing means, powder discharge means extending from the powder processing means toward the powder recovery means and transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means for discharge, and powder receiving means located below the powder recovery means and provided on the side of the apparatus housing from which the powder recovery means is removed, protruding 2 mm or more from the discharge portion of the powder discharge means on the side of the apparatus housing from which the powder recovery means is removed, wherein the apparatus housing has an opening for attaching and detaching the powder recovery means, the powder discharge means extends toward the side of the device housing where the opening is located, The powder recovery means is The side where the opening is located It is attached to At a location facing the powder discharge means The processing apparatus is characterized in that the discharge portion of the powder discharge means has a recovery port to which it can be connected.

[0007] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that in the processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the powder receiving means is a hood-like member that protrudes further than the discharge portion of the powder discharging means toward the side of the apparatus housing where the powder collecting means is removed. and It is a processing device. The invention according to claim 4 is the processing device according to claim 3. 、 In the processing apparatus, the powder receiving means is a hood-like member that extends continuously in a direction crossing the opening. The invention of claim 5 is a processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device casing comprises a frame material that frames the device casing, an exterior material that covers the outside of the frame material, and an interior material that is provided on the inside of the exterior material, and the powder receiving means is provided integrally with or separately from at least one of the frame material and the interior material. The invention according to claim 6 is the processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the powder receiving means is a powder receiving unit for receiving powder from at least one of the frame material and the interior material. is part of This processing device is characterized by a protrusion like a canopy protruding from the lower part of a vertical wall extending in the up-down direction. The invention according to claim 7 is the processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus housing is The aforementioned The processing apparatus is characterized by comprising an opening / closing door that opens and closes the opening and sets a position other than below the powder recovery means as an open position when the opening is opened. The invention of claim 8 is a processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a medium storage means provided in the device housing below the powder processing means, the powder recovery means and the powder discharge means, and the powder receiving means is located above the medium storage means and protrudes toward the user's operation side beyond the user-operated portion of the medium storage means. The invention according to claim 9 is a device housing; powder processing means provided within the device housing for processing using powder; powder recovery means detachably attached to the device housing for recovering powder discharged by the powder processing means; powder discharge means extending from the powder processing means towards the powder recovery means for transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means and discharging it; and powder receiving means located below the powder recovery means and provided on the side of the device housing from which the powder recovery means is detached, for receiving powder falling from a discharge portion of the powder discharge means when the powder recovery means is detached; and medium storage means located in the device housing below the powder processing means, the powder recovery means and the powder discharge means, the powder receiving means being located above the medium storage means and protruding towards the user operation side beyond a portion of the medium storage means operated by a user, The processing device is characterized in that the device housing has an opening for attaching and detaching the powder recovery means, the powder recovery means and the medium storage means are provided facing the opening, and the processing device is equipped with an opening / closing door that can close the opening so as to hide the entire powder recovery means and the medium storage means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the invention of claim 1 or 2, in an embodiment in which the powder recovery means is removably attached facing the opening of the device housing, and the powder to be recovered from the powder used in the powder processing means is recovered in the powder recovery means via the powder discharge means, when the powder recovery means is detached from the device housing, contamination caused by powder falling from the discharge portion of the powder discharge means can be reduced compared to when no powder receiving means is provided. According to the invention of claim 3, the range over which the powder receiving means can receive the falling powder can be made wider than when the powder receiving means protrudes toward the user's operation side in accordance with the position of the discharge portion of the powder discharge means. According to the invention of claim 4, the range over which the powder receiving means can receive the falling powder can be made wider than when the powder receiving means is provided discontinuously. According to the invention of claim 5, by utilizing at least one of the frame material and the interior material of the device housing, the powder receiving means can be easily constructed. According to the invention of claim 6, by utilizing the vertical wall of at least one of the frame material and the interior material, it is possible to prevent the powder received by the powder receiving means from entering the device housing. According to the invention of claim 7, even if there is no open door below the powder recovery means, it is possible to prevent the powder falling from the discharge section of the powder discharge means from soiling the surrounding area of ​​the device housing when the powder recovery means is removed. According to the invention of claim 8, it is possible to prevent the part of the medium container that is operated by the user from being soiled with falling powder. According to the invention of claim 9, the appearance quality when the door is closed can be made simpler than when the medium containing means is exposed to the outside of the door. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1A is an explanatory view showing an outline of an embodiment of a processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory view showing the main part thereof. [Figure 2]1A is an explanatory diagram showing the appearance of an image forming apparatus as a processing apparatus according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] 2(a) is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the image forming engine shown in FIG. 2(b), and FIG. 2(b) is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the image forming engine and the powder recovery device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic view of the appearance of the image forming apparatus when the door is open. [Figure 5] 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic view of the external appearance of the main part when the powder recovery device is removed from FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a front frame of a device housing. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a view taken along the arrow VII in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view, partly cut away, showing the relative positional relationship between the powder recovery device and the powder discharge device in a state where the powder recovery device is attached to the device housing; FIG. [Figure 9] 8A is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 8, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part B in FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory view, partly cut away, showing the relative positional relationship between the powder discharge device and the powder receiving component in a state in which the powder recovery device is detached from the device housing; FIG. [Figure 11] 10. (a) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 10, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of part B in FIG. [Figure 12] (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the function of the powder receiving part used in embodiment 1, (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the receiving range of powder falling from the discharge part of each powder discharge device for the powder receiving part used in embodiment 1, (c) is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of the powder receiving part related to modified form 1, and (d) is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of the powder receiving part related to modified form 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Overview of the implementation form 1(a) and 1(b) show the external appearance and essential parts of an embodiment of a processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the same figure, the processing device comprises an apparatus housing 1, a powder processing means 2 installed within the apparatus housing 1 and performing processing using powder, a powder recovery means 3 detachably attached to the apparatus housing 1 and recovering the powder discharged by the powder processing means 2, a powder discharge means 4 extending from the powder processing means 2 toward the powder recovery means 3 and transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means 3 for discharge, and a powder receiving means 5 located below the powder recovery means 3 and provided on the side of the apparatus housing 1 where the powder recovery means 3 is detached, and which receives the powder w falling from the discharge portion 4a of the powder discharge means 4 when the powder recovery means 3 is detached. Also, from another perspective, the powder receiving means 5 can be seen as being located below the powder recovery means 3, provided on the side of the device housing 1 where the powder recovery means 3 is removed, and having a configuration that protrudes 2 mm or more from the discharge portion 4a of the powder discharge means 4 on the side of the device housing 1 where the powder recovery means 3 is removed.

[0011] In such technical means, the powder processing means 2 broadly includes means for processing using powder, such as those for forming images on a medium using image-forming powder (toner, etc.) and those for applying paint to an object to be painted using paint powder. The powder collecting means 3 may be any means that collects the powder discharged by the powder processing means 2, and may be detachably attached to the device housing 1, so that when the powder to be collected becomes full, the powder collecting means 3 is removed and new powder collecting means 3 is attached. The powder collecting means 3 may be one that finally stores the powder to be collected, or one that has separate powder storage means for final storage and separately transports the temporarily collected powder to the powder storage means. Furthermore, the powder discharging means 4 may be any means that connects one or more processing sections of the powder processing means 2 to the recovery section 3a of the powder recovering means 3, transports the powder to be recovered, and discharges it from the discharge section 4a. Here, the recovery section 3a of the powder recovering means 3 and the discharge section 4a of the powder discharging means 4 usually have a recovery port and a discharge port, but those equipped with an open / close lid or seal structure that closes the recovery port and discharge port when not connected and opens when connected are used.

[0012] Next, a typical or preferred embodiment of the processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. First, a typical embodiment of the powder receiving means 5 is a hood-like member that protrudes further outward from the device housing 1 (corresponding to the side from which the powder recovery means 3 is removed) than the discharge portion 4a of the powder discharge means 4. The term "eaves-shaped" as used herein refers to a configuration in which the portion that protrudes outward from the vertically extending side surface of the device housing 1 protrudes like an eave, but also includes a configuration in which the protruding portion protrudes approximately horizontally along the protruding direction, and a configuration in which the protruding portion protrudes at an angle downward or upward from the horizontal. However, in the case of a configuration in which the protruding portion protrudes at an angle, it is preferable to adjust the degree of inclination so that the powder does not slide off, or to provide a blocking portion at the tip of the protruding portion to block the powder. In this example, a preferred embodiment of powder receiving means 5 is one in which device housing 1 has opening 9 for attaching and detaching powder recovery means 3, and powder receiving means 5 is a hood-like member that extends continuously in a direction crossing opening 9. Here, the width dimension of the hood-like member may be the same, or the width dimension of a portion corresponding to discharge portion 4a of powder discharging means 4 may be wider than other portions. Note that the hood-like member is not limited to one that extends in a substantially straight line in a direction crossing opening 9, and may also be a gently curved shape such as a V-shape.

[0013] A preferred embodiment of the powder receiving means 5 is one that utilizes housing elements 1a that constitute the device housing 1. The housing elements 1a here include the frame material that frames the device housing 1, the exterior material that covers the outside of the frame material, and the interior material that is provided inside the exterior material, and the powder receiving means 5 may be provided integrally with or separately from at least one of the frame material and the interior material. In this case, the powder receiving means 5 may be provided using either the frame material or the interior material, or may be provided across both. In this example, the powder receiving means 5 is at least one of the frame material and the interior material. is part of A preferred embodiment is one in which the powder w protrudes like a canopy from the lower portion of a vertical wall extending in the up-down direction. In this example, by utilizing the vertical wall of at least one of the frame material and the interior material, it is possible to effectively prevent the received powder w from entering the device housing 1.

[0014] A preferred embodiment of the device housing 1 includes an opening 9 for attaching and detaching the powder collection means 3, an opening / closing door 10 that opens and closes the opening 9, and that opens a position other than below the powder collection means 3 when the opening 9 is open. In an embodiment in which the opening / closing door opens to a position below the powder collection means 3, even if powder falls from the discharge section 4a of the powder discharge means 4 when the powder collection means 3 is detached, the opening / closing door can function as a receiving member for the powder. However, in an embodiment using a different type of opening / closing door 10, there is a concern that if powder w falls from the discharge section 4a of the powder discharge means 4, the surrounding area of ​​the device housing 1 on the side where the powder collection means 3 is attached and detached will be soiled with the powder. However, in this example, the powder receiving means 5 is provided to receive the powder w falling from the discharge section 4a of the powder discharge means 4. Therefore, even if there is no opening / closing door in the open position below the powder collection means 3, there is no concern that the surrounding area of ​​the device housing 1 will be soiled with the fallen powder w.

[0015] Furthermore, a preferred embodiment of the processing device includes a medium storage means 8 provided in the device housing 1 below the powder processing means 2, powder recovery means 3, and powder discharge means 4, and the powder receiving means 5 is located above the medium storage means 8 and protrudes toward the user's operation side (corresponding to the outer side of the device housing 1) beyond the user-operated portion 8a of the medium storage means 8. Here, the medium storage means 8 is not limited to a medium supply means that supplies a medium to the powder processing means 2, but may also be a means for storing the processed medium. In this example, a preferred embodiment of the processing device is one in which the device housing 1 has an opening 9 for attaching and detaching the powder recovery means 3, the powder recovery means 3 and the medium storage means 8 are provided facing the opening 9, and an opening / closing door 10 is provided that can close the opening 9 so as to hide the entire powder recovery means 3 and the medium storage means 8. This example is preferable in terms of providing a processing device with a simple appearance, as the opening / closing door 10 conceals the contents installed inside the device housing 1.

[0016] The present invention will be described in more detail below based on the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. 2(a) shows the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus as a processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. -Overall configuration of image forming device- In the figure, an image forming apparatus 20 has an apparatus housing 21 that can be moved and transported on a plurality of casters 22, and elements necessary for image formation are mounted inside this apparatus housing 21. <Device enclosure> In this example, the device housing 21 is configured in a vertically elongated, approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, and if the user operation side is the near side, one side surface adjacent to the near side (the right side surface in the figure) has a hollow portion 21a near the top. The near side of the device housing 21 also has an openable / closable door 21b. In particular, in this example, the openable door 21b is configured to be rotatable about a support shaft 25 extending vertically from one corner of the near side of the device housing 21, as shown in FIG. 4, and opens and closes an opening 26 that covers almost the entire area of ​​the near side surface except for the hollow portion 21a.

[0017] <Elements necessary for image formation> In addition, in this example, the elements necessary for image formation include, for example, as shown in Figure 2(b), an imaging engine 30 mounted in an upper area within the device housing 21 and forming an image on a medium S such as paper; a medium supply device 40 mounted in a lower area within the device housing 21 and supplying the medium S such as paper toward the imaging engine 30; a medium discharge receptacle 50 provided using the hollow portion 21a of the device housing 21 and discharging and storing the medium S on which an image has been created by the imaging engine 30; a medium transport system 60 that transports the medium S supplied from the medium supply device 40 to the medium discharge receptacle 50 via the imaging engine 30; and an operation panel 70 provided on the top of the device housing 21 and performing operations necessary for image formation on a control device (not shown) that controls the imaging engine 30, the medium supply device 40, and the medium transport system 60.

[0018] In this example, as shown in Figure 2(b), the image creation engine 30 is equipped with a plurality of image forming units 31 that form a plurality of color component images on a plurality of photosensitive members, for example, by an electrophotographic method, a belt-like intermediate transfer body 32 that primarily transfers and transports the color component images of each image forming unit 31, a transfer device 33 that transfers the primary transferred image on the intermediate transfer body 32 to a medium S, and a fixing device 34 that fixes the image transferred to the medium S, but it is of course not limited to this. In this example, the medium supply device 40 includes three medium supply units 40a to 40c. The number and layout of the medium supply units may be appropriately modified, and a manual medium supply unit may be added as needed. Furthermore, the design of the medium discharge receiver 50 may be modified as appropriate depending on the discharge position of the medium S, and although in this example the medium transport system 60 employs a transport method that forms an image on one side of the medium S, it is also possible to form an image on both sides of the medium S by adding, for example, a double-sided transport module.

[0019] <Configuration example of image forming unit> In this example, as shown in FIG. 3( a), the image forming units 31, which form, for example, four-color (in this example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K)) color component images, are arranged side by side, tilted slightly downward toward the left in the figure from a substantially horizontal position. Each image forming unit 31 (specifically, 31 a to 31 d) is basically configured to employ, for example, an electrophotographic system, and includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 35, a charger 36 that charges the photoconductor 35, a light-generating head 37 such as an LED array that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 35 charged by the charger 36, a developing unit 38 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed by the writing head 37 using powdered toner (in this example, a two-component developer containing toner and carrier is used), and a photoconductor cleaner 39 that cleans off residue (mainly residual toner) on the photoconductor 35 after the toner image formed on the photoconductor 35 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer body 32.

[0020] Here, the developing device 38 has a developing container 38a that opens facing the photosensitive member 35 and contains a two-component developer, a developing roll 38b is arranged facing the opening of the developing container 38a, and a pair of stirring and transporting members 38c, 38d that charge the developer while stirring and transporting it are arranged inside the developing container 38a, and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 35 is developed by applying a developing bias between the developing roll 38b and the photosensitive member 35. The photosensitive body cleaner 39 has a cleaning container 39a that opens facing the photosensitive body 35, a plate-shaped cleaning member 39b is attached to the edge of the opening of the cleaning container 39a, and a conveying member 39c is provided inside the cleaning container 39a to evenly distribute the cleaned residue.

[0021] <Configuration example of intermediate transfer body and transfer device> The intermediate transfer body 32 is provided above the arrangement direction of the plurality of image forming units 31 (31a to 31d), and is stretched over a plurality of (four in this example) tension rolls 41 to 44. In this example, the tension roll 41 is used as, for example, a drive roll, and the tension roll 42 is used as an opposing roll for the transfer device 33 (a transfer roll is used in this example), with a secondary transfer bias applied between the transfer roll and the opposing roll, and the tension roll 43 is used as a tension roll that applies tension to the belt-like intermediate transfer body 32. In addition, a primary transfer device 45 (in this example, a primary transfer roll) is provided on the back surface of the intermediate transfer body 32 facing the photosensitive body 35 of each image forming section 31 (31a to 31d), and a primary transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer device 45 so that the image on the photosensitive body 35 is transferred to the intermediate transfer body 32 side. Furthermore, an intermediate transfer body cleaner 46 is provided at the location where the intermediate transfer body 40 is stretched over the tension roll 41. Here, the intermediate transfer body cleaner 46 is provided, for example, with a plate-shaped cleaning member 46b and a brush-shaped cleaning member 46c in a cleaning container 46a, and a conveying member 46dc for evenly leveling the cleaned residue (residual toner, paper dust, etc.) in the cleaning container 46a.

[0022] -Powder collection device- <Recovered powder> In this embodiment, the powder to be collected is collected from two systems, the photosensitive member cleaner 39 and the intermediate transfer member cleaner 46. (1) As shown in FIG. 3(b), the photosensitive member cleaner 39 of each image forming unit 31 (31a to 31d) cleans the collected powder (mainly waste toner) remaining on the photosensitive member 35, and discharges the waste toner collected in the photosensitive member cleaner 39 to the outside. (2) The intermediate transfer body cleaner 46 cleans the collected powder (mainly waste toner and paper dust) remaining on the intermediate transfer body 32, and discharges the waste toner and other materials collected inside the intermediate transfer body cleaner 46 to the outside.

[0023] In addition to (1) and (2),(3) The developing device 38 may also produce powder that needs to be collected. For example, when a two-component developer containing toner and carrier is used, the powder on the photoreceptor 35 static electricity When a latent image is developed, the toner in the developer is primarily consumed. As a result, the carrier in the developer remains almost unconsumed, and as this carrier ages, there is a risk that it may cause problems with the charging characteristics of the developer. To eliminate this risk, old developer may be periodically discharged from the developing unit 38 to the outside as waste developer. In this example, explanation of the case (3) will be omitted, but it should be noted that the case (3) is not excluded.

[0024] <Powder discharge device> In this embodiment, the photosensitive member cleaner 39 of each image forming unit 31 (31a to 31d) is equipped with a powder discharge device 90 (specifically 91 to 94) at the end side in the waste toner transport direction within the cleaning container 39a, as shown in Figure 3(b). As shown in FIG. 3(b), the intermediate transfer body cleaner 46 is provided with a powder discharge device 90 (specifically, 95) at the end edge in the waste toner transport direction in the cleaning container 46a. In this example, the powder discharge device 90 is connected in communication with the cleaning container 39a (or 46a) and includes a conveying duct 96 having a discharge outlet 97 that opens downward at the tip, and an opening / closing lid 98 (see Figures 8 and 9(a)) for opening and closing the discharge outlet 97 of the conveying duct 96.

[0025] As shown in Figures 8 and 9(a), the transport duct 96 in this example has a closed end and an approximately cylindrical cross section, and is equipped inside with a transport member 99 (for example, a spiral blade formed around the rotating shaft) that is coaxial with the transport member 39c (or 46d) in the cleaning container 39a (or 46a) and is integrally connected to the transport member, and is configured to transport waste toner transported from the cleaning container 39a (or 46a) into the transport duct 96 to the discharge outlet 97. The opening / closing lid 98 is a cylindrical member that moves along the inner periphery of the transport duct 96 between predetermined open and closed positions to longitudinally open and close the discharge port 97 formed on the lower side of the transport duct 96 near the longitudinal protruding end thereof, and is biased toward the closed position by a biasing spring (not shown), so that when the powder recovery device 110 is attached to the device housing 21, the opening / closing lid 98 moves toward the open position in association with an operating member 140 on the powder recovery device 110 side to open the discharge port 97. In this example, an operating pin that passes through an insertion hole provided at the tip of the transport duct 96 and abuts against the end of the opening / closing lid 98 is used as the operating member 140, but the present invention is not limited to this. If a different structure is used as the opening / closing lid 98, an appropriate member may be selected to match the structure of the opening / closing lid 98.

[0026] <Powder recovery device> In this example, as shown in Figures 3(b), 4, 8, and 9(a) and (b), the powder recovery device 110 has a recovery container 111 that stores recovered powder, and recovery ports 120 (specifically, 121 to 125) are opened on the rear side of the recovery container 111 to which the transfer duct 96 of the powder discharge device 90 (specifically, 91 to 95) can be connected, and an open / close lid (not shown) is provided for this recovery port 120. Here, the open / close lid for the recovery port 120 is, for example, a member made of an elastic film material attached to the inside of the recovery port 120 so that it can rotate around its upper edge as a rotation fulcrum, and is urged to close the recovery port 120 by an urging spring attached to this rotation fulcrum. In addition, in this example, the collection container 111 is detachably attached to the front side of the device housing 21, as shown in Figures 3(b) and 8, and has a roughly inverted U-shaped fulcrum holder 131 that is swingably hooked onto a swinging fulcrum 130 that is pre-installed in the device housing 21, and by holding the fulcrum holder 131 on the swinging fulcrum 130, the collection container 111 is swung from an inclined position to a vertical position, and is attached to a predetermined set position in the device housing 21. Furthermore, a conveying member 135 is provided inside the collection container 111 to convey the collected powder along the longitudinal direction so as to level it.

[0027] -Issues associated with attaching and detaching powder recovery devices- In this example, when the collection container 111 of the powder collection device 110 becomes full of powder, the powder collection device 110 is removed. At this time, when the transport duct 96 of the powder discharge device 90 is removed from the collection port 120 (specifically, 121 to 125) of the collection container 111 of the powder collection device 110, the discharge port 97 of the transport duct 96 is closed by the open / close cover 98, as shown in Figures 10 and 11(a). However, even though it is closed, there is a concern that waste toner, which is powder, may fall from the discharge port 97 of the transport duct 96 of the powder discharge device 90.

[0028] -Powder receiving parts- <Configuration example of eaves-shaped member> In this embodiment, a powder receiving part 150 is provided below the powder recovery device 110 on the front side of the device housing 21. In this example, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the powder receiving part 150 focuses on the frame member 170 that constitutes the upper area on the front side of the device housing 21, and has a visor-like member 171 integrally formed at the lower end of the part of this frame member 170 that crosses in the left-right direction. 10, 11, and 12(b), the eave-shaped member 171 is configured as a long plate extending continuously in the left-right direction so as to include all of the areas F substantially directly below the discharge ports 97 of the conveying ducts 96 of the multiple powder discharge devices 90 (specifically, 91 to 95). That is, if the distance between the left-right outer sides of the discharge ports 97 of the powder discharge device 94 (90) located at the leftmost position and the powder discharge device 95 (90) located at the rightmost position in FIG. 3(b) is L1 (see FIG. 3(b)), and the longitudinal dimension of the eave-shaped member 171 in a plan view is L, the eave-shaped member 171 is selected so that L > L1 is satisfied. Furthermore, if the horizontal dispersion of the powder w dropping from the discharge ports 97 is α mm, the eave-shaped member 171 is adjusted so that |L - L1 | > 2α is satisfied. In this example, the lower end of the portion of the frame frame material 170 that crosses in the left-right direction has an inclined portion in the left-hand region that slopes diagonally downward from left to right, and a horizontal portion that extends approximately horizontally from the lower end of this inclined portion toward the right-hand region, and the eave-shaped member 171 is accordingly configured in a gentle V-shape that is bent halfway along the longitudinal direction (inclined portion 171a, horizontal portion 171b), but the shape of the eave-shaped member 171 is not limited to this and, of course, it may be configured in a straight line along the longitudinal direction, for example.

[0029] Furthermore, in this example, as shown in Figures 10, 11 and 12(a), the eave-like member 171 is configured to protrude approximately horizontally along the protruding direction relative to the vertical wall 175 extending vertically of the frame frame material 170, and the protruding end position of the eave-like member 171 on the front side of the device housing 21 is positioned to protrude outward by a distance t (in this example, 2 mm or more) from the device housing 21 beyond the discharge outlet 97 of the conveying duct 96 of the powder discharge device 90 (specifically 91 to 95). In this example, the width dimension d of the eave-shaped member 171, which intersects with the longitudinal direction, is formed to be substantially the same, and the shape of the eave-shaped member 171 is simple and can be easily manufactured. In this case, it is possible to use a protrusion of t of less than 2 mm, but it has been confirmed that by protruding it by 2 mm or more, the eave-like member 171 can stably catch the powder, including any horizontal variations when the powder w falls.

[0030] Furthermore, in this example, a bent flange 172 bent downward is provided on the front side of the device housing 21 of the horizontal part 171b of the eave-shaped member 171, and this bent flange 172 has a plurality of mounting holes 173 formed with fasteners, and is fixed to, for example, a lower frame member 176 of the connecting device housing 21 by fasteners 174. It is preferable that at least one of the plurality of mounting holes 173 is formed as an elongated hole extending in the longitudinal direction of the eave-shaped member 171, so that the mounting error of the eave-shaped member 171 can be adjusted. For this reason, the eave-like member 171 does not have any mounting holes or the like in the area that includes the entire area approximately directly below the discharge outlet 97 of the powder discharge device 90 (specifically 91 to 95), so there is no concern that powder that falls from the discharge outlet 97 will fall downward through the mounting hole portion of the eave-like member 171. Furthermore, in this example, as shown in Figure 12(a), a part of the frame material 170 is used to form the eave-like member 171, but if a part of the frame material 170 is made into a vertical wall 175 extending in the vertical direction and the eave-like member 171 is made to protrude from the lower part of this vertical wall 175, the powder w that falls onto the eave-like member 171 can be effectively prevented from entering the inside of the device housing 21.

[0031] <Relationship between the eave-shaped member and the medium supply device> In this example, the medium supply device 40 (medium supply units 40a to 40c) is mounted in the lower area of ​​the device housing 21, as shown in FIGS. 2(b) and 4. In this example, media feeder 40 is often located below imaging engine 30, powder discharger 90, and powder collector 110. At this time, the powder receiving component 150 is positioned above the medium supplying device 40 and is arranged to protrude further toward the user's operation side than the portion of the medium supplying device 40 that is operated by the user (operation handle 40h). In this way, even if the powder recovery device 110 is detached or powder falls from the discharge outlet 97 of the conveying duct 96 of the powder discharge device 90 (91-95), it is received by the powder receiving part 150, so there is no concern that the operating handle 40h of the medium supply device 40 will become dirty with powder, and there is very little concern that the medium will become dirty when adding media using the medium supply device 40.

[0032] In this embodiment, the powder receiving part 150 is configured as described above, but is not limited to this and may be configured as shown in modified embodiments 1 and 2, for example. ◎Transformation form 1 In embodiment 1, the powder receiving part 150 is composed of a long eave-like member 171 with a width dimension d, but this is not limited to this. As shown in Figure 12(c), since it is thought that a large amount of powder falls at the location corresponding to the discharge outlet 97 of the conveying duct 96 of the powder discharge device 90 (specifically 91 to 95), the width dimension of the eave-like member 171 at the location corresponding to the discharge outlet 97 may be made wider than other parts. ◎Transformation form 2 Furthermore, in embodiment 1, a part of the frame material 170 is used as the eave-like member 171, and the eave-like member 171 is shown as being integral with the frame material 170, but this is not limited to this, and a separate part may be attached, or as shown in Figure 12(d), an interior material 180 that is a housing element of the device housing 21 may be used, and the eave-like member 171 may be constructed as a powder receiving part 150 either integrally with or separately from this interior material 180. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1...device housing, 1a...housing element, 2...powder processing means, 3...powder recovery means, 3s...recovery section, 4...powder discharge means, 4a...discharge section, 5...powder receiving means, 8...powder storage means, 9...opening, 10...opening door, w...powder

Claims

1. A device housing; a powder processing means provided in the device housing for performing processing using powder; a powder recovery means that is detachably attached to the device housing and that recovers the powder discharged by the powder processing means; a powder discharge means extending from the powder processing means toward the powder recovery means, and transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means and discharging it; a powder receiving means located below the powder collecting means and provided on the side of the device housing from which the powder collecting means is detached, the powder receiving means receiving powder falling from the discharge portion of the powder discharging means when the powder collecting means is detached; Equipped with the device housing has an opening for attaching and detaching the powder collecting means, the powder discharge means extends toward the side of the device housing where the opening is located, The powder recovery means is attached to the side of the device housing where the opening is located, and has a recovery port facing the powder discharge means to which the discharge portion of the powder discharge means can be connected.

2. A device housing; a powder processing means provided in the device housing for performing processing using powder; a powder recovery means that is detachably attached to the device housing and that recovers the powder discharged by the powder processing means; a powder discharge means extending from the powder processing means toward the powder recovery means, and transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means and discharging it; a powder receiving means located below the powder recovery means, provided on the side of the device housing from which the powder recovery means is removed, and protruding 2 mm or more from the discharge portion of the powder discharge means on the side of the device housing from which the powder recovery means is removed; Equipped with the device housing has an opening for attaching and detaching the powder collecting means, the powder discharge means extends toward the side of the device housing where the opening is located, The powder recovery means is attached to the side of the device housing where the opening is located, and has a recovery port facing the powder discharge means to which the discharge portion of the powder discharge means can be connected.

3. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the powder receiving means is a hood-like member that protrudes beyond the discharge portion of the powder discharging means toward the side of the apparatus housing where the powder collecting means is removed.

4. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 3, The processing apparatus is characterized in that the powder receiving means is a hood-like member that extends continuously in a direction crossing the opening.

5. 5. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, the device housing includes a frame member that frames the device housing, an exterior material that covers the outside of the frame member, and an interior material that is provided inside the exterior material, The processing device is characterized in that the powder receiving means is provided integrally with or separately from at least one of the frame material and the interior material.

6. 6. The processing apparatus according to claim 5, The processing apparatus is characterized in that the powder receiving means protrudes in the form of a canopy from a lower portion of a vertical wall that is a part of at least one of the frame material and the interior material and extends in the up-down direction.

7. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, The processing apparatus is characterized in that the apparatus housing is provided with an opening / closing door that opens and closes the opening and, when the opening is open, sets a position other than below the powder recovery means as an open position.

8. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, a medium containing means provided in the device housing below the powder processing means, the powder recovery means, and the powder discharge means, The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the powder receiving means is located above the medium containing means and protrudes toward the user's operation side beyond a portion of the medium containing means that is operated by a user.

9. A device housing; a powder processing means provided in the device housing for performing processing using powder; a powder recovery means that is detachably attached to the device housing and that recovers the powder discharged by the powder processing means; a powder discharge means extending from the powder processing means toward the powder recovery means, and transporting the powder to be recovered to the powder recovery means and discharging it; a powder receiving means located below the powder collecting means and provided on the side of the device housing from which the powder collecting means is detached, the powder receiving means receiving powder falling from the discharge portion of the powder discharging means when the powder collecting means is detached; Equipped with a medium containing means provided in the device housing below the powder processing means, the powder recovery means, and the powder discharge means, the powder receiving means is located above the medium containing means and protrudes toward the user's operation side beyond a portion of the medium containing means that is operated by a user; the device housing has an opening for attaching and detaching the powder collecting means, the powder recovery means and the medium storage means are provided facing the opening, a door that can close the opening so as to conceal the powder recovery means and the medium storage means in their entirety;

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