Imaging forming apparatus having a toner exhausting device

Details Imaging forming apparatus having a toner exhausting device Imaging forming apparatus having a toner exhausting device

2000-04-14

2001-07-10

Grimley, Arthur T. (Department: 2852)

Electrophotography

Cleaning of imaging surface

Having handling of removed material

C399S120000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06259883

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and particularly to the image forming apparatus having such a function that reuse and disuse of toner recovered by a cleaning device are selectively performed.
2. Description of the Related Art
JP-A-9-44049, for example, discloses an image forming apparatus, which comprises a developing unit which makes an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface of a photoreceptor visible as a toner image; a toner hopper for storing toner to be supplied to said developing unit; a cleaning device which removes and recovers the toner remained on the surface of the photoreceptor after the toner image has been transferred onto recording material; a toner transporting passage connected between the cleaning device and the toner hopper, through which the toner recovered by the cleaning device is returned to the toner hopper; a toner exhausting port disposed at a part of the toner transporting passage, from which the toner being returned from the cleaning device side is exhausted outside the toner transporting passage; and an opening and closing member which selectively opens or closes the toner exhausting port.
In the toner transporting passage of this type of the image forming apparatus, there has been a problem that when the opening and closing member is opened to open the toner exhausting port, the toner is not satisfactorily exhausted from the toner exhausting port, so that the toner gets over the toner exhausting port and the waste toner is returned from the toner exhausting port to the toner hopper. As a result, there has been also a problem that the waste toner is reused thereby to deteriorate printing quality.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reliably exhausting waste toner from a toner exhausting port without returning the waste toner from the toner exhausting port to a toner hopper.
In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an image forming device which comprises: a developing unit which makes an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface of a photoreceptor visible as a toner image; a toner hopper for storing toner to be supplied to the developing unit; a cleaning device which removes and recovers the toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor after the toner image has been transferred onto recording material; a toner transporting passage connected between the cleaning device and the toner hopper, through which the toner recovered by the cleaning device is returned to the toner hopper; a toner exhausting port disposed at a part of the toner transporting passage, from which the toner being returned from the cleaning device side is exhausted outside the toner transporting passage; and an opening and closing member which selectively opens or closes the toner exhausting port, wherein an inner diameter of the toner exhausting port is made larger than that of the toner transporting passage.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5493382 (1996-02-01), Takagaki et al.
patent: 5933690 (1999-08-01), Sugimoto et al.
patent: 6014541 (2000-01-01), Kato et al.
patent: 9-44049 (1997-09-01), None

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