| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waste toner conveyance mechanism by which waste toner recovered from the surface of the toner image carrier of a drum kit of an image forming unit is efficiently conveyed to the recovery part of a developing kit while blocking with waste toner is prevented. <P>SOLUTION: A rotary screw 75 is composed of spiral parts 75a formed by winding a narrow tape-like plate spring material into a spiral form, and non-spiral plate-like extension parts 75b formed between the spiral parts 75a. A first bent conveyance path 83, a vertical conveyance path 84, and a second bent conveyance path 85 are formed from only spiral parts 75a. In a first horizontal conveyance path 82 and a second horizontal conveyance path 86, a spiral part 75a and a plate-liked extension part 75b are alternately formed with a predetermined space between them. The overall length of the spiral parts, which is the addition of only the spiral parts 75a, is shorter than the overall length of the rotary screw 75. Accordingly, the spring constant of the rotary screw 75 can be increased compared to the case where the overall length of the rotary screw 75 is composed of the spiral parts 75a, and toner conveyance force<spring force can be achieved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT |
