| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus where waste toner is collected in the inside and the discharge of the waste toner to the outside is reduced, and to provide a waste toner collecting method. <P>SOLUTION: The tandem-type image forming apparatus is provided with a cleaning brush 1 for collecting the waste toner corresponding to each color image carrier 41, and the collected waste toner is discharged to the image carrier by the application of alternating voltage by a power source 3. The image carrier 41 is charged again to make the polarities of the waste toner uniform, and intermittent exposure voltage is applied to the image carrier 41 corresponding to respective colors Y, M and C. The waste toner is transferred to an intermediate transfer belt 50 at the position of a primary transfer roller 45. The waste toner is collected in the K image carrier 41K from the intermediate transfer belt 50 and is stored in a K developing device 44K. The absolute value of the alternating voltage and the applying time of the alternating voltage are set to different values among the respective colors. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT |
