| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus having a waste toner recovering container which can be arranged in a narrow disposition space and efficiently recovers waste toner. SOLUTION: An exposed screw portion 72b exposed outside a screw pipe 71 of a conveyance screw 62 forcibly diffuses the heaps of the waste toner transferred in from a waste toner inlet 61 by an actual conveyance portion 72a within the pipe and deposited downward to the surroundings and improves waste toner housing efficiency as far as possible. When the waste toner recovering container 20 is mounted, a projecting part 82 of an encoder 81 of a slip clutch unit 66 engaged with the end of a screw shaft 63 is disengaged from a stop bore 83 and the container is made rotatable. The rotation at the start of printing is detected by a reflection type optical sensor 68 and the mounting of the waste toner recovering container 20 is confirmed. When the container is nearly filled full with the waste toner, the resistance from the waste toner increases, the rotation of the conveyance screw 62 slows down and the deceleration of the encoder 81 is detected, and thereby judgment is made that it is the time for exchanging the waste toner recovering container 20. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI |
