Richo Company, Ltd.

Yozo Matsuura

A collected toner conveying device of an electrostatic recording apparatus for receiving a toner remaining on a latent image carrier after a toner image is printed on a transfer-printing sheet and discharging the toner to outside. The collected toner conveying device includes a toner receiver of a semicircular cross section in its lower portion which extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the latent image carrier for receiving the toner removed from the latent image carrier by a cleaning member, and a screw conveyor provided with spiral fins mounted on a shaft of the screw conveyor with no gap therebetween and located along the entire length of the screw conveyor to discharge the toner introduced into the toner receiver to outside. The screw conveyor has its velocity of rotation, the radius of the spiral fins and the pitch of the spiral fins set in such a manner that when the velocity at which the toner is collected to the toner receiver, the radius of the spiral fins, the number of revolutions of the screw conveyor and the pitch of the spiral fins are denoted by v (cm.sup.3 /minute), r (cm), N (RPM.) and P (cm) respectively, the following relation holds.

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Machida, Japan

Yozo Matsuura