Waste toner container and image forming apparatus incorporating same

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

• an image forming unit to form a toner image on an image bearer;
• a cleaning unit to remove untransferred toner as waste toner form the image bearer after the toner image is transferred therefrom;
• and
• a waste toner container for containing the waste toner discharged from the cleaning unit,
• the waste toner container including:
• a waste toner reservoir extending in a depth direction of the image forming apparatus for containing waste toner removed from an image bearer;
• an inlet portion provided above the waste toner reservoir, in which at least one waste toner inlet is formed to receive the waste toner flowing to the waste toner reservoir, the inlet portion being shorter than the waste toner reservoir in the depth direction;
• a first agitator provided in the waste toner reservoir, to transport the waste toner accumulating in the waste toner reservoir in the depth direction;
• a rotary member provided in the inlet portion including a rotary shaft extending in a width direction perpendicular to the depth direction;
• and
• a drive transmission unit provided outside the waste toner reservoir, to transmit a drive force from the rotary member provided in the inlet portion to the first agitator provided in the waste toner reservoir and to drive the first agitator in conjunction with rotation of the rotary member.

A waste toner container used in an image forming apparatus, comprising:

• a waste toner reservoir extending in a depth direction of the image forming apparatus for containing waste toner removed from an image bearer;
• an inlet portion provided above the waste toner reservoir, in which at least one waste toner inlet is formed to receive the waste toner flowing to the waste toner reservoir;
• a first agitator provided in the waste toner reservoir, to transport the waste toner accumulating in the waste toner reservoir in the depth direction;
• a rotary member provided in the inlet portion including a rotary shaft extending in a width direction perpendicular to the depth direction;
• a drive transmission unit provided outside the waste toner reservoir, to transmit a drive force from the rotary member provided in the inlet portion to the first agitator provided in the waste toner reservoir and to drive the first agitator in conjunction with rotation of the rotary member;
• and
• a waste toner detector provided in the inlet portion to detect whether an amount of the accumulating waste toner reaches a set amount in the inlet portion,
• wherein multiple waste toner inlets are formed in the inlet position, arranged in the width direction, and the waste toner detector is positioned farther in the width direction from one of the multiple waste toner inlets through which a greater amount of waste toner flows than other waste toner inlets.