The present invention relates to a developer transportation device for supplying a sheet and an image forming apparatus having the developer transportation device.
In a conventional image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, and the likes, a charge roller charges a surface of a photosensitive drum, and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) head exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum to form a static latent image thereon. Then, a developing roller attaches a thin layer of toner to the static latent image through static electricity, thereby forming a toner image. A transfer roller transfers the toner image to a sheet, and a fixing device fixes the toner image to the sheet, thereby forming an image on the sheet. After the transfer roller transfers the toner image to the sheet, a cleaning blade scrapes off toner remaining on the photosensitive drum, so that toner is collected as waste toner.
When the cleaning blade collects waste toner, a toner transportation device as a developer transportation device transports waste toner to a waste toner box, so that waste toner can be discarded externally. The toner transportation device includes a transportation spiral as a transportation member having a coil shape. When the transportation spiral rotates, the transportation spiral transports waste toner (refer to Patent Reference).    Patent Reference: Japan Patent Publication No. 2006-58729