Patent ID: 8185032

Claim:
A used toner conveyance device, comprising: a lateral conveyance path by which the used toner is conveyed along at least a portion of the lateral conveyance path substantially in a horizontal direction; a vertical conveyance path by which the used toner received from the lateral conveyance path is upwardly conveyed along at least a portion of the vertical conveyance path, said vertical conveyance path transferring the used toner to one of a collection space and a next conveyance path; and a driving force accumulation mechanism configured to accumulate a driving force generated by a driving device that engages the lateral conveyance path, wherein the driving force accumulated by the driving force accumulation mechanism is transmitted to a driving device that drives the vertical conveyance path during the prescribed delay time, wherein after a conveyance operation by the lateral conveyance path associated with an image forming operation stops, said vertical conveyance path stops its conveying operation when a prescribed delay time has elapsed, wherein said used toner can be conveyed during the prescribed delay time from a used toner transfer section, at which the used toner is transferred from the lateral conveyance path to the vertical conveyance path, to another used toner transfer section, at which the used toner is transferred from the vertical conveyance path to one of the collection space and the next conveyance path, and wherein a conveyance speed for the used toner of the vertical conveyance path gradually increases after starting up, while the driving force generated by the driving device that engages the lateral conveyance path, is accumulated at the same time in the driving force accumulation mechanism.