JP2000047464A - Agent storage container and agent supplying device with agent storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an agent storage container capable of stably maintaining supply performance even in the case of a capacity-reducible toner storage container and capable of directly supplying an agent to a developing device from the container by providing an agent discharge section and an air feed section for introducing air on an agent storage container main body with a sealed structure. SOLUTION: A toner storage container 20 is provided with a bag body 21 formed into a bag shape as a container main body, and a toner discharge section 22 and an air feed section 30 are provided on it. A toner guide cap member 23 is integrally connected to the toner discharge section 22 of the toner storage container 20, and an air feed cap member 31 is integrally connected to the air feed section 30 respectively. When air is spouted from the air feed cap member 31 side, a toner layer in the toner storage container 20 is dispersed, and the fluidization of a toner is accelerated. The electrophotographic toner with poor fluidity is fluidized, the occurrence of bridge formation is prevented, and the toner is moved more reliably.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an agent storage container for storing toner and developer used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and an agent supply device using the agent storage container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus of the above-mentioned type, toner density is detected and toner is replenished so as to keep the mixing ratio of toner and carrier in a developing device constant, thereby controlling the image density. . For this reason, a toner container such as a toner bottle or a cartridge is disposed in or near the unit having the developing device, and the amount of toner consumed by the use from the toner container directly or via the toner hopper is supplied into the developing device. It is configured to be. In this case, the transfer and replenishment of the toner from the toner storage unit to the developing device is performed by a mechanical auger such as a screw or a paddle.

However, when the toner is replenished by the mechanical auger means, the toner storage unit and the toner replenishing device have to be installed at a position integral with or very close to the developing device because the screw is arranged almost linearly. Did not get. For this reason, the configuration of the toner replenishing device becomes complicated, which hinders high cost, low productivity, and machine maintainability, and it is also difficult to secure and maintain the toner quality characteristics.
In addition, there was also a difficulty in the operability of replacing the toner container with Katsuyuza.

Further, since the conventional toner container is made of a hard bottle such as a cartridge or a bottle, there is a great problem in disposing of the used container accompanying the replacement of the toner container. That is, the used toner storage container is collected by the manufacturer from the user, and is recycled, reused, and incinerated. However, the container is bulky and requires a high distribution cost until it is collected.

Further, when the collected toner storage container is to be reused, it is difficult to clean the container, the toner filling efficiency is also difficult, and the cost required for reusing the toner storage container is high. Was. It is to be noted that there has conventionally been proposed a toner storage container capable of reducing the volume thereof.

[0006]

However, when a toner container having a reduced volume is replenished from the container using a toner replenishing device, the replenishing performance cannot be stably maintained. It has also been proposed to use containers that can be reduced in volume only during transportation.However, in this case, when transferring toner to a hard bottle or a toner hopper, problems such as contamination caused by toner scattering are solved. At present, it has not been put to practical use.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems,
Provided is an agent storage container and an agent supply device that can stably maintain replenishment performance even in a toner storage container whose volume can be reduced and that can supply an agent directly from the container to a developing device. With the goal.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a developer container for storing a toner or a developer comprising a mixture of a toner and a carrier. A container discharge section for discharging the stored toner or developer, and an air supply section for flowing air into the container body.

According to the present invention, a plurality of chambers each having a communication portion formed at one end of the container main body are provided, one of the chambers is provided with the agent discharge portion, and the other is provided with the air supply portion. It is effective if the section is provided.

Further, the present invention is effective when the agent discharging portion is provided with a hole for discharging the agent and a hole for discharging the air. Still further, the present invention is effective when at least one of the agent discharge section and the air supply section is provided with a valve for restricting agent discharge or air inflow.

Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the container body is made of a bag-shaped and flexible material. Still further, according to the present invention, the container main body is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, the agent discharge portion is provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the container main body, and the air supply portion is provided on the opposite end side. Is effective.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an agent supply device for supplying toner or developer to a developing device of an image forming apparatus by using the agent container. An agent transferring means having a suction type uniaxial eccentric screw pump is detachably mounted on the discharge section, and an air supplying means having an air pump is detachably mounted on the air supplying section, respectively, and the agent sucked by the agent transferring means is mounted. Is supplied to the developing device.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an agent supply device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a part of a developing device.

In FIG. 1, the agent supply device of this embodiment is for supplying toner to the developing device 10, and is stored in the toner container 20 as an agent container for storing toner. And a toner transfer unit 40 as an agent transfer unit for transferring the toner to the developing device 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the developing device 10 includes a developing sleeve 11 opposed to the photosensitive member 1 as an image carrier, a first stirring screw 12, and a second stirring screw 13. Provided. The developer in the developing device 10 is circulated so as to be conveyed from left to right in FIG. 2 by the first stirring screw 12 and from right to left by the second stirring screw 13. During this circulation, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 1 is developed with the toner of the developer transferred to the developing sleeve 11 in the middle of the transport path.

As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 10 includes a first stirring screw 1 at the front end of the developing device.
2, a toner receiving port 14 is provided at a position corresponding to
A connection member 15 is attached to the toner receiving port 14, and a tube 16 as a transfer member is attached to the connection member 15.
Are detachably connected. An air filter 17 is provided on a part of the connection member 15 to evacuate only the air in the mixture of the toner and the air flow from the developing device to prevent toner from scattering from the connection member 15 and the developing device 10 during toner supply. Preventing.

The toner container 20 is provided with the developing device 10
And a separate unit, and is disposed at an appropriate position in the image forming apparatus main body. The toner transfer means 40 is provided between the toner storage container 20 and the developing device 10. The toner transfer means 40 and the developing device 10 are connected by the tube 16.
The toner storage container 20 and the toner transfer unit 40 are connected by a tube 19 as a transfer unit.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the toner transfer means 40. The toner transfer means 40 uses a suction type uniaxial eccentric screw pump 41 which is conventionally called a so-called mono pump. The configuration of the screw pump 41 is as follows.
A rotor 42 made in the form of an eccentric screw made of a material having rigidity such as metal, a stator 43 made in the form of a two-screw made of an elastic material such as rubber, and fixed and installed. And a holder 44 made of a resin material or the like that wraps and forms a powder conveyance path. The rotor 42 is rotationally driven via a gear 45 and a shaft coupling 46 which are drivingly connected to a driving source (not shown).
Due to the rotation of the rotor 42, a strong self-priming force is generated in the pump,
It becomes possible to suck the toner from the suction part at the tip of the holder 44 and send out the sucked toner from the discharge part near the shaft joint 46. Air is supplied to the toner transfer means 40 from a not-shown air pump via a pipe 48, and the air promotes fluidization of the toner to be sent out, so that toner transfer by the screw pump 41 is ensured. The suction type screw pump 41
The drive is transmitted to the gear 45 via a dedicated motor or a main motor in the image forming apparatus and a clutch (not shown), and is operated, and the drive is controlled.

The single-axis eccentric screw pump 41 configured as described above can perform a constant quantitative transfer at a high solid-gas ratio, and can obtain an accurate toner transfer amount in proportion to the rotation speed of the rotor 42. It has been known. Therefore, the amount of toner transferred may be controlled by controlling the driving time of the screw pump. The tube 16 connected to the discharge part of the single-axis eccentric screw pump 41 and the tube 19 connected to the suction part are flexible tubes having a diameter of, for example, 4 to 10 mm, and are made of a rubber material having excellent toner resistance (for example,
It is very effective to use one made from polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, silicone, etc.
If a flexible tube is used, the toner can be freely transferred in a high position or in any direction of up, down, left and right. In addition, the screw pump 41 does not apply unnecessary stress to the toner to be transferred, and is extremely advantageous for transferring the toner to be used.

It is advantageous that the toner transfer means 40 is unitized, and production and machine maintenance of the unitized toner transfer means 40 are facilitated. FIG.
It is a fragmentary sectional view showing one embodiment of an agent storage container concerning the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the toner storage container 20 has a bag body 21 formed as a bag-shaped container body, and a toner discharge section 22 and an air supply section 30 are provided at the upper part thereof. A toner guide base member 23 is provided in a toner discharge section 22 of the toner storage container 21, and an air supply section 30.
The air supply base members 31 are welded by ultrasonic waves or the like, and are integrally connected to each other. Further, the bag 21
Is made of resin such as polyethylene or nylon, and is 80 to 120
A flexible sheet having a thickness of about μm is formed in a single-layer or multi-layer structure, and the periphery of the bag body 21 is welded by ultrasonic waves or the like to form a closed structure. In addition, it is effective to deal with static electricity by subjecting the surface of the sheet constituting the bag body 21 to aluminum vapor deposition. Also,
The toner guide cap member 23 and the air supply cap member 31 can also be made of a resin such as polyethylene or nylon.
If the same material as the bag body 21 is set, it is convenient for recycling. A partition member 24 is provided between the toner discharge unit 22 and the air supply unit 30 at the upper part of the bag body 21. The partition member 24 extends downward from the upper part and reaches near the lower part of the bag body 21. To form two chambers. An open portion between the lower end of the partition member 24 and the bottom of the bag body 21 is a communication portion 26 connecting the two chambers.

The toner guide base member 23 is provided with a toner discharge port 25 formed in a pipe shape, and a lid member 50 is attached to an upper portion of the toner discharge port 25.
The toner outlet is closed. Further, a screw portion 27 is formed in the toner guide base member 23, and the screw portion 2 is formed.
A cap 28 is screwed into 7. This cap 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a seal for sealing the toner discharge port 25, which is attached at the time of shipment from a factory to prevent toner scattering and deterioration. The cap 28 is attached so as to completely cover the lid member 50. Thus, even if the user removes the cap 28 and accidentally falls down the bag 21, the cap member 50 can be used. There is no danger of toner scattering. The toner guide cap member 23
Is provided with an air discharge port 29 near the toner discharge port 25, and the air discharge port 29 is covered with a filter 39 that allows air to pass but does not allow toner to pass.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lid member 50 is formed in a cap shape with a slight step in the middle.
A protrusion 51 is formed on the head, and a toner suction port 68 described later is formed on the peripheral surface of the slightly larger diameter portion.
An opening 52 having substantially the same diameter as the opening 52 is formed.

An air inlet 32 is formed in the air supply base member 31, and the air inlet 32 is formed by a valve 33 provided at a lower portion of the air supply base member 31, that is, inside the bag 21. It is closed. This valve 33
The air supply base member 31 is integrally attached to the base member 31 and has a spring property that is constantly urged in a direction to close the air inlet 32. Therefore, the air inlet 32 is normally closed by the valve 33, and there is no possibility that toner scatters from the air inlet 32.

Next, a description will be given of the operation of the toner container 20 constructed as described above when toner is supplied. As described above, when the toner supply is started, the toner outlet 25 is closed by the lid member 50 even if the cap 28 is removed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an external operation member 60 for moving the lid member 50 by an external operation to connect the toner discharge port 25 to the toner suction port 68 is provided.
The external operation member 60 is screwed and attached to the screw portion 27 from which the cap 28 has been removed.

The external operation member 60 includes a holder 61 attached to the toner guide base member 23, and the holder 61.
It has a slider 62 and a chuck 64 slidably fitted therein, a compression spring 63 for urging the slider 62 downward elastic force, and a grip portion 65 provided integrally with the chuck 64. And the holder 61
Is provided with a toner suction port 68 on the side of.

As shown in FIG. 6, the toner container 20 initially has the lid member 50 closing the toner discharge port 25,
Here, when the handle 65 is pulled upward, the chuck 64 fixed integrally with the handle 65 and the chuck 64 are further fixed.
The slider 62 engaged with the slider also moves. at the same time,
When the slider 62 is pressed downward by the compression spring 63, the chuck 64 is closed, the projection 51 of the lid member 50 is grasped, and the lid member 50 is lifted. further. Handle 6
5 is pulled up and twisted 90 degrees, a locking pin 66 integrally provided with the handle 65 is locked to the upper end 67 of the holder 61, whereby the lid member 50 is lifted upward as shown in FIG. Is held. When the lid member 50 is lifted, the opening 52 provided in a part of the side wall coincides with the toner suction port 68, and the toner suction port 6
8 communicates with the toner outlet 25.

As described above, the cover member 50 is operated by an external operation.
Can be moved to the open position, so that toner can be prevented from being scattered at the time of toner replenishment and replacement of the toner storage container 20. Reference numeral 53 is a seal member such as an O-ring.

A connector 70 is attached to the air inlet 32 of the air supply base member 31. This connector 70
Is provided with a hollow air introduction passage 71 therein, a sealing member 72 such as an O-ring at the outer peripheral portion of the end portion, and a nozzle portion 73 inserted into the air inlet 32. A tube 34 is provided at the opposite end of the nozzle portion 73. Are connected, and air is introduced from an air pump (not shown) through the tube 34. When the nozzle portion 73 of the connector 70 is inserted into the air inlet 32, the nozzle portion 73 pushes down the valve 33 to open the valve.

The toner container 20 constructed as described above
A replenishing device that uses a sensor detects a change in the mixing ratio of toner and carrier based on a conventionally known magnetic permeability detector (not shown) provided in a part of the developing device 10, and the detected value is determined to be a certain value. When the value is equal to or less than the value, toner supply is started. At the time of toner supply, the toner storage container 20 is first supplied with air via a tube 34 from a processing pump (not shown). The air is ejected from the nozzle portion 73 into the toner container 20 through the air introduction path 71. Further, the screw pump 41 and the air pump of the toner transfer means 40 are also turned on at the same time as the air pump or with a slight time lag, whereby the toner in the toner storage container 20 is transferred to the developing device 10. That is, the toner in the toner container 20 reaches the screw pump 41 via the toner outlet 25, the opening 52 of the lid member 50, the toner inlet 68 and the tube 19, and from the screw pump 41 via the tube 16. The toner is sent to the toner receiving port 14 of the developing device 10. The air ejected into the toner container 20 is transferred to the screw pump 41 together with the toner, and the excess air is discharged to the air outlet 29.
Is released to the outside through the filter 39.

By ejecting air from the air supply base member 31 in this manner, the toner layer in the toner container 20 is diffused, and the fluidization of the toner is promoted.
Therefore, electrophotographic toner with very poor fluidity,
By being fluidized by air, the occurrence of a crosslinking phenomenon is prevented, and the movement of the toner becomes more reliable. Further, since toner aggregation does not occur, the physical properties of the toner are always stable, and high-quality development quality can be obtained.

Further, in the present embodiment, the partition member 24 is provided on the bag body 21, and the space of the meat portion of the bag body 21 is divided into the air discharge side and the air discharge side, so that it is clearly shown in FIG. In addition, the air and the toner can be smoothly moved in the direction of the arrow by the discharge pressure of the air and the suction pressure of the screw pump 41.

Further, since the bag body 21 is flexible, the volume of the bag body 21 is reduced as the suction of the toner proceeds. The toner in the bag body 21 is transported closer to the toner outlet 25 because the air outlet 29 is provided in the vicinity of the toner outlet 25. The suction efficiency of the pump 41 is increased, and the stored toner can be discharged without remaining in the bag. Furthermore, since the toner in the bag 21 is not subjected to mechanical stress and is fluidized by air, the toner physical properties can be stabilized and maintained without occurrence of toner blocking or the like.

In this way, the bag-shaped toner storage member 20
The stable toner transfer can be achieved regardless of the amount of stored toner. Further, restrictions on the mounting direction of the bag-shaped toner storage member 20 (vertical placement, stacking, oblique placement, etc.) are reduced, and the toner supply operation of the user can be performed without restricting the location of the toner supply device in the image forming apparatus. The effects such as being simple can be achieved.

Although the toner discharge port 25 has a role of a suction port for sucking the toner stored in the bag body 21, it can also function as a filling port for filling the toner in a factory. Similarly, filling of the toner from the air supply base member 31 is also possible. Further, in order to increase the toner filling efficiency, it is possible to use one of the ports for venting air at the time of filling the toner.

Further, when the toner container 20 collected from the user is to be reused, it is necessary to clean the inside of the toner container 20 before the toner refilling step. Cleaning can be easily performed by supplying cleaning air from one of the outlet 25 and the air inlet 32 of the air supply base member 31 and removing the air from the other port. Therefore, there is an advantage that the toner storage container 20 can be reused at low cost.

When the external operation member is to be removed from the toner storage container 20, the above operation steps are performed in reverse. That is, when the handle 65 is twisted by 90 degrees, the compression spring 63
The slider 61, the handle 65, and the chuck 64 move, and return to the state of FIG.

In the above-described toner replenishment control, it is also possible to detect the density of a toner image formed on a conventionally known photosensitive drum instead of the magnetic permeability detector. FIG. 8 shows a modification of FIG. 7, in which the external operation member 60 is not used and the toner guide base member 2 is not used.
A toner discharge connector 80 is attached to the holder 3 instead of the holder 61. The connector 80 has substantially the same configuration as the connector 70. The connector 80 includes a hollow toner passage 81 inside, a seal member 82 such as an O-ring at the outer peripheral portion of the end portion, and a nozzle portion 83 inserted into the toner discharge port 25. I have it. Further, the toner guide base member 23 is provided with a valve 84 for closing the toner discharge port 25 inside the bag body 21.

The toner discharging connector 80 includes the tube 1
9 is connected, the valve 84 is opened by inserting the nozzle portion 83 into the toner discharge port 25, and toner can be supplied. According to this method, there is an advantage that the configuration is simple and the cost can be further reduced.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the toner container. The toner container 20 of this embodiment is formed in an elongated rectangle, and a toner discharge portion 22 is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction, and the other end is provided. Is provided with an air supply unit 30. The toner discharge unit 22 and the air supply unit 30 use a base member, a connector, and the like configured in the same manner as in the example of FIG. 8, and the same members are given the same reference numerals.

In this method, the location of the toner container 20 is very narrow, and it can be said that this is very effective in a case where the toner container 20 has to be attached to an elongated place. According to the present invention, since the toner storage container 20 is provided with the repeatedly usable valves 33 and 83 and the lid member 50 for sealing the container, not only when the toner storage container 20 is replaced, Even if the toner container 20 is detached and attached before the toner is used, no toner scattering occurs. Further, the toner storage container 20 in use can be used again as it is. Further, the used toner storage container 20 has a very small hard base, so that the container can be arbitrarily rounded or folded, which is extremely efficient in terms of collection and transportation, and can be realized at low distribution cost. .

The driving and control of the toner replenishing device are as follows.
A drive motor and an air pump are driven and controlled by a power outlet (not shown), a power supply, a switch (not shown), and a control circuit. These may use a conventionally well-known technique.

Further, in order to ensure the reliability of toner transfer during toner replenishment, it is important to drive the pump and supply the air by the pump at the same time. It is important to supply more air. This prevents toner from remaining in the transfer member (such as a tube), and ensures stable toner replenishment.

The supply of air into the toner container may be at the same time as the supply to the pump, but may be synchronized with a toner supply signal or may be intermittent. By the way, it is known that the toner used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has extremely poor fluidity and is difficult to transfer.

Originally, when transferring the toner, it is not desirable to apply a large mechanical stress to the toner. When abnormal stress is applied to the toner, blocking (aggregation due to thermal fusion), crushing, etc. of the toner occur,
In addition to the deterioration of the toner characteristics and the inability to transfer, the transfer member (coil, screw, pipe, etc.), the drive member, and the like are damaged. Therefore, when transferring toner,
It is important to devise as little abnormal mechanical stress as possible to the toner. In the conventional toner replenishing device, since the transfer is performed by the auger and the pipe as described above, the mechanical stress due to the auger and the mechanical stress due to the friction generated between the auger and the pipe must be very large. Did not. In this case, the longer the transfer distance and the more the transfer direction is displaced, the worse. In addition, the torque required for driving the auger becomes very large, so that the cost of the driving member and the power consumption cannot be ignored.

For these reasons, when it is desired to increase the transfer distance or to change the transfer direction, it is necessary to perform multi-stage transfer using a plurality of augers and pipes. This has resulted in further deterioration of toner characteristics, an increase in the number of parts, an increase in cost, a decrease in reliability, a reduction in maintenance and productivity of the apparatus, an increase in the installation volume of the toner supply apparatus, and a decrease in operability. .

The present toner replenishing device only needs to connect a flexible toner transfer pipe to the developing device 10 of the image forming apparatus, and there is no scattering of toner. Also, since there is no restriction on the installation position and location of the toner supply device with respect to the developing device,
The toner replenishing device can be provided at a place where the user can easily operate the toner storage (supply) container when replacing the toner replenishing container.

Since the toner container 20 is flexible, the container is not bulky, has good handling properties during transportation and storage, and does not take up a storage space, as compared with conventional hard bottles such as cartridges and bottles. Furthermore, the used toner storage means is collected by the manufacturer from the user, and is recycled, reused or incinerated.However, since the toner storage container is a flexible bag, it can be folded, The advantage of good handling at the time of storage and no space required at the time of transportation and storage is further increased, and the cost of collection and distribution from the user to the manufacturer can be significantly reduced.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified. For example, the agent storage container is not limited to toner, and may store a developer, and the developer may be supplied to the developing device. Further, the configuration of the developing device to which the toner is supplied may be arbitrary, and the present invention can be applied to an apparatus using a one-component developer instead of a two-component developer as in the above-described embodiment.

[0050]

According to the present invention, the agent can be reliably transferred from the container storing the toner and the developer without being scattered, and the container can be easily replaced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a toner receiving unit of the developing device.

FIG. 3 is a central sectional view of the toner transfer means of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the toner container according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cap and a lid member.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged sectional view showing a state where a lid member of the toner container according to the present invention is closed, and FIG. 6B is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged sectional view showing a state where a lid member of the toner container according to the present invention is opened, and FIG. 7B is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory sectional view showing a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view showing another modified example of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor drum 10 Developing device 11 Developing sleeve 20 Toner storage container 21 Bag 22 Toner discharge unit 25 Toner discharge port 30 Air supply unit 33,83 Valve 40 Toner transfer means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H077 AA05 AA25 AC02 AC11 AD06 BA02 CA02 CA12 DA47 DA52 DA62 EA01 FA22 FA26 3E014 DA04 FA05 FA07

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An agent container for storing a toner or a developer comprising a mixture of a toner and a carrier, wherein an agent discharge section for discharging the stored toner or developer is provided in an agent container main body having a closed structure. And an air supply unit for introducing air into the container body. 2. The agent container according to claim 1, wherein
The container body is provided with a plurality of chambers each having a communication part formed on one end side, the agent discharge part is provided in one of the chambers, and the air supply part is provided in another chamber. Agent storage container. 3. The agent container according to claim 1, wherein the agent discharging portion is provided with a hole for discharging the agent and a hole for discharging the air. 4. The agent storage container according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the agent discharge section and the air supply section is provided with a valve for restricting agent discharge or air inflow. An agent storage container characterized in that: 5. The agent storage container according to claim 1, wherein the container main body is made of a bag-shaped, flexible material. 6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container main body is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and the agent discharge portion is provided at one longitudinal end of the container main body. The agent storage container, wherein the air supply unit is provided on the opposite end side. 7. An agent supply device for supplying toner or developer to a developing device of an image forming apparatus using the agent container according to claim 1. The agent discharge means is provided with a suction type monoaxial eccentric screw pump, and the air supply means is detachably mounted with an air supply means having an air pump. An agent supply device, wherein an agent is supplied to the developing device.