MXPA06013160A

MXPA06013160A - Toner container and image forming device

Info

Publication number: MXPA06013160A
Application number: MXPA/A/2006/013160A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Kurenuma Takeroh; Yamane Masayuki; Taguchi Nobuyuki; Yoshizawa Hideo; Katsuyama Goro
Original assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
Priority date: 2005-06-07
Filing date: 2006-11-13
Publication date: 2008-09-02

Abstract

A toner container (32Y) removably arranged on a toner container storing section of an image forming device main body. The toner container is provided with a container main body (33Y), which has an opening section and ejects a toner stored inside from the opening section;and a section (34Y) to be held, which is provided with a toner ejecting port for ejecting the toner ejected from the opening section, ejects the toner ejected from the opening section from the toner ejecting port and is held by the toner container storing section with no rotation. The section (34Y) is provided with an opening/closing member (plug member (34d)) for opening and closing the toner ejecting port by interlocking with attachment and removal of the toner container to and from the toner container storing section.

Description

TONER CONTAINER AND IMAGE FORMATOR APPARATUS TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to a toner container that detachably attaches to the main body of an image forming apparatus for supplying toner to be used in the image forming process and the image forming apparatus. which includes the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART In a conventional image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system such as the copying machines, printers, facsimiles or multifunctional products that are provided with these functions, a cylindrical toner container is known for supplying toner with a developing device ( see, for example, patent document 1, patent document 2 and patent document 3). In the patent document 1 and the like, a toner container (toner bottle, agent storage container) installed in a replaceable manner in a toner container holder is shown. (bottle holder, attachment portion) of the main body of the image forming apparatus including mainly a container body and a portion to be fastened (hereinafter "fastened portion") (lid portion, lid). A projection of spiral shape is provided along the inner circumferential surface of the container body and the toner contained in the container body is transported to an opening through the rotation of the container body. The fastened portion communicates with the opening of the container body, and is non-rotatably held by the toner container holder, ie, does not rotate with the body of the container. The toner outlet from the opening of the container body is discharged from a toner outlet that is provided in the holder portion. Subsequently, the toner discharged from the toner outlet of the fastening portion is supplied to the developing device. The toner container configured of the anterior mantle can reduce toner staining when replacing the toner container, as compared to toner containers (see, for example, patent document 5 and patent document 6) each of which does not have a holding portion and directly supplies the toner from the opening of the container body to the developing device. More specifically, because the output of The toner and the holding portion are opened or closed in synchronization with part of the joining / separating operation (rotating operation) of the toner container, said problem wherein the user's hands are stained with the toner when touching the toner outlet , it can be eliminated. In addition, the toner outlet is shaped downwardly in the lower part of the toner container in the vertical direction and, when the toner container is emptied, the amount of toner near the toner outlet can be reduced due to the drop in its toner. own weight. Therefore, toner staining on toner output is reduced when the toner container is replaced. More specifically, in the patent document 1 and the like, when the toner container is to be attached to the holder of the toner container in the main body of the apparatus, first, the main body cover (sedimentation portion) opens towards up and exposing the toner container holder. Then, the toner container is placed in the toner container holder from the upper side thereof. Subsequently, a handle is provided which is provided integrally to the holding portion, so that the holding portion is rotated (rotation operation). With this operation, the position of the toner container is finally set to The toner container fastener. In addition, the toner outlet that is provided in the holding portion moves to the lower part in response to the rotation of the holding portion, and a shutter opens the toner outlet in a downward manner so as to support the deflection force of a spring. On the other hand, the patent document 4 or the like discloses a toner storage container having a bag container and a lid member. A toner outlet of the lid member opens / closes in synchronization with a partial operation (rotation operation of a folding / opening folder) of the joining / separating operation of the toner storage container, for the purpose of reducing the toner spotting (toner scattering) that occurs when the join / separate operation is performed. More specifically, when the toner storage container is attached to a body of the apparatus, first, the opening / closing fastener (opening / closing folder) is rotated about a joint and the top side of the folder is exposed that opens / closes. Then, the toner storage container fits into the opening / closing clip. Subsequently, the fastener that opens / closes with the toner storage container placed in it is rotated (rotation operation) around the joint. With this operation, the position of the toner storage container is finally fixed in the body of the apparatus. In addition, a stopper member (sealing member) is pushed by a nozzle (toner conveyor) in response to the rotation of the opening / closing fastener so as to resist the deflection force of a spring, to open the outlet of toner sealed by a package (seal G). Patent Document 1: Patent Application Japanese Open to the Public Number 2004-287404. Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Open to the Public Number 2001-5286. Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Open to the Public Number 2000-310901. Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Open to the Public Number 2004-161371. Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-338758. Patent Document 6: Patent Application Japanese Open to the Public Number 2003-233248.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION PROBLEM TO BE RESOLVED BY THE INVENTION Each of the toner containers that are described in patent documents 1 to 3 or the like have less toner staining in the toner output compared to those presented in patent documents 5 and 6 or the like, and therefore one can expect to obtain the effect to avoid the problem where the user's hands are stained with toner when touching the toner output. However, the toner containers in patent documents 1 to 3 or the like have disadvantages in terms of operability / work susceptibility when joining / separation (replacement) is performed. A first disadvantage is that the joining / separating operation towards / from the toner container holder is implemented with a plurality of operations. More specifically, the joining / separating operation of the toner container includes the plurality of operations such as an operation to open / close the main body cover, an operation of placing / removing the toner container on / from the container holder of the toner container. toner, and an operation to rotate the holding portion. A second disadvantage is that it is difficult for the user to verify that the operation is performed properly until almost the end of the joining operation. More specifically, the user can not feel with certainty that the operation is correct at the point in time at which the opening operation of the main body cover and the operation of positioning the toner container in the toner container holder have been completed. Subsequently, by rotating the clamping portion to fix the position of the clamping portion, the user perceives the sensation of a click of the clamping portion and has the certainty that an erroneous operation has not been performed. A third disadvantage is that the upper side of the toner container holder is limited in terms of distribution. More specifically, in order to place the toner container in the toner container holder from the upper side, the operation of opening / closing the main body cover in the vertical direction is necessary. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure space required for the distribution in order to open / close the main body cover and place / remove the toner container. This causes a reduction in operability / work susceptibility in joining and separating the toner container when a scanner (document reader) or the like is provided above the toner container holder. On the other hand, in the toner storage container described in the patent document 4 or similar, the cap member is pushed by the boquilla in response to the opening operation of the opening / closing fastener, to open the toner outlet sealed by the package. Thus, a toner stain presentation reduction effect can be expected. However, the toner storage container according to the patent document 4 or the like also has disadvantages in terms of work operability / susceptibility when its joining / separation is performed. A first disadvantage is that the amount of toner in the toner storage container can not be increased and therefore the frequency of replacement of the toner storage container increases. The toner storage container has a longitudinal bag container for containing toner. The bag container is distributed so that it is held vertically. Therefore, if the capacity of the bag container is to be increased, the height of the toner storage container needs to be increased. This increases the height of the opening / closing fastener and thus alters the height distribution of the entire image forming apparatus. Therefore, the amount of toner in the toner storage container can not be increased too much, and therefore the amount of toner is increased. frequency of substitution compared to toner containers (in which the horizontal direction is established as the longitudinal direction) according to the patent document 1 and the like. A second disadvantage is such that it is difficult for the user to have the certainty that a non-erroneous operation has been performed. More specifically, because the plug member opens / closes the toner outlet in synchronization with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing fastener, it is difficult for the user to sense whether the toner outlet is actually open or closed. closed because the user does not touch the toner storage container during the operation. The present invention has the objective of solving at least the conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner container with a high workability / workability during its replacement and capable of reliably reducing staining presentation with toner, and an image forming apparatus that includes the same.

MEANS TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM To solve the above problems and to obtain the above objectives, according to the invention described in claim 1, provides a toner container that detachably attaches to a toner container holder of a main body of an image forming apparatus, comprising a toner-containing container body and including an aperture for toner discharge; and a clamped portion that includes a toner outlet for discharging toner discharged from the opening, and discharging toner discharged from the opening, from the toner outlet, and which is held by the toner container holder in a non-detachable manner. Turntable, wherein the fastened portion includes a member that opens / closes to open / close the toner outlet in synchronization with an attachment / separation operation of the fastening portion toward / from the toner container holder. According to the invention described in claim 2, in the toner container according to claim 1, the opening / closing member includes a cap member that is pushed by a nozzle that is provided in the container holder of toner in synchronization with an operation of attaching it to the toner container holder to open the toner outlet, and which is diverted by a bypass member in synchronization with a separation operation thereof from the toner container holder for close the toner output.

According to the invention described in claim 3, the toner container according to claim 2, the biasing member includes a hook member that is provided in the toner container holder, which is retracted to a position which does not obstruct the attachment of the fastened portion in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container, and then protrudes to a position where it engages the plug member, and at the same time, bypasses the plug member in synchronization with the separation operation of the toner container, and then retracted to a position where it does not obstruct the separation of the held portion. According to the invention described in claim 4, in the toner container according to claim 3, the hook member fixes a position of the cap member together with the nozzle in the toner container holder when engaged with the toner container. the plug member, and the clamped portion then moves along the direction of attachment / separation with the position of the fixed plug member, to open / close the toner outlet. According to the invention described in claim 5, in the toner container according to claim 3, the hook member is deflected by a second deviation member from a retraction position to a coupling position, the second biasing member is shaped so that the force with which the hook member biases the plug member is greater than the slip resistance of the plug member. According to the invention described in claim 6, in the toner container according to claim 2, the cap member is configured so that a stroke, when the toner outlet is opened / closed, is longer that a career that can be moved by manual operation. According to the invention described in claim 7, the toner container according to claim 2 is connected through the nozzle to a conveyor tube (71) which is connected to a pump for supplying or introducing gas from / inwards, to transport the toner discharged from the toner outlet together with the gas. According to the invention described in claim 8, in the toner container according to claim 1, the fastened portion includes slidable portions that slide along the toner container fastener in synchronization with the joining operation / separation to / from the container holder toner, and the opening / closing member is provided in a location surrounded by the slidable portions. According to the invention described in claim 9, the toner container according to claim 1 is attached / separated along the longitudinal direction of the container body. According to the invention described in claim 10, the toner container according to claim 9 is attached to the toner container holder in base in the longitudinal direction of the container body which is established as the horizontal direction. According to the invention described in claim 11, in the toner container according to claim 9, the fastening portion is attached to the toner container fastener so that the fastening portion is established as the head of the toner container. container body. According to the invention described in claim 12, in the toner container according to claim 1, the container body is rotatably provided and transports the toner contained therein to the opening after rotation. According to the invention described in claim 13, in the toner container according to Claim 12, the container body includes a gear which is provided on its circumferential surface and on the side of the opening, and transmits a rotational driving force to the body of the container. According to the invention described in claim 14, in the toner container according to claim 12, the container body includes a spiral-shaped projection along its inner circumferential surface. According to the invention described in claim 15, in the toner container according to claim 12, the body of the container includes a conveyor member that transports the toner contained therein to the opening. According to the invention described in claim 16, in the toner container according to claim 15, the conveyor member is a serpentine or a screw that is provided in a rotatable manner. According to the invention described in claim 17, in the toner container according to claim 1, the fastened portion communicates with the container body through the opening. According to the invention described in claim 18, in the toner container according to Claim 1, the body of the container contains toner inside it. According to the invention described in claim 19, in the toner container according to claim 18, the container body contains a carrier therein. According to the invention described in claim 20, an image forming apparatus comprises a toner container according to claim 1 that detachably attaches to the toner container fastener that is provided in the main body of the toner forming apparatus. image.

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention optimizes the configuration of the toner container that is established in the toner container holder. Therefore, the present invention can provide the toner container with high operability / susceptibility to work during its replacement and is capable of reliably reducing the presentation of toner stains, as well as an image forming apparatus that includes the same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a general outline of a printer as an image forming apparatus; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of an image generating unit of the image forming apparatus; Figure 3 is a schematic of a toner supply path of the image forming apparatus; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the toner container holder; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a toner container; Figure 6 is a cross-section of the head side of the toner container; Figure 7 is a schematic of the toner container when viewed from the direction M in Figure 6; Figure 8A is a perspective view of an example of a stirring member; Figure 8B is a schematic of an example of the agitating member when viewed from the direction M in Figure 6; Figure 8C is a side view of an example of the agitation member; Figure 9 is a cross section of another example of the head side of the toner container; Figure 10 is a schematic of the toner container fastener; Figure 11 is a schematic of a nozzle; Figure 12 is a schematic of how a yellow toner container is attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 13 is a diagram of how the union of the toner container advances when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 14 is a schematic of the toner container attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 15 is a diagram of how the toner container is attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the holder; Figure 16 is a schematic of the contained toner attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the holder; Figure 17 is a cross section of a head side of a toner container according to a second embodiment; Figure 18A is a schematic of how the yellow toner container is attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 18B is a cross section of a portion about a fastener of a fastened portion when the yellow toner container is attached to the toner container fastener when viewed from the side higher; Figure 19A is a schematic of the toner container attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Fig. 19B is a cross section of the portion around the fastener when the toner container is attached to the toner container fastener when viewed from the top side; Figure 20 is a perspective view of the toner container according to the third embodiment; Figure 21 is a perspective view of the pairs of arms that are provided in the toner container holder according to a fourth embodiment; Figure 22 is an exploded perspective view of the pair of arms; Figure 23 is a schematic of a relationship between the pairs of arms and the holding portion when the yellow toner container is to be attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the upper side; Figure 24 is a diagram of the relationship between the pairs of arms and the holding portion when the union of the toner container advances, when viewed from the upper side; Figure 25 is a diagram of the relationship between the pairs of arms and the holding portion when the toner container is attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the upper side; Figure 26 is a schematic of the pairs of arms when the toner container according to a fifth embodiment is attached to the toner container holder; Figure 27A is a diagram of how the yellow toner container is attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 27B is a diagram of the portion around the fastener when the yellow toner container is to be attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the upper side; Figure 28A is a diagram of how the union of the toner container advances when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 28B is a diagram of the portion around the fastener of the fastened portion when the union of the toner container advances, when viewed from the upper side; Fig. 29A is a schematic of the toner container attached to the toner container fastener when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Fig. 29B is a diagram of the portion around the fastener when the toner container is joins the toner container holder when viewed from the top side; Figure 30A is a schematic of how the toner container according to a seventh embodiment is attached to the toner container holder; Figure 30B is a schematic of how the toner container according to the seventh embodiment is attached to the toner container holder; Figure 31 is a perspective view of a toner container according to an eighth embodiment; Figure 32 is a cross section of a toner container according to a ninth embodiment; Figure 33 is a cross section of a toner container according to a tenth embodiment; Figure 34 is a schematic of a plate member; Figure 35 is a schematic of a toner supply path of the image forming apparatus; Figure 36 is a perspective view of a toner container; Figure 37 is a cross section of a head side of the toner container; Figure 38 is a schematic of the toner container when viewed from the direction M in Figure 37; Figure 39 is a schematic of how the yellow toner container is attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 40 is a diagram of how the union of the toner container advances when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 41 is a schematic of the toner container attached to the toner container holder when viewed from the longitudinal direction; Figure 42 is a graph indicating a relationship between a moving position of the fastening portion and a load applied from the pair of arms to the fastening portion during the joining operation of the toner container; Figure 43 is a perspective view of a toner container detachably attached to a toner container holder, according to a twelfth embodiment; Figure 44 is a cross section of the toner container according to the twelfth embodiment; Figure 45 is a perspective view of a base plate that is provided in the toner container holder; and figure 46 is a cross section partially enlarged of the base plate on which the toner container is placed.

EXPLANATIONS OF LETTERS OR NUMBERS 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K, Photosensitive drum 2Y Cleaning unit 2A Cleaning blade 4Y Charger 5Y Development device 6Y, 6M, 6X, 6K Image generating unit 7 Exposure device 8 Intermediate transfer belt 9Y, 9M, 9C, 9K Primary transfer deflection roller 10 Intermediate transfer cleaning unit 12 Secondary transfer support roller 13 Cleaning support roller 14 Tension roller 19 Secondary transfer roller 20 Fixing unit 26 Paper feeding unit 27 Roller paper feeder 28 Pair of alignment roller 29 Pair of paper discharge roller Sedimentation portion 31 Toner container holder 31a, 31b, Sliding face (guide rail) 31c Positioning member 31cl, 34gl 3Id, 3le, 3le Coupling member 31g 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32C 32K toner container 33Y toner container of vessel 33a Front end 33b Projection 33c Gear (bottle gear) 33d Bra 33f, 33h Stirring member 33gl Plate member 33g2 Ring member 34Y Fastened portion (lid) 34a Main portion of lid 34al Projection portion 34a2 Bearing portion 34b Cover cover 34bl Hook 34c, 340c, 134m Fastener 34cl, 34c2 Sliding portion 34d Cap member (opening / closing member, plug) 34e Pack 34f Compression spring 34g Coupling portion (groove portion) 34h Slotted portion 34k Flat portion 34m Concave portion 34n Convex portion 34Om Corner portion 35 ID chip 37 Member Seal 51Y Toner Conveyor Tube 51Y Development Roller 52Y Doctor's Blade 53Y, 54Y Developer storage unit 55Y Conveyor 56Y sensor Density sensing sensor 59 Toner supply device 60 Screw pump (powder pump) 61 Rotor 62 Stator 63 Suction hole 64 Universal seal 66 Motor 67 Feed hole 70 Nozzle (toner conveyor tube, coupling member) 70a Toner supply hole (receiving hole) 70b Positioning bolt 71 Tube (conveyor tube (71)) 73 Holding portion 74 Communication circuit (terminal) ) 75 Controller 76 Hook member 76a Rotary spindle 77 Plate spring (second deflection member) 80Y Rotary arrow 81Y Serpentine (conveyor member) 83Y Threaded rod 83Ya Serial screw portion 84Y Plate member (conveyor member) 84Ya Serial screw portion 85Y Guide portion 90 Pair of arms (deflection unit) 91 First arm (second deflection element) 92 Second arm (deflection element) 93 Spindle 94 Torsion spring 100 Main body of the image forming device (body of the apparatus) A Opening B Toner outlet (supply hole) G Developer L Laser light P Transfer material 310a Base plate 31all Guide groove 31al2 Guide edge 340n Nozzle hole 340k Fixing hole 340bl Hook (hook portion) 340c2 Opening BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail in the following, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same portion or equivalent is assigned with the same letters or reference numbers, and an explanation of the overlapping portions is simplified or omitted if it is not necessary.

First Mode A first embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below, with reference to FIGS. 1 to FIG. 16. The configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus are generally explained first with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 4. Figure 1 is a general outline of a printer as an image forming apparatus, Figure 2 is an enlarged view of an image generating unit of the image forming apparatus, Figure 3 is a schematic of a delivery path of the image forming apparatus. toner thereof, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a toner container fastener. As shown in Figure 1, the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K correspond to the colors (yellow, magenta, cyan and black) and are detachably (replaceable) in a toner container holder 31 which is provided on the upper side of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100. An intermediate transfer unit 15 is provided on the underside of the toner container holder 31. The 6Y, 6M, 6C and 6K units that generate images that correspond to the colors (yellow, magenta, cyan and black) are distributed tandemly so that they are oriented towards an intermediate transfer band 8 of the intermediate transfer unit 15. With reference to Figure 2, the image generating unit 6Y corresponding to yellow includes a photosensitive drum 1Y and also includes a 4Y charger, a development device 5Y (developer unit), a cleaning unit 2Y and a discharger (not shown) , which are distributed around the 1Y photosensitive drum. The image generation process (loading procedure, exposure procedure, developing process, transfer procedure and cleaning procedure) is performed on the 1Y photosensitive drum and a yellow image is formed on the 1Y photosensitive drum. The other three 6M, 6C and 6K image generating units have almost the same configuration as the image generating unit 6Y which corresponds to yellow, except that different toner colors are used, and images corresponding to respective toner colors are formed. In the following, an explanation of the other three 6M, 6C and 6K image generating units is omitted and only the image generating unit 6Y for yellow is explained below.

Referring to Figure 2, the photosensitive drum 1Y is made to rotate clockwise in Figure 2 by a driving motor (not shown). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is loaded uniformly in the position of the 4Y magazine (loading procedure). Subsequently, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a radiation position of a laser light L emitted from an exposure device 7 (see figure 1) where the exposure light is scanned to form an electrostatic latent image for yellow (method of exposition) . Subsequently, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position to be oriented towards the developing device 5Y wherein an electrostatic latent image is revealed and a yellow toner image is formed (development process). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position where it faces an intermediate transfer band 8 and a primary transfer deflection roller 9Y, where the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1Y is transferred to the band 8 of intermediate transfer (primary transfer procedure). At this time, a light amount of non-transferred toner remains in the 1Y photosensitive drum.

Subsequently, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position where it faces the cleaning unit 2Y, where the non-transferred toner remains on the photosensitive drum 1Y and is mechanically collected by a cleaning blade 2a (cleaning procedure). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y finally reaches a position where it faces the unloader (not shown) where the residual potential of the photosensitive drum 1Y is removed. The image generation methods are performed on other 6M, 6C and 6K image generating units in the same way as those of the 6Y unit and yellow image generators. In other words, the laser light L based on the image information is radiated from the exposure device 7 provided on the underside of the image generating unit to each photosensitive drum in the 6M, 6C and 6K generating units. image. More specifically, the exposure device 7 emits the laser light L from its light source and irradiates laser light L on the photosensitive drum through a plurality of optical elements while scanning the laser light L through a polygon mirror, which is rotated. After, color toner images respective on the photosensitive drums through the developing process are transferred superimposed in the intermediate transfer band 8. In this way, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer band 8. With reference to Figure 1, the intermediate transfer unit 15 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8, four primary transfer deflection rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C and 9K, and a secondary transfer support roller 12, a roller 13 of cleaning support, a tension roller 14 and an intermediate transfer cleaning unit 10. The intermediate transfer band 8 is tensioned and supported by three rollers 12 to 14 and moves in the allowed direction (ie, in the direction shown by arrow a) in Figure 1 by the rotation of roller 12. four primary transfer deflection rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C and 9K are interposed to the intermediate transfer strip 8 with the photosensitive drum 1Y and the photosensitive drums 1M, 1C and 1K to each form a primary transfer narrowing. In addition, the inverse transfer deviation to the toner polarity is applied to the primary transfer deflection rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C and 9K. Then, the intermediate transfer band 8 it moves along the direction of the arrow (direction a) and passes sequentially through the primary transfer constrictions of the primary transfer deflection rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C and 9K. In this way, the toner images for the colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1K are superimposed sequentially on the intermediate transfer band 8 to perform the primary transfer. Subsequently, the intermediate transfer band 8 with the toner images for the superimposed transferred colors reaches the position where it is facing a secondary transfer roller 19. In this position, the secondary transfer support roller 12 intervenes with the intermediate transfer strip 8 with the secondary transfer roller 19 to form a secondary transfer narrowing. The four-color toner images that are formed on the intermediate transfer web 8 are transferred to a transferred material P such as transfer paper transported to the position of the secondary transfer narrowing. At this time, the toner that is not transferred, which has not been transferred to the transferred material P, remains on the intermediate transfer band 8. Subsequently, the transfer band 8 intermediate reaches the position of the intermediate transfer cleaning unit 10, where the non-transferred toner is collected on the intermediate transfer band 8. In this way, a series of transfer procedures performed on the intermediate transfer band 8 is completed. The transferred material P transported to the position of the secondary transfer narrowing is transported thereto from a paper feeding unit 26 which is provided on the underside of the body 100 of the apparatus through the paper feed roller 27 and a pair 28. of alignment rollers. More specifically, the transferred material P such as the transfer paper is stored in a plurality of paper feeding units 26. When the paper feeder roller 27 is made to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the transferred material P located further up is administered to the rollers of the pair 28 of alignment rollers. The transferred material P transported to the pair 28 of alignment rollers once is stopped in the position of a roller nip between the pair 28 of alignment rollers which stops its rotation. After, the pair 28 of alignment rollers is rotated in synchronization with the color images on the intermediate transfer web 28 and the transferred material P is transported towards the secondary transfer narrowing. In this way, a desired color image is transferred to the transferred material P. The material P transferred with the color image transferred at the position of the secondary transfer narrowing is transported to the position of a fixing unit 20, wherein the color image transferred to the surface of the transferred material P is fixed on the material P transferred by heat and pressure, by means of a fixing roller and a push roller. Subsequently, the transferred material P is expelled to the outside of the apparatus through the rollers of a pair 29 of paper discharge rollers. The transferred material P is expelled to the outside of the apparatus by a pair 29 of paper discharge rollers which are sequentially sedimented on the settling portion 30, as an output image. In this way, a series of image forming procedures are completed in the image forming apparatus. The configuration and operation of the developing device in the image generating unit they are explained in further detail in the following, with reference to Fig. 2. The developing device 5Y includes a developing roller 51Y which faces toward the photosensitive drum 1Y, a doctor blade 52Y facing the developing roller 51Y , two 55Y conveyor screws that are provided in the 53Y and 54Y development storage units and the 56Y density detection sensor to detect the density of the toner in the developer. The developer roll 51Y includes a fixed magnet on the inside thereof and a sleeve that rotates around the magnet. The two-component developer G containing the carrier and the toner are stored in the developer storage units 53Y and 54Y. The developer storage unit 54Y communicates with a tube 43Y toner conveyor through the opening formed on the upper side of the developer storage unit 54Y. The developer device 5Y configured in the above manner operates as follows. The roller sleeve 51Y developer rotates in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) of Figure 2. The developer G carried over the roller 51Y developer by the magnetic field formed by the magnet moves along the roller 51And associated developer with the rotation of the sleeve. The developer G in the developer device 5Y is controlled so that the ratio (toner density) of the toner in the developer is in the predetermined range. More specifically, the toner contained in the toner container 32Y is supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y through the toner supply device 59 (see FIG. 3) according to the toner consumption in the developer device 5Y. It is noted that each configuration and operation of the toner supply device 59 and the toner container 32Y are explained in detail later. Then, the toner supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y circulates (movement in the vertical direction of the paper of Figure 2) in the two developer storage units 53Y and 54Y while mixing with the developer G and stirred. The toner in the developer G is attracted by the carrier, by the frictional load with the carrier, and is transported on the developer roller 51Y together with the carrier by the magnetic force formed on the developing roller 51Y. The developer G conveyed in the developing roller 51Y is transported in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) of Figure 2 to reach the position of doctor blade 52Y. In this position, the amount of developer becomes appropriate, and then the developer G on the developing roller 51Y is transported to the position (developing region) facing the photosensitive drum 1Y. The toner is attracted to the latent image that is formed on the 1Y photosensitive drum by the electric field that is formed in the developing region. After, the developer G remains on the developing roller 51Y reaches the upper side of the developer storage unit 53Y associated with the rotation of the sleeve, wherein the developer G separates from the developing roller 51Y. The toner supply device 59 directing the toner contained in the toner container 32Y (agent storage container) to the developing device 5Y is explained in detail in the following, with reference to figure 3. For easy compression, Figure 3 shows the changed distribution of the toner container 32Y, the toner supply paths 43Y, 60, 70 and 71 and the developing device 5Y. In fact, in Figure 3, the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32Y and part of the toner supply path is distributed in the vertical direction on the paper (see Figure 1). With reference to figure 4, the toner (powdered agent) in the 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containersdistributed in the fastener 31 of the toner container of the body 100 of the apparatus are supplied to each of the development devices and it is necessary through the toner supply paths that are provided for each color of toner, according to each consumption of toner in the development devices for the colors. The four toner supply paths have almost the same configuration with each other except that a different toner color is used for each image generation procedure. More specifically, the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31 of the body 100 of the apparatus and a nozzle 70 (toner conveyor tube) of the toner container holder 31 is connected to a holder portion 34Y (cover ) of the 32Y toner container. A plug member 34d (opening / closing member) of the toner container 32Y is interposed between the nozzle 70 and the hook member 76, and opens the toner outlet (supply opening) of the portion 34Y held in this state. This allows the toner contained in a body 33Y of the container 32Y container and toner to be transported inside the nozzle 70 through the toner outlet. On the other hand, the other end of the nozzle 70 is connected to one end of a tube 71 like a tube (71) conveyor. The tube 71 is made of a flexible material excellent in toner strength, and the other end thereof is connected to a screw pump 60 (Mohno pump, powder pump) of the toner supply device 59. The tube 71 is a conveyor tube (71) that is shaped so that its internal diameter is 4 to 10 mm. The material of the tube 71 is allowed to use a rubber material such as polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM and silicone, and a resin material such as polyethylene and nylon. Said flexible tube 71 is used to improve the flexibility in the distribution of the toner supply path and thus the size of the image forming apparatus is reduced. The screw pump 60 is a suction-type uniaxial eccentric screw pump and includes a rotor 61, a stator 62, a suction hole 63, a universal joint 64 and a motor 66. The rotor 61, the stator 62 and the universal joint 64 are accommodated in a cover (not shown). The stator 62 is a female screw member made of an elastic material such as rubber and a spiral groove with a double pitch is formed along the inside of the stator 62. The rotor 61 is a male screw member in which spirally formed shaft made of a rigid material such as metal, and it rotatably inserts into the stator 62. One end of the rotor 61 is rotatably connected to the motor 66 through the universal joint 64. In the first embodiment, the spiral direction (direction of rotation) and the rotational direction of the rotor 61 are set so that the spiral direction coincides (direction of rotation) and the rotational direction of the projection 33b that is formed in the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y. The screw pump 60 configured in the above manner generates suction force in the suction orifice 63 (air in the tube 71 which is sent to generate a negative pressure in the tube 71) by rotating the rotor 61 of the stator 62 by the motor 66 in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the direction of toner transport). This allows the toner in the toner container 32Y, with the air, to be sucked into the suction hole 63 through the tube 71. The toner sucked into the suction hole 63 is sent within a gap between the stator 62 and the rotor 61 and fed to the other side of the end along the rotation of the rotor 61. The fed toner is discharged from a feed hole 67 to the screw pump 60, to be supplied to the developing device 5Y through the tube 43Y toner conveyor (movement in the direction of arrow indicated by a dashed line in figure 3). In the first embodiment, the rotor 61 of the screw pump 60 is caused to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveyor direction. The spiral direction (direction of rotation) of the rotor 61 is set to be in the straight direction. Establishment and rotation of the rotor 61 cause a swirling spiral flow of air, in the clockwise direction which is generated in the screw pump 60. The toner container is explained in the following with reference to Fig. 5 through Fig. 9. As explained with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, the four substantially cylinder cylindrical toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K (bottles of toner) are provided detachably in the toner container holder 31. The 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers are replaced with new ones when they reach the end of their lives (when almost the entire toner content has been consumed and the container is empty). The toner of each color contained in the 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers are supplied as required. need each developing device of the image generating units 6Y, 6M, 6C and 6K through each toner supply path explained with reference to Figure 3. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the toner container 32Y. Figure 6 is a cross-section of the head side (the side where the fastened portion 34Y is provided) of the toner container 32Y. Figure 7 is a schematic of the toner container 32Y of Figure 6, when viewed from the direction M in Figure 6. Figure 8A is a perspective view of an example of a stirring member, Figure 8B is a diagram of an example of the agitation member when viewed from the direction M in figure 6, and figure 8C is a side view of an example of the agitation member. Figure 9 is a cross section of another example of the head side of the toner container 32Y. The other three 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers have almost the same configuration as the 32Y toner container containing yellow toner, except that they contain different toner colors and locations of a concave portion 34m and a convex portion 34n. Next, the explanation of the other three toner containers 32M, 32C and 32K is omitted, and only the toner container 32Y is explained below.

It contains yellow toner. As shown in Figure 5, the toner container 32Y mainly includes the container body 33Y and the fastened portion 34Y (bottle cap) that is provided at the head thereof. The head of the container body 33Y includes a gear 33c integrally rotating with the container body 33Y and an opening A (see figure 6). The opening A is provided in the head of the container body 33Y (front end position when attached) and is used to discharge the toner contained in the container body 33Y into the space (cavity) of the portion 34Y held. The gear 33c engages the drive gear 31g of the drive unit that is provided in the toner container holder 31 of the body 100 of the apparatus, to rotate the container body 33Y about an axis of rotation (indicated by a line of chain of figure 6). More specifically, the gear 33c is exposed from a slotted portion 34h formed in the clamped portion 34Y and engages the drive gear 31g of the body 100 of the apparatus in a coupling position D shown in FIG. 6 and in FIG. Figure 7. The driving force is transmitted from the drive gear 31 to the gear 33c, and the body 33Y of container is made to rotate in the counterclockwise direction of figure 7. In the first embodiment, the gear 31g impeller and the gear 33c are cylindrical gears of straight teeth. In the first embodiment, the toner container 32Y and the apparatus body 100 are configured so that the clamped portion 34Y (or container body 33Y) is deflected downwardly by the force applied to the gear 31g to the gear 33c when the Gear 31g impeller rotates in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) of Figure 7 (mainly during toner supply). More specifically, with reference to Figure 7, the coupling position D between the gear 33c and the driving gear 31g is provided in a range X from the uppermost portion of the gear 33c to the downstream side thereof by turning 1/4 of rotation (which does not include the uppermost portion and the position of the gear 33c that rotates 1/4 of rotation). Based on said configuration as in the foregoing, the component force acting downward in the vertical direction is produced in force by the driving gear 31g, which acts vertically on a meshing engagement surface 33c. Therefore, the seal capability of the nozzle 70 communicating with the B output of toner is maintained without a large vertical fluctuation of the portion 34Y held, and in this way the toner is prevented from dispersing from near the output B of the toner. With reference to Figure 5, a fastener 33d is provided in a rear (lower) end portion of the container body 33Y so that the user can hold it for attachment / separation of the toner container 32Y. A spiral-shaped projection 33b is provided along the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y (spiral groove when viewed from the outer peripheral side). The projection 33b in spiral form is used to discharge the toner from the opening A by rotating the container body 33Y in a predetermined direction. The container body 33Y configured in this manner and the gear 33c that are provided along its circumferential surface can be manufactured by blow molding. The toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment has a stirring member 33f that rotates together with the container body 33Y that is provided in the opening A (see figure 6). The agitating member 33f is a rod-shaped member or a plate member which extends from the space in the holding portion 34Y to the container body 36Y and is provided at an angle to the axis of rotation (indicated by the chain line in Figure 6). A rotation of the stirring member 33f together with the container body 33Y allows improvement in the toner discharge capacity from the opening A. Particularly, as shown in Figure 8A, Figure 8B and Figure 8C, the ring member 33g2 with a pair of plate members 33gl, in which the respective slopes are opposite each other, are provided in the position which is a point of symmetry with respect to the center of rotation. And when said ring member 32g2 is fixed within the opening A to form the agitating member, the toner can be loaded continuously and discharged by its rotational action, and the discharge capacity is further improved. As shown in Figure 9, if the agitating member extends into a vertical toner discharge path that is formed in a mortar configuration (agitation member 33h), the toner discharge capacity is supposed to be further improved. In the first embodiment, the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y is made to rotate in the clockwise direction viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveyor direction. In addition, the spiral direction (direction of rotation) of the projection 33b in the container body 33Y is established in a direct direction. With reference to Figure 5 and Figure 6, the fastened portion 34Y includes a main lid portion 34a, a lid cover 34b, a fastener 34c, a plug member 34d as an opening / closing member, a packing 34e and an ID chip 35. With reference to Figure 5 and Figure 7, a coupling portion 34G (groove portion) with which a positioning member 31c of the toner container fastener 31 engages, is provided on both sides of the fastened portion 34Y. The concave portion 34m into which a coupling member 3Id of the toner container fastener 31 engages, is provided on the end face of the fastened portion 34Y. The convex portion 34n engaging within another coupling member (not shown) of the toner container holder 31 is provided on the circumferential surface of the portion 34Y held. In addition, the slotted portion 34h from which a portion of the gear 33e is exposed is provided on the upper side of the fastened portion 34Y. The fastened portion 34Y communicates with the container body 33Y through the opening A and discharges the toner discharged from the opening A, from the toner outlet B (movement along the direction of the arrow indicated by the dashed line of figure 6). In the first embodiment, the cavity (space) that is formed within the fastened portion 34Y is formed in an almost cylindrical fashion. The discharge path of toner (vertical trajectory) from the almost cylindrical cavity formed within the portion 34Y fastened above the toner outlet B is shaped into a mortar. With this shape, the toner supplied through the rotation of the container body 33Y is sedimented. It is sedimented temporarily from the mortar and the suction force of the screw pump 60 on the body side 100 of the apparatus is transmitted to the toner effectively sedimented. Therefore, toner transport capacity is improved from the toner which is discharged from the toner outlet B and moves along the interior of the tube 71. The fastened portion 34Y does not follow the rotation of the container body 33Y but is held non-rotatably by a holding portion 73 (see Fig. 4 and Fig. 10) of the toner container fastener 31 while the coupling portion 34g engages with the positioning member 31c. The lid cover 34b of the fastened portion 34Y is attached to the circumferential surface of the 34a main lid portion. A hook 34bl is provided in the front part of the lid cover 34b. The hook 34bl is coupled with a coupling member that is formed in the head of the container body 33Y, and the container body 33Y is thereby kept relatively rotatable with respect to the portion 34Y held. To rotate the container body 33Y uniformly, the hook 34bl of the fastened portion 34Y and the coupling member of the container body 33Y engage with each other while maintaining an appropriate clearance. The seal member 37 adheres to the surface of the fastened portion 34Y that faces the front end 33a around the opening A of the container body 33Y. The seal member 37 is used to seal the gap which is around the opening A and is between the surfaces of the container body 33Y and the fastened portion 34Y that are mutually facing each other, and are made from a material elastic such as polyurethane foam. The fastener 34c is provided on the underside of the fastened portion 34Y. In the fastener 34c, a plug member 34d (obturator) is provided as the opening / closing member for opening / closing the toner outlet B in synchronization with the joining / separating operation of the toner container 32Y. Plus specifically, the plug member 34d can be moved in the holder 34c in the horizontal direction of figure 6 so that it is surrounded by slidable portions 34cl and 34c2. A space (concave portion) is provided on the underside of the fastener 34c so that the hook member 76 of the body 100 of the apparatus engages the plug member 34d and the plug member 34d moves relatively in space. The gasket 34a such as the seal G is provided on both sides of the stopper member 34d to prevent leakage of toner from near the stopper member 34d. In addition, the package such as a toroidal ring is provided in the coupling portion between the fastener 34c and the main lid portion 34a to prevent toner leakage from both separations. The toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31 and then the hook member 76 (see Figure 5 and Figure 14) is coupled to the right side of the closure member 34d, the hook member 76 is the biasing member for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction in which the toner outlet B is closed. The hook member 76 is explained in detail later. The ID chip 35 of the clipped portion 34Y is configured to face a communication circuit 74 (terminal) of the toner container holder 31 with a predetermined distance therebetween, in synchronization with the operation of joining the toner container 32Y to the toner container holder 31. More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on a projection portion 34a of the clamped portion 34Y that protrudes in the direction, (ie, in the direction shown by the arrow ß in Figure 5) in which the portion 34Y attached to the toner container holder 31 is attached and which is provided on the plane orthogonal to the joint direction . The ID chip 35 performs contactless communication (radio communication) with the communication circuit 74 of the body of the apparatus while the held portion 34Y is held in the toner container holder 31. The ID chip 35 previously stores various types of information related to the toner container 32Y. On the other hand, the communication circuit 74 of the toner container holder 31 exchanges the information by radio with the ID chip 35 while the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31. More specifically, the information stored on the ID chip 35 is transmitted to a controller 75 (see FIG. 5) of the apparatus body 100 through the communication circuit 74 or information for the apparatus body 100 acquired by the device. controller 75 is transmitted to the ID chip 35 and stored therein. The ID chip 35 stores the information regarding the toner such as toner colors, toner serial numbers (production lot) and toner production date, and information regarding the recycling of toner container 32Y such as the number of toner. recycling times, recycling dates and recycling manufacturers. When the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31, the information stored on the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 of the appliance body 100 through the electric circuit 74. The apparatus body 100 is optimally controlled based on these pieces of information. For example, if the toner color is different from the toner color that should be placed in the toner container holder, the operation of the toner supply device 59 can be stopped, or the image generation conditions of the toner can be changed. according to the serial number or the recycling manufacturer. In the fastener 34c of the fastening portion 34Y, slidable portions 34cl and 34c2 are provided for sliding through the toner container fastener 31 following the operation of its attachment / separation to / from the toner container fastener 31. More specifically, a first portion Slidable 34cl is a flat portion that is shaped so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31a (which is in a plane with a flat face that is formed upwards, see Figure 10 and Figure 45 and Figure 46 that is further explained) of the toner container fastener 31, the flat portion is provided in the lower portion of the fastened portion 34Y with which the bonding / separation is operated. In addition, a second slidable portion 34c2 is a planar portion shaped to be parallel to the sliding face 31b (which is a plane with a flat face that is shaped laterally, see Figure 10 and Figure 45 and Figure 46 explained subsequently) in the toner container fastener 31, the flat portion is provided in the side portion of the fastening portion 34Y with which the attachment / separation is operated. With reference to Figure 5 and Figure 7, the concave portion 34m coupled with the coupling member 3Id of the toner container fastener 31 is provided on a portion which is an end face of the portion 34Y held and is close to the projection portion 34al. The concave portion 34m is shaped so as to engage with the corresponding coupling member 3Id when the attachment operation to the toner container fastener 31 is correct (when the fastener 31). of toner container joins the normal position). More specifically, as shown in Figure 7, the positions of the concave portions 34m are distributed differently to each other according to each color of toner contained in the toner containers (container bodies). The concave portion 34m (C) of the toner container corresponding to cyan and a corresponding coupling member (not shown) of the toner container holder are distributed on the uppermost side and the concave portion (M) of the toner container 34m. corresponding to the magenta and a corresponding coupling member (not shown) of the toner container fastener are distributed on the upper side of the middle stage. The concave portion (Y) of the toner container 34m corresponding to the yellow and the corresponding coupling member 31d of the toner container holder are distributed on the underside of the middle stage, and the concave portion (34m) of the container The toner corresponding to the black and the corresponding coupling member (not shown) of the toner container holder are distributed on the lower side. This configuration allows to avoid a failure such as where a toner container of an inappropriate color (for example the toner container for yellow) is placed in a toner container holder for a predetermined color (e.g. a cyan toner container holder) and this causes a desired color image not yet formed. Similarly, with reference to Figure 5 and Figure 7, a convex portion 34n is provided with which the other coupling member (not shown) engages on the circumferential surface of the fastened portion 34Y. Similar to the concave portion 34m, the convex portion 34n engaged in a corresponding coupling member when the toner container is properly attached to the toner container holder 31. It is configured so that the positions of the convex portions 34n are distributed differently to each other according to each toner color contained in the toner container (container body). Such configuration as in the above allows the prevention of erroneous coupling of the toner container in the toner container holder, similar to the concave portion 34m. In the first mode, as the toner contained in the 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers is used, the toner formed so that the following maintained relationships are used where Dv (μm) is the average volume of particle size and Dn (μm) is the average number of particle size: 3 < v < 8 (1) 1.00 < Dv / Dn < 1.40 (2) Therefore, the toner particles are selected according to an image pattern in the developing process and excellent image quality is maintained and a satisfactory developing capacity is maintained even if the toner is stirred by a prolonged time in the developing device. In addition, the toner can be transported efficiently and reliably without blocking the toner supply path such as tube 71. The average particle size of volume and the average number of toner particle size can be measured by using a device typical such as a particle size distribution measuring device of the Coulter Counter type: Coulter Counter-TA-II (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited) and Coulter Multisizer II (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited). In addition, in the first embodiment, as the toner contained in the 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers is used, a substantially spherical toner is used, the toner is shaped so that the SF-1 form factor is in the range from 100 to 180 and the SF-2 form factor is in the range of 100 to 180. This allows the suppression of reduction in cleaning performance while maintaining high transfer efficiency. Further, the toner can be transported efficiently and reliably without blocking the toner supply path such as tube 71. At present, the SF-1 form factor indicates the sphericity of a toner particle, and is determined by the following equation: SF-l = (M2 / S) x (100p / 4) In the equation, M is the maximum particle size (the largest particle size in irregular particle sizes) in a plane of the object of the toner particle, and S is a projection area of the toner particle. Therefore, the toner particle whose SF-1 form factor is 100 is perfectly spherical, and the degree of sphericity decreases as the value becomes larger than 100. The form factor SF-2 indicates irregularities of a toner particle , and is determined by the following equation. SF-2 = (N2 / S) x (100 / 4p) In the equation, N is the circumferential length in the plane of the object of the toner particle and S is the projection area of the toner particle. Therefore, the toner particle whose SF-2 form factor is 100 has no irregularities, and the irregularities become larger as the value becomes larger than 100.

The SF-1 form factor and the SF-2 form factor are obtained by photographing a toner particle by an "S-800" scanning electron microscope (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.), and by analyzing the photograph of the toner particle obtained by an image analyzer "LUSEX3" (manufactured by Nireco Corp.). The configuration of the toner container fastener 31 is explained below with reference to Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. Fig. 10 is a schematic of the toner container fastener and Fig. 11 is a schematic of a nozzle. With reference to Figure 10, the toner container holder 31 includes slidable faces 31 a and 31 b along which slidable portions slide into each held portion of the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K.; the fastening portion 73 for fixing the position of the fastener 34c of the fastened portion; the nozzle 70; a drive unit (wherein a drive gear 31g is provided) for transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body 33Y; the communication circuit 74; arm pairs 90 (deviation unit) for biasing the portion 34Y held toward the holding portion 73 in synchronization with the union of the toner container 32Y; and a member 76 hook (diverting member) for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction in which the toner outlet B of the toner container 32Y is closed. The holding portion 73 holds the clamped portions of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K each in a non-rotating manner. The fastening portion 73 includes sliding faces that contact the fastener 34c and a contact face that contacts a portion of the lid cover 34b. In the sliding faces (side faces) provided in the fastening portion 73, positioning members 31c are placed for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the fastened portion 34Y (see FIG. 5). The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the junction / separation direction of the toner container 32Y. On the sliding (lower) side of the holding portion 73 a hook member 76 is provided as a biasing member for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction in which the toner outlet B closes in synchronization with the separation of the holding portion 34Y (see Figure 5, and Figure 12 to Figure 14). The hook member 76 is pivotally held by the toner container holder 31 around the rotating spindle 76a in the direction of a double-headed arrow (direction R) of Figure 5. More specifically, the hook member 76 is deflected by a plate spring 77 (second biasing member) which is fixed to the underside of the hook member 76 in Figure 3 and Figure 5 , in the direction in which the hook member 76 protrudes in a retracted position, which does not obstruct the attachment / separation of the fastening portion 34Y to a mating position of the plug member 34d (which deviates in the direction of arrow R2 of figure 13). In addition, the communication circuit 74 and the coupling member 3Id are provided on the surface of the holding portion 73 on its rear side. The nozzle 70, as shown in Figure 11, is distributed in the fastening portion 73 for each color of toner. In the nozzle 70 there is provided a toner supply hole 70a communicating with the toner outlet B which is formed in the holding portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y. The operation of union / separation of the container 32And of toner to / from the toner container holder 31 is explained in the following with reference to Figure 12 and to Figure 16. Figure 12 is a schematic of how the toner container 32Y for yellow is attached to the holder 31. from toner container when viewed from the longitudinal direction (movement in the direction of an arrow Q). Figure 13 is a diagram of how the union of the toner container 32Y advances (when the toner outlet B starts to open) when viewed from the longitudinal direction. Figure 14 is a schematic of the toner container 32Y attached to the toner container holder 31 (when the opening of the toner outlet B is completed) when viewed from the longitudinal direction. Figure 15 is a schematic of how the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 when viewed from the holder side 34c. Figure 16 is a schematic of the toner container 32Y that attaches to the toner container holder 31 when viewed from the fastener side 34c. When the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, first, the main body cover (not shown) that is provided on the front face (the paper side of the figure) 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 opens to expose the toner container holder 31 to the front side. Then, with reference to Figure 12 the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 (movement in the direction of the arrow Q). More specifically, the toner container 32Y attaches the toner container holder 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) so that the fastened portion 34Y becomes the head of the container body 33Y. At this time, the first slidable portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner container fastener 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y, and the second sliding portion 34c2 slides along of the sliding face 31b of the toner container fastener 31 and, while sliding, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 with a good balance by the user who holds the handle 33d on the side Rear of container 32Y of toner. Subsequently, when the holder 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31, the positioning of the holder portion 34Y begins. More specifically, the engagement portion 34g of the fastening portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container fastener 31 begin to engage with each other. During this time, the arm pairs 90 deflect the clamped portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y toward the holding portion 73 (deflected in the direction of the arrow Q). Further, during this time, the hook member 76 that is provided in the fastening portion 73 of the toner container fastener 31 is retracted to the position that does not obstruct the attachment of the fastened portion 34Y (which is rotation in the direction of an arrow R1 around the rotating spindle 76a). More specifically, the hook member 76 is pushed down by the slidable portion 34cl in the resistance direction of the deflection force of the plate spring 77 as the second biasing member. Subsequently, when the joining operation of the toner container 32Y advances further, the stopper member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B while the coupling portion 34g and the positioning member 31c engage with each other (the condition as shown). in figure 13). More specifically, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 associated with the insertion of the front end of the nozzle 70 into the hole of the fastener 34c. At this time, the hook member 76 protrudes from the retracted position in Figure 12 to the mating position with the stopper member 34d just before the front end of the nozzle 70 touches the stopper member 34d (which is in rotation in the direction of an arrow R2 around the rotating spindle 76a). More specifically, the hook member 76 is released from the thrust by the slidable portion 34cl and is pushed into its implicit position by the deflection force of the plate spring as the second biasing member. In this implicit position, the hook member 76 protrudes into a space, which is on the side 33Y of the container body of the stopper member 34d, which is part of the nozzle 70, and which is between the coupling portion ( of plug member 34d) protruding from the surface of the plug member 34d and the side of the container body 33Y both provided on both sides of the space in the horizontal direction. Ideally, from the point of view of preventing toner scattering, it is preferable that the hook member 76 engage the coupling portion of the plug member 34d when the hook member 76 is pushed up, but the member 76 of The hook is preferably configured to be pushed up to the position separated from the coupling face by approximately 0.5 to 3 mm to maintain mechanical tolerance. This configuration allows the hook member 76 to wait in a ready manner for engagement with the coupling portion of the plug member 34d when the user Push the toner container inside the toner container holder. If the front end of the nozzle 70 touches the front end of the stopper member 34d to initiate movement of the stopper member 34d before the hook member 76 is pushed toward the implied position, the hook member 76 does not engage with the stopper member 76d. the coupling portion of the cap member 34d depending on the mechanical tolerance setting and, after this, when the user perceives something different from the sensation and pulls the toner container back, the toner failure that can leak from the toner container is prevented. the output of toner. The state as shown in Figure 13 is such that the stopper member 34d is held by the nozzle 70 and the hook member 76 and its position are fixed in the toner container holder 31 (holding portion 73). If the toner container 32Y moves further in the joining direction (arrow direction Q) from the state of figure 13, the toner outlet B opens while the position of the plug member 34d is fixed in the portion 73 of clamping (the plug member 34d moves relatively). Then, with reference to Fig. 14, the position of the portion 34Y fastened in the position where the fastener 34c makes contact against the portion 73 of (reference position for contact) and at the same time, the plug member 34d completely opens the toner outlet B and the gear 33C of the toner container 32Y engages the drive gear 31g of the drive unit of the container holder 31 of toner. The ID chip 35 as an electronic substrate is oriented to the communication circuit 74 in the position to allow radio communication. In addition, the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n to ensure compatibility of the toner containers are engaged in the coupling members 3Id and 3le of the body of the apparatus. The toner outlet B of the toner container 32Y communicates with the toner supply hole 70a of the nozzle 70 and completes the operation of bonding the toner container 32Y. On the other hand, when the toner container 32Y is removed (removed) from the toner container holder 31 of the body 100 of the apparatus, the operation is performed in reverse fashion to the joint. First, the stopper member 34d is deflected by the hook member 76 while the position of the stopper member 34d in the holding portion 73 is fixed by the nozzle 70 and the hook member 76, in synchronization with the separation of the toner container 32Y from the holding portion 73 (separation operation) to close the toner outlet B (motion from the stage of figure 14 to the stage of figure 13). At this time, the end face of the plug member 34d (end face of the right side of FIG. 13) engages in the coupling portion formed in the fastening portion 34Y and the closure of the toner outlet B is completed. by plug member 34d. Subsequently, when the toner container 32Y moves further from the state of FIG. 13 in the direction of separation (the direction opposite the arrow Q), the hook member 76 moves to the position where the separation is not obstructed. of the 34Y fastening portion (the state of Figure 12). After the fastening portion 34Y is completely separated, the hook member 76 is released from the thrust by the slidable portion 34cl, to return to the implicit position by the deflection force of the plate spring which is the second biasing member. Here, the plate spring 77 is the second biasing member for biasing the hook member 76 from the retracted position to the coupling position. Further, said plate spring 77 is shaped so that the force with which the hook member 76 deflects the plug member 34d becomes greater than the slip resistance (which is produced by the packing of the toroidal ring associated with the opening / closing operation) of the plug member 34d. This makes it possible to avoid a failure in such a way that the hook member 76 is pushed by the plug member 34d to move to the retracted position before the separation operation of the toner container 32Y so that the toner outlet B does not close completely . In other words, the plug member 34d securely closes the toner outlet B in the separation operation of the toner container 32Y. In the first embodiment, because the position of the stopper member 34d is maintained by the nozzle 70 and the hook member 76, which is firmly fixed in the toner container holder 31, the stopper member 34d does not move even. when the body 100 of the apparatus is in operation. Therefore, it is possible to avoid toner scattering from near the B output of the toner. In the first modality, the member's career Stopper 34d when the toner outlet B is opened / closed is set to be longer than the stroke which is movable by a manual operation (for example, the push operation of the stopper member with the fingers). In other words, even if the user touches the plug member 34d of the toner container 32Y by mistake, the stroke of the plug member 34d is set sufficiently long so that the toner outlet B does not open. More specifically, the plug member 34d is formed of so that its length is sufficiently long (particularly, the length from the end face where the nozzle is coupled with the toner outlet), and the perforation of the stopper member 34d is shaped so that it is made sufficiently small in comparison with the size of the user's finger. In this way, it is possible to prevent toner scattering from near the toner outlet B caused by a wrong operation of the user even if the diverting member (hook member 76) for deviation of the stopper member 34d in the closing direction of the toner output B is not provided in the toner container 32Y, as explained in the first embodiment. However, the first embodiment, because the biasing member (hook member 76) for biasing the plug member 34d is provided in the apparatus body 100, the number of components in the toner container 32Y can be reduced and In this way, the cost of components and the cost of production are reduced. In the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, in Fig. 15 and in Fig. 16, the plug member 34d is provided in the position surrounded by the sliding portions 34cl and 34c2. That is, the plug member 34d is provided within the fastening portion 34Y. This configuration allows the sliding operation (union / separation operation) of the Sliding portions 34cl and 34c2 are carried out safely without obstructing the opening / closing operation of the toner outlet B by the plug member 34d. In other words, the sliding portions 34cl and 34c2 serve as a protective wall for the plug member 34d. In addition, a cylinder portion of the plug member 34d is covered with the fastener 34c of the portion 34Y held so that it is not exposed regardless of the opening / closing of the plug. In this way, it is possible to maintain airtightness regardless of whether the opening / closing of the cap. In addition, the plug member 34d has two pieces of plates, such as a coupling portion with the hook member 76, projected symmetrically in the axial direction of the cylinder portion and in the vertical direction thereof. Although the two pieces of the plates are exposed to be coupled with the hook member 76, they are located in the high position by the thickness of the fastener 34c. Therefore, even when the toner container 32Y is attached / separated to / from the main body of the image forming apparatus 100, there is no possibility that the cap is opened without caution due to the sliding of the toner container with the face 31a of the toner container fastener 31, and is therefore configured to protect against toner scattering.

As explained above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the joining operation and the separation operation of the toner container 32Y are completed by an action (except the door opening / closing operation). of main body) such that the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding face 31a. The toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment includes a fastening portion 34Y with the toner outlet B that is provided in a downward direction in the vertical position. The toner outlet B is provided on the underside in the vertical direction compared to the opening A, and then the plug member 34d is positioned and joined in synchronization with the joining operation. The stopper member 34d is pushed through the nozzle 70 to open the toner outlet B sealed by the packing 34E. Therefore, there is less toner staining in the toner output B, and the drawback of the user's hands staining with toner when touching the toner output B is avoided. Because the operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 is performed by an action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34cl, improves work operability / susceptibility to replacement of 32Y toner container. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34cl in the lower portion of the holding portion 34Y, the sliding portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a while holding the toner container 32Y. Furthermore, the joining operation of the toner container 32Y is performed by beginning to slide the sliding portion 34cl while the user directly holds the handle 33d, beginning the positioning of the holding portion 34Y together with the deflection by the pairs 90 of arms, starting the insertion of the nozzle 70 and ending the positioning of the holding portion 34Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70 and the connection to the driving unit as soon as the sliding ends. Therefore, the user perceives a clicking sensation when the clamped portion 34Y is placed at the same time as the sliding of the clamped portion 34Y advances (joining operation by an action) and it is certain that no clamping has occurred. wrong operation in the joining operation. In addition, the toner container 32Y is not placed in the toner container holder 31 (appliance body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the union / separation is made from the front side of the toner container 31. toner container fastener 31 (apparatus body 100) and thus flexibility of dispensing from the upper side of the toner container fastener 31 is improved. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is placed just above the toner supply device 59, the operability / susceptibility to working before the union / separation of the toner container 32Y is not impaired. In addition, it also improves the distribution flexibility for the coupling position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 32Y and the driving gear 31g of the apparatus body 100. The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 by adjusting its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction and therefore the toner capacity in the toner container 32Y is increased without any effect on the distribution in the height direction of the toner. 100 image-forming apparatus in its entirety, which allows a reduction in the frequency of substitution. As explained above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the cap member 34d of the portion 34Y held opens / closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the joining / separating operation by an action before the union / separation of the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 allowing a reliable and smooth opening / closing of the toner outlet B. Therefore operability / work susceptibility is improved upon replacement of the toner container 32Y and the presentation of toner staining is safely reduced. In the first embodiment, only the toner is contained in each container body of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K, but in the case of the image forming apparatus that supplies a developer-containing toner, two-component, and a carrier in each developing device, the two-component developer can also be contained in each container body of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K. Even in this case, the same effect can be obtained as in the first mode. In the first embodiment, the projection 33b is integrally formed on the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y and the container body 33Y is caused to rotate. At the same time, a coil or a screw is rotatably held within the container body 33Y and the container body 33Y is not rotated but the coil or screw can be rotated by the gear 33c. In this case also, the same effect as that of the first modality can be obtained if the plug member 34d of the holding portion 34Y opens / closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y by an action. In the first embodiment, the suction type screw pump 60 for sending air into the tube 71 is provided in the toner supply device 59. At the same time, a discharge type screw pump is also provided to send air into the tube 71, in the toner supply device 59. In addition, a diaphragm-type air pump may also be used as a pump connected to the tube 71. In either of these cases the same effect as in the first embodiment may be obtained if the plug member 34d of the portion 34Y fastened opens / closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the union / separation operation of the toner container 32Y by one action.

Second Mode A second embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following, with reference to Fig. 17 to Fig. 19. Fig. 17 is a cross-section of the head side of a toner container according to the second modality which corresponds to that of figure 6, according to the first modality. With reference to Figure 17, the toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment at a point where the compression spring 34f is provided as a member to apply a deviation force to the portion 34Y of subjection. More specifically, the compression spring 34f for biasing the plug member 34d in the closing direction of the toner outlet B is provided on the right side of the plug member 34d. The operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 is explained in the following with reference to Figure 18 and Figure 19. Figure 18A is a schematic of how the container 32Y is attached. from toner to yellow to the toner container holder 31 (movement in the direction of the arrow) when viewed from the longitudinal direction, Figure 18B is a cross section of a portion about the holder 34c of the portion 34Y held in that state when observed from the upper side. Figure 19A is a schematic of the toner container 32Y attached to the toner container holder 31 (the joint has been completed) when viewed from the direction longitudinal and Figure 19B is a cross section of a portion about the fastener 34c in this state, when viewed from the upper side. The toner container holder 31 includes four toner container holders corresponding to four 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers. Each of the four toner container fasteners includes sliding faces 31 a and 31 b along which the sliding portions 34cl and 34c2 of the clamped portion 34Y slide.; the fastening portion 73 for fixing the position of the fastener 34c of the fastened portion 34Y; the nozzle 70 (toner conveyor tube) and a drive unit (not shown) for transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body 34Y. The fastening portion 73 includes sliding faces 31a and 31b in contact with the fastener 34c and a contact face (not shown) that contacts a portion of the cover cover 34b. When the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, first, the main body cover (not shown) that is provided on the front face (the near side in the paper of figure 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 is opened to expose the toner container holder 31 to the side frontal . Then, with reference to Figure 18A, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 (movement in the direction of the arrow). More specifically, the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) so that the portion 34Y held becomes the head of the body. 33Y of container. At this time, the first sliding portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner container fastener 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y and the second sliding portion 34c2 slides along of the sliding face 31b of the toner container fastener 31 and while sliding, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 with a good balance by the user holding the handle 33d of the rear side of the container 32 And toner. Then, when the holder 34c of the container 32 And the toner reaches the fastening portion 73 of the fastener 31 of the toner container, the positioning of the fastened portion 34Y begins. Subsequently, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 in response to the insertion of the end front of the nozzle 70 in the hole of the fastener 34c. The position of the fastened portion 34Y is fixed in the position where the fastener 34c makes contact with the fastening portion 73 and at the same time, the plug member 34d completely opens the toner outlet B. As shown in Figure 19A and Figure 19B, this opening action allows the toner outlet B of the toner container 32Y to communicate with the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70, and the operation of the toner is completed. Union of 32Y toner container. Movement of the nozzle 70 to the interior or exterior of the fastener 34c and the movement of the plug member 34d to the interior or exterior of the fastener 34c are made when both members make sliding contact with the packing lip 34e of the fastener 34c (which is a portion that forms the perforation of the toroidal ring in Figure 17 and which corresponds to the front end of a pentagon such as an initial base used for a cross section similar to a base ball of the toroidal ring shown in Figure 17 ). Therefore, the failure in which the toner of the fastener 34c leaks due to insertion or separation of the nozzle 70 is avoided. In the second embodiment, the joining operation of the toner container 32Y is completed by one action (except the operation to open / close the door of main body) so that the slidable portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides along the slidable face 31a. In other words, the placing operation of the clamped portion 34Y (toner container 32Y) and the operation of the insertion of the nozzle 70 is sequentially performed in synchronization with the operation of the slide so that the sliding portion 34cl of the container 32Y of toner is caused to slide along face 31a of sliding. When the toner container 32Y is to be removed (separating) from the fastener 31 of the toner container of the body 100 of the apparatus, the operation is performed in reverse of the joint. In this case, the nozzle 70 is also separated from the fastener 34c in synchronization with the operation such that the toner container 32Y is separated from the holding portion 73 and the stopper member 34d is moved to the closed position of the cap. output B of toner by the biasing force of the compression spring 34f. The image forming apparatus to / from which the toner container 32Y is attached / separated can use the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment including the hook member 76 as shown in Figure 3, which is different from an image forming apparatus according to a tenth first modality, as explained later. In this case, the action of the hook member 76 as explained with reference to Figure 12 to Figure 14 can be superimposed on the action of the compression spring 34f. Therefore, in order to improve the sealing capacity of the toner outlet B, the air tightness between the plug member 34c and the packing 34e can be further increased. In that case, the sliding load during the movement of the plug member 34d is also increased, but the compression spring 34f together with the hook member 76 can increase the force of movement of the plug member 34d so that the output of the plug member 34d Toner can be opened / closed evenly. In this way, the separation operation of the toner container 32Y is completed by an action (except for the opening / closing operation of the main body door) so that the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides as far as possible. length of the sliding face 31a. The toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment includes a portion 34Y held with the toner outlet B that is provided on the underside in the direction of gravity, and the cap member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 in synchronization with the joining operation, to open the exit B of sealed toner with packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner staining in the B output of toner, and the problem where the user's hands are stained with toner when touching toner output B is avoided. The operation of union / separation of the container 32Y of toner to / from the toner container fastener 31 is performed by an action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34cl and therefore, operability / work susceptibility is improved when the replacement of container 32Y is performed. toner Particularly, by providing a sliding portion 34cl in the lower portion of the clamped portion 34Y, the slidable portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a while holding the toner container 32Y. In addition, the operation of joining the toner container 32Y is performed as the sliding portion 34cl begins to slide while the user directly holds the handle 33d, starting the positioning of the portion 34Y held while sliding, beginning insertion of the nozzle 70. and ending the placement of the portion 34Y held and the insertion of the nozzle 70 as soon as the slip ends. Therefore, the user perceives a clicking sensation when the clamped portion 34Y is placed at the same time as the sliding progresses of the portion 34Y held (union operation by an action) and it is certain that no erroneous operation has been performed in the joining operation. In addition, the toner container 32Y is not placed in the toner container holder 31 (appliance body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the connection / separation is made from the front side of the toner container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) and in this way the dispensing flexibility for the upper side of the toner container holder 31 is improved. For example, even if a browser is placed (document reader) just above the toner container fastener, the operability / susceptibility to working before the union / separation of the toner container 32Y is not deteriorated. The toner container 32Y is installed in the body 100 of the apparatus when establishing its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction and therefore the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y is increased without any effect on the distribution in the height direction of the apparatus 100 imager in its entirety allowing a reduction in the frequency of substitution. As explained in the above, in the second embodiment, the slidable portions 34cl and 34c2 are provided on the portion 34Y held, the slidable portions slide along the toner container fastener 31 in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation to / from the toner container holder 31. Therefore, operability / susceptibility to work is improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced and the toner stain presentation is safely reduced.

Third Mode A third embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following, with reference to Figure 20. Figure 20 is a perspective view of a toner container according to the third embodiment, which corresponds to the figure 5 according to the first modality. In the third embodiment, the shape of the sliding portion 34cl formed in the fastened portion 34Y is different from that of the embodiments. As shown in figure 20, in the container In the case of toner according to the third embodiment, the first sliding portion 34cl of the fastened portion 34Y are two convex portions (ribs) projecting toward the sliding face 31a of the toner container fastener 31, different from the portion of the toner container.

Sliding which conforms to the flat portion in the modalities. More specifically, two convex portions 34cl in the sliding portion are shaped so that they have a height to contact the sliding face 31a (shaped so that the height in the vertical direction is equivalent to the sliding face 31a). ) and extend along the longitudinal direction (junction / separation direction). Therefore, the joining / separating operation of the toner container 32Y is performed and the two convex portions 34cl (sliding portion) slide along the sliding face 31a while maintaining the position of the portion 34Y held (or 32Y toner container). The operation of union / separation of the container 32Y of toner according to the third embodiment is also completed by an action (except for the opening / closing operation of the main body door) so that the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides along the 31a sliding face, similar to the modalities. As explained in the above, the third mode, similar to the modalities, the configuration of the toner container installed in the toner container holder is optimized by adjusting its Longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction. Therefore, the work operability / susceptibility to replacement is improved and the presentation of toner staining is safely reduced. The shape of the sliding portion 34cl in the toner container 32Y is not limited to that of the third embodiment or those in the embodiments. Therefore, the same effect as the modalities can be obtained if any sliding portion slides along the sliding face 31a while maintaining the position of the portion 34Y held.

Fourth embodiment The fourth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following with reference to figure 21 to figure 25. Figure 21 is a perspective view of the pairs 90 of arms that are provided in the container holder 31 of toner according to the fourth modality. Figure 22 is an exploded perspective view of arm pair 90. In the following explanation, the drawings used for explanation in the modalities are used if necessary. With reference to Figure 4 and Figure 10, the toner container holder 31 includes faces 31a of sliding along which each sliding portion slides in the clamped portions of the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K; the fastening portion 73 for fixing each position of the fasteners 34c of the fastened portions; the nozzles 70; the drive unit for transmitting a rotational driving force to each container body 33Y; communication circuits 74; the pairs 90 of arms that serve as a deflection unit. The holding portion 73 holds the clamped portions of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K, each non-rotatably. The holding portion 73 includes sliding faces that make contact with the fastener 34c and a contact face contacting a part of the cover cover 34b. Sliding members 31c are provided on the sliding faces (side faces) of the holding portion 73 for placement in synchronization with the attachment of the holding portion 34Y (see FIG. 5). The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the junction / separation direction of the toner container 32Y. The nozzle 70 shown in Figure 11 is provided for each color of toner in the fastening portion 73. The nozzle 70 has a hole 70a of toner supply communicating with the toner outlet B that is formed in the clipped portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y. With reference to Figure 10 and Figure 21, the arm pairs 90 are provided for each color of toner in the holding portion 73 of the toner container fastener 31. As shown in Figure 21, the pairs 90 of arms are placed on both sides interposing the holding portion of the toner container. With reference to Figure 22, the arm pair 90 includes a first arm 91 (second deflection element), a second arm 92 (deflecting element), a spindle 93 and a torsion spring 94. The arm pair 90 is integrally provided by means of a spindle 93 and affects the force in both directions in the direction of rotation about the spindle 93 by the torsion spring 94. More specifically, the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 affect the force in both directions, the direction of rotation around the spindle 93. The force increases more as the angle formed between the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 increases. The pairs 90 of arms configured in the above manner serve as a deflection unit for biasing the fastening portion 34Y toward the fastening portion 73. (deflecting it towards the direction of the arrow Q) while the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31. More specifically, the arm pairs 90 deflect a planar portion 34k which is a portion diverted from the portion 34Y held with the toner container 32Y that is placed in the toner container holder 31. In addition, the arm pairs 90 are configured so that the slidable portions 34c2 of the clamped portion 34Y (the second sliding portions placed on the two side portions of the clamped portion 34Y) are brought into contact with the arm pairs 90 in FIG. synchronization with the operation of joining / separating the container 32Y from toner to slide. In the fourth embodiment, the flat portion 34k is the biased portion of the fastened portion 34Y that is biased by the pairs 90 of arms as a flat plate (which is connected between the ends of two side portions and is orthogonal to the direction of union / separation in the fourth embodiment) which intercepts the lateral portions at the ends of the two side portions of the portion 34Y held when the sliding portions 34c2 are formed. Based on the above configuration, the toner container 32Y is placed in the holding portion 73 while the two portions 34c2 of The slides maintained by the two pairs 90 of arms slide with sufficient balance, and the position of the portion 34Y held in the holding portion 73 is maintained by the pairs 90 of arms (the attachment portion is biased to the side 70 of the nozzle and its position is fixed). Therefore operability / work susceptibility is improved upon replacement of the toner container 32Y and the presentation of toner staining associated with the replacement work is reliably reduced. The operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 is explained in the following with reference to Figure 23 through Figure 25 and Figure 12 through Figure 14. Figure 12 is a scheme of how the yellow toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 (movement in the direction of the arrow Q) when viewed from the longitudinal direction, and figure 23 is a scheme of a relationship between the parts 90 of arms and the portion 34Y fastened (fastener 34c) in said condition, when viewed from the upper side. Fig. 13 is a diagram of how the union of the toner container 32Y progresses (the toner output B starts to open) when viewed from the longitudinal direction, and Fig. 24 is a schematic of a relationship between the pairs 90 of arms and the portion 34Y held (fastener 34c) in a state when viewed from the upper side. Figure 14 is a schematic of the toner container attached to the toner container holder 31 (the opening of the toner outlet B is completed) when viewed from the longitudinal direction, and Figure 25 is a schematic of a relationship between the pairs 90 of arms and the portion 34Y held (fastener 34c) in that state, when viewed from the upper side. When the toner container 32Y is to be attached to the toner container holder 31 of the body 100 of the apparatus, first, the main body cover (not shown) that is provided on the front face (the near side in the paper of figure 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 is opened to expose the toner container holder 31 to the front side. Then, with reference to Figure 12, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 (movement in the direction of the arrow Q). More specifically, the toner container 32Y is attached to the holder 31 of the toner container along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) so that the portion 34Y held becomes the head of the body 33Y of container. At this time, the sliding portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner container fastener 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y and the toner container 32Y is pushed into the container holder 31 of toner with a sufficient balance by the user holding the handle 33d on the back side of the container 32Y of toner. Subsequently, with reference to Figure 23, when the fastener 34c (fastened portion 34Y) of the toner container 32Y reaches the position of the pairs 90 of arms in the toner container holder 31, the first arms 91 come into contact with the front edge of the fastener 34c (fastened portion 34Y) and the second arms 92 come into contact with the lateral faces (sliding portions 34c2) of the fastener 34c (portion 34Y held) and the pairs 90 of arms in this way are extended in directions of a black arrow (direction y) of Figure 23. Then, when the pairs 90 of arms are opened in the directions of the black arrow (direction?), the first arms 91 alter the forces in the holder 34c in the direction of an arrow SI) and the second arms 92 alter the forces therein in the directions of an arrow S2, by the spring forces of the torsion springs 94. In this case, the seconds arms 92 are oriented towards each other on both side faces of fastener 34c and forces are canceled from both directions indicated by arrow S2. Therefore, the forces acting from the second arms 92 on the slidable portions 34c2 become a slight amount of sliding resistance between the resins and therefore, the forces in the directions of the arrows SI by the first arms 91 are driven mainly on portion 34Y fastened. These forces are a force in the direction in which the toner container 32Y is separated from the holding portion 73. Subsequently, the toner container 32Y is further pushed therein, against the force in the separation direction, and when the holder 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31, in addition to the sliding of the first sliding portion 34cl along the sliding face 31a, the positioning of the clamped portion 34Y is started while the second of the sliding portions 34c2 slides along the pairs of arms 90. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g of the fastened portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container fastener 31 begin to engage with each other. Afterwards, the union operation of the container 32Y of toner proceeds further, and cap member 34d begins to open toner outlet B while coupling portion 34g and positioning member 31c engage (state shown in FIG. 13). That is, the front end of the nozzle 70 is inserted into the hole of the fastener 34c and at the same time, the plug member 34d is relatively pushed by the nozzle 70. At this time, in addition to the sliding of the second of the portions 34c2 of sliding along the first arms 91, the second of the arms 92 deflects the portion 34Y held towards the holding portion 73 (deflected in the direction of the arrow Q). More specifically, with reference to Figure 24, the first arms 91 are extended by the front edge of the fastener 34c (the portion 34Y held) to come into contact with the second sliding portions 34c2. At the same time, the second arms 92 begin to make contact with the rear end of the fastener 34c (flat portion 34k). At this time, the forces by the first arms 91 from both directions of the arrows S2 are canceled. Therefore, the forces acting from the first arms 91 on the slidable portions 34c2 become approximately a slight amount of sliding resistance between the resins and as a result, the forces by the second arms 92. from the directions of an arrow S3 act mainly on the portion 34Y held. These forces are a steering force in which the toner container 32Y is biased towards the holding portion 73 (direction of the arrow Q). With reference to Figure 14, the position of the clamped portion 34Y is fixed in the position where the fastener 34c contacts against the clamping portion 73 (reference position for contact) and at the same time, the plug member 34d opens completely the toner outlet B and the gear 33c of the toner container 32Y engage with the drive gear of the drive unit of the toner container holder 31. In addition, the ID chip 35d is fixed in a position communicable with the communication circuit 74. The toner output B of the toner container 32Y and the toner supply port 70a in this manner communicate with each other and the operation of bonding the toner container 32Y is completed. At this time, with reference to Figure 25, the first arms 91 are in contact with the second slidable portions 34c2 and the second arms 92 are in contact with the flat portion 34k (rear end of the fastener 34c) as the deviated portion. With this situation, only the forces by the second arms 92 in the directions of an arrow S4 act on the 34Y portion held. These forces are a force (positioning force) for holding the clamped portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y in the holding portion 73. In the fourth embodiment, the two pairs 90 of arms are in contact with the two parts (both ends) of the flat portion 34k and thus deflect the portion 34Y held with sufficient balance towards the joining direction. Even when the toner container 32Y is manually separated by the user, the first arms 91 and the second arms 92 are in positions such as shown in Figure 23, before or after the engaging portion 34g of the portion 34Y held therein. it is uncoupled from the positioning member 31c of the toner container holder 31. At this time, the first arms 91 also alter the forces in the portion 34Y held in the SI directions in which the toner container 32Y separates from the holding portion 73 and these forces hold the user to perform the operation of pulled, which facilitates the separation. Furthermore, at the moment when the force to sustain the separation by the first arms 91 is produced, the operation passes through the states as shown in figure 25 and figure 24. But at the same time, the forces indicated by the arrows S3 and S4, which divert the toner container 32Y towards the holding portion 73 produced in the second arms 92 and these forces are used to push the toner container 32Y back to the holding portion 73 to close the toner outlet so that the toner dispersion is suppressed when the user performs a slow separation operation and weak and because the pull requires forces, these forces can force the user to do a quick pull operation in which the toner disperses less. In the fourth embodiment, with reference to Figure 6, the slidable portions 34c2 are the offset portion that is shaped so that it is altered (position in the vertical direction) becomes almost equivalent to the height of the toner outlet B (or plug member 34d). Accordingly, when the sliding portions 34c2 slide along the pairs of arms 90, even if the torque (oscillation) around the central axis of the nozzle 70 in the longitudinal direction is altered on the clamped portion 34Y, the forces acting from the first arms 91 and the second arms 92 on the sliding portions 34c2 are prevented from becoming forces promoting the torque. As a result, said failure wherein the exit B of toner (or the member 34d of the plug) and the nozzle 70 are displaced from each other, is avoided. In the fourth modality, the union operation of the The toner container 32Y to the toner container holder 31 is configured such that after the sliding portions 34c2 begin to slide along the pairs of arms 90, the nozzle 70 begins to push the cap member 34d and as soon as the sliding portions 34c2 terminate the sliding along the arm pairs 90, the pairs 90 of arms deflect (position) the flat portion 34k (offset portion). In other words, as shown in Figure 6, the length of the sliding portions 34c2 in their junction / spacing direction is set to be sufficiently long. This allows reliable operation such that after the fastened portion 34Y begins to evenly attach to the toner container fastener 31, the nozzle 70 pushes the plug member 34d and the fastening portion 73 placing the portion 34Y held. The fourth embodiment is configured such that a movement distance, in the direction of attachment / separation of the plug member 34d associated with the operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 that a distance from the exit B of toner to the flat portion 34k (deviated portion) in the direction of union / separation. Based on this configuration, the nozzle 70 and plug member 34d securely engage after the clamped portion 34Y begins to evenly attach to the toner container holder 31. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the engaging portion 34g of the fastened portion 34Y is provided on the upper side of the associated sliding portion 34c2 (second sliding portion) and the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d) in its vertical direction. Therefore, even if the toner leaks from the toner outlet B, most of the leaking toner drips in the direction of gravity and therefore reduces a fault so that the toner adheres to the 34g portion of the toner. coupling to cause a poor coupling with the positioning member 31c. As explained in the above, in the fourth embodiment, similar to the embodiments, the configuration of the toner container to be installed in the toner container holder is optimized based on the longitudinal direction established as the horizontal direction. Therefore operability / work susceptibility is improved when the replacement is made and the presentation of toner spotting is safely reduced. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the toner container 32Y is set in the holding portion 73 while the two sliding portions 34c2 held by the two pairs 90 of arms slide uniformly and the clamped portion 34Y is held by the holding portion 73 due to the biasing force of the arm pairs 90. Therefore, operability / work susceptibility is further improved upon replacement of the toner container 32Y and the presentation of toner staining associated with the replacement work can be safely reduced.

Fifth embodiment A fifth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following, with reference to figure 26. Figure 26 is a diagram of the pairs 90 of arms when the toner container 32Y according to the fifth embodiment is attached to the toner container holder 31 and corresponding to Figure 25 according to the fourth embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, the corner portions 340m are used as the deviated portions of the portion 34Y held in the toner container 32Y and this point is different from the fourth embodiment of which the flat portion 34k is used as the portion diverted from the container. 34Y portion held. With reference to figure 26, in the fifth Also, the arm pairs 90 function as the diverting unit to bias the portion 34Y held toward the holding portion 73 while the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31. More specifically, the arm pairs 90 deviate the corner portions 340m (curved portions) as the portions deviated from the portion 34Y held while the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31. In addition, the arm pairs 90 are configured so that the second sliding portions 34c2 of the clamped portion 34Y contact the arm pairs 90 to slide in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation of the toner container 32Y. Here, the corner portions 340m, which are the deviated portions of the portion 34Y held biased by the pairs 90 of arms are corners (two corner portions) at the respective ends of the two side portions of the portion 34Y held therein. the sliding portions 34c2 are formed. Based on the above configuration, the toner container 32Y is placed in the holding portion 73 while the two sliding portions 34c2 held by the two pairs of arms 90 slide uniformly, and the position of the portion 34Y held in the holding portion 73 it is held by the pairs 90 of arms. In the fifth embodiment, the two pairs 90 of arms are brought into contact with the two corner portions 34Om and thus deflect the portion 34Y held in the joining direction with a good balance. In the fifth embodiment, the corner portion 340m of the fastened portion 34Y is rounded (beveled to rounded). The rounded shape of the corner portion 34Om is shaped so that it is smaller than the rounded shape of a contact portion (contact portion 92a of the second arm 92) of the arm pair 90 in contact with the corner portion 340m. Therefore, a displacement is performed uniformly from the operation such that the sliding portions 34c2 slide along the pairs 90 of arms so that the operation such that the arm pairs 90 deflect the portion 34and fastened (34Om corner portions). As explained above, in the fifth embodiment, similar to the embodiments, the configuration of the toner container to be installed in the toner container holder is optimized based on the longitudinal direction established as the horizontal direction. Therefore, the operability / susceptibility of work to the replacement is improved and can be reduced in a sure the presentation of spotting with toner. Further, in the fifth embodiment, similar to the fourth embodiment, the toner container 32Y is placed in the holding portion 73 while the two sliding portions 34c2 held by the two pairs 90 of arms slide uniformly and the The fastened portion 34Y is held by the holding portion 73 due to the biasing force of the arm pairs 90. Therefore, operability / work susceptibility is further improved upon replacement of the toner container 32Y, and the presentation of toner staining associated with the replacement work can be safely reduced.

Sixth embodiment A sixth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following, with reference to figure 27 through figure 29. The toner container 32Y according to the sixth embodiment also includes the sliding portions 34cl and 34c2 that are providing on the fastener 34c of the portion 34Y fastened, the sliding portions for sliding along the toner container fastener 31 in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation to / from the fastener 31 of toner container. More specifically, the first sliding portion 34cl is the flat portion formed so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31a (which is the upper face, see Fig. 27A) of the toner container fastener 31, the flat portion it is provided at the bottom of the fastened portion 34Y with which the union / separation is operated. In addition, the second slidable portion 34c2 is a flat portion that is shaped so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31b (side face; see Fig. 27B) of the toner container fastener 31; the flat portion is provided in the portion lateral of the portion 34Y fastened with which the union / separation is operated. The operation of union / separation of the container 32Y of toner to / from the toner container holder 31 is explained in the following with reference to Figure 27 and Figure 29. Figure 27A is a schematic of how the yellow toner container 32Y is attached to the container holder 31 of toner (movement in the direction of the arrow) when viewed from the longitudinal direction and Figure 27B is a diagram of the portion around the clip 34c of the portion 34Y held in a state where it is viewed from the top side. Figure 28A is a schematic of how the union of the toner container 32Y advances (the positioning of the fastened portion 34Y begins) when viewed from the longitudinal direction, and Figure 28B is a schematic of the portion about the clip 34c of the portion 34Y held in a state when viewed from the top side. Fig. 29A is a schematic of the toner container 32Y attached to the toner container fastener 31 (attachment is completed) when viewed from the longitudinal direction, and Fig. 29B is a diagram of the portion around the toner fastener 34c in a state when viewed from the upper side. In the toner container holder 31 there are provided four toner container holders corresponding to the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K, respectively. Each of the four toner containers includes the sliding faces 31a and 31b along which the sliding portions 34cl and 34c2 of the clamped portion 34Y slide.; the fastening portion 73 for fixing the position of the fastener 34c of the fastened portion 34Y; the nozzle 70 and the drive unit (not shown) for transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body 33Y. The fastening portion 73 includes the sliding faces 31 a and 31 b which contact the fastener 34 c and the contact face (not shown) which contacts a part of lid cover 34b. On the sliding face 31b (side face) of the fastening portion 73, the positioning member 31c is positioned for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the fastened portion 34Y. The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the junction / separation direction of the toner container 32Y. When the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, first, the main body cover (not shown) is provided on the front face (the back side of the paper of the figure). 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 opens to expose the toner container holder 31 to the front side. Next, with reference to Figure 27A, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 (movement in the direction of the arrow). More specifically, the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder 31 along the longitudinal direction of the toner container body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) is closed so that the retained portion 34Y becomes the head of the body 33Y of the container. At this time, the first sliding portion 34cl slides along the face 31a slider of the toner container fastener 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y and, while sliding, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container holder 31 with sufficient balance by the user holding the handle 33d on the back side of the 32Y toner container. With reference to Figure 28A, when the fastener 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31, the positioning of the held portion 34Y is started while the second of the sliding portions 34c2 slides along the sliding faces 31b in addition to the sliding of the first sliding portion 34cl along the sliding face 31a. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g of the fastened portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container fastener 31 begin to engage with each other. Subsequently, as the joining operation of the toner container 32Y advances further, the stopper member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B while the coupling portion 34g and the positioning member 31c engage with each other. More specifically, the plug member 34d is urged by the nozzle 70 associated with the insertion of the front end of the nozzle 70 in the fastener hole 34c. Then, as shown in Fig. 29A, the position of the portion 34Y fastened in the position where the fastener 34c makes contact against the holding portion 73 (reference position for contact) and at this time, the member 34d is fixed. plug completely opens the toner outlet B. The toner outlet B of the toner container 32Y and the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70 in this manner communicate with each other, and the operation of joining the toner container 32Y is completed. As explained above, in the sixth embodiment, the operation of attaching the toner container 32Y to the toner container holder 31 is configured so that the closure member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B after it has been removed. begins the placement of the 34Y portion held. More specifically, the front end of the positioning member 31c is shaped so that it is located closer to the side of the portion 34Y held in comparison to the front end of the nozzle 70 with respect to the fastened portion 34Y that moves in the direction of union (ie, in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 27A). In other words, with reference to Figure 27B, the positioning member 31c is shaped so that it can be made longer than the nozzle 70 by a predetermined length H to the left from the reference position to make contact in the holding portion 73. More specifically, in the sixth embodiment, the joining operation of the toner container 32Y is completed by an action (except the opening / closing operation of the main body door) so that the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y it slides along the sliding face 31a. In other words, the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y is caused to slide along the sliding face 31a and in synchronization with this operation, the placing operation of the fastened portion 34Y is started and then started the insertion operation of the nozzle 70. Therefore, the nozzle 70 is securely contacted with the cap member 34d (orifice) of the fastened portion 34Y which is precisely positioned by the positioning member 31c. This allows the prevention of damage to the nozzle 70 (or to the portion 34Y held) which may arise, because the nozzle 70 loses the plug member 34d but hits against the fastened portion 34Y. In other words, if the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 is initiated before the portion 34Y is accurately positioned, the nozzle 70 may lose the plug member 34d but may striking against the fastened portion 34Y and this causes a tension exceeding the allowable tension to act on the nozzle 70 (or the portion 34Y clamped) and in this way the nozzle 70 (or the fastened portion 34Y) can be deformed. In the sixth modality, with reference to the figure 27B, the positioning member 31c has a taper 31cl (or beveled) that is formed at the front end of the side where the clamped portion 34Y is attached. In addition, the engaging portion 34g of the fastened portion 34Y also has a taper 34gl (or bevel) formed at the front end of the side where the positioning member 31c engages. This allows a uniform coupling between the engaging portion 34g of the fastened portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container fastener 31 during the bonding / separating operation of the toner container 32Y. In addition, movement of the nozzle 70 towards the interior or exterior of the fastener 34c and movement of the cap member 34d to the interior or exterior of the fastener 34c are made when both members make sliding contact with the lip of the fastener package 34e. 34c. Therefore, the failure where the toner of the fastener 34c leaks due to insertion or separation of the nozzle 70 is avoided. When the toner container 32Y is taken (extracted) from the fastener 31 of the toner container of the body 100 of the apparatus, the operation is performed in reverse of the joint. At this time, the nozzle 70 is also separated from the fastener 34c in synchronization with the operation of the toner container 32Y which is separated from the holding portion 73 and the stopper member 34d is moved to the closing position of the exit B of toner by the biasing force of the compression spring 34f. In this way, the separation operation of the toner container 32Y is completed by an action (except for the opening / closing operation of the main body door) so that the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides as far as possible. length of face 31a of sliding. The toner container 32Y according to the sixth embodiment includes the portion 34Y held with the toner outlet B provided on the lower side in the gravity direction and after the stopper member 34d is securely placed in synchronization with the joining operation, the cap member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 to open the toner outlet B sealed with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner staining in the B output of toner, and thus the problem where the user's hands are stained with toner when touching toner output B is avoided.

The operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 is carried out by an action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34cl and therefore the operability / susceptibility to work is improved. Replacement of 32Y toner container. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34cl in the lower portion of the clamped portion 34Y, the sliding portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a while holding the toner container 32Y. In addition, the operation of joining the toner container 32Y is performed as the sliding portion 34cl begins to slide while the user directly holds the handle 33d, beginning the positioning of the fastened portion 34Y associated with the sliding, beginning the insertion of the nozzle. 70 and ending the placement of the portion 34Y held and the insertion of the nozzle 70 as soon as the slip ends. Therefore, the user perceives a clicking sensation when the clamped portion 34Y is placed at the same time as the sliding of the clamping portion 34Y advances. (union operation by an action) and you have the certainty that an erroneous operation has not been performed in the joining operation.

In addition, the toner container 32Y is not placed in the toner container holder 31 (appliance body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the connection / separation is made from the front side of the toner container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) and thus improves the dispensing flexibility for the upper side of the toner container holder 31. For example, if a scanner (document reader) is placed just above the toner container holder, operability / work susceptibility to the union / separation of the toner container 32Y is not impaired. The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 by placing its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction and therefore the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y is implemented without any effect on the distribution in the height direction of the apparatus 100 imager in its entirety allowing a reduction in the frequency of substitution. As explained above, in the sixth embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is to be attached to the holder 31 of the toner container, the placement of the held portion 34Y is initiated in synchronization with the joining operation, and then the plug member 34d begins to open the output B of the toner. Therefore, the Output B of toner opens without failures and evenly. In this way the work operability / susceptibility can be improved upon replacement of the toner container 32Y and the presentation of toner staining is safely reduced.

Seventh embodiment The seventh embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following with reference to Figure 30A and Figure 30B. Figure 30A and Figure 30B are schemes of how the toner container 32Y is attached according to the seventh embodiment to a toner container holder 31 and corresponds to Figure 27A and Figure 27B according to the sixth embodiment. The seventh embodiment is different from the sixth embodiment primarily in the shape of the portion 34Y held in the 32Y toner container. The toner container 32Y according to the seventh embodiment also includes the container body 33Y and the fastened portion 34Y (bottle cap), similar to the sixth embodiment. The plug member 34d is the opening / closing member and is provided in the clamped portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y, and the coupling portion 34g coupled with the positioning member 31c of the toner container fastener 31 provides in it. The portion 34Y held in accordance with the seventh embodiment is different from the sixth embodiment in the following manner. The front end of the coupling portion 34 g engaging with the positioning member, are shaped so that when the clamped portion 34Y moves in the joining direction (i.e., the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 30A) with respect to the toner container fastener 31, the front end is located closer to the side 31 of the toner container holder (right side on the paper) compared to the front end of the cap member 34d pushed by the nozzle 70. In other words, the coupling portion 34g is shaped so that it is more long by a predetermined length H on the side 73 of the holding portion as compared to the stopper member 34d. In the toner container fastener 31, the positioning member 31c and the nozzle 70 are shaped so that they are almost equivalent to each other in length from the reference position but make contact in the holding portion 73. Based on the above configuration, in the seventh embodiment, similar to the sixth embodiment, during the operation of joining the toner container 32Y and toner to the toner container holder 31, the placement of the fastened portion 34Y is started, and then the plug member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B. Therefore, it is possible to avoid, before it happens, the damage generated to the nozzle 70 (or the portion 34Y clamped) caused by the case where the nozzle 70 loses the plug member 34d but hits against the portion 34Y clamped . As explained above, in the seventh embodiment, similarly the sixth embodiment, the 32Y toner container that is to be attached to the toner container holder 31 after the placement of the held portion 34Y starts in synchronization with the joining operation, the plug member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B. Therefore, toner output B opens infallibly and uniformly. The operability / work susceptibility to the replacement of the toner container 32Y in this way can be improved and the presentation of toner spotting can be safely reduced.

Eighth Mode An eighth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following with reference to FIG. 31. FIG. 31 is a perspective view of FIG. toner container according to the eighth embodiment, and corresponds to figure 5 of the first embodiment. The eighth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the form of the positioning member 31c that is provided in the toner container fastener. With reference to Figure 31, the positioning member 31c that is provided in the toner container holder according to the eighth embodiment is made to protrude together with the nozzle 70 from the rear side of the holder portion of the container holder. toner next to the portion 34Y held, unlike the first embodiment in which the positioning member 31c is integrally formed on the wall face (side face) of the toner container fastener. Similar to the sixth embodiment, the positioning member 31c according to the eighth embodiment is also shaped so that it is longer than the nozzle 70 by a predetermined length from the reference position to make contact with the fastening portion at side of portion 34Y fastened. Based on the above configuration, in the eighth embodiment also, similarly to the sixth embodiment, during the operation of attaching the 32Y toner container to the toner container holder 31, the positioning of the held portion 34Y is initiated and after the plug member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B. Therefore, it is possible to avoid, before it happens, the damage generated to the nozzle 70 (or the portion 34Y clamped) caused by the case where the nozzle 70 loses the plug member 34d but hits against the clamped portion 34Y. As explained above, in the eighth embodiment, similar to the sixth embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is to be attached to the toner container fastener 31, after the placement of the fastened portion 34Y it starts in synchronization with the joining operation, the plug member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B. Therefore, the output B of the toner is opened infallibly and uniformly. The operability / work susceptibility to the replacement of the toner container 32Y in this way can be improved and the presentation of toner stain can be safely reduced.

Ninth Modality A ninth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following, with reference to Figure 32. Figure 32 is a cross-section of a toner container according to the ninth embodiment.

The toner container 32Y according to the ninth embodiment has some points where the container body 33Y together with the fastened portion 34Y is held by the toner container holder 31 in a non-rotating manner, and wherein a coil 81Y complies the conveyor member is provided in the container body 33Y, and these points are different from the embodiments in which the container body 33Y rotates to transport the toner contained therein to the opening A. As shown in Figure 32, the toner container 32Y mainly includes the body 35Y of container and portion 34Y fastened. The opening A is provided in the head of the container body 33Y and the gear 33c is rotatably provided around the outer periphery of the opening A. The gear 33c engages the drive gear of the body 100 of the apparatus for rotating the coil 81Y . A rotary axis 80Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c and the spiral coil 81Y is connected to the rotating shaft 80Y. One end of the rotating shaft 80Y is supported by the bearing portion 34a2 of the clamped portion 34Y. The coil 81Y extends from the opening A on the rear end (bottom) inside of the 33Y container body. The gear 33c rotates around the body 33Y of the container for rotating the rotating shaft 80Y and the coil 81Y. Therefore, the toner contained in the container body 33Y is transported towards the opening A by the toner conveyor force of the coil 81Y. Because the outer diameter of the coil 81Y is smaller than the inner diameter of the container body 33Y, the toner transporting force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational center axis which is remote from the inner circumferential surface of the body 33Y of container. In addition, coil 81Y is comparatively flexible in shape and is supported only by one end thereof, and therefore, in the position it swings during rotation. This can fully exert the toner transporting force from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y on the rotational central axis. Therefore, even if a large amount of toner is contained in the container 33Y body and the toner aggregation occurs in the same due to environmental changes or "is left at rest for too long period", the state of aggregation is It weakens by the toner conveyor force due to coil 81Y, and in this way the reduction in the amount of toner to be discharged is avoided.

In the ninth embodiment, similar to the embodiments, when the toner container 32Y is attached / separated to / from the toner container holder 31, the cap member 34d of the holder portion 34Y opens / closes the outlet B of toner in synchronization with the union / separation operation performed by an action. In this case, the positioning of the fastening portion 34Y begins, and then the plug member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B. In addition, the slidable portions 34cl and 34c2 are provided in the fastening portion 34Y so as to slide along the toner container fastener 31 in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation to / from the toner container holder 31 . As explained in the above, in the ninth embodiment, similar to the embodiments, the configuration of the toner container installed in the toner container holder is optimized based on its longitudinal direction established as the horizontal direction. Therefore, work operability / susceptibility to replacement can be improved and the presentation of toner spotting can be safely reduced. Coil 81Y is used as the transporter member in the ninth mode, but can also be used Use a screw as the conveyor member. In this case you can also obtain the same effect as that of the fourth mode.

Tenth Mode A tenth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following, with reference to Fig. 33 and Fig. 34. Fig. 33 is a cross section of a toner container according to the tenth embodiment, which corresponds to figure 32 according to the ninth embodiment. Figure 34 is a schematic of the plate member 84Y. The toner container according to the tenth embodiment is different from the ninth embodiment in which the plate member 84Y is used as the conveyor member. As shown in Figure 33, the toner container 32Y mainly includes the container body 33Y and the portion 34Y held. The opening A is provided in the head of the container body 33Y and the gear 33c is rotatably provided around the outer periphery of the opening A. The engagement 33c engages the driving gear of the apparatus body 100 to be rotated. , similarly to the ninth modality.

A threaded rod 83Y is formed integrally with the gear 33c and the plate member 84Y is provided on the threaded rod 83Y. More specifically, a male screw portion 84Ya of the threaded rod 83Y is screwed with the female screw portion 84Ya into the plate member 83Y (see Figure 34). With reference to figure 34, a slotted portion is formed on the plate member 84Y and this slotted portion engages a guide portion 85Y which protrudes around the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y. With reference to Figure 33, the threaded rod 83Y is supported at one end by the bearing portion 34a2 of the clamped portion 34Y and is supported at the other end by a bearing portion that is provided on the rear side of the body 33Y of container. The gear 33c is made to rotate about the body 33Y of the container and the threaded rod 83Y is also rotated integrally. Therefore, the plate member 84Y coupled with the threaded rod 83Y moves along the screw feeding direction (movement in the arrow direction toward the opening A) while being guided by the guide portion 85Y ( without being rotated by rod 83Y threaded). The movement speed of the plate member 84Y is established comparatively slow according to the speed of consumption of toner of the 33Y container body. In this way, the toner contained in the container body 33Y is transported on the side of the opening A by the toner transporting force of the plate member 84Y. Here, the outer diameter of the plate member 84Y is shaped so that it is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the body 33Y of the container and the toner transporting force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational central axis A which is remote of the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 33Y and the toner aggregation occurs in the same due to environmental changes or to "let it stand for a too long period", the state of aggregation is it weakens by the toner transporting force due to the plate member 84Y and in this way a reduction in the amount of toner to be unloaded is avoided. In the tenth embodiment, similar to the embodiments, when the toner container 32Y is attached / separated to / from the toner container holder 31, the cap member 34d of the holder portion 34Y opens / closes the toner outlet B in sync with the union / separation operation performed by an action. In this case, the positioning of the fastening portion 34Y begins and then the plug member 34d begins to open the toner outlet B. In addition, the slidable portions 34cl and 34c2 are provided in the portion 34Y held so that they slide along the toner container fastener 31 in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation to / from the toner container holder 31. As explained in the above, the tenth embodiment, similar to the modalities, the configuration of the toner container installed in the toner container holder is optimized based on its longitudinal direction established as the horizontal direction. Therefore, the work operability / susceptibility to replacement can be improved and the presentation of toner stain can be safely reduced.

Tenth First Mode The eleventh embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail in the following with reference to FIG. 35 through FIG. 42. In conventional technology, there is little toner staining in the toner outlet of the toner container, and said problem where The user's hands are stained with toner when touching the toner output can be expected to be deleted. However, there are some problems that the operability (adjustment) upon replacement of the toner container is inadequate because the position of the fastening portion is not fixed when the toner container is installed and where the toner can be dispersed from the toner container. near the toner outlet before the replacement of the toner container. To solve the problems, the following embodiment provides a toner container holder and an image forming apparatus capable of reliably reducing the toner dispersion presentation with simple operation when replacing the toner container. The configuration and operation of the general image forming apparatus is explained first. Figure 35 is a schematic of a toner supply path of the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment. The general configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment is the same as that of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, with reference to Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 4. However, there are some different points in a The toner supply device of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the toner supply device 59 of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. This is, as shown in Figure 35, the cap member 34b does not include a hook member 76 shown in Figure 3 and the ID chip 35 of the toner container 32Y is provided directly on the flat portion of the front end of the container. same without providing the projection portion 34al on the head of the holding portion 34Y. The rest of the components are the same as those of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. The toner container is explained in the following with reference to Figure 36 to Figure 38. In a manner similar to the first embodiment explained with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 4, in the eleventh embodiment, the four containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K of substantially cylindrical toners (toner bottles) are detachably provided in the toner container holder 31. The toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K are replaced with new ones when they finish their lives in such a way that almost all of the content toner has been consumed and the container is empty. The toner of each color contained in the containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K of toner is supplied as needed to each developing device of the 6Y, 6M, 6C and 6K units of image generators through the toner supply path, as shown in Figure 35. Figure 36 is a perspective view of the toner container 32Y. Figure 37 is a cross-section of the head side (the side where the holding portion 34Y is provided) of the toner container 32Y. Figure 38 is a schematic of the toner container 32Y of Figure 37 when viewed from the direction of the arrow M. The other three toner containers 32M, 32C and 32K have almost the same configuration as the toner container 32Y containing Yellow toner, except that it contains different toner colors. In the following the explanation of the other three toner containers 32M, 32C and 32K is omitted and only the toner container 32Y containing yellow toner is explained in the following. With reference to the toner container according to the eleventh embodiment shown in figure 36 to figure 38, the equivalent portions to those of the toner container of the first embodiment are assigned with the same reference numerals as those of the Figure 5 to Figure 7 and the explanation thereof is omitted.

The toner container according to the eleventh embodiment does not include the agitating member 33f, the hook member 76, the rotatable spindle 76a, given the projection portion 34al, the concave portion 34m, the coupling member 31d and the portion 34n convex, which are provided in the toner container of the first mode. Further, the drive gear 31g of Figure 5 is not shown in Figure 36. The toner container according to the first embodiment includes a compression spring 34f as in the diverting unit. The compression spring 34f is provided on the right side of the plug member 34d of FIG. 37 so as to deflect the plug member 34d in the closing direction of the toner outlet B. The ID chip 35 of the eleventh embodiment is placed in the position that is the plane of the portion 34Y held orthogonal to the junction / separation direction (i.e., in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 36) with respect to the toner container holder 31 and orienting the communication circuit 74 during the joining / separating operation. The slidable portions 34cl and 34c2 are provided in the holder 34c of the portion 34Y held so that they slide along the toner container holder 31 in synchronization with the operation of the container. union / separation to / from the toner container holder 31. More specifically, the first slidable portion 34cl is a flat portion that is formed so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31a (guide rail) of the base plate 310a (which is a plane with a flat face formed upwardly; see Fig. 10) which is provided in the toner container fastener 31, the flat portion is provided in the lower portion of the fastened portion 34Y with which the joint / separation is operated. Further, the second slidable portion 34c2 is a flat portion which is formed so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31b (which is a plane with a flat side-formed face, see Fig. 10 of the toner container holder 31 flat portion is provided in the side portion of the fastened portion 34Y with which the joint / separation is operated As shown in figure 37, the toner container 32Y has the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d) which is provided on the underside in the vertical direction (bottom side in FIG. 37) with respect to the opening A of the container body 33Y while the toner container 32Y is placed in the toner container holder 31. This allows the toner in the 32Y container The toner moves in the direction indicated by the dotted line of FIG. 37 and is discharged from the open toner outlet B in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container 32Y. In other words, the toner in the container body 33Y is discharged from the opening A and discharged from the toner outlet B that is provided on the underside in the vertical direction. The toner outlet B is provided on the rearmost side (left side of figure 37) as compared to the container body 33Y (or opening A) with respect to the direction of attachment to the toner container holder 31. This allows the toner outlet B to open / close uniformly and without failures in synchronization with the operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y along the longitudinal direction (axial direction). In other words, when the toner container 32Y is to be joined, the positioning of the fastening portion 34Y is started and then the nozzle 70 and the cap member 34d are brought into preferential contact with each other. In addition, because the fastening portion 73 of the toner container fastener 31 including the nozzle 70 can be provided on the rear side of the joining direction (left side of Figure 37), the distribution of the body 100 is simplified. of the device. In addition, the toner outlet B is provided on the rearmost side (left side of FIG. 37) in the direction of attachment of the toner container holder 31, so that the gear 33c which is placed on the periphery of the body 33Y of container and is close to opening A. This allows toner outlet B to open / close uniformly and reliably in synchronization with the operation of bonding / separating toner container 32Y along the longitudinal direction. In other words, when the toner container 32Y is to be joined, the positioning of the fastening portion 34Y is started and then the nozzle 70 and the stopper member 34d are preferentially contacted with each other, and subsequently the meshing 33c and the gear 31g impeller are coupled together. The tsner container holder 31 according to the eleventh embodiment is explained below. The toner container fastener 31 according to the eleventh embodiment is explained with reference to Figure 10 and Figure 11 in the first embodiment, and Figure 21 and Figure 22 in the fourth embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the toner container holder 31 includes face 31a slidable as along which a slidable portion slides in each fastening portion of the four 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers; the fastening portion 73 for fixing the position of the fastener 34c of the fastened portion; the nozzle 70 is a coupling member; a drive unit for transmitting rotational driving force to container body 33Y; the communication circuit 74 and the pairs 90 of arms serving as the biasing member and the second biasing member. The holding portion 73 holds the clamped portions of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K each in a non-rotating manner. The fastening portion 73 includes sliding faces that contact the fastener 34c and a contact face that contacts a portion of the lid cover 34b. On the sliding faces (side faces) of the fastening portion 73, positioning members 31c are provided for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the fastened portion 34Y (see FIG. 36). The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the junction / separation direction of the toner container 32Y. The nozzle 70, as shown in Figure 11, is provided in the fastening portion 73 for each color of toner. A hole 70a is provided in the nozzle 70 of toner supply communicating with the toner outlet B which is formed in the portion 34Y held in the toner container 32Y. With reference to Figure 10 and Figure 21, the pairs 90 of arms are provided for each color of toner near the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31 (right position prior to insertion of the held portion of the container of toner inside the holding portion). As shown in Figure 21, the pairs 90 of arms are placed on both sides interposing the holding portion of the toner container. With reference to Figure 22, the arm pair 90 includes a first arm 91, a second arm 92, the spindle 93 and the torsion spring 94. The arm pair 90 is integrally provided by means of the spindle 93 and affects the force in both directions, in the direction of rotation about the spindle 93 by the torsion spring 94. More specifically, the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 affect the force in both directions in the direction of rotation around the spindle 93. The force is further increased as the angle formed between the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 increases. The pairs 90 of arms configured in the above manner serve as a deflection unit for biasing the fastening portion 34Y (toner container 32Y) towards the holding portion 93 (deviating it towards the direction of the arrow Q of Figure 4) in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container 32Y. further, the pairs 90 of arms also serve as a second biasing member to bias the fastening portion 34Y (the toner container 32Y) in the direction (direction opposite to the arrow Q of Figure 4) in which the portion is separated. 34Y clamped (toner container 32Y) of the holding portion 73 in synchronization with the separation operation of the toner container 32Y. Figure 39 is a schematic of how the yellow toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container holder (movement in the direction of arrow Q) when viewed from the longitudinal direction. Figure 40 is a diagram of how the union of the toner container 32Y advances (when the toner outlet B starts to open) when viewed from the longitudinal direction. Figure 41 is a schematic of the toner container 32Y attached to the toner container holder 31 (when the toner outlet B is fully opened), when viewed from the longitudinal direction. The operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 is the same as that of the fourth embodiment explained with reference to Figure 12 to Figure 14 and Figure 23 to figure 25. In the eleventh embodiment, the movement of the portion 34Y attached to the fastening portion 73 and the opening of the toner outlet B to the toner container 32Y is performed by a force of deflection of the pairs 90 of arms. Figure 42 is a graph indicating a relationship between a moving position of the holding portion 34Y (toner container 32Y) and a load applied from the arm pairs 90 to the fastening portion 34Y during the attachment operation of the toner container 34Y. toner As shown in Figure 42, when the clamped portion 34Y moves to the position of Wl (positions in FIG. 39 and FIG. 23), the clamped portion 34Y experiences the force in the direction opposite to the joining direction (arrow Q direction). In other words, the force in the direction of separation of the toner container 32Y from the holding portion 73 is applied to the toner container 32Y just before it is biased towards the holding portion 73 by the pairs 90 of arms. This causes the user to push the toner container 32Y into the side of the holding portion 73 with the tenacity that exceeds the force. Therefore, the tenacity of pushing by the user is added to the deflection force of the pairs 90 of arms applied to the portion 34Y of clamping and the exit B of toner in this way opens suddenly. The clamped portion 34Y moves further to the position W2 in FIG. 42 (positions in FIG. 40 and FIG. 24) and the clamped portion 34Y experiences the force (deflection force by the arm pairs 90) in the direction of union (the direction of arrow Q). At this time, an object to be sealed by the packing 34e of the holding portion 34Y is switched from the cap member 34d to the nozzle 70. The switching speed is accelerated by the pairs 90 of arms and this allows a reduction in the time for which the sealing capacity is degraded due to the switching between the objects to be sealed. The position of the fastened portion 34Y is fixed in the position of W3 (positions in figure 41 and in figure 25) in figure 42. In this way, in the eleventh embodiment, the opening speed of the output B of toner of container 32Y of toner is determined mechanically by pairs 90 of arms without being determined based on the user's operating speed (the pushing speed of the toner container). Therefore, the time for which the sealing capacity of the fastening portion 34Y is degraded does not become extremely long, but is it comes back almost constantly at any time, and in this way the scattered toner is reduced from near the B output of the toner. In the eleventh embodiment, the deflection operation by the arm pairs 90 and the operation of the positioning of the fastening portion 34Y are initiated in synchronization with an action (except the opening / closing operation of the main body door) so that the slidable portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding face 31a and then the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 is started and finally the engagement of the gear 33c with the driving gear is completed. This allows improved operability of the union operation of the 32Y toner container. When the container is to be removed (removed) 32A and toner of the toner container fastener 31 of the body 100 of the apparatus, the operation is carried out in inverse manner to the joint. In this case, the nozzle 70 is also separated from the fastener 34c in synchronization with the operation such that the toner container 32Y is separated from the holding portion 73 and the stopper member 34d is moved to the closed position of the cap. output B of toner by the biasing force of the compression spring 34f. In this way, the separation operation of the toner container 32Y is completed by one action (except the opening / closing operation of the main body door) such that the sliding portion 34cl of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding face 31a. At this time, the arm pairs 90 serve as the second biasing members to bias the fastening portion 34Y (toner container 32Y) in the direction in which the fastening portion 34Y of the fastening portion 73 is separated in synchronization. with the separation operation of the 32Y toner container. This allows the closing speed of the toner outlet B of the toner container 32Y to be determined mechanically by the pairs of arms 90 without being determined based on the user's operating speed (the extraction speed of the toner container). . Therefore, the time for which the sealing capacity of the fastening portion 34Y degrades does not become extremely large, but becomes short almost constantly at any time, and in this way the scattered toner is reduced from near the B exit of toner. The effects of the eleventh embodiment become evident in relation to the prior art. In the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, if the user's operating speed of the manual bonding / separation of the toner container becomes slow, the toner may scatter from near the toner outlet. More specifically, in the technologies described in Patent document 1 and Patent document 2, the user manually rotates the toner container holding portion in the toner container holder to cause the shutter to move and open. the output of toner. In other words, the opening speed of the toner outlet of the toner container is determined based on the user's operating speed (the rotational speed of the holding portion). If the opening speed of the toner outlet of the toner container is extremely slow, there is a high probability that the toner near the toner outlet may be dispersed out of the toner container and the body of the toner may be contaminated with the toner. toner This is because the sealing capacity near the toner outlet during the opening operation of the toner output (dynamic state) is degraded compared to that which exists before and after the toner output is opened (static state). ). Therefore, if the opening speed of the toner outlet from the toner container is greatly decreased, the time for which the sealing capacity is degraded is increased and thus the toner can be scattered from near the toner outlet. Likewise, in the technology described in Patent document 4, the user manually rotates the fastener that opens / closes with the toner storage container (toner container) coupled thereto, causing the transport tube of Toner (nozzle) push the cap member and open the sealed toner outlet with the packing. In other words, the opening speed of the toner outlet of the toner storage container is determined based on the user's operating speed (the rotation speed to open / close the fastener). Therefore, similarly to the technologies in Patent document 1 and Patent document 2, if the toner outlet opening speed of the toner storage container decreases extremely, the time in which The sealing capacity is degraded due to packing and in this way the toner can be dispersed from near the toner outlet. Here, to resolve the problems, certain measures must also be considered. That is, the opening area of the toner outlet becomes smaller or the adhesion of the seal member positioned near the toner outlet increases. However, the first measure limits the amount of toner that is discharged from the toner container and the last measurement reduces the bonding / separation operability of the toner container caused by the seal member with increased adhesion. In the eleventh embodiment, the toner container fastener 31 is configured so as to divert the toner container 32Y toward the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31 in synchronization with the operation of bonding the toner container 32Y. This allows a reliable reduction in the toner dispersion display regardless of how the user operates for the replacement of the toner container 32Y without reducing the amount of toner to be discharged from the 32Y toner container and the operability upon replacement. The toner container 32Y, according to the eleventh embodiment, includes a fastening portion 34Y with the toner outlet B that is provided downward in the vertical direction. The toner outlet B is provided on the underside in comparison with the opening A and the vertical direction and the plug member 34d is securely placed in synchronization with the joining operation, and then, is pushed by the nozzle 70 to open the exit B of sealed toner with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is little staining of toner in the B output of toner, and the problem that hands are avoided is avoided. of the user stains with the toner when touching the exit B of toner. Because the operation of bonding / separating the toner container 32Y to / from the toner container holder 31 is performed by an action associated with the sliding of the slidable portion 34cl, the workability / workability is improved when performed the replacement of the 32Y toner container. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34cl at the bottom of the fastening portion 34Y, the sliding portion 34cl slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 32Y. In addition, the operation of joining the toner container 32Y is performed at the beginning of the sliding of the sliding portion 34cl while the user directly holds the handle 33d, starting from the positioning of the holding portion 34Y together with the offset by the pairs 90. of arms, beginning the insertion of the nozzle 70 and ending the placement of the holding portion 34Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70 and the connection to the driving unit as soon as the sliding ends. Therefore, the user perceives a clicking sensation when the clamping portion 34Y is placed at the same time as the sliding of the clamped portion 34Y advances. (joining operation by an action) and it is certain that there is no wrong operation in the joining operation. In addition, the toner container 32Y is not placed in the toner container holder 31 (appliance body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the connection / separation is made from the front side of the toner container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) and therefore improves the dispensing flexibility for the upper side of the toner container holder 31. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is placed just above the toner container fastener 31, the operability / susceptibility to working before bonding / separating the toner container 32Y is not impaired. In addition, it also improves the distribution flexibility for the coupling position D between the gear 33e of the toner container 32Y and the drive gear of the body 100 of the apparatus. The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 by establishing its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction and therefore the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y is increased without any effect on the distribution in the height direction of the apparatus. 100 imager in its entirety, which allows reduction in the frequency of substitution. As explained in the above, in the eleventh embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is replaced, the operation for the replacement is simple, and the toner dispersion presentation is safely reduced. In addition, the toner container holder 31 is configured so as to divert the toner container 32Y toward the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31 in synchronization with the operation of bonding the toner container 32Y. This allows a reliable reduction in the toner dispersion display regardless of how the user operates for the replacement of the toner container 32Y, without reducing the amount of toner being discharged from the 32Y toner container and the operability when the replacement is made . In the eleventh embodiment, only the toner is contained in each container body of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K, but a carrier containing developer and toner, in two components, can also be stored in each container body. , of the 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K toner containers for the image forming apparatus 100 that supplies the two-component developer for each developing device, as need Even in the case, by providing the pairs 90 of arms for diverting the toner container 32Y towards the holding portion 73 of the toner container holder 31 in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container 32Y, it can be reduced in a manner without fail the presentation of toner dispersion.

Tenth Second Mode A twelfth embodiment is explained in detail in the following, with reference to FIG. 43 through FIG. 46. FIG. 43 is a perspective view of the toner container 32Y that is detachably provided in the fastener 31 of FIG. toner container according to the twelfth embodiment and corresponding to figure 36, according to the eleventh embodiment. Figure 44 is a cross section of the toner container 32Y, according to the twelfth embodiment. The toner container fastener 31 according to the tenth second embodiment is different from that of the eleventh embodiment at a point where the positioning bolt 70b coupled with a positioning hole 34Ok of the toner container 32Y is provided in the nozzle 70. Similar to the eleventh embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the tenth second embodiment includes a toner container fastener 31 (positioning portion) as a joining portion that is provided between the settling portion (discharge portion) 30 and the intermediate transfer unit 15 (intermediate transfer member). The bonding portion is a portion wherein the toner containers (toner bottles) 32Y, 32M, 32C and 32K are separable agent storage containers, each of the toner containers stores toner that is going away. to be supplied to each developing device of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C and 6K. As shown in Figure 43 and Figure 44, the toner container 32Y (toner bottle) placed in the apparatus body 100 (printer) includes the cylindrical container body 33Y (bottle body) with the aperture A formed at one end thereof, and the clamped portion 34Y (cap) relatively rotatable with respect to the container body 33Y with the opening A. Shaped around the periphery of the container body 33Y is the projection 33b (spiral projecting toward the container 33). interior of the container) which is a conveyor portion for transporting the toner contained on the side of the opening A through rotation. The opening A is a cylinder which is formed around the axis line (axis of rotation) of the container body 33Y and the which diameter is smaller than the diameter of the container body 33Y. To discharge the toner from the opening A having the smaller diameter, a second spiral (second projection) and a suction portion are provided to suck the toner towards the second spiral between the projection 33b and the aperture A (although not shown both are provided in a location behind the fastener 134m). The fastened portion 34Y (lid) is attached to the container body 33Y through the fastener 134m. As shown in Figure 44, a 34Obi hook is provided (hook portion) on the outer cylinder periphery of the portion 34Y held. The hook 34Obi engages a circumferential groove 33e that is formed in the container body 33Y, and this allows relative rotation of the fastened portion 34Y and the body 33Y of the container. The joint portion between the container body 33Y and the fastened portion 34Y is formed with a seal member 37 (seal) to prevent leakage of toner from the seal portion. The gear 33c (bottle gear) is integrally provided with the container body 33Y near the attachment position of the fastened portion 34Y of the container body 33Y. The gear 33c is used as an input portion for rotating the container body 33Y.

The toner outlet B (supply orifice) is formed in the lower portion of the periphery of the fastened portion 34Y. More specifically, the toner outlet B is integrally provided with a funnel-shaped opening 340c2 that is provided in a fastener 340c (exit member). The nozzle 70 (toner conveyor tube) is the coupling member that is inserted into the nozzle orifice 340n that is provided in the fastener 340c, and the toner outlet B and the nozzle 70 in this manner communicate with each other through of the toner supply hole 70a. The plug member 34d (obturator) engages the nozzle orifice 340n and then the toner container 32Y does not engage the nozzle 70, and a series of toner supply path is blocked. Although this is not shown in the twelfth embodiment, the deflection unit is not placed on the side of the toner container 32Y but on the side of the toner container holder 31, and the diverter unit deflects the cap member 34d in the direction resisting the direction in which it is pushed by the nozzle 70. As shown in Figure 43, the positioning bolts 70b are distributed on both sides of the nozzle body on the body side 100 of the apparatus with the nozzle 70. that is provided in them. The positioning bolt 70b is inserted into the hole 340k of placement that is provided in the 34Y fastening portion. The supply side of the nozzle 70 communicates with the suction hole of the suction type screw pump 60, similarly to the eleventh embodiment. As the screw pump, an uniaxial eccentric screw pump (Mohno pump) capable of continuously feeding a fixed amount of a high solid / gas ratio can be used. In the toner container 32Y configured in the above manner, the portion 34Y fastened with the fastener 340c (outlet member) fixed thereto projects outwardly from the outer circumferential surface of the container body 33Y when viewed from the direction of the arrow M of figure 43. In other words, the fastener 340c, which is a projected portion projecting along the junction / separation direction, is formed in the portion 34Y held so that it does not overlap the plane of projection in the direction of union / separation (directions of the arrows M and Q) of the container body 33Y. When the toner container 32Y is correctly positioned the toner container holder 31 (positioning portion) in the direction of the arrow Q, the positioning bolts 70b are inserted into the positioning holes 340k and the nozzle 70 is inserted inside the nozzle hole 340n. More specifically, by moving the toner container 32Y along the axial direction (longitudinal direction) with the portion 34Y held as the front end, the nozzle 70 is inserted into the nozzle orifice 340n. Then, the nozzle 70 is inserted into the nozzle orifice 340n, the push member 34d is pushed out towards the rear side of the nozzle orifice 340n, and the toner supply orifice 70a (receiving orifice) of the nozzle 70 is communicates with toner outlet B (aperture 340c2) to allow toner supply. In the toner container holder according to the twelfth modality also, the toner supply operation is performed in the same manner as in the eleventh embodiment. In other words, the contained toner is fed to the side of the portion 34Y held through the rotation of the container body 33Y and the output B of the toner is filled with the toner. If the toner outlet B which is the suction side is filled with toner, the suction type screw pump can certainly transport the toner. Therefore, the toner of the quantity according to the operation time can be supplied to the developing device. The supply of toner is done in this way, while the user places the 32Y toner container in the toner container holder 31. Therefore, if the toner container 32Y is not positioned correctly or if there is a failure in the placement, the nozzle 70 is not properly inserted into the nozzle hole 340n which generates a failure in the toner supply. Figure 45 is a perspective view of the base plate 310a that is provided in the toner container fastener 31 (positioned portion) and Figure 46 is a partially enlarged cross section of the base plate 310a on which it is provided the 32Y toner container. With reference to Figure 45 (see also Figure 10), the base plate 310a provided in the toner container holder 31 has spaces in which the toner containers 32Y for the four colors can be joined, and the faces 31a and slidable 31b are formed in each joint position of the toner containers 32Y. The four toner containers 32Y are placed on a piece of the base plate 310a in the twelfth embodiment, but the base plate 310a can also be provided independently for each toner container 32Y according to the number of the containers 32Y of toner As shown in figure 46, the sliding face 31 a and the sliding faces 31 b which are formed in the base plate 310a form a guide groove 31all in which the portion 34Y is attached. The sliding faces 31b of the guide groove 31all and the upper surface of the base plate 310a form a guide edge 31al2 as a fold, which supports the container body 33Y. The guide groove 31all is configured so as to guide the fastener 340c (projected portion) projecting from the outer circumference of the container body 33Y when viewed in the vertical direction on the paper of figure 46. In other words, the The guide groove 31all is shaped so that the projected portion 340c of the fastened portion 34Y engages in the guide groove 31all. The guide edge 31al2 is formed along an edge between the starting point and the end point of the guide groove 31all and is bevelled so as to easily support the rotating container body 33Y. Because the toner container fastener 31 configured in the above manner includes the sliding faces 31a and 31b which form the guide groove 31all, when the fastened portion 34Y engages with the guide groove 31all, the rotation is limited around from the center of the portion 34Y tree fastened. Therefore, the toner container 32Y is placed on the sliding face 31a while the fastened portion 34Y engages with the guide groove 31all to move along the direction of the arrow Q, the toner container 32Y can be placed in a simple, reliable and correct manner. More specifically, when coupling the portion 34Y held in the guide groove 31all, no displacement occurs in the nozzle orifice 340n and the positioning hole 340k. Therefore, when the toner container 32Y is positioned therein in the direction of the arrow Q, the positioning bolts 70b are inserted securely into the positioning holes 340k, and the nozzle 70 is reliably inserted. inside the nozzle hole 340n. In the twelfth embodiment, the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding face 31a in parallel with the start axis line until completing the joining operation. At the same time, the method can be changed to a method of sliding the container 32Y of toner at the start of the joining operation, in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the arrow Q with the portion 34Y held as the head, and then joining it in the direction of the arrow Q. The method can also be changed to a method of positioning the 32Y toner container on the sliding face 31a from the upper side thereof at the start of the operation, and then sliding along the the direction of the arrow Q that is is going to join The image forming apparatus 100 according to the twelfth embodiment is configured to provide a toner discharge mechanism on the rear side seen from the operator (user) and to house the nozzle orifice 340n of the toner container 32Y with the nozzle 70 on the side of the body 100 of the apparatus on the rear side of the body 100 of the apparatus. Based on the above configuration, even if a scattering of toner occurs in the housing portion, the position is remote from the operator. Therefore, the operator's hand does not stain easily with toner compared to the case where the toner discharge mechanism (housing structure) is on the side near the body 100 of the apparatus. In addition, because the housing structure is provided on the back side of the body 100 of the apparatus, the operator hardly operates while holding the holding portion 34Y on its joint. And this is verified through experiments regarding operations where the operator usually holds the container body 33Y to push it therein. If the operator holds the container body 33Y, then the side of the fastened portion 34Y can be rotated during the operation, which can cause operability to worsen, but in the twelfth embodiment, due to that the rotation of the clamped portion 34Y is limited by the sliding face 31a, the operability is improved. Therefore, even if a toner discharge mechanism (housing structure) is provided on the back side of the body 100 of the apparatus, operability is improved by performing the replacement of the toner container 32Y. The relationship of the configuration and effect of the toner container fastener 31 according to the twelfth embodiment is summarized as follows. Most of the configurations and effects as explained in the following are common for the toner container fastener according to the twelfth embodiment. In the twelfth embodiment, the main part of the portion 34Y held (cap) on the discharge side of the toner container 32Y is a substantial cylinder, and part of the cylinder has the holder 340c (projected portion, protruding portion) that projects into the space that includes the toner shutter mechanism. Based on the fastener 340c, the toner container 32Y engages in the guide groove 31all that is formed on the body side 100 of the attachment apparatus, the positional relationship with the nozzle 70 for suctioning the toner can be accurately determined . The toner container 32Y is moved along the sliding face 31a and the toner outlet B is it engages with the nozzle 70 to prevent a mating failure of the 32Y toner container or an erroneous placement thereof. According to the configuration of the twelfth embodiment, compared to Patent documents 1 to 4, which require a plurality of actions for the separation operation of the toner container 32Y, the separation operation of the toner container 32Y is complete by an action (except the opening / closing action of the main body door) so that the toner container 32Y moves along the sliding face 31a. Guide edges 31al2 are provided for the sliding face 31a and this helps to rotatably and securely support the toner container 32Y after it is joined. A guide groove 31all is provided for the sliding face 31a and this helps to eliminate slipping of the toner container 32Y at its junction and thus avoids without faults a faulty placement or misplacement of the container. 32 And toner. If the user holds only the body 33Y of the container and attempts to place it in the body of the apparatus, the holding portion 34Y is rotated unless something restricts the rotation. At this time, a moment force around the center of rotation of the portion 34Y clamped and the clamp 340c (projected portion) is oriented downward. Therefore, in the twelfth embodiment, the guide groove 31all is formed on the underside in the vertical direction. With this formation, even if the user holds only the container body 33Y, the fastener 340c engages in the guide groove 31all by itself and the erroneous coupling prevention operation of the toner container 32Y is improved. In the twelfth embodiment, because the toner outlet B for nozzle engagement 70 (toner supply port 70a) is formed in the holder 340c (projected portion), the toner outlet B moves along the the sliding face 31 a and this allows the prevention of the rotational displacement of the toner outlet B. Therefore, the user can simply and safely store the toner outlet B with the nozzle 70 without being conscious in a special way. Different from the operation of opening the toner outlet by the collection material system in the Patent document 5 and the Patent document 6, the twelfth embodiment has a mechanism for pushing the stopper member 34d through the nozzle 70 in FIG. synchronization with the joining operation to open the toner output B without using a lever or similar. This prevents toner scattering when the 32Y toner container is replaced. Because the user can easily perform the attachment / separation operation of the toner container 32Y by holding only the container body 33Y, the toner discharge mechanism (coupling portion between the nozzle 70 and toner outlet B) is can provide on the back side of the apparatus body 100. As explained in the above, the twelfth embodiment is configured to allow simple operation and also allows the toner dispersion display to be safely reduced when the 32Y toner container is replaced. It is evident that the present invention is not limited by the modalities and that the modalities may change as needed within the scope of the technological idea of the present invention in addition to the suggestions in the modalities. In addition, each number, position and form of the components is not limited by the modalities and therefore these can be changed to those that are appropriate for implementation of the present invention. A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the operation of When the toner container mentioned in the above is attached to the toner container holder, after the positioning is started, the opening / closing member begins to open the toner outlet. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that it is based on the toner container mentioned above, the toner container holder has a nozzle that communicates with the toner outlet, and wherein the opening member / closure is positioned as the cap member which is pushed by the nozzle in synchronization with the operation of attaching the toner container holder, to start to open the toner outlet and which is diverted by the diverting member in synchronization with separation operation of the toner container holder, to begin closing the toner outlet. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that on the basis of the toner container mentioned above, the toner container holder has a positioning member that engages with the held portion for positioning the held portion, wherein, after the fastened portion begins to engage with the positioning member during the joining operation of the toner container holder, the nozzle begins to push the cap member.

A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that it is based on the toner container mentioned in the above, the front end of the positioning member is shaped so that it is located closer to the side of the clamped portion as compared to the front end of the nozzle with respect to the clamped portion that moves along the joining direction. A toner container according to another further embodiment is characterized in that the toner container mentioned above moves along the direction of attachment to the toner container holder, the front end of the held portion engages the member. of placement and is shaped so that it is located closer to the side of the toner container fastener compared to the front end of the cap member pushed by the nozzle. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that it is based on the toner container mentioned above, the front end of the positioning member on the side where the held portion is joined, tapered or beveled. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that it is based on the toner container mentioned above, the front end of the portion fastened on the side where the positioning member engages is tapered or beveled. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the toner container mentioned in the above is detachably attached to the toner container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes a container body which discharges toner contained within the container. toner container from the opening; and the holding portion which discharges the toner, discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner container holder in a non-rotating manner and wherein the held portion includes the slidable portion. which is in contact with the toner container holder and the sliding. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the slidable portion of the toner container mentioned above slides along the toner container fastener in synchronization with the joining / separating operation to / from the container holder of the toner container. toner A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the slidable portion of the toner container mentioned above is a flat portion.

A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the flat portion of the toner container mentioned above is shaped so as to be parallel with the sliding face of the toner container holder. A toner container according to another further embodiment is characterized in that the slidable portion of the toner container mentioned above is a plurality of convex portions which are shaped such that the convex portions have a height which can be brought into contact with a default plane. A toner container according to an additional embodiment is characterized in that the predetermined plane of the aforementioned toner container is established as the slidable face of the toner container holder. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the slidable portion of the toner container mentioned above is provided in the lower part of the held portion. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that when the joining / separating operation to / from the toner container holder is performed, the lower part in the The fastened portion of the aforementioned toner container is placed on the sliding face of the toner container holder and slides along the sliding face. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the slidable portion of the toner container mentioned above is provided on the side of the held portion. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the side of the fastened portion of the toner container mentioned slides along the sliding face of the toner container fastener used as the side face, when the operation is performed. of union / separation to / from the toner container holder. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the fastened portion of the toner container mentioned above includes a deflected portion which is deflected by a deflection unit of the toner container fastener in the bonding direction while the portion The fastener is held in the toner container fastener, and wherein the slidable portion contacts the deflection unit in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation to / from the container holder. toner and slides. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that based on the toner container mentioned above, the deflection unit is a pair of arms which are provided integrally through a spindle and generate a force in two directions of the rotational direction around the spindle by a torsion spring. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the above-mentioned toner container, the slidable portion is provided in two side portions of the held portion, and the offset portions are corner portions, each located in a end of the two lateral portions. A toner container according to another further embodiment is characterized in that in the toner container mentioned above, the corner portion is formed such that the curvature of the corner portion is less than the curvature of a contact portion of the unit. of deviation that comes into contact with the corner portions. The toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the toner container mentioned above, the slidable portion is it provides on two side portions of the clamped portion and a deviated portion is a plane that intercepts the side portions at the ends of the side portions. A toner container according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the toner container mentioned above, the slidable portion is shaped such that its height is equivalent to the height of the toner outlet. A toner container according to an additional embodiment is characterized in that based on the toner container mentioned above, the toner container holder includes a nozzle that communicates with the toner outlet, and the held portion includes a cap member which is pushed through the nozzle in synchronization with the operation of attaching the toner container holder to open the toner outlet and is diverted by the diverting member in synchronization with the separation operation of the toner container holder to close the toner container. toner outlet and during the operation of attaching the toner container fastener, after the slidable portion begins to slide towards the diverting unit, the toner conveyor tube begins to push the cap member and the diverting unit deflects the diverted portion as soon as the Sliding portion ends its sliding to the deviation unit. A toner container according to another further embodiment is characterized in that in the above-mentioned toner container, a movement distance of the plug member in the junction / separation direction associated with the joining / separating operation to / from the fastener of The toner container is set to be shorter than a distance from the toner outlet to the portion diverted in the junction / separation direction. A toner container according to another further embodiment is characterized in that in the above-mentioned toner container, the fastened portion includes a coupling portion which engages with the toner container holder positioning member in synchronization with the joining operation to the toner container holder, and the engaging portion is provided on the upper side in the vertical direction of the slidable portion and the toner outlet. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the image forming apparatus mentioned above includes a toner container that is detachably provided therein including a container body which discharges toner. contained in the toner container from the opening, and a fastened portion which discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body from the toner outlet; and also includes a fastened portion which holds the fastened portion in a non-rotating manner; and a guide rail for guiding the portion held toward the holding portion while limiting the rotation of the portion held by the toner container joint. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide rail includes guiding edges for holding the body of the container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide rail includes a guide groove for guiding part of the clamped portion. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the fastened portion includes a projected portion projecting along the junction / separation direction so as not to overlap the projection plane in the direction of union / separation of the container body and portion projected is guided along the guide groove. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the projected portion has a toner output. An image forming apparatus according to a further embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide groove is provided on the underside in the vertical direction with respect to the fastened portion. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus a toner supply device is included in which the toner container is provided detachably, the toner container includes a body of container which discharges toner contained in the toner container from the opening and a held portion which discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body from the toner outlet; and also includes a fastening portion which holds the fastened portion in a non-rotating manner; and a biasing element for biasing the toner container towards the holding portion in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container. An image-forming apparatus according to another Further embodiment is characterized in that the aforementioned image forming apparatus, the biasing element biases the held portion towards the holding portion in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container a member that opens / closes to open / close the toner outlet in synchronization with the joining / separating operation. and during the operation of joining the toner container, after the deflection element begins to deviate, the opening / closing member begins to open the toner outlet. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus it is configured so as to alter the force in the direction of separation of the toner container from the holding portion, in the toner container before it is deflected by the deviation unit towards the holding portion. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that a second deflection element is included in the image forming apparatus mentioned above to divert the toner container in the direction of separation of the toner container from the holding portion in synchronization with the separation operation of the toner container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the second diverting element deflects the portion held in the separation direction thereof from the holding portion in synchronization with the operation. of separation of the toner container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container includes a member that opens / closes to open / close the toner outlet in synchronization with the joining operation / separation and during the separation operation of the toner container, after the second diverting element begins to deviate, the open / close member begins to close the toner outlet. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus it is configured so as to alter the force towards the holding portion, in the toner container before it starts to be deflected by the second unit of deviation in the direction of separation of toner container from the holding portion. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the deflection element and the second deflection element are provided integrally through a spindle and a pair of arms is used which alter the force in the two directions of the rotational direction around the spindle by the torsion spring. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide rail includes a sliding face along which the slidable portion of the held portion slides in synchronization with the operation of joining / separating the toner container, and during the joining operation of the toner container, after sliding of the sliding portion is initiated, the diverting element deflects the clamped portion, and at the same time the positioning of the portion The clamping portion of the clamping portion is started, and the positioning of the portion fastened to the clamping portion ends as soon as the sliding of the sliding portion ends. An image-forming apparatus according to another further embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide rail includes a sliding face along which the slidable portion of the clamped portion slides in synchronization with a joining / separating operation of the toner container. An image forming apparatus according to a further embodiment is characterized in that the aforementioned image forming apparatus includes a sliding face along which the sliding portion in the clamped portion slides, in synchronization with the joining operation. / separation of the toner container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, during the operation of attaching the toner container, after sliding of the slidable portion is initiated, the deflecting element deflects the fastened portion, and at the same time the positioning of the fastened portion of the fastening portion, and the positioning of the fastened portion of the fastening portion as soon as the slip of the sliding portion ends. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the apparatus The image former mentioned above includes a toner container that includes a member that opens / closes to open / close the toner outlet of the held portion; and also includes a toner conveyor tube which pushes the opening / closing member in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container to begin opening the toner outlet and which communicates with the toner outlet. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container includes a member exerting the deflecting force of the opening / closing member in the direction of resistance of the direction pushed by the toner conveyor tube. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container is attached / separated along the longitudinal direction of the container body. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container is joined at the base in the longitudinal direction of the container body established as the horizontal direction. An image-forming apparatus according to another Further embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the fastened portion is joined so as to become the head of the body of the container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that a toner container including a gear that is provided at the periphery of the container body and near the opening is included in the image forming apparatus mentioned above; and also includes a drive gear coupled with the gear to transmit a rotational driving force to the gear. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container transports the toner contained in the container body towards the opening in synchronization with the rotation of the container body by the rotational driving force transmitted to the gear. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container has a spiral-shaped projection along the inner circumferential surface of the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned in the above, the toner container contains toner in the body of the container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner container further contains a carrier in the body of the container. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that the aforementioned image forming apparatus includes a toner container detachably attached to a connecting portion, the toner container includes a container body having a conveying portion for transporting the toner contained on the opening side by rotation; and a fastened portion fixed to the opening of the container body and rotatable relatively with respect to the container body, in which the fastened portion has a toner outlet that forms a part of a path used to supply the toner contained in the body of the container. container to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the joining portion includes a coupling member that couples the toner outlet when the toner container moves along the axial direction, and a guide rail to limit the rotation of the portion held during movement. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide rail includes guiding edge for supporting the body of the container and a guide groove for guiding the end face of the fastened portion. An image forming apparatus according to another further embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the fastened portion has a projected portion projecting outwardly as compared to the outer diameter of the container body in a vertical cross section to the axial line of the toner container, and the projected portion is guided by the guide groove of the guide rail. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the guide groove is formed in the lower side in the direction of gravity. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus mentioned above, the toner outlet is formed in the projected portion. An image forming apparatus according to another additional embodiment is characterized in that in the apparatus Image former mentioned above, the joint portion is located on the rear side of the main body when viewed from the operator.

Claims

1. A toner container detachably attached to a container holder and toner of a main body of an image forming apparatus, comprising: a container body containing toner and including an opening for unloading toner; and a fastened portion including a toner outlet for discharging the toner discharged from the opening, and discharging toner discharged from the opening, from the toner outlet and held by the toner container holder in a non-rotating manner , wherein the fastened portion includes a member that opens / closes to open / close the toner outlet in synchronization with an attachment / separation operation of the portion fastened to / from the toner container holder. The toner container as described in claim 1, wherein the opening / closing member includes: a cap member that is pushed by a nozzle that is provided in the toner container holder in synchronization with a joining operation of the same to the toner container holder to open the toner outlet, and which is deflected by a diverting member in synchronization with a separation operation thereof from the container holder toner to close the toner output. 3. The toner container as described in claim 2, wherein the biasing member includes: a hook member that is provided in the toner container holder, which is retracted to a position which does not obstruct the union of the holding portion in synchronization with the joining operation of the toner container, and then protruding to a position where it engages the plug member, and at the same time, bypasses the plug member in synchronization with the separation operation of the container of toner and then retracted to a position which does not obstruct the separation of the fastened portion. 4. The toner container as described in claim 3, wherein the hook member fixes a position of the cap member together with the nozzle in the toner container holder when engaged with the cap member, and the portion fastened it moves further along a direction of attachment / separation with the position of the fixed plug member to open / close the toner outlet. 5. The toner container as described in claim 3, wherein the hook member is deflected by a second deflection member from a retraction position to a coupling position and the second The deflection member is shaped so that the force with which the hook member deflects the plug member is greater than the slip resistance of the plug member. 6. The toner container as described in claim 2, wherein the cap member is configured so that a stroke when the toner outlet is opened / closed is greater than a stroke that can be moved by a manual operation. 7. Toner container as described in claim 2, which is connected through the nozzle to a conveyor tube which is connected to a pump for delivery or introduction of gas from / to the interior, to transport the discharged toner from the toner outlet along with the gas. 8. The toner container as described in claim 1, wherein the fastened portion includes sliding portions that slide along the toner container fastener in synchronization with the attachment / separation operation to / from the container fastener. of toner, and the opening / closing member is provided in a location surrounded by the sliding portions. 9. The toner container as described in claim 1, which is attached / separated along a longitudinal direction of the body of the container. 10. The toner container as described in claim 9, which is attached to the toner container holder at the base in the longitudinal direction of the container body established as the horizontal direction. 11. The toner container as described in claim 9, wherein the fastened portion is attached to the toner container fastener so that the fastened portion is established as the head of the container body. 1

2. The toner container as described in claim 1, wherein the container body is rotatably provided and transports the toner contained therein to the opening after a rotation. 1

3. The toner container as described in claim 12, wherein the toner container includes a gear which is provided on its circumferential surface and on the side of the opening, and transmits a rotational driving force to the body of the container. 1

4. The toner container as described in claim 12, wherein the container body includes a spiral-shaped projection along its inner circumferential surface. 1

5. The toner container as described in claim 12, wherein the container body it includes a conveyor member that transports the toner contained therein to the opening. 1

6. The toner container as described in claim 15, wherein the conveyor member is a serpentine or a screw that is provided in a rotatable manner. 1

7. The toner container as described in claim 1, wherein the held portion communicates with the container body through the opening. 1

8. The toner container as described in claim 1, wherein the body of the container contains toner therein. 1

9. The toner container as described in claim 18, wherein the container body contains a carrier therein. 20. An image forming apparatus comprising: a toner container as described in claim 1 that detachably attaches to the toner container holder that is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus.