MXPA98004947A

MXPA98004947A - Container to supply pigment, member of seal and image formation device electrofotograf

Info

Publication number: MXPA98004947A
Application number: MXPA/A/1998/004947A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Ban Yutaka; Murakami Ayumu; Omata Kazuhiko; Murakami Katsuya; Onodera Shinichi; Miyazaki Kyota
Original assignee: Canon Inc
Priority date: 1997-06-19
Filing date: 1998-06-19
Publication date: 1999-06-01

Abstract

The present invention relates to a toner supply container, which can be removably mounted to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, comprising: (a) a toner location portion for locating the toner; a toner supply opening for toner discharging located in the toner location portion; (c) a toner feeding member for feeding the toner located in the toner location portion, to the toner supply opening; (d) a sealing member that includes: a sealing portion for sealing the toner supply opening, and a driving portion for driving the toning feeding member;

Description

CONTAINER TO SUPPLY PIGMENT, SEAL MEMBER AND ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE FORMATION DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED TECHNIQUE The present invention relates to a pigment supply vessel that can be detachably mounted to a unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an obturating member therefor and an electrophotographic image foraging apparatus to which he The pigment supply container can be removably mounted. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image in a recording material using a process of electrophotographic image forming type.

Examples of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses include a copying machine * Electrophotography, an electrophotographic printer (laser beam printer, LED printers or similar), a facsimile machine and a word processor. Hitherto, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer, uses pigment powder or fine toner as a developer. When the developer is used in the main unit of the apparatus, the pigment is supplied to the main unit of the apparatus using a container supplying the pigment. At this point, in a known system, since the pigment is very fine powder or particles, the pigment supply container is kept placed inside the main unit of the apparatus, and the pigment is discharged at a small speed through a small hole during the pigment supply operation, to avoid pigment dispersion. In this system it is difficult to allow that the pigment falls by gravity or similar and, therefore, some feeder means is required. As an example of a pigment supply container provided with this pigment feeder is described in the publication of the patent application.

Japanese No. HEI-7-113796. The container supplying the pigment is generally cylindrical, and an end portion thereof is provided with a relatively small hole for discharging the pigment. A helical member is provided in the container for feeding the pigment which receives motive power from the outside, penetrating through a wall of the end of the container. A carrier mechanism of a seal is necessary to prevent the pigment from leaking through the hole in the end for the drive transmission. In Generally, the shutter mechanism includes a gear or articulated member provided at the end of the feeder member, and a shutter is sandwiched between the gear member and the surface of the container wall. The obturator is in many cases an annular wool felt, a similar oil seal. The pigment supply container is used while being held in the main unit of the apparatus and the pigment is fed by rotation of the pigment feeder member, driven from the main unit, and the pigment is discharged at a small speed through the orifice. On the other hand, another pigment supply vessel having a pigment-supplying medium is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI-7-44000. The pigment supply container is in the form of a cylindrical bottle and the inner surface thereof is provided with a helical rib, and a small discharge outlet of the pigment is provided adjacent the center at one end. The pigment supply container, contrary to the conventional example already described, has no internal feeder means and is used while being maintained in the main unit of the apparatus, and the main body of the container itself is rotated by the main unit to feed the pigment . The pigment fed to the end * adjacent to the discharge outlet is guided by an extended portion adjacent to the orifice to be raised towards the discharge outlet adjacent the center of the container, and then discharged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a main objective of the present invention is to provide a pigment supply container that is placed in a main unit of an apparatus electrophotographic imager, and where the pigment can be supplied to the main unit with high reliability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pigment supply container of the type of a cost of low manufacture. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pigment supply container provided with a sealing member having a function of releasably sealing a developer providing port and a The function of driving a feeder portion of the pigment. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a useful sealing member with this pigment-supplying container and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which this container supplying the The pigment can be removably mounted.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus according to a pigment-supplying container removably attachable to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, consisting of: (a) a portion of lodging the pigment to receive the pigment; (b) a hole providing the pigment for discharging the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment; (c) a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying hole; (d) an included sealing member; an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the hole supplying the pigment; a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The figure is an illustration of an electrophotographic copying machine which is an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which a container supplying the pigment according to the present invention can be mounted. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the electrophotographic copying machine. Figure 3 is an illustration of the pigment supply container and the electrophotographic copying machine, wherein the cover of the electrophotographic copying machine, for the exchange of the pigment supply container, is opened to load the pigment supply container. Figure 4 shows a container supplying the pigment according to the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a partially sectional front view of this, (B) is a side view of this, and (C) is a sectional side view of this. Figure 5 is a sectional front view of the pigment supply container that is mounted to the image forming apparatus and is not sealed (open). Figure 6 shows a sealing member for the pigment supply container, wherein (A) is a front view of this, (B) is a view taken along a line A of (A), and (C) is a view taken along a line B of (A). Figure 7 shows the electrophotographic copying machine, where (A) is a side view of this, (B) is a front view of this, (C) is a top plan view of this where a cover is open to exchange the pigment supply container. Figure 8 illustrates the means for opening and closing the supply portion of the pigment and the parts around it when the cover is opened. Figure 9 illustrates the means for opening and closing the * supply portion of the pigment and the parts around this when the cover is closed. Figure 10 shows a coupling member for the electrophotographic copying machine, where (A) is a front view of this, (B) is a rear view of this, and (C) is a sectional laceral view of it. Figure 11 shows a feeder member, wherein (A) is a front view of the feeder member mounted on an axis portion of the feeder member of the pigment-supplying container, and (B) is a front view of a feeder member provided with a port.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a feeder member of a pigment supply vessel according to a second example of the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 13 illustrates an example of the assembly of the feeder member according to the first embodiment.

The figure is a sectional view of a container and illustrates a pigment discharge operation of the pigment supply container according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a principle of pigment discharge from the pigment supply container according to this embodiment. Figure 16 illustrates a structure of the feeder member according to a second example of this embodiment. Figure 17 illustrates a structure of the feeder member according to a third embodiment. Figure 18 illustrates a structure of the feeder member according to a fourth embodiment. Figure 19 illustrates the means for opening and closing the pigment supply port and the parts around it when the cover of the electrophotographic copying machine is opened. Figure 20 illustrates the means for opening and closing the pigment supply port and the parts around it when the cover of the electrophotographic copying machine is closed. Figure 21 shows a pigment supply container according to a third embodiment, wherein (A) is a perspective view seen from the side near an obturating member il, and (B) is a perspective view seen from the side near a handle. Figure 22 shows a pigment supply container according to a third embodiment, wherein (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a sectional view thereof, (C) is a left side view thereof, (D) ) is a right side view of the latter, (E) is a sectional side view thereof, and (F) is a top plan view of # East. Figure 23 is a sectional front view of a pigment supply container that is placed in the main unit of the apparatus and a supplying port which is in the sealed state. Fig. 24 is a sectional front view of a pigment supply container that is placed in the main unit of the apparatus and a supply port which is in the non-sealed state. Figure 25 shows a pigment housing member according to the third embodiment, wherein (A) is a perspective view seen from a side near a complementary port and (B) is a perspective view seen from a side close to a handle. Figure 26 shows a housing member the pigment, wherein (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a sectional view thereof, (C) is a left side view * of this one (D) is a right side view of this, (E) is a sectional side view of it, and (F) is a top plan view of it. Figure 27 shows an obturating member, where (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a view taken along line A, (C) is a view taken along line B and (D) is a sectional front view of it. Figure 28 shows a stirring member, wherein (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a left side view of the latter and (C) is a right side view thereof. Fig. 29 is an enlarged side view of a rigid blade portion. Figure 30 is an enlarged view of a flexible blade portion. Figure 31 shows a stirring member according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a left side view thereof, and (C) is a right side view of this and (D) is a bottom view of it. Figure 32 shows a container supplying the pigment that is installed in the main unit of the apparatus. Figure 33 shows a detailed configuration of the first coupling member. Figure 34 is a detailed illustration of a gear portion.

Figure 35 is a detailed illustration of a mobile member. Figure 36 is a detailed illustration of a second coupling member. Figure 37 shows a drive transmission claw, where (A) is a sectional front view thereof, (B) is a side view thereof, and (C) is a front view of this, and (D) is a top view on the floor of this one. Figure 38 shows a transmission member, where (A) is a sectional front view thereof, (B) and (C) are side views thereof, and (D) is a front view thereof. Figure 39 shows an example er. where the sealing member and the feeding member are formed in an integrated manner. Figure 40 shows a sealing member having a shutter, wherein (A) is a front view thereof, (B) is a side view thereof, and (C) is a cross-sectional view thereof. Figure 41 shows a shutter, where (A) is a front view of the main body of the container, and (B) is a front view of the sealing member. Figure 42 is an enlarged side view of the sealing member and feeder member. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES The embodiment of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. With reference to Figure 1, first the description will be made with respect to a structure of an electrophographic copying machine which is an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a container supplying the pigment according to the invention can be assembled. . 10 In the figure, designated by 100 is a main unit of the electrophotographic copying machine. With the reference number 101 is designated an original that is placed on an original support plate glass 102. A luminous image corresponding to the image information is formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive drum 104 by a plurality of mirrors M and a slow Ln of an optical portion 103. Designated by 105-108 are the cassettes. Between the cassettes 105-108, the one containing the sheets of adequate size, corresponding to the paper size of the original 101 or to the information entered by the user in the operant portion 100a. The registration material is not limited to paper, but may be an OHP sheet or similar. The sheet P fed by the device Selection and separation 105A 108A is fed to a registration roller 110 by a powered portion 109, and is fed in synchronism with the rotation of the drum 104 and the scanning timing of the optical portion 103. Designated by 111, 112 is found a transfer discharge device and a separation discharge device. The image of the pigment formed in the drum 104, by means of a transfer discharge device 111 is transferred to the sheet P. Then, the sheet P which now has a transferred pigment image is separated from the drum 104. by a separation discharge device 112. The sheet P is fed by a feeder portion 113 to a fixing portion 114 where the image of the sheet pigment is fixed by heat and pressure, and thereafter, the sheet passes. through the portion of unloading / inverting the sheet 115 and it is discharged to a sheet discharge tray 127 by the sheet unloader rollers 116 in the case of the one side copying mode. In the case of copy mode of both sides the sheet is fed to the registration roller 110 through the routes , 119, 120 with the control of the shaker 118 of the discharge / invert portion of the sheet 115, and again it is fed in the same way as in the one side copying mode and is discharged to the sheet discharge tray. In the case of superimposed copy mode, the sheet P passes through the discharge and invert portion of the sheet 115, and is partially discharged by the sheet unloading roller 116 temporarily. After that, the terminal end of the sheet P passes through the shaker 118, and the shaker 118 is controlled when the sheet is still held by the sheet unloading roller 116, and the sheet unloading roller 116 is reversed so that the sheet it is fed to the apparatus. Then, the sheet is fed to the registration roller 110 by the feedback portions 119, 120 and is fed in the same manner as in the one-side copy mode to the sheet discharge tray 117. In the main unit 100 of the apparatus , a developer station 201, the cleaning station 202, the primary loader 203 and the like are placed around the drum 104. The developing station 201 functions to reveal with pigment or toner an electrostatic latent image formed in the drum 104 by the portion optical 103 on the basis of the original information 101. A container supplying the pigment 1 for supplying the pigment to the developing station 201 is mounted to the main unit 100 in the manner that the operator can assemble and disassemble it. The developing station 201 has a hopper or pigment feeder 201a and a developing device r9 * 201b. The pigment hopper 201a includes a stirring member 201c for stirring the pigment supplied from the pigment supplying vessel. The pigment stirred by the stirring member 201c is fed to the developing device 201b by a magnetic roller 201b. The developing device 201b includes a developing roller 201f a feeder member 201e. The pigment fed from the pigment hopper 201a by the magnetic roller 201d is further fed to the developing roller 201f by the feeder member 201e, and then fed to the photo sensitive cylinder 104 by the developing roller 201f. The cleaning station is provided to remove the remaining pigment in the photo-sensitive drum 104. The primary charger 203 functions to charge the drum photosensitive 104. When the operator opens, as shown in figure 3, the cover 15 for exchanging the pigment supply container, the cover being a part of the external housing, the platform or receiving table of the The container 50 is entrained to a predetermined position by a drive system (not shown). A container supplying the pigment 1 is placed on the table 50. When the user removes the container 1 from the main unit 100 of the apparatus, the container supplying the pigment 1 is removed of the table 50 that has been extracted. The cover 15 is provided exclusively for mounting and dismounting (exchanging) the container supplying the pigment 1, and it opens or closes only when the container 1 is assembled or disassembled. For the maintenance of the main unit 100 a cover 100c is opened on the front side. The pigment supply container 1 can be mounted or disassembled directly from the main unit 100 without using the receiving table of the container 50. # - With reference to figures 4 and 5, the The pigment supply container according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 4, (A) is a partially sectional front view of the container supplying the pigment of this embodiment. (B) is a side view of the container supplying the pigment. (C) is a sectional side view of the pigment supply container. Figure 5 is a sectional front view in which the pigment supply container is loaded in the main unit of the apparatus and the shutter has been removed. In figure 4 and 5, designated by ÍA is found a main part of the pigment supply container (main body of the container). The powder pigment is for revealing the electrostatic latent image formed in the drum 104, and it can be one component pigment, two component pigment or other. Appointed by two is a feeder member for supplying the powder pigment housed in the main body IA of the container to the pigment hopper 201a which is a receiving portion mounted to the main unit 100. Designated by 3 is a sealing member, 4 is a coupling member and 9 is a pigment receiving port provided in the pigment hopper 201a in the main unit 100. The toner discharged from the pigment supply container 1 is fed to the pigment hopper 201a from the receiving port 9. The structure can be that the pigment discharged from the pigment supply container 1 is fed directly to the developing device 201b not through the pigment hopper 201a. The main body IA of the pigment skimmer vessel includes - a curved portion 1F having a decreasing amplitude toward the bottom, and a flat surface portion 1G having a substantially constant amplitude, and an arcuate configuration portion 1H that it extends down from the portion of the flat surface. At this point, the lower portion means a lower portion when the pigment supplying container 1 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus, and the bottom surface, the upper surface, the lower surface and the lateral surface are the surfaces that are the bottom surface, the top surface, the bottom surface and the side surface P when the pigment supply container 1 is mounted to the main unit 100. The pigment supply container 1 is shown in the same position as when it is mounted the main unit of the apparatus in Figures 4, 5, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 39. In a lower portion of a side surface 1A1 of the main unit IA of the container, a cylindrical portion of the pigment supplying port to supply the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment ln in the main unit of the apparatus, is formed as a projection. In an extreme portion of the portion of the pigment supply port is provided a port supplying pigment. A receiving portion Ib is formed in order to rotatably support the feeder member. 2 in a position corresponding to the portion of the pigment supplying port on the other side surface Ib. On the outside of the bottom surface ID a clutch portion is provided for coupling with an opening and closing means for the pigment supplying port, which is provided in the main unit 100 and which will be described later, to move the container supplying the pigment 1 in the direction of assembly and disassembly. In this embodiment, the clutch portion 1C is in the form of a pin or spike projected outward from the surface of the ID background. The upper surface 1E is provided with a recess to provide a hold to facilitate the operator when the pigment supply container 1 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus and when this is removed from the main unit 100. On the front side and the lower inclined surface 1 of the rear side, ribs If extending parallel to each other to facilitate the handling of the main body IA of the container when the user assembles the container supplying the pigment 1 in the main unit 100. The main body IA of the container preferably it can be produced by injection molding, blow molding, blow molding and the like, of a resinous plastic material, but another manufacturing method and / or material, the body is usable The main IA can be divided into two or more parts, and the fabricated parts can be welded or joined together to unify them. In the embodiment, an upper frame and a lower frame that are respectively manufactured by molding by injection of high impact polystyrene, are joined together by means of vibration sounding. On the other hand, the feeder member 2 functions to feed the pigment housed in the main body IA towards the pigment supplying port lg. The member Feeder 2 includes, as shown in FIG. 5, a shaft portion 2A, and a rigid helical feeder blade 2B at the shaft portion 2A that functions as a feeder portion for feeding the powder pigment in a predetermined direction by rotation of the powder. the portion of axis 2A. The feeder member 2 is mounted to the main body 1A of the container with the axis of the shaft portion 2A substantially coaxial with the center of the pigment supplying port lg. The feeder member 2 is not limited to a type called screw of this mode, but can be a flexible blade mounted on the shaft portion 2A, for example. The shaft portion and the blades must be molded in an integrated manner. In this embodiment, the shaft portion 2A and the blade 2B are made of plastic resin material and are molded in an integrated manner. In this embodiment, the feeder member 2 includes an extension portion 2C that extends to the portion of the cylinder of the serving portion of pigment la. In this embodiment, the extension portion 2C projects outwardly from the portion of the pigment supplying port IA. The free end portion of the extension portion 2C projected outwardly receives rotational force from the main unit 100 of the apparatus. To achieve this, the free end portion is provided with an obturating member 3 that moves in the direction of the axis.

As will be described in more detail below, the sealing member 3 has 4 functions of this mode. More specifically, the four functions are: (1) to seal the portion of the pigment supplying port; (2) receive the rotational force transmitted from the main unit 100; (3) transmitting the rotation force towards the feeder member 3; and (4) connecting with a coupling member 6 provided in the main unit of the apparatus for opening and closing the portion of the pigment supplying port. The driving force received by the sealing member 3 of the main unit 100 is transmitted to the shaft portion 2A by the spreading portion 2C to rotate the feeder member 2. The end portion 2A of the spreading portion 2C has a configuration that can receive the rotational force by the sealing member 3 from the main unit 100, and in this embodiment has a shape of H. The end portion of the shaft portion 2A is supported by a sealing member 3 by an end portion 2a of the spreading portion 2 C. The other end portion 2b of the shaft portion 2A is rotatably coupled to a receiving portion 2b of the main body IA of the container, so that the feeder member 2 rotates when the container is not sealed.

The feeder member 2 is supported by the sealing member 3 in such a way that the feeder blade 2B is out of contact with the surface of the internal wall lal of the serving port portion of the pigment la, and this portion of axis 2a and the surface of the inner wall of the portion of the pigment supply port are substantially horizontal. With the support of the feeder member 2 in this form, the pigment can be fed in the substantially horizontal direction towards the pigment supplying port lg when the feeder member 2 is rotated. If the fine particles of the pigment are introduced between the surface of the The inner wall of the serving portion of the pigment supply port and the feeder blade 2b and these are rubbed, the pigment can be fused to the surface of the internal wall lal or it is possible that aggregates of the pigment are formed. This can be avoided. The feeder member 2 can preferably be manufactured by injection molding or the like from a plastic resin material, as described, but another method or material is usable. This can be divided into a plurality of parts that are manufactured separately, and then joined together. With reference to Figure 6 the sealing member 3 will be described. In Figure 6, (A) is a front view of the obturator member; (B) is a perspective view seen in the direction A in (A); (C) is a view in the direction D in (A); and (D) is a front view in section. In (A) - (D) of Figure 6, designated 3b, there is an obturating section, provided on its side closest to the pigment supply container, for sealing so that the pigment port Ig of the container can be opened. Pigment supplier 1. The external diameter of the sealing portion 3b is much larger than the internal diameter of the pigment supplying port Ig. Thus, the sealing member 3 is sealed to the pigment supplying port lg by pressure fitting the coupling portion 3bl of the sealing portion 3b in the portion of the pigment supplying port through the pigment supplying port Ig. Designated by 3c is a clutch portion that functions as a portion receiving the driving force to receive the driving force to rotate the feeder member 2 from the main unit 100 of the apparatus when the pigment supply container 1 is mounted in the unit main 100. The clutch portion 3c is provided with a projected portion 3cl extended in the direction coaxial with the axis portion 2a of the feeder member 2 in the direction away from the main body ÍA of the sealing portion 3b (when the sealing member 3 is mounted to the main body 1A of the container). The clutch portion 3c is provided with projection of elongated ridges (ribs) 3d on the peripheral surface of the projected portion 3cl, whose projections function as a portion receiving the engagable drive force with the coupling member 4. In this embodiment, four of these striae projections are provided at the same distance and in the circumferential direction. # Obturating member 3 is provided with a clutch hole 3a which functions as a transmitting portion of the driving force to transmit, to the feeding member 2, the driving force from the main unit 100 by coupling with an end portion 2a to the feeder member 2 and the clutch hole 3a is in the form of an opening (hole) formed in the sealing portion 3b and the clutch portion 3c. The clutch hole 3a is H-shaped corresponding to the shape H of the end of the shaft 2a of the feeder member 2 projected from the powder pigment supplying portion, and is slightly larger than the end of axis 2a. By this, the end of the shaft 2a engages loosely with the clutch hole 3a. By the end of the shaft 2a loosely coupled with the clutch hole 3a, the feeder member 2 and the The sealing member 3 is interconnected in the direction of rotation of the feeder member 2, while moving relative to one another in the thrust direction. Thus, the sealing member 3 can be separated from the main body IA of the container when the pigment supply container is mounted to the main unit, as will be described below, so as to achieve the separation of the shutter (opening) from the supplying port of the container. pigment powder lg. The length of the coupling between the end of the shaft 2A and the coupling hole 3a is quite long to prevent disengagement between the sealing member 3 and the main body IA of the container when the sealing member 3 moves away from the main body. Therefore, even if the sealing member 3 moves away from the main body IA of the container, the feeding member 2 can receive the driving force by the sealing member 3 (clutch portion 3C). Between the clutch portion 3c and the sealing portion 3b, a flange portion 3f is provided which is connected to the end of the port for supplying pigment when the sealing portion 3b is press fit into the port la. The external diameter of the flange portion is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the portion of the pigment supplying port. By means of the flange portion 3f, the sealing portion 3b is snapped into the portion of the pigment supplying port through a distance corresponding to the length of the coupling portion 3bl. Designated by 3e is a blocking projection 3q which functions as a blocking portion which is formed at one end of a clutch portion and which is to be engaged with the blocking member 6 in the main unit 100 (FIG. 5) and by the coupling between the block projection 3e and the blocking member 6, the sealing member 3 can be fixed when the shutter is removed from the powder pig supplying port lg. The sealing member 3 having this structure can preferably be manufactured by injection molding a resinous material or the like, but another method and / or material is usable. The sealing member 3 is required to have a suitable elasticity for snapping in the supplying port of the pigment and sealing the port. The material of preference is a low density polyethylene, and other usable examples include polypropylene, high density polyethylene or the like. A method of assembling the pigment supply container 1 will be described below. In the method of assembling the pigment supply container 1, the feeder member 2 is inserted into the lower portion of the main body IA of the container through the pigment supplying port lg (Figure 5). Then, the predetermined amount of pigment (not shown) is filled in the main body IA and finally, the pigment supplying port lg is sealed by a sealing member 3, whereby the container supplying the pigment 1 is obtained. this way, the assembly of the pigment supply container 1 of this # modality is very simple and easy, and there are very few steps of manufacture. The pigment can be filled through the pigment supplying port lg; otherwise, a port for the filling of the additional pigment (not shown) can be formed in a suitable portion of the main body. container, and the pigment can be filled through the pigment filling port, which is then clogged. Another alternative form, the main body IA of the container can be divided into two or more parts, which are joined together after the pigment is filled. Where the supplying port of pigment Ig of the main body IA formed integrally also a filling port is used, no additional cover or joining step after filling is necessary. In the serving portion of pigment supplier , the feeder member 2 extends, and therefore, it is preferable that it has a size sufficient to allow uniform discharge of the pigment. The description will be made as the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the portion of the pigment-supplying port la and the cross-sectional area of the passage portion (axis portion 2A) of the feeder member 2. The cross-sectional area of the portion of the pigment-supplying port preferably, it is not less than twice the cross-sectional area of the shaft portion 2a of the member $ Feeder 2, in addition to preference, is not less than three times, and still further preferred not less than five times. In this mode it is approximately 3 times. In this mode, the portion of the pigment supplying port is cylindrical, and therefore, the internal diameter of the portion of the pigment supplying port is approximately 3 times the outer diameter of the shaft portion 2A of the feeder member 2. On the other hand, if the inner diameter of the portion of the pigment supplying port is too large, the pigment contamination around the port The supplier of pigment lg is significant, and it may be difficult to maintain the tightness during transportation or in the case of change of environmental condition. Therefore, the internal diameter of the portion of the pigment supplying port is preferably not greater of 40 mm. In this mode it is approximately 24 mm.

The description will be made for an exchange method of the pigment supply container. When the pigment in the container supplying the pigment 1 is completely consumed with the image formations, the detecting means of the empty pigment supply container (not shown) provided in the main unit 100 of the apparatus detects it, and shows the event to the user in the presentation medium 100b (FIG. 2) such as a liquid crystal display. In this embodiment, the container supplying the pigment 1 is exchanged by the user by the following steps. As shown in (A) and (B) of Figures 2 to 7, the cover 15 which is in this closed moment, is opens by rotating it around hinge 18 to a position as shown in figure (C). The main body IA is moved by means of the opening means of the supply portion of the pigment, which will be described later, in interrelation with the hole of the cover 15, and the sealing member 3 (Figure 9) which is in the open position away from the main body IA to open the pigment supplying port lg, is snapped into the portion of the pigment supplying port whereby the supplying port of pigment lg closes (figure 8).

The user removes the container supplying the pigment 1, which now does not contain the pigment, from the main unit 100 in the opposite direction of the direction indicated by the arrow in (C), to remove it from the main unit 100. After this, the user inserts the new pigment supply container 1 into the main unit 100 in the direction of the arrow, and then closes the cover 15 ((A) and b)). In the interrelation with the action of * closure of the cover 15 the sealing member 3 is separated from the main body of the container by the opening means of the pigment supply portion, thereby opening the pigment supplying port lg. In this way, the pigment supply container is exchanged. With regard to figures 8 and 9, the Description according to the opening and closing operation of the pigment supplying port lg which interrelates with the opening and closing operation of the cover 15. The structures in the following description are provided in the main unit 100 of the apparatus. In figures 8 and 9, designated by 6 is a blocking member that functions as locking means for locking the sealing member 3 by engagement with the locking projection 3e of the clutch portion 3c. Designated by 57 there is a support table that has the blocking member 6 mounted thereto, and the support table 57 is rotatable about an axis of rotation 57a, and is pushed in the clockwise direction by the push member 58. Designated by 59 there is a retainer for positioning of the support table 57. i Designated for 60 s finds a sliding table that slides by means of a rotary roller 63. Designated by 51 is a carrier member of the container provided on the sliding table 60, and the carrier member of the container 51 is rotary around the center of rotation 51a, is pushed in the direction counterclockwise by a spring 52. Designated by 53 is a retainer for the placement of the carrier member of the container 51. The member that moves the container providing the pigment is constituted by a member carrying the container 51 and the sliding table 60. The means for opening and closing the pigment supplying port is constituted by the carrying member of the rec 51, the slide table 61 and the blocking member 6. On the other hand, the carrier member of the container 51 is provided with a locking portion 51c to block the clutch projection from the main body of the container. When the clutch projection advances in the direction indicated by the arrow C as shown in figure 8, with the insertion of the container supplying the pigment 1 in the main unit 100 of the apparatus, the carrier member of the container 51 rotates against the force of the container 52 in the direction of the arrow B. When the clutch projection is inserted into the block portion 51c, the carrier member 51 returns by the spring force of the spring 52 to block the clutch projection le. When the carrier member 51 blocks the clutch projection, the container supplying the pigment 1 is moved by the sliding table 60 in the directions of assembly and disassembly (arrows A and B in figures 7, 8). Designated by 54 is a sliding axis which is supported by the support means (not shown) for the sliding movement in the direction of the axis. The sliding shaft 54 is pushed in the direction away from the table support 57 (downward direction in Figure 8) as indicated by the arrow A by the push member (not shown). The position of this is determined by the shaft seal 55. Designated by 56 is a blocking member mounted to the sliding shaft 54. When the sliding shaft 54 slides in the direction of the support table 57 as indicated by the arrow B, the blocking member 56 is brought into engagement with the rib portion 51e of the carrier member of the container. .51 to block the carrier member of the container 51. The direction of the arrow A is the direction of disassembly of the supply container 1 of the main unit 100 of the apparatus, and the direction of the arrow B is the mounting direction thereof to the main unit of the apparatus. The sliding table 60 is provided with a projection 60a formed therein. The projection 60a engages with an elongated hole 61b formed in an end portion of the oscillating arm 61 that oscillates about the oscillating shaft 61a. The oscillating arm 61 is pushed in the clockwise direction by the elastic force of the pushing member 62, and is placed by the stop 64. The other end portion of the oscillating arm 61 is provided with a slot portion 61b having an open end. The cover 15 is provided with a projection 15b which enters the slot portion 61d when the cover 15 is closed. By the projection 15b entering the slot portion 61d, the oscillating arm 61 oscillates counter-clockwise against the force Elastic of the push member 62 in interrelation with the closing operation of the cover 15. The cover 15 for exchange is provided with a wall portion 15a which is connected to an end portion 54a of the slide shaft 54 when it is closed. Through the wall portion 15a, the sliding shaft 54 slides in the direction of the arrow B in interrelation with the closing operation of the cover 15. By sliding the sliding shaft 54 in this manner, the other end 54b of the sliding shaft 54 is in abutting contact with 5 the projection 57b of the support table 57. By this, the support table 57 and the blocking member 6 rotate against the elastic force of the pushing member 58, whereby the blocking member 6 blocks the blocking projection 3e of the • sealing member 3. 10 With these structures, when the pigment supply container 1 is inserted into the main unit 100 of the apparatus, as shown in (C) of Figure 7, the clutch projection of the main body of the container is moves in the direction of arrow C shown in the figure 8. After this, the clutch projection 1C is blocked with the blocking portion 51c of the container carrying member 51, and the fresh or new pigment supply container 2 is mounted on the main unit 100 in this condition. In other words, the supplier container of Pigment 1 is correctly placed in the main unit 100 of the apparatus by means of the clutch projection 1C. After the pigment supply container 1 is installed in this manner, the cover 15 is closed, and by this, the wall portion 15a of the cover 15 is splices with an end portion 54a of the sliding shaft 54, of 54, so that the sliding shaft 54 slides in the direction of the arrow B. After this, the other end 54b of the sliding shaft 64 is connected with the projection 57b of the support table 57. By this, the support table 57 and the blocking member 6 are rotated against the elastic force of the pushing member 58, by which the blocking member 6 blocks the blocking projection 3e of the sealing member 3 . ^ He The blocking member 56 of the sliding shaft 54 is moves towards the carrier member of the container 51 with the sliding movement of the sliding shaft 54 and engages with the rib portion 51e of the container carrying member. By doing this, the carrier member of the container 51 is blocked. When the cover 15 is closed in a predetermined position, the projection 15b of the cover 15 enters the slot portion 61d of the oscillating arm 61 to oscillate the oscillating arm 61 counter-clockwise against the elastic force of the projection 15b.

By oscillating the oscillating arm 61, the sliding table 60 slides in the direction of the arrow A. By this, the pigment-supplying container 1 that blocks with the carrier member of the container 51 in the clutch projection is also slide in it address.

When the supplying container 1 moves in the direction of the arrow A, the sealing member 3 is blocked with the blocking member 6 so that it is impossible to move it in the direction of the arrow A. Therefore, the main body of the container it is separated from the sealing member 3, thereby opening the pigment supplying port lg, as shown in figure 9. The portion of the pigment supplying port, as shown in figure 5, is maintained by the support 5 of the main unit 100 with the outer periphery sealed with an annular sealing member 7. Thus, when the supplying container 1 is mounted to the main unit 100, the position of this is determined by the clutch projection 1C and the portion of the supplying port of pigment In this embodiment, the sealing member 3 is supported in a position remote from the supplying port of pigment Ig. By doing this, it can be kept at a distance necessary to allow uniform discharge of the pigment, depending on the coagulation property of the pigment. In this way it is possible to avoid obstruction of the adjacent discharge outlet and various problems resulting therefrom. On the other hand, when the user opens the cover 15 after the pigment in the container supplying the pigment 1 has been consumed substantially completely, the projection 15b of the cover 15 moves from the position shown in Figure 9 until butt contact with the wall portion 61c of the oscillating arm 61 to oscillate the oscillating arm 61 in the clockwise direction. Then, the sliding table 61 slides in the direction of the arrow B and the container supplying the pigment 1 slides in the same direction. At this time the carrier member of the container 51 receives a force in the clockwise direction from the clutch projection of the pigment supply container. However, since the blocking member 56 blocks the rotation of the container carrying member 51, the clutch projection is prevented from disengaging from the carrier member of the container 51. Therefore, the container supplying the pigment 1 slides to the supplying port of the container. lg pigment in abutting contact with the flange portion 3f of the sealing member 3, whereby the pigment supplying port Ig is closed. Then, the cover 15 further opens, the sliding shaft 54 is moved to a predetermined position by the retainer of the shaft 55 since it is pushed in the direction of the arrow A by the pushing means as described above. With this, the sealing means 6 rotates in the clockwise direction to move the sealing member 3 away. Therefore, the sealing member 3 is released by means of the blocking member 6. The carrier member of the container 51 is released from the blocking of the container. blocking member 56. With this state, the pigment supply container 1 is removable from the main unit 100. Then the pigment 1 supplying container can be separated by pulling it in the direction of the arrow A. By applying the force of drag in the direction of arrow A, blocking the clutch projection will # released by the container carrying member 51. As described above, when the pigment supply container 1 is installed in the main unit 100, the blocking projection 3e of the sealing member 3 is blocked by the blocking member 6 and is supported far from the container port of pigment Ig of the container supplier of the pigment. At this time the clutch ratio in the direction of rotation between the sealing member 3 and the feeder member 2 is maintained. Therefore, by rotation received by the sealing member 3 from the main unit 100, the member feeder 2 rotates to gradually supply the pigment to the main unit 100 through the pigment supplying port lg. In the embodiment, the pigment detector 201g is provided in the pigment hopper. When the detector 201g detects that there is no pigment, the sealing member 3 tour. When the when detector 201g detects the presence of pigment, rotation of the sealing member is stopped. In this way, the sealing member 3 rotates intermittently according to the consumption of the pigment in the main unit 100, so that the pigment is supplied intermittently and gradually to the main unit 100. However, it is possible to supply all the pigment to the main unit 100 when the pigment supply container 1 is installed in the main unit 100. On the other hand, when the pigment supply container 1 is installed in the main unit, the clutch portion 3c of the sealing member 3, as shown in figure 5, it engages with the coupling member 4 of the main unit 100. The coupling member 4 functions to transmit, to the sealing member 3, the driving force of the driving device (not shown) provided in the main unit 100. Figure 10 shows in detail the coupling member, wherein (A) is a front view of the coupling member, and (B) is a rear side view, and (C) ) is a sectional side view. In Figure 10, designated by 4a is a gear portion formed on the outer surface of the coupling member 4. This receives the driving force from the side of the main unit 100 through the gear portion 4a.

Designated by 4b is a receiving hole for receiving the sealing member 3, and this is formed in the center of the coupling member 4. The inner surface of the hole 4b is provided with a clutch groove 4c for coupling with the spline projections 3d of the sealing member 3. The end of the hole 4b opposite the container supplying the pigment 1 is provided with a guide portion of decreasing section 4d. In this embodiment, 4 of the 3d groove projections are formed on the external curved surface of the sealing member 3, with the same distance. In addition, twelve clutch slots 4c are formed in the coupling member 4. The number of clutch slots 4c is greater than the number of the 3d projections, and the guide portions 4d are provided, so that, when the container supplying the Pigment is installed in the main unit, these can be coupled safely even if there is a phase difference between the 3d spline projections and the clutch slots 4c. The number of the 3d projections of the sealing member 3 is not limited to 4, but can be suitably selected by one skilled in the art. The same applies to the number of clutch slots 4c, and is not limited to 12. The description of the pigment discharge will be made. The coupling member 4 receives the rotation force through the pulse transmitting means (not shown) such as the gear or the like from the power source (not shown) such as an engine or the like, of the main unit 100. The driving force is transmitted to the sealing member 3 by the coupling between the 3d groove projection and the clutch groove 4c, and is transmitted to the feeder member 2 through the coupling between the free H-shaped end 2a and the H-shaped clutch hole 3a. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the feeder member 2 is 25 rotations per minute. When the feeder member 2 rotates, the pigment lodged in the main body IA of the container is fed to the pigment supplying port Ig, and thereafter, it drops from the pigment supplying port lg to the pigment hopper 201a through the port pigment receiver 9 of the main unit 100. The portion from the pigment supplying port lg to the pigment receiving port 9 is hermetically sealed by means of the sealing member 7, as already described and, therefore, the pigment is prevented from discharged from the Ig pigment supply port leaks out or disperses. A rotating sliding portion exists in a portion where the sealing member 3 and the main unit 100 make contact, but the portion is far from the portion of the pigment supplying port, and therefore, does not directly contact the pigment, so which does not cause coagulation of the pigment or the like. The position of the rotating sliding portion can be away from the portion of the pigment supplying port by a suitable distance according to the pigment fluidity, the feeding force of the feeder member 2, the speed of discharge of the pigment. The present invention is not limited to any of the details of the first embodiment. For example, the disengagement method of the sealing member 3 may be such that the main body side A is moving while the sealing member 3 is fixed, or it may be such that the sealing member 3 is moved while the main body is moving. of the container is fixed. However, the sealing member 3 receives a rotational force from the main unit 100, as described above. Therefore, when the sealing member 3 moves while the main body of the container is fixed, the mechanism is more complicated and, therefore, the fixed sealing member 3 is preferred. The rotation speed of the feeder member 3 is suitably selected by a person skilled in the art, according to the amount of feed of the pigment, but if it is too high, the charges of the driving source of the main unit 100 or the mechanism of impulse transmission is increased, if it is too low the pigment can not be fed in a sufficient amount. Preferably it is 3-100 rotations per minute, more preferably 5-50 rotations per minute. The configuration of the main body IA of the container can be any if space can be used efficiently, and the size in the capacity of the pigment container can be suitably selected by a person skilled in the art. Even if the amount ofThe pigment is as large as about 2 kg, for example, what rotates is only the feeder member 2, and therefore, the torque of the required rotation is as small as 2-3 kgf-cm. The sealing member 3 is adjusted by pressure in the pigment supplying portion, but is can use a sealing member to seal the portion, or a threaded portion corresponding to the main body IA and the sealing member 3 can be used to seal the portion. In the first mode, the feeder element of the feeder member 2 is of a helical shape having a high feed force, but the helical shape is not inevitable. For example, as shown in Figure 11, (A), a blade portion 2aB in the form of a film as a feeder element can be installed in the axis portion 2A. In this case, the pigment is discharged F using the pigment fluidity. As shown in Fig. 11, (B), the blade portion 2Ba can be provided with a window 2B1 by which the moment of torque twisting of the feeder member 2 can be reduced. A second embodiment of the present invention will be described wherein the pigment supply container 1 has a feeder member 2 provided with this blade portion. Figure 12 is a perspective view of the feeder member 2 for the pigment feeder container, according to the second embodiment. In this figure, designated by 21 is a blade portion of the feeder member 2 mounted so that the phase thereof is changed continuously in the direction of the axis of the axis portion 2A. The feeder member 2 provided with this blade portion 21 is preferably integrally formed by injection molding or the like, but can be divided into two or more parts that are unified by welding or joining or the like. As material of the shaft portion 2A when the feeder member 2 is divided into two parts, there is the material of plastic resin, metal or the like having a stiffness. The blade portion 21 is preferably made of laminated material with flexibility. More specifically, a single layer material or multi-layer material of polyester, polypropylene, Nylon, polyethylene or fluorine resin material. The thickness of the blade portion 21 is preferably approximately 50 μ-1 mm. In this embodiment, a polyester sheet having a thickness of 188-250 μ is used satisfactorily. The configuration of the blade portion 21 is not necessarily a specific shape such as the trapezoid shape, rather it is necessary that the length of the center of rotation of the shaft portion 2A to the free end of the blade portion 21 be substantially constant throughout the entire length of the blade portion 21 (as with the rectangular configuration, for example). From the point of view of the assembly property of the anchoring member 2, the blade portion 21 is an integral member over its entire length. Therefore, an integral blade portion 21 is preferable, and as such, the material can be used efficiently since the blade portion 21 can be cut in one piece. When the pigment forms a cake in the main body 1A of the container as a result of the main unit 100 that remains unused for a long time, the pigment can be continuously removed and the efficient discharge of the pigment is achieved when the knife portion 21 is intact ? The description of the mounting method of the blade portion 21 will be made in the axis portion 2A. When the feeder member 2 is constituted by the shaft portion 2A and the knife portion 21, it is required that the knife portion 21 be installed in the shaft portion 2 with torsion relative to the shaft portion of the shaft portion 2A so that the phase continuously changes in relation to the axial direction of the axis portion 2A. For the assembly method, as shown in , the drum portion of the shaft portion 2A is provided with corrugated projections 22 in various portions to allow assembly of the blade 2B. On the other hand, the blade portion 21 is provided with the corrugated hole portion 23 to receive the projections with corrugations 22 of the portion of the axis 2. The corrugated projections 22 are coupled in the portions of the hole with corrugations 23, and these are coupled and unified by thermal undulation or ultrasonic corrugation. On the other hand, when the mounting surface of the blade of the shaft portion 2A is twisted in the direction with the axis direction, as shown in figure 13, the mounting surface 2d (shaded portion) of the blade portion 21 of the shaft portion 2 changes continuously with respect to to the direction of the axis of the axis portion 2A.

Then, the blade portion 21 is assembled and unified with the axis portion F by adhesive material or a double layer tape or the like on the surface 2d. In either type, it is preferred that the phase difference of the blade portion 21 in relation to the direction of the axis is approximately 90 °. With reference to Figure 14, the operation of discharging the pigment from the feeder member 2 having the structures already described will be described. By rotating, from 0 to 360 °, the portion of the axis 2A of the feeder member 2 in the direction of the arrow A in (1) of this figure, the entire feeder member 2 rotates sequentially in the order of (1) - > (2) - > (3) - > (4) - > (1) . During the rotation of (1) - > (2), the blade portion 21 flexes and curves as it enters the space formed between the inner bottom surface of the main body IA of the container and the portion of the shaft 2A. The blade portion 21 rotates through (2) - > (3) - > (4) while rubbing the inner bottom surface of the main body IA of the container. At this time, since the phase of the blade portion 21 continuously changes in the direction of the axis of the shaft portion 2A, the degrees of flexure of the blade portion 21 are different between the axial ends of the blade portion. Therefore, the function occurs pigment feeder in the direction of the axis of the axis portion 2A, so that the pigment is fed in the longitudinal direction (lateral direction of the main unit) of the main body IA of the container. Since the blade portion 21 makes contact with the inner bottom surface of the main body IA of the container, the pigment can be effectively fed even when the amount of pigment in the main body 1A of the container decreases, and as a result, the amount of The remaining pigment can be reduced after the end of the pigment discharge from it. In addition, the pigment is fed to the discharge outlet by the elastic return action of the blade portion 21 at the time of (4) to. (1) in Figure 14. In this manner, in addition to the feeding effect of pigment by the flexibility of the blade portion 21 at the time of contact thereof with the inner bottom surface of the main body IA of the container, the elastic return effect of the blade portion 21 further feeds the pigment and, therefore, the pigment is can feed 20 efficiently. As shown in Figs. 14, (5), by providing sufficient length from the axis portion 2A to the free end of the blade portion 21, the TI pigment which formed a cake can be separated by the elasticity of the blade portion 21. Thus, this embodiment is useful with a container of the type wherein the height of the main body 1A is so large that the portion of the pigment-supplying port takes it one position below the main body of the container, so that the latitude is improved by reducing the limit for the configuration, whereby the space is the main unit of the image forming apparatus can be used effectively. The pigment discharge experiments have been carried out using the supply container of pigment 1 of the structure already described, and it has been confirmed that the stable pigment discharge property was achieved (amount of pigment discharge per unit time), and the amount of pigment remaining in the container after the discharge was as small as approximately 10 g. The initial torque required for the rotation of the feeder member 2 was approximately 2 kgf-cm. In the experiments, the blade portion of the feeder member 2 was of a polyester sheet having a thickness of about 188 μ and was mounted to the portion axis 2A of ABS resin material using a double coated tape. The main body IA of the container contained approximately 1500 g of pigment, and the feeder member 2 was rotated at the speed of the rotation sequence of approximately 30 rotations per minute for the pigment discharge.

The rotation speed of the feeder member 2 was changed in the range of 20-50 rotations per minute, and the change of the discharge property was verified, and the amount of pigment discharge per unit time 5 was found to increase with the increase of the rotation speed. Therefore, it was found that the amount of pigment discharge per unit time can be controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the feeder member 2. As a case of pigment forming cake in the main body IA of the container, the main body 1A of the container was tapped after the pigment was filled, and after this the discharge experiments were carried out. More specifically, the container filled with the pigment was fixed on a tapping platform with the same position of the container as in the pigment discharge, and the knocking platform was dropped a thousand times with the height of 100 mm and the frequency of 2 Hz. As a result, the discharge property of the pigment and the rest of the amount of pigment were substantially the same as with the experiments without tapping, so that it was confirmed that the pigment can be effectively discharged while the pigment is in cake or not. The initial torque required for the rotation of the feeder member 2 is slightly greater r (approximately 5 Kgf-cm), but is not so high that the driving force is overloaded. The torque for rotation is maximum when the knife portion 21 enters the pigment that formed cake (1) and (2) in Figure 14). When the feeder member 2 has such a structure that it changes the phase of the knife portion 21 in the axial direction, the synchronization of the knife portion 21 entering the pigment is # different in the direction of the axis, so that the moment torsion of the rotation can be reduced. In this embodiment, the phase of the blade portion 21 changes in the axial direction, and therefore, even if a portion of the blade portion 21 is in the condition shown in Figure 14 (3) the state of (1) ) in figure 14 exists in another position, so that the blade portion 21 is prevented from becoming entangled around the shaft portion 2A. In this way, according to the present invention, the blade portion is prevented from becoming entangled around the axis portion. Figure 16 shows a feeder member 2 according to the second embodiment wherein a screw member 2e is added to the structure of figure 12 adjacent to the portion of the pigment supplying port of the sealing member 2. In another sense, the structures this The modality is the same as the first embodiment, and the pigment discharge experiments were carried out under the same conditions using the pigment supply container 1 of the first embodiment. As a result, the pigment discharge property was better than in the first mode, and the amount of pigment remaining after the end of the pigment discharge was about 10g. As a result of the addition of screw member 2e, the amount variation of # Pigment discharge was 5-10 g / min, which was better than 10-20 g / min. In the first embodiment and the improved stability of the amount of pigment discharge was confirmed. The initial torque required for the rotation of the feeder member 2 was approximately 4 Kgf-cm The rotation speed of the feeder member 2 was changed in the range of 20-50 rotations per minute, and the property change was verified, and it was found that the amount of pigment discharge per unit time increased with the increase of the rotation speed. Therefore, it was found that it is possible to control the amount of discharge of pigment per unit time controlling the rotation speed of the feeder member 2. The amount of pigment discharge per unit time was stable from the initial stage to the final stage of the pigment discharge when the pigment formed Cake before the pigment was discharged by bypass of the container and when 1 cake of the pigment was undone by shaking the supplying container 1 by the user before it was mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus. For example, when the feeder member 2 is rotated at 36 rpm, the amount of pigment discharge was 70-100 / min. Regardless of the previous state of the pigment. When the pigment does not form cake and is loose, the pigment that has high fluidity tends to precipitate or # accelerate towards the exit of the discharge (the port supplier of pigment Ig) and discharges at an unnecessarily high speed (flows violently), but this phenomenon does not occur with the embodiment of figure 16. This is because at least one full turn of the screw member 2e that has the helical configuration is arranged in the supplying portion of cylindrical pigment so that the pigment that runs easily can be adequately stopped by this means. The discharge experiments were carried out for the pigment supply container 1 filled with the pigment after it was hit a thousand times. As a result, the pigment discharge property and the amount of pigment remaining in the container were similar to the case without tapping. The initial torque required for rotation of the feeder member 2 is slightly higher (approximately 8 kgf / cm) but it is not so high that the power source is overloaded. Figure 17 shows a structure wherein a portion of the blade portion 21 of the feeder member 2 shown in Figure 13 is removed to provide a window configuration 21a, according to a third embodiment of the present invention. With the arrangement of the window configuration 21a, the pigment discharge experiments were carried out under the same conditions for the pigment supply container 1 having the same structure as with the first mode except for the window. As a result, the property of pigment discharge, the amount of pigment remaining in the body The main IAA of the container after finishing the loading, were the same as with the first mode. The initial torque required for the rotation of the feeder member 2, when the knocking was not carried out, was approximately 2 kgf-cm which is the same as in the first modality. The initial torque required after the 1000 taps was decreased from about 5 kgf-cm, which is the torque without the window, to about 4 kgf-cm; the initial twisting moment when the pigment became agglomerated decreased through the window.

Figure 18 shows a structure of a feeder member 2 according to a fourth embodiment wherein a screw member 2e shown in figure 16 is added to the feeder member 2 shown in figure 17. The 5 experiments of the pigment discharge they were carried out under the same conditions as with the first embodiment, except for the arrangement of the screw member 2e and the configuration of '/ entana 21a. As a result, the download property of pigment, was better than with the third mode in the stability, and the amount of pigment remaining in the container after the end of the discharge, were equivalent to those of the third mode. The initial torque required without tapping was approximately 4 kgf-cm similar to the second modality. The initial torque required after 1000 taps decreased from about 8 kgf-cm without the window to approximately 6 kgf-cm. In this way, through the provision of blade portion 21 in the shaft portion 2A of the feeder member 2 in which the blade phase continuously changes in relation to the axial direction of the shaft portion 2A, the pigment feed function becomes more effective, and the amount of pigment that remains in the main unit of the container can be reduced. Further, ? by arranging the windows in one or more portions of the blade portion 21, the required torque portion of the rotation can be reduced. In this invention, the cover 15 for the exchange and the hinge portion 18 for this can be provided in the positions shown in Figure 19. With reference to Figures 19 and 20, the structure for opening and closing the supplying port of tones lg * by the movement of the exchange cover provided in the position will be described below. Figure 19 shows the state where the cover 15 is open, and Figure 20 shows the state where the cover 15 is closed. In these figures, the same preference numbers as in Figure 8 are assigned to the elements having the corresponding functions, and detailed descriptions of these will be omitted for simplicity. In FIGS. 19, 20, designated 19, there is a member supporting the pigment-supplying container having a center of rotation which is concentric with the pigment-receiving port 9, and the pigment-supplying container 1 is mounted on the support member of pigment supply vessel 19 with the exchange operation. Designated by 20 is a guide member provided with a clutch slot 20a which is engageable with the clutch projection provided in the main body IA, and is fixed in the main unit 100 of the apparatus. Designated by 25 is a joint for interrelating the cover 15 and the supporting member of the pigment supply container 19 in the connection portions 25a 25b. When the cover 15 is closed, the support member of the pigment-supplying container 19 is rotated to a position as shown in Figure 20 by the link 25. With this structure, when the user closes the cover 15 after assembly of the A new pigment supply vessel 1 on the support member of the pigment-supplying container 19, the support member of the pigment-supplying container 19 is rotated to the position shown in Figure 20 by the joint 25. With the rotation of the supporting member of the pigment supply container 19, the main body IA of the container also rotates so that the clutch projection provided in the main body IA moves through 1C-1C1-1C2 as shown in figure 19. In this case, with the rotation of the main body IA, the sealing member rotates in the clockwise direction and the blocking projection 3e of the obt member moves. uring 3 is locked with the blocking member 6 in a position where the clutch projection reaches 1C1.

After the sealing member 3 locks with the blocking member 6, the cover 15 closes further and the clutch projection enters the clutch slot 20a of the guide member 20 and moves along the wall portion 20b of the slot of clutch 20a in the direction away from the center of rotation of the supporting member of the pigment-supplying container 19. By this, the main body IA of the container moves away from the sealing member locked with the blocking member 6, so that the pigment supplying port lg opens as shown in figure 20. On the other hand, when the user opens the cover 15 in the state shown in Figure 20, after substantially all of the pigment in the pigment-supplying container 1 has been used, the clutch projection of the main body IA moves along the wall portion 20c of the guide member 20. With the movement of the clutch projection, the main body IA moves to the pigment supplying port lg butts contact with the flange portion 3f of the sealing member 3, whereby the pigment supplying port lg is closed . A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

In this embodiment is provided a feeder member and an agitator member that is a member separate from the feeder member. Figure 21 is a perspective view of a pigment supply container 301 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Figure 22, (A), is a front view of the pigment supply container according to this embodiment, and (B) is a sectional view. Figure 22 (C) is a left side view of the pigment-supplying container, (D) is a right side view of the pigment-supplying container, (E) is a is a sectional side view of the pigment-supplying container and (F) is a top view in container plant supplier pigment. Fig. 23 is a sectional front view in which the pigment supply container is loaded in the main unit 100 of the apparatus, and the supplying port is opened. Figure 24 is a sectional front view in which the pigment supply container is loaded in the main unit 100 of the apparatus, and the supplying port is plugged. - In Figures 21-24 designated by 301A is a main unit of the container, and 302 is a feeder member for feeding the pigment housed therein. main body 301A of the container towards the serving port portion of pigment 301a. Designated by 303 is a sealing member for sealing the pigment supplying port, 301g and 304 is a coupling member for transmitting the driving force to the sealing member 303 when the pigment-supplying container is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus . Designated by 305 is an agitator member for stirring the pigment in the main body 1A. Appointed by 306 is a member of the clutch transmission with the member agitator 305 to transmit the rotational force from the image forming apparatus to the agitator member. Designated by 307 is a second coupling member for transmitting the driving force to transmission member 306 when the pigment supply container is mounted to the main unit 100. Designated by 309 is an oil seal to prevent pigment leakage. With reference to FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, the portion of the pigment-supplying container 301A which is a The main unit of the pigment supply container will be described below. Figure 25 is a perspective view of the main unit of the container. Figure 26, (A) is a front view of the main unit of the container, (B) is a sectional view, (C) is a left side view, (D) is a right side view, (E) is a view of a cross section, (F) is a top plan view. The main body IA of the pigment-supplying container includes a curved portion 301F having a decreasing amplitude towards the lower portion, a flat surface portion 301G having a substantially constant amplitude extending from the lower portion of the curved portion, and a arcuate configuration portion 301H extending from the lower portion of the flat surface portion. In a lower portion of a side surface 1A1 of the main body 301A of the container, a cylindrical member defining a portion of the pigment supply body 301a projects and functions to supply the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment ln to the main unit of the device. A pigment supply port 301g is provided at an end portion of the portion of the pigment supply port 301a. In a position corresponding to the portion of the pigment supplying port 301a of the other side surface 301B, a first receiving portion 301b is formed to rotatably support the feeder member 2. Out of 301D, a clutch portion 301D is provided for the coupling is provided with a clutch portion 301c for coupling with the opening and closing means of the pigment supply port provided in the main unit 100 for moving the pigment supply container 301 in the mounting and dismounting direction. In this modality, the clutch portion 301c is in the shape of a pin projecting outward from the bottom surface 301D. The upper surface 301E is provided with a handle 301e to facilitate the assembly of the pigment supply container 391 to the main unit 100 and the separation thereof from the main unit. The lower inclined surface (curved portion) 301F of the front side and the rear side, has provided slots 301f extended substantially parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the container to facilitate handling of the main body IA of the container when the pigment supply container 1 mounts to the main unit 100 of the apparatus. On the first receiving portion 301bl of the other side surface 301B, a second receiving portion 301b2 is provided to rotatably support the stirring member 305. The portion of the pigment supplying port 301a is disposed on a side surface 301A1 opposite from the lateral surface 301B having the handle 301e in the longitudinal direction of the main body 301A. By this arrangement, when the user assembles the pigment supply container 301 to the main unit 100, the user is prevented from inadvertently touching the portion of the pigment supplying port 301a. The portion of the pigment supply port 301a is located in the lower position of the lateral surface 301A1. Therefore, even if the amount of pigment housed in the main body 3OYA becomes small, the pigment can be discharged efficiently. The portion of the pigment supply port is project from the side surface 3OIA about 20 mm-40 mm, preferably about 27.8 mm. The portion of the pigment supply port 301a is cylindrical in shape, and the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion is 20mm-30mm, preferably about 27.6mm. As described so far, a clutch portion 301C is provided on the exterior of the bottom surface 301D. The clutch portion 301C is correctly positioned by a locking portion 51C (FIG. 8) provided in the main unit 100 of the apparatus when the The pigment supply container is mounted to the main unit 100. The clutch portion 301C, as described above, is in the form of a column projection (pin or spike) projecting outwards from the lower surface 301D. The column-shaped portion circular has an outer diameter 8 which is 5 mm - 12 mm, preferably about 8 mm. The positioning portion is disposed in a position 2 mm-6 mm away from the lower surface 301D, and the clutch portion 301C (positioning portion) is disposed in a position 60 mm 5-80 mm, preferably approximately 71 mm away of the opposite lateral end surface 301B on the side of the portion of the pigment supplying port 301a in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface 301B. The lateral surface 301A1 and the other surface side 301B, each is provided with two projections 310k, 3011 for the placement of the main unit of the container when the inspection of the dimension for the main unit of the container is carried out before the container is distributed from a plant. 15 Designated by 301m, a rib is found to prevent incorrect assembly. The user can not perform a wrong assembly of a container by placing the rib 301m in different positions for the containers that supply the pigment. The main body 301A is preferably manufactured by injection molding of resinous material such as plastic resin material, blow molding or blow or injection molding, but other material and / or other manufacturing method is usable. The main body 301a of the container can be divided into two or more portions, which are unified by welding, adhesion or the like. In the embodiment, the upper frame and the lower frame of high impact polystyrene are unified by 5 vibration welding. The feeder member 302, as shown in Fig. 23, includes a shaft portion 302A and a helical rigid feeder blade 302B, in the shaft portion 302A F which functions as a feeder portion for feeding the powder pigment in a predetermined direction by rotating the shaft portion 302A. The feeder member 302 is mounted to the main body 301A of the container with the axis of the shaft portion 302A substantially aligned with the center of the substantially circular pigment supplying port 301g. The feeder member 302 is not limited to the type of screw, as described above, but a flexible blade can be mounted to the shaft portion 302A, for example. The shaft portion and the blade can be molded integrally and can be separate members. In this embodiment, the blade portion 302A and the blade 302B are made of plastic resin material molded in an integrated manner. In the embodiment, the feeder member 302 has an extension portion 302C that extends in the portion cylindrical portion of pigment supplier port 301a. In this embodiment, the spreading portion 302C further extends outwardly from the portion of the pigment supplying port 301a. A free end portion of the outwardly extending portion of the extension portion 302C receives the rotational force from the main unit 100. Thus, in this embodiment, the sealing member 303 is mounted (in the axial direction) in a manner that can be moved in the free end portion. An end portion 302a of the spreading portion 302c has a configuration, such as polygonal, more specifically, a rectangular configuration, for receiving rotational force through the sealing member 303 from the main unit 100. This end portion of the shaft portion 302A is supported on the sealing member. 303 by an end portion 302a of the spreader portion 302C. The other end portion 302b of the shaft portion 302A is provided with a first bearing member or bearing 308. This is supported rotationally (not obturating) to the main body 3OYA by the first bearing member 308. The feeder member 302 is supported on the sealing member 303 so that the feeder blade 302B is out of contact with the surface of the inner wall 301a of the portion of the supplying port. pigment 301a, and this inner wall surface of the portion of the pigment supply port 301a is substantially parallel with the shaft portion 302a. By supporting the feeder member 302 in this manner, the pigment can be fed in the substantially horizontal direction toward the pigment supplying port 301g by rotating the feeder member 302. It is possible for fine pigment particles to enter between the feeder blade 302B and the inner wall surface 301a of the serving port portion of pigment 301a and be cast on the surface of the inner wall 301al by strong rubbing therebetween with the result of producing the pigment particles in bulk. However, this can be avoided by supporting the feeder member 302 in this manner. The feeder member 2 is also preferably manufactured by injection molding or the like of plastic resin material or the like, but another method and / or other material is usable. These can be separate members that connect. With reference to Figure 27, description will be made for a sealing member 303. In Figure 27 (A) is a front view of a sealing member, (B) is a view taken along the line AA, ( C) is a view taken along a line BB, (D) is a front view sectional.

In (A) - (D) of Figure 27, designated by 303b, there is a sealing portion provided on an opposite side of the pigment-supplying container 301 of the sealing member 303 for sealing so that the supplying port of the container can be opened. pigment 301g of the pigment supply container 301. The external diameter of the sealing portion 303 is larger than the inner diameter of the pigment supplying port 301g in a suitable amount. The sealing member 303 hermetically seals the pigment supply port 301g by press fit the clutch portion 303bl of the sealing portion 303b in the portion of the pigment supply port 301a from the pigment supplying port 301g. Designated by 303c is a clutch portion the which functions as a receiving portion of the driving force (impeller) for receiving the driving force to rotate the feeder member 302 from the main unit 100 of the apparatus when the pigment supply container 301 is mounted to the main unit 100. The clutch portion 303c is provided with a projected portion 303cl extended from the sealing portion 303b substantially coaxial with the axis of the axis portion 302A of the feeder member 302 in the opposite direction from the main body 301A of the pigment container (when the sealing member 303 mounts to the main body 301A of the container). The clutch portion 303c is provided on the curved surface of the projected portion 303cl, and is provided with elongated projections (rib) 303d (groove-like), which function as a portion receiving the engaging drive force with the coupling member. 304. In this mode, two of these 3d groove projections are provided at the same distance. More specifically, these are willing to ^^ intervals of approximately 180 °. The rib 303d projects from the external surface of the sealing member by 0.5 mm -3 mm, preferably approximately 1.8 mm. The external diameter of the projected portion 303C1 is 10 mm - 14 mm, preferably approximately 12 mm. The sealing member 303 includes a clutch hole 303a as a drive portion transmitting the driving force received from the main unit 100 to the feeder member 302 by engagement with an end portion 302a of the feeder member 302. The clutch hole 303a is formed as a hole (hole) through the sealing portion 303b and the clutch portion 303c. At this point, the clutch hole 303a has a rectangular portion corresponding to the rectangular configuration of the end 302a of the axis of the feeder member 302 projected from the powder pigment supplying portion 301a. This has a dimension slightly larger than the end 302a of the shaft, so that the end 302a loosely fits into the clutch hole 302a. The feeder member 302 and the sealing member 303 are locked to each other in the direction of rotation by loose fitting between the end 302a and the clutch hole 303a. On the other hand, in the axial direction the relative movement between these. In doing so, the sealing member 303 and the main body 301A of the container are separable from each other so that the pigment supplying port 301g can be opened with the assembly of the pigment-supplying container. The length of the clutch between the clutch hole 303a and the end of the shaft 302a is quite long to prevent disengagement between them when the sealing member 303 and the main body 301A of the container move away from each other. Therefore, even if the sealing member 303 moves away from the main body 3OYA, the feeder member 302 can receive the driving force through the sealing member 303 (clutch portion 303c). Between the clutch portion 303c and the sealing portion 303b, a flange portion 3f is provided which abuts the end of the powder pigment supplying portion 303a when the sealing portion 303b pressures into the portion of the pigment supplying port 301a. The outer diameter of the flange portion is substantially equal to the outer diameter 5 of the portion of the pigment supply port 301a (preferably smaller than the outer diameter of the portion of the pigment supply port 301a). Through the flange portion 303f, the sealing portion 303b enters the pigment supplying port portion 301a through the length of the sealing portion 303b. On the other hand, designated by 303e is a locking projection 303e, formed at a free end of the clutch portion 303c for the locking engagement with the blocking member 6 provided in the main unit 100. of the device. By blocking, the blocking member 6 with the blocking projection 303e, the sealing member 303 can be fixed when the pigment supplying port 301g is opened. The sealing member 303 is preferably manufactured by means of integrated injection molding of plastic resin material or similar resinous material, but other material, manufacturing method and / or non-integrated structure is used. The sealing member 303 is required to have an adequate elasticity to effect the adjustment by pressure in the pigment supply portion 301a to seal it. The material is polypropylene, Nylon, high density polyethylene or similar, but the most preferable material is low density polyethylene. Designated by 303j is a locking slot for receiving a blocking member 6 provided in the main unit 100 of the apparatus. The amplitude of the locking slot 303j is 1.5 mm - 5 mm, preferably about 3 mm. The depth of the locking groove is 0.5 mm-5 mm, preferably about 2.5 mm. As described in the foregoing, the sealing member 303 has a substantially cylindrical clutch portion 303bl engageable with the pigment supply port portion 303a. The flange portion 303f is substantially coaxial with the clutch portion 303bl. It also includes a projected portion 303cl projecting from the flange portion 303f substantially coaxial with the clutch portion 303bl on an opposite side from the side where the clutch portion 303bl is provided. Adjacent to the free end portion of the projected portion 303cl is provided with a locking groove 303c and a free end portion is formed in the locking portion 303e. There is provided a hollow portion extending from the side of the clutch portion 303bl to the side of the locking portion 303e, and in the "hollow portion there is provided a transmitting portion of the driving force 303a. of the hollow portion does not open, and therefore, when the tuck portion 303bl engages the portion of the pigment supply port 303a, the pigment does not leak from the hollow portion outwards. of the pigment supply port 303a is sealed by mounting the sealing member 303. In the same manner for the modes 1 and 2, the sealing member 303 has 4 functions.Most specifically, the functions are: (1) to seal the port portion pigment provider 301a, (2) receive the transmission of rotational force from the main unit 100 of the apparatus, (3) transmit the rotational force towards the feeder member 303 and (4) engage with the clutch member 6 provided in the main unit of the device. From In this manner, the sealing member 303 transmits the driving force received from the main unit 100 of the apparatus to the shaft portion 302A by the extension portion 302C to rotate the feeder member 302. The description will be made for the agitator member. 305. Referring to Figure 28, (A) is a front view of agitator member 305, (B) is a left side view, and (C) is a right side view. As shown in Figure 28, the agitator member 305 includes a shaft portion 305a, a rigid blade portion 305b and a portion of flexible blade 305c. Fig. 29 is an enlarged side view of a rigid blade portion 305, and Fig. 30 is an enlarged view of the flexible blade portion 305c. The shaft portion 305a is made of a plastic resin material with relatively high stiffness and is manufactured by injection molding. The rigid blade portion 305b is made of metal such as stainless steel or a highly rigid material, and the flexible blade portion 305c is of material with little stiffness, such as a film or sheet of plastic resin material or elastomeric sheet. In this modality, it is made of a polyester sheet. An end 305d of the agitator member 305 is engaged with the transmission member 306 described above in the bearing portion 301h of the main body of the pigment-supplying container. At another extreme 305e was embroidered with a retaining member (second bearing member) 310f in the second receiving portion 301b2 of the main body of the pigment-supplying container. The shaft portion 305a in this embodiment is made of plastic resin material with relatively high stiffness and is manufactured by molding by injection, but may be of another material such as metal. The rigid blade portion 305b is preferably molded integrally using metal or the like, another material and / or other manufacturing method is used, or it can be divided into two or more parts, which are unified by welding or adhesion or the like. In this embodiment, a pressed stainless steel plate having a thickness of approximately 0.8 mm is used. The clutch portion of the blade portion 305b, which are engagable with the shaft portion 305a has a configuration that conforms to the shaft portion 305a for receiving the driving force from the shaft portion 305a, and this rotates with the rotational movement of the shaft portion 305a to agitate the pigment in the vessel. It is preferable to provide a removable portion 305h at one end as shown in figure 28 since then the assembly is simple. The full length of rigid blade portion 305b is in the form of a plate substantially parallel in relation to the direction of tangential rotation, and the downstream side of the portion The blade with respect to the direction of rotation bends towards the surface of the inner wall of the pigment-supplying vessel. The length r of the bent portion 305bl shown in Fig. 29 is approximately 2 mm-8 mm, and the flexure angle 6 is preferably about 30 ° - 50 °. More preferably, the length r of the bent portion 305b is about 3mm-5mm, and the flexure angle is preferably about 45 °. In this mode, the length of the portion flexed '305bl is approximately 5 mm, and the flexion angle is approximately 45 °. The distance from the center of the axis of rotation towards the free end of the rigid blade portion is suitably determined depending on the size of the main body of the container, and is preferably about 70-95% of the internal radius of the main body of the container. In this modality, the internal diameter of the main body of the container is approximately 44.5 mm, and therefore, it is approximately 39.4 The flexible blade portion 305c is of material with little rigidity, such as a film or sheet of plastic resin material or elastomeric sheet. The thickness of this is preferably about 50 μ ~ 500 μ and more preferably 100 μ 300 μ. In this modality we used a sheet of polyester having a thickness of about 100 microns. The flexible blade portion 305c is joined such that the free end makes contact with the surface of the inner wall of the main body over the entire length of the flexed portion 305bl of the rigid blade portion 305b. This rotates by scraping the pigment from the inner wall surface of the container with the rigid blade portion. The length, in the radial direction, of the flexible blade portion 305c is preferably longer in approximately 0.5 mm-10 mm than the distance between the surface of the inner wall of the container and the free end of the rigid blade portion 305b since then the effect described above can be improved. In this mode, it is longer by approximately 6 mm. The joint between the rigid blade portion 305b and the flexible blade portion 305c is made by a double layer tape 305i (DIC # 8800CH), as shown in Figure 30, in the bent portion 305b of the rigid blade portion 305b. Another method uses rivets or another is usable Known means or the integrated molding with the rigid blade portion is usable. As shown in Figure 31, the rigid blade portion 305b can be divided with a 180 ° phase difference substantially in the central portion with relation to the direction of the axis, so that the divided parts are staggered. The number of divisions is suitably determined depending on the configuration and length of the main body of the container, and may be 3 or 4 or more. The phase of the rigid blade portion 305b can change over its entire length to provide a spiral-like configuration. The clutch portion between the central portion of the shaft portion and the opposite ends of the rigid blade portion 305b is preferably provided with a releasable portion 305h as shown in the figure since the assembly property is then improved. The length of the bent portion of the rigid blade is approximately 3 mm to reduce the strength of the pigment and decrease the projected area of the rigid blade portion in the direction of rotation. The length and the flexion angle of the bent portion is preferably 2-8 mm and 30-50 °, and more preferably approximately 3-5 mm and approximately 45 °. The rigid blade portion 305b and the flexible blade portion 305c may be corrugated by means of aluminum rivets 4i. In this case, if the position of the rivet hole of the flexible blade portion 305c deviates even slightly, ripple may result and, therefore, it is preferable to provide the perforation or a half cut in a portion of the flexible blade portion 305c which makes contact with the bent portion C of the rigid blade portion 305b. The joining means may be a double-coated tape or other known means. The description will be made of the method of assembling the pigment-supplying container 301. The method of assembling the pigment-supplying container 301, the feeder member 302 is inserted into the lower portion of the lower frame 301K from the top. An oil seal 309 is inserted into the first receiving portion 301bl and, thereafter, a bearing member 308 is engaged with the other end portion 302b of the feeding member 302. The pigment supply port 301g is sealed by the sealing member 303. Then, the agitator member 305 is inserted from the top. An oil seal 309 is inserted into the main body of the container and thereafter, the second bearing member 310 and the transmission member 306 are engaged at opposite ends of the agitator member 305. Then, the upper frame 301J is welded to the frame. lower 301K by vibration welding, and a predetermined amount of the pigment is supplied to the main body 301A of the container through the filling port 301i of the main body of the pigment-supplying container 301, and the filling port 301i is sealed by the sealing member 311, to complete the assembly. In this way, the assembly of the pigment supply container 301 is very simple, and the number of steps of the assembly is very small. The pigment filling can be done through the pigment supplying port 301g. In this embodiment, the exchange steps of the pigment supply container 301 are the same as with the first and second modes. When the portion of the pigment-supplying port 301a is opened through the opening and closing means of the pigment-supplying portion, the main body 301A of the container receives forces in the pigment-supplying port portion 301a and the clutch portion 301c. At this time, as already described, the clutch portion 301c is disposed on an opposite side from the side having a portion of the pigment supplying port 301a in the longitudinal direction to the bottom surface of the main body 301A of the container, is prevented that the main body 301A is raised relative to the main unit 100. Even if the main body 301A is raised, the movement of the main body 301A beyond a predetermined distance is limited by contact with the top surface 301E to the portion of the upper surface 100 (FIG. 32) of the main unit 100 of the apparatus. The clutch projection 301c and the pigment supplying port 301g of the pigment supply container 301 are preferably arranged in a line in the sliding direction of the container. If so, the moment production in any direction in Figure 32 can be avoided in relation to the direction of the slip in the pigment-supplying container 301. Even if moment occurs in either direction, the movement of the main body 301A beyond from a predetermined distance can be prevented by the butt contact of the rib 301j as a side retainer portion provided at 301B towards the portion of the sidewall lOOe provided in the main unit 100. The height of the clutch projection 301c of the container Pigment provider 301 is such that the overlap x between the clutch projection 301c and the container carrying member 51 (Figure 32) is larger than the distance Y between the upper portion 301E of the 9'9 container and the upper surface lOOd of the main unit of the apparatus (figure 32) to prevent disengagement 10 upwards from the pigment supply container 301 during movement slider The horizontal ribs 301j of the pigment-supplying container 301 in Fig. 32 are preferably provided in the upper part of the pigment-supplying container 301 to prevent the formation of lumps, and in this mode, they are arranged in an upper portion (above). that the central height) of the pigment supply vessel 1 with a suitable distance from the side wall portion lOOe. The description will be made for a drive mechanism for the pigment supply container 301 in this embodiment. When the pigment supply container 301 is to be assembled, the clutch portion 303c of the sealing member 303 is brought into engagement with the first coupling member 304 of the main unit of the apparatus, as shown in Figure 23. The first coupling member 304 functions to transmit the driving force of a driving device (not shown) provided in the main unit 100 to the sealing member 303. Figure 33 shows details of the first coupling member 304. Designated by 512 find a gear member that has an approximately meshing in the external surface 512a. The engaging member 512 is constituted by 2 members, namely the engaging portion 512A and the cap portion 512B, which are securely fixed by snap fit, adhesion or the like. The interior of the meshing member 512 is provided with means of push 514 and a movable member 513. The pushing means 514 splices with the portion 512b of the meshing member 512 and the portion 513b of the movable member 513. Figure 34 is a detailed illustration of the meshing portion 512, wherein (A) it's a front view Sectional 20 and (B) and (C) are side views. Figure 35 is a detailed illustration of the movable member 513, wherein (A) is a sectional front view, and (B) and (C) are side views, and (D) is a front view. In Figure 34, the gear portion 512A is provided with 4 sliding ribs 512Al arranged in the circumference. In Figure 35, the movable member 513 has 4 portions of sliding guide holes 513c arranged in circumference, and engages with the sliding guide ribs 512A1 of the engaging portion 512A1, whereby the movable member 513 is slidable in the engaging member 512 Designated by 513a is a pulse transmitting portion of the movable member 513 the pulse transmitting portion 513a engages an elongated projection 303d of the sealing member 303 to transmit the rotational force of the sealing member when the pigment supplying container 1 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus. In Figure 33, designated by 517, 515 are the bearing members for the rotary support of the engaging member 512, and 516 is an oil seal. The oil seal 516 prevents the pigment discharged through the pigment supplying port 301g from entering the bearing members 515, 517 resulting in the locking of the meshing member 512. Designated by 519 is a joint member of the gear, and when the pigment-supplying container 301 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus, it makes pressure contact with the portion 303h (figure 27) of the sealing member 303 to prevent the pigment discharged through the pigment-supplying port 301g from gear member 512. Designated by 511, 510 are the plates of the drive side for supporting the first coupling member 304. Designated by 518 is a bearing bracket that functions to support the bearing 515 and the oil seal 516 and the , which is securely fixed to the driving side plate 511 by screws or adhesion. Designated by 520 is a joint member of the support B which prevents the pigment from leaking between the bearing support and the support 5 as shown in figure 27. The joint member of the gear 519 and the joint member of the support 518 are fixed the engagement member 512 and the bearing support 518, respectively, by a double-layered tape or the like, and the material thereof is elastic material such as urethane foam. The description of an operation of the first coupling member 304 will be made. The mobile member 513 of the coupling member is retractable in a direction A in FIG. 33 due to the structure described in the foregoing. Normally, this is pushed to a position, which is shown in Figure 33 by the pushing means 514. When the pigment supply container 301 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus, the sealing member 303 enters the coupling member, as shown in Figure 23. If the phases of the projections 303d of the sealing member 303 and the pulse transmitting portions 513a of the movable member 513 are made to coincide, in the meshing member 512 and the movable member 513 are rotated by a drive mechanism of the main unit not shown, so that the sealing member 303 is rotated through the transmitting portion 5 of the pulse 513a. When the phases do not coincide, the mobile member 513 is pushed in the direction A in figure 32 by the projection 303d of the sealing member jJp 3. When the member engages 512 and the mobile member 513 are rotated by the impeller of the main unit with In this state, the movable member 513 rotates until the coupling phase between the projection 303d of the sealing member 303 and the pulse transmitting portion 513a the sealing member 513 is reached. When the phases are matched, the sealing member 513 is slide through the middle of push 514 to the position shown in Figure 33 where the pulse transmitting portion 513a and the elongated projection 303d of the sealing member 303 engage to transmit the pulse to the sealing member 303. Figure 36 shows the details of the second 20 coupling member 307. Designated by 521 is a pulse transmitter claw. In Figure 37, (A) is a sectional front view of the transmitter claw of pulse 521, (B) is a side view, (C) is a front view and (D) is a Figure of the top surface. In the Figure 37, designated by 521a is one. claw portion 521b is a slide guide portion, 521c is a parallel spline slot portion, and 521d is a spring receiving surface. Figure 38 is a detailed illustration of the transmitter member 306 shown in Figure 26, where (A) is a sectional front view, (B) and (C) are side views and (D) is a front view. In Figure 38, designated by 307a, there is a transmission claw portion. In Figure 36, designated by 522, there is an impeller shaft which is rotatably supported on the drive side plates 510 and 511 by the bearings 525, 526, and is provided with a unidirectional gear 527 which is provided with an integrated address 527a which transmits only rotation in one direction of rotation. The impulse transmission leg or claw 521 is slidable by engagement between the sliding guide portion 521b and the drive shaft 522, and by engagement with the portion of the parallel spline groove, the rotation of the drive shaft 522 is transmitted to the claw of impulse transmission 521. Designated by 524 is the thrust means which is connected to the spring seat 528 and the receiving surface of the spring 521d of the impulse transmission claw 521. The description will be made for an operation of the second actuator member. coupling 307. The impulse transmission claw of the second coupling member 307 is movable in the direction A in Figure 39 due to the structure described in the foregoing, and is normally pushed to a position as shown in Figure 36 by the 5 Push means 524. When the pigment supply container 301 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus, the transmitting means 306 enters the second or coupling means 307. When the phase relationship in these portions of the transmitting claw 307a of the member transmitter 307 are in abutting contact with the jaw portions 521a of the impulse transmission jaw 521, the jaw portions 521a of the impulse transmission jaw 521 are rotated by the portions of the transmission jaw 307a of the member Extender 307. At this time, the drive shaft 522 rotates with f9. the rotation of the transmission member 306, but this rotates without benefit due to the unidirectional clutch portion 527a of the unidirectional gear 527, and therefore, when the pigment supply container 301 is mounted to the unit of the apparatus, the impulse transmission claw 521 and the transmitting member 306 do not interfere. In the pigment supply container in the state as shown in Figure 23, for which it moves from the position shown in Figure 23, the The impulse transmission claw 521 is moved by the thrust means 524 with the retraction of the transmitter member 306 to the left, so that the clutch is maintained between the transmission claw portion 306a of the transmitter member 306 and the claw portion 521a of the Transmission clamp of the 5 pulse 521. In this way, the transmitting member 3,067 receives the rotational driving force by the unidirectional gear 527, the drive shaft 522 and the impulse drive claw 521 from the driving means of the main unit, which is not shown, so that the stirring member 305 is rotated. The description of the pigment discharge will be made. When the pigment supply container 301 is mounted to the main unit 100 of the apparatus, the portion of blocking 303e at the end of the sealing member 303 is blocked with the blocking member 51C of the image forming apparatus, and is supported in a position remote from the pigment supplying port 301g of the main body 301A of the container. At this moment the relationship of clutch, in the direction of rotation, between the feeder member 302 and the sealing member 303. The sealing member 303 engages a first coupling member 304 of the main unit of the apparatus by the clutch portion (receiving portion of the driving force) 303C. The first coupling member 304 receives rotation through the pulse transmitting means (not shown) such as a gear or the like from the power source (not shown) such as a motor or the like of the main unit of the apparatus , and is transmitted to the sealing member 303 by engagement with the groove-like projections 303d. In addition, it is transmitted to the feeder member 302 by engagement with the free end 302a of the feeder member 302 toward the non-circular or square orifice 303a. In the same way, the transmitting member 306 coupled with the end 304d of the agitator member 30.4. it engages a second coupling member 307 of the main unit of the apparatus. The second coupling member 307 of the main unit of the apparatus receives the rotation force by means of the pulse transmitting means (not shown) as can be a gear from the power source (not shown) as can be a motor of the main unit of the apparatus, and is transmitted to the agitator member 304 through the coupling with the clutch claw 306a. The frequencies of rotation of the feeder member 302 and the agitator member 304 are approximately 52 rotations / min. And approximately 10 rotations / min. In this modality. When the agitator member 304 rotates, the pigment that has formed cake by removing air due to the lack of long-term use or due to vibration during transportation, it is separated and fed to the portion of the pigment supplying port 301a by rotation of the feeder member 302 and discharged and falls through the pigment supplying port lg to be sent 5 to pigment hopper 201a. The discharge experiments were carried out using the vessels of the structures. The main flfer body of the container was filled with pigment, and the pigment was discharged by the agitator member which turned to a speed of approximately 10 rotations / min, and by the feeder member that rotated at a speed of approximately 52 rotations / min. The sieve (holes of 75 μ and elaborated of SUS) was used to verify the existence of larger particles, and it was confirmed that they did not exist large particles. The amount of pigment remaining in the container was 20 g, and therefore, the reducing effect of the remaining amount of the pigment was also confirmed. In this embodiment, the sealing member 303 is movable in the axial direction in relation to the member feeder 302, but the sealing member and feeder member may be integrated. In Figure 39, the sealing member 320 includes the sealing portion 320a, the receiving portion of the driving force 320b and the sealing member 320. The sealing member 320 is movable in the direction A in Figure 39.

The driving portion (transmitting portion of the driving force) 303a of the sealing member 303 may be provided with a gasket. In Figure 40, (A) is a front view of the sealing member having the joint, (B) is a side view of this, and (C) is a cross-sectional view of the latter. Designated by 330 is a gasket in the shape of a disk, and has a polygonal hole 330a corresponding to the configuration of the end 302a of the shaft of the agitator member 302. In this embodiment, the configuration of the cross-section of the hole 330a is a frame regular which is the same as the end of the axis 302a. The gasket 330 is provided on one side of the sealing member 303 opposite the main body of the container, and the shaft end 302a of the agitating member 302 penetrates the hole 330a and the shaft fits loosely in the hole 330a. Figure 41 is a front view of a gasket 330 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Designated by 331 is a double layer tape, and is provided on one side of the seal 330 which is opposite the sealing member 303. The double layer tape 331 has a hole 331a and when the end of the shaft 302a fits in the hole 303a, the shaft also penetrates the hole 331a, too. The configuration of the cross-section of the hole 331a is larger than the hole 330a, because the double-layered tape 331 does not contact the end of the shaft 302a. In this embodiment, the sealing member 303 and the gasket 330 are fixed to each other with the double layer tape, but another method of fastening is usable, for example, the sealing member can be formed integrally by two molded parts of the same. color, insert molding or similar. Figure 42 is an enlarged side view of the feeder member 302 and the sealing member 303 according to one embodiment of the present #invention. The diameter (W2) of the hole 330a is smaller that the diameter of the axis (Wx = 6 mm) of the end of the shaft 302a, and more specifically, is preferably this difference (d) between Wx and 2 is 0.5 mm - 2 mm. In this mode, 2 = 5mm, d = Wi - 2 = 1mm. The thickness of the gasket 330 is preferably 0.5 mm - 5 mm from the point of view of the property of seal and the assembly property. In addition, preferably, it is 1 mm - 3 mm. In this embodiment, the thickness of the gasket 330 is approximately 2 mm. The gasket material 330 is preferably a soft elastic member from the point of view of proper sealing or assembly Suitable, and in this modality, the use of makes with low polyurethane foam that has a hardness of 20 - 70 °, a compression deformation not greater than 4%, a coefficient of friction μ = 0.8 or less, a size of cell of 60 - 300 μ, a specific gravity of 0.2 - 0.5.

The pigment is filled into the container of these structures, and the stirring member is rotated at 25 rotations / min. To effect the discharge of the pigment and, after this, the sealing member opens and closes continuously, and as a result, it was confirmed that the pigment did not enter the back of the hole 303a with good sealing property. '9fr Similar experiments were carried out using the containers with the rubber gaskets of Silicon [sic] or urethane, thermoplastic elastomer and sponge made of polystyrene, polyolefin, polyurethane, polyester or polyamide, as a result the same results were confirmed as with the polyurethane foam. Although the invention has been described by reference to the structures described herein, it is not confined to the details set forth and this application is intended to cover these modifications or changes as they may come within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A pigment supply vessel removably mounted to a main unit 5 of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which consists of: (a) a pigment housing portion for housing the pigment; (b) a pigment supply hole for discharging the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment; (c) a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the pigment housing portion to the pigment supplying orifice; 15 (d) a sealing member that includes; jg an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supply orifice; a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member has a receiving portion of the driving force to receive the driving force from a main unit of the apparatus when it is removably mounted to the unit. main The apparatus, wherein the pigment feeder member is rotated by the motive force received by the receiving portion of the driving force.

The container, according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member has a clutch engaging portion with the main unit of the apparatus for receiving the force to separate the obturator from the sealing hole provided by the sealing portion W9 when it is mounted, so that it can be detached, to the main unit of the apparatus.

4. The container according to claim 3, wherein the sealing member has the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force and the clutch portion on an outer portion thereof, in this order, from a longitudinal end. towards the other extreme 15 longitudinal, and wherein the sealing member has a hollow portion extending in a direction from a longitudinal end towards the other longitudinal end.

5. The container, according to claim 4, wherein the sealing member furthermore 20 includes a gasket to prevent the pigment from being introduced to the driving portion at one end thereof.

The container according to claim 3, wherein the sealing member having the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force, the driving portion and the clutch portion is made of resin material and is molded in an integrated manner .

The container, according to claim 4, wherein the hollow portion has a polygonal shape cut.

The container, according to claim 2, wherein the receiving portion of the driving force is in the form of a rib provided on an external surface of the sealing member.

The container, according to claim 8, wherein two ribs are provided at 180 ° intervals.

The container, according to claim 8, wherein the rib has a height of 0.5 mm - 3 mm from an outer surface of the sealing member.

The container, according to claim 1, wherein, when the pigment supply container is removably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus, it supplies the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment. , in the main unit of the apparatus, through the pigment supplying orifice through the pigment feeder member, according to the consumption of pigment in the main unit of the apparatus.

12. A pigment supply container removably attachable to the main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which consists of: (a) a pigment housing portion for housing the pigment; (b) a pigment supplying hole for freeing the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment; (C) a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying orifice; (d) a sealing member that includes; an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice; f a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member; wherein, the sealing member has a receiving portion of the driving force to receive the driving force 20 from a main unit of the apparatus when it is releasably installed to the main unit of the apparatus, wherein the pigment feeding member is rotated. by the motive force received by the receiving portion of the motive force; wherein, the sealing member has a clutch portion, engageable with the main unit of the apparatus, to receive the force to separate the shutter from the pigment supplying hole sealed by the sealing portion 5 when it is removably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus; and wherein the sealing member has a sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force and the clutch portion at an exterior thereof, in this order, from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end, and wherein the member The obturator has a hollow portion extending in a direction from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end.

13. The container according to claim 12, wherein the sealing member further includes a seal to prevent the pigment from being introduced to the driving portion at one end thereof.

14. The container according to claim 13, wherein the sealing member having the The sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force, the driving portion and the clutch portion is made of resin material and is molded in an integrated manner.

15. The container, according to claim 12, wherein the hollow portion has a cut 25 transversal polygonal shape.

16. The container according to claim 12, wherein the receiving portion of the driving force is in the form of a rib provided on an external surface of the sealing member.

17. The container according to claim 16, wherein two of these ribs are provided at 180 ° intervals.

18. The container, according to the % claim 16, wherein the rib has a height of 10 0.5 mm -3 mm from an external surface of the sealing member.

19. The container, according to claim 12, wherein, when the pigment supply container is detachably mounted to the unit. The main unit of the apparatus, this supplies the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment in the main unit of the apparatus, through the hole supplying pigment, through the pigment feeder member, according to the consumption of the pigment in the main unit of the device.

20. A pigment supply container removably attachable to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which consists of: (a) a pigment housing portion for 25 housing the pigment; (b) a pigment supply hole for discharging the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment; (c) a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the pigment housing portion to the pigment supplying orifice; (d) an obturating member including: an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice; 10 a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member; wherein, the sealing member has a portion receiving the driving force, to receive the driving force from a main unit of the apparatus when it is installed 15 removably to the main unit of the apparatus, wherein the pigment feeder member is rotated by the driving force received by the receiving portion of the driving force, wherein the receiving portion of the driving force is in the form of a rib provided in a 20 outer surface of the sealing member; wherein, the sealing member has a clutch portion, engageable with the main unit of the apparatus, to receive the force not to seal the pigment supplying hole by the sealing portion when it is removably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus; and wherein the sealing member further includes a gasket, provided at one end, to prevent the pigment from being introduced to the driving portion at one end thereof.; wherein the sealing member has the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force and the clutch portion at an exterior thereof, in this order, from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end and wherein the sealing member has a portion thereof. hollow that is < = > it extends in a direction from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end, wherein the hollow portion has a cross section of a polygonal shape, and wherein the sealing member having the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force, the portion impeller and the clutch portion is made of resin material and is molded in an integrated manner; and wherein the pigment supply container is removably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus, it supplies the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment in the main unit of the apparatus through the pigment supplying orifice by the pigment feeder member. , according to the consumption of pigment in the main unit of the appliance.

21. The container, according to claim 20, wherein two of these ribs are provided at 180 ° intervals.

22. The container, according to claim 5, wherein the rib has a height of

0. 5 mm -3 mm from an external surface of the sealing member. ? r >

23. A sealing member usable with a pigment supply container, which can be assembled from 10 removable way, to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and including a housing portion of the pigment for housing the pigment, a pigment supply hole for discharging the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment and 15 a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying orifice, the sealing member consists of: (a) a sealing portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the orifice pigment supplier; and (b) a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member.

24. The sealing member, according to claim 23, wherein the sealing member has a The receiving portion of the driving force for receiving the driving force from a main unit of the apparatus when the latter is detachably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus, wherein the pigment feeder member is rotated by the driving force received by the serving portion. 5 receptor of the driving force.

25. The sealing member, according to claim 23, wherein the sealing member has a ? F clutch portion, engagable with the main unit of the apparatus, to receive the force to separate the obturator from the The pigment supplying port is sealed by the sealing portion when it is removably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus.

26. The sealing member, according to claim 25, wherein the sealing member has a The sealing portion, a receiving portion of the driving force and a clutch portion on an exterior thereof, in this order, from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end, and wherein the sealing member has a hollow portion extending in an address from a 20 longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end.

27. The sealing member according to claim 26, wherein the sealing member further includes a seal to prevent the pigment from being introduced to the driving portion at one end thereof.

28. The sealing member according to claim 25, wherein the sealing member, having the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force, the driving portion and the clutch portion, is 5 resin material and is molded in an integrated manner.

29. The sealing member, according to claim 26, wherein the hollow portion has a transverse cut tjf of polygonal shape.

30. The sealing member according to claim 24, wherein the receiving portion of the driving force is in the form of a rib provided on an outer surface of the sealing member.

31. The sealing member, according to claim 30, wherein two of these ribs are 15 provided in 180 ° intervals.

32. The sealing member according to claim 30, wherein the rib has a height of 0.5 mm -3 mm from an outer surface of the sealing member.

33. A sealing member usable with a pigment supply container, which can be detachably mounted to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and which includes: a housing portion of the pigment for receiving the pigment, 25 a pigment supply hole for discharging the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment and a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying orifice, the sealing member 5 consists of: (a) an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the hole providing pigment; Y ? (b) a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member; 10 (c) a receiving portion of the driving force for receiving the driving force from a main unit of the apparatus when it is removably mounted in the main unit of the apparatus, wherein the pigment feeder member is rotated by the driving force received by 15 the receiving portion of the driving force; and J (d) a clutch portion, engageable with the main unit of the apparatus, to receive the force to separate the obturator from the pigment-supplying hole sealed by the sealing portion when it is assembled, 20 removable way, to the main unit of the apparatus; wherein the sealing member has the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force and the clutch portion at an exterior thereof, in this order, from one longitudinal end to the other end 25 longitudinal, and wherein the sealing member has a hollow portion extending in a direction from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end.

34. The sealing member, according to claim 33, wherein the sealing member furthermore 5 includes a gasket to prevent the pigment from being introduced to the driving portion at one end thereof.

35. The sealing member, according to m 'af claim 34, wherein the sealing member having the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force, the driving portion and the clutch portion is made of resin material and It is molded in an integrated way.

36. The sealing member, according to claim 33, wherein the hollow portion has a polygonal cross-section.

37. The sealing member, according to claim 33, wherein the receiving portion of the driving force is in the form of a rib provided on an outer surface of the sealing member.

38. The sealing member in accordance with claim 37, wherein two of these ribs are provided in 180 ° intervals.

39. The sealing member, according to claim 37, wherein the rib has a height of 0.5 mm -3 mm from an external surface of the limb. 25 obturante.

40. An obturator member usable with a pigment supply container removably mountable to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and including a The pigment housing portion for receiving the pigment, a pigment supplying hole for discharging the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment, and a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment t3 ^ housed in the housing portion of the pigment towards the pigment. he The pigment supplying orifice, the sealing member consists of: (a) an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice; and (b) a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member 15; (c) a receiving portion of driving force for receiving the driving force from a main unit of the apparatus when it is removably mounted in the main unit of the apparatus, wherein the feeding member The pigment is rotated by the driving force received by the driving force receiving portion, wherein the driving force receiving portion is in the form of a rib provided on an outer surface of the sealing member; (d) a clutch portion, engageable with the main unit of the apparatus, to receive the force to separate the obturator from the pigment-supplying hole sealed by the sealing portion when it is assembled, 5 removable way, to the main unit of the apparatus; and (E) a gasket, provided at one end, to prevent the pigment from being introduced to the driving portion at one end ÍW of this one; where the sealing member has the portion 10, the receiving portion of the driving force and the clutch portion at an exterior thereof, in this order, from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end, and wherein the sealing member has a hollow portion extending in a address from a 15 longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end, in Wfr wherein the hollow portion has a square cross section and wherein the sealing member having the sealing portion, the receiving portion of the driving force, the driving portion and the clutch portion, is of 20 resin and is molded in an integrated manner; and [sic].

41. The sealing member, according to claim 40, wherein two of these ribs are provided in 180 ° intervals.

42. The sealing member, according to claim 40, wherein the rib has a height of

0. 5 mm -3 mm from an external surface of the sealing member.

43. An obturator member usable with a pigment-supplying container removably mountable in a main unit of an electrophotographic image-forming apparatus, and including a housing portion of the pigment for receiving the pigment, 10 a pigment supplying orifice for discharging the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment, the sealing member consists of: (a) a sealing portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice; 15 (b) a receiving portion of the driving force for receiving the driving force for the main unit of the apparatus when the pigment supply container is removably mounted in the main unit of the apparatus, (c) a pigment feeder portion for 20 feeding the pigment lodged in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying orifice by means of the driving force received from the main unit of the apparatus.

44. A pigment supply container 25 removably attachable to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which consists of: (a) a pigment housing portion for receiving pigment; 5 (b) a pigment supplying hole for discharging pigment housed in the pigment housing portion; w? (c) a sealing member that includes; an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice; a receiving portion of driving force for receiving driving force for the main unit of the apparatus when the pigment supply container is removably mounted in the main unit of the apparatus; 15 a pigment feeder portion for feeding gf the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying orifice by the driving force received from the main unit of the apparatus.

45. A pigment supply vessel 20 removably mountable to a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, which consists of: (a) a housing portion of the pigment to receive pigment; (b) a pigment supply hole for discharging pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment; (c) a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the housing portion of the pigment to the pigment supplying orifice; (d) a driving member including: a driving force receiving portion for receiving the driving force to rotate the pigment feeding member from the main unit of the apparatus; a driving portion for rotating the feeder member by the motive force received from the main unit of the apparatus by the receiving portion of the driving force; and 15 a clutch portion, engageable with unit jj. main of the apparatus to the position of the driving member in relation to the main unit of the apparatus in a longitudinal direction in the pigment-supplying vessel when the pigment-supplying vessel is mounted to the unit 20 main device.

46. A sealing member usable with a pigment-supplying container removably mountable in a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, comprising: a sealing portion for sealing, so as to be able to open, a pigment supply orifice of the pigment supply vessel.

47. A pigment-supplying container 5 removably mountable in a main unit of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, consisting of: (a) a pigment-supplying orifice; (b) an obturating member that includes: a sealing portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice.

48. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image in a recording material, consisting of: (a) the mounting means for removably mounting a pigment-supplying container, the pigment-supplying container includes: a portion of pigment housing for receiving pigment; 20 a pigment supplying orifice for discharging the pigment housed in the pigment housing portion; a pigment feeder member for feeding the pigment housed in the pigment housing portion to the pigment supplying orifice; 25 a sealing member that includes; an obturating portion for sealing, so that it can be opened, the pigment supplying orifice; a driving portion for driving the pigment feeder member; The apparatus further comprises: (b) a driving portion on the side of the main unit for supplying the driving force to a receiving portion of the driving force of the sealing member when the pigment-supplying container is removably mounted to the main unit of the apparatus through the mounting means.