GPI EXHIBIT 1003
`GENERAL PLASTIC v. CANON
`IPR2016-
`
`1
`
`01361
`
`

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`US 7,647,012 B2
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,177,540 A
`5,235,389 A
`5,268,722 A
`5,296,900 A
`5,351,728 A
`5,513,679 A
`5,515,143 A
`5,528,349 A
`5,579,101 A
`
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`,
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`7733:’???
`;r{aku‘:;a
`"""""""" " 399/120
`7’
`5
`mm 3 e 3 '
`7,376,369 B2 *
`5/2008 Yamada et al.
`............ .. 399/106
`7382997 B2 :
`6/2008 Yamada et 31' """""" ” 399/106
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`............ .. 399/262
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`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`GB
`JP
`JP
`JP
`
`0 897138 A1
`0 905 577 A2
`1006 415 A1
`1041454 A1
`2 287100 A
`63-135359
`1-29745
`3-256058
`
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`9/1995
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`9/1989
`11/1991
`
`JP
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`Jp
`
`JP
`JP
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`
`4-112474
`
`5-75768
`5_75768
`8 211719
`'
`9422785
`9-274366
`10-48935
`10-63076
`10-53034
`10_58075
`
`11_73000
`11 73001
`'
`1143002
`11-102109
`2002-42384
`2002-318490
`
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`3/1993
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`‘ngapm PP 1°?‘ 1°,“
`°'
`'
`'
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`of Singapore, dated J111i_l.h2E, 20091, for Singapore I1’1atent Appl:lCatl(-)n
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`or2v:a:0s023ustrianSdel:1rcthR1:port_an PWrit-
`ten pinion, o
`te
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`,
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`y e ustrian atent
`and Trademark 0_flJ°‘_°~~
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`of Singapore, dated Apr. 26, 2007, for Singapore Patent Appl1cat1on
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`erty Office of Singapore, dated Apr. 17, 2008, for Singapore Patent
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`the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
`Australian Patent Office Examiner’s First Report, for Australian
`Patent Application No. 2005201134, dated Sep. 18,2006.
`Letter from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, dated Apr.
`18, 2006, for Singapore Patent Application No. 200201079-1, which
`forwards Austrian Patent Office Supplementary Search Report, date
`Mar. 9. 2006.
`Invitation to Respond to Written Opinion from the Intellectual Prop-
`.
`.
`erty Office of Singapore, dated Apr. 17, 2007, for Singapore Patent
`.
`.
`.
`.
`Application No. 200407942-2, which forwards Australian Search
`-
`-
`-
`Report and Written Opinion, both dated Mar. 15, 2007 prepared by
`the Intellectual Pro erty Office of Sin a Ore
`,
`,
`P ,
`,
`g P
`,'
`Third-Party Observation filed in corresponding Japanese Laid-Open
`Publication No. 2002-318490, laid open Oct. 31, 2002 (Application
`N°~ 2°_°2'42384)~
`Canad}an Patent Office Search Report, dated Feb 20, 2004, for
`Canad1anAPP11°at10n N9 21372419.
`Search and Examination Report from the Intellectual Property Office
`of Singapore, dated Jan. 31, 2004, for Singapore Patent Application
`No. 200201079-1, which forwards Austrian Patent Office Search and
`Written Opinion, both dated Dec. 22, 2003 prepared by the Austrian
`Patent Office.
`Notification of the First Office Action from the State Intellectual
`Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, dated Jul. 13,
`2007, for Chinese Application No. 2005100702734.
`Notification of the First Office Action from the State Intellectual
`Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, dated Jul. 13,
`2007, for Chinese Application No. 2005100702749.
`
`2
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`US 7,647,012 B2
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`Notification of the First Oflice Action from the State Intellectual
`Property Oflice of the People’s Republic of China, dated Jul. 13,
`2007, f0T ChiI1e5eAPP1i°300n N0~ 2005100702753
`Japanese Oflice Action, dated Mar. 17, 2007, issued in Japanese
`Application No. 2006-211509 (English excerpt translatiion pro-
`Vided).
`
`European Search Report, dated Jan. 18, 2006, issued in European
`Application No. 02 003 6513-2209.
`European Search Report, dated Sep. 3, 2007, issued in European
`Application No, 02 003 651.3-2209.
`
`* cited by examiner
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`1
`SEALING MEMBER, TONER
`ACCOMMODATING CONTAINER AND
`IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
`
`This application is a divisional application of application
`Ser. No. 11/200,179, filedAug. 10, 2005, whichis a divisional
`application of application Ser. No. 10/429,741, filed May 6,
`2003, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,301 on Jan. 24,
`2006, which is a continuation-in-part application of applica-
`tion Ser. No. 10/076,430 filed Feb. 19, 2002, which issued as
`U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,789 on Apr. 12, 2005.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED
`ART
`
`The present invention relates to a toner accommodating
`container, a sealing member therefor and an image forming
`apparatus, suitably usable with an image forming apparatus
`such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine.
`In a conventional electrophotographic image forming
`apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or
`a printer, fine particles toner is used as a developer. When the
`toner in the main assembly of the electrophotographic image
`forming apparatus is used up, the toner is supplied into the
`main assembly of the image forming apparatus using a toner
`accommodating container (toner supply container).
`Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is
`an apparatus which forms images on a recording material
`through an electrophotographic image formation type pro-
`cess. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus
`includes a, an electrophotographic copying machine, an elec-
`trophotographic printer (laser beam printer, LED printer, for
`example), a facsimile machine, word processor or the like.
`Since the toner is very fine powder, it is known to place,
`upon toner supplying operation, a toner supply container
`inside the main assembly ofthe image forming apparatus and
`to gradually supply the toner through a small opening to avoid
`scattering of the toner.
`Any one of the above-described toner supply containers
`receives a driving force from the main assembly of an image
`forming apparatus to drive the feeding member in the toner
`supply container or the main body itselfto discharge the toner.
`As for such a drive transmitting means, there are some meth-
`ods. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Appli-
`cation Hei 05-75768 discloses that gearportion is provided on
`an outer surface of the toner bottle (toner supply container),
`and the gear is engaged with a driving gear, by which the toner
`bottle is rotated.
`
`Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Hei 10-63084 dis-
`closes that an end surface of the toner bottle is provided with
`a projection, which is engaged with a recess formed in a
`driving portion of the main assembly of the image forming
`apparatus, thus transmitting the driving force.
`Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Hei 10-63076 dis-
`closes another type. A rotating force transmitting portion of a
`main assembly of an image forming apparatus has an inner
`diameter which is provided with a plurality of engaging
`grooves, and the toner container is provided with projections
`engageable with the engaging grooves. The rotational driving
`force is transmitted through the engagement therebetween.
`As described, various drive transmission methods are pro-
`posed for driving the toner supply container.
`However, the conventional structures involve some prob-
`lems.
`
`In the case of Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Applica-
`tion Hei 05-75768, when the toner bottle is inserted into the
`main assembly ofthe image forming apparatus, it is necessary
`
`2
`
`to make the gear portion on the outer surface of the toner
`bottle properly engage with the driving gear portion in the
`main assembly of an image forming apparatus. This requires
`the user to be careful for the proper engagement. In addition,
`since the toner bottle is rotated through the meshing engage-
`ment between gears, the toner bottle receives forces tending
`to deviate the bottle in a direction perpendicular to the axis.
`Therefore, there is a possibility that toner bottle is raised or is
`laterally deviated with a result of improper rotation. In order
`to avoid such a deviation, it is required that the entire outer
`circumference of the toner bottle be enclosed. This imposes
`difficulty in the toner bottle mounting and demounting opera-
`tions. Additionally, the supplying system becomes compli-
`cated and expensive.
`In the methods disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent
`Application Hei 10-63084 and Japanese Laid-open Patent
`Application Hei 10-63076, when the toner bottle is inserted
`such that projection (or recess) provided at the end surface of
`toner bottle is properly engaged with the basis (or projection)
`of the main assembly side driving portion (main assembly
`driving portion), an indexing operation in the rotational direc-
`tion is required. This degrades the developer supplying oper-
`ativity, and even a slight deviation may result in inoperability.
`In order to avoid such an improper engagement,
`it is
`required that toner bottle is provided on its outer surface with
`a guiding rib so as to determine the position ofthe toner bottle
`in the rotational direction upon the insertion thereof, or that
`rotating operation of the engaging recess of the main assem-
`bly driving portion is controlled to stop at a predetermined
`rotational position whenever it stops. This also results in
`complications and a cost increase.
`In most of the coupling drive transmissions using projec-
`tion/recess engagement, when the phase deviation occurs
`between the toner bottle and the main assembly driving por-
`tion, it is required that the main assembly driving portion is
`retracted against a spring force, and the engaging position is
`established when the phase becomes aligned. With such a
`structure, even if there is a phase difference when the toner
`bottle is inserted,
`the main assembly driving portion is
`retracted, and when the bottle is rotated in this state, the phase
`differences are eliminated sooner or later, and therefore, the
`engagement is established. However, the structure ofthe main
`assembly driving portion is complicated. In addition, the
`main assembly driving portion has to be movable toward the
`rear side, which requires additional space and therefore hin-
`ders downsizing of the main assembly of the apparatus.
`In the conventional example, it is not disclosed as to how to
`disengage the projection from the recess. Assuming that
`operator uses force to pull the toner supply container out, or
`the operator pushes the small projection with a finger, the
`usability is not good, or the driving portion of the image
`forming apparatus or the toner supply container may be dam-
`aged.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Accordingly, it is a principal object ofthe present invention
`to provide a sealing member in which a sealing member is
`locked with an image forming apparatus in order to open or
`unseal a toner discharge opening of a toner accommodating
`container, and yet the sealing member can be released from
`the image forming apparatus with a simple structure.
`It is another object of the present invention to provide a
`toner accommodating container in which a locking portion of
`the toner accommodating container is locked with an image
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`US 7,647,012 B2
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`forming apparatus, and the locking of the locking portion
`with the image forming apparatus can be released with a
`simple structure.
`It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
`toner accommodating container in which a sealing member is
`locked with an image forming apparatus to open or unseal a
`toner discharge opening of the toner accommodating con-
`tainer, and yet the sealing member can be released from the
`image forming apparatus with a simple structure.
`It is a further object of the present invention to provide an
`image forming apparatus in which a locking portion of a toner
`accommodating container is engaged with a portion to be
`locked ofthe mounting means, and the locking portion can be
`released from the portion to be locked with a simple structure.
`It is a further object of the present invention to provide an
`image forming apparatus in which a locking portion of a
`sealing member is engaged with a portion to be locked of the
`mounting means to open or unseal a toner discharge opening
`of a toner accommodating container, and yet the locking
`portion can be released from the portion to be locked with a
`simple structure.
`These and other objects, features and advantages of the
`present invention will become more apparent upon a consid-
`eration of the following description of the preferred embodi-
`ments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the
`accompanying drawings.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus
`according to an embodiment of the present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a perspective view ofthe image forming apparatus
`shown in FIG. 1.
`
`FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating mounting of a toner
`supply container into an image forming apparatus.
`FIG. 4 is a front view of an image forming apparatus of
`FIG. 1.
`
`FIG. 5 is a side view of the image forming apparatus of
`FIG. 1.
`
`FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the image forming apparatus in
`which a toner container front cover is shown as being in an
`open position.
`FIGS. 7(A) through 7(C) are sectional views illustrating a
`toner supply container mounting operation, wherein FIG.
`7(A) shows an initial stage of the mounting operation, FIG.
`7(B) shows the state in the process ofmounting operation, and
`FIG. 7(C) shows the state after the completion of the mount-
`ing operation.
`FIG. 8 is a partly broken perspective view of a toner supply
`container according to an embodiment of the present inven-
`tion.
`
`FIG. 9 is a partly enlarged sectional view of a drive trans-
`mitting portion according to an embodiment of the present
`invention in which a driving shaft is provided on the main
`body side of the toner supply container.
`FIG. 10 is a partly broken perspective view of a toner
`supply container according to another embodiment of the
`present invention.
`FIG. 11 is a partly enlarged sectional view of a drive trans-
`mitting portion according to another embodiment of the
`present invention in which a driving shaft is provided on a
`sealing member side.
`FIGS. 12(A) through 12(C) are side views of a sealing
`member according to an embodiment of the present inven-
`tion, wherein FIG. 12(A) is a front view, FIG. 12(B) is a side
`view as seen in the direction X of FIG. 12(A), and FIG. 12(C)
`is a side view as seen in the directionY of FIG. 12(A).
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`FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a sealing member taken along
`a line Z-Z of FIG. 12(B).
`FIG. 14 is a perspective view ofa driving force transmitting
`portion and a driving force receiving portion according to an
`embodiment of the present invention.
`FIGS. 15(A) through 15(C) are partially sectional views
`illustrating engaging action of a drive transmitting portion of
`a toner bottle, in which FIG. 15(A) shows a state before
`insertion of a toner bottle, FIG. 15(B) shows a state in the
`process of insertion, and FIG. 15(C) shows a state after the
`completion of an inserting operation.
`FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a driving force receiving
`portion according to another embodiment of the present
`invention.
`
`FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the sealing member of FIG.
`16.
`
`FIGS. 18(A) through 18(C) are illustrations ofphase align-
`ment when the toner bottle is inserted into the main assembly
`of apparatus wherein FIG. 18(A) shows a state in which an
`engaging rib and an engaging projection are aligned with each
`other, FIG. 18(B) shows a state in which they are not aligned
`after rotation to a certain extent, and FIG. 18(C) shows a state
`in which the engaging rib is abutted to the engaging projec-
`tion to enable drive transmission.
`
`FIGS. 19(A) through 19(C) show a sealing member
`according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, wherein
`FIG. 19(A) is a left side view, FIG. 19(B) is a front view, and
`FIG. 19(C) is a right-hand side view.
`FIG. 20 is a perspective view ofa driving force transmitting
`portion and a driving force receiving portion according to a
`further embodiment of the present invention, in which phase
`control operation is not necessary.
`FIGS. 21(A) through 21(C) illustrate the drive transmitting
`portion of FIG. 20 during a toner bottle inserting operation,
`wherein FIG. 21 (A) shows a state before insertion ofthe toner
`bottle, FIG. 21(B) shows a state in the process ofthe inserting
`operation, and FIG. 21(C) shows a state after completion of
`the inserting operation.
`illustrate disengagement
`FIGS. 22(A)
`through 22(C)
`action at the drive transmitting portion of the toner bottle,
`wherein FIG. 22(A) is before disengagement, FIG. 22(B) is in
`the process of disengagement, and FIG. 22(C)
`is after
`completion of the disengagement action.
`FIGS. 23(A) through 23(C) are sectional views of a sealing
`member according to a further embodiment of the present
`invention, wherein FIG. 23 (A) is a side view, FIG. 23 (B) is a
`front view, and FIG. 23(C) is a sectional view.
`FIG. 24 is a sectional view illustrating engagement of the
`sealing member of FIG. 23 with a driving portion.
`FIGS. 25(A) through 25(C) are illustrations of disengage-
`ment action at the drive transmitting portion of the toner
`bottle, wherein FIG. 25(A) is before disengagement, FIG.
`25(B) is in the process of disengagement, and FIG. 25(C) is
`after the completion of the disengagement action.
`FIGS. 26(A) and 26(B) illustrate a sealing member accord-
`ing to a further embodiment of the present invention, wherein
`FIG. 26(A) is a side view, and FIG. 26(B) is a sectional view
`taken along a line X-X.
`FIGS. 27(A) through 27(D) show a driving portion engage-
`able with the sealing member ofFIG. 26 according to a further
`embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 27(A) is
`a front view, FIG. 27(B) is a side view, FIG. 27(C) is a
`sectional view taken along a line C-C of FIG. 27(B), FIG.
`27(D) is a sectional view taken along a line D-D of FIG.
`27(A).
`FIGS. 28(A) through 28(C) illustrate engaging action
`between the sealing member of FIGS. 26(A) and 26(B) and
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`US 7,647,012 B2
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`5
`the driving portion of FIGS. 27(A) through 27(D), wherein
`FIG. 28(A) shows a state in which the toner bottle is being
`inserted, FIG. 28(B) shows a state in the process of insertion,
`and FIG. 28(C) shows a state after the completion of inser-
`tion.
`
`illustrate disengagement
`through 29(C)
`FIGS. 29(A)
`action after the engagement shown in FIGS. 28(A) through
`28(C), wherein FIG. 29(A) is before the disengagement, FIG.
`29(B) is in the process of the disengagement, and FIG. 29(C)
`is after completion of the disengagement action.
`FIGS. 30(A) and 30(B) are sectional views of a sealing
`member according to a further embodiment of the present
`invention, wherein FIG. 30(A) is before disengagement, and
`FIG. 30(B) is in the process of disengagement.
`FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a toner supply container
`according to a further embodiment of the present invention.
`FIGS. 32(A) through 32(C) show a sealing member
`according to a modified embodiment of Embodiment 2.
`FIG. 33 is a perspective view illustrating a drive transmis-
`sion for a photosensitive drum according to a further embodi-
`ment of the present invention.
`FIGS. 34(A) and 34(B) schematically show the sealing
`member which is rotating.
`FIGS. 35(A) through 35(C), illustrate another example in
`which the phase alignment is not required.
`FIGS. 36(A) and 36(B) are sectional views in which the
`sealing member shown in FIGS. 35(A) through 35(C) is
`engaged with the driving portion.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`A sealing member, a toner accommodating container and
`an image forming apparatus according to the preferred
`embodiments of the present invention will be described in
`conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
`
`Embodiment 1
`
`Referring to FIG. 1, the description will first be made as to
`an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which is an
`exemplary image forming apparatus which is mounted with a
`toner supply container (toner accommodating container)
`according to an embodiment of the present invention.
`
`(Electrophotographic Image Forming Apparatus)
`FIG. 1 shows an electrophotographic copying machine. An
`original 1 01 in a main assembly (main assembly ofapparatus)
`100 is placed on an original supporting platen glass 102. A
`light image corresponding to the image information of the
`original 101 is an image on an electrophotographic photosen-
`sitive drun1 (image bearing member) 104 through a plurality
`of mirrors M and a lens Ln of an optical portion 103. On the
`basis of selection by the user on an operating portion 100a
`shown in FIG. 2 or on the basis of automatic selection in
`
`accordance with the paper size of the original 101, an opti-
`mum sheet P is selected from the cassettes 105, 106, 107, 108.
`The recording material is not limited to the sheet of paper, but
`may be an OHP sheet, for example.
`A single sheet P supplied from one of separating devices
`105A, 106A, 107A, 108A, is fed to registration rollers 110 by
`way of a feeding portion 109, and the sheet P is fed to the
`transfer portion by the registration rollers 1 1 0 in synchroni sm
`with the rotation of the photosensitive drun1 104 and the
`scanning timing of the optical portion 103. In the transfer
`portion, a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 104
`is transferred onto the sheet P by the transfer discharger 111.
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`The sheet P now having the transferred toner image is sepa-
`rated from the photosensitive drum 104 by a separation dis-
`charger 112.
`The sheet P is fed into a fixing portion 114 by a feeding
`portion 113. In the fixing portion 114, the toner image is fixed
`on the sheet P by heat and pressure. Thereafter, the sheet P is
`passed through a discharged sheet reversing portion 115 and
`discharged to a sheet discharge tray 117 by sheet discharging
`rollers 116 in the case of a one-sided copy mode. In the case
`of a duplex copy mode, the sheet P is re-fed to the registration
`rollers 110 through sheet refeeding paths 119, 120, under the
`control of a flapper 118 provided in the discharged sheet
`reversing portion 115. Then, the sheet is fed similarly to the
`case of the one-sided copy mode, and is finally discharged to
`the sheet discharge tray 117.
`In the case of a superimposed copy mode, the sheet P is
`temporarily and partly discharged by the sheet discharging
`rollers 116 through the discharged sheet reversing portion
`115. Thereafter, at the timing when the trailing edge of the
`sheet passes by the flapper 118 while it is still nipped by the
`sheet discharging rollers 116, the flapper 118 is controlled,
`and the sheet discharging roller 116 is rotated in the reverse
`direction, so that it is re-fed into the main assembly 100.
`Thereafter, the sheet is fed to the registration rollers 110
`through the sheet refeeding portions 119, 120, and then the
`sheet is processed similarly to the case of the one-sided copy
`mode. It is finally discharged to the sheet discharge tray 117.
`In the main assembly 100 of apparatus, there are provided
`a developing device 201 (developing means), a cleaning
`device 202, the primary charger 203 and so on, around the
`photosensitive drum 104.
`An electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing the
`photosensitive drun1 104 to uniformly to double to the image
`light corresponding to the image information of the original
`101. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner by
`a developing device 201. In order to supply the toner (devel-
`oper) into the developing device 201, a toner supply container
`1 is detachably mountable by the user into the main assembly
`100 of apparatus. The present invention is applicable to the
`case in which only the toner is supplied into the image form-
`ing apparatus from the toner supply container and to the case
`in which the toner and carrier are supplied therefrom. In this
`embodiment, the former is the case.
`The developing device 201 comprises a toner hopper 201a
`(accommodating means) and a developing device 201b. The
`toner hopper 201a is provided with a stirring member 201c
`for stirring the toner supply designated from the toner supply
`container 1. The toner stirred by the stirring member 201c is
`supplied into the developing device 201b by a magnet roller
`201d. The developing device 201b comprises a developing
`roller 201fand a feeding member 201e. The toner fed from the
`toner hopper 201a by the magnet roller 201d is fed to the
`developing roller 201f by the feeding member 201e, and is
`supplied to the photosensitive drun1 104 by the developing
`roller 201f
`The cleaning device 202 functions to remove the toner
`remaining on the photosensitive drun1 104. The primary
`charger 203 functions to electrically charge the photosensi-
`tive drum 104.
`
`When the user opens a front cover 15 for exchange of the
`toner supply container which is a part of an outer casing
`shown in FIG. 2, a container receiving tray 50, which is a part
`of mounting means, is drawn out to a predetermined position
`by an unshown driving system. The user places the toner
`supply container 1 on the container receiving tray 50. When
`the user takes the toner supply container 1 out of the main
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`7
`assembly 100 ofthe apparatus, the container receiving tray 50
`is drawn out, and the toner supply container 1 is taken out of
`the tray 50.
`The front cover 15 is provided exclusively for mounting
`and demounting (exchange) of the toner supply container 1,
`and therefore, it is opened and closed only for the purpose.
`When the maintenance operation for the main assembly 100
`of the apparatus is to be carried out, the front cover 100c is
`opened.
`The toner supply container 1 may be directly mounted to
`the main assembly 100 of the apparatus, and may be taken
`out.
`
`(Toner Supply Operation)
`Referring to FIG. 7(A) and FIG. 7(C), the toner supply
`operation from the toner supply container (tonerbottle) in this
`embodiment, will be described. FIGS. 7(A)-(C) illustrate the
`process of toner supply in which the toner bottle 1 of this
`embodiment is inserted into the main assembly 100 of the
`apparatus.
`As shown in the Figures, the main assembly 100 of the
`apparatus is provided with a toner supply device 400, and the
`toner supply device 400 is provided with a driving portion
`(driving force transmitting portion) 20 for connecting with
`and rotating the toner bottle 1. The driving portion 20 is
`rotatably supported by bearings 23, and is rotated by an
`unshown driving motor provided in the main assembly 100 of
`the apparatus.
`The main assembly 100 ofthe apparatus is further provided
`with a partition 25 constituting a toner supply path 24 con-
`necting with a hopper 201a, and to the partition 25, inner and
`outerbearing 26a, 26b for rotatably bearing a part ofthe toner
`bottle 1 and for sealing the toner supply path 24, are fixed.
`Furthermore, a screw member 27 is disposed in the toner
`supply path 24 to feed the toner to the hopper 201a.
`FIG. 7(A) illustrates insertion of the toner bottle 1 into the
`main assembly 100 of the apparatus. One end of the toner
`bottle 1 is provided with a