JPH11167255A - Toner cartridge and attaching structure thereof to electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner cartridge whose operability is satisfactory in attachment/detachment to/from an electrophotographic device. SOLUTION: The toner cartridge 200 is fitted to an electrophotographic drum unit 100. For the toner cartridge 200, a toner supply port C203 with a seal 205 and an exhaust port 204 with a filter 206 are formed, and a carrying plate 401 is provided for carrying toner to the supply port C203. A lock arm 502 is provided for hindering the driving of the carrying plate 401 by the operation of a handle 209. When the cartridge 200 is fitted to the drum unit 100, a lock pin 208 is pushed to release the hindrance of the drive of the carrying plate 401 by the lock arm 502. To the carrying plate 401 the end of the seal 205 is connected, therefore the seal 205 is peeled off the supply port 203C by the operation of the handle 209, and toner is supplied into the drum unit 100 from the toner supply port 203C by the further operation of the handle 209.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the technical field of electrophotography, and more particularly, to a toner cartridge used for supplying toner to an electrophotographic apparatus and mounting the toner cartridge on the electrophotographic apparatus. It is about structure.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In an electrophotographic printer device, a facsimile machine of the same type, and a copier of the same type, for example, an electrophotographic unit (electrophotographic device) as shown in FIG. Is used.
This electrophotographic unit has a charger 802 for charging a photosensitive drum 801, and forms an electrostatic latent image due to a difference in charging potential by a laser beam 803 from an optical scanner such as a laser unit (not shown). A thin layer of toner obtained by applying a high voltage and charging by friction is formed in a developing unit 805, and the thin layer is formed on the photosensitive drum 80.
The image (toner image) such as a character and a photograph is formed on the photosensitive drum by adhering the toner by, for example, contacting the toner image 1 with the toner. Further, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred onto a recording sheet by a transfer unit (not shown), and a stable image is fixedly formed on the recording sheet via a fixing unit (not shown).

For this purpose, a charger 80 is provided on the photosensitive drum.
2 and a developing unit 805 are attached, and a toner replenishing unit 806 for supplying a required amount of toner to the developing unit is also attached. Further, the toner supply unit 806 has an appropriate amount of toner 807 and has a mixer 808 for feeding and stirring the toner 807 to the developing unit 805.

[0004] The amount of toner incorporated in such a configuration is finite, and toner needs to be replenished as the toner is consumed. If the image to be formed has a high image ratio, such as a photograph or a graph, the consumption of toner becomes severe,
More frequent toner replenishment is required. In a printer device or the like, this toner supply is required to be performed by the user side, but since this toner supply is troublesome, it is assumed that the toner supply to the toner supply unit is not performed and the photosensitive drum is not used. The developing unit and the toner supply unit are integrated in a case 809 so as to be integrated, and are sold as a cartridge. In this case, even if a photosensitive drum, a charger, a developing device, etc., which are members other than the toner, can be used, the entire cartridge must be discarded when the toner runs out. It was a problem.

In order to avoid the above-mentioned problems, it is shown that a structure in which the photosensitive drum unit 901 and the toner cartridge 902 are separated as shown in FIG. 9 is effective. The cost of consumables per page can be reduced to about half that of the integrated type.

Such a toner cartridge 902 has a mounting lever 903 for mounting and fixing to the photosensitive drum unit 901.
1 is mounted on the toner cartridge mounting portion 904 formed in the first position. Toner cartridge 902
Makes the outer cylindrical plastic member and the inner cylindrical plastic member rotatable, and has an opening 907 formed in the outer cylindrical plastic member. The opening 907 is provided in the photosensitive drum unit 901 when the toner cartridge is mounted. Can communicate with the developing unit 805. The mounting lever 903 is provided on the inner cylindrical plastic member. By operating the mounting lever 903, the inner cylindrical plastic member rotates with respect to the outer cylindrical plastic member. When the mounting lever 903 is moved to a position where it is fixed to the toner cartridge mounting portion 904, the toner supply window of the inner cylindrical plastic member matches the opening 907 of the outer cylindrical plastic member, and is accommodated in the inner cylindrical plastic member. The supplied toner 905 can be supplied to the developing unit 805. When the mounting lever 903 is moved to the attachment / detachment position from the photosensitive drum unit 901, the opening 907 of the outer cylindrical plastic member is closed by the inner cylindrical plastic member, and the toner 905 is opened.
Does not leak out of the toner cartridge 902.

Further, the toner cartridge 902 includes
A mixer 906 for feeding the toner 905 to the developing unit 805 when attached to the toner cartridge mounting unit 904 is provided. The mixer 906 is rotated by a mechanism (not shown) that engages with a driving system.

With this configuration, when the toner runs out, the toner cartridge 902 may be removed and a new toner cartridge may be installed.
The members to be discarded are only the double cylindrical plastic member constituting the toner cartridge and the plastic member constituting the mixer, and the number of discarded members is significantly smaller than in the case of the integral type.

However, the above configuration still has problems, one of which is that when the toner cartridge is replaced,
Since access from above is required, the operability is poor because the upper cover of a printer or other device must be opened and the toner cartridge must be mounted on the photosensitive drum unit while holding the toner cartridge horizontally. In this case, the operability is further deteriorated because the photosensitive drum unit is located at the back of the apparatus. Another problem is that the opening 907 for feeding the toner to the developing unit of the photosensitive drum unit needs to be formed to have a length corresponding to the width of the target recording paper. The area is required to be large, and in order to prevent toner leakage from the opening, high precision is required for the dimensions of the two cylindrical members, and the frictional force between the cylindrical members must be increased. However, as the width of the target recording paper increases, the frictional force must be increased, and moving the mounting lever itself becomes heavy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner cartridge having good operability in attaching and detaching to and from an electrophotographic apparatus.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge which is mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus and supplies an electrophotographic toner to the electrophotographic apparatus. A first supply port for feeding the toner to the electrophotographic apparatus is formed in a first adaptation section of the main body section accommodating the toner, which is adapted to the electrophotographic apparatus; The toner cartridge is provided, wherein the first portion is provided with first mounting means for mounting to the electrophotographic apparatus.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a first ventilation hole is formed in the first fitting portion.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a filter is attached to the first vent.

In one aspect of the present invention, the first supply port is provided with a removable seal member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the main body has a cylindrical shape, and the first fitting portion is formed on one end surface of the cylindrical main body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the first supply port and the first ventilation port are arranged to face each other with respect to a center axis of the cylindrical main body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a conveying means for conveying the toner contained in the main body toward the first supply port is provided in the main body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transporting means is driven by operating an operating means attached to the main body.

In one embodiment of the present invention, first locking means for preventing the driving of the transporting means is provided, and the first locking means is adapted to be adapted to the electrophotographic apparatus by the first locking means. The inhibition of the driving of the transport means is released.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transport means is engaged with a driving force output member of the electrophotographic apparatus.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a seal peeling member connected to the seal is connected to the conveying means, and the seal peeling member causes at least a part of the seal to be driven by the driving of the conveying means. By peeling off, the supply of the toner from the first supply port is enabled.

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, there is provided a structure for mounting any one of the toner cartridges described above to the electrophotographic apparatus. A second compatible part adapted to the first compatible part of the toner cartridge is formed, and a second supply port is formed in the second compatible part corresponding to the first supply port. A third position corresponding to the second supply port, and a first position where the third supply port is matched with the second supply port, and the third position is not matched with the third supply port. The toner supply device further comprises a shield member movable between a second position at which the second supply port is closed, and a second attachment means adapted to be compatible with the first attachment means of the toner cartridge. , Toner cartridge electrophotographic equipment Attachment structure to, is provided.

In one aspect of the present invention, a first ventilation port is formed in a first fitting section of the toner cartridge, and a second ventilation port is formed in the second compatibility section in correspondence with the first ventilation port.
A vent is formed, a third vent corresponding to the second vent is formed in the shield member, and the third vent and the second vent are located at the first position. The third vent and the second vent are not matched at the second position.

In one embodiment of the present invention, means for locking the first fitting portion of the toner cartridge and the shield member is provided.

In one aspect of the invention, the adaptation of the first mounting means and the second mounting means is adapted to allow movement of the shield member between the first and second positions.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a second lock means for preventing the movement of the shield member from the second position to the first position is provided, and the second lock means is provided for the first fitting portion of the toner cartridge. The adaptation of the electrophotographic apparatus to the second adaptation section releases the blocking of the movement of the shield member from the second position to the first position by the second locking means.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the second fitting portion is formed on a side portion of the electrophotographic apparatus, and the fitting of the first fitting portion to the second fitting portion causes the toner cartridge to move horizontally. It is performed by moving in the direction.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the second supply port is located below the second ventilation port.

In one aspect of the present invention, the movement of the shield member between the first position and the second position is a rotational movement.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of the connecting portion of the electrophotographic unit on the printer apparatus main body side to which the toner cartridge according to the present invention is attached, and FIG. 2 shows the structure of the connecting portion on the toner cartridge side. FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which the electrophotographic unit on the apparatus main body side and the toner cartridge are combined. further,
FIG. 4 shows a toner transport mechanism in the toner cartridge in particular, and FIG. 5 shows a series of operations from coupling of the toner cartridge to the electrophotographic unit to toner supply.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a drum unit 100 on the printer apparatus main body side and a structure of a toner cartridge connecting portion, and has a photosensitive drum 101, an exposure window 102, a toner chamber 103, and a developing chamber 104. A shield plate 105 is attached outside the side wall of the toner chamber 103 of the drum unit 100 (one end wall in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 101). The shield plate 105 is formed with a toner supply port A106 and an exhaust port (vent) A107 to be fitted to a toner supply port and an exhaust port (vent) of a toner cartridge described later. Are held in a rotatable state with respect to the parts constituting. A toner supply port B108 and an exhaust port (vent) B109 are formed in a portion constituting the side wall of the toner chamber, and a supply port A1 formed in the shield plate 105 is formed.
06 and the exhaust port A107 have a rotation angle of 9 degrees with respect to the supply port B108 and the exhaust port B109 in the portion forming the side wall of the toner chamber.
The shield plate cannot be rotated unless the lock pin 111 is pushed, since the shield plate is located at a position shifted by 0 degrees and coincides with the key groove 110. Further, the drum unit 100 has a rotation groove 112 formed outside the shield plate 105 for combining and rotating a toner cartridge to be described later, and has an alignment mark 113 for aligning the toner cartridge with the toner cartridge. The toner chamber 103 and the developing chamber 104 communicate with each other through an opening formed along the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor 101.

On the other hand, FIG.
The structure of the toner cartridge 2
In the cylindrical portion of the main body 100, an alignment mark 201 is formed at a portion corresponding to the alignment mark 113 of the drum unit 100.
And a projection 202 for engaging with the rotary groove 112 of the drum unit. In addition, a toner supply port C203 and an exhaust port (vent) C204 are provided on the coupling end surface on the side where the protrusion 202 is formed. A seal 205 is attached inside the supply port C203, and inside the exhaust port C204. Has a filter 206 attached. further,
A lock pin 208 is provided at the center of the coupling end face, and the handle 209 on the opposite end face can be rotated only when the lock pin 208 is pressed. In the figure, a mechanism using a simple push rod is shown to simply show this configuration. However, in actuality, the positions of the supply port A and the supply port C match, and the positions of the exhaust port A and the exhaust port C Is configured to be rotatable only in a state in which.

FIG. 3 shows the drum unit 10 on the apparatus main body side.
0 shows the process when the toner cartridge 200 is mounted on the drum unit 1 in the mounted state.
00 and the toner cartridge 2
When the alignment mark 201 of 00 is aligned, the projection 202 shown in FIG. 2 matches the key groove 110 shown in FIG. 1 and can be inserted. With this insertion, the protruding edges of the supply port C203 and the exhaust port C204 of the toner cartridge 200 (the edge protruding from the surface of the drum unit 100 facing the shield plate 105 toward the shield plate 105).
Are inserted and fitted into the supply port A106 and the exhaust port A107 formed in the shield plate 105. In this state, the toner cartridge 20 is
When the main body 0 is rotated, the protrusion 202 slides in a state fitted in the rotation groove 112, and the shield plate 105 shown in FIG. 1 rotates. Thus, the shield plate 105
The shield plate 105 and the supply port A106 and the supply port C203 formed on the toner cartridge side are made to coincide with the supply port B108 in a portion forming the side wall of the toner chamber by rotating the Of the shield plate 105 and the exhaust port A107 formed on the toner cartridge side.
And the exhaust port C204 can be matched. By giving a click feeling here and forming another alignment mark (not shown), the operator can easily recognize the position in the toner replenishable state. Further, when the handle 209 is rotated in the toner replenishable state, the seal 205 in the supply port C is peeled off as described later, and the toner in the toner cartridge 200 is pushed into the drum unit 100 side, and the toner replenishment is performed. Will be performed.

FIG. 4 shows, as an example, an internal toner transport mechanism of the toner cartridge 200. There is a spirally formed transport plate 401, and this transport plate 401 is connected to a rotating shaft 402 connected to a handle 209. When the handle 209 is operated to rotate the rotating shaft 402, the toner 403 is conveyed to the supply port side. A seal tab 404 of a seal 205 closing the supply port C203 is attached to a tip of the spiral conveyance plate 401 on the supply port side, and the seal 205 is attached to the supply port at an initial stage of rotation of the conveyance plate 401. C203 is peeled off from three sides, and then the seal tab 404 is peeled off from the transport plate 401.

Thus, the toner cartridge 200
Until is attached to the drum unit 100 and the seal 205 is peeled off, the seal 205 attached to the supply port C203 and the filter 206 attached to the exhaust port C204
Accordingly, spillage (leakage) of the toner during handling of the toner cartridge is sufficiently prevented.

FIG. 5 shows the drum unit 10 as described above.
FIG. 5A shows a state from the attachment (combination) of the toner cartridge 200 to the toner cartridge 0 to the supply of toner to the drum unit. FIG. This shows a state when toner supply is being performed.

First, in the state (a), the supply port and the exhaust port on the drum unit side are both closed by a shield plate, and the supply port on the toner cartridge side is also closed by a seal. It is in a state. In this state, the lock arm 502 disposed in the handle 209 is pushed toward the main body of the toner cartridge 200 by a spring in the handle, and the tip of the lock arm 502 is in a recess formed on the end face of the cartridge main body. Are engaged,
The handle 209 cannot rotate with respect to the cartridge body. The lock pin 111 on the drum unit 100 side
The locking member pressed in the same direction by a spring pressing the cartridge toward the cartridge 200 is engaged with the shield plate 105, and the shield plate cannot rotate.

Next, the state of (b) is reached.
In the state of (a), the toner cartridges are coupled at a rotation position where the toner cartridges are turned back by 90 degrees.
The supply port and the exhaust port of the toner cartridge mesh with the supply port and the exhaust port on the shield plate of the drum unit, and the supply port and the exhaust port are aligned by rotating. I have. In this state, the tip of the lock pin 208 of the cartridge 200 is abutted against the tip of the lock pin 111 of the drum unit 100, and the lock pin 111 retreats the locking member against the spring force. Since the locking of the shield plate 105 is released, the shield plate can be rotated. Further, since the lock pin 208 retreats the lock arm 502 against the spring force, the lock arm 5
02, the handle 209 is released from being fixed, and the handle 209 becomes rotatable with respect to the cartridge body.

Next, in the state (c), the rotary shaft 402 is rotated by the handle 209 to rotate the rotary transport plate 401 with respect to the cartridge body, whereby the seal 205 is peeled off and the supply port is opened. Here, a state is shown in which the toner 403 is pushed into the drum unit by the rotation of the transport plate. At this time, since excess air generated in the drum unit due to the pushing of the toner returns from the exhaust port side to the toner cartridge side through the filter, the fluidity of the toner is good, and the handle must be kept rotating. Thus, most of the toner in the toner cartridge can be sent into the drum unit.

By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to access the apparatus main body from the lateral direction when replenishing toner, so that a printer as shown in FIG. 7 can be configured.
In this case, after confirming the toner supply sign generated by the toner remaining amount detecting means inside the apparatus, the toner supply port 703 of the drum unit is exposed by opening the toner supply port door 702 provided on the side of the printer apparatus main body 701. Then, the toner cartridge 704 may be mounted. At this time, since the supply port and the exhaust port are formed small, the area of the sliding portion of the shield plate can be made relatively small, so that the friction when mounting the toner cartridge is small, and the toner cartridge is mounted with a light force. can do.

In the above-described embodiment, since toner can be supplied by laterally accessing from the side of the apparatus main body, there is no restriction on the position of the internal unit constituting the printer, and the toner can be supplied below the apparatus (on the bottom surface). (A close part), the drum unit can be placed, and the influence of vibration or the like can be reduced.

Further, since the supply port and the exhaust port, which are openings, can be formed small, the friction between the shield plate and the drum unit for preventing toner leakage can be small, and the toner cartridge can be mounted with a small force. Therefore, toner can be easily supplied to anyone.

Further, the toner conveying plate and the like in the toner cartridge are rotated by the transmission of a rotational force from a drive shaft of a stirring mechanism (such as a mixer bar 501) in the drum unit, so that the toner cartridge is connected to the toner cartridge. The image forming operation can be performed in the replenished state (while supplying toner from the toner cartridge to the drum unit).

Next, another embodiment of the toner cartridge of the present invention will be described.

In the above-described embodiment, the toner is supplied into the drum unit by rotating the spiral conveying plate with the handle. As shown in FIG. 6A, a mixer bar 501 in the drum unit is provided. The rotation force of the drive shaft 601 for rotating the toner cartridge may be transmitted to rotate the transport plate of the toner cartridge (the drive shaft 6).
01 and the rotation axis of the transport plate 401,
And a rotating force transmitting member which is detachably engaged with the rotating shaft of the conveying plate 401 is interposed therebetween, and is formed of a mylar sheet or the like as shown in FIG. A plurality of rollers around which the blades are provided may be arranged as a transport roller 602, and the transport roller may be rotated in the same direction by a driving force transmitted via a drive gear 603 to transport the toner. The combination of (a) and (b) is optional, and the transport roller may be manually rotated by the handle 209 as shown in (c).

Further, the toner conveying mechanism inside the toner cartridge is not limited to a roller having a spiral disk and a blade, but as shown in FIGS. 10 (a), 10 (b) and 10 (c). It is also possible to transfer toner by using a roller having a brush-like projection in (a) or a structure in which a transfer plate in (b) is held by two disks facing each other and the disks are rotated. The same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained. Further, as shown in (c), the toner in the space surrounded by the parallel wall surface and the belt constituting the toner cartridge is wound around one end of the belt to narrow the toner intrinsic space, and the toner is sent to the drum unit side. A similar effect can be obtained by the mechanism.

In any case, the portion connecting the drum unit and the toner cartridge has a supply port and an exhaust port, and the excess gas generated in the drum unit due to the pushing of the toner from the supply port is collected on the toner cartridge side. This mechanism is a feature of the present invention.

Incidentally, in the case of a structure in which the driving of the toner conveying mechanism is rotated by transmission from a mixer driving shaft for stirring the toner in the drum unit of the printer apparatus main body, the rotation generated by the printing operation is used. It is conceivable that the rotation of the mixer is rotated by an independent separate motor. In the case of using the separate motor, the rotation may be performed by selecting toner supply from the menu of the operation unit of the printer.

The use of the toner cartridge of the present invention having the above-described structure is not limited to a printer, but may be any as long as it utilizes an apparatus (electrophotographic apparatus) for forming an image by an electrophotographic system. The same effect can be obtained when applied to other devices such as a facsimile machine and a copying machine.

[0051]

As described above, in the present invention, the toner can be replenished by accessing the toner laterally from the side of the apparatus main body, so that the position of the internal unit constituting the electrophotographic apparatus is limited. As a result, the electrophotographic unit can be placed below the device (a portion close to the bottom surface), and the device can be less affected by vibration and the like.

Since the supply port and the exhaust port, which are openings, can be formed small, the friction between the opening and the shield plate for preventing toner leakage can be small, and the toner cartridge can be mounted with a light force. The toner can be easily replenished by anyone.

Further, the toner transport plate and the like in the toner cartridge are rotated by the transmission of the drive shaft of the stirring mechanism in the electrophotographic unit, so that the toner cartridge is connected and the toner supply state is maintained. The printing operation can be performed (while supplying toner from the cartridge to the electrophotographic unit).

Further, a supply port and an exhaust port are provided at a portion where the electrophotographic unit and the toner cartridge are connected, and excess gas generated in the electrophotographic unit due to pushing of the toner from the supply port is transferred to the toner cartridge side. Since the toner is collected, most of the toner in the toner cartridge can be easily sent into the electrophotographic unit, and the fluidity of the toner is good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure of a coupling portion of an electrophotographic unit on a printer apparatus main body side to which a toner cartridge according to the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a coupling portion of the toner cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration when the toner cartridge according to the present invention is combined with an electrophotographic unit on the printer apparatus main body side.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a toner transport mechanism, particularly, inside a toner cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a series of operations from coupling of the toner cartridge to the electrophotographic unit of the toner cartridge according to the present invention to supply of toner.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating another embodiment of the toner cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram when the toner cartridge of the present invention is combined with an electrophotographic unit on the printer apparatus main body side.

FIG. 8 is a view of a conventional electrophotographic unit integrated with a toner supply unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a conventional toner cartridge separated type electrophotographic unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the toner conveying mechanism of the toner cartridge of the present invention.

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A toner cartridge which is attached to an electrophotographic apparatus and supplies an electrophotographic toner to the electrophotographic apparatus, wherein a first adaptation of a main body for accommodating the toner is adapted to the electrophotographic apparatus. A first supply port for feeding the toner to the electrophotographic apparatus is formed in the section, and a first attaching means for attaching to the electrophotographic apparatus is provided in the first fitting section. A toner cartridge. 2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a first ventilation port is formed in the first fitting section. 3. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein a filter is attached to the first ventilation port. 4. The first supply port is provided with a removable seal member.
The toner cartridge according to any one of the above. 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the main body has a cylindrical shape, and the first fitting portion is formed on one end surface of the cylindrical main body. 4. The toner cartridge according to claim 1. 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first supply port and the first ventilation port are disposed so as to face each other with respect to a center axis of the cylindrical main body. Toner cartridge. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying unit that conveys the toner stored in the main body toward the first supply port. A toner cartridge according to any one of the above. 8. The toner cartridge according to claim 7, wherein said conveying means is driven by operating an operating means attached to said main body. 9. A first locking means for preventing the driving of the transporting means is provided, and the driving of the transporting means by the first locking means is prevented by the adaptation of the first adapting portion to the electrophotographic apparatus. 9. The toner cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the toner cartridge is released. 10. The toner cartridge according to claim 7, wherein said conveying means is engaged with a driving force output member of said electrophotographic apparatus. 11. A seal peeling member connected to the seal is connected to the conveying means, and the seal peeling member peels off at least a part of the seal in accordance with the driving of the conveying means, so that the first seal is peeled off. The toner cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the toner can be supplied from a supply port. 12. A structure for mounting the toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 11 to the electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the structure is adapted to a first fitting section of the toner cartridge at an end of the electrophotographic apparatus. A second supply port corresponding to the first supply port, and a third supply port corresponding to the second supply port. A first position where the third supply port is aligned with the second supply port and a second position where the third supply port is not aligned with the second supply port and the second supply port is closed And a second mounting means adapted to be compatible with the first mounting means of the toner cartridge, the mounting structure of the toner cartridge to the electrophotographic apparatus. . 13. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first fitting portion has a first ventilation hole, and the second fitting portion has a second ventilation hole corresponding to the first ventilation hole. A third vent corresponding to the second vent is formed in the shield member, and the third vent and the second vent are aligned at the first position so that the second position 13. The structure according to claim 12, wherein the third vent and the second vent do not match each other. 14. An electrophotography of a toner cartridge according to claim 12, further comprising means for locking said first fitting portion of said toner cartridge and said shield member. Mounting structure to the device. 15. The adaptation of said first attachment means and second attachment means depends on said first position of said shield member and said second attachment means.
The structure for mounting a toner cartridge to an electrophotographic apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein movement between the toner cartridge and the toner cartridge is allowed. 16. A second locking means for preventing movement of the shield member from the second position to the first position, wherein the second locking means is provided for a first fitting portion of the toner cartridge. 16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the adaptation to the adaptation portion releases the prevention of the movement of the shield member from the second position to the first position by the second locking means. Mounting structure of the toner cartridge to the electrophotographic apparatus. 17. The adaptation of the first adaptation section to the second adaptation section is performed by moving the toner cartridge in a horizontal direction. 17. The mounting structure of the toner cartridge according to claim 12, wherein the toner cartridge is mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus. 18. The structure according to claim 13, wherein the second supply port is located below the second ventilation port. 19. The electrophotography of a toner cartridge according to claim 12, wherein the movement between the first position and the second position of the shield member is a rotational movement. Mounting structure to the device.