Patent Publication Number: US-9904210-B2

Title: Toner container, image forming apparatus

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-114514 filed on Jun. 8, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a toner container including two storage portions for storing toner, and relates to an image forming apparatus. 
     Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus that can form an image on a paper sheet by using developer that includes toner. In this type of image forming apparatus, a toner container for supplying toner to a developing device in the image forming apparatus is provided. The toner container is attached to an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus in a detachable manner. When the toner in the toner container is consumed and the toner container becomes empty, the toner container is removed from the image forming apparatus to be replaced with a new toner container filled with unused toner. 
     In addition, the conventional image forming apparatus includes a cleaning device and a waste toner container, wherein the cleaning device removes used toner (waste toner) that has remained on a photoconductor drum after a transfer, and the waste toner container stores the waste toner removed by the cleaning device. 
     SUMMARY 
     A toner container according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a container main body, a first toner storage portion, a first rotating member, a first drive input portion, a second toner storage portion, a second rotating member, and a second drive input portion. The container main body is elongated. The first toner storage portion is configured to store toner in an inside thereof, and provided in one side in a longitudinal direction of the container main body. The first rotating member is rotatably provided in the first toner storage portion and extends in a depth direction of the container main body perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The first drive input portion is provided at an end of a first rotation shaft included in the first rotating member and configured to receive a driving force that causes the first rotating member to rotate, the end of the first rotation shaft being on one side in the depth direction. The second toner storage portion is configured to store toner in an inside thereof, and provided in the other side in the longitudinal direction. The second rotating member rotatably provided in the second toner storage portion and extends in the depth direction. The second drive input portion is provided at an end of a second rotation shaft included in the second rotating member and configured to receive a driving force that causes the second rotating member to rotate, the end of the second rotation shaft being on the one side in the depth direction. The container main body includes a plate-like coupling member coupling a first housing of the first toner storage portion with a second housing of the second toner storage portion. 
     An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes an apparatus main body, a developing device, a drum unit, a cleaning portion, and a toner container. The developing device is included in the apparatus main body. The drum unit includes a photoconductor drum configured to rotate and carry a toner image developed by the developing device. The cleaning portion is included in the drum unit and configured to remove used toner that has remained on the photoconductor drum and convey the removed toner toward one side in an axis direction of a rotation shaft of the photoconductor drum. The toner container is attached to an attachment portion included in the apparatus main body at a position that is more on the one side in the axis direction than the drum unit, and elongated in an up-down direction in an attachment attitude of the toner container attached to the attachment portion. The toner container includes a first toner storage portion, a first rotating member, a first drive input portion, a second toner storage portion, a second rotating member, a second drive input portion, and a coupling member. The first toner storage portion is configured to store unused toner that is to be supplied to the developing device, and provided in an upper part of the toner container in the attachment attitude. The first rotating member is rotatably provided in the first toner storage portion, extends in a depth direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and is configured to convey the unused toner to the developing device by being rotated. The first drive input portion is provided at an end of a first rotation shaft included in the first rotating member and configured to receive a driving force that causes the first rotating member to rotate, the end of the first rotation shaft being on one side in the depth direction. The second toner storage portion is configured to store the used toner conveyed from the cleaning portion, and provided in a lower part of the toner container, below the first toner storage portion in the attachment attitude. The second rotating member is rotatably provided in the second toner storage portion, extends in the depth direction, and is configured to, by being rotated, convey the used toner conveyed from the cleaning portion to the second toner storage portion. The second drive input portion is provided at an end of a second rotation shaft included in the second rotating member and configured to receive a driving force that causes the second rotating member to rotate, the end of the second rotation shaft being on the one side in the depth direction. The plate-like coupling member couples a first housing of the first toner storage portion with a second housing of the second toner storage portion in the up-down direction. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross section showing a configuration of the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross section schematically showing an internal structure of an image forming unit included in the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing attachment portions to which toner containers are attached. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing configurations of toner containers for magenta and black. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing internal structures of the toner containers for magenta and black. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a configuration of a rear side of the toner container for magenta. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a configuration of the rear side of the toner container for magenta. 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram showing a configuration of a front side of the toner container for magenta. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross section taken along a X-X line of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a cross section taken along an XI-XI line of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12  is a partial enlarged diagram showing a configuration of the rear side of the toner container for magenta. 
         FIG. 13  is a partial enlarged diagram showing a configuration of an attachment portion to which the toner container for magenta is attached. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view showing a configuration of a terminal unit included in the attachment portion. 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view showing a configuration of a rear side of a toner container for black. 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view showing a configuration of the rear side of the toner container for black. 
         FIG. 17  is a partial enlarged diagram showing a configuration of the rear side of the toner container for black. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross section showing a structure of a right-end portion of the image forming apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following describes an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example of a specific embodiment of the present disclosure and should not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. It is noted that, for the sake of explanation, a vertical direction in an installed state of an image forming apparatus  10  where the image forming apparatus  10  is usable (the state shown in  FIG. 1 ) is defined as an up-down direction D 1 . In addition, a front-rear direction D 2  is defined on a supposition that a side to/from which a sheet feed cassette  22  shown in  FIG. 1  is inserted and removed in the installed state is a front side. Furthermore, a left-right direction D 3  is defined based on the front side of the image forming apparatus  10  in the installed state. 
     The image forming apparatus  10  according to the present embodiment has at least a print function. The image forming apparatus  10  is, for example, a tandem-type color printer. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus  10  includes a housing  11  (an example of the apparatus main body). The housing  11  has an approximately parallelepiped shape as a whole. Some of the components constituting the image forming apparatus  10  are stored in the housing  11 . It is noted that  FIG. 1  shows a state where a cover covering the right side of the housing  11  has been removed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus  10  includes a plurality of image forming units  15  ( 15 Y,  15 C,  15 M, and  15 K), an intermediate transfer unit  16 , a laser scanning device  17 , a primary transfer roller  18 , a secondary transfer roller  19 , a fixing device  20 , a sheet tray  21 , the sheet feed cassette  22 , a conveyance path  24 , and a control board  26  configured to control the portions of the image forming apparatus  10 . In addition, the image forming apparatus  10  includes toner containers  3  (see  FIG. 1 ) that have been attached to the inside of the housing  11  in a detachable manner. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus  10  includes four image forming units  15 . 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a central portion of an image forming unit  15 . The image forming unit  15  forms a toner image by the electrophotography. As shown in  FIG. 3 , each of the image forming units  15  includes a drum unit  31 , a charging device  32 , and a developing device  33 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the image forming units  15  are arranged in alignment along the front-rear direction D 2  in the housing  11 , and form a color image based on the so-called tandem system. Specifically, the image forming unit  15 Y is configured to form a toner image of yellow. In addition, the image forming units  15 C,  15 M and  15 K are configured to form toner images of cyan, magenta and black, respectively. The image forming units  15 Y for yellow,  15 C for cyan,  15 M for magenta, and  15 K for black are arranged in alignment in the stated order from the downstream side in the running direction (the direction indicated by the arrow D 10 ) of a transfer belt  35  of the intermediate transfer unit  16 . 
     The drum unit  31  includes a photoconductor drum  41 , a drum cleaning device  42  (an example of the drum cleaning portion), a discharge guide portion  43  (see  FIG. 18 ), and a housing  44  that supports these components. The housing  44  is elongated in the left-right direction D 3 . The photoconductor drum  41  has a cylindrical shape and carries a toner image developed by the developing device  33 . The photoconductor drum  41  is rotatably supported by the housing  44 . 
     In each of the image forming units  15 , the charging device  32  uniformly charges the photoconductor drum  41  to a certain potential. Subsequently, the laser scanning device  17  irradiates a laser beam on the surface of the photoconductor drum  41  based on the image data. In this processing, electrostatic latent images are formed on the surfaces of the photoconductor drums  41 , respectively. The electrostatic latent images are developed (visualized) as toner images by the developing devices  33 , respectively. The toner images of respective colors formed on the surfaces of the photoconductor drums  41  are transferred to the transfer belt  35  by the primary transfer roller  18  such that the toner images are overlaid with each other in sequence. Next, the color image on the transfer belt  35  is transferred by the secondary transfer roller  19  to a print sheet. The color image transferred to the print sheet is fixed to the print sheet by the fixing device  20 , and thereafter, the print sheet is discharged from a sheet discharge port  28  to the sheet tray  21 . 
     The drum cleaning device  42  is configured to remove toner that has remained on the photoconductor drum  41  after the transfer. The drum cleaning device  42  is disposed on the rear side of the photoconductor drum  41 . The drum cleaning device  42  is provided for each photoconductor drum  41 . The drum cleaning device  42  includes a cleaning blade  45  that is a cleaning member, and a spiral member  46 . The cleaning blade  45  and the spiral member  46  are elongated in the left-right direction D 3 . The cleaning blade  45  and the spiral member  46  are supported by the housing  44 . The cleaning blade  45  has approximately the same length as the photoconductor drum  41 . The tip of the cleaning blade  45  is disposed so as to be in contact with or close to the surface of the photoconductor drum  41 . The spiral member  46  is a toner conveyance member having a spiral blade around a shaft. The spiral member  46  is rotatably supported in the housing  44 . 
     The spiral member  46  is rotated when a rotational driving force is input to its shaft. While the photoconductor drum  41  is rotated, the cleaning blade  45  removes toner that has remained on the surface of the photoconductor drum  41  after the transfer by the primary transfer roller  18 . The removed toner is to be discarded later, and thus called waste toner in general. The waste toner is conveyed toward a certain direction by the rotating spiral member  46 . Specifically, the waste toner is conveyed toward one side (in the present embodiment, the right side) in the axis direction (longitudinal direction) of the photoconductor drum  41 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the discharge guide portion  43  is disposed at the right end of the housing  44 . The waste toner is guided downward by the discharge guide portion  43 , passes through a discharge port  431  (see  FIG. 18 ) that is described below, and is discharged to a lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 . It is noted that the discharge guide portion  43  is described below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the developing device  33  includes a housing  50 , a first stirring member  52 , a second stirring member  53 , and a developing roller  54 . Toner (developer) is stored in a bottom portion of the housing  50  and the toner is conveyed while being stirred by the first stirring member  52  and the second stirring member  53 . A supply port  56  is formed in a wall  51  of the housing  50  that is located above the first stirring member  52 . The supply port  56  is formed at the right end of the wall  51 . The toner discharged from the toner container  3  is supplied from the supply port  56  into the housing  50 . The developing roller  54  draws up the toner from the second stirring member  53  by the magnetic pole embedded therein, and carries the toner on its circumferential surface. The toner held on the developing roller  54  is caused to adhere to the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum  41  by the potential difference applied to between the developing roller  54  and the photoconductor drum  41 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a plurality of toner containers  3  ( 3 Y,  3 C,  3 M and  3 K) are attached to the inside of the housing  11 . Specifically, the four toner containers  3  are respectively attached to attachment portions  58  (see  FIG. 4 ) provided in the inside of the housing  11 . In addition, in the present embodiment, a plurality of toner containers  3  are attached in a state of being aligned along the front-rear direction D 2 , and a toner container  3 K for black is disposed at the rear-most position. 
     Each of the toner containers  3  includes an upper storage portion  71  (an example of the first toner storage portion) and a lower storage portion  72  (an example of the second toner storage portion). The upper storage portion  71  includes, inside thereof, a storage space  85  (see  FIG. 6 ) for storing toner, and unused toner for supply is stored in the storage space  85 . The lower storage portion  72  includes, inside thereof, a storage space  86  (see  FIG. 6 ) for storing toner, and the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device  42  is stored in the storage space  86 . In the state where the toner containers  3  are respectively attached to the attachment portions  58 , the unused toner is supplied to the insides of the developing devices  33  from the upper storage portions  71  of the toner containers  3 . In addition, waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning devices  42  passes through the discharge guide portions  43  (see  FIG. 18 ), and is stored in the lower storage portions  72  of the toner containers  3 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , in the present embodiment, the four toner containers  3  are located at the right side of the image forming units  15  inside a right-side cover (not shown) of the housing  11 . The toner containers  3  are arranged on the right side of the housing  11  in alignment along the front-rear direction D 2 . The toner containers  3  are described in detail below. 
     Meanwhile, according to a conventional image forming apparatus, when the downsizing and the space saving of the apparatus are given a priority, it is not preferable to include both the toner container and the waste toner container in the image forming apparatus  10 . On the other hand, when, as in the toner container  3 M of the present embodiment, the toner container  3 M is configured to include two storage portions  71  and  72  for storing unused toner and waste toner to realize the downsizing and the space saving of the apparatus, each of the storage portions  71  and  72  needs to be provided with a conveyance member for conveying the toner. In that case, when the toner container  3 M is attached to the image forming apparatus  10 , drive input portions of the conveyance members need to be coupled with coupling portions provided in the image forming apparatus  10 . However, if, due to a production error or the like, the drive input portions or the coupling portions are positionally deviated, the drive input portions may not be coupled with the coupling portions smoothly. In addition, when a driving force is input in a state where the drive input portions are coupled with the coupling portions, a load due to the positional deviation may be applied to the drive input portions or the coupling portions, and the drive input portions and the coupling portions may be damaged. According to the present embodiment where the toner container  3 M is configured as described below, it is possible to couple the drive input portions smoothly in a reliable manner with the attachment portion  58  of the image forming apparatus  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the intermediate transfer unit  16  is provided above the four image forming units  15 . More specifically, the intermediate transfer unit  16  is provided above the photoconductor drums  41 . The intermediate transfer unit  16  includes the transfer belt  35 , a driving roller  36 , a driven roller  37 , a belt cleaning device  38  (an example of the belt cleaning portion), and a relay guide portion  39  (see  FIG. 18 ). It is noted that the primary transfer roller  18  is supported by a frame (not shown) of the intermediate transfer unit  16 . 
     The transfer belt  5 , an annular belt member, is suspended between the driving roller  36  and the driven roller  37  so as to extend in the front-rear direction D 2 . A plurality of drum units  31  are arranged in alignment in the front-rear direction D 2  along the transfer belt  35 . The transfer belt  35  holds, on its surface, toner images primarily transferred from the photoconductor drums  41 . When the transfer belt  35  is rotationally driven and moves in a direction indicated by the arrow D 10 , the toner images of respective colors carried by the photoconductor drums  41  are transferred to the transfer belt  35  such that the toner images are overlaid with each other in sequence. 
     The belt cleaning device  38  is disposed in the vicinity of the fixing device  20 . Specifically, the belt cleaning device  38  is provided above the transfer belt  35  in the rear side of the housing  11 . Below the belt cleaning device  38 , the image forming unit  15 K, which is an image forming unit  4  for black, is disposed. That is, the belt cleaning device  38  is located closest to the image forming unit  15 K for black among the plurality of image forming units  4 . 
     The belt cleaning device  38  is configured to remove the waste toner that has remained on the surface of the transfer belt  35 , and convey the removed waste toner toward the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 K. The belt cleaning device  38  includes a cleaning roller  381  that is elongated in the left-right direction D 3 , a spiral member  382  as a conveyance member for conveying the waste toner, and a housing  383  for storing these components (see  FIG. 2 ). The cleaning roller  381  is configured to remove the waste toner from the surface of the transfer belt  35  by rotating while in contact with the surface of the transfer belt  35 . The used toner thus removed (hereinafter referred to as “waste toner”) is conveyed in a certain direction by the spiral member  382  as it rotates. Specifically, the waste toner is conveyed toward one side in the width direction (a direction that matches the left-right direction D 3 ) of the transfer belt  35  (in the present embodiment, conveyed toward the right side). 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the relay guide portion  39  is provided at the right end of the housing  383 . The waste toner is guided downward by the relay guide portion  39 , passes through a discharge guide portion  43 K of a drum unit  31 K disposed at the rear-most position, and is conveyed to the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 K. It is noted that the relay guide portion  39  is described below. 
       FIG. 18  is a partial enlarged diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of a right-end portion of the drum units  31  of the image forming units  15 .  FIG. 18  shows cross-sectional structures of the drum unit  31 M for magenta and the drum unit  31 K for black. For the sake of explanation, in  FIG. 18 , a developing device  33  corresponding to the drum unit  31 K is represented by a dotted line. As shown in  FIG. 18 , a discharge guide portion  43 M is provided at the right end of the housing  44  of the drum unit  31 M. That is, the discharge guide portion  43 M is provided in the drum unit  31 M. It is noted that a discharge guide portion  43  having the same structure as the discharge guide portion  43 M is provided in each of the drum units  31  for yellow and cyan. 
     The discharge guide portion  43 M guides the waste toner that has been removed by the drum cleaning device  42  in the drum unit  31 M and conveyed to the right end of the housing  44 , to an inlet  114  of the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 M. An inner space of the discharge guide portion  43 M is a passage  117  in which the waste toner passes. The discharge guide portion  43 M extends diagonally downward from above, and the discharge port  431  connected to the inlet  114  is formed at a lower end of the discharge guide portion  43 M. 
     In the passage  117 , a right end portion  461  of the spiral member  46  is disposed. The end portion  461  is rotatably supported by the discharge guide portion  43 M. When a rotational driving force is transmitted to the end portion  461 , the spiral member  46  rotates, and the waste toner is conveyed to the passage  117  of the discharge guide portion  43 M. 
     In the passage  117 , two paddle portions  118  and  119  are provided in a region from the end portion  461  to the discharge port  431 . The rotation shaft of each of the paddle portions  118  and  119  is rotatably supported by the discharge guide portion  43 M. The rotational driving force of the spiral member  46  is transmitted to the paddle portions  118  and  119  via a gear transmission mechanism (not shown). When the spiral member  46  is rotated, its rotational driving force is transmitted to the paddle portions  118  and  119  via the gear transmission mechanism, and the paddle portions  118  and  119  are rotated. When the paddle portions  118  and  119  rotate, the waste toner that has been conveyed to the passage  117  is conveyed in the passage  117  to the discharge port  431  by the paddle portions  118  and  119 , is further passed through the inlet  114  and a first conveyance guide portion  94  (an example of the first guide portion) of the toner container  3 M, and guided into the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 M. 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , a discharge guide portion  43 K is provided at the right end of the housing  44  of the drum unit  31 K. That is, the discharge guide portion  43 K is provided in the drum unit  31 K. The discharge guide portion  43 K guides the waste toner that has been removed by the drum cleaning device  42  in the drum unit  31 K and conveyed to the right end of the housing  44 , to the inlet  114  of the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 K. The discharge guide portion  43 K and the discharge guide portion  43 M have some components in common. As a result, the components common to these portions are assigned the same reference signs, and description thereof is omitted. 
     The discharge guide portion  43 K differs from the discharge guide portion  43 M in that a receiving port  120  is formed at the top of the discharge guide portion  43 K. The receiving port  120  is an opening from which the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device  38  is received. The receiving port  120  is connected to a discharge port  391  of the relay guide portion  39  that is described below. The waste toner that has entered the receiving port  120  is guided to the inlet  114  of the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 K by the discharge guide portion  43 K, together with the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device  42 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the relay guide portion  39  is provided at the right end of the belt cleaning device  38 . The relay guide portion  39  guides the waste toner that has been conveyed to the right end of the housing  383  through the belt cleaning device  38  by the spiral member  382 , to the discharge guide portion  43 K. The discharge port  391  is formed in a lower portion of the relay guide portion  39 , and the discharge port  391  is connected to the receiving port  120  of the discharge guide portion  43 K. With this configuration, the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device  38  passes through the relay guide portion  39  and moves downward, and is guided through the discharge port  391  to the receiving port  120 . The waste toner guided to the receiving port  120  passes through the discharge guide portion  43 K, is conveyed further downward by the paddle portions  118  and  119 , passes through the discharge port  431 , the inlet  114 , and a second conveyance guide portion  107  (an example of the second guide portion) of the toner container  3 K, and is guided into the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 K. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , four attachment portions  58  for supporting the toner containers  3  in a detachable manner are provided at the right end of the housing  11 . The attachment portions  58  are fixed to a support plate  49  provided at the right end of the housing  11 . Each attachment portion  58  includes a bracket  59  for supporting a corresponding toner container  3 . The toner containers  3  are supported by corresponding brackets  59  in a detachable manner. 
     In the following, the configuration of the toner container  3 M for magenta is described.  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  show the toner container  3 M and the toner container  3 K disposed next to the toner container  3 M. 
     The toner containers  3 Y and  3 C have the same configuration as the toner container  3 M, thus description thereof is omitted. The toner container  3 K is larger in outer shape and capacity than the toner container  3 M since the toner container  3 K stores black toner that is used much, but except for the differences described below, they have approximately the same configuration. As a result, components of the toner container  3 K that are the same as those of the toner container  3 M are assigned the same reference signs, and description thereof is omitted. 
     It is noted that the drawings show the up-down direction D 1 , the front-rear direction D 2  and the left-right direction D 3  based on an attachment attitude of the toner containers  3 M and  3 K attached to the attachment portions  58  (see  FIG. 4 ). In the following, with respect to the toner containers  3 M and  3 K in the attachment attitude, the up-down direction D 1  is defined as a height direction D 11  of the toner containers  3 M and  3 K, the front-rear direction D 2  is defined as a width direction D 12  of the toner containers  3 M and  3 K, and the left-right direction D 3  is defined as a depth direction D 13  of the toner containers  3 M and  3 K. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the toner container  3 M includes a container main body  75 . The container main body  75  is a resin product formed by injection molding a synthetic resin. The container main body  75  is elongated in the height direction D 11 , broad in the width direction D 12 , and shallow in the depth direction D 13 . 
     The container main body  75  includes an upper case  78  (an example of the first housing) formed in the upper side thereof, a lower case  79  (an example of the second housing) formed in the lower side thereof, and a lid member  76  (an example of the lid member). That is, the upper case  78  is formed in one side (upper side) of the container main body  75  in the height direction D 11  (longitudinal direction), and the lower case  79  is formed in the other side (lower side) of the container main body  75  in the height direction D 11  (longitudinal direction). The upper case  78  and the lower case  79  are integrally formed as the container main body  75 . In the upper case  78 , the storage space  85  for storing the unused toner is defined. That is, the storage space  85  in the upper storage portion  71  is defined by the upper case  78 . In addition, in the lower case  79 , the storage space  86  for storing the waste toner is defined. That is, the storage space  86  in the lower storage portion  72  is defined by the lower case  79 . 
     The upper case  78  and the lower case  79  are separated from each other in the up-down direction D 1 , and a gap  88  (see  FIG. 7 ) having a predetermined distance is formed between the upper case  78  and the lower case  79 . Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 12 , the upper case  78  includes a bottom wall  782  that constitutes the bottom wall surface thereof and is formed in an arc shape, and the lower case  79  includes a top wall  792  that constitutes the top wall surface thereof. The gap  88  is formed between the bottom wall  782  and the top wall  792 . Here, the bottom wall  782  and the top wall  792  are an example of the pair of walls that are separated from each other in the height direction D 11 . 
     An opening portion  81  is formed in the right side surface of the upper case  78 , and an opening portion  82  is formed in the right side surface of the lower case  79 . The opening portions  81  and  82  are formed on the same plane. A flange  83  is formed along opening edges of the opening portions  81  and  82 . The flange  83  is formed in the shape of a plate having a thickness in the depth direction D 13 . The flange  83  includes a peripheral flange  831  and a central flange  832  (an example of the coupling member and the common flange). The peripheral flange  831  is formed around the outer periphery of the right side surface of the container main body  75 . The central flange  832  is, as shown in  FIG. 12 , formed at a position corresponding to the gap  88  so as to couple the bottom wall  782  of the upper case  78  with the top wall  792  of the lower case  79 . More specifically, the central flange  832  is continued from the lower edge of the opening portion  81  to the upper edge of the opening portion  82 . In other words, the central flange  832  is a flange common to the opening portion  81  and the opening portion  82 . In the present embodiment, the bottom wall  782  and the top wall  792  extend from the central flange  832  in the depth direction D 13 . 
     The lid member  76  is a resin product formed by injection molding a synthetic resin. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the lid member  76  covers the opening portion  81  and the opening portion  82 . The lid member  76  is a flat plate-like member and is formed in the shape that matches the peripheral shape of the flange  83 . In a state where an outer periphery  761  of the lid member  76  is aligned with the flange  83 , the outer periphery  761  and the flange  83  are welded. 
     With the opening portion  81  and the opening portion  82  being closed by one lid member  76 , the upper storage portion  71  having the storage space  85  and the lower storage portion  72  having the storage space  86  are provided. In this way, since the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  are coupled with each other by the central flange  832  and the lid member  76 , in the toner container  3 M, a portion around the gap  88  is smaller in strength than the other portions. As a result, the toner container  3 M can be easily bent at the vicinity of the gap  88  in the width direction D 12  and in the depth direction D 13 , and can be easily bent in the rotation direction around the height direction D 11  as the axis of rotation. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 12 , a plate-like reinforcing rib  751  is disposed between the bottom wall  782  of the upper case  78  and the top wall  792  of the lower case  79 . The reinforcing rib  751  extends in the depth direction D 13  vertically from the central flange  832 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , the reinforcing rib  751 , coupled with the bottom wall  782  and the top wall  792 , is a plate-like member having a thickness in the width direction D 12 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the left-end surface of the reinforcing rib  751  is inclined diagonally upward left from the top wall  792  to the bottom wall  782 , and more specifically, inclined in a curved shape. With the provision of the reinforcing rib  751  as such, the strength at the vicinity of the gap  88  between the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  is reinforced. As a result, the toner container  3 M is prevented from being excessively bent at the vicinity of the gap  88 , in particular, prevented from being excessively bent in the depth direction D 13 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 11 , the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 M is larger in size in the depth direction D 13  than the upper storage portion  71 . That is, the size in the depth direction D 13  of the lower storage portion  72  of the toner container  3 M is larger than that of the upper storage portion  71 . In addition, the size in the height direction D 11  of the upper storage portion  71  is larger than that of the lower storage portion  72 , and the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  have approximately the same size in the width direction D 12 . In the configuration where the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  are separate in the up-down direction D 1 , there may be a case where each of the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  cannot secure an enough capacity for storing toner. However, with the above-described configuration where the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  have different sizes in the height direction D 11  and the depth direction D 13 , it is possible to secure an enough capacity for each of the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  in spite of various constraints in the attachment to the attachment portion  58 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper storage portion  71  includes a stirring member  91  (an example of the third rotating member) and a first conveyance portion  92 . Specifically, a paddle-like stirring member  91  is provided in the upper storage space  85 . The stirring member  91  is supported by the upper case  78  so as to be rotatable in the storage space  85 . In addition, the first conveyance portion  92  for conveying toner to the developing device  33  is provided in the storage space  85 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , the first conveyance portion  92  includes a first conveyance guide portion  94  and a spiral member  95 , wherein the first conveyance guide portion  94  is cylindrical and extends outward from a wall surface  781  (an example of the facing surface) of the left side of the upper case  78 , and the spiral member  95  (an example of the first rotating member, see  FIG. 10 ) is provided in the inside of the first conveyance guide portion  94 . The first conveyance guide portion  94  is integrally formed with the upper case  78  in the shape of a cylinder whose center is the same as the rotation center of the spiral member  95 . Here, the wall surface  781  is located in one side of the toner container  3 M with respect to the attachment portion  58  in the depth direction D 13 , and is a surface that faces the attachment portion  58  when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 . It is noted that the depth direction D 13  matches the direction in which the toner container  3 M is attached to and detached from the attachment portion  58 . 
     The spiral member  95  is rotatably provided in the upper storage portion  71 , and as shown in  FIG. 10 , extends in the depth direction D 13  that is perpendicular to the height direction D 11 . The spiral member  95  is a conveyance member that conveys the unused toner in the storage space  85  toward the attachment portion  58  (see  FIG. 4 ) through the inside of the first conveyance guide portion  94 . In addition, the first conveyance guide portion  94  is a guide member that guides the unused toner conveyed by the spiral member  95  to the developing device  33 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the spiral member  95  includes blades  97  of a spiral shape around a rotation shaft  96 . An end portion  961  (an example of the first end portion) of the rotation shaft  96  of the spiral member  95  on the lid member  76  side is rotatably supported by a bearing portion  99  (an example of the first bearing portion) that is integrally formed with an inner surface  762  of the lid member  76 . In addition, in a state where the spiral member  95  is inserted in the first conveyance guide portion  94 , the opposite end of the rotation shaft  96  is rotatably supported by the first conveyance guide portion  94 . Specifically, a first input portion  98  (an example of the first drive input portion and the second input joint) is integrally formed with an end portion  962  that is the opposite end of the rotation shaft  96 , wherein the first input portion  98  receives a rotational driving force input from outside. In addition, a through hole  941  is formed in the tip of the first conveyance guide portion  94 . In the state where the first input portion  98  projects from the through hole  941  to the outside, the end portion  962  is rotatably supported by the through hole  941 . 
     A toner discharge port  100  is formed in the lower surface of the first conveyance guide portion  94  so that toner stored in the storage space  85  is discharged from the toner discharge port  100  to the outside. 
     In addition, on the lower surface of the first conveyance guide portion  94 , a shutter member  101  (an example of the opening and closing member) for opening and closing the toner discharge port  100  is provided. The shutter member  101  is supported by the first conveyance guide portion  94  in such a manner that the shutter member  101  can slide the lower surface of the first conveyance guide portion  94  in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction of  FIG. 10 ) of the first conveyance guide portion  94 . 
     In the present embodiment, when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58  (see  FIG. 4 ), the shutter member  101  is moved from a closing position of closing the toner discharge port  100 , to an opening position of opening the toner discharge port  100 . 
     In addition, the toner discharge port  100  is aligned with the supply port  56  of the developing device  33  for positioning, then the toner discharge port  100  is connected to the supply port  56  so that toner can be supplied from the toner discharge port  100  to the supply port  56 . In addition, the first input portion  98  is coupled with a first output joint  61  (an example of the drive output portion and the first drive coupling portion, see  FIG. 13 ) that is provided in the attachment portion  58 , and a rotational driving force output from a drive source such as a motor is transmitted to the first input portion  98 . Upon receiving the rotational driving force, the spiral member  95  is rotated, and the toner in the storage space  85  is conveyed from the toner discharge port  100  to the supply port  56  via the first conveyance guide portion  94 , and is supplied to the inside of the developing device  33 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the first output joint  61  is provided in the attachment portion  58 . The first output joint  61  is a drive output portion configured to output the rotational driving force that is output from a drive source such as a motor provided in the image forming apparatus  10 , to the outside. The first output joint  61  is coupled with the first input portion  98  in the left-right direction D 3  when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 9 , a gear transmission mechanism  103  (an example of the transmission mechanism) is provided in the lid member  76 . The gear transmission mechanism  103  is coupled with the rotation shaft  96  of the spiral member  95  and with a rotation shaft member  911  of the stirring member  91  in the state where the lid member  76  closes the opening portions  81  and  82 . With this configuration, the rotational driving force transmitted from the first input portion  98  to the spiral member  95  is transmitted to the stirring member  91  by the gear transmission mechanism  103 . That is, with the provision of the gear transmission mechanism  103 , when the rotational driving force is input to the first input portion  98 , the spiral member  95  and the stirring member  91  are rotated interlocking with each other. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the lower storage portion  72  includes a second conveyance portion  105 . Specifically, the second conveyance portion  105  for conveying the waste toner discharged from a drum unit  31  for magenta to the inside of the storage space  86  is provided in the storage space  86 . The second conveyance portion  105  includes a second conveyance guide portion  107  and a spiral member  108 , wherein the second conveyance guide portion  107  is cylindrical, extends outward from a wall surface  791  of the left side of the lower case  79 , and includes a toner conveyance path in its inside, and the spiral member  108  (an example of the second rotating member, the rotating member, and the first conveyance member, see  FIG. 11 ) is provided in the inside of the second conveyance guide portion  107 . The second conveyance guide portion  107  is integrally formed with the lower case  79 . 
     The spiral member  108  is rotatably provided in the inside of the lower storage portion  72 , and as shown in  FIG. 11 , extends in the depth direction D 13  perpendicular to the height direction D 11 . The spiral member  108  is a conveyance member that conveys the waste toner that has been discharged from the drum unit  31  to the second conveyance guide portion  107 , to the storage space  86  through the inside of the second conveyance guide portion  107 . In addition, the second conveyance guide portion  107  is a guide member that receives the waste toner from the drum unit  31 , and guides the waste toner conveyed by the spiral member  108  to the inside of the storage space  86 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the spiral member  108  includes spiral blades  110  around a rotation shaft  109 . An end portion  1091  (an example of the second end portion) of the rotation shaft  109  of the spiral member  108  on the lid member  76  side is rotatably supported by a bearing portion  112  (an example of the second bearing portion) that is integrally formed with the inner surface  762  of the lid member  76 . In addition, in a state where the spiral member  108  is inserted in the second conveyance guide portion  107 , the opposite end of the rotation shaft  109  is rotatably supported by the second conveyance guide portion  107 . Specifically, a second input portion  111  (an example of the second drive input portion and the first input joint) is attached to an opposite end portion  1092  of the rotation shaft  109 , wherein the second input portion  111  receives a rotational driving force input from outside. 
     In addition, a through hole  1071  (an example of the bearing hole and the bearing portion) is formed in the tip of the second conveyance guide portion  107 . In the state where the second input portion  111  projects from the through hole  1071  to the outside, the end portion  1092  is rotatably supported in the inside of the second conveyance guide portion  107 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the inlet  114  for guiding the waste toner to the inside of the storage space  86  is formed on the upper surface of the second conveyance guide portion  107 . In addition, on the upper surface of the second conveyance guide portion  107 , a shutter member  115  for opening and closing the inlet  114  is provided. The shutter member  115  is supported by the second conveyance guide portion  107  such that the upper surface of the second conveyance guide portion  107  can be slid in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction of  FIG. 11 ) of the second conveyance guide portion  107 . 
     In the present embodiment, when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58  (see  FIG. 4 ), the shutter member  115  is moved from a closing position of closing the inlet  114 , to an opening position of opening the inlet  114 . 
     In addition, the inlet  114  is aligned with the discharge port  431  of the discharge guide portion  43  for positioning, then the inlet  114  is connected to the discharge port  431  so that waste toner can be conveyed from the discharge port  431  to the inlet  114 . In addition, the second input portion  111  is coupled with a second output joint  62  (an example of the drive output portion and the first drive coupling portion, see  FIG. 13 ) that is provided in the attachment portion  58 , and a rotational driving force output from a drive source such as a motor is transmitted to the second input portion  111 . Upon receiving the rotational driving force, the spiral member  108  is rotated, and the waste toner that has been discharged from the discharge port  431  and conveyed into the second conveyance guide portion  107  is conveyed to the storage space  86  through the second conveyance guide portion  107 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the second output joint  62  is provided in the attachment portion  58 , at a position different from the first output joint  61 . The second output joint  62  is a drive output portion configured to output the rotational driving force that is output from a drive source such as a motor provided in the image forming apparatus  10 , to the outside. The second output joint  62  is coupled with the second input portion  111  in the left-right direction D 3  when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 . 
     As described above, in the present embodiment, the central flange  832  is provided so as to couple the upper case  78  of the upper storage portion  71  with the lower case  79  of the lower storage portion  72 . As a result, even if, due to a production error or the like, the first input portion  98  and the second input portion  111  are positionally deviated, or the first output joint  61  and the second output joint  62  are positionally deviated, the toner container  3 M can be bent at the vicinity of the gap  88  when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 , so that the first input portion  98  is aligned with the first output joint  61 , and the second input portion  111  is aligned with the second output joint  62  for positioning. This allows the first input portion  98  to be coupled with the first output joint  61 , and the second input portion  111  to be coupled with the second output joint  62 , smoothly in a reliable manner. In addition, in a case where the rotational driving force is transmitted in the state where the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 , even if, due to a positional deviation, a load is applied to the input portions  98  and  111  or the output joints  61  and  62 , the load escapes toward the central flange  832  and bends the toner container  3 M at the vicinity of the gap  88 . With this configuration, it is possible to distribute the load of the input portions  98  and  111  or the output joints  61  and  62  and prevent the input portions  98  and  111  or the output joints  61  and  62  from being damaged. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the first conveyance portion  92  and the second conveyance portion  105  are separated from each other in the width direction D 12 . Specifically, the first conveyance portion  92  is provided on the wall surface  781  of the upper storage portion  71  at a position close to a side portion on one side (the front side) in the width direction D 12 . In addition, the second conveyance portion  105  is provided on the wall surface  791  of the lower storage portion  72  at a position close to a side portion on the opposite side (the rear side) in the width direction D 12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 9 , the toner container  3 M includes a gripping portion  122  having a concave portion  123 . The gripping portion  122  is a portion that is gripped by the user when the user carries or performs a replacement of the toner container  3 M. In the present embodiment, the concave portion  123  is formed in one side of the container main body  75  in the width direction D 12 . More specifically, the concave portion  123  is formed between the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  in a side portion on the front side in the attachment attitude of the toner container  3 M attached to the attachment portion  58 . The concave portion  123  passes through the toner container  3 M in the depth direction D 13 , and when the toner container  3 M is viewed from the lid member  76  side, the concave portion  123  is rectangular. With the formation of the concave portion  123 , the toner container  3 M has the gripping portion  122  that is a narrowed, constricted portion. Since, the gripping portion  122  is formed in a constricted shape so as to be easily held by the user, the user can easily place his/her fingers on the gripping portion  122 , easily carry the toner container  3 M, and easily perform the replacement work. It is noted that since the lid member  76  is formed in the shape that matches the shape of the container main body  75 , the lid member  76  also has a constricted portion in correspondence with the gripping portion  122 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the concave portion  123  is provided in an upper portion of the lower storage portion  72 . As a result, under the constraint that the toner container  3 M cannot be increased in size, the presence of the concave portion  123  reduces the capacity of the storage space  86  of the lower storage portion  72 . However, since the lower storage portion  72  is configured to store waste toner, the upper space of the storage space  86  is never filled until the storage space  86  is filled with the waste toner. For this reason, the concave portion  123  is preferably formed in the lower storage portion  72 . The upper storage portion  71  is configured to store unused toner. As a result, if the concave portion  123  is formed in the upper storage portion  71 , the storage space  85  of the upper storage portion  71  cannot secure a prescribed capacity required to store the unused toner. Thus it is not preferable to form the concave portion  123  in the upper storage portion  71 . 
     In addition, the concave portion  123  is formed in proximity to the first conveyance portion  92 , more specifically, directly under the shutter member  101  of the first conveyance portion  92 . When the toner container  3 M is attached to or detached from the attachment portion  58 , the shutter member  101  is opened or closed, and the opening or closing of the shutter member  101  generates a sliding resistance. When performing a replacement work of the toner container  3 M, the user feels the sliding resistance as a load. However, the concave portion  123  is provided directly under the shutter member  101 . Thus, when performing a replacement work of replacing the toner container  3 M by gripping the gripping portion  122 , the user can easily apply a force to the gripping portion  122 , and can directly transmit a force to the shutter member  101 . With this configuration, the workability during the replacement work is improved. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 9 , the toner container  3 M includes an identification label  126  that indicates the type of the toner container  3 M (for example, the color of the toner, model number or the like). The identification label  126  is a sheet-like member whose rear side is coated with an adhesive such as paste, and characters and/or symbols indicating the type are written on the front side thereof. The identification label  126  is stuck to the surface of the lid member  76 . Specifically, the identification label  126  is stuck to a region in an outer surface of the lid member  76  that corresponds to the gripping portion  122 . According to conventional toner containers, the container main body  75  or the lid member  76  of the toner container  3 M is colored to the color of the toner stored therein so that the type thereof can be identified. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the identification label  126  is used to make the toner container  3  identifiable. This makes it possible to unify the toner containers  3  for color printing. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , an IC substrate  64  is mounted on an upper portion of the wall surface  781  of the upper case  78 , wherein the IC substrate  64  includes a plurality of contact terminals  67 . The upper portion of the wall surface  781  includes a concave recess portion  783  that is recessed from the wall surface  781  by one stage. Specifically, the concave recess portion  783  is formed on the wall surface  781  to continue to the upper end of the wall surface  781 . The concave recess portion  783  is lower than the wall surface  781  by one stage. The concave recess portion  783  is formed to extend over the whole region of the upper portion of the wall surface  781  in the width direction D 12 . The IC substrate  64  is disposed on the concave recess portion  783 . More specifically, the IC substrate  64  is disposed at the center of the concave recess portion  783  in the width direction D 12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , two holes  65  are formed in the IC substrate  64 . The two holes  65  are respectively formed at opposite ends of the IC substrate  64  in the width direction D 12 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the upper case  78  is integrally formed with two bosses  66  that extend vertically from the concave recess portion  783 . The two bosses  66  have such a size as to be inserted in the holes  65 , and are disposed at positions corresponding to the holes  65 . In the state where the bosses  66  are inserted in the holes  65  of the IC substrate  64 , the top part of each boss  66  is crushed by a pressure so as to spread. This causes the IC substrate  64  to be fixed to the bosses  66 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 11 , in the state where the IC substrate  64  is fixed to the concave recess portion  783 , a surface  641  of the IC substrate  64  becomes flush with the wall surface  781 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , five contact terminals  67  ( 671  to  675 ) are provided on the surface  641  of the IC substrate  64 . In addition, a storage portion (not shown) such as a chip memory or a flash memory is implemented on the rear side of the IC substrate  64 . The storage portion stores information related to the toner stored in the toner container  3 M. Examples of the information related to the toner include the amount of unused toner stored in the upper storage portion  71 , the time when the unused toner was stored, and applicable conditions of the unused toner. It is noted that the storage portion may not be provided in the IC substrate  64 . For example, the storage portion may be fixed to a wall surface of the container main body  75  and connected to the contact terminals  67  by cables. 
     The five contact terminals  67  are, while in contact with a conductive material, electrically conductive with the conductive material and are an example of the fixed terminal. The contact terminals  67  are, for example, electrodes formed from copper foils. When the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 , three contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  among the five contact terminals  67  come into contact with contact terminals  142  (an example of the elastic terminal) of a terminal unit  140  that is described below. 
     Among the five contact terminals  67 , only three contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are connected to the storage portion, and the other contact terminals  673  and  674  are not connected to the storage portion. That is, in the image forming apparatus  10 , only the three contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are used for communication with the storage portion. In the present embodiment, the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are intensively arranged in one side (the rear side) in the width direction D 12  on the surface  641  of the IC substrate  64 . With such an arrangement of the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675 , even when the user&#39;s fingers touch any of the contact terminals  67  of the IC substrate  64  when the user carries the toner container  3 M or grips the toner container  3 M during a replacement work, there is a less possibility that the user&#39;s fingers touch any of the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  than in a case where the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are dispersively arranged on the surface  641  of the IC substrate  64 . 
     Specifically, among the five contact terminals  67 , four contact terminals  671  to  674  are arranged in alignment in the width direction D 12  on the surface  641 . The four contact terminals  671  to  674  are disposed at the center of the surface  641  in the width direction D 12 , and are disposed at equal intervals in the width direction D 12 . The contact terminal  671  that is located on the most rear side in the width direction D 12  is a ground electrode. That is, the contact terminal  671  is a ground terminal. The contact terminal  671  is connected to the storage portion. In addition, the contact terminal  672  adjacent to the contact terminal  671  is a terminal for use in the PLC (Power Line Communication) in which a power line is also used as a communication line, and is connected to the storage portion. That is, the contact terminal  672  is an electrode that can be used for transmission of a signal, data, and power. The contact terminals  671  and  672  are an example of the second contact terminal. The remaining contact terminals  673  and  674  are unused electrodes and are not connected to the storage portion. In addition, the contact terminals  673  and  674  are covered with an insulating film. In other words, among the four electrodes formed in alignment in the width direction D 12 , the two contact terminals  671  and  672  remain after two electrodes (the contact terminals  673  and  674 ) on the other side (the front side) in the width direction D 12  are covered with an insulating film. Among the five contact terminals  67 , only the contact terminals  673  and  674  are covered with an insulating film so as not to function as electrodes, and the other contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are not covered with an insulating film and function as electrodes. It is noted that although the present embodiment describes an example case where five contact terminals  67  are provided on the IC substrate  64 , the contact terminals  673  and  674  may not be provided on the IC substrate  64 . It suffices that at least the contact terminals  671  and  675  are provided. 
     In addition, the contact terminal  675  (an example of the first contact terminal and the first fixed terminal) is arranged below the four contact terminals  671  to  674 . The contact terminal  675  has a larger contact area than the other contact terminals  671  to  674 , and is approximately double the size of each of the contact terminals  671  to  674 . In addition, the other contact terminals  671  to  674  are vertically long in the height direction D 11 . On the other hand, the contact terminal  675  is formed in a wide shape elongated in the width direction D 12 . In the present embodiment, the contact terminal  675  is disposed at a position slightly deviated to the rear side from the center in the width direction D 12 . In other words, the contact terminal  675  is disposed at a position that is below the contact terminals  672  and  673  and more on the contact terminal  672  side than on the contact terminal  673  side, the contact terminals  672  and  673  being near the center among the four contact terminals  671  to  674 . The contact terminal  675  is a ground electrode. That is, the contact terminal  675  is a ground terminal. In the present embodiment, two ground terminals are provided on the surface  641  of the IC substrate  64 . On the IC substrate  64 , the contact terminal  675  is connected to the contact terminal  671  by the pattern wiring. 
     In the present embodiment, the toner container  3 M is configured such that, when the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 , first the contact terminal  675  contacts a contact terminal  1425  (see  FIG. 14 ) of a terminal unit  140  that is described below, and then the contact terminals  671  and  672  contact contact terminals  1421  and  1422  that are described below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the attachment portion  58  includes the terminal unit  140 . The terminal unit  140  is fixed to the bracket  59  of the attachment portion  58 . The terminal unit  140  is provided at a position that is in an upper portion of the bracket  59  and corresponds to the IC substrate  64 . On the terminal unit  140 , a support base  141  (an example of the terminal support portion) and three contact terminals  142  ( 1421 ,  1422  and  1425 ) are provided. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the support base  141  supports the three contact terminals  142 . Among the three contact terminals  142  on the support base  141 , the contact terminal  1425  is separated from the contact terminals  1421  and  1422  in the up-down direction D 1 , and the contact terminal  1425  is disposed below the contact terminals  1421  and  1422 . Specifically, the support base  141  includes a first support portion  1411  and a second support portion  1412  that is disposed below the first support portion  1411 . The two contact terminals  1421  and  1422  are supported by the first support portion  1411 , and the contact terminal  1425  is supported by the second support portion  1412 . 
     The three contact terminals  142  are configured to contact the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  among the contact terminals  67  provided in the toner container  3 M so as to be connected therewith in an electrically conductive manner. The three contact terminals  142  are an example of the elastic terminal. The three contact terminals  142  correspond to the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  respectively on a one-to-one basis, and are arranged at positions so as to face the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  in the state where the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 . Each of the contact terminals  142  is formed by bending and deforming a metal wire member that has conductivity, or a metal plate member that has conductivity and is narrow and elongated. Configured as such, the contact terminals  142  have spring property. That is, the contact terminals  142  are formed in such a shape as to elastically deform upon receiving a pressure force. 
     The first support portion  1411  includes two storage portions  144  in which the two contact terminals  1421  and  1422  are stored respectively. The storage portions  144  are provided in alignment in the front-rear direction D 2 . That is, the two contact terminals  1421  and  1422  are provided in alignment in the front-rear direction D 2 . The fixing ends at one side of the contact terminals  1421  and  1422  are fixed to a side wall  1441  that defines the left side of the storage portions  144 . The contact terminals  1421  and  1422  are elongated in the up-down direction D 1 . The other ends at the other side of the contact terminals  1421  and  1422  project from the storage portions  144  rightward (toward the wall surface  781  of the toner container  3 M), and include contact portions  146  formed in a bent shape. The contact portions  146  come into contact with the contact terminals  671  and  672 . 
     It is noted that the present embodiment describes an example case where the three contact terminals  142  are provided on the terminal unit  140  at positions where they can contact the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  of the toner container  3 M. However, for example, contact terminals (not shown) having the same shape as the contact terminal  1421  may be provided on the first support portion  1411  at positions corresponding to the contact terminals  673  and  674 . 
     The contact terminal  1421  is configured to contact the contact terminal  671 , and is disposed at the rear-most position in the first support portion  1411 . In addition, the contact terminal  1422  is configured to contact the contact terminal  672 , and is disposed in front of the contact terminals  1421  in the first support portion  1411 . The contact terminal  1421  (an example of the second ground terminal) is a ground electrode, namely, a ground terminal. In addition, the contact terminal  1422  is an electrode that is used for the PLC. 
     The contact terminal  1425  (an example of the first ground terminal) is a ground electrode, namely, a ground terminal. The second support portion  1412  includes a storage portion  145  for storing the contact terminal  1425 . The contact terminal  1425  is elongated in the front-rear direction D 2 . Specifically, a fixing boss  148  for fixing a front end portion of the contact terminal  1425  is provided on the front side of the storage portion  145 . In the state where the front end portion of the contact terminal  1425  is fixed, the contact terminal  1425  projects rearward in the front-rear direction D 2 . The rear side of the contact terminal  1425  projects rightward (toward the wall surface  781  of the toner container  3 M) from the storage portion  145 , and includes a contact portion  149  formed in a bent shape. The contact portion  149  comes into contact with the contact terminal  675 . 
     In the present embodiment, the projection length of the contact terminal  1425  is longer than the projection length of the contact terminals  1421  and  1422 . That is, the contact portion  149  of the contact terminal  1425  is located more on the right side (on the side of the wall surface  781  of the toner container  3 M) than the contact portions  146  of the contact terminals  1421  and  1422 . 
     With the provision of the contact terminal  1425  as such, during the attachment process in which the toner container  3 M is attached to the attachment portion  58 , the contact terminal  675 , among the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675 , first contacts the contact portion  149  of the contact terminal  1425  before the other contact terminals  671  and  672  contact. With this configuration, noises hardly occur when the contact terminals contact, and it is possible to prevent the data in the storage portion of the IC substrate  64  from being damaged, and prevent the IC substrate  64  itself from being damaged. 
     In addition, the terminal unit  140  of the present embodiment is configured such that, regardless of the type of the toner container  3 M, the contact terminal  675  first contacts the contact portion  149  of the contact terminal  1425  during the attachment process as far as the toner container  3 M includes the contact terminal  675  that has a contact surface perpendicular to the attachment direction with respect to the attachment portion  58 . 
     In the following, with reference to  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 15  and  FIG. 17 , the configuration of the toner container  3 K for black is described. It is noted that, as described above, components of the toner container  3 K that are the same as those of the toner container  3 M are assigned the same reference signs, and description thereof is omitted. In the following description, “M” is added to the reference signs of the components of the toner container  3 M, and “K” is added to the reference signs of the components of the toner container  3 K, as necessary. 
     In the toner container  3 K, as in the toner container  3 M, the IC substrate  64  is mounted on the upper portion of the wall surface  781  of the upper case  78 . However, the toner container  3 K differs from the toner container  3 M in that a concave recess portion  784  (see  FIG. 17 ) that is different from the concave recess portion  783  is provided on the upper portion of the wall surface  781 , and that the IC substrate  64  is provided on the concave recess portion  784 . The concave recess portion  784  is lower by one stage than the wall surface  781  of the upper case  78 . As shown in  FIG. 17 , the concave recess portion  784  is formed on the wall surface  781  to continue to the upper end of the wall surface  781 . The concave recess portion  784  is formed in an upper portion of the wall surface  781  at a position on one side in the width direction D 12 , more specifically, on the front side. The IC substrate  64  is disposed on the concave recess portion  784 . More specifically, the IC substrate  64  is disposed at the center of the concave recess portion  784  in the width direction D 12 . 
     With such an arrangement of the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675 , even when the user&#39;s fingers touch any of the contact terminals  67  of the IC substrate  64  when the user carries the toner container  3 K or grips the toner container  3 K during a replacement work, there is a less possibility that the user&#39;s fingers touch any of the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  than in a case where the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are dispersively arranged on the surface  641  of the IC substrate  64 . In particular, in the toner container  3 K, the concave recess portion  784  is formed in one side in the width direction D 12  (the front side), and thus the user&#39;s fingers are apt to touch the IC substrate  64  when the user grips the toner container  3 K. Accordingly, in the case where the concave recess portion  784  is formed at such a position, it is preferable that the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675  are intensively arranged in the rear side opposite to the front side in which the concave recess portion  784  is formed. Such an arrangement further makes it difficult for the user&#39;s fingers to touch the contact terminals  671 ,  672  and  675 . 
     It is noted that, as described above, in the toner container  3 K, not only the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device  42 , but also the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device  38  is stored in the lower storage portion  72 K. As a result, as described below, the lower storage portion  72 K has a larger capacity than the upper storage portion  71 K. In the present embodiment, the concave recess portion  784  to which the IC substrate  64  is attached is provided in the upper case  78 . This is to prevent a case where the capacity of the lower storage portion  72 K is reduced because the storage space  86 K is narrowed by the concave recess portion  784  if the concave recess portion  784  is provided in the lower case  79 . 
     In addition, the toner container  3 K differs from the toner container  3 M in that the toner container  3 K is larger in outer shape and capacity than the toner container  3 M, that the toner container  3 K includes a gripping portion  132  in place of the gripping portion  122 , and that two step portions  151  and  152  are formed in the lower storage portion  72 K. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the upper storage portion  71 K of the toner container  3 K has a larger size in the width direction D 12  than the upper storage portion  71 M of the toner container  3 M. It is noted that they have the same sizes in the height direction D 11  and in the depth direction D 13 . As a result, the storage space  85 K of the upper storage portion  71 K has a larger capacity and can store a larger amount of unused toner than the storage space  85 M of the upper storage portion  71 M. 
     The lower storage portion  72 K of the toner container  3 K has larger sizes in the height direction D 11 , the width direction D 12  and the depth direction D 13  than the lower storage portion  72 M of the toner container  3 M. As a result, the storage space  86 K of the lower storage portion  72 K has a larger capacity and can store a larger amount of waste toner than the storage space  86 M of the lower storage portion  72 M. In particular, since the lower storage portion  72 K has larger sizes in the three directions D 11 , D 12  and D 13  than the lower storage portion  72 M, the storage space  86 K of the lower storage portion  72 K has a larger capacity than the storage space  86 M of the lower storage portion  72 M, and has a larger capacity than the storage space  85 K of the upper storage portion  71 K. That is, in the toner container  3 K, the lower storage portion  72 K has a larger capacity than the upper storage portion  71 K. 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 16 , the lower storage portion  72 K of the toner container  3 K has a larger size in the depth direction D 13  than the upper storage portion  71 K. That is, the size in the depth direction D 13  of the lower storage portion  72 K of the toner container  3 K is larger than the size in the depth direction D 13  of the upper storage portion  71 K. In addition, the upper storage portion  71 K and the lower storage portion  72 K have approximately the same sizes in the height direction D 11  and the width direction D 12 . 
     With the above-described configuration, both the upper storage portion  71 K and the lower storage portion  72 K can secure enough capacity. In addition, since the storage space  86 K of the lower storage portion  72 K has a larger capacity than the storage space  85 K of the upper storage portion  71 K, the storage space  86 K can sufficiently store not only the waste toner from the drum cleaning device  42 , but also the waste toner from the belt cleaning device  38 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 15  to  FIG. 17 , the toner container  3 K includes the gripping portion  132  that includes a concave portion  133  (an example of the first concave portion) and a concave portion  134  (an example of the second concave portion). The gripping portion  132  is configured to be gripped by the user when the user carries the toner container  3 K or performs a replacement of the toner container  3 K. In the present embodiment, the concave portion  133  is formed in a side portion of the container main body  75  on one side in the width direction D 12 . More specifically, the concave portion  133  is formed between the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  in a side portion of the container main body  75  on the front side in the attachment attitude of the toner container  3 K attached to the attachment portion  58 . In addition, the concave portion  134  is formed in a side portion of the container main body  75  on the other side in the width direction D 12 . More specifically, the concave portion  134  is formed between the upper storage portion  71  and the lower storage portion  72  in a side portion of the container main body  75  on the rear side in the attachment attitude of the toner container  3 K attached to the attachment portion  58 . That is, the toner container  3 K includes the concave portions  133  and  134  (an example of the pair of concave portions) that are formed to make a pair in side portions of the container main body  75  on opposite sides in the width direction D 12 . 
     Each of the concave portions  133  and  134  passes through the toner container  3 K in the depth direction D 13 , and when the toner container  3 K is viewed from the lid member  76  side, each of the concave portions  133  and  134  is rectangular. With the formation of the concave portions  133  and  134 , in the toner container  3 K, a portion formed between the concave portion  133  and the concave portion  134  is narrowed and constricted. The constricted portion is the gripping portion  132 . Since, the gripping portion  132  is constricted in such a way as to be easily held by the user, the user can easily place his/her fingers on the gripping portion  132 , easily carry the toner container  3 K, and easily perform the replacement work. In particular, since the toner container  3 K is wider than the toner container  3 M, the gripping portion  132  of an easy-to-hold size can be formed by narrowing the container main body  75  from both sides in the width direction D 12 . It is noted that since the lid member  76  is formed to have a shape that matches the shape of the container main body  75 , the lid member  76  also has a constricted portion in correspondence with the gripping portion  132 . 
     In the present embodiment, the concave portion  133  has a larger size than the concave portion  134 . Specifically, the concave portion  133  is greater in length in the height direction D 11  than the concave portion  134 , and the concave portion  133  is greater in length in the width direction D 12  than the concave portion  134 . As a result, the user can easily place his/her thumb on the concave portion  133 , easily carry the toner container  3 M, and easily perform the replacement work. 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 6 , for the same reason described above for the concave portion  123  of the toner container  3 M, the concave portions  133  and  134  of the toner container  3 K are provided in the upper portion of the lower storage portion  72 . 
     In addition, for the same reason described above for the concave portion  123  of the toner container  3 M, in the toner container  3 K, the concave portion  133  is formed in proximity to the first conveyance portion  92 , more specifically, directly under the shutter member  101  of the first conveyance portion  92 . Thus, when replacing the toner container  3 K by gripping the gripping portion  132 , the user can easily apply a force to the gripping portion  132 , and can directly transmit a force to the shutter member  101 . With this configuration, the workability during the replacement work is improved. 
     It is noted that the gripping portion  132  of the toner container  3 K is not limited to the one that includes the concave portions  133  and  134 . For example, the gripping portion  132  may include only either one of the concave portion  133  and the concave portion  134 . In addition, the gripping portion  122  of the toner container  3 M may include a pair of concave portions. 
     As shown in  FIG. 15  and  FIG. 16 , two step portions  151  and  152  are formed in the lower storage portion  72 K. The step portions  151  and  152  are formed in a wall surface  791  of the lower case  79  of the lower storage portion  72 K. The step portion  151  (an example of the first step portion) is formed in the wall surface  791  at an end on one side in the width direction D 12  (the rear side). Specifically, the step portion  151  is formed in the wall surface  791  at a position opposite to the concave portion  133 , at an end on the concave portion  134  side. The step portion  151  is formed in the shape of being recessed from the wall surface  791  toward the inside of the lower storage portion  72 K. In addition, the bottom surface of the step portion  151  (the surface lower than the wall surface  791 ) reaches a side surface of the lower case  79  perpendicular to the wall surface  791  (a side surface on the concave portion  134  side). That is, in the wall surface  791 , the step portion  151  is formed to be lowered from the wall surface  791  toward the inside, and the depth size of the step portion  151  with respect to the wall surface  791  is, for example, approximately 2 to 3 mm. 
     In addition, the step portion  152  (an example of the second step portion) is formed in the wall surface  791  at an end on the other side in the width direction D 12  (the front side). Specifically, the step portion  152  is formed in the wall surface  791  at an end on one side in the height direction D 11  (the down side). The step portion  152  is formed as a portion that is recessed from the wall surface  791  toward the inside of the lower storage portion  72 K. In addition, the bottom surface of the step portion  152  (the surface lower than the wall surface  791 ) reaches a side surface of the lower case  79  perpendicular to the wall surface  791  (a side surface on the concave portion  133  side). That is, in the wall surface  791 , the step portion  152  is formed to be lowered from the wall surface  791  toward the inside. The step portion  152  has a larger depth size with respect to the wall surface  791  than the step portion  151 , and the depth size of the step portion  152  is, for example, approximately 3.5 to 4.5 mm. 
     Since the step portions  151  and  152  are formed in the lower storage portion  72 K in the above-described manner, the user can easily place his/her hand on the step portion  151  or the step portion  152  when carrying or gripping the toner container  3 K, and can easily grip the toner container  3 K. In addition, since the IC substrate  64  is not mounted on the lower storage portion  72 K, the user tends to grip the lower storage portion  72 K. Accordingly, from the view point of providing the user with excellent usability, the step portions  151  and  152  are preferably formed in the lower storage portion  72 K. In particular, since the lower storage portion  72 K has a large size in the depth direction D 13 , forming the step portions  151  and  152  with appropriate depths further makes it easy to grip. In addition, the provision of the step portions  151  and  152  enables the user to visually recognize the step portions  151  and  152  as handles. 
     In particular, the toner container  3 K is provided with the above-described step portions  151  and  152  in addition to the gripping portion  132  having the concave portions  133  and  134 . As a result, during the replacement work of the toner container  3 K, the user can securely hold the toner container  3 K by gripping the gripping portion  132  and perform the replacement work in a reliable manner. In addition, when carrying the toner container  3 K, in particular, when carrying the toner container  3 K removed for replacement, the user can carry the toner container  3 K stably by gripping the step portions  151  and  152  of the lower storage portion  72 K in which the waste toner is stored. 
     It is noted that both the step portions  151  and  152  need not necessarily be formed in the lower storage portion  72 K. It suffices that the step portion  151  or the step portion  152  is formed in the lower storage portion  72 K. In addition, the step portions  151  and  152  may be formed in the lower storage portion  72 M of the toner container  3 M. 
     It is to be understood that the embodiments herein are illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.