Patent Publication Number: US-2013248562-A1

Title: Medium Filling Device And Method

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     The present application is based on and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-065319, filed on Mar. 22, 2012, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a medium filling device and method for filling an image forming medium such as a toner into a toner container, a toner cartridge, or a process cartridge. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There are two kinds of toners for use in an electrophotographic image forming devices, that is, genuine products offered by the manufacturers of the image forming devices and refilled products offered by toner suppliers to users. The latter, the refilled products are more cost-effective for users, therefore, are higher in demand than the former. 
     However, in emerging countries there are few suppliers offering refilled products and the transportation infrastructure has not been well developed, so that toner refill products are not available in some areas. 
     Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-92100, for example, discloses a toner filling device for a toner container, a toner cartridge, or a process cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a toner container) configured to supply an airflow into a toner filling device to fill a toner container with the toner. 
     In addition, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-104301, for example, discloses a powder filling device configured to introduce a gas into a container containing powder to fluidize powder, and fill a powder container with the fluidized powder. 
     However, the above-mentioned filling devices are suitable to fill a larger number of toner containers (or powder containers) with toners in well-equipped working facilities such as a plant, but the devices are so large in scale that the costs required for initial investment are heavy burden on suppliers. Accordingly, the users of image forming devices have to be charged higher filling costs. 
     In addition, due to an adequate transportation infrastructure, filling work at facilities such as a plant costs more in some areas, further increasing filling costs. Moreover, the suppliers faces a problem that using a productive large-lot toner filling device is not good for filling a variety of small-lot toner containers and decreases productivity because a large amount of man-hours are required to switch toner types or powder types. 
     Another problem is that a large-scale device requires enormous amounts of electricity for operation, which also increases the filling costs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an objective of the present invention to provide a medium filling device and method that enables anyone to easily fill a target with an image forming medium anywhere with a simple structure at low cost. 
     According to one aspect of an embodiment, a medium filling device includes a container rotatably supported, to contain an image forming medium, a dispenser configured to receive a constant quantity of the image forming medium from the container by a turn of the container, and a discharger configured to discharge the image forming medium from the dispenser to a target. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features, embodiments, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings: 
         FIGS. 1A ,  1 B are schematic cross sectional view showing the configuration of a toner filling device according to a first embodiment when a container of the toner filling device is inverted and when the container of the toner filling device is erected, respectively; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of neighborhood of a dispenser in the toner filling device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3A ,  3 B are schematic cross sectional views showing the configuration of a toner filling device according to second embodiment when a container of the toner filling device is inverted and when the container of the toner filling device is erected; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of neighborhood of a dispenser in the toner filling device of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of neighborhood of a dispenser in the toner filling device of  FIG. 3 , showing an auxiliary container further rotated than that in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the auxiliary container; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an inward protrusion provided on the bottom of a container body; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view of the auxiliary container, a handle, and a ball valve; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of the container body in an erected state; 
         FIGS. 10A ,  10 B, and  10 C show positional relations between a suction hole of the inward protrusion and a suction hole of the auxiliary container and between an outlet hole of the auxiliary container and an outlet hole of the inward protrusion; 
         FIGS. 11A ,  11 B show the container body including residual toner and the same including no residual toner according to the second embodiment, respectively; 
         FIGS. 12A ,  12 B show another feature of the container body including residual toner and including no residual toner according to the second embodiment, respectively; 
         FIG. 13A  is a perspective view the container body having a carrying assistance member when legs are extended, and  FIG. 13B  is a perspective view of the same when the legs are folded; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the container body inverted; 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of another example of the toner filling device according to the second embodiment; 
         FIGS. 16A ,  16 B show a flexible hose according to a third embodiment for use in filling toner when the height of a filling target is high and when the height of a filling target is low, respectively; 
         FIG. 17  shows an example of a coiled spring inserted into the flexible hose; 
         FIGS. 18A ,  18 B show an example of a bellows type hose when the ball valve is positioned high from a floor surface and when the ball valve is positioned low from the floor surface, respectively; 
         FIG. 19  is a cross sectional view of a screw portion connecting the flexible hose or the bellows type hose with a tip end of the ball valve; 
         FIG. 20  is a perspective view of a container body according to a fourth embodiment; 
         FIG. 21  is an exploded perspective view of an opening/closing mechanism; 
         FIG. 22  is a view of another example of the opening/closing mechanism; 
         FIG. 23  is a detailed exploded perspective view of the auxiliary container. 
         FIG. 24A  is a front view of a regulation member and  FIG. 24B  is a bottom view thereof; 
         FIG. 25  is an exploded perspective view of a discharge regulation plate and a toner filler; 
         FIG. 26  is a cross sectional view of the discharge regulation plate and the toner filler. 
         FIG. 27  is an exploded perspective view of another example of the discharge regulation plate and the toner filler; and 
         FIG. 28  is a cross sectional view of the discharge regulation plate and the toner filler in  FIG. 27 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Note that the toner is used as an image forming medium in the following descriptions of the present embodiments. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIGS. 1A ,  1 B are schematic cross sectional view showing the configuration of a toner filling device according to a first embodiment when a container of the toner filling device is inverted and when the container of the toner filling device is erected, respectively. 
     A container body  11  is comprised of a main portion  11 A as a bottomed cylinder and a cone portion  11 B above the main portion  11 A. The container body  11  is held at two locations on its sides by stainless legs  12 . Specifically, supporting shafts  13 ,  14  are fixed to the sides of the main portion  11 A of the container body  11 , and one end  12 A of the legs  12  is rotatably attached to the supporting shaft  13  while the other end  12 B of the legs  12  is rotatably attached to the supporting shaft  14 . 
     In addition to the legs  12 , stainless legs  15  (see  FIG. 13  and  FIG. 14 ) are also attached to the supporting shafts  13 ,  14 . Likewise, one end  15 A of the legs  15  is rotatably attached to the supporting shaft  13  while the other end  15 B is rotatably attached to the supporting shaft  14 . Note that the container body as a whole is made of an ABS material. 
     The supporting shafts  13 ,  14  are arranged on opposed sides, placing the container body  11  therebetween. The legs  12 ,  15  are U-shaped with L-folded portions on the bottom side. Then, width L 1  of the bottom side is set larger than that L 2  of a top side (width between the one end  12 A and the other end  12 B of the legs  12 ). In addition, the supporting shafts  13 ,  14  as the rotation center of the container body  11  are arranged above the center of gravity of the container body  11  while the container body  11  is erected. 
     The container body  11  includes, at the center of in vertical direction, a cylindrical member  16  provided with a dispenser  17  and a discharger  18 . With the container body  11  inverted, the dispenser  17  is located on the bottom side of the container body  11 , and the discharger  18  is located on the top side of the container body  11 . The dispenser  17  is shaped of a cylinder having a bottom closed. The discharger  18  is formed to have a tapered top portion of which a ball valve  19  is attached to a tip end. 
     The discharger  17  penetrates an end of the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11  and is integrally formed with the cone portion  11 B (see  FIG. 2 ). The discharger  18  also penetrates a bottom wall  11 C of the container body  11  and is integrally formed with the bottom wall  11 C. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of neighborhood of a dispenser in the toner filling device of  FIG. 1 . A peripheral wall  17 A is integrally formed with the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11 . Specifically, the end of the cone portion  11 B is closely placed on the peripheral wall  17 A of the dispenser  17 . Then, several inflow holes  20  are formed around a portion of the peripheral wall  17 A of the dispenser  17  in close contact with the cone portion  11 B. The inflow holes  20  are designed to allow a toner to flow from the container body  11  into the dispenser  17 . It includes a base  20 A to be flush with a top surface  11 D of the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11  at the portion in close contact with the cone portion  11 B is placed closely. 
     The discharger  17 A comprises a check valve  21  on the top portion. The check valve  21  is formed of a circular plate one lateral side of which (right side in  FIG. 2 ) is attached to an inner peripheral wall of the cylindrical member  16  through a hinge  22 . Also, a stopper  23  is attached to an opposite side of the inner peripheral wall, facing the hinge  22 . This makes the check valve  21  rotatable in A 1  and A 2  directions. Then, when rotating in the A 1  direction, the check valve  21  abuts the stopper  23  to block communications of the interior of the dispenser  17  with that of the cylindrical member  16 , or the valve becomes closed. When rotating in the A 2  direction, the check valve  21  allows the communication of the interior of the dispenser  17  with the interior of the cylindrical member  16 , or the valve becomes opened. Note that the check valve  21  is provided with a weight  24  on a surface opposite to the surface abutting the stopper  23 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the container body  11  further includes a bar-like holder  25  protruding in the vicinity of the supporting shaft  14  on the lateral side. The holder  25  abuts an extended portion  12 C to hold the container body in the inverted state. The extended portion  12 C extends from the other end  12 B of the leg  12 . Note that two handles  26  for an operator to manually rotate the container body  11  are provided on the lateral sides of the container body  11 . 
     The operation of the toner filling device according to the present embodiment will be described as follows. 
     Normally, the container body is placed in an erected state, as shown in  FIG. 1B . Note that although  FIG. 1B  shows a toner indicated by shading in the discharger  18 , no toner is normally present in the discharger  18  when the container body  11  is carried or stored. 
     First, for filling a target with a toner, as shown in  FIG. 1A , the container body  11  is turned to be inverted. Then, the toner flows from the container body  11  into the dispenser  17  through the inflow hole. The dispenser  17  is set to have a constant capacity to flow a constant quantity of the toner into the dispenser  17 . In the present embodiment, owing to the weight  24 , in particular, the check valve is prevented from opening, even if the toner in the dispenser  17  is applied with pressure from the toner in the container body  11  by its own weight. Consequently, the quantity of the toner in the dispenser  17  can be constantly maintained. 
     Next, the container body  11  is turned as indicated by arrow B in  FIG. 1B . Then, owing to the weight  24 , the check valve  21  rotates in the A 2  direction in  FIG. 2  around the hinge  22  and is opened, as shown in  FIG. 1B . Consequently, the toner drops into the discharger  18  from the dispenser  17  due to its own weight through the cylindrical member  16  and is accumulated in the discharger  18 . Then, the toner can be filled into a target from the discharger  18  by connecting the tip end of the ball valve to the target and opening the ball valve. 
     Thus, according to the present embodiment the toner is flowed from the container body into the dispenser  17  by increments by rotating the container body  11  to be in the inverted state from the erected state. Then, by turning the container body  11  from the inverted state to the erected state, the toner is transferred from the dispenser  17  into the discharger  18  to fill a target. Accordingly, this is a very simple operation for anyone with no experience in any place to smoothly fill the target with the toner. 
     Second Embodiment 
       FIG. 3  shows a toner filling device according to a second embodiment. The same symbols are assigned to same parts as the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
     This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the structure to flow a constant quantity of toner from the container body  1  and discharge the toner to a target. Specifically, the device additionally comprises an auxiliary container  31  as a dispensing discharger on an upper tip end of a cone portion  11 B of the container body  11  when the container body  11  is erected. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , a cylindrical outward protrusion  11 E is formed on the tip end of the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11 . The auxiliary container  31  is fitted into the outward protrusion  11 E. 
     In  FIG. 4 , the auxiliary container  31  is comprised of a cylindrical main portion  31 B having a bottom wall  31 A and a tapered portion  31 C above the main portion  31 B. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the main portion  31 B includes two inlet holes  31 D in the side walls and the tapered portion  31 C includes a fan-like outlet hole  31 E in a top end. A center angle θ 1  of the fan-like outlet hole  31 E is 120 degrees. Here, the inlet holes  31 D are intended to flow the toner from the container body  11  into the dispensing discharger while the outlet hole  31 E is intended to flow remaining toner from the auxiliary container  31  to the container body  11 . The two inlet holes  31 D are provided on opposed sides, placing a center shaft of the auxiliary container  31  therebetween. 
     In addition, the auxiliary container  31  includes a projection  31 F on the entire outer circumference of the main portion  31 B. The projection  31 F is fitted into a groove  11 F formed on the inner circumference of the outward protrusion  11 E when the auxiliary container  31  is fitted into the outward protrusion  11 E of the container body  11 . Thereby, when fitted into the outward protrusion  11 E, the auxiliary container  31  is easily rotated around the center shaft (arrow C 1 , C 2  directions) while it is not easily moved in a direction along the center shaft (arrow D direction). Specifically, this makes it difficult for the auxiliary container  31  to come off from the outward protrusion  11 E. In replace of the projection  31 F or the groove  11 F, a female screw and a male screw are formed on the inner circumference of the outward protrusion  11 E and on the outer circumference of the auxiliary container  31 , respectively, to engage them. 
     A T-shaped handle  32  is provided on the bottom wall  31 A to allow an operator to easily rotate the dispensing discharger in the arrow C 1  and C 2  directions by a manual manipulation of the handle. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an inward protrusion  33  provided on an inner end of the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11 . The inward protrusion  33  protrudes towards the inside of the container body  11  and is of a cylindrical shape with one end (top surface side in the figure) closed. The other end of the inward protrusion  33  is opened and bonded to the end of the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11 . The inward protrusion  33  is integrally formed with the container body  11 . 
     The inward protrusion  33  includes on the one end a blocking wall  33 A which includes a fan-like outlet hole  33 B. A center angle θ 2  of the fan-like outlet hole  33 B is 120 degrees. Further, the inward protrusion  33  includes two inlet holes on the peripheral wall closer to the open end. The inlet holes  33 C are formed on the opposed sides, placing a center shaft of the inward protrusion  33  therebetween. The outlet hole  33 B has almost the same shape as the outlet hole  31 C of the tapered portion  31 C of the auxiliary container  31 . The inlet holes  33 C have an almost same shape as the outlet hole  31 E of the main portion  1 B of the auxiliary container  31 . 
     Then, the inlet holes  33 C of the inward protrusion  33  and the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31  are formed so that their bases match when the auxiliary container  1  is completely fitted into the outward protrusion  11 E and the inward protrusion  33 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the handle  32  includes a toner passage  32 A at the center part connected to the ball valve  34  attached to the handle  32 . 
     The operation of the toner filling device according to the present embodiment will be described as follows: 
     The container body  11  is normally placed in an erected state in storage or when carried as shown in  FIG. 3B . For filling a target with a toner, first, as shown, the container body  11  is turned in arrow E direction to be inverted in  FIG. 3B . Then, by a further manipulation of the handle  32  the auxiliary container  31  is rotated in the arrow C 1 , C 2  directions, so that the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31  matches the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33 . Then, the toner (a shaded part) flows from the container body  11  into the auxiliary container  31  through the inlet hole  33 C and the inlet hole  31 D. 
     When the toner flow into the auxiliary container  31  has completed, the auxiliary container  31  is rotated in either of the arrow C 1  and C 2  directions by 120 degrees with the handle  32  to deflect the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31  from the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33 . The auxiliary container  31  is set to have a constant capacity and flow a constant quantity of toner into the auxiliary container  31 . 
     As described above, the handle  32  includes the toner passage  32 A at the center connected to the ball valve  34  attached to the handle  32 . Then, for filling a not-shown target with the toner in the auxiliary container  31 , the tip end of the ball valve  32  is connected to the target and opened to flow the toner from the auxiliary container  31  into the target and fill it with the constant quantity of toner. 
     When the filling of the target with the toner is completed, the ball valve  34  is closed. The handle  32  is further rotated by 120 degrees so that the outlet hole  31 E of the auxiliary container  31  matches the outlet hole  33 B of the inward protrusion  33 . The container body is then rotated in a direction opposite to the arrow E direction of  FIG. 3  to be brought into the erected state. Then, the remaining toner in the auxiliary container  31  drops into the container body  11  through the outlet hole  31 E and the outlet hole  33 B due to its own weight. 
     In filling the target with the toner from the auxiliary container  31 , the toner may not be completely discharged but may slightly remain in the auxiliary container  31 . However, allowing the outlet hole  31 E to match the outlet hole  33 B enables any remaining toner in the auxiliary container  31  to completely flow back to the container body  11 . 
       FIGS. 10A to 10C  show a positional relation between the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33  and the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31  and that between the outlet hole  31 E of the auxiliary container  31  and the outlet hole  31 E of the inward protrusion  33 . 
     Specifically, in  FIG. 10A , while the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33 C matches the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31 , the outlet hole  31 E of the auxiliary container  31  does not match the outlet hole  33 B of the inward protrusion  33 . 
     In  FIG. 10B  the auxiliary container  31  is turned to the arrow C 1  direction by 120 degrees from that in  FIG. 10A . The inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33  does not match the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31 , and the outlet hole  31 E of the auxiliary container  31  does not match the outlet hole  33 B of the inward protrusion  33 , either. 
     In  FIG. 10C  the auxiliary container  31  is further rotated to the arrow direction C 1  from that in  FIG. 10B . In  FIG. 10C , while the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33  does not match the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31 , the outlet hole  31 E of the auxiliary container  31  matches the outlet hole  33 B of the inward protrusion  33 . 
     According to the present embodiment, by turning the container body  11  to be in the inverted state from the erected state, the toner flows from the container body into the auxiliary container  31  by increments. Then, the target can be filled with the toner in the auxiliary container  31  by opening the ball valve  34 . Hence, this is a very simple operation for anyone with no experience in any place to smoothly fill the target with the toner. 
       FIG. 11  shows the features of a toner filling device according to the present embodiment. Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 11A , a bottom side of the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33  is located slightly above a bottom side of the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31 . This may create a problem that a small amount of toner remaining in the container body  11  is blocked by the inlet hole  31 D of the toner filling container  31  from flowing. As a result, a very small amount of the toner remains in the container body  11 . 
     Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 11B , in the present embodiment the base of the inlet hole  33 C of the inward protrusion  33  matches or is flush with that of the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31 , so that the toner even in a small amount in the container body  11  is not blocked by the inlet hole  31 D of the auxiliary container  31 . No toner remains in the container body  11  accordingly. 
       FIG. 12  shows another feature of the toner filling device according to the present embodiment. Specifically, in  FIG. 12A , the face of the container body  11  on which the auxiliary container  31  is provided is flat. In this case a small amount of the toner remaining in the container body  11  remains on the flat surface. 
     Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 12B , in the present embodiment the cone portion  11 B of the container body  11  is inclined, so that the toner in the container body  11 , even in a small amount, easily flows along the inner surface of the cone portion  11 B. Thus, no toner remains in the container body  11 . 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a carrying assistance member  35  provided on the container body  11 . As described above, the two supporting shafts  13 ,  14  are fixed on the lateral side of the container body  11 , and the legs  12 ,  15  are rotatably attached to the supporting shafts  13 ,  14 . Thus, with the legs  12 ,  15  rotated so that their bottoms are spaced from each other, as shown in  FIG. 13A , the container body  11  can be stably placed on a floor. In addition, for transportation of the container body  11 , an operator can fold the legs  12 ,  15  as shown in  FIG. 13B , easily carry the container body over the shoulders by using the carrying assistance member  35 . 
       FIG. 14  shows the legs  12 ,  15  spaced apart and the container body  11  stably placed on a floor. In this state the auxiliary container  31  is connected to a target via the ball valve  34  in  FIG. 8  to be able to fill the target with the toner from the auxiliary container  31 . 
       FIG. 15  shows another example of the present embodiment. In this example a handle  36  and a ball valve  34  are integrally formed. The handle  36  is intended for rotating an auxiliary container  31  in the arrow C 1  and C 2  direction in  FIG. 6 . Specifically, the handle  36  is comprised of a ring-shaped grip  36 A, and three stays  36 B on the inner side of the grip  36 A. The three stays  36 B are joined at one end with inner periphery of the grip  36 A and joined at the other end with a valve housing  34 A of the ball valve  34 . The three stays  36 B are inclined upward from the one end to the other end. The ball valve  34  is positioned between the bottom wall  31 A of the auxiliary container  31  and the grip  36 A, which enables an operator to easily manipulate the handle  34 B of the auxiliary container  31 . 
     Third Embodiment 
     The third embodiment describes a mechanism for filling a target with the toner in the auxiliary container  31 . As shown in  FIGS. 16A ,  16 B, the auxiliary container  31  includes a handle  32  on a bottom wall  31 A and a ball valve  34  is attached to the handle  32 . Then, a tip end of the ball valve  34  and a target  41  or  42  are connected to each other with a flexible hose  43 . The flexible hose  43  is transparent partially or entirely. In  FIG. 16A  the target  41  has a height h 1  while the target  42  has a height  2  (h 1 &lt;h 1 ). The target  41  is higher than the target  42 . 
     In the present embodiment, an intermediate part of the flexible hose  43  can be gradually tilted for the target with a high height, and steeply tilted for the target  42  with a low height. Thus, the same flexible house  43  can be used for the tip end of the ball valve  34  and the targets  41 ,  42 . In addition, due to the partly or entirely transparent flexible hose  43 , it is made possible for an operator to observe how a toner flows in the flexible hose  43 . Additionally, the flexible hose  43  can connect the ball valve  34  and the target  41  or  42  reliably even if there is a slight difference in the diameter of the tip end of the ball valve and a receiving port of the target  41  or  42 . 
     The flexible hose  43  in  FIG. 17  additionally includes a coiled spring  44 . One end of the flexible hose  43  is connected to a not-shown discharge mechanism  45 , and one end of the coiled spring  44  is internally coupled to a manual rotation member  46 . In addition, the other end of the flexible hose  43  is connected to a target  47 . Note that the discharge mechanism  45  is connected to the auxiliary container  31 . 
     When the operator manually rotates the manual rotation member  46 , the coiled spring  44  is rotated as a screw conveyor to carry toner in the flexible hose  43  to the target  47 . In addition, when the flexible hose  43  is bent, the coiled spring  44  in the flexible hose  43  is freely bent along the flexible hose  43 , thus improving operability for connecting the flexible hose  43  to the target  47 . 
     In  FIGS. 18A ,  18 B the tip end of the ball valve  34  and the target  48  are connected with each other by a bellows type hose  49 . Here, the height where a target  48  is placed, that is to say, a distance from a floor surface  50  where the target  48  is placed to the tip end of the ball valve  34 , is height h 3  in  FIG. 18A  and h 4  (h 4 &lt;h 3 ) in  FIG. 18B . It is shorter in  FIG. 18B  than in  FIG. 18A . 
     In the present embodiment, the bellows type hose  49  can be extended long in  FIG. 18A  in the long distance h 3 . In  FIG. 18B  in a short distance h 3  the bellows type hose  59  can be shrunk. Thus, the same bellows type hose  49  can be used for the tip end of the ball valve  34  and the two targets  48 . 
       FIG. 19  shows a connection mechanism between the tip end of the ball valve  34  and the flexible hose  43  or between the tip end of the ball valve  34  and the bellows type hose  49 . A female screw  51  and a male screw  52  are formed on the tip end of the ball valve  34  and on the one end of the flexible hose  43  or the bellows type hose, respectively. By the engagement of the male and female screws  52  and tightening the male screw  5 , the flexible hose  43  or the bellows type hose  49  can be easily attached to the tip end of the ball valve  34 . The flexible hose  43  or the bellows type hose  49  can be detached from the ball valve  34  by disengaging the female screw  52  and the male screw  51 . 
     Fourth Embodiment 
       FIG. 20  is a perspective view of a toner filling device according to a fourth embodiment. In the present embodiment, a container body is of a cylindrical shape with a bottom closed with the bottom wall  55  and a top closed with a cap  56 . 
     The container body  11  is made from an ABS material in an overall thickness of 5 mm a height of 40 cm, an outer diameter of 40 cm and an internal capacity of 50 liters. The toner content in the container body  11  is 15 kg at 0.3 g/cc. 
     The cap  56  of the container body  11  includes an auxiliary container  57  as a dispensing discharger at the center. The auxiliary container  47  has an auxiliary container body  57 A made from the same ABS material as that of the container body  11 . 
     The auxiliary container  57  has an outer diameter of 10 cm and a height of 5 cm, and a capacity of approximately 400 cc. The toner is temporarily transferred from the container body  11  to the auxiliary container body  57 A and then filled into a target such as a toner container, a toner cartridge, or a process cartridge. 
     As shown in  FIG. 21 , an opening/closing mechanism  60  comprised of opening/closing members  58 ,  59  are provided between the auxiliary container body  57 A and the container body  11 . The opening and closing members  58 ,  59  are disk-shaped and includes in semi-circular through holes  58 A,  59 A, respectively. The opening/closing member  58  is fixed to the cap  56  so that it does not easily come off from the cap  56 . In addition, the opening/closing member  59  is fixed to the auxiliary container body  57 A so that it does not easily come off from the auxiliary container body  57 A. Furthermore, although the opening/closing members  58 ,  59  are closely attached to each other, they are relatively rotatable. Specifically, along with the rotation of the auxiliary container body  57 A in arrow F 1  and F 2  directions, the opening/closing  59  is rotated in the directions together with the auxiliary container body  57 A while the opening/closing member  58  is not rotated. 
     By the rotation of the opening/closing member  59  in the arrow F 1  and F 2  directions, the interior of the container body  11  can be spatially communicated or blocked with/from the interior of the auxiliary container body  57 A. 
     Alternatively, the opening/closing members  58 ,  59  can include two each of fan-like through holes  58 B,  59 B having a center angle of 90 degrees, as shown in  FIG. 22 . In  FIG. 21  the auxiliary container body  57 A has to be rotated by 180 degrees to repeatedly open and close the holes or vice versa. Meanwhile, in  FIG. 22  the auxiliary container body  57 A needs to be rotated only by 90 degrees for the repeated opening and closing operation, which can reduce the amount of rotation. 
     Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 23 , the auxiliary container  57  further includes a fixing mechanism  61  for the opening/closing members  58 ,  59  on the outer periphery thereof. Specifically, an inverted L-shape groove  62  including an axial groove and a peripheral groove is formed on the outer periphery of the opening/closing member  58 . In addition, a groove  63  is formed along the axis on the opening/closing member  59 . Meanwhile, the auxiliary container body  57 A includes a fixing member  64  on the outer periphery in accordance with the grooves  62 ,  63 . The fixing member  64  can be tilted in the arrows G 1  and G 2  directions and includes a pin  64 A on the tip end which is rotatable in the arrows H 1  and H 2  directions in a plane parallel to the open end  57 B of the auxiliary container body  57 A. The pin  64 A is generally biased to the arrow H 1  direction by a bias member such as a spring. 
     Further, when the auxiliary container  57  is attached to the container body  11  for the transportation or storage of the container body  11 , the fixing member  64  is tilted to fit into the grooves  62 ,  63  in the arrow G 2  direction. Then, the pin  64 A abuts the groove  62 , is tilted in the arrow H 2  direction, and completely fitted into the groove  62 . By fitting the fixing member  64  into the grooves  62 ,  63 , the auxiliary container body  57 A can be firmly fixed and prevented from inadvertently moving or rotating relative to the container body  11 . 
     Moreover, in  FIG. 20  the container body  11  comprises a regulation member  65  at the top portion for regulating a flow of toner from the container body  11  to the auxiliary container  57  when the container body  11  is inverted. 
       FIG. 24A  is a front view of the regulation member  65  and  FIG. 24B  is a bottom view thereof. The regulation member  65  is of a casserole shaped as a whole, and includes six slots  65 A in the inclined side surface thereof. The regulation member  65  is provided with an approximately circular notch  65 C attaching at the member  65  only at one end (left side in the  FIG. 65B  to form a receiving port  65 D which can pivot only downward around the one end  65 B. A top part of the regulation member  65  is opened. When the regulation member  65  is mounted in the top portion of the container body  11  (underside of the cap  56 ), as shown in  FIG. 20 , the interior of the container body  11  is spatially connected to the opening/closing mechanism  60  through the regulation member  65 . 
     A circular discharge regulation plate  66 , as shown in  FIG. 25  and  FIG. 26 , is fixed to the one end of the auxiliary container body  57 A (an end face on the opposite side to the side where the opening/closing mechanism  60  is provided). The discharge regulation plate  66  is to regulate a discharge amount of toner, and has a semi-circular through hole  66 A formed at the center and two threaded holes  66 B. A circular blocking plate (see  FIG. 20 ) is normally attached to the discharge regulation plate  66  through the threaded holes  66 B so as not to leak the toner from the auxiliary container  57  to the outside. 
     The operation of the toner filling device according to the present embodiment will be described as follows. 
     The container body  11  is normally placed in an erected state in storage or when carried, as shown in  FIG. 20 . For filling a target with the toner from the container body  11 , the auxiliary container body  57 A is turned to one direction (arrow F 1  or F 2  direction), so that the through hole  59 A of the opening/closing member  59  matches the through hole  58 A of the opening/closing member  58 . Then, the container body  11  is turned to be inverted to flow the toner from the container body  11  into the opening/closing mechanism  60  through the slots  65  of the regulation member  65  due to its own weight. The flow of the toner is appropriately regulated by the regulation member  65 . In other words, by turning the container body  11  upside down, the receiving port  65 D is pressed down due to the toner weight to eliminate a gap G, and the toner flows to the opening/closing mechanism  60  only through the slots  65 A. 
     Moreover, flowing into the opening/closing mechanism  60 , the toner passes through the through-hole  58 A of the opening/closing member  58  and the through-hope  59 A of the opening/closing member  59 , and flows into the auxiliary container body  57 A. The auxiliary container body  57 A is sufficiently filled with the toner is turned in the reverse direction to seal the interior thereof by avoiding the through-hole  59 A of the opening/closing member  59  from coinciding with the through-hole  58 A of the opening/closing member  58 . The auxiliary container body  57 A including the through-hole  59 A of the opening/closing member  59  and the through-hole  66 A of the discharge regulation plate  66  is set to have a certain capacity. Thus, by the operations the certain quantity of toner can be flowed. 
     Next, a method of filling a target with the toner from the auxiliary container body  57 A will be described. To fill the target, the blocking plate  67  on the discharge regulation plate  66  at one end of the body  57 A is removed and a toner filler  68  is attached to the discharge regulation plate  66 , as shown in  FIG. 25 . 
     The toner filler  68  has a ring-shaped base  68 A and a conical filling portion  68 B at the center of the base  68 A, and a filling port  68 C at an end of the filling portion  68 B. It additionally includes two screw holes  68 D so as to match a screw hole  66 B of the discharge regulation plate  66 . Then, in order to attach the toner filler  68  to the discharge regulation plate  66 , two screws  69  are threadably engaged into the screw hole  66 B of the discharge regulation plate  66  through the screw hole  68 D of the toner filler  68  and tightened. Thus, the toner filler  68  can be firmly attached to the discharge regulation plate  66 . 
     Once the toner filler  68  is attached, the filling port  68 C of the toner filler  68  is connected to the target to be then filled with toner from the auxiliary container body  57 A. Upon completion of the filling operation, the container body  11  is placed into the erected state and the toner receiving portion  65 D drops due to its own weight, forming the gap G. Hence, any toner remaining in the auxiliary container body  57 A drops into the container body  11  through the gap G. 
       FIG. 27  and  FIG. 28  show the other examples of the present embodiment. It takes a lot of time and labor to attach the toner filler  68  with the screw  69  as shown in  FIG. 25  and  FIG. 26 . In the present embodiment, the outer diameter of the toner filling base  68 A is protruded slightly more than that of the discharge regulation plate  66 , and a ring-like projection  68 E towards the discharge regulation plate  66  is provided on the protruded portion of the base  68 A. The rest of the configurations are the same as those in  FIG. 25  and  FIG. 26 . 
     With such a configuration, the toner filler  68  is attachable to the discharge regulation plate  66  with a single step, simply by pressing the projection  68 E of the toner filler  68  along the outer periphery of the discharge regulation plate  66 . The toner filler  68  can be also easily removed from the discharge regulation plate  66 . 
     In the present embodiment, although not shown, the legs  12 ,  15  and the carrying assistance member  35  in  FIG. 13  and else can be attached to the container body. 
     Further, the present invention can provide a medium filling method which comprises the steps of turning a container containing an image forming medium to thereby flow a constant quantity of the image forming medium to a dispenser, and discharging the image forming medium from the dispenser to fill a target. 
     Although the present invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. It should be appreciated that variations or modifications may be made in the present embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. 
     For example, the toner filling device according to any of the above embodiments can be applied for filling any powder other than toner.