Patent ID: 7747200

Claim:
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an apparatus main body; a developing device installed inside the apparatus main body; a toner container provided attachably to and detachably from the apparatus main body to replenish the developing device with a developer; a rotating shaft installed in the toner container to be rotatable; a first joint member provided on one of end portions of the toner container and coupled to the rotating shaft; a second joint member provided to the apparatus main body oppositely to the first joint member; a coupling guide mechanism that couples the first and second joint members to each other; and a driving source equipped to the apparatus main body to generate a specific driving force, wherein: the first joint member includes a coupling key provided to protrude outward in the axial direction from an end face of the rotating shaft and an outer tube formed on a housing of the toner container, into which an end portion of the rotating shaft is internally fit so as to be rotatable relatively to each other; the second joint member includes an inner tube coupled concentrically to a driving shaft of the driving source to be integrally rotatable, on which the outer tube is concentrically and externally fit so as to be rotatable relatively to each other and a key hole provided concavely to the inner tube in a surface opposing the end face of the rotating shaft, into which the coupling key is fit to be integrally rotatable; the driving force of the driving source is transmitted to the first joint member via the second joint member while the first and second joint members are coupled to each other by the coupling guide mechanism; and the coupling guide mechanism couples the first joint member and the second joint member to each other whether the toner container is loaded into the apparatus main body in an axial direction or in a radial direction of the rotating shaft.