JP2006154875A - Color image forming apparatus and toner container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a color image forming apparatus capable of simply replacing toner containers and suppressing the enlargement of an apparatus body and to provide the toner containers to be used for the color image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: Each of the toner containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, 100Bk set in a setting part 200 is exposed partially from the upper surface up to the side part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus and a toner replenishing device used in the color image forming apparatus.

  Color image forming systems of color image forming apparatuses are roughly classified into four types: transfer drum system, intermediate transfer system, image on image system, and tandem system. In the “transfer drum system”, a transfer paper is wound around the surface of a transfer drum made of a dielectric film so as to face the photoreceptor, and each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) is obtained. On the other hand, a full color image is obtained by repeatedly superposing each color toner on a transfer paper by repeating an electrophotographic process of forming, developing and transferring an electrostatic latent image. The “intermediate transfer method” is a method of forming a full-color image by transferring each color toner image sequentially onto a drum or belt called an intermediate transfer member instead of the transfer paper used in the transfer drum method, and then transferring this onto the transfer paper at once. This is a method of retransferring to The “Image on Image method” is an electronic image formation, development, and transfer of electrostatic latent images for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) colors directly on a photoreceptor. This is a method of transferring onto a transfer paper by repeating the photographic process. The “tandem method” is a method for obtaining a full-color image on a transfer sheet by sequentially superimposing and transferring an image formed by an image forming unit onto a single transfer sheet conveyed to a transfer belt.

  A color image forming apparatus using each of these methods is provided with a developing device of three or four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) in any method, and further supplies toner to the developing device in the vicinity thereof. A toner storage unit such as a toner bottle, a toner cartridge, and a toner tank is provided. In addition, there is a demand for the toner storage unit to store a larger amount of black toner that is used most frequently than other color toners, and an apparatus configured to actually store a larger amount of black toner than other color toners. Many have also appeared.

  However, in the color image forming apparatus described above, it is difficult to secure a space for arranging toner storage portions such as four toner bottles in the vicinity of the developing device, and the toner bottles are replaced by the user. It also required some effort to make it easy from the side. As a result, although the black toner is consumed in a larger amount than other color toners, a large amount of black toner cannot be stored, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus main body.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-described conventional problems, the present invention provides a color image forming apparatus that can easily replace a toner storage container and can suppress an increase in size of the apparatus main body, and a toner storage container used in the apparatus. It is aimed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a color image forming apparatus in which a set unit for individually setting a plurality of toner storage containers storing different color toners is provided. A receiving member for receiving the storage container is provided, and a part of the toner storage container inserted into the receiving member is exposed from the receiving portion.

  In the present invention, the receiving member is open at the top, the toner storage container can be inserted into and removed from above the receiving member, and the upper portion of the toner storage container is exposed from the receiving member. It is effective.

Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the toner storage containers set in the setting unit are arranged in a straight line.
Furthermore, the present invention includes a transfer belt that conveys a transfer material and a plurality of image forming units arranged along the transfer belt, and the arrangement direction of the toner storage containers set in the set unit is It is effective that the direction is substantially perpendicular to the running direction of the transfer belt.

  Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the traveling direction of the transfer belt is the width direction of the apparatus main body, and the arrangement direction of the toner storage containers set in the set portion is the depth direction of the apparatus main body.

Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the toner storage containers set in the setting portion are arranged substantially along one side edge of the upper portion of the apparatus main body.
Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the length of the receiving member in the insertion direction of the toner storage container varies depending on the length of the toner storage container.

Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the height level of the upper surface of the toner storage container inserted into the receiving member is the same.
Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the toner storage container having the largest toner storage amount is set in the setting portion at the front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body.

  Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the toner storage container having the longest length in the insertion direction is set to the set portion in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body.

  Furthermore, the present invention is effective when a toner container that is frequently exchanged is set in the setting portion in front of the apparatus main body in the depth direction.

  Furthermore, the present invention is effective when a toner storage container in which black toner is stored in the front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body is set in the setting portion.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the transfer belt is disposed obliquely so that the height level is different between the one end side and the other end side, and the set portion has a height level of the transfer belt above the lower end portion. It is effective if provided.

  Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the setting position of the toner storage container set in front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body is outside the width region of the transfer belt.

Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the arrangement order of the toner storage containers in the set unit is independent of the arrangement order of the image forming units with respect to the transfer belt.
Furthermore, the present invention is effective when an openable / closable cover for covering a part of the toner container exposed from the receiving portion is provided on the apparatus main body.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the toner storage container used in the color image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, the front is set in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body. The case of the toner storage container is longer in the mounting direction than the case of the other toner storage container.

  The present invention is effective when the case width of the toner storage container set in front of the apparatus main body in the depth direction is shorter than the case width of other toner storage containers.

According to the configuration of the first aspect, since a part of the set toner storage container is exposed from the receiving member, the workability of attaching and detaching the toner storage container is improved.
According to the configuration of the second aspect, since the toner container can be attached and detached from above, the operability for attaching and detaching the toner container is improved.

According to the configuration of the third aspect, since the set toner storage containers are arranged in a straight line, the installation space of the set unit can be minimized.
According to the configurations of the fourth and fifth aspects, since the arrangement direction of the toner storage containers is a direction perpendicular to the transfer belt, it is easy to secure the installation space for the set portion even in a limited space.

According to the configuration of the sixth aspect, since the toner storage container can be set along the upper side edge of the apparatus main body, the workability of attaching and detaching the toner storage container is improved.
According to the configurations of the seventh and eighth aspects, even if the lengths of the toner storage containers in the insertion direction are different, the exposed height of the receiving member can be made constant, and a defective setting of the toner storage containers can be easily recognized visually. can do.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, even a toner storage container that is heavy and has a large storage amount can be easily replaced.
According to the configuration of the tenth aspect, even a toner storage container having a long length in the insertion direction can be easily replaced.

According to the configurations of the eleventh and twelfth aspects, it is possible to facilitate the replacement operation of the toner storage container storing the black toner that is frequently replaced.
According to the configuration of the thirteenth aspect, the portion that is likely to become a dead space formed by arranging the transfer belt obliquely is used as a set portion. Therefore, the use efficiency of the space in the apparatus main body is high, and the apparatus is downsized. Is obtained.

According to the configuration of the fourteenth aspect, it is easy to secure the set portion of the toner storage container having a long length in the insertion direction.
According to the configuration of the fifteenth aspect, since the arrangement order of the toner storage containers is irrelevant to the transfer order, the degree of freedom in designing the set portion is improved.

According to the configuration of the sixteenth aspect, since the set portion is hidden by the cover, the appearance of the apparatus is not impaired, and it is possible to reduce the meaningless removal of the long toner container.
According to the configurations of the seventeenth and eighteenth aspects, even if the case of the toner storage container is longer in the mounting direction than the case of the other toner storage container to increase the storage capacity, the case width of the container is different from that of the other toner storage container By making it shorter than the case width of the container, it is possible to prevent deterioration of workability due to the container being too heavy.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a color laser printer which is an example of a color image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The color laser printer 1 has a configuration in which a paper feeding unit 2 is arranged at the lower part of the apparatus main body and an image forming unit 3 is arranged above the paper feeding unit 2. The image forming unit 3 is provided with a transfer belt device arranged so as to be inclined so that the paper feed side is on the bottom and the paper discharge side is on the top. The transfer belt device 20 has an endless transfer belt 20 wound around a plurality of belt wheels 22, in this example, four belt wheels 22, and magenta in order from the bottom to the upper running side 21 of the transfer belt 20. Four image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk for (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (Bk) are arranged in parallel.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged portion of the image forming unit 4C. In FIG. 2, M, C, Y, and Bk are represented in order to distinguish each device constituting each image forming unit for each unit. This is indicated by the added symbols.

  1 and 2, each of the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk is provided with a photosensitive drum 5 as an image carrier, and the photosensitive drum 5 is rotated clockwise by driving means (not shown). Driven. Around the photosensitive drum 5, a charging roll 6 as a charging unit, an optical writing unit 7 in which writing by a laser beam is performed by an optical writing unit 8, a developing unit 10 as a developing unit, and a cleaning unit 9 as a cleaning unit are provided. ing. The developing device 10 is a two-component developing device that uses a developer composed of toner and a carrier, and the toner is replenished by a toner replenishing device, which will be described later, according to the amount of consumed toner.

Next, an image forming operation for performing full color printing of the color printer shown in FIG. 1 will be described using the magenta image forming unit 4M.
The photosensitive drum 5M charged by the charging roll 6M is driven with an LD (laser diode) (not shown) to irradiate the polygon mirror 80 with laser light, and the reflected light is reflected through the cylinder lens or the like. Optical writing of an optical image to be developed with magenta toner is performed by the writing unit 8 guided upward. By this optical writing, an electrostatic latent image based on image data sent from a host machine such as a personal computer is formed on the photosensitive drum 5M, and the latent image becomes a visible image of magenta toner by the developing device 10. Note that the writing unit 8 is configured to write the reflected light of the single polygon mirror 80 to each photosensitive drum 5. In this case, the writing unit 8 is arranged obliquely substantially parallel to the transfer belt 20, so It is easy to make the optical path length to the body constant.

  On the other hand, a sheet designated as a transfer material is fed from the sheet feeding unit 2, and the fed sheet is once abutted against a registration roller 23 provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the transfer belt 20. Then, the sheet is fed onto the transfer belt 20 in synchronism with the visible image, and reaches the transfer position facing the photosensitive drum 5M by running of the belt. At this transfer position, a visible image of magenta toner is transferred to the paper by the action of the transfer roll 24 disposed on the back side of the transfer belt 20.

  In the same manner as the above image forming operation, in the other image forming units 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk, visible images are formed by the respective toners on the surfaces of the respective photosensitive drums 5, and these visible images are conveyed by the transfer belt 20. Each time the sheet to be transferred arrives at each transfer position, the transfer is performed. Therefore, in this color printer, a full-color image is superimposed and transferred onto a sheet in a short time almost the same as that of monochrome. The transferred paper is separated from the transfer belt 20 and fixed by the fixing device 30. The sheet that has been fixed is normally discharged out of the machine as it is, or at this time, the sheet is reversed and discharged to the discharge tray 40 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus body 1 on the back side. Backside paper discharge is an almost indispensable condition for the printer to arrange prints in page order.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a toner storage container 100 storing toner to be replenished to the developing device 10 of each image forming unit 4 includes a deformable toner storage bag 102 (hereinafter referred to as a toner bag) for storing toner. The toner bag 102 is accommodated, and is configured as a back-in-box type having an outer box 101 having a rigidity higher than that of the toner bag 102. The toner bag 102 is made of a flexible sheet made of a resin or paper such as polyethylene or nylon of about 80 to 120 μm, for example, and is formed on the toner bag 102 by a blow molding method or the like. A base part 103 made of resin or the like provided with a toner supply part is fixed. The toner bag 102 has a sealed structure, and a self-closing valve 104 made of, for example, an elastic body, preferably foamed sponge or the like is provided in a base portion 103 at the bottom thereof. In addition, you may comprise the self-closing valve 104 with the mechanical shutter which closes with a spring force. In addition, it is effective as a countermeasure against static electricity or moisture prevention to perform aluminum vapor deposition on the front or back surface of the sheet of the toner bag 102.

  The outer box 101 has an internal space in which the toner bag 102 can be appropriately accommodated, and is made of resin or paper having an appropriate rigidity. Therefore, even if the toner bag 102 is flexible in the toner storage container 100, the outer box 101 has an appropriate rigidity, so that the container can be easily handled and is advantageous for storage and the like.

  Next, a toner replenishing device that replenishes toners stored in the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk to the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the developing device 10 is provided with a uniaxial eccentric screw pump that is a suction type powder pump 110 in the vicinity or integrally therewith. As shown in FIG. 3, the powder pump 110 is composed of a rotor 142 made in the shape of a screw eccentrically made of a rigid material such as metal and an elastic body such as rubber, and is formed in a double screw shape. And a holder 144 made of a resin material that encloses these and forms a powder conveyance path. The rotor 142 is rotationally driven via the gear 146 when a gear 146 integrally connected to a drive shaft 145 connected by a pin joint is drivingly connected to a driving device (not shown). Note that reference numeral 147 denotes an electromagnetic clutch for intermittent driving, and the operation of the powder pump 110 is controlled by the clutch 147.

  Further, a toner suction portion 148 is provided at the tip of the holder 144, that is, the right end in FIG. 3, and the toner suction portion 148 is connected to a toner connection port 165 provided in a nozzle 160 described later by a toner transfer tube 149. ing. As the toner transfer tube 49, for example, a flexible tube having a diameter of 4 to 10 mm and made of a rubber material having excellent toner resistance (for example, polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, silicon, etc.) is extremely used. It is effective and the flexible tube can be easily piped in any direction, up, down, left and right.

  In the toner replenishing device configured as described above, the single-shaft eccentric screw pump, which is the powder pump 110, is capable of continuous quantitative transfer at a high solid-gas ratio, and is an accurate toner proportional to the rotational speed of the rotor 142. It is known that the transfer amount can be obtained. Therefore, when a toner replenishment command is issued by image density detection or the like, the powder pump 110 is operated, and the requested amount of toner is replenished to the developing device 10.

  On the other hand, the setting unit 200 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 1 in which the toner storage container 100 is set is configured as a separate unit from the developing device 10. The setting unit 200 is provided with a receiving member 201 that receives the toner storage container 100, and a nozzle 160 having a circular cross section that is inserted into the toner bag 102 is erected in the receiving member 201. Therefore, as will be described in detail later, the toner storage container 100 is set to the setting unit 200 of the image forming apparatus main body 1 from above. The nozzle 160 provided in the set unit 200 is provided with a pointed member 161 formed in a conical section in the upper part by integral molding or fixing, and the air supply path 162 and the toner supply path 163 following the pointed member 161. Is provided. The inside of the nozzle 160 has a double-pipe structure, and the toner supply path 163 is bent at the lower end of the nozzle 160 to the left in the figure, and has a toner connection port 165 to which the toner transfer tube 149 is connected at the tip. Is provided. The air supply path 162 is bent to the right in the figure above the toner supply path 163 and reaches the air connection port 164.

  In the present embodiment, the air connection port 164 is connected to an air pump 151 serving as an air supply unit via an air transfer pipe 152. When the air pump 151 is activated, air is ejected from the pump into the toner storage container 100 through the air transfer pipe 152 and the air supply path 162. Then, the air blown into the toner storage container 100 flows through the toner layer while diffusing the toner.

  The toner replenishing device enables reliable toner replenishment even when the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, 4Bk and the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, 100Bk are separated from each other, and the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y. , 100Bk can be installed at any location without being restricted by the positions of the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, 4Bk. In addition, most image forming apparatuses such as printers have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing. When this type of printer is provided with an inclined transfer belt 20, the cross section is substantially above and below the transfer belt 20. A triangular space is formed. In view of this, a set portion 200 of toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk is provided in a triangular space above the apparatus main body 1 above the lower end side of the transfer belt 20.

  The color printer configured as described above can be effectively used by providing the set portion 200 in a triangular space formed by the obliquely arranged transfer belt 20, and can contribute to the downsizing of the apparatus. Further, since the arrangement of each toner container 100 in the setting unit 200 is via a flexible tube, it can be arranged regardless of the arrangement order of the image forming units 4, that is, the transfer order, and the degree of freedom in design is increased. In the case of this printer, a waste toner tank 93 is installed in the lower triangular space.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the setting unit 200 is provided at the right corner of the upper surface when the apparatus main body is viewed from the front, and the toner storage containers 100 </ b> M, 100 </ b> C, 100 </ b> Y, 100 </ b> Bk set in the setting unit 200 are transferred to the transfer belt 20. Are arranged in a straight line in the width direction, that is, in the depth direction when viewed from the front. In the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk, the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y that store color toner are all formed in the same size and shape. However, the black toner storage container 100Bk is the color toner storage container 100M, The toner storage capacity differs from 100C and 100Y, and naturally the dimensions of the container also differ. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the width W of the case of the color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y and the case of the black toner storage container 100Bk are the same dimension, for example, about 130 mm, but the height is The black toner storage container 100Bk has a height H2 (about 270 mm) approximately twice that of the color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y. Further, the thickness T1 of the case of the color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y is formed to be thicker than the thickness T2 of the case of the black toner storage container 100Bk. The thickness T is set to a length that allows the user to perform the detaching operation with one hand. For example, the thickness T1 of the color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y is about 90 mm, and the thickness T2 of the black toner storage container 100Bk is It is about 60 mm. The thickness T2 of the black toner storage container 100Bk is made thinner than that of the color toner storage container when the thickness T2 of the black toner storage container 100Bk is 90 mm, which is the same as that of the color toner storage container. This is because inconvenience may occur in one-handed operation.

  The toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk configured as described above are set in the setting unit 200 so as to be inserted from above. The upper surfaces of the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk that are correctly set are arranged in a straight line in the depth direction. That is, the height H2 of the black toner storage container 100Bk is higher than the height H1 of the other color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y, and accordingly, the depth of the receiving member 201 is increased. The toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk set in the setting unit 200 are exposed at a certain height when the apparatus main body is viewed from the front.

  With this configuration, the heights of the upper surfaces of the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk that are correctly set are aligned. Therefore, if the nozzle 160 is not inserted into the container due to inadequate setting, Since it floats up from the container, the user can easily know the set defect by visual inspection. The exposed portions of the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk are covered with an opening / closing cover 202 having a substantially “<” shape in cross section from the upper surface to the side surface. The opening / closing cover 202 of this example is opened / closed via a hinge (not shown) provided near the side surface of the apparatus main body. It may be one that rotates from the front to the back. In addition, the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk may be partially exposed without providing the cover 202.

  Further, the setting positions of the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk set in the setting unit 200 are set so that the black toner storage container 100Bk having the largest storage capacity is mounted on the front side. As described above, the black toner storage container 100Bk is longer in the mounting direction than the color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y, and is not easily attached or detached for replacement. Furthermore, black toner consumes more than color toner and is most frequently replaced. As described above, the black toner storage container 100Bk having poor workability is arranged on the front side where it is most easy to work, so that the poor workability can be alleviated and the burden of the toner storage container replacement work on the user can be reduced. The setting positions of the color toner storage containers 100M, 100C, and 100Y are arbitrary, but the distance may be determined to be averaged according to the position of the image forming unit.

  As described above, in order to align the upper surfaces of the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk set in the setting unit 200, the set portion of the black toner storage container 100Bk having the height H2 is about 2 of the set portion of the color toner. It is double the depth. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the black toner storage container 100 </ b> Bk reaches the position where the bottom of the black toner storage container 100 </ b> Bk reaches the optical writing device 8, but the optical writing device 8 is in a paper passing area within the width of the transfer belt 20. In contrast, the black toner storage container 100Bk is disposed between the front door and the sheet passing area. Therefore, the size of the black toner storage container 100Bk can be set to an appropriate size without being restricted by the image forming unit 3 or the like.

  By the way, some color printers are provided with a copying function and a fax function by arranging a scanner at the top of the main body. The above-described color printer can also employ a configuration in which the scanner 300 is arranged as shown in FIG. The scanner 300 is arranged so as to have an appropriate space from the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1 so that the in-cylinder discharge can be performed on the discharge tray 40. At this time, since the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk are set on the setting unit 200 from above, the scanner 300 may hinder the workability of setting the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk. In particular, the scanner 300 may interfere with the attachment / detachment of the black toner storage container 100Bk having a long length in the set direction.

  However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the setting unit 200 is provided at the upper right corner when viewed from the front of the apparatus main body, and the container receiving unit 201 of the setting unit 200 is, as shown in FIG. The insertion portions of 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk are opened obliquely. Therefore, the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk can be inserted into the setting unit 200 from the upper right and taken out in that direction.

  With this configuration, even when the scanner 300 is provided, it is possible to prevent the toner storage containers 100M, 100C, 100Y, and 100Bk from being hindered.

As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Various modifications can be made.
For example, although the above embodiment is a tandem color printer, the present invention can naturally be applied to a transfer drum method, an intermediate transfer method, and an image on image method. In the printer shown in FIG. 6, the scanner is supported by the apparatus main body. However, the scanner may be supported by a rack or the like separate from the apparatus main body.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a color image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective perspective view illustrating an example of a toner storage container. FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a toner replenishing device in the color image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a toner storage container setting unit in the color image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a toner storage container according to the present invention. 1 is an external perspective view of a color image forming apparatus including a scanner. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a set portion of the toner storage container according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 4M, 4C, 4Y, 4Bk Image formation unit 5 Photosensitive drum 20 Transfer belt 40 Paper discharge tray 100M, 100C, 100Y, 100Bk Toner storage container 200 Set part 201 Receiving member 202 Opening / closing cover

Claims (18)

In a color image forming apparatus provided with a set unit for individually setting a plurality of toner storage containers storing different color toners,
2. A color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a receiving member for receiving the toner storage container is provided in the set portion, and a part of the toner storage container inserted into the receiving member is exposed from the receiving portion.   The receiving member is open at the top, the toner container can be inserted into and removed from above the receiving member, and an upper portion of the toner container is exposed from the receiving member. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner storage containers set in the set unit are arranged in a straight line. 4.   4. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a transfer belt that conveys a transfer material; and a plurality of image forming units arranged along the transfer belt, A color image forming apparatus, wherein the arrangement direction of the toner storage containers set on the transfer belt is substantially perpendicular to the running direction of the transfer belt.   5. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a traveling direction of the transfer belt is a width direction of the apparatus main body, and an arrangement direction of the toner storage containers set in the setting unit is a depth direction of the apparatus main body. A characteristic color image forming apparatus.   6. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the toner storage container set in the set unit is juxtaposed along one upper side edge of the apparatus main body.   7. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the length of the receiving member in the insertion direction of the toner storage container varies depending on the length of the toner storage container. Image forming apparatus.   8. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the toner container inserted in the receiving member has the same height level. 9.   9. The color image according to claim 1, wherein a toner storage container having the largest toner storage amount is set in the setting unit in front in a depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body. Forming equipment.   10. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein a toner storage container having a longest length in the insertion direction is set to the front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body. Color image forming apparatus.   11. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a toner storage container that is frequently exchanged is set in the setting unit at a front side in a depth direction on a front surface of the apparatus main body. .   12. The color image formation according to claim 1, wherein a toner storage container in which black toner is stored in front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body is set in the setting unit. apparatus.   The transfer belt is disposed obliquely so that the height level is different between the one end side and the other end side, and the set portion is provided with the height level of the transfer belt above the lower end portion. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image forming apparatus is a color image forming apparatus.   14. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a setting position of the toner storage container set in front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body is outside the width region of the transfer belt. apparatus.   14. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the arrangement order of the toner storage containers of the set unit is independent of the arrangement order of the image forming units with respect to the transfer belt.   2. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an openable / closable cover for covering a part of the toner container exposed from the receiving portion is provided in the apparatus main body. The toner storage container used in the color image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16,
A toner storage container in which a case of a toner storage container set in front in the depth direction on the front surface of the apparatus main body has a longer length in the mounting direction than cases of other toner storage containers.   18. The toner storage container according to claim 17, wherein a case width of the toner storage container set in front of the apparatus main body in the depth direction is shorter than a case width of other toner storage containers.

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