A developer supply device includes a cylinder body and a left side cover and a right side cover respectively connected to two ends of the cylinder body. The left side cover is provided with a gear shaft system. The right side cover is provided with a powder outlet assembly including a seal provided on the right side cover. The seal is provided thereon with an inner powder outlet. Another end of the screw conveying rod is arranged within the seal. The seal is further provided at two ends thereof with radially protruding limit rings respectively. A sealing barrier is coaxially provided outside the seal between the two limit rings. The sealing barrier is provided thereon with an outer powder outlet and a shift block. The limit ring close to the cylinder body is provided thereon with an arc-shaped rotating slide groove having an end in communication with a limit slot.

A leak-prohibiting device includes a fixation mount for being mounted to an toner outlet of a housing of a toner cartridge, a valve member mounted in the fixation mount and forced by a first resilient member to seal an opening of the fixation mount, and a push member mounted in the fixation mount and moveable between an extended position where the push member is abutted against the valve member and a retracted position where an engagement portion of the push member is engaged with a position-limiting portion of the fixation mount such that the push member, on which a biasing force of a second resilient member exerts toward the extended position, is prohibited from moving from the retracted position to the extended position. As such, the leak-prohibiting device can positively block the toner cartridge and the toner cartridge can be repeatedly installed with less manual force.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge detachably mountable to a receiving device, the toner cartridge comprising a container including a accommodating portion for accommodating the toner and a discharge opening for discharging the toner from the accommodating portion into the receiving device; and an open/close member including a closing portion for closing the discharge opening and an engaging portion movable relative to the closing portion, the open/close member being rotatable relative to the container between (a) an opening position for causing the closing portion to open the discharge opening and (b) a closing position for causing the closing portion to close the discharge opening, wherein the engaging portion is movable relative to the closing portion between (c) a engaging position for engagement with the receiving device to receive a force for moving the open/close member from the opening position to the closing position when the toner cartridge is dismounted from the receiving device and (d) a retracted position retracted from the engaging position, and wherein the engaging portion is movable from the retracted position to the engaging position with rotation of the open/close member from the closing position to the opening position.

A toner cartridge includes a first casing, a second casing, an auger screw, and a shutter. The first casing has a first internal space. The second casing has: a second internal space smaller than the first internal space; a first opening allowing toner in the second internal space to be discharged; and a second opening allowing air in the second internal space to be sent to an outside. The auger screw is rotatable about a first rotation axis and configured to convey toner in the first internal space to the second internal space. The shutter is rotatable relative to the second casing about a second rotation axis between a first position in which the shutter closes the first opening and a second position in which the shutter opens the first opening. In a state where the shutter is at the second position, the shutter does not close the second opening.

A system with a container including a protrusion, and a receiver to receive the container. The receiver includes a slide block that is movable relative to a body of the receiver, the slide block including two surfaces, a first surface, initially contacted by the protrusion of the container during insertion of the container into the receiver, having a first slope to resist movement of the container towards the receiver, and a second surface, subsequently contacted by the protrusion of the container during the insertion of the container into the receiver, having a second slope to interact with the protrusion of the container to assist movement of the container towards the receiver. This construction provides the user with a changing insertion force to indicate proper mounting of the container.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image, a developer accommodation part that supplies a developer, a developer supply duct that is disposed between the image forming unit and the developer accommodation part, a shutter member that reciprocates between an open position and a closed position wherein the developer is allowed to pass through the shutter member when the shutter member is at the open position, and the developer is blocked with the shutter member when the shutter member is at the closed position, a first operation part that comprises an engaging part, which engages with the image forming unit, and moves the shutter member either to the open position or to the closed position, wherein the first operation part causes the engaging part to disengage from the image forming unit when the shutter member exists at the closed position.

A developing agent container includes: a container, a shutter that sets a supply hole to a closed state and an open state, a seal sponge that seals a gap between the first surface and the shutter when the supply hole is in the closed state, wherein the shutter has a first ridge line part that makes contact with the seal sponge due to the movement of the shutter, in a first edge part on a front end side in the first direction, the seal sponge has a second ridge line part that makes contact with the shutter due to the movement of the shutter in the first direction, in a second edge part on the opposite direction's side facing the supply hole, and the first ridge line part and the second ridge line part have a relationship in which one is inclined with respect to the other.

An image forming apparatus includes an attaching portion including an operation member configured to be movable together with a container shutter, a toner storage portion configured to store toner received from a receiving port, an actuator configured to regulate a movement of the operation member, and a control unit configured to control the actuator. The operation member is configured to open and close the container shutter from an outside in a state in which the toner container is attached to the attaching portion. In a case where a predetermined condition is met, the control unit controls the actuator to release a regulation of the movement of the operation member.

A powder container includes a discharge port configured to discharge powder stored in the powder container, a container shutter configured to open and close the discharge port, a first rotation portion configured to be engageable with an engagement portion of a removable component, an operation device configured to rotate the first rotation portion in conjunction with an operation of the operation device, and a contact portion included in the first rotation portion. The engagement portion opens and closes a cartridge shutter to open and close an inlet port of the removable component. A restriction member of the removable component is configured to restrict the rotation of the engagement portion. The contact portion contacts the restriction member to cancel the restriction member from restricting rotation of the engagement portion in conjunction with attachment of the powder container to the removable component.

A first contact portion provided on a first shutter member that opens and closes a receiving port for receiving a developer from a cartridge and a second contact portion provided on the cartridge are configured to contact each other in an attachment and detachment direction of the cartridge so that the first shutter member is in a position at which the receiving port is opened. The first shutter member is urged by a first urging member so that a contacting state between the first contact portion and the second contact portion is maintained until a second shutter member that opens and closes a supplying port of the cartridge closes the supplying port when the cartridge is discharged from the apparatus body.