A toner cartridge includes a casing, a feeding member and a pump. the casing includes a toner accommodation chamber accommodating toner, and a toner discharging chamber having a discharge opening for discharging the toner, and a communication port for fluid communication between the toner accommodation chamber and the toner discharging chamber. A part of the feeding member is provided inside the communication port. When a minimum cross-sectional area of the communication port in a plane perpendicular to a toner feeding direction of the feeding member is Asmin, the toner discharging chamber has a cross-sectional area Bs larger than Asmin, and the toner accommodation chamber has a cross-sectional area Cs larger than Asmin.

A developer supply kit detachably mountable to a developer supplying apparatus comprising a developer supply container and a developer accommodated therein, wherein the developer supply container includes, a developer accommodating portion accommodating the developer, a discharge opening for discharging the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating portion, a drive receiving portion to which a driving force is inputted from the developer supplying apparatus, and a pump portion operable so that an internal pressure of the developer accommodating portion alternately and repetitively changes between a pressure lower than a ambient pressure and a pressure higher than the ambient pressure, by the driving force received by the drive receiving portion, wherein the developer accommodated in the developer supply container includes toner containing binder resin material and a coloring material, the developer satisfies,
10≦E (mJ)≦80,
0.4≦Ea (mJ)≦2.0, where E is total energy when it is not aerated, and Ea is total energy when it is aerated.

An image forming apparatus is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a print engine to perform a printing job using toner filled in a toner cartridge, a communicator to communicate with a memory chip attached to a toner refill apparatus which refills the toner cartridge with toner, a memory to store group information corresponding to a plurality of image forming apparatuses for sharing the toner refill apparatus, and a processor to determine whether or not the toner refill apparatus is usable based on information stored in a memory chip of the toner refill apparatus and group information stored in the memory.

Provided is an image forming apparatus to and from which a replenishment container accommodating toner is attachable and detachable and which is configured to form a toner image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus including an image bearing member, a developer container, a developing bearing member, a replenishment port through which the developer container can be replenished with toner, a restriction member capable of transitioning to an allowance state in which a rotation of the replenishment container is allowed and to a restriction state in which the rotation of the replenishment container is restricted, a notification portion configured to notify a replenishment procedure for replenishing the developer container with toner from the replenishment container, and a controller configured to cause the notification portion to notify at least one step of the replenishment procedure.

An apparatus includes a developer container to and from which a replenishment container is attachable and detachable and which includes an accommodating portion and a replenishment port, a transfer portion configured to transfer a developer image on an image bearing member onto a recording material, a supporting tray including a supporting surface configured to support the recording material thereon, and a discharge portion configured to discharge the recording material, onto which the developer image has been transferred, on the supporting surface, wherein the supporting surface has an opening portion opening such that the replenishment port is exposed through the supporting surface, and wherein an opening/closing member configured to be movable between a closed position where the opening/closing member covers the replenishment port and serves as a part of the supporting surface and an open position where the replenishment port is exposed is provided.

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container to and from which a replenishment container is attachable and detachable, the developer container including an accommodating portion, and a supporting portion, wherein the developer container includes a projection portion that is provided at one end portion thereof in the rotation axis direction of the developer bearing member and projects toward the supporting portion more than a center portion of the developer container in a crossing direction crossing the rotation axis direction, the projection portion communicates with the accommodating portion and includes, at a distal end portion thereof, an attachment portion configured such that the replenishment container is attachable thereto in a state of being exposed to the outside of the apparatus, and a replenishment port for replenishing the accommodating portion with developer from the replenishment container is defined in the attachment portion.

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container to and from which the replenishment container is attachable and detachable and which includes an accommodating portion that accommodates developer and a replenishment port, an agitation, an opening/closing member configured to be movable between a closed position and an open position, a drive source for driving the agitation member, and a control portion configured to control the drive source, wherein the apparatus is configured such that image formation is not possible when the opening/closing member is at the open position, and the agitation member is capable of driving in a case where the opening/closing member is at the open position.

An apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer container having a replenishment port, a developer bearing member, a detection portion configured to output remainder amount information corresponding to the amount of developer accommodated in the developer container, a notification portion capable of notifying a first state, and a second state, and a control portion, wherein the maximum amount of the developer that the developer container is capable of accommodating is larger than a value obtained by adding the amount of the developer accommodated in a replenishment container containing the developer for replenishment to the first amount, and wherein notification of the second state corresponds to notification of a case where the amount of the developer remaining in the developer container is larger than a case where the amount of the developer remaining in the developer container is the smallest.

A toner refill cartridge includes a main body including an inner space in which toner is received and a toner discharge portion through which the toner is discharged, a piston coupled to the main body to be movable in a first direction along the inner space and configured to push the toner to the outside of the main body through the toner discharge portion, a plunger configured to push the piston in the first direction, the plunger including a plurality of segment members. At least two adjacent segment members are switchable from a retraction state where the at least two adjacent segment members overlap each other in the first direction and an extension state where the at least two adjacent segment members extend in a second direction opposite to the first direction. A first locking portion locks the at least two adjacent segment members in the extension state.

A printer includes a main body including a communicating portion, a development cartridge attachable to and detachable from the main body, the development cartridge to supply toner contained in a toner container to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor, to form a visible toner image, and a toner refilling portion connected to the toner container. The toner refilling portion includes a mounting portion into which a toner cartridge insertable from outside the main body through the communicating portion to be mountable, a toner inlet portion provided in the mounting portion to receive toner from the toner cartridge when the toner cartridge is mounted to the mounting portion, and an inlet shutter switchable between a blocking position where the toner inlet portion is blocked from receiving toner, and an inlet position where the toner inlet portion is open to receive toner. The printer includes a first latch member switchable between a first position where the inlet shutter is locked from switching between the blocking position and the inlet position and a second position where switching of the inlet shutter is allowed to switch between the blocking position and the inlet position, and a switching unit to switch between the first latch member between the first position and the second position.