A developer cartridge may include: a first gear having a small-diameter gear portion and a large-diameter gear portion; and a second gear including: a first columnar portion centered on a second axis; a second columnar portion having a smaller diameter than the first columnar portion; a first engagement portion extending along a portion of a peripheral surface of the first columnar portion and engageable with the small-diameter gear portion; a second engagement portion extending along a portion of a peripheral surface of the second columnar portion and positioned closer to a housing than the first engagement portion in an axial direction and engageable with the large-diameter gear portion; and a protruding portion protruding in the axial direction and rotatable together with the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion. The second engagement portion may engage the large-diameter gear portion after the first engagement portion engages the small-diameter gear portion.

Disclosed is a cartridge attachable to an image forming apparatus body, the cartridge including: a memory member storing information relating to the cartridge; and a supporting body having a memory mounting portion on which the memory member is mounted, the memory member having a first surface, a second surface, and a lateral surface, the first surface is provided with a contact portion connected to a body electrode portion of the body of the image forming apparatus when the cartridge is installed in the body of the image forming apparatus, the memory mounting portion has a first opposing portion opposing the second surface and a second opposing portion opposing the lateral surface when the memory member is mounted, the memory member is mounted by adhesive between the second surface and the first opposing portion and between the lateral surface and the second opposing portion.

An image forming apparatus includes: a toner cartridge; a drum cartridge to which the toner cartridge is attachable; and a controller. The toner cartridge is configured to accommodate toner therein. The toner cartridge includes a toner memory. The drum cartridge includes: a photosensitive drum; and a drum memory. The controller is configured to perform: a first determination process to determine whether communication with the drum memory is established; and after determining in the first determination process that the communication with the drum memory is established, a second determination process to determine whether communication with the toner memory is established.

An image forming apparatus includes a main casing, a cartridge, and a controller. The cartridge is attachable to the main casing. The cartridge includes a cartridge memory configured to store identification information. The controller is configured to perform a rewriting process to rewrite the identification information to information indicating that the cartridge is the normal cartridge, in a case where the controller receives a cancellation instruction to instruct to cancel the service contract and the identification information, which is stored in a cartridge memory of the cartridge attached to the main casing, indicates that the cartridge is the contract cartridge.

A developing cartridge may include: a casing for accommodating developer therein; a developing roller rotatable about an axis extending in a first direction and positioned at one side of the casing in a second direction; a storage medium having an electric contact surface; and a holder movable relative to the casing in the second direction with the electric contact surface between a first position and a second position, the holder having an outer surface at which the electric contact surface is positioned.

A developer storage container includes a container wall, a substrate member having first and second surfaces, and a storage portion provided on the container wall and storing the substrate member. The storage portion includes an outer surrounding wall provided on the container wall, a first support portion disposed inside the outer surrounding wall and supporting the first surface of the substrate member, and a second support portion disposed inside the outer surrounding wall and connected to the container wall. The second support portion supports the first surface of the substrate member. A lid portion is fixed to the outer surrounding wall and has an opening through which the substrate member is exposed. The lid portion contacts the second surface of the substrate member. The lid portion includes first and second protrusions protruding in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction from the substrate member to the container wall. A distance between the first and second protrusions in the second direction is shorter than a length of the substrate member in the second direction. The outer surrounding wall has a through-hole disposed so as to face the second support portion.

There is provided a consumable supply method for supplying a refill consumable stored in a refill consumable container to a consumable container installable in an equipment body. The consumable supply method includes removing a refill information storage device storing information on the refill consumable from the refill consumable container; removing an information storage device storing information on a consumable contained in the consumable container, the information being for exchange with the equipment body, from the consumable container; and attaching the refill information storage device removed from the refill consumable container as an information storage device to the consumable container in place of the information storage device removed from the consumable container.

The present disclosure provides a consumable, a consumable chip, and a communication method between the image forming apparatus and the consumable chip. The consumable chip is capable of being installed on a consumable, and the consumable is capable of being detachably installed on an image forming apparatus. The consumable chip includes a storage unit and a chip control unit. The storage unit is configured to store identity authentication information of the consumable. The chip control unit is configured to receive an authentication request sent by the image forming apparatus and obtain second time information, generate a second code by performing a calculation using a preset algorithm according to the obtained second time information and the pre-stored identity authentication information of the consumable, and send the second code to the image forming apparatus. The second code is configured to determine whether the consumable meets expectation.

An image forming apparatus, to which a replaceable unit with a nonvolatile memory is mounted, including: a storage portion configured to store data related to the replaceable unit read from the memory and hold stored contents even when the image forming apparatus is not activated; a door to be opened when the replaceable unit is replaced; a detector configured to detect whether the door is open or closed; a latch circuit configured to hold a specific state when the detector detects that the door is open when the image forming apparatus is not activated; and a controller configured to, when activating the image forming apparatus, read the data from the memory when the latch circuit is in the specific state, read the data from the storage portion when the latch circuit is not in the specific state, and perform an activation process based on the read data.

A replaceable unit for an electrophotographic image forming device includes a housing having a reservoir for holding toner. An electrical connector is positioned on a first side of the housing. The electrical connector includes an electrical contact for contacting a corresponding electrical contact in the image forming device. The electrical contact of the replaceable unit is electrically connected to processing circuitry mounted on the housing. The electrical connector is movable between a first position and a second position. The electrical contact of the replaceable unit moves outward from the first side of the housing along a side-to-side dimension of the housing when the electrical connector moves from the first position to the second position. The electrical contact of the replaceable unit faces downward when the electrical connector is in the second position permitting the corresponding electrical contact to contact the electrical contact of the replaceable unit from below.