An attached portion of an image forming apparatus includes a rotating member of which at least a part is exposed outside the image forming apparatus when the developer container is attached, and a rotation restricting mechanism that is movable between a restricting position to restrict rotation of the rotating member and an allowable position to allow rotation of the rotating member, and includes a restricting member that is at the restricting position when the developer container is not attached. The developer container is attached to the attached portion so that the discharging portion engaging portion and the shutter engaging portions are engaged with the frame engaged portions and the rotating member engaged portions respectively when the container shutter is in the close state, and the restricting member moves from the restricting position to the allowable position when the developer container is attached to the attached portion.

An example operation method of an image forming apparatus includes determining a state of a toner refill operation of injecting toner from a toner reload kit (TRK) into a cartridge in the image forming apparatus, based on completion of injecting toner from the TRK into the cartridge, controlling the TRK to store information indicating a toner refill completion in a memory of the TRK, based on completion of injecting toner from the TRK into the cartridge, updating information of an amount of remaining toner of the cartridge based on an amount of the toner injected into the cartridge from the TRK, and based on the information indicating the toner refill completion being stored in the memory of the TRK, unlocking a locking apparatus in the image forming apparatus so the TRK may be removed from the cartridge.

A device is to supply printing material to a printing material container in a printing apparatus. The device includes a first container to contain printing material, a first piston movable in the first container to exert first pressure to discharge the printing material contained in the first container from the first container, a second container having an opening to the first container, and a second piston movable in the second container to exert second pressure higher than the first pressure to form a pressure gradient based on the first pressure and the second pressure through the opening. The pressure gradient is to disperse the printing material in the first container.

An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing member, a developing member that forms a toner image with a toner including a metal soap having a polarity opposite to that of the toner, a supply member that supplies the toner to the developing member, and a control unit that executes a metal soap supply operation of supplying the metal soap from the developing member to the image bearing member when an operation other than the image forming operation is executed, wherein the metal soap supply operation includes a first mode and a second mode, and a potential difference between the supply member and the developing member, which causes an electrostatic force in the direction from the supply member to the developing member to act on the metal soap, is smaller in the metal soap supply operation in the second mode than in the first mode.

A developing device includes a developing container, a developer carrier, a seal member, and a pair of pressing members. The developing container has an opening. The seal member includes a contact end part that makes contact with an entire region of an outer circumferential surface of the developer carrier in its rotary shaft direction and is one of end edges of the seal member in a longitudinal direction thereof on a side near the developer carrier and an interposed end part that is interposed between each of both end parts of the developer carder and a corresponding one of the pressing members and is an end edge of the seal member orthogonal to the contact end part, and a chamfered shape is formed at a corner between the contact end part and the interposed end part.

An image forming device and a method of operating an image forming device are provided. The method includes detecting a coupling of a first toner refill kit to an image forming device, obtaining, based on a first electrical signal generated in the first toner refill kit, first authentication data corresponding to the first electrical signal, obtaining a first authentication key used to authenticate the first toner refill kit from the first authentication data, applying the first authentication key to a predetermined criterion used to determine validity of an authentication key of a toner refill kit to confirm whether the first toner refill kit is genuine, and controlling a toner refilling operation of the first toner refill kit based on whether the first toner refill kit is genuine.

Provided is a method for removing a first holder member from a second holder member in a cartridge. The cartridge includes: a housing; the first holder member holding an electrical contact surface; and the second holder member supported by the housing. The first holder member includes a pawl, and the second holder member includes a corner part engageable with the pawl of the first holder member. The electrical contact surface is held at one end surface of the first holder member in a first direction crossing the electrical contact surface. The method includes: disengaging the pawl from the corner part; and separating the housing and the second holder member from the first holder member in the first direction away from the one end surface of the first holder member.

An image forming apparatus and method for determining whether a toner refill apparatus is available are provided. The image forming apparatus includes a print engine to carry out a print job using a toner from a toner cartridge, a communication apparatus to communicate with a memory chip attached to a toner refill apparatus for refilling a toner in the toner cartridge, and a processor to identify whether the toner refill apparatus is available based on information stored in the memory chip of the toner refill apparatus.

An image forming apparatus configured to perform image formation using a component unit configured to be attachable to and detachable from a main body of the image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes: an access unit configured to access a storage device included in the component unit attached to the main body; and a control unit configured to control the access unit to read and update information stored in the storage device. The storage device includes a first area and a second area configured to store use information indicating a use state of the component unit, and updating of the use information stored in the first area by the control unit is configured such that updating only within a predetermined limit is permitted, and no limit is provided on updating of the use information stored in the second area.

Discloses herein is a storage component disassembly tooling, for disassembling a storage component on a process cartridge. The process cartridge has a housing and a storage component mounting bracket on the housing for supporting the storage component. The storage component disassembly tooling has a drilling portion and a positioning portion. The positioning portion positions the storage component disassembly tooling on the housing of the process cartridge. The drilling portion moves relative to the positioning portion to destroy at least a part of the storage component mounting bracket.