Patent ID: 7398039

Claim:
A cartridge comprising: a toner storage chamber provided with a toner supply opening; and a toner agitation member including a connection portion configured to rotate around a rotation shaft within the toner storage chamber and extending radially outward from the rotation shaft; and an agitation plate, provided at a distal end of the connection portion, and configured to scrape a toner deposited on a bottom of the toner storage chamber and to supply the scraped toner to the toner supply opening as the connection portion is rotated, the connection portion and the agitation plate being integrally formed of the same material, wherein a face of the agitation plate on a downstream side in a rotation direction is an inclined face that is inclined toward an upstream side in the rotation direction as the inclined face extends from the connection portion to a distal end of the agitation plate, wherein when the distal end of the agitation plate reaches a position of the same height as a lower opening edge part of the toner supply opening, the inclined face is inclined to gradually descend toward its distal end, wherein when the distal end of the agitation plate reaches a position of the same height as the lower opening edge part, an inclination angle of the inclined face is from 20° to 80° relative to a horizontal axis, and wherein the agitation plate is configured to rotate without contacting an inner wall face of the toner storage chamber.