Patent ID: 7292814

Claim:
A process cartridge removably installed in an image forming apparatus, the process cartridge comprising: an image carrier for carrying a developer image; a transfer roller formed of an elastic material, and disposed adjacent to the image carrier to form a pressure nip therebetween such that the developer image on the image carrier is transferred onto a recording medium as being passed through the nip; a winding preventer which is spaced from an outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller and prevents the recording medium from winding around the transfer roller; and a cover which covers at least a part of the outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller, and which has an opposed surface opposed to the outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller, wherein the winding preventer has a contact surface which extends from the opposed surface of the cover toward the outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller, such that a leading edge of the recording medium is brought into contact with the contact surface and is then held in contact with the contact surface when the recording medium is pulled into between the outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller and the opposed surface of the cover and is then moved in a medium movement direction corresponding to a rotational direction of the transfer roller, wherein the opposed surface of the cover includes an immediately upstream portion which is immediately upstream of the contact surface of the winding preventer as seen in the rotational direction of the transfer roller, and wherein an angle formed between at least a portion of the contact surface and the immediately upstream portion of the opposed surface is acute.