CN221261516U - Processing box - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a process cartridge, comprising: a drum unit rotatably supporting a photosensitive drum; a developing unit including a developing frame enclosing a developer accommodating portion storing a developer and a developing hopper rotatably supporting a developing roller; the developer outlet is arranged between the developer accommodating part and the developing bin, and the developer in the developer accommodating part is supplied to the developing roller through the developer outlet; a sealing member for sealing the developer outlet, the sealing member being removable by pulling in an axial direction to release the seal of the developer outlet; the center of rotation is outside the width of the sealing member with respect to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, as seen in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the sealing member. Under the condition that the rotation center is unchanged, the control rotation center is arranged outside the width of the sealing component, and the width of the developer outlet is actually controlled, so that the powder discharge amount of the developer is controlled, and the situation of accumulation of the developer is avoided.

Description

Processing box

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of electronic imaging equipment, in particular to a processing box.

Background

The existing process cartridge has a developer outlet between the developer storage chamber and the developing hopper through which developer is supplied from the developer storage chamber to the developing hopper, while the supply amount of developer is controlled by the developer outlet. Before the first use of the completely new process cartridge, the developer outlet thereof is kept sealed by a seal member (a film) stuck to the edge of the outlet, the width of the seal member being slightly larger than the width of the developer outlet, by welding or the like. The existing developer outlet has larger powder discharge amount (the width of the developer outlet is set to be wider), and the situation that the developer is accumulated at two ends of a developing unit is likely to occur during developing operation, so that the developing quality (vertical line of a manuscript surface and powder spraying) is affected.

Disclosure of utility model

According to an aspect of the present utility model, there is provided a process cartridge detachably mountable to an electronic imaging device, comprising:

A drum unit rotatably supporting a photosensitive drum;

A developing unit including a developing frame enclosing a developer accommodating portion storing a developer and a developing hopper rotatably supporting a developing roller, the developing unit being rotatably connected with the drum unit, the developing unit being movable about a rotation center between a contact position where the photosensitive drum is in contact with the developing roller and a separation position where the photosensitive drum is separated from the developing roller; the developing unit further includes:

A developer outlet provided between a developer accommodating portion and a developing hopper through which a developer in the developer accommodating portion is supplied to the developing hopper and extending in an axial direction of the developing roller;

A sealing member for sealing the developer outlet, the sealing member being removable by pulling in an axial direction to release the seal of the developer outlet;

the center of rotation is outside the width of the sealing member with respect to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, as seen in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the sealing member.

In some embodiments, the center of rotation is tangential to one of the boundaries of the width range of the sealing member.

In some embodiments, the drum unit further comprises end caps fixedly connected to both ends of the drum unit in an axial direction, and both ends of the developing unit are rotatably connected to the end caps, respectively.

In some embodiments, one end of the sealing member protrudes beyond the end cap in an axial direction to facilitate pulling removal of the sealing member.

In some embodiments, the end cap is provided with an opening through which the sealing member extends.

In some embodiments, the end cap is provided with a notch portion, and the sealing member is located within the range of the notch portion as seen in the axial direction.

In some embodiments, the end cap further comprises a chip, wherein the end cap is provided with a chip mounting seat, and the chip is mounted on the chip mounting seat along the height direction, and the height direction is perpendicular to the axial direction.

In some embodiments, the outer surface of the die mount in the height direction is lower than or flush with the outer surface of the die.

In some embodiments, the developing device further includes a force receiving member having a force receiving surface for receiving a separation force to move the developing unit from a contact position to a separation position; the force receiving surface is parallel to a plane formed by the axial direction and the height direction.

In some embodiments, the sealing member is welded to the developer accommodating portion or the developer cartridge.

The utility model has the beneficial effects that: according to the scheme, seen from the direction perpendicular to the surface of the sealing member, the rotation center is outside the width range of the sealing member relative to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, the control rotation center is arranged outside the width range of the sealing member, and the width of the developer outlet is actually controlled, so that the (instantaneous) powder discharge amount of the developer from the developer accommodating part to the developing bin is controlled, and the condition that the developer is accumulated at two ends of the developing unit to influence the developing quality is avoided.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall structure of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a portion of a conductive end of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded schematic illustration of the drive end of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded view of a conductive end of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a developing unit according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic view of a developing unit and a sealing member according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model, as viewed from the drive end, in a contact position;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view from conduction when a process cartridge of some embodiments of the present utility model is in a contact position;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model, as viewed from the drive end, in a disengaged position;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view from the conductive end of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model in a separated position;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a partial construction of a drive end of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a partial construction of another angle of the drive end of a process cartridge according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

fig. 13 is a schematic view showing the overall structure of a process cartridge according to other embodiments of the present utility model.

Detailed Description

The present utility model will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the embodiments described are some, but not all embodiments of the utility model. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the utility model without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the utility model.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implying a number of technical features being indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the present utility model, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and include, for example, either fixedly attached, detachably attached, or integrally formed; may be mechanically connected, may be electrically connected or may be in communication with each other; either directly or indirectly, through intermediaries, or both, may be in communication with each other or in interaction with each other, unless expressly defined otherwise. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

In the present utility model, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, a first feature "up" or "down" a second feature may be the first and second features in direct contact, or the first and second features in indirect contact via an intervening medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above," "over" and "on" a second feature may be a first feature being directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is level higher than the second feature. The first feature being "under", "below" and "beneath" the second feature may be the first feature being directly under or obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicating that the first feature is less level than the second feature.

In the above description, descriptions of the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the utility model. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples may be combined and combined by those skilled in the art without contradiction.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording material using, for example, an electrophotographic image forming process. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (LED printer, laser printer, etc.), a facsimile machine of the electrophotographic printer type, and the like. A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electronic image forming apparatus, the process cartridge including a photosensitive member, a developing member for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member, and the like. The electronic image forming apparatus includes a driving head for transmitting a driving force of the electronic image forming apparatus to the process cartridge to operate the process cartridge.

As shown in fig. 1 to 11, the present embodiment provides a process cartridge including a developing unit 10, a drum unit 20, a driving unit 30, a chip 70, a sealing member 40, and a force receiving member 50. The process cartridge is substantially rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped, and the developing unit 10 and the drum unit 20 are identical in length direction, and the developing unit 10 and the drum unit 20 are disposed opposite to each other in width direction. The developing unit 10 includes a developing frame 11, a developing roller 12, a toner feeding roller 13, a stirring frame, and a toner discharging blade 14, and the drum unit 20 includes a photosensitive frame 21, a photosensitive drum 22, a charging roller 23, and a cleaning blade 24.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 7 to 11, the developing frame 11 is substantially in the shape of a long-strip box, the developing frame 11 encloses a developer accommodating portion 111 and a developing hopper 112 for storing developer (e.g., toner), a developer outlet 113 is provided on the frame between the developer accommodating portion 111 and the developing hopper 112 to communicate the developer accommodating portion 111 with the developing hopper 112, the developer accommodating portion 111 is located on the upper side of the developing hopper 112 in the height direction, the developer outlet 113 is an elongated opening whose length direction coincides with the length direction of the developer accommodating portion 111, a toner charging port 114 communicating with the developer accommodating portion 111 may be further provided on the developing frame 11, the developer is supplied to the developer accommodating portion 111 through the toner charging port 114, and the toner charging port 114 may be provided on one end face of the developing frame 11 in the length direction. The stirring frame is provided in the developer accommodating portion 111, rotates to stir the developer by the driving of the driving unit 30, prevents the developer in the developer accommodating portion 111 from agglomerating, and can also convey the developer toward the developing hopper 112. The developing roller 12 and the toner feeding roller 13 are rotatably supported in the developing hopper 112, the axial direction of the developing roller 12 and the toner feeding roller 13 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge, the developing roller 12 and the toner feeding roller 13 are rotated by the driving of the driving unit 30, and the toner feeding roller 13 conveys the developer entering the developing hopper 112 from the developer outlet 113 to the developing roller 12 to be adsorbed by the charged developing roller 12.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 7 to 11, the photosensitive frame 21 encloses a waste toner accommodating portion that collects waste developer, the photosensitive frame 21 also has a longitudinal direction, the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the longitudinal direction of the developing frame 11, the photosensitive drum 22 is rotatably supported on the photosensitive frame 21, and the photosensitive drum 22 is supported on a lower end side in the height direction of the photosensitive frame 21. The developer adsorbed by the developing roller 12 is transferred to the photosensitive drum 22 by a potential difference with the photosensitive drum 22, and the developer on the photosensitive drum 22 is transferred via a transfer belt of an electrophotographic apparatus to form an image on a recording material (e.g., paper). After transfer, the cleaning blade 24 is in linear contact with the photosensitive drum 22, and cleans the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 of the developer that has not been completely transferred, i.e., the waste developer, and the cleaned waste developer is stored in the waste powder containing portion. The charging roller 23 serves to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 22, thereby enabling the photosensitive drum 22 to adsorb the developer.

For better description of the process cartridge, a coordinate system is established as in fig. 1, in which the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 22 is the X-axis direction, the direction perpendicular to the axial direction X of the photosensitive drum 22 is the Y-axis direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions is the Z-axis direction. The X-axis direction is also the longitudinal direction of the process cartridge, the Y-axis direction is also the width direction of the process cartridge, and the Z-axis direction is also the height direction (thickness direction) of the process cartridge. The plane formed by the X axis and the Y axis is an XY plane, the plane formed by the Y axis and the Z axis is a YZ plane, and the plane formed by the X axis and the Z axis is an XZ plane.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the driving unit 30 may be provided outside one or both end surfaces of the developing frame 11 in the longitudinal direction, or outside one or both end surfaces of the photosensitive frame 21 in the longitudinal direction, and preferably, the driving unit 30 is provided at one end of the process cartridge in the +x axis direction, which is also referred to as a driving end, and one end of the process cartridge in the-X axis direction is referred to as a conductive end. The driving unit 30 is for receiving and transmitting a driving force of the electronic image forming apparatus to operate the process cartridge. The driving unit 30 may include a power receiving member and a gear train to receive and transmit the driving force of the electrophotographic apparatus, to rotate the photosensitive drum 22, the developing roller 12, the agitator frame, etc.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 to 4, the process cartridge may further include an end cap, the end cap is covered on the outer side of the end face in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive frame 21 and also covers a part of the developing frame 11, the end cap disposed at the +x shaft end of the process cartridge is a driving side end cap 25, the end cap disposed at the-X shaft end of the process cartridge is a conductive side end cap 26, and the driving side end cap 25 covers a part or all of the gears of the driving unit 30 in the end cap, so as to protect the end cap, and the end cap may be integrally disposed with the photosensitive frame 21, may be of a split structure, and may be fixedly mounted on the photosensitive frame 21 by welding, adhering, fastening, plugging or other means, or may be integrally disposed with the developing frame 11 or fixedly mounted on the developing frame 11.

The chip 70 has a substrate having a substantially rectangular shape, a storage portion provided on the substrate and configured to store information related to the process cartridge, and an electrical contact (communication terminal) provided on an outer surface (+z-axis side surface) of a thickness direction (height direction) of the substrate, the storage portion being electrically connected to the electrical contact, the electrical contact being electrically connected to a stylus of the electronic imaging device when the process cartridge is mounted to the electronic imaging device, thereby establishing communication between the chip 70 and the electronic imaging device, the electronic imaging device being capable of reading the information in the storage portion.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, in the present embodiment, the chip 70 is mounted on the frame, specifically, may be mounted on the driving side end cover 25, the upper end surface (+z-axis side end surface) of the driving side end cover 25 is provided with a mounting groove 253 recessed downward, and the mounting groove 253 is provided with a chip mounting seat 251. As shown in fig. 12, when the chip 70 is mounted into the chip mount 251, the chip mount 251 at least partially surrounds the periphery of the chip 70, thereby restricting movement of the chip 70 in the width direction and the length direction. Preferably, the outer surface (+z-axis end surface) of the chip mount 251 is lower than the outer surface (+z-axis end surface) of the chip 70, i.e., the chip mount 251 does not protrude beyond the chip 70 in the +z-axis direction, the chip mount 251 does not restrict the chip 70 in the height direction (+z-axis direction), the chip 70 can be mounted or dismounted in the height direction (Z-axis direction), i.e., the chip 70 can be mounted on the chip mount 251 in the-Z-axis direction and dismounted from the chip mount 251 in the +z-axis direction, the dismounting and mounting are simple, and the operation of replacing the chip 70 is made faster.

Further, since the chip mount 251 does not limit the chip 70 in the height direction, in order to prevent the chip 70 from falling off in the height direction, an adhesive layer (such as an adhesive, a double-sided tape, etc.) may be provided between the chip mount 251 and the inner surface (-Z-axis direction surface) of the chip 70, to adhere the chip 70 in the chip mount 251, thereby limiting the chip 70 from falling off from the +z-axis direction.

In the working process of the electronic imaging device, the developing roller 12 needs to be in tight contact with the photosensitive drum 22, when the electronic imaging device does not work, the developing roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 22 need to be separated by a certain distance, and the problems that the photosensitive drum 22 is polluted by redundant developer attached to the developing roller 12, the developing roller 12 deforms, the photosensitive drum 22 is worn and the like due to long-time contact between the developing roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 22 are avoided.

Therefore, the developing unit 10 in the present embodiment is provided so as to be movable relative to the drum unit 20, thereby enabling the developing roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 22 to be brought into contact when the electrophotographic apparatus is in operation and to be separated when not in operation.

As shown in fig. 7 to 11, in the present embodiment, the developing unit 10 is rotatably connected to the drum unit 20, the developing unit 10 moves around a rotation center 15 between a contact position where the photosensitive drum 22 contacts the developing roller 12 and a separation position where the photosensitive drum 22 separates from the developing roller 12, and the rotation center 15 is located at a position substantially centered in the height direction (Z-axis direction) of the developing unit 10.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the developing frame 11 has first pivoting portions 115 at both ends in the length direction, and second pivoting portions 27 are provided on the inner sides of the driving-side end cap 25 and the conductive-side end cap 26, and the first pivoting portions 115 and the second pivoting portions 27 are coaxially engaged to form a rotation center 15 so that the developing unit 10 can move between a contact position and a separation position around the rotation center 15. The first pivot portion 115 may be a circular hole/circular groove, and the second pivot portion 27 may be a cylinder adapted to the circular hole/circular groove. Alternatively, the first pivot portion 115 may be a cylinder, and the second pivot portion 27 may be a circular hole/groove.

As shown in fig. 5 to 11, the sealing member 40 is for sealing the developer outlet 113 before the cartridge is used, the sealing member 40 is an elongated film having a width slightly larger than the width of the developer outlet 113 and a length longer than the length of the developer outlet 113, and the sealing member 40 can be removed by pulling in the axial direction (X-axis direction) to release the seal of the developer outlet 113. In the present embodiment, the rotation center 15 is outside the width range L of the seal member 40 with respect to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the surface of the seal member 40. As shown in fig. 7, specifically, the width direction of the developer outlet 113 intersects the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction, and the width direction of the developer outlet 113 extends from +z, -Y side to-Z, +y-axis side as viewed in the-X-axis direction, and then the width direction of the seal member 40 is the same as the width direction of the developer outlet 113, extends from +z, -Y side to-Z, +y-axis side, and as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the surface of the seal member 40, i.e., as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the width direction of the seal member 40 (as indicated by arrow F in fig. 7), the width range L of the seal member 40 is indicated by two broken lines in fig. 7 to 11, and the rotation center 15 is located outside the range of the width range L (two broken lines).

As shown in fig. 7 to 11, when the developing unit 10 rotates from the contact position to the separation position around the rotation center 15, the developer outlet 113 and the sealing member 40 also move with the rotation of the developing unit 10, that is, the width directions of the developer outlet 113 and the sealing member 40 change, but the rotation center 15 is outside the width range L of the sealing member 40 with respect to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, as seen from the direction perpendicular to the surface of the sealing member 40, regardless of whether the developing unit 10 is in the contact position or the separation position.

In the solution of this embodiment, in the case where the main structure of the developing unit 10 is unchanged (i.e., the rotation center 15 is unchanged), controlling the rotation center 15 to be disposed outside the width of the sealing member 40 actually controls the width of the developer outlet 113, thereby controlling the (instantaneous) amount of the powder discharged from the developer accommodating portion 111 to the developing hopper 112, and controlling the width of the developer outlet 113 to be within a proper range makes it possible to control the (instantaneous) amount of the powder discharged from the developer accommodating portion 111 to the developing hopper 112 to be within a proper range, thereby avoiding the situation where the developer is accumulated at both ends of the developing unit to affect the developing quality.

Preferably, the rotation center 15 is tangent to one of the boundaries of the width range of the sealing member 40, so that the width of the developer outlet 113 is more appropriate, the amount of toner discharge is more appropriate, and neither accumulation nor shortage of developer occurs.

In the present embodiment, the sealing member 40 is welded to the frame between the developer accommodating portion 111 and the developing hopper 112 to seal the developer outlet 113, and specifically, may be welded at a portion of the sealing member 40 around the side of the developer outlet 113 near the developing hopper 112, the weld surrounding the entire periphery of the developer outlet 113, so that the sealing property is better and leakage of the developer is avoided.

As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 5, one end of the sealing member 40 protrudes beyond the end cap in the axial direction, and in particular, one end of the sealing member 40 protrudes beyond the conductive-side end cap 26, so that a user can easily pull from outside the process cartridge to remove the sealing member 40 when using the process cartridge, unseal the developer outlet 113, and the developer of the developer accommodating portion 111 can enter the developing hopper 112 from the developer outlet 113. The conductive side end cap 26 is provided with an opening 261, and one end of the sealing member 40 extends out of the conductive side end cap 26 through the opening 261.

As shown in fig. 3 and 11, the force receiving member 50 is provided at the lower end side of the developing unit 10 in the height direction, specifically, attached to the developing frame 11, the force receiving member 50 is a block-shaped member, the force receiving member 50 has a force receiving surface 51 for receiving a separating force for moving the developing unit 10 from the contact position to the separation position, the force receiving surface 51 is a side surface of the force receiving member 50 in the-Y axis direction, the force receiving surface 51 is parallel to a plane (i.e., parallel to XZ plane) formed by the axial direction and the height direction, and all or at least a part of the force receiving surface 51 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the developing frame 11 so that the force receiving surface 51 can be brought into contact with a force application member in the electronic image forming apparatus to receive the separating force. When the electronic image forming apparatus is not in operation, the urging member moves in the +y axis direction, the urging member contacts the force receiving surface 51 and applies a separating force to the force receiving surface 51, the separating force received by the force receiving surface 51 acts on the entire developing unit 10 via the force receiving member 50, the developing unit 10 rotates about the rotation center 15 after being forced, the lower end thereof moves in a direction away from the drum unit 20 (in the +y axis direction), and the developing unit 10 moves from the contact position to the separation position, driving the developing roller 12 to separate from the photosensitive drum 22.

As shown in fig. 2 and 4, the process cartridge further includes an elastic member 60, the elastic member 60 being disposed between the developing unit 10 and the drum unit 20 for moving the developing unit 10 from the separation position to the contact position to bring the developing roller 12 into contact with the photosensitive drum 22, and specifically, the elastic member 60 may be a compression spring having one end abutting on the upper end of the photosensitive frame 21 and the other end abutting on the upper end of the developing frame 11. When the developing unit 10 moves to the separation position by the separating force, the elastic member 60 is compressed, and when the electronic image forming apparatus needs to operate, the force (separating force) of the force application member to the force receiving member 50 is removed, and the force of the elastic member 60 restoring the deformation moves the developing unit 10 to the contact position around the rotation center 15, and the developing roller 12 contacts the photosensitive drum 22, so that the developing operation can be performed.

In some other embodiments, as shown in fig. 13, the driving-side end cap 25 is further provided with a notch 252, and a part of the developing unit 10 is exposed through the notch 252, so that the structure inside the process cartridge (especially the internal structure of the developing unit 10) can be observed to some extent through the notch 252, and in the case of partial maintenance, the maintenance can be realized without removing the driving-side end cap 25, which is more convenient. Wherein the sealing member 40 is located within the range of the notch 252 as seen in the axial direction (X-axis direction).

What has been described above is merely some embodiments of the present utility model. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit of the utility model.

Claims (10)

1. A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electronic image forming apparatus, comprising:

A drum unit rotatably supporting a photosensitive drum;

A developing unit including a developing frame enclosing a developer accommodating portion storing a developer and a developing hopper rotatably supporting a developing roller, the developing unit being rotatably connected with the drum unit, the developing unit being movable about a rotation center between a contact position where the photosensitive drum is in contact with the developing roller and a separation position where the photosensitive drum is separated from the developing roller; the developing unit further includes:

A developer outlet provided between the developer accommodating portion and the developing hopper and extending in an axial direction of the developing roller, the developer in the developer accommodating portion being supplied to the developing hopper through the developer outlet;

A sealing member for sealing the developer outlet, the sealing member being removable by pulling in an axial direction to release the seal of the developer outlet;

The center of rotation is outside the width of the sealing member with respect to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, as seen from the direction perpendicular to the surface of the sealing member.

2. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said rotation center is tangential to one of boundaries of a width range of said seal member.

3. A process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising end caps fixedly connected to both ends of said drum unit in the axial direction, and said developing units are rotatably connected to the end caps at both ends, respectively.

4. A process cartridge according to claim 3, wherein one end of said seal member protrudes beyond the end cap in the axial direction so as to facilitate pulling removal of the seal member.

5. A process cartridge according to claim 4, wherein said end cap is provided with an opening through which the sealing member protrudes.

6. A process cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said end cap is provided with a notched portion, and said seal member is located within a range of said notched portion as viewed in the axial direction.

7. A process cartridge according to claim 3, further comprising a chip, wherein said end cap is provided with a chip mount, and said chip is mounted to the chip mount in a height direction perpendicular to the axial direction.

8. The process cartridge according to claim 7, wherein an outer surface of the chip mount in a height direction is lower than or flush with an outer surface of the chip.

9. A process cartridge according to claim 3, further comprising a force receiving member having a force receiving surface for receiving a separating force for moving said developing unit from the contact position to the separation position; the force receiving surface is parallel to a plane formed by the axial direction and the height direction.

10. A process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said seal member is welded and fixed to said developer accommodating portion or developing hopper.