JP2002108036A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of obtaining an image of high image quality by preventing the uneven density of the outputted image and preventing the positional deviation of the image. SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is provided with an image carrier 1 for forming a toner image, and an intermediate transfer body 4 to which the toner image is transferred, and also, provided with a perforation belt 12 which is circulated-moved around a path partly surrounding each outer periphery of the image carrier 1, each intermediate transfer body 4 and a driving roll 17 so as to transmit a rotary driving force and which is provided with through holes 13 formed at prescribed pitches in a circulating-moving direction, the image carrier 1 and each intermediate transfer body 4 are arranged at a position where the perforation belt 12 is interposed, and projections 14 to be fitted into the through holes 13 of the perforation belt 12 are formed on the outer periphery of the image carrier 1 and on the outer periphery of one of the intermediate transfer bodies 4, and also, recessed parts 15 are formed on those of the others so that the projections 14 formed on the outer periphery may pass through the through holes 13 of the perforation belt 12 and the projections 14 may be fitted into the recessed parts 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus used for an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of transmitting a driving force to an image carrier drum in an image forming apparatus used for an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 9-80840 and 5-72862. Discloses a method using a helical gear in order to realize a high meshing ratio and a high transmission ratio, or to obtain good low rotation unevenness performance.

[0003] Further, as a driving force transmitting member which can realize a lower rotation unevenness performance than using a helical gear,
A method using a straight tooth belt has also been proposed.

Further, as a driving force transmitting method capable of obtaining even better low-rotation unevenness performance than using a tooth belt, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 9-160332 and 10-26 are disclosed.
No. 903 discloses a method using a helical belt.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-319254, a single driving force transmitting means for moving the outer peripheral surfaces of a plurality of image bearing drums by the same amount is provided, and a flat belt is used as the driving force transmitting means. A method for doing so is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-111586 discloses an image forming unit in which an image forming unit forms an image and a bearing that rotates to prevent density unevenness and color shift due to eccentricity of the image forming unit. The image forming section, the supported section, and the driven section all have the same diameter, and have a supported section freely supported by a shaft and a driven section to which a driving force is applied by a driving unit. There is disclosed an image forming apparatus which is constituted by a base, wherein a surface of a supported portion is supported by a bearing, and a driven portion is also provided with a driving force on the surface. As the driving force transmitting means of the image forming body, in order to transmit the driving force of the motor to the image forming body by frictional force,
The company will use flat belts, timing belts, and wires.

[0007]

In general, when a helical gear is used as a driving force transmitting member, the meshing ratio can be easily increased as compared with a case where a right tooth gear is used, and the driving gear and the driven gear can be driven. It has been found that the meshing of the gears takes place slowly, so that the meshing vibration transmitted to the driven gear can be considerably reduced. However, when a gear is used as the driving force transmitting member, there is a problem that rotation unevenness occurs due to backlash.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing rattling (backlash) in gear engagement.

As shown in FIG. 3, a driving gear 21 rotating in the direction of arrow A meshes with a driven gear 22 to
Is driven in the direction of arrow B when the teeth 2 of the drive gear 21 are driven.
1a and the teeth 22a of the driven gear 22 are in contact with each other for a predetermined time, but after that time, the teeth 21a and the teeth 2a
When the tooth 21b comes into contact with the tooth 22b due to the backlash G, as shown in the figure, the tooth 21b comes into contact with the tooth 22b. The teeth 22b are vibrated. Due to the vibration caused by the play G, the driven gear has periodic rotation unevenness.

This backlash is unavoidable in principle for gears. When gears are used as driving force transmitting means of an image forming apparatus, driven gears are vibrated by meshing. Since only the backlash G is easily moved, even if a small excitation force is generated due to the meshing vibration, periodic density unevenness is generated in the output plane image.

Further, even if a helical gear is used, it is impossible to greatly increase the meshing area (the number of teeth) as compared with the case of using a straight tooth gear. In consideration of the problem, it is necessary to manufacture the gear (particularly, the meshing contact portion) from a material having a certain hardness. However, when a driven gear formed of a material having high hardness and a driven gear mesh with each other, there is no portion in the driving force transmission path that absorbs vibration generated by the meshing. The meshing vibration generated by the meshing of the driven gears is transmitted to the driven gears without being attenuated, and as a result, there is a problem that the density unevenness occurs periodically in the output image.

When the driving force is transmitted by using the tooth belt immediately, since the teeth of the belt meshing with the pulley are made of a highly flexible rubber material, the mesh vibration of the pulley and the belt is generated. Is expected to be less than in the case of the immediately toothed gear, but the result of the actual measurement is almost the same as that of the case of the immediately toothed gear, as shown below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing rotation unevenness in the case where a straight tooth belt and a straight tooth gear are used as the driving force transmitting means.

As shown in FIG. 4, even in the case of the immediate toothed belt, the result is almost the same as that of the rotation unevenness of the immediate toothed gear. Therefore, it can be understood that even if the tooth belt is used immediately, it is not possible to prevent the density unevenness of the output image from occurring.

Further, when the driving force is transmitted using a flat belt as in the example of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-319254, the meshing vibration generated by the meshing of the flat belt with the driving pulley and the driven pulley. Does not occur in principle,
Periodic density unevenness does not occur in the output image, but a new problem of slippage occurs because power transmission between the flat belt and the driving pulley and the driven pulley is purely frictional.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the average rotation speed of the driven pulley and the load torque in the driving force transmitting means using a flat belt.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the load torque exceeds a certain limit value, the average rotation speed of the driven pulley rapidly decreases. This is because, when the load on the driven shaft exceeds a certain limit value, slippage occurs between the flat belt and the driving pulley or the driven pulley, and the average rotational speed of the driven pulley is greatly reduced. In such a state, the speed of the driven pulley fluctuates with time and becomes unstable. As a result, color shift and transfer unevenness occur in the output image, and a normal image forming operation cannot be performed.

When a flat belt is used as the driving force transmitting means, it is conceivable to use a metal belt for the purpose of securing the rigidity of the driving force transmitting system and obtaining a stable driving force. Since the coefficient of friction is extremely small as compared with the coefficient of friction in the case of a rubber belt, a resin belt, or the like, the limit value of the driven shaft load shown in FIG. 5 is extremely reduced, which is assumed in an actual image forming apparatus. There is a fatal defect that stable image forming operation cannot be performed under such driven load conditions, and this cannot be a satisfactory solution.

In the field of color image forming apparatuses, which are currently being intensively developed, not only the photoreceptor but also an intermediate transfer member and a transfer belt, and further a transfer roll and a charging roll, because of the need to reduce power consumption and cost. There is a tendency that the load torque that the driving force transmitting member must overcome in order to perform an image forming operation gradually increases.

Further, in order to reduce the cost of parts, the bearing for supporting the rotating shaft of each image carrier is often changed from a conventionally used rolling bearing to a plain bearing. Is also accelerating the increase in load torque.

The present inventors have studied a color image forming apparatus employing a driving force transmission mechanism using a perforation belt as described below as a driving force transmission member for an image carrier.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a driving force transmitting member in which a perforation belt having a plurality of through holes and a pulley having projections corresponding to the through holes are combined, and FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. Side view of a driving force transmission mechanism in a color image forming apparatus using a driving force transmission member (a)
8 is a side view (a) and a plan view (b) of another type of driving force transmitting mechanism in a color image forming apparatus employing the driving force transmitting member shown in FIG. It is.

As shown in FIG. 6, the driving force transmitting member circulates in the direction of arrow A, and has a perforation belt 23 having through holes 24 formed at a predetermined pitch in the circulating direction. Hole 2
And a pulley 26 having a projection 25 corresponding to the pulley 4.

FIG. 7 shows a toner image 4 formed on the surface.
Drum-shaped image carriers 30a, 30b, 30c, 30
d, a drum-shaped first intermediate transfer member 31a, 31b for receiving the transfer of the toner image formed on each image carrier 30, and a reproduction of the toner image transferred on the first intermediate transfer member 31a, 31b. A drum-shaped second intermediate transfer body 32 that receives the transfer and transfers the toner image to a predetermined recording medium is provided, and these image carriers 30 and first intermediate transfer bodies 3 are provided.
A perforation belt 33 having a through hole as a driving force transmission mechanism for the first and second intermediate transfer members 32;
Pulleys 35a to 35g each having a projection 34 corresponding to a through hole of the perforation belt 33;
6 is shown in combination with the driving force transmission mechanism.

FIG. 8 shows four drum-shaped image carriers 30a, 30b, 30 on each of which a toner image is formed.
c, 30d, drum-shaped first intermediate transfer members 31a, 31 for receiving the transfer of the toner image formed on each image carrier 30
b, and a drum-shaped second intermediate transfer member 32 that receives the toner image transferred onto each first intermediate transfer member 31 and transfers the toner image to a predetermined recording medium. The image carrier 30 and the second intermediate transfer member 3
The first perforation belt 33a having a through-hole and the first intermediate transfer member 3
A second perforation belt 3 having a through hole as a driving force transmission mechanism for the first and second intermediate transfer members 32
3b and first and second perforation belts 3
A driving force transmission mechanism is shown in which pulleys 35a to 35g having projections 34 corresponding to through holes 3a and 33b and driving pulleys 36a and 36b are combined.

As described above, each image carrier, each first intermediate transfer member, and each second intermediate transfer member are driven by using the driving force transmitting mechanism including the perforation belt and the pulley having the projection corresponding to the through hole of the perforation belt. Prevents periodic density unevenness of the output image due to backlash, as in the case of gear drive described above, and the occurrence of slip, as in the case of flat belt drive. can do.

However, in the driving force transmission mechanism shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, since the projections formed on the image carriers existing at adjacent positions physically interfere with each other, the diameter of the image carrier and the intermediate transfer A driving pulley smaller than the body diameter must be installed on the rotating shaft. In the case of such a configuration, it is impossible to “directly receive the driving force of the flat belt on the surface of the image carrier” as disclosed in JP-A-10-111586. There is a fatal problem that it becomes impossible in principle to eliminate the occurrence of density unevenness and color misregistration caused by the eccentricity of the carrier, each intermediate transfer member, and the driving pulley.

When a driving force transmission mechanism having the structure shown in FIG. 8 is employed, a plurality of perforation belts having through holes are required, which complicates the drive layout, increases the number of parts, and increases the machine size. New problems such as increased cost and increased costs will be added.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a high-quality image forming apparatus in which output image density unevenness and image position deviation are prevented.

[0030]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a drum-shaped image carrier on which a toner image is formed on a surface while rotating; And a drum-shaped first intermediate transfer member for receiving the formed toner image. The toner image transferred on the first intermediate transfer member is finally transferred onto a predetermined recording medium. And fixing at least a part of the outer periphery of the image carrier and at least a part of the outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer member in the image forming apparatus. A perforation belt having a through-hole formed at a predetermined pitch in the direction of circulation in which the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer body are circulated and transmit rotational driving force via a path surrounding the image carrier. The above A projection is provided at a position sandwiching the foreration belt, and a protrusion that fits into the through hole of the perforation belt is formed on the outer periphery of one of the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer member. And a recess formed on the other outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer member so that the protrusion formed on the one outer periphery fits through the through hole of the perforation belt.

Here, while rotating, the toner image transferred onto the first intermediate transfer member is re-transferred, and the drum-shaped second intermediate transfer member which transfers the toner image to the recording medium is removed. Wherein the perforation belt surrounds at least a part of the outer periphery of the image carrier and at least a part of the outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer member, and
Wherein the second intermediate transfer member transmits a rotational driving force by circulating through a path surrounding at least a part of the outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member. A dent or a projection which is provided at a position sandwiching the perforation belt and which is formed on the outer periphery of the second intermediate transfer member so as to fit into the boss or the dent provided on the outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer member; It may be.

Further, a plurality of the image carriers may be provided, and the perforation belt may circulate through a path surrounding at least a part of the outer periphery of each of the plurality of image carriers.

Further, the perforation belt is
It may be a flat belt made of metal.

Further, the contact portions of the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer member with the perforation belt may be made of stainless steel.

Further, the contact portions of the image carrier, the first intermediate transfer member, and the second intermediate transfer member with the perforation belt may be made of stainless steel.

The above-mentioned perforation belt is
The image carrier and the first intermediate transfer body may surround one end in the rotation axis direction.

Further, the perforation belt may surround one end of the image bearing member, the first intermediate transfer member, and the second intermediate transfer member in the rotation axis direction.

[0038]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this image forming apparatus comprises:
While rotating in the direction of arrow A, black, yellow,
Drum-shaped image carriers 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d on which toner images corresponding to each color of magenta and cyan are formed
Each of the drum-shaped first intermediate transfer members 4_1a and the image carriers 1c and 1d formed on the image carriers 1c and 1d receiving the transfer of each toner image formed on the image carriers 1a and 1b while rotating in the direction of arrow B. A first intermediate transfer member 4 </ b> _ <b> 1 b having a drum shape for receiving the transfer of the toner image;
The drum-shaped second intermediate transfer member 4_2 for receiving the toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer members 4_1a and 4_1b and transferring the toner image to the recording medium P, and the image carrier 1, A drive roll 17 for rotating the first intermediate transfer member 4_1 and the second intermediate transfer member 4_2, and finally transferring the toner images transferred onto the first intermediate transfer members 4_1a and 4_1b, This is a tandem-type full-color image forming apparatus that forms a color image composed of a fixed toner image on the recording medium P by transferring and fixing it on the recording medium P.

This image forming apparatus includes the above-described image carrier 1
, A part of the outer periphery of each first intermediate transfer member 4_1, a part of the outer periphery of the second intermediate transfer member 4_2, and a path surrounding a part of the outer periphery of the drive roll 17 A perforation belt 12 in the form of a flat belt having through-holes formed at a predetermined pitch in the direction of circulation in the circulation direction, and the perforation belt 12 is used for each image carrier 1 and each first intermediate transfer. Body 4_1 and the second
Circulates through a path surrounding a part of each outer periphery of the intermediate transfer member 4_2 to transmit the rotational driving force of the drive roll 17 to each part.

These perforation belts 12,
Details of the driving force transmission mechanism including each image carrier 1, each first intermediate transfer member 4_1, the second intermediate transfer member 4_2, and the like will be described later.

The image forming apparatus further includes a transparent document table 10 such as a platen glass on which a document is placed, and a document placed on the document table 10 which is optically scanned to form an image from the document. An image reading device 11 for reading data, and color-separating the image data read by the image reading device 11 into color image data of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan, and applying the characteristics of the marking device / process to the color-separated image data. After giving a predetermined weighting factor that is considered,
An image processing device 6 for executing a series of image processing for converting to a predetermined data format, and writing image data on the surface of each image carrier 1 based on each image data after image processing by the image processing device 6 Image data writing means 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d for forming a latent image on each image carrier 1
And toner image forming means 18a, 18b, 18c, and 18d for developing the electrostatic latent image formed by writing the image data with the toner of each color to form a toner image, and forming the toner image on the second intermediate transfer member 4_2. Nip between the transfer roller 7 for transferring the full-color image formed on the recording paper P and the recording paper P supplied from the tray 19 along the paper transport path at a predetermined timing between the second intermediate transfer body 4_2 and the transfer roll 7 Part N
, A fixing device 8 for fixing the color material particles of the recording paper P on which the full-color image has been transferred, and discharging the same outside the apparatus, and a main control unit (not shown) for controlling the entire image forming apparatus. And The main control means operates to send an image data writing start signal to each image carrier 1 to each image data writing means 5 in synchronization with the timing of supplying the recording paper P to the nip portion N.

In each image forming station, in addition to each of the image carriers 1, color material particles for supplying a color material particle to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of each image carrier 1 to form a toner image are provided. Supply devices 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, charging devices 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d for uniformly charging the surface of each image carrier 1, and removal of residues from each image carrier 1 after transfer of a color material image And unnecessary foreign matter removing means (not shown).

Next, the driving force transmission mechanism according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is a side view (a) and a plan view (b) of the driving force transmission mechanism in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driving force transmitting mechanism includes a part of the outer periphery of the image carriers 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d,
A part of the outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer members 4_1a and 4_1b;
Part of the outer periphery of the second intermediate transfer member 4_2 and the drive roll 1
And a perforation belt 12 in the form of a flat belt having through holes 13 formed at a predetermined pitch in the circulating movement direction and circulating through a path surrounding a part of the outer periphery of the perforation belt 7. Moves circulating through a path surrounding a part of each outer periphery of each image carrier 1, each first intermediate transfer member 4_1, and the second intermediate transfer member 4_2 to reduce the rotational driving force by the drive roll 17. Communicate to each part.

The image carriers 1, the first intermediate transfer members 4_1, and the second intermediate transfer members 4_2 are provided at positions sandwiching the perforation belt 12, and the respective image carriers 1, the first A projection 14 that fits into the through hole 13 of the perforation belt 12 is formed on the outer periphery of one of the intermediate transfer member 4_1 and the second intermediate transfer member 4_2, and each image carrier 1 and each first intermediate member Transcript 4_1,
And on the other outer periphery of the second intermediate transfer member 4_2,
A depression 15 in which the protrusion 14 formed on the one outer periphery fits through the through hole 13 of the perforation belt 12.
Are formed.

On the outer periphery of the drive roll 17, a projection 14 is formed which fits into the through hole 13 of the perforation belt 12, and is driven to rotate by driving force generating means 16 connected to the drive shaft of the drive roll 17.

As the driving force generating means 16, a general electric motor can be used. In particular, a pulse motor which has a good positioning accuracy of the motor shaft and is easy to control, and which receives little torque fluctuation with little noise. Also stable operation D
It is preferable to use a C brushless motor since a stable driving force can be obtained.

As the perforation belt 12,
A perforation belt manufactured by Dimco Co., Ltd. can be used. As the material of the perforation belt, stainless steel, nickel, titanium, and the like are proposed by Dimco Corporation, but it is desirable to use a stainless steel belt from the viewpoint of price, durability, mechanical strength, and the like.

As a material of a contact portion of each image carrier and each intermediate transfer member with a belt, stainless steel, aluminum, carbon steel, or the like can be used. From the viewpoints of durability, mechanical strength, etc. It is desirable to use However, if the contact and separation are repeated while the members of the same material slide slightly, wear of the contact surface progresses very quickly. In such a case, the belt is formed of stainless steel and The contact portion between the support and the belt on the side of each intermediate transfer member is made of carbon steel, whereby the stability can be improved.

As described above, in the conventional image forming apparatus, when transmitting a driving force to an image carrier or the like by a flat belt having a through hole, the driving force is mainly transmitted to a portion other than the through hole portion of the flat belt. Because of this configuration, the meshing vibration generated when the belt and the driving pulley or the driven pulley mesh with each other is extremely difficult to reduce in the past. In the force transmission mechanism, it can be suppressed to an extremely small level.

Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the periodic density unevenness occurring in the output image to a negligible level. In addition, when the load on the driven shaft exceeds a certain value, the perforation belt 12 Through hole 1 provided
3 and the projections 14 formed on each image carrier 11 and the second intermediate transfer member 4_2, and each image carrier 11 and the second intermediate transfer adjacent to the depression 15 formed on the surface of each first intermediate transfer member 4_1 Since the protrusions 14 formed on the body 4_2 are loosely meshed with a margin, the surface of the belt, the image carrier on the driving side or the driven side, and the surface of the intermediate transfer body are different from those of a conventional driving force transmission mechanism using a flat belt. A phenomenon in which a large slip occurs between the two and the specified average speed cannot be maintained does not occur, and the occurrence of density unevenness and color shift due to these unpredictable slips can be dramatically reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, the surface of each image carrier and each intermediate transfer member can be directly driven to rotate while the perforation belt having a through hole is wound around the surface of each image carrier and each intermediate transfer member. In addition, the occurrence of density unevenness and color shift due to the eccentricity of the driving pulley of each image carrier and each intermediate transfer body, which is inevitable in the conventional method, can be dramatically reduced.

With the above-described operation, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of periodic density unevenness in the output image, and it is possible to make the occurrence of the image position shift due to the slip almost zero.

Further, forming a depression is easier and more cost effective than forming a projection on the surface of the image carrier or the intermediate transfer member. It is possible to reduce the cost by configuring a part of the transfer body with a depression formed.

[0058]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in an image forming apparatus in which an image carrier and an intermediate transfer member are arranged in combination, a perforation belt having a through hole as a driving force transmitting member is provided. By using an image carrier or an intermediate transfer member having projections or dents formed on the surface corresponding to the size of the through hole of the perforation belt, a problem that occurs when a conventional driving force transmission member is used is fundamentally eliminated. Thus, a long-term and stable effect of suppressing the meshing vibration can be exhibited, and a high-quality image forming apparatus in which the density unevenness of the output image and the image position shift are prevented can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a side view and a plan view of a driving force transmission mechanism in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing play (backlash) in gear engagement.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing rotation unevenness when a straight tooth belt and a straight tooth gear are used as driving force transmitting means.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between an average rotation speed of a driven pulley and a load torque in a driving force transmission unit using a flat belt.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a driving force transmitting member in which a perforation belt having a plurality of through holes and a pulley having a projection corresponding to the through holes are combined.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a side view and a plan view of a driving force transmitting mechanism in the color image forming apparatus using the driving force transmitting member shown in FIG.

8 is a side view (a) and a plan view (b) of another type of driving force transmission mechanism in a color image forming apparatus employing the driving force transmission member shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Image carrier 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d Color material particle supply device 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d Charging device 4_1, 4_1a, 4_1b First intermediate transfer member 4_2 Second intermediate transfer Body 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d Image data writing means 6 Image processing device 7 Transfer roll 8 Fixing device 9 Registration roller 10 Document placing table 11 Image reading device 12 Perforation belt 13 Through hole 14 Protrusion 15 Depression 16 Driving force generating means 17 Drive rolls 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d Toner image forming means 19 Tray 21 Drive gear 21a, 21b Teeth 22 Follower gear 22a, 22b Teeth 23 Perforation belt 24 Through hole 25 Projection 26 Pulley 30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d Image holding Body 31, 31a, 31b First intermediate transfer body 32 Second intermediate transfer body 33, 33a, 33b Perforation belt 34 Projection 35a to 35g Pulley 36, 36a, 36b Driving pulley

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kiichiro Iijima 430 Nakaicho, Ashigara-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Green Tech Nakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H030 AA01 AB02 BB02 BB22 BB42 BB46 BB54 BB71 2H032 AA05 AA15 BA08 BA23 2H071 BA42 CA01 CA02 CA05 DA08 DA09 DA12 DA15 DA27 EA18

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A drum-shaped image carrier on which a toner image is formed on the surface while rotating, and a drum-shaped first intermediate transfer for receiving a toner image formed on the image carrier while rotating. The toner image transferred on the first intermediate transfer member is finally transferred and fixed on a predetermined recording medium to form an image comprising the fixed toner image on the recording medium. In the image forming apparatus for forming, the rotation driving force is transmitted by circulating through a path surrounding at least a part of the outer periphery of the image carrier and at least a part of the outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer body. A perforation belt having through holes formed at a predetermined pitch in a circulating movement direction, wherein the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer member are arranged at positions sandwiching the perforation belt; Yo A protrusion that fits into a through hole of the perforation belt is formed on one outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer body, and the other outer periphery of the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer body is formed on the other outer periphery. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a depression formed on one of the outer circumferences so as to fit through a through hole of the perforation belt. 2. A drum-shaped second intermediate transfer member which receives a toner image transferred onto the first intermediate transfer member while rotating, and transfers the toner image to a recording medium. The perforation belt surrounds at least a part of the outer periphery of the image carrier and at least a part of the outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer member, and surrounds at least a part of the outer periphery of the second intermediate transfer member. The second intermediate transfer member is circulated through a path to transmit a rotational driving force, wherein the second intermediate transfer member is provided at a position sandwiching the perforation belt with respect to the first intermediate transfer member. A dent or a projection which is fitted on a projection or a dent provided on an outer periphery of the first intermediate transfer member is formed on an outer periphery of the second intermediate transfer member.
The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image bearing member includes a plurality of image bearing members, and the perforation belt circulates through a path surrounding at least a part of an outer periphery of each of the plurality of image bearing members. Item 3. A color image forming apparatus according to item 1 or 2. 4. The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the perforation belt is a flat belt made of metal. 5. A contact portion of the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer member with the perforation belt,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is made of stainless steel. 6. The image bearing member, the first intermediate transfer member,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the second intermediate transfer member that contacts the perforation belt is made of stainless steel. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the perforation belt surrounds one end of the image carrier and the first intermediate transfer member in a rotation axis direction. . 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the perforation belt surrounds one end of the image carrier, the first intermediate transfer member, and the second intermediate transfer member in a rotation axis direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.