JP2002372823A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of realizing miniaturization, reducing image elongation or irregular color and increasing printing speed. SOLUTION: This image forming device (1) is constituted so that images are developed with toner of at least three or more colors on a belt type photoreceptor (10) laid and rotated by a plurality of rollers (11, 12 and 13) three or more times and the developed images of respective colors are superimposed in terms of color on a belt type intermediate transfer body (24) abutting on the photoreceptor (10). In the device (1), the photoreceptor (10) abuts on the transfer body (24) in the vicinity of an upstream side in a belt rotating direction of rollers (25, 26 and 27) for laying and rotating the transfer body 24. Then, the supporting bodies of the photoreceptor (10) and the transfer body (24) are made a seamless nickel belt whose peripheral length is >=450 mm.

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 using a belt-shaped photosensitive member and a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The configuration of the prior art and its disadvantages will be described below based on the invention described in the patent literature.

Structure of the prior art (1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-186885 (Canon) A tubular rotating body having a variable curvature, which has a charged powder image on its surface as it rotates. It is sequentially transferred and carried. The charged powder image is transferred to the back surface of the tubular rotator or to the surface of the tubular rotator by a potential of a power supply member placed on the back surface, and a metal belt is attached to a base material of the tubular rotator. It is characterized by using. With this configuration, it is possible to provide an intermediate transfer member that can form a high-quality image with less color shift and scattering by using the intermediate transfer member and that is used in a smaller electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

(2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-352879 (Canon) A magnetic metal such as nickel constituting a base of an intermediate transfer belt is induction-heated by an exciting coil to simultaneously transfer and fix a toner image on a transfer material. Since transfer and fixing can be performed simultaneously, the image forming process can be simplified, and the configuration of the image forming apparatus can be simplified. Further, since the heat capacity of the intermediate transfer belt is small, the intermediate transfer belt can be instantaneously heated to a temperature required for fixing, thereby realizing on-demand.
Furthermore, once the temperature of the intermediate transfer belt has been raised, the heat capacity is small, so the temperature tends to decrease, and the temperature rise of the photosensitive drum in contact with the intermediate transfer belt can be suppressed. Can be prevented from deteriorating image quality.

(3) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-214692 (Sumitomo Rubber) A belt (seamless belt) is composed of a metal thin film layer and a dielectric layer laminated on the front surface of the metal thin film layer. An elastic layer may be laminated on the back side of the metal thin film layer. The metal thin film layer is made of nickel or the like, and has a thickness of 20 μm or more and 50 μm or less. The thickness of the dielectric layer is not less than 10 μm and not more than 40 μm, and the surface resistance thereof is 10 μm.
¹⁰ Ω · cm or more and 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm or less. The present invention provides a belt in which the elastic layer is made of rubber or synthetic resin and hardly stretches even in high-speed printing, so that a good image can be obtained.

(4) JP-A-7-239607 (Canon) For a transfer drum having a diameter of 160 mm, the diameter of the photosensitive drum is set to 160 mm or more. The transfer material is carried on the transfer drum, and a positive transfer bias is applied to transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum onto the transfer material. When the photosensitive drum is an OPC, the photosensitive drum is of a negative charging type and thus is weak in reverse polarity. Therefore, when the non-carrying portion of the transfer material of the transfer drum directly contacts, the memory remains on the photosensitive drum, and when this portion is used for image formation, an image defect occurs. Therefore, the diameter of the photosensitive drum is increased to enable one-color transfer to the transfer material in one rotation.
This portion is prevented from being used for the transfer of the next color. Further, the circumferential length of the photosensitive drum is increased, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the developing device and the like is increased, and the loss time during development is reduced. The image received by the photosensitive drum from the transfer drum is prevented from deteriorating.

(5) JP-A-6-250460 (Canon) By setting the ratio of the peripheral length of the photosensitive drum to the peripheral length of the recording material carrying sheet to 1: 1, an image without a density step due to the transfer memory can be obtained. I have. In addition, O having a surface protective layer as an image carrier
Provided is an image forming apparatus that can be used with a simple configuration even when a PC photoreceptor is used, thereby preventing wear of the photoreceptor and extending a replacement interval of the photoreceptor. .

(6) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-347518 (Ricoh) An image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a circumference of φd is converted to a circumference of φ
(c) an image forming apparatus in which the electrophotographic photoreceptor is formed by laminating a charge generation layer containing silicone oil and a charge transport layer on a conductive support in this order in an image forming apparatus for transferring the image on an intermediate transfer member of (c). Since the ratio φc / φd of the peripheral length φd of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to φc of the intermediate transfer member is a non-integer, the image forming apparatus can be downsized and the image forming apparatus free from color unevenness can be realized. providing.

Disadvantages of the prior art (1) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-186885 (Canon) The use of a metal belt as the base material of the tubular rotating body reduces the elongation of the intermediate transfer member, and provides a drive hole at the end of the belt. It is trying to perform high-precision belt rotation. The circumference is 300m
Even if the circumferential length difference of m is 1 mm, the belt deviation force is appropriate, but the driving holes provided in the nickel belt may cause problems such as cracking and enlargement of the hole diameter due to repeated use of the belt. In addition, if the circumferential length difference is 1 mm, if the diameter of the roller for driving the belt is large, the contact area between the belt and the roller increases, so that the belt shift force increases. In addition, there is no description about the guide for stopping the belt in the text.

(2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-352879 (Canon) Since an exciting coil for inductively heating a magnetic metal such as nickel constituting the base of the intermediate transfer belt is in contact with the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt, By repeated use, wavy irregularities due to metal fatigue are generated on the intermediate transfer belt. Further, the silicon rubber in which the conductive particles on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt are dispersed is deteriorated due to the heat hazard. Further, since the thickness of the base metal nickel is as thin as 50 μm, the temperature is hardly increased by induction heating.

(3) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-214692 (Sumitomo Rubber Co., Ltd.) In the embodiment as an intermediate transfer belt, only a combination with a photosensitive drum is described. Is not described. There is also a description that an elastic layer is laminated on the back side of the metal thin film layer. However, in this configuration, the voltage applied between the photosensitive drum and the intermediate transfer belt is divided by the metal thin film layer during the intermediate transfer, resulting in poor transfer. May occur.

(4) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-239607 (Canon) In a combination of a photosensitive drum and a transfer drum having a diameter of 160 mm, the capacity occupied in the image forming apparatus is large, which hinders miniaturization of the apparatus.

(5) JP-A-6-250460 (Canon) By setting the ratio of the peripheral length of the photosensitive drum to the peripheral length of the recording material carrying sheet to be 1: 1, an image having no density difference due to the transfer memory can be obtained. However, both the photosensitive drum and the recording material carrying sheet, and only the recording material carrying sheet is a cylindrical embodiment, so that the photosensitive drum,
Both recording material carrying sheets are disadvantageous as compared with a belt-shaped unit.

(6) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-347518 (Ricoh) Ratio φ between circumference d of the electrophotographic photosensitive member and φc of the intermediate transfer member
Although c / φd is a non-integer, the size of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. However, the perimeter φd is small due to repeated use of the electrophotographic photosensitive member due to abrasion of the photosensitive layer and electrostatic fatigue. Disadvantageous.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to achieve the following objects. 1) To provide a compact image forming apparatus capable of reducing image spread and color unevenness and increasing printing speed. 2) To provide an image forming apparatus in which a belt slip and a deformation amount of a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member are reduced. 3) To provide an image forming apparatus in which the peeling of the end portions of the belt-shaped photosensitive member and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member and the running up of the belt are reduced. 4) To provide an image forming apparatus in which OPC scratches and worm-like transfer defective images are reduced. 5) To provide an image forming apparatus that is compact and has excellent workability when replacing a developing unit and the like. 6) To provide an image forming apparatus without color shift. 7) To provide an image forming apparatus in which the occurrence of minute projections on the surface of a seamless nickel belt is reduced and the occurrence of irregularities such as waving of a support during repeated use is prevented. 8) To provide an image forming apparatus in which unevenness such as waving of a support is prevented from occurring during repeated use at a linear velocity of 100 mm / s or more. 9) To provide an image forming apparatus in which a support is not cracked during repeated use. 10) To provide an image forming apparatus in which a belt is less likely to run on a roller during repeated use. 11) In a seamless belt-like photoreceptor comprising an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer, to prevent charge injection from a nickel seamless belt and to improve background smearing of an image. 12) To provide an image forming apparatus having excellent halftone reproducibility. 13) To reduce the size of the electrophotographic apparatus into a unit and to easily attach and detach the apparatus.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus according to the present invention has the following specific embodiments. (1) A belt-shaped intermediate transfer in which at least three colors of toner are developed three or more times on a belt-shaped photosensitive member stretched and rotated by a plurality of rollers, and development of each color is in contact with the belt-shaped photosensitive member. In an image forming apparatus configured to be superimposed on a body, a belt-shaped photosensitive member is disposed in the vicinity of an upstream side in a belt rotation direction of a belt-shaped intermediate transfer body and a roller that stretches around the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body. The support of the belt-shaped photoreceptor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member is 450 mm in circumference.
An image forming apparatus comprising the above seamless nickel belt. (2) The surface of the roller that stretches around the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body is at least one material selected from rubber, flocked, and resin, and the thickness of the seamless nickel belt is 20%.
５０50 μm, and the maximum static friction coefficient of the seamless nickel belt with respect to the driving roller among the rollers is 0.7
The image forming apparatus according to the above (1), wherein the roller surface near the contact between the belt-shaped photoconductor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member has rubber or flocking. (3) The image according to the above (1) or (2), wherein the deviation preventing member is provided on the back side of the belt-shaped photoreceptor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body from the longitudinal end to 5 mm. Forming equipment. (4) An apparatus in which a developing roller is in contact with the belt-shaped photoreceptor via a toner layer in a developing section of the image forming apparatus, wherein the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body has an elastic layer on its surface and stearic acid. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein zinc is applied to the surface of the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member. (5) The above (1) to (4), wherein the developing unit of the image forming apparatus is disposed between three or more colors of the same roller.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. (6) The above (1) to (1), wherein the support comprises a seamless nickel belt formed from the same mold.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of (5). (7) The seamless nickel belt contains 0.2 wt% or less of Co as an impurity and has a linear velocity of 100 mm /
The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (5), wherein the belt-shaped photoreceptor is rotated around s or more. (8) The above (1) to (1), wherein the Vickers hardness of the seamless nickel belt is 400 to 500.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of (7). (9) The difference between the left and right circumferential lengths of the seamless nickel belt is 0.05 to 0.31 mm, and the beard length of the cutting step is 0.0.
(1) to (2) to (2) to 0.5 mm.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of (8). (10) The hardness of the detent member is rubber hardness of 40 to 90.
The image forming apparatus according to the above (3), wherein (11) A belt-shaped photoconductor used in the image forming apparatus according to the above (1), comprising a subbing layer, a charge generating layer, and a charge transporting layer, wherein the subbing layer contains titanium oxide. Belt-shaped photoconductor. (12) The image forming apparatus forms an electrostatic latent image on the seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member by charging and image exposure with a laser beam, visualizes the electrostatic latent image with a one-component non-magnetic toner, and then forms the latent image on the intermediate transfer member. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (10), wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to transfer the image to the image forming apparatus. (13) The image forming apparatus is a seamless belt-shaped photoconductor,
(1) to (1), wherein the charging member, the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member, and the cleaning means are integrally supported and a process cartridge detachably mounted on the apparatus main body is provided.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of (0) and (12).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention. In the figure, the seamless belt-shaped photoconductor 10 is
The photoconductor driving roller 11, the photoconductor driven roller 12, and the photoconductor tension roller 13 are stretched, and are rotated in the direction of arrow a (clockwise) in FIG.

The intermediate transfer belt 24 is stretched by an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 25, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 26, and an intermediate transfer belt tension roller 27. The intermediate transfer belt driving roller 25 is driven to rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow b in FIG. While rotating clockwise), about 0.5 to 30 mm near the upstream side of the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 26 in the belt circulating direction.
(0.5 to 30 mm: equivalent to the length of the intermediate transfer belt that is a tangent line connecting the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 26 and the photosensitive member tension roller 13) .

When the seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor 10 abuts in this manner, uniformity during transfer of a toner image can be obtained, and the amount of deformation of the intermediate transfer belt 24 having an elastic layer can be reduced. A nickel seamless belt having a circumference of 527.8 mm is used as a support for the seamless belt-shaped photoconductor 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 24. This circumference is A4
Horizontal (210mm) size or letter horizontal (216mm)
The length is such that two images of the size and two image intervals of about 48 mm can be taken.

Around the seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor 10, a charging unit 14, an exposing unit 15, a black developing unit 16, between the photoreceptor drive roller 11 and the photoreceptor driven roller 12, are provided opposite to the photoreceptor drive roller 11. A yellow developing unit 17, a magenta developing unit 18, and a cyan developing unit 19 are provided, and a photoconductor cleaning unit 20 and a charge removing unit 23 are provided between the photoconductor tension roller 13 and the photoconductor driving roller 11. . An intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 28 and an intermediate transfer belt tension roller 2 are provided around the intermediate transfer belt 24.
7, a secondary transfer roller 32 is disposed.

The photosensitive member cleaning unit 20 includes a photosensitive member coating brush 21 and a photosensitive member cleaning blade 2.
2. A photoreceptor lubricant 34 is provided. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 28 is provided with an intermediate transfer belt cleaning blade 29, an intermediate transfer belt lubricant applying brush 30, and an intermediate transfer belt lubricant 35. The seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor 10 and the intermediate transfer belt 24 are formed by applying a rod-shaped photoreceptor lubricant 34 such as zinc stearate and an intermediate transfer belt lubricant 35 by a photoreceptor lubricant application brush 21 and an intermediate transfer belt lubricant application brush 30, respectively. It is configured to be applied.

The photosensitive member 10 is charged by a charging unit 14 and is scanned and exposed by exposure means 15 such as a laser writing unit on the basis of image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface. Here, the image information to be exposed is monochromatic image information obtained by decomposing a desired full-color image into color information of yellow, cyan, magenta. Subsequently, the electrostatic latent image is monochromaticly developed with one-component non-magnetic toner for each color of the black developing unit 16, yellow developing unit 17, magenta developing unit 18, and cyan developing unit 19. Color images are sequentially formed. By using a one-component non-magnetic toner, it is possible to obtain a color image having excellent gradation characteristics of a highlight image and uniform density of a solid portion.

The toner image on the photoreceptor belt 10 is transferred one color at a time to the same position on the intermediate transfer belt 24 in contact with the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 26 near the upstream side in the belt rotation direction. Obtain a superimposed color image. A bias is applied to the intermediate transfer belt 24 via a conductive intermediate transfer belt driven roller 26 near the contact portion.

This color image is transferred to the transfer paper (not shown) fed from the paper feed unit 31 by the bias applied to the secondary transfer roller 32 at the position of the intermediate transfer belt tension roller 27. In the figure, c is a transfer paper (not shown)
The following shows the method of transportation. Thereafter, the color image on the transfer paper (not shown) is fixed by the fixing unit 33. In addition,
The secondary transfer roller 32 is separated from the intermediate transfer belt tension roller 27 when the color of the toner image is superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 24. By arranging the four-color developing units between the photoconductor driving roller 11 and the photoconductor driven roller 12, the apparatus is compact and the workability at the time of replacement of the developing device is improved.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that a seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member is used at a high process speed of a linear speed of 100 mm / s or more. In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a yellow, cyan, magenta, and black image is formed on a photoreceptor belt, and a yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toner image is sequentially superimposed on an intermediate transfer belt 24 to form a color image. Therefore, unless the process speed is set to be higher than that of a single-color image forming apparatus, the speed of printing on transfer paper is reduced.

The seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor 10, charging unit 14, photoreceptor cleaning unit 20, intermediate transfer belt 24, intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 28
Are integrally formed as a process cartridge, and a waste toner collecting device (not shown) is exchangeably incorporated into the process cartridge. By taking the form of a process cartridge, the size of the electrophotographic apparatus can be reduced, and attachment and detachment as an electrophotographic unit can be simplified.

The nickel seamless belt of the present invention is disclosed in JP-A-3-219259 and JP-A-63-127.
No. 250, JP-A-63-127249, JP-B-52-36016, and JP-B-52-8774, the outer surface of which is made of a metal such as chromium or stainless steel. Electroplating is performed between the cylindrical mold and an anode basket provided so as to surround the cylindrical mold while rotating the cylindrical mold in an electroplating tank, and a nickel seamless belt support is provided on the outer surface of the cylindrical mold. To form Nickel pieces are put in the anode basket to replenish the plating solution with nickel ions. The surface roughness of the outer surface of the cylindrical mold is preferably Rz 0.02 to 0.8 μm so that the nickel seamless belt formed by electroplating can be easily separated from the mold.

Further, by controlling the photosensitive belt and the nickel seamless belt support for the intermediate transfer belt with the same mold, the speed of the photosensitive belt and the intermediate transfer belt for reducing the color shift and the position control of the color superposition are reduced. Easy to do.

The nickel seamless belt is 0.0
It is formed using a mold having a circumferential length difference of about 5 to 0.31 mm. If the circumferential length difference exceeds 0.31 mm, in the photosensitive unit using the seamless nickel belt, the biasing force is largely shifted to one side of the unit of the seamless nickel belt, and the stopper member rides on the roller, thereby hindering the transportability of the photosensitive belt. I will. When the thickness is less than 0.05 mm, it is difficult to peel off the seamless nickel belt from the mandrel during the formation of the seamless nickel belt by the electroforming method, and the belt is liable to bend nickel called kink.

The plating solution contains a water-soluble salt of a plating metal as a main constituent. As the water-soluble salt of the plating metal, a water-soluble nickel salt such as nickel sulfate, nickel chloride, nickel bromide, nickel sulfamate and nickel methanesulfonate is used. The amount of the water-soluble salt of the plating metal used is preferably 50 to 140 g / l in terms of nickel ions.

The plating bath of the present invention may further contain a buffer. As the buffer, boric acid, water-soluble organic carboxylic acids such as citric acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, and acetic acid, and salts thereof can be used. In addition, as a salt, an ammonium salt, a magnesium salt, an aluminum salt, a calcium salt, and a barium salt are preferable. The concentration of these buffers is preferably 20 to 100 g / l.

If necessary, saccharin, butynediol, benzenesulfonic acid, naphthalenesulfonic acid,
Primary and secondary brighteners for nickel plating, such as and their derivatives, can be added. In this case, the primary brightener is 0.1 to 5 g / l, and the secondary brightener is 0.01 to 5 g / l.
The addition amount can be 3 g / l. Further, by adding a surfactant such as sodium lauryl sulfate or the like, the surface tension of the plating solution can be reduced, and the generation of pits due to the release of hydrogen gas can be prevented.

Further, the pH of the plating bath is 2.0 to 5.5,
The temperature of the plating solution is preferably from 30 to 70C. The thickness of the nickel seamless belt is determined by the product of the current density during plating and the plating time. The hardness, Young's modulus, etc. of the nickel seamless belt are controlled by adjusting the temperature, current density, plating solution concentration, plating time, etc. of the plating solution. After making the nickel seamless belt, conductivity is 1μS
It is desirable that ultrasonic cleaning be performed in high-purity ion-exchanged water of not more than / cm for 5 minutes to remove raw material components for electroplating from the belt surface.

The purity and the impurity amount of the nickel seamless belt depend on the plating solution and the impurity amount of the nickel piece.
In particular, when the content of cobalt exceeds 0.2%, minute projections are likely to be generated on the surface of the nickel seamless belt, and coating film defects are likely to be generated when forming the photosensitive layer and the intermediate transfer layer. Also speed 100
When the belt-shaped photoconductor is repeatedly rotated at a speed of not less than mm / s, fine wavy irregularities are likely to be generated.

The thickness of the nickel seamless belt is 20 to
50 μm is preferred. If it is less than 20 μm, the photoreceptor belt
During the formation of the intermediate transfer belt, handling of the belt is hindered, and kinks (belt breaks) and the like are likely to occur. If it exceeds 50 μm, the rigidity of the belt is too strong, and it is difficult to convey the belt with a driving roller or the like.

The Vickers hardness of the nickel seamless belt is preferably from 400 to 500. If the thickness is 400 or less, when the nickel seamless belt is repeatedly used as a support for the photoreceptor belt and the intermediate transfer belt, wavy irregularities are likely to occur. On the other hand, if it exceeds 500, cracks tend to occur at the end of the nickel seamless belt support during repeated use.

When a nickel seamless belt is used as a support for a photosensitive belt and an intermediate transfer belt, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
A nickel seamless belt alone or a photoreceptor belt or an intermediate transfer belt is formed into a predetermined length after being cut by a cutting device described in JP-A-116561 and JP-A-05-072750. At the time of cutting, if the amount of rotation of the belt is too large, a whisker as shown in FIG. 3 may be formed. This beard has a cutting step of 0.02 to 0.50 mm and a beard length of 0.
02 to 2 mm is preferred. If the cutting step d exceeds 0.5 mm, the nickel seamless belt will be repeatedly used and the nickel seamless belt will continue to be biased to the side having the cutting step d of the nickel seamless belt. I will. If the length l of the whiskers generated at the cutting step exceeds 2 mm, the whiskers will curl due to repeated use of the nickel seamless belt and will come into contact with the charging member, resulting in an abnormal image. Beard length 1 to 0.0
In order to reduce the diameter to less than 2 mm, it is necessary to improve the precision of the apparatus in the same manner as the cutting step and to precisely control the one rotation distance of the nickel seamless belt, which increases the cost of cutting.

At least one material selected from rubber, flocking, and resin is provided on the surface of a photoreceptor belt composed of a nickel seamless belt support, a drive roller that stretches around an intermediate transfer belt, a driven roller, and a tension roller. ing. Rubber hardness 30-90, thickness 0.3
~ 3mm, as resin, urethane, polyester, etc.
In addition, as a flocking, 1 to 3 denier such as nylon, polyester, and polypropylene, a flocking density of 12,000 to 60,000 fibers / c
It is preferable to use a fiber having an m ² and a length of 0.5 to 2 mm, which is subjected to electrostatic flocking. The electrostatic flocking is formed by flocking on an aluminum roller coated with a urethane-based adhesive or the like. The coefficient of static friction on the back side of the nickel seamless belt support is set at 0.7 to prevent the slip from occurring with the drive roller.
It is necessary to be above.

On the back surface of both ends of the nickel seamless belt support, a rubber hardness of 50 to 9 for preventing the nickel seamless belt from falling off the roller.
A zero stop member is provided. The non-stop member is attached to the back surface of the nickel seamless belt support with an adhesive, an adhesive or the like. The mounting position is preferably 5 mm inside, particularly 1 mm inside from both ends of the nickel seamless belt support in consideration of the protrusion of the adhesive and the adhesive. Further, after the non-slip member is treated with a primer, the adhesive or the adhesive may be applied to the non-slip member due to the adhesiveness between the non-slip member and the adhesive or adhesive. FIG. 2 is a view showing a belt-shaped photoconductor provided with a non-centering member at the rear end. The stop member 102 is located 5 mm from the longitudinal end of the belt-shaped photoconductor 101.
mm (the distance from the end to the inside of the rubber). 5mm gap from end
Is exceeded, when a plurality of rollers are inserted into the belt-shaped photoconductor 101 and assembled into a unit, the belt-shaped photoconductor 1
Kink (break of the belt) and the like are likely to occur at the end portion of the “01”.

Examples of the material of the stopper member include polyurethane rubber, neoprene rubber, urethane rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, and silicone rubber. Among these, adhesion to endless belts, moisture resistance, solvent resistance, ozone resistance and heat resistance,
In consideration of abrasion resistance and adhesiveness with an adhesive, polyurethane rubber is particularly preferable. Further, carbon or the like may be dispersed in these rubber materials. The rubber hardness is preferably from 50 to 90. If it is less than 50, the non-stop member will be worn. If it is more than 90, it will run on the roller end during repeated use, and abnormal noise will occur at the joint of the front and rear ends of the non-stop member. The adhesion between the stopper member and the nickel seamless belt support may be reduced. The coefficient of static friction of the side surface of the roller in contact with the non-stop member is preferably less than 1.2. If it exceeds 1.2, it is easy to get on the rollers.

In the developing unit, the developing roller is in contact with the belt-like photoreceptor via the toner layer, the belt-like intermediate transfer belt has an elastic layer on the surface, and zinc stearate is applied to the belt-like photoreceptor and the belt-like photoreceptor. A highlight image can be uniformly developed by applying the composition to the surface of the intermediate transfer member.

As the elastic layer on the surface of the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member, butyl rubber, fluorine rubber, acrylic rubber, EPDM,
NBR, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene rubber natural rubber, isoprene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, ethylene-propylene terpolymer, chloroprene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, chlorinated polyethylene, urethane rubber, syndiotactic Tic 1,2-polybutadiene, epichlorohydrin rubber, silicone rubber, fluoro rubber, polysulfide rubber, polynorbornene rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber, thermoplastic elastomer (for example, polystyrene, polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane Type, polyamide type, polyurea type, polyester type, fluororesin type), or one or more types selected from the group consisting of these. However, it is a matter of course that the material is not limited to the above.

Carbon black, graphite, metal powder such as aluminum and nickel, tin oxide, titanium oxide, antimony oxide, indium oxide, potassium titanate, antimony oxide-tin oxide composite oxide (ATO) Metal oxides such as indium oxide-tin oxide composite oxide (ITO), or those obtained by coating these conductive metal oxides with insulating fine particles such as barium sulfate, magnesium silicate, calcium carbonate, etc. You may. Further, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the conductive agent.

Further, lubrication is performed by reducing the surface energy by using one or more of polyurethane, polyester, epoxy resin, etc., which enhances the secondary transfer property by reducing the adhesion of the toner to the transfer belt surface. Materials to enhance the properties, for example, fluorine resin, fluorine compound,
A surface layer having a thickness of 2 to 30 μm, in which one or more kinds of powders and particles of fluorocarbon, titanium dioxide, silicon carbide or the like or particles having different particle diameters are dispersed, can be provided. As the surface layer material, it is also possible to use a material having a surface energy reduced by forming a fluorine-rich layer on the surface by performing a heat treatment such as a fluorine-based rubber material.

The thickness of the intermediate transfer belt is 0.02 to 3 m.
m, resistance value is 1 × 10⁶~ 1 × 10¹⁵Ωcm is preferred.
If the film thickness is 0.02 mm or less, the belt changes
The shape amount is small, and the effect on transfer omission is small. 3m
m or more, the belt deformation is too large and the toner image overlaps
Sometimes color misregistration occurs easily. The resistance value of the elastic layer is 1 × 10
⁶If it is less than Ωcm, the toner image is largely disturbed at the time of transfer.
× 10¹⁵If it exceeds Ωcm, poor transfer of the toner layer occurs.

Next, the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive member of the present invention will be described. The photosensitive layer has a structure in which an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer are laminated on a conductive support made of a nickel seamless belt. The undercoat layer is a coating in which an inorganic pigment having a film thickness of 3 μm or more is dispersed in a resin in order to increase sensitivity by compensating for the low reflectance of the nickel seamless belt with respect to laser light, prevent charge injection from the support side, and prevent moiré. By using the film, it is possible to improve the dot image of the toner on the photoconductor formed by the laser beam.

As the inorganic pigment, metal oxides exemplified by titanium oxide, silica, alumina, zirconium oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide and the like, or fine powders such as metal sulfides and metal nitrides can be used. Particularly, high-purity titanium oxide is preferable.

Examples of the resin include water-soluble resins such as polyvinyl alcohol, casein and sodium polyacrylate, alcohol-soluble resins such as copolymerized nylon and methoxymethylated nylon, polyurethane, melamine resin, alkyd-melamine resin, epoxy resin and the like. Curable resins that form a three-dimensional network structure are exemplified.

The charge generation layer is a layer containing a charge generation substance as a main component, and a binder resin may be used as needed. As the charge generation substance, an inorganic material and an organic material can be used. As inorganic materials, crystalline selenium, amorphous selenium, selenium-tellurium, selenium-
Tellurium-halogen, selenium-arsenic compounds and the like. On the other hand, as the organic material, a known material can be used.

For example, phthalocyanine pigments such as metal phthalocyanine and metal-free phthalocyanine, azulhenium salt pigments, methine squaric acid pigments, azo pigments having a carbazole skeleton, azo pigments having a triphenylamine skeleton, azo pigments having a diphenylamine skeleton Pigment, azo pigment having a dibenzothiophene skeleton, azo pigment having a fluorenone skeleton, azo pigment having an oxadiazol skeleton, azo pigment having a bisstilbene skeleton, azo pigment having a distyryloxadiazol skeleton, distyrylcarbazo -Azo pigments having a skeleton, perylene pigments, anthraquinone or polycyclic quinone pigments, quinone imine pigments, diphenylmethane and triphenylmethane pigments, benzoquinone and naphthoquinone pigments, cyanine and azomethy System pigment, indigoid pigment, bisbenzimidazo - such as Le based pigments. These charge generating substances can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

Binder resins used as needed in the charge generation layer include polyamide, polyurethane, epoxy resin, polyketone, polycarbonate, silicone resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl butyral, and polyvinyl formal. , Poly (vinyl ketone), polystyrene, poly-N-vinylcarbazole, polyacrylamide and the like. These binder resins can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds, and a charge transport material may be added as needed. Further, in addition to the binder resin described above, a polymer charge transport material is preferably used as the binder resin for the charge generation layer.

In order to form a charge generation layer by the casting method described below, the above-mentioned inorganic or organic charge generation material is used together with a binder resin if necessary using a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, cyclohexanone, dioxane, dichloroethane, butanone. It can be formed by dispersing with a ball mill, an attritor, a sand mill, or the like, diluting the dispersion liquid appropriately, and applying. The thickness of the charge generation layer provided as described above is 0.01 to 5 μm.
m is appropriate, and preferably 0.05 to 2 μm.

The charge transporting layer is a layer for retaining the charged electric charges and moving the electric charges generated and separated in the electric charge generating layer by exposure to combine with the retained electric charges. The thickness of the charge transport layer is preferably 30 μm or less in order to develop a latent image on the photoreceptor formed by a laser beam of 700 nm or less with toner with good reproducibility. The charge transport layer is required to have high electric resistance in order to achieve the purpose of retaining the charged charge, and in order to achieve the purpose of obtaining a high surface potential with the retained charged charge, the dielectric constant is small and Good charge mobility is required.

The charge transport layer for satisfying these requirements comprises a charge transport substance and a binder resin.
Dissolve or disperse these in a suitable solvent, apply this,
It can be formed by drying. As the solvent, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, toluene, dichloromethane, monochlorobenzene, dichloroethane, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone and the like are used. If necessary, a plasticizer, an antioxidant, a leveling agent and the like can be added in an appropriate amount in addition to the charge transport material and the binder resin.

As the charge transport material, there are a hole transport material and an electron transport material. Examples of the electron transporting substance include chloranil, bromanil, tetracyanoethylene,
Tetracyanoquinodimethane, 2,4,7-trinitro-
9-fluorenone, 2,4,5,7-tetranitro-9
Fluorenone, 2,4,5,7-tetranitroxanthone, 2,4,8-trinitrothioxanthone, 2,
Electron accepting substances such as 6,8-trinitro-4H-indeno [1,2-b] thiophene-4one and 1,3,7-trinitrodibenzothiophene-5,5-dioxide are exemplified. These electron transport materials can be used alone or
It can be used as a mixture of more than one species.

Examples of the hole transporting substance include the following electron donating substances, and are preferably used. For example, oxazole derivatives, oxadiazol derivatives, imidazole derivatives, triphenylamine derivatives, 9-
(P-diethylaminostyrylanthracene), 1,1
-Bis- (4-dibenzylaminophenyl) propane,
Styryl anthracene, styryl pyrazoline, phenylhydrazones, α-phenylstilbene derivatives, thiazole derivatives, triazole derivatives, phenazine derivatives,
Examples include acridine derivatives, benzofuran derivatives, benzimidazole derivatives, and thiophene derivatives. These hole transport substances can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

Further, the polymer charge transport layer material has the following structure. (A) Polymer having a carbazole ring For example, poly-N-vinyl carbazole,
No. 82056, JP-A-54-9632, JP-A-54-11737, JP-A-4-175337, JP-A-4-183719, JP-A-6-23
Compounds described in JP-A-4841 are exemplified.

(B) Polymer having a hydrazone structure For example, JP-A-57-78402 and JP-A-61-78402
JP-A-20953, JP-A-61-296358,
JP-A-1-134456, JP-A-1-17916
No. 4, JP-A-3-180851, JP-A-3-180851
180852, JP-A-3-50555, JP-A-5-310904, JP-A-6-234840
And the like.

(C) Polysilylene polymer For example, JP-A-63-285552,
88461, JP-A-4-264130, JP-A-4-264131, JP-A-4-264132
JP, JP-A-4-264133, JP-A-4-4-2
Compounds described in JP-A-89867 are exemplified.

(D) Polymer having a triarylamine structure For example, N, N-bis (4-methylphenyl) -4-aminopolystyrene, JP-A-1-134457, JP-A-2-282264, Kaihei 2-304456
JP, JP-A-4-133065, JP-A-4-13-1
Compounds described in JP-A-33066, JP-A-5-40350, and JP-A-5-202135 are exemplified.

(E) Other Polymers For example, a formaldehyde condensation polymer of nitropyrene, JP-A-51-73888, JP-A-56-15074
9, JP-A-6-234836 and JP-A-6-34836.
Compounds described in JP-A-234837 are exemplified.

The polymer having an electron donating group used in the present invention includes not only the above-mentioned polymers but also copolymers of known monomers, block polymers, graft polymers, star polymers, and the like. It is also possible to use, for example, a crosslinked polymer having an electron donating group as disclosed in JP-A-3-109406.

Examples of polycarbonates, polyurethanes, polyesters, and polyethers having a triarylamine structure which are more useful as the polymer charge transporting material used in the present invention include, for example, JP-A-64-1728 and JP-A-64-1728. 64-13061, JP-A-64-19
049, JP-A-4-11627, JP-A-4-11627
-225014, JP-A-4-230767, JP-A-4-320420, JP-A-5-232
727, JP-A-7-56374, JP-A-9
-127713, JP-A-9-222740, JP-A-9-265197, JP-A-9-221
Compounds described in JP-A-877-877 and JP-A-9-309495 are exemplified.

A binder that can be used in combination with the charge transport layer
Examples of the resin include polycarbonate (bisphenol A type, bisphenol Z type), polyester, methacrylic resin, acrylic resin, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, polystyrene, phenolic resin, epoxy resin, and polyurethane. , Polyvinylidene chloride, alkyd resin, silicone resin, polyvinyl carbazole, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyacrylate, polyacrylamide, phenoxy resin and the like. These binders can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more. As the seamless belt, polycarbonate (bisphenol A type) is particularly preferable.

As the antioxidant, for example, the following are used. Monophenolic compound 2,6-di-t-
Butyl-p-cresol, butylated hydroxyanisole, 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-ethylphenol,
Stearyl-β- (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate, 3-tert-butyl-4
-Hydroxynisole and the like.

Bisphenol compounds 2,2'-methylene-bis- (4-methyl-6-t-butylphenol), 2,2'-methylene-bis- (4-ethyl-6
t-butylphenol), 4,4'-thiobis- (3-
Methyl-6-t-butylphenol), 4,4′-butylidenebis- (3-methyl-6-t-butylphenol) and the like.

High molecular phenolic compounds 1,1,3-tris- (2-methyl-4-hydroxy-5-tert-butylphenyl) butane, 1,3,5-trimethyl-2,4,
6-tris (3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl) benzene, tetrakis- [methylene-3-
(3 ′, 5′-di-t-butyl-4′-hydroxyphenyl) propionate] methane, bis [3,3′-bis (4′-hydroxy-3′-t-butylphenyl) butyric acid] glycol Esters, tocophenols and the like.

Paraphenylenediamines N-phenyl-
N'-isopropyl-p-phenylenediamine, N,
N′-di-sec-butyl-p-phenylenediamine,
N-phenyl-N-sec-butyl-p-phenylenediamine, N, N'-di-isopropyl-p-phenylenediamine, N, N'-dimethyl-N, N'-di-tert-butyl-p-phenylenediamine Such.

Hydroquinones 2,5-di-t-octylhydroquinone, 2,6-didodecylhydroquinone, 2-dodecylhydroquinone, 2-dodecyl-5-
Chlorohydroquinone, 2-t-octyl-5-methylhydroquinone, 2- (2-octadecenyl) -5-methylhydroquinone and the like.

Organic Sulfur Compounds Dilauryl-3,3'-
Thiodipropionate, distearyl-3,3'-thiodipropionate, ditetradecyl-3,3'-thiodipropionate and the like.

Organic phosphorus compounds triphenylphosphine,
Tri (nonylphenyl) phosphine, tri (dinonylphenyl) phosphine, tricresylphosphine, tri (2,4-dibutylphenoxy) phosphine and the like.

As the plasticizer, those used as general plasticizers for resins such as dibutyl phthalate and dioctyl phthalate can be used as they are, and the amount of the plasticizer is 0 to 40 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin. Part is appropriate.

A leveling agent may be added to the charge transport layer. As the leveling agent, silicone oils such as dimethyl silicone oil and methyl phenyl silicone oil, and polymers or oligomers having a perfluoroalkyl group in the chain measurement are used, and the amount used is based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin. 0 to 1 part by weight is suitable.

The undercoat layer, the charge generation layer and the charge transport layer can be applied by a dip coating method, a spray coat method, a bead coat method, or the like.

A protective layer may be provided on the charge transport layer. The protective layer is a layer in which fine particles of metal or metal oxide are dispersed in a binder resin. As the binder resin, a resin which is transparent to visible light and infrared light and has excellent electric insulation, mechanical strength and adhesiveness is desirable.

As the binder resin of the protective layer, ABS resin, A
CS resin, olefin-vinyl monomer copolymer, chlorinated polyether, allyl resin, phenol resin, polyacetal, polyamide, polyamideimide, polyacrylate, polyallyl sulfone, polybutylene, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyether sulfone, polyethylene, Polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, acrylic resin, polymethylbenthene,
Resins such as polypropylene, polyphenylene oxide, polysulfone, polystyrene, AS resin, butadiene-styrene copolymer, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, and epoxy resin.

As the metal oxide, titanium oxide, tin oxide,
Examples include potassium titanate, TiO, TiN, zinc oxide, indium oxide, antimony oxide, and the like. In addition to the protective layer, a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, a silicone resin, and a resin such as titanium oxide, tin oxide, potassium titanate, zinc oxide, indium oxide, and oxide for improving the wear resistance. A dispersion of an inorganic material such as antimony can be added. As a method for forming the protective layer, a normal coating method is employed. The thickness of the protective layer is suitably about 0.1 to 10 μm.

As the binder resin used for the toner in the present invention, all of those which have been used as a binder for a toner can be applied. Specifically, styrene such as polystyrene, styrene-acrylic acid copolymer, styrene-methacrylic acid copolymer, styrene-acrylic acid ester copolymer, styrene-methacrylic acid ester copolymer, and styrene-butadiene copolymer Examples of the resin include a saturated polyester resin, an unsaturated polyester resin, an epoxy resin, a phenol resin, a maleic acid resin, a cumaronic acid resin, a chlorinated paraffin, a xylene resin, a vinyl chloride resin, polypropylene, and polyethylene.
It goes without saying that two or more of these binder resins may be used as a mixture as appropriate. Among these, the use of polystyrene, styrene resin and epoxy resin is advantageous.

The toner used in the present invention contains a colorant. As the colorant used in the toner of the present invention, all pigments and dyes conventionally used as colorants for toner are applied. Specifically, carbon black, lamp black, iron black, ultramarine, nigrosine dye, aniline blue, calco oil blue, Dupont oil red, quinoline yellow, methylene blue chloride, phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine green,
Hansa Yellow G, Rhodamine 6C Lake, Chrome Yellow, Quinacridone, Benzidine Yellow, Malachite Green, Malachite Green Hexalate, Oil Black, Azo Oil Black, Rose Bengal, Monoazo Dyes, Disazo Dyes, Trisazo Dyes and Pigments And the like.

The toner of the present invention may contain a charge control agent, a fluidizing agent, or a release agent, if necessary. As the charge control agent, there are nigrosine dyes, quaternary ammonium salts, basic dyes, amino acid-containing polymers and the like for imparting positive polarity to the toner, and chromium-containing monoazo dyes for imparting negative polarity. Chlorinated organic dyes, metal salts of salicylic acid derivatives, and the like. Examples of the fluidizing agent include inorganic oxides such as SiO ₂ and TiO ₂ whose surfaces are hydrophobized, inorganic fine particles such as SiC, and metal soaps such as zinc stearate. Release agents include low molecular weight polyethylene, synthetic waxes such as polypropylene, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, rice wax, wood wax,
Vegetable waxes such as hoboba oil; animal waxes such as beeswax, lanolin, and spermaceti; mineral waxes such as montan wax and ozokerite; oils and fats such as hardened castor oil, hydroxystearic acid, fatty acid amide, and phenol fatty acid ester. Series waxes and the like.

Further, in addition to the above components, various plasticizers (dibutyl phthalate, phthalic acid, etc.) may be added to the toner used in the present invention for the purpose of adjusting the thermal, electrical and physical properties of the toner as required. It is also possible to add auxiliaries such as dioctyl) and a resistance adjuster (such as tin oxide, lead oxide and antimony oxide).

The toner used in the present invention forms a large number of minute closed electric fields near the surface of the developing roller by selectively holding electric charges on the surface of the developing roller. Accordingly, a non-magnetic one-component developer composed of a toner externally added with an auxiliary agent is supplied, the developer is carried on the surface of the developing roller by the minute electric field, and the electrostatic latent image is made visible by the carried developer. It is particularly useful in an image forming method for forming an image.

[0083]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, a production example of a seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member will be described. In the following, “parts” indicates “parts by weight”.

< Production Example 1 > Production of Nickel Seamless Belt In an electroplating apparatus, an outer diameter of 168 mm and a length of 430 were used.
mm, diameter difference between upper and lower sides 0.023 mm, surface roughness Rz
Using a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a thickness of 0.1 μm, a thickness of 32 μm and a circumference of 52 μm were obtained under the following plating solution composition and plating conditions.
7.8mm, 410mm length, 0.07 circumference difference
A 2 mm nickel seamless belt was manufactured.

(Plating solution composition) 60% nickel sulfamate solution 500 g / l (Nippon Kagaku Sangyo) Nickel bromide (Nippon Kagaku Sangyo) 6 g / l Boric acid (Kanto Kagaku) 35 g / l Additive (Pitless S Japan) 3cc / l naphthalenesulfonic acid 0.1g / l

(Plating conditions) PH 4.1 Bath temperature 40 ° C. Current density 1 A / cm ² Plating time 160 minutes

The nickel seamless belt thus produced was detached from the cylindrical mandrel, and was subjected to ultrasonic cleaning in ion-exchanged water (conductivity of 1 μS / cm or less) for 5 minutes. The nickel pieces in the anode basket were made of Co.
0.2 wt% was used. The Vickers hardness of the obtained seamless nickel belt was 490.

Production of Seamless Belt Photoreceptor (Formation of Undercoat Layer) A mixture having the following composition was placed in a ball mill pot and ball-milled for 72 hours using φ10 mm alumina balls. Titanium oxide (CR-97: manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo) 50 parts Alkyd resin 15 parts (Hekkolite M6401-50 manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) melamine resin 8.3 parts (Supper Hecamine L-121-60 Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) Methyl ethyl ketone (Kanto Chemical) 31.7 parts Cyclohexanone (Kanto Chemical) 10
5 parts were added, and ball milling was further performed for 2 hours to prepare a coating solution for an undercoat layer. This coating solution was spray-coated on the nickel seamless belt and dried at 135 ° C. for 25 minutes to form an undercoat layer having a thickness of 6 μm.

(Formation of Charge Generation Layer) Subsequently, the following chemical formula
I (Ricoh) 1.5 parts of charge generating substance, the following chemical formula II
A mixture of 1.5 parts of a charge-generating substance (manufactured by Ricoh), 1 part of polyvinyl butyral resin (Eslec BLS; manufactured by Sekisui Chemical), and 80 parts of cyclohexanone (manufactured by Kanto Chemical) is placed in a ball mill pot and YTZ balls of φ10 mm are used. After ball milling for 2 hours, 78.4 parts of cyclohexanone and 237.6 parts of methyl ethyl ketone were further added to prepare a charge generating layer coating solution. This coating solution was applied onto the undercoat layer by spray coating, and then dried at 130 ° C. for 20 minutes to form a 0.12 μm thick charge generation layer.

[0090]

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[0091]

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(Formation of Charge Transport Layer) Next, a charge transport layer coating solution having the following composition was prepared, and this coating solution was spray-coated on the charge generation layer by spray coating, and dried at 140 ° C. for 30 minutes. A charge transport layer having a thickness of 25 μm was formed. Charge transport substance (compound of the following formula III) (Ricoh) 7 parts Polycarbonate resin (C-1400, Teijin Chemicals) 10 parts Silicone oil (KF-50, Shin-Etsu Chemical) 0.002 parts Tetrahydrofuran (Kanto Chemical) 841.5 parts Cyclohexanone (manufactured by Kanto Chemical) 841.5 parts 2,5 di-tert-butylhydroquinone (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry) 0.02 parts

[0093]

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This photoreceptor was attached to an apparatus described in JP-A-04-116561, and was cut into a width of 340 mm. The beard length 1 and the cutting step d generated at the cutting step portion were measured with a graduated loupe or a microscope,
They were 1 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. The difference in circumference between the top and bottom of the belt was 0.06 mm. Next, a carbon-dispersed urethane rubber non-stop member (rubber hardness: 70) having a width of 4 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm is placed at L = 1 mm from the end of the photosensitive belt.
To produce a seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor. In addition, the sticking start part and the end part of the non-stop member were provided with an oblique cut of about 45 degrees, and the gap was about 1 mm. The rubber hardness of the non-stop member was measured with a micro hardness tester with the non-stop member stacked and having a thickness of 3 mm or more.

< Production Example 2 > Surface roughness R in Production Example 1
A seamless belt photoreceptor was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1, except that a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a z of 0.15 μm was used.

< Production Example 3 > In the production example 1, the non-stop member (rubber hardness: 70) was changed from the end of the photosensitive belt to L = 1.6.
A seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the photoreceptor was adhered so as to have a thickness of 0.1 mm.

< Production Example 4 > A seamless belt-like photosensitive member was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a diameter difference of 0.061 mm between the upper and lower parts was used. The circumferential difference between the top and bottom of the belt after cutting to a width of 340 mm was 0.16 mm.

< Production Example 5 > The non-shift member (rubber hardness 70) in Production Example 1 was L = 6 mm from the end of the photosensitive belt.
A seamless belt-like photoreceptor was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the photoconductor was affixed such that

< Production Example 6 > In Production Example 1, Co0.3 was used as a nickel piece in the anode basket of the electroplating apparatus.
A nickel seamless belt was manufactured in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the material used was wt%. Nickel seamless belt surface has a size of 50 μm and a height of 10 to 15
Many fine protrusions of μm were generated. When the photosensitive layer was coated on the belt in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1, many coating defects due to the fine protrusions occurred.

Next, a production example of the intermediate transfer belt will be described. < Production Example 7 > A mixture having the following composition was placed in a ball mill pot, and ball-milled using φ10 mm YTZ balls for 48 hours to prepare an intermediate transfer belt coating solution. This coating solution was spray-coated on a nickel seamless belt of the same size as in Production Example 1, and dried at 130 ° C. for 40 minutes to obtain an intermediate transfer layer having a thickness of 40 μm. Polyurethane elastomer 20 parts Conductive titanium oxide (ET-500W: Ishihara Sangyo) 15 parts DMF (Kanto Chemical) 120 parts

Subsequently, a mixture having the following composition was placed in a ball mill pot, and ball-milled using φ10 mm YTZ balls for 72 hours to prepare a coating liquid for an intermediate transfer belt surface layer. This coating solution was spray-coated on the intermediate transfer layer and dried at 130 ° C. for 20 minutes to obtain an intermediate transfer belt having a surface layer having a thickness of 5 μm. Polyurethane elastomer 20 parts Conductive titanium oxide (ET-500W: Ishihara Sangyo) 5 parts Polytetrafluoroethylene resin powder (L-2 made by Daikin) 10 parts DMF (Kanto Chemical) 155 parts

This intermediate transfer belt is disclosed in
No. 561, with a width of 348
mm. The length of the mustache 1 generated at the cutting step and the cutting step d were 0.5 mm and 0.1 mm, respectively, as measured with a graduated loupe or a microscope. The difference in circumference between the upper and lower portions of the belt was 0.061 mm. Next, a carbon-dispersed urethane rubber non-stop member (rubber hardness: 70) having a width of 4 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm was attached so that L = 1 mm from the end of the intermediate transfer belt to manufacture an intermediate transfer belt. In addition, the sticking start part and the end part of the non-stop member were provided with an oblique cut of about 45 degrees, and the gap was about 1 mm.

< Production Example 8 > In Production Example 7, the non-stop member (rubber hardness 70) was set such that L = 1.
An intermediate transfer member belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7, except that the belt was adhered so as to be 6 mm.

< Production Example 9 > An intermediate transfer belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7 except that a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a diameter difference of 0.061 mm between the upper and lower parts was used. The perimeter difference between the top and bottom of the belt after cutting to a width of 348 mm was 0.164 mm.

< Production Example 10 > A nickel seamless belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1, except that the plating conditions for producing the nickel seamless belt in Production Example 1 were changed as follows. (Plating conditions) PH 4.1 Bath temperature 50 ° C Current density 4 A / cm ² Plating time 40 minutes The Vickers hardness of the manufactured seamless nickel belt was 410. An intermediate transfer belt was produced on this seamless nickel belt in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7.

< Production Example 11 > A nickel seamless belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the plating conditions for producing the nickel seamless belt in Production Example 1 were changed as follows. (Plating conditions) PH 4.1 Bath temperature 38 ° C Current density 8 A / cm ² Plating time 20 minutes The Vickers hardness of the manufactured seamless nickel belt was 290. An intermediate transfer belt was produced on this seamless nickel belt in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7.

< Production Example 12 > A nickel seamless belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 1 except that the plating conditions during production of the nickel seamless belt in Production Example 1 were changed as follows. (Plating conditions) PH 4.1 Bath temperature 50 ° C Current density 1 A / cm ² Plating time 160 minutes The Vickers hardness of the manufactured seamless nickel belt was 550. An intermediate transfer belt was produced on this seamless nickel belt in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7.

< Production Example 13 > An intermediate transfer belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7, except that a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a diameter difference of 0.101 mm between the upper and lower parts was used. The perimeter difference between the top and bottom of the belt after cutting to a width of 348 mm was 0.31 mm. The length of the whiskers 1 generated at the cutting step and the cutting step d were 0.5 mm and 0.6 mm, respectively, as measured with a graduated loupe or a microscope.

< Production Example 14 > An intermediate transfer belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7, except that a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a diameter difference of 0.061 mm between the upper and lower parts was used. The perimeter difference between the top and bottom of the belt after cutting to a width of 348 mm was 0.164 mm. The beard length 1 and the cutting step d generated at the cutting step were 3.5 mm and 0.09 mm, respectively, as measured by a loupe with a scale or a microscope.

< Production Example 15 > In Production Example 1, the thickness was increased using a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a diameter difference of 0.0075 mm in the upper and lower parts (peripheral difference when the belt was cut to L = 340 mm = 0.02 mm). A nickel seamless belt having a thickness of 32 μm was manufactured but could not be removed from the cylindrical mandrel.

< Production Example 16 > An intermediate transfer belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7, except that a stainless steel cylindrical mold having a difference in diameter between the upper and lower parts of 0.12 mm was used. The circumferential difference between the top and bottom of the belt after cutting to a width of 348 mm was 0.32 mm. The beard length 1 and the cutting step d generated at the cutting step portion were measured with a loupe with a scale or a microscope, and were 0.5 mm and the cutting step 0.1, respectively.
2 mm.

< Production Example 17 > An intermediate transfer belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7, except that the stopper member was changed to one having a rubber hardness of 35.

< Production Example 18 > An intermediate transfer belt was produced in exactly the same manner as in Production Example 7, except that the stopper member was changed to one having a rubber hardness of 95.

< Examples 1 to 7 > and < Comparative Examples 1 to 8 > The seamless belt-shaped photosensitive members (Production Examples 1 to 5) and the intermediate transfer belt (Production Examples 7-1) manufactured as described above.
8) is attached to the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 in a combination as shown in Table 1, and the linear velocity of the photosensitive belt and the intermediate transfer belt is 178 mm / s, and the writing density of the laser is 600D.
A 1 cm square lattice color image was printed at PI.
The photoreceptor belt is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt at a position about 5 mm near the upstream side of the intermediate transfer belt driven roller in the belt rotation direction. A rubber EPDM (1 mm thick, Rz
10 μm), and the coefficient of friction between the roller, the photoconductor and the intermediate transfer belt was measured by the Euler belt method. The coefficient of friction of the seamless belt-shaped photoconductors of Production Example 1, Production Examples 3 to 5, and the intermediate transfer belt of Production Examples 7 to 18 was 0.9,
The coefficient of friction of the seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member of Production Example 2 was 1.
It was 2.

Subsequently, the image forming apparatus is operated in the free-run mode (repetition of the image forming process with no paper passing through the transfer paper), and a lattice color image (color superimposed image of yellow, cyan, and magenta) is provided for every 1,000 sheets of color. The evaluation was performed up to 80,000 sheets of color while printing was performed. The seamless belt photoreceptor of Production Example 6 was not evaluated because the coating film defect occurred frequently. Table 1 shows the results.

< Comparative Example 9 > When the rubber of the photosensitive belt driving roller in the seamless belt type was changed to a nylon coating roller in Example 1, the friction coefficient was reduced to 0.6, and the seamless belt was formed in about 5,000 free runs. Photoconductor slippage occurred.

[0117]

[Table 1]

[0118]

The effects of the present invention will be described below in association with the above-described embodiments of the present invention. (1) A belt-shaped intermediate transfer member in which at least three colors of toner are developed three or more times on a belt-shaped photosensitive member stretched and rotated by a plurality of rollers, and development of each color is in contact with the belt-shaped photosensitive member. In the image forming apparatus configured so as to be superposed on the belt, the belt-shaped photoconductor contacts the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body and a roller that stretches around the intermediate transfer body near the upstream side in the belt circulating direction, and the belt-shaped photoreceptor has a belt-like shape. By providing the photosensitive member and the support for the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body with a seamless nickel belt having a perimeter of 450 mm or more, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can be reduced in size, can reduce image spread, color unevenness, and increase printing speed. it can. (2) The surface of the belt tensioning and circling roller is at least one material selected from rubber, flocking, and resin, the thickness of the seamless nickel belt is 20 to 50 μm, and the seamless nickel belt for the drive roller among the rollers The belt has a maximum static friction coefficient of 0.7 or more, and the surface of the roller near the contact between the belt-shaped photoreceptor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member has rubber or flocking, thereby causing belt slip and belt-shaped intermediate transfer. An image forming apparatus with a reduced amount of body deformation can be provided. (3) The end portions of the belt-shaped photoreceptor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member are separated from each other by providing the deviation preventing member on the back side of the belt-shaped photoreceptor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member from the longitudinal end to 5 mm. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with reduced running over the belt. (4) An apparatus in which a developing roller is in contact with the belt-like photoreceptor via a toner layer in a developing section of the image forming apparatus. The belt-like intermediate transfer body has an elastic layer on the surface, and zinc stearate is used. Provided is an image forming apparatus in which OPC scratches and worm-like transfer defective images are reduced by applying to the surface of the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body. (5) Since the developing units of the image forming apparatus are disposed between the same rollers for three or more colors, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is compact and has excellent workability when replacing the developing unit and the like. (6) Since the support is made of a seamless nickel belt formed from the same mold, an image forming apparatus free from color shift can be provided. (7) The seamless nickel belt contains Co as an impurity in an amount of 0.2 wt% or less and has a linear velocity of 100 mm / s or more. Further, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which unevenness such as waving of a support during repeated use is prevented. (8) Vickers hardness of the ameless nickel belt is 40
When the ratio is from 0 to 500, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which occurrence of unevenness such as waving of the support during repeated use at a linear velocity of 100 mm / s or more is prevented. (9) In the image forming apparatus, the difference in peripheral length between the right and left sides of the seamless nickel belt is 0.05 to 0.31 mm, and the length of the whiskers at the cutting step portion is 0.02 to 0.5 mm. An image forming apparatus in which cracks are prevented can be provided. (10) In the image forming apparatus, since the hardness of the non-stop member is 40 to 90 in rubber hardness, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the belt does not run over the rollers during repeated use. (11) The seamless belt-shaped photoreceptor is composed of an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer, and the undercoat layer contains titanium oxide, thereby preventing charge injection from the nickel seamless belt of the support to form an image. Can be improved. (12) The image forming apparatus forms an electrostatic latent image on the seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member by charging and image exposure with a laser beam, visualizes the electrostatic latent image with a one-component non-magnetic toner, and then forms the latent image on the intermediate transfer member. With the image forming apparatus configured to transfer the image to the image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus having excellent halftone reproducibility can be provided. (13) The image forming apparatus is a seamless belt-shaped photoconductor,
Since the charging member, the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member, and the cleaning unit are integrally supported and detachably attached to the apparatus main body, the size of the electrophotographic apparatus can be reduced, and attachment and detachment as an electrophotographic unit can be easily performed. Can be

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a non-centering member is provided at an end of the back surface of the belt-shaped photoconductor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cut end surface when a nickel seamless belt is cut. Fig. 4 shows a state in which a beard is formed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Seamless belt-shaped photoconductor 11 Photoconductor drive roller 12 Photoconductor driven roller 13 Photoconductor tension roller 14 Charging unit 15 Exposure means 16 Black developing unit 17 Yellow developing unit 18 Magenta developing unit 19 Cyan Developing unit 20 Photoconductor cleaning unit 21 Photoconductor lubricant application brush 22 Photoconductor cleaning unit 23 Static elimination means 24 Intermediate transfer belt 25 Intermediate transfer belt drive roller 26 Intermediate transfer belt driven roller 27 Intermediate transfer belt tension roller 28 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 29 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning blade 30 Intermediate transfer belt lubricant applying brush 31 Feeder unit 32 Secondary transfer roller 33 Fixing unit 34 Photoconductor lubricant 35 Intermediate transfer bell Lubricants 101 photosensitive belt 102 toward stop member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03G 21/00 350 G03G 21/00 350 (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Kahata 1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo No. 6 Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Hideo Nakamori, Inventor 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Akihiro Sugino 1-3-6, Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2H030 AA01 AA04 AA05 AC08 BB23 BB42 BB63 BB71 2H035 CB06 CD14 CF02 CG03 2H068 AA44 AA52 AA55 AA58 AA60 CA29 CA45 CA46 FA27 FA30 FB07 2H200 FA04 FA17 GA02 JAC12 GB JC12 JC13 JC15 JC16 JC17 LA25 LB02 LB13 LC08 LC09 LC10 MA01 MA03 MA12 MA14 MA20 MB01 MC02 MC06 MC20

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A belt-shaped photosensitive member stretched and rotated by a plurality of rollers and developed three or more times with toner of at least three colors, and the development of each color is brought into contact with the belt-shaped photosensitive member. In an image forming apparatus configured to be superimposed on an intermediate transfer member, a belt-shaped photosensitive member is arranged upstream of a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member and a roller that stretches around the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member in a belt rotation direction. The belt-like photoreceptor and the support for the belt-like intermediate transfer member have a circumference of 45
An image forming apparatus comprising a seamless nickel belt of 0 mm or more. 2. The surface of a roller which stretches around the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member and is made of at least one material selected from rubber, flocked and resin, and the thickness of the seamless nickel belt is 20 to 50 μm, The maximum static friction coefficient of the seamless nickel belt with respect to the drive roller is 0.7 or more, and the roller surface near the contact between the belt-shaped photoconductor and the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body has rubber or flocking. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The belt-like photoreceptor and the belt-like intermediate transfer member are provided on the back surface of the belt-like intermediate transfer member up to 5 mm from a longitudinal end thereof.
The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 4. An apparatus in which a developing roller is in contact with the belt-shaped photoconductor via a toner layer in a developing section of the image forming apparatus, wherein the belt-shaped intermediate transfer body has an elastic layer on a surface, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein zinc stearate is applied to a surface of the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a developing unit of the image forming apparatus is disposed between three or more colors of the same roller.
5. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 4. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support comprises a seamless nickel belt formed from the same mold.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein 7. The seamless nickel belt contains Co as an impurity in an amount of 0.2 wt% or less and has a linear velocity of 100 m.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the belt-shaped photoconductor is rotated at m / s or more. 8. The Vickers hardness of the seamless nickel belt is 400-500.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, 9. The seamless nickel belt has a circumferential difference between the left and right sides of 0.05 to 0.31 mm, and the beard length of the cutting step is 0.1 mm.
9. The thickness is from 02 to 0.5 mm.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 10. The non-slip member has a rubber hardness of 40 to 40.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number is 90. 11. A belt-like photoreceptor used in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a subbing layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer, wherein the subbing layer contains titanium oxide. Features a seamless belt-shaped photoconductor. 12. An image forming apparatus forms an electrostatic latent image on a seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member by charging and image exposure with a laser beam, visualizes the electrostatic latent image with a one-component non-magnetic toner, and then performs intermediate transfer. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to transfer the image on a body. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a process cartridge in which a seamless belt-shaped photosensitive member, a charging member, a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member, and a cleaning unit are integrally supported and detachably mounted on the apparatus main body. Item 1
13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12.