JP2003098796A - Endless belt running device for image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize image formation of high quality without meandering of an endless belt with time with respect to an endless belt running device using the endless belt having a high linear speed and using the endless belt at a temperature equal to or higher than 40 deg.C and to provide an image forming device using this endless belt running device. SOLUTION: The endless belt running device for the image forming device runs at least part of the endless belt in the image forming device heated to 40 deg.C or higher at a linear speed equal to or higher than 80 nm/sec by the rotation of a plurality of rolls inserted into the inside of the endless belt. Band- shaped elastic bodies are fixed to inside surfaces of both side edges of the endless belt by adhesive layers so as to project beyond the rolls, and the weight reduction of the elastic bodies is 0.01 to 0.30% when they are heated at 130 deg.C for 30 minutes.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endless belt running device and an image forming apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional technique, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-230.
950 discloses an endless belt in which a guide such as a hot melt adhesive is directly adhered to provide a detent guide, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 04-190280 discloses a specific rubber hardness and thickness. An endless belt is described in which a flexible substance is attached to both inner edges of the endless belt to serve as a detent guide.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 237 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-289823, there is disclosed an endless belt in which a reinforcing tape to which an elastomer guide is adhered is adhered to both inner edges of the endless belt by using an adhesive as a detent guide. Have been described.

In recent years, there is a strong demand for higher-definition and higher-resolution image formation because of the demand for highly accurate reproducibility of image information. Further, there is an increasing need for colorization, high-speed image formation, downsizing of an image forming apparatus, and high durability. Especially for the photoconductor, it is possible to reduce the load on the photoconductor by increasing the circumference of the photoconductor in response to the demand for high speed image formation and high durability. In the photoconductor used, increasing the peripheral length of the photoconductor leads to increasing the diameter of the photoconductor, resulting in a conflict with the demand for miniaturization of the image forming apparatus. The endless belt photoconductor can be freely changed in shape by inserting multiple rollers into the photoconductor, increasing the degree of freedom in arranging the photoconductor in the image forming apparatus. Can contribute to.

Generally, an endless belt photosensitive member has a structure in which a photosensitive layer is provided on a conductive polymer film or metal film substrate. In particular, an endless belt photosensitive member using a metal film substrate is The expansion and contraction of the endless belt is low and the shape retention against tension is high.Therefore, even if the peripheral speed of the endless belt photoconductor is increased, deformation of the endless belt photoconductor does not occur in order to speed up image formation. High quality image formation is possible.

Normally, the running of the endless belt in the image forming apparatus is carried out by inserting a plurality of rollers inside the endless belt and rotating the rollers. However, the roundness, straightness, parallelism, etc. of the rollers are not affected. Due to the problem of uniformity, the endless belt will meander in the width direction.

When the endless belt is meandering severely, the endless belt falls off from the drive roller and is damaged. Even if the endless belt does not fall off or break,
The meandering greatly deteriorates the quality of the formed image, and when a plurality of image formations are combined to form one image, as in the case of color image formation, color misregistration and image unevenness are noticeable. This causes a significant deterioration in image quality.

To prevent the endless belt from meandering,
An endless belt is disclosed in which guides such as hot melt adhesives are directly bonded to both inner edges of the endless belt to provide detent guides (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-230950). However, there is a drawback that the hot melt adhesive is likely to be deformed during the cooling after the hot melt adhesive is melted and applied to the endless belt, and as a result, meandering is likely to occur.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 04-190280 discloses an endless belt in which a flexible substance having a specific rubber hardness and thickness is attached to both inner edges of the endless belt to serve as a detent guide. ing. This endless belt has excellent performance because it can run stably without causing meandering due to the presence of the detent guide of the flexible material. In many cases, a so-called rubber elastic body is used as the flexible material. Rubber is manufactured by mixing and vulcanizing many materials,
The mix recipe is the property of the rubber manufacturer and is not normally disclosed to the rubber user. Rubber standards are controlled by physical properties such as rubber hardness, but depending on the environment such as temperature and humidity at the time of rubber production, skill level of workers, and production volume,
In many cases, even if the formulation is constant, the physical property values are not constant. Therefore, rubber manufacturers add some additives to the rubber to stabilize the physical property values. The material and amount of this additive are rarely disclosed by the rubber manufacturer.

It is known that a substance having a low molecular weight migrates in the rubber even though the rubber is solid. For example, when an adhesive is provided on the surface of the rubber, the substance having a low molecular weight that has moved causes the adhesiveness to be increased. There is a case where a so-called migration occurs in which a large drop occurs. Rubber makers do not add low-molecular weight substances as much as possible when adhesiveness is important.
In the case of a rubber having a rubber hardness of 65 to 85, the use of additives cannot be avoided. Also, the vulcanization is completely 100
Since it is not%, unreacted low molecular weight compounds will remain.

When an elastic body such as rubber is used for the detent guide of the endless belt running device, a certain degree of flexibility is required, and therefore, additives having a range in which adhesiveness can be secured have been used. However, in response to the demand for high-speed image formation, when the linear velocity of the endless belt is increased to 80 mm / sec or more, the probability of occurrence of meandering may be extremely high depending on the manufacturing lot of the elastic body. Further, as the size of the image forming apparatus becomes smaller, the heat source used for fixing the image forming causes the temperature of a part of the endless belt to rise, or the endless belt is heated to 40 ° C. or more to stabilize the image. In an image forming apparatus that secures the property, the meandering probability is still high.

An analysis of the endless belt in which the meandering has occurred revealed that there is a portion where the anti-slip guide is peeled off, and that the meandering occurs at the peeled portion. However, the physical properties of the elastic body used for the guide were the same as those of the elastic body used for the detent guide in which the meandering hardly occurs. When the anti-slip guide was produced by changing the production lot of rubber using the same adhesive, the variation in adhesiveness was slightly large in the above-mentioned meandering rubber. Although this rubber difference was confirmed, there was no difference in the physical properties, and information disclosure from the rubber manufacturer could not be obtained.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention has an endless belt traveling device in which the linear velocity of the endless belt is high and the endless belt is used at a temperature of 40 ° C. or more, and meandering over time occurs. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endless belt running device capable of forming a high quality image and an image forming device using the same.

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have found that the meandering of the endless belt occurs due to the peeling of the anti-stop guide due to the decrease in the adhesiveness of the anti-stop guide. It was found that the meandering occurrence frequency differs depending on the production lot of the above, and as a result of intensive studies, it was produced from an elastic body whose weight loss when heated at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes is 0.01 to 0.30%. Endless belt using a non-stop guide is 80 mm / sec
The present inventors have found that high-quality image formation can be performed without causing meandering even when used at a high linear velocity as described above and at a temperature of 40 ° C. or higher, and have reached the present invention.

That is, according to the present invention, the endless belt is rotated by a plurality of rollers inserted therein, and the endless belt is rotated by 80 m.
An endless belt running device for running at least a part in an image forming apparatus heated to 40 ° C. or more at a linear velocity of m / sec or more, wherein the endless belt has a belt-shaped elastic body on the inner surfaces of both side edges. Is an endless belt having an adhesive layer fixed to the outside of the roller, wherein the elastic body has a weight loss of 0.0 when heated at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes.
The endless belt running device for an image forming apparatus is characterized by being 1 to 0.30%.

The weight reduction component obtained by heating the elastic body at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes is a plasticizer or an unreacted component. These components are components having a relatively low molecular weight and move in the elastic body in a temperature range around room temperature. It continues. Further, when these components reach the surface of the adhesive, they migrate to the adhesive and swell the adhesive to reduce the adhesive strength. For this reason,
Weight loss by heating the elastic body at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes is 0.01 to 0.30%, preferably 0.02 to 0.2.
8%, and more preferably 0.04 to 0.26%.
When the weight loss is 0.01% by weight or less, the elastic body is too hard as a detent guide for the endless belt, which is not preferable. If the weight loss is 0.30% or more, the adhesiveness of the anti-slip guide is likely to be lowered, and the endless belt running device is likely to meander, which is not preferable.

In the present invention, the temperature for measuring the weight loss of the elastic body is set to 130 ° C., but it is 0.30% at a temperature lower than 130 ° C.
The elastic anti-slip guide that causes the above-described weight reduction has insufficient adhesive force and is naturally not preferable. However, 130 ° C
At lower temperatures, the removal of low molecular weight components that reduce the adhesiveness of the anti-slip guide becomes insufficient, so even if the weight loss due to heating below 130 ° C is 0.01 to 0.30%, Not sure if it's a good stop guide. When the temperature is higher than 130 ° C., the weight loss due to the removal of the low molecular weight in the elastic body is large, but the elastic body itself is likely to be decomposed or deteriorated, and it is difficult to separate it from the low molecular weight, which is not preferable.

In the present invention, the measurement time of the weight reduction of the elastic body by heating at 130 ° C. is set to 30 minutes. However, even if the measurement time is shorter than 30 minutes, the elastic body anti-slip guide which causes the weight reduction of 0.30% or more. Adhesive strength is not sufficient, which is naturally not preferable. Generally, heating for 30 minutes is preferable because the temperature distribution of the atmosphere becomes uniform and the weight loss becomes almost constant.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of the endless belt running device of the present invention. The endless belt running device of the present invention can be manufactured by inserting a plurality of driving rollers into the endless belt and rotating the driving rollers to run the endless belt. Although three drive rollers are used in FIG. 1, the number of drive rollers may be any number as long as the tension of the endless belt and the size and shape of the endless belt running device can be desired.

The endless belt running device of the present invention can be used for running devices such as photoconductors, intermediate transfer belts, fixing belts and conveying belts, and the linear speed of the endless belt is 80 mm / sec or more, preferably 100 mm / sec.
As described above, more preferably, even when used at a high speed of 120 mm / sec or more, meandering does not occur, and high-resolution and high-quality image formation is possible. The linear speed of the endless belt is 8
At 0 mm / sec or more, the force at the position where the driving roller or the end of the collar contacts the detent guide of the endless belt, the linear velocity of the endless belt is 80 mm / sec.
The adhesiveness between the anti-slip guide and the endless belt base must be increased initially and with time because it becomes much stronger than when used at a low speed.

In the endless belt running device of the present invention, at least a part of the endless belt is 40 ° C. or higher,
Preferably 45 ° C or higher, more preferably 45-60 ° C
It shows excellent performance when used in a heated environment. The movement of the low-molecular component in the elastic body is promoted as the temperature rises.
In the above heated environment, the elastic body of the non-stop guide has a weight loss of 0.01 at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes.
.About.0.30% must be used.

The rubber hardness (JISA) of the elastic body which is the offset guide of the endless belt used in the endless belt running device of the present invention is 65 to 85, preferably 66 to 8.
3, and more preferably 67-80. If the elastic body has a rubber hardness of 65 or less, it is not preferable because it is too soft and is easily deformed by an external force, which may cause a meandering.
When the rubber hardness of the elastic body is 85 or more, the repulsive force of the elastic body becomes large at the portion on the drive roller, so that the endless belt base body and the adhesive layer are easily peeled off or the endless belt base body is deformed. It will be easier.

The material of the elastic body, which is the non-stop guide of the endless belt used in the endless belt running apparatus of the present invention, has a proper rubber elasticity and is not particularly deteriorated due to the environment in the image forming apparatus. Examples of the rubber include, but are not limited to, synthetic rubber such as polyurethane rubber, neoprene rubber, urethane rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, and silicone rubber, or rubber such as one kind or a mixture of two or more kinds of natural rubber. Among them, urethane rubber is most preferable because it has excellent stability against temperature and humidity, low abrasion resistance, and excellent ozone resistance. Also, for the purpose of improving the mechanical strength of the elastic body, a carbon body,
It is also possible to mix a filler such as calcium silicate, calcium carbonate or glass fiber. Among the fillers, the inclusion of a carbon body such as carbon black not only improves the mechanical properties of the elastic body, but also reduces the frictional force between the drive roller and the anti-slip guide due to the lubricating effect of the carbon body. Since the force such as frictional force applied from the endless guide becomes small, the meandering of the endless guide hardly occurs, which is very preferable.
The content of the filler is not particularly limited, but may be 1 to 50%, preferably 3 to 40%, and particularly preferably 5 to 30% of the total weight of the elastic body.

The adhesive used for the endless belt running device of the present invention for fixing the elastic body which is the offset guide of the endless belt has sufficient adhesiveness to the endless substrate and the elasticity, and is used in the image forming apparatus. It is not particularly limited as long as it does not deteriorate due to the environment of, for example, acrylic-based, natural rubber-based, synthetic rubber-based, silicone-based, thermosetting adhesives can be exemplified, among them adhesiveness over time, An acrylic adhesive is preferable from the viewpoint of easy fixing.

The thickness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive is 10 to 50 μm, preferably 12 to 45 μm, more preferably 15 to 50 μm. In the endless belt traveling device, a force is laterally applied to the anti-stop guide at a position where it comes into contact with the drive roller. In order to prevent the anti-slip guide from peeling off due to the force, it is generally preferable that the adhesive has a large thickness. However, since the adhesive is softer than the base of the endless belt or the elastic body of the anti-slip guide, if the adhesive is thick, the adhesive will expand against the lateral force of the anti-slip guide and the adhesive will Part of the tape comes into contact with the drive roller. Then, a part of the adhesive is scraped off by the drive roller, and the adhesiveness of the anti-slip guide is reduced, and meandering or, in the worst case, the anti-slip guide is peeled off from the endless belt, and the endless belt falls off from the drive roller. The risk also increases. Therefore, the thickness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive is preferably 10 to 50 μm described above,
Since the adhesive has a small thickness and a small amount of low molecular weight components in the elastic body migrate to the adhesive, the adhesiveness is likely to be remarkably lowered. Therefore, the weight reduction of the elastic body by heating at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes is 0. It is necessary to set it to 01 to 0.30%. If the thickness of the adhesive is 10 μm or less, it may not be possible to deal with the unevenness of the elastic body or the unevenness of the substrate, and the contact area may decrease.
It is not preferable because the adhesiveness is partially lowered. When the thickness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive is 50 μm or more, as described above, the pressure-sensitive adhesive expands greatly against the lateral force of the offset guide, which is not preferable.

Further, it is preferable to provide a primer layer between the elastic body and the pressure-sensitive adhesive in order to improve the elasticity and the adhesiveness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive and to suppress the migration of low-molecular components from the elastic body. Reaction curable polyurethane primer,
By coating a urethane resin or the like on the surface of the elastic body or mixing it with an adhesive to form an adhesive layer, the adhesiveness between the elastic body and the adhesive layer becomes perfect, and urethane-vinyl chloride copolymer is particularly preferable as a primer. The polymerized resin is highly preferable because it has a perfect adhesion to both the pressure-sensitive adhesive and the elastic body and has a high effect of suppressing the migration of low-molecular components from the elastic body.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a typical endless belt in the vicinity of the offset guide. The endless belt of the present invention is particularly effective when applied to a photoconductor. Since the life of the photoconductor is determined by the number of times the image formation on the photoconductor is repeated, it is effective to increase the surface area of the photoconductor to extend the life of the photoconductor. Then, the diameter of the drum is increased, but it is difficult to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus if a photoconductor having a large diameter is used. On the other hand, the endless belt photoreceptor can change its shape freely by inserting a plurality of rollers into the photoreceptor, which increases the degree of freedom in arranging the photoreceptor in the image forming apparatus. Even if the size becomes large, it is possible to contribute to downsizing of the image forming apparatus.

The image forming apparatus using the endless belt running device of the present invention can form excellent images in both single color and color, but particularly in color image formation, more faithful image formation is required. However, since toners of different colors are laminated to form a color image, even if an extremely slight meander occurs, color misregistration tends to occur, which is a problem, but the image forming apparatus of the present invention does not cause the meander. High-quality image formation can be performed.

As a color image forming method in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a method of forming toner images of a plurality of colors on a photoconductor and then sequentially transferring the toner images to an output medium (paper in many cases) to form an image, or After forming the toner images of a plurality of colors on the photosensitive member, the toner images of the respective colors are sequentially stacked on the intermediate transfer member, and the stacked toner images are transferred to an output medium to form an image. However, after image formation via an intermediate transfer body that can improve image quality when high image density, prevent color misregistration, improve transfer efficiency, and support output media flexibly, especially as an intermediate transfer body The image quality of the image formed via the transfer belt is high, which is preferable. In particular, when the intermediate transfer belt has elasticity, the transfer efficiency is high even when the image density is high, and abnormal images such as so-called prints and dust are not generated, which is preferable.

The resolution of the image forming apparatus using the endless belt running device of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is usually 1000 dpi, preferably 1200 dpi.
At the high resolution, even if an extremely slight meandering occurs, the image quality is greatly deteriorated. However, since the endless belt running device of the present invention does not cause the meandering, it is possible to form a high resolution image.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the color image forming apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 3, (1) is a flexible belt-shaped photoconductor that is a belt-shaped image carrier, and the photoconductor belt (1) is installed between rotating rollers (2) and (3),
It is conveyed in the direction of arrow A (clockwise) in the figure by the rotational drive of the rotating roller (2). In the figure, (4) is a charging charger which is a charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photoreceptor belt (1), and (5) is a laser writing system unit which is an electrostatic image exposing means. In addition, (6) in the figure
This is a color developing device in which four developing devices having yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners described later are integrally formed.

In the figure, (10) is an intermediate transfer belt which is an intermediate transfer member, and the intermediate transfer belt (10) is installed between rotating rollers (11) and (12), and the rotating roller (11) is provided. ) Is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B (counterclockwise) in the figure. The photoconductor belt (1) and the intermediate transfer belt (10) are in contact with each other at the rotating roller (3) portion of the photoconductor belt (1). A bias roller (1) having conductivity is provided on the intermediate transfer belt (10) side of the contact portion.
3) is in contact with the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt (10) under predetermined conditions. Unlike the contact type charging roller, the charging charger does not come into contact with the surface of the photosensitive belt to cause scratches, which is particularly advantageous in a color image forming apparatus.

The image forming operation of the color image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 3, a belt-shaped photosensitive member (latent image bearing member) (1) is uniformly charged by a charging charger (4), and then scanned and exposed by a laser optical device (5) based on image information, and then the surface thereof is exposed. An electrostatic latent image is formed on. Here, the image information to be exposed is monochromatic image information obtained by decomposing a desired full-color image into yellow, cyan, and magenta color information, and a laser beam (L) generated by a semiconductor laser (not shown) by this information. Are those whose scanning and optical paths have been adjusted by an optical device (not shown).

The electrostatic latent image formed here is a one-component non-magnetic toner of yellow, cyan, magenta and black whose laser exposure portions are predetermined by a developing device (6) of a rotary reversal developing system described later. Each color is developed, and each color image is sequentially formed on the photoconductor belt (1). By using the one-component non-magnetic toner, it is possible to obtain a color image excellent in gradation of a highlight image and density uniformity of a solid portion.

Further, each monochromatic image formed on the photoreceptor belt (1) rotating in the direction of arrow A in the figure is an intermediate transfer belt which rotates in the direction of arrow B in the figure in synchronization with the photoreceptor belt (1). The yellow, cyan, magenta, and black single colors are sequentially transferred onto the surface of (10) by a predetermined transfer bias applied to the bias roller (13).

Here, the length of the intermediate transfer belt (19) is twice the size of the photoconductor belt (1), so that the specific position of the intermediate transfer belt is always in contact with the same position of the photoconductor. The position is strictly controlled. Further, rod-shaped zinc stearate (not shown) is applied to the intermediate transfer belt (10).

The yellow, cyan, magenta and black images superposed on the intermediate transfer belt (10) are fed from the paper feed tray (paper feed cassette) (17) to the paper feed roller (1).
8), the transfer rollers (19a) and (19b), the registration roller pairs (20a) and (20b), and the transfer roller (14) collectively transfers the transfer paper (17a) onto the transfer paper that has been transferred to the transfer unit. After the transfer is completed, the transfer paper (17a) is fixed by the fixing device (80) to complete a full-color image, and the print image is printed on the paper discharge stack section (82) through the paper discharge roller pairs (81a) and (81b). Discharge.

Incidentally, (15) in the figure is a cleaning device including a cleaning blade (15a) which is in constant contact with the photosensitive belt (1) and cleans the toner on the photosensitive belt (1). 16) is a cleaning device for the intermediate transfer belt (10), and the cleaning blade (16a) of the cleaning device (16) is held at a position separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt (10) during the image forming operation. The formed image is the transfer paper (17a) described above.
After being transferred on, it is brought into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt (10).

The photoconductor belt (1), the charger (4), the intermediate transfer belt (10), the cleaning devices (15) and (16) are the process cartridge (31).
And a waste toner collecting device (15
c) is replaceably incorporated in the process cartridge (31). The case exterior part of the process cartridge (31) on the side of the registration roller (20b) also has a function as a sheet conveyance guide. By taking the form of a process cartridge, downsizing of the electrophotographic apparatus,
It is easy to attach and detach as an electrophotographic unit.

The waste toner scraped off by the cleaning blade (16a) from the intermediate transfer belt (10) is conveyed in the front direction of the drawing by the auger (16b) provided in the cleaning device (16). Further, it is conveyed to a waste toner collecting device (15c) by a conveying unit (not shown) provided on the front side surface of the process cartridge (31). By replacing the process cartridge (31) with a predetermined amount or more of waste toner stored in the waste toner collecting device (15c), the life of the process cartridge (31) can be extended.

When the endless belt of the present invention is used as a photoconductor, the endless photoconductor is formed of an endless belt-shaped substrate and a photosensitive layer, and an intermediate layer can be provided between the substrate and the photosensitive layer. A protective layer may be provided on the photosensitive layer.

The substrate of the endless photoconductor of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has sufficient mechanical strength and conductivity, but aluminum,
Metals or alloys such as nickel, chromium, nichrome, copper, gold, silver and platinum, metal oxides such as tin oxide and indium oxide laminated on resin films such as polyester and polyimide, or aluminum, nickel and chromium, Examples thereof include metal films or alloy films of nichrome, copper, gold, silver, platinum and the like, and metal foils are particularly preferable from the viewpoint of durability, processability in them, mechanical properties, chemical stability, economy. From the aspect of properties, a metal film containing nickel as a main component is preferable. In addition, especially, JP-A-5
JP-A-2-36016, JP-A-3-219259, JP-A-63-127250, and JP-A-63-1.
Since the nickel seamless belt produced by electroforming plating disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 27249, etc. has no joints, it is possible to freely form an image without limiting the place where the image is formed on the photosensitive member. This is preferable because the size of the forming apparatus can be reduced and the speed of image formation can be improved.

When the linear velocity of the photoreceptor is 80 mm / sec or more, the nickel seamless belt has a Vickers hardness of 400 to 650, preferably 450 to 600, and a nickel purity of 98% or more, preferably 99% or more. From the viewpoint of durability of the photoconductor, it is preferable. If the Vickers hardness of the nickel seamless belt is 400 or less,
Since the restoring force against the arc-shaped deformation of the photoconductor in the vicinity of the driving roller is small, an abnormal image having a streak-like image is likely to occur, and when the Vickers hardness is 650 or more, the photoconductor is hard.
Since the deformation itself is difficult, the load on the drive roller is increased and both ends of the photoconductor are likely to be permanently deformed, which is not preferable. If the purity of nickel is 98% or less,
The mechanical strength and chemical stability of the nickel seamless belt are likely to be lowered, and abnormal images such as stripes and spots are likely to occur.

The endless photoconductor of the present invention basically comprises a substrate and a photosensitive layer, and an undercoat layer can be provided between the substrate and the photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer may be either a laminated type in which a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer are sequentially laminated or a single layer type in which a charge generation agent and a charge transport agent are mixed and used. Furthermore, a protective layer can be provided.

The undercoat layer is provided for the purpose of improving the adhesiveness, preventing moire, improving the coatability of the upper layer, and reducing the residual potential. The undercoat layer generally contains a resin as a main component, but considering that the photosensitive layer on the resin is applied using a solvent, these resins are resins having high solubility in general organic solvents. Is desirable.

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

Further, fine powders of metal oxides such as titanium oxide, silica, alumina, zirconium oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide and the like, or metal sulfides, metal nitrides and the like may be added. These undercoat layers can be formed using an appropriate solvent and coating method.

Further, as the undercoat layer of the present invention, a metal oxide layer formed by using, for example, a sol-gel method using a silane coupling agent, a titanium coupling agent, a chromium coupling agent, etc. is also useful. In addition to the above, the undercoat layer of the present invention includes aluminum oxide and aluminum hydroxide provided by anodic oxidation, organic substances such as polyparaxylylene (parylene), SnO ₂ , TiO ₂ , ITO and Ce.
An inorganic substance such as O ₂ provided by a vacuum thin film manufacturing method can also be used favorably. The thickness of the undercoat layer is suitably 0.1 to 5 μm.

The charge generating layer is a layer containing a charge generating substance as a main component, and a binder resin may be used if necessary. An inorganic material and an organic material can be used as the charge generating substance. Examples of the inorganic material include crystalline selenium, amorphous selenium, selenium-tellurium, selenium-tellurium-halogen, and selenium-arsenic compounds.

On the other hand, known materials can be used as the organic material. For example, phthalocyanine-based pigments such as metal phthalocyanine and metal-free phthalocyanine, azurenium salt pigment, squaric acid methine pigment, azo pigment having a carbazole skeleton, azo pigment having a triphenylamine skeleton, azo pigment having a diphenylamine skeleton, dibenzothiophene skeleton Having azo pigment, azo pigment having fluorenone skeleton, azo pigment having oxadiazole skeleton, azo pigment having bisstilbene skeleton, azo pigment having distyryl oxadiazole skeleton, azo pigment having distyryl carbazole skeleton, perylene Series pigments, anthraquinone series or polycyclic quinone series pigments, quinone imine series pigments, diphenylmethane and triphenylmethane series pigments, benzoquinone and naphthoquinone series pigments, cyanine and azomethine series pigments, Jigoido pigments, bisbenzimidazo - such as Le based pigments. These charge generating substances can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds.

The binder resin used in the charge generation layer as required includes polyamide, polyurethane, epoxy resin, polyketone, polycarbonate, silicone resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl ketone, polystyrene, poly-N-. Vinylcarbazole, polyacrylamide, etc. are used. These binder resins may be used alone or 2
It can be used as a mixture of two or more species.

Further, a charge transport material may be added if necessary. Further, as the binder resin for the charge generation layer, a polymer charge transport material is favorably used in addition to the above-mentioned binder resin.

As a method for forming the charge generating layer, a vacuum thin film forming method and a casting method from a solution dispersion system can be largely cited. The former method includes vacuum deposition method, glow discharge polymerization method, ion plating method, sputtering method,
A reactive sputtering method, a CVD method, or the like is used, and the above-mentioned inorganic material or organic material can be formed favorably. Further, in order to provide the charge generation layer by the casting method described below, the above-mentioned inorganic or organic charge generation substance is used together with a binder resin, if necessary, tetrahydrofuran,
It can be formed by using a solvent such as cyclohexanone, dioxane, dichloroethane or butanone to disperse with a ball mill, attritor, sand mill or the like, and diluting the dispersion liquid appropriately and coating. The coating can be performed by using a dip coating method, a spray coating method, a bead coating method, or the like. The thickness of the charge generation layer provided as described above is appropriately about 0.01 to 5 μm, and preferably 0.05 to 2 μm.

The charge transport layer is a layer intended to retain the charged charge, and to move the charge generated and separated in the charge generation layer by exposure to combine with the retained charge. The charge transport layer also contains an adsorbent. A high electric resistance is required to achieve the purpose of retaining the charged electric charge, and a low dielectric constant and good charge mobility are required to achieve the objective of obtaining a high surface potential with the retained charged electric charge. Is required.

The charge transport layer for satisfying these requirements comprises a charge transport substance, a binder resin and an adsorbent. It can be formed by dissolving or dispersing these in an appropriate solvent, applying and drying the same. As the solvent, tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, toluene, dichloromethane, monochlorobenzene, dichloroethane, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone or the like is used.

If necessary, a suitable amount of a plasticizer, an antioxidant, a leveling agent, etc. may be added in addition to the charge transport material and the binder resin. The charge transport material includes a hole transport material and an electron transport material. Examples of the electron transport material 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, 2,6,8-trinitro- 4H-Indeno [1,
2-b] Thiophene-4one, 1,3,7-trinitrodibenzothiophene-5,5-dioxide, and other electron-accepting substances. These electron transport materials can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds.

Examples of the hole-transporting substance include the electron-donating substances shown below, which are preferably used. For example, oxazole derivative, oxadiazole derivative, imidazole derivative, triphenylamine derivative, 9-
(P-diethylaminostyrylanthracene), 1,1
-Bis- (4-dibenzylaminophenyl) propane,
Styrylanthracene, styrylpyrazoline, phenylhydrazones, α-phenylstilbene derivatives, thiazole derivatives, triazole derivatives, phenazine derivatives,
Examples include acridine derivatives, benzofuran derivatives, benzimidazole derivatives, thiophene derivatives and the like. These hole transport materials can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds.

The polymer charge transport layer material has the following structure. (A) Polymers having a carbazole ring, for example, poly-N-vinylcarbazole, JP-A-50-
82056, JP 54-9632, JP 54-11737, JP 4-175337, JP 4-183719, JP 6-23.
Examples thereof include compounds described in Japanese Patent No. 4841. (B) Polymer having a hydrazone structure, for example, JP-A-57-78402 and JP-A-61-
20953, JP-A-61-296358,
JP-A-1-134456, JP-A-1-17916
4, JP-A-3-180851, and JP-A-3-180851.
180852, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-50555, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-310904, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-234840.
Examples thereof include the compounds described in JP-A No. (C) Polysilylene polymer For example, JP-A-63-285552 and JP-A-1-
88461, JP 4-264130 A, JP 4-264131 A, JP 4-264132 A.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-264133 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-2.
Examples thereof include compounds described in Japanese Patent No. 89867. (D) Polymer having a triarylamine structure, for example, N, N-bis (4-methylphenyl) -4-aminopolystyrene, JP-A-1-134457, JP-A-2-28264, and JP-A-2- 304456
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-133065, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-1304
Examples thereof include compounds described in JP-A-33066, JP-A-5-40350, and JP-A-5-202135. (E) Other polymers, for example, formaldehyde condensation polymer of nitropyrene, JP-A-51-73888, JP-A-56-15074.
No. 9, JP-A-6-234836, JP-A-6-
Examples thereof include the compounds described in Japanese Patent No. 234837.

The polymer having an electron-donating group used in the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned polymers, but copolymers of known monomers, block polymers, graft polymers, star polymers, and Further, for example, a cross-linked polymer having an electron donating group as disclosed in JP-A-3-109406 can be used.

Further, as the polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyester, and polyether having a triarylamine structure, which are more useful as the polymer charge transport material used in the present invention, the following compounds are exemplified. For example, JP-A-64-1728 and JP-A-64-13
061, JP 64-19049, JP 4-11627, JP 4-225014, JP 4-230767, and JP 4-320.
No. 420, No. 5-232727, No. 7-56374, No. 9-127713, No. 9-222740, No. 9-265.
197, JP-A-9-212877, JP-A-9-304956 and the like.

As the binder resin that can be used in combination with the charge transport layer, polycarbonate (bisphenol A type, bisphenol Z type), polyester, methacrylic resin, acrylic resin, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, polystyrene, phenol resin, epoxy resin is used. , Polyurethane, polyvinylidene chloride, alkyd resin, silicone resin, polyvinyl carbazole, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyacrylate, polyacrylamide, phenoxy resin and the like are used. These binders can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds. As the photoreceptor belt, bisphenol A type polycarbonate is preferable because of cracks in the photosensitive layer. The thickness of the charge transport layer is
About 5 to 100 μm is suitable.

As the antioxidant, for example, the following ones are used. Monophenol compounds 2,6-di-t-butyl-p-cresol, butylated hydroxyanisole, 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-ethylphenol, stearyl-β- (3,5-di-t −
Butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate, 3
-T-butyl-4-hydroxynisol 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'-butylidene bis- (3-methyl-6-t-butylphenol) and the like.

Polymer phenolic compound 1,1,3-tris- (2-methyl-4-hydroxy-)
5-t-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 ester, tocophenols and the like.

Para-phenylenediamines 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-t-butyl-p-phenylenediamine and the like.

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 a plasticizer for general resins such as dibutyl phthalate and dioctyl phthalate can be used as they are, and the amount thereof is 0 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin. Some parts are appropriate.

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

The protective layer is a layer in which fine particles of metal or metal oxide are dispersed in a binder resin. It is desirable that the binder resin be transparent to visible light and infrared light and excellent in electrical insulation, mechanical strength and adhesiveness. As the binder resin for the protective layer, ABS resin, ACS resin, olefin-vinyl monomer copolymer, chlorinated polyether, allyl resin, phenol resin, polyacetal, polyamide, polyamide imide, polyacrylate, polyallyl sulfone, polybutylene, poly Butylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyether sulfone, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, acrylic resin, polymethylpentene, polypropylene, polyphenylene oxide, polysulfone, polystyrene, AS resin, butadiene-styrene copolymer, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polychloride Examples of the resin include vinylidene and epoxy resin. Examples of the metal oxide include titanium oxide, tin oxide, potassium titanate, TiO, TiN, zinc oxide, indium oxide, antimony oxide and the like.

For the protective layer, a fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, a silicone resin, and aluminum oxide may be added to these resins for the purpose of improving wear resistance.
A dispersion of an inorganic material such as titanium oxide can be added. As a method for forming the protective layer, a usual coating method is adopted. The protective layer preferably has a thickness of about 0.1 to 10 μm.

When the endless belt of the present invention is used as an intermediate transfer belt, the intermediate transfer belt has a conductive support such as a metal or alloy belt made of aluminum, iron, copper, stainless steel or the like, carbon or metal particles dispersed therein. Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NB
R), styrene butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, chloroprene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, chlorinated polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, acrylic rubber, fluororubber, urethane rubber, etc. and carbon (Ketjen black) as a conductive material, An elastic layer in which graphite, carbon fibers, metal powder, conductive metal oxide, organic metal oxide, organic metal compound, organic metal salt, conductive polymer, etc. are dispersed to control the volume resistivity, PFA, FEP, etc. As a type formed from a surface release layer coated with a fluororesin and a base material,
Polyethylene (high density, medium density, low density, linear low density), propylene ethylene block or random copolymer, rubber or latex component such as ethylene / propylene copolymer rubber, styrene / butadiene rubber, styrene / butadiene / Styrene block copolymer or its hydrogenated derivative, polybutadiene, polyisobutylene, polyamide, polyamideimide, polyacetal, polyarylate, polycarbonate, polyphenylene ether, modified polyphenylene ether, polyimide, liquid crystalline polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, polysulfone, polyether Sulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, polybisamide triazole,
Polybutylene terephthalate, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, acrylic, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinyl fluoride, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene hexafluoropropylene copolymer, tetrafluoroethylene Perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, fluororubber, acrylic acid alkyl ester copolymer, polyester ester copolymer, polyether ester copolymer, polyetheramide copolymer, olefin copolymer, polyurethane One of copolymers or a mixture thereof, particularly polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinyl fluoride, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, polychlorotrifluoro Styrene, tetrafluoroethylene hexafluoropropylene copolymer, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer,
A type in which an electric resistance is adjusted by adding a conductive filler to a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene or a fluororubber is used. The resistance value of the intermediate transfer belt is 10 ⁶ Ω · c
It is preferably m to ^{10 10} Ω · cm (when 1 kV is applied).

In the intermediate transfer belt having the elastic layer and the release layer, the thickness of the elastic layer is preferably 0.5 to 5 mm in view of the formation of the transfer nip, color shift due to rotation, material cost, etc. The film thickness of is preferably thin in order to convey the flexibility of the lower elastic layer to the surface of the photoreceptor, and specifically 50 to 200 μm is desirable.

Further, the transferability of the toner image is improved by applying zinc stearate to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt to improve the transferability of the image onto the transfer paper and making the friction coefficient of the surface of the belt lower than that of the transfer paper. The coefficient of friction of the transfer paper is usually about 0.35 to 0.7, though it depends on the type. On the other hand, by applying zinc stearate to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt, the coefficient of friction of the intermediate transfer belt is about 0. 15 ~
It can be maintained at 0.3.

When the endless belt of the present invention is used as a transfer paper conveying belt, metals or alloys such as aluminum, iron, copper and stainless steel, conductive resin belts in which carbon or metal particles are dispersed, metals such as nickel and stainless steel, etc. A belt can be used. In addition, the transfer paper transport belt is configured to apply a voltage, and the transfer paper is electrostatically adsorbed to the transfer paper transport belt to reduce the disturbance of the toner image, the lateral displacement of the transfer paper, and the occurrence of wrinkles. .

When the endless belt of the present invention is used as a fixing belt, a heat resistant resin film of polyimide, polyamide, polyester or the like, a metal film or the like can be used.

[0077]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples. In addition, "part" means a weight part. <Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1> Four lots of urethane rubber sheets (made by DUS216-70A Seadam) having a thickness of 0.8 mm and a rubber hardness of 70 were purchased in different seasons. The rubber hardness of all four lots of urethane rubber was in the range of 70 ± 1.5. When the weight reduction of each urethane rubber by heating each urethane rubber at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes was measured, it was 0.05%, 0.22%, 0.34%, 0.13%, respectively.
Met. A solution of urethane-vinyl chloride copolymer resin dissolved in ethyl acetate was applied to one surface of each urethane rubber, and dried to laminate a urethane-vinyl chloride copolymer resin of about 4 μm on the urethane rubber. 40 μm thick on the surface where urethane-vinyl chloride copolymer resin is laminated
After sticking the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet of (1) under pressure, a punching stopper guide having a width of 4 mm and a length of 285 mm was prepared with a Thomson blade to prepare 5 stopper guides for each lot.

A mixture having the following composition was placed in a ball mill pot, and ball milling was carried out for 72 hours by using φ10 mm alumina balls. Titanium oxide (CR-60: made by Ishihara Sangyo) 50.0 parts Alkyd resin (Beckolite M6401-50, made by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals) 15.0 parts Melamine resin (Super Beckamine L-121-60, Dainippon Ink) Chemical industry) 10.0 parts Methyl ethyl ketone (Kanto Chemical) 31.7 parts

To this milling solution, 105.0 parts of cyclohexanone (manufactured by Kanto Chemical Co., Ltd.) was added and ball milling was performed for another 2 hours to prepare an undercoat layer coating solution. A nickel seamless belt having a circumference of 290.3 mm and a thickness of 30 μm (Vickers hardness of 480 to 510, purity of 99.2%)
The above was spray coated and dried at 135 ° C. for 25 minutes to form an undercoat layer having a film thickness of 6.5 μm.

Subsequently, 1.5 parts of the charge-generating substance of the compound (I) of the following structural formula (manufactured by Ricoh) and the compound (I of the following structural formula
I) (manufactured by Ricoh), 1.5 parts of a charge generating substance, 1.0 part of polyvinyl butyral resin (S-REC BLS; manufactured by Sekisui Chemical), and 80.0 parts of cyclohexanone (manufactured by Kanto Chemical) were placed in a ball mill pot. After taking and using a 10mm agate ball and ball milling for 120 hours,
Further, 78.4 parts of cyclohexanone and 237.6 parts of methyl ethyl ketone were added to prepare a charge generation layer coating solution. After applying this coating solution onto the undercoat layer by spray coating,
It was dried at 0 ° C. for 20 minutes to form a charge generation layer having a thickness of 0.12 μm.

[0081]

[Chemical 1]

[0082]

[Chemical 2]

Next, a coating solution for the charge transport layer having the following composition was prepared, and the coating solution was spray-coated on the charge generation layer by spray dip coating and dried at 140 ° C. for 30 minutes to give a thickness of 2.
A 5 μm charge transport layer was formed.

7 parts of a charge transport material having the following structural formula (III) (manufactured by Ricoh)

[0085]

[Chemical 3] 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 (Kanto Chemical) 841.5 parts 3- t-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (Tokyo Kasei) 0.04 parts

This photosensitive belt was cut into a width of 367 mm. The detent guides were attached and fixed to the inner surfaces of both side edges 5 mm from the end of the photoconductor substrate while peeling the release paper, and five photoconductors were prepared for every four lots of the urethane rubber of the detent guide.

The linear velocity of the produced photosensitive member was 96 mm.
In order to keep the sensitivity characteristic of the photosensitive member constant at / sec, the temperature inside the machine was improved to 41 to 46 ° C., and the resolution of the written image was 600 dpi.
Installed in O Color 5000 (manufactured by Ricoh), 1
Lattice image formation of a cm square grid-shaped color image was performed.
The image was evaluated on the 5000th sheet. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0088]

[Table 1]

<Example 4, Comparative Example 2> Five units of Example 1 and 2 of Comparative Example 1 which had no abnormality after image formation of 5,000 sheets.
In a single image forming apparatus, the linear velocity of the photoconductor is 150 mm.
In addition, 5000 grid images of 1 cm square grid-shaped color image were formed in the same manner except that the grid image was modified to 1 / sec. 130
All of the five image forming apparatuses using the non-stop guide of urethane rubber, which had a weight loss of 0.05% when heated at ℃ for 30 minutes, were capable of forming high quality images, but the weight loss was In the image forming apparatus using the deviation prevention guide of 0.32% urethane rubber, both deviation prevention guides are separated from the photoconductor and the photoconductor falls off from the drive roller by the time 1000 images are formed. It became impossible to form.

Comparative Example 3 An image forming apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that urethane rubber (rubber hardness 92) whose weight loss by heating at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes was 0.006% was used. A formation test was performed. Of the five image forming apparatuses manufactured, four of the image forming apparatuses broke the photoconductors, and image formation was impossible. In the other one, the photoreceptor on the portion where the anti-slip guide was fixed was severely deformed, and a color shift of 0.6 mm or more occurred.

<Examples 5 and 6, Comparative Example 4> Example 1,
3. Five photoconductors were prepared according to the method for producing each photoconductor used in Comparative Example 1. An image forming apparatus was prepared in the same manner except that a heater was placed on each of the photoconductors above the image forming apparatus used in Example 1 so that the top of the photoconductors was heated to 45 to 52 ° C. An image forming test was conducted. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0092]

[Table 2]

Example 7 A photoconductor was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that urethane rubber (hardness 71) obtained by kneading 30% of carbon black was used. An image forming test was conducted in the same manner except that the photoconductor prepared in the image forming apparatus of Example 1 was used and the linear velocity of the photoconductor was set to 160 mm / sec. All of the five image forming apparatuses were capable of forming high-quality images without any abnormality.

<Embodiment 8> An image forming apparatus was manufactured in the same manner as in Embodiment 7 except that the resolution of the written image was modified to 1200 dpi. A grid image of a 1 cm square grid-shaped color image was formed on 30,000 sheets, but no color shift was felt. Furthermore, when a color animation cel image was read with a scanner and output as an image, it could be almost indiscernible without staring, but if you magnify the area around the high image density area with a magnifying glass, the part of the image that is overlaid Although there were some, it was possible to form an image with no problems in actual use.

<Example 9> Polyvinylidene fluoride (PV
DF) 100 parts of carbon black, 18 parts of carbon black, 3 parts of dispersant, and 400 parts of toluene are uniformly dispersed, and a cylindrical mold is dipped into the dispersion and gently pulled up at 10 mm / sec.
It was dried at room temperature to form a uniform PVDF film having a thickness of 75 μm. The mold on which the 75 μm film was formed was repeated, and the cylindrical mold was dipped in the solution under the above conditions, gently pulled up at 10 mm / sec, and dried at room temperature to form a PVDF belt of 150 μm. To this, polyurethane prepolymer 100
Part, curing agent (isocyanate) 3 parts, carbon black 20 parts, dispersant 3 parts, and MEK 500 parts are uniformly dispersed, and the cylindrical mold in which 150 μm PVDF is formed is immersed in the dispersion liquid and pulled up at 30 mm / sec. It was naturally dried. Repeat after drying, aiming at 15
A urethane polymer layer of 0 μm was formed. Further, for the surface layer, 100 parts by weight of a polyurethane prepolymer, 3 parts by weight of a curing agent (isocyanate), PTFE fine powder powder 50
Parts, 4 parts of a dispersant, and 500 parts of MEK were uniformly dispersed. The cylindrical mold on which the 150 μm urethane prepolymer was formed was dipped, pulled up at 30 mm / sec, and naturally dried. Repeated after drying, 5μm
The surface layer of the urethane polymer in which the above PTFE was uniformly dispersed was formed. After drying at room temperature, crosslinking was performed at 130 ° C. for 2 hours to obtain a resin layer 150 μm, an elastic layer 150 μm, and a surface layer 5.
A transfer belt having a three-layer structure of μm was obtained. An image forming apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 8 except that this elastic intermediate transfer belt was used, and the animation cel image used in Example 8 was copied. However, no image defect was found and an extremely high quality image was obtained.

[0096]

As is apparent from the detailed and specific description above, according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1, the anti-slip guide of the anti-slip guide is formed by the migration of the low-molecular component from the elastic body of the anti-slip guide to the adhesive. Since the adhesiveness does not decrease, it is possible to provide an endless belt running device capable of forming a high-quality image without causing meandering even when the image forming speed is high. Further, according to the present invention as set forth in claim 2, by using the anti-slip guide that can withstand bending of the photoconductor and the lateral force of the anti-slip guide, high-quality image formation without meandering can be achieved. It is possible to provide a possible endless belt traveling device. Further, according to the present invention as set forth in claim 3, since the adhesive is not exposed to the lateral force of the anti-stop guide, an endless belt running device capable of forming a high quality image without causing meandering is provided. can do. Further, according to the present invention described in claim 4,
We provide an endless belt running device capable of forming high-quality images with no meandering by using urethane rubber with excellent stability against temperature and humidity, abrasion resistance and ozone resistance as the elastic body of the anti-stop guide. can do. Further, according to the present invention as set forth in claims 5 and 6, the adhesiveness between the elastic body of the anti-slip guide and the pressure-sensitive adhesive is improved, migration of low-molecular components in the elastic body to the adhesive is suppressed, and the anti-slip guide is provided. It is possible to provide an endless belt running device capable of forming a high-quality image with no meandering because it is possible to prevent deterioration of the adhesiveness. Further, according to the present invention described in claim 7, it is possible to provide an endless belt photosensitive member traveling device capable of forming a high quality image. Further, according to the present invention described in claim 8, it is possible to provide an endless belt photosensitive member traveling device having high durability and capable of forming a high quality image. Further, according to the present invention described in claim 9, it is possible to provide image formation capable of high-quality image formation.
Further, according to the present invention of claim 10, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forming a high quality color image. Also,
According to the present invention described in claim 11, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus which has high transfer efficiency and is capable of forming a high-quality color image without abnormal images such as color misregistration, prints, and dust. Further, according to the present invention described in claim 12, there is an extremely excellent effect that an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image with high resolution and high quality can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an endless belt traveling device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a vicinity of a deviation prevention guide of an endless belt of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

[Simple explanation of symbols]

1 photoconductor belt 2 rotating rollers 3 rotating rollers 4 Charger 5 Laser optical device 6 rotary developing device 8 front frame 9 Body frame 10 Intermediate transfer belt 11 rotating roller 12 rotating rollers 13 Bias roller 14 Transfer roller 15 Cleaning device 15a cleaning blade 15c Waste toner recovery device 16 Cleaning device 16a cleaning blade 16b auger 17 Paper feed stand (paper feed cassette) 17a transfer paper 18 Paper feed roller 19a, 19b Transport roller pair 20a, 20b Registration roller pair 31 Process cartridge 80 Fixing device 81a, 81b Paper ejection roller pair 82 Paper output stack section L laser beam

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hideo Nakamori             1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Company Ricoh F-term (reference) 2H030 BB42 BB71                 2H035 CA02 CA05 CB06                 2H068 AA21 AA32 AA52 AA55 AA60                       BB12 BB20 BB29 CA46 FA30

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An endless belt that runs at least partly in an image forming apparatus heated to 40 ° C. or higher at a linear velocity of 80 mm / sec or more by rotation of a plurality of rollers inserted inside the endless belt. The traveling device is an endless belt in which a belt-shaped elastic body is fixed to the outer side of the roller by an adhesive layer on the inner surfaces of both side edges of the endless belt.
Weight loss of 0.01 to 0.30 due to heating for 30 minutes
%, An endless belt running device for an image forming apparatus. 2. The endless belt running device according to claim 1, wherein the rubber hardness of the elastic body is 65 to 85. 3. The endless belt running device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer for fixing the belt-shaped elastic body to the inner surface of the endless belt has a thickness of 10 to 50 μm. 4. The endless belt running device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body contains urethane resin as a main component. 5. The endless belt running device according to claim 1, further comprising a primer layer between the elastic body and the adhesive layer. 6. The endless belt running device according to claim 5, wherein the primer layer is a urethane vinyl chloride copolymer resin. 7. A photoconductor traveling device, wherein the belt used in the endless belt traveling device according to claim 1 is a photoconductor. 8. The photoconductor traveling device according to claim 7, wherein the base of the photoconductor is a nickel seamless belt. 9. An image forming apparatus using the endless belt running device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the photoconductor running device according to claims 7 and 8. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a color image can be formed. 11. A toner image of each color is formed on a photoconductor, the toner of each color is transferred to an elastic intermediate transfer belt, and the toner laminated on the elastic intermediate transfer belt is secondarily transferred to an output medium. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image is formed by the above. 12. The resolution of an image written on a photoconductor is 1
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the image forming apparatus has a surface area of 000 dpi or more.