JP5157190B2 - Endless belt and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endless belt and an image forming apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, for example, there is an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus using an endless belt as an intermediate transfer belt. This is because an endless belt (intermediate transfer belt) that rotates in contact with a transfer portion of an image carrier (for example, a photosensitive drum) on which a toner image is formed by an electrophotographic process or the like is stretched between a plurality of belt support rolls. A plurality of toner images formed on the image carrier are primarily transferred so as to overlap each other at the same position on the intermediate transfer belt, and then transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt. The toner image is secondarily transferred to a sheet at once. The multicolor toner image secondarily transferred onto the paper is then fixed by a fixing device to form a color image.

  In addition, as an image forming apparatus provided with an endless belt, there is also a so-called tandem type color image forming apparatus that uses a sheet conveying belt that carries a sheet and conveys it through a transfer portion of a plurality of image forming units. is there. This is because a plurality of image forming units are arranged side by side in order to individually form toner images of each color component, and the sheet conveying belt is placed between a plurality of belt support rolls so as to rotate in contact with the transfer portion of each image forming unit. Each toner formed in each image forming unit by being stretched and transporting the paper adsorbed and supported by the paper transport belt so as to pass through the transfer portion of each image forming unit The image is transferred onto the same sheet in order to be superimposed, and finally fixed to form a color image.

  Further, a method has been proposed in which meandering prevention guide members are provided on the inner surfaces of both side edges of the endless belt, and the guide portions are guided by grooves provided on the outer periphery of the belt support roll. Regarding the latter technique, for example, a method of adhering a reinforcing tape to which an elastomer is adhered as a guide (for example, see Patent Document 1) has been proposed. By providing such a meandering prevention guide member, meandering of the endless belt can be prevented.

In the endless belt with the meandering prevention guide member, an elastic material is used for the meandering prevention guide member.
As a technique of an endless belt provided with a meandering prevention guide member, it has been proposed to fill a gap between meandering prevention guide members with an adhesive (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-4-333457 Japanese Patent No. 3544192

  The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and has the following contents. That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide an endless belt including a meandering prevention guide member that is difficult to peel off from a belt base material, and an image forming apparatus including the endless belt.

The above problem is solved by the following means.
That is, the present invention
<1> An endless belt base material and a belt-like meandering prevention guide member are provided along at least one side edge of the belt base material, and the meandering prevention guide member includes a plurality of sheet-like elastic members. And a plurality of sheet-like reinforcing members, the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member, and the elastic member and the reinforcing member are in the thickness direction of the belt base material the Ru complex der stacked alternately, Ru endless belt der.

<2> The endless belt according to <1>, wherein the meandering prevention guide member is a composite in which two layers of the elastic member and three layers of the reinforcing member are alternately stacked in the thickness direction of the belt base material. .

<3> The reinforcing member is an endless belt according to the that contain polyimide resin <1> or <2>.
<4> The meandering preventive guide member, an endless belt according to any one of Ru seamless shape der <1> to <3>.

< 5 > An image carrier, a charging unit for charging the surface of the image carrier, a latent image forming unit for forming a latent image on the surface of the image carrier, and forming a toner image from the latent image with toner. Development means for developing the toner image, transfer means for transferring the toner image to a recording medium, fixing means for fixing the toner image to the recording medium, and the endless belt according to any one of <1> to < 4 >. When a picture image forming apparatus Ru comprising a.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, an endless belt provided with the meander prevention guide member which is hard to peel from a belt base material, and an image forming apparatus provided with this endless belt can be provided.

The endless belt of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an endless belt 10 of the present invention is a belt mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (described in detail later), which is an endless belt base 12 and an inner periphery of the belt base 12. A belt-like meandering prevention guide member 14 provided along at least one side edge of the surface or outer peripheral surface.
By being mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the belt base 12 is wound around each of a plurality of columnar or cylindrical support rolls, the details of which will be described later, and tensioned by the rotational drive of the plurality of support rolls. It is carried on a rack.

  The belt substrate 12 only needs to be configured in an annular shape, and may or may not have a seam. The material, shape, size, and the like of the belt base material are appropriately set according to the use of the endless belt 10 and the desired function, but the thickness of the belt base material 12 is usually 0.02 to 0.02. About 0.2 mm is preferable.

Examples of the material of the belt substrate 12 include polyimide resin, polyamideimide resin, polyester resin, polyurethane resin, polyamide resin, and fluorine resin. As the polyamideimide resin, Toyobo Viromax HR16NN (solid content: 18% by mass) can be suitably used.
As an example of the material of the belt base material 12, when the endless belt 10 is used as an intermediate transfer belt and a transfer conveyance belt of an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method, a polyimide resin containing a conductive agent is used. The

When the endless belt 10 is used as an intermediate transfer belt of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a conveyance belt for conveying a recording medium, the range is from 1 × 10 ⁹ Ω / □ to 1 × 10 ¹⁴ Ω / □. In order to control the surface resistivity, as necessary, as a conductive filler, a metal or alloy such as carbon black, graphite, aluminum, copper alloy, tin oxide, zinc oxide, kalim titanate, tin oxide-indium oxide or A metal oxide such as a tin oxide-antimony oxide composite oxide or a conductive polymer such as polyaniline is used alone or in combination of two or more. Among these, carbon black is preferable as the conductive filler in terms of cost. Moreover, processing aids, such as a dispersing agent and a lubricant, can be added as needed.

The surface resistivity can be measured according to JIS K6991 (1995) using a circular electrode (for example, Hiresta UPMCP-450 “UR probe” manufactured by Dia Instruments Co., Ltd.).
In detail, the circular electrode shown in FIG. 2 (Hiresta UPMCP-450 UR probe manufactured by Dia Instruments Co., Ltd .: a first voltage applying electrode A and a plate-like insulator B is provided, and the outside of the cylindrical electrode portion C is provided. Using a diameter of 16 mm, an inner diameter of the ring electrode portion D of 30 mm, and an outer diameter of 40 mm, a voltage of 100 V (100 V and 1000 V for electric field dependency) was applied and the current value after 10 seconds was obtained and calculated. Specifically, the endless belt T is sandwiched between the cylindrical electrode part C and the ring-shaped electrode part D and the plate-like insulator B in the first voltage application electrode A, and the cylindrical electrode in the first voltage application electrode A The current I (A) that flows when the voltage V (V) is applied between the part C and the ring-shaped electrode part D was measured, and the surface resistivity ρs (Ω / □) was calculated by the following equation (2). . The measurement was performed at 22 ° C. and 55% RH environment. Here, in the following formula (2), d (mm) indicates the outer diameter of the cylindrical electrode portion C. In this way, 24 points (3 in the width direction × 8 in the circumferential direction) of the belt were measured, and the average value was defined as the surface resistivity of the belt.
Formula (2) ρs = π × (D + d) / (D−d) × (V / I)

  The meandering prevention guide member 14 is provided in a band shape along at least one side edge of the inner peripheral surface or outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 12, and extends along the longitudinal direction of the elastic member and the meandering prevention guide member. It is comprised by the composite_body | complex with the reinforcement member formed.

  The meandering prevention guide member 14 configured in this way is provided along at least one side edge of the inner peripheral surface or outer peripheral surface of the belt base 12, so that the endless belt 10 is stretched by a plurality of support rolls described later. In such a case, even when the meandering prevention guide member is slightly peeled from the belt base material, the elastic member is less deformed, so that the meandering prevention guide member is difficult to peel off from the belt base material.

In the endless belt of the present invention, the reinforcing member suppresses the elongation of the elastic member, and the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member is preferably smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member.
Here, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the reinforcing member, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the elastic member, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the composite of the elastic member and the reinforcing member have the relationship of the following formula (1).
Formula (1)
αc = αm (1-vf) + αfVf
In formula (1), αc represents the thermal expansion coefficient of the composite with the reinforcing member added, αm represents the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member, αf represents the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member, and Vf represents the reinforcement in the composite. Represents the volume fraction of the member.

  The thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member and the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member increase the length of the material when the temperature is changed at a predetermined temperature (in the range of 10 ° C. to 50 ° C. in the present invention). Say percentage. For example, it can be measured by measuring deformation of the sample such as expansion and contraction when the sample is heated and cooled using a thermomechanical analyzer TMA-60H manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation.

As described above, if the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member, the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic body of the meandering prevention guide member 14 can be reduced, and the processing accuracy of the dimensions can be improved. The gap between both ends of the meandering prevention guide member 14 can be reduced.
Further, if the difference between the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member and the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member is large, the peel strength between the reinforcing member and the elastic member increases due to a change in temperature, and the reinforcing member and the elastic member In some cases, the difference between the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member and the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member is 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C. or more and 50 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C. or less. It is preferably 10 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C. or more and 30 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C. or less.
Further, for the same reason, the value (αm / αf) obtained by dividing the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic member by the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing member is preferably 2 or more and 20 or less, and preferably 5 or more and 15 or less. Is more preferable.

The material of the elastic member is preferably one having a durometer hardness (hardness in accordance with JIS K6253 (1997)) of A60 / S to A90 / S in that stress applied to the meandering prevention guide member can be preferably dispersed and absorbed. Particularly preferred are those having a durometer hardness of A70 / S to A90 / S. Specifically, polyurethane resin (40 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.), neoprene rubber (50 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.), polyurethane rubber (45 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.), silicone rubber (15 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.), polyester elastomer (30 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.), chloroprene rubber (30 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.), nitrile rubber (60 × 10) ^{-5 /} ° C.), and the like. among these, electrically insulating, moisture, solvent, ozone and heat resistance, considering the wear resistance, in particular polyurethane rubber Silicone rubber is preferably used.

  Further, the material of the reinforcing member is not particularly limited as long as it is a heat-resistant resin, and a resin material having a small thermal expansion coefficient, an inorganic material such as potassium titanate, mica, etc. can be used as the resin material. Examples thereof include polyimide resins, polyether sulfone resins, aramid resins, epoxy resins, and polyether ether ketone resins. Among these, polyimide resins are preferable in that they have a small coefficient of thermal expansion.

  On the other hand, the volume ratio of the reinforcing member in the meandering prevention guide member 14 is preferably 10% by volume to 50% by volume, more preferably 20% by volume to 50% by volume, and more preferably 25% by volume or more. More preferably, it is 45 volume% or less. When the volume ratio of the reinforcing member is 10% by volume or more and 50% by volume or less, the effect of the reinforcing member can be sufficiently exerted, the meandering prevention guide member becomes hard, and does not follow the deformation of the belt.

  The shape of the reinforcing member is not particularly limited as long as it is formed along the longitudinal direction of the meandering prevention guide member 14, and may be any shape such as a sheet shape or a linear shape. Moreover, it is preferable that the reinforcing member is continuous from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the meandering prevention guide member, regardless of whether it is a sheet shape or a line shape. Hereinafter, the shape of the reinforcing member will be described separately for a sheet shape and a linear shape.

  A meandering prevention guide member having a sheet-like reinforcing member will be described with reference to FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the meandering prevention guide member 14A having a sheet-like reinforcing member is a composite body in which elastic members 16 and sheet-like reinforcing members 18 are alternately laminated. The sheet-like reinforcing member 18 may not be continuous from one end to the other end in the short direction of the meandering prevention guide member 14A. However, like the meandering prevention guide member 14 shown in FIG. It is preferable that the member 14A is continuous from one end to the other end in the short direction. Further, the meandering prevention guide member 14A shown in FIG. 3 includes the elastic member 16 and the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 as a plurality of layers, but each of the elastic member 16 and the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 includes at least one layer. The order of the layers to be stacked is not particularly limited. The thickness and the number of layers of the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 are preferably set so that the volume ratio of the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 to the meandering prevention guide member 14 is 10% by volume or more and 50% by volume or less. .

  Further, the meandering prevention guide member 14A may be frictionally worn during traveling. However, when the material of the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 is polyimide resin, the surface of the meandering prevention guide member 14A on the side opposite to the belt base 12 is provided. By using the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 containing polyimide resin, the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 has a smaller amount of wear than the elastic member 16, so that the life is improved.

  For example, the meandering prevention guide member 14A having a sheet-like reinforcing member is produced by forming the elastic member 16 and the sheet-like reinforcing member 18 respectively, and laminating the produced elastic member 16 and the sheet-like reinforcing member 18; It can be produced by heating and pressing (preferably heating and pressing for 1 to 10 minutes under conditions of 0.2 to 10 MPa and 40 to 80 ° C.).

A meandering prevention guide member having a linear reinforcing member will be described with reference to FIG. Specifically, the meandering prevention guide member 14B having a linear reinforcing member has a cylindrical reinforcing member 20 as a linear reinforcing member in the elastic member 16, as shown in FIG. It has become. The meandering prevention guide member 14B having a linear reinforcing member shown in FIG. 4 has a cylindrical reinforcing member, but the cross-sectional shape when cut in the short direction of the reinforcing member is particularly limited. no, not good even those of cylindrical shape. The linear reinforcing member is preferably a cylindrical or columnar reinforcing member, and is preferably a cylindrical reinforcing member because it is easily deformed. Moreover, the thickness (cross-sectional area), the number, etc. of the linear reinforcing member are not particularly limited, but the volume ratio of the linear reinforcing member to the meandering prevention guide member 14 as a whole is 10 volume% or more and 50 volume% or less. It is preferable to set so that

  For example, when the elastic member 16 is a urethane resin, the meandering prevention guide member 14B having a linear reinforcing member is made of a linear reinforcing member, arranged, laminated with uncured urethane resin, and heated and pressurized. (Preferably, it is heated and pressurized for 1 to 10 minutes under the conditions of 0.2 to 10 MPa and 40 to 80 ° C.).

  The width of the meandering prevention guide member is usually preferably from 1 to 10 mm, particularly preferably from 4 to 7 mm, from the viewpoints of the meandering prevention effect and durability. Although thickness in particular is not restrict | limited, From viewpoints of a meandering prevention effect, durability, etc., 0.5-5 mm is preferable normally, and 1-2 mm is especially preferable.

  The endless belt of the present invention may be provided with an adhesive layer for bonding the belt base 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 or for bonding the reinforcing member and the elastic member when the reinforcing member is in the form of a sheet. Examples of the adhesive used for the adhesive layer include Super-XNo8008 mainly composed of acrylic modified silicone polymer manufactured by Cemedine Co., Ltd. and MOS7 mainly composed of specially modified silicon polymer manufactured by Konishi Co., Ltd. From the viewpoint of increasing the adhesive strength between the belt substrate 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14, Super-XNo8008 mainly composed of an acrylic-modified silicone polymer manufactured by Cemedine Co., Ltd. is preferably used.

As such an adhesive layer, a sheet-like adhesive having heat sensitivity (so-called heat-sensitive adhesive) is used from the viewpoint of excellent workability as well as elasticity following the deformation of the belt. It is preferable to use it.
The heat-sensitive sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive is a solid having no adhesive strength and adhesive strength at room temperature, but is composed of an adhesive that melts by heating and exhibits adhesive strength when cooled and solidified.

  Thus, by using a sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive as the adhesive layer, using a sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive as the adhesive layer, and being in the sheet shape, the meandering prevention guide member on the belt base material 12 is obtained. 14 is easy to work, the adhesion between the belt base 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 is good, the adhesion unevenness between the belt base 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 is small, and the adhesive layer is uniform. It can be formed with an appropriate thickness.

For this reason, by using a sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive as the adhesive layer, the belt substrate 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 can be bonded to each other with uniform strength over the entire contact surface. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deviation between the belt base material 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 from occurring.
Further, unlike a pressure-sensitive adhesive that adheres by simply applying pressure at room temperature, the sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive melts by heating, so that the surface of the belt base material 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 are wet and familiar. Since it can also enter into fine irregularities and solidify, the adhesive strength is higher than that of the pressure-sensitive adhesive.

This sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive has good wettability during heating of the belt base material 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 to be bonded, and also damages the belt base material 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14. It is appropriately selected from those that can exhibit adhesiveness at a low temperature.
Here, the heat-sensitive adhesive is a material that undergoes a change in state, such as from solid to liquid, from liquid to solid, etc., when adhering adherends (the belt base material 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 referred to herein). It is distinguished from an adhesive that does not require a change in state during bonding.

  Examples of such heat-sensitive adhesives include resin materials such as acrylic, polyester, silicone, natural or synthetic rubber, urethane, and synthetic resin such as vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer. Is mentioned. When a polyimide resin or a polyamide-imide resin is used as the belt base 12 and a polyurethane resin or polyurethane rubber is used as the meandering prevention guide member 14, a polyester-based adhesive is used as the heat-sensitive adhesive constituting the adhesive layer. It is preferable to use it because an endless belt with little breakage and deviation can be obtained. The reason for this is not clear, but the carbonyl group of the polyester-based adhesive interacts with the material surfaces of the belt equipment 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14, which have a large number of oxygen atoms, so that the adhesive force is increased. This is thought to be due to the increase. From the viewpoint of flexibility after bonding, it is preferable to use a polyester-based adhesive.

  A specific example of such a sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive is D3600 manufactured by Sony Chemical Co., Ltd., which is made of a polyester-based heat-sensitive sheet-shaped adhesive having a thickness of 50 μm.

  When the adhesive layer is formed using the sheet-like heat-sensitive adhesive, the temperature for heating the adhesive layer is preferably 100 ° C. or higher and 180 ° C. or lower, more preferably 120 ° C. or higher and 150 ° C. or lower. It is. When the heating temperature is less than 100 ° C., the adhesive layer may not be sufficiently melted by the heat-sensitive adhesive and the desired adhesive strength may not be obtained. When the heating temperature exceeds 180 ° C., the belt base The material 12 and the meandering prevention guide member 14 may cause problems such as deformation depending on the heating temperature.

  In addition, the thickness of the adhesive layer (that is, the length of the adhesive layer in the thickness direction of the belt base material 12) is preferably 0.01 mm to 0.5 mm, and more preferably 0.02 to 0.05 mm. When the adhesive layer sheet thickness is less than 0.01 mm, uniform adhesive strength may not be obtained. When the adhesive layer thickness exceeds 0.5 mm, meandering may occur depending on the temperature or pressure applied to the adhesive layer during heat bonding. The prevention guide member 14 may cause a positional shift.

  In the endless belt of the present invention, it is preferable that the meandering prevention guide member 14 has a seamless shape. As described above, the endless belt of the present invention includes an endless belt base 12 and a belt-like meandering prevention guide member provided along a side edge of at least one side of the inner peripheral surface or outer peripheral surface of the belt base 12. 14, a meandering prevention guide having a seamless shape can be arranged along the side edge of the endless belt, and the meandering prevention guide can be adhered to the endless belt while applying pressure. Since the guide is made of an elastic body, the meandering prevention guide is deformed by pressurization, and can be bonded to the endless belt without any gap. The seamless meander-preventing guide member 14 can be manufactured by winding a sheet-shaped material around the outer side of a cylindrical mold, performing molding, and cutting it into strips.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the endless belt 10 is wound around a plurality of columnar support rolls 22 and stretched and conveyed, the belt base 12 Generates a so-called offset force that tends to move in the rotation axis direction (center axis direction) of the support roll 22. When this shifting force is generated, a reaction force (stress) of the same strength generated against this shifting force is directly applied to the meandering prevention guide member 14. In this case, this stress is dispersed and absorbed in the meandering prevention guide member 14, and the side edge of the meandering prevention guide member 14 is in contact with the end surface of the support roll 22 in the width direction (a direction perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface), whereby an endless belt is obtained. Ten meandering can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, the support roll 22 around which the endless endless belt 10 is wound may be provided with a groove 23 for allowing the meandering prevention guide member 14 to follow (regulate). . In this case, the stress is dispersed and absorbed in the meandering prevention guide member 14, and the side edge of the meandering prevention guide member 14 is brought into contact with the wall surface of the groove 23 provided in the support roll 22, thereby causing the meandering prevention guide member. Since 14 can be directly contacted, meandering of the endless belt 10 can be prevented.

<Image forming apparatus>
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image carrier, a charging unit that charges the surface of the image carrier, a latent image forming unit that forms a latent image on the surface of the image carrier, and the latent image is formed using toner. A developing unit that forms and develops a toner image; a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a recording medium; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image onto the recording medium; and the endless belt according to the invention described above. It is characterized by that. As the image forming apparatus of the present invention, for example, a normal monocolor image forming apparatus containing only a single color toner in a developing device, or a toner image carried on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum is used as an intermediate transfer member. And a tandem type color image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image holding members each having a developing device for each color are arranged in series on an intermediate transfer member.

  A color image forming apparatus that repeats primary transfer will be described below as an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

An image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 6 forms a latent image on a photosensitive drum 101 as an image holding member, a charging device (charging unit) 110 that charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 101, and the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 101. Latent image forming means 111, intermediate transfer belt 102 as an intermediate transfer member, bias roller (transfer means) 103 as a transfer electrode, paper tray 104 for supplying paper (recording medium) as a transfer target, K (black) toner Developing device (developing means) 105, developing device (developing means) 106 using Y (yellow) toner, developing device (developing means) 107 using M (magenta) toner, developing device (developing means) 108 using C (cyan) toner , Fixing device (fixing means) 112, belt cleaner 109, peeling claw 113, support roll 121, support roll 123, and support Lumpur 124, a backup roller 122, the conductive roller 125, the electrode roller 126, cleaning blade 131, the sheet 141, the pickup roller 142, and configured to include a feed roller 143.
As the intermediate transfer belt 102, the endless belt 10 of the present invention is used.

  The intermediate transfer belt 102 is stretched across a support roll 121, a support roll 123, a backup roller 122, and a support roll 124 as a plurality of support rolls 22 (see FIG. 5) so as to be stretched. Mounted on the forming apparatus 100.

  The intermediate transfer belt 102 is stretched and conveyed as a plurality of support rolls 22 by a support roll 121, a support roll 123, a backup roller 122, and a support roll 124, thereby causing the intermediate transfer belt 102 to move in a predetermined direction (the arrow G direction in FIG. 6). It is rotated and conveyed.

  Here, when the intermediate transfer belt 102 is stretched over the support roll 121, the support roll 123, the backup roller 122, and the support roll 124, the intermediate transfer belt 102 is provided on the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 102. The meandering prevention guide member 14 includes a support roller 121, a support roller 123, a backup roller 122, and a side edge of the support roller 124 or a groove 23 provided in the support roller 121, the support roller 123, the backup roller 122, and the support roller 124. It is located so that it may contact | abut. For this reason, the intermediate transfer belt 102 is guided to the meandering prevention guide member 14 during belt running. For this reason, the intermediate transfer belt 102 does not cause a problem of meandering during the stretch conveyance.

  In the image forming apparatus 100, the photosensitive drum 101 is rotated in a predetermined direction (the direction of arrow F in FIG. 6). When the photosensitive drum 101 is rotated, the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 is uniformly charged by the charging device 110. On the photosensitive drum 101 whose surface is uniformly charged, laser light is scanned and exposed by the latent image forming unit 111, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to black image data is formed. The electrostatic latent image is visualized by the black toner supplied from the developing device 105 that performs development using the black toner, whereby a black toner image T is formed on the photosensitive drum 101. When the toner image T reaches a region (primary transfer portion) facing the conductive roller 125 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 101, an electrostatic field is applied to the toner image T from the conductive roller 125 by electrostatic force. By being attracted to the intermediate transfer belt 102, the primary transfer is performed on the intermediate transfer belt 102.

  Similarly, a second color (for example, R color) toner image, a third color (for example, G color) toner image, and a fourth color (for example, B color) toner image are sequentially formed in the same manner. Polymerization is performed at 102 to form a multiple toner image.

  The multiple toner images transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 102 reach a region (secondary transfer portion) facing the bias roller 103 by the tension transfer of the intermediate transfer belt 102. The secondary transfer unit includes a bias roller 103 disposed opposite to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 102, a backup roller 122 disposed so as to sandwich and convey the intermediate transfer belt 102 between the bias roller 103, and this An electrode roller 126 that rotates in pressure contact with the backup roller 122 is included.

  The sheets 141 are picked up one by one from the sheet bundle accommodated in the sheet tray 104 by the pickup roller 142, and are fed to a region where the intermediate transfer belt 102 and the bias roller 103 of the secondary transfer unit are opposed by the feed roller 143 at a predetermined timing. Be fed. The toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 102 is transferred to the fed paper 141 by the pressure contact conveyance by the bias roller 103 and the backup roller 122 and the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 102.

  The paper 141 onto which the toner image has been transferred is peeled from the intermediate transfer belt 102 by operating the peeling claw 113 at the retracted position until the primary transfer of the final toner image is completed, conveyed to the fixing device 112, and subjected to pressure / heating processing. The toner image is fixed to make a permanent image. The intermediate transfer belt 102 after the transfer of the multiple toner image to the paper 141 is completed for removal of residual toner by a belt cleaner 109 provided downstream of the secondary transfer unit to prepare for the next transfer. The bias roller 103 is attached so that a cleaning blade 131 made of polyurethane or the like is always in contact with it, and foreign particles such as toner particles and paper dust adhered by transfer are removed.

In the case of transfer of a single color image, the primary transferred toner image T is immediately secondarily transferred and conveyed to the fixing device. In the case of transfer of a multicolor image by superimposing a plurality of colors, the toner image of each color is transferred to the primary transfer unit. Therefore, the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 102 and the photosensitive drum 101 is synchronized so that the toner images of the respective colors do not shift so that they coincide with each other accurately. In the secondary transfer section, an output pressure (transfer voltage) having the same polarity as the polarity of the toner image is applied to the electrode roller 126 that is in pressure contact with the backup roller 122 disposed opposite to the bias roller 103 via the intermediate transfer belt 102. The toner image is transferred to the paper 141 by electrostatic repulsion.
As described above, an image can be formed.

Next, another example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is shown.
An image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 7 includes an image forming unit 201Y for forming a Y color toner image, an image forming unit 201M for forming an M color toner image, and a C color toner image. Image forming unit 201 </ b> C, image forming unit 201 </ b> BK for forming a black (BK) toner image, paper transport belt 206 that transports paper on the surface, and transports the paper to each of the image forming units 201. The apparatus includes a paper transporting roll 208, a fixing device (fixing means) 209 that fixes a toner image formed on the paper to the paper, and a cleaning device. The image forming unit 201Y for forming the Y color toner image, the image forming unit 201M for forming the M color toner image, the image forming unit 201C for forming the C color toner image, and the black color The image forming unit 201BK for forming the (BK) toner image will be collectively referred to as the image forming unit 201.
The endless belt of the present invention is used as the sheet conveying belt 206.

  The sheet conveying belt 206 is stretched across a support roll 213, a support roll 212, a support roll 210, and a support roll 211 as a plurality of support rolls 22 (see FIG. 7) so as to be stretched. It is mounted on the forming apparatus 200. Further, the sheet conveying belt 206 is provided with a belt cleaning device 214.

  The sheet conveying belt 206 is stretched and conveyed by the plurality of supporting rolls 22 (the supporting roll 213, the supporting roll 212, the supporting roll 210, and the supporting roll 211), so that a predetermined direction (the arrow H direction in FIG. 7). Is rotated and conveyed.

  Here, when the sheet conveying belt 206 is stretched over the supporting roll 213, the supporting roll 212, the supporting roll 210, and the supporting roll 211 as a plurality of supporting rolls, The meandering prevention guide member 14 provided on the inner peripheral surface side of the paper conveying belt 206 includes a support roll 213, a support roll 212, a support roll 210, and a side edge of the support roll 211 or a support roll 213, a support roll 212, and a support roll. The roll 210 and the support roll 211 are positioned so as to come into contact with the groove 23. For this reason, the sheet conveying belt 206 is guided to the meandering prevention guide member 14 during belt running. For this reason, the paper conveyance belt 206 does not cause a problem of meandering during stretch conveyance.

  For example, a metal roll having an outer diameter of 12 to 18 mm can be used as the plurality of support rolls.

  Each of the image forming unit 201Y, the image forming unit 201M, the image forming unit 201C, and the image forming unit 201BK includes a photosensitive drum 221Y that rotates at a predetermined peripheral speed in a predetermined direction (the direction of arrow I in FIG. 7), and a photosensitive member. Each of the drum 221M, the photosensitive drum 221C, and the photosensitive drum 221BK is provided.

  In the vicinity of each of the photosensitive drum 221Y, the photosensitive drum 221M, the photosensitive drum 221C, and the photosensitive drum 221BK, a charging device (charging) for charging the photosensitive drum along the rotation direction of each photosensitive drum. A charging device 202Y, a charging device 202M, a charging device 202C, and a charging device 202BK), and an exposure unit (latent image forming unit, exposure unit 203Y) for forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the photosensitive drum. , Exposure device 203M, exposure device 203C, and exposure device 203BK), a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum with toner (developing means, yellow developing device 204Y, magenta developing device 204M, cyan developing) Device 204C, black developing device 204BK), and cleaning for removing deposits such as residual toner on the photosensitive member To transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum to the blade (cleaning blade 205Y, cleaning blade 205M, cleaning blade 205C, and cleaning blade 205BK) and paper 216 conveyed between the paper conveying belt 206 and the photosensitive drum. Transfer rolls (transfer means, transfer roll 207Y, transfer roll 207M, transfer roll 207C, transfer roll 207BK) are provided in this order.

  The transfer roll 207Y, the transfer roll 207M, the transfer roll 207C, and the transfer roll 207BK are provided on the inner peripheral side of the paper conveyance belt 206, and the photosensitive drum 221Y, the photosensitive drum 221M, the photosensitive drum 221C, and the photosensitive drum. The sheet conveying belt 206 is sandwiched between each of the 221BKs.

  The image forming unit 201BK, the image forming unit 201C, the image forming unit 201M, and the image forming unit 201Y are each along the paper transport belt 206 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper transport belt 206. Although they are arranged in order in parallel, the order is not limited to this, and an appropriate order can be set according to the image forming method.

  The fixing device 209 fixes the toner image on the sheet on which each color toner image is transferred by the image forming unit 201Y, the image forming unit 201M, the image forming unit 201C, and the image forming unit 201BK. Then, the sheet is discharged outside the image forming apparatus 200.

  In the image forming apparatus 200, first, the surface of the photosensitive drum 221BK of the image forming unit 201BK is uniformly charged by the charging device 202BK, and then the light beam modulated according to the image data is scanned and exposed by the exposure device 203BK. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed. This electrostatic latent image is developed by the black developing device 204BK to form a toner image of BK toner. The toner may be one-component or two-component.

  The black toner image formed on the photoconductive drum 221BK passes through a region where the photoconductive drum 221BK and the paper transport belt 206 are opposed to each other, and at the same time, the paper 216 is electrostatically attracted to the paper transport belt 206. The sheet is conveyed to the opposite area and transferred onto the outer peripheral surface of the sheet 216 by an electric field formed by a transfer bias applied from the transfer roll 207BK.

  Next, in the image forming unit 201C, the image forming unit 201M, and the image forming unit 201Y, the same processing as that of the image forming unit 201BK is performed, so that the C, M, and Y color toners are sequentially applied to the paper 216. Images are transferred in sequence.

  The sheet 216 to which the BK, C, M, and Y toner images are transferred is conveyed to the installation position of the fixing device 209 by the conveyance of the sheet conveying belt 206, so that the toner image is transferred by the fixing device 209. After fixing, the image forming apparatus 200 is discharged to the outside.

  In the example of the image forming apparatus described above, the case where the endless belt 10 is wound and conveyed by the plurality of support rolls 22 has been described. However, according to the endless belt 10 of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. In addition, the pair of support rolls 22 may be wound around and supported by the support roll 300 and the support roll 302. In FIG. 8, transfer roll 207Y, transfer roll 207M, transfer roll 207C, and transfer roll 207BK are transfer rolls, and 221Y, 221M, 221C, and 221BK are photosensitive drums.

  According to the endless belt 10 of the present invention, as described above, when mounted on the image forming apparatus as an intermediate transfer belt or a sheet conveying belt of the image forming apparatus, the belt is wound around a plurality of support rolls 22 and stretched and conveyed. The

  When the endless belt 10 of the present invention is stretched over the plurality of support rolls and stretched, the endless belt 10 is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar support roll 22 as shown in FIG. It will be in the state bent along. The endless belt 10 of the present invention includes an endless belt base 12 and a belt-like meandering prevention guide member 14 provided along at least one side edge of the inner peripheral surface or outer peripheral surface of the belt base 12. Therefore, since the meandering prevention guide member 14 is not easily peeled off from the belt base material 12, a highly reliable image forming apparatus can be obtained.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated further in detail using an Example, this invention is not limited by the following Example.
-Endless belt containing polyimide resin-
(Preparation of polyamic acid solution (A))
N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solution of polyamic acid containing 3,3 ′, 4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (DDE) as monomer components ( In Ube Industries' Euvarnish S (solid content 18% by mass), 100 parts by mass of the solid content of the raw material capable of forming the polyimide-based resin in this solution, dry oxidized carbon black (SPECIAL BLACK4 (Degussa) (Manufactured by Co., Ltd., pH 3.0, volatile content: 14.0%) is added to 23 parts by mass, and a collision type disperser (Geanus PY manufactured by Seanas) is used to pass an orifice having a diameter of 0.1 mm at a pressure of 200 MPa. At the same time, the slurry divided into two parts is collided 5 times to disperse, and carbon black for the substrate is contained. To obtain a polyamic acid solution (A).

The polyamic acid solution (A) containing carbon black is applied to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold through a dispenser so that the thickness of the coating film becomes 0.5 mm, and the mold is rotated at 1500 rpm for 15 minutes to form a coating film. Then, while rotating the mold at 250 rpm, hot air of 60 ° C. was applied from the outside of the mold for 30 minutes, heated at 150 ° C. for 60 minutes, and cooled to room temperature (23 ° C.) to form a film. .
Thereafter, the film formed on the inner surface of the mold is peeled off, and this film is coated so as to cover the outer periphery of the metal core, and the temperature is increased to 400 ° C. at a rate of 2 ° C./min. For 30 minutes to remove the solvent and dehydrated ring-closing water remaining in the film and complete the imide conversion reaction. Then, after cooling the metal core to room temperature (23 ° C.), the polyimide film formed on the surface of the metal core is peeled off to thereby endlessly contain a polyimide resin having an outer diameter of 168 mm, a width of 368 mm, and a thickness of 0.08 mm. I got a belt. The endless belt had a surface resistivity of 1 × 10 ¹² Ω / □, a volume resistivity of 3.2 × 10 ⁹ Ωcm, and a Young's modulus of 3800 MPa.

[Preparation of polyimide sheet]
N-methyl-2pyrrolidone (NMP) solution of polyamic acid composed of 3,3 ′, 4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (DDE) (Ube Industries) Apply Euvarnish S (solid content 20% by mass) to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold so that the thickness of the coating film becomes 0.5 mm via a dispenser, and rotate the mold at 1500 rpm for 15 minutes to obtain a uniform thickness. After forming the coating film having the above, while rotating the mold at 250 rpm, hot air of 60 ° C. was applied from the outside of the mold for 30 minutes, heated at 150 ° C. for 60 minutes, and then cooled to room temperature. A film was formed.

Thereafter, the film formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical mold is peeled off, and this film is coated so as to cover the outer periphery of the metal core, and heated up to 400 ° C. at a rate of 2 ° C./min. The mixture was heated at 400 ° C. for 30 minutes to remove the solvent and dehydrated ring-closing water remaining in the film and complete the imide conversion reaction. Then, after cooling a metal core to room temperature, the polyimide film formed in the metal core surface was peeled, and the sheet-shaped base material with a thickness of 0.1 mm was obtained. The thermal expansion coefficient of the obtained PI (polyimide) sheet was 2 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.

[Polyetheretherketone sheet]
A polyether ether ketone sheet (trade name Sumilite FS-1100C, thickness 100 μm) manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. was used. The thermal expansion coefficient of the polyether ether ketone sheet was 3 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.

[Polyimide tube]
A polyimide tube manufactured by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (inner diameter 0.2 mm, thickness 0.04 mm, outer diameter 0.28 mm: trade name PIT-S-0.20) was used. The thermal expansion coefficient of the polyimide tube was 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.

[Cylindrical cylindrical wire]
A polyimide wire having an outer diameter of 0.28 mm was used as the polyimide cylindrical wire. The thermal expansion coefficient of the polyimide wire was 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.

[Elastic body sheet]
Tigers Polymer Co., Ltd. typelen TR100-70 was used. The thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic sheet was 45 × 10 ⁻⁵ / ° C.

[adhesive]
NIMDI urethane resin NIPPOLAN 2301 (manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Co., Ltd.) using a one-component type urethane adhesive manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Co., Ltd. was used.

Example 1
Using the polyimide sheet as the reinforcing member 18 and the elastic sheet as the elastic member 16, a meandering prevention guide member 14A having the same structure as that shown in FIG. The obtained meandering prevention guide member is a meandering prevention guide member having a thickness of 0.5 mm and a width of 5 mm. The elastic member 16, the reinforcing member 18, the elastic member 16, the reinforcing member 18, and the elastic member 16 are laminated in this order. It was a layer structure, and the thickness of each member was 0.1 mm.
Method for producing meandering prevention guide member Laminated in the order of the elastic sheet / the adhesive / the polyimide sheet / the adhesive / the elastic sheet / the adhesive / the polyimide sheet / the adhesive / the elastic sheet. Then, a meander-preventing guide member was obtained by heating and pressurizing at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes at a pressure of 0.294 MPa.

  Further, along the side edge on one side of the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt (belt base material) containing the polyimide resin having an outer periphery of 168 mm, a thickness of 0.08 mm, and a width of 363 mm, the produced meandering prevention guide member is Cemedine Co., Ltd. ) Adhesion using Super X8080 made, positioned 1 mm from the side edge of the belt base material, and then heated and pressed at 23 ° C for 20 minutes at a pressure of 1 MPa to produce an endless belt with a meandering prevention guide member did.

( Reference Example 2)
A meandering prevention guide member 14B having the same structure as in FIG. 4 and having 25 polyimide tubes having an outer diameter of 0.28 and a thickness of 0.04 mm in the elastic sheet having a thickness of 0.5 mm and a width of 5 mm. It was produced by the method described in the following production method.
-Manufacturing method of meandering prevention guide member When the elastic body sheet having a width of 5 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm is uncured, 25 polyimide tubes having an outer diameter of 0.28 and a thickness of 0.04 mm are arranged in parallel. An uncured elastic sheet was laminated and heated and pressed at 80 ° C. for 5 minutes at a pressure of 0.5 MPa to obtain a meandering prevention guide member. An endless belt with a meandering prevention guide member was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 for the obtained meandering prevention guide member.

(Example 3)
A seamless meander-preventing guide member having the same layer structure as in Example 1 was produced by the method described in the production method below.
A method for producing a meandering prevention guide member Example 1 was applied to a metallic mandrel having an outer diameter 1 mm smaller than the inner circumferential length of an endless belt (belt base material, outer circumference 168 mm, thickness 0.08 mm, width 363 mm) containing the polyimide resin The material of the meandering prevention guide member having the same structure as above was laminated and heated and pressed at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes at a pressure of 0.294 MPa to obtain a seamless meandering prevention guide member.
Next, the shape of the meander-preventing guide member (width 5 mm) is attached to a portion of the metallic mandrel having the same outer diameter as the inner peripheral length of the endless belt containing the polyimide resin, to which the meander-preventing guide member of the endless belt containing the polyimide resin is attached. , With a depth of 0.5 mm), and the meandering prevention guide member is affixed to the endless belt via an elastic adhesive (Cemedine Co., Ltd .; Super-X). An endless belt with a guide member was manufactured.

( Reference Example 4)
A meandering prevention guide member 14C having the structure shown in FIG. 9 was produced by the method described in the following production method. The obtained meandering prevention guide member is a meandering prevention guide member having a thickness of 0.5 mm and a width of 5 mm, the thickness of the elastic member 16 is 0.4 mm, and the thickness of the reinforcing member 18 is 0.1 mm. Met.
-Manufacturing method of meandering prevention guide member The meandering prevention guide member was obtained by laminating | stacking in the order of the said elastic body sheet / the said adhesive agent / the said polyimide sheet, and heat-pressing for 2 minutes at 100 degreeC with the pressure of 0.294 MPa. In the same manner as in Example 1, the obtained meandering prevention guide member was manufactured as an endless belt with a meandering prevention guide member in which layers were formed in the order of an elastic member and a reinforcing member from the belt base material side.

(Example 5)
An endless belt with a meandering prevention guide member was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the polyether ether ketone sheet having a thickness of 100 μm was used instead of the polyimide sheet with the same layer structure as in Example 1.

( Reference Example 6)
In Reference Example 2, as the reinforcing member in the elastic sheet having a thickness of 0.5 mm and a width of 5 mm, the 25 polyimide tubes having an outer diameter of 0.28 and a thickness of 0.04 mm were replaced with an outer diameter of 0.2 mm. A meandering prevention guide member was produced in the same manner as in Reference Example 2 except that the number of the cylindrical polyimide wires was changed to 25.
An endless belt with a meandering prevention guide member was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 for the obtained meandering prevention guide member.

(Example 7)
Using the polyimide sheet as the reinforcing member 18 and the elastic sheet as the elastic member 16, a meandering prevention guide member 14A having the same structure as that shown in FIG. The obtained meandering prevention guide member is a meandering prevention guide member having a thickness of 0.6 mm and a width of 5 mm. The elastic member 16, the reinforcing member 18, the elastic member 16, the reinforcing member 18, the elastic member 16, and the reinforcing member 18. The thickness of each member was 0.1 mm.

Method for producing meandering prevention guide member Elastic sheet / adhesive / polyimide sheet / adhesive / elastic sheet / adhesive / polyimide sheet / adhesive / elastic sheet / adhesive / The polyimide sheet was laminated in this order, and a meandering prevention guide member was obtained by heating and pressing at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes at a pressure of 0.294 MPa.・ Manufacturing method of meander prevention guide member

A meandering prevention guide member having the above-described configuration is laminated on a metallic mandrel having an outer diameter 1 mm smaller than the inner circumferential length of an endless belt (belt base material, outer circumference 168 mm, thickness 0.08 mm, width 363 mm) containing the polyimide resin. Heating and pressing at 100 ° C. for 2 minutes at a pressure of 294 MPa yielded a seamless meandering prevention guide member. An endless belt was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 using the obtained meandering prevention guide member.
Next, the shape of the meandering prevention guide member (width 5 mm) is attached to a portion where the meandering prevention guide member of the endless belt containing polyimide resin is attached to a metallic mandrel having the same outer diameter as the inner peripheral length of the endless belt containing polyimide resin. , With a depth of 0.6 mm), and the meandering prevention guide member is affixed to the groove with an elastic adhesive (cemedine Co., Ltd .; Super-X) to prevent meandering. An endless belt with a guide member was manufactured.

(Comparative Example 1)
Using an elastic body (width 5 mm, thickness 0.5 mm) of Tigers Polymer Co., Ltd. typelen TR100-70 as a meandering prevention guide member, through an adhesive having elasticity (made by Cemedine Co., Ltd .; Super-X), In the same manner as in Example 1, a meandering prevention guide member endless belt was manufactured.

Examples 1 , 3, 5 and 7, Reference Examples 2, 4 and 6, and endless belts produced in Comparative Example 1, volume ratio of reinforcing member, coefficient of thermal expansion of meandering prevention guide member (Examples 1 , 3, 5 and 7, Reference Examples 2, 4 and 6 are calculated values), and Table 1 shows the distance between the end portions in the longitudinal direction of the meandering prevention guide member (gap between the end portions). Furthermore, the following evaluation was performed. The results are shown in Table 1.

(Evaluation)
Each of the endless belts produced in Examples 1 , 3, 5 and 7, Reference Examples 2, 4 and 6, and Comparative Example 1 has a pair of identical outer diameters as support rolls 22, as shown in FIG. The endless belt is stretched by the support roll 300 and the support roll 302 with a tension of 5N, the shaft alignment is shifted by 1 mm, and the outer periphery of the endless belt is run at 100,000 revolutions at a speed of 120 mm / sec. The following evaluation criteria evaluated whether it will detach | leave from the support roll of this.
A: The endless belt does not come off until traveling 100,000 times.
○: The endless belt does not come off until running at 80,000 revolutions.
(Triangle | delta): An endless belt does not detach | leave until 50,000 rotation driving | running | working.
X: The endless belt is detached before running at 50,000 revolutions.

From Table 1, it can be seen that in Examples 1 , 3, 5, and 7, the meandering prevention guide member is not easily detached from the belt base material.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endless belt of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the measuring apparatus of surface resistance, (a) is a top view, (b) is sectional drawing. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the structure of one Embodiment of a meander prevention guide member. Is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the meandering preventive guide member in the endless belt prepared in Reference Example 2. It is a schematic diagram showing a state of the endless belt of the present invention stretched on a support roll, (A) is a cross-sectional view in the width direction of the endless belt, (B) is a cross-sectional view in the outer peripheral direction of the endless belt, C) is a view showing a state of the endless belt of the present invention stretched around a support roll having a groove. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus including an endless belt of the present invention as an intermediate transfer belt. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus including an endless belt according to the present invention as a sheet conveying belt. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the tension state different from the said FIG.6 and FIG.7 of an endless belt. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the structure of the meander prevention guide member in the endless belt produced in the reference example 4. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Endless belt 12 Belt main body 14, 14A, 14B, 14C Meander prevention guide member 16 Elastic member 18 Sheet-like reinforcement member 20 Cylindrical reinforcement member 100, 200 Image forming apparatus

Claims (5)

An endless belt base material, and a belt-like meandering prevention guide member along at least one side edge of the belt base material,
The meander-preventing guide member has a plurality of sheet-like elastic members and a plurality of sheet-like reinforcing members, the thermal expansion coefficient of the reinforcing members is smaller than the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic members, and the elasticity member and the strong member, Ru complexes der stacked alternately in the thickness direction of the belt base,
Endless belt. 2. The endless belt according to claim 1, wherein the meandering prevention guide member is a composite body in which two layers of the elastic member and three layers of the reinforcing member are alternately laminated in the thickness direction of the belt base material. The reinforcing member is an endless belt according to claim 1 or claim 2 that contain a polyimide resin. The meandering preventive guide member, an endless belt according to any one seamless shape der Ru請 Motomeko 1 to claim 3. An image carrier, charging means for charging the surface of the image carrier, latent image forming means for forming a latent image on the surface of the image carrier, and developing the latent image by forming a toner image with toner. A developing unit, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image to a recording medium, a fixing unit that fixes the toner image to the recording medium, and the endless belt according to any one of claims 1 to 4. comprising Ru images forming device.