JP5257344B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with an intermediate transfer belt that does not cause missing characters in primary transfer.

  Conventionally, there is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. In this image forming apparatus, generally, a photosensitive drum is uniformly charged and initialized, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum by optical writing, and the electrostatic latent image is converted into a toner image. Is directly or indirectly transferred onto a transfer material such as paper and fixed by a fixing device.

  In the past, corona discharge-type chargers and transfer devices were used for the above charging and transfer, but in recent years, contact-type chargers and transfer devices have increased due to the problem of deterioration of the usage environment due to ozone generation. . For example, a roller-type transfer device is often used as a contact-type transfer device.

  In the case of direct transfer, the roller type transfer device is in contact with the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum and is in contact with the back surface of the conveying belt that conveys the paper, and applies a transfer voltage to the conveying belt to transfer the toner image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum. Transfer to paper.

  In recent years, an indirect transfer type image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt has been widely put into practical use. In the indirect transfer method, first, the toner image on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum is primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer belt, and then secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to a sheet (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in the method using the intermediate transfer belt as described above, character omission often occurs when a toner image is primarily transferred from the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt. This missing character phenomenon is particularly noticeable for line images parallel to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum.

  Character omission in this line image means that when a line image parallel to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum, that is, the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt is primarily transferred, only the middle part of the line remains without being transferred, and only both sides of the line are transferred. This is a phenomenon in which an image is formed as a double line.

  This phenomenon peculiar to the transfer of the toner image during image formation is a major obstacle to the stable formation of line images. However, other defects that occur during the primary transfer include transfer dust, transfer defects, white spot-like image defects, and the like.

  In order to improve or eliminate the problem of transfer dust and transfer failure, in the configuration in which the toner is moved to the intermediate transfer member with the contact portion between the image carrier and the intermediate transfer member interposed therebetween, the image carrier is made of a conductive substrate. It is composed of an electrophotographic photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer and a surface protective layer are laminated in order, and the surface protective layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor is composed of a radiation crosslinking agent and a charge transport material and is radiation crosslinked. An image forming apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  Also, as a means to reliably prevent white spot-like image defects, a transfer roller or a transfer belt having a specific insulating layer formed on the outermost layer is used, and when a transfer belt is used, it is accumulated on the transfer belt. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus configured so as to be provided with a charge eliminating means for removing the electric charge (for example, see Patent Document 3).

JP 11-095567 A JP 2005-10682 A JP 2004-94037 A

  By the way, in the prior art of Patent Document 2 or 3, it is sure to improve transfer dust, transfer failure, white spot-like image defects, etc. Each of the techniques of Documents 2 and 3 involves special processing on the photoconductor, which involves a difficulty in manufacturing the photoconductor and has a problem of increasing the price.

  In addition, missing characters that occur in line images are caused by the pressure applied to the toner, and a method using a lubricant such as stearic acid has been devised in order to make the toner move smoothly during transfer. However, there is a problem that the problem of missing characters has not been solved yet.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus of the present invention forms a nip portion by being sandwiched between a photosensitive drum and a primary transfer portion arranged in pressure contact with or in proximity to the photosensitive drum. An intermediate transfer belt that travels and primary-transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum at the nip portion, and secondary-transfers the primary-transferred toner image onto the image forming medium being conveyed at the secondary transfer portion. an image forming apparatus having a, the intermediate transfer belt, streaks of different angles in the range direction streaks in the surface roughening of the belts surface angle 40 ° to 140 ° with respect to the running direction of the belt is more than mixed The roughness of the belt surface is “Ra = 0.08 μm or more and Rz = 0.8 μm or more”, and the linear velocity difference of the photosensitive drum with respect to the intermediate transfer belt is “ −0.0. 2 ~ 0.0 (%) ".

  In this image forming apparatus, for example, the nip pressure of the nip portion is set to 45 gf / cm 2 or less.

According to the present invention, the intermediate transfer belt has a belt surface roughness Ra = 0.08 μm or more and Rz = 0.8 μm or more, and the direction of the rough surface processing of the belt surface is an angle of 40 ° to 140 ° with respect to the belt running direction. in the range of °, the linear velocity difference with respect to the intermediate transfer belt of the photosensitive drum is - since the set to be "0.2 to 0.0"%, without using a lubricating material such as, in a simple and inexpensive way There is an effect that it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus provided with an intermediate transfer belt that prevents occurrence of defects such as missing characters and always forms a good transfer image.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of a full-color image forming apparatus (printer) according to Embodiment 1 of the invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming unit of a printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. (a), (b), (c) is a diagram for examining the cause of missing characters in primary transfer. (a) is a diagram schematically showing a mode in which significant variation in shape occurs at the edge and center of the toner image in the occurrence of missing characters, and (b) schematically illustrates the state in which missing characters occur as a result of (a). FIG. (a), (b), and (c) are states in which one surface is representatively taken out from each of the three groups of the prototype of the intermediate transfer belt according to Example 1, and the surface roughness is measured with a laser microscope. FIG. (a) is the surface of belt A (A1, A2, A3, A4), belt B (B1, B2, B3, B4), belt C (C1, C2, C3, C4) of the intermediate transfer belt according to Embodiment 1. Data obtained by measuring roughness, (b) is a chart showing an average value of the belt 3 group and evaluation of missing characters with respect to values Ra, Ry, Rz and RMS representing roughness. (a) is a figure showing the surface roughness index of the belt A, belt B, and belt C of the intermediate transfer belt according to Example 1, and (b) and (c) explain the reason why the character missing state is improved. FIG. (a) is a diagram showing a case where the surface roughness stripes of the intermediate transfer belt used in the experiment according to the second embodiment of the present invention are parallel to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and (b) is a line to the stripes. The figure which shows the measurement angle of roughness, (c) is a chart which shows the measurement result, (d) is the figure which graphed the value. (a), (b), (c), and (d) are the streak patterns in which the angles formed with respect to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt according to the second embodiment are 0 °, 90 °, 40 °, and 140 °, respectively. It is a schematic diagram specifically shown for reference. (a) is a figure which shows the range of an angle from 40 degrees to 140 degrees with respect to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt according to the second embodiment, and (b) is a line having different angles within the range of 40 degrees to 140 degrees. It is a figure which shows typically the aspect of the belt surface which has the roughness formed in mixture. FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a direct pressure primary transfer system in an intermediate transfer belt according to a third embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a shift primary transfer system. (a), (b) and (c) are diagrams showing three types of intermediate transfer belts having different surface roughnesses used in the experiment of the intermediate transfer belt according to Example 3. (a) is a chart showing measured values of three types of belts D, E, and F having different surface roughnesses Ra, Ry, Rz, and RMS of the intermediate transfer belt according to Example 3, and (b) is a primary pressure primary transfer. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing the result of evaluating the degree of missing characters in FIG. 10C, and FIG. 10C is a diagram showing the result of evaluating the degree of missing characters in primary transfer using the shift equation. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a result of actual measurement of a nip pressure between an intermediate transfer belt and a photosensitive drum in a direct pressure type and a shift type in an intermediate transfer belt according to Example 3. In the direct pressure type and the shift type of the intermediate transfer belt according to Example 3, images were formed on domestic paper (XEROX, P paper) and overseas paper (voice cascade, bond paper, 16 pounds) to form a solid. It is a figure which shows the result of evaluation of a printing part.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of a full-color image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an electrophotographic secondary transfer tandem color image forming apparatus, and includes an image forming unit 2, an intermediate transfer belt unit 3, a paper feeding unit 4, and a duplex printing conveyance unit 5. It consists of

  The image forming unit 2 has a configuration in which four image forming units 6 (6M, 6C, 6Y, and 6K) are arranged in a multistage manner from right to left in FIG.

  Of the four image forming units 6, three image forming units 6M, 6C and 6Y on the upstream side (the right side in the figure) are magenta (M), cyan (C) and yellow (subtractive three primary colors, respectively). A mono-color image is formed with the color toner of Y), and the image forming unit 6K forms a monochrome image with black (K) toner mainly used for dark portions of characters and images.

  Each of the image forming units 6 has the same configuration except for the color of the toner stored in the toner container (toner cartridge). Accordingly, the configuration of the black (K) image forming unit 6K will be described below as an example.

  The image forming unit 6 includes a photosensitive drum 7 at the bottom. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is made of, for example, an organic photoconductive material. A cleaner 8, a charging roller 9, an optical writing head 11, and a developing roller 13 of the developing device 12 are arranged around the periphery of the photosensitive drum 7.

  The developing device 12 is provided in the upper toner container as shown by M, C, Y, and K in the drawing, and is one of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) developers. (Toner) is accommodated, and a toner replenishing mechanism for the lower part is provided in the intermediate part.

  Further, the developing roller 13 is provided in the lower side of the developing device 12 in the side opening, and a toner stirring member, a toner supply roller for supplying toner to the developing roller 13, and a toner layer on the developing roller 13 are fixed. It has a doctor blade that regulates the layer thickness.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 3 is stretched between an endless intermediate transfer belt 14 that extends in a flat loop shape from substantially the left and right sides of the figure in the center of the main body device, and the intermediate transfer belt 14. A belt driving roller 15 and a driven roller 16 are provided to circulate and move the intermediate transfer belt 14 counterclockwise in the figure.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14 transfers the toner image directly onto the belt surface (primary transfer), and further transfers the toner image to a recording medium (hereinafter also referred to as paper) (secondary transfer) onto the paper. Here, the entire unit is referred to as an intermediate transfer belt unit.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 3 includes a belt position control mechanism 17 in the loop of the flat loop-shaped intermediate transfer belt 14. The belt position control mechanism 17 includes a primary transfer roller 18 made of a conductive foam sponge that presses against the lower peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 via the intermediate transfer belt 14.

  The belt position control mechanism 17 has three primary transfer rollers 18 corresponding to the three image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6Y of magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y) as vertical support shafts. Rotate to the center with the same period.

  Then, the belt position control mechanism 17 rotates and moves one primary transfer roller 18 corresponding to the black (K) image forming unit 6K at a rotational movement cycle different from the cycle of the three primary transfer rollers 18. The transfer belt 14 is moved away from the photosensitive drum 7.

  That is, the belt position control mechanism 17 determines the position of the intermediate transfer belt 14 of the intermediate transfer belt unit 3 in the full color mode (all four primary transfer rollers 18 are in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14), monochrome mode (image forming unit). Only the primary transfer roller 18 corresponding to 6K is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 14) and the all non-transfer mode (all four primary transfer rollers 18 are separated from the intermediate transfer belt 14).

  In the intermediate transfer belt unit 3, a belt cleaning unit 34 is disposed further upstream of the uppermost image forming unit 6 </ b> M in the belt moving direction on the upper surface, and the belt lower surface is substantially along the entire surface. A flat and thin waste toner collecting container 19 is detachably disposed.

  The paper feed unit 4 includes two paper feed cassettes 21 arranged in two upper and lower stages, and in the vicinity of the paper feed opening (right side in the figure) of the two paper feed cassettes 21, respectively, A feeding roller 23, a separating roller 24, and a standby conveying roller pair 25 are disposed.

  A secondary transfer roller 26 that is in pressure contact with the driven roller 16 via the intermediate transfer belt 14 is disposed in the paper conveyance direction (vertical upward direction in the drawing) of the standby conveyance roller pair 25, and a secondary transfer unit to the paper. Is forming.

  A belt-type fixing device 27 is disposed downstream (upward in the drawing) of the secondary transfer portion. Further downstream of the belt-type fixing device 27, a pair of discharge rollers 28 for discharging the fixed paper from the belt-type fixing device 27, and the discharged paper to a paper discharge tray 29 formed on the upper surface of the device. A paper discharge roller pair 31 for paper is arranged.

  The duplex printing conveyance unit 5 includes a start return path 32a that branches from the intermediate conveyance path between the carry-out roller pair 28 and the discharge roller pair 31 to the right lateral direction in the drawing, and then an intermediate return path 32b that bends downward. A terminal return path 32c that bends in the left lateral direction opposite to the above and eventually reverses the return sheet, and four return roller pairs 33a, 33b, 33c, and 33d disposed in the middle of these return paths. ing.

  The exit of the end return path 32 c communicates with a conveyance path to the pair of standby conveyance rollers 25 corresponding to the sheet feeding cassette 21 below the sheet feeding unit 4. In this example, the belt cleaning unit 34 described above is disposed on the upper surface of the intermediate transfer belt unit 3. A flat and thin waste toner collection container 20 is detachably disposed on the lower surface of the belt.

  The belt cleaning unit 34 comes into contact with the upper surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 to scrape and remove the waste toner, and stores it in a temporary storage unit of a belt cleaner unit (not shown). The inside of the dropping cylinder is conveyed to the upper part, and is sent to the waste toner collecting container 20 through the dropping cylinder.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 is not a system that directly transfers a toner image onto a sheet, but a sheet conveyed in the vertical direction to a secondary transfer unit by a standby conveyance roller pair 25 via an intermediate transfer belt 14. The toner image is transferred.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the image forming unit 6. In FIG. 2, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. Further, the optical writing head 11, the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the primary transfer roller 18 that are engaged when the image forming unit 6 is mounted on the main body apparatus are indicated by two-dot chain lines.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 6 includes a developing device 12 including a toner cartridge 47 and a developing unit 49 including an exterior frame 48, and a drum unit that is assembled with the exterior frame 48 and integrated with the developing device 12. And 50.

  The drum unit 50 incorporates the photosensitive drum 7, the cleaner 8, the charging roller 9 and the like shown in FIG. 1, and the developing unit 49 of the developing device 12 includes the supply roller 19 and the developing roller 13 shown in FIG. 1. In addition, a doctor blade 51, a stirrer 52, and the like are disposed.

  One drum unit 50 is cleaned by the cleaning blade of the cleaner 8 and uniformly initialized by the charging roller 9 on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7. Accordingly, exposure is performed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed which includes a high voltage portion of initial charging and a low voltage portion attenuated by exposure.

  The electrostatic latent image moves to a developing position formed by the facing portion between the photosensitive drum 7 and the developing roller 13 as the photosensitive drum 7 rotates counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow.

  The other developing unit 49 always stores toner supplied from the upper toner cartridge 47. The stirrer 52 stirs the toner so that it does not coagulate, and the supply roller 19 supplies the toner to the peripheral surface of the developing roller 13 while rotating in the same direction as the developing roller 13 as indicated by an arrow.

  The toner supplied to the peripheral surface of the developing roller 13 is regulated to a certain thickness by a doctor blade 51 disposed on the downstream side in the conveying direction (rotating direction) of the developing roller 13, and is rotated and conveyed to the developing position. Is done.

  The toner rotated and conveyed to the developing position is transferred to the low potential portion of the electrostatic latent image due to the potential difference between the peripheral surfaces of the developing roller 13 and the photosensitive drum 7, whereby the low potential portion of the electrostatic latent image is transferred by the toner. The image is developed and an image is developed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7.

  The toner image developed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 7 is rotationally conveyed to a transfer portion where the primary transfer roller 18 and the photoconductive drum 7 face each other via the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the intermediate transfer belt 18 performs intermediate transfer. The electrostatic latent image applied to the belt 14 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 by charges having a polarity opposite to that of the low potential portion of the electrostatic latent image.

  The cleaner 8 is initialized and charged by scraping the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 by the cleaning blade. It has the role of uniformly cleaning the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 7 before being transferred.

  The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 is conveyed to a secondary transfer unit in which the driven roller 16 and the secondary transfer roller 26 shown in FIG. 21 is transferred to a transfer material (paper) fed to the secondary transfer unit.

  The transferred toner image is fixed on the surface of the paper by the belt type fixing device 27, and the paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 29 by the carry-out roller pair 28 and the paper discharge roller pair 31. Is done.

  By the way, when a line image printed in parallel to the belt conveyance direction is primarily transferred, a defect commonly referred to as “character omission” in which only the central portion of the line image remains without being transferred. As described above, this occurs.

  FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are diagrams for examining the cause of the above-mentioned character omission. FIG. 3A schematically shows, in a side view, the state of the toner image 53 transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 14 at the facing portion between the photosensitive drum 7 and the primary transfer roller 18 during the primary transfer.

  In FIG. 3 (a), the same components as in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG. FIG. 3 (b) is a view of FIG. 3 (a) as viewed from the direction of the arrow a, and FIG. 3 (c) is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a circle b in FIG. 3 (b).

  In general, when a roller is used for primary transfer, in order to improve transferability, a transfer nip width at a portion where the photosensitive drum 7 and the primary transfer roller 18 face each other is secured to some extent, and followability to the intermediate transfer belt 14 is increased. An elastic body such as a foam or rubber is often used to provide this.

  That is, the primary transfer roller 18 does not have a drive mechanism by itself, and as shown in FIG. 3 (b), both end portions 18a and 18b of the rotating shaft are supported by a support member (not shown). As indicated by arrows c, d, and e in (b), it is only biased in the direction of the photosensitive drum 7 via the intermediate transfer belt 14.

  As a result, the primary transfer roller 18 is abutted against the intermediate transfer belt 14 sandwiched by the portion facing the photosensitive drum 7 and is driven by the intermediate transfer belt 14 that circulates in the direction of arrow b in FIG. It is configured as follows.

  In this primary transfer, as shown in FIG. 3B, a toner image 53 that is a line parallel to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 7 (the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt 14) is developed on the photosensitive drum 7. Thus, primary transfer is performed on the intermediate transfer belt 14.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), a toner image 53 forming a line image having a mountain shape at the center on the photosensitive drum 7 is sandwiched between the photosensitive drum 7 and the intermediate transfer belt 14, and As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the primary transfer roller 18 presses the photosensitive drum 7 from the intermediate transfer belt 14 side.

  This pressing force is applied to the photosensitive drum 7 from the outer side of the chevron to the central part as shown by three arrows 54 in FIG. 3 (c) with respect to the toner image 53 in which the central part forms a chevron line image. Work towards That is, the bottom of the chevron of the toner image 53 (the surface that is in close contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 7) is most strongly pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 at the center.

  As described above, when the pressure is concentrated on the central portion of the toner image 53, toner aggregation occurs due to compression inside the toner image 53, and remarkable shape variation occurs at the end portion and the central portion of the image.

  FIG. 4 (a) is a diagram schematically showing a mode in which a remarkable shape variation occurs at the end and center of the toner image, and FIG. 4 (b) is a state in which character omission occurs as a result of FIG. 4 (a). FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the central toner mass 53a where intense pressure is concentrated is released from the electrostatic force and transferred to the photosensitive drum 7 while being aggregated as shown in FIG. 4B. Only the toner mass 53 b at the end is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14. In this way, only the end portions on both sides of the line image are transferred, and a missing character image like a double line is generated.

  Conventionally, it is known that the surface property of the photosensitive drum and the surface property of the intermediate transfer belt are very similar due to the compositional characteristics of these surfaces. Therefore, the inventors of the present application have focused on changing the surface property of the intermediate transfer belt because the surface property of the photosensitive drum cannot be changed.

  Then, the relationship between the surface roughness of the intermediate transfer belt, how the pressure is applied to the toner image, and the aggregation of the toner image is examined. First, four types of intermediate transfer belts having different surface roughnesses but somewhat approximated are defined as a first group, and four types of second groups having significantly different surface roughnesses, and the surface roughness is further increased. A total of 12 types of intermediate transfer belts of 4 different types of third groups were prepared.

  FIGS. 5 (a), (b), and (c) are diagrams showing a state in which one piece is representatively taken out from each of the three groups and the surface roughness is measured with a laser microscope. .

  The first group of intermediate transfer belts having the smallest surface roughness shown in FIG. 5A is hereinafter referred to as “belt A”, and the second group of intermediate transfer belts having the next largest surface roughness is represented by the following. The third group of intermediate transfer belts having the largest surface roughness is referred to as “belt B”, and hereinafter referred to as “belt C”.

  FIG. 6A shows data obtained by measuring the surface roughness of belt A (A1, A2, A3, A4), belt B (B1, B2, B3, B4), and belt C (C1, C2, C3, C4). It is. In this measurement, a surface roughness represented by Ra, Ry, Rz, and RMS was measured using a Keyence VK8550 laser microscope. The lens magnification is x100, the unit is μm, and the measurement area is 12000 μm ^ 2.

  FIG. 6 (b) shows the measured average values of the belts A1, A2, A3 and A4 with respect to the roughness values Ra, Ry, Rz and RMS, the average values of the belt A, and the measurements of the belts B1, B2, B3 and B4. The average value is expressed as the average value of the belt B, and the measured average values of the belts C1, C2, C3, and C4 are expressed as the average value of the belt C, and evaluation of missing characters in each group is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, all of the characters in the belt A were missing, and the evaluation was “x”. Further, although letter omission occurred in belt B, the letter o was not as clear as belt A, and the evaluation was “Δ”. In the belt C, missing characters did not occur at all, and the evaluation was “◯”.

  As shown in this evaluation table, regarding the relationship between the surface property of the intermediate transfer belt and the state of missing characters, the state of missing characters can be improved by increasing the surface roughness from belt A to belt C. Proven.

  FIG. 7 (a) is a diagram showing the surface roughness index of belt A, belt B, and belt C. FIGS. 7 (b) and 7 (c) explain the reason why the character missing state is improved. FIG. In FIG. 7A, belt A, belt B, and belt C are shown in the horizontal direction, roughness indices Ry and Rz are shown on the left vertical axis, and roughness indices Ra and RMS are shown on the right vertical axis. .

  The reason for the improvement of the character missing state by the belt C is that, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), when the toner agglomerates due to the pressing between the intermediate transfer belt and the photosensitive drum, As shown in Fig. 7 (c), the irregularities on the surface of the belt enter into the toner lump and inhibit the toner agglomeration to prevent missing characters as shown in Fig. 7 (c). Conceivable.

  Here, as the surface roughness (unevenness) sufficient to inhibit toner aggregation, the belt B in which the evaluation shown in FIG. 6B was “Δ” and the belt A in which the evaluation was “◯”. When the intermediate values are obtained from the surface roughness index table shown in FIG. 7A, Ra = 0.08 μm, Ry = 1.1, Rz = 0.8 μm, and RMS = 0.11.

  Thereby, the surface roughness index that can prevent the occurrence of missing characters in the intermediate transfer belt is at least Ra = 0.08 μm or more, Ry = 1.1 or more, Rz = 0.8 μm or more, and RMS = 0.11 or more. It turns out to be desirable.

  In this way, if the surface of the intermediate transfer belt can be formed with a rough surface with a slight unevenness with a mat-like direction, particularly represented by Ra = 0.08 μm or more and Rz = 0.8 μm or more, the rough surface of the belt surface It was proved that a stable primary transfer toner image can be formed regardless of the directionality of the toner image.

  As described above, according to the intermediate transfer belt of Example 1 described above, there is an effect that character omission does not occur only by defining the belt surface roughness at least Ra = 0.08 μm and Rz = 0.8 μm. In addition, an intermediate transfer belt which is structurally versatile and inexpensive can be realized.

  As a result of experiments, the intermediate transfer belt of Example 1 can prevent occurrence of character omission and obtain a uniform primary transfer image even in a general conventional toner that can be used with a cleaning blade. It turns out.

  By the way, in general, when surface roughness is imparted to the surface of an object by post-processing, a rotating body having a specified surface roughness on the surface is applied to the surface of the workpiece at a constant pressure, and the rotating body and the workpiece are processed. Roughening is performed by moving an object in a relatively fixed direction. Accordingly, as a result, the finished surface of the workpiece has a certain roughness, but has a streak direction (streaks).

  The intermediate transfer belt is generally set so that the primary transfer is performed after a cleaning process before the primary transfer. The cleaning in this cleaning process is a very general and inexpensive method that uses the travel of the intermediate transfer belt and performs cleaning using a blade.

  Therefore, considering the use of a blade to clean the surface of the intermediate transfer belt having a streak of surface roughness, if the streak is parallel to the conveyance direction of the intermediate transfer belt, a streak is formed. The streak-like projections that are always in contact with the same location at the tip of the blade increase the partial load that the blade receives. In order to avoid an increase in the partial load received by the blade, it is considered necessary to provide a certain degree of randomness in the direction of the streak.

  FIG. 8A is a view showing a case where the surface roughness lines are parallel to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and FIG. 8B is a view showing a measurement angle of the line roughness with respect to the lines. FIG. 8 (c) is a chart showing the measurement results, and FIG. 8 (d) is a graph showing the values of FIG. 8 (c).

  In the sample piece 56 of the intermediate transfer belt shown in FIG. 8 (a), streaks 57 having surface roughness parallel to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt are formed. With respect to the sample piece 56, the line roughness was measured at 90 °, 45 °, 36.85 °, 22.55 °, and 0 °, as shown in FIG. 8 (b).

  The corresponding values of the line roughness angle and the roughness index obtained by this measurement are as shown in FIG. FIG. 8D is a graph showing the corresponding values of the line roughness angle and the roughness index. FIG. 8D shows the measurement angle (°) on the horizontal axis and the roughness (μm) on the vertical axis.

  In FIG. 8 (d), Ra, Ry, and Rz are extracted from the values in the chart shown in FIG. 8 (c), Ra is indicated by a white square “□” plot, and Ry is indicated by a white diamond “◇”. Pz is shown, and Rz is indicated by a white triangle “Δ” plot.

  Referring to FIG. 8 (d), the measurement angle of the line roughness shown in FIG. 8 (b) with respect to the stripe roughness (the surface roughness stripe 57 parallel to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt of the sample piece 56) is as follows. The fluctuation of the numerical value is large at 0 ° to less than 40 °, but when it exceeds 40 °, the numerical value is substantially constant and stable up to 90 °.

  Looking at each roughness index, the Ra indicated by the white square “□” plot is stable at a value of 0.1 μm or more, and the Ra value of the belt C of the evaluation “◯” shown in FIG. Comparable to Also, Rz indicated by the white triangle “Δ” plot is stable at a value of 0.55 μm or more, and greatly exceeds the Rz value of the belt B of the evaluation “Δ” shown in FIG. The Ry indicated by the white rhombus “◇” plot is stable at a value of 0.75 μm or more, which greatly exceeds the Ry value of the belt B of the evaluation “Δ” shown in FIG.

  From these observations, the angle formed with respect to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt is 40 ° to 90 ° (40 ° to 140 including the rotation in the minus direction) as shown above even if the directionality is not constant. It is found that a good primary transfer image can be formed without impairing the roughness component for preventing missing characters.

  In addition, if the angle of the streak is within 40 ° to 140 °, the contact point of the streak to the blade constantly moves and changes, so that the blade is not damaged and the blade is kept in a good state for a long time. Can do.

  9 (a), (b), (c), and (d) are lines having angles of 0 °, 90 °, 40 °, and 140 ° with respect to the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt indicated by the arrow f. It is a schematic diagram which shows an aspect concretely for reference. The streaks with an angle of 0 ° in FIG. 9 (a) are streaks that cause the most defective characters.

  Lines in the range from an angle of 40 ° in FIG. 9C to 140 ° in FIG. 9D are lines in which character omission does not occur. The streak at an angle of 90 ° in FIG. 9 (b) is an intermediate streak in the case of changing sequentially from FIG. 9 (c) to FIG. 9 (d).

  On the basis of this, for example, by adding messy streak (a plurality of streak with different directionality), the problem of missing characters coming from the direction due to the streak is overcome while the surface condition is closer to the normal mat shape. It is possible to realize an intermediate transfer belt.

  FIG. 10 (a) is a diagram showing a range of angles from 40 ° to 140 ° with respect to the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt indicated by the arrow f, and FIG. 10 (b) shows the range of 40 ° to 140 °. It is a figure which shows typically the aspect of the belt surface which has the roughness in which the angle | corner in the range of this is formed in mixture of several stripes from which an angle differs. Even in such a case, it is a matter of course that it effectively acts on prevention of missing characters.

  For example, the method of giving roughness to the rough surface shown in FIGS. 5 (a), 5 (b), and 5 (c), that is, a surface for forming a so-called mat-like rough surface, is troublesome. Needs technology, but for the processing of a belt surface having a roughness formed by a mixture of lines with different angles, contact with the surface of the workpiece by a rotating body with a specified surface roughness on the surface This can be realized simply by changing the line angle of the surface and applying multiple times.

  The method of roughing the surface of the workpiece with a rotating body having a specified surface roughness on the surface is a cheaper and more versatile method than the mat-like rough surface processing composed of fine irregularities.

  In general, it has been conventionally considered that the roughness of the streak is difficult to adjust between the element that causes missing characters and the element that does not occur due to the directionality. However, as in this example, the intermediate transfer belt By setting the direction of the streaks within an angle range of 40 ° to 140 ° with respect to the running direction, it is possible to obtain a good and stable image without missing characters. In addition, it is possible to provide an intermediate transfer belt having a stable cleaning property and high mass productivity.

  In the intermediate transfer belt of Example 2 described above, it is also experimentally possible to prevent occurrence of character omission in a general conventional toner that can be used with a cleaning blade, and to obtain a good uniform primary transfer image. The results are known.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the transfer roller is a system in which the transfer roller is in contact with the photosensitive drum with a constant pressure across the belt (hereinafter, this system is referred to as a direct pressure system). In the direct pressure method, the hardness of the roller and the pressure for ensuring contact with the belt determine the pressure applied to the toner. In the first and second embodiments, the pressure applied to the toner is not particularly conscious. In this way, a good method for avoiding missing characters could be secured.

  Therefore, in the third embodiment, in consideration of the image degradation that occurs during the above-described primary transfer, a method for further avoiding the image degradation with respect to the secondary transfer image is to be found. In the following experiments, two methods of the direct pressure type and the shift type were adopted as the primary transfer method.

  FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a configuration of a direct pressure primary transfer system, and FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a configuration of a shift primary transfer system. The direct pressure type configuration of FIG. 11A is as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and the nip width a is narrow and the transfer pressure b is large.

  On the other hand, the shift-type configuration shown in FIG. 11B has a wide nip width c and a small transfer pressure d. Note that the step e between the lower surface of the photosensitive drum 7 and the upper surface of the primary transfer roller 18 in FIG. 11B is a “wrapping amount” of a certain calculation formula when the transfer efficiency and the like are examined from other surfaces. It is a value that constitutes a coefficient called.

  Similarly, the positional shift (shift) amount f between the lower surface of the photosensitive drum 7 and the upper surface of the primary transfer roller 18 shown in FIG. 11B is also a coefficient in the same calculation formula. In addition, this configuration is called “shift type” because the positional relationship is shifted.

  FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C are diagrams showing three types of intermediate transfer belts having different surface roughnesses used in the experiment in this example. In addition, the same figure (a), (b), (c) is a figure which shows the state which measured the surface roughness with the laser microscope.

  Also, the arrow in FIG. 12 (b) indicates the direction of 45 degrees with respect to the surface roughness of the belt. Here, the intermediate transfer belt having the smallest surface roughness shown in FIG. 12A is hereinafter referred to as “Belt D”, and the intermediate transfer belt having the next largest surface roughness shown in FIG. The intermediate transfer belt having the largest surface roughness shown in FIG. 12C is hereinafter referred to as “belt F”.

  FIG. 13 (a) is a chart showing measured values of the above three types of belts D, E and F with respect to values Ra, Ry, Rz and RMS representing surface roughness, and FIG. 13 (b) is a primary pressure primary transfer. FIG. 13 (c) is a diagram showing the results of evaluating the degree of missing characters in primary transfer using the shift equation.

  Here, the parameter for evaluating the degree of missing characters is a difference (±%) between the peripheral surface linear velocity of the photosensitive drum and the moving speed of the intermediate transfer belt, and the range is “−0.8% to +0. .8% "was taken on the horizontal axis. The degree of missing characters was evaluated visually, and this was taken on the vertical axis.

  FIG. 13B is a graph plotting visual evaluation results for the primary transfer state by the direct pressure type under the above conditions, and FIG. 13C is a visual view for the transfer state of the primary transfer by the shift type under the above conditions. It is the graph which plotted the evaluation result.

  From the results shown in FIG. 13 (b), in the direct pressure type, in the prototype of the intermediate transfer belt shown in Example 1, the belt surface roughness (Ra = 0.08 μm or more) to prevent missing characters. (Rz = 0.8 μm or more) The degree of missing characters of the belts D and E, which does not satisfy the condition defined as (Rz = 0.8 μm or more), is the same as in Example 1 regardless of the relative linear velocity difference from the photosensitive drum. It can be seen that there is a tendency for missing characters to occur.

In this direct pressure type, only the belt F satisfying the condition that the surface roughness of the belt is “Ra = 0.08 μm or more and Rz = 0.8 μm or more” has a relative linear velocity difference from the photosensitive drum. when - "0.2 to 0.0 (%)" of, it can be seen that indicates that a no good condition of missing characters.

  On the other hand, in the shift formula, it can be seen from the results shown in FIG. 13C that there is a tendency for missing characters to occur regardless of the relative linear velocity difference between the belt D and the photosensitive drum. .

Then, in this shift, the belt E and the belt F are both relative linear speed difference between the photosensitive drum - when "0.2 to 0.0 (%)", character omission-free good It turns out that it shows that it will be in a state.

  In order to investigate the cause of the difference in the tendency of missing characters between the direct pressure type and the shift type, the nip pressure between the intermediate transfer belt and the photosensitive drum is measured for each of the direct pressure type and the shift type. It was to be.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the results of actual measurement of the nip pressure between the intermediate transfer belt and the photosensitive drum in the direct pressure type and the shift type. As shown in FIG. 14, the direct pressure nip pressure is 122 gf / cm 2 and the shift nip pressure is 43 gf / cm 2.

  From the measurement results shown in FIG. 14, it can be confirmed that the shift-type nip pressure is reduced by about one third compared to the direct-pressure nip pressure. In general, it is known that character omission can be avoided by reducing the nip pressure, but the roughness setting conditions shown in FIGS. 12 (a), (b), (c) and FIG. Considering the results shown in (b) and (c), it can be confirmed that the surface roughness requires a certain value or more.

  FIG. 15 shows images of the solid printing portion of the direct pressure type and the shift type, in which an image is formed using domestic paper (XEROX, P paper) and overseas paper (voice cascade, bond paper, 16 pounds) as the transfer material. It is a figure which shows the result of evaluation.

  As shown in FIG. 15, there is a significant difference in the transferability of the solid print image portion between the domestic paper and the overseas paper in the direct print solid print image. However, the difference in the transfer image of the solid print portion is a phenomenon that occurs in the secondary transfer.

  The cause is the transfer pressure during the primary transfer (see FIGS. 3 (a), (b), (c) and FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b)). Even when a mat-like toner image having a large area is transferred, the tendency of part of the toner layer to aggregate in the transfer nip is the same as in the case of missing characters.

  However, unlike text images, a matte image has a large difference in visual evaluation because the pressure is dispersed in the entire toner layer and the image is transferred onto the belt by being pulled over the entire toner layer. I can't.

  However, in the second transfer (secondary transfer), the adhesiveness with the intermediate transfer belt is remarkably impaired in overseas paper having poor surface properties, and transfer of the aggregated portion in the toner layer is lost. For this reason, even if domestic paper with good surface property is transferred without any problem, transfer loss occurs in overseas paper depending on the surface property of the paper.

  That is, since the belt surface roughness itself also affects the pressure, the belt surface roughness, the nip pressure during transfer, and the relative speed difference with the photosensitive drum must be matched. It can be said that a good image can be obtained only by.

  In these experiments, pulverized toner having an average particle size of 6 μm was used. In general, a pulverized toner that is not uniform in particle size and contains fine powder has a high cohesive property and is difficult to handle. By making the above settings in this toner, both characters and solid portions are stable and good regardless of the state of the paper. It was possible to form an image.

  As described above, according to Embodiments 1 to 3 of the present invention, even when a pulverized toner having a particle size of 6 μm or less is used, there is no missing characters, a stable image can be formed even on poor paper, and a good image is always obtained. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus including an intermediate transfer belt that forms the image.

  In the experiment in Example 3, the sheet type experiment was also conducted as a reference for other methods of the primary transfer method. As for the seat type, good results equivalent to or better than the shift type are obtained. However, since practical examples of the sheet type have hardly been seen in recent years, the progress of the experiment and the illustration and explanation of the results are omitted.

  The present invention can be used for an intermediate transfer belt which is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and does not cause missing characters in primary transfer.

1 Image forming device (printer)
2 Image forming unit 2,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Intermediate transfer belt unit 4 Paper feeding part 5 Duplex printing conveyance unit 6 (6M, 6C, 6Y, 6K) Image forming unit 7 (7m, 7c, 7y, 7k) Photosensitive drum 8 Cleaner 9 Charging roller 11 Optical writing Head 12 Developing device 13 Developing roller 14 Intermediate transfer belt 15 Drive roller 16 Driven roller 17 Belt position control mechanism 18 Primary transfer roller 18a, 18b Both ends of rotating shaft 19 Supply roller 20 Waste toner collection container 21 Paper feed cassette 22 Paper take-out roller 23 Feed roller 24 Rolling roller 25 Standby transport roller pair 26 Secondary transfer roller 27 Belt type fixing device 28 Transport roller pair 29 Paper discharge tray 31 Paper discharge roller pair 32a Start return path 32b Intermediate return path 32c End return path 33a, 33b 33c, 33d Return roller pair 34 Belt Cree Ring portion 47 toner cartridge 48 exterior frame 49 developing unit 50 drum 51 a doctor blade 52 agitator 53 the toner image 53a central portion of the toner mass 53b end of the toner mass 54 pressing direction arrow 55 the surface roughness 56 intermediate transfer belt sample piece

Claims (2)

It is sandwiched between a photosensitive drum and a primary transfer portion disposed in pressure contact with or adjacent to the photosensitive drum, travels to form a nip portion, and a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the nip portion. In an image forming apparatus provided with an intermediate transfer belt that is primarily transferred at a portion and secondarily transfers the primary transferred toner image onto an image forming medium that is being conveyed at a secondary transfer portion.
The intermediate transfer belt is streaks of different angles in the range direction streaks in the surface roughening of the belts surface angle 40 ° to 140 ° with respect to the running direction of the belt are formed by a plurality mixed, the The roughness of the belt surface is “Ra = 0.08 μm or more and Rz = 0.8 μm or more”.
The linear speed difference with respect to the intermediate transfer belt of the photoreceptor drum - is "from 0.2 to 0.0 (%)",
An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a nip pressure of the nip portion is set to 45 gf / cm 2 or less.