JP5839277B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  Some image forming apparatuses that form an image, such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine having these functions, form an image by applying an electrophotographic method.

  In this electrophotographic image forming apparatus, toner is applied to the electrostatic latent image formed by irradiating the surface of the photosensitive drum with laser light to form a toner image, and then the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum. Is transferred onto a sheet or the like by a developing roll, and the sheet is sent to a fixing device downstream in the transport direction to apply heat and pressure to fix the toner image on the sheet.

  In recent years, a multicolor toner image formed by a plurality of image forming units is primarily transferred from a photosensitive drum to an intermediate transfer belt, and then secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to a sheet by a developing roll to obtain a color image. A color image forming apparatus is also available.

  In addition, in the image forming apparatus, a method for controlling a transfer electric field and a method for cleaning each part for preventing the contamination of paper or the like are disclosed (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 to 3).

JP 2008-185849 A JP 2007-47474 A JP 2006-308816 A JP 2005-173630 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing the backside contamination of a recording medium caused by an image sticking out from a front end portion of the recording medium when transferring a borderless image to a transfer unit. .

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes an image holding member that holds a toner image and the image holding member in a transfer unit that transfers the toner image of the image holding member to a recording medium. A first transfer unit and a second transfer unit that are arranged in order along the conveyance direction of the recording medium in a state of facing the body, and that transfers the toner image on the image carrier to the recording medium; When transferring a borderless image, the first end of the recording medium arrives at the first transfer means disposed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the first end starts from the leading end. Control means for performing control to move the first transfer means to a position away from the recording medium before the transfer means makes one round.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the outer peripheral surface of the first transfer unit is cleaned while the first transfer unit is located away from the recording medium. It is characterized by providing a cleaning means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, the control means moves the first transfer means away from the recording medium when transferring a borderless image. Other than the above, one of the first and second transfer means performs control to transfer the toner image on the image carrier to the recording medium.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the diameter of the first transfer means is smaller than the diameter of the second transfer means. To do.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being stained on the back surface due to the image sticking out from the leading end of the recording medium when the borderless image is transferred.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to prevent the back surface of the recording medium that follows from being stained.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate a useless setup cycle.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the cleaning time of the first rotating means can be shortened.

1 is a conceptual diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a planar relationship between a toner image on an intermediate transfer belt and a sheet in the case of borderless printing. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the amount of toner left on the surface of the secondary transfer roll after the cleaning removal operation and the backside contamination of the paper. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the number of times that a toner contamination portion of the secondary transfer roll has passed the cleaning blade and the amount of toner remaining on the surface of the secondary transfer roll after the cleaning operation. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the batch transfer unit of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 during image transfer. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the batch transfer unit of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 at the time of image transfer following FIG. 5. FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of a main part of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a batch transfer unit showing a state in which the leading ends of a sheet and a toner image have entered between a backup roll and a secondary transfer roll upstream in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a batch transfer unit of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 following FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a batch transfer unit of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 following FIG. 9. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a transfer unit when applied to a direct transfer type image forming apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment as an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiment, and the repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a tandem type color copying apparatus, and includes a document reading device 10, an image forming unit 20, an intermediate transfer belt (an example of an image carrier) 30, and a batch transfer unit 40. A paper supply tray 50, a paper transport system 60, and a fixing device 70.

  The document reading device 10 is a device that reads an image of the document R on the platen 11. For example, a light source 12 that is disposed below the platen 11 and irradiates light on the image forming surface of the document R; A photoelectric conversion element 13 such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) that converts the reflected light from the surface into an electrical signal, and a plurality of paths that form a path that guides the reflected light from the image forming surface of the document R to the photoelectric conversion element 13. A mirror 14 and an imaging lens 15 that forms an image of reflected light from the image forming surface of the document R on the imaging surface of the photoelectric conversion element 13 are provided.

  The image forming unit 20 includes, for example, a transparent image forming unit 20CL that forms a transparent toner image, and four color image forming units 20Y, 20M, and 20C that form toner images for each of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. , 20K, and a toner image formed according to image information of each color is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 30. These five image forming units 20CL, 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K are arranged in the order of transparent color, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black along the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 30.

  Each of the image forming units 20 (20CL, 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K) includes a photosensitive drum 21, a charging device 22 that charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to a predetermined potential, and a charged photosensitive drum 21. An exposure device 23 that forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating a laser beam L thereon, and a developing device 24 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by the exposure device 23 to form a toner image. A primary transfer roll 25 that transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 to the intermediate transfer belt 30 in the primary transfer portion, and residual toner and paper dust are removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the toner image is transferred. And a drum cleaner 26. The electrostatic latent image is formed on the basis of image data read by the photoelectric conversion element 13 or image data taken from another storage medium.

  The primary transfer roll 25 of each image forming unit 20 is arranged so that the intermediate transfer belt 30 is sandwiched between primary transfer portions facing the photosensitive drums 21 of the image forming units 20. Then, a transfer bias voltage having a reverse polarity with respect to the charging electrode of the toner is applied to the primary transfer roll 25, whereby an electric field is formed between the photosensitive drum 21 and the primary transfer roll 25, and the photosensitive drum 21. The charged toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 30 by Coulomb force.

  The intermediate transfer belt 30 is a member for sequentially transferring (primary transfer) the toner images of the respective color components formed by the respective image forming units 20 and holding them. The intermediate transfer belt 30 is formed in an endless shape so as to be stretched over the plurality of support rolls 31 to 33 and the backup rolls 41a and 41b. The toner image formed by 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K is subjected to primary transfer.

  The support roll 31 is used as a drive roll driven by a belt drive motor (not shown), and the support roll 32 is used as a driven roll. The support roll 33 is used as a meander-restricting correction roll (steering roll: provided so as to be tiltable with one axial end as a fulcrum) in a direction substantially intersecting the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 30. A belt cleaner 36 using a bias brush 35 for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 30 after the secondary transfer is provided on the surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 30 facing the support roll 31.

  The batch transfer unit 40 is a mechanism for forming a full-color image by batch transfer (secondary transfer) toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 30 onto a sheet (an example of a recording medium) P or the like. .

  In the present embodiment, the batch transfer unit 40 includes two backup rolls 41 a and 41 b and two secondary transfer rolls (first transfer means and second transfer means) 42 a and 42 b. The paper P is arranged along the transport direction of the paper P in a state of being opposed to each other. Opposing portions of the backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b are secondary transfer portions (an example of a transfer portion).

  The backup rolls 41 a and 41 b are rotatably installed on the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 30. The secondary transfer rolls 42 a and 42 b are rotatably installed in a state facing the toner image transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt 30. Further, the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b are provided so as to be movable in a direction away from and toward the intermediate transfer belt 30 (up and down direction in FIG. 1). The backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b are arranged such that their respective rotational axis directions (directions perpendicular to the explanatory drawing of FIG. 1) are along each other.

  In transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 30, a voltage having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the backup rolls 41a and 41b, or the charging polarity of the toner is reversed to the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b. By applying a voltage, an unfixed toner image held on the intermediate transfer belt 30 is coulombed by a transfer electric field formed between the backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b facing the backup rolls 41a and 41b. It is transferred onto the paper P by force. The reason why two backup rolls 41a and 41b and two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b are provided will be described later.

  The paper supply tray 50 accommodates paper P of various sizes. The paper P in the paper supply tray 50 is pulled out by a pick-up roll 61 of the paper transport system 60 and then introduced into the batch transfer unit 40 with timing controlled by a resist roll 62 of the paper transport system 60. Then, the toner image is transferred to the fixing device 70 through the conveyance belt 63 of the sheet conveyance system 60. The paper P on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 70 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by a discharge roller (not shown).

  Next, the reason why two backup rolls 41a and 41b and two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b of the batch transfer unit 40 are provided will be described.

  As an example of a format for printing an image on a sheet, there is borderless printing in which no margin is formed on the inner periphery of the image forming surface of the sheet. FIG. 2 shows a planar relationship between an image formed by the toner T on the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the paper P in borderless printing. The arrows in FIG. 2 indicate the transport direction of the paper P.

  In this case, the image range of the toner T is formed larger than the paper P as shown by hatching and protrudes from the four circumferences of the paper P. For this reason, when the image of the toner T is transferred to the paper P in the secondary transfer portion of the batch transfer unit 40, the transfer bias is always applied to the portion where the paper P is not present at the leading end RA of the paper P. The toner T is directly transferred onto the surface of the secondary transfer roll (assuming one normal case here). When the secondary transfer roll rotates as it is, the diameter of the secondary transfer roll is smaller than the length in the conveyance direction of the paper P, so that the toner T adhering to the surface of the secondary transfer roll is rotated by the rotation of the secondary transfer roll. There is a problem that it adheres to.

As a countermeasure against this, there is a method using a cleaning member. However, since the cleaning member is formed of an elastic body and has a low cleaning ability, the toner T adhering to the surface of the secondary transfer roll is rotated to the extent that the secondary transfer roll is rotated only once. Cannot be removed to the extent that no problem occurs. FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the amount of toner T left on the surface of the secondary transfer roll after the cleaning removal operation and the backside contamination of the paper P. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 3, if the back surface stain is 1 or less, the back surface of the paper P is not contaminated. It can be seen that the remaining toner amount that is not a problem even if left on the surface of the secondary transfer roll at that time is about 0.5 g / m ² or less.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the number of times that the toner contamination portion of the secondary transfer roll has passed the cleaning blade and the amount of toner remaining on the surface of the secondary transfer roll after the cleaning operation. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the amount of toner that is considered to be no problem even if left on the surface of the secondary transfer roll is about 0.5 g / m ² or less. It can be seen that the secondary transfer roll must be rotated three or more times as indicated by the arrows in FIG. However, as described above, the diameter of the secondary transfer roll is smaller than the conveyance direction length of the paper P, and the toner stain portion of the secondary transfer roll arrives at the back surface of the paper P after one rotation. The transfer roll cannot be rotated three times. As shown in FIG. 2, the toner T protrudes from the rear end of the paper P in the transport direction. However, even if the rear end toner T adheres to the surface of the secondary transfer roll, the next toner image is intermediately transferred. Since there is time until it is fed by the belt, the secondary transfer roll is rotated three or more times and the toner T on the surface of the secondary transfer roll is removed by the cleaning member.

  Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, two backup rolls 41a and 41b and two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b of the batch transfer unit 40 are provided, and the following is performed as follows. It is trying to solve the trouble. 5 and 6 show enlarged views of the batch transfer unit 40. FIG.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, two backup rolls 41a and 41b and two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b are provided at the secondary transfer portion (nip portion) of the batch transfer unit 40. Are arranged side by side along the conveyance direction of the paper P with the intermediate transfer belt 30 facing each other.

  Here, when the leading end portion of the sheet P enters the secondary transfer portion between the backup roll 41a and the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the conveyance, the toner T protruding from the leading end portion of the sheet P is transferred to the secondary transfer roll 42a. Transfer to the surface. If the secondary transfer roll 42a makes one rotation in this state, the toner T adhering to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a adheres to the back surface of the paper P, and the back surface of the paper P becomes dirty. Although it is conceivable to control the transfer bias in order to prevent the back surface of the paper P from being smudged, there are places where the transfer is desired and what is not desired to be transferred at the leading edge of the paper P and its periphery during borderless printing. Since both of them exist and it is impossible to partially control the transfer bias according to each of them, it is impossible to prevent the back side of the paper P from being stained.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, before the secondary transfer roll 42a makes one rotation starting from the position (secondary transfer portion) where the toner T adheres to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a. The secondary transfer roll 42a is moved away from the paper P (image transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt) (downward in FIG. 6). As a result, even if the secondary transfer roll 42a makes one rotation or more, the secondary transfer roll 42a is separated from the back surface of the paper P, so that the toner T adhering to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a adheres to the back surface of the paper P. do not do. Therefore, when transferring a borderless image onto the paper P, a problem that the back surface of the paper P is stained due to the protruding image at the front end is avoided.

  In the present embodiment, the cleaning plate 43 is provided below the secondary transfer roll 42a. When the secondary transfer roll 42a is lowered, the tip corner portion of the cleaning plate 43 is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a. Are in contact. As a result, when the secondary transfer roll 42a is rotated, the toner T adhering to the surface is removed so as to be scraped off at the corner of the tip of the cleaning plate 43. Therefore, when the secondary transfer roll 42a is raised to the original secondary transfer portion and the next secondary transfer of the paper P is performed, the toner T adhered to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a during the previous secondary transfer process. Is removed, the back surface of the next sheet P is not soiled. At this time, the number of rotations of the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the conveyance is preferably 3 rotations or more for the reason described in FIG. 3 and FIG.

  Further, the rotational speed of the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the transport at the time of cleaning by the cleaning plate 43 is the same as the rotational speed of the secondary transfer roll 42a at the time of secondary transfer or the secondary transfer roll 42b downstream of the transport. Good but may be faster than them. This shortens the time for removing the toner T adhering to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a on the upstream side during the cleaning operation by the cleaning plate 43.

  For the same reason, the diameter of the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the conveyance may be smaller than the diameter of the secondary transfer roll 42b downstream of the conveyance. As a result, the number of rotations per unit time of the secondary transfer roll 42a on the upstream side of the conveyance can be increased more than the number of rotations of the secondary transfer roll 42b on the downstream side of the conveyance, so that the cleaning operation time by the cleaning plate 43 is shortened.

  Next, FIG. 7 shows a circuit block diagram of a main part of the image forming apparatus 1.

  A CPU (Central Processing Unite; an example of a control unit) controls the entire image forming process of the image forming apparatus 1 and drives the memory ME, the document reading device 10 and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b up and down. It is electrically connected to M1, M2, etc.

  When the CPU determines that the image forming process on the paper P is borderless printing based on information from the document reading device 10 or operator input information, the secondary upstream of the conveyance in the secondary transfer process as described above. The transfer roll 42a is moved away from the paper P (image transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt 30). On the other hand, in cases other than borderless printing (marginal printing), control is performed to transfer the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 30 onto the paper P by one of the two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b. In the case of bordered printing, an image may be transferred to the paper P using two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b. However, in this case, since there are two secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b, parameter control is performed. It takes time to set up the setup cycle. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, in the case of printing with borders, the setup cycle as described above becomes unnecessary by performing transfer with one secondary transfer roll which is generally performed.

  Next, an example of the image forming process of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7 to 10.

  First, when the operator sets various conditions (whether or not marginless printing or the like) of the image forming apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 and then turns on a start switch (not shown), the document set on the document table The R image is read by the document reading device 10. Then, the read signal is converted into a digital image signal by the image signal processing means and temporarily stored in the memory ME (see FIG. 7), and the stored four colors (yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan) A toner image of each color is formed based on the digital image signal of (C) and black (K)).

  That is, the image forming unit 20 is driven according to the digital image signal of each color from the image signal processing means. In each image forming unit 20, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the digital signal is formed by the exposure device 23 on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 charged by the charging device 22, and the developing device 24 forms the photosensitive drum 21. Toner is supplied to the surface and the electrostatic latent image is developed to form each color toner image. Subsequently, the toner image formed on each photosensitive drum 21 of each image forming unit 20 is applied with a primary transfer bias by a primary transfer roll 25 at a primary transfer portion where each photosensitive drum 21 and the intermediate transfer belt 30 are in contact with each other. Then, the images are sequentially transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 30.

  The color-multiplexed toner images transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 30 are conveyed to the secondary transfer unit of the batch transfer unit 40 as the intermediate transfer belt 30 rotates. On the other hand, the sheet P is conveyed to the secondary transfer portion of the batch transfer unit 40 with the timing controlled by the registration roll 62 so as to overlap the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 30. In this secondary transfer portion, a secondary transfer bias is applied to one of the backup rolls 41a and 41b or the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b, and formed between the backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b. The toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 30 is transferred to the paper P by the action of the transfer electric field.

  Here, in the present embodiment, when it is determined that the printing format is not borderless printing, the batch transfer operation is performed by one of the backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b as usual. Do. This eliminates the need for a setup cycle, thereby reducing the setting time of the image forming apparatus 1.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that borderless printing is performed, the following is performed.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the leading edge of the image of the paper P and the toner T has entered between the backup roll upstream of the conveyance and the secondary transfer roll 42a. In the case of borderless printing, the toner T image protrudes from the leading edge of the paper P as described above. For this reason, when the secondary transfer bias is applied, the toner T at the protruding portion of the front end portion of the toner T image is directly transferred to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the conveyance in the secondary transfer portion.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, the backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b are rotated so that the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the paper P are fed first, and the backup roll 41a and the secondary upstream of the conveyance upstream. The image of the toner T on the intermediate transfer belt 30 is transferred to the paper P by the transfer roll 42a. At this stage, the toner T adheres to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a.

  Here, in the present embodiment, after the image of the toner T on the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the leading edge of the paper P reach the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the conveyance, the secondary transfer starts from the leading edge. Before the roll 42a makes one round, as shown in FIG. 10, the secondary transfer roll 42a is moved to a position away from the paper P (image transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt 30). As a result, even if the secondary transfer roll 42a makes one rotation or more, the secondary transfer roll 42a is separated from the back surface of the paper P, so that the toner T adhering to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a adheres to the back surface of the paper P. do not do. Therefore, the problem that the back surface of the paper P is soiled due to the protruding image at the leading edge during borderless printing is avoided.

  Then, the toner adhered to the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a by rotating the secondary transfer roll 42a three or more times in a state where the outer peripheral portion of the secondary transfer roll 42a upstream of the conveyance is in contact with the corner of the tip of the cleaning plate 43. T is removed to clean the surface of the secondary transfer roll 42a. As a result, when the secondary transfer roll 42a is raised to the original secondary transfer portion and the subsequent secondary transfer of the paper P is performed, the toner T adhering to the secondary transfer roll 42a during the previous secondary transfer process is reduced. Since it has been removed, the back surface of the next paper P is not soiled.

  On the other hand, even after the secondary transfer roll 42a is lowered, the backup rolls 41a and 41b and the secondary transfer roll 42b are rotated so that the intermediate transfer belt 30 and the paper P are fed first, and the backup roll 41b downstream of the transport and The image of the toner T on the intermediate transfer belt 30 is transferred onto the paper P by the next transfer roll 42b. The paper P onto which the toner T image has been transferred in this manner is conveyed to the fixing device 70 through the conveying belt 63 in FIG. 1, and the toner image on the main surface of the paper P is not contaminated on the back surface of the paper P. It is fixed.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment, the embodiment disclosed in this specification is an example in all respects and is limited to the disclosed technology. Should not be considered. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed restrictively based on the description in the above-described embodiment, but should be construed according to the description of the scope of claims. All modifications are included without departing from the technical scope equivalent to the described technique and the gist of the claims.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt is applied to an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus that transfers the image to a sheet has been described. You may apply to the image forming apparatus of the direct transfer system which transfers directly. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a transfer unit when applied to a direct transfer type image forming apparatus. Two transfer rolls 25 a and 25 b are disposed in the transfer portion of the photosensitive drum 21 (an example of an image holding member) along the conveyance direction of the paper P in a state of facing the photosensitive drum 21. The operations of the transfer rolls 25a and 25b are the same as those of the secondary transfer rolls 42a and 42b described in the above embodiment. Further, the configuration of the charging roll, the exposure device, the developing device, and the like around the photosensitive drum 21 is the same as that described with reference to FIG.

  In the above description, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus that records a color image, but may be applied to an image forming apparatus that records a monochrome or monochrome image.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Original reading apparatus 20 Image forming unit 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20K Image forming unit 21 Photosensitive drum 22 Charging apparatus 23 Exposure apparatus 24 Developing apparatus 25 Primary transfer roll 25a, 25n Transfer roll 30 Intermediate transfer belt 40 Collective Transfer unit 41a, 41b Backup roll 42a, 42b Secondary transfer roll 43 Cleaning plate 50 Paper supply tray 60 Paper transport system 70 Fixing device R Document P Paper RA Tip T Toner M1, M2 Driver ME Memory

Claims (4)

An image carrier for holding a toner image;
The transfer unit that transfers the toner image of the image carrier to a recording medium is sequentially arranged along the conveyance direction of the recording medium in a state of facing the image carrier, and the toner image of the image carrier is placed on the recording medium. A first transfer means and a second transfer means for transferring;
When transferring a borderless image to the recording medium, the leading end of the recording medium starts after the leading end of the recording medium reaches the first transfer unit disposed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. Control means for performing control to move the first transfer means to a position away from the recording medium before the first transfer means makes one round;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a cleaning unit that cleans an outer peripheral surface of the first transfer unit while the first transfer unit is located away from the recording medium.   The control means moves the first transfer means away from the recording medium when transferring a borderless image; otherwise, the image holding body is one of the first and second transfer means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner image is controlled to be transferred to the recording medium.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the first transfer unit is smaller than a diameter of the second transfer unit.

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