JP7391560B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

Conventionally, electrophotographic color image forming apparatuses use an intermediate transfer method in which toner images of each color are sequentially transferred from an image forming section to an intermediate transfer member, and then the toner images are transferred all at once from the intermediate transfer member to a transfer material. A configuration using .

In such an image forming apparatus, each color image forming section has a drum-shaped photoreceptor (hereinafter referred to as a photoreceptor drum) as an image carrier. Further, as the intermediate transfer body, an intermediate transfer belt formed of an endless belt is widely used. The toner images formed on the photosensitive drums of each image forming section are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt by applying a voltage from the primary transfer power source to the primary transfer member provided facing the photosensitive drum via the intermediate transfer belt. transcribed. The toner images of each color that have been primarily transferred from the image forming section of each color to the intermediate transfer belt are transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to paper or OHP sheets by applying voltage from the secondary transfer power source to the secondary transfer member in the secondary transfer section. Secondary transfer is performed all at once onto a transfer material such as. The toner images of each color transferred to the transfer material are then fixed to the transfer material by a fixing means.

In an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus, after a toner image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to a transfer material, toner (residual toner after transfer) remains on the intermediate transfer belt. Therefore, before the toner image corresponding to the next image is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt, it is necessary to remove the transfer residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt.

As a cleaning method for removing transfer residual toner, a blade cleaning method is widely used. In the blade cleaning method, residual toner is scraped off and collected in a cleaning container by a cleaning blade, which is a contact member that is placed downstream of the secondary transfer unit in the direction of movement of the intermediate transfer belt and comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt. . As the cleaning blade, an elastic body such as urethane rubber is generally used. This cleaning blade is often arranged with the edge portion of the cleaning blade pressed against the intermediate transfer belt from a direction opposite to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt (counter direction).

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which grooves are formed along the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt to which a solid lubricant such as fluorine-containing particles is added in order to suppress wear of the cleaning blade. Disclosed.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-125187

However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, in which a cleaning blade serving as a contact member is brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt to collect the transfer residual toner, the solid lubricant is removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt by sliding against the cleaning blade. may leave. That is, depending on the amount of solid lubricant transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt, it may become difficult to suppress wear of the cleaning blade over long-term use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to suppress wear of the contact member due to long-term use in an image forming apparatus in which toner remaining on the intermediate transfer member is collected by the contact member that contacts the intermediate transfer member.

The present invention provides an image bearing member that carries a toner image, a movable intermediate transfer belt that contacts the image bearing member and to which the toner image carried on the image bearing member is primarily transferred, and a A contact member that is provided downstream of a secondary transfer section that secondarily transfers the toner image that has been primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt from the intermediate transfer belt to a transfer material with respect to the moving direction, and that comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt. In the image forming apparatus, the intermediate transfer belt collects toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt after passing through the secondary transfer section into a collection means by the abutting member, the intermediate transfer belt is configured to A surface layer to which a solid lubricant is added on the outer peripheral surface side that contacts the contact member, and a plurality of grooves are formed along the movement direction with respect to the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt that intersects the movement direction. The intermediate transfer belt has a base layer that is the thickest layer among the plurality of layers constituting the intermediate transfer belt with respect to the thickness direction of the intermediate transfer belt that intersects the moving direction and the width direction. The surface layer is formed on the surface of the base layer, the base layer is a layer added with an ion conductive agent, and the surface contour of the surface layer in a cross section perpendicular to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt. In the line, the interval between adjacent grooves among the plurality of grooves is pitch K, the length of the approximation of the contour line around pitch K is J, the amount of filling of the solid lubricant is Q, and the amount of solid lubricant is When the density is ρP, the density of the surface layer is ρA, and the circumferential length of the intermediate transfer belt in the moving direction is L mm, K is 0.020 mm or less, Q is 15 parts by weight or more, and , 30 parts by weight or less, and satisfies the following formula.
50<J×(1/K)×L×(Q/ρP)/((Q/ρP)+(100/ρA))

According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus that collects toner remaining on an intermediate transfer member by a contact member that contacts the intermediate transfer member, it is possible to suppress wear of the contact member due to long-term use.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus of Example 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a belt cleaning means in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an intermediate transfer belt in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an approximate cross-sectional shape of grooves of an intermediate transfer belt in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the measurement position of the height of the solid lubricant deposited on the tip of the cleaning blade in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the relationship between the surface area of a solid lubricant and the height of the solid lubricant deposited on a cleaning blade in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an intermediate transfer belt in Example 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an approximate cross-sectional shape of grooves of an intermediate transfer belt in Example 2. FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the relationship between the surface area of a solid lubricant and the height of the solid lubricant deposited on a cleaning blade in Example 2. FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described in the following examples should be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration and various conditions of the device to which the present invention is applied. Therefore, unless there is a specific description, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

(Example 1)
[Configuration of image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment. Note that the image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment is a so-called tandem type image forming apparatus that is provided with a plurality of image forming sections a to d. The first image forming section a is yellow (Y), the second image forming section b is magenta (M), the third image forming section c is cyan (C), and the fourth image forming section d is black (Bk). ) to form an image using toner of each color. These four image forming sections are arranged in a line at regular intervals, and most of the configurations of each image forming section are substantially the same except for the color of the toner contained therein. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described below using the first image forming section a.

The photosensitive drum 1a, which serves as an image carrier, is formed by laminating multiple layers of functional organic materials, including a carrier generation layer that generates charges upon exposure to light on a metal cylinder, and a charge transport layer that transports the generated charges. , the outermost layer has low electrical conductivity and is almost insulating. The photosensitive drum 1a receives a driving force from a driving source (not shown) and rotates at a predetermined circumferential speed in the direction of an arrow R1 shown in the drawing.

A charging roller 2a serving as a charging member contacts the photosensitive drum 1a, and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1a while rotating as the photosensitive drum 1a rotates in the direction of arrow R1 in the figure. The charging roller 2a charges the photosensitive drum 1a by electric discharge generated in minute air gaps upstream and downstream of the charging section where the charging roller 2a and the photosensitive drum 1a contact each other by applying a DC voltage from the charging power source 20a. .

The developing means 8a includes a developing roller 4a as a developing member and a developer applying blade 7a, and contains yellow toner. The developing roller 4a is connected to a developing power source 21a. Further, the cleaning means 3a includes a cleaning blade that contacts the photosensitive drum 1a, and a waste toner box that stores toner and the like removed from the photosensitive drum 1a by the cleaning blade, and collects the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1a. do. The exposure means 11a is comprised of a scanner unit that scans laser light with a polygon mirror, and irradiates the photosensitive drum 1a with a scanning beam 12a modulated based on an image signal. Note that the photosensitive drum 1a, the charging roller 2a, the cleaning means 3a, and the developing means 8a are configured as an integrated process cartridge 9a that is detachable from the image forming apparatus 100.

The intermediate transfer belt 13 is stretched by three rollers: a secondary transfer opposing roller 15 (hereinafter referred to as opposing roller 15), a tension roller 14, and an auxiliary roller 19 as tension members. The tension roller 14 is biased by a spring (not shown) so that an appropriate tension force is maintained on the intermediate transfer belt 13. The opposing roller 15 rotates in the direction of the arrow R2 in the drawing in response to a driving force from a drive source (not shown), and the intermediate transfer belt 13 moves in the direction of the arrow AA in the drawing as the opposing roller 15 rotates. Note that the intermediate transfer belt 13 is movable in the forward direction at substantially the same speed as the photosensitive drums 1a to 1d.

The auxiliary roller 19, the tension roller 14, and the opposing roller 15 are electrically grounded. The opposing roller 15 is a roller with an outer diameter of 24.0 mm formed by covering an aluminum core with EPDM rubber having a wall thickness of 0.5 mm, and has an electrical resistance value of approximately 1×10 ⁵ Ω. As can be seen, carbon is dispersed in EPDM rubber as a conductive agent.

The primary transfer roller 10a is provided at a position facing the photosensitive drum 1a via the intermediate transfer belt 13, contacts the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13, and rotates as the intermediate transfer belt 13 moves. . Further, the primary transfer roller 10a is connected to a primary transfer power source 22a. In this embodiment, the primary transfer rollers 10a to 10d are constructed by covering a core of a nickel-plated steel rod with an outer diameter of 5 mm with an elastic layer made of a foamed elastic material to have an outer diameter of 14 mm. The electrical resistance value was adjusted to approximately 1×10 ⁶ Ω. The electrical resistance of the primary transfer roller 10 is preferably in the range of 10 ³ to 10 ⁷ Ω from the viewpoint of forming good images.

The secondary transfer roller 25 is provided at a position facing the opposing roller 15 with the intermediate transfer belt 13 interposed therebetween, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 . Further, the secondary transfer roller 25 is connected to a secondary transfer power source 26. In this embodiment, the secondary transfer roller 25 is constructed by covering a core of a nickel-plated steel rod with an outer diameter of 6 mm with an elastic layer made of a foamed elastic material to have an outer diameter of 18 mm. The electrical resistance was adjusted to approximately 1×10 ⁸ Ω. The electrical resistance of the secondary transfer roller 25 is preferably in the range of 10 ⁷ to 10 ⁹ Ω from the viewpoint of forming good images.

[Image forming operation]
Next, the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 100 of the present invention will be explained. An image forming operation is started when a control means (not shown) such as a controller receives an image signal, and the photosensitive drums 1a to 1d, opposing roller 15, etc. are maintained at a predetermined circumferential speed by a driving force from a driving source (not shown). Start rotating at (process speed). In this example, the process speed is 200 mm/s.

The photosensitive drum 1a is uniformly charged by a charging roller 2a to which a voltage having the same polarity as the normal charging polarity (negative polarity in this embodiment) of the toner is applied from a charging power source 20a. Thereafter, an electrostatic latent image is formed according to the image information by being irradiated with a scanning beam 12a from the exposure means 11a. The toner contained in the developing unit 8a is negatively charged by the developer applying blade 7a and applied to the developing roller 4a. Then, by applying a predetermined voltage to the developing roller 4a from the developing power supply 21a, the electrostatic latent image is developed with toner in the developing section where the developing roller 4a and the photosensitive drum 1a come into contact, and a yellow image component is applied to the photosensitive drum 1a. A toner image corresponding to the image is formed.

Thereafter, the yellow toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 1a reaches the primary transfer portion N1a where the photosensitive drum 1a and the intermediate transfer belt 13 are in contact with each other as the photosensitive drum 1a rotates. Then, by applying a positive voltage from the primary transfer power source 22a to the primary transfer roller 10a, the yellow toner image is transferred from the photosensitive drum 1a to the intermediate transfer belt 13 in the primary transfer portion N1a.

Thereafter, in the same manner, a second color magenta toner image, a third color cyan toner image, and a fourth color black toner image are formed by the second, third, and fourth image forming units b, c, and d. The images are primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 13 in an overlapping manner. As a result, toner images of four colors corresponding to the target color image are formed on the intermediate transfer belt 13. Thereafter, the four-color toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 13 is transferred to paper, OHP sheet, etc. in the process of passing through the secondary transfer portion N2 formed by the contact between the secondary transfer roller 25 and the intermediate transfer belt 13. The images are secondarily transferred all at once onto the surface of the transfer material P. At this time, by applying a positive voltage from the secondary transfer power supply 26 to the secondary transfer roller 25, the toner image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 13 to the transfer material P at the secondary transfer portion N2.

The transfer material P is stored in a paper feed cassette 16, and is fed from the paper feed cassette 16 to a conveyance roller 18 by a paper feed roller 17, and then conveyed by the conveyance roller 18 toward a secondary transfer section N2. be done. Then, the transfer material P to which the four-color toner images have been transferred in the secondary transfer portion N2 is heated and pressurized by the fixing means 50, whereby the four-color toners are melted and mixed and fixed onto the transfer material P. Ru. Thereafter, the transfer material P is discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 and stacked on a paper discharge tray 52 serving as a stacking section.

Transfer residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 13 after the secondary transfer is removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 via the intermediate transfer belt 13 by a belt cleaning means 30 (recovery means) provided opposite to the opposing roller 15. removed. As will be described in detail later, the belt cleaning means 30 includes a cleaning blade 31 (contact member) that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 at a position facing the opposing roller 15.

In the image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment, a full-color print image is formed by the above operations.

Note that the image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment is provided with a control board (not shown) on which an electric circuit for controlling the operation of each part of the image forming apparatus is mounted. The control board is equipped with a CPU (not shown) as a control means, a memory (not shown) as a storage means in which various control information is stored, and the like. The CPU executes control related to conveyance of the transfer material P, control related to driving the intermediate transfer belt 13 and process cartridge 9, control related to image formation, and control related to failure detection.

[Belt cleaning means]
Next, the configuration of the belt cleaning means 30 will be explained. FIG. 2(a) is a virtual cross-sectional view illustrating the attachment position of the cleaning blade 31 when the cleaning blade 31, which will be described later, is not elastically deformed, and FIG. 2(b) illustrates the configuration of the belt cleaning means 30. FIG.

The belt cleaning means 30 includes a cleaning container 32 and a cleaning action section 33 provided within the cleaning container 32. The cleaning container 32 is configured as a part of the frame of an intermediate transfer unit (not shown) that includes the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the like. The cleaning action section 33 includes a cleaning blade 31 as a cleaning member (abutting member) and a support member 34 that supports the cleaning blade 31. The cleaning blade 31 is an elastic blade made of urethane rubber (polyurethane), which is an elastic material, and is supported while being bonded to a support member 34 formed of a plated steel plate. Further, the cleaning blade 31 is provided downstream of the secondary transfer portion N2 with respect to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13.

The cleaning blade 31 is a long plate-like member in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13 (the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 31), which intersects the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13 (hereinafter referred to as the belt conveyance direction). In addition, in the width direction, the cleaning blade 31 has a free end 31 a in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 13 , and a fixed end 31 b in contact with the support member 34 . Fixed state. The length in the longitudinal direction of this cleaning blade 31 is 230 mm, the thickness is 2 mm, and the hardness of the cleaning blade 31 is 77 degrees according to the JIS K 6253 standard.

The cleaning action section 33 is configured to be swingable relative to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13. That is, the support member 34 is supported so as to be swingable relative to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 via a swing shaft 35 fixed to the cleaning container 32 . By pressurizing the support member 34 by a pressure spring 36 as a biasing means provided in the cleaning container 32, the cleaning action section 33 moves around the swing shaft 35, and the cleaning blade 31 moves toward the intermediate transfer belt. 13 is urged (pressed).

A facing roller 15 is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 13 so as to face the cleaning blade 31 . The cleaning blade 31 is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 at a position facing the opposing roller 15 in a counter direction with respect to the belt conveyance direction. That is, the cleaning blade 31 is brought into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 so that the free end side end 31a in the width direction thereof faces upstream in the belt conveyance direction. As a result, a blade nip portion 37 (contact portion) is formed between the cleaning blade 31 and the intermediate transfer belt 13, as shown in FIG. 2(b). The cleaning blade 31 scrapes off the transfer residual toner from the surface of the moving intermediate transfer belt 13 at the blade nip portion 37 and collects it in the cleaning container 32 .

In this embodiment, the mounting position of the cleaning blade 31 is set as follows. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the set angle θ is 22°, the penetration amount δ is 1.3 mm, and the contact pressure is 0.6 N/cm. Here, the set angle θ is defined by the tangent of the opposing roller 15 at the intersection of the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the cleaning blade 31 (more specifically, the end surface on the free end side thereof) and the cleaning blade 31 (more specifically, the thickness thereof). This is the angle formed by one surface (which is substantially orthogonal to the direction). Further, the penetration amount δ is the length in the thickness direction where the cleaning blade 31 overlaps the opposing roller 15. In addition, the contact pressure is defined as the pressing force (linear pressure in the longitudinal direction) from the cleaning blade 31 at the blade nip portion 37, and is measured using a film-type pressing force measurement system (product name: PINCH, manufactured by Nitta Corporation). be done. By setting in this way, it is possible to suppress the curling and slipping noise of the cleaning blade 31 in a high temperature and high humidity environment, and it is possible to obtain good cleaning performance. Moreover, by setting in this way, it is possible to suppress cleaning failures in a low temperature and low humidity environment, and to obtain good cleaning performance.

Further, urethane rubber and synthetic resin generally have a large frictional resistance due to sliding, and the cleaning blade 31 is likely to curl up in the initial stage. Therefore, an initial lubricant such as fluorinated graphite can be applied to the free end side end 31a of the cleaning blade 31 in advance.

Although the rubber hardness of the cleaning blade 31 is appropriately selected depending on the material of the intermediate transfer belt 13, etc., it is preferable that the rubber hardness of the cleaning blade 31 is in the range of 70 degrees or more and 80 degrees or less according to the JIS K 6253 standard. If the rubber hardness is lower than the above range, the amount of wear due to use may increase and the durability may be reduced. If the rubber hardness is higher than the above range, the elastic force may decrease and chipping may occur due to friction with the intermediate transfer belt 13. etc. may occur. The contact pressure of the cleaning blade 31 is preferably in the range of 0.4 N/cm or more and 0.8 N/cm or less, although it is appropriately selected depending on the material of the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the like. If the contact pressure is smaller than the above range, good cleaning performance may not be obtained, and if it is larger than the above range, the load for rotationally driving the intermediate transfer belt 13 may become too large.

[Intermediate transfer belt]
Next, the structure of the intermediate transfer belt 13 in this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 3(a) is a schematic enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the intermediate transfer belt 13 taken in a direction substantially perpendicular to the belt conveying direction (viewed along the belt conveying direction), and FIG. 3(b) is a The surface layer 40 of the intermediate transfer belt 13, which will be described later, is shown in more detail in a similar cross section.

The intermediate transfer belt 13 is an endless belt member (or film-like member) consisting of two layers, a base layer 41 and a surface layer 40, and the circumferential length of the intermediate transfer belt 13 is 790 mm. Here, the base layer is defined as the thickest layer among the layers constituting the intermediate transfer belt 13 in the thickness direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13. In this embodiment, the base layer 41 is a 70 μm thick layer made of polyethylene naphthalate resin in which quaternary ammonium salt, which is an ion conductive agent, is dispersed as an electrical resistance adjuster. The surface layer 40 is formed on the outer circumferential surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 13, and includes an acrylic resin as a base material 42, antimony-doped zinc oxide dispersed therein as an electrical resistance adjuster 43, and a polytetrafluoride resin as a solid lubricant 44. This is a layer to which fluoroethylene (PTFE) particles are added. In this example, the thickness of the surface layer 40 was set to 3 μm.

The volume resistivity of the intermediate transfer belt 13 in this example was 1×10 ¹⁰ Ω・under a measurement environment of 23° C. and 50% relative humidity using Hiresta UP MCP-HT450 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation). cm. Note that the volume resistivity of the intermediate transfer belt 13 is preferably in the range of 10 ⁹ to 10 ¹² Ω·cm in order to form a good image.

Moreover, the materials of the base layer 41 and the surface layer 40 are not limited to those mentioned above, and other materials may be used. For example, the base layer 41 may be made of polycarbonate, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyethylene, polypropylene, polymethylpentene-1, polystyrene, polyamide, polysulfone, polyarylate, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, or polyethylene naphthalate other than polyethylene naphthalate resin. , polyphenylene sulfide, polyether sulfone, polyether nitrile, thermoplastic polyimide, polyether ether ketone, thermotropic liquid crystal polymer, polyamic acid, and other thermoplastic resins. Two or more of these can also be used in combination.

Regarding the surface layer 40, in addition to acrylic resin, examples of organic materials include curable resins such as melamine resin, urethane resin, alkyd resin, and fluorine-based curable resin (fluorine-containing curable resin). Examples of inorganic materials include alkoxysilane/alkoxyzirconium materials, silicate materials, and the like. Examples of the organic/inorganic hybrid material include organic polymer-based materials with inorganic fine particles dispersed therein, organoalkoxysilane-based materials with inorganic fine particles dispersed therein, acrylic silicon-based materials, organoalkoxysilane-based materials, and the like.

From the viewpoint of strength such as abrasion resistance and crack resistance of the surface layer 40 of the intermediate transfer belt 13, resin materials (curable resins) are preferable among curable materials, and among curable resins, acrylic materials containing unsaturated double bonds are preferable. Acrylic resins obtained by curing copolymers are preferred. In this embodiment, the surface layer 40 of the intermediate transfer belt 13 is formed by coating the surface of the base layer 41 with a liquid containing an ultraviolet curable monomer and/or oligomer component, and irradiating this with energy rays such as ultraviolet rays. It was obtained by curing.

Examples of the electronically conductive material include particulate, fibrous, or flake carbon-based conductive fillers such as carbon black, PAN-based carbon fiber, and pulverized expanded graphite. Further, examples thereof include particulate, fibrous, or flake metallic conductive fillers such as silver, nickel, copper, zinc, aluminum, stainless steel, and iron. Further, examples thereof include particulate metal oxide conductive fillers such as zinc antimonate, antimony-doped tin oxide, antimony-doped zinc oxide, tin-doped indium oxide, and aluminum-doped zinc oxide. Examples of the ionically conductive material include ionic liquids, conductive oligomers, and quaternary ammonium salts. One or more of these conductive materials may be selected as appropriate, and a mixture of electronically conductive materials and ionically conductive materials may be used.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), in this embodiment, the surface layer 40 is subjected to surface treatment in order to suppress wear of the cleaning blade 31, and A groove (groove shape, groove portion) 45 is formed along.

In a configuration in which transfer residual toner is cleaned by bringing a contact member such as a cleaning blade 31 into contact with an intermediate transfer belt whose surface material has a solid lubricant added thereto, the solid lubricant on the surface is scraped off by the cleaning blade 31. It tends to accumulate in the blade nip. In the intermediate transfer belt 13 in which grooves are formed on the surface layer 40 as in this embodiment, the surface area of the intermediate transfer belt 13 increases, and the exposed area of the solid lubricant 44 (PTFE in this embodiment) increases. This tendency is remarkable. When the amount of solid lubricant 44 deposited on blade nip portion 37 is small, part of the deposited solid lubricant 44 is peeled off from blade nip portion 37, and the contact area between cleaning blade 31 and intermediate transfer belt 13 increases. To go. As a result, there is a risk that the cleaning blade 31 will wear out with long-term use.

Therefore, in the present invention, in a structure in which a solid lubricant 44 is added to the surface layer 40 of the intermediate transfer belt 13, a groove shape is formed in the surface layer 40 of the intermediate transfer belt 13 so as to suppress the wear of the cleaning blade 31 with long-term use. It is characterized by giving.

The average particle size of the toner was measured using Coulter Multisizer II (manufactured by Coulter Inc.). Data analysis was performed by connecting Coulter Multisizer II with an interface (manufactured by Nikkaki) that outputs the number distribution and volume distribution and a personal computer. As the electrolytic solution used in the measurement, a 1% NaCl aqueous solution prepared using primary sodium chloride was used. As such an electrolytic solution, for example, ISOTON R-II (manufactured by Coulter Scientific Japan) can be used. The measurement method is as follows. To 100 to 150 ml of the above electrolytic solution, 0.1 to 5 ml of a surfactant, preferably an alkylbenzene sulfonate, was added as a dispersant, and 2 to 20 mg of a measurement sample was added. The electrolytic solution to which the sample has been added is dispersed for about 1 to 3 minutes using an ultrasonic disperser, and the volume and number of toner particles with a particle size of 1 μm or more are measured using the above-mentioned Coulter Multisizer using a 100 μm aperture. The volume distribution and number distribution were calculated. Using these values, the weight-based weight average particle diameter was determined, and this value was taken as the average particle diameter of the toner. In this example, the average particle size D of the toner was 6 μm. Further, the proportion of toner having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 1%. Here, a toner with a particle size of 2 μm or less is defined as a toner with a minimum particle size.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the width W (hereinafter simply referred to as width W) of the opening of the groove 45 in the direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis direction (the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13) is 1 μm. Further, the depth d (hereinafter simply referred to as depth d) from the surface (opening) where no grooves are formed in the surface layer 40 to the bottom of the grooves 45 in the thickness direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13 is 2 μm. . Furthermore, the interval K (hereinafter simply referred to as pitch K) between the grooves 45 in the direction substantially perpendicular to the belt conveyance direction is 20 μm.

The width W of the groove 45 is preferably about half the average particle diameter of the toner from the viewpoint of cleaning performance. If the width W of the groove 45 is too wide, there is a risk that when toner gets stuck in the groove 45, it will slip through the blade nip portion 37, resulting in poor cleaning. Furthermore, if the width W of the groove 45 is too narrow, the contact area between the cleaning blade 31 and the intermediate transfer belt 13 becomes too large, resulting in increased friction at the blade nip portion 37, which reduces the wear of the tip of the cleaning blade 31. There is a risk that it will be promoted. Therefore, in the configuration of this embodiment, the width W of the groove 45 is preferably set to 0.5 μm or more and 3 μm or less.

In this example, since the thickness of the surface layer 40 is 3 μm, the grooves 45 do not reach the base layer 41 and are present only in the surface layer 40. Furthermore, the groove 45 is continuously formed over the entire circumference of the intermediate transfer belt 13 along the circumferential direction (rotation direction) of the intermediate transfer belt 13 . In this example, a groove shape was provided on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 by pressing a mold having a convex shape on the surface against the surface layer 40.

Here, the thickness of the surface layer 40 needs to be greater than or equal to the thickness at which the grooves 45 can be formed, that is, the depth d of the grooves 45. If the thickness of the surface layer 40 is smaller than the depth d of the grooves 45, the grooves 45 will reach the base layer 41, and the substance added to the base layer 41 will precipitate on the surface of the surface layer 40, resulting in poor cleaning. There is a risk of On the other hand, if the surface layer 40 is too thick, there is a risk that the surface layer 40 made of acrylic resin will crack, resulting in poor cleaning. Therefore, in the configuration of this embodiment, the thickness of the surface layer 40 is preferably set between 1 μm and 5 μm, and in consideration of cracking of the surface layer 40 during long-term use, it is set between 1 μm and 3 μm. It is more preferable.

[Evaluation of cleaning performance]
FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional profile of the groove shape of the intermediate transfer belt 13 of this embodiment. FIG. 4B shows an approximate cross-sectional shape of the grooves 45 formed in the intermediate transfer belt 13 of this embodiment, which was determined from the cross-sectional profile.

L-trace & NanoNavi II (manufactured by SII Nano Technology) was used to measure the cross-sectional profile of the groove shape. A high aspect probe SI-40H was used as the cantilever. The measurement was performed in DFM mode, and a shape image with a measurement range of 50 μm square was measured. An approximate shape was calculated from the measured cross-sectional profile C. In this example, the approximate cross-sectional shape is such that the flat portion where the groove 45 is not formed is approximated by a straight line _J1 , and the sidewalls on both sides of the groove are approximated by straight lines _J2 and _J3 . Straight lines J ₂ and J ₃ on the side walls intersect at point P ₁ which is the deepest part of the groove 45. The intersections of the straight lines J ₂ and J ₃ on the side walls and the straight line J ₁ on the flat part were defined as points P ₂ and P ₃ . As shown in FIG. 4(b), the distances between the line segments of straight line J ₁ , straight line J ₂ , and straight line J ₃ were set to j ₁ , j ₂ , and j _{3 ,} respectively. Further, the cross-sectional profile of the intermediate transfer belt 13 was measured at five arbitrary points on the intermediate transfer belt 13, an average approximate shape was calculated, and this was defined as a groove shape. In this example, since the interval K between the grooves 45 is 20 μm, the measurement range is set to be 50 μm square. However, this measurement range may be set as appropriate depending on the value of the interval K between the grooves 45 so that the above-mentioned straight line and intersection point can be determined.

Hereinafter, the above effects will be explained in detail using this example, a modification of this example, and a comparative example. Modifications 1 to 5 were used as modification examples, and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 were used as comparative examples. The modified examples and comparative examples are substantially the same except for the pitch K of the grooves formed on the surface layer of the intermediate transfer belt and the amount of PTFE particles as a solid lubricant added. Table 1 below shows the pitch K and the amount (parts by weight) of PTFE particles added in each modified example and comparative example.

The cleaning performance was evaluated using A4 size paper (manufactured by Red Label/Oce) with a basis weight of 80 g/m ² and a durability evaluation of 5,000 yen by forming a character image of 1% of each color in two-sheet intermittent mode. An image was formed for each sheet to confirm the occurrence of cleaning defects. The evaluation was performed under conditions of a temperature of 23° C., a humidity of 50%, a process speed of 200 mm/sec (throughput: 40 sheets per minute), and an image forming mode for printing on plain paper.

In the durability evaluation described above, the following method was used to confirm the occurrence of cleaning failures every 5,000 sheets. First, after forming a red solid image (100% yellow, 100% magenta solid image) with the output from the secondary transfer power supply 26 turned off (0V), the output from the secondary transfer power supply 26 is set to an appropriate value. setting, and three sheets of transfer material P on which no images are formed are continuously passed. That is, by checking whether the cleaning blade 31 has removed the toner of the red solid image that was hardly transferred to the transfer material P in the secondary transfer portion N2, it is confirmed whether or not a cleaning failure has occurred.

If the toner of the red solid image can be removed from the intermediate transfer belt 13, the three continuous sheets of transfer material P are output as substantially blank sheets. On the other hand, if the toner of the red solid image cannot be removed, the toner that has passed through the cleaning blade 31 will reach the secondary transfer section N2 again, and the toner will be transferred to the three sheets of transfer material P that are continuously passed and cleaned. Output as a defective image. The occurrence of cleaning defects as described above is checked every time 5,000 sheets of transfer material P are passed, and if no defective cleaning images are output after passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P, the mark is "○". , if a cleaning defective image was output, it was evaluated as "x".

Further, regarding the configuration in which a cleaning failure occurred before the passage of 100,000 sheets of transfer material P was completed, the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade at the blade nip portion 37 was measured at the time when the cleaning failure occurred. Regarding the configuration in which cleaning failure did not occur even after passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P, the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade at the blade nip portion 37 at the time when passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P was completed. It was measured.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing the state of the cleaning blade 31 in the blade nip portion 37. Since the cleaning blade 31 is disposed in a counter direction with respect to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13, the end portion 31a of the cleaning blade 31 that contacts the intermediate transfer belt 13 exerts a frictional force in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13. receive. Here, the frictional force that the end portion 31a of the cleaning blade 31 receives is a force that bends the end portion 31a following the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 13. As a result, the end portion 31a of the cleaning blade 31 is curved as shown in FIG. 5A, and the cleaning blade 31 is wound around the intermediate transfer belt 13. The area where the cleaning blade 31 is wound up at this time is defined as a winding part M, and the distance (length) of the winding part M in the belt conveyance direction is defined as a winding amount m.

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing the observation position of the cleaning blade 31 and the state of the end portion 31a of the cleaning blade 31 when the cleaning blade 31 is worn out. Since the cleaning blade 31 comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 13 at the winding part M, when the cleaning blade 31 is worn out, the cleaning blade 31 is worn out at a position corresponding to the winding part M, as shown in FIG. 5(b). do. The symbol H shown in FIG. 5(b) indicates the amount of wear H when the cleaning blade 31 is worn. The amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 is the distance from the contact surface 31b of the cleaning blade 31 against the intermediate transfer belt 13 to the position where the wear is deepest, as shown in FIG. 5(b).

The amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 in the evaluation of this example was measured by observing the cleaning blade 31 alone under a microscope after the cleaning blade 31 was released from contact with the intermediate transfer belt 13. The microscope used for the measurement was a confocal microscope (OPTELICS, manufactured by Lasertech). The observation area was 100 μm square, the measurement wavelength was 546 nm, and the scanning frequency in the perpendicular direction of the contact position of the cleaning blade 31 was 0.1 μm. The value of the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 used in the following evaluation is the value of the amount of wear H at the most worn position in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 31.

In addition, in the evaluation of this example, regarding the configuration in which a cleaning failure occurred before the passage of 100,000 sheets of transfer material P was completed, when the cleaning failure occurred, the end 31a of the cleaning blade 31 ( The wear amount H of the tip (tip) was measured. Regarding the configuration in which cleaning failure did not occur even after passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P, the amount of wear H of the end portion 31a of the cleaning blade 31 after passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P is It was measured.

As shown in Table 1, in the configuration of this example (Example 1), no defective images were generated after the durability evaluation of passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P, and the wear condition of the cleaning blade 31 was was also good. Similarly to Example 1, in Modification 1, Modification 2, Modification 3, Modification 4, and Modification 5, no defective images were generated after the durability evaluation, and regarding the wear of the cleaning blade 31, the toner No wear of 2 μm or more, which is the smallest particle size, was observed.

On the other hand, in the configurations of Comparative Example 1, Comparative Example 2, Comparative Example 3, and Comparative Example 4, a cleaning failure image occurred before 100,000 sheets of transfer material P were passed through. When the amount of wear on the end portion 31a of the cleaning blade 31 was measured at the time when an image with poor cleaning occurred, the amount of wear H was 2 μm or more in all configurations. Thus, as shown in Table 1, the smaller the pitch K of the grooves 45 in the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the greater the amount of PTFE added, the less the cleaning blade 31 wears.

Table 2 was created based on the results of Table 1, and shows the relationship between the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 and the cleaning performance.

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, in the configuration in which the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 was 2 μm or more, streak-like cleaning defects continued to occur. This is because the minimum particle size toner has a particle size of 2 μm or less, and therefore, the toner slipped through the area where wear of 2 μm or more occurred in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning blade 31. On the other hand, when the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 was less than 2 μm, an unacceptable level of cleaning failure did not occur.

As described above, the wear of the cleaning blade 31 tends to be less as the pitch K of the grooves 45 of the intermediate transfer belt 13 becomes smaller and as the amount of PTFE added increases. This means that a large amount of the solid lubricant 44 (PTFE particles) is exposed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13. As shown in FIG. 4A, the solid lubricant 44 precipitates from the flat portion J _{1 and the cross sections J 2 and} J ₃ of the groove portions of the intermediate transfer belt 13, so that the smaller the pitch K, the greater the amount of the precipitated lubricant 44.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the area _SP of the solid lubricant 44 (PTFE particles) exposed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 and the amount of wear H of the cleaning blade 31 in each configuration in which cleaning performance was evaluated. This is a graph explaining. The area _SP of the solid lubricant 44 exposed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 can be calculated using Equation 1 below. In Equation 1, the cross-sectional length J (J = J ₁ + J ₂ + J ₃ ) is the cross-sectional length per groove calculated in FIG. This is the number of grooves per unit length in the width direction. In addition, in Equation 1 below, the circumferential length L of the intermediate transfer belt 13 corresponding to the area where the grooves 45 are formed, the amount Q (parts by weight) of PTFE particles that are the solid lubricant 44, the density ρ _P of PTFE, and the surface layer The area S _P was determined using the density ρ _A of the acrylic resin constituting 40.

S _P =J×(1/K)×L×(Q/ρ _P )/((Q/ρ _P )+(100/ρ _A ))…(Formula 1)
The area _Sp per unit length (here, 1 mm in length) of this example calculated from the above formula was about 129 mm ² . Note that, at this time, the calculations were performed with all the units of the cross-sectional length J, groove pitch K, and circumferential length L being unified to mm.

In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis in the graph is the area S _P (mm ²⁾ of the solid lubricant 44, and the vertical axis is the wear amount H (μm) of the cleaning blade 31, and the average particle size R (μm) of the toner. This is the value divided by . The graph of FIG. 6 shows that in the region where H/R≧1, the amount of wear of the cleaning blade 31 is 2 μm or more.

As shown in FIG. 6, cleaning defects occurred in the region where H/R≧1, and no cleaning defects occurred in the region where H/R<1. Here, the value of the area S _P corresponding to the intersection of line segment A and H/R=1 is approximately 50 mm ² . That is, if the area S _P is 50 mm ² or more, cleaning defects caused by toner slipping through the worn portion of the cleaning blade 31 can be suppressed. Therefore, by satisfying Equation 2 shown below, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cleaning failures due to wear of the cleaning blade 31.
J×(1/K)×L×(Q/ρ _P )/((Q/ρ _P )+(100/ρ _A ))>50...(Formula 2)

In this example, a specific configuration in which the area S _P is 50 mm ² or more includes, for example, a configuration in which the amount of PTFE particles that are the solid lubricant 44 is 12 parts by weight or more when the pitch K is 50 μm. . Further, when the pitch K is 20 μm, the above formula 2 is satisfied in a configuration in which the amount of PTFE particles added is 11 parts by weight or more.

Furthermore, according to FIG. 6, when the area S _P is 90 mm ² or more, H/R=0, which indicates that blade wear does not occur. When the pitch K is 20 μm, the amount of PTFE particles added may be 20 parts by weight or more.

As explained above, according to the configuration of this embodiment, grooves 45 that satisfy the above-mentioned formula 2 are formed in the surface layer 40 of the intermediate transfer belt 13 in the surface layer 40 containing the solid lubricant 44 such as fluorine-containing particles. is forming. Thereby, it is possible to maintain the state in which the solid lubricant 44 is interposed between the cleaning blade 31 and the intermediate transfer belt 13, and to suppress wear of the cleaning blade 31 due to long-term use.

(Example 2)
In Example 1, the structure of the intermediate transfer belt 13 provided with grooves 45 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 was described. On the other hand, in Example 2, as shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), a structure of an intermediate transfer belt 113 provided with grooves 145 having a shape different from that in Example 1 will be described. The configuration of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of embodiment 1, except that the shape of the grooves 145 formed in the surface layer 140 of the intermediate transfer belt 113 is different. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the parts common to the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 7(a) is a schematic enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the intermediate transfer belt 113 taken in a direction substantially perpendicular to the belt conveying direction (viewed along the belt conveying direction), and FIG. 7(b) is a The surface layer 140 of the intermediate transfer belt 113, which will be described later, is shown in more detail in a similar cross section. In this embodiment, the shape of the mold for providing the groove shape on the intermediate transfer belt 113 was changed. The width W of the groove 145 is 3 μm, the width V of the bottom of the groove is 2 μm, and the depth d is 2 μm. Further, the pitch K of the grooves 145 is 20 μm.

FIG. 8A shows a cross-sectional profile E of the groove shape of the intermediate transfer belt 113 of this embodiment. FIG. 8B shows an approximate cross-sectional shape of the groove 145 formed in the intermediate transfer belt 113 of this example, determined from the cross-sectional profile E. The conditions and method for measuring the cross-sectional profile of the groove 145 are the same as in Example 1. In this example, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the flat portion where the groove 145 is not formed is approximated by a straight line _J4 , the side walls on both sides of the groove 145 are approximated by straight lines _J5 and _J6 , and the groove 145 was approximated by a straight line _J7 to obtain an approximate cross-sectional shape. The straight line _J7 at the bottom is parallel to the straight line _J4 , and the intersection of the straight line _J4 and the straight line _J5 is the point _P4 , the intersection of the straight line _J4 and the straight line _J6 is the point _P5 , and the intersection of the straight line _J7 and the straight line _J5 is the point P ₆ , and the intersection of the straight line J ₇ and the straight line J ₆ is the point P ₇ . Also, in this example, as in Example 1, the cross-sectional profile E of the intermediate transfer belt 113 was measured at five arbitrary points on the intermediate transfer belt 113, and the average approximate shape was calculated and defined as the groove shape. . Furthermore, the distances between the straight line J ₄ , straight line J ₅ , straight line J ₆ , and straight line J ₇ were defined as j ₄ , j ₅ , j ₆ , and j ₇ , respectively.

The area S _P of the solid lubricant 144 (PTFE particles) exposed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 13 in this embodiment is calculated using the cross-sectional length of each groove 145 calculated above as J = J ₄ + J ₅ + J ₆ + J ₇ , calculated using Equation 1 as in Example 1. Here, the area S _P per 1 mm of the longitudinal direction of this example calculated from Equation 1 was the same as Example 1, and was about 129 mm ² .

Hereinafter, effects will be explained in detail using the present example, a sixth modification of the present example, and a fifth comparative example. Modified Example 6 and Comparative Example 5 are substantially the same except for the pitch K of the grooves 145 formed in the surface layer 140 of the intermediate transfer belt 113 and the amount of PTFE particles that are the solid lubricant 144 added. be. In Table 3 below, the evaluation of cleaning performance and blade wear of the cleaning blade 31 was performed using the same method as in Example 1, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in Table 3, in the configurations of Example 2 and Modification Example 6, no defective images were generated after the durability evaluation of passing 100,000 sheets of transfer material P, and the wear condition of the cleaning blade 31 was was also good. On the other hand, in the configuration of Comparative Example 5, a cleaning failure image occurred before 100,000 sheets of transfer material P were passed through. At the time when an image with poor cleaning occurred, the amount of wear at the tip of the cleaning blade was 2.3 μm, which was 2 μm or more, which is the minimum particle size of the toner.

FIG. 9 shows the area S _P (mm ² ) of the solid lubricant 144 (PTFE particles) exposed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 113 and the area of the cleaning blade 31 in each configuration in which the cleaning performance was evaluated above. It is a graph explaining the relationship between the amount of wear. For reference, data for each configuration in Example 1 is also shown in the graph of FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the evaluation results in this example also match the evaluation results in Example 1, and even if the shapes of the grooves 145 are different, the relationship between D/R and area S _P (mm ² ) is Their gender was the same. That is, in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, if the area S _P is 50 mm ² or more, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of cleaning failures due to wear of the cleaning blade 31.

Note that in Examples 1 and 2, explanations have been given using an example of an intermediate transfer belt having grooves that are approximately wedge-shaped or trapezoidal; however, the groove shape is not limited to this, and for example, a semicircular cross-sectional shape may be used. It may also be in the shape of a groove.

Further, in Examples 1 and 2, as shown in Equation 1, a structure in which grooves were continuously formed over the entire circumference of the intermediate transfer belt in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt was described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as long as the area S _P satisfies the condition of 50 mm ² or more, the grooves may not be formed continuously but may be interrupted in the middle. In this case, the area S _P of the solid lubricant can be calculated by subtracting the length of the area where no grooves are formed from the value of the circumferential length L of the intermediate transfer belt in Equation 1.

1 Photosensitive drum 13 Intermediate transfer belt 30 Belt cleaning means 31 Cleaning blade 40 Surface layer 44 Solid lubricant 45 Groove N2 Secondary transfer section

Claims (13)

an image carrier that carries a toner image;
a movable intermediate transfer belt that contacts the image carrier and primarily transfers the toner image carried by the image carrier;
with respect to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, provided on the downstream side of a secondary transfer section that secondarily transfers the toner image primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt from the intermediate transfer belt to a transfer material,
an abutting member that abuts the intermediate transfer belt;
Equipped with
In the image forming apparatus, the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt after passing through the secondary transfer section is collected by the abutting member into a collecting means,
The intermediate transfer belt has a surface layer to which a solid lubricant is added on the outer peripheral surface side that contacts the image carrier and the contact member, and the surface layer has a solid lubricant added to the outer circumferential surface side that contacts the image carrier and the contact member, and the It has a surface layer in which a plurality of grooves are formed along the direction of movement,
The intermediate transfer belt has a base layer that is the thickest layer among the plurality of layers constituting the intermediate transfer belt with respect to the thickness direction of the intermediate transfer belt that intersects the moving direction and the width direction, and the surface layer is formed on the surface of the base layer, the base layer is a layer added with an ion conductive agent,
In a contour line of the surface of the surface layer in a cross section perpendicular to the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt,
Among the plurality of grooves, the interval between adjacent grooves is defined as a pitch K,
The approximated length of the contour line per pitch K is J,
The filling depth of the solid lubricant is Q,
The density of the solid lubricant is ρP,
The density of the surface layer is ρA,
As,
The circumferential length of the intermediate transfer belt in the moving direction is L mm,
When
K is 0.020 mm or less,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that Q is 15 parts by weight or more and 30 parts by weight or less, and satisfies the following formula.
50<J×(1/K)×L×(Q/ρP)/((Q/ρP)+(100/ρA)) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a depth of wear of the abutment member at a contact portion between the surface layer and the abutment member is lower than a minimum particle size of the toner. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the width of the opening of the groove in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt perpendicular to the moving direction is set to 0.5 μm or more and 3 μm or less. . 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact member contacts the intermediate transfer belt in a counter direction. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the thickness of the surface layer is set to 1 μm or more and 5 μm or less. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the thickness of the surface layer is set to 3 μm or less. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface layer is made of a curable resin. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface layer is formed of an acrylic copolymer. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the solid lubricant is fluorine-containing particles. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the fluorine-containing particles are polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the contact member is a blade made of polyurethane. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact member has a rubber hardness (JIS K 6253 standard) of 70 degrees or more and 80 degrees or less. Image forming according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the contact pressure of the contact member against the intermediate transfer belt is 0.4 N/cm or more and 0.8 N/cm or less. Device.

Images