JPH05303293A - Intermediate transfer body and image forming device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an intermediate transfer body capable of providing a high quality image not affected by environment without changing a transfer voltage and an image forming device using the intermediate transfer body. CONSTITUTION:The upper surface of the intermediate transfer body 10 having the formation of a conductive release layer 12 on a conductive substrate 11 is brought close to or into pressurized contact with an image carrier 101 at a transfer position A by a roller 110 installed on the back surface of the intermediate transfer body 10. At this time, the transfer voltage is applied to the conductive substrate 11 of the intermediate transfer body 10, thereby toner is transferred from the image carrier 101 onto the intermediate transfer body 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an intermediate transfer member and an image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer member. More specifically, the present invention relates to an intermediate transfer member that transfers toner on an image bearing member and transfers and fixes the toner onto a recording sheet, and an image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional intermediate transfer member, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There was a publication of -164368.

The intermediate transfer member disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-164368 has a structure in which a metal belt is used as a substrate, a transfer layer of silicone rubber, fluororubber or the like is formed on the surface, and a resin layer is formed on the back surface. is there. The intermediate transfer member having such a structure has an advantage that it is excellent in transportability and transfer fixing property on a recording paper. Further, the intermediate transfer member disclosed in the above publication has an optimum structure for transferring the toner on the image bearing member to the intermediate transfer member by adhesion or pressure.

However, so-called scattered toner and fog toner also adhere to the image carrier. Most of these toners are oppositely charged toners and are attached to the non-image area. When the toner on the image carrier is transferred by adhesion or pressure, these unnecessary toners are also transferred to the intermediate transfer member. Unnecessary toner is transferred to the recording paper, and therefore, the quality of the image thus formed is poor. On the other hand, when electrostatic transfer is performed, the toner charged to the opposite polarity is not transferred to the intermediate transfer body and remains on the image carrier. Therefore, an intermediate transfer member capable of electrostatic transfer is desired. JP-A-56-1643
When the intermediate transfer body disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 68 is used for electrostatic transfer (the transfer layer is not described in detail, the details will be estimated). Therefore, a large transfer voltage is required for the thickness of the transfer layer,
Further, as the transfer is repeated, charges are accumulated in the transfer layer, and finally it becomes impossible to perform the electrostatic transfer.

An intermediate transfer member capable of solving such a problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-74571.

In the intermediate transfer member disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-74571, the decay time constant of the charge on the intermediate transfer member is set to be smaller than the rotation cycle of the intermediate transfer member so that the intermediate transfer member remains on the intermediate transfer member. It is possible to repeatedly and stably perform image formation without removing charges.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the intermediate transfer member disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 74571, the resistance value is defined in the category of resistance rather than conductivity. When a resistive intermediate transfer member is used, its resistance value easily changes depending on the environment (particularly humidity). If the resistance value changes depending on the environment, the transfer voltage depends on the environment (that is,
If not controlled (depending on the resistance value of the intermediate transfer member), transfer efficiency
There arises a problem that the transfer characteristics change depending on the environment. Further, there is a problem that if the resistance value of the intermediate transfer member is high, the transfer voltage required for optimal transfer (transfer efficiency is high (up to 95%) and transfer without toner scattering due to transfer) becomes high. It was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an intermediate transfer member which does not fluctuate in resistance value depending on the environment and an image forming apparatus using the same. Another object is to provide an intermediate transfer member capable of providing a high-quality image that does not depend on the environment without changing the transfer voltage, and an image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer member. Another object is to provide an intermediate transfer member capable of reducing the transfer voltage required for optimum transfer and an image forming apparatus using the same.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a toner on an image carrier is transferred, and in a intermediate transfer member in which the toner is transferred and fixed on a recording paper, a conductive release layer is formed on a conductive substrate. It is characterized by being configured.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus having means for transferring the toner on the image bearing member to the intermediate transfer member and means for transferring and fixing the toner on the intermediate transfer member onto the recording paper at the same time.
It is characterized by comprising an intermediate transfer member in which a conductive release layer is formed on a conductive substrate, and means for applying a voltage to the conductive substrate of the intermediate transfer member.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of an intermediate transfer member according to the present invention.

The intermediate transfer member 10 comprises a conductive substrate 11 and a conductive release layer 12. The surface on which the conductive release layer 12 is formed is the surface to which the toner is transferred.

The conductive substrate 11 may be roller-shaped, film-shaped or seamless film-shaped, and the material may be: 1) a metal such as aluminum, nickel, stainless steel or brass, an alloy, 2) polyimide, polyaramid, Glass transition temperature of polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfide, etc. is 2
A resin containing at least one conductive agent selected from the following substance group A) in a resin having a glass transition temperature of 00 ° C. or higher, and 3) at least one conductive agent selected from the following substance group A) in the ceramic. 4) The mixture of 1) to 3) above. The substance group A) includes A) carbon black (for example, furnace black,
Acetylene black), metal oxide powder (eg ITO
Powder, SnO ₂ powder), metal, alloy powder (eg Ag powder, A
powder), salt (eg, quaternary ammonium salt), conductive resin (eg, polyacetylene, polypyrrole)
Is.

The conductive release layer 12 is composed of a conductive agent selected from the above substance group A) and a release agent selected from the following substance group B), mixed, dispersed and compatible. Where substance group B)
Is B) a fluororesin such as PTFE or PFA, a mixture of a fluororesin and a resin selected from the following substance group C), and a silicone resin, and the substance group C) is C) epoxy, phenol, polyimide, urethane, acrylic. There are binder resins such as styrene, styrene, polyester and silicone.

A dispersant may be added to the conductive release layer 12 if necessary. That is, the conductive release layer 12
Is required to have conductivity and releasability from toner.

Further, as an application example of the conductive substrate 11, 5) polyimide, polyaramid, polyether ether ketone, polyether sulfide, etc., having a glass transition temperature of 2
A resin substrate having a temperature not lower than 00 ° C. or showing no glass transition,
Alternatively, a conductive layer is formed on the surface of the ceramic substrate (the surface refers to the side on which the conductive release layer is formed),
There is.

Here, regarding the resistance value of the intermediate transfer member 10, as a result of intensive studies by the present inventors, the resistance value R is approximately 1
If it is 0 ⁸ [Omega] cm ² or more, the environment (particularly humidity) the resistance value R was found to vary by more than an order of magnitude. In particular, under a low temperature and low humidity (abbreviated as LL) environment (10 ° C., 30% RH), the resistance value R increases by one digit or more. As will be described later, in order to perform optimum transfer, it is necessary to change the transfer voltage as the resistance value R changes. The resistance value R range in which a stable resistance value R can be obtained regardless of the environment may be restated as a resistance value R range in which optimum transfer can be performed without changing the transfer voltage. This value was found to be approximately 10 ⁷ Ωcm ² or less. In addition, the conductivity referred to in the present invention means a resistance value of 10 ⁷ Ωcm ² or less.

The resistance R was measured by pressing a 1 cm ² electrode against the surface of the intermediate transfer member 10 under a load of 1 kg under normal temperature and normal humidity (abbreviated as NN) environment (20 ° C., 50% RH). A voltage of 0.01 to 1 V was applied between the substrate 11 or the conductive layer of the conductive substrate 11 and the electrode, and the value of the current flowing at that time was measured.

The resistance value of the intermediate transfer member disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-74571 is defined by the specific resistance value ρ, but the resistance value R of the intermediate transfer member in the present invention is in the film thickness direction. It is specified by the effective resistance value. This is because the transfer current flowing from the electrode through the intermediate transfer member to the vicinity of the toner at the time of transfer is determined by the resistance value R and the transfer voltage. The resistance value R is
It is a product of the specific resistance value ρ and the film thickness, and cannot be determined only by the specific resistance value ρ (for example, even if ρ = 10 ¹² Ωcm, if the film thickness is 1 μm, R = 10 ⁸ Ωcm ² , film thickness 1 cm
In that case, R = 10 ¹² Ωcm ² ).

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of another intermediate transfer member according to the present invention. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. The same applies to subsequent figures.

In the intermediate transfer member 10, an intermediate layer 13 is formed on a conductive substrate 11, and a conductive release layer 12 is further formed on the intermediate layer 13. The surface on which the conductive release layer 12 is formed is the surface to which the toner is transferred.

Here, the intermediate layer 13 is made of a material having heat resistance. The heat resistance as referred to herein means that the glass transition temperature is 200 ° C. or higher, or that the glass transition is not exhibited. An example of the intermediate layer 13 is an elastic layer such as silicone rubber or fluororubber. Further, a resin layer of polyimide, polyaramid, polyether ether ketone, polyether sulfide or the like may be used.

The intermediate layer 13 also includes a layer (a so-called undercoat layer) for improving the adhesion of the conductive release layer 12 to the conductive substrate 11. To improve adhesion,
The above heat resistance may be sacrificed a little.

When the intermediate layer 13 is insulative or resistive, a connecting member 14 is added to obtain a good electrical connection between the conductive substrate 11 and the conductive release layer 12. This is shown in FIG. The connecting member 14 is added to a portion not directly related to image formation, for example, an end portion of the intermediate transfer body 10 as shown in FIG. 3, or an end portion on the circumference of the intermediate transfer body 10. Good electrical connection means that the resistance value R of the intermediate transfer member 10 is 10 ⁷ Ωcm ² . Here, as described above, the resistance value R of the intermediate transfer body 10 is the resistance value between the surface of the intermediate transfer body 10 and the conductive substrate 11 or the conductive layer of the conductive substrate 11.

Next, an image forming apparatus using the above-mentioned intermediate transfer member 10 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In addition, in FIG. 4, description will be made on the case where the intermediate transfer body 10 shown in FIG. 1 is used.

At least the image carrier 101 having a photosensitive layer having a sensitivity of 700 to 800 nm formed on a grounded aluminum substrate receives an image formation start signal,
The conveyance means (not shown) starts rotation in the direction of the arrow, and the charger 102 uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier 101. A laser beam 103 emitted from a laser light source (not shown) starts latent image formation corresponding to an image, and a developing device 104 develops toner on the image carrier 101.

Here, the photosensitive layer of the image bearing member 101 may be an organic photoconductor, an inorganic photoconductor, or a composite photoconductor of organic and inorganic materials, and means for forming a latent image (here, laser light is used). It is sufficient to have sensitivity in the wavelength range of the light generated by (3). Further, the image carrier 101 does not have to have a cylindrical shape, and the photosensitive layer may be formed on the film substrate.
The charger 102 is, for example, a corotron, a scorotron,
A roller type or a brush type can be used, and the charging polarity of the image carrier 101 may be selected according to the characteristics of the photosensitive layer used. As the developing means 104, known means such as a two-component magnetic brush developing means, a one-component magnetic brush developing means, a one-component jumping developing means, a one-component pressure contact developing means and the like can be applied.

The toner is particles having a particle size of 5 to 20 μm in which a coloring material is dispersed in a binder resin such as polyester resin or styrene acrylic resin, and if necessary, metal soap, polyethylene glycol or the like is used. Surfactants (dispersants), electron-accepting organic complexes, chlorinated polyesters, nitrofunnic acid, quaternary ammonium salts, charge control agents such as pyridinium salts, mold release agents such as polypropylene wax, fillers such as talc, A fluidity improver such as SiO ₂ or TiO ₂ is added internally or externally. Each toner is uniformly mixed and dispersed in each developing device, and is charged with a predetermined electric charge. You may mix with a carrier in a developing device. The charge polarity of the toner becomes negative when the image carrier 101 is charged negatively and reversal development is performed.

An intermediate transfer member 1 which rotates in the direction of the arrow at the same peripheral speed as the image carrier 101 by a conveying means (not shown).
0 is on the image carrier 101 at the transfer position A and the intermediate transfer member 1
Proximity by a roller 110 installed on the back side of 0,
Or it is pressed. Here, by applying a transfer voltage to the conductive substrate 11 of the intermediate transfer member 10, the toner is transferred from the image carrier 101 onto the intermediate transfer member 10.

Here, as a method for applying a transfer voltage to the conductive substrate 11, the roller 110 is made conductive and
Method of applying transfer voltage to roller 110, transfer position A
There is a method of arranging a conductive member in contact with the conductive substrate 11 at an appropriate position, not limited to the vicinity, and applying a transfer voltage to the conductive member.

Since the intermediate transfer member 10 becomes the same voltage as the transfer voltage as a whole by the application of the transfer voltage, the toner is not adhered to the conductive substrate 11 or the image is not attached even if the transfer voltage is not applied to the conductive substrate 11. The transfer voltage may be directly applied to the conductive release layer 12 not related to the formation. In this case,
In the intermediate transfer member 10 shown in (1), the connecting member 14 may not be provided. Further, as described above, since the voltage is applied to the entire intermediate transfer member 10, it is necessary to take measures against insulation for the member that contacts the intermediate transfer member 10 or the member that is likely to contact the intermediate transfer member 10. In particular, the housing and the intermediate transfer body 10 need to be reliably insulated. In addition, when the housing is opened for maintenance or the like, the transfer voltage applied to the intermediate transfer member 10 is turned off (same potential as the housing, ground), or the housing cannot be opened unless the transfer voltage is turned off. Mechanism is necessary for safety.

The transfer voltage may be turned off after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 10 or after the toner on the intermediate transfer member 10 is transferred and fixed on the recording paper 120. Even in the former case, since the toner adheres to the intermediate transfer member 10 by electrostatic force (in this case, mainly image force), the toner is not scattered during the movement.

At a portion where no toner is formed (non-image portion), an electric current is injected from the intermediate transfer member 10 to the image carrier 101 without passing through the toner layer. Transfer voltage is about 500V
Under the above conditions, the image carrier 101 was charged by the transfer voltage, and a so-called memory fog phenomenon occurred at the next image formation. Further, if the image carrier 101 has a defect such as a pinhole (a portion where the film thickness is partially thin), current is injected into the pinhole and the image carrier is deteriorated or damaged by Joule heat. It is desirable that the transfer voltage be low, and it is desirable to control the transfer current in case of an emergency. When the charge polarity of the toner is negative, the transfer voltage is about 50 to 500 V, and preferably,
100-300V, more preferably 150-250
It is V. As a method of limiting the transfer current, there is a method of forming a resistance layer on the surface of the aluminum base of the image carrier 101. The resistance value of the resistance layer is preferably 10 ⁸ to 10 ¹⁴ Ωcm ² . For example, if an alumite (Al ₂ O ₃ ) layer having a thickness of 10 μm and a resistance value of 10 ⁹ Ωcm ² is formed by anodic oxidation (alumite treatment) of the aluminum surface, it is effective in blocking the transfer current. Voltage 400V,
It was confirmed that the image carrier was not deteriorated or damaged without the transfer current control. The image bearing member subjected to such a treatment has a significantly longer life than the untreated image bearing member.

Since the transfer voltage depends on the charge amount of the toner and the toner development amount, it goes without saying that the optimum value changes depending on the situation. However, an image forming apparatus using a normal roller transfer method (for example, Japanese Hard
It can be seen that the transfer voltage of the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer member of the present invention is 1/2 to 1/10, in contrast to the transfer voltage of the copy papers of copy '91 lectures (see pages 27 to 30).

Further, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus using the roller transfer system, the resistance values of the recording paper and the transfer roller vary depending on the environment. In addition, JP-A-1-74571.
Since the intermediate transfer member disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication is also resistant, the resistance value easily changes depending on the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to change the transfer voltage according to the environment. However, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the intermediate transfer member 10 is conductive, and the resistance R has very little environmental dependence. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the transfer voltage according to the environment.

By the time the leading edge of the image (not necessarily the leading edge of the toner image on the intermediate transfer member 10) reaches the transfer fixing position B, the recording paper 120 is ejected from a paper feed cassette (not shown), The leading edge of the image on the transfer body 10 and the recording paper 120
The recording paper 120 is inserted into the transfer fixing means 130 so that the positions of the leading ends of the recording paper 120 are aligned.

At the transfer fixing position B, from the right side (in FIG. 4), the pressure roller 132, the recording paper 120, the intermediate transfer member 1
0, the heating roller 131. The transfer / fixing unit 130 includes a heating roller 131 and a pressure roller 132, the heating roller 131 is maintained at a predetermined temperature, and the heating roller 131 and the pressure roller 132 are pressed with a predetermined load. It is preferable that the heating roller 131 is arranged on the back side of the intermediate transfer body 10. A lamp 133 is arranged inside the heating roller 131, and the power supply to the lamp 133 is controlled so that the surface temperature of the heating roller 131 becomes substantially constant according to the temperature detected by a temperature detector (not shown). There is. The pressure applied between the heating roller 131 and the pressure roller 132 is a linear pressure of 10
g to 10 kg, preferably 50 to 300 g. The toner is heated by the heat of the heating roller 131 to a temperature of tg or higher, preferably a softening temperature Mp (hereinafter simply referred to as Mp) or higher, to be rubberized or softened, wet the recording paper 120, and pressurize the recording paper 120. The toner and the recording paper 120 have an adhesive force. The toner on the intermediate transfer body 10 is transferred and fixed on the recording paper 120.

The heating roller 131 is a cylindrical roller made of a metal or alloy such as aluminum, nickel or stainless, a heat resistant resin such as polyimide or polyaramid, or ceramic. A heat resistant rubber layer such as silicone rubber or fluororubber may be formed on the surface of the heating roller 131. The pressure roller 132 is formed of a metal roller, a metal cored bar covered with heat resistant rubber, or the like.

As another variation of the transfer / fixing means 130, there is an appropriate combination of a pair of heating rollers under pressure, a non-contact type heating means, and a pair of pressure rollers.

After the image is transferred and fixed on the recording paper 120,
The recording paper 120 is peeled from the intermediate transfer body 10 by a peeling unit (not shown).

After the toner is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 110, the image carrier 101 is operated by the discharging light 105 emitted from a light source (not shown) and the cleaning means 106, and the image carrier 1 is operated.
The toner and electric charge remaining on 01 are removed. Further, if necessary, after the toner is transferred and fixed onto the recording paper 121 at the same time, the toner and charges remaining on the intermediate transfer body 10 are removed from the intermediate transfer body 10 by a cleaning unit and a charge removing unit (not shown).

Here, the static elimination light 105 is generated by the image carrier 101.
The light-sensitive layer may be light in a wavelength range having sensitivity, for example, L
There is an ED lamp. An example of the cleaning unit 106 is a blade type cleaning device. Image carrier 1
If the toner and charges remaining on 01 can be removed, the arrangement of the charge removing light 105 and the cleaning unit 106 is arbitrary. Further, the charge removal light 105 may be applied to the image carrier 101 a plurality of times. For example, the cleaning means 106
On the other hand, the static elimination light generators or the static elimination light paths may be arranged on both the upstream side and the downstream side to irradiate the static elimination light 105.

Through the above steps, a toner image can be obtained on the recording paper.

The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

To give an example, the present invention is not limited to monochrome image formation, but includes mono-color, multi-color,
Widely applicable to full-color image formation.

For example, in the case of forming a full-color image, the toner formed on the image carrier is electrostatically transferred to the intermediate transfer body one by one, the toner images are superposed on the intermediate transfer body, and they are collectively transferred and fixed on the recording paper. As a result, a color image can be obtained on the recording paper. In this case, the peripheral length of the intermediate transfer member needs to be equal to or longer than the length of the maximum recording paper used.

Further, as the image carrier, a conductive substrate having a dielectric layer formed thereon may be used to form a latent image by an ion flow charger.

The present invention will be described in more detail below.

(Example 1) As intermediate transfer members, intermediate transfer members a to f having different resistance values R with the structure shown in FIG. 2 were prepared. Specifically, a polyimide seamless film (thickness: 75 μm, resistance value: 10 Ωcm ² ) having conductivity is used as the conductive substrate 11, and a layer for improving the adhesion between the polyimide film and PTFE as the intermediate layer 13 thereon. 0.1 μm is coated, and as the conductive release layer 12, the amount of the conductivity-imparting agent (carbon black) is changed and a PTFE layer having various resistance values is coated and fired by repeating the coating. It was set to 50 μm. Table 1 shows the resistance values R of the prepared intermediate transfer members a to f. The resistance measurement was performed in an NN environment, and the connecting member 14 was not applied. Resistance value R in the table
Was simply abbreviated as R.

The intermediate transfer members a to f shown in Table 1 were used in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4 to perform image formation under different environments. The image forming conditions are shown below. Table 1 also shows the results of image quality evaluation when images were formed under different environments.

Environment: LL, NN, HH (high temperature and high humidity, 30 ° C., 70% RH) Process speed: 3 cm / sec Developing means: 1-component pressure developing means, developing bias 25
0V toner: 1-component insulating non-magnetic toner, softening point 12
9 ° C., volume average particle size 8 μm, average charge amount −12 μC / g Transfer voltage: 400 V Recording paper: Xerox Co., 4024 paper Transfer fixing means: Heating temperature 150 ° C., pressure 200 g / c
m

[0054]

[Table 1]

From the results, it is understood that the resistance value R of the intermediate transfer member is 10 ⁷ Ωcm ² or less, preferably 5 × 10 ⁶ Ωcm ² in order to always obtain a good image regardless of the environment.
In the intermediate transfer member d, when the transfer voltage was increased to 500 V, the transfer failure in the LL environment was improved. But,
Regarding the intermediate transfer bodies e and f, no remarkable improvement in transfer failure was observed even when the transfer voltage was 500V. The transfer failure in Table 1 means a phenomenon in which the toner transfer efficiency is low due to a low transfer voltage.

Although not shown in Table 1, the intermediate transfer bodies a and b were capable of excellent transfer and image formation regardless of the environment even when the transfer voltage was 200V. That is, the lower the resistance value R of the intermediate transfer member, the more the transfer voltage can be reduced.

From the above, the resistance value R of the intermediate transfer member is
Was found to require 10 ⁷ Ωcm ² or less.

Example 2 As the intermediate transfer member g, the intermediate transfer member 10 having the structure shown in FIG. 3 was prepared. Conductive substrate 11
As a seamless film made of nickel (thickness 50μ
m, resistance value 10 ⁻³ Ωcm ² ) on which the intermediate layer 1 is formed.
As No. 3, a silicone rubber layer having a thickness of 100 μm was coated thereon, and as the conductive release layer 12, a silicone resin having conductivity was applied to have a thickness of 30 μm. Since the resistance value R of the prepared intermediate transfer member g was 10 ¹⁵ Ωcm ² , the connecting member 14 was applied between nickel and the silicone resin on the surface. The resistance value R of the intermediate transfer member g after applying the connecting member 14 was 10 ³ Ωcm ² . The connecting member was adhered to the aluminum foil, and the adhesive member was adhered to each of nickel and silicone resin with a conductive adhesive.

Image formation was performed using the intermediate transfer member g in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 4 under the image forming conditions shown in Example 1. As a result, good images could be obtained under all environments. Also, good transfer could be obtained even when the transfer voltage was set to 200V.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention, the toner on the image carrier is transferred, and the toner is transferred onto the recording paper and fixed at the same time. Since the layer is formed, it is possible to provide an intermediate transfer member that does not fluctuate in resistance value depending on the environment. It has become possible to provide an intermediate transfer member that can provide a high-quality image that does not depend on the environment without changing the transfer voltage.
It has become possible to provide an intermediate transfer member capable of lowering the transfer voltage. Furthermore, it has become possible to provide an intermediate transfer member capable of providing a high-quality image regardless of the paper type.

Further, the present invention is an image forming apparatus having means for transferring the toner on the image bearing member to the intermediate transfer member and means for simultaneously transferring and fixing the toner on the intermediate transfer member to the recording paper. An image is formed using an intermediate transfer member having a conductive release layer formed thereon and means for applying a voltage to the conductive substrate of the intermediate transfer member, so that the resistance value does not fluctuate depending on the environment. It is now possible to provide the device. It has become possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can provide a high-quality image that does not depend on the environment without changing the transfer voltage. It has become possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reducing the transfer voltage. Furthermore, it has become possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of providing a high-quality image regardless of the paper type.

Further, the intermediate transfer member of the present invention and the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer member can perform the steps of transferring and fixing the toner onto the recording paper at the same time, which simplifies and downsizes the apparatus. Was planned. The recording paper conveyance path is linear,
In addition, since the jamming frequency of the recording paper can be reduced and the jamming process can be simplified.

The intermediate transfer body of the present invention and the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer body are not limited to monochrome, and are particularly effective when applied to image forming apparatuses such as printers, video printers, facsimiles, copying machines, and displays. ..

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an intermediate transfer member according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of another intermediate transfer member according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which connection members are connected in order to obtain electrical connection of the intermediate transfer member shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus including the intermediate transfer body shown in FIG. 1 as a constituent element.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Intermediate Transfer Body 11 Conductive Substrate 12 Conductive Release Layer 13 Intermediate Layer 14 Connection Member 120 Recording Paper 130 Transfer Fixing Means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An intermediate transfer member in which toner on an image carrier is transferred, and the toner is transferred and fixed simultaneously on a recording paper,
An intermediate transfer member having a structure in which a conductive release layer is formed on a conductive substrate. 2. An intermediate layer is formed between the conductive substrate and the conductive release layer, and the conductive substrate and the conductive release layer are electrically connected. The described intermediate transfer member. 3. An image forming apparatus having means for transferring the toner on the image carrier to the intermediate transfer body and means for simultaneously transferring and fixing the toner on the intermediate transfer body to the recording paper, wherein the conductive material is provided on the conductive substrate. An image forming apparatus comprising: an intermediate transfer member on which a release layer is formed; and means for applying a voltage to a conductive substrate of the intermediate transfer member.