JPH0695259B2 - Transfer fixing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention is an apparatus for transferring and fixing a toner image formed on an image carrier onto a recording medium via an intermediate transfer body, and a glass fiber woven fabric in which the intermediate transfer body is belt-shaped. By adopting a structure in which a transfer layer of silicone rubber is provided on the base material of the cloth, the flexibility,
This is an intermediate transfer member with excellent durability and productivity.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a recording device such as an electrophotographic or electrostatic recording system, and more particularly to a transfer fixing device thereof.

The transfer / fixing device is required to transfer and fix a toner image formed on an image holding member such as a photosensitive drum without disturbing the recording member.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the toner image is electrostatically transferred to the recording body side by giving electric charges from the back surface of the recording body overlaid thereon by corona discharge, bias voltage and the like.

However, the electrostatic transfer method has a drawback in that charge is disturbed during transfer and dust is generated around the transferred toner image.

In view of the above drawbacks, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 46-41679 and 48
No. 22763, Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-20632, and the like, a method is proposed in which a toner image is transferred by pressing it to an intermediate transfer member and then the toner image on the intermediate transfer member is transferred and fixed to the recording member.
According to this method, unlike the case of electrostatic transfer, the toner image can be transferred onto the recording medium without disturbance.

The second is the basic configuration of a conventional recording apparatus using an intermediate transfer member.
Shown in the figure. In the figure, 1 is an image holding member such as a photosensitive drum, 2 is a charger, 3 is an exposing device, 4 is a developing device, 5 is a cleaner, 6 is an intermediate transfer member, 7 is a pressing roller, 8 is a backup roller, and 9 is a backup roller. Is a tension roller, 10 is a heat roller, 11 is a heater, 12 is a recording medium such as paper, and 13a, 13b and 13c are toner images.

The image carrier 1 is uniformly charged by the charger 2. Next, an electrostatic latent image is formed by the exposing device 3 and visualized by the developing device 4 to form a toner image 13a. The toner image 13a is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 6 at a position where the intermediate transfer member 6 is pressed against the image holding member 1 by the pressure of the pressing roller 7. After transfer,
The toner remaining on the image carrier 1 is cleaned by the cleaner 5. The toner image 13b on the intermediate transfer member 6 is composed of a heat roller 10 having a heater 11 and a backup roller 8
Thus, it is transferred and fixed on the recording medium 12.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the transfer fixing method using the intermediate transfer member, the intermediate transfer member is 1
It must be a material that is tacky at the time of next transfer and has releasability at the time of second transfer. Such materials include silicone rubber and fluororubber, but the strength of the rubber alone is insufficient, so that a reinforcing base material is required. For this reason, in the publicly known examples, a film made of a polymer resin having excellent heat resistance such as a metal such as aluminum or polyimide is used as the substrate.

However, when the base material is a metal, the transfer efficiency is low due to poor adhesion to the image carrier or the recording medium, the adhesion to the transfer layer such as silicone rubber is poor, and it is difficult to make an endless belt. There are drawbacks. Further, when the substrate is a polyimide film, there are disadvantages that productivity is low due to poor moldability and that adhesiveness is poor like metal.

[Means for solving problems]

In the present invention, the intermediate transfer member of the above-mentioned transfer fixing device has a constitution in which a belt-shaped substrate made of woven glass fiber is coated with a transfer layer of silicone rubber.

[Operation] Since the intermediate transfer member according to the present invention uses the glass fiber woven fabric as the base material, it has good adhesion to the image holding member and the recording member,
Adhesion to a transfer layer such as silicone rubber is also good, and an endless belt can be easily formed.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an intermediate transfer member according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 6a is a base material and 6b is a transfer layer.

The transfer layer 6b is a soft silicone rubber having a hardness of about 20 to 40 °. Silicone rubber has a heat resistance of up to 250 ° C, which is particularly excellent among rubber materials, and has adhesiveness during primary transfer (pressing) and releasability during secondary transfer (heat fixing), so it is suitable as a transfer layer. . However, since silicone rubber has a low mechanical strength, it cannot be used alone as an intermediate transfer member, and thus requires a base material as a reinforcing material.

The substrate 6a according to the present invention is a belt-shaped glass fiber woven fabric. Fiberglass woven fabrics are commonly used as reinforcements for plastics and rubber. Strength as a feature,
It has excellent durability and heat resistance up to 500-600 ℃, so it is suitable as a base material.

The intermediate transfer member of the present invention is made by forming a woven glass fiber cloth into a belt and then coating the same with silicone rubber. Silicone rubber is impregnated and bonded in glass fiber,
It does not require an adhesive such as a primer and has a greater adhesive strength than when a primer is used. The thickness of the glass fiber woven cloth is about 0.2 to 0.3 mm and the silicone rubber layer is 0.1 to 0.5 mm
A degree is preferable.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, since the glass fiber woven cloth is used as the base material of the intermediate transfer member, it is flexible and has good adhesion to the image holding member and the recording member. Further, since the adhesiveness to the transfer layer such as silicone rubber is improved and the endless belt is easily formed, an intermediate transfer member excellent in durability and productivity can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a conventional example. In the figure, 1 is an image carrier, 2 is a charger, 3 is an exposure device,
4 is a developing device, 5 is a cleaner, 6 is an intermediate transfer member, 7 is a pressing roller, 8 is a backup roller, 10 is a heat roller,
Reference numeral 12 is a recording medium, and 13a, 13b and 13c are toner images. Also, 6a
Is a glass fiber woven substrate, and 6b is a silicone rubber transfer layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A toner image (13) formed on an image carrier (1).
In the transfer fixing device, the toner image (13b) on the intermediate transfer body (6) is secondarily transferred to the recording body (12) after the primary transfer of (a) to the intermediate transfer body (6). 6) belt-shaped glass fiber woven cloth (6
A transfer fixing device characterized in that a) is coated with a transfer layer (6b) of silicone rubber.