JP2009229888A - Image forming apparatus and image transfer-conveyance belt used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve the reduction in size and cost and increase in service life of an image transfer-conveyance belt, while maintaining image forming performance. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming means 10 which forms an image and the image transfer-conveyance belt 1 which is provided to face the image forming means 10 and transfer conveys the image formed by the image forming means 10 directly or through a recording material 5. The image transfer-conveyance belt 1 includes a belt base material 2 which is stretched on a plurality of stretching members 3 and circulated and a band-like reinforcing member 4 which is stuck with a level difference along the circumference of a surface nearer to a side edge in a width direction crossing the circulating direction of the belt base material 2. At least a part of the reinforcing member 4 is arranged so as to face in a dimension ws in the width direction crossing the conveying direction of the recording material 5 of maximum use size and a maximum image forming area Imax by the image forming means 10 is set in a part wd facing the surface of the belt base material 2 except the arrangement area of the reinforcing member 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image transfer conveying belt used therefor.

In a conventional image forming apparatus, an image forming means for producing an image, and an image that is provided opposite to the image forming means and transfers and conveys the image produced by the image forming means directly or via a recording material A device having a transfer conveyor belt has already been provided (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In this type of image forming apparatus, from the viewpoint of increasing the printing speed and extending the service life of parts, for example, measures to reinforce the end of the image transfer transport belt are employed to prevent damage to the end of the image transfer transport belt. May be.
In Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the end of the seamless belt from cracking and breaking, at least one of both ends of the seamless belt made of semiconductive resin has a smaller elastic modulus than that of the semiconductive resin. This technology integrates resin.
Patent Document 2 is a technique in which a reinforcing member for preventing damage is provided on both ends of the intermediate transfer belt, and a cleaning member having a width equal to or smaller than the effective width of the intermediate transfer belt and not in contact with the reinforcing member is provided.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-251078 (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-305927 (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 4)

  The present invention provides an image forming apparatus and an image transfer conveying belt used in the image forming apparatus that can reduce the size, cost, and extend the life of the image transfer conveying belt while maintaining image forming performance.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming means for producing an image and an image that is provided opposite to the image forming means and transfers and conveys the image produced by the image forming means directly or via a recording material. An image forming apparatus including a transfer conveying belt, wherein the image transfer conveying belt is circulated and rotated around a plurality of stretching members, and a width direction intersecting a circulation direction of the belt substrate A band-shaped reinforcing member that is attached with a step along the surface near the side edge, and at least a part of the reinforcing member is arranged facing the width direction dimension that intersects the conveying direction of the recording material of the maximum use size In addition, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that a maximum image forming area by the image forming means is set in a portion facing the surface of the belt base material excluding the area where the reinforcing member is disposed.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reinforcing member is disposed around the surface of the belt base material near both ends in the width direction.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the end portion of the reinforcing member located on the inner side in the width direction of the image transfer conveying belt is not coincident with the peripheral end portion position of the recording material of the standard size. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image forming apparatus further includes a cleaning unit that cleans the surface of the belt base material and the reinforcing member of the image transfer conveyance belt, and the cleaning unit includes at least the reinforcing member. The image forming apparatus is characterized by having a brush-like cleaning member for cleaning the surface of the reinforcing member at a portion facing the surface.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the cleaning unit is provided to face the surface of the belt base member excluding the region where the reinforcing member is disposed, and cleans the surface of the image transfer conveyance belt. An image forming apparatus comprising: a plate-like cleaning member; and a brush-like cleaning member provided to face the reinforcing member and cleaning the surface of the reinforcing member.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the aspect of the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the image forming unit includes an image holding body on which an image is held, the image holding body is a photosensitive layer or a dielectric layer capable of holding an image. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the image holding layer of the image transfer transport belt is disposed so as to face the surface of the belt base member excluding the region where the reinforcing member is provided.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image transfer conveying belt has a belt-shaped guide ridge near the end in the width direction of the back surface, and the position restriction provided on the stretch member. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the guide ridge is movably fitted in a groove.
The invention according to claim 8 is an image transfer conveying belt that is provided opposite to the image forming means for producing an image and transfers the image produced by the image forming means directly or via a recording material. A belt base material that circulates and rotates across a plurality of stretching members, and a belt-like reinforcing member that is attached with a step along the periphery of the surface near the width direction end intersecting the circulation direction of the belt base material. And having at least a part of the reinforcing member facing the width direction dimension that intersects the conveyance direction of the recording material of the maximum use size, and facing the surface of the belt base member excluding the region where the reinforcing member is disposed An image transfer conveying belt characterized in that a maximum image forming area of the image forming means is set at a site.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size, reduce the cost, and extend the life of the image transfer conveyance belt while maintaining the image forming performance.
According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to stably convey the image transfer conveyance belt while effectively preventing the end portion of the image transfer conveyance belt from being damaged.
According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to effectively avoid damage to the reinforcing member due to the peripheral end portion of the recording material having a fixed size.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, the reinforcement member surface can be effectively cleaned, without giving damage. Therefore, even if the recording material moves while being in contact with the reinforcing member, there is no concern that the peripheral surface near the side end of the recording material that contacts the reinforcing member is unnecessarily soiled.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5, both a belt base material and a reinforcement member can be cleaned efficiently.
According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to suppress the bending of the belt base material and effectively prevent the belt base material from being damaged, as compared with the aspect in which the reinforcing member is disposed facing the image holding layer. Can do.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, meandering in the width direction of the image transfer conveyance belt can be effectively suppressed.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size, cost, and extend the life of the image transfer conveying belt while maintaining the image forming performance when the image forming apparatus is incorporated in the image forming apparatus.

Outline Description of Embodiment FIG. 1A is an explanatory view showing an outline of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
In the figure, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming means 10 for producing an image and an image provided opposite to the image forming means 10 and produced by the image forming means 10 directly or via a recording material 5. And an image transfer transport belt 1 for transfer transport.
Here, as shown in FIG. 1B, the image transfer conveyance belt 1 intersects with a belt base material 2 that is looped around a plurality of stretching members 3 and circulates and rotates in the circulation direction of the belt base material 2. And a band-shaped reinforcing member 4 attached with a step along the periphery of the surface near the width direction end of the reinforcing member facing the width direction dimension ws intersecting the conveying direction of the recording material 5 of the maximum use size 4 and a maximum image forming area by the image forming means 10 at a portion (indicated by wd in FIG. 1C) opposite to the surface of the belt base 2 excluding the area where the reinforcing member 4 is disposed. Imax (see FIG. 1C) is set.
In FIG. 1C, wb indicates the width direction dimension of the belt base material 2, and wd indicates the width direction dimension of the belt base material 2 positioned between the reinforcing members 4.

In such technical means, the image forming means 10 forms an image such as an electrophotographic mode using a photoconductor, an electrostatic recording mode using a dielectric, or an inkjet recording mode. If it is an aspect, you may select suitably.
Further, the image transfer conveying belt 1 may be a recording material conveying belt for conveying a recording material 5 to which an image produced by the image forming means 10 can be transferred. For example, an electrophotographic toner image is recorded on the recording material. It may be an intermediate transfer belt that temporarily holds the transfer before transferring.
Further, the reinforcing member 4 only needs to be attached to the surface near the end in the width direction of the belt base material 2, and may be on either one side or both sides of the belt base material 2, or near the side end of the belt base material 2. If so, either an arrangement that matches the side end position or an arrangement that deviates from the side end position may be used.
In particular, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the reinforcing member 4 needs to partially face within the width direction dimension ws of the recording material 5 having the maximum usable size. Thereby, the side end of the recording material 5 having the maximum use size is conveyed while being in contact with the reinforcing member 4.
However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1C, since the maximum image forming area Imax by the image forming means 10 does not face the portion where the supply member 4 is disposed, the image forming means 10 The produced image is transferred to the recording material 5 directly or indirectly.

Furthermore, as a preferable mode in the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of stably transporting the image transfer transport belt 1, a mode in which the reinforcing members 4 are respectively disposed around the surfaces near the both ends in the width direction of the belt base material 2 is exemplified. It is done.
Further, as a preferable mode of the reinforcing member 4, the end portion of the reinforcing member 4 located on the inner side in the width direction of the image transfer conveyance belt 1 does not coincide with the position of the peripheral end portion of the recording material 5 having a fixed size that is frequently used. An embodiment is mentioned. In this aspect, it is preferable in that the peripheral end portion of the recording material 5 having a fixed size and the end portion of the reinforcing member 4 are arranged in a non-contact manner so that the friction between them can be suppressed.
In addition, as a preferable aspect in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus further includes a cleaning unit 6 that cleans the surfaces of the belt base 2 and the reinforcing member 4 of the image transfer conveyance belt 1, and the cleaning unit 6 includes at least the reinforcing member. The aspect which has the brush-shaped cleaning member 8 for cleaning the reinforcement member 4 surface in the site | part facing 4 is mentioned.
Here, as the cleaning means 6, as long as the surfaces of the belt base material 2 and the reinforcing member 4 can be cleaned, one brush-like cleaning member may be used corresponding to both, or both may be separate. .
In particular, as a preferable mode of the cleaning means 6, it is provided facing the surface of the belt base material 2 excluding the region where the reinforcing member 4 is disposed from the viewpoint of efficiently cleaning both the belt base material 2 and the reinforcing member 4. And a plate-like cleaning member 7 that cleans the surface of the image transfer conveyance belt 1 and a brush-like cleaning member 8 that is provided to face the reinforcing member 4 and cleans the surface of the reinforcing member 4.
According to this aspect, the belt base material 2 and the reinforcing member 4 have a step, but the plate-like cleaning member 7 and the brush-like cleaning member 8 are affected by the step, so that they are influenced by the step. It is preferable in that both can be cleaned.

Further, in the aspect having the image holding body 11 that holds the image as the image forming means 10, the image holding body 11 includes the image holding layer 12 (width direction dimension wp) formed of a photosensitive layer or a dielectric layer capable of holding an image. And the image holding layer 12 of the image transfer conveyance belt 1 is preferably disposed opposite to the surface of the belt base 2 (width dimension wd) excluding the region where the reinforcing member 4 is disposed.
According to this aspect, since the reinforcing member 4 is disposed corresponding to a region other than the image holding layer 12 of the image holding body 11, compared to the aspect in which the reinforcing member 4 is disposed facing the image holding layer 12, It is preferable in that the bending of the belt base material 2 can be suppressed.
Further, from the viewpoint of stably transporting the image transfer transport belt 1, the image transfer transport belt 1 has a belt-shaped guide protrusion 9 near the end in the width direction of the back surface, and is provided on the stretching member 3. A mode in which the guide protrusion 9 is movably fitted in a position restricting groove (not shown) is preferable.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.
In the figure, the image forming apparatus 20 includes, for example, an image forming unit 21 (21a to 21d) of a plurality of color components (for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, black) in a substantially vertical direction, and each image forming unit 21. A recording material conveyance belt 30 that circulates and moves in a substantially vertical direction is disposed at a portion facing the recording medium, and each color component image produced by each image forming unit 21 (21a to 21d) is placed on the recording material conveyance belt 30. Then, the respective color component images are fixed on the recording material S by the fixing device 60.

Here, the image forming unit 21 (21a to 21d) adopts, for example, an electrophotographic system, and has a drum-shaped photoconductor 22, and the photoconductor 22 is charged around the photoconductor 22. A charging device (for example, a charging roll) 23, an exposure device (for example, a laser scanning device) 24 for writing an electrostatic latent image of each color component on the charged photoconductor 22, and the photoconductor 22. A developing device 25 that develops the electrostatic latent image of each color component with the corresponding color toner and a cleaning device 26 that cleans the toner remaining on the photoreceptor 22 are provided.
On the other hand, the recording material transport belt 30 is stretched around a plurality of stretching rolls 31 and 32, and circulates, for example, using one of the stretching rolls 32 as a driving roll, and faces the photoreceptor 22 of each image forming unit 21. A transfer electric field forming transfer device (for example, a transfer roll) 27 for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive member 22 to the recording material S is disposed on the back surface of the recording material conveyance belt 30.
Further, an adsorption roll 33 is disposed on the surface of the recording material conveyance belt 30 facing the stretching roll 31, and an electrostatic adsorption force capable of electrostatic adsorption to the recording material conveyance belt 30 is applied to the recording material S. It has become so.
Furthermore, a belt cleaning device 35 is disposed on the surface of the recording material conveyance belt 30 facing the tension roll 32 so that dirt such as paper dust on the recording material conveyance belt 30 is cleaned.

In this embodiment, the recording material transport belt 30 includes, for example, a belt base 41 such as polyimide, polyamideimide, PVdF, polycarbonate resin, and the like, as shown in FIGS. A belt-like reinforcing tape 42 made of, for example, a polyester resin that is attached to the periphery of the surface near the both ends in the width direction intersecting the circulation direction of the material 41 with, for example, an acrylic adhesive (not shown), and the width direction of the belt base material 41 For example, a guide rib 43 of a convex strip made of, for example, a polyester resin is provided around the back surface near both ends, for example, with an acrylic adhesive (not shown).
In this example, the reinforcing tape 42 has a thickness of about 25 to 50 μm, for example, and the outer end position along the width direction of the belt base material 41 matches the both end positions of the belt base material 41 in the width direction. The one end part in the longitudinal direction is placed in a state of being overlapped with the other end part.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the guide rib 43 is arranged such that the outer end position along the width direction of the belt base material 41 is slightly closer to the inner side than the width direction both end positions of the belt base material 41. And is arranged so that one end in the longitudinal direction thereof substantially abuts with the other end.
On the other hand, the stretching rolls 31 and 32 fix a pulley portion 46 having a position restricting groove 47 formed around both ends of the roll body 45, and the guide rib 43 can be freely moved in the position restricting groove 47 of the pulley portion 46. It is made to fit in.
As described above, the recording material conveyance belt 30 is restricted from meandering in the width direction by the fitting of the position regulation groove 47 and the guide rib 43.
In the present embodiment, a mode in which the pulley portions 46 are provided at both ends of the roll body 45 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and position restriction grooves (not shown) are provided around both ends of the roll body 45. Of course, it may be formed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the belt cleaning device 35 is disposed on the surface side of the recording material transport belt 30 facing the stretching roll 32, and is disposed in the cleaning casing 51. A plate-like cleaning member 52 disposed in contact with the surface of the belt base 41 other than the region where the reinforcing tape 42 is disposed, and a brush-shaped cleaning member disposed in contact with the region where the reinforcing tape 42 is disposed. 53.
Here, as the plate-like cleaning member 52, for example, a metal scraper or the like is used in an embodiment in which an elastic blade made of urethane rubber or a belt substrate 41 having a high hardness is used although it depends on the material of the belt substrate 41.
On the other hand, as the brush-like cleaning member 52, a brush wire is implanted around the rotating body, and the rotation direction and rotation speed may be appropriately selected.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the dimensional relationship along the axial direction of the photosensitive member 22 of each part of the image forming apparatus is set as shown in FIG.
In the drawing, reference numeral 22a denotes a photosensitive layer of the photosensitive member 22, reference numeral 23a denotes a charging roll used for the charger 23, 25a denotes a developing roll which is an element of the developing device 25, and 26a denotes a plate which is an element of the cleaning device 26. The shape cleaning member 27a is a transfer roll which is an element of the transfer device 27. In this example, the transfer roll length is at least shorter than the width dimension of the recording material SA having the maximum use size, and the maximum image forming area Imax (FIG. 6 ( a)).
Reference sign SA denotes a recording material having a maximum use size, and SB denotes a recording material having a fixed size other than the maximum use size.
Further, ws is the width direction dimension of the recording material SA of the maximum use size, wb is the width direction dimension of the recording material transport belt 30, wd is the width direction dimension between the reinforcing tapes (inner end width dimension of the reinforcing tape), and wp is The photosensitive layer width dimension of the photoreceptor 22 is shown.
Here, wd <ws ≦ wb and wp <wd are satisfied.
Further, in the present embodiment, wd is set so as not to coincide with the side end portion of the recording material SB having a fixed size other than the maximum use size.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus in the present embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the recording material S is electrostatically attracted to the recording material transport belt 30 by the suction roll 33 and then transported together with the recording material transport belt 30. During this time, in each image forming unit 21 (21a to 21d), a toner image of each color component is produced on the photoreceptor 22 by electrophotography, and the recording material S on the recording material transport belt 30 is transferred by each transfer device 27. Are sequentially transferred. Thereafter, each color toner image transferred to the recording material S is fixed by the fixing device 60 and then discharged to a discharge tray (not shown).
In such an image forming process, as shown in FIG. 6A, the recording material SA having the maximum usable size is set longer than the widthwise dimension wd between the reinforcing tapes 42 of the recording material transport belt 30. The recording material SA of the maximum usable size moves while rubbing both ends on the reinforcing tape 42.

For this reason, paper dust or the like of the recording material S may adhere not only to the belt base material 41 of the recording material conveyance belt 30 but also to the reinforcing tape 42. However, the plate-like cleaning member 52 of the belt cleaning device 35 is not attached to the belt base. The surface of the material 41 is cleaned, and the brush-like cleaning member 53 cleans the surface of the reinforcing tape 42.
At this time, there is a step between the belt base material 41 and the reinforcing tape 42, but by optimizing the arrangement positions of the plate-like cleaning member 52 and the brush-like cleaning member 53, the belt base material 41 and the reinforcing tape 42 are reinforced. The cleaning performance of the tape 42 is kept good.
Further, the width direction dimension wb of the recording material conveyance belt 30 may be added to a dimension smaller than twice the width direction dimension of the reinforcing tape 42 with respect to the width direction dimension ws of the maximum use size recording material SA. The width direction dimension wb of the recording material conveyance belt 30 does not need to be so large.

On the other hand, since the maximum image forming area Imax of the recording material SA of the maximum use size is disposed within the width direction dimension wd between the reinforcing tapes 42, even if a step is generated between the belt base material 41 and the reinforcing tape 42, At the portion corresponding to the maximum image forming area Imax of the recording material SA having the maximum use size, the transfer roll 27a of the transfer device 27 uniformly holds the recording material SA between the photosensitive layer 22a of the photosensitive member 22, and thus the maximum. The image forming performance in the maximum image forming area Imax of the recording material SA of the used size is maintained well.
Further, in the present embodiment, the width direction dimension wd between the reinforcing tapes 42 is set so as not to coincide with the side end portion of the recording material SB having a fixed size other than the maximum use size. When the recording material SB having a size is conveyed, the side end portion of the recording material SB does not rub against the inner end portion of the reinforcing tape 42, and the reinforcing tape 42 is peeled off as the recording material SB is conveyed. There is no concern.

On the other hand, the comparative form shown in FIG. 6B is a mode in which the recording material SA having the maximum usable size is transported within the widthwise dimension wd ′ between the reinforcing tapes 42 ′ of the recording material transport belt 30 ′. In the comparative embodiment, the widthwise dimension wd ′ between the reinforcing tapes 42 ′ must be set larger than the widthwise dimension ws of the recording material SA having the maximum usable size, and therefore the widthwise dimension wb ′ of the recording material transport belt 30 ′. Is larger than the width direction dimension wd of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Further, the belt cleaning device may be disposed corresponding to the path through which the recording material SA having the maximum usable size is conveyed, but paper dust or the like is formed on the step portion between the reinforcing tape 42 'and the belt base material 41'. There is also a concern that it is easy to collect and difficult to clean.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the photosensitive layer 22a of the photoreceptor 22 is a region facing the belt base 41 other than the region where the reinforcing tape 42 of the recording material conveyance belt 30 is disposed, as shown in FIG. It is arranged.
At this time, the thickness of the photosensitive layer 22a of the photosensitive member 22 is about 30 to 50 μm, which is substantially equal to the thickness of the reinforcing tape 42 of the recording material conveyance belt 30 (for example, 25 to 50 μm). Even if both ends of the recording material SA are in sliding contact with the reinforcing tape 42 of the recording material conveying belt 30 and the recording material SA is pressed between the photosensitive member 22 and the transfer roll 27a of the transfer device 27, the photosensitive material is exposed to light. The photosensitive layer 22a of the body 22 and the reinforcing tape 42 of the recording material conveyance belt 30 face each other and do not sandwich the both ends of the recording material SA, and the photosensitive material sandwiched between the photosensitive body 22 and the recording material conveyance belt 30. The recording material SA portion located in the region corresponding to the layer 22a and the recording material SA portion located in the region corresponding to the reinforcing tape 42 have substantially the same thickness. For this reason, the belt base material 41 of the recording material transport belt 30 is maintained in a substantially flat state over the photosensitive layer 22a region and the reinforcing tape 42 region. In this state, since the belt base material 41 of the recording material conveyance belt 30 is not bent and deformed at the end in the width direction, there is no concern that the end of the recording material conveyance belt 30 is bent and deformed unnecessarily. .

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, in a mode in which the photosensitive layer 22 a of the photosensitive member 22 is disposed over a portion of the recording material conveyance belt 30 that faces the region where the reinforcing tape 42 is disposed. For example, both end portions of the recording material SA of the maximum use size are slidably contacted along the reinforcing tape 42 of the recording material conveyance belt 30, and the recording material SA is disposed in pressure contact between the photosensitive member 22 and the transfer roll 27 a of the transfer device 27. Then, the photosensitive layer 22a of the photosensitive member 22 and the reinforcing tape 42 of the recording material transport belt 30 face each other and sandwich both end portions of the recording material SA. In this state, the recording material SA portion located in the region corresponding to the photosensitive layer 22 a sandwiched between the photoreceptor 22 and the recording material conveyance belt 30 and the recording material SA portion located in the region corresponding to the reinforcing tape 42 are defined. The belt base material 41 of the recording material conveyance belt 30 is bent and deformed at the end in the width direction due to the different thickness, and compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. There is a possibility that the portion is easily bent and deformed.

(A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of embodiment to which this invention is applied, (b) is sectional drawing equivalent to the BB line in (a), (c) is image transfer conveyance in (a). It is a plane explanatory view of a belt. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the recording material conveyance belt used in Embodiment 1, (b) is sectional drawing equivalent to the BB line in (a). (A) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the belt cleaning apparatus used in Embodiment 1, (b) is the arrow line view seen from B direction in (a). FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a dimensional relationship among components of the image forming apparatus used in the first embodiment. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the relative positional relationship of the recording material conveyance belt and recording material of the largest use size in Embodiment 1, (b) is the recording material conveyance belt and recording material of the largest usage size in a comparative form It is explanatory drawing which shows the relative positional relationship of these. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the state of the edge part periphery in the transfer area | region of the recording material conveyance belt in Embodiment 1, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state in the deformation | transformation form.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image transfer conveyance belt, 2 ... Belt base material, 3 ... Stretch member, 4 ... Reinforcement member, 5 ... Recording material, 6 ... Cleaning means, 7 ... Plate-shaped cleaning member, 8 ... Brush-shaped cleaning member, 9 ... Guide ridges, 10 ... image forming means, 11 ... image holding member, 12 ... image holding layer, wb ... width direction dimension of image transfer conveying belt, wd ... width direction dimension between reinforcing members, wp ... width of image holding layer. Directional dimension, ws: Recording material widthwise dimension, Imax: Maximum imaging area

Claims (8)

An image comprising image forming means for producing an image, and an image transfer conveying belt provided opposite to the image forming means and transferring and transferring the image produced by the image forming means directly or via a recording material A forming device,
The image transfer conveying belt is a belt base material that is circulated and rotated around a plurality of stretching members;
A belt-shaped reinforcing member that is attached with a step along the surface periphery near the end in the width direction intersecting the circulation direction of the belt base material,
At least a part of the reinforcing member is arranged facing the width direction dimension that intersects the conveyance direction of the recording material of the maximum use size, and the operation is performed at a portion facing the belt base material surface excluding the region where the reinforcing member is disposed. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a maximum image forming area by an image means is set. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is disposed around a surface near both ends of the belt base in the width direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
An image forming apparatus, wherein an end portion of the reinforcing member located on the inner side in the width direction of the image transfer conveyance belt is not coincident with a peripheral end portion position of a recording material of a standard size. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
And a cleaning means for cleaning the surface of the belt base material and the reinforcing member of the image transfer conveyance belt,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit has a brush-like cleaning member for cleaning the surface of the reinforcing member at least at a portion facing the reinforcing member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.
The cleaning means is provided facing the surface of the belt base member excluding the region where the reinforcing member is disposed and cleans the surface of the image transfer conveyance belt, and the reinforcing member is provided facing the reinforcing member. An image forming apparatus comprising a brush-like cleaning member for cleaning a surface. The aspect of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit includes an image holding body that holds an image.
The image holding member has an image holding layer composed of a photosensitive layer or a dielectric layer capable of holding an image, and the image holding layer of the image transfer conveyance belt is disposed to face the surface of the belt base member excluding the region where the reinforcing member is provided. What is claimed is: 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The image transfer conveying belt has a belt-like guide protrusion near the end in the width direction of the back surface, and the guide protrusion is movably fitted in a position restriction groove provided in the stretching member. An image forming apparatus. An image transfer conveying belt that is provided opposite to an image forming means for producing an image and transfers the image produced by the image forming means directly or via a recording material,
A belt base material that circulates and rotates over a plurality of tension members;
A belt-shaped reinforcing member that is attached with a step along the surface periphery near the end in the width direction intersecting the circulation direction of the belt base material,
At least a part of the reinforcing member is arranged facing the width direction dimension that intersects the conveyance direction of the recording material of the maximum use size, and it is formed in a part facing the surface of the belt base material excluding the region where the reinforcing member is disposed. An image transfer conveying belt, wherein a maximum image forming area of an image means is set.

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