JP6809042B2 - Conveyor device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport device and an image forming device.

Patent Document 1 below discloses an endless belt having a base material containing an elastic material and an inner coating layer having a sea-island structure formed of a resin composition inside the base material and having islands dispersed in the sea part. Has been done. The inner coating layer is formed so that the average size of the islands at both ends in the belt width direction is smaller than the average size of the islands at the center in the belt width direction.

The following Patent Document 2 has a primary transfer means for primary transfer of an image formed on an image holder onto an intermediate transfer belt, and for reinforcing the intermediate transfer belt on the inner peripheral surfaces of both ends of the intermediate transfer belt. An image forming apparatus including a reinforcing portion of the above is disclosed. The reinforcing portion is an endless, seamless reinforcing portion.

According to Patent Document 3 below, in a driving device that rotationally drives an endless belt wound around a plurality of rolls, the diameter of at least one of the endless belts in the width direction is narrowed from the end in the width direction toward the center. A configuration is disclosed in which the conical roller is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the endless belt.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-215454 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-295627 JP-A-2009-069478

The present invention obtains a transport device that suppresses breakage of the end portion of the endless belt due to meandering of the endless belt, as compared with a configuration in which the edge of the surface along the radial direction of the endless belt contacts the inclined portion of the rotating body. Is the purpose.

The transport device according to the first aspect includes an endless belt that moves in the circumferential direction, a support roll that rotates while the endless belt is wound, a pressurizing means that generates tension in the endless belt, and the endless belt. Is rotated in a wound state and moves in a direction intersecting the pressurizing direction by the pressurizing means, and is integrated with a correction roll for correcting the meandering of the endless belt and an axial end portion of the compensating roll. A rotating body provided with an inclined portion provided in the above and inclined so that the outer diameter gradually expands toward the outside in the axial direction, a fixing member arranged so as to come into contact with the inclined portion of the rotating body, and the above. An end face formed at the axial end of the endless belt and whose inner diameter is gradually expanded toward the outside in the axial direction of the endless belt, wherein the angle θ _{B of the} end face with respect to the radial direction of the endless belt is the said. The end face is equal to the angle θ _{P of the} inclined portion with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body, or is set to | θ _B − θ _P | ≦ 5 deg.

The transport device according to the second aspect is a transfer belt in which the endless belt is transferred by superimposing images on a plurality of image holders in the transport device according to the first aspect , and the Young's modulus of the endless belt is high. It is 2,800 MPa or more.

The image forming apparatus according to the third aspect includes a transport unit for transporting a recording medium, a plurality of image holders for holding an image, a transport belt in which the endless belt conveys the recording medium, and a plurality of the image holders. It has a transfer belt on which images on the body are superimposed and transferred, and a transfer device according to the first aspect , which is at least one of a fixing belts for fixing images on the recording medium.

The image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect includes a transport unit for transporting a recording medium, a plurality of image holders for holding images, and an endless belt on which images on the plurality of image holders are superimposed and transferred. It has the transport device according to the second aspect provided, and a secondary transfer unit that transfers an image transferred overlaid on the endless belt to a recording medium.

According to the transport device according to the first aspect, the end portion of the endless belt is broken due to the meandering of the endless belt as compared with the configuration in which the edge of the surface along the radial direction of the endless belt contacts the inclined portion of the rotating body. It is suppressed.

According to the transfer device according to the second aspect, when the Young's modulus of the transfer belt is smaller than 2800 MPa, the color shift due to the deformation of the transfer belt when the image on the plurality of image holders is transferred to the transfer belt. Is suppressed.

According to the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the frequency of replacement of the endless belt is lower than that of the configuration without the conveying device according to the first aspect .

According to the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, as compared with the configuration without the conveying device according to the second aspect, when the image on the plurality of image holders is transferred to the transfer belt, the transfer belt is deformed. An image with suppressed color shift is output.

It is a block diagram which shows the image forming apparatus provided with the transfer apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a transfer belt, a correction roll, and a rotating body used in the transfer device shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the meandering correction apparatus used for the transport apparatus shown in FIG. (A) is a plan view showing the state of the correction roll and the rotating body at the time of stability, and (B) is a plan view showing the state of the correction roll and the rotating body at the time of meandering. FIG. 5 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing an enlarged state of an axial end portion of a transfer belt, a correction roll, and a rotating body. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an enlarged state of an axial end portion of a transfer belt, a correction roll, and a rotating body. It is an enlarged sectional view for demonstrating the state which the end face of a transfer belt comes into contact with the inclined part of a rotating body at the time of meandering of a transfer belt. It is a top view which shows the fixing belt, the correction roll and the rotating body used in the transport device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the transport belt, the correction roll and the rotating body used in the transport device which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. This is an experimental result of evaluating the state and durability of the register deviation when the transport devices of Examples 1 to 7 and the transport devices of Comparative Examples 1 to 3 are incorporated into the image forming apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The direction indicated by the arrow H appropriately shown in the drawings is the device height direction, and the direction indicated by the arrow W is the device width direction. Further, the direction orthogonal to each of the device height direction and the device width direction (indicated by an arrow D as appropriate) is defined as the device depth direction.

[First Embodiment]
<Overall configuration of image forming device>
FIG. 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus 10 including the conveying apparatus 70 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming unit 8 and a control device 24.

The image forming unit 8 includes a recording medium accommodating unit 12, a toner image forming unit 14, a conveying unit 16, a fixing device 18, and a discharging unit 20. The image forming unit 8 is adapted to form an image on the recording medium P. The control device 24 controls the operation of each part of the image forming device 10.

The toner image forming unit 14 includes image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, 40K, and a transfer unit 50. Here, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are examples of toner colors.

Since the image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, and 40K have almost the same configurations except for the toner used, the image forming unit 40Y will be described here. In FIG. 1, the reference numerals of the parts constituting the image forming units 40M, 40C, and 40K are omitted. In the following description, the subscripts may be omitted for the image forming units 40Y, 40M, 40C, 40K and each member constituting them when it is not necessary to distinguish each color.

The image forming unit 40Y includes a photoconductor 42, a charging device 44, an exposure device 48, and a developing device 46. The photoconductor 42 has a function of holding a toner image developed by the developing device 46 while rotating around its own axis. Here, the photoconductor 42 is an example of an image holder. The charging device 44 has a function of charging the photoconductor 42. The exposure device 48 has a function of forming an electrostatic latent image on the charged photoconductor 42. The developing device 46 has a function of developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 42 as a toner image.

The transfer unit 50 has a function of primary transferring the toner image of each color developed on each photoconductor 42 and then secondary transferring the toner image to the recording medium P. The transfer unit 50 includes a transfer device 70, a plurality of primary transfer rolls 54, and a secondary transfer roll 58. The transfer device 70 includes a transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt in this embodiment) 72, a drive roll 74, a support roll 76, and a correction roll 78. The plurality of primary transfer rolls 54 are arranged at positions that come into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the transfer belt 72 and face each of the photoconductors 42. The secondary transfer roll 58 is arranged at a position where it contacts the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 72 and faces the drive roll 74. The position where the secondary transfer roll 58 and the transfer belt 72 come into contact with each other is the secondary transfer unit 62. Here, the transfer belt 72 has an endless shape, and is an example of an endless belt. The drive roll 74 is configured to rotate in a state where the transfer belt 72 is wound, and is an example of a support roll. The transport device 70 will be described in detail later.

The transport unit 16 has a function of transporting the recording medium P housed in the recording medium accommodating unit 12 through the transport path 16C and discharging it to the discharge unit 20. The transport unit 16 includes a delivery roll 16A and a plurality of transport roll pairs 16B.

The fixing device 18 has a function of pressurizing the toner image secondarily transferred to the recording medium P while heating to fix the toner image on the recording medium P.

<Operation of image forming device>
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

The image signal transmitted from the external device (PC as an example) is converted into image data of each color by the control device 24 and output to each exposure device 48.

Subsequently, the exposure light emitted from each exposure device 48 is applied to each photoconductor 42 charged by each charging device 44 to form an electrostatic latent image. Subsequently, each electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image of each color by each developing device 46. Subsequently, the toner images of each color are primarily transferred to the transfer belt 72 by each primary transfer roll 54. As a result, the toner images of each color on each photoconductor 42 are superimposed and transferred on the transfer belt 72. Here, the toner image is an example of an image.

On the other hand, the recording medium P is conveyed at the timing when the portion of the transfer belt 72 on which the toner image is first transferred reaches the secondary transfer unit 62, and the toner image on the transfer belt 72 is secondarily transferred to the recording medium P. Will be done. Subsequently, the recording medium P on which the toner image is secondarily transferred is conveyed toward the fixing device 18, and the toner image is fixed on the recording medium P. Then, the recording medium P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge unit 20, and the image forming operation is completed.

<Structure of transport device>
Next, the transport device 70, which is a main part of the present embodiment, will be described.

In FIG. 2, the vicinity of the transfer belt 72, which is the main part of the transfer device 70, is shown in a plan view. In FIG. 3, the meandering correction device 81 provided in the transport device 70 is shown in a perspective view. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer device 70 includes a transfer belt 72, a drive roll 74 that orbits the transfer belt 72 in the direction of arrow R1, and a correction roll 78 that corrects the meandering of the transfer belt 72. A support roll 76 for supporting the transfer belt 72 and a support roll 76 are provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the transport device 70 includes a meandering correction device 81 that movably supports the correction roll 78 and corrects the meandering of the transfer belt 72. Note that in FIG. 2, the support roll 76 arranged behind the drive roll 74 is not shown. Further, in FIG. 3, the support roll 76 is not shown in order to make the configuration of the transport device 70 easy to understand.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drive roll 74 is configured such that the transfer belt 72 is wound around and rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and the transfer belt 72 is rotated by the rotation of the drive roll 74 with the arrow R1. It is designed to orbit in the direction (move in the circumferential direction). The support roll 76 is wound around the transfer belt 72 and rotates in accordance with the orbital movement of the transfer belt 72. Further, the correction roll 78 is adapted to be wound around the transfer belt 72 and to rotate in accordance with the orbital movement of the transfer belt 72.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the correction roll 78 includes a rotatably supported shaft portion (core metal) 78A and a cylindrical portion 78B formed around the shaft portion 78A ( (See FIG. 6). The transfer belt 72 is wound around the cylindrical portion 78B of the correction roll 78. A rotating body 80 is provided at the axial end of the correction roll 78. In the present embodiment, the rotating body 80 is provided at both ends of the correction roll 78 in the axial direction (see FIG. 2).

As an example, the rotating body 80 has a through hole formed in the central portion, and is attached to the shaft portion 78A by press fitting. As a result, the rotating body 80 rotates integrally with the correction roll 78. The rotating body 80 includes an inclined portion 80A that is inclined so that the outer diameter gradually increases toward the outer side in the axial direction (the side opposite to the correction roll 78). In other words, the rotating body 80 has a mortar-shaped shape, that is, a truncated cone shape, in which the outer diameter on the outer side in the axial direction is larger than the outer diameter on the inner side in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the angle of the inclined portion 80A with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body 80 is set to θ _P. In the present embodiment, the angle θ _P is set to, for example, 35 ° or more and 45 ° or less.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an end face 72A whose inner diameter is gradually expanded toward the outside in the axial direction of the transfer belt 72 is formed at the axial end of the transfer belt 72. When the angle (cross-sectional angle) of the end surface 72A with respect to the radial direction of the transfer belt 72, that is, the thickness direction is θ _B , the angle θ _B is equal to the angle θ _P of the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80, or | θ _B − θ _P | ≤5 deg is set (see FIG. 5). In the present embodiment, the angle θ _B is set to, for example, 30 ° or more and 50 ° or less.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the transfer belt 72 meanders, the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 comes into contact with the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80. At that time, due to the relationship between the angle θ _B and the angle θ _P , the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 and the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 are configured to easily come into contact with each other. Although FIGS. 6 and 7 show a state in which the transfer belt 72 is wound around the correction roll 78 by 180 °, FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic cross-sectional views, and in reality, The range in which the transfer belt 72 is wound around the correction roll 78 is set to an angle smaller than 180 °.

The Young's modulus of the transfer belt 72 is, for example, 2800 MPa or more and 5000 MPa or less. Young's modulus is a value measured by a tensile test based on JIS K7127.

Specifically, the belt to be measured is cut into a size of 5 mm × 40 mm and used as a test piece. The Young's modulus is measured 10 times, and the average value is used as the measurement data. As the measuring machine, a tensile tester MODEL-1605N manufactured by Aiko Engineering Co., Ltd. is used, and the measuring conditions are 22 ° C. and a tensile speed of 20 mm / min in a 55% RH environment.

When the Young's modulus of the transfer belt 72 is 2800 MPa or more, deformation due to elasticity of the transfer belt 72 is suppressed as compared with the case where the Young's modulus of the transfer belt 72 is smaller than 2800 MPa.

As shown in FIG. 3, the meandering correction device 81 includes a bearing portion 82 that rotatably supports the shaft portion 78A of the correction roll 78, a holding member 84 that movably holds the bearing portion 82, and a holding member 84. It includes an urging member 86 that is supported and urges the bearing portion 82 in a direction away from the drive roll 74. The holding member 84 is a rod-shaped member 90 arranged along a straight line connecting the drive roll 74 and the correction roll 78, and a frame fixed to one end of the rod-shaped member 90 in the longitudinal direction (the end on the correction roll 78 side). It is provided with a part 92. The frame portion 92 includes an opening 92A, and when the bearing portion 82 slides in the opening 92A, the bearing portion 82 intersects the axial direction of the correction roll 78 in the arrow A direction (longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped member 90). It is designed to move to. The urging member 86 is composed of a coil spring or the like, and is arranged between the side wall of the opening 92A of the frame portion 92 and the bearing portion 82. Here, the urging member 86 is an example of the pressurizing means. The urging member 86 urges the bearing portion 82 in a direction away from the drive roll 74 to generate tension in the transfer belt 72.

The drive roll 74 includes a rotary shaft 74A that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and a cylindrical portion 74B provided around the rotary shaft 74A. One end of the rotating shaft 74A in the axial direction is rotatably supported by the supporting portion 94. A recess 94A is formed in the wall portion of the support portion 94 on the rod-shaped member 90 side. Further, at the other end of the rod-shaped member 90 in the longitudinal direction (the end opposite to the correction roll 78), a conical portion 90A whose outer diameter gradually decreases toward the outside in the longitudinal direction is formed. The conical portion 90A of the rod-shaped member 90 is inserted into the recess 94A of the support portion 94. As a result, the rod-shaped member 90 intersects the axial direction of the correction roll 78 shown by the arrow B and the pressurizing direction (biased direction) by the urging member 86 shown by the arrow C, with the recess 94A of the support portion 94 as a fulcrum. It is configured to move in two directions (the direction intersecting the arrow B). As a result, the correction roll 78 and the rotating body 80 move in a direction intersecting the pressurizing direction (biasing direction) of the urging member 86. In the present embodiment, the correction roll 78 and the rotating body 80 move in the direction along the arrow B and in the direction along the arrow C.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the meandering correction device 81 is arranged so as to come into contact with the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 at a position facing the rotating bodies 80 on both sides in the axial direction of the correction roll 78. It includes a fixing member 96. The fixing member 96 is, for example, a columnar member, and the corner portions of the fixing member 96 come into contact with the inclined portion 80A. The fixing member 96 is configured to come into contact with the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 from the side opposite to the urging direction by the urging member 86. As an example, the two fixing members 96 are fixed to a frame (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus 10. The two fixing members 96 are arranged outside the moving range of the transfer belt 72.

<Action and effect>
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the state where the transfer belt 72 does not meander, the transfer belt 72 orbits in a state where it is stably wound around the correction roll 78. That is, the transfer belt 72 orbits around the position where the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 is separated from the rotating body 80. In FIG. 6, the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 is shown in an exaggerated state by increasing the thickness of the transfer belt 72 in order to make the configuration easy to understand.

FIG. 4A shows the rotating body 80 and the fixing member 96 in a stable state in which the transfer belt 72 (see FIG. 6) does not meander. As shown in FIG. 4A, the inclined portions 80A of the rotating body 80 on both sides of the correction roll 78 in the axial direction are in contact with the fixing member 96 at the positions of the intermediate portions in the axial direction of the rotating body 80, respectively. ..

As shown in FIG. 7, when the transfer belt 72 meanders, the end faces 72A of the transfer belt 72 are one of the two rotating bodies 80 provided at both ends in the axial direction of the correction roll 78. It contacts the inclined portion 80A of 80. The end face 72A of the transfer belt 72 has a shape in which the inner diameter is gradually expanded toward the outer side in the axial direction. The inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 is inclined so that the outer diameter gradually increases toward the outer side in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, the angle θ _B of the end face 72A with respect to the radial direction of the transfer belt 72 is equal to the angle θ _P of the inclined portion 80A with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body 80, or | θ _B −θ _P | ≦ 5deg. It is set. As a result, the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 and the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 can easily come into contact with each other.

Then, when the meandering amount of the transfer belt 72 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined value, the transfer belt 72 presses the rotating body 80 along the axial direction of the correction roll 78 to rotate the rotating body 80 as shown in FIG. 4 (B). The body 80 moves integrally with the correction roll 78 in the axial direction outside (arrow D direction) of the correction roll 78. The inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 comes into contact with a pair of fixing members 96 provided on a frame (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10, and the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 is pushed by the fixing member 96 to release the correction roll 78. By inclining, the degree of meandering of the transfer belt 72 is reduced. Then, the correction roll 78 continues to rotate when the pushing force of the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 and the meandering force in the opposite direction are balanced.

In the above-mentioned transport device 70, as shown in FIG. 7, the angle θ _B of the end face 72A with respect to the radial direction of the transfer belt 72 is equal to or equal to the angle θ _P of the inclined portion 80A with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body 80. | Θ _B − θ _P | ≦ 5 deg is set. As a result, when the transfer belt 72 meanders and the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 comes into contact with the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80, the end surface 72A of the transfer belt 72 and the inclined portion 80A of the rotating body 80 come into contact with each other. It's easy to do. Therefore, in the transfer device 70, the end portion (end surface 72A) of the transfer belt 72 due to the meandering of the transfer belt 72 is compared with the configuration in which the edge of the surface along the radial direction of the transfer belt contacts the inclined portion of the rotating body. Breakage of the including part) is suppressed.

The Young's modulus of the transfer belt 72 is set to 2800 MPa or more. Therefore, in the transfer device 70, color shift due to deformation of the transfer belt 72 is suppressed when the image on the plurality of photoconductors 42 is transferred to the transfer belt 72 as compared with the configuration in which the Young's modulus of the transfer belt is smaller than 2800 MPa. Will be done.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, when the toner image on the plurality of photoconductors 42 is transferred to the transfer belt 72, the color shift due to the deformation of the transfer belt 72 is suppressed as compared with the configuration without the transport device 70. The image is output. Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, the frequency of exchanging the transfer belt 72 is lower than that in the configuration without the conveying device 70.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the transport device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those in the first embodiment described above will be assigned the same number and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows a fixing device 110 to which the transport device 112 of the present embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 8, the fixing device 110 includes a transport device 112 and a pressure roll 118. The transport device 112 includes an endless fixing belt 114, a heating roll 116 that rotates with the fixing belt 114 wound around, a correction roll 78, and rotating bodies 80 at both ends of the correction roll 78 in the axial direction. It has. The pressurizing roll 118 is arranged at a position facing the heating roll 116 with the fixing belt 114 interposed therebetween, and the fixing belt 114 is pressed against the heating roll 116 to form a nip portion. The heating roll 116 is provided with a heat source (not shown) inside, and heats the fixing belt 114 in contact with the heating roll 116. Here, the fixing belt 114 is an example of an endless belt. The heating roll 116 is an example of a support roll.

The fixing device 110 is arranged in place of the fixing device 18 in the image forming device 10 shown in FIG. 1, for example. The recording medium P on which the toner image as an example of the image is transferred is conveyed to the nip portion of the fixing belt 114 and the pressure roll 118. As a result, the toner image on the recording medium P is fixed.

Although not shown, an end face whose inner diameter is gradually increased toward the outside in the axial direction of the fixing belt 114 is formed at the axial end of the fixing belt 114. The angle θ _B of the end face of the fixing belt 114 with respect to the radial direction is equal to the angle θ _P of the inclined portion 80A with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body 80, or is set to | θ _B − θ _P | ≦ 5 deg.

In the above-mentioned transport device 112, the breakage of the end portion of the fixing belt 114 due to the meandering of the fixing belt 114 is suppressed as compared with the configuration in which the edge of the surface along the radial direction of the fixing belt contacts the inclined portion of the rotating body. Ru.

Further, in the image forming apparatus provided with the transfer device 112, the frequency of replacement of the fixing belt 114 is lower than that in the configuration without the transfer device 112.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the transport device according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those of the first and second embodiments described above will be assigned the same number and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9, the transport device 130 of the present embodiment is a transport device for transporting a recording medium (not shown). The transport device 130 includes an endless transport belt 132, a support roll 134 that rotates with the transport belt 132 wound around, a correction roll 78, and rotating bodies 80 at both ends of the correction roll 78 in the axial direction. It has. Here, the transport belt 132 is an example of an endless belt. The transfer device 130 is provided at a position where the recording medium on the transfer belt 132 is transferred by moving the transfer belt 132 in an image forming device (not shown). Alternatively, in an image forming apparatus (not shown), the transport belt 132 of the transport device 130 may be arranged at a position where the toner images on the plurality of photoconductors are directly transferred.

Although not shown, an end face having an inner diameter gradually increased toward the outside of the transport belt 132 in the axial direction is formed at the end of the transport belt 132 in the axial direction. The angle θ _B of the end face of the transport belt 132 with respect to the radial direction is equal to the angle θ _P of the inclined portion 80A with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body 80, or is set to | θ _B − θ _P | ≦ 5 deg.

In the above-mentioned transport device 130, breakage of the end portion of the fixing belt 114 due to meandering of the transport belt 132 is suppressed as compared with a configuration in which the edge of the surface along the radial direction of the transport belt contacts the inclined portion of the rotating body. Ru.

Further, in the image forming apparatus provided with the transfer device 130, the frequency of replacement of the transfer belt 132 is lower than that in the configuration without the transfer device 130.

In the transport device, the number and arrangement of the support rolls that rotate with the endless belt wound around are not limited to the transport devices of the first to third embodiments, and can be changed.

Further, in the transport device of the first embodiment, the meandering correction device 81 is provided, but the members constituting the meandering correction device 81 and the configuration for movably supporting the correction roll 78 can be changed.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to the trader.

Next, an experiment in which color shift occurs when an image is formed by an image forming apparatus and the durability of the transfer belt is evaluated using a plurality of types of transfer belts will be described.

[Manufacturing method of intermediate transcript]
<Example 1>
Solvent-soluble polyamide-imide resin (Toyobo Vilomax HR16NN, solid content 18% by mass, solvent n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone) with carbon black (Color Black FW1, Degussa, primary particle size 13 nm) 20% by mass was added to the solid content of the polyamide-imide resin, and a high-pressure collision type disperser (manufactured by Genus) was used to pass an orifice of φ0.1 mm at 200 MPa and the two-divided slurry was collided five times. Dispersion was performed.

The dispersed resin solution was applied to the outer peripheral surface of an aluminum pipe having a diameter of 253 mm by a flow coat method, rotated and dried at 150 ° C. for 30 minutes, placed in an oven at 250 ° C. for 1 hour, taken out, and the film was removed. The extracted film was wound around a holder with tension applied and cut with a cutter having an adjusted insertion angle to obtain an annular body having a diameter of 253 mm and a width of 330 mm. The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in this way was designated as belt A. As shown in Example 1 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt A with respect to the radial direction was 40 °, and Young's modulus was 5000 MPa.

<Example 2 and Example 5>
A transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the set temperature of the oven was set to 220 ° C. was used as belt B. As shown in Examples 2 and 5 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt B with respect to the radial direction was 40 °, and Young's modulus was 3000 MPa.

<Example 3>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the insertion angle of the cutter was changed was designated as belt C. As shown in Example 3 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt C with respect to the radial direction was 45 °, and Young's modulus was 5000 MPa.

<Example 4>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the set temperature of the oven was set to 200 ° C. was designated as belt D. As shown in Example 4 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt D with respect to the radial direction was 40 °, and Young's modulus was 1000 MPa.

<Example 6>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the set temperature of the oven was set to 225 ° C. was used as belt G. As shown in Example 6 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt G with respect to the radial direction was 40 °, and Young's modulus was 3500 MPa.

<Example 7>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the set temperature of the oven was 210 ° C. was designated as belt H. As shown in Example 7 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt H with respect to the radial direction was 40 °, and Young's modulus was 2800 MPa.

<Comparative example 1>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the insertion angle of the cutter was changed was designated as belt E. As shown in Comparative Example 1 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt E with respect to the radial direction was 0 °, and Young's modulus was 5000 MPa.

<Comparative example 2>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the set temperature of the oven was set to 200 ° C. and the insertion angle of the cutter was changed was designated as belt F. As shown in Comparative Example 2 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt F with respect to the radial direction was 0 °, and Young's modulus was 1000 MPa.

<Comparative example 3>
The transfer belt (intermediate transfer belt) produced in the same manner except that the set temperature of the oven was set to 220 ° C. and the insertion angle of the cutter was changed was designated as belt I. As shown in Comparative Example 3 in FIG. 10, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the belt I with respect to the radial direction was 45 °, and Young's modulus was 3000 MPa.

[Structure of rotating body]
The rotating body was formed by injection molding the POM material into a mortar-shaped shape, that is, a conical shape having a through hole of φ24 mm on the large diameter side, φ8 mm on the small diameter side, and φ6 mm in the central portion. Subsequently, the conical surface was cut to form an inclined portion, and the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _P of the inclined portion with respect to the radial line of the rotating body was processed to be 45 °. The rotating body thus obtained was designated as rotating body A. The rotating body A is press-fitted into the core metal (φ6 mm) as the shaft portion 78A of the correction roll 78 (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 10, the rotating body A is used in Examples 1 to 4, Example 6, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2.

A rotating body produced in the same manner as the rotating body A was defined as a rotating body B except that the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _P of the inclined portion with respect to the line in the radial direction was processed to 35 °. As shown in FIG. 10, the rotating body B is used in Example 5, Example 7, and Comparative Example 3.

〔Evaluation method〕
<Young's modulus>
Young's modulus was measured by a tensile test based on JIS K7127. A test piece of 5 mm × 40 mm was measured at a tensile speed of 20 mm / min.

<Cash register (displacement amount)>
The register (displacement amount) is 1 dot length by incorporating the intermediate transfer belts and rotating bodies of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 into an image forming apparatus obtained by modifying DocuCenter-VC2263 manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Horizontal and diagonal thin line images were output by superimposing YMCK, the overlapping portion was magnified and observed, and the amount of deviation was measured. In the evaluation shown in FIG. 10, “⊚” indicates a deviation amount ≦ 20 μm. “◯” indicates 20 μm <deviation amount ≦ 100 μm. “Δ” is 100 μm <deviation amount ≦ 200 μm. “X” means a deviation amount> 200 μm.

<Durability>
Durability is determined by incorporating the transfer belts (intermediate transfer belts) and rotating bodies of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 into an image forming apparatus modified from DocuCenter-VC2263 manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. in a low temperature environment. The evaluation was made by continuously printing an A4 chart having an image density of 5%. The number of prints (PV: Print Volume) at the time when the axial end of the transfer belt was broken was measured and used as the durability life.

As shown in FIGS. 10, in Examples 1 to 7, the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _B of the end face of the transfer belt with respect to the radial direction is equal to the angle (cross-sectional angle) θ _P of the inclined portion with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body. Or, it is set to | θ _B − θ _P | ≦ 5 deg. In Examples 1 to 7, it was confirmed that the register (displacement amount) and durability were good.

10 Image forming apparatus 16 Conveying unit 42 Photoreceptor (example of image holder)
62 Secondary transfer unit 70 Conveyor device 72 Transfer belt (an example of endless belt)
72A End face 74 Drive roll (an example of support roll)
76 Support roll 78 Correction roll 80 Rotating body 80A Inclined portion 81 Meander correction device 86 Biasing member (example of pressurizing means)
96 Fixing member 112 Conveyor device 114 Fixing belt (an example of endless belt)
116 Heating roll (an example of support roll)
130 Conveyor device 132 Conveyance belt (an example of endless belt)
134 Support roll P Recording medium

Claims (4)

An endless belt that moves in the circumferential direction,
A support roll that rotates with the endless belt wound around,
A pressurizing means for generating tension in the endless belt and
A correction roll that rotates while the endless belt is wound and moves in a direction that intersects the pressurizing direction by the pressurizing means to correct the meandering of the endless belt.
A rotating body provided integrally with the axial end of the correction roll and having an inclined portion inclined so that the outer diameter gradually increases toward the outer side in the axial direction.
A fixing member arranged so as to come into contact with the inclined portion of the rotating body, and
An end face formed at the axial end of the endless belt belt itself and whose inner diameter is gradually expanded from the inner surface of the endless belt toward the outside in the axial direction, and is an end face of the end face with respect to the radial direction of the endless belt. The end face whose angle θ _B is equal to the angle θ _{P of the} inclined portion with respect to the radial direction of the rotating body or set to | θ _B −θ _P | ≦ 5deg.
Conveyor device with. The endless belt is a transfer belt on which images on a plurality of image holders are superimposed and transferred.
The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the Young's modulus of the endless belt is 2800 MPa or more. A transport unit that transports recording media and
Multiple image holders that hold images,
The endless belt is at least one of a transport belt for transporting the recording medium, a transfer belt on which images on a plurality of the image holders are superimposed and transferred, and a fixing belt for fixing the image on the recording medium. Item 1 and the transport device
An image forming apparatus having. A transport unit that transports recording media and
Multiple image holders, each holding an image,
The transport device according to claim 2, further comprising an endless belt on which images on the plurality of image holders are superimposed and transferred.
A secondary transfer unit that transfers an image that is superimposed and transferred on the endless belt to a recording medium, and
An image forming apparatus having.