JPH10232572A - Intermediate transfer member and intermediate transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image with an excellent quality being free from thinning, deviation in a position, color slippage, or the like by preventing toner from stick-fusing on an intermediate transfer member surface as possible, in the case of performing the printing by means of intermediate transfer system in electrostatic recording process. SOLUTION: In the case of performing the printing the toner image placed between the image forming material and a recording material, by temporarily transfer-holding on the self surface, and transferring the toner image on the recording medium, the intermediate transfer member having one or more fiber layer 21 and the elastic layer 22 laminated on one-side or both sides of the fiber layer 21 is used as the intermediate transfer member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method such as a latent image holding member having an electrostatic latent image on the surface in an electrostatic recording process in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer or an electrostatic recording apparatus. An intermediate transfer member for temporarily transferring and holding the toner image formed by supplying the developer to the body surface before transferring it to a recording medium such as paper, and transferring this to the recording medium;
More specifically, with regard to an intermediate transfer device using the intermediate transfer member, when color printing is performed by the intermediate transfer method, the occurrence of blur, misregistration, color misregistration, etc. is prevented as much as possible to improve image quality. An intermediate transfer member that can achieve
And an intermediate transfer device using the intermediate transfer member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrostatic recording process in a copying machine, a printer, or the like, first, the surface of a photosensitive member (latent image holding member) is uniformly charged. The electrostatic latent image is formed by projecting an image from the optical system to eliminate the charge of the light-irradiated portion, and then supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image and electrostatically attaching the toner to the toner. An image is formed and this is paper, OH
Printing is performed by transferring the image onto a recording medium such as P, photographic paper, or the like.

In this case, a color printer or a color copier basically performs printing in accordance with the above-described process. In the case of color printing, toner of four colors of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black is used. To reproduce the color tone, it is necessary to perform a process of superposing these toners at a predetermined ratio to obtain a necessary color tone, and several methods have been proposed for performing this process.

First, as in the case of monochrome printing, when the electrostatic latent image is visualized by supplying toner onto the photoreceptor, the above four colors of magenta, yellow, cyan and black are used. There is a multiple development system in which development is performed by successively superimposing toners, and a color donor image is formed on a photoconductor. According to this method, it is possible to configure the apparatus relatively compact, but in this method, there is a problem that it is very difficult to control the gradation and high image quality cannot be obtained.

Second, by providing four photosensitive drums and developing the latent images of the respective drums with magenta, yellow, cyan, and black toners, a magenta toner image, a yellow toner image, and a cyan toner image are formed. And four toner images of a black toner image are formed, the photosensitive drums on which the toner images are formed are arranged in a line, and each toner image is sequentially transferred to a recording medium such as paper, and is superimposed on the recording medium. There is a tandem system for reproducing a color image. In this method, although a good image is obtained, four photosensitive drums, and a charging mechanism and a developing mechanism provided for each photosensitive drum are arranged in a line.
The device becomes larger and more expensive.

Third, a recording medium such as paper is wound around a transfer drum and rotated four times, and magenta, yellow, cyan, and black on the photoreceptor are sequentially transferred to the recording medium for each revolution to reproduce a color image. There is also a transfer drum system that performs the transfer. According to this method, a relatively high image quality can be obtained, but when the recording medium is thick paper such as a postcard, it is difficult to wind it around the transfer drum, and the type of recording medium is limited. There is.

As compared with the above-described multiple developing system, tandem system and transfer drum system, good image quality can be obtained, the apparatus is not particularly enlarged, and the type of recording medium is particularly limited. An intermediate transfer method has been proposed as a method without such a method.

That is, in this intermediate transfer system, an intermediate transfer member including a drum or a belt for temporarily transferring and holding a toner image on a photosensitive member is provided, and a magenta toner image, a yellow toner image, By arranging four photoconductors on which a toner image of cyan and a toner image of black are formed and sequentially transferring toner images of four colors onto an intermediate transfer member, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer member. A color image is transferred onto a recording medium such as paper. Therefore, since the gradation is adjusted by superimposing the four color toner images, it is possible to obtain high image quality, and it is not necessary to arrange the photoconductors in a line as in the tandem method. In particular, there is no need to increase the size of the recording medium, and there is no need to wind the recording medium around the drum, so that the type of recording medium is not limited.

As an example of such an apparatus for forming a color image by the intermediate transfer method, an image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is used as an apparatus using a belt-like intermediate transfer member, and a drum-like intermediate transfer member is used. For example, the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

That is, in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a drum-shaped photoreceptor, which rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawings. The photoreceptor 1 is charged by a primary charger 2, and then the exposed portion is erased by an image exposure 3 to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the first color component on the photoreceptor 1. The electrostatic latent image is developed with the first color magenta toner M by the developing device 41, and a first color magenta toner image is formed on the photoconductor 1. Then, the intermediate transfer belt 2 rotates while the toner image contacts the photoconductor 1.
0a (FIG. 1) or the intermediate transfer drum 20b (FIG. 2) (hereinafter referred to as "intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b").
Transcribed. In this case, the transfer from the photoconductor 1 to the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b is performed by a primary transfer bias applied from the power supply 61 to the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b in a nip portion between the photoconductor 1 and the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b. It is performed by The intermediate transfer members 20a, 20
After the magenta toner image of the first color is transferred to b, the surface of the photoconductor 1 is cleaned by the cleaning device 14, and the development transfer operation of the photoconductor 1 in the first rotation is completed.
Thereafter, the photoconductor rotates three times, and the developing devices 42 to 44
Are sequentially used to form a cyan toner image of the second color, a yellow toner image of the third color, and a black toner image of the fourth color on the photoreceptor 1 in sequence.
a, 20b, the composite color toner image corresponding to the target color image is superimposed and transferred to the intermediate transfer members 20a, 20b.
Formed on top. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the developing units 41 to 44 are sequentially replaced every time the photosensitive member 1 rotates, so that the developing with the magenta toner M, the cyan toner C, the yellow toner Y, and the black toner B is performed sequentially. Has become.

Next, the transfer roller 25 contacts the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b on which the composite color toner image is formed, and a recording medium 24 such as paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 9 to the nip portion. At the same time, a secondary transfer bias is applied from the power supply 29 to the transfer roller 25, and the composite color toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b to the recording medium 2
The synthesized color toner image on No. 4 is heat-fixed to become the final image. Then, the composite color toner image is recorded on the recording medium 24.
After the transfer to the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b, the transfer residual toner on the surface is removed by the cleaning device 3 and returns to the initial state to prepare for the next image formation.

However, in such image forming by the intermediate transfer system, the intermediate transfer members 20a, 20a,
Transfer of the toner image to the intermediate transfer members 20a, 20b
0b to the recording medium 24 must be satisfactorily performed twice, which may cause troubles particularly when transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b to the recording medium 24. . This is because the toner adheres to and fuses on the intermediate transfer members 20a and 20b as the number of prints is increased, and the transfer efficiency to the recording medium 24 is reduced. This is because it is sometimes difficult to transfer a proper toner image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to prevent toner from adhering and fusing to the surface of an intermediate transfer member when printing is performed by an intermediate transfer method in an electrostatic recording process. It is an object of the present invention to provide an intermediate transfer member capable of preventing the occurrence of a high-quality image free from blurring, positional shift, color shift, and the like, and an intermediate transfer device using the intermediate transfer member.

[0014]

Means for Solving the Problems and Embodiments of the Invention The present inventors have conducted intensive studies to achieve the above object, and as a result, have found that a toner image formed on the surface of an image forming body such as a latent image holding member is obtained. When printing is performed by the intermediate transfer method in which the image is temporarily transferred and held on the surface of the intermediate transfer member and is transferred to a recording medium, the intermediate transfer member includes one or more fiber layers and one or both surfaces of the fiber layer. By using an intermediate transfer member having an elastic layer laminated on the
It has been found that fusion is prevented as much as possible, and a high-quality image free from blurring, misregistration, color misregistration, etc. can be reliably obtained, and the present invention has been completed.

Accordingly, the present invention is provided between an image forming body and a recording medium, and temporarily transfers and holds the toner image formed on the surface of the image forming body to its own surface, and transfers the toner image to the recording medium. In the intermediate transfer member to do, one or more fiber layers,
An intermediate transfer member comprising: an elastic layer laminated on one or both sides of the fiber layer.

According to the present invention, the toner image formed on the surface of the image forming body is temporarily transferred and held on its own surface, and is transferred to the recording medium. An intermediate transfer device comprising an intermediate transfer member for transferring and a voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the intermediate transfer member, wherein the intermediate transfer member of the present invention is used as the intermediate transfer member. An intermediate transfer device is provided.

In this case, the voltage application means transfers the toner image from the image forming body such as a photosensitive drum or a belt to the intermediate transfer member, and transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer member to a recording medium such as paper. At this time, the applied voltage is switched between positive and negative to smoothly transfer the toner image.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.
The intermediate transfer member of the present invention is formed, for example, in the form of an endless belt, such as an intermediate transfer belt indicated by reference numeral 20a in FIG. 1, and includes a photosensitive drum (latent image holder) 1 and a recording medium such as paper. 24, and temporarily transfers and holds the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and transfers the toner image to the recording medium 24.
Is transferred to The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 performs color printing by the intermediate transfer method as described above.

The intermediate transfer member of the present invention has one or more fiber layers and an elastic layer laminated on one or both sides of the fiber layers. For example, FIGS. 3A and 3B As shown in FIG. 1, elastic layers 22 and 22 are laminated on both surfaces of a fiber layer 21 and a resin layer 23 is formed on one elastic layer 22 surface.

The fiber layer 21 can be formed by using a known woven or non-woven fabric. Specifically, hemp, wool, silk,
Natural fiber such as cotton, regenerated fiber such as viscose, polyester, nylon (nylon 6, 66, 46, etc.), vinylon, vinylidene chloride, polyolefin (polyethylene,
Woven fabric such as synthetic fibers such as polypropylene), semi-synthetic fibers such as acetate, so-called high-performance fibers such as aramid fibers, polyvinyl alcohol fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers, and metal fibers such as stainless steel and other steels. And nonwoven fabrics. In this case, the fabric structure of the woven fabric can be appropriately selected from plain weave, oblique weave, satin weave, and a combination thereof, but a plain weave fabric is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of robustness and economy. Used.

As shown in FIG. 3 (B), the fiber layer 21 is formed by laminating a plurality of the woven or non-woven fabrics 21a (2 in FIG. 3).
The thickness of the fiber layer 21 is not particularly limited.
When the thickness of the fibrous layer 21 is less than 0.01, the dimensional stability of the fibrous layer 21 is reduced, and the thickness of the intermediate transfer member 20a is reduced. Deformation such as elongation may occur, while if it exceeds 2 mm, the flexibility of the intermediate transfer member 20a may be impaired. Although not particularly limited, the fiber diameter of the woven or nonwoven fabric forming the fiber layer 21 is preferably 20 to 420 denier, particularly 30 to 210 denier, and more preferably 30 to 80 denier. Further, the woven fabric or nonwoven fabric is not particularly limited, but is preferably relatively thin,
Specifically, the thickness is 0.01 to 0.2 mm, particularly 0.05 to
It is preferably 0.15 mm. In this case, the thickness of the fiber layer 21 formed of the woven or nonwoven fabric is 0.0
When the length is less than 1 mm, the dimensional stability of the fiber layer 21 is reduced, and the intermediate transfer member 20a may be deformed such as elongation. May be impaired.

Here, as shown by the reference numeral 21b in FIG. 3, the woven or non-woven fabric 21 forming the fiber layer 21 is used.
a can be impregnated with rubber or resin on the surface portion or the whole as necessary, thereby improving the adhesion between the fiber layer 21 and the elastic layer 22 or the resin layer 23 and the surface smoothness. it can. In this case, as the impregnating agent, rubber cement, epoxy resin, resorcin formaldehyde (RFL), and a mixture thereof, which are the same as those exemplified as a material for forming the elastic layer 22 described later, are preferably used. Alternatively, the woven fabric or the nonwoven fabric 21a can be impregnated with the impregnating agent in advance by immersion, whereby the impregnated portion 21b can be easily formed.

The elastic layer 22 is not particularly limited, and may be a resin such as urethane, rubber, or a foam thereof. Specifically, nitrile rubber (NB
R), chloroprene rubber (CR), isoprene rubber (I
R), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), butyl rubber (IIR), natural rubber (NR), butadiene rubber (BR), acrylic rubber (ACR), epichlorohydrin rubber (ECO), etc. Thermoplastic rubber such as rubber or styrene-butadiene-styrene rubber (SBS) or its water additive (SEBS) and foams thereof can be used, and are not particularly limited. , NBR or ECO having low viscosity in terms of hardness, etc.
A rubber composition to which IR is added is preferably used. In this case, a preferable compounding ratio is (NBR or ECR) :( NBR + BR + IR) = 10 to 90:90 by weight% when the whole rubber material of the elastic layer 22 is 100.
10 to 10.

Further, a conductive material can be added to the elastic layer 22 to impart or adjust the conductivity. In this case, the conductive material is not particularly limited, but may be lauryltrimethylammonium, stearyltrimethylammonium, octadecyltrimethylammonium, dodecyltrimethylammonium, hexadecyltrimethylammonium, a perchlorate of a modified fatty acid / dimethylethylammonium salt, chlorine, or the like. Cationic surfactants such as quaternary ammonium salts such as acid salts, borohydrofluoric acid salts, sulfates, ethosulfate salts, and benzyl halide salts (such as versyl bromide salts and benzyl chloride salts); aliphatic sulfonic acids; Anionic surfactants such as higher alcohol sulfates, higher alcohol ethylene oxide addition sulfates and higher alcohol phosphates; amphoteric surfactants such as various betaines; higher alcohol ethylene oxide; polyethylene glycol Le fatty acid esters, antistatic agents such as non Ioshi antistatic agents such as polyhydric alcohol fatty acid _{esters; LiCF 2 SO 2, NaClO 4} , LiBF 4, NaC
1; a metal salt of Group 1 of the periodic table such as l; a metal salt of Group ₂ of the periodic table such as Ca (ClO ₄ ) ₂ ; and a group having an active hydrogen in which these antistatic agents react with isocyanate (hydroxyl group,
And those having one or more carboxyl groups, primary or secondary amine groups, and the like. Further, ions such as complexes of these with polyhydric alcohols (1,4-butanediol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, etc.) or derivatives thereof, or complexes with ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, etc. Conductive agent; conductive carbon such as Ketjen black, acetylene black, etc .; SA
F, ISAF, HAF, FEF, GPF, SRF, F
Carbon for rubber such as T and MT; carbon for color ink subjected to oxidation treatment, pyrolytic carbon, natural graphite, artificial graphite, etc .; metals and metal oxides such as tin oxide, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, nickel and copper; Examples thereof include conductive polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polyacetylene.

The amount of these conductive materials added to the elastic layer 22 is 0.01 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the resin or rubber component.
0 parts by weight, preferably 0.1 to 30 parts by weight, whereby the resistance value of the elastic layer is 10 ² to 10 ¹⁴ Ω ·
cm.

Here, in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the elastic layer 22 is provided on both sides of the fiber layer 21.
As shown in (A), the elastic layer 22 is formed on only one surface of the side on which the toner image is transferred and held in contact with or close to the photosensitive drum 1 (latent image holder) and the recording medium 24. Alternatively, when a resin layer 23 to be described later is formed on the toner image transfer surface, as shown in FIG. 4B, only one surface opposite to the surface on which the toner image is transferred is elastically applied. A layer 22 is formed, and a resin layer 23 described later is formed on the fiber layer 21.
Can be formed as a transfer surface.Further, although not particularly shown, the above-mentioned fiber layer is laminated on both surfaces of the elastic layer, and a resin layer 23 described later may be formed on one of the fiber layers. it can. The thickness of only one side (single layer) of this elastic layer 22 is
Although it is appropriately selected according to the form of the intermediate transfer member, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in the case of an endless belt shape having elastic layers 22 on both sides of the fiber layer 21,
It is preferably about 0.01 to 2 mm, particularly about 0.05 to 0.5 mm.

Next, although not particularly limited, the resin layer 23 is made of fluorine resin, fluorine rubber, polyamide, polyurethane, polyester, alkyd resin, melamine resin, phenol resin, epoxy resin, acrylic resin, acrylic silicone. It can be formed using a resin such as a resin, an acrylic urethane resin, a silicone resin, an amino resin, a urea resin, or a mixture of two or more resins.

Here, the resin layer 23 is not particularly limited, but is preferably formed using a resin containing a fluororesin. In this case, as the fluororesin, polytetrafluoroethylene, tetra Fluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer,
Tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene-
Perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinyl fluoride, and the like are preferably used, whereby toner Adhesion and fusion can be more effectively prevented.

The resin layer 23 is not particularly limited, but is usually made of a conductive material similar to that exemplified in the elastic layer 22 in order to impart appropriate conductivity. Is done. In this case, the amount of the conductive material is not particularly limited, and is appropriately selected according to a desired resistance value. A suitable surface resistance of the intermediate transfer member of the present invention is such that the volume resistivity is 10 ² to 10 ¹⁸ Ω · cm, particularly 10 ⁵ to 10
^{It is 18} Ω · cm, and the amount of the conductive agent can be selected so as to obtain such a resistance value, and is usually about 0.001 to 80 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the resin component.

Further, the resin layer 23 may contain additives such as a thixotropy-imparting agent and a structural viscosity-imparting agent. These may be either inorganic or organic and may be, for example, a silica compound. be able to.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA in FIG. 1), the resin layer 23 includes the photosensitive drum 1 (latent image holding member). ) And formed on the surface on the side where the toner image is transferred and held in contact with or close to the recording medium 24, but in the intermediate transfer member of the present invention, this resin layer 23 is not necessarily an essential component. In some cases, it is possible to omit the resin layer 23 and transfer and hold the toner image directly on the elastic layer 22.

When the resin layer 23 is provided, another resin layer or rubber layer may be formed between the resin layer 23 and the elastic layer 22 according to the purpose.

Other materials for forming the resin layer or the rubber layer include the same rubber, chlorinated polyethylene, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, polyester resin, and acrylic resin as those exemplified for forming the elastic layer 22. And urethane-based resins, polydioxolane-based resins, urethane-modified acrylic-based resins, nylon-based resins, epoxy-based resins, styrene-based resins, polyvinylacetal-based resins, fluororesins, and fluororubbers.

The other resin layer or rubber layer is also made of the same conductive material as the elastic layer 22 with the resin or rubber component 10.
0.01 to 50 parts by weight, preferably 0.1 to 30 parts by weight, based on 0 parts by weight, to obtain a volume resistivity of 10 parts by weight.
It can be adjusted to ² to 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm, particularly to 10 ⁵ to 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm. The thickness of the other resin layer or rubber layer is not particularly limited, but is usually 1 to
It can be about 600 μm.

The intermediate transfer member of the present invention is not particularly limited, but has a surface roughness of JIS 10 point average roughness Rz.
It is preferably 10 μm or less, particularly 6 μm or less, and more preferably 3 μm or less. The volume resistivity of the member is 10
It is preferable to be about ⁶ to 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm. Furthermore,
As in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a voltage can be applied from a suitable power supply 61 to a drive roller or a drive gear for rotating the intermediate transfer member 20a of the present invention. The application conditions such as application of alternating current can be selected as appropriate.

Incidentally, the form of the intermediate transfer member of the present invention is not limited to the endless belt shape shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 4 described above. As long as they can be brought close to each other, a form other than the belt form may be used. For example, the intermediate transfer member 21b used in the apparatus shown in FIG. . Further, the intermediate transfer device using the intermediate transfer member of the present invention is not limited to the devices shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and can be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention.

[0037]

According to the intermediate transfer member of the present invention and the intermediate transfer apparatus using the intermediate transfer member, the toner adheres and fuses on the surface of the intermediate transfer member when printing is performed by an intermediate transfer method in an electrostatic recording process. Wearing is prevented as much as possible, and a high-quality image free from blurring, positional deviation, color deviation, and the like can be reliably obtained.

[0038]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

Example 1 A woven cloth having a thickness of 0.1 mm formed by plain weaving a polyester fiber having a fiber diameter of 50 denier is impregnated with rubber cement (epichlorohydrin rubber), and two woven cloths are laminated to form a fiber layer. And an elastic layer 22 having a thickness of 0.3 mm made of the rubber composition shown in Table 1 on both surfaces thereof.
3 except that the resin layer 23 is not provided.
An endless belt-like intermediate transfer member similar to the member shown in (B) was obtained. The elastic layer 22 has a volume resistivity of 3 × 1.
0 ⁹ Ω · cm, the volume resistivity of the whole member is 6 × 10 ⁹ Ω ·
cm.

[0040]

[Table 1]

The intermediate transfer member was mounted as an intermediate transfer belt 20a on a color printer having the same mechanism as in FIG. 1, and 10,000 images were continuously output. The obtained image was good to the end and no trouble occurred. After the test, the intermediate transfer member was removed and its surface was examined. As a result, there was almost no toner adhesion, and there was no abnormality in the surface shape.

Example 2 A resin layer A having a thickness of 40 μm was formed on the surface of an elastic layer of an endless belt obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, and an endless belt similar to the member shown in FIG. An intermediate transfer member was obtained. In this case, the resin layer A is composed of 100 parts by weight of a soluble fluororesin,
It was formed by applying a paint mixed with parts by weight. The volume resistivity of the resin layer A is 3 × 10 ¹³
Ω · cm, volume specific resistance of the whole member is 4 × 10 ¹¹ Ω · c
m.

When an image was formed using this intermediate transfer member in the same manner as in Example 1, the obtained image was good to the end and no problem occurred. After the test, the intermediate transfer member was removed and its surface was examined. As a result, there was almost no toner adhesion, and there was no abnormality in the surface shape.

Example 3 A rubber layer B having a thickness of 40 μm was formed on the elastic layer surface of the endless belt obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, and a resin layer A having a thickness of 40 μm was further formed thereon. ,
An endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer member similar to the member shown in FIG. 3B was obtained except that an intermediate layer was provided between the elastic layer 22 and the resin layer 23. In this case, the rubber layer B was formed by applying a paint in which 100 parts by weight of fluororubber, 7 parts by weight of a polyol component, and 15 parts by weight of magnesium oxide were mixed. The volume resistivity of the rubber layer B is 1 ×
10 ¹³ Ω · cm, volume resistivity of the whole member is 5 × 10 ¹²
Ω · cm. The resin layer A was formed in the same manner as in Example 2.

An image was formed using this intermediate transfer member in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, the obtained image was good to the end and no trouble occurred at all. After the test, the intermediate transfer member was removed and the surface thereof was examined. As a result, there was almost no toner adhesion, and there was no abnormality in the surface shape.

Comparative Example 1 An endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer member consisting of only an elastic layer having a thickness of 0.8 mm was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that no fiber layer was formed. The volume resistivity of this member was 3 × 10 ⁹ Ω · cm.

Using this intermediate transfer member, an image was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, and the obtained image was 1000
At the time of printing for each sheet, color misregistration and position misregistration occurred, and a good image could not be obtained.

Comparative Example 2 An endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer in which a resin layer A having a thickness of 40 μm was formed on the surface of an elastic layer having a thickness of 0.8 mm in the same manner as in Example 2 except that no fiber layer was formed. A member was obtained. The volume resistivity of this member is 2 × 1
0 ¹¹ Ω · cm.

Using this intermediate transfer member, an image was formed in the same manner as in Example 1, and the obtained image was 1800
At the time of printing for each sheet, color misregistration and position misregistration occurred, and a good image could not be obtained. After the test was completed, the intermediate transfer member was removed and the surface thereof was examined. As a result, cracks had occurred in a part of the resin layer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an intermediate transfer device using an intermediate transfer member of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing another example of an intermediate transfer device using the intermediate transfer member of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are enlarged cross-sectional views taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing an example of an intermediate transfer member according to the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are enlarged cross-sectional views taken along line AA of FIG. 1 showing other examples of the intermediate transfer member according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming body (photosensitive drum (latent image holding body)) 20a Intermediate transfer belt (intermediate transfer member) 20b Intermediate transfer drum (intermediate transfer member) 21 Fiber layer 21a Woven or nonwoven fabric 21b Rubber impregnated part 22 Elastic layer 23 Resin layer 24 recording medium 41 to 43 developing device 61 power supply device (voltage applying means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B29K 105: 08

Claims (11)

[Claims] An intermediate transfer member disposed between an image forming body and a recording medium, for temporarily transferring and holding a toner image formed on the surface of the image forming body to its own surface, and transferring this to a recording medium. 3. An intermediate transfer member according to claim 1, comprising one or more fiber layers, and an elastic layer laminated on one or both sides of the fiber layers. 2. The fiber layer has a thickness of 0.01 to 2 mm.
The intermediate transfer member according to claim 1, wherein 3. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 1, wherein the fiber layer is formed of a woven fabric. 4. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 3, wherein the woven fabric has a plain weave, oblique weave, satin weave, or a woven structure obtained by combining these. 5. The woven fabric has a thickness of 0.01 to 0.2 m.
5. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 3, wherein m is m. 6. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 3, wherein the woven fabric is impregnated with rubber or resin. 7. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 1, wherein the elastic layer is formed of a rubber composition containing nitrile rubber or epichlorohydrin rubber. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a resin layer is formed on the surface.
The intermediate transfer member according to any one of the above. 9. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 8, wherein said resin layer contains a fluororesin. 10. The intermediate transfer member according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate transfer member has a belt shape. 11. Intermediate transfer disposed between an image forming body and a recording medium, temporarily transferring and holding a toner image formed on the surface of the image forming body to its own surface, and transferring this to a recording medium. An intermediate transfer device comprising a member and voltage applying means for applying a voltage to the intermediate transfer member, wherein the intermediate transfer member according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is used as the intermediate transfer member. An intermediate transfer device.