Intermediate transfer belt, image forming apparatus, and method for producing intermediate transfer belt

Abstract

An intermediate transfer belt configured to receive a toner image formed by developing, with a toner, a latent image on an image bearing member, the intermediate transfer belt including a base layer (1) and an elastic layer (2) laid on the base layer, wherein the elastic layer includes spherical resin particles (3) and a layer formed of an elastic body (4), and has a concavo-convex pattern in a surface of the elastic layer, wherein the spherical resin particles are arranged in a plane direction in the surface of the elastic layer, and wherein the intermediate transfer belt has glossiness of 35% or higher as determined based on reflected light at 85 DEG on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to an intermediate transfer belt such as a seamless belt installed in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printing machine, an image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer belt and a method of manufacturing the intermediate transfer belt, and particularly to an intermediate transfer belt suitable for forming color The intermediate transfer belt for the image. Background technique [0002] Conventionally, seamless belts have been used as components incorporated in electrophotographic devices for various purposes. In current color electrophotographic devices, in particular, a method using an intermediate transfer belt is employed in which developed images of four colors, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are temporarily superimposed on each other on an intermediate transfer medium, and then simultaneously Transfer to a transfer medium such as paper. In the above method, a seamless belt is us...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0008] In the case of using a relatively flexible layer as the surface layer of the intermediate transfer belt, the transfer pressure can be reduced and the conformity with the protrusions and depressions on the paper surface can be improved; however, there is a problem that because of the releasability of the surface layer (Releasability) is poor, so the toner cannot be favorably released from the surface layer, which causes a reduction in transfer efficiency, and the above favorable effects cannot be fully utilized

Moreover, there is another problem in which the surface layer is also poor in abrasion resistance and scratch resistance

In particular, uneven particle layers with varying outermost surface heights lead to cleaning failures and filming of fine toner particles

[0015] Also, inorganic particles such as silica particles scratch the surface of the organic photoconductor suitable for use as a latent image bearing member responsible for image formation, and cause easy abrasion of the surface and a decrease in durability because the inorganic particles contact the organic photoconductor at the transfer portion

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