Image forming apparatus and intermediate transfer unit

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion and an intermediate transfer unit detachably mountable to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus. The intermediate transfer unit includes a frame unit, a cleaning unit, and a memory substrate. The cleaning unit can be detachably mounted to the frame unit. The intermediate transfer unit is detachably attachable to the main assembly in a state in which the cleaning unit is attached to the frame unit. The memory substrate is disposed on the frame unit and includes a storage portion for storing information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic type or an electrostatic recording type, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions of these machines. BACKGROUND

[0002] Conventionally, for example, as an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic type, such as a copier, there is an image forming apparatus of an intermediate transfer type in which a toner image formed on an image bearing member is once transferred to an intermediate transfer member, and then the toner image is secondary transferred to a recording material such as a sheet. As the intermediate member, in many cases, an intermediate transfer belt constituted by a loop-shaped belt stretched by a plurality of stretching rollers is used. Further, in the image forming apparatus of the intermediate transfer type, after the toner image is secondary transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to the recording material, a deposited substance such as toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt is removed by a belt cleaning device including a cleaning member.

[0003] In such an image forming apparatus, in order to maintain the intermediate transfer belt and the belt cleaning device, in some cases, an intermediate transfer unit including the intermediate transfer belt and the belt cleaning device is made detachably mountable to an apparatus main assembly of the image forming apparatus.

[0004] Here, a configuration has been proposed in which a memory substrate is provided to the belt cleaning device, and in which the belt cleaning device or the like is new / old distinguished based on information stored in the memory in the apparatus main assembly of the image forming apparatus (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-48958).

[0005] Incidentally, used intermediate transfer units are collected from the market, and reusable parts thereof are reused, whereby an environmentally friendly image forming apparatus and intermediate transfer unit can be provided.

[0006] However, in the intermediate transfer unit, in some cases, the belt cleaning device is further made detachably mountable to a frame unit including the intermediate transfer belt. This is in order to replace only the belt cleaning device in a case where the life of the belt cleaning device is shorter than the life of the frame unit, in a case where toner on the intermediate transfer belt is not easily removed by the belt cleaning device, or in a similar case. In such a configuration, when the memory substrate is mounted to the belt cleaning device, in a case where the belt cleaning device is replaced, the usage history on the frame unit side becomes unknown. The frame unit uses many constituent parts compared to the belt cleaning device, and from the viewpoint of reducing environmental load, it can be said that the advantage of reusing the parts is great. SUMMARY

[0007] The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus capable of acquiring information about a use history of a frame unit side even in a case where a belt cleaning device is replaced in a configuration in which the belt cleaning device is detachably mounted to the frame unit of the intermediate transfer unit.

[0008] The present disclosure also relates to a configuration that simplifies a connection portion between a memory substrate of an intermediate transfer unit side and a contact member of an apparatus main assembly side of an image forming apparatus.

[0009] The above is achieved by an image forming apparatus and an intermediate transfer unit according to the present disclosure.

[0010] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus including at least one image forming portion configured to form a toner image on an image bearing member, and an intermediate transfer unit to which the toner image formed on the image bearing member is transferred and from which the transferred toner image is transferred onto a recording material, the intermediate transfer unit including a frame unit including an intermediate transfer belt to which the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member, a plurality of stretching rollers for stretching the intermediate transfer belt, and a frame for supporting the plurality of stretching rollers, a cleaning unit detachably mountable to the frame unit and configured to remove toner from a surface of the intermediate transfer belt, and a memory substrate provided on the frame unit and including a storage portion for storing information.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus including an image forming portion configured to form a toner image on an image bearing member, and an intermediate transfer unit detachably mountable to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, to which the toner image formed on the image bearing member is transferred and from which the transferred toner image is transferred onto a recording material, the intermediate transfer unit including an intermediate transfer belt to which the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member, a plurality of stretching rollers configured to stretch the intermediate transfer belt, a frame configured to support the plurality of stretching rollers, and a memory substrate provided on the frame so as to be provided outside the intermediate transfer belt in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and including a storage portion for storing information.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an intermediate transfer unit including a frame unit including an intermediate transfer belt onto which a toner image is transferred, a plurality of stretching rollers for stretching the intermediate transfer belt, and a frame for supporting the plurality of stretching rollers, a cleaning unit detachably mountable to the frame unit and configured to remove toner from a surface of the intermediate transfer belt, and a memory substrate disposed on the frame unit and including a storage portion for storing information.

[0013] According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an intermediate transfer unit including an intermediate transfer belt onto which a toner image is transferred, a plurality of stretching rollers configured to stretch the intermediate transfer belt, a frame configured to support the plurality of stretching rollers, and a memory substrate disposed on the frame so as to be disposed outside the intermediate transfer belt in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and including a storage portion for storing information.

[0014] The features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of embodiments is described by way of example. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus.

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of an intermediate transfer unit.

[0017] Figure 3 is a magnified perspective view of a vicinity of a tension roller of the intermediate transfer unit.

[0018] Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus, showing a state in which the intermediate transfer unit is mounted to and detached from an apparatus main assembly.

[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of an intermediate transfer unit, showing a state in which a belt cleaning device is detached from a frame unit.

[0020] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram showing a control configuration of an image forming apparatus.

[0021] Figure 7 is a schematic view of a vicinity of an intermediate transfer unit when viewed from above.

[0022] Figure 8 is a perspective view of a front guide rail.

[0023] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram used to illustrate the fluctuation trend of the position of the intermediate transfer unit.

[0024] Figure 10 It is an exploded perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit used to show the assembly of the intermediate transfer unit to the frame.

[0025] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the vicinity of the intermediate transfer unit in another embodiment when viewed from above.

[0026] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the vicinity of the intermediate transfer unit in another embodiment when viewed from above.

[0027] Figure 13 This is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit in another embodiment.

[0028] Figure 14 This is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit in another embodiment.

[0029] Figure 15 This is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit in another embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The image forming apparatus and intermediate transfer unit according to this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] [Example 1]

[0032] 1. Overall structure and operation of image forming equipment

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1. The image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment is a cascaded full-color printer capable of forming full-color images using an electrophotographic type and employing an intermediate transfer type. The image forming apparatus 100 is capable of forming images on a sheet-like recording material P, such as paper, based on image signals (image information) sent from, for example, an external device (such as a personal computer).

[0034] Here, regarding the image forming apparatus 100 and its components, during the operation of the image forming apparatus 100... Figure 1 The front side of the drawing is called the "front side (front surface side)" and Figure 1 The back side of the drawing is called the "back side (back surface side)". The front-to-back direction (perpendicular to) Figure 1The direction of the drawing (the direction of the drawing) is substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 101 and the stretch rollers 201 to 204 of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Furthermore, regarding the image forming apparatus 100 and its components, the left side when viewing the image forming apparatus 100 from the front is referred to as the "left side," and the right side when viewing the image forming apparatus 100 from the front is referred to as the "right side." Furthermore, regarding the image forming apparatus 100 and its components, "upper" and "lower" refer to the upper and lower parts along the direction of gravity (vertical direction), but not merely to "directly above" and "directly below," and include above and below (upper and lower sides) the horizontal surface passing through the element of interest or location.

[0035] Image forming apparatus 100 includes four image forming sections SY, SM, SC, and SK as multiple image forming sections, for forming toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. Regarding elements having the same or corresponding functions or structures, the suffixes Y, M, C, and K used to indicate associated colors are omitted, and in some cases, elements are described collectively. In this embodiment, the image forming section S is configured by including a photosensitive drum 101, a charging roller 102, an exposure device 103, a developing device 104, a drum cleaning device 105, etc., which will be described later. In this embodiment, the exposure device 103 is configured as a single unit for exposing the photosensitive drum 101 of each image forming section S, but it can also be provided independently for each image forming section S.

[0036] The drum-shaped (cylindrical) photosensitive component (electrophotographic photosensitive component), which serves as the image carrier, operates at a predetermined circumferential speed (processing speed). Figure 1 The rotating photosensitive drum 101 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow R1 (clockwise). The charging roller 102, which serves as a charging mechanism, uniformly charges the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the rotating photosensitive drum 101 to a predetermined polarity (negative polarity in this embodiment) and a predetermined potential. The exposure device (laser scanner) 103, which serves as an exposure mechanism, scans and exposes the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 101 according to the image signal, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image (electrostatic image) on the photosensitive drum 101.

[0037] The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 101 is developed (visualized) by supplying toner as a developer by the developing device 104 as a developing mechanism, so that a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 101. In this embodiment, on the exposed portion (image portion) on the photosensitive drum 101 whose absolute value of potential is reduced by exposure after being uniformly charged, toner charged to the same polarity as the charge polarity of the photosensitive drum 101 (negative polarity in this embodiment) (reverse development type) is deposited. In this embodiment, the normal charge polarity of the toner as the main charge polarity of the toner during development is negative polarity.

[0038] An intermediate transfer belt 1 composed of an endless belt as an intermediate transfer member is disposed opposite to the four photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K. The intermediate transfer belt 1 is extended and stretched by a drive roller 201, a tension roller 202, a first auxiliary roller 203, and a second auxiliary roller 204 as a plurality of stretching rollers with a predetermined tension. The intermediate transfer belt 1 is driven by inputting a driving force to the drive roller 201 so that the intermediate transfer belt 1 rotates (moves and circulates) in the arrow R2 direction (counterclockwise direction) in the same circumferential speed (processing speed) as the circumferential speed of the photosensitive drums 101 in the intermediate transfer belt 1. The tension roller 202 applies a predetermined tension to the intermediate transfer belt 1. The first auxiliary roller 203 and the second auxiliary roller 204 form a substantially flat primary transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 onto which a toner image is primary transferred from each of the photosensitive drums 101. Incidentally, the number of rollers stretching the intermediate transfer belt 1 is not limited to four. On the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 1, there are provided primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K as primary transfer mechanisms corresponding to the respective photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K, respectively, which are roller-type primary transfer members. Each of the primary transfer rollers 106 pushes (presses) the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 toward the associated photosensitive drum 101. Thereby, a primary transfer portion (primary transfer nip) T1 as a contact portion between the photosensitive drum 101 and the intermediate transfer belt 1 is formed. Among the plurality of stretching rollers, the stretching rollers other than the drive roller 201 and the respective primary transfer rollers 106 rotate with the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Figure 1

[0039] ​The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 101 is transferred (primary transfer) onto the rotating intermediate transfer belt 1 in the primary transfer portion Tl by applying a predetermined pressing force and an electrostatic load bias. During the primary transfer, a primary transfer voltage (primary transfer bias), which is a DC voltage of a polarity (positive polarity in this embodiment) opposite to a normal charge polarity of the toner, is applied to the primary transfer roller 106 from a primary transfer voltage source, which is a high voltage source (not shown). For example, during full-color image formation, the respective color toner images of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black formed on the respective photosensitive drums 101 are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 1. The respective color image forming processes performed by the respective image forming portions S are performed at each of the times when the toner images are primary transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 1 onto which the toner images have been primary transferred on the upstream side, on the downstream side. Incidentally, the number of the image forming portions S is not limited to four, and the arrangement order of the image forming portions S for the respective colors is not limited to the arrangement order in this embodiment.

[0040] On the outer circumferential surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 1, at a position opposite the driving roller 201, an external secondary transfer roller (transfer roller) 107, which is a roller type secondary transfer member, is provided as a secondary transfer mechanism. The driving roller 201 also functions as an internal secondary transfer roller (counter roller) as a counter member. The external secondary transfer roller 107 is urged (pressed) toward the driving roller 201, and an external force is applied to the driving roller 201 via the intermediate transfer belt 1. Thereby, a secondary transfer portion (secondary transfer nip) T2, which is a contact portion between the intermediate transfer belt 1 and the external secondary transfer roller 107, is formed. In this embodiment, the external secondary transfer roller 107 rotates along with the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt. Incidentally, the image forming apparatus 100 can have a configuration in which the external secondary transfer roller 107 is driven and rotated. By applying a predetermined pressing force and an electrostatic load bias, a toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 1 is transferred (secondary transferred) to the recording material P, which is nipped and fed by the intermediate transfer belt 1 and the external secondary transfer roller 107, in the secondary transfer portion T2. During the secondary transfer, a secondary transfer voltage (secondary transfer bias), which is a DC voltage of a polarity (positive polarity in this embodiment) opposite the normal charge polarity of the toner, is applied to the external secondary transfer roller 107 from a secondary transfer voltage source (not shown). The driving roller 201 is electrically grounded. Incidentally, a configuration can be employed in which a secondary transfer voltage is applied to the internal secondary transfer roller as a secondary transfer member corresponding to the driving roller 201, and in which an external secondary transfer roller as a counter member corresponding to the external secondary transfer roller 107 in this embodiment is electrically grounded. In this case, during the secondary transfer, a secondary transfer voltage of a polarity identical to the normal charge polarity of the toner is applied to the internal secondary transfer roller.

[0041] The recording material (sheet, transfer material, recording medium) P is stacked and housed in a recording material cassette 108 as a recording material housing portion. The recording material P housed in the recording material cassette 108 is fed one by one from the recording material cassette 108 by a feeding roller 109 or the like (which is a feeding member) as a feeding mechanism. The recording material P fed from the recording material cassette 108 is conveyed to a registration roller pair 112 (which is a conveying member) as a conveying mechanism by a conveying roller pair 110 or the like (which is a conveying member) as a conveying mechanism through a conveying path 111. The recording material P is corrected for skew movement by the registration roller pair 112, and then conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2 in time with the toner image of the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0042] The recording material P on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 113 as a fixing mechanism. The fixing device 113 heats and presses the recording material P on which the un-fixed toner image is carried while conveying the recording material P by a fixing roller 113a provided with a heat source and by a press roller 113b in pressing contact with the fixing roller 113a, so that the toner image is fixed (melted, adhered) on the recording material P. The recording material P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged (output) to a discharge tray 115 provided outside the device main assembly 120 of the image forming apparatus 100 by a discharge roller pair 114 or the like.

[0043] On the other hand, toner (primary transfer residual toner) remaining on the photosensitive drum 101 after the primary transfer step is removed and collected from the photosensitive drum 101 by the drum cleaning device 105 as a photosensitive member cleaning mechanism. Further, deposited substances such as toner (secondary transfer residual toner) and paper powder remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 1 after the secondary transfer step are removed and collected from the intermediate transfer belt 1 by the belt cleaning device 160 as an intermediate transfer member cleaning mechanism. The collected substances such as toner and paper powder collected by the drum cleaning device 105 and the belt cleaning device 160 are conveyed and collected into a residual toner collection container (not shown) provided in the device main assembly 120 via a residual toner conveyance passage (not shown) provided in the device main assembly 120.

[0044] In this embodiment, at each of the image forming sections S, the photosensitive drum 101, the charging roller 102, the developing device 104, and the drum cleaning device 105 integrally constitute a process cartridge 130 that is detachably mountable to the device main assembly 120.

[0045] Further, in this embodiment, the intermediate transfer belt 1, the stretching rollers 201 to 204, the primary transfer roller 106, and the belt cleaning device 160 integrally constitute an intermediate transfer unit 150 that is detachably mountable to the device main assembly 120. The intermediate transfer unit 150 will be further described later.

[0046] Incidentally, in this embodiment, the device main assembly 120 corresponds to a portion of the image forming apparatus 100 other than the process cartridge 130 and the intermediate transfer unit 150.

[0047] In this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is provided to be detachably mountable at a position of the device main assembly 120 at an intermediate stage in the vertical direction. The intermediate transfer unit 150 is guided by a front guide rail 10F and a rear guide rail 10R (see FIG. 2) during its mounting into the device main assembly 120. Figure 5 and Figure 6) support, the front rail and the rear rail are rail-shaped mounting portions provided on a frame at opposite end portion sides of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in the width direction in the main assembly 120 of the apparatus.

[0048] Incidentally, the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1, and is a direction substantially parallel to the rotation axis direction of the stretching rollers 201 to 204. When the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in the main assembly 120 of the apparatus, the belt cleaning device 160 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 is connected to a residual toner transfer passage (not shown) provided in the main assembly 120 of the apparatus. The mounting and dismounting of the intermediate transfer unit 150 with respect to the main assembly 120 of the apparatus will be described specifically later. Further, in this embodiment, in a portion below the intermediate transfer unit 150, the four process cartridges 130Y, 130M, 130C, and 130K are provided from the upstream side toward the downstream side along the movement direction of the primary transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this embodiment, the arrangement direction of the four image forming portions (the photosensitive drums 101) is substantially horizontal. That is, in this embodiment, the common contact flat surface on the side where the four photosensitive drums 101 contact the intermediate transfer belt 1 is substantially horizontal.

[0049] 2. Intermediate transfer belt unit

[0050] Next, the intermediate transfer unit 150 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 The intermediate transfer unit 150 will be further described. Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in this embodiment. Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view that shows the tension roller 202 in the intermediate transfer unit 150 in this embodiment and its vicinity in an enlarged manner.

[0051] The image forming apparatus 100 includes the intermediate transfer unit 150 as a belt transfer device provided opposite to the four photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K.

[0052] The intermediate transfer unit 150 includes a frame 206, stretching rollers 201 to 204, primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K, an intermediate transfer belt 1, and a belt cleaning device 160. In this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 includes a driving roller 201, a tension roller 202, and first and second auxiliary rollers 203 and 204 as a plurality of stretching rollers. The frame 206 is a frame for supporting the stretching rollers 201 to 204, the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K, and the like. The stretching rollers 201 to 204 and the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K are rotatably supported by the frame 206. The rotation axis directions of the stretching rollers 201 to 204 and the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K are substantially parallel to each other. The intermediate transfer belt 1 is stretched by the stretching rollers 201 to 204. The intermediate transfer unit 150 is configured by assembling these elements integrally with each other. The intermediate transfer unit 150 as a replaceable unit is configured to be detachable integrally from the apparatus main assembly 120 (to be able to be detachably mounted to the apparatus main assembly).

[0053] The driving roller 201 forms the secondary transfer portion T2 by sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 1 between itself and the external secondary transfer roller 107. The driving roller 201 also functions as the internal secondary transfer roller opposite the external secondary transfer roller 107 via the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0054] The first and second auxiliary rollers 203 and 204 form a primary transfer surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 onto which a toner image is primary transferred. The second auxiliary roller 204 has a crown shape such that, in the rotation axis direction thereof, the outer diameter thereof becomes largest in a substantially central portion and gradually becomes smaller toward each of the opposite end portions thereof. This is in order to suppress the central portion of the second auxiliary roller 204 from being bent due to the tension of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and a wrinkle from occurring in the central portion of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in the width direction.

[0055] The tension roller 202 is rotatably supported by a bearing member 205 on each of the opposite end portion sides in the rotation axis direction thereof. This bearing member 205 is movably (slidably) mounted to the frame 206. The bearing member 205 on each of the opposite end portion sides of the tension roller 202 is urged (pressed) from the inner peripheral surface side toward the outer peripheral surface side by an urging force (pressing force, compressive force) of a tension spring 207 constituted by a compression spring (which is an urging member) as an urging mechanism. Then, the bearing member 205 is moved (slid) by the tension spring 207 along the urging direction from the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 1 to the outer peripheral surface side. Thereby, the tension roller 202 urges the intermediate transfer belt 1 from the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 1 toward the outer peripheral surface side, and exerts a tension on the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0056] In each of the opposite end portions of the tension roller 202 in the direction of the rotation axis, a limiting collar 208 is provided as a limiting member for limiting the displacement of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Figure 2 The displacement of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is the phenomenon that the intermediate transfer belt 1 moves in the width direction when it rotates. On the inner circumferential surface of each of the opposite end portions of the intermediate transfer belt 1, ribs 2, serving as restraining members, are provided on the inner circumferential surface of each of the opposite end portions of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in the width direction, so as to protrude from that inner circumferential surface. Figure 2 In this embodiment, the rib 2 has a substantially rectangular shape in a cross-section substantially perpendicular to its extending direction and is bonded to the inner circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rib 2 is disposed on substantially the entire circumference of the intermediate transfer belt 1, and the end portions of the rib 2 in the extending direction are opposite to each other. Displacement of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is restricted by the contact between the rib 2 and the limiting collar 208. Additionally, in this embodiment, a reinforcing band (reinforcing member) 3 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of each of the opposite end portions of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Figure 3 In this embodiment, the reinforcing strip 3 is adhesively bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the reinforcing strip 3 is disposed on substantially the entire circumference of the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0057] In this embodiment, the intermediate transfer belt 1 is composed of a resin belt comprising a polyimide (PI) base layer. In this embodiment, the tensile modulus of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is 18,000 N / cm. 2 The thickness is 0.08 mm. Incidentally, the intermediate transfer belt 1 can be preferably made of a relatively high-rigidity resin, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyamide, polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or polycarbonate. Furthermore, the thickness of the intermediate transfer belt 1 can preferably fall within the range of 0.02 mm or greater and 0.50 mm or less. When the thickness of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is too thin, there is a possibility that sufficient wear resistance and durability cannot be obtained, and when the thickness of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is too thick, there is a possibility that the intermediate transfer belt 1 will not be easily bent on the drive roller 201, tension roller 202, and the first auxiliary roller 203 and the second auxiliary roller 204, and therefore may deform and fold.

[0058] The cleaning device 160 includes a cleaning scraper 161 as a cleaning component, a conveying screw 162 as a conveying component, and a cleaning container 163 as a housing. Figure 1). The cleaning blade 161 is a plate-like member having a predetermined length in a longitudinal direction substantially parallel to a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface moving direction of a surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and in a width direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, has a predetermined thickness, and is formed of an elastic member. The cleaning blade 161 is disposed opposite to the tension roller 202 via the intermediate transfer belt 1 at an angle at which the cleaning blade 161 extends in a direction opposite to the surface moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1. That is, the cleaning blade 161 is disposed so that an edge portion of a free end portion thereof in the width direction extends toward an upstream side with respect to the surface moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Further, the edge portion of the free end portion of the cleaning blade 161 in the width direction is in contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and applies an external force to the tension roller 202 via the intermediate transfer belt 1. The cleaning blade 161 is bonded and fixed to a support metal plate (not shown) as a support member at a fixed end portion thereof in the width direction thereof. Further, the support metal plate is fixed to the cleaning container 163 by a screw or the like, whereby the cleaning blade 161 is supported by the cleaning container 163.

[0059] The collected substance such as toner collected by the cleaning blade 161 from the intermediate transfer belt 1 is accommodated in a collected toner accommodating portion 163a formed in the cleaning container 163. In the collected toner accommodating portion 163a, a conveyance screw 162 is provided. The conveyance screw 162 conveys the collected substance such as toner in the collected toner accommodating portion 163a toward one end portion (for example, an end portion on the front side) of the cleaning container 163 along the longitudinal direction of the belt cleaning device 160 (the cleaning blade 161). Then, the collected substance such as toner conveyed by the conveyance screw 162 is discharged through a discharge port (not shown) provided at the one end portion of the cleaning container 163 and is transported toward a residual toner conveyance passage (not shown) provided in the device main assembly 120. The collected substance transported to the residual toner conveyance passage is conveyed to a residual toner container (not shown) detachably installed in the device main assembly 120. The residual toner container is replaced when it becomes full or the like.

[0060] The belt cleaning device 160 removes and collects the deposited substance such as secondary transfer residual toner from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 by rubbing the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 with the cleaning blade 161. The cleaning blade 161 is in contact with a winding region where the intermediate transfer belt 1 is wound around the tension roller 202. As described above, the direction of the free end of the cleaning blade 161 is the opposite direction of the surface moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1. The belt cleaning device 160 collects the deposited substance such as secondary transfer residual toner by bringing the free end portion of the cleaning blade 161 into contact with the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this embodiment, the cleaning blade 161 is formed of polyurethane rubber.

[0061] The hardness of this polyurethane rubber is 75° in terms of JIS-A hardness and the thickness is 2 mm. Further, in this embodiment, the contact angle of the cleaning blade 161 is 25° and the contact pressure is 3 N / m (30 gf / cm). However, the configuration of the belt cleaning device 160 is not limited to this.

[0062] The primary transfer rollers 106 are pressed (pushed) against the inner circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1 by pressing mechanisms (not shown). Thereby, the primary transfer rollers 106 form the primary transfer portions Tl by pressing the intermediate transfer belt 1 toward the associated photosensitive drums 101. The intermediate transfer unit 150 includes a carrying member (not shown) for rotatably supporting the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K and the first and second auxiliary rollers 203 and 204, respectively. These carrying members are configured to be able to move the rollers in a direction toward and away from a common contact flat surface on the side of the four photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K contacting the intermediate transfer belt 1. Further, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is provided with a moving mechanism (contact and separation mechanism) (not shown) for moving these carrying members.

[0063] In this embodiment, the stretched state of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is able to change to the following first, second, and third states. In the first stretched state, all of the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K and the first and second auxiliary rollers 203 and 204 are disposed at a second position (separation position) where these rollers are separated from the contact flat surface. Thereby, the intermediate transfer belt 1 is separated from all of the photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K. Further, in the second stretched state, all of the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K and the first and second auxiliary rollers 203 and 204 are disposed at a first position (contact position) closer to the contact flat surface than the second position (separation position). Thereby, the intermediate transfer belt 1 contacts all of the photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K. Further, in the third stretched state, the primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, and 106C for yellow, magenta, and cyan, respectively, and the first auxiliary roller 203 are disposed at the above-mentioned second position (separation position).

[0064] On the other hand, the primary transfer roller 106k for black and the second auxiliary roller 204 are disposed at the above-mentioned first position (contact position). Thereby, the intermediate transfer belt 1 contacts only the photosensitive drum 101K for black among the four photosensitive drums 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K. For example, during waiting for printing and during mounting and demounting of the intermediate transfer unit 150 with respect to the device main assembly 120, the intermediate transfer belt 1 is placed in the above-mentioned first stretched state. Further, for example, during color image printing, the intermediate transfer belt 1 is placed in the above-mentioned second stretched state. Further, for example, during monochrome image printing (during black (monochrome) image printing), the intermediate transfer belt 1 is placed in the above-mentioned third stretched state.

[0065] Further, in this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is provided with the memory substrate 5 as a storage device. The memory substrate 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 will be described later.

[0066] 3. Replacement of the intermediate transfer unit

[0067] The intermediate transfer unit 150 is made capable of being detachably mounted to the device main assembly 120. In this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is configured by including the belt cleaning device 160 and the frame unit 200, which is another configuration of the intermediate transfer unit 150 including the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this embodiment, the frame unit 200 is configured by including the frame 206, the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204, the intermediate transfer belt 1, and the primary transfer roller 106. Further, in a state where the belt cleaning device 160 is mounted to the frame unit 200, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in and demounted from the device main assembly 120. Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment, showing a state where the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in and demounted from the device main assembly 120.

[0068] As shown in Figure 4 The image forming apparatus 100 includes a right door unit 140 as an openable member provided in a right side portion for opening the inside of the device main assembly 120. The right door unit 140 is configured to rotate about a rotation shaft 140a provided at a lower portion thereof and extending in the front-rear direction. Further, the right door unit 140 is opened by rotating an upper portion thereof downward (in the direction of arrow Al in Figure 4 in the direction of arrow Al in Figure 4The right door unit 140 is opened and closed by operating a grip portion or the like provided on the right door unit 140 by an operator such as a user or a serviceman. The right door unit 140 is opened so that the conveyance feed path of the recording material P from the recording material cassette 108 to the fixing device 113 via the secondary transfer portion T2 is divided into a front surface (on which a toner image is transferred) side and a rear surface side of the recording material P. The outer secondary transfer roller 107 is installed on the right door unit 140 side.

[0069] When the right door unit 140 is opened, the outer secondary transfer roller 107 is spaced apart from the intermediate transfer belt 1. When the right door unit 140 is opened, the operator can access the intermediate transfer unit 150 installed in the device main assembly 120. Then, the operator can pull out the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the right side (in the arrow Bl direction in FIG. 10) by operating a grip portion or the like provided on the frame 206 to detach the intermediate transfer unit 150 from the device main assembly 120. On the other hand, the operator can install the intermediate transfer unit 150 into the device main assembly 120 by inserting the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the left side (in the arrow B2 direction opposite to the arrow Bl direction in FIG. 10). The intermediate transfer unit 150 is moved while being supported by a front guide rail 10F and a rear guide rail 10R, which are guide rail-shaped mounting portions (not shown) provided on a frame in the device main assembly 120. Figure 4 Figure 4 The intermediate transfer unit 150 is moved while being supported by a front guide rail 10F and a rear guide rail 10R, which are guide rail-shaped mounting portions (not shown) provided on a frame in the device main assembly 120. Figure 1 Figure 1 In this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is moved in a substantially horizontal direction so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed and detached (inserted and pulled out).

[0070] In this embodiment, the life of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is shorter than the life of the device main assembly 2. For this reason, the intermediate transfer belt 1 can be replaced with a new intermediate transfer belt by making the intermediate transfer unit 150 installable in the device main assembly 120 and detachable therefrom. Incidentally, the intermediate transfer belt 1 can be made replaceable by replacing only the intermediate transfer belt 1 for the frame unit 200, or the intermediate transfer belt can be replaced together with the frame unit 200 or the intermediate transfer unit 150.

[0071] ​​Further, in a case where the life of the belt cleaning device 160 is shorter than the life of the frame unit 200 or according to a usage method on the market, in some cases, toner on the intermediate transfer belt 1 is not easily removed by the belt cleaning device 160. In such a case, instead of replacing the intermediate transfer unit 150, only the belt cleaning device 160 is replaced, so that only necessary parts can be replaced. For this reason, in this embodiment, the belt cleaning device 160 is made replaceable to a new belt cleaning device by being mountable to and detachable from the frame unit 200 of the intermediate transfer unit 150. Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in this embodiment, showing a state where the belt cleaning device 160 is detached from the frame unit 200. Thus, in this embodiment, in the intermediate transfer unit 150, the belt cleaning device 160 is further made mountable to and detachable from the frame unit 200 of the intermediate transfer unit 150. Thereby, only a minimum configuration is made replaceable, so that an increase in the running cost of the image forming apparatus 100 can be suppressed.

[0072] Further, in this embodiment, in a case where the intermediate transfer unit 150 is not replaced as a whole but only the belt cleaning device 160 is replaced alone, it can be made possible to input information to that effect from the operation section 60 provided to the image forming apparatus main assembly 120. That is, in a case where only the belt cleaning device 160 is replaced, the user can input information to the effect that only the belt cleaning device 160 is replaced by manual input from the operation section 60. Further, the controller 50 can be configured to perform a predetermined initialization operation before image formation starts when the controller 50 detects that only the belt cleaning device 160 is replaced by an input signal input from the operation section 60. As the initialization operation, for example, an operation of supplying toner binder as a lubricant to a contact portion between the cleaning blade 161 of the belt cleaning device 160 and the intermediate transfer belt 1 or the like will be considered. Further, in a case where the intermediate transfer unit 150 is replaced as a whole, a configuration can be employed in which an initialization operation is performed together with detection of a new intermediate transfer unit 150 based on information stored in the memory substrate 5.

[0073] 4. Storage device

[0074] Next, the memory substrate 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 as a storage device in this embodiment will be described. The memory substrate 5 includes a memory contact 5a as a contact section and a memory 5b as a storage section Figure 6 ).

[0075] In this embodiment, destination information of the intermediate transfer unit 150 is stored in the memory substrate 5. "Destination information" is, for example, information used to detect (distinguish) whether the intermediate transfer unit 150, on which the memory substrate 5 is provided, is suitable for which image forming apparatus 100. Destination information is discriminative information that can determine whether the intermediate transfer unit 150 has compatibility with the main apparatus 120. For example, in some cases, intermediate transfer units 150 constructed differently can be installed on the same main apparatus 120. As an example, there are cases where an intermediate transfer unit 150 including multiple primary transfer rollers 106 (e.g., primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C, and 106K for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) and capable of transferring multi-tone toner images, and an intermediate transfer unit including only a single primary transfer roller 106 and unable to transfer multi-tone toner images, can be installed on the main apparatus 120 of the same image forming apparatus 100. In this case, different destination information is input to the memory substrate 5 of the former and the memory substrate 5 of the latter. During the manufacturing process of the intermediate transfer unit 150, during factory shipment (during inspection), etc., descriptive information is recorded in the memory substrate 5. Specifically, the destination information may be independent information indicating the destination of the intermediate transfer unit 150, or it may be included as part of the intermediate transfer unit 150's product number, individual number, etc. Furthermore, in the controller 50 (located in the main assembly 120)... Figure 6 In the main component storage section 52 of the image forming apparatus 100, "verification information" is stored, which is information that can identify whether an intermediate transfer unit 150 is suitable for the image forming apparatus 100. The verification information is stored in the main component storage section 52 during the manufacturing process of the image forming apparatus 100, during factory shipment (during inspection), etc. Specifically, the verification information may be independent information compared to destination information, and may be included as part of the product number, individual number, etc., of the image forming apparatus 100, or may be included in a program used to identify whether specific information is included in the destination information read from the memory substrate 5. The controller 50 checks the identification information on the intermediate transfer unit 150 side against the verification information on the image forming apparatus 100 side, so that the controller 50 can determine whether the identifications of the controllers are consistent. Incidentally, examples where different information is stored in the memory substrate 5 are not limited to the examples described above. For example, the characteristics of components such as intermediate transfer belts may differ between intermediate transfer units of the current model and those of subsequent models, but these intermediate transfer units may be installed in any of the main components of the equipment used in these models.

[0076] Further, in this embodiment, characteristic value information is stored in the memory substrate 5. The "characteristic value information" is information about an inherent characteristic possessed by an element constituting the intermediate transfer unit 150. For example, the characteristic value information is stored in the memory substrate 5 at a manufacturing step of the intermediate transfer unit 150, during factory shipment (during inspection), and the like. For example, in some cases, the intermediate transfer belt 1 has an inherent belt impedance value (resistance value) for each of a product (model, product number), a lot, or an individual. Further, in some cases, it is desirable to set a primary transfer voltage and a secondary transfer voltage that match the belt impedance value. In a case where it is unclear what belt impedance value the intermediate transfer unit 150 having is installed on the device main assembly 120 side, in some cases, the following operation is required. For example, in order to set an optimal primary transfer voltage or secondary transfer voltage, before image formation is performed, it is necessary to perform a few stages of adjustment operations by detecting the belt impedance value. Therefore, when the belt impedance value is pre-stored as the characteristic value information in the memory substrate 5, the controller 50 is able to read the belt impedance value from the memory substrate 5 at the time when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in the device main assembly 120. Thereby, it is possible to not require or simplify the above adjustment operations for setting an optimal primary transfer voltage or secondary transfer voltage. The same applies to the resistance values of the primary transfer member and the secondary transfer member. By storing the characteristic value information in the memory substrate 5, optimal operation control or management of the image forming apparatus 100 can be performed for each of a product (model, product number), a lot, or an individual, so that it is possible to achieve operation stability and quality improvement of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0077] Further, in this embodiment, usage history information, which is information about a usage history of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in the image forming apparatus 100, is stored in the memory substrate 5. The "usage history information" is information such as the number of sheets of recording material P printed using the intermediate transfer unit 150 in the image forming apparatus 100, or the ratio between monochrome images and color images. For example, the controller 50 acquires an accumulated value of the number of sheets printed from the start of use of the intermediate transfer belt 1 (during the new article state) as an index value related to the amount of use of the intermediate transfer belt 1 (which can be the number of sheets converted to a predetermined size), and then updates and stores this value in the memory substrate 5. Incidentally, the index value only needs to be a value related to the amount of use of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in the case where the image forming apparatus 100 is operated. For example, the printing time, the conveyance distance (or the number of rotations) of the intermediate transfer belt 1, or the conveyance time can be used. Further, the controller 50 acquires an index value related to each of monochrome image printing and color image printing, and thus acquires the ratio between monochrome images and color images, so that the controller can update and store the index value in the memory substrate 5. Incidentally, the method of acquiring information about the ratio between monochrome images and color images is not limited to the above-described method. Measures can be taken so that, when regenerating the intermediate transfer unit 150 collected from the market, the components that are used less frequently are recycled and only the components that are close to the end of their life are replaced with new components, based on the above-described usage history information.

[0078] Incidentally, in the case where the intermediate transfer belt 1 is replaced with a new article (in the case where a new article is detected), the controller 50 can be configured so that at least a part of the usage history information (for example, the number of sheets printed) can be reset to an initial value (for example, zero). Further, the controller 50 can be configured to be able to notify (display, etc.) at least a part of the usage history information (for example, the number of sheets printed) to be used as an index of the replacement time of the intermediate transfer belt 1. This notification can be performed by the operation section 60 or by a predetermined operation of an external device, or at a predetermined time by the operation section 60 (or the like) provided to the apparatus main assembly 120 (or the like) in the image forming apparatus 100, or in an external device. Figure 6 Incidentally, in the case where at least a part of the usage history information (for example, the number of sheets printed) exceeds a predetermined threshold value or the like, information prompting the operator to replace the intermediate transfer belt 1 can be automatically notified (displayed, etc.).

[0079] 5. Control configuration

[0080] Figure 6is a schematic block diagram showing the control configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment. The apparatus main assembly 120 of the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a controller 50 for integrally controlling respective parts of the image forming apparatus 100. The controller 50 includes a CPU 51, which is a main element for executing arithmetic processing, as an arithmetic control mechanism, and a main assembly storage section 52, which is a storage section (storage medium) such as a ROM and a RAM, as a storage mechanism. In the ROM, a control program, a data table acquired in advance, and the like are stored. In the RAM, information input to the controller 50, detected information, a calculation result, and the like are stored. Further, the controller 50 is provided with an input / output circuit (input / output section) (not shown) for receiving and transmitting signals between the controller 50 and the respective parts.

[0081] Respective parts of the image forming apparatus 100 (image forming parts S, and driving devices for members such as the intermediate transfer belt 1 and a conveyance member for conveying the recording material P, various power supplies, various sensors, and the like) are connected to the controller 50. Further, a counter 70, which is a counting mechanism for counting the number of sheets printed as usage history information of the intermediate transfer unit 15, is connected to the controller 50. Further, a reading / writing circuit (reading / writing section) 80 for reading / writing information from / into the memory substrate 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 is connected to the controller 50. A contact spring 6a, which is a contact member provided to the contact holder 6 described later, is connected to the reading / writing circuit 80. Further, an operation section (operation panel) 60 provided to the apparatus main assembly 120 is connected to the controller 50. The operation section 60 includes a display section (display mechanism) for displaying information by control of the controller 50, and includes an input section (input mechanism) for inputting information to the controller 50 based on operation by an operator such as a user or a serviceman. The operation section 60 can also be constituted by a touch panel including the functions of the display mechanism and the input mechanism. Further, an image reading device (not shown) connected to the image forming apparatus 1, an external device (not shown) such as a personal computer can also be connected to the controller 50.

[0082] 6. Arrangement of memory substrate

[0083] <Overview of arrangement of memory substrate>

[0084] Next, the arrangement of the memory substrate 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 in this embodiment will be described.

[0085] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in this embodiment, and Figure 5is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in the embodiment in a state in which the belt cleaning device 160 is detached from the frame unit 200.

[0086] As described above, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is configured by including the belt cleaning device 160 and the frame unit 200. Further, as described above, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is configured to be able to detach the belt cleaning device 160 from the frame unit 200.

[0087] Further, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5 the memory substrate 5 is provided on the frame unit 200 side of the belt cleaning device 160 and the frame unit 200 that configure the intermediate transfer unit 150.

[0088] As described above, in the intermediate transfer unit 150 in which the belt cleaning device 160 is detachably installed, when the memory substrate 5 is installed to the belt cleaning device 160, in the case of replacing the belt cleaning device 160, the use history on the frame unit side becomes unclear. On the other hand, as in this embodiment, by providing the memory substrate 5 on the frame unit 200 side, even in the case of replacing the belt cleaning device 160 on the market, the use history on the frame unit 200 side can be continuously left in the memory substrate 5.

[0089] Further, as shown in Figure 3 in this embodiment, the belt cleaning device 160 is installed to the load member 205 of the tension roller 202. For this reason, the belt cleaning device 160 slides and moves in conjunction with the load member 205 that applies tension to the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this configuration, when the memory substrate 5 is provided to the belt cleaning device 160, the following problem can occur. That is, when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is provided in the apparatus main assembly 120, there is a possibility that the tension applied to the intermediate transfer belt 1 is weakened due to the pressing force from the spring for pressing the contact holder provided on the apparatus main assembly 120 side or from the contact spring as the contact member. On the other hand, as in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is on the frame unit 200 side, the memory substrate 5 can be provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 without affecting the tension applied to the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0090] As described above, by providing the memory substrate 5 on the frame unit 200 side, even in the case of replacing the belt cleaning device 160, the usage history on the frame unit 200 side, which has a larger number of constituent parts than the number of constituent parts on the belt cleaning device 160 side, can be left in the memory substrate 5. Thereby, even in this case, when a part of the frame unit 200 of the intermediate transfer unit 150 collected from the market is recycled, a countermeasure can be taken so that a part with a low frequency of use is recycled, and only a part close to the end of its life is replaced with a new part. That is, a part that does not need to be replaced is continued to be used, so that an environmentally friendly intermediate transfer unit 150 can be provided.

[0091] <Position of memory substrate in front-rear direction>

[0092] Next, the position of the memory substrate 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 in the front-rear direction will be described in this embodiment. Figure 7 is a schematic view of the vicinity of the intermediate transfer unit 150 provided at a predetermined position (mounting position) in the apparatus main assembly 120 when viewed from above. Further, Figure 8 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the front guide rail 10F provided in the apparatus main assembly 120.

[0093] As Figure 7 shown, the front guide rail 10F and the rear guide rail 10R are provided to the frames on the front side and the rear side of the apparatus main assembly 120, respectively, which are guide rail-shaped mounting portions for mounting the intermediate transfer unit 150. Further, as Figure 7 shown, the drive unit 300 is provided to the rear side frame in the apparatus main assembly 120. The drive unit 300 is provided with a drive gear 301 that is a drive transmission member for transmitting a driving force to the drive roller 201, a push spring 302 that is a push member as a push mechanism for pushing the drive gear 301, which is a gear push member, and a drive motor 303 that is a drive source. The drive gear 301 is pushed by the gear push spring 302 in a direction from the rear side toward the front side. When the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in the apparatus main assembly 120, the drive gear 301 is connected to a drive receiving gear (not shown) provided in a rear end portion of the drive roller 201. In this embodiment, as the intermediate transfer unit 150 moves, the drive gear 301 is retracted by the intermediate transfer unit 150 against the pushing force of the gear push spring 302, and thereafter, the state is released so that the drive gear 301 is connected to the drive receiving gear. The intermediate transfer unit 150 is pushed toward the front side by the drive gear 301 (specifically, by the gear push spring 302 via the drive gear 301 and the drive roller 201). Further, when the drive motor 303 rotates, a driving force is transmitted to the drive roller 201 via the drive gear 301, so that the intermediate transfer belt 1 rotates.

[0094] In addition, such as Figure 8 As shown, the front guide rail 10F is provided with a contact holder 6 as a contact holding member for holding the contact members on the device main assembly 120 side. In this embodiment, the contact holder 6 is integrally formed with the front guide rail 10F. That is, in this embodiment, the contact holder 6 is fixedly disposed to the device main assembly 120 (front guide rail 10F) so as not to move relative to the device body 120 (front guide rail 10F). The contact holder 6 is provided with a contact spring 6a as a contact member for electrical connection (conductivity) to the memory substrate 5. The contact spring 6a is configured to protrude from the front side to the rear side and be elastically deformable in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a plurality of contact springs 6a are arranged and disposed in the vertical direction corresponding to the memory contacts 5a of the memory substrate 5. The contact holder 6 is disposed at the position where the memory contacts 5a and the contact springs 6a are connected to each other so as to be conductive when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in the device main assembly 120. The contact spring 6a is connected to the read / write circuit 80 located in the main device assembly 120 via an electrical wire disposed in the main device assembly 120. Figure 6 ).

[0095] In addition, such as Figure 2 and Figure 7 As shown, the memory substrate 5 is disposed in the front side portion structure 261 of the frame 206 in the frame unit 200 of the intermediate transfer unit 150. Therefore, the memory substrate 5 is disposed in the side portion (end portion) of the frame unit 200 in a direction intersecting (in this embodiment, substantially perpendicular) with the insertion direction (mounting direction) of the intermediate transfer unit 150 inserting into the main assembly 120 of the device. Incidentally, the insertion direction (mounting direction) of the intermediate transfer unit 150 inserting into the main assembly 120 of the device... Figure 5direction) is also referred to simply as "unit insertion direction". In this embodiment, the unit insertion direction is a direction that intersects (in this embodiment, substantially perpendicular to) the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 (the rotation axis direction of the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204), and is substantially horizontal. In particular, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is disposed in a front side portion of the frame unit 200 in a direction that intersects (in this embodiment, substantially perpendicular to) the unit insertion direction. That is, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is disposed in a side portion of the frame unit 200 in a direction that intersects (in this embodiment, substantially perpendicular to) the unit insertion direction on a side opposite to a side on which the drive gear 301 (gear pressing spring 302) for pressing the intermediate transfer unit 150 is located. The memory substrate 5 is fixed to a memory holding portion 263 that is integrated with the front side portion structure 261 of the frame 206. That is, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is fixedly disposed to the memory holding portion 263 of the frame 206 so as not to move with respect to the frame 206. The memory substrate 5 is provided with memory contacts 5a as contact portions for electrically connecting (conducting) to the contact springs 6a on the apparatus main assembly 120. The memory contacts 5a of the memory substrate 5 are directed forward. Further, the memory contacts 5a are fixedly disposed so as not to move on the memory substrate 5. Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of memory contacts 5a are arranged and disposed in the up-down direction. The memory contacts 5a and the contact springs 6a are in contact with each other, so that the controller 50 is able to write / read information in / from the memory substrate 5 via the read / write circuit 80.

[0096] Further, as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 7 , the front side portion structure 261 of the frame 206 is provided with a protrusion 206a as a front-rear direction positioning portion on the intermediate transfer unit 150 side. Further, as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the front guide rail 10F is provided with a contact portion 10a as a front-rear direction positioning portion on the apparatus main assembly 120 side, against which the protrusion 206a can abut. When the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in the apparatus main assembly 120, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is pressed toward the front side by the drive gear 301. Then, the protrusion 206a abuts against the contact portion 10a, so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the front-rear direction.

[0097] Therefore, by providing the memory substrate 5 in the side portion of the frame unit 200 in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction, it is possible to simplify the structure of the connection portion between the contact member on the device main assembly 120 side and the memory substrate 5 on the intermediate transfer unit 150 side. That is, for example, in the case where the memory substrate is provided in a belt cleaning device located at the free end of the intermediate transfer unit in the insertion direction, the following configuration is required in some cases. In some cases, the belt cleaning device is installed coaxially with the rotational axis of the stretching roller for the intermediate transfer belt (for example, on a carrying member). For example, in the case where the stretching roller is a tension roller or a divert roller, the belt cleaning device moves in conjunction with the movement of the stretching roller. In order to achieve such movement of the belt cleaning device, in some cases, it is necessary to make the contact holder on the device main assembly side movable with respect to the frame or the like of the device main assembly, or to make the memory holding member on the intermediate transfer unit side movable with respect to the main body of the intermediate transfer unit. In addition, in some cases, it is necessary to urge the contact holder on the device main assembly side and the memory holding member on the intermediate transfer unit side by springs. On the other hand, in the state where the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in the device main assembly 120, the side portion of the frame unit 200 (for example, the side portion structure of the frame 206) does not substantially move. For this reason, in the case where the memory substrate 5 is provided in the side portion of the frame unit 200 in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction, it is possible to achieve the simplification of the connection portion between the contact holder 6 on the device main assembly 120 side and the memory substrate 5 on the intermediate transfer unit 150 side. Furthermore, the urging forces from the springs for urging the contact holder 6 on the device main assembly 120 side and from the contact springs as the contact members do not have an influence on the tension applied to the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0098] In particular, in this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is urged toward the front side by the drive gear 301, and thus the protrusion 206a abuts against the contact portion 10a of the front guide rail 10F, so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the front-rear direction. Thereby, in the state where the memory substrate 5 is urged toward the front side, the memory contacts 5a and the contact springs 6a can be connected to each other. Furthermore, in the case where the configuration of urging the contact holder 6 by another spring or the like provided separately is not provided, the memory contacts 5a and the contact springs 6a can be sufficiently connected to each other.

[0099] <Position of memory substrate in left-right direction>

[0100] Next, the position of the memory substrate 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 in the left-right direction in this embodiment will be described. Figure 9 is a schematic view of the vicinity of the intermediate transfer unit 150 provided in the device main assembly 120 when viewed from above, and the tendency of the attitude fluctuation of the intermediate transfer unit 150 is shown in an exaggerated manner.

[0101] In this embodiment, as described above, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a drive gear 301 (gear push spring 302) as a mechanism for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 forward. This drive gear 301 is positioned in the unit insertion direction upstream (right) of the center of the frame unit 200 (specifically, frame 206, hereinafter the same) in the intermediate transfer unit 150, which is located at a predetermined position (installation position) in the main assembly 120 of the apparatus. That is, in the unit insertion direction, the drive roller 201 is positioned upstream (right) of the frame unit 200. Incidentally, in this embodiment, as a mechanism for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 forward, the image forming apparatus 100 also includes the following mechanisms in addition to the drive gear 301 (gear push spring 302): First, there is a contact member (not shown) for applying a transfer voltage to each of the primary transfer rollers 106. Furthermore, there is a moving mechanism drive gear (not shown) for transmitting drive to the aforementioned moving mechanism to move each of the primary transfer rollers 106, etc. These components, including contact members for applying a single transfer voltage and a drive gear for the moving mechanism, are disposed on the rear side portion structure 262 side of the frame 206 of the frame unit 200 in the main assembly 120 of the device. However, in this embodiment, the pushing force applied to the intermediate transfer unit 150 by the drive gear 301 is the greatest among the pushing forces applied to the intermediate transfer unit 150 by the corresponding mechanism for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the front.

[0102] For this reason, such as Figure 9 As shown, the right side of the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned against the front guide rail 10F. However, the force used to push the intermediate transfer unit 150 forward is weaker on the left side, and therefore, the left side of the intermediate transfer unit 150 may not be against the front guide rail 10F. Therefore, when the memory substrate 5 is positioned downstream (left side) of the center of the frame unit 200 in the cell insertion direction, the following phenomenon may occur: That is, the memory contacts 5a and contact springs 6a may not be able to connect to each other, or the connection between these parts 5a and 6a may become unstable.

[0103] On the other hand, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is disposed on the upstream side (right side) of the center of the frame unit 200 in the unit insertion direction. That is, in this embodiment, in the unit insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 is disposed on the same side as the side on which the drive gear 301 is disposed with respect to the center of the frame unit 200. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the unit insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 is disposed on the same side as the position at which the intermediate transfer unit 150 is pressed against the front rail 10F by the pressing force of the drive gear 301 with respect to the center of the frame unit 200. Therefore, the memory contact 5a and the contact spring 6a can be connected to each other at a more stable position.

[0104] Incidentally, in the unit insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 can preferably be disposed on the upstream side (right side) of the rotational axis of the primary transfer roller 106K located most upstream (most downstream in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1). In this embodiment, in the unit insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 is disposed on the upstream side (right side) of the rotational axis of the primary transfer roller 106K located most upstream and on the downstream side (left side) of the rotational axis of the drive roller 201. Thereby, the memory substrate 5 becomes close to the pressing position at which the memory substrate 5 is pressed toward the front side by the drive gear 301, and therefore, the connection between the memory contact 5a and the contact spring 6a is further stabilized.

[0105] Further, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 9 , the front side side portion structure 261 of the frame 206 is provided with an abutting portion 206b as a left-right direction positioning portion on the intermediate transfer unit 150 side. The abutting portion 206b is disposed adjacent to the memory substrate 5 on the upstream side (right side) of the memory substrate in the unit insertion direction. Further, as shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 , the front rail 10F is provided with a limiting portion 10b as a left-right direction positioning portion on the device main assembly 120 side, against which the abutting portion 206b can abut. When the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in the device main assembly 120, the abutting portion 206b abuts against the limiting portion 10b so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned with respect to the left-right direction. At this time, the abutting portion 206b and the memory substrate 5 can also preferably be disposed on the upstream side (right side) of the rotational axis of the primary transfer roller 106 located most upstream and on the downstream side (left side) of the rotational axis of the drive roller 201 in the unit insertion direction. Thereby, the memory substrate 5 is disposed in the vicinity of the position at which the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the left-right direction, and therefore, the memory contact 5a and the contact spring 6a can be connected to each other at a more stable position.

[0106] By the way, from another viewpoint, it is also preferable that the memory board 5 is disposed on the upstream side (right side) of the center of the frame unit 200 in the unit insertion direction. That is, in the unit insertion direction, the memory board 5 is disposed on the upstream side (right side) of the center of the frame unit 200 so that the moving distance of the memory board 5 in the main assembly 120 of the apparatus when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the main assembly of the apparatus is shorter than when the memory board 5 is disposed on the downstream side (left side). Thereby, it is possible to reduce the possibility of inconvenience occurring when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the main assembly of the apparatus due to contact of the memory board 5 with members in the main assembly 120 of the apparatus, and the like.

[0107] <Position of memory board in up-down direction>

[0108] Next, the position of the memory board 5 provided to the intermediate transfer unit 150 in the up-down direction in this embodiment will be described.

[0109] As described above, when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the main assembly 120 of the apparatus, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is moved while being supported by the front guide rail 10F and the rear guide rail 10R.

[0110] As Figure 2 shown, the front side end portion structure 261 of the frame 206 is provided with a positioning boss 206c, a guide boss 206d, a positioning surface 206e, and a guide surface 206f. In the unit insertion direction, the guide boss 206d is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream side end portion, and the positioning boss 206c is disposed upstream adjacent to the guide boss 206d. The guide boss 206d and the positioning boss 206c are disposed so as to protrude toward the outside of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in a direction that intersects (in this embodiment, substantially perpendicular to) the unit insertion direction.

[0111] Further, in the unit insertion direction, in the vicinity of the upstream side end portion, the positioning surface 206e and the guide surface 206f are disposed on the upper side and the lower side, respectively, while sandwiching the drive roller 201 therebetween. Further, as Figure 8 shown, the front guide rail 10F is provided with an upper rail portion 10c and a lower rail portion 10d on the side surface on the intermediate transfer unit 150 side (rear side) in the unit insertion direction.

[0112] By the way, the rear side portion structure 262 of the frame 206 is also provided with the positioning boss 206c, the guide boss 206d, the positioning surface 206e, and the guide surface 206f, which are configured similarly to those provided to the aforementioned front side portion structure 261 (substantially symmetrical about a plane passing through the center (line) in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and substantially perpendicular to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1). Furthermore, the rear guide rail 10R is also provided with the upper rail portion 10c and the lower rail portion 10d, which are configured similarly to those provided to the aforementioned front guide rail 10F (substantially symmetrical about a plane passing through the center in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and substantially perpendicular to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1).

[0113] Furthermore, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is moved toward the left side in a state of being supported by the front guide rail 10F and the rear guide rail 10R in such a manner that the guide boss 206d and the positioning boss 206c are placed on the lower rail portion 10d and the upper rail portion 10c, respectively. Furthermore, in the downstream side end portion in the unit insertion direction, the positioning boss 206c falls into the positioning recessed portion 10cl provided on the upper rail portion 10c, so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the up-down direction. Furthermore, in the upstream side end portion in the unit insertion direction, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is moved toward the left side in a state of the guide surface 206f being supported by the lower rail portion 10d. Furthermore, as described above, the abutting portion 206b of the frame 206 abuts against the limiting portion 10b of the front guide rail 10F (and the rear guide rail 10R), so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the left-right direction. Furthermore, at this time, as described above, the drive gear 301 is connected to the drive receiving gear (not shown) of the drive roller 201, so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is urged toward the front side. By this, the protruding portion 206a of the frame 206 abuts against the contact portion 10a of the front guide rail 10F, so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, in the upstream side end portion in the unit insertion direction, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the up-down direction in such a manner. That is, the right door unit 140 is closed, and thus the outer secondary transfer roller 107 is brought into contact with the drive roller 201 via the intermediate transfer belt 1, so that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is urged toward the upper side. By this, the positioning surface 206e of the frame 206 contacts the limiting surface 10e of the front guide rail 10F (and the rear guide rail 10R). Therefore, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is positioned in the up-down direction.

[0114] Here, in this embodiment, until just before the abutting portion 206b abuts against the restricting portion 10b and until just before the protruding portion 206a abuts against the contact portion 10a, the memory contact 5a is disposed at a position where it can come into contact with the contact spring 6a or is in contact with the contact spring 6a. Then, the abutting portion 206b abuts against the restricting portion 10b and the protruding portion 206a abuts against the contact portion 10a, so that the memory contact 5a and the contact spring are sufficiently connected to each other. Further, a configuration is adopted in which the connection state between the memory contact 5a and the contact spring 6a is maintained even when the right door unit 140 is closed and the vicinity of the drive roller 201 of the intermediate transfer unit 150 is pushed toward the upper side.

[0115] Incidentally, the operation when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is detached from the apparatus main assembly 120 is an operation opposite to the above-described operation when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is inserted (mounted) into the apparatus main assembly 120.

[0116] Therefore, the intermediate transfer unit 150 has a protruding shape portion, such as the positioning boss 206c. When the memory substrate 5 is disposed within the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1, the position of the contact spring 6a disposed to the front guide rail 10F in the up-and-down direction is within the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this case, when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in and detached from the apparatus main assembly 120, the protruding shape portion such as the positioning boss 206c can be caught by the contact spring 6a and deform the contact spring 6a. The outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is the outer configuration in the case where the intermediate transfer belt 1 stretched by the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204 is observed in a direction substantially parallel to the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in and detached from the apparatus main assembly 120. In the case where a portion of the frame 206 other than the memory holding portion 263 is observed in a direction substantially parallel to the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1, the outer configuration of the portion is made the same as the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 so as to facilitate the mounting in and the detachment from the apparatus main assembly 120 of the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0117] Therefore, in this embodiment, the contact spring 6a is disposed outside the locus of the portion of the frame unit 200 other than the memory holding portion 263 when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in and detached from the apparatus main assembly 120. In particular, in this embodiment, the contact spring 6a is disposed on the upper side of the locus of the portion of the frame unit 200 other than the memory holding portion 263 when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is mounted in and detached from the apparatus main assembly 120 for the reason described later. Figure 8). Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided at a position corresponding to the position of the contact spring 6a.

[0118] In order to suppress interference of the protruding shape portion such as the positioning boss 206c with the contact spring 6a, it is only necessary that the contact spring 6a be provided outside the moving locus of the protruding shape portion in the intermediate transfer unit 150 when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the device main assembly 120. In this embodiment, in order to more reliably suppress the protruding shape portion such as the positioning boss 206c from being caught by the contact spring 6a, the contact spring 6a is provided outside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In particular, in this embodiment, the contact spring 6a is provided on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 (on the side opposite the image forming portion S) (see FIG. 6). Figure 8 ). Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided at a position corresponding to the position of the contact spring 6a. Figure 2 ). In this embodiment, the entire memory substrate 5 is provided outside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 (on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in this embodiment). However, it is only necessary that at least a portion of the memory substrate 5 be provided outside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 (on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in this embodiment), so that the protruding shape portion such as the positioning boss 206c can be sufficiently suppressed from being caught by the contact spring 6a.

[0119] By this, the protruding shape portion such as the positioning boss 206c can be suppressed from being caught by the contact spring 6a when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the device main assembly 120. Further, by providing the memory substrate 5 on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1, the memory substrate 5 can be provided at a position separate from the developing device 104 while sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 1 therebetween (provided on the side opposite the image forming portion S while sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 1 therebetween). In the image forming portion S including the photosensitive drum 101 and the developing device 104, in some cases, toner scattered from the developing device 104 can scatter. For this reason, the memory substrate 5 is provided on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and at a position away from the developing device 104 while sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt 1 therebetween, so that toner can be suppressed from depositing onto the memory substrate 5.

[0120] <Relationship between installation / removal direction of intermediate transfer belt and position of memory substrate>

[0121] Next, the relationship between the installation / removal direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 with respect to the frame 206 and the position of the memory substrate 5 will be described.Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150, showing a state at the time of assembly of the intermediate transfer belt 1 with the frame 206.

[0122] When the intermediate transfer belt 1 is assembled with the frame 206, the frame 206 is placed in a state where the driving roller 201, the first and second auxiliary rollers 203 and 204, and the corresponding primary transfer rollers 106Y, 106M, 106C and 106K are assembled with the frame 206. On the other hand, at this time, the frame 206 is placed in a state where the rear side load member 205 of the tension roller 202, the tension roller 202, the belt cleaning device 160 and the rear side grip portion 210R are removed from the frame 206. Incidentally, the frame 206 is provided with the grip portions 210F and 210R provided in the right end portions of the front side and rear side partial structures 261 and 262, respectively, for operation by an operator at the time of mounting and removing the intermediate transfer unit 150 in / from the device main assembly 120. The grip portions 210F and 210R are provided to project toward the upstream side (right side) of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 in the unit insertion direction. Further, in order to mount / dismount the intermediate transfer belt 1 to / from the frame 206, the rear side grip portion 210R is made detachably mountable to the rear side partial structure 262. The front side grip portion 210F is formed integrally with the front side partial structure 261. The intermediate transfer belt 1 is moved from the rear side to the front side substantially in parallel with the width direction thereof in the direction indicated by an arrow C1 in Figure 10

[0123] In order to assemble the annular intermediate transfer belt 1 with the frame 206, the outer peripheral length of the frame 206 needs to be shorter than the inner peripheral length of the intermediate transfer belt 1 when the frame 206 is viewed in a direction substantially parallel with the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Here, as described above, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is disposed outside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1.

[0124] Therefore, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is disposed on the downstream side (front side) in the direction of assembly of the intermediate transfer belt 1 with the frame 206 (the direction of the arrow C1 in Figure 10

[0125] From the state shown in Figure 10 , the intermediate transfer belt 1 is assembled with the frame 206, and thereafter, the tension roller 202 (and the rear side load member 205), the rear side grip portion 210R and the belt cleaning device 160 are assembled with the frame 206. Thereby, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is completed.

[0126] ​​Incidentally, the operation when the intermediate transfer belt 1 is removed from the frame 206 is an operation opposite to the above-described operation during assembly.

[0127] Thus, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes: an image forming section S for forming a toner image on an image bearing member (photosensitive drum) 101; an intermediate transfer unit 150 for transferring the toner image formed by the image forming section S onto a recording material position, and provided with a frame unit 200 including an intermediate transfer belt 1 onto which the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member 101, a plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204 for stretching the intermediate transfer belt 1, and a frame 206 for supporting the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204; a cleaning device (belt cleaning device) 160 for removing toner from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 1; and a memory substrate 5 including a storage section 5b and a contact section 5a; and including a contact member 6a connectable to the contact section 5a of the memory substrate 5. Further, in this embodiment, the intermediate transfer unit 150 is detachably mountable to the apparatus main assembly 120 of the image forming apparatus 100. The cleaning device 160 is detachably mountable to the frame unit 200. The intermediate transfer unit 150 is configured to be mounted in and removed from the apparatus main assembly 120 in a state where the cleaning device 160 is mounted to the frame unit 200. The memory substrate 5 is provided to the frame unit 200. Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided in a side portion of the frame unit 200 in a direction intersecting a direction in which the intermediate transfer unit 150 is inserted into the frame unit 200. Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided so that the contact section 5a points to the outside of the intermediate transfer unit in a direction intersecting the insertion direction. Further, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a push mechanism (drive gear) 301 for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 provided at a predetermined position in the apparatus main assembly 120 from one side portion side to the other side portion side of the frame unit 200 in a direction intersecting the insertion direction. In the insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 is provided in a side portion of the frame unit 200 on a side opposite to a side on which the push mechanism 301 is provided. Further, in this embodiment, the insertion direction is a direction intersecting a width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1, and the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204 include a drive roller 201 for driving the intermediate transfer belt 1, and the push mechanism 301 is a drive transmission member (drive gear) 301 for transmitting a driving force to the drive roller 201. In this embodiment, the drive roller 201 is positioned on an upstream side of the center of the frame unit 200 in the insertion direction, and the memory substrate 5 is positioned on the upstream side of the center of the frame unit 200 in the insertion direction.

[0128] Further, in this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a plurality of image forming sections S. The frame unit 200 includes a plurality of primary transfer rollers 106 each for transferring a toner image from an associated one of the image bearing members 101 onto the intermediate transfer belt 1, which are disposed corresponding to the plurality of image forming sections S respectively, and along the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In the insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 is disposed on the upstream side of the rotation axis of the primary transfer roller 106K located on the most upstream side among the plurality of primary transfer rollers 106, and on the downstream side of the rotation axis of the drive roller 201. Further, in this embodiment, the frame unit 200 includes a positioning section (abutment section) 206b for determining the position of the frame unit in the device main assembly 120 in the insertion direction of the intermediate transfer unit 150 by abutting against the device main assembly 120. In the insertion direction, the positioning section 206b is positioned on the upstream side of the rotation axis of the primary transfer roller 106K located on the most upstream side and on the downstream side of the rotation axis of the drive roller 201. Further, in this embodiment, the frame unit 200 includes a protrusion (positioning boss) 206c which is supported by the device main assembly 120 when the intermediate transfer unit is inserted into the device main assembly 120 and is disposed to protrude toward the outside of the frame unit 200. The contact member 6a is positioned outside the movement locus of the protrusion 206c in the device main assembly 120 when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is inserted into the device main assembly 120. Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is positioned outside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 stretched by the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204. Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is positioned on the side opposite to the image forming sections S while sandwiching the intermediate transfer belt therebetween and the image forming sections S in the device main assembly 120. Further, in this embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is positioned on the downstream side in the assembling direction of the intermediate transfer belt 1 and the frame 206.

[0129] As described above, according to this embodiment, by mounting the memory substrate 5 to the frame unit 200 side, the usage history of the frame unit 200 side can be left in the memory substrate 5 even in the case of replacing the belt cleaning device 160. Thereby, it is easy to reuse the reusable items in the frame unit 200 collected from the market. For this reason, it is possible to provide an environmentally friendly intermediate transfer unit 150. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the configuration in which the belt cleaning device is detachably mountable to the frame unit of the intermediate transfer unit, even in the case of replacing the belt cleaning device, it is possible to acquire information on the usage history of the frame unit 200 side. Further, according to this embodiment, by disposing the memory substrate in the side section of the intermediate transfer unit in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction, it is possible to achieve a simplification of the configuration of the connection portion between the memory substrate of the intermediate transfer unit side and the contact member of the device main assembly side of the image forming apparatus.

[0130] [Example 2]

[0131] Next, another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The basic configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment are the same as those of the image forming apparatus in Example 1. Therefore, elements having the same or corresponding functions and configurations as those of the image forming apparatus of Example 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals or symbols as in Example 1, and will be omitted from the detailed description.

[0132] In this embodiment, some modified embodiments related to the arrangement of the memory substrate 5 and the like will be described.

[0133] In Example 1, in the configuration of the drive gear 301 for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the front side, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the front side was described. On the other hand, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the rear side can also be adopted. Figure 11 is a schematic view of the vicinity of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in such a configuration when viewed from above. In this modified embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided on the rear side portion of the frame unit 200, and the contact holder 6 is provided on the rear guide rail 10R. Further, in this modified embodiment, the rear guide rail 10R is provided with the contact pushing spring 8 (which is a pushing member) as a contact member pushing mechanism for pushing the contact holder 6. Further, the contact holder 6 is pushed toward the front side by the contact pushing spring 8, and moves toward the frame unit 200. The contact holder 6 can also come into contact with the frame unit 200.

[0134] By this, even in the case where the intermediate transfer unit 150 is pushed toward the front side by the drive gear 301, the contact pushing spring 8 sufficiently extends so that the memory contact 5a and the contact spring 6a can be sufficiently connected. Therefore, in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction, the memory substrate 5 can also be provided in the side portion of the frame unit 200 on the same side as the side on which the pushing mechanism for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 from one side portion side of the frame unit 200 toward the other side portion side in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction is provided. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 can include the contact member pushing mechanism (contact pushing spring) 8.

[0135] Further, in Example 1, in the configuration in which the drive gear 301 for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the front side in the unit insertion direction is provided on the upstream side (right side) of the center of the frame unit 200, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the upstream side (right side) of the center of the frame unit 200 was described. On the other hand, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the downstream side (left side) of the center of the frame unit 200 can also be adopted. Figure 12is a schematic view of the vicinity of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in a modification embodiment having such a configuration when viewed from above. Further, Figure 13 is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in this modification embodiment. In this modification embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided in the front side portion of the frame unit 200, and the contact holder 6 is provided on the front guide rail 10F. Further, in this modification embodiment, a drive gear 301 for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the front side is provided on the upstream side (right side) of the center of the frame unit 200 in the unit insertion direction. Further, in this modification embodiment, on the downstream side (left side) of the center of the frame unit 200 in the unit insertion direction, a drive roller 9 for pushing the intermediate transfer unit 150 toward the front side is provided. This pushing roller 9 is pushed toward the front side by a roller pushing spring 9a. Thereby, even on the downstream side (left side) in the unit insertion direction, the intermediate transfer unit 150 can abut against the front guide rail 10F. Therefore, in a state in which the memory substrate 5 is pushed toward the front side, the memory contacts 5a and the contact springs 6a can be connected to each other in a stable position.

[0136] Further, in Embodiment 1, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is described. On the other hand, the following configuration can also be employed: in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the lower side (the same side as the image forming portion S with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 1) of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this configuration, for example, the air flow in the image forming apparatus 100 is adjusted, and the movement of toner leaked from the developing device 104 is sufficiently suppressed, so that deposition of toner onto the memory substrate 5 can be suppressed. Further, Figure 14 is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in another example of the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the lower side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In this modification embodiment, in the vicinity of the memory substrate 5, a wall 209 as a shielding mechanism is provided. This wall 209 is provided on the front side portion structure 261 of the frame 206 between the image forming portion S and the memory substrate 5. Thereby, even in the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the lower side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1, deposition of toner onto the memory substrate 5 can be suppressed.

[0137] Further, in Embodiment 1, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 is described. On the other hand, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided within the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 can also be employed. Figure 15is a schematic perspective view of the intermediate transfer unit 150 in an example having this configuration. In this modified embodiment, the memory substrate 5 is provided on the side surface of the front side side portion structure 261 of the frame 206. Further, in this modified embodiment, the positioning boss 206c is provided on the upper side of the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1. Further, in this modified embodiment, the contact spring 6a is provided outside the locus of the protruding shape portion such as the positioning boss 206c when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the device main assembly 120, and the memory substrate 5 is provided at a position corresponding to the position of the contact spring 6a. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the positioning boss 206c from being caught by the contact spring 6a when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the device main assembly 120. Therefore, the memory substrate 5 can be positioned inside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1 stretched by the plurality of stretching rollers 201 to 204. Further, in this case, the contact member 6a can be configured to be positioned outside the moving locus of the protruding portion (positioning boss) 206c in the device main assembly 120 supported by the device main assembly 120 when the intermediate transfer unit 150 is installed in and removed from the device main assembly 120.

[0138] Further, in Embodiment 1, in the configuration in which the belt cleaning device 160 is installed to and removed from the frame unit 200, the configuration in which the memory substrate 5 is provided on the frame unit 200 side is described. By adopting this configuration, even in the case of replacing the belt cleaning device 160, it is possible to obtain the effect that the usage history of the frame unit 200 side can be left in the memory substrate 5. However, in the configuration in which the belt cleaning device 160 is made to be non-detachably installed to the frame unit 200, it is also possible to obtain the effect obtained by providing the memory substrate 5 in the side portion (end portion) of the frame unit 200 in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction. In this case, similarly to in Embodiment 1, the memory substrate 5 can preferably be provided in the (front side) side portion of the frame unit 200 in the direction intersecting the unit insertion direction, that is, in the side portion on the side opposite to the side on which the drive gear 301 (gear pressing spring 302) for pressing the intermediate transfer unit 150 is provided. Further, similarly to in Embodiment 1, the memory substrate 5 can preferably be provided outside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt 1. In addition, as for other configurations, the configuration consistent with that in Embodiment 1 can be adopted. Here, assuming that the intermediate transfer unit 150 is configured so as not to easily detach the cleaning device 160 from the frame unit 200, reference will be made to the description in Embodiment 1.

[0139] The technology described herein can contribute to the realization of a sustainable society, such as a decarbonization / cycle-oriented society.

[0140] According to this disclosure, in the configuration of the frame unit with cleaning device installed in the intermediate transfer unit and the frame unit removed from the frame unit, information about the usage history of the frame unit side can be obtained even when the cleaning device is replaced.

[0141] Furthermore, according to this disclosure, by providing the memory substrate in the side portion of the intermediate transfer unit, the construction of the connection portion between the memory substrate on the intermediate transfer unit side and the contact member on the device main component side of the image forming apparatus can be simplified.

[0142] While this disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the appended claims shall be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: at least one image forming portion configured to form a toner image on an image bearing member; and an intermediate transfer unit onto which the toner image formed on the image bearing member is transferred and from which the transferred toner image is transferred onto a recording material, the intermediate transfer unit including: a frame unit including an intermediate transfer belt onto which the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member, a plurality of stretching rollers for stretching the intermediate transfer belt, and a frame for supporting the plurality of stretching rollers; a cleaning unit detachably mountable to the frame unit and configured to remove toner from a surface of the intermediate transfer belt; and a memory substrate provided on the frame unit and including a storage portion for storing information. 2.The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory substrate is provided outside the intermediate transfer belt in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt. 3.The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the memory substrate includes a contact portion connectable to a contact member provided in a main assembly, the contact portion being provided toward an outside of the intermediate transfer unit in the belt width direction. 4.The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a push mechanism configured to push the intermediate transfer unit provided at a predetermined position in a main assembly from a side portion side of the frame unit to another side portion side in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, wherein in the belt width direction, the memory substrate is provided in a side portion of the frame unit on a side opposite to a side on which the push mechanism is provided. 5.The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of stretching rollers include a drive roller for rotating the intermediate transfer belt, and wherein the push mechanism is a drive transmission member for transmitting a drive force to the drive roller. 6.The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drive roller is positioned on an upstream side of a center of the frame unit in an insertion direction of the intermediate transfer unit, and wherein the memory substrate is positioned on the upstream side of the center of the frame unit in the insertion direction. 7.The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the at least one image forming portion includes a plurality of image forming portions, wherein the frame unit includes a plurality of primary transfer rollers each for transferring a toner image from an associated one of the image bearing members onto the intermediate transfer belt, the plurality of primary transfer rollers being provided in correspondence with the plurality of image forming portions respectively and along the belt width direction, and wherein the memory substrate is positioned upstream of a rotation axis of the primary transfer roller located at the most upstream side among the plurality of primary transfer rollers and downstream of a rotation axis of the drive roller in the insertion direction of the intermediate transfer unit.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the frame unit includes a positioning portion for determining a position of the intermediate transfer unit in the main assembly in an insertion direction of the intermediate transfer unit by abutting against the main assembly, and wherein the positioning portion is positioned upstream of a rotation axis of the primary transfer roller located at the most upstream side and downstream of a rotation axis of the drive roller in the insertion direction.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory substrate is positioned upstream of a center of the frame unit in an insertion direction of the intermediate transfer unit.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frame unit includes a protruding portion that is supported by the main assembly when the intermediate transfer unit is inserted into the main assembly and is provided to protrude toward an outside of the frame unit in a width direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and wherein the image forming apparatus further includes a contact member provided in the main assembly and connectable to a contact portion of the memory substrate, and the contact member is positioned outside a movement locus of the protruding portion in the main assembly when the intermediate transfer unit is inserted into the main assembly.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory substrate is positioned outside an outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt stretched by the plurality of stretching rollers when viewed in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the memory substrate is positioned on a side opposite to the image forming portion when viewed in the belt width direction intersecting the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and at the same time, the intermediate transfer belt is sandwiched between the memory substrate itself and the at least one image forming portion.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory substrate is positioned inside the outer configuration of the intermediate transfer belt stretched by the plurality of stretching rollers when viewed in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt. 14.The image forming apparatus of claim 13, wherein the frame unit comprises: a protruding portion that is supported by the main assembly when the intermediate transfer unit is inserted into the main assembly and is provided to protrude toward an outside of the frame unit in a width direction of the intermediate transfer belt; and a contact member provided in the main assembly and connectable to a contact portion of the memory substrate, and wherein the contact member is positioned outside a movement locus of the protruding portion in the main assembly when the intermediate transfer unit is inserted into the main assembly.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory substrate is positioned on a downstream side of the frame in an assembly direction in which the intermediate transfer belt is assembled to the frame. 16.The image forming apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an operation portion from which a user can manually input a message to replace the cleaning unit, a controller configured to perform a predetermined initialization operation in a case where a message to replace the cleaning unit is input from the operation portion.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to perform the predetermined initialization operation based on information stored in the memory substrate in a case where the intermediate transfer unit is a new intermediate transfer unit.

18. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming portion configured to form a toner image on an image bearing member; and an intermediate transfer unit detachably mountable to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, onto which a toner image formed on the image bearing member is transferred and from which the transferred toner image is transferred onto a recording material, the intermediate transfer unit including: an intermediate transfer belt onto which the toner image is transferred from the image bearing member; a plurality of stretching rollers configured to stretch the intermediate transfer belt; a frame configured to support the plurality of stretching rollers; and a memory substrate disposed on the frame so as to be disposed outside the intermediate transfer belt in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and including a storage portion for storing information.

19. An intermediate transfer unit comprising: a frame unit including an intermediate transfer belt onto which a toner image is transferred, a plurality of stretching rollers for stretching the intermediate transfer belt, and a frame for supporting the plurality of stretching rollers; a cleaning unit detachably mountable to the frame unit and configured to remove toner from a surface of the intermediate transfer belt; and a memory substrate disposed on the frame unit and including a storage portion for storing information.

20. An intermediate transfer unit comprising: an intermediate transfer belt onto which a toner image is transferred; a plurality of stretching rollers configured to stretch the intermediate transfer belt; a frame configured to support the plurality of stretching rollers; and a memory substrate disposed on the frame so as to be disposed outside the intermediate transfer belt in a belt width direction intersecting a moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and including a storage portion for storing information. ​ ​

Images