Hemispherical Protrusion Endless Belt for Image Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endless belts used in image-forming apparatuses face challenges in maintaining high transfer efficiency for small-sized toner on rough paper surfaces due to wear and release of irregular protrusions, leading to decreased performance over time.
Innovation Solution
An endless belt with a resin layer featuring hemispherical or substantially hemispherical protrusions on its outer surface, which reduces belt-toner contact area and enhances resistance to wear, maintaining high transfer performance by using a polyimide resin and conductive materials like carbon black.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If irregular protrusions are added to the endless belt surface, then initial transfer efficiency is improved, but the protrusions wear and chip over time causing transfer performance to decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies spheroidality by forming hemispherical protrusions on the endless belt surface instead of irregular protrusions. The hemispherical shape with a radius of curvature of 0.5 to 5 μm provides optimized contact characteristics that maintain both high transfer efficiency for small-sized toner and resistance to wear and chipping during repeated use
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the surface protrusions by specifying a radius of curvature of 0.5 to 5 μm for hemispherical protrusions. This parameter optimization balances the contact area for effective toner transfer while ensuring sufficient structural strength to prevent wear and chipping during operation
2Productivity
If the contact area between belt and toner is reduced, then transfer efficiency for small-sized toner is improved, but belt-toner adhesion decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the radius of curvature parameter of the hemispherical protrusions (0.5 to 5 μm) to achieve the optimal balance between contact area and adhesion force. This parameter control allows sufficient adhesion for small-sized toner while maintaining efficient transfer performance
Data Source
AI summary
An endless belt for an image-forming apparatus includes, as an outermost layer, a resin layer having substantially hemispherical protrusions distributed over an outer surface thereof.