Intermediate Transfer Member Surface Layer Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intermediate transfer members in electrophotographic systems face issues with reduced transfer performance, lack of text images, and toner scattering due to hard cover layers and abrasion marks, especially when printing large numbers of sheets.
Innovation Solution
An intermediate transfer member with a soft elastic layer sandwiched between a resin substrate and a hard surface layer, where the surface layer's Young's modulus is 0.1 to 5.0 GPa, greater than the elastic layer's, and a low surface-energy layer is added to enhance cleaning and transfer efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hard cover layer is formed on an elastic body to improve cleaning capability, then cleaning capability is improved, but transfer performance deteriorates causing lack of text images and toner scattering
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate transfer member is divided into multiple functional layers: an elastic body base layer and a separate hard cover layer. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specialized function - the elastic body ensures good transfer performance while the hard cover layer provides cleaning capability, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate transfer member uses a composite structure combining an elastic body material with a hard cover layer material. This composite construction integrates the advantages of both materials - the elasticity and conformability of the elastic body with the hardness and cleaning properties of the cover layer, eliminating the need to choose between transfer performance and cleaning capability.
2Manufacturing precision
If a fluorine compound bonded surface is made highly soft to improve transfer performance, then transfer performance is improved, but abrasion marks occur due to friction onto cleaning blade
Solution Approach 1:
The surface is segmented into two distinct layers with different hardness properties. The soft elastic body layer contacts the toner image during transfer, ensuring good transfer performance, while the hard cover layer faces the cleaning blade, preventing abrasion marks. This spatial segmentation of functional zones resolves the contradiction between softness for transfer and hardness for cleaning resistance.
3Reliability
If an inorganic coating layer is provided on an elastic layer to prevent surface staining, then cleaning capability is improved, but transfer performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hard inorganic coating layer is applied locally as a thin cover layer (1-10 μm) on the surface of the elastic body, rather than replacing the entire elastic layer. This localized application allows the bulk elastic properties to be preserved for good transfer performance while the surface hard layer provides staining resistance and cleaning capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration maintains superior secondary transferability and cleaning capability, preventing lack of text images and toner scattering, even after printing 160,000 sheets, while ensuring high-quality toner images without surface damage.
Implementation Method 1
the intermediate transfer member is provided with an elastic layer on a circumference of a resin substrate and further thereon a surface layer, wherein the surface layer exhibits a layer thickness of 10 to 500 nm, a Young's modulus of a surface of the intermediate transfer member which is determined by a nanoindentation method is 0.1 to 5.0 GPa and is 0.0 to 2.0 GPa greater than a Young's modulus of the elastic layer
Data Source
AI summary
An intermediate transfer member is provided which enables to maintain superior secondary transferability and enhanced cleaning capability and is also capable of continuing to obtain toner images of superior text reproduction and high quality without causing lack of text images even when making prints of a large number of sheets (e.g., 160,000 sheets). The intermediate transfer member for use in an image forming apparatus having a device capable of transferring a toner image carried on the surface of an electrophotographic photoreceptor primarily to an intermediate transfer member, and secondarily transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer member to a transfer material, wherein the intermediate transfer member is provided with an elastic layer on the circumference of a resin substrate and further thereon a surface layer, the surface layer exhibits a layer thickness of 10 to 500 nm, the Young's modulus of the surface of the intermediate transfer member which is determined by a nanoindentation method is 0.1 to 5.0 GPa and is 0.0 to 2.0 GPa greater than the Young's modulus of the elastic layer which is determined by a nanoindentation method.