Transfer belt for electrophotography and image forming apparatus equipped therewith

• US 8,103,202 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2008
• Issued: 01/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Kurachi, Yasuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Gray, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yi, Roy Y
• Application Number:
  US12/139,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20090016787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: 399/302, 399/313
• US Class Current: 399/313
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/161 with means for handling the intermediate support, e.g. heating, cleaning, coating with a transfer agent
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/162 details of the the intermediate support, e.g. chemical composition
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 7/0013 Inorganic components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 7/004 obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 7/0046 obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds

Abstract

A transfer belt for electrophotography comprises

• • at least a polyphenylene sulfide resin and a conductive agent, preferably further a nylon resin,
  • wherein a deviation in surface resistivity is 1 or less; and an image-forming apparatus comprises a latent-image supporting member, and
  • a transfer member that supports a toner image transferred thereon from the latent-image supporting member and transfer the supported toner image onto an image-receiving material, comprising at least a polyphenylene sulfide resin and a conductive agent, and having a deviation in surface resistivity of 1 or less.

Claims

1. A transfer belt for electrophotography comprising:

at least a polyphenylene sulfide resin and a conductive agent,

wherein a deviation in surface resistivity is 1 or less, the deviation in surface resistivity being calculated as common logarithm of a ratio (maximum value/minimum value) between a maximum value and a minimum value of surface resistance and measured at a voltage of 500V for a period of 10 seconds,

wherein the conductive agent is carbon, the carbon being dispersed as aggregates having an average particle size in a range from 400 to 10000 nm.

2. The transfer belt for electrophotography according to claim 1, further comprising:

a polyamide resin.

3. The transfer belt for electrophotography according to claim 1, wherein the deviation in surface resistivity is in a range from 0.1 to 1.0.

4. The transfer belt for electrophotography according to claim 2, wherein a compounding ratio of the polyphenylene sulfide resin and the polyamide resin is 20% to 1% by weight of polyamide resin to 80 to 99% by weight of polyphenylene sulfide resin based on the total amount of the polyphenylene sulfide resin and the polyamide resin, which total amount being 100% by weight.

5. The transfer belt for electrophotography according to claim 1, wherein the carbon is dispersed as aggregates having an average particle size in a range from 400 to 1000 nm.

6. An image-forming apparatus comprising:

a latent-image supporting member, and

a transfer member that supports a toner image transferred thereon from the latent-image supporting member and transfers the supported toner image onto an image-receiving material, comprising at least a polyphenylene sulfide resin and a conductive agent, and having a deviation in surface resistivity of 1 or less, the deviation in surface resistivity being calculated as common logarithm of a ratio (maximum value/minimum value) between a maximum value and a minimum value of surface resistance and measured at a voltage of 500V for a period of 10 seconds,

wherein the conductive agent is carbon, the carbon being dispersed as aggregates having an average particle size in a range from 400 to 10000 nm.

7. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the transfer member further comprises a polyamide resin.

8. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the deviation in surface resistivity is in a range from 0.1 to 1.0.

9. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a compounding ratio of the polyphenylene sulfide resin and the polyamide resin is 20% to 1% by weight of polyamide resin to 80 to 99% by weight of polyphenylene sulfide resin based on the total amount of the polyphenylene sulfide resin and the polyamide resin, which total amount being 100% by weight.

10. The image-forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the carbon is dispersed as aggregates having an average particle size in a range from 400 to 1000 nm.