JP2010145630A - Electroconductive endless belt - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electroconductive endless belt which is good in melt stability in belt molding and excellent also in belt durability and surface smoothness. <P>SOLUTION: There is provided the electroconductive endless belt of endless belt shape used in an image forming apparatus, wherein a thermoplastic polyester resin is contained as a principal component and a bromine-based flame retardant and antimony tetroxide are added, wherein the antimony tetroxide has an average particle size of ≤2 μm and a maximum particle size of ≤5 μm. The antimony tetroxide is blended preferably in a mass ratio of the bromine-based flame retardant to the antimony tetroxide of 95/5 to 50/50. The thermoplastic polyester resin is preferably polybutylene terephthalate resin. A thermoplastic polyester elastomer having a melting point of ≥210°C is preferably contained as a resin component. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention supplies a developer to the surface of an image forming body such as a latent image holding body holding an electrostatic latent image on the surface in an electrostatic recording process in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, or an electrostatic recording apparatus. The present invention relates to a conductive endless belt (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “belt”) used when transferring the toner image formed in this way onto a recording medium such as paper.

  Conventionally, in an electrostatic recording process in a copying machine, a printer, etc., first, the surface of a photosensitive member (latent image holding member) is uniformly charged, and an image is projected onto the photosensitive member from an optical system and exposed to light. An electrostatic latent image is formed by erasing the charged portion, and then toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image by electrostatic adhesion of the toner, which is formed on paper, OHP, photographic paper For example, a method of printing by transferring to a recording medium such as the above is employed.

  In this case, color printers and color copiers basically print according to the above process, but in the case of color printing, the color tone is reproduced using toners of four colors, magenta, yellow, cyan, and black. Therefore, a process for obtaining a necessary color tone by superimposing these toners at a predetermined ratio is required, and several methods have been proposed for performing this process.

  First, as in the case of monochrome printing, when the toner is supplied onto the photosensitive member to visualize the electrostatic latent image, the four colors of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black are sequentially added. There is a multi-development system in which development is performed by superimposing and a color toner image is formed on the photoreceptor. According to this method, it is possible to configure the apparatus relatively compactly, but this method has a problem in that it is very difficult to control gradation and high image quality cannot be obtained.

  Second, four photosensitive drums are provided, and the latent images on each drum are developed with magenta, yellow, cyan, and black toners, respectively, so that a magenta toner image, a yellow toner image, a cyan toner image, and a black toner image are obtained. By forming four toner images of the toner image, arranging the photosensitive drums on which the toner images are formed in a row, sequentially transferring the toner images onto a recording medium such as paper, and superimposing them on the recording medium, a color image is formed. There is a tandem method to reproduce. Although this method can obtain a good image, the four photosensitive drums, the charging mechanism and the developing mechanism provided for each photosensitive drum are arranged in a line, and the apparatus becomes large and expensive. It becomes.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the printing unit of the tandem image forming apparatus. A printing unit composed of the photosensitive drum 1, the charging roll 2, the developing roll 3, the developing blade 4, the toner supply roll 5, and the cleaning blade 6 corresponds to each toner of yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black B 4 The toner images are sequentially transferred onto a sheet that is circulated by a driving roller (driving member) 9 and conveyed by a transfer conveying belt 10 to form a color image. Charging and discharging of the transfer / conveying belt are performed by the charging roll 7 and the discharging roll 8, respectively. Further, a suction roller (not shown) is used for charging the paper for sucking the paper onto the belt. Owing to these measures, generation of ozone can be suppressed. The suction roller places the paper on the transfer conveyance belt from the conveyance path and performs electrostatic adsorption on the transfer conveyance belt. Further, the sheet separation after the transfer can be performed only by the curvature separation by lowering the transfer voltage to weaken the adsorption force between the sheet and the transfer conveyance belt.

  As materials for the transfer / conveyance belt 10, there are a resistor and a dielectric, each having advantages and disadvantages. Since the resistor belt can hold charges for a short time, when it is used for tandem transfer, there is little charge injection during transfer, and the voltage rise is relatively small even during continuous transfer of four colors. In addition, when it is repeatedly used for the transfer of the next sheet, the electric charge is released, and no electrical reset is required. However, since the resistance value changes due to environmental fluctuations, there are disadvantages such as affecting transfer efficiency and being easily influenced by the thickness and width of the paper.

  On the other hand, in the case of a dielectric belt, there is no spontaneous release of injected charge, and both charge injection and discharge must be electrically controlled. However, since the charge is stably held, the sheet can be adsorbed reliably and can be conveyed with high accuracy. Since the dielectric constant is less dependent on temperature and humidity, the transfer process is relatively stable to the environment. The drawback is that the transfer voltage increases because charges are accumulated on the belt each time the transfer is repeated.

  Thirdly, a recording medium such as paper is wound around a transfer drum, and this is rotated four times, and magenta, yellow, cyan, and black on the photosensitive member are sequentially transferred to the recording medium every rotation to reproduce a color image. There is also a method. According to this method, a relatively high image quality can be obtained. However, when the recording medium is a cardboard such as a postcard, it is difficult to wind the recording medium around the transfer drum, and the type of the recording medium is limited. There is.

  A system in which good image quality is obtained with respect to the multiple development system, tandem system, and transfer drum system, the apparatus is not particularly large, and the type of recording medium is not particularly limited. As an example, an intermediate transfer method has been proposed.

  That is, in this intermediate transfer system, an intermediate transfer member composed of a drum or a belt for temporarily transferring and holding the toner image on the photosensitive member is provided, and a magenta toner image, a yellow toner image, and a cyan toner are provided around the intermediate transfer member. An image and four photoconductors on which a black toner image is formed are arranged, and four color toner images are sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer member, thereby forming a color image on the intermediate transfer member. The image is transferred onto a recording medium such as paper. Therefore, since the gradation is adjusted by superimposing the four color toner images, it is possible to obtain high image quality, and it is not necessary to arrange the photoconductors in a row as in the tandem method, so that the apparatus can be used. There is no particular increase in size, and there is no need to wrap the recording medium around the drum, so the type of recording medium is not limited.

  As an apparatus for forming a color image by the intermediate transfer method, an image forming apparatus using an endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer member as an intermediate transfer member is illustrated in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a drum-shaped photoconductor, which rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The photosensitive member 11 is charged by the primary charger 12, and then the charged portion of the exposed portion is erased by image exposure 13, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the first color component is formed on the photosensitive member 11. The electrostatic latent image is developed with the first color magenta toner M by the developing device 41, and a first color magenta toner image is formed on the photoreceptor 11. Next, the toner image is circulated and driven by a driving roller (driving member) 30 and transferred to the intermediate transfer member 20 that circulates and rotates while contacting the photoreceptor 11. In this case, transfer from the photoconductor 11 to the intermediate transfer member 20 is performed by a primary transfer bias applied from the power source 61 to the intermediate transfer member 20 at the nip portion between the photoconductor 11 and the intermediate transfer member 20. After the first color magenta toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer member 20, the surface of the photoconductor 11 is cleaned by the cleaning device 14, and the development transfer operation for the first rotation of the photoconductor 11 is completed. Thereafter, the photoconductor rotates three times, and the second color cyan toner image, the third color yellow toner image, and the fourth color black toner image are sequentially used by the developing units 42 to 44 for each turn. The toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 20 and is superimposed and transferred to the intermediate transfer member 20 every round, so that a composite color toner image corresponding to the target color image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 20. In the apparatus of FIG. 3, the developing devices 41 to 44 are sequentially replaced with each rotation of the photoreceptor 11 so that development with magenta toner M, cyan toner C, yellow toner Y, and black toner B is sequentially performed. It has become.

  Next, the transfer roller 25 contacts the intermediate transfer member 20 on which the composite color toner image is formed, and a recording medium 26 such as paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 19 to the nip portion. At the same time, a secondary transfer bias is applied from the power source 29 to the transfer roller 25, and the composite color toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer member 20 onto the recording medium 26 and heated and fixed to form a final image. After the composite color toner image is transferred to the recording medium 26, the transfer residual toner on the surface is removed by the cleaning device 35, and the intermediate transfer member 20 returns to the initial state to prepare for the next image formation.

  There is also an intermediate transfer method that combines a tandem method and an intermediate transfer method. FIG. 4 illustrates an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus that forms a color image using an endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer member.

  In the illustrated apparatus, a first developing unit 54 a to a fourth developing unit 54 d that develop the electrostatic latent images on the photosensitive drums 52 a to 52 d with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively, along the intermediate transfer member 50. The intermediate transfer members 50 are sequentially arranged, and the intermediate transfer members 50 are circulated and driven in the direction of the arrows in the drawing to sequentially transfer the four color toner images formed on the photosensitive drums 52a to 52d of the developing units 54a to 54d. As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer member 50, and the toner image is transferred onto a recording medium 53 such as paper to perform printout. Here, in any of the above-described apparatuses, the arrangement order of the toners used for development is not particularly limited, and can be arbitrarily selected.

  In the figure, reference numeral 55 denotes a driving roller or tension roller for circulatingly driving the intermediate transfer member 50, reference numeral 56 denotes a recording medium feeding roller, reference numeral 57 denotes a recording medium feeding apparatus, and reference numeral 58 denotes a recording medium. 1 shows a fixing device for fixing an image by heating or the like. Reference numeral 59 denotes a power supply device (voltage applying means) for applying a voltage to the intermediate transfer member 50. The power supply device 59 transfers a toner image from the photosensitive drums 52a to 52d to the intermediate transfer member 50. The applied voltage can be reversed between the case where the image is transferred from the intermediate transfer member 50 onto the recording medium 53.

  Conventionally, as a conductive endless belt used as the endless belt-like transfer / conveying belt 10 or the intermediate transfer members 20, 50, a semi-conductive resin film belt or a rubber belt having a fiber reinforcement is mainly used. Yes. Among these, as resin film belts, for example, those in which carbon black is mixed with polycarbonate (PC), those using polyalkylene terephthalate as the main resin, those using thermoplastic polyimide as the main resin, and the like are known.

Further, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that for the purpose of providing a flame retardant resin having a high degree of thermal stability, carbon black, a flame retardant, and antimony are mainly composed of polycarbonate and based on polycarbonate and polyalkylene terephthalate. An intermediate transfer seamless belt having flame retardancy in which a compound and a polyolefin are blended is disclosed. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a seamless seamless resin composition comprising a thermoplastic resin composition containing polyester and polyester elastomer, a conductive filler, and a bromine-containing flame retardant for the purpose of providing a conductive seamless belt excellent in folding resistance. A belt is disclosed. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a layer containing carbon black and a flame retardant, and a layer containing carbon black and difficult for the purpose of providing a durable conductive seamless belt to which flame retardancy is imparted. A seamless belt comprising a laminate having a durable outer layer containing no flame retardant is disclosed. Patent Document 4 discloses antimony tetroxide having a particle diameter in the range of 0.5 to 7.0 μm as a thermoplastic polyester resin or a mixed resin of this and a polycarbonate resin, an organic halogen compound, and a flame retardant aid. A flame retardant resin composition using particles is disclosed. Patent Document 5 discloses a polybutylene terephthalate resin comprising a polybutylene terephthalate resin, a brominated phenoxy resin, and antimony tetroxide having an average particle diameter of 2 μm or less. A composition is disclosed.
JP-A-6-93175 (Claims etc.) JP-A-10-237278 (Claims etc.) JP-A-5-213504 (Claims etc.) JP-A-4-320447 (Claims etc.) JP-A-8-41306 (Claims etc.)

  However, as disclosed in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, flame resistance is imparted by adding a brominated flame retardant, and antimony trioxide is flame retardant to impart flame retardance more efficiently. Although added as an auxiliary agent, antimony trioxide has excellent properties as a flame retardant aid, but has the property of degrading resins such as polyester and the property of promoting the reaction between brominated flame retardants and polyester. Therefore, there is a problem that the melt stability at the time of belt molding is poor and the durability of the belt is deteriorated. Moreover, since the belt of patent document 1 has polycarbonate which is an amorphous resin as a main component, the hinge characteristics (destructive characteristics) described in the examples are only several hundred times, and the durability is poor. In this respect as well, the required characteristics of the belt could not be satisfied.

  Furthermore, as an endless belt-like conductive endless belt used in an image forming apparatus, good smoothness of the belt surface is demanded. Antimony tetroxide described in Patent Document 4 has a large maximum particle size of 7.0 μm. Therefore, it is unsuitable for belt applications, and the resin composition described in Patent Document 5 has no regulation on the maximum particle size, and similarly has a problem of surface smoothness in belt applications. Furthermore, the resin composition described in Patent Document 5 uses a brominated phenoxy resin as a brominated flame retardant, but since the brominated phenoxy resin has a very high molecular weight, it is difficult to uniformly disperse it in the polyester, In the case of a belt manufactured only by extrusion molding, there is a problem that surface properties deteriorate.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a conductive endless belt that solves the above-described problems in the prior art, has good melt stability during belt molding, and is excellent in belt durability and surface smoothness. .

  As a result of intensive studies, the present inventor has a specific resin component that is blended with a specific flame retardant and a flame retardant aid, so that the melt stability at the time of belt molding is good, The inventors have found that the durability can be secured, and have completed the present invention.

  That is, the conductive endless belt of the present invention is an endless belt-shaped conductive endless belt used in an image forming apparatus, comprising a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, and a brominated flame retardant and antimony tetraoxide added. The antimony tetroxide has an average particle size of 2 μm or less and a maximum particle size of 5 μm or less.

  The conductive endless belt of the present invention is preferably formed by blending 95/5 to 50/50 of antimony tetroxide in a mass ratio of brominated flame retardant / antimony tetroxide.

  In the conductive endless belt of the present invention, the thermoplastic polyester resin is preferably a polybutylene terephthalate resin.

  Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable as a resin component to contain the thermoplastic polyester elastomer whose melting | fusing point is 210 degreeC or more.

  In the present invention, the brominated flame retardant is preferably a brominated epoxy flame retardant, and preferably contains a carbodiimide compound.

  Furthermore, the present invention has a laminated structure comprising at least a base layer and a surface layer sequentially from the inside, and at least one of the base layer and the surface layer contains a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, and further contains a bromine-based difficult material. It is preferable to add a flame retardant and antimony tetroxide.

  According to the present invention, by adopting the above-described configuration, it is possible to solve the above-described problems in the prior art, and to realize a conductive endless belt that has good melt stability during belt molding and excellent belt durability. Became possible. Further, by controlling the average particle size and the maximum particle size of antimony tetroxide, the surface smoothness required for the conductive endless belt used in the image forming apparatus can be obtained at a higher level.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
Generally, there are conductive endless belts with joints and belts without joints (so-called seamless belts), but any of them may be used in the present invention, and a seamless belt is preferable. As described above, the conductive endless belt of the present invention can be used as a transfer member for a tandem system or an intermediate transfer system.

  When the conductive endless belt of the present invention is, for example, a transfer conveyance belt indicated by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 2, the toner is sequentially transferred onto a recording medium that is driven by a driving member such as a driving roller 9 and the like. As a result, a color image is formed.

  Further, when the conductive endless belt of the present invention is an intermediate transfer member indicated by reference numeral 20 in FIG. 3, for example, this is circulated by a driving member such as a driving roller 30 and a photosensitive drum (latent image holding member). 11 and the recording medium 26 such as paper, the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is temporarily transferred and held, and then transferred to the recording medium 26. Note that the apparatus of FIG. 3 performs color printing by the intermediate transfer method as described above.

  Furthermore, when the conductive endless belt of the present invention is, for example, an intermediate transfer member denoted by reference numeral 50 in FIG. 4, the space between the developing units 54a to 54d including the photoconductive drums 52a to 52d and the recording medium 53 such as paper. The four-color toner images formed on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 52 a to 52 d are temporarily transferred and held, and then transferred to the recording medium 53. By transferring, a color image is formed. In the above description, the case of four colors of toner has been described. Needless to say, in any apparatus, the number of colors of toner is not limited to four.

  The conductive endless belt of the present invention is an endless belt-like conductive endless belt used in an image forming apparatus, comprising a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, and a brominated flame retardant and antimony tetraoxide added. is there. Further, the antimony tetroxide has an average particle size of 2 μm or less and a maximum particle size of 5 μm or less, preferably an antimony tetroxide average particle size of 1 μm or less and a maximum particle size of 3 μm or less. Use of thermoplastic polyester improves durability. Use of antimony tetroxide as a flame retardant aid suppresses decomposition of thermoplastic polyester resin, and further suppresses reaction between thermoplastic polyester resin and brominated flame retardant. it can. Further, by controlling the average particle size and the maximum particle size of antimony tetroxide, excellent flame retardancy and good belt surface smoothness can be obtained.

  The thermoplastic polyester resin that can be used in the conductive endless belt of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the desired effect of the present invention can be obtained. Specifically, for example, a thermoplastic polyalkylene naphthalate resin (for example, Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) resin, polybutylene naphthalate (PBN) resin, etc.), thermoplastic polyalkylene terephthalate resin (for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) resin, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)) ) Resin, etc.), preferably PBT resin. Such thermoplastic polyester resins can be used in combination of two or more.

  The brominated flame retardant that can be used for the conductive endless belt of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the desired effect of the present invention is obtained. For example, brominated phenoxy-based, brominated polystyrene-based, aromatic Low molecular type, brominated epoxy, brominated epoxy modified and the like can be mentioned, and among them, brominated epoxy is particularly preferable. Further, the blending amount of the brominated flame retardant in the present invention is 1 for the total amount of 100 parts by mass of the thermoplastic polyester resin and / or the thermoplastic polyester elastomer described later in order to stably exhibit flame retardancy. It is preferable to set it as -30 mass parts, More preferably, you may be 5-20 mass parts. If the amount of the brominated flame retardant is too large, there may be a problem that the physical properties of the belt are lowered and the belt is easily cracked.

  Furthermore, specific examples of the brominated epoxy flame retardant include those derived from tetrabromobisphenol A. Brominated epoxy flame retardants have good compatibility with polyester resins and polyester elastomers and are excellent in dispersibility. Such brominated epoxy flame retardants are preferably end-capped with tribromophenol. Thereby, the thermal stability at the time of residence can be improved. Also, if the end of the brominated epoxy resin is not sealed with tribromophenol, it will melt due to the reaction with the resin, or the gelation will occur when the residence time is long. The fluidity at the time may become difficult to stabilize, which is not preferable.

In the belt of the present invention, in addition to the brominated flame retardant, antimony tetroxide (Sb ₂ O ₄ ) having an average particle size of 2 μm or less and a maximum particle size of 5 μm or less is blended as a flame retardant aid. To do. Such antimony tetraoxide can be obtained, for example, by pulverizing “ATE-S” manufactured by Yamanaka Sangyo Co., Ltd. with a jet pulverizer. The blending amount of antimony tetroxide is, for example, a mass ratio of brominated flame retardant / antimony tetroxide, and is usually 95/5 to 50/50, preferably 90/10 to 60/40. When the blending amount of antimony tetroxide is less than 95/5 in the above mass ratio, the flame retardancy may not be obtained. On the other hand, when it exceeds 50/50, surface properties and flex resistance may be deteriorated. It is not preferable.

  In the belt of the present invention, by using the brominated flame retardant and antimony tetroxide in combination, flame retardancy of VTM-2 or higher can be achieved in the UL94 standard. In addition to the brominated flame retardant and antimony tetroxide, other flame retardants and flame retardant aids can be added as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the electroconductive endless belt of this invention contains a thermoplastic polyester elastomer as a resin component. Flexibility is improved by adding a thermoplastic polyester elastomer. Such a thermoplastic polyester elastomer preferably has a melting point of 210 ° C. or higher, more preferably 210 to 250 ° C., a polyester-polyester type using a polyester for the hard segment and the soft segment, and a polyester for the hard segment, Both polyester-polyether types using a polyether as the soft segment can be suitably used. The hard segment of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer is generally composed mainly of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polybutylene naphthalate (PBN), but any of them can be used in the present invention. It is. Such thermoplastic polyester elastomers can be used in combination of two or more. If the melting point of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer is less than 210 ° C., the tensile modulus (MPa) will be low.

  Furthermore, these thermoplastic polyester resins and thermoplastic polyester elastomers have the disadvantage that they tend to cause a decrease in molecular weight due to hydrolysis at the time of molding and heating, and in particular, by adding a compound having a carbodiimide group, It is preferable to prevent a decrease in molecular weight by recrosslinking a thermoplastic polyester resin or a thermoplastic polyester elastomer by reaction with a carboxyl group or a hydroxyl group generated by hydrolysis. As a result, embrittlement of the belt can be prevented, and the bending resistance of the belt during durability can be improved. Such carbodiimide compounds are easily available on the market, and examples thereof include trade name: Carbodilite manufactured by Nisshinbo Industries, Inc. The carbodiimide compound can also be used in the form of a masterbatch pellet or the like, for example, Nisshinbo Co., Ltd. trade name: Carbodilite E pellet, B pellet or the like can be suitably used.

  The addition amount of the carbodiimide compound is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.05 to 30 parts by mass, more preferably 100 parts by mass with respect to the total amount of the thermoplastic polyester resin and the thermoplastic polyester elastomer. Is in the range of 0.1 to 5 parts by mass. If the addition amount of the carbodiimide compound is less than 0.05 parts by mass, the effect of improving the bending resistance may not be obtained. It may be difficult and is not preferable.

  The belt of the present invention can be mixed with a conductive agent in order to adjust the conductivity. Such a conductive agent is not particularly limited, and a known electronic conductive agent, ionic conductive agent, or the like can be appropriately used. Of these, specific examples of the electronic conductive agent include conductive carbon such as ketjen black and acetylene black, carbon for rubber such as SAF, ISAF, HAF, FEF, GPF, SRF, FT, and MT, oxidation treatment, and the like. Colored (ink) carbon, natural graphite, artificial graphite, antimony-doped tin oxide, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, nickel, copper, silver, germanium and other metal and metal oxides, polyaniline, Conductive polymers such as polypyrrole and polyacetylene, carbon whisker, graphite whisker, titanium carbide whisker, conductive potassium titanate whisker, conductive barium titanate whisker, conductive titanium oxide whisker, conductive zinc oxide whisker, etc. Is mentioned. Specific examples of the ion conductive agent include perchlorates such as tetraethylammonium, tetrabutylammonium, dodecyltrimethylammonium, hexadecyltrimethylammonium, benzyltrimethylammonium, modified fatty acid dimethylethylammonium, chlorate, Ammonium salts such as hydrochloride, bromate, iodate, borofluoride, sulfate, ethyl sulfate, carboxylate, sulfonate, alkali metals such as lithium, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium And alkaline earth metal perchlorates, chlorates, hydrochlorides, bromates, iodates, borofluorides, sulfates, trifluoromethyl sulfates, sulfonates, and the like.

  Examples of the polymeric ion conductive agent are described in JP-A-9-227717, JP-A-10-120924, JP-A-2000-327922, JP-A-2005-60658, and the like. Although what can be used can be used, it is not specifically limited.

Specific examples include a mixture of (A) an organic polymer material, (B) an ionically conductive polymer or copolymer, and (C) an inorganic or low molecular weight organic salt, wherein the component ( A) is a polyacrylic ester, polymethacrylic ester, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyamide 6, polyamide 12, etc., polyurethane or polyester, and component (B) is an oligoethoxylated acrylate or methacrylate Styrene, polyether urethane, polyether urea, polyether amide, polyether ester amide or polyester-ether block copolymer oligoethoxylated for aromatic rings, and component (C) is inorganic or Alkali metal lower molecular weight organic protonic acid, an alkaline earth metal, zinc or ammonium salt, _{preferably, LiClO 4, LiCF 3 SO 3} , NaClO 4, LiBF 4, NaBF 4, KBF 4, NaCF 3 SO 3, KClO ₄ , KPF ₆ , KCF ₃ SO ₃ , KC ₄ F ₉ SO ₃ , Ca (ClO ₄ ) ₂ , Ca (PF ₆ ) ₂ , Mg (ClO ₄ ) ₂ , Mg (CF ₃ SO ₃ ) ₂ , Zn (ClO ₄ ) ₂ , Zn (PF ₆ ) _2, Ca (CF ₃ SO ₃ ) ₂ or the like.

Among these, as the component (B), a polymer ionic conductive agent containing a polyether amide component, a polyether ester amide component or a polyester-ether block copolymer component is suitable, and in addition to this, the component (C) It is preferable to contain a low molecular ion conductive agent component. Further, as the polyether amide component and the polyether ester amide component, those in which the polyether component contains (CH ₂ —CH ₂ —O) and the polyamide component contains polyamide 12 or polyamide 6 are particularly preferable. As the low molecular ion conductive agent component of component (C), a polymer ion conductive agent containing NaClO ₄ is particularly suitable. Such polymeric ion conductive agents are readily available on the market as, for example, Irgastat (registered trademark) P18 and Irgastat (registered trademark) P22 (both manufactured by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Inc.).

  A block copolymer in which a polyolefin block and a hydrophilic polymer block are repeatedly and alternately bonded through an ester bond, an amide bond, an ether bond, a urethane bond, an imide bond, etc. It can be suitably used as a molecular ion conductive agent. Examples of such polyolefins include polyolefins having functional groups such as a carboxyl group, a hydroxyl group, and an amino group at both ends of the polymer, and polypropylene and polyethylene are particularly preferable.

  Further, as the hydrophilic polymer, a polyether diol such as polyoxyalkylene having a hydroxyl group as a functional group, a polyether ester amide composed of a polyamide having both terminal carboxyl groups and a polyether diol, a polyamide imide and a polyether diol Polyetheramide imide composed of polyester, polyether ester composed of polyester and polyether diol, polyether amide composed of polyamide and polyether diamine, etc. can be used. preferable. For example, polyoxyethylene (polyethylene glycol) and polyoxypropylene (polypropylene glycol) having hydroxyl groups at both terminals are used.

Such a block copolymer that can be used as a polymer ion conductive agent in the present invention is readily available on the market as Pelestat 230, 300, 303 (manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Co., Ltd.). In addition, by incorporating the lithium compound LiCF ₃ SO ₃ into the block copolymer, the effect of maintaining the antistatic effect can be obtained even if the addition amount is reduced, and the mixture of the block copolymer and the lithium compound is obtained. Sanconol TBX-310 (manufactured by Sanko Chemical Co., Ltd.) is commercially available.

  When a polymer ion conductive agent is used as the conductive agent, a compatibilizing agent may be added in order to enhance the compatibility between the base resin and the polymer ion conductive agent.

  These conductive agents may be used singly or in appropriate combination of two or more. For example, an electronic conductive agent and an ionic conductive agent may be used in combination. Conductivity can be expressed stably even with respect to voltage fluctuations and environmental changes.

  The blending amount of the conductive agent is usually 100 parts by mass or less, for example 1 to 100 parts by mass, particularly 1 to 80 parts by mass, especially 5 to 50 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the resin component. . Moreover, about an ion conductive agent, it is 0.01-10 mass parts normally with respect to 100 mass parts of resin components, Especially it is the range of 0.05-5 mass parts. Furthermore, about a polymeric ion electrically conductive agent, it is about 1-500 mass parts normally with respect to 100 mass parts of resin components, Preferably it is about 10-400 mass parts. In the present invention, it is particularly preferable to add 5 to 30 parts by mass of carbon black as a conductive agent with respect to 100 parts by mass of the resin component.

  Further, in the belt of the present invention, other functional components can be appropriately added in addition to the above-mentioned components within a range not impairing the effects of the present invention. For example, various fillers, coupling agents, Antioxidants, lubricants, surface treatment agents, pigments, ultraviolet absorbers, antistatic agents, dispersants, neutralizing agents, foaming agents, crosslinking agents, and the like can be appropriately blended. Furthermore, you may color by adding a coloring agent.

  The structure of the conductive endless belt of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the desired effect of the present invention can be obtained, and can have a single layer structure or a laminated structure in which at least a base layer and a surface layer are sequentially provided from the inside. In the case of taking a laminated structure, at least one of the base layer and the surface layer contains a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, further contains a brominated flame retardant, an average particle size of 2 μm or less, and a maximum particle size. It is preferable to add antimony tetroxide having a thickness of 5 μm or less, and both the base layer and the surface layer contain a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, and further have a brominated flame retardant and an average particle size of 2 μm or less, and More preferably, antimony tetroxide having a maximum particle size of 5 μm or less is added.

  In addition, when the belt of the present invention is a laminated belt, other layers may be included on the base layer-surface layer or the inner layer side of the base layer. As such other layers, for example, a layer having the same configuration as the surface layer can be used by being laminated on the inner layer side of the base layer. An adhesive layer may be provided between the base layer and the surface layer.

  The total thickness of the conductive endless belt of the present invention is appropriately selected according to the form of the transfer / conveying belt or the intermediate transfer member, but is preferably in the range of 50 to 200 μm.

In addition, as the surface roughness of the conductive endless belt of the present invention, it is preferable that the arithmetic average roughness Ra is 0.2 μm or less and the maximum height Ry is 1.5 μm or less. Such Ra and Ry are obtained when the cutoff wavelength is 0.8 mm, the measurement direction is perpendicular to the belt extrusion direction, and the measurement length is 4 mm, in accordance with JIS94 standard.

  Further, the conductive endless belt of the present invention has a surface on the side in contact with a driving member such as the driving roller 9 or the driving roller 30 of FIG. 3 in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 2, as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. A fitting portion that fits with a fitting portion (not shown) formed on the drive member may be formed, and the conductive endless belt of the present invention is provided with such a fitting portion and drives this. Shifting in the width direction of the conductive endless belt can be prevented by running with a fitting portion (not shown) provided on the member.

  In this case, the fitting portion is not particularly limited, but, as shown in FIG. 1, it is formed as a ridge continuous along the circumferential direction (rotation direction) of the belt, and this is a driving member such as a driving roller. It is preferable to be fitted in a groove formed in the circumferential surface along the circumferential direction.

  In addition, although the example which provided one continuous protruding item | line as a fitting part was shown in Fig.1 (a), this fitting part has many convex parts along the circumferential direction (rotation direction) of a belt. They may be arranged in a row, or two or more fitting portions may be provided (FIG. 1 (b)), or may be provided at the center in the width direction of the belt. Further, a groove along the circumferential direction (rotating direction) of the belt is provided as a fitting portion instead of the convex strip shown in FIG. You may make it make it fit with the protruding item | line which carried out.

  As a method for producing a conductive endless belt, for example, a biaxial kneader is used to knead a resin composition composed of a functional component such as a thermoplastic polyester resin and a conductive material, and the resulting kneaded product is formed into an annular die. And can be manufactured by extrusion. Alternatively, a powder coating method such as electrostatic coating, a dip method, or a centrifugal casting method can also be suitably employed.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples.
Conductive endless belts of Examples and Comparative Examples were prepared with the formulations shown in Tables 1 to 3 below. The compounding amounts in the following table all indicate parts by mass. Specifically, each compounding component was melt-kneaded at 240 ° C. with a twin-screw kneader, and the obtained kneaded product was extruded using an annular die at an extrusion temperature of 260 ° C., whereby an inner diameter of 155 mm and a total thickness of 100 μm. A conductive endless belt having a single-layer structure having a width of 250 mm was obtained. The blending amount of carbon black in the conductive endless belt was adjusted so that when 500 V was applied, the volume resistance was 10 ⁹ Ω · cm and the surface resistance was 10 ⁹ Ω / □. Antimony tetroxide was used by pulverizing ATE-S manufactured by Yamanaka Sangyo Co., Ltd. with a jet pulverizer LJ manufactured by Nippon Pneumatic Industry Co., Ltd. The particle size was measured with a particle size distribution analyzer CILAS 1064 manufactured by Cirrus, using water as a dispersion medium. The particle size distribution on a volume basis was measured, and the particle size when the cumulative volume ratio was 50% was defined as the average particle size (D50), and the particle size when 100% was the maximum particle size (D100).

  The belts of the obtained examples and comparative examples were evaluated according to the following procedures. These results are also shown in Tables 1 to 3 below.

<Measurement of tensile modulus>
The tensile modulus was measured under the following conditions.
Apparatus: manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation, tensile tester EZ test (analysis software: Trappezium)
Sample: strip shape (length 100 mm x width 10 mm x standard thickness 100 μm)
Tensile speed: 5mm / sec
Data sampling interval: 100 msec
Measuring method: inclination at 0.5 to 0.6% elongation (when described, tangent method described in JIS)
Measurement environment: Room temperature (23 ± 3 ° C, 55 ± 10% RH)

<Folding resistance>
A test piece having a length of 100 mm and a width of 15 mm was cut out from each belt, and the bending speed was 175 times / min, the rotation angle was 135 degrees, and the tensile load was 14.7 N (using Toyo Seiki Co., Ltd.). The number of bending resistances (times) was measured under the condition of 1.5 kgf). The higher the number, the better the result.

<Surface roughness>
The belt surface roughness was measured using Surfcom 1400D manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd. Based on the JIS94 standard, the arithmetic average roughness Ra and the maximum height Ry were determined. The smaller the value, the better the surface smoothness. The cutoff wavelength was 0.8 mm, the measurement direction was perpendicular to the belt extrusion direction, and the measurement length was 4 mm.

<Evaluation of flame retardancy>
Flame retardancy was evaluated according to the UL94 standard.

＊１）ＰＢＴ：ポリプラスチックス（株）製、ジュラネックス８００ＦＰ 融点２２３℃
＊２）ポリエステルエラストマー：東洋紡（株）製、ペルプレン ＥＮ−５０００ 融点２３３℃
＊３）カルボジイミド化合物：ラインケミージャパン（株）製、Ｓｔａｂａｘｏｌ ＫＥ９１９３
＊４）カーボンブラック：電気化学工業（株）製、デンカブラック 粒状
＊５）ＴＢＢＡエポキシ樹脂：阪本薬品（株）製、ＳＲ−Ｔ３０４０（トリブロモフェノールによる末端封止品）
四酸化アンチモン：山中産業（株）製、ＡＴＥ−Ｓ
＊６）四酸化アンチモン Ｄ５０ １．０３μｍ、Ｄ１００ ３．０μｍ
＊７）四酸化アンチモン Ｄ５０ ０．９１μｍ、Ｄ１００ ２．８μｍ
＊８）四酸化アンチモン Ｄ５０ ０．７０μｍ、Ｄ１００ ２．０μｍ
＊９）四酸化アンチモンＡＴＥ−Ｓ：Ｄ５０ ２．２７μｍ、Ｄ１００ １０μｍ（未粉砕）

* 1) PBT: Polyplastics Co., Ltd., Juranex 800FP, melting point 223 ° C
* 2) Polyester elastomer: manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd., Perprene EN-5000, melting point 233 ° C
* 3) Carbodiimide compound: manufactured by Rhein Chemie Japan, Stabaxol KE9193
* 4) Carbon black: Denka Black, manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. * 5) TBBA epoxy resin: Sakamoto Yakuhin, SR-T3040 (end-capped product with tribromophenol)
Antimony tetraoxide: ATE-S, manufactured by Yamanaka Sangyo Co., Ltd.
* 6) Antimony tetraoxide D50 1.03 μm, D100 3.0 μm
* 7) Antimony tetraoxide D50 0.91 μm, D100 2.8 μm
* 8) Antimony tetraoxide D50 0.70μm, D100 2.0μm
* 9) Antimony tetraoxide ATE-S: D50 2.27 μm, D100 10 μm (unground)

  As shown in Tables 1 to 3 above, Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1, Examples 4 to 6 and Comparative Example 2, Examples 7 and 8 and Comparative Example 3, Examples 9 to 11 and Comparative Example 4, When Examples 12 and 13 and Comparative Example 5 are compared with each other, it can be seen that the belts of the Examples have a higher number of folding resistances than the comparative examples and are excellent in durability. Moreover, in the belt of each Example, the value of surface roughness is small, and surface smoothness is higher than the belt of each comparative example. Furthermore, it can be seen that the belts of the respective examples have a short flame burning time compared to the comparative examples and high flame retardancy. From the above, by controlling the particle size of antimony tetroxide within a specific range, a belt having high durability and flame retardancy and good surface smoothness can be obtained while maintaining belt physical properties such as tensile elastic modulus. It was confirmed.

It is width direction sectional drawing of the electroconductive endless belt which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a tandem image forming apparatus using a transfer conveyance belt as an example of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an intermediate transfer device using an intermediate transfer member as another example of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another intermediate transfer apparatus using an intermediate transfer member as still another example of the image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 11, 52a-52d Photosensitive drum 2, 7 Charging roll 3 Developing roll 4 Developing blade 5 Toner supply roll 6 Cleaning blade 8 Static elimination roll 9, 30, 55 Driving roller (driving member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Transfer conveyance belt 12 Primary charger 13 Image exposure 14, 35 Cleaning device 19 Paper feed cassette 20, 50 Intermediate transfer member 25 Transfer roller 26, 53 Recording medium 29, 61 Power supply 41, 42, 43, 44 Developer 54a-54d First developing section to fourth developing section 56 Recording medium feeding roller 57 Recording medium feeding apparatus 58 Fixing apparatus 59 Power supply apparatus (voltage applying means)

Claims (7)

In an endless belt-like conductive endless belt used in an image forming apparatus,
It contains a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, is added with a brominated flame retardant and antimony tetroxide, and the average particle size of the antimony tetroxide is 2 μm or less and the maximum particle size is 5 μm or less. Characteristic conductive endless belt.   The conductive endless belt according to claim 1, wherein the antimony tetroxide is blended in a mass ratio of brominated flame retardant / antimony tetroxide of 95/5 to 50/50.   The conductive endless belt according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin is a polybutylene terephthalate resin.   The conductive endless belt according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a thermoplastic polyester elastomer having a melting point of 210 ° C or higher as the resin component.   The conductive endless belt according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the brominated flame retardant is a brominated epoxy flame retardant.   The conductive endless belt according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a carbodiimide compound.   At least one of the base layer and the surface layer includes a thermoplastic polyester resin as a main component, and further contains a brominated flame retardant and antimony tetroxide. The conductive endless belt according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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