Belt device including a coated driving rotator, transfer device, and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10324404-B2
Application number	US-201715662471-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2017
Priority date	Aug 29, 2016
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

A belt device includes a belt that is rotatable and a driving rotator to drive and rotate the belt and to be accidentally adhered with a foreign substance. The driving rotator includes a coating layer as a surface layer. The coating layer includes a plurality of fine particles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A belt device comprising:
a belt that is rotatable;
a driving rotator to drive and rotate the belt, and the driving rotator is exposed to a foreign substance that is adherable to a surface layer of the driving rotator;
a cleaner to clean the belt; and
an opposed rotator being disposed opposite the cleaner and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the belt,
the driving rotator including a coating layer as the surface layer, the coating layer including a plurality of fine particles, and wherein
the opposed rotator includes a roller made of solid rubber.

2. A transfer device comprising:
a belt that is rotatable;
a transferor, disposed opposite the belt, to transfer a toner image; and
a driving rotator to drive and rotate the belt, and the driving rotator is exposed to toner that is adherable to a surface layer of the driving rotator,
the driving rotator including a coating layer as the surface layer, the coating layer including a plurality of fine particles,
an average particle diameter of the fine particles is not smaller than X/2 and is smaller than X, where X is a thickness of the coating layer, and
a circularity of at least one of the fine particles is greater than 0.75.

3. The transfer device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the belt conveys a sheet, and
wherein the transferor includes a primary transfer roller to transfer the toner image onto the sheet conveyed by the belt.

4. The transfer device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the belt bears the toner image, and
wherein the transferor includes a secondary transfer roller to transfer the toner image from the belt onto a sheet.

5. The transfer device according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a cleaner to clean the belt; and
an opposed rotator being disposed opposite the cleaner and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the belt.

6. The transfer device according to claim 5 ,
wherein the opposed rotator includes a roller made of metal.

7. The transfer device according to claim 6 , further comprising a scraper contacting an outer circumferential surface of the opposed rotator.

8. The transfer device according to claim 6 , further comprising a biasing member to apply tension to the belt.

9. The transfer device according to claim 8 , wherein
when the belt is applied with a tension in a range of from 135 N/m to 155 N/m and has a Young's modulus in a range of from 1500 MPa to 3000 MPa, the circularity of the at least one of the fine particles is not smaller than 0.85.

10. The transfer device according to claim 8 , wherein
when x represents the circularity of the at least one of the fine particles and y represents the average particle diameter of the fine particles, x is not smaller than 0.83 and a following formula is satisfied:
y< 300 x− 246.67.

11. The transfer device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the fine particles are made of resin.

12. The transfer device according to claim 2 , further comprising a fan to cool an interior of the transfer device, the fan to create an airflow in an axial direction of the belt.

13. The transfer device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the driving rotator includes a driving roller.

14. The belt device according to claim 2 ,
wherein a base layer to fixedly adhere the coating layer is interposed between a core bar of the driving rotator and the coating layer.

15. A transfer device comprising:
a belt that is rotatable;
a transferor, disposed opposite the belt, to transfer a toner image;
a driving rotator to drive and rotate the belt, and the driving rotator is exposed to toner that is adherable to a surface layer of the driving rotator;
a cleaner to clean the belt; and
an opposed rotator being disposed opposite the cleaner and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the belt,
the driving rotator including a coating layer as the surface layer, the coating layer including a plurality of fine particles, and wherein
the opposed rotator includes a roller made of solid rubber.

16. The transfer device according to claim 15 , further comprising a biasing member to apply tension to the belt.

17. The transfer device according to claim 16 ,
wherein the biasing member includes a tension roller.

18. The transfer device according to claim 16 ,
wherein when the belt is applied with a tension in a range of from 135 N/m to 155 N/m and has a Young's modulus in a range of from 1500 MPa to 3000 MPa, a circularity of at least one of the fine particles is not smaller than 0.8.

19. The transfer device according to claim 16 ,
wherein when x represents a circularity of at least one of the fine particles and y represents an average particle diameter of the fine particles, x is greater than 0.75 and a following formula is satisfied:
y< 220 x− 165.

20. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a photoconductor to bear a toner image; and
the transfer device according to claim 15 to transfer the toner image.

Assignees

• Akiyama Takuya
• Sakashita Takeshi
• Meguro Yuuji
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Akiyama Takuya
• Sakashita Takeshi
• Meguro Yuuji

Classifications

• G03G15/2057 Primary

  relating to the chemical composition of the heat element and layers thereof · CPC title

• G03G2215/2035

  the fixing nip having a stationary belt support member opposing a pressure member · CPC title

• G03G2215/2041

  the fixing nip being formed by tensioning the belt over a surface portion of a pressure member · CPC title

• G03G15/2025

  with special means for lubricating and/or cleaning the fixing unit, e.g. applying offset preventing fluid · CPC title

• G03G15/1615 Primary

  relating to the driving mechanism for the intermediate support, e.g. gears, couplings, belt tensioning · CPC title