Belt conveyance apparatus and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9840387-B2
Application number	US-201514678151-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 3, 2015
Priority date	Apr 7, 2014
Publication date	Dec 12, 2017
Grant date	Dec 12, 2017

Abstract

A belt conveyance apparatus includes a plurality of support rollers, an endless belt, a regulation portion configured to regulate a shift of the endless belt in a width direction, a regulation receiving member configured to contact the regulation portion to receive a regulation force by the regulation portion, and support members disposed on an upstream side, in a conveyance direction of the endless belt, of the support rollers provided with the regulation portion to oppose each other on an inner peripheral surface side and an outer peripheral surface side of the end portion side of the endless belt in the width direction, and configured to regulate a position of the regulation receiving member when the regulation receiving member enters a contact portion with the regulation portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A belt conveyance apparatus, comprising:
an endless belt;
a regulation rib provided on an inner circumferential surface side of the endless belt along a circumferential direction in an end portion of the endless belt with respect to a widthwise direction of the endless belt;
a plurality of rollers configured to support the endless belt, the plurality of rollers including a regulation roller having a regulation portion provided on an end portion of the regulation roller, the regulation portion regulating a position of the endless belt in the widthwise direction by the regulation rib being brought into contact with the regulation portion;
a frame configured to support the plurality of rollers; and
a contact member, including a first contact portion and a second contact portion, disposed in the frame, and, when viewed from a rotation axis direction of the regulation roller, each of positions of downstream side end portions of the first contanct portion and the second contact portion being disposed near an upstream side of an upstream end portion of a contact portion in which the regulation rib contacts the regulation portion, in a conveyance direction of the endless belt, the first contact portion and the second contact portion facing each other across the endless belt at least at a region corresponding to the regulation rib, the first contact portion contacting at least the regulation rib, the second contact portion contacting an outer circumferential surface side of the endless belt at least at the region corresponding to the regulation rib.

2. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the contact member is disposed so as not to overlap a central area of the endless belt with respect to the widthwise direction.

3. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the contact member is non-rotatably and fixedly disposed.

4. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the contact member includes a felt.

5. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image;
an intermediate transfer member onto which the toner image borne by the image bearing member is transferred;
a transferred portion at which the toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer member is transferred onto a recording material; and
a secondary transfer belt configured to convey a recording material to the transfer portion and convey the recording material onto which the toner image has been transferred,
wherein the endless belt is the secondary transfer belt.

6. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the regulation portion includes a taper having a diameter that becomes smaller as going up toward an end portion in an axis direction of the regulation roller.

7. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the contact member comprises a fur brush.

8. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the contact member comprises at least a roller.

9. A belt conveyance apparatus, comprising:
an endless belt;
a regulation rib provided on an inner circumferential surface side of the endless belt along a circumferential direction in an end portion of the endless belt with respect to a widthwise direction of the endless belt;
a plurality of rollers configured to support the endless belt, the plurality of rollers including a regulation roller and an upstream roller, the regulation roller having a regulation portion provided on an end portion of the regulation roller, the regulation portion regulating a position of the endless belt in the widthwise direction by the regulation rib being brought into contact with the regulation portion, the upstream roller being disposed on an upstream side adjacent to the regulation roller with respect to a conveyance direction of the endless belt;
a frame configured to support the plurality of rollers; and
a contact member, including a first contact portion and a second contact portion, disposed in the frame, and, the first contact portion and the second contact portion each being disposed in such a manner that, when viewed from a rotation axis of the regulation roller, a length from a position of a downstream side end portion of the first contact portion in a conveyance direction of the endless belt to a first position along with a tension surface of the endless belt is shorter than a length from the position of the downstream side end portion of the first contact portion in the conveyance direction of the endless belt to a second position, and a length from a position of a downstream side end portion of the second contact portion in the conveyance direction of the endless belt to the first position along with the tension surface of the endless belt is shorter than a length from the position of the downstream side end portion of the second contact portion in the conveyance direction of the endless belt to the second position, the first position being positioned on an upstream end portion of a contact portion in which the regulation roller contacts the endless belt, the second position being positioned on a downstream end portion of a contact portion in which the upstream roller contacts the endless belt, the tension surface being a surface, of the endless belt, which is tensioned between the regulation roller and the upstream roller, the first contact portion and the second contact portion facing each other across the endless belt at least at a region corresponding to the regulation rib, the first contact portion contacting at least the regulation rib, and the second contact portion contacting an outer circumferential surface side of the endless belt at least at the region corresponding to the regulation rib.

10. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the contact member is non-rotatably and fixedly disposed.

11. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the contact member includes a felt.

12. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising:
an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image;
an intermediate transfer member onto which the toner image borne by the image bearing member is transferred;
a transferred portion at which the toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer member is transferred onto a recording material; and
a secondary transfer belt configured to convey a recording material to the transfer portion and convey the recording material onto which the toner image has been transferred,
wherein the endless belt is the secondary transfer belt.

13. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the regulation portion includes a taper having a diameter that becomes smaller as going up toward an end portion in an axis direction of the regulation roller.

14. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the contact member comprises a fur brush.

15. The belt conveyance apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the contact member comprises at least a roller.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Shigihara Keita
• Kosasa Hideaki

Classifications

• G03G15/1605

  using at least one intermediate support (G03G15/1625 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B65H2404/224

  details of edges · CPC title

• B65H2404/143

  driving roller and idler roller arrangement · CPC title

• G03G2215/1623

  Transfer belt · CPC title

• G03G15/1685

  Structure, details of the transfer member, e.g. chemical composition · CPC title