Image forming apparatus

摘要

It has been difficult to ensure satisfactory secondary transfer performance while ensuring satisfactory primary transfer performance by passing a current in the circumferential direction of an intermediate transfer belt from a current supply member.;To satisfy a relationship of Rv>Rs, where Rv is resistance in the thickness direction of an intermediate transfer belt and Rs is resistance in the circumferential direction of the intermediate transfer belt over the distance between an image carrier located most upstream and an image carrier located most downstream in the movement direction of the intermediate transfer belt.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image carrier which carries toner images; an endless intermediate transfer belt onto which the toner images are primary-transferred from the image carrier and which is movable and has conductivity; a secondary transfer member which comes into contact with an outer periphery of the endless intermediate transfer belt and secondary-transfers the toner images from the endless intermediate transfer belt onto a recording material, the image forming apparatus performing primary transfer by a current being passed from the secondary transfer member to the image carrier through the endless intermediate transfer belt; a transfer power supply which applies a voltage for transfer which has a polarity opposite to a normal charge polarity of toner to the secondary transfer member; a contact member which comes into contact with an inner periphery of the endless intermediate transfer belt; and a voltage-maintaining element which is connected to the contact member, and maintains a potential of the contact member at a same polarity as the polarity of the voltage for transfer by the current being passed, through the endless intermediate transfer belt, from the secondary transfer member to which the voltage for transfer is applied by the transfer power supply, wherein the endless intermediate transfer belt includes a surface layer and a conductive base layer, and a resistance of the surface layer is higher than a resistance of the conductive base layer.