The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copier or a printer, and paper feed members thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and its paper feed members arranged such that a transfer member transfers a toner image formed on an image carrier to an image record sheet.
In an image forming apparatus, a transfer roller, a transfer pad, and a transfer belt, all of which are pressed against the surface of an image carrier, are known as the transfer member. This type of image forming apparatus is provided with a paper feed device for taking sheets for image forming purposes out of a paper feed tray, and carries the thus-taken sheets one by one to a transfer memberthe cause and mechanism of occurrence of imperfections in an image.
More specifically, it has been determined that contaminants which become attached to the sheet after having been scraped away from the surface of the paper feed member become attached to the transfer member in a frictional way, and the contaminants are further transferred to the surface of the image carrier, thereby resulting in imperfections in an image such as fog. It has been found that the imperfections in an image greatly depend on the polarity of the contaminants.
According to the studies performed by the inventors, it has been determined that the polarity of the contaminants which induce imperfections in an image does not really depend on the polarity of a compounding agent, such as a softening agent, included