Sheet member carrier device with grounding means

Claim 1

A sheet member conveying device comprising: an endless sheet member conveyor belt which is composed of a semiconductor material, which is put around a plurality of rollers and driven by the rollers, and which moves toward a sheet member peeling position which is downstream from a toner image transfer position close to a rotary drum that has a photosensitive material arranged on a surface thereof; a transfer charging means which electrically charges said sheet member conveyor belt in order to transfer a toner image formed on the surface of said rotary drum onto the sheet member at said toner image transfer position, said sheet member peeling position and said transfer charging means defining a sheet member conveyance path portion which has no further transfer charging means between said sheet member peeling position and said transfer charging means; and a grounding means provided between said toner image transfer position and said sheet member peeling position along said sheet member conveyor belt in order to lower a surface potential that is due to a charge on said sheet member conveyor belt before said sheet member is peeled off from said sheet member conveyor belt at said sheet peeling position, said grounding means including at least one grounding member that is disposed so as to come into contact with a back surface of said sheet member conveyor belt downstream with respect to said transfer charging means at said toner image transfer position and upstream with respect to said sheet member peeling position, at said portion of said sheet member conveyance path.