CN1427964A - Method for manufacturing roller for image forming apparatus, roller for image forming apparatus, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is to economically produce a plurality of image forming device members in a small amount by molding a polymer elastic body into a substantially cylindrical shape using a mold and having a size larger than the length and diameter of a roller to be manufactured, polishing the outer periphery of the cylindrical molded body to have a predetermined diameter, and then cutting both ends of the cylindrical molded body to have a predetermined length.

Description

Method for manufacturing roller for image forming apparatus, roller for image forming apparatus, and image forming apparatus

technical field

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a roller for an image forming apparatus used in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile, a printer, or an electrostatic recording apparatus, a roller for an image forming apparatus manufactured by the method, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the roller. device.

Background technique

In recent years, with the advancement of electrophotographic technology, in image forming devices such as dry electrophotographic devices, as components for charging, developing, copying, toner supply, cleaning, etc., polymer elastic materials are used. The formed components have attracted people's attention, and their use forms include elastic rollers such as charging rollers, developing rollers, copying rollers, toner supply rollers, and cleaning rollers, and elastic rollers such as toner layer setting blades and cleaning blades. Scraper etc.

Among these components, the roller is usually made by casting the polymer elastomer raw material into a preheated metal mold with a cylindrical inner surface and making it harden by reaction, and is arranged at the center of the roller. axis. The shaft is arranged in advance in a metal mold, or is arranged after being inserted into a cylindrical molded body after the raw material of the polymer elastomer is hardened by reaction. As the metal mold, a mold having approximately the same shape and size as the finished roll is used, so processes such as cutting and grinding of the produced roll can be eliminated or significantly simplified, which has the advantage of high productivity.

However, there is a problem that the number and types of metal molds will be greatly increased to cope with the small-scale production of various types of rolls, and there is a problem that it is not cost-effective. In addition, when using a mold having substantially the same shape and size as the finished roll, it is often impossible to obtain a roll having a desired shape or surface state if air remains in the metal mold.

Contents of the invention

The present invention is in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its object is to provide an image forming apparatus that can correspond to the small-volume production of various types of rollers in the manufacture of rollers for image forming apparatuses, and can manufacture high dimensional accuracy and good surface conditions. Roll method.

The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies to achieve the above object. As a result, it has been found that a polymer elastomer is molded into a substantially cylindrical shape slightly larger than a predetermined size using a mold, and then the outer periphery of the obtained cylindrical molded body is ground to adjust its diameter. Then the method of cutting its two ends to adjust its length is effective. In a word, according to this order, it is possible to make the present invention without changing the size of each roll and using a mold that is roughly the same shape and size as the finished roll. A roll for an image forming apparatus of a target finished size.

In addition, the present inventors have found that a polymer elastomer is molded into a substantially cylindrical shape slightly larger than a predetermined size using a die, and then both ends of the obtained cylindrical molded body are cut to adjust its length, and then its outer periphery is ground to adjust its diameter. The method is effective. In a word, according to this sequence, it is possible to produce the image forming device with the finished product size of the object of the present invention without replacing the mold with the same shape and size as the finished product roll for each roll size. roll.

The present invention has been accomplished based on such knowledge.

That is, the present invention provides a method (I) of manufacturing a roller for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the roller for an image forming apparatus is made of a polymer elastic body, and a shaft is arranged at the central axis position, and the polymer is molded first using a mold. The elastic body is molded into a substantially cylindrical shape larger than the length and diameter of the roll to be manufactured, and then the outer circumference of the cylindrical molded body is ground to a specified diameter, and then both ends are cut to a specified length. The length; the present invention also provides a roller (I) for an image forming apparatus manufactured by this method, and an image forming apparatus equipped with such a roller.

In addition, the present invention provides a method (II) of manufacturing a roller for an image forming apparatus, wherein the roller for an image forming apparatus is made of a polymer elastic body, a shaft is arranged at the central axis position, and the polymer is molded first using a mold. The elastic body is molded into a substantially cylindrical shape larger than the length and diameter of the roll to be manufactured, and then the two ends of the cylindrical molded body are cut to a specified length, and then the outer circumference is ground to a specified diameter. The present invention also provides a roller (II) for an image forming apparatus manufactured by this method, and an image forming apparatus equipped with such a roller.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus equipped with a roller for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

Detailed ways

In the present invention, examples of high molecular elastomers include natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, Rubber, ethylene-propylene terpolymer (EPDM), butyl rubber, acrylic rubber, polychlorosulfonated vinyl, silicone rubber, fluororubber, polyether rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, polyurethane rubber and other rubber materials, and polyurethane , polysiloxane, polyethylene-polybutadiene block polymer, polyolefin, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and other elastomers. Fillers such as graphite and plasticizers such as oil may be added to the above-mentioned polymer elastomer as necessary. These polymeric elastomers may be non-foamed or foamed, and polyurethane foams, silicon foams, and the like are suitable as foams. The production method (I) or (II) of the present invention is particularly effective when polyurethane is used as the polymer elastomer, and is more effective when polyurethane is a foam.

The production method (I) of the present invention is characterized in that: using a mold (metal mold or resin mold, etc., preferably a metal mold) that can obtain a cylindrical molded body slightly larger than the finished roll size, the polymer elastomer is reaction hardened, and then The outer periphery of the obtained cylindrical molded body was ground, and then both ends of the cylindrical molded body were cut off. The diameter of the cylindrical molded body obtained by molding in the mold is preferably about 1 mm larger than the finished size of the roll (the size of the roll to be produced), and if it exceeds 1 mm, it is not particularly unsuitable as long as it is less than 10 mm. In addition, the length of the cylindrical molded body may be about 0.3 to 10 mm larger than the finished size of the roll.

Therefore, according to the production method (I) of the present invention, it is possible to produce a variety of rolls having different diameters and lengths with one mold.

When grinding the outer circumference of a cylindrical molded body, it is usually possible to use a whetstone, sandpaper, wet abrasive, etc. When cutting both ends, you can use various tools, but usually use a fixed blade on a turntable or a disc hob Roll end cutting device, etc.

The production method (II) of the present invention is characterized in that: using a mold (a metal mold or a resin mold, etc., preferably a metal mold) that can obtain a cylindrical molded body slightly larger than the size of the finished roll, the polymer elastomer is reaction hardened, and then Both ends of the obtained cylindrical molded body were cut off, and then the outer circumference of the cylindrical molded body was ground. The length of the cylindrical molded body obtained by molding in the mold may be about 0.3 to 10 mm larger than the finished size of the roll (the size of the roll to be manufactured). In addition, the diameter of the cylindrical molded body is preferably about 1 mm larger than the finished size of the roll, and if it exceeds 1 mm, it is not particularly unfavorable as long as it is smaller than 10 mm.

Therefore, according to the production method (II) of the present invention, various rolls having different diameters and lengths can be produced with one mold. In addition, by cutting both ends and then grinding, even if a defect occurs on the surface end of the roll during cutting, it can be corrected, so a roll with good dimensional accuracy can be obtained.

When cutting both ends of the cylindrical molded body, various tools can be used, but it is usually performed using a roller end cutting device or the like with a blade fixed to a turntable or a disc hob. When grinding the outer periphery, it can usually be carried out with grinding stones, sandpaper, wet abrasives, etc.

The roller (I) or (II) for the image forming device of the present invention is a metal shaft arranged on the shaft of the central axis, and can be made of steel materials such as sulfur-containing free-cutting steel by galvanizing it, and can also be used Aluminum, stainless steel, phosphor bronze, etc. The shaft may be preliminarily placed in a metal mold for producing a cylindrical molded body hardened by the polymer elastomer, or may be inserted into the cylindrical molded body when the raw material of the polymer elastomer is reactively hardened. As far as the arrangement of the shaft is concerned, the former has high dimensional accuracy.

Examples of the roller (I) or (II) for an image forming apparatus of the present invention include a charging roller, a developing roller, a transfer roller, a toner supply roller, a cleaning roller, and the like. Specific examples of an image forming apparatus equipped with such an image forming apparatus roller include plain paper copiers, plain paper facsimile machines, laser printers, and inkjet printers.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus equipped with a roller (I) or (II) for an image forming apparatus of the present invention, and shows the following structure: Between the image forming bodies 1 of the latent image, the developing roller 2 is disposed with its outer peripheral surface close to the surface of the image forming bodies 1 , and the transfer roller 5 is in contact with the image forming bodies 1 via a recording medium 8 such as paper. By rotating the toner supply roller 3, the developing roller 2, and the image forming body 1 in the direction of the arrow, the developer (toner) is supplied to the surface of the developing roller 2 by the toner supply roller 3, and then the developer (toner) is supplied by the developing roller 2. The image agent layer forming blade 4 is adjusted to a uniform thin layer and then attached to the latent image on the image forming body 1 to visualize the latent image. An electric field is then generated between the image forming body 1 and the transfer roller 5 , whereby the toner image on the image forming body 1 is copied onto the recording medium 8 . In addition, 6 is a cleaning roller, and the toner remaining on the surface of the image forming body 1 after transfer is removed by the cleaning roller 6 . Also, 7 is a charging roller.

Next, the present invention will be described more specifically by way of examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is by no means limited by these examples.

Example 1

Diphenylmethane diisocyanate, a mixture of carbodiimide-modified diphenylmethane diisocyanate and ethylene glycol-modified diphenylmethane diisocyanate, that is, 24.6 parts by weight of the isocyanate component with an isocyanate content of 26.2% by weight, and glycerol 60 parts by weight of polyether polyols with a weight average molecular weight of 5000 as raw materials for addition polymerization of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, 40 parts by weight of polytetramethylene ether glycol with a molecular weight of 1000, and a hydroxyl value of 56 mgKOH 4 parts by weight of active polysiloxane foam stabilizer per g, 2.5 parts by weight of black pigment, 0.4 parts by weight of ethyl sulfate modified aliphatic dimethyl ethyl ammonium as electrolyte and dibutyltin diethyl ammonium as catalyst A polyol component composed of 0.01 parts by weight of laurate is mixed to prepare a polyurethane raw material. Mechanically agitate with a mixer, and dry air is mixed into this polyurethane raw material to make it foam. This foamed polyurethane raw material was cast into a metal cylindrical mold having an inner diameter of 18.0 mm, a length of 220.0 mm, a hole through which the shaft was penetrated at the end, and a metal bearing cap supporting the shaft. Inside this mold, a shaft made of sulfur-containing free-cutting steel plated with zinc and having an outer diameter of 6.0 mm and a length of 240 mm was arranged, and an adhesive was applied to the shaft.

Next, the mold in which the foamed polyurethane raw material was cast was left in a hot air oven adjusted to 90° C. for 4 hours to harden the foamed polyurethane raw material. The hardened polyurethane foam was taken out from the mold, ground to an outer diameter of 16.5 mm with a grindstone, then both ends were cut off with a blade fixed on a turntable, and the total length of the foam part was taken as 210 mm to manufacture a polyurethane foam replica roll. The polyurethane foam has a density of 0.50 g/cm ³ and an Aska-C hardness of 40°.

When making rolls of different sizes, the roll diameter can be adjusted to the desired size by adjusting the grinding thickness of the grindstone. In addition, the length of the roll can be adjusted when cutting both ends, so that it can be used to manufacture various types of rolls.

Comparative example 1

A roll was produced in the same manner as in Example 1, except for a metal cylindrical mold with an inner diameter of 16.5 mm and a length of 210 mm. At this time, air pockets occurred at the ends of the roll, resulting in a significant drop in yield.

Example 2

Diphenylmethane diisocyanate, a mixture of carbodiimide-modified diphenylmethane diisocyanate and ethylene glycol-modified diphenylmethane diisocyanate, that is, 24.6 parts by weight of the isocyanate component with an isocyanate content of 26.2% by weight, and glycerol 60 parts by weight of polyether polyols with a weight average molecular weight of 5000 as raw materials for addition polymerization of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, 40 parts by weight of polytetramethylene ether glycol with a molecular weight of 1000, and a hydroxyl value of 56 mgKOH 4 parts by weight of active polysiloxane foam stabilizer per g, 2.5 parts by weight of black pigment, 0.4 parts by weight of ethyl sulfate modified aliphatic dimethyl ethyl ammonium as electrolyte and dibutyltin diethyl ammonium as catalyst A polyol component composed of 0.01 parts by weight of laurate is mixed to prepare a polyurethane raw material. Mechanically agitate with a mixer, and dry air is mixed into this polyurethane raw material to make it foam. This foamed polyurethane raw material was cast into a metal cylindrical mold having an inner diameter of 18.0 mm, a length of 220.0 mm, a hole through which the shaft was penetrated at the end, and a metal bearing cap supporting the shaft. Inside this die, a shaft of galvanized sulfur-containing free-cutting steel with an outer diameter of 6.0 mm and a length of 240 mm was arranged, and an adhesive was applied to the shaft.

Next, the mold in which the foamed polyurethane raw material was cast was left in a hot air oven adjusted to 90° C. for 4 hours to harden the foamed polyurethane raw material. The hardened polyurethane foam was taken out from the mold, and the two ends were cut off with a blade fixed on the turntable. The total length of the foam part was 210 mm, and then ground with a grindstone to an outer diameter of 16.5 mm to manufacture a polyurethane foam replica roll. The polyurethane foam has a density of 0.50 g/cm ³ and an Ascar C hardness of 40°.

When producing rolls of different sizes, the length of the roll can be adjusted when cutting both ends, and the diameter of the roll can be adjusted to a desired size by adjusting the grinding thickness of the grindstone, thus enabling the manufacture of various rolls.

Comparative example 2

A roll was produced in the same manner as in Example 1, except for a metal cylindrical mold with an inner diameter of 16.5 mm and a length of 210 mm. At this time, air pockets occurred at the ends of the roll, resulting in a significant drop in yield.

According to the manufacturing method of the present invention, even when a small amount of rollers for multiple types of image forming apparatuses is produced, economical manufacturing is possible, and thus an image forming apparatus equipped with the rollers for image forming apparatuses can be inexpensively provided.

Claims (16)

1. image processing system is with the manufacture method of roller, make, set the image processing system roller of axle at central axis by macromolecular elastomer, it is characterized in that, use earlier mould to be shaped to macromolecular elastomer roughly cylindric and greater than the length of the roller that will make and the size of diameter, then this cylindric formed body is ground its periphery, make diameter become the size of regulation, its two ends of severing make length become the length of regulation then.

2. the described manufacture method of claim 1 is characterized in that, macromolecular elastomer is a polyurethane.

3. the described manufacture method of claim 2 is characterized in that, polyurethane is foams.

4. the described manufacture method of claim 1 is characterized in that, the severing at cylindric formed body two ends is to carry out under the state that sets axle.

5. the described manufacture method of claim 1 is characterized in that, the severing at cylindric formed body two ends was carried out before setting axle.

6. the image processing system roller is characterized in that, makes according to each described method of claim 1～5.

7. the described image processing system roller of claim 6 is characterized in that, the image processing system roller is charged roller, developing roller, duplicate roller, photographic developer donor rollers or cleaning roller.

8. image processing system is characterized in that, the described image processing system of claim 6 is installed constitutes with roller.

9. image processing system is with the manufacture method of roller, make, set the image processing system roller of axle at central axis by macromolecular elastomer, it is characterized in that, use earlier mould to be shaped to macromolecular elastomer roughly cylindric and greater than the length of the roller that will make and the size of diameter, then to these its two ends of cylindric formed body severing, make length become the length of regulation, grind its periphery then, make diameter become the size of regulation.

10. the described manufacture method of claim 9 is characterized in that, macromolecular elastomer is a polyurethane.

11. the described manufacture method of claim 10 is characterized in that polyurethane is foams.

12. the described manufacture method of claim 9 is characterized in that, the severing at cylindric formed body two ends is to carry out under the state that sets axle.

13. the described manufacture method of claim 9 is characterized in that, the severing at cylindric formed body two ends was carried out before setting axle.

14. the image processing system roller is characterized in that, makes according to each described method of claim 9～13.

15. the described image processing system roller of claim 14 is characterized in that, the image processing system roller is charged roller, developing roller, duplicate roller, photographic developer donor rollers or cleaning roller.

16. image processing system is characterized in that, the described image processing system of claim 14 is installed constitutes with roller.

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