JP2552668B2 - Method for processing electrophotographic photoreceptor support - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Use) The present invention is a method for processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support for roughening the surface of an electrophotographic photosensitive member support such as an electronic copying machine to a required surface roughness. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support in which the surface of the support is roughened by jetting high-pressure water.

(Prior Art) Generally, an electrophotographic photosensitive member such as an electronic copying machine is exposed to form a latent image on a photosensitive layer, and a powder ink (hereinafter, referred to as a toner) is adhered onto the latent image to form a latent image. The formed image is transferred to a transfer paper and a so-called image is displayed. This electrophotographic photosensitive member is formed of a conductive electrophotographic photosensitive member support (hereinafter, simply referred to as a support) and a photosensitive layer of a photoconductive material coated or vapor-deposited in a thin film on the surface of the support. The support functions as a ground during exposure and holds the photosensitive layer so that the photosensitive layer does not peel off from the support when it is mechanically contacted with, for example, a toner or a cleaning blade during an electronic copying process. Further, since the toner is uniformly adhered to the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, the surface of the photosensitive layer must be smooth. For this reason, the support is processed so that the support is molded to a required dimensional accuracy, the surface of the support is smooth, and the photosensitive layer is firmly adhered to the support.

An example of such a conventional method for processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support is described in JP-B-58-27496. This processing method is carried out by forming the material of the support in advance to a predetermined dimensional accuracy, and then superfinishing the surface of the support that has been formed to give a surface roughness of 0.01 μm
Roughened to ~ 1.0 μm. In machining such as super finishing, seizing of super finishing whetstone and mirror cutting tool, processing with cutting oil such as kerosene in order to prevent deterioration of support life due to shortening of tool life or processing heat, After processing, the support is washed with an organic solvent such as trichlorethylene or tetrachloroethylene to remove the cutting oil and cutting powder adhering to the support. Further, roughening may be performed by chemical treatment such as chemical polishing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional method for processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support, machining is performed using cutting oil, and the support is washed with an organic solvent after processing. Therefore, once the cutting oil and cutting powder adhering to the support are dried, these foreign substances that have adhered to the support cannot be completely removed by washing, and a thin film photosensitive layer is laminated on this support to form an electrophotographic photoreceptor. When the film was formed, irregularities due to the residual foreign matter were formed on the photosensitive layer, and a smooth surface could not be obtained. Therefore, in the above case, the toner that adheres to the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member does not adhere uniformly during the copying process, and so-called white spots or black spots occur in the image transferred to the transfer paper due to uneven toner adhesion. Then, there is a problem that a normal image cannot be obtained. Further, the organic solvent used for cleaning is not preferable for safety and hygiene.

In chemical processing, it is difficult to control the processing liquid, and
There is a problem that the treatment process cannot be simplified.

(Object of the invention) Therefore, the present invention is to arrange a nozzle connected to a supply source of high-pressure water at a predetermined distance from the surface of an electrophotographic photoreceptor support, and then the nozzle is connected to the electrophotographic photoreceptor support. By spraying high-pressure water onto the surface of the electrophotographic photoconductor, the nozzle is scanned along the surface of the electrophotographic photoconductor support to roughen the surface of the electrophotographic photoconductor support to a required surface roughness. , While roughening the surface of the support so that the photosensitive layer firmly adheres to it, eliminate the residual of foreign matter on the surface of this support after processing, and after the lamination of the photosensitive layer, the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member becomes uneven due to foreign matter. The aim is to obtain a normal image with no white spots or black spots by making a smooth surface without any defects.

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention molds an electrophotographic photosensitive member support in which thin film photosensitive layers are laminated and supported, and then the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support is roughened. In the method of processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support, a nozzle connected to a supply source of high-pressure water is arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support, and then from an injection hole of the nozzle. While jetting high-pressure water onto the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support, the nozzle is caused to scan along the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support so that the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support has a required surface roughness. I try to roughen it.

 Hereinafter, specific description will be given based on examples of the present invention.

1 to 3 show the first embodiment of the present invention, which is an example in which the present invention is applied to the processing of a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member support.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a high-pressure pump that discharges high-pressure water, and the high-pressure pump 1 is a nozzle 3 through a high-pressure hose 2.
It is connected to the. The nozzle 3 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface 4a of the cylindrical support drum 4, and is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating in the axial direction of the support drum 4 (direction of arrows A _F and A _{R in} the figure). There is. The support drum 4 is machined or extruded in advance to have a predetermined roundness and straightness, and is rotatably supported on the processing table 5. A motor 6 having an output shaft 6a connected to a support drum 4 is provided at an end of the processing table 5, and the support drum 4 rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow R _{D in} the figure when the motor 6 operates. Number N, eg N = 300r
Rotate at pm. At this time, the high-pressure pump 1 operates, and the high-pressure pump 1 supplies high-pressure water to the nozzle 3. The nozzle 3 has a surface 4a of the support drum 4 from the injection hole 3a at the tip.
Water at a high pressure, for example, pressure P = 400 to 1000 kg / cm ² is jetted toward the target, and a predetermined feed pitch (movement amount per rotation of the support drum 4 in the direction of arrow A _F or A _{R in} the figure). ), For example, moving at 0.05 to 0.25 mm / revolution. That is, the high-pressure water (hereinafter, referred to as water jet) sprayed from the nozzle 3 to a part (hereinafter, referred to as a spot portion) 4s of the surface 4a of the support drum 4 moves from the end to the corner on the cylindrical surface 4a. Instead, scan at a constant speed. The hole diameter d of the injection hole 3a of the nozzle 3 is set according to the pressure of the water jet, the cross-sectional area of the water jet sprayed on the surface 4a of the support drum 4, or the flow rate proportional thereto, for example d = 0.
It is from 08 to 0.3 mm. A plurality of injection holes 3a or nozzles 3 may be provided.

 Next, the operation will be described.

When the water jet is blown to the spot portion 4s of the support drum 4, the spot portion 4s and its vicinity are eroded by the water jet that collides with the spot portion 4s to roughen the surface. The spot portion 4s moves by the above-described water jet scanning, and the surface 4a of the support drum 4 is sequentially roughened. Second
The figure shows the relationship between the surface roughness of the roughened surface 4a of the support drum 4 and the feed pitch of the nozzles 3 with the injection pressure of the nozzles 3 as a parameter. In FIG. 2, the surface roughness increases as the injection pressure of the nozzle 3 increases and the feed pitch decreases. That is, the surface of the support drum 4
4a is roughly roughened in proportion to the amount of water jet water consumed per unit area. FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the surface roughness of the surface 4a of the roughened support drum 4 and the injection pressure of the nozzle 3, using the injection distance, that is, the distance between the nozzle 3 and the surface 4a as a parameter. In the figure, it can be seen that the surface roughness also changes depending on the injection distance.

On the other hand, the surface 4a of the support drum 4 is roughened and washed with a water jet. Therefore, the surface 4a of the support drum 4 is roughened to a required surface roughness, and further, the foreign matter generated by this roughening processing does not remain on the surface 4a. As a result, when a photoconductive material is deposited on the roughened support drum 4 by, for example, vacuum deposition to form a photosensitive layer, the photosensitive layer becomes a smooth surface free from irregularities due to foreign matters, and white spots, black spots, etc. You can get a normal image.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment uses the same processing means as in the first embodiment and uses the support drum 4
Roughening was performed at a rotation speed N of 400 rpm and an injection pressure of 1000 kg / cm ² . In FIG. 4, after processing the support drum 4, for example, a photosensitive layer 7 having a thickness of 60 μm was laminated by vacuum vapor deposition to manufacture an electrophotographic photosensitive member. Table 1 shows a performance comparison between the second embodiment of the present invention and the conventional example.

In Table 1, the surface roughness of the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the second embodiment is smaller than that of the conventional non-defective product, and the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member is a smooth surface. Further, the adhesion strength of the photosensitive layer is, for example, a peel strength of about 50 kg / cm ² , and a conventional peel strength of 20 to
Adhesion strength is sufficiently strong as compared with 60 kg / cm ² . As a result, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain a normal image without an abnormal image due to white spots or black spots.

(Effect) According to the present invention, the nozzle connected to the supply source of the high-pressure water is arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support, and then the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support is connected from the nozzle. While jetting high-pressure water onto the nozzle, the nozzle is scanned along the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support to roughen the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support to the required surface roughness.
The surface of the support can be roughened so that the photosensitive layer adheres firmly, and further, no foreign matter remains on the surface of the support after processing, and the surface of the electrophotosensitive body is not uneven due to foreign matter after the lamination of the photosensitive layers. It can have a smooth surface. As a result, it is possible to obtain a normal image without an abnormal image such as white spots or black spots.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a method for processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is its roughening processing. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the surface roughness of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support and the feed pitch of the nozzle, and FIG. 3 is the surface roughness of the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support subjected to the surface roughening treatment and water. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship of the spray pressure, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the laminated state of the photosensitive layers of the electrophotographic photosensitive member showing the second embodiment of the method for processing an electrophotographic photosensitive member support according to the present invention. 1 ... High-pressure pump (high-pressure water supply source), 3 ... Nozzle, 3a ... Injection hole, 4 ... Support drum (electrophotographic photoreceptor support), 4a ... Surface (electrophotographic photoreceptor support) Surface), 7 ... Photosensitive layer.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A process for forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member support for laminating and supporting thin film photosensitive layers, and then processing the electrophotographic photosensitive member support for roughening the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support. In the method, a nozzle connected to a source of high-pressure water is arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support, and then a high pressure is applied to the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support through the injection holes of the nozzle. While spraying the water, the nozzle is scanned along the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support to roughen the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member support to a required surface roughness. Processing method.