JP5669008B2 - Seamless belt forming method and seamless belt forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a seamless belt molding method and a seamless belt molding apparatus.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a seamless belt is used as a photosensitive belt, an intermediate transfer belt, and a fixing belt.

  In Patent Documents 1 and 2, a metal mold belt stretched around a plurality of rollers is rotated, while a resin material of a seamless belt is applied to the mold belt to form a film on the surface of the mold belt, A method is described in which the film is solidified by heating the film with a heating means to evaporate the solvent in the resin material, and a seamless belt is formed. In the seamless belt forming method described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the film on the surface of the mold belt is heated and solidified by a heater such as a halogen lamp or hot air.

  However, the method for heating and solidifying the film formed on the mold belt with the heater or hot air as described above has the following problems. That is, in the method of heating and solidifying the film formed on the mold belt with the heater or hot air as described above, the solvent component near the surface of the film evaporates and solidifies before the inside of the film. And when the temperature inside the film reaches the temperature at which the solvent evaporates and the solvent inside the film evaporates from the surface of the film, since the film surface is solidified, the bubbles at the time of evaporation are still in shape. May remain. As a result, a seam belt having air bubbles formed on the surface is molded, resulting in a manufacturing defect.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a seamless belt forming method and a seamless belt forming apparatus capable of suppressing the formation of bubbles on the surface of the seamless belt. .

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a step of applying tension to a mold belt installed on a plurality of rollers, and applying a resin material of a seamless belt while rotating the mold belt to form a film. A step of heating and solidifying the coating while rotating the mold belt, a step of removing the tension after the coating is solidified, and a peeling step of peeling the solidified coating from the mold belt in a seamless belt molding method having, in the step of solidifying by heating the film while rotating driving the belts, there is to heat the coating on the belts to heat the belts, the mold the film coated surface of the belt, der that the width direction length, wherein the short releasing treatment than the width direction length of the film on the type belt is applied .
Further, the invention of claim 2 is the seamless belt manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein one of the mold belt or the plurality of rollers for stretching the mold belt is a magnetic body, and the mold belt or the plurality of rollers At least one of them is heated by induction heating.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the seamless belt manufacturing method of the first or second aspect, the mold belt is rotationally driven while adjusting the meandering of the mold belt.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the seamless belt manufacturing method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the method further comprises a step of cooling the film after the film is heated and solidified.
The invention of claim 5 is the 請 Motomeko 1 to 4 either seamless belt molding method, is characterized in that as the belts, using metal belt.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the seamless belt forming method according to any of the first to fifth aspects, the seamless belt is a photosensitive belt, an intermediate transfer belt, or a fixing belt.
The invention of claim 7 includes a mold belt installed on a plurality of rollers, tension applying means for applying or removing tension to the mold belt, rotation driving means for rotationally driving the mold belt, and the mold In a seamless belt molding apparatus comprising a material application means for forming a film by applying a resin material of a seamless belt to the belt and a heating means for heating the film, the heating means heats the mold belt, The coating formed on the mold belt is heated via the mold belt, and the mold belt is coated on the coating surface with a width direction length shorter than the width direction length of the film on the mold belt. It is characterized by being processed .

  According to the present invention, the mold belt is heated, and the film on the mold belt is heated by the mold belt, so that the film surface on the mold belt can be solidified from the inside of the film on the mold belt side, and the film surface farthest from the mold belt is Finally, it can be solidified. As a result, it is possible to suppress the generation of bubbles on the surface of the molded seamless belt, and it is possible to suppress manufacturing defects.

The schematic block diagram of the seamless shaping | molding apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. The schematic block diagram of a displacement detection means. Sectional drawing of a type | mold belt. The figure explaining the formation process of a seamless belt.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a seamless belt forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.
As shown in the figure, a seamless belt forming apparatus 100 is a seamless belt-shaped device comprising a flexible metal thin plate stretched around a drive roller 2 and a driven roller 3 that are rotationally driven by a drive motor 4 as a drive means. A mold belt 1 is provided. Moreover, the both ends of the thin metal plate may be welded to form a belt shape. As a material of the mold belt 1, iron, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, nickel, or the like can be used. In the present embodiment, the stainless steel mold belt 1 is used as a dimensional change upon repeated molding, which can increase durability as a mold such as a scratch on the surface. The mold belt 1 is driven in the direction of arrow A in the figure when the driving roller 2 is rotationally driven by the driving motor 4. The position of the driven roller 3 is appropriately changed according to the circumference of the seamless belt to be molded. In addition, when the circumference of the belt is long, a plurality of stretching rollers can be arranged to form the belt.

  In the vicinity of both ends of the shaft of the driven roller 3, tension applying means for applying or removing tension to the mold belt 1 by moving the driven roller 3 in the direction of arrow B in the figure to change the distance from the driving roller 2. A tension applying mechanism 5 is provided. As the tension applying mechanism, a piston structure such as an actuator is used, and one end of the piston 5 a is attached to the shaft of the driven roller 3. When tension is applied to the mold belt 1, the tension is applied to the mold belt 1 by pressing both ends of the shaft of the driven roller 3 away from the driving roller 2 by the tension applying mechanism 5. On the other hand, when removing the tension on the mold belt 1, the piston 5 a is moved toward the driving roller 2, so that the driven roller 3 moves toward the driving roller 2, and the tension on the mold belt 1 is removed. .

  Further, a coating device 8 which is a coating means for forming a resin film 10 by coating a resin material of a seamless belt to be manufactured on the outer surface of the mold belt 1 in a layered manner is disposed opposite to the mold belt 1. The coating device 8 applies the resin material with a constant width and a constant thickness to the outer surface of the mold belt 1 running at a constant speed. As a coating method, a roller coating method in which the resin is pumped from the melted resin tank 7 with a roller and transferred onto the mold belt 1, a die coating method in which the resin is extruded from the slot-shaped orifice and transferred onto the mold belt, and a mold belt by spray Various coating methods can be used, such as a spray coating method in which coating is performed directly on the top surface and a spiral coating method in which a dispenser is used to spirally coat the mold belt. The application position may be on a roll such as the driving roller 2 or the driven roller 3 or between rolls, and is set according to the type of application method.

  Also, a heating device 9 as a heating means for heating and solidifying the resin film 10 applied to the mold belt 1 by heating the mold belt 1 is disposed so as to face the inner peripheral surface of the mold belt 1. . The heating device 9 heats the mold belt 1 by dielectric heating. Specifically, the heating device 9 is provided with an IH coil as magnetic field generating means, and the mold belt 1 has a magnetic body that generates heat due to the magnetic field generated by the IH coil. Thereby, the mold belt 1 is dielectrically heated, and the resin film 10 on the mold belt surface is heated. When the resin to be used is a thermoplastic resin, the solvent component contained in the resin film 10 is evaporated by the mold belt 1 and dried. Alternatively, the driving roller 2 and the driven roller 3 may be made of a magnetic material, the driving roller 2 and the driven roller 3 may be dielectrically heated by the heating device 9, and the mold belt 1 may be heated by the heat transfer. Further, the number of heating devices 9 is appropriately selected and not limited with respect to the heat capacity of the object.

  In addition, the seamless belt molding apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes a cooling device 11 as a cooling means for lowering the solidified resin film 10 to a predetermined temperature. The cooling device 11 cools the resin film 10 on the mold belt by applying air to the dried and solidified resin film on the mold belt. Moreover, the structure which cools the roller etc. to the drive roller 2 and the driven roller 3, and cools the resin film 10 on a type | mold belt via a tension roller and a type | mold belt may be sufficient.

  Further, the seamless belt forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes meandering adjusting means for adjusting the meandering of the mold belt 1 by correcting the widthwise position when the position of the belt in the width direction is shifted during the rotation of the mold belt 1. Have. The meandering adjusting means includes a displacement detecting means 6 for detecting the displacement in the width direction of the mold belt, and a controller for inclining the driven roller 3 by controlling the tension applying mechanism 5 based on the output value of the displacement detecting means 6. 12. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the displacement detection means 6 is configured such that an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 6 a and a light amount sensor 6 b are opposed to each other via one side portion of the mold belt 1. Due to the displacement of the mold belt 1 in the belt width direction, the amount of light emitted from the LED 6a changes, and the amount of light incident on the light amount sensor 6b changes. Therefore, the output level of the light quantity sensor 6b corresponds to the amount of displacement of the mold belt 1 in the belt width direction. The control unit 12 determines the inclination amount of the driven roller 3 based on the output level of the light quantity sensor 6b, and controls the tension applying mechanism 5 so that the inclination amount of the driven roller 3 becomes the determined inclination amount. Correct the meandering of belt 1.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the mold belt 1 is subjected to a mold release process at the center in the belt width direction. Specifically, the mold release processing part is formed in the mold belt 1 by applying the mold release agent to the mold belt 1 at a predetermined stage. Since the release agent has an effect for a long period of time, the release treatment section can be maintained by applying the release agent at the time of predetermined maintenance. By performing mold release treatment on the mold belt 1, the seamless resin film 10 molded from the mold belt 1 can be easily peeled off. Moreover, you may form a mold release process part by performing silicone type surface treatment. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the mold release process part is narrower than the film | membrane formation area | region where a resin material is apply | coated. This is because when the release treatment is performed on the entire film formation region of the mold belt 1, the release effect is too strong and the mold belt 1 is easily peeled off. The resin film 10 tends to shrink during drying and imidization. At this time, if a release treatment is applied to the entire film forming region of the mold belt 1, the resin film 10 is easily peeled off from the mold belt 1 and shrinks more than necessary. As a result, there is a possibility that accurate dimensional accuracy cannot be obtained. On the other hand, by narrowing the region of the mold release processing part to be smaller than the film forming region, at least the end part in the belt width direction of the resin film 10 is formed in the part not yet processed. Thereby, even if the resin film 10 is about to shrink during drying and imidization, the portion of the resin film 10 formed on the untreated part of the mold release serves as an anchor, and the shrinkage of the resin film 10 can be suppressed. Thereby, a seamless belt with high dimensional accuracy can be formed.

Next, the seamless belt forming process in the seamless belt forming apparatus 100 will be described.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a process of seamless belt molding.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, in the belt forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the driven roller 3 is arranged at a position corresponding to the circumference of the belt to be formed. Next, the mold belt 1 corresponding to the belt to be molded is installed between the driving roller 2 and the driven roller 3, and the driven roller 3 is pressed away from the driving roller 2 by the tension applying mechanism 5. Apply tension to the. Next, the drive motor 4 is driven to rotate the mold belt 1 in the direction of arrow A in the figure. In this state, a resin material is applied onto the mold belt 1 by the coating device 8 to form a resin film on the mold belt 1. The application may be performed by applying a predetermined thickness at a time to form the resin film 10, or a thin film may be stacked a plurality of times to form a film having a predetermined thickness. The latter can reduce the drying time.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the driving roller 2 and the driven roller 3 are dielectrically heated by the heating device 9, the mold belt 1 is heated by the heat transfer, and the resin film 10 is heated by the mold belt 1. . When the resin film 10 reaches 100 ° C. to 130 ° C., the solvent contained in the resin film evaporates and dries (solidifies). In this embodiment, since the resin film 10 on the mold belt 1 is heated by the mold belt 1, the solvent evaporates from the inside of the resin film and solidifies, and the surface of the resin film 10 farthest from the heating medium. But finally dry and solidify. As a result, it is possible to suppress the generation of bubbles on the surface of the resin film, and a smooth surface seamless belt can be obtained. When the resin material applied to the mold belt 1 is polyimide, imidization is performed by heating the resin film to a high temperature of about 300 ° C. for a predetermined time. When the solidification or imidization of the resin film 10 on the mold belt 1 is completed in this way, the heating device 9 is turned off, the cooling device 11 is started, and a refrigerant (air) is applied to the resin film 10 on the mold belt. ) To cool the resin film 10 to room temperature.

  When the resin film is cooled to room temperature, the cooling device 11 is turned off and the endless movement of the mold belt 1 is stopped. When the mold belt 1 is driven, the displacement detection means 6 detects the displacement of the mold belt 1 in the width direction, and controls the tension applying mechanism 5 based on the detection result to tilt the driven roller 3 and thereby the mold. The meandering of belt 1 is corrected.

  When the rotational driving of the mold belt 1 is stopped, as shown in FIG. 4C, the tension applying mechanism 5 is operated, and the driven roller 3 is moved to the driving roller 2 side to release the tension of the mold belt 1. Next, the belt is cut once in a portion of the resin film 10 on the mold belt corresponding to a boundary portion between the mold release processing portion and the mold release non-processing portion of the mold belt 1. As a result, the resin film 10 formed on the mold release processing portion of the mold belt peels from the mold belt 1 and is removed from the mold belt 1 as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, the resin film 10 on the untreated part of the mold belt 1 is removed from the mold belt 1 as burrs by a predetermined process such as air blowing.

  In the present embodiment, a cheap resin belt 1 is used as a mold, and a seamless resin belt with a specified belt circumference can be easily formed. When the seamless resin belt formed from the mold is peeled off, the mold belt is used. Since 1 can be deformed and peeled, it can be easily peeled off. Thereby, it is possible to provide a resin-made seamless belt having a stable quality at a low cost. Moreover, in this embodiment, compared with the seamless belt shape | molded by extrusion molding, the variation in electrical resistance can be suppressed and favorable electroconductivity can be obtained.

[Example 1]
A seamless belt made of polyimide resin having a width of 400 mm, a peripheral length of 3300 mm, and a thickness of 0.05 mm was formed in the above-described process using the mold belt 1 having a peripheral length of 3300 mm, a width of 500 mm, and a width of 400 mm of the release treatment part. The surface of the seamless belt was visually confirmed, but no bubbles or scratches were confirmed on the surface, and a smooth seamless belt could be obtained. Moreover, when electroconductivity was confirmed, favorable electroconductivity was able to be obtained.

[Example 2]
A seamless belt made of polyimide resin having a width of 300 mm, a circumferential length of 1200 mm, and a thickness of 0.05 mm was formed in the above-described process using the mold belt 1 having a circumferential length of 1200 mm, a width of 400 mm, and a width of 300 mm of the release processing section. The seamless belt of Example 2 was also free of bubbles and scratches on the surface, and a smooth seamless belt could be obtained. Moreover, when electroconductivity was confirmed, favorable electroconductivity was able to be obtained.

  As described above, in the seamless belt forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, a seamless belt having a good conductivity and a smooth surface can be obtained, which is excellent for a photoreceptor belt or an intermediate transfer belt that requires a predetermined conductivity. Can be used. In addition, since it is a seamless-less belt having a smooth surface, a good glossy image can be obtained by using this belt as a fixing belt of an image forming apparatus.

  As described above, according to the seamless belt molding method of the present embodiment, the step of applying tension to the mold belt 1 installed on a plurality of rollers, and the coating material 10 is applied by applying the resin material of the seamless belt while rotating the mold belt 1. A step of heating and solidifying the coating 10 while rotating the mold belt 1, a step of removing the tension after the coating 10 is solidified, and a step of removing the tensioned coating from the mold belt 1. And a peeling step for peeling from the substrate. And in the seamless belt molding method of this embodiment, the said mold belt 1 is heated and the membrane | film | coat 10 on the said mold belt 1 is heated. Thereby, as above-mentioned, it can be solidified from the inside of the membrane | film | coat 10, and it can suppress that a bubble arises on the surface of the shape | molded seamless belt 13. FIG.

  Further, one of the mold belt 1 or a plurality of rollers that stretch the mold belt 1 is a magnetic body, and at least one of the mold belt 1 or the plurality of rollers is heated by induction heating. By heating by induction heating in this way, the mold belt 1 can be heated more efficiently than when the mold belt is heated by a heater or the like.

  Further, the meandering of the film formed on the mold belt 1 can be suppressed by rotating the mold belt while adjusting the meandering of the mold belt 1.

  In addition, after the film is heated and solidified, the formed seamless belt can be safely removed from the mold belt by cooling the film.

  In addition, since the mold belt 1 is subjected to the mold release treatment, the easily formed seamless belt can be peeled off from the mold belt 1.

  Further, by making the length in the width direction of the mold release treatment shorter than the length in the width direction of the film on the mold belt, a part of the film 10 is also applied to a place where the mold belt is not subjected to the mold release process. It is formed. Thereby, the film | membrane formed in the place where the mold release process of the type | mold belt is not performed becomes an anchor, and it can suppress that the film | membrane 10 shrink | contracts at the time of solidification or imidation. Thereby, a seamless belt with high dimensional accuracy can be formed.

  Further, the use of a metal belt as the mold belt 1 makes it possible to increase the durability of the mold, such as a scratch on the surface, with little change in dimensions upon repeated molding. Thereby, a high quality seamless belt can be shape | molded over a long period of time. Further, as the mold belt release treatment, nitriding treatment or plating treatment containing PTFE resin can be performed, and the release treatment section can be maintained for a long time.

  By forming the photosensitive belt, the intermediate transfer belt, or the fixing belt by the molding method, the cost of the photosensitive belt, the intermediate transfer belt, or the fixing belt can be reduced.

1: Mold belt 2: Drive roller 3: Drive roller 4: Drive motor 5: Tension applying mechanism 5a: Piston 6: Displacement detecting means 7: Dissolving resin tank 8: Coating device 9: Heating device 10: Resin film 11: Cooling device 12: Control unit 13: Seamless belt 100: Seamless belt molding apparatus

JP 2006-256098 A JP 2006-305946 A

Claims (7)

A step of applying tension to a mold belt installed on a plurality of rollers;
Applying a seamless belt resin material while rotating the mold belt to form a film;
Heating and solidifying the film while rotating the mold belt; and
Removing the tension after the film has solidified;
In a seamless belt molding method having a peeling step of peeling the solidified film from the mold belt,
In the step of heating and solidifying the film while rotating the mold belt, the mold belt is heated to heat the film on the mold belt ,
A method for forming a seamless belt, wherein the film-coated surface of the mold belt is subjected to a release treatment in which the length in the width direction is shorter than the length in the width direction of the film on the mold belt . In the seamless belt manufacturing method of Claim 1,
A seamless belt characterized in that one of the mold belt or the plurality of rollers for stretching the mold belt is a magnetic body, and at least one of the mold belt or the plurality of rollers is heated by induction heating. Molding method. In the seamless belt manufacturing method of Claim 1 or 2,
A seamless belt molding method, wherein the mold belt is rotationally driven while adjusting the meandering of the mold belt. In the seamless belt manufacturing method in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
A seamless belt molding method comprising a step of cooling the coating after the coating is heated and solidified. In the seamless belt molding method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
A seamless belt forming method using a metal belt as the mold belt. The seamless belt molding method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
A seamless belt molding method, wherein the seamless belt is a photosensitive belt, an intermediate transfer belt or a fixing belt. A mold belt erected on multiple rollers;
Tension applying means for applying or removing tension to the mold belt;
A rotation driving means for rotating the mold belt;
Material application means for applying a seamless belt resin material to the mold belt to form a film;
In a seamless belt molding apparatus provided with a heating means for heating the film,
The heating means heats the mold belt and heats the film formed on the mold belt via the mold belt ,
A seamless belt forming apparatus, wherein a release treatment is performed on the coating surface of the mold belt so that the length in the width direction is shorter than the length in the width direction of the film on the mold belt .

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