JPH11277639A - Manufacture of film-made cylindrical belt - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a film-made cylindrical belt having particularly excellent mass productivity by incorporating a desired functionality, freely setting its thickness, and obtaining a surface smoothness. SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing a film-made cylindrical belt comprises a step of winding and cutting a raw fabric film (f) having a constitution of providing an adhesive layer f2 on a base material film f1 until a core 1 is wound by predetermined number of turns, a step of heat treating the film f wound on the core 1 under pressure and integrating it, then cooling it to form a cylindrical film F, a step of polishing a terminating site at the time of winding the film F on the core 1 as needed to eliminate a step, a step of surface treating or executing at least one surface from above the film F on the core 1 as needed, and a step of removing the film F from the core 1, and executing the steps to preferably follow up the following core 1 while the step of advancing the step of the preceding core 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for industrially mass-producing film-made tubular belts used for fixing belts and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heat-resistant and non-adhesive film-made cylindrical belts are used as fixing belts and photoreceptor belts for use in electrophotographic printers and copiers, and cylindrical belts for baking food. And a cylindrical belt used when the interlining is bonded to the woven fabric with a hot melt adhesive.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 5-11648 discloses that a fixing film system using an endless belt is known in place of the conventional fixing system using a heat roller, and a fixing film system using the endless belt is conventionally made of polyimide resin. It has been proposed to heat-fix an image via a heat-resistant film, but polyimide resin causes wrinkles or offsets in the fixing film due to thermal dimensional changes. It discloses that a fixing film system using an endless belt using a heat-resistant film made of an aramid resin has been found. In the embodiment of the invention of this publication, a para-aramid resin, polyparaphenylene terephthalamide, is used as a heat-resistant base layer as a fixing film, and PFA or PFA is applied to the surface in contact with the recording material.
It describes that TFE was applied to improve the releasability of the toner.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-125067 discloses a process A in which a heat-resistant base resin layer of an aromatic polyamide or the like is wound on a support so that at least a part thereof overlaps the wound heat-resistant base resin. Step B of providing a heat-resistant adhesive resin layer such as PFA or FEP on the interlayer of the overlapping portion of the layers and on the outer surface of the wound heat-resistant base resin layer, and PTFE on the outermost heat-resistant adhesive resin layer. Step C of winding the raw film so that at least a part of the raw film overlaps, forming the sinter film layer by heating the whole to a temperature at which the raw film can be fired and performing sintering accompanied by shrinkage of the raw film. A method for manufacturing a tubular structure including a step D for bonding between layers is shown.

[0005]

The number of tubular belts made of film, including fixing belts used in electrophotographic printers and copiers, is enormous.

The belt disclosed in JP-A-5-11648, in which an aramid resin film is used as a heat-resistant base layer and the surface thereof is coated with PFA or PTFE to form a fixing belt, is interesting in terms of performance. However, it is not always easy to mass-produce such an endless belt industrially. Because it is extremely difficult to efficiently produce a seamless film from aramid resin industrially and efficiently, it is necessary to connect both ends of a flat film to make it endless, and the thickness must meet the requirements. Because it must be.

The tubular structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-125067 can control the thickness, but has a room for improvement in terms of surface smoothness because it is a spiral winding method, and has a high productivity. There is a limit in the point.

[0008] Under such a background, the present invention has desired functionality and can freely set the thickness.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a film-made tubular belt which ensures surface smoothness and is particularly excellent in mass productivity.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems The method for producing a film-made tubular belt of the present invention comprises: a raw film (f) having a structure in which an adhesive layer (f ₂ ) is provided on a base film (f ₁ ); ) Is wound around the core (1) to a predetermined number of turns and cut. A, The raw film (f) wound around the core (1) is heat-treated under pressure and integrated. And then cool it down into a tubular film
(F) Step B to be performed, if necessary, Step C to eliminate the step by polishing the end portion of the cylindrical film (F) on the winding core (1) during the winding operation, and, if necessary, Step D of performing at least one surface treatment or surface treatment on the cylindrical film (F) on the core (1), and Step E of removing the cylindrical film (F) from the core (1). It is characterized in that it is performed in order. In this case, it is particularly desirable to carry out each of these steps so that the following core (1) follows while the preceding core (1) is in progress.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail.

<Raw film (f), cylindrical film (F)>
The raw film (f) has an adhesive layer (f) on the base film (f ₁ ).
₂ ) is provided. Adhesive layer (f ₂ ) as base film
It can also be provided on both sides of (f ₁ ).

As the base film (f ₁ ), various single-layer (multi-layer in some cases) films are used, and a heat-resistant film is particularly important. As a heat-resistant film,
Aramid resin films are particularly suitable, and examples thereof include polyimide resin films, polyamideimide resin films, polyetheretherketone resin films, and polyphenylene sulfide resin films.

An adhesive layer (f ₂ ) provided on the base film (f ₁ )
Examples include layers of various thermosetting resins and thermoplastic resins. In particular, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA), tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTEF)
The fluorine-based resin film layer such as E) is important, and these can be not only a single layer but also a multilayer. The fluorine-based resin film layer not only plays a role of an adhesive layer, but also forms a non-tacky layer when it appears on the front and back surfaces.

The thickness of the base film (f ₁ ) varies greatly depending on the application, and thus cannot be unconditionally determined. However, in general, the thinner the film, the less brittleness, and the design of the total thickness when wrapped is easy. So, although there is no particular limitation on the thickness,
For example, when a fixing belt is intended, the thickness is preferably about 3 μm to about 100 μm, and more preferably about 3 to 30 μm. The thickness of the adhesive layer is 1 to
It is often about 50 μm, especially about 2 to 30 μm.

The dimensions of the cylindrical film (F) when the cylindrical film (F) is manufactured from the raw film (f) composed of the base film (f ₁ ) / adhesive layer (f ₂ ) are arbitrary. The fixing belt may have a thickness and a peripheral length, but the fixing belt is often used, for example, in a thickness of about 10 to 500 μm and a peripheral length of about 50 to 500 mm.

<Manufacturing Process of Film-Shaped Cylindrical Belt> In the present invention, various processes including the following processes A to E (where C and D are optional processes) are carried out.

The core (1) may be, for example, a metal,
Reinforcing fiber plastics, plastics, sintered bodies, paper, and the like, or a combination thereof are used.

In step A, an adhesive layer is formed on the base film (f ₁ ).
The raw film (f) having the configuration provided with (f ₂ ) is
This is a step of winding and cutting to a predetermined number of turns in (1). The number of turns can be freely set from a little over one turn to several tens of turns. A particularly preferred embodiment of the step A will be described later.

The raw film (f) in the above may be _{one in which} an adhesive layer (f ₂ ) has been formed on the base film (f ₁ ) in advance, and the base film (f ₁ ) Forming an adhesive layer (f ₂ ) while supplying the raw film (f),
It may be provided to the next step as it is. Adhesive layer (f
_In some cases, it is possible to handle the raw film (f) simply by superimposing ₂ ) on the base film (f ₁ ) in the form of a film. For example, a thermoplastic fluororesin film such as a PFA film or an FEP film as an adhesive layer (f ₂ ) may be used as a base film (f
It is also possible to use by laminating with ₁ ).

Step B is a step in which the raw film (f) wound around the core (1) is heat-treated under pressure to be integrated, and then cooled to form a cylindrical film (F). It is practical that the heat treatment under pressure is performed using a mold. In addition, performing the steps from integration to cooling by heat treatment of the wrapped original film (f) layer under pressure under pressure can provide a strong adhesive force between the base film and the adhesive interface. This is a preferred embodiment.

Step C comprises a step of forming a cylindrical film (F) on the winding core (1).
This is a step of polishing the end portion at the time of winding operation to eliminate the step. Since the cylindrical film (F) obtained in the previous step B has a step of a thickness equivalent to one sheet of the raw film (f), the step is eliminated by using an appropriate polishing means. This step C is an optional step. For example, when another resin layer is additionally provided from above the tubular film (F), the step may be eliminated by the additional layer. Can omit this step C.

In step D, the cylindrical film (F) on the winding core (1)
In which at least one surface treatment or surface processing is further performed from above. As the surface treatment or surface treatment, non-adhesive treatment, water repellency imparting treatment, oil resistance imparting treatment, conductivity imparting treatment, antistatic treatment, formation of a photoreceptor layer,
Surface roughening treatment, polishing treatment, perforation treatment, formation of wear-resistant layer, formation of magnetic layer, hard coat, formation of inorganic thin film, etching treatment, chemical treatment, electric treatment (low-temperature plasma treatment, corona discharge treatment Etc.), various processes including an ultraviolet irradiation process, a laminating process, a printing process, and a baking (sintering) process. The same process can be performed twice or more, or a plurality of different processes can be performed. When performing surface treatment by resin coating, for curing,
It usually involves treatments such as cooling, drying, heating cure, and irradiation with active energy rays. This step D is an optional step and can be omitted when unnecessary.

In step E, the core (1) is rolled into a cylindrical film (F).
This is the step of removing. Before or after removal, both sides of the tubular film (F) may be trimmed, or the tubular film (F) may be cut into a predetermined width.

In the present invention, each of the above steps is performed while the preceding core (1) is in progress.
By following (1), the target film cylindrical belt can be manufactured one after another at a speed of, for example, minute speed, and the belt can be manufactured with high productivity and efficiency. Becomes

<Preferred Embodiment of Step A> Step A is particularly preferably performed by the following operation from the viewpoint of mass productivity. That is, the starting end side of the raw film (f) is fixed to the core (1) by vacuum suction, and the raw film (f) is rotated around the core (1) while rotating the core (1). Wind the core film (f) to the core (1) around which the number of turns reaches the number of turns. Set the partial mold forward, cut the tail part of the rolled raw film (f) in the width direction, and press the tail part to the holding member (3).
This is performed by rewinding the pressing member (3) while holding down the pressing member, and by advancing the remaining part of the die (2) to complete the setting.

In this case, the order does not always follow the above order.
For example, it is also possible to make a change such as reversing the order of forward movement and additional winding of the mold (2).

At this time, the core (1) has a flow path (1a) which can be decompressed and pressurized at the center thereof, and has a sintered metal part (1b) directed in the axial direction on the surface side. Further, the flow path (1a) and the sintered metal part (1b) communicate with each other via a communication path (1c), while the mold (2) has O-rings on both sides on the inner surface side. (2) with a groove for mounting (o) and the O-ring (o)
Is set forward by setting it toward the core (1).
A minute gap is formed between (1) and the core (2), and the raw film (f) wound on the core (1) is arranged in the gap. Is preferred.

<Application> The film-made tubular belt obtained by the method of the present invention is used for fixing belts, transfer belts, photoreceptor belts, and baking foods used in electrophotographic printers and copiers. It is useful for various applications, including an endless belt and an endless belt used for bonding an interlining to a fabric with a hot melt adhesive.

[0029]

The present invention will be further described with reference to the following examples.

Example 1 FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing an example of a production process of a film-made tubular belt of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a part of the steps for implementing the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the core (1) and the mold (2) in FIG. However, FIG. 1 and FIGS.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, a flow path (1a) which can be decompressed and pressurized is formed in the center of the main body of the winding core (1). The main body of the winding core (1) is notched in the axial direction, and the cutout is provided with a sintered metal part (1b). Channel (1a)
And the sintered metal part (1b) are communicated via a communication path (1c).

The type (2) is a partial type (2
a), a partial mold (2b) as an upper right block and a partial mold (2c) as a lower block, each of which incorporates a heating means (5). This mold (2) has a groove for mounting an O-ring (o) on both sides on the inner surface side, and the groove has an O-ring (o).
Ring (o) is fitted.

As a raw film (f), a base film (f ₁ ) made of a polyparaphenylene terephthalamide resin film having a thickness of 12 μm was coated on a substrate film (f ₁ ) having a thickness of 5 μm as an adhesive layer (f ₂ ).
A laminated film provided with a μm PFA layer by melt coating was prepared.

As shown in FIG. 2, while reducing the pressure in the flow path (1a) of the core (1), the rolled raw film (f) is unwound, and the starting end thereof is sintered metal of the core (1). The core (1) is fixed to the part (1b) by vacuum suction, and the core (1) is rotated while rotating the core (1).
The raw film (f) was wound therearound until the number of turns became 5.

The partial mold (2b) and the partial mold (2c) of the mold (2) are advanced and set toward the core (1) around which the raw film (f) is wound, and wound in this state. The tail portion of the raw film (f) was cut in the width direction with a cutter (4). In FIG. 2, reference numeral (6) designates an auxiliary member for holding the unwinding end of the raw film (f) by suction and supplying it to the winding core (1).

Then, the tail portion is additionally wound while being pressed by the holding member (3), and then the holding member (3) is retired, and the partial mold (2a) of the mold (2) is advanced and set. Completed. In this state, a closed small gap is formed between the mold (1) and the core (2), and the core (1)
The original film (f) wound up in this manner is accommodated in the gap.

Next, when the flow path (1a) of the core (1) is pressurized, air is discharged from the sintered metal part (1b), and the raw film (f) wound on the core (1). Was pressed against the inner surface of the mold (2), and when the mold (2) was heated to 350 ° C., the wound raw film (f) was integrated into a tubular film (F). The whole was cooled and the mold (2) was opened.

Subsequently, the cylindrical film (F) on the winding core (1)
At the end of the winding operation was polished by a polishing machine (not shown) to eliminate the step.

If necessary, a surface coating layer made of a resin material such as a fluororesin can be provided on the cylindrical film (F) from which the steps are eliminated.

Finally, the tubular film (F) was removed from the core (1). The core (1) was straight on one side as shown in FIG. 3, and the tubular film (F) was not in close contact with the core (1), so that it was easy to remove.

Each of the above steps was carried out so as to chase the following core (1) while the preceding core (1) was in progress. It was possible to produce one piece at a time at a speed per minute.

[0042]

According to the present invention, desired functionality, thickness,
It is possible to mass-produce a film-made cylindrical belt having surface characteristics (such as non-adhesiveness) at a high speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing one example of a production process of a film-made tubular belt of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a part of a step of performing the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a core (1) and a mold (2) in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

(f): raw film, (f ₁ ): base film, (f ₂ ): adhesive layer, (F): tubular film, (o): O-ring, (1): core, (1a) ) ... flow path, (1b) ... sintered metal part, (1c) ... connection path,
(2) ... mold, (2a), (2b), (2c) ... partial mold, (3) ... holding member, (4) ... cutter, (5) ... heating means, (6) ... auxiliary member

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate film (f ₁₎ adhesive layer on the precursor film having the structure provided with (f ₂₎ (f), with wound until a predetermined number of turns in the winding core (1) In the cutting step A, the raw film (f) wound around the core (1) is heat-treated under pressure to be integrated, and then cooled to form a cylindrical film (F).
B, if necessary, a step C for polishing the end portion of the tubular film (F) on the winding core (1) during the winding operation to eliminate the step, and, if necessary, on the winding core (1). The step of performing at least one surface treatment or surface treatment from above the cylindrical film (F), and the step E of removing the cylindrical film (F) from the winding core (1). A method for producing a cylindrical tubular belt made of a film. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of these steps is carried out so as to follow a subsequent core (1) while the preceding core (1) is in progress. Manufacturing method. 3. The process A comprises the following operations: fixing the starting end of the raw film (f) to the winding core (1) by vacuum suction, and rotating the winding core (1) while rotating the winding core (1); 1) Wrap the raw film (f) around to the specified number of turns, and turn the mold (2), which is a combination of multiple partial molds, toward the winding core (1) around which the raw film (f) is wound. Some partial types (2
Set the other partial molds except a) forward, cut the tail part of the rolled original film (f) in the width direction, and hold the tail part with the holding member (3). 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: additionally winding, retreating the pressing member (3), and advancing the remaining partial mold of the mold (2) to complete the setting. 4. A winding core (1) has a flow path (1a) at its center which can be depressurized and pressurized, and has a sintered metal part (1b) directed in the axial direction on its surface side. And its flow path (1a) and sintered metal part
(1b) is communicated via a communication path (1c), while
The mold (2) has grooves for mounting O-rings (o) on both sides on its inner surface, and the mold (2) with the O-rings (o) is attached to the core (1).
When set forward with the mold (1) and core
(2) and a small gap is formed between the core (1)
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the raw film (f) wound up in the step (c) is arranged in the gap. 5. A heat-resistant resin film comprising a base film (f ₁ );
The adhesive layer (f ₂ ) is a fluororesin film layer.
Production method as described.