JP2000227734A - Flange for electrophotographic photoreceptor drum - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attach a flange while correctly aligning its axial center without needing a special non-conductive-layer-removal operation and without impairing the roundness of a cylindrical substrate, by freely turnably attaching a cutting tool to the end face of a flange on the engagement-part side by means of a shaft, and urging the cutting tool in a springing manner so that its blade projects further outside than the periphery of the flange. SOLUTION: In each of flanges 1, an engagement portion which engages with a cylindrical substrate 2 is formed in one end of an approximately cylindrical body, and a projection 5 or a gear 6 is formed on the periphery of the other end of it. In each flange 1, a cutting tool 7 is attached to its end face 1b which is inserted into the cylindrical substrate 2. The cutting tool 7 forms a sharp blade on one side of its leading end and is cuttable the internal face of the cylindrical substrate 2. In a position out of the central axis of the flange 1, the root of the cutting tool 7 is freely turnably attached with a pin. By means of a spring, the blade is urged so as to slightly project further outward than the periphery of the drum engagement portion of the flange 1, that is, in a radial direction. The blade is formed in the inside corner of the face of its leading end, that is, in a portion of the cutting tool 7 where it and the side wall of the flange on the axial center side join.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flange for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and more particularly, to a flange for obtaining an electrophotographic photosensitive drum capable of ensuring a reliable electrical grounding of the photosensitive drum, having excellent charging performance, and obtaining a clear image. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electrophotographic technology has been widely used not only in the field of copiers but also in various printers and facsimile machines because of its ability to obtain images with immediacy, high quality and high storability. It is spreading. This electrophotographic process basically includes charging of a photoconductor, formation of an electrostatic latent image by image exposure, development of the latent image with toner, and transfer of the toner image to paper (even when an intermediate transfer medium is used. And an image forming process by fixing. The photoreceptor, which is the core of electrophotographic technology, is used by forming a photoreceptor such as a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer on a cylindrical substrate such as aluminum and mounting flanges on both ends of the photoreceptor. In order to prevent a phenomenon in which defective charges are released to the cylindrical substrate and an image defect occurs, the surface is anodized to form an alumite layer, or a paint is applied to render it nonconductive.

However, since the anodization of the cylindrical substrate is performed by immersing the cylindrical substrate in an electrolytic cell, an alumite layer is formed not only on the outer surface but also on the inner surface of the cylindrical substrate. As a result, the cylindrical substrate cannot be grounded and floats, resulting in poor charging of the photosensitive layer and poor transport of charges at the time of exposure, resulting in a problem that a clear image cannot be obtained. Also, in the case where the barrier layer is formed by applying a paint, the inner surface of the cylinder is rendered nonconductive by the dipping method.

For this reason, conventionally, an alumite treatment layer near at least one inner side of the flange mounting portion of the cylindrical base is removed to electrically connect the cylindrical base to the mounted flange, or to connect the cylindrical base to both ends of the cylindrical base. At least one of the flanges to be mounted is attached with a metal piece protruding from the outer periphery of the flange, and when the flange is mounted, the anodized aluminum layer is broken to electrically connect the cylindrical body and the flange (actual opening). 51-73042).

However, the conventional electrophotographic photoreceptor which involves the removal of the alumite processing layer in the assembly process has a problem that the cylindrical substrate is damaged or its roundness is impaired during the operation of removing the alumite processing layer. Further, in the conventional electrophotographic photoreceptor in which the cylindrical body and the flange are electrically connected by breaking the alumite-treated layer, the above-mentioned mounting operation requires skill, and since the protruding metal pieces are accompanied by deformation, the shaft core is required. There are various problems that the precision of the cylindrical body is deteriorated, and sometimes the cylindrical base is damaged when the flange is mounted, or the roundness of the cylindrical base is impaired.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention does not require a special operation of removing a non-conductive layer such as an alumite layer for electrically connecting a flange to a cylindrical substrate, and furthermore, does not require the roundness of the cylindrical substrate. The present invention provides a flange for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum that can be mounted with the shaft center accurately aligned without impairing the structure.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made as a result of diligent studies for achieving the above object. In a flange for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, an end face on a fitting portion side of the flange has a tip portion. An electrophotographic apparatus, wherein a cutting tool having a blade portion is rotatably mounted on a shaft, and the cutting tool is elastically urged so that the blade portion protrudes outside the outer periphery of the flange. A photosensitive drum flange.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The electrophotographic photosensitive drum flange 1 of the present invention is mounted on both ends of a cylindrical base 2 made of aluminum or the like as shown in FIG. As the cylindrical base 2, an aluminum-based material having excellent workability is preferable. As the aluminum-based material, aluminum or an alloy thereof is used, and A1050, A3003, A6063, or the like can be used. Aluminum material is porthole method,
After being processed into a cylindrical shape by a mandrel method or the like, a drawing process, a cutting process, a cutting process, and the like are performed to obtain a predetermined thickness, an outer diameter, and a length, and flange fitting for fitting the flange 1 to both ends thereof is performed. A joint 4 is formed. FIG. 2 shows an example of forming a steam bath.

The flange 1 of the present invention is applied to an anodized aluminum cylindrical substrate 2 or a cylindrical substrate 2 coated by a dipping method or the like and having a nonconductive layer formed on the inner surface. Sulfuric acid, oxalic acid, phosphoric acid, or the like can be used as the anodizing electrolyte. In these electrolytes,
Sulfuric acid is preferred. In the case of sulfuric acid alumite treatment, the concentration of sulfuric acid in the electrolytic solution is preferably selected from the range of 100 to 300 g / L, and the temperature of the electrolytic solution is preferably selected from the range of 10 to 30 ° C. The energization time is appropriately determined depending on the desired thickness of the anodized film. The thickness of the anodic oxide film is suitably in the range of 2 to 15 μm.

The substrate 2 used for the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention produced as described above is subjected to a sealing treatment according to a conventional method after an anodizing treatment. As the sealing treatment liquid, a conventional sealing treatment liquid such as a liquid containing nickel ions (for example, a liquid containing nickel acetate, a liquid containing nickel fluoride) can be used, and the ordinary processing conditions can be applied to each of them. . When a nonconductive barrier layer is formed by coating, nylon, polyvinyl alcohol, casein, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyacrylic acid, celluloses, gelatin, starch, polyurethane, polyimide, and the like can be used. Further, if necessary, inorganic particles such as titanium oxide and aluminum oxide may be contained.

A photosensitive layer is provided on the cylindrical substrate 2 on which an anodizing treatment or a barrier layer is formed. The photosensitive layer may be a layer in which a charge generation layer containing a charge generation substance and a charge transport layer are stacked in this order, a layer in which the charge generation layer is stacked in reverse, or a so-called single layer type in which charge generation substance particles are dispersed in a charge transport medium. However, a laminated photoreceptor layer having a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer is preferred.

Examples of the charge generating material include selenium and its alloys, arsenic-selenium, cadmium sulfide, zinc oxide, other inorganic photoconductors, Sudan Red, Diane Blue,
Azo pigments such as Dienas Green B, disazo pigments, quinone pigments such as argol yellow and pyrenequinone, quinocyanine pigments, perylene pigments, indigo pigments, bisbenzimidazole pigments such as Indian First Orange toner, phthalocyanine pigments such as copper phthalocyanine, and quinacridone pigments , Pyrylium salts and azulnium salts. Among them, oxytitanium phthalocyanine is preferred.

As the charge transporting substance, polyaromatic compounds such as anthracene, pyrene, phenanthrene and coronene or indole, carbazole, oxazole, isoxazole, thiazole, imidazole, pyrazole, oxadiazole, pyrazoline, Examples thereof include compounds having a skeleton of a nitrogen-containing cyclic compound such as thiadiazole and triazole, and other hole transport substances such as hydrazone compounds.

Examples of the binder resin for forming the photosensitive coating film include polycarbonate, polyarylate, polystyrene, polymethacrylates, styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymer, polyester, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, polysulfone, etc. Vinyl, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl butyral,
Examples include polyvinylpyrrolidone, methylcellulose, hydroxymethylcellulose, and cellulose esters.

As the coating solvent, a solvent having high volatility and having a vapor density higher than that of air is preferably used. For example, n-butylamine, diethylamine, ethylenediamine, isopropanolamine, triethanolamine, N, N-dimethylformamide, acetone,
Methyl ethyl ketone, cyclohexanone, benzene, 4
-Methoxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, dimethoxymethane, dimethoxyethane, 2,4-pentadione, anisole, methyl 3-oxobutanoate, monochlorobenzene, toluene, xylene, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran,
Dioxane, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, dimethyl sulfoxide,
Methyl cellosolve, ethyl cellosolve, methyl cellosolve acetate and the like can be mentioned.

A coating solution of a photoreceptor material for producing a single-layer type electrophotographic photoreceptor is prepared by mixing the above-mentioned charge generating substance, charge transporting substance, binder resin and coating solvent.
Further, the coating solution for the photoreceptor material in the case of manufacturing a laminated electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a coating solution for a charge generating layer comprising the above-described charge generating substance, a binder resin and a coating solvent, and the above-described charge transporting substance. And a coating solution for a charge transport layer comprising a binder resin and a coating solvent are separately prepared.

The concentration of each component in the coating solution is appropriately selected according to a known method. The concentration of the solid content is mainly determined according to the thickness of the layer to be formed. However, in the case of a coating solution for producing a single-layer type electrophotographic photoreceptor and for producing a laminated type electrophotographic photoreceptor, 40% by weight or less, preferably 10 to 35%,
It is adjusted to not more than% by weight. In the case of these coating solutions, the viscosity is 50 to 300 cps, preferably 70 cps.
２５０250 cps, and the dry film thickness is preferably 15-40 μm. In the case of a coating solution for the charge generation layer, the solid content concentration is preferably 15% by weight or less, and more preferably 1 to 10% by weight, and the dry film thickness is usually 0.1 to 1 μm. .

The above-mentioned coating is usually carried out by dip coating, that is, the cylindrical substrate is dipped in the coating liquid by vertically lowering the cylindrical substrate in a dipping tank in which the coating liquid is overflowing, and then vertically raised and pulled up. Done by the method.
The flange 1 is press-fitted into the flange fitting portions 4 at both ends of the cylindrical substrate 2 on which the photoreceptor layer is formed, thereby forming an electrophotographic photosensitive drum.

For the flange 1, a material having rigidity and excellent dimensional accuracy is used, and polyamide, polycarbonate, A
Synthetic resins such as BS resin, polyacetal, polyphenylene sulfide, and polyphenylene ether, and metals such as copper and aluminum are used. When a defective conductor such as a synthetic resin is used, it can be made conductive by blending a conductive powder such as metal powder, carbon black, and graphite.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flange 1 generally has a fitting portion 1a formed on one end of a substantially cylindrical body for fitting to the cylindrical base 2, and a flange 5 or a gear on the outer periphery of the other end. 6 are formed. Thus, the cutting tool 7 is mounted on one end surface of the flange 1 of the present invention, that is, the end surface 1b on the side to be inserted into the cylindrical base 2 as shown in FIGS.

The cutting tool 7 is formed of a hard and conductive metal such as steel, stainless steel, or the like, and its tip surface 7a has a shape substantially along the outer periphery of the drum fitting portion 1a of the flange 1 as shown in FIG. The blade portion 7c is formed with one end of the tip end surface 7a being sharpened so that the inner surface of the cylindrical base 2 can be cut. The base 7d of the cutting tool 7 is rotatably mounted on a position off the center axis of the flange 1 by the pin 8 and the blade 7c is moved outside the outer periphery of the drum fitting portion 1a of the flange 1 by the ridge 9. , I.e., slightly projecting radially. The blade portion 7c is the tip surface 7
The cutting tool 7 is formed at the inner corner portion, that is, at the joint with the side wall 7b on the flange axis side of the cutting tool 7.

The urging of the cutting tool 7 can be performed by using an elastic body 10 as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the operating piece 11 is continuously provided on the side of the cutting tool 7 and the elastic body 10 is attached to the end face 1 b of the flange 1.
Can be pressed in the direction of the arrow to urge the blade portion 7c to protrude outside the outer periphery of the fitting portion 1a of the flange 1. The cutting tool 7 can achieve the purpose with one piece. However, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, by providing two or more pieces at the rotation target position, it is possible to smoothly attach and detach the flange 1. it can. Reference numeral 12 denotes a metal fitting for electrically connecting the flange 1 via a cutting tool 7 and a pin 8 to a rotating shaft (not shown) for holding and rotating the flange 1.

The thus obtained flange 1 is attached to a cylindrical base 2
When fitting to the flange 1, after applying an adhesive to the flange fitting portion 4 of the cylindrical base 2 as necessary, the cutting tool 7
Is pressed in the center direction to move the blade portion 7c toward the center from the outer periphery of the flange fitting portion 1a.
a is fitted to the cylindrical base 2. As the fitting method, it may be fitted linearly, or may be fitted while twisting,
At the time of fitting, it is preferable to twist the flange 1 in the direction opposite to the arrow A for fitting, and finally twist the flange 1 in the direction of the arrow A.

The cutting tool 7 of the flange 1 is radially urged by the ridge 9 or the elastic body 10 so that the flange 1 is fitted in a state in which the flange 1 is in contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical base 2, and then the arrow A
Is applied to the blade portion 7c in a direction protruding from the flange fitting portion 1a, thereby cutting the inner surface of the cylindrical base 2 to cut the non-conductive layer or the blade 7c. By digging into the inner surface, the photosensitive drum 3 in which the flange 1 is electrically connected to the cylindrical base 2 is obtained. When removing the flange 1 from the cylindrical base 2,
If the flange 1 is twisted in the direction opposite to the arrow A, the biting of the blade portion 7c that has bitten into the inner surface of the cylindrical base 2 is released, and the flange 1 can be removed.

[0025]

According to the present invention, since the cutting tool urged in the radial direction is mounted and rotated after the fitting to cut the inner surface of the cylindrical base, the electrical connection between the cylindrical base and the flange is ensured. In addition, the cylindrical body can be fitted in a state where the rotating shafts are accurately aligned without impairing the roundness. The flange can be removed by twisting the flange in the opposite direction, and the flange can be reused.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a photosensitive drum of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view showing a flange portion of the photosensitive drum of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the flange of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of the flange of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. Flange 2. 2. cylindrical substrate Photosensitive drum 4. Flange fitting part 5. Collar part 6. Gears 7. Cutting tools 8 Pin 9. Issue 10 Elastic body 11. Working piece 12. Metal fittings

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Inada 1 Fukuda-cho, Joetsu-shi, Niigata F-term in Naoetsu Works, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (reference) 2H035 CA02 CB02 CB03 CD07

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a flange for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, a cutting tool having a blade portion formed at a tip portion is rotatably mounted on an end surface of the flange at a fitting portion side, and the blade portion has a flange. A cutting tool is elastically urged so as to protrude outward from an outer periphery of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. 2. A blade portion is formed at a distal end portion, a root portion is rotatably mounted on a position off the center axis of the flange, and the blade portion projects outward from an outer periphery of a fitting portion of the flange. 2. A flange for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum according to claim 1, further comprising a cutting tool urged to perform the cutting operation. 3. When the flange is twisted in one direction with respect to the photosensitive drum, the blade portion bites into the inner surface of the photosensitive drum, and the photosensitive drum and the flange are electrically connected. When the flange is twisted in the opposite direction, the blade portion is rotated. 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the bite is released so that the flange can be removed from the photosensitive drum.
Or the flange for an electrophotographic photosensitive drum according to 2. 4. A tip of the cutting tool has a shape substantially along the outer periphery of a fitting portion of the flange, a sharp blade portion is formed on one side of the end face of the cutting tool, and a root of the cutting tool is a central axis of the flange. The cutting tool is urged so as to protrude outward from a fitting portion of the flange by using a spear or an elastic body to attach the cutting tool to the shaft. The flange for the electrophotographic photosensitive drum according to the above. 5. The electrophotographic photosensitive drum flange according to claim 1, wherein the electrophotographic photosensitive drum flange is fitted to an anodized aluminum-based metal cylindrical base.