JP2002347056A - Manufacturing method of foamed roller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing a foamed roller of which the cell diameter is small and which has little nonuniformity in a foamed state. SOLUTION: In a manufacturing method for obtaining the foamed roller constituted of a core metal and a cylindrical foam surrounding the metal, an unvulcanized unfoamed material composition is molded in the shape of a cylinder, and a regulating member suppressing a circumferential expansion due to foaming is provided around it. The unvulcanized unfoamed material composition is vulcanized together with the regulating member and then the member is removed. By manufacturing the foamed roller in this way, the foamed roller of which the cell diameter is small and which has uniform cells can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing a charging / transfer roller, a developing roller for use in an image forming apparatus utilizing an electrophotographic process, or a foaming roller for use as a conveying roller, a fixing roller, an intermediate transfer member, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, in an electrophotographic process, a charging / transferring process has been performed using corona discharge. However, there are problems such as generation of ozone at the time of corona discharge, deterioration of the photoreceptor surface due to ozone and the like, and contamination of the wire affecting the image, resulting in image white spots and black streaks. Was.

In order to make up for these disadvantages, many methods of contact charging / transfer have been studied so far. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an electrophotographic apparatus using a contact charging / transferring member. Reference numeral 1 denotes an image bearing member as a member to be charged, which is a photosensitive member used in a drum-type electrophotographic process comprising a conductive base layer using aluminum and a photoconductive layer formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. Reference numeral 2 denotes a charging member which comes into contact with the photoconductor and uniformly charges the photoconductor surface to a predetermined potential.

The charging roller comprises a central core and a conductive elastic layer formed on the outer periphery of the core. The charging roller is pressed against the photoreceptor 1 with a predetermined pressing force by pressing means such as a spring, and the charging roller is driven to rotate as the photoreceptor 1 rotates. DC + AC (or DC only)
By applying a bias, the photoconductor 1 is contact-charged to a predetermined potential. That is, in order to obtain a good copy image, a uniform contact state and conductivity are required. The surface of the photoreceptor 1 charged to a predetermined potential by the charging member 2 is exposed to image information by exposure means 3 such as a laser or LED, so that an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information is formed. You.

Next, the latent image is visualized as a toner image by the developing means 4. The toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 1 is transferred to the surface of the transfer material 5 by charging the toner image from the back of the transfer material 5 with the transfer member 6 from the back of the transfer material 5. The transfer material 5 to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photoconductor 1 and fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing member 7. Further, the surface of the photoreceptor 1 after the image transfer is cleaned by a cleaning unit 8 to remove extraneous matter such as residual toner at the time of transfer, and is used for repeated image formation.

A roller used for such a charging, transferring, developing member and the like is constituted by a whole core rotatably supported at both ends and a conductive elastic body provided in a columnar shape around the whole core. The conductive elastic material used in such a roller has a function of suppressing charging noise caused by applying an AC component, and does not damage the photosensitive member.
A foam whose resistance is adjusted by dispersing conductive particles in a foam having low hardness is often used.

Further, in order to adjust roller resistance, surface roughness, etc., a coating layer is formed by applying a conductive paint on a conductive elastic body or coating a conductive tube. Sometimes used.

[0008] The production method is as follows. A raw material composition obtained by blending a polymer raw material of a foam, a foaming agent and various additives, extruding a mixed wire into a cylindrical shape, vulcanizing and foaming, and then press-fitting the core metal. A method of adjusting the outer diameter by polishing, or placing the raw material composition together with a core metal in a molding die, heating and vulcanizing / foaming the molding die, and foaming elasticity around the core metal. There is known a method of obtaining a foam roller by forming a body into a cylindrical shape.

However, in the case of a conductive foam roller obtained by adjusting the outer diameter by polishing the surface of the foam, if the cell diameter is large, the contact with the photoreceptor becomes uneven and the output image becomes uneven. Or other problems.

In order to improve the surface roughness when applying a conductive paint, a roller having a large cell diameter and a rough surface must be provided with a coating layer thicker than the cell diameter. Therefore, problems such as an increase in roller hardness have also occurred.

Therefore, when using without providing a surface layer,
When the surface layer material is thin, it is important that the cell diameter is small, the surface properties are good, and there is little unevenness in foaming.

Conventionally, as shown in JP-A-11-114778, vulcanization is performed using a vulcanizer while controlling the rate of temperature increase under pressure to obtain a relatively small and uniform cell diameter. Was.

However, in the case of a vulcanizer, pressure and temperature are limited depending on the capacity and mechanism of the vulcanizer and boiler.
It may be difficult to freely control the cell diameter.

Further, when an unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition having a low viscosity or vulcanization rate is molded into a cylindrical shape and molded in a vulcanizer or the like, foaming proceeds with deformation due to its own weight. In some cases, the foaming state may be uneven.

Similarly, in the method of molding the roller by foaming in the mold, a roller having good surface properties can be obtained, but depending on the physical properties of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition and the method of holding the uncured unfoamed raw material composition in the mold, the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition can be obtained. In some cases, the foamed raw material composition foams in the mold while being deformed by its own weight, resulting in unevenness, or due to poor shape accuracy of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, foaming unevenness may occur in some places.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has been developed by using a foamed roller for use in an electrophotographic apparatus or the like as a uniform foamed rubber roller having a small cell diameter.
An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost and stable manufacturing method.

[0017]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing a foamed roller comprising a cored bar and a cylindrical foam around the cored bar. An unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition obtained by mixing and kneading a raw material, a foaming agent and various additives is molded into a cylindrical shape, and then a cylindrical regulating member is provided around the cylindrical unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. Is provided, vulcanization is performed integrally, and a regulating member is removed to obtain a cylindrical foam.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the outline of the foam roller. It is composed of a cylindrical cored bar made of a conductive material such as metal, and a cylindrical foam around the cored bar.

In producing such a roller, vulcanization is performed while suppressing and controlling circumferential expansion by a cylindrical regulating member having an effect of suppressing expansion due to foaming around the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. By doing so, the progress of foaming can be suppressed, and a cylindrical foam having a small cell diameter can be obtained.

The cylindrical foam is formed so that the inner diameter is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the core metal, and then is pressed into the core metal and polished using a cylindrical grinder, thereby obtaining the outer shape. A roller as shown in FIG. 1 whose diameter has been adjusted to a desired diameter can be obtained.

Further, since the regulating member suppresses deformation of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition during vulcanization, deformation during vulcanization due to its own weight or the like can be reduced, so that uneven foaming due to deformation is greatly reduced. Can be done.

As the cylindrical restricting member, in addition to coating a tube made of resin, rubber, or the like, a tape-shaped member may be spirally wound, or the like, and is preferably a material which can be easily peeled off.

There may be a slight gap between the regulating member and the cylindrical unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition as the foaming progresses, but they are uniformly adhered even before vulcanization. Is more preferred. Further, as a material of the regulating member, a material having relatively large ductility at the time of foaming and vulcanization is preferable so that expansion due to foaming is not excessively regulated.

The second invention according to the present application relates to the first invention according to the present application, wherein the cylindrical regulating member is formed from an unvulcanized raw material composition obtained by blending a polymer raw material and various additives and mixing them. It is characterized by becoming.

By using an unvulcanized composition for the regulating member, the ductility during vulcanization can be freely controlled by changing physical properties such as vulcanization speed and viscosity.

Therefore, according to this method, the cell diameter can be controlled even when the same unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition is used by controlling the physical properties such as the vulcanization rate and the viscosity of the regulating member made of the unvulcanized composition. Etc. can be changed.

[0027] The third invention according to the present application relates to the second invention according to the present application. In the second aspect, the regulating member made of the unvulcanized raw material composition is combined with the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. Simultaneously and integrally formed by extrusion, then vulcanized, then integrated with the entire core, removing the regulating member by polishing, and simultaneously adjusting the outer diameter of the roller to a desired thickness. .

When the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition is provided around the cylindrically formed unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition as a regulating member, the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition is extruded by two-layer extrusion. The method of forming the lower layer and the unvulcanized composition as the regulating member into a two-layer cylindrical shape in which the upper layer is formed is particularly efficient.

As for the removal of the restricting member, it is not necessary to increase the number of steps after the vulcanization, while simultaneously performing the step of adjusting the outer diameter by polishing in a state where the entire core and the like are pressed and adhered.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an outline of an extruder for forming the cylindrical laminate, together with FIG. 3 which is a sectional view of an extrusion head 18.

The unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition and the unvulcanized and non-foamed raw material composition are fed using separate extruders 16 and 17, respectively. The unfoamed raw material composition and the outer unvulcanized and non-foamed raw material composition are combined, and the outer unvulcanized and non-foamed layer is coated on the outer periphery of the inner unvulcanized and non-foamed layer. Thus, a cylindrical laminate is formed.

The inner and outer diameters of the obtained cylindrical laminate can be adjusted to a desired thickness by changing the diameters of the nipple 19 and the die 20. The ratio of the thickness of the unvulcanized non-foamed layer can be adjusted by the ratio of the discharge amount (rotation speed) of each extruder.

A fourth invention according to the present application relates to the second invention according to the present application, wherein the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized raw material composition is higher than the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. It is characterized by.

When vulcanization and foaming are performed by heating a cylindrical laminate formed from the unvulcanized raw material composition on the outside of the inner unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, If the vulcanization rate of the composition is higher than the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, the vulcanization of the unvulcanized raw material composition precedes and the vulcanization of the regulating member that regulates foaming to the outside. Progresses.

That is, when the inner unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition is foamed, the ductility of the outer unvulcanized raw material composition is reduced, and the effect as a regulating member is increased.

The fifth invention according to the present application relates to the second invention according to the present application, wherein the viscosity of the unvulcanized raw material composition as a regulating member is higher than the viscosity of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. It is characterized by.

When vulcanization and foaming are performed by heating a cylindrical laminate formed from the unvulcanized raw material composition on the outside of the inner unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, When the viscosity of the raw material composition is higher than the viscosity of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, the fluidity of the unvulcanized raw material composition becomes relatively low, so that foaming can be effectively suppressed.

The sixth invention according to the present application relates to the first invention according to the present application, and relates to a method for producing a conductive foam roller, wherein the foam layer is conductive.

By using this method, it is possible to obtain a roller having less conductive unevenness due to the small and uniform cell diameter.

As described above, in the present invention, an unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition obtained by mixing and kneading a polymer raw material, a foaming agent and various additives is molded into a cylindrical shape, and a circumferential expansion is formed around the cylindrical shape. By providing a cylindrical regulating member that suppresses, after vulcanizing simultaneously with the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, by removing the regulating member and manufacturing a foaming roller, the cell diameter is small, and a uniform cell Can be obtained.

The unvulcanized raw material composition may be heated by any method such as a hot blast stove, a vulcanizing can, a hot plate, far / near infrared rays, microwaves, and induction heating. The reaction is carried out at 5 to 120 minutes, preferably 140 to 220 degrees, for a time of 10 to 60 minutes. Thereafter, secondary vulcanization may be performed as necessary.

Here, as a means for forming a cylindrical unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, in addition to a method of extruding into a cylindrical shape and molding, a crosshead or the like is used to surround the core metal with a crosshead or the like. By simultaneously extruding, a cylindrical unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition may be formed in advance integrally with the cored bar.

Further, the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition is previously formed into a cylindrical shape, and the unvulcanized raw material composition previously formed into a cylindrical shape is extrapolated to the outside thereof to obtain a cylindrical carcass. Is also good.

Examples of the polymer of the unvulcanized raw material composition and the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition include natural rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), and chloroprene rubber (CR). ), Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), epichlorohydrin rubber, butyl rubber, silicone rubber, urethane rubber, fluorine rubber, chlorine rubber and the like.

Examples of the conductive powder dispersed in the polymer include carbons such as carbon black and conductive carbon;
Graphite, gold oxides such as TiO ₂ · SnO ₂ · ZnO, solid oxides such as SnO ₂ and Sb ₂ O ₃ · solid oxides such as ZnO and A1 ₂ O ₃ ; metal powders such as Cu · Ag; And the like, which is added in an amount of 5 to 200 weight per 100 weight of the progeny polymer raw material.

As the foaming agent, an organic foaming agent ADCA (azodicarbonamide) type, DPT (dinitrosopentamethylenetetraamine) type, TSH (P. toluenesulfonylhydrazide) type, OBSH (oxybispentenesulfenyl hydrazide) type And the like. The addition amount is 2 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the polymer raw material. Examples of the inorganic foaming agent include sodium bicarbonate and ammonium carbonate. Further, the above-mentioned foaming agent, foaming assistant and the like may be appropriately added.

Examples of the vulcanizing agent include sulfur, metal oxides and organic oxides, and examples of the inorganic filler include carbon black, talc and clay, and other known vulcanization accelerators.
Process oil and the like are appropriately added.

[0048]

(First Embodiment) The charging roller used in this embodiment was manufactured by the following method. The unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition used in this example was ethylene-propylene diene terpolymer (EPT4045 manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Co., Ltd.), and Ketjen Black (Ketjen Black EC Mitsubishi) as a conductive agent. SRF carbon black (Asahi # 35 Asahi Carbon Co., Ltd.), paraffin oil as a softener, ADCA and OB as foaming agents
SH, as a vulcanization accelerator, zinc oxide, stearic acid,
Sulfur as a crosslinking agent, mercaptobenzothiazole (M), zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate (ZnBDC), tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD), and cyclohexylbenzothiazolesulfenamide (CBS) as vulcanization accelerators are shown in Table 1 by weight. And mixed using an open roll.

[0049]

[Table 1]

The regulating member provided around the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition is composed of an unvulcanized raw material composition, and the raw material composition is an ethylene-propylene diene terpolymer (EPT4045 Mitsui Oil Chemical Co., Ltd.), Ketjen Black (Ketjen Black EC Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd.) and SRF carbon black (Asahi # 35 Asahi Carbon Co., Ltd.) as conductive agents, paraffin oil as a softener, and vulcanization accelerator Zinc oxide, stearic acid, sulfur as a crosslinking agent, mercaptobenzothiazole (M) as a vulcanization accelerator, zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate (ZnBD
C), tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMT
D) and cyclohexylbenzothiazolesulfenamide (CBS) were mixed using an open roll in parts by weight shown in Table 1.

The vulcanization rate of each raw material composition is JIS K6
A vulcanization test of Method A was conducted at 160 ° C. and a deflection angle of 1 degree (JSR Curastometer III type) based on the T300.
Is the vulcanization rate and the Mooney viscosity is JIS K
Mooney viscosity test based on 6300
+4) The value at 100 ° C. is shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized raw material composition as the regulating member used in this example was lower than the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition, and the Mooney viscosity Is low.

The obtained unvulcanized raw material composition and the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition were placed on an extruder and an extrusion head schematically shown in FIGS. By setting a certain nipple and a die with an inner diameter of φ9.5 mm and extruding it simultaneously and integrally, a cylindrical laminate is formed.
It was cut to about 300 cm to make a cylindrical laminate.

The unvulcanized raw material composition as a regulating member was molded using an extruder having a screw diameter of 50 mm, and the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition was molded using an extruder having a diameter of 75 mm.

The thickness of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition after extrusion was about 3.0 mm, and the thickness of the unvulcanized raw material composition as a regulating member was about 0.5 mm.

Next, after the cylindrical laminate is placed in a hot air oven heated to 180 degrees in advance and vulcanized / foamed, a conductive adhesive is previously placed in the obtained cylindrical laminate. After assembling by inserting the coated core, 160
Heating was performed for 30 minutes in a hot air oven which was heated each time to bond the core metal.

After that, the outer diameter was φ11.9 m by polishing.
By polishing to m, the non-foamed layer was removed and the outer diameter was adjusted to obtain a foamed roller.

As shown in Table 2, the cell diameter of the obtained foamed roller was much smaller than that of the comparative example.

In the present invention, the cell diameter is determined by observing the cross section of the roller with a microscope or the like. For an elliptical cell, the average of the major axis and the minor axis is defined as the cell diameter.

Further, in order to examine the uniformity of the conductivity, the distribution of the roller resistance in the circumferential direction was examined using an apparatus schematically shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 24 denotes an aluminum drum, and a force f = 5 for pressing the end of the metal core on the drum.
Rotate with 00g added. As shown in FIG. 3, a voltage of 100 V DC was applied between the core 23 and the aluminum drum 24 from the power supply 25, and the resistance distribution around the roller was measured. The result is shown in Table 2 in the form of a maximum value Rmax / minimum value Rmin. In addition, as a result, compared with the comparative example, since the resistance unevenness was also significantly improved, it was found that the uniformity of foaming was increased.

[0061]

[Table 2]

(Second Example) The blending of the unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition and the unvulcanized and non-foamed raw material composition used in the present example was carried out using the vulcanization rate and Mooney viscosity of each raw material composition. Are shown in Table 1 together with

As shown in Table 1, the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized raw material composition as the regulating member used in this example was higher than the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition, and the Mooney viscosity Is low.

The charging roller prepared using the above composition in the same procedure as in Example 1 was measured for cell diameter and resistance unevenness in the same manner as in Example 1, and the results are shown in Table 2.

As a result, it can be seen that the cell diameter is small and the resistance unevenness is also improved as compared with the comparative example and the example 1.

(Third Example) The blending of the unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition and the unvulcanized and non-foamed raw material composition used in the present example was carried out by comparing the vulcanization rate and Mooney viscosity of each raw material composition. Are shown in Table 1 together with

As shown in Table 1, the Mooney viscosity of the unvulcanized raw material composition as the regulating member used in this example is higher than the Mooney viscosity of the unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition, and the vulcanization rate is It is slow.

The charging roller prepared by using the above composition in the same procedure as in Example 1 was measured for the cell diameter and resistance unevenness in the same manner as in Example 1, and the results are shown in Table 2.

As a result, it can be seen that the cell diameter is small and the resistance unevenness is also improved as compared with the comparative example and the example 1.

(Fourth Embodiment) The charging roller used in this embodiment was manufactured by the following method. The unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition used in this example was ethylene-propylene diene terpolymer (EPT4045 manufactured by Mitsui Petrochemical Co., Ltd.), and Ketjen Black (Ketjen Black EC Mitsubishi) as a conductive agent. SRF carbon black (Asahi # 35 Asahi Carbon), paraffin oil as a softening agent, ADCA and OBSH as blowing agents, zinc oxide and stearic acid as vulcanization accelerators, sulfur as a crosslinking agent, sulfur Mercaptobenzothiazole (M), zinc dibutyldithiocarbamate (ZnBD)
C), tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMT
D) and cyclohexylbenzothiazolesulfenamide (CBS) were mixed using an open roll in parts by weight shown in Table 1.

The obtained unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition was placed in an extruder and an extrusion head schematically shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by a nipple having an outer diameter of φ2.5 and an inner diameter of φ2.
A die having a size of 6.75 mm was set, extruded by moving only an extruder for a lower layer, and cut into about 300 cm to form a cylinder.

Thereafter, a thermoplastic resin tube made of a styrene elastomer was coated as a regulating member around the cylindrical unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. The thickness of the tube was 300 μm.

As the thermoplastic resin material, polyethylene,
Polypropylene, polymethylpentene-1, polystyrene, polyamide, polycarbonate, polysulfone, polyarylate, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether sulfone, polyether nitrile, thermoplastic polyimide material, polyether ether ketone, etc. However, the resin material may be conductive, heat-resistant,
For the purpose of imparting thermal conductivity, a tube containing an organic or inorganic fine powder is used.

Next, the cylindrical laminate is placed in a hot-blast furnace heated to 180 ° in advance and vulcanized / foamed. Then, a conductive adhesive is previously placed in the obtained cylindrical laminate. After assembling by inserting the coated core, 160
Heating was performed for 30 minutes in a hot air oven which was heated each time to bond the core metal.

Thereafter, the thermoplastic tube as the regulating member was removed, and the outer diameter was further reduced to φ11.9 m by polishing.
The outer diameter was adjusted to m to obtain a foamed roller.

As shown in Table 1, the cell diameter of the obtained foamed roller was much smaller than that of Comparative Example 1. Further, the resistance unevenness was also improved.

Comparative Example Table 1 shows the unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition used in this comparative example. A single roller was extruded using this composition, and a charging roller prepared in the same procedure as in Example 1 was measured for cell diameter and resistance unevenness in the same manner as in Example 1 except that no regulating member was provided around the roller. The results are shown in Table 2.

As a result, not only the cell diameter is large, but also the cylindrical unvulcanized and unfoamed raw material composition is deformed,
Foaming caused uneven foaming. as a result,
As shown in Table 2, the peripheral unevenness of the resistance was also large.

[0079]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition obtained by mixing and kneading a polymer raw material, a foaming agent and various additives, is molded into a cylindrical shape, and a cylindrical regulating member for suppressing circumferential expansion around the cylindrical shape is provided. After the vulcanization with the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, the regulating member was removed to produce a foamed roller, whereby a foamed roller having a small cell diameter and uniform cells could be obtained.

Further, since the cell diameter becomes uniform, the uniformity of the conductivity is also improved. Furthermore, even when the coating layer is provided, the surface roughness can be improved even if the coating layer is thin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 schematically shows an outline of a foaming roller.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of an extruder for carrying out the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an extrusion head 12 for practicing the present invention.
1 schematically shows a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a roller resistance measuring device used in the examples.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a configuration of an electrophotographic apparatus using a contact charging / transfer member.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photoreceptor used as electrophotographic device as image carrier 2 charging roller 3 exposing means 4 developing member 5 transfer roller 6 transfer material 7 fixing member 8 cleaning member 9 toner 10 core metal 11 foam 12 extruder 1 (as a regulating member) 13 Extruder 2 (for unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition) 14 Extrusion head 15 Nipple 16 Dies 17 Flow path of unvulcanized raw material composition as regulating member 18 Unvulcanized non-vulcanized Flow path of foaming raw material composition 19 Conductive foaming roller 20 Core 21 Aluminum drum 22 Power supply

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03G 15/02 101 G03G 15/08 501D 4F203 15/08 501 15/16 103 4F212 15/16 103 15/20 103 4F213 15/20 103 B29K 21:00 // B29K 21:00 B29L 31:32 B29L 31:32 B29C 67/22 F term (reference) 2H033 AA31 BB15 BB26 BB30 BB31 BD03 BD04 2H077 AD06 FA22 FA25 2H200 FA13 GA23 HA02 HA28 HB12 HB22 HB43 HB45 HB46 HB47 JA02 JA23 JA25 JA26 JA27 JB10 JC02 JC13 JC15 JC16 JC17 LC03 MA03 MA08 MA11 MA12 MA13 MA20 MB01 MB06 MC01 3F049 AA03 AA06 CA16 DA12 LA02 LA05 LA07 LB03 3J103 AA21 GA41 GAA13 4F203 AA45 AD15 AG03 AH04 AH33 DA11 DB11 DC01 DK01 DL03 DW25 4F212 AA45 AD15 AG03 AH04 AH33 UA 09 UB01 UB11 UB22 UG04 UG05 UN01 UN08 UW41 4F213 AA45 AB18 AD03 AG03 AG20 AH04 AH33 WA06 WA18 WA43 WA53 WA74 WA87 WB01 WB18

Claims (6)

[Claims] An unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition in which a polymer raw material, a foaming agent and various additives are blended and kneaded in a method for obtaining a foamed roller comprising a cored bar and a cylindrical foam around the core. By molding a product into a cylindrical shape, and then providing a cylindrical regulating member around the cylindrical unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, vulcanizing is performed integrally, and the regulating member is further removed. A method for producing a foamed roller, wherein a cylindrical foam is obtained. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical regulating member is made of an unvulcanized raw material composition obtained by mixing and kneading a polymer raw material and various additives. 3. A regulating member made of the unvulcanized raw material composition is molded by simultaneously and integrally extruding with the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition, then vulcanized, and then integrated with a cored bar. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the outer diameter of the roller is adjusted to a desired thickness while removing the regulating member by polishing. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the vulcanization rate of the unvulcanized raw material composition is higher than that of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the viscosity of the unvulcanized raw material composition is higher than the viscosity of the unvulcanized unfoamed raw material composition. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the foam around the metal core is conductive.