JP2005201745A - Inspection method for minute crack on section of elastic sheet and inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inspection method for minute cracks on a section and an inspection device, for stabilizing quality, reducing inspection costs, and further, expediting steps and measures against anomaly, by detecting cutting force, cutting sound, etc. in a cutting process to determine its fluctuation by a data conversion means, as to inspection for minute cracks on a section occurring in cutting an elastic sheet. <P>SOLUTION: According to this inspection method for minute cracks on a section of an elastic sheet, when the elastic sheet is cut while moving a flat edge tool and the elastic sheet in directions causing them to face each other, detection data obtained by detecting at least any of cutting force applied to the edge tool, or cutting sound or vibration emitted from a cut part, are compared with reference data on the same items as the detection data obtained when previously collected satisfactory sections are obtained. A section is determined to be satisfactory, when the detection data are within the extent of reference data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to various elastic blades used for electrophotographic apparatuses by cutting a vulcanized or crosslinked elastic sheet such as rubber and polyurethane with a blade, and squeegees (blades, etc.) used for electronic circuit printing. The present invention also relates to a method for inspecting a microscopic crack on a cut surface used when manufacturing a cutting surface, and an inspection machine that is installed in a cutting process and can check the occurrence of microcracks on the cut surface as the cutting progresses.

  The present invention relates to an inspection of a cut surface of a vulcanized or cross-linked elastic sheet, which is a material of the application part, and for example, when used as a cleaning blade of an electrophotographic apparatus, removes toner remaining on the photoreceptor. Therefore, the edge formed on the cut surface is pressed against the surface of the photoconductor, but when there is a microcrack on the cut surface (particularly the edge), the crack is opened by the pressure contact, and the toner is transferred onto the photoconductor. It becomes a fatal defect that enters the crack and the toner in the crack appears on the image in the next image formation. Conventionally, all the blade edges were inspected by visual inspection after cutting. However, since the cracks were minute, it was difficult to find them and there were individual differences, requiring a lot of inspection personnel. In addition, since inspection cannot be performed at the time of cutting and the check is performed in a later process, the determination timing is delayed and a half-product loss may occur.

It is expected that the frictional force between the blade side and the cut surface of the elastic body is also related to the cracks that occur during the cutting of the elastic sheet. The behavior of an elastic body when a hard solid such as an object is rubbed against an elastic sheet, particularly the occurrence of cracks, is reported in, for example, “New development of rubber wear theory”. A plate-like (shear-like) blade is in contact with the elastic sheet with its width direction crossing the direction of movement of the elastic sheet, and repeatedly slid to wear the rubber elastic body. This is a study of cracks (see Non-Patent Document 1).
“The Journal of Japan Rubber Association”, Vol. 68, No. 3 (1995), pp. 156-165

  The present invention mechanically determines the size, number, etc. of microcracks generated in the cutting process without any human judgment, thereby stabilizing the quality and reducing the inspection cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a microcrack inspection method and inspection machine for a cut surface of an elastic sheet, which can perform an abnormality treatment and response at an early stage.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the method for inspecting a micro-crack on the cut surface of the elastic sheet according to claim 1 is characterized in that the elasticity is obtained by moving a cutter in contact with a cut portion of the elastic sheet and moving them in an opposite direction. A method of inspecting a microcrack generated on a cut surface when cutting a body sheet into a strip shape, the cutting force applied to the blade while the blade cuts the elastic sheet, and is generated from the cutting portion The detection data in which at least one of cutting sound or cutting vibration is detected is compared with the reference data of the same item when a normal cut surface collected in advance is obtained, and the detection data is within the range of the reference data. It is characterized by determining that it is a good cut surface at a certain time.

  Normally, when an elastic sheet is cut with a blade, a micro-crack is generated due to stick-slip caused by friction between the side surface of the blade and the elastic body. When this micro-crack occurs, there is no micro-crack (when normal) Cutting noise or cutting vibration is generated from the cutting part, or a force different from normal is acting on the blade, and the sound of this cutting part (called cutting sound) and the load of the blade Detection of microcracks during the cutting process can be checked by detection data that detects (cutting force) and the like. The present invention was completed by finding that the detection data can be compared with data when no microcracks are generated, thereby determining whether or not the cut surface microcracks are acceptable.

  The method for inspecting a micro crack on a cut surface according to claim 2 is characterized in that the elastic sheet is a material sheet of a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus, and the blade is a flat blade. The material sheet is a sheet-like molded body made of an elastic body, and is cut into a predetermined dimension of the blade. In the case of cutting a sheet, it is preferable that the sheet is sandwiched between the front and back and fixed to the sheet fixing plate and then cut with a flat blade so that a good edge angle and edge surface roughness can be obtained.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for inspecting a micro crack on a cut surface, wherein a cutting force applied to the blade is detected by a load cell, and the cutting sound is detected by a microphone.

  The load cell is convenient for measuring a load applied to a small and small flat blade, and the microphone is suitable for picking up a cutting sound and converting it into data.

  The microcrack inspection machine according to claim 4 is an inspection machine that detects microcracks on the cut surface that are likely to occur when the elastic sheet is cut into a strip shape, and is a direction in which the elastic sheet and the flat blade are opposed to each other. A detecting means for detecting at least one of cutting force, cutting sound or cutting vibration attached in the vicinity of the flat blade, and detection data connected to the detecting means and stored in advance. Compared with the reference data that is the data at the time of normal disconnection, it is determined whether or not it is within the range of the reference data, and a data conversion device that displays the result is provided.

  The moving means moves a sheet fixing plate or a flat blade that holds the elastic sheet formed into a thin cylindrical body and cut open in a flat plate shape from the front and back in a direction opposite to each other, and cuts the elastic sheet into a strip shape. To do. The detection means is provided in the vicinity of the flat blade, that is, in the vicinity of a generation source of cutting force, cutting sound, etc., to facilitate detection of a change in detection data.

  The conversion means displays the result by comparing whether or not the detection data is within the range of the reference data. It is determined based on the displayed signal without human judgment, and it can be connected to a corresponding action such as selection or line stop. Note that this reference data is set in advance by comparing a considerable number of cutting forces, cutting noises, and the like with micro cracks on the cut surface, based on test results by an electrophotographic apparatus or the like.

  By providing the above-described configuration, the method for inspecting micro cracks on the cut surface of the elastic sheet according to the present invention does not require an inspector as compared with the conventional method that required a total inspection after the cutting process. Since there is little variation and the judgment can be made during the cutting operation, it is possible to stop the process at the time of abnormality or return to normal in a short time, and the process loss of the semi-finished product is also reduced.

The method for inspecting a micro-crack on a cut surface of an elastic sheet according to the present invention detects a cutting sound and a cutting force applied to a flat blade in advance when a micro-crack is not generated in the process of fixing the elastic sheet and cutting with a flat blade. These are recorded as reference data, the cutting sound when cutting the elastic sheet to be inspected, or the cutting force applied to the flat blade is detected, sent to the data converter, and the recorded reference data and In contrast, if the reference data is within the acceptable range, the microcrack is determined to be acceptable and displayed.
(Example)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the method for inspecting a micro crack on the cut surface of the elastic sheet according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows a front view of a microcrack inspection machine 20 used in a cutting machine and a microcrack inspection method for cutting an elastic sheet 1. The elastic sheet 1 (material: polyurethane, thickness: 2 mm) is fixed to the sheet fixing plate 7, and the flat blade 2 is cut into the elastic sheet 1. The sheet fixing plate 7 is provided with a narrow guide groove 6 at a position corresponding to the cutting position of the elastic sheet 1, and guides the flat blade 2 at the time of cutting. The flat blade 2 is supported by the blade holder 12, and a load cell 3 is disposed therebetween, and detects a cutting force applied to the flat blade 2. Further, the blade holder 12 is provided with a sound collecting microphone 4 to capture a cutting sound. The sheet fixing plate 7 to which the elastic sheet 1 is fixed is moved in the cutting direction (arrow x) at a predetermined speed by moving means such as a screw shaft 9 and a drive motor 8.

  The data conversion means 5 is input with at least one reference data of the variation range of the cutting force, the variation range of the cutting sound or the variation range of the cutting vibration when the pre-measured cut surface is good (acceptable range). . The data calculation device 5 incorporates data (detection data) of fluctuation ranges such as cutting force and cutting sound detected by the detection means in each cutting operation, and if the detection data is within the range of the reference data. The result is determined to be acceptable, and the result is displayed by a lamp display, sound, etc. (not shown).

  The cutting test procedure is as follows: the elastic sheet 1 to be cut is sandwiched between two fixing plates and fixed to the sheet fixing plate 7; the flat blade 2 is cut into the cutting start position (left end in FIG. 1) of the elastic sheet 1; The elastic sheet 1 was cut by moving in the direction of x at 1.0 m / sec.

  The cutting force applied to the flat blade 2 is detected by the load cell 3 and is sent to the data converter 5 to record the load weight on the load cell in time series, and the cutting sound grasped by the sound collecting microphone 4 is sent to the data converter 5 and the frequency (Hz) ) And sound pressure (dB), and when the converted sound pressure (dB) in the range of 200 to 400 Hz is equal to or less than the sound pressure data (reference data) when no microcracks occur, a blue lamp is displayed as a pass. If it is larger than the sound pressure data, a red lamp is displayed as a failure.

  Examples of determination of cutting force and cutting sound by the micro crack inspection method as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows the variation of the cutting force (load cell load (N)). FIG. 2 (a) shows a case where no microcracks were observed on the cut surface, and FIG. 2 (b) shows the cutting. This is a case where micro cracks were found on the surface and it was defective. FIG. 3 shows the variation of the sound pressure (dB) according to the frequency (Hz) of the cutting sound, FIG. 3 (a) shows a case where the cut surface is acceptable, and FIG. 3 (b) shows a case where the cut surface is defective.

  2A and 2B with respect to cutting force, a relatively stable plate cutter travels between 0.14 and 0.18 seconds after the start. The sheet appears to have been cut. When the variation of the cutting force at the time of cutting is compared, the variation width (W1) is about 8N when the cut surface is passed, and the amplitude (W2) is about 12N when the cut surface is defective. It is possible to determine whether the cut surface is good or bad by rejecting an amplitude of 10 N or more as an intermediate value.

  3 (a) and FIG. 3 (b) with respect to the cutting sound, a difference clearly appears in the fluctuation range of the sound pressure (dB) between the frequencies of 200 to 400 Hz. In the case of passing, this fluctuation range (V1) is In the case of a defective product, the fluctuation range (V2) is 25 dB, and a fluctuation range of 22 dB or more can be determined to be rejected as an intermediate value.

The front view of the cutting machine which attached | subjected the micro crack inspection function of the cut surface of this invention is shown. It is a relational graph of load cell receiving weight and time showing change of cutting force. It is a relationship graph of the frequency and sound pressure showing the fluctuation | variation of a cutting sound.

Explanation of symbols

1: Elastic sheet 2: Plate blade 3: Load cell 4: Sound collecting microphone 5: Data converter 6: Guide groove 7: Sheet fixing plate 8: Motor 10: Blade holder 20: Micro crack inspection machine

Claims (4)

When cutting the elastic sheet into a strip shape by moving the blade in contact with the cutting portion of the elastic sheet and moving these in a direction opposite to each other,
A normal cutting surface that has been collected in advance as detection data for detecting at least one of cutting force applied to the blade, cutting sound or cutting vibration generated by the blade while the blade cuts the elastic sheet. When the detected data is within the range of the reference data, it is determined that the cut surface of the elastic sheet is a fine cut surface. Crack inspection method.   2. The method for inspecting a micro-crack on a cut surface of an elastic sheet according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sheet is a material sheet of a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus, and the blade is a flat blade.   The method for inspecting a micro-crack on a cut surface of an elastic sheet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutting force applied to the blade is detected by a load cell and the cutting sound is detected by a microphone. An inspection machine for inspecting microcracks generated on a cut surface when the elastic sheet is cut into a strip shape by moving the blade in contact with the cutting portion of the elastic sheet and moving them in the opposite direction,
Moving means for moving the elastic sheet and the flat blade in opposite directions;
Detection means for detecting at least one of cutting force, cutting sound or cutting vibration attached in the vicinity of the flat blade;
Connected to this detection means, compares the detected detection data with reference data that is pre-stored data at normal disconnection to determine whether it is within the range of the reference data, and displays the result A micro crack inspection machine for an elastic sheet cut surface, comprising: a data conversion device.

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