JP2005292539A - Method and device for inspecting cylinder body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for inspecting a cylinder body which easily detect the unevenness of the surface of the cylinder body. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for inspecting the unevenness of the surface of the cylinder body, the unevenness is detected by measuring circumference waving which is a maximum value of the quantity of radial displacement on one circumference from the axis of the cylinder body. The circumference waving is measured preferably at specified intervals along the axis of the cylinder body. Further, the circumference waving is measured preferably continuously by spirally scanning the surface of the cylinder body along the axis. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cylindrical body inspection method and inspection apparatus for inspecting irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body.

  In an image forming apparatus in the printing field, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser printer, a cylindrical body such as an OPC (organic photosensitive member) drum or a developer carrier is used as a main functional member. Yes. Among them, the developer carrying member rotates in the developing unit to develop the electrostatic image formed on the OPC (organic photoreceptor) drum, and transports the developer (toner) to the developing position. It is. As the developer, a magnetic one-component developer or a two-component developer is used. Among them, the developer carrier for magnetic one-component developer is subjected to a roughening treatment by blasting on the surface of the substrate made of aluminum or an alloy thereof in order to adjust the transfer amount of the developer. There is.

  In addition, a coating may be provided on the surface of the developer carrying member in order to adjust the triboelectric charge amount of the developer or prevent development ghost. Examples of the coating include, for example, a resin coating disclosed in JP-A-9-230690; an inorganic system mainly composed of Mo, O, and H disclosed in JP-A-7-281517. Plating film; Ni plating film disclosed in JP-A-8-202140. Any one of the above-mentioned films is selected depending on the triboelectric charging characteristics of the developer to be used. In order to adjust the developer transfer amount, the surface of the developer carrier thus coated may be subjected to a roughening treatment by blasting.

  There is a case where such a developer carrying member is subjected to some impact, and the surface may be uneven, particularly a dent. If the developer carrying member that has caused such dents is incorporated into the developing device as it is, there will be a difference in the adhesion amount of the developer and the charge amount of the developer between the recessed part and the other part. When image formation is performed, image quality defects occur. Therefore, it is necessary to perform some inspection on the developer carrying member in which such a dent has occurred to exclude the abnormal product.

  Conventionally, visual inspection has been performed as an inspection of the irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body such as a developer carrier. In addition to visual appearance inspection, the surface roughness of the cylindrical body is measured using a surface roughness measuring device such as a stylus type (for example, described in Patent Document 1) or a laser type, for example. It is known to do. Further, the developer carrying member may be incorporated into the image forming apparatus, and the image quality inspection of the entire developer carrying member may be performed.

JP-A-8-313248

  However, when the size of the irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body such as a developer carrier is very small, the irregularities may be difficult to see visually. In particular, when the surface is roughened, it is difficult to visually find irregularities due to scattering of light hitting the surface. Moreover, even if visual discovery is possible, it may be overlooked.

  Since surface irregularities cannot be detected by visual appearance inspection, etc., if a developer carrier is incorporated in an image forming apparatus and an image quality inspection is performed on the total number of developer carriers, a large amount of work is required. is there.

  Furthermore, the method of measuring the surface roughness of the surface of the cylindrical body using a surface roughness measuring device such as a stylus type or laser type can also be used when it is known in advance where the irregularities are located. It is easy to detect irregularities. However, when it is not known in advance where the irregularities are, it is necessary to perform surface roughness measurement on the entire surface of the cylindrical body, which requires a long measurement time.

  The present invention is a cylindrical body inspection method and inspection apparatus that easily detect irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body.

  The present invention relates to a method for inspecting irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body, the circumferential runout being a maximum value of a radial displacement amount on one circumference with respect to the axis of the cylindrical body over the axial direction of the cylindrical body. The irregularities are detected by measuring.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, it is preferable that the circumferential runout is measured at predetermined intervals over the axial direction of the cylindrical body.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, it is preferable that the predetermined interval is set based on the size of the unevenness to be detected.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, it is preferable that the circumferential runout is continuously measured by scanning the surface of the cylindrical body in a spiral shape in the axial direction.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, it is preferable that the interval between the spirals is set based on the size of the unevenness to be detected.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, it is preferable that the circumferential runout of the cylindrical body is measured using a laser.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, the cylindrical body is preferably a photosensitive drum or a developer carrier used in an image forming apparatus using electrophotography.

  In the cylindrical body inspection method, the surface of the cylindrical body is preferably roughened.

  Further, the present invention is an apparatus for inspecting irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body, wherein the holding means for holding the cylindrical body, a rotating means for rotating the cylindrical body about an axis, and an axis of the cylindrical body A detecting unit that detects a circumferential runout that is a maximum value of a displacement amount in a radial direction on one circumference; a measuring unit that measures the circumferential runout; and the detecting unit is moved in an axial direction of the cylindrical body And moving means for rotating the cylindrical body about an axis, and moving the detection unit at a constant speed in the axial direction of the cylindrical body, while moving the circumference over the axial direction of the cylindrical body. The unevenness is detected by continuously measuring the shake.

  In the cylindrical inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the number of rotations for rotating the cylindrical body and the speed of movement of the detection unit are set based on the size of the unevenness to be detected.

  Further, in the cylindrical body inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the measurement of the circumferential deflection of the cylindrical body is performed using a laser.

  In the cylindrical body inspection apparatus, it is preferable that the cylindrical body is a photosensitive drum or a developer carrier used in an image forming apparatus using electrophotography.

  In the cylindrical body inspection apparatus, the surface of the cylindrical body is preferably subjected to a roughening treatment.

  In the present invention, the unevenness of the surface of the cylindrical body can be detected by measuring the circumferential runout that is the maximum value of the radial displacement of the outer diameter with respect to the axis of the cylindrical body over the axial direction of the cylindrical body. , Work efficiency can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  A cylindrical body inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for inspecting irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body, and detects irregularities by measuring circumferential runout in the axial direction of the cylindrical body. Here, the circumferential run-out refers to the maximum value of the amount of displacement in the radial direction on one circumference with respect to the axis of the cylindrical body.

  The cylindrical body to be inspected is not particularly limited as long as it is a cylindrical body. In the present invention, the cylindrical body may be a columnar body. Examples of the cylindrical body include an aluminum pipe and a steel pipe, but a photosensitive drum or a developer carrying body used in an image forming apparatus using electrophotography is preferable. This is because the photosensitive drum and the developer carrying member used in the image forming apparatus by electrophotography have an influence on the image quality to be formed due to the minute surface unevenness having an unevenness amount of 100 μm or less. Further, the surface of the cylindrical body may be subjected to a surface treatment such as a mirror surface treatment or a roughening treatment, but may be untreated. The method for inspecting a cylindrical body according to the embodiment of the present invention is particularly effective when the surface of the cylindrical body is roughened, since it is difficult to find minute irregularities on the surface by visual observation.

  The material of the cylindrical body to be inspected is not particularly limited, such as resin or metal. There is no particular limitation on the diameter and length of the cylindrical body. Hereinafter, the present exemplary embodiment will be described using a developer carrier used in an image forming apparatus using electrophotography as an example.

  The developer carrying member is a member that rotates in the developing device and transfers the developer (toner) to the developing position in order to develop the electrostatic image formed on the OPC (organic photoreceptor) drum. Examples of the substrate of the developer carrying member include aluminum or an alloy thereof. In addition, in order to adjust the developer transfer amount, surface treatment with a polishing process such as blasting for polishing the surface of the substrate with an abrasive such as glass beads or reduced iron powder by striking the surface of the substrate with compressed air or a polishing roll is performed. It may be what was done.

  Further, in order to adjust the triboelectric charge amount of the developer on the substrate surface or prevent development ghost, the surface of the developer carrying member is a resin coating, and an inorganic system mainly composed of Mo, O, and H. A coating such as a plating coating or a Ni plating coating may be provided. It is preferable to select one of the coating films depending on the triboelectric charging characteristics of the developer used. Further, the surface of the developer carrying member thus coated may be subjected to a surface roughening process such as a blasting process in order to adjust the transfer amount of the developer.

  In order to support and rotate the developer carrier, the developer carrier may be incorporated into a developing device of the image forming apparatus with a flange or the like attached to the end thereof. The developing device may be incorporated in the cartridge so that the user can easily replace it.

  As the diameter of the developer carrying member, those having a diameter of 10 mm to 65 mm are mainly used. Further, as the developer carrier, a length of 200 mm to 400 mm is mainly used.

  The surface of the developer carrying member may be roughened in this way, but in the case of a developer carrying member having a roughened surface, minute irregularities are difficult to see visually, particularly due to light scattering. . In such a case, minute irregularities on the surface of the developer carrying member are inspected by circumferential runout measurement.

  First, a brief description will be given of minute irregularities on the surface of the developer carrier to be detected. The irregularities detected by the cylindrical body inspection method according to the present embodiment are mainly dents on the surface of the developer carrier. This often occurs when an impact is applied to the developer carrier. FIG. 1 shows the result of measuring the cross-sectional curve of the dent using a stylus type surface roughness measuring instrument (manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd., SURFCOM 1400D-3DF type). Measurement conditions will be described later in Examples. The dent amount is calculated based on FIG. 1. As a calculation method, as shown in FIG. 2, the highest position and the lowest position of the roughness curve are considered as the dent outer part and the dent part, respectively. A horizontal line was drawn at almost the center position of, and the interval was taken as the amount of dent. In FIG. 2, the amount of depression was calculated as 15 μm.

  Thus, when the amount of depressions on the surface of the developer carrying member was measured, it was found that the amount of depressions was about 1 μm to 100 μm. Moreover, as a magnitude | size of a dent, it was about 0.5 mm-8 mm. It is difficult to visually confirm a dent of about 30 μm or less, and some of the dent exceeds about 30 μm, especially 50 μm, which can be visually confirmed. However, when the developer carrying member having such a dent was attached to the developing device and the image quality was checked, an image quality defect occurred from the dent amount of about 10 μm. In other words, this means that there is a dent that cannot be visually confirmed but in which an image quality defect occurs, in this example, a dent with a dent amount of about 10 μm to 30 μm.

  In order to inspect such a dent, the image quality inspection of all the developer carrying members has been performed by attaching to the developing device of the image forming apparatus. However, in order to perform 100% image quality inspection, it is necessary to attach the developer carrier to the developing device, inspect the image quality, remove the developer carrier again, and clean the developer adhering to the surface. It will take. Further, since the work with the developer carrying member exposed is increased, there is a high possibility that a dent will be further formed on the surface regardless of the purpose of inspection.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the dent is detected by measuring the circumferential runout of the developer carrier. Normally, the circumferential runout measurement measures the displacement of the central axis of the rod-like object. However, it pays attention to the fact that the measured value of the circumferential runout changes depending on the local dent.

  There is no particular limitation on the method for measuring the circumferential runout as long as it is a method that can measure the amount of radial displacement on one circumference with respect to the axis of the cylindrical body. Alternatively, it may be performed by a non-contact method such as a laser. In order not to damage the object to be measured, it is preferable to use a non-contact type such as a laser.

  FIG. 3 and Table 1 show a result of actually measuring the circumferential runout of the portion having the recess. Here, the amount of dents was obtained by measuring a cross-sectional curve using the aforementioned stylus type surface roughness measuring instrument (manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd., SURFCOM 1400D-3DF type), and calculating the amount of dents from the graph of FIG. Is. Further, the circumferential run-out is measured using a laser run-out measuring instrument (manufactured by Mitutoyo Corporation, Laser Scan Micrometer LSM-3000H). The normal product is a developer carrier having no dent.

  An example of the laser shake measuring instrument 1 used here is schematically shown in FIG. The laser shake measuring instrument 1 includes a base 12, a chuck 14, a rotation mechanism 16, a measurement probe 18, a laser oscillation means 20, a control unit 22, a reference plate 24 (not shown in FIG. 4), and a laser receptor 26 (FIG. 4). (Not shown). While the developer carrier 10 attached to the chuck 14 is rotated around the axis by the rotation mechanism 16, a belt-like laser emitted from the measurement probe 18 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the cylindrical body (here, the developer carrier) 10. Hit FIG. 5 shows the laser shake measuring instrument 1 as viewed from above. A gap a between the developer carrier 10 and the reference plate 24 arranged in parallel is formed below the developer carrier 10 and the reference plate 24. By reading with the laser receivers 26 arranged in parallel, the circumferential runout on one circumference of the developer carrier 10 is measured.

  In addition to the above, the method of detecting the circumferential vibration by the laser may be detected by measuring the distance between the measurement probe and the cylindrical body surface using a laser, and is not particularly limited as long as it is a method using a laser. There is no.

  As shown in FIG. 3, it can be seen that there is a good correlation between the dent amount on the surface of the developer carrying member measured in this way and the circumferential runout. In a portion having a 10 μm dent where an image quality defect occurs, a circumferential shake value of about 40 μm is measured.

  The circumferential runout of the developer carrying member without dents was 21 μm at maximum as shown in Table 2. In other words, if the acceptance / rejection criterion of the circumferential runout measurement value is 30 μm, for example, in the surface unevenness inspection of the developer bearing member, it is possible to select the dent and the portion without the dent. In this way, it is possible to easily detect irregularities on the surface of the cylindrical body by measuring the circumferential runout.

  In addition, when it is known in advance where the unevenness on the surface of the developer carrier is located, the unevenness can be detected by such a method. However, the unevenness does not occur at a specific position, and the position may occur randomly, and it is usually not known in advance where the unevenness is. Therefore, in the inspection of the developer carrier, it is necessary to inspect the entire width of the developer carrier on the image formation. However, since the circumferential runout measurement is performed every certain circumference, it is practically difficult to completely measure the entire width. Therefore, in the cylindrical body inspection method according to the present embodiment, it is preferable to measure the circumferential runout at predetermined intervals over the axial direction of the cylindrical body. The predetermined interval is preferably set based on the size of the unevenness to be detected, and more preferably set to be smaller than the size of the unevenness to be detected. Moreover, it is preferable that the measurement of circumferential runout is performed over the entire width of the cylindrical body. In the case of the developer carrying member and the photosensitive drum, it is preferable that the measurement of the circumferential deflection is performed over the entire width of the area related to image formation.

  Here, the size of the unevenness means the size of the major axis when the size of the unevenness is expressed by the major axis and the minor axis.

  When measuring the circumferential runout at predetermined intervals, in the laser runout measuring instrument 1 of FIG. 4, when the circumferential runout measurement on a certain circumference is completed, the measuring probe 18 that emits laser in the axial direction is loaded with developer. The body 10 is moved in the axial direction and the next measurement point is measured.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of setting the measurement interval. For example, when the shape of the recess has a size of about 0.5 mm to 8 mm as in the developer carrier, the measurement interval b in the axial direction of the circumferential run is preferably 0.5 mm to 5 mm. More preferably, the thickness may be 0.5 mm to 2 mm. Thus, if the measurement interval b is set based on the size of the unevenness to be detected, the unevenness can be regarded as a shake value. Further, the threshold value may be determined according to the size of the unevenness to be measured, and the measurement interval b may be set. Furthermore, since it is more efficient for inspection to widen the measurement interval b, the measurement interval b may be set with an emphasis on measurement efficiency.

  However, even if the measurement interval is measured at 2 mm, for example, 150 times of circumferential run-out measurement is required to inspect a region having a length of 300 mm. In this case, it is preferable to improve efficiency by using the above-described laser shake measuring instrument 1 or the like and automatically measuring by programming. With the laser measuring device, rotate the developer carrier, apply the laser perpendicular to the axial direction, and when the circumferential runout measurement on a certain circumference is completed, move the probe that emits the laser in the axial direction of the developer carrier. And measure the next measurement point. Automation can be achieved by programming this series of operations.

  In this way, by measuring the circumferential runout at predetermined intervals over the axial direction of the cylindrical body, it is possible to easily detect the unevenness on the surface of the cylindrical body even when it is not known in advance where the unevenness is. it can. Then, by setting the predetermined interval based on the size of the unevenness to be detected, the unevenness on the surface of the cylindrical body can be detected more efficiently.

  In order to further improve the efficiency of the cylindrical body inspection method according to the present embodiment, the measurement method using the laser shake measuring instrument is improved. In the above method, the measurement is finished every measurement of the circumferential deflection on one circumference of the cylindrical body, the probe is moved and stopped, and then the next measurement is started. In order to improve the efficiency of this method, it is preferable to continuously measure the circumferential runout by scanning the surface of the cylindrical body in a spiral shape in the axial direction.

  A cylindrical body inspection apparatus 3 that realizes the cylindrical body inspection method according to the present embodiment will be described. An example of the cylindrical body inspection apparatus 3 is schematically shown in FIG. The cylindrical body inspection apparatus 3 includes a base 12, a chuck 14, a rotation mechanism 16, a measurement probe 18, a laser oscillation means 20, a control unit 22, a reference plate 24 (not shown in FIG. 7), and a laser receptor 26 (FIG. 7). (Not shown in FIG. 4), the horizontal moving mechanism 28 and the like can be included. All of these components are not essential and can be combined as appropriate. Also, it is not necessary for all of these configurations to be included in a single device.

  The control unit 22 includes a control element such as a CPU and has a function of controlling the cylindrical body inspection apparatus 3 in an integrated manner. The control unit 22 controls the rotation mechanism 16, the laser oscillation means 20, the horizontal movement mechanism 28, etc., and measures circumferential runout. The control unit 22 may include a data collection unit that performs data collection and the like, a determination unit that performs data determination, and the like.

  The cylindrical body inspection apparatus 3 further includes storage means such as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk for storing collected data, etc .; display means such as a monitor used for presenting information to the user; Input means such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel used for acquiring various types of information may be included.

  While the cylindrical body (here, developer carrier) 10 attached to the chuck 14 is rotated about the axis by the rotation mechanism 16, the belt-shaped laser emitted from the measurement probe 18 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the developer carrier 10. Hit FIG. 8 is a view of the cylindrical body inspection device 3 as viewed from above, and a gap a between the developer carrier 10 and the reference plate 24 arranged in parallel is formed below the developer carrier 10 and the reference plate 24. The circumferential runout of the developer carrier 10 is measured by reading with the laser receiver 26 arranged in parallel. At this time, the measurement probe 18 is horizontally moved at a constant speed along the axial direction of the developer carrier 10 by the horizontal movement mechanism 28, and the surface of the developer carrier 10 is scanned in a spiral shape in the axial direction. Circumferential run-out can be measured continuously.

  The outer diameter of the developer carrier 10 is almost the same even if it is a horizontal position of about several mm. When paying attention to this, it is necessary to measure only on one circumference in the normal circumferential runout measurement, while moving the measurement probe 18 in the axial direction and rotating the developer carrier 10 as described above. It is possible to continue to measure the shake, that is, to scan the surface of the developer carrier 10 in a spiral shape. However, if the entire width of the developer carrier 10 is taken as one measurement, that is, if the value obtained by sampling the original data for calculating the circumferential runout from the full width of the developer carrier 10 is used, the maximum outer diameter of the full width is used. And a difference between the outer diameter minimum value and the circumferential runout measurement value will cause a large error. Therefore, this error can be avoided by dividing the original data for calculating the circumferential run-out for each sampling value during one rotation of the developer carrier 10. Therefore, the circumferential runout in the case of spiral measurement is the maximum value of the displacement amount in the radial direction during one rotation with respect to the axis of the cylindrical body.

  As a method of determining that there is an uneven portion on the surface of the cylindrical body, as described above, when the circumferential runout is large, that is, when the unevenness amount is large, it is determined that there is an uneven portion. Focusing on the fact that the sampling data of the displacement amount in the radial direction changes abruptly as compared with the portion, it may be determined that the unevenness exists when the change rate of the displacement amount per unit scanning length is large. In a portion having no dent, the rate of change is considered to be small even when there is a change in the amount of displacement, and therefore the presence or absence of the uneven portion can be determined based on the rate of change in the amount of displacement.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of setting the spiral measurement interval. In order to reliably detect the unevenness, the spiral measurement interval c shown in FIG. 9 is preferably set based on the size of the unevenness to be detected, and is smaller than the size of the unevenness to be detected. More preferably, it is set. For example, when the shape of the dent has a size of about 0.5 mm to 8 mm as in the developer carrier, the spiral measurement interval c in the axial direction of the circumferential run is preferably 0.5 mm to It may be 5 mm, more preferably 0.5 mm to 2 mm. Thus, if the measurement interval c is set based on the size of the unevenness, the unevenness can be regarded as a shake value. Further, the threshold may be determined according to the size of the unevenness to be measured, and the measurement interval c may be set. Furthermore, since it is more efficient for inspection to increase the measurement interval c, the measurement interval c may be set with an emphasis on measurement efficiency.

  As a specific method for setting the spiral measurement interval c, for example, when the circumferential runout is measured at intervals of 0.5 mm to 2 mm for the developer carrier, the rotational speed for rotating the developer carrier is set to Y (rpm ) If the moving speed of the measurement probe of the laser shake measuring device is X (mm / sec), Y = aX, a is 30 to 120 (rpm · sec / mm), and the relationship of 0.5 mm to 2 mm is maintained. A measurement interval c can be realized.

  For example, if the circumferential run is measured while rotating the developer carrier at 150 rpm and moving the measurement probe of the laser shake measuring device at a speed of 5 mm / sec in the length direction, a measurement interval of 2 mm can be realized. it can. Further, if the circumferential run is measured while rotating the developer carrier at 1200 rpm and moving the measuring probe of the laser shake measuring device at a speed of 40 mm / sec in the length direction, a measurement interval of 2 mm can be realized. it can.

  As described above, in the developer carrier inspection, if there is a point of 30 μm or more in the circumferential run measurement value of the developer carrier, if the developer carrier is rejected, the image is surely obtained. It is possible to remove rejected products that affect

  As described above, when measuring the circumferential runout of the cylindrical body, the surface of the cylindrical body is scanned in a spiral shape in the axial direction, and the circumferential runout is continuously measured, so that the cylindrical body is more efficiently used. Unevenness on the surface can be detected.

  For example, when measuring the circumferential runout of a cylindrical body having a length of 300 mm and measuring the cylindrical body surface at a measurement interval of 2 mm, it takes 3 sec × 150 times = 450 sec = 7.5 min even if the measurement time for one time is 3 sec. The measurement is completed in only 10 seconds by scanning in a spiral manner with the cylindrical body rotating at 900 rpm and the measurement probe moving speed of 30 mm / sec.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described by taking the developer carrier as an example of the cylindrical body, but the cylindrical body is not limited to the developer carrier.

  The cylindrical body inspection method and inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment are preferably used for all cylindrical bodies, but in particular, cylindrical bodies used in image forming apparatuses in the printing field, such as electronic devices such as copying machines and laser printers. It can be suitably used for cylindrical bodies such as OPC (organic photoreceptor) drums and developer carriers used in photographic image forming apparatuses. In addition, when manufacturing cylindrical bodies such as OPC (organic photoconductor) drums and developer carriers, or when collecting them for recycling, some impact is given to the cylindrical bodies, causing irregularities, particularly dents, on the surface. Therefore, the cylindrical body inspection method and inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment can be suitably used as a quality inspection after these operations.

  With the cylindrical body inspection method and inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the efficiency of inspection of irregularities on the surface of the cylindrical body, which has conventionally relied on visual inspection. In particular, the inspection can be performed more efficiently by scanning the surface of the cylindrical body in a spiral shape in the axial direction and continuously measuring the circumferential runout. In addition, more efficient inspection can be performed by setting measurement conditions based on the size of the unevenness to be detected.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example is given and this invention is demonstrated in detail more concretely, this invention is not limited to a following example.

<Measurement of dent amount>
(Dented product 1)
Developer carrier with a dent on the surface (material: made of aluminum, surface roughened by blasting, then Ni plated, sleeve length 322 mm, diameter 18 mm) The amount of dents was measured using a measuring instrument (SURFCOM 1400D-3DF type, manufactured by Tokyo Seimitsu Co., Ltd.). The measurement conditions are as follows.

[Measurement condition]
Measurement length: 10.0mm
Cut-off wavelength: 0.8mm
Measurement magnification: 1000 times Measurement speed: 0.30 mm / sec
Cut-off type: 2RC (phase non-compensation)
Tilt correction: least-squares straight line correction

  The result of measuring the cross-sectional curve is shown in FIG. As described above, as a method of calculating the dent amount, as shown in FIG. 2, the highest position and the lowest position of the roughness curve are considered as the dent outer portion and the dent portion, respectively, and a horizontal line is drawn substantially at the center position of these roughness curves, The interval was taken as a dent amount. In FIG. 2, the amount of depression was calculated as 15 μm. The size of the dent (major axis) was about 5 mm.

(Dents 2-5)
The dent amount on the surface of the developer carrier was measured for the dent items 2 to 5 in the same manner as the dent item 1. The results of measuring the cross-sectional curve are shown in FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, respectively. The dents were 10 μm, 17 μm, 28 μm, and 31 μm, respectively. Moreover, the size (major axis) of the dents was 5.5 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm, and 7 mm, respectively.

<Measurement of circumferential runout>
(Example 1)
For the indented product 1, the circumferential runout of the portion with the indented portion was measured. The circumferential run-out is a laser run-out measuring device (manufactured by Mitutoyo Corporation, Laser Scan Micrometer LSM-3000H), and the following measurement conditions are used to determine the amount of radial displacement on the circumference of the cylinder, The maximum value was taken as the amount of circumferential runout. The results are shown in Table 1.

(Examples 2 to 5)
In the same manner as the indented product 1, the circumferential runout of the portion having the indented portion was measured for the indented products 2 to 5. The results are shown in Table 1.

(Examples 6 to 8)
In the same manner as the indented product 1, the circumferential runout was measured for the normal products 1 to 3 of the developer bearing member having no indentation. The results are shown in Table 1.

  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the dent amount and the circumferential runout. The amount of dent on the horizontal axis is obtained by measuring the cross-section curve using the aforementioned stylus type surface roughness measuring instrument and calculating the amount of dent from the graph of FIG. The circumferential runout on the vertical axis is measured using a laser runout measuring device. It can be seen that there is a good correlation between the dent amount on the surface of the developer carrying member measured in this way and the circumferential runout.

(Comparative Example 1)
With respect to the indented product 1, the surface of the developer carrying member was visually observed under a fluorescent lamp, but the indentation could not be confirmed.

(Comparative Examples 2 to 5)
In the same manner as in Comparative Example 1, the surface of the developer-carrying member was visually observed under the fluorescent lamp with respect to the indented items 2 to 5, but the indentation could not be confirmed.

  Thus, although it was difficult to visually confirm the dent of the dent amount of about 30 μm or less, in Examples 1 to 5, the dent could be detected. However, when a developer carrier having such dents is attached to a developing device, a halftone image is formed on plain paper by an image forming apparatus (product name: DOCUMENT CENTER400DC), and the image quality is confirmed, the dent amount is 10 μm. Image quality defects occurred from the degree. In other words, this means that there is a dent that cannot be visually confirmed but in which an image quality defect occurs, that is, a dent with a dent amount of about 10 μm to 30 μm in this embodiment. From FIG. 3, a circumferential runout value of about 40 μm is measured at a 10 μm dent where such image quality defect occurs.

Example 9
Next, Table 2 shows the results of measuring the circumferential runout of 30 developer carriers without dents in the same manner as in Example 1 at three measurement points for each developer carrier.

  As shown in Table 2, the circumferential runout of the developer carrying member without dents was 21 μm at the maximum and 2 μm at the minimum. In other words, if the acceptance / rejection criterion of the circumferential runout measurement value is 30 μm, for example, in the surface unevenness inspection of the developer bearing member, it is possible to select the dent and the portion without the dent.

(Example 10)
With respect to the indented product 6, circumferential runout measurement was performed at 2 mm intervals over the entire width of the region 322 mm for image formation. Circumferential run-out was measured under the following measurement conditions using a laser run-out measuring device (manufactured by Mitutoyo Corporation, Laser Scan Micrometer LSM-3000H). In the measurement, when the circumferential runout measurement on a certain circumference was completed, the measurement probe for emitting a laser was moved in the axial direction of the developer carrier, and the next measurement point was measured. The results are shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, for the indented product 6, a recess with a circumferential runout of 108 μm was detected at a position of 122 mm in the axial direction.

(Comparative Example 6)
Regarding the indented product 6, the surface of the developer carrying member was visually observed under a fluorescent lamp, but the indentation could not be confirmed.

  In this way, by measuring the circumferential runout at predetermined intervals over the axial direction of the cylindrical body, it is possible to easily detect the unevenness on the surface of the cylindrical body even when it is not known in advance where the unevenness is. did it.

It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional curve which measured the dent part of the developer carrier surface in embodiment and Example of this invention using the stylus type surface roughness measuring device. It is a figure explaining the method of calculating the dent amount of the dent part of the developer carrier surface in the embodiment and Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the amount of dents of the dent part of the developer carrier surface in the embodiment and Example of this invention, and circumferential runout. It is a side view which shows the outline of an example of the laser shake measuring device in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the outline of an example of the laser shake measuring device in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the measurement interval of the circumference runout in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the outline of an example of the cylindrical body inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the outline of an example of the cylindrical body inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the measurement interval of spiral measurement in the cylindrical body inspection method which concerns on embodiment of this invention. In Example 10 of this invention, about a developer carrier, it is a figure which shows the result of having performed the measurement of circumferential run at 2 mm intervals over the full width.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser shake measuring device, 3 Cylindrical body inspection apparatus, 10 Cylindrical body (developer carrier), 12 Base, 14 Chuck, 16 Rotation mechanism, 18 Measuring probe, 20 Laser oscillation means, 22 Control part, 24 Reference | standard board, 26 Laser receptor, 28 Horizontal movement mechanism.

Claims (6)

A method for inspecting irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body,
The unevenness is detected by measuring a circumferential run that is a maximum value of a radial displacement amount on one circumference with respect to an axis of the cylindrical body over an axial direction of the cylindrical body. Inspection method. The cylindrical body inspection method according to claim 1,
A method for inspecting a cylindrical body, wherein the circumferential runout is measured at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the cylindrical body. The cylindrical body inspection method according to claim 1,
A cylindrical body inspection method, wherein the circumferential runout is continuously measured by scanning the surface of the cylindrical body in a spiral shape in the axial direction. A cylindrical body inspection method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A cylindrical body inspection method, wherein the cylindrical body is a photosensitive drum or a developer carrier used in an image forming apparatus using electrophotography. An apparatus for inspecting irregularities on the surface of a cylindrical body,
Holding means for holding the cylindrical body;
Rotating means for rotating the cylindrical body about an axis;
A measuring unit that detects a circumferential run that is a maximum value of a radial displacement amount on one circumference with respect to the axis of the cylindrical body, and measures the circumferential run;
Moving means for moving the detector in the axial direction of the cylindrical body;
Have
By rotating the cylindrical body around an axis and continuously measuring the circumferential runout along the axial direction of the cylindrical body while moving the detection unit at a constant speed in the axial direction of the cylindrical body. An inspection apparatus for a cylindrical body, wherein the unevenness is detected. The cylindrical body inspection apparatus according to claim 5,
An inspection apparatus for a cylindrical body, wherein the cylindrical body is a photosensitive drum or a developer carrier used in an image forming apparatus using electrophotography.