JP2007030385A - Blade material, its manufacturing method and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for continuously producing a wholly or partially double-layered blade made of a synthetic resin and a multilayered blade of stable quality. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for continuously molding a blade material using a synthetic resin as a molding raw material by a molding drum having a molding groove provided to its outer periphery and internally equipped with a heater, at least two kinds of different liquid synthetic resin raw materials are separately cast to manufacture the blade material wherein a different kinds of materials are combined. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multilayer blade using elastic rubber made of synthetic resin. The present invention relates to a blade used in an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like, a manufacturing method thereof, and a manufacturing apparatus thereof, and more particularly, to a blade made of thermosetting polyurethane.

Conventionally, for toner cleaning in the electrophotographic system, a blade cleaning system made of synthetic resin, which has advantages such as downsizing of the apparatus and cost, is widely used.
The blade has a long life (wear resistance), low torque = low power consumption (low µ), measures against abnormal noise at high temperatures by expanding the operating environment range, measures to reduce cleaning properties at low temperatures, There is a need for measures to reduce the cleaning performance due to settling in the long-term pressure contact state.
In recent years, the number of models using so-called spherical toner, which is a substantially spherical toner, is increasing for reasons such as image quality improvement due to colorization. This spherical toner tends to enter the gap on the wedge of the cleaning edge and pushes the edge upward. It is becoming easier to slip through.
As the speed of the apparatus increases, the requirements for the cleaning blade are becoming more and more complex.

  It is difficult to satisfy all of these requirements with a single, single-layer material for these requirements, and the past cleaning blade is made into a multi-layer structure, and the required characteristics are divided and handled by multiple types of materials. Various methods have been proposed as the preferred method.

A surface coating method has been proposed in which the surface is treated with a coating agent and modified (for example, Patent Document 1: JP 2001-356666 A). This is an example of a blade rubber member obtained by laminating a second layer by applying a liquid raw material to the surface layer of a plate-like polyurethane sheet (first layer) molded by centrifugal molding, followed by heat curing. . This blade material requires two steps of molding and is costly. Productivity is lower than conventional single-layer blades.
As a coating method, there is a method using a dipping method (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-46145). This method requires a long pot life of the coating liquid in order to use the same coating liquid repeatedly. The equipment becomes large-scale in order to keep the physical properties (viscosity, solid content ratio, etc.) of the coating liquid constant. Masking is necessary, and it is necessary to attach and detach the masking before and after applying and drying the coating solution, and automation is difficult. In the spray coating method, the coating solution is used up and is superior to dipping in terms of pot life, but the coating efficiency is poor and masking is also required. In addition, the film tends to vary depending on the environment such as temperature and humidity. It is difficult to make the width and thickness of the coating layer uniform by a coating method using a dispenser. In particular, when used for a cleaning blade, it tends to cause a problem in edge accuracy.

Centrifugal molding method, split mold method, laminating method There is a method of molding into two layers by centrifugal molding (for example, see Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-184462 [0074]). Also, there is a method (for example, Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-165682) in which rubber members made separately are bonded together.
Uniform bonding is difficult with adhesive processing. In the case of centrifugal molding, the thickness accuracy of each layer is low due to rotational blur of the centrifugal molding machine, variation in the amount of material to be injected, instability of flatness due to the influence of the curing reaction rate, and the like. (Normally, thickness variation in centrifugal molding is 0.1 mm in the range.)
Centrifugal molding results in a blade with two layers on the entire surface. However, if the variation is large, the variation in the high hardness portion causes the pressure contact force to vary in the two-layer design of the high hardness portion and the low hardness portion.
In the case of partially forming two layers, when only the edge portion is made of a separate material, for example, when a molding method is used with a split mold, the first material is cast and cured, and then the second material is moved later. When casting, it is difficult to uniformly inject the first material, liquid flow traces and unevenness are likely to occur, and the blade has high and low pressure contact force, which is not stable. Moreover, casting takes two steps and costs are increased. There is a problem with productivity.

Method of impregnating and modifying rubber with another material Masking unnecessary parts of the polyurethane blade, impregnating the polyurethane blade with polycyanoacrylate, isocyanate, water, silicon, etc., and then reacting and curing by heating etc., near the blade edge A method for improving the performance as a cleaning blade by changing the quality of the material (increasing hardness, changing viscoelastic characteristics, changing friction coefficient, etc.) has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 2: JP-A-2004-46145). No., Patent Document 5: JP-A No. 2004-233818).
In this manufacturing method, a process is added and it costs. There is a problem with productivity. In terms of quality, when the liquid material is impregnated, the amount permeated in the depth direction of the rubber changes. For this reason, even if masking is performed, unnecessary portions are processed, the processed density is inclined in the depth direction, or unevenness occurs. Subtle adjustment is difficult. Further, since the swelling phenomenon of rubber is used, the treated part is swollen, the balance with the untreated part is lost, the edge is wavy, warped, and deformed easily.
For example, the present applicant also describes a multilayer coating on a surface coating exemplified in Patent Document 6: JP-A-9-127847, Patent Document 7: JP-A 2002-214990, and Patent Document 8: JP-A-11-212414. We have researched and proposed methods, centrifugal molding methods, impregnation methods, etc.

JP 2001-356666 A JP 2004-46145 A JP 2004-184462 A JP-A-60-165682 JP 2004-233818 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-127846 JP 2002-214990 A JP-A-11-212414

  The present invention provides a method for continuously producing a blade made of synthetic resin partially having two layers, and provides a multilayer blade having stable quality.

The present invention uses a molding drum having a molding groove formed on the outer periphery to cast a resin liquid having a different composition into a molding groove while rotating the molding drum, thereby simultaneously forming a multilayer resin while being cured and molded. Tape-like blade material is manufactured continuously.
The main solution of the present invention is as follows.

(1) In a method of continuously forming a blade material using a synthetic resin as a raw material for molding using a molding drum provided with a molding groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside, two or more different liquid synthetic resin raw materials are separated A method of manufacturing a blade material that combines different materials by casting.
(2) A different liquid synthetic resin is produced by casting one liquid synthetic resin into a part of the bottom surface of the molding groove and then casting the other synthetic resin. Method.
(3) The method for producing a blade according to (2), wherein the shape of one of the resins is formed into an arcuate cross-sectional shape.
(4) The method for producing a blade material according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the blade material is a cleaning blade.
(5) The method for producing a blade material according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the blade material is a developing blade.
(6) The method for producing a blade material according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the blade material is a charging blade.
(7) A molding drum having a molding groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside, the molding drum covering the synthetic resin supply means and the molding groove of the molding drum along the outer periphery of the molding drum Endless belts that rotate in synchronization with the rotation of the belt are arranged sequentially, and the synthetic resin material supplied to the molding grooves is formed into a band-shaped blade material having a predetermined width and thickness by a molding space formed by the endless belt and the molding grooves. A method for continuously manufacturing a blade material, comprising a plurality of synthetic resin supply means.
(8) The method for producing a blade material according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the synthetic resin is a non-solvent type thermosetting polyurethane resin.
(9) Molding synthetic resin, which is a raw material for molding, in an apparatus that continuously molds blade materials using synthetic resin as a raw material for molding, using a rotating molding drum equipped with a molding groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside. A blade material manufacturing apparatus having a plurality of casting machines for discharging into grooves.
(10) A forming drum having a concave cross section formed on the entire outer peripheral surface and provided with an internal heating device;
A resin material casting machine that adjusts and discharges synthetic resin materials;
A metal endless belt that abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the molding drum and rotates following the molding drum;
An apparatus for manufacturing a blade material, comprising an apparatus for bringing a molded product for a blade close to one end of the take-out part;
A plurality of the resin raw material casting machines are provided along the rotation direction of the molding drum, and the casting ports of the resin raw material casting machines are arranged in parallel and / or front and rear with respect to the rotation direction of the molding drum, and downstream thereof. An apparatus for producing a blade material, wherein a metal endless belt and a carry-out device are arranged in this order.
(11) The plurality of installed resin raw material casting machines are a casting machine that supplies a part of the molding groove width and a casting machine that supplies the resin raw material to the entire width of the molding groove (9) Or the manufacturing apparatus of the blade raw material of (10) description.
(12) The blade material manufacturing apparatus according to any one of (9) to (11), wherein the forming groove is provided with a change in a groove depth in a cross-sectional direction.
(13) An electrophotographic blade material obtained by integrally molding and curing liquid synthetic resin materials having different compositions.
(14) The electrophotographic blade material according to (13), wherein a non-solvent thermosetting polyurethane is used as the synthetic resin.
(15) The electrophotographic blade material according to (13) or (14), wherein the arc-shaped partial layer and the other base layer are made of different synthetic resin materials in the longitudinal direction.
(16) The electrophotographic blade material according to (15), wherein the partial layer having an arc shape in the longitudinal direction is a nip portion.
(17) The electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (16), which has an irregular cross section.
(18) The electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (17), which is a cleaning blade material.
(19) The electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (17), which is a developing blade material.
(20) The electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (17), which is a charging blade material.
(21) A cleaning blade obtained by joining the electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (18) to a metal holder.
(22) A developing blade in which the electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (17) and (19) is joined to a metal holder.
(23) A charging blade obtained by joining the electrophotographic blade material according to any one of (13) to (17) and (20) to a metal holder.

1. It is possible to continuously manufacture multilayered synthetic resin blade materials.
2. A constant amount of liquid is injected into a forming roll rotating at a constant speed, and a continuous shape is maintained while maintaining a continuous steady state, so that a constant shape is created. In particular, the cross section between the layers can be arcuate.
3. The smoothness of the contact part of the blade is built on the mold surface, so that stable edge accuracy can be obtained.
4). Multi-layering has a high degree of freedom such as an edge portion or an intermediate portion by controlling the casting position.
5. Synthetic resins having different compositions are supplied continuously in front and rear, or supplied in parallel, so that curing molding proceeds simultaneously, and the interface between the two is firmly integrated.
6). When the bottom surface of the forming groove is roughened, a multilayer blade having a rough surface can be produced.
7). It is possible to provide a synthetic resin tape in which a part of the properties is continuously different in the longitudinal direction.
8). A toner cleaning blade, a developing blade, or a charging blade for an electrophotographic apparatus can be provided.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a synthetic resin tape-like material in which synthetic resins having different compositions are multilayered, a synthetic resin tape-like material, in particular, a toner cleaning blade used for electrophotography or a developing device. Suitable for materials of blades and charging blades.
Two or more different liquid synthetic resin raw materials are separated using means for continuously forming a tape-shaped material using synthetic resin as a raw material for molding, using a molding drum having a molding groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside. The basic method is to manufacture a tape-shaped synthetic resin material combining different materials by casting.
The manufacturing equipment has a plurality of casting machines for casting synthetic resins of different compositions in the molding grooves of the molding drum equipped with a molding groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside, and is continuously connected to each casting machine. Then, the synthetic resin is supplied, and the synthetic resin is cured during the rotation of the molding drum, and the cured resin tape is pulled out from the middle to produce a multilayered resin tape having a cross-sectional shape of the molding groove. .
The obtained resin tape is suitable for a blade material for electrophotography.
A thermosetting synthetic resin is suitable for the synthetic resin used. For example, a thermosetting polyurethane resin is used. A resin having a composition corresponding to physical properties such as hardness and elasticity is used. Additives can also be added.
The following description will focus on the blade material for electrophotography.
1. Outline of electrophotographic blade A toner cleaning blade or a developing blade for charging toner is usually used, and a tape made of an elastic rubber body made of synthetic resin is placed along one side edge of a metal support member. As the synthetic resin, thermosetting polyurethane is mainly used.
1 and 2 show examples of the cleaning blade. FIG. 8 shows a variation example in a cross-sectional view.
In the cleaning blade, the elastic rubber member 3 is joined to one side portion of a support member 4 made of metal or the like. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the cleaning blade, and FIG. 2 shows a cross section. In the illustrated example, an example of a multilayer elastic rubber member in which the edge portion 1 that rubs and scrapes off the toner is different from the base member 2 is shown.
The layer configuration that can be realized by the present invention is not particularly limited, and an example of the layer configuration is shown in FIG. 8 as a cross-sectional display. 8A to 8E show an example in which a partial layer 1 (hereinafter also referred to as “nip portion”) is provided on a part of the base layer 2. (A)-(c) is an example which the partial layer 1 can provide in the arbitrary positions from the edge part of a front-end | tip to the side center. Although the drawing shows up to the center of the side, naturally it can be arbitrarily set up to the right end side. (D) and (e) show examples in which the size of the partial layer 2 can be changed. By adjusting the casting amount, the ratio between the partial layer and the base layer can be changed.
(F) has shown the example which provided the partial layer 2 in a part of cleaning blade which is a deformed cross section. (G) shows an example in which the bottom surface of the partial layer 2 is formed in a slightly convex shape. (F) (g) can be formed by changing the shape of the forming groove. Further, by roughening the bottom surface, it is possible to manufacture a blade having the rough surface transferred thereto.
In addition to the example shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of partial layers may be provided.

2. Manufacturing method In the present invention, a synthetic resin tape having a width equal to or slightly larger than the width of a tape made of a synthetic resin elastic rubber used in these blades is continuously produced, and the long tape The basic manufacturing method is a technique of cutting the material into a fixed size, joining it to one side edge of a metal support and finishing it to a cleaning blade or the like.
The basic manufacturing means used for this manufacturing method is to continuously cast a liquid material such as polyurethane into the forming groove from the vicinity of the apex while rotating a forming drum having a forming groove on the outer periphery around the horizontal axis, and forming drum A continuous molding such as polyurethane which is polymerized during the rotation operation and becomes tape-like at a position before the casting position is peeled off, taken out from the molding groove, and supplied to the subsequent process. Since tape-shaped moldings are continuously produced, in the subsequent process, a series of operations such as cutting to a single standard, joining to a metal support, and so on can be carried out continuously. Is expensive.
As this basic manufacturing means, there are Japanese Patent No. 2645980 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-7676 proposed by the present applicant.

The present invention includes a plurality of casting machines. In this method, a synthetic resin blade material having two or more synthetic resin layers is manufactured by continuously supplying synthetic resins having different compositions from the respective casting machines to the molding grooves of the molding drum. When the casting port is arranged at the front and back of the molding groove of the continuously rotating molding drum, it hardens with the synthetic resin cast later on the synthetic resin cast earlier. Layer is formed. The position, width, and thickness of the resin layer can be controlled by the position, supply amount, composition and type of the synthetic resin, and the rotational speed of the molding drum. The synthetic resin to be cast later will supply an amount necessary for filling the whole, and forms a base layer.
When the preceding synthetic resin is cast in the corner portion of the molding groove, a blade material in which a different material is provided at the edge portion can be manufactured. When casting in the middle part, a different material can be provided in the middle of the blade material. When casting thinly over the entire groove bottom, it is possible to manufacture a blade material having two layers or multiple layers over the entire surface.

When the depth of the cross section of the forming groove is changed, it is possible to manufacture a blade material having a partially changed thickness. When the synthetic resin preceding the deep part is supplied, a different material layer can be formed in that part.
When the bottom surface of the forming groove is roughened, a blade material having a surface reflecting the rough surface can be produced.
Blade materials with a different material layer on the edge are suitable for cleaning blades that contact the edge, and those with a different material layer in the middle are used as a nip to rub the toner. Suitable for developing blade material and charged blade material.
In addition, by combining different materials, the physical property value of the elastic rubber can be controlled, so that it is possible to improve the temperature change suitability such as the high temperature range and the low temperature range, or wear resistance.
Moreover, the continuous molding method of the synthetic resin tape using this molding drum can use each manufacturing method and component already proposed by the present applicant.

The synthetic resin cast in the molding groove receives heat from the molding drum in an area covered with a rotating metal endless belt provided in a state where the molding groove is covered on a part of the outer periphery of the molding drum. Thus, at a position where the curing polymerization proceeds and the endless belt is separated from the forming drum, it is formed in a tape shape having a cross-sectional shape of the groove. It is the same as the conventional proposal that a continuous synthetic resin tape can be obtained by pulling out this tape from the molding groove.
In this method, the resin is removed from the molding groove within several tens of seconds (for example, about 30 to 60 seconds) after resin casting, is not pressurized for molding, and polymerization curing is performed in the lower half of the rotating molding drum. Is the molding condition such that the angle at the center and the peeling angle from the molding groove can be reduced, so that peeling from the bottom of the molding groove is relatively easy, and it is not always necessary to use a release agent. . When the toner is made finer or colored, the release agent may have an adverse effect. In one embodiment of the present invention, such a problem does not occur when the release agent is not used.
In addition, the fact that it is not necessary to use a mold release agent enables other surface treatment agents to act, and can be used positively for surface modification.

Further, in order to control the polymerization, an external heating means for heating toward the groove of the molding drum can be provided between the synthetic resin supply position and the endless belt. In the vicinity of the tape take-out portion, it is possible to provide a cooling means for blowing cold air or the like from the outside in order to facilitate peeling.
As for the size of the resin tape obtained in the present invention, both the width and the thickness can sufficiently satisfy the range of a developing blade and a cleaning blade that are conventionally used. For example, a thickness of about 0.40 to 3.00 mm can be sufficiently manufactured.

An example of forming a partial layer in an arc shape is schematically shown.
This example is an example based on actually measured values obtained on a trial basis, and is not limited thereto. FIG. 10 shows an elastic rubber member provided with a base layer 2 and an arc-shaped partial layer 1. The arc is schematically treated as an arc as follows. It can be assumed that the arc-shaped partial layer 1 is a partial arc having an imaginary radius R, twice the chord X is wide, and the height is the height Y of the arc.
Table 1 shows three measured examples. In these examples, the width X was 2.564 to 4.524 mm, and the height Y was 0.69 to 0.97 mm. The relationship between the width X and the height Y is graphed and shown in FIG. The relationship between the assumed radius R and the height Y is graphed and shown in FIG. It can be seen that a height of about 1 mm can be sufficiently realized with a width of 5 mm.
An example of a variation of the partial layer that can be manufactured based on this technique is shown in FIG. (A) is a basic form. (B) can make the partial layer 1 an edge part by cutting the left end side of the example of (a). (C) is an example in which the height Y is increased by increasing the surface tension or increasing the polymerization rate. (D) is the example which cut the left end side like (b) of (c). (E) is an example in which a partial layer having the same height as the thickness of the elastic rubber layer is formed, and the left end side is cut to form an edge portion. Note that (e) can also be realized by grinding the upper surface side of (b) and (d). ((F) shows an example in which a large height is realized with a small width by devising synthetic resin blending and trimming of the left end and top surface. Note that the height Y is made larger than the width X. As a method of raising, the partial layer can be prevented from spreading by slightly deepening the portion corresponding to the width X on the bottom surface of the forming groove.

3 Resin Examples The synthetic resin used in the present invention is mainly a thermosetting polyurethane resin. In particular, a non-solvent two-component thermosetting polyurethane is suitable. The time from casting to taking out is within one rotation of the forming drum, and it is necessary to be polymerized and solidified to such an extent that it can be taken out in about 30 to 60 seconds. Select and design isocyanates and polyols, crosslinking agents, and catalysts that satisfy these conditions. In the post-removal step, secondary cross-linking and aging steps can be performed.

Examples of the additive component include a lubricant, a conductivity imparting agent, and abrasive particles.
Examples of the lubricant include silicon compounds such as polytetrafluoroethylene, boron nitride, graphite, molybdenum disulfide, and polydimethylsiloxane.
The conductivity imparting substance is not particularly limited, but carbon black such as ketjen black, acetylene black, furnace black, etc., electron conductive substances such as graphite, metal filler, metal oxide whisker, metal soap, An ion conductive substance such as perchlorate can be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds, and is applied to a developing blade or a charging blade.
The abrasive particles are applied to a blade used for the purpose of refreshing the surface of a mating material that comes into contact with the photosensitive member or the like.

For example, the polyurethane resin previously proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3004586, Japanese Patent No. 2942183, Japanese Patent No. 2645980, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-214989, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-214990, and the like is exemplified. The following polyurethanes can be used.
A bifunctional polyol having a number average molecular weight of 1000 to 3000, a trifunctional polyol having a number average molecular weight of 92 to 980, and a high molecular weight polyol component mixed in at least one of a liquid material of a urethane prepolymer and a liquid material of a crosslinking agent, Is mixed with a polyol having an average functional group number of 2.02 to 2.20 and a diisocyanate compound having an isocyanate group content of 5 to 20% to prepare a prepolymer, and the prepolymer is mixed with an OH group / NCO. A polyurethane liquid (uncured polyurethane composition) is prepared by mixing the cross-linking agent in an amount such that the equivalent ratio of groups is 0.90 to 1.05 at 40 to 70 ° C.

The number average molecular weight of the high molecular weight polyol component is preferably in the range of 1000 to 3000. By casting this composition, the reaction is carried out smoothly, and the properties of the resulting blade are also preferred. That is, the number average molecular weight of the bifunctional polyol used is in the range of 1000 to 3000, and if it is less than 1000, the finished urethane rubber becomes too hard to obtain the necessary physical properties (flexibility). If it exceeds 1, the viscosity at the time of molding is high, and it becomes difficult to perform casting.
In addition, when the average number of functional groups (f) is f = 1, it becomes monool, so that it does not polymerize, and when f ≧ 5, it becomes too polyfunctional, so that the viscosity of the polymer increases and the physical properties decrease.

  The following can be used as a component for producing the polyurethane elastomer according to the present invention. High molecular weight polyols include polyoxyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol and polyoxytetramethylene glycol, or polyether-type polyols and adipic acid of alkylene oxide adducts such as bisphenol A, glycerin ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. , Obtained by polymerization reaction of dibasic acids such as phthalic anhydride, isophthalic acid, maleic acid and fumaric acid with glycols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,4 butanediol, 1,6 hexanediol and trimethylolpropane Examples thereof include polyester polyols, polycaprolactone diols, and polycarbonate diols.

  Examples of the diisocyanate compound include tolylene diisocyanate, 4,4 diphenylmethane diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, 1,4 cyclohexane diisocyanate, and the like. Examples of the chain extender include low molecular weight diols such as ethylene glycol, 1,4 butanediol, diethylene glycol, 1,6 hexanediol, and neopentyl glycol, and diamines such as ethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, and isophoronediamine. Desirably, a low molecular weight diol is used. Furthermore, you may add a trimethylol propane, a triethanolamine, glycerol, and these ethylene oxide and a propylene oxide adduct as a polyfunctional component as needed.

  In the production of the above polyurethane, the equivalent ratio of OH group / NCO group is preferably 0.8 to 1.05, preferably 0.90 to 1.05 in view of the physical properties of the polyurethane to be produced. Moreover, reaction accelerators, such as a general amine compound and an organic tin type compound, are used as needed. For example, the reaction accelerator disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2942183, paragraph 0022 is an imidazole derivative or the like represented by the following general chemical formula, and specific examples thereof include a reaction temperature highly dependent on the chemical structure. Examples thereof include 2-methylimidazole and 1,2 dimethylimidazole.

In the formula, R represents hydrogen, a methyl group, or an ethyl group.

  Such a reaction accelerator is used in an amount of 0.01 to 0.5 parts by weight, preferably 0.05 to 0.3 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the prepolymer as an effective amount. Desirably, those having a temperature sensitivity or a slow-acting property can be preferably used because the usable time of the mixed resin can be increased and the demolding time is shortened. Specific examples thereof include 1,8-diazabicyclo (5,4,0) undecene-7-organic acid salt called block amine, 1,5-diazabicyclo (4,3,0) nonene-5-organic acid. Examples thereof include a salt or a mixture thereof. In this invention, a commercially available thing can be used for the two-component mixing casting machine used for mixing and stirring the liquid material of the urethane prepolymer which is the raw material component of the thermosetting polyurethane and the liquid material of the crosslinking agent. In consideration of the quantitative accuracy, the metering pump preferably uses three or more plunger types, but a gear pump type can also be used. In particular, in the production apparatus of the present invention, it is necessary to use a reaction accelerator in order to obtain a predetermined hardness at the time of demolding, and therefore, a stirring and mixing chamber is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-11389. A small-capacity type that prevents stagnation in the mixing chamber and suppresses heat generation due to reaction heat is preferable.

  Although the two-component thermosetting polyurethane resin is illustrated in detail, the blade resin that can be used in the present invention is not limited to this. Either a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin can be used. Since a heated rotating molding drum is used, the non-solvent type containing no solvent is preferable because the thermosetting reaction is started immediately after casting.

  By blending these synthetic resin components, a resin composition to be a partial layer and a resin composition to be a base layer are prepared and used. In general, a synthetic resin serving as a partial layer used in an edge portion or a nip portion is designed to have high hardness and high resilience, and a resin used in the base layer is designed to have lower hardness and low resilience than the edge layer.

4). Apparatus The basic configuration of the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3004586, Japanese Patent No. 2942183, Japanese Patent No. 2645980, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-7676, etc. previously proposed by the present applicant. It conforms to the configuration of the continuous production equipment for blade materials.
The manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of synthetic resin casting machines corresponding to the layer structure of the blade material in these manufacturing apparatuses. The order, position, and amount of casting are specified so that a layer structure targeting these plurality of casting machines is formed.

  A molding groove with a concave cross-section is formed over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface, and a molding drum that is horizontally supported and rotates around the central axis. A urethane prepolymer liquid material and a cross-linking agent, which is a raw material component of thermosetting polyurethane, is disposed near the top of the molding drum (position between about 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock) facing the molding groove. A mixing and casting machine for mixing and agitating and discharging a liquid material to which other additive components are added according to the necessity, an external heating device disposed above the molding drum as necessary, and an outer peripheral surface of the molding drum An endless belt made of metal that contacts and rotates following the forming drum, an external cooling device just before the peeling portion, if necessary, and a strip-shaped blade material molded portion extraction portion in the forming groove of the forming drum Close to one end Conveyor (containable cooling) in which the conveying unit for the belt-shaped blade material molded product is horizontally arranged, a cooling device for cooling the conveyor as necessary, and a cutting device for cutting the formed belt-shaped blade material at predetermined lengths And.

  According to the above manufacturing apparatus, a polyurethane liquid material is discharged from a casting port of a plurality of mixed casting machines to a molding groove portion of a heated and rotating molding drum, and is heated by the molding drum as necessary. The polyurethane liquid material is heated by an external heating device above the molding drum, and further molded in the cavity for a predetermined time while filling the space (cavity) composed of the molding groove and the metal endless belt. Polymerization reaction is carried out by heating with a drum, and a continuous polyurethane elastomer (molded product such as a blade material) with a predetermined width and thickness is continuously formed. Then, if necessary, a cooling device is provided immediately before the peeling portion, and the outside is cooled through the metal endless belt to be continuously peeled from the forming groove portion of the forming drum, and is formed into a strip-shaped multilayer that is taken out. The resin molded product is carried out while being radiated and cooled on a flat conveyor belt. On the other hand, the conveyor belt absorbs the heat of the molded product and rises in temperature, but is cooled by a cooling device as necessary. Thus, the belt-shaped synthetic resin molded product is cooled to near normal temperature and cured and stabilized. In this state, the product is cut into lengths of products such as blades one after another by a cutting device, and a thermosetting polyurethane blade elastic rubber member having a predetermined width, thickness and length is completed.

  Since the cutting operation is intermittently transported once it is stopped, in order to adjust the transport timing, the feed roll that is driven intermittently and the belt-like development blade material are slackened before the cutting device. An apparatus configuration is provided in which a slack portion having a margin is formed, and the cutting operation and the feed synchronous control are performed. By using ceramic for the blade, it can slide smoothly with polyurethane, has a sharp cut surface and can be cut continuously for a long time.

4-1 Apparatus Each component The manufacturing apparatus of the multilayer blade raw material of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS.
FIG. 3 is an overall view schematically showing an embodiment of a blade material manufacturing apparatus, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a molding apparatus part, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a molding drum for explaining a synthetic resin curing behavior, and FIG. 6 is a synthetic resin curing process. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of forming a forming drum and a belt-like blade material.
As shown in FIG. 3, the blade material manufacturing apparatus, which is an elastic rubber member, includes a molding drum 13, a first casting machine 11 for supplying resin, a second casting machine, and a steel mirror surface. An endless belt 14, a cooling conveyor 20, a cutting device 24, a carry-out conveyor 25, and the like are included.

The casting port of the first casting machine 11 for casting the liquid material of the polyurethane resin is arranged at a position in the clockwise direction at about 10 o'clock from the top of the molding drum 13, and the casting port of the second casting machine 12 is It is arranged near the top of the molding drum and faces each molding groove. Subsequently, an endless belt 14 that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the forming drum and covers about half of the drum is disposed. Arranged.
An external heating device may be added between the second casting machine 12 and the endless belt 14 or between the first casting machine and the second casting machine. Further, a cooling device for cooling the endless belt 14 can be added at a position immediately before peeling. Two casting machines are illustrated, but can be increased according to the layer configuration, and the position of the supply port can be moved between about 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock.
The forming drum 13 is made of, for example, hard aluminum or stainless steel, and includes a rotation drive mechanism, a forming groove, and a built-in heating device.

  The forming groove 30 is formed by circularly forming a forming groove having a concave cross section engraved with a predetermined dimension corresponding to the width and thickness of the blade material along the outer periphery of the forming drum. This forming groove 30 corresponds to a mold. Further, the molding drum has a built-in heating means for supplying heat for curing the resin such as polyurethane to the molding groove 30. The heating means is an electric heater, heating oil, steam or the like, and is not particularly limited. The heating temperature is appropriately determined depending on the resin used, the rotation speed, and the like. For example, it is set to 110 ° C to 150 ° C. The rotational drive is rotatably supported by a horizontal rotary shaft 15 and is rotated at a predetermined speed by a drive device (not shown). The rotation direction is set clockwise in the drawing.

The casting machine that supplies the resin mixes and adjusts the components of the resin to be used, and continuously supplies a certain amount to the molding groove 30 of the molding drum 13 from the casting port.
When the external heating device is provided, the resin cast into the molding groove 30 from the casting port is irradiated with heat to perform the function of heating. This heat promotes curing of the resin surface side. Curing of the cast resin is accelerated by the heat of the molding drum and heat from the outside, the viscosity is increased, and the flow of the endless belt into the contact start end can be controlled. Examples of the external heating means include far-infrared rays, laser light, ultraviolet rays, and induction heating that are non-contact types. The adjustment of the heating temperature is changed depending on the resin used, the manufacturing speed, the thickness of the blade, and the like. The heating conditions can also be adjusted by adjusting the output and adjusting the distance to the groove. In relation to the resin to be used, when a resin to which an ultraviolet curing agent is added is used, the effect can be promoted by irradiating with ultraviolet rays. By performing external heating, the thickness of the blade can be increased, or the molding speed can be increased.

The metal endless belt 14 has a structure in which a space is formed so as to cover the molding groove 30 and the polyurethane liquid material is filled. A cavity for molding is formed by the endless belt 14 and the molding groove 30, the outer shape of the blade material is adjusted, and the resin curing reaction proceeds. The section where the endless belt 14 covers the molding groove 30 of the molding drum 13 needs to be designed to such an extent that the resin can be hardened and peeled off from the molding groove 30 as a strip-shaped tape 101. For example, 180 ° corresponding to a section from 2 o'clock to 8 o'clock on the watch is an easy-to-operate area.
Immediately before peeling, a cooling device for cooling by blowing cold air or the like from the outside of the endless belt is installed as necessary.

The cooling conveyor 20 conveys the blade material 101 formed on the resin-made strip-shaped tape peeled from the 13 forming grooves of the forming drum to the subsequent process while cooling. Note that this cooling conveyor may not require cooling depending on the blade material. If cooling is not necessary, this conveyor can be a transfer device to a subsequent process or can be omitted.
The cutting device 24 is a device that cuts a continuous belt-shaped material into the length of a blade. By this cutting, the blade material is formed into the final shape of the elastic rubber. After that, it is carried out to the adhering process to the metal blade support. In order to synchronize with the action of the cutting device, a feed roll 23 for controlling the feeding is disposed immediately before the cutting device 24, and a space for slacking the tape is provided in front of the feeding roll 23, so that the cooling conveyor 20 and Timing adjustment of the cutting device 24 is measured.
In addition, a heating process can be added as needed as a post process for the secondary bridge | crosslinking which performs a secondary bridge | crosslinking and finally implement | achieves hardening reaction.
Next, a configuration example of each part of the apparatus will be further described.

  An endless belt 14 for forming a molding space (die) made of a metal strip such as a mirror-finished stainless steel is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of almost half of the forming drum 13. The belt 14 is wound around a preheating roll 16 for preheating the belt 14, a guide roll 17 for adjusting belt running, a tension roll 18 for applying tension to the endless belt, and a cooling roll 19 for cooling the endless belt 14. Follow and rotate. Further, the endless belt 14 is heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, around 145 ° C., which is about the same as that of the molding drum) by a heater, and this temperature prevents a temperature drop of the polyurethane liquid material.

  Adjacent to the cooling roll 19, a cooling conveyor 20 having a cooling device 21 at the bottom is provided horizontally to cool and convey the strip blade material.

A slack detector 22, a feed roll 23, a cutting device 24, and a conveyor 25 are arranged in this order adjacent to the downstream side of the cooling conveyor 20 roll. The slack detector 22 has a pair of upper and lower sensors attached to a pair of vertically erected columns, and guides a belt-shaped blade molding material therebetween to detect the slack state.
The feed roller 23 is slackened in conjunction with the cutting device 24, receives a signal from the detector 22 and feeds the belt-like blade material to the cutting device 24 at a predetermined speed, and cuts the belt-like blade material into a predetermined length. The conveyor 25 conveys the cut blade forming material to the next process (crosslinking process, metal fitting bonding process, inspection process, etc.).

The blade elastic rubber manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the manufacturing process of the electrophotographic apparatus blade by this manufacturing apparatus will be described.
A basic manufacturing outline using a forming drum is shown in FIG. Using a molding drum 13 that rotates around a horizontal shaft 15 provided with a molding groove 30 on the outer periphery, a thermosetting synthetic resin liquid is formed from the casting port of the casting machine from the vicinity of the top of the molding drum. Continuously supplying a fixed amount that just fills the groove cross-section, and then covering the open surface of the groove with an endless belt (not shown), the curing polymerization of the synthetic resin proceeds in the process of rotation, so that it can be taken out as a tape In the cured part, the strip-shaped blade material is peeled off from the forming groove and taken out to obtain the strip-shaped material continuously.

  When creating an elastic rubber member having a two-layer structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, two casting machines are provided and arranged at the front and rear, and each casting machine measures a prepolymer and a crosslinking agent. The liquid polyurethane material is sequentially discharged from the casting port into a molding groove of the molding drum 13 whose temperature is adjusted to a predetermined temperature, for example, 145 ° C. while being uniformly stirred and mixed. At this time, the forming drum 13 is rotating clockwise at a predetermined speed (for example, 80 seconds / revolution), and the necessary amount corresponding to the peripheral speed of the drum 13 and the engraving depth and width of the forming groove 30 is continuous. The resin previously poured is filled as a layer in which the resin cast later is covered.

The molding process of the partial two-layer structure will be schematically described with reference to FIGS.
The polyurethane liquid material forming the partial layer is supplied from the casting port 11a of the first casting machine 11 disposed at the point A shown in the clock position at about 10:30 from above the forming drum 13 in the example of FIG. The liquid polyurethane material forming the base layer is supplied from the casting port 12a of the second casting machine 12 located almost at the point C just above the molding drum, and gradually hardens while receiving heat from the molding drum. It reaches the contact start position F of the endless belt, and is then heated and held up to point G while being covered by the endless belt. As a result, the urethane polymerization reaction of the liquid is almost completed, and the blade material partially formed in two layers having the necessary width and thickness is continuously formed into a strip shape.
The position of the casting port is adjusted by the layer configuration, the type of resin, the thickness of the blade, the manufacturing speed, and the like. In this example, it is adjusted and installed at a clock position from about 9 o'clock to 2 o'clock in the counter-rotating direction of the forming drum. Preferably, it is installed slightly from the left from around 10 o'clock and around 0 o'clock.

A molding process from the point A of the first casting to the point F covered by the endless belt will be schematically described with reference to FIG. In the illustrated example, an example is shown in which the partial layer 1 is formed in a streak shape in the middle of the surface of the elastic rubber member. Further, the cured state of the cast synthetic resin is indicated by hatching, and the uncured portion is marked in white. However, this progress of curing is an image, and curing progresses from the bottom of the heated molding groove and the part in contact with the wall surface, and the endless belt is also heated. It is an image that is promoted.
First, at point A, a resin liquid corresponding to the partial layer 1 is cast from the first casting port into the molding groove. In this example, a certain amount that is streaked is continuously supplied. Resin in contact with the bottom surface of the molding groove heated to a temperature suitable for polymerization begins to be polymerized, and at the point B, the groove bottom surface side is starting to cure. At the point C, the resin for forming the base layer 2 is continuously supplied from the second casting port so as to fill the remaining cross section of the molding groove. At point D, the curing progresses from the bottom part of the forming groove or the part in contact with the high temperature part of the wall surface. At point E just before the endless belt comes into contact, the surface side of the molding groove opening part remains in a fluid state and flows into the downstream side, which indicates a slightly raised state. At the point F, it comes into contact with the mirror surface of the endless belt, comes into contact with the belt heated to a high temperature by the residual heat, and the surface side also proceeds to cure. In addition, although the diagonal line has entered in the whole in F point, it does not mean that the polymerization hardening was complete | finished completely.
Polymerization further proceeds from the point F to the point G at the take-out position, and the tape can be drawn out.
In addition, when an external heating device is arranged near the point B or the point D, the polymerization on the surface side can be promoted. Moreover, if a cooling device such as a cold air blower is disposed immediately before point G, the peelability from the forming groove can be improved. Moreover, when supplying a mold release agent, a surface treating agent, etc. continuously, it can arrange | position between G point and A point.

  The belt-like blade molding continuously formed in this way is peeled off from the forming groove 30 of the forming drum 13 at the point G and guided onto the endless conveyor belt which is the cooling conveyor 20.

  In addition, although the shaping | molding groove | channel cross section shown by FIG. 6 has shown the example whose bottom face is flat, when producing the elastic rubber member of the irregular cross-section which changed the wall thickness not only in this way, a shaping | molding cross-sectional shape Also provide a step. In addition, when the partial layer is provided in a slightly convex shape, the portion to be a layer can be deepened in that portion. Further, when the groove bottom surface is roughened, a blade material having a rough surface is obtained, which is suitable for use as a charging blade for a minute or spherical toner.

  Since the endless conveyor belt is cooled by the cooling device 21, the belt-like blade material 101 is conveyed while being cooled to near normal temperature (around 20 ° C.) on the endless conveyor belt. As described above, depending on the type of blade, it is not necessary to actively cool the cooling conveyor. In this case, the belt-like blade material naturally dissipates heat while being conveyed on the conveyor 20.

Then, the cooled strip blade material is guided from the cooling conveyor 20 to the slack detector 22, the feed roll 23, the cutting device 24 and the conveyor 25. The slack detector 22 guides the strip blade material to the feed roll 23 through between the sensors attached to the support column. The feed roll 23 sandwiches the belt-shaped blade material and travels faster than the cooling conveyor 20, so when the belt-shaped blade material contacts the upper sensor 26, it stops, and when it contacts the lower sensor 27, it starts feeding. The production speed of the belt-shaped blade material and the processing speed of the cutting device 24 are adjusted (do not apply excessive tension to the belt-shaped blade material). The cutting device 24 guides the blade material between the upper blade and the lower blade and cuts the blade material into a predetermined length (length as a product). Thereby, the manufacturing process of the elastic rubber member for flat blades cut to a predetermined length is completed.
The cutting device is not limited to the upper and lower blades, and can be configured by a configuration in which a blade is provided on the table and the upper side. The tape placed on the table from the feed roll can be pressed to act on the blade and cut into a predetermined length.

The elastic rubber member for blades manufactured in this way is bonded to one side edge of the metal support member 4 with an adhesive as shown in FIG. A cleaning blade is completed.
In the case of the present invention, unlike the conventional centrifugal molding method, cleaning blades and the like are continuously manufactured one by one. Therefore, if the subsequent processes such as the process of bonding to the holder are processed one by one. Since it is good, automation of these processes becomes easy. In the method using a mold, it is inevitable that burrs are generated, and it is necessary to cut the ridge line on the tip side of the blade by cutting, and waste is generated due to cutting of burrs, and many resin materials are wasted. There are problems that occur.

[Example of cleaning blade]
The cleaning blade shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a cleaning blade in which an elastic rubber member composed of a nip layer portion and another base layer portion is manufactured with the following composition. The size is 320 mm × 15 mm × 2 mm. This was bonded to a support member made of a plated steel plate to produce a cleaning blade for an electrophotographic apparatus. In Examples 1 to 6, a base layer and a nip layer were formed using the following resins A to F. Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are examples in which no partial layer is provided.
For use as a cleaning blade, as shown in FIG. 9, the partial layer corresponding to the nip is cut so that the length in the width direction is the center of 2X, that is, X, and an edge is formed. The apparatus cleaning blade was mounted on a commercially available plain paper copier (using an organic photoreceptor, speed 10 sheets / min), and a printing test was performed. The print test is terminated at the normal temperature (23 ° C.) after every 100 sheets, and when the streaks due to the toner slip are found on the printed matter, the print test is performed. Recorded. If no streak occurred even after printing 30000 sheets, the test was terminated.
Further, in cleaning blade examples 1 to 3, it was confirmed whether or not an abnormal noise (squeal) was generated when the inside of the apparatus reached 50 to 55 ° C. The results are shown in Table 2. Further, the cleaning blade examples 4 to 6 were each subjected to a printing test at a low temperature (10 ° C.). The results are shown in Table 2.

<Nip layer (edge)>
・ Polyurethane A
100 parts by weight of ethylene adipate prepolymer (NCO content 8.0%),
Cross-linking agent (1,4-butanediol: trimethylolpropane: ethylene glycol = 80: 10: 10) 7.6 parts by weight, polyurethane B
100 parts by weight of ethylene adipate prepolymer (NCO content 8.0%),
Cross-linking agent (1,4-butanediol: trimethylolpropane: ethylene glycol = 85: 5: 10) 7.7 parts by weight, polyurethane C
100 parts by weight of ethylene adipate prepolymer (NCO content 16.5%),
47 parts by weight of polyethylene adipate,
Crosslinking agent (1,4-butanediol: trimethylolpropane = 80: 20) 14.4 parts by weight, polyurethane D
100 parts by weight of ethylene adipate prepolymer (NCO content 16.5%),
63 parts by weight of polyethylene adipate,
Cross-linking agent (1,4-butanediol: trimethylolpropane = 70: 30) 13.7 parts by weight

<Base layer>
・ Polyurethane E
100 parts by weight of ethylene adipate prepolymer (NCO content 16.5%),
92 parts by weight of polyethylene adipate
Cross-linking agent (1,4-butanediol: trimethylolpropane = 60: 40) 11.6 parts by weight, polyurethane F
100 parts by weight of caprolactam prepolymer (NCO content 13.0%),
58 parts by weight of polycaprolactam,
Cross-linking agent (1,4-butanediol: trimethylolpropane = 65: 35) 9.5 parts by weight

Examples 1 to 3 The cleaning blade is a cleaning blade for an electrophotographic apparatus that can satisfactorily scrape both small toner and spherical toner, and can suppress abnormal noise (squeal) even at high temperatures. there were. Inventive Examples 4 to 6 The cleaning blade was a cleaning blade capable of scraping off both the small particle diameter toner and the spherical toner satisfactorily at both low temperature and room temperature.

Example of cleaning blade Sectional view of the cleaning blade shown in FIG. Overview of manufacturing equipment Diagram showing molding equipment Molding drum schematic diagram for explaining synthetic resin curing behavior Curing process illustration Molding drum schematic perspective view Diagram showing variations of multilayer elastic rubber members Drawing of cleaning blade used in Examples 1-6 Elastic rubber member with arc-shaped partial layer Graph showing the relationship between the width and height of the arc-shaped partial layer A graph showing the relationship between the assumed radius of the arc and the height of the arc Variation of arc-shaped partial layer

Explanation of symbols

1 Partial Layer 2 Base Layer 3 Elastic Rubber Member 4 Support Member 10 External Heating Device 11 First Casting Machine 12 Second Casting Machine 13 Molding Drum 14 Endless Belt 15 Rotating Shaft 16 Preheating Roll 17 Guide Roll 18 Tension Roll 19 Cooling Roll DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Cooling conveyor 21 Cooling device 22 Slack detector 23 Feed roll 24 Cutting device 25 Conveyor 26 Upper sensor 27 Lower sensor 30 Forming groove 101 Strip blade material 102 Fixed size blade member

Claims (23)

  Two or more different liquid synthetic resin raw materials are separately cast in a method of continuously forming a blade material using synthetic resin as a raw material for molding using a forming drum having a forming groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside. A method of manufacturing a blade material in which different materials are combined.   2. The method for producing a blade material according to claim 1, wherein different liquid synthetic resins are cast on one part of the bottom surface of the molding groove, and then the other synthetic resin is cast.   3. The method of manufacturing a blade according to claim 2, wherein the shape of one of the resins is formed into an arcuate cross-sectional shape.   The method for manufacturing a blade material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the blade material is a cleaning blade.   4. A method for producing a blade material according to claim 1, wherein the blade material is a developing blade.   The method for producing a blade material according to claim 1, wherein the blade material is a charging blade.   A molding drum having a molding groove on its outer periphery and a heating device inside. The synthetic drum feeding means and the molding drum rotate while covering the molding groove of the molding drum along the outer periphery of the molding drum. Endless belts that rotate in synchronization are arranged in sequence, and a belt-shaped blade material having a predetermined width and thickness is formed by a molding space formed by the endless belt and the molding grooves from the synthetic resin material supplied to the molding grooves. A method for continuously manufacturing a blade material characterized by comprising a plurality of synthetic resin supply means.   The method for producing a blade material according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the synthetic resin is a non-solvent thermosetting polyurethane resin.   Using a rotating molding drum with a molding groove on the outer periphery and a heating device inside, a device that continuously molds the blade material using synthetic resin as a molding material discharges the synthetic resin, which is the molding material, into the molding groove. A blade material manufacturing apparatus comprising a plurality of casting machines. A forming drum having a concave cross section formed on the entire outer peripheral surface and provided with an internal heating device;
A resin material casting machine that adjusts and discharges synthetic resin materials;
A metal endless belt that abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the molding drum and rotates following the molding drum;
An apparatus for manufacturing a blade material, comprising an apparatus for bringing a molded product for a blade close to one end of the take-out part;
A plurality of the resin raw material casting machines are provided along the rotation direction of the molding drum, and the casting ports of the resin raw material casting machines are arranged in parallel and / or front and rear with respect to the rotation direction of the molding drum, and downstream thereof. An apparatus for producing a blade material, wherein a metal endless belt and a carry-out device are arranged in this order.   11. The resin raw material casting machine installed in plural is a casting machine for supplying a part of a molding groove width and a casting machine for supplying a resin raw material to the entire molding groove width. Blade material manufacturing equipment.   The apparatus for manufacturing a blade material according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the forming groove is provided with a change in a groove depth in a cross-sectional direction.   An electrophotographic blade material obtained by integrally molding, curing and laminating liquid synthetic resin materials having different compositions.   The electrophotographic blade material according to claim 13, wherein a non-solvent type thermosetting polyurethane is used as the synthetic resin.   The blade material for electrophotography according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the arc-shaped partial layer in the longitudinal direction and the other base layer are made of different synthetic resin materials.   16. The electrophotographic blade material according to claim 15, wherein the longitudinally arcuate partial layer is a nip portion.   The blade material for electrophotography according to any one of claims 13 to 16, which has an irregular cross section.   18. The electrophotographic blade material according to claim 13, wherein the electrophotographic blade material is a cleaning blade material.   18. The electrophotographic blade material according to claim 13, wherein the electrophotographic blade material is a developing blade material.   The electrophotographic blade material according to claim 13, wherein the electrophotographic blade material is a charging blade material.   A cleaning blade obtained by joining the electrophotographic blade material according to any one of claims 13 to 18 to a metal holder.   A developing blade obtained by joining the electrophotographic blade material according to claim 13 to a metal holder.   21. A charging blade obtained by bonding the electrophotographic blade material according to claim 13 to a metal holder.