JP2009066925A - Manufacturing method for seamless belt for electronic photograph, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method for a seamless belt for electronic photograph which does not have transfer unevenness, has a high running stability, does not produce images with natural rolling peculiarity, and has a high durability. <P>SOLUTION: This manufacturing method for the seamless belt for electronic photograph includes eight processes (1) the molding process of a preform, (2) the heating process, (3) the draw-blowing process, (4) the inserting process, (5) the pressurizing process, (6) the heating process, (7) the cooling process and (8) the seamless belt forming process. In this case, in the molding process (1), a thermoplastic resin mixture is injected, and the preform is molded. In the heating process (2), the preform is heated to Tg or higher of the thermoplastic resin in the thermoplastic resin mixture. In the draw-blowing process (3), the preform is blown into a cylindrical die (c) at lower than Tg of the thermoplastic resin, and a bottle-like molded article (d) is molded. In the inserting process (4), the bottle-like molded article (d) which has been blow-molded is inserted in a cylindrical die (e) at lower than Tg of the thermoplastic resin. In the pressurizing process (5), the inserted bottle-like molded article (d) is pressurized to the atmospheric pressure or higher. In the heating process (6), the cylindrical die (e) is heated to Tg or higher of the thermoplastic resin. In the cooling process (7), the cylindrical die (e) is cooled to Tg or lower of the thermoplastic resin. In the seamless belt forming process (8), the bottle-like molded article (d) is taken out from the cylindrical die (e), is cut, and is formed into the seamless belt shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a seamless belt for electrophotography used for an intermediate transfer belt, a transfer belt, a photoreceptor belt or the like in electrophotography, and an image forming apparatus including the seamless belt for electrophotography obtained by the production method. .

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt as an electrophotographic seamless belt. In the case of this intermediate transfer method, the transfer of the toner image from the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the transfer material is mainly performed by the primary transfer charging member, the intermediate transfer member, and the secondary transfer charging member.

  In the following description, examples of four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are given. However, the “color” in the present invention is not limited to four colors (so-called full color), and is multicolor. That is, two or more colors.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter, simply referred to as “photosensitive member” in some cases), which is driven to rotate about a shaft 2 in the direction of an arrow at a predetermined peripheral speed.

  The surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 to be rotationally driven is uniformly charged to a predetermined positive or negative potential by the primary charging member 3, and then output from exposure means (not shown) such as slit exposure or laser beam scanning exposure. The exposure light (image exposure light) 4 is received. The exposure light at this time is exposure light corresponding to the first color component image (for example, yellow component image) of the target color image. In this way, the first color component electrostatic latent image (yellow component electrostatic latent image) corresponding to the first color component image of the target color image is sequentially formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1.

  The intermediate transfer body (intermediate transfer belt) 11 stretched by the stretching roller 12 and the secondary transfer counter roller 13 has substantially the same peripheral speed as the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1 in the direction of the arrow (for example, the circumference of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1). It is driven to rotate at 97 to 103% of the speed).

  The first color component electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1 is the first color contained in the developer carried on the first color developer carrying body (yellow developer carrying body) 5Y. The first toner image (yellow toner image) is developed by developing with toner (yellow toner). Next, the first color toner image formed and supported on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 is transferred to the photosensitive member 1 and the primary transfer charging member 6p by the primary transfer bias from the primary transfer charging member (primary transfer charging roller) 6p. Primary transfer is sequentially performed on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 passing between the two.

  The surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 after the transfer of the first color toner image is cleaned by the cleaning member 7 to remove the developer (toner) remaining after the primary transfer, and then used for image formation of the next color. The

  The second color toner image (magenta toner image), the third color toner image (cyan toner image), and the fourth color toner image (black toner image) are also formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1 in the same manner as the first color toner image. And sequentially transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11. Thus, a synthetic toner image corresponding to the target color image is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer member 11. During the primary transfer of the first to fourth colors, the secondary transfer charging member (secondary transfer charging roller) 6s and the charge applying member (charge applying roller) 7r are separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11.

  The composite toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 is secondarily transferred onto a transfer material (paper or the like) P sequentially. At this time, the transfer material is transferred from the transfer material supply means (not shown) to the secondary transfer counter roller 13 / intermediate transfer body 11 and the secondary transfer charging member 6s by the secondary transfer bias from the secondary transfer charging member 6s. The sheet is taken out and fed to the (contact portion) in synchronization with the rotation of the intermediate transfer body 11.

  The transfer material P that has received the transfer of the synthetic toner image is separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 and introduced into the fixing means 8 to undergo image fixing to print out as a color image formed product (print, copy) outside the apparatus. Be out.

  The charge imparting member 7r is brought into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 after the synthetic toner image is transferred. The charge imparting member 7r imparts a charge having a reverse polarity to that of the secondary transfer remaining developer (toner) on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 to that of the primary transfer. The developer (toner) remaining after the secondary transfer to which a charge having a polarity opposite to that at the time of the primary transfer is applied is in contact with the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 and the intermediate transfer member 11 and in the vicinity thereof. It is electrostatically transferred to the surface. In this way, the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 after the transfer of the synthetic toner image is cleaned by receiving the developer (toner) remaining after transfer. The secondary transfer residual developer (toner) transferred to the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 is removed by the cleaning member 7 together with the primary transfer residual developer (toner) of the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1. Transfer of the remaining secondary transfer developer (toner) from the intermediate transfer member 11 to the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 can be performed simultaneously with the primary transfer, so that the throughput is not reduced.

  Further, the surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1 after the developer (toner) remaining after transfer by the cleaning member 7 may be removed by pre-exposure light from pre-exposure means. However, as shown in FIG. 1, pre-exposure is not necessarily required when contact charging using a roller-shaped primary charging member (primary charging roller) or the like is used for charging the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a schematic configuration of an inline type color electrophotographic apparatus. In the case of this inline method, the transfer of the toner image from the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the transfer material is mainly performed by the transfer material conveying member and the transfer charging member.

  In FIG. 2, reference numerals 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K denote cylindrical electrophotographic photosensitive members (first to fourth color electrophotographic photosensitive members), and the directions of the arrows are about axes 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K, respectively. Are rotated at a predetermined peripheral speed.

  The surface of the first color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y that is rotationally driven is uniformly charged to a predetermined positive or negative potential by the primary charging member 3Y for the first color, and then subjected to slit exposure, laser beam scanning exposure, or the like. Exposure light (image exposure light) 4Y output from exposure means (not shown) is received. The exposure light 4Y is exposure light corresponding to a first color component image (for example, a yellow component image) of a target color image. Thus, a first color component electrostatic latent image (yellow component electrostatic latent image) corresponding to the first color component image of the target color image is sequentially formed on the surface of the first color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1Y.

  The transfer material conveyance member (transfer material conveyance belt) 14 stretched by the tension roller 12 has substantially the same peripheral speed as the first to fourth color electrophotographic photoreceptors 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K in the direction of the arrow. Driven by rotation. The rotation speed is, for example, 97 to 103% with respect to the peripheral speeds of the first to fourth color electrophotographic photoreceptors 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K. Further, the transfer material (paper or the like) P fed from the transfer material supply means (not shown) is electrostatically carried (adsorbed) on the transfer material transport member 14 and is used for the first to fourth color electrophotography. The photoreceptors 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are sequentially transported between the transfer material transport members (contact portions). The first color component electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the first color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y is developed with the first color toner contained in the developer carried on the first color developer carrying member 5Y. Thus, a first color toner image (yellow toner image) is obtained.

  Next, the first color toner image carried on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y for the first color is sequentially transferred to the transfer material P. At this time, the transfer material is carried by the transfer material conveying member 14 passing between the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y and the transfer charging member 6Y by the transfer bias from the transfer charging member (transfer charging roller) 6Y for the first color.

  The surface of the first color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1Y after the transfer of the first color toner image is subjected to removal of the transfer residual developer (toner) by the first color cleaning member (first color cleaning blade) 7Y. After the surface is cleaned, it is repeatedly used for forming a first color toner image.

  The first color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y, the first color primary charging member 3Y, the first color exposure means, the first color developer carrying member 5Y, and the first color transfer charging member 6Y are grouped into the first color. This is called an image forming unit.

Second color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1M, second color primary charging member 3M, second color exposure means, second color developer carrying member 5M, second color transfer charging member 6M Image forming section,
Third color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1C, third color primary charging member 3C, third color exposure means, third color developer carrier 5C, third color transfer charging member 6C Image forming section,
4th color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1K, 4th color primary charging member 3K, 4th color exposure means, 4th color developer carrying member 5K, 4th color transfer charging member 6K The operation of the image forming unit is the same as that of the first color image forming unit, and the second color toner image (on the transfer material P, which is carried by the transfer material transporting member 14 and onto which the first color toner image has been transferred). A magenta toner image), a third color toner image (cyan toner image), and a fourth color toner image (black toner image) are sequentially transferred. In this way, a composite toner image corresponding to the target color image is formed on the transfer material P carried on the transfer material conveying member 14.

  The transfer material P on which the synthetic toner image is formed is separated from the surface of the transfer material conveying member 14, introduced into the fixing means 8, and subjected to image fixing to be printed out of the apparatus as a color image formed product (print, copy). Be out.

  Also, the first to fourth color electrophotographic photoreceptors 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K after the developer (toner) remaining after transfer is removed by the first to fourth color cleaning members 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K. This surface may be subjected to a static elimination treatment with pre-exposure light from pre-exposure means. However, as shown in FIG. 2, pre-exposure is not necessarily required when contact charging using a roller-shaped primary charging member (primary charging roller) or the like is used for charging the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  In FIG. 2, 15 is an adsorption roller for adsorbing the transfer material to the transfer material conveyance member, and 16 is a separation charger for separating the transfer material from the transfer material conveyance member.

  FIG. 3 shows another example of a schematic configuration of an intermediate transfer type color electrophotographic apparatus. In the case of this intermediate transfer method, the transfer of the toner image from the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the transfer material is mainly performed by the primary transfer charging member, the intermediate transfer member, and the secondary transfer charging member.

  In FIG. 3, reference numerals 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K denote cylindrical electrophotographic photoreceptors (first to fourth color electrophotographic photoreceptors), which are in the directions of the arrows about axes 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K, respectively. Are rotated at a predetermined peripheral speed.

  The surface of the first color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y that is rotationally driven is uniformly charged to a predetermined positive or negative potential by the primary charging member 3Y for the first color, and then subjected to slit exposure, laser beam scanning exposure, or the like. Exposure light (image exposure light) 4Y output from exposure means (not shown) is received. The exposure light 4Y is exposure light corresponding to a first color component image (for example, a yellow component image) of a target color image. Thus, a first color component electrostatic latent image (yellow component electrostatic latent image) corresponding to the first color component image of the target color image is sequentially formed on the surface of the first color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1Y.

  The intermediate transfer body (intermediate transfer belt) 11 stretched by the stretching roller 12 and the secondary transfer counter roller 13 has substantially the same peripheral speed as the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1 in the direction of the arrow (for example, the circumference of the electrophotographic photoreceptor 1). It is driven to rotate at 97 to 103% of the speed).

  The first color component electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the first color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y is developed with the first color toner contained in the developer carried on the first color developer carrying member 5Y. Thus, a first color toner image (yellow toner image) is obtained. Next, the first color toner image formed and supported on the surface of the first color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1Y passes between the first color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1Y and the first color primary transfer charging member 6pY. The primary transfer is sequentially performed on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11. At this time, the first color toner image is subjected to the primary transfer bias from the first color primary transfer charging member (first color primary transfer charging roller) 6pY.

  The surface of the first color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1Y after the transfer of the first color toner image is subjected to removal of the transfer residual developer (toner) by the first color cleaning member (first color cleaning blade) 7Y. After the surface is cleaned, it is repeatedly used for forming a first color toner image.

  The first color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1Y, the first color primary charging member 3Y, the first color exposure means, the first color developer carrying member 5Y, and the first color primary transfer charging member 6pY are grouped together as a first. This is called a color image forming unit.

Second color having second color electrophotographic photoreceptor 1M, second color primary charging member 3M, second color exposure means, second color developer carrying member 5M, and second color primary transfer charging member 6pM. Image forming unit,
Third color having a third color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1C, a third color primary charging member 3C, a third color exposure means, a third color developer carrying member 5C, and a third color primary transfer charging member 6pC. Image forming unit,
Fourth color electrophotographic photosensitive member 1K, fourth color primary charging member 3K, fourth color exposure means, fourth color developer carrying member 5K, and fourth color primary transfer charging member 6pK. The operation of the image forming unit is the same as that of the first color image forming unit, and the second color toner image (magenta toner image) and the third color toner image (cyan toner image) are formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11. ), The fourth color toner image (black toner image) is sequentially transferred to the primary. Thus, a synthetic toner image corresponding to the target color image is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer member 11.

  The composite toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 is secondarily transferred onto a transfer material (paper or the like) P sequentially. At this time, the transfer material is transferred from the transfer material supply means (not shown) to the secondary transfer counter roller 13 / intermediate transfer body 11 and the secondary transfer charging member 6s by the secondary transfer bias from the secondary transfer charging member 6s. The sheet is taken out and fed to the (contact portion) in synchronization with the rotation of the intermediate transfer body 11.

  The transfer material P that has received the transfer of the synthetic toner image is separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 and introduced into the fixing means 8 to undergo image fixing to print out as a color image formed product (print, copy) outside the apparatus. Be out.

  The surface of the intermediate transfer body 11 after the transfer of the synthetic toner image is cleaned by removing the developer (toner) remaining after the secondary transfer by the intermediate transfer body cleaning member 7 ′, and then the next synthetic toner image. Used for forming.

  Also, the first to fourth color electrophotographic photoreceptors 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K after the developer (toner) remaining after transfer is removed by the first to fourth color cleaning members 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K. This surface may be subjected to a static elimination treatment with pre-exposure light from pre-exposure means. However, as shown in FIG. 3, when contact charging using a roller-shaped primary charging member (primary charging roller) or the like is employed for charging the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, pre-exposure is not necessarily required.

  As described above, color copiers, color printers and the like using a seamless belt for electrophotography are already on the market.

  As a method for producing such an electrophotographic seamless belt, there are tube extrusion, inflation, centrifugal molding method, blow molding method, injection molding method and the like. Among these, blow molding, especially the stretch blow molding method, molecular orientation occurs by stretching, which is a characteristic of blow molding, and the strength of the belt is improved, and repeatability is high, so products of uniform quality are stable. There is a feature that can be done. Furthermore, since it can be molded at a high speed, it has a feature that the cost can be reduced, and is preferable as a belt molding method (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  An example of the stretch blow molding method will be described with reference to FIGS. In the stretch blow molding, first, a test tube type molded product called a preform is formed. In this case, it is preferable to use injection molding in which the shape is easily stabilized. A preform 104 is formed by injection molding as shown in FIG.

Next, stretch blow is performed as shown in FIG. First, the preform 104 is placed in a heating furnace 107 and heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature (hereinafter also referred to as “Tg”) of a thermoplastic resin mainly serving as a preform. After heating, the preform 104 is placed in the blow mold 108, and the preform is stretched in the longitudinal direction by the stretching rod 109. This stretching is called primary stretching. At this time, it is preferable to introduce a gas so that the preform does not come into contact with the stretching rod, and this is called a primary pressure. After performing this primary stretching, the gas 110 is caused to flow from the preform opening 106 and swell laterally. This is called secondary stretching. Moreover, the gas inflow at this time is called secondary pressure. By performing these primary stretching and secondary stretching, the blow molded product 112 is obtained. Since the blow molded product 112 is stretched in both the vertical and horizontal directions, it becomes a high strength molded product. Next, when the upper and lower sides of the blow molded product are cut, a seamless belt shape is obtained, and a high-strength electrophotographic belt is obtained.
JP-A-5-61230 JP 2001-18284 A

  However, the color electrophotographic apparatus using these electrophotographic seamless belts such as the intermediate transfer belt and the transfer belt is a device that takes full advantage of the above-mentioned advantages, truly meets expectations and satisfies the user. It is not working. When providing an image forming apparatus using these electrophotographic seamless belts, there are still problems to be overcome.

  When a belt is produced by stretch blow molding, the outer dimension immediately after molding is a mold, so that a highly accurate one is produced. However, crystallization may proceed even at room temperature as time passes. As the crystallization progresses, there are places where the degree of crystallization progresses differently and the belt may be distorted. Further, the crystallization of the belt may progress due to the temperature rise inside the electrophotographic apparatus. When the crystallization progresses, there are places where the degree of the crystallization progresses is different and the belt may be distorted. When this distortion occurs, the image transfer unevenness and the running property may become unstable. If the belt is distorted at the time of transfer, it is considered that the distance from the photosensitive member becomes uneven and the transfer efficiency changes, resulting in image unevenness. In addition, when the belt is distorted, a difference in speed occurs within the same belt. As a result, the running property becomes unstable, image defects such as misregistration may occur, and the belt may come off. In some cases, image output itself may be impossible.

  Further, the belt is placed in an image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 to form an image, but other than image printing is stopped, and the belt is held in the shape shown in FIG. 1 with a load applied. In this state, when a long time elapses, the shape of the stretched roller is maintained (so-called curl). If this curl occurs, streak-like image defects (white streaks, black streaks) may occur in the curl part. However, in the case of a high-strength belt such as the present invention, it is hard if wrinkles occur. In some cases, it was difficult to return the cocoons.

  Due to such problems, an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic seamless belt such as an intermediate transfer belt or a transfer belt by a stretch blow molding method has not yet been obtained.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a method for producing a seamless electrophotographic belt having no transfer unevenness, high running stability, and high durability without a curl image.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus comprising an electrophotographic seamless belt obtained by the above production method.

In accordance with the present invention,
(1) molding the preform (b) by injection molding the thermoplastic resin mixture (a);
(2) A step of heating the preform (b) to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin that is the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a).
(3) The heated preform is moved at a predetermined speed in a seamless cylindrical mold (c) having a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin as the main thermoplastic resin mixture (a). Stretching using a stretching rod to stretch, and blowing by injecting a gas to form a bottle-shaped molded product (d),
(4) The bottle-shaped molded product (d) blow-molded by the steps (1) to (3) is set to a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin as the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a). Inserting into the seamless cylindrical mold (e),
(5) a step of injecting gas into the inserted bottle-shaped molded product (d) and pressurizing it to atmospheric pressure or higher,
(6) A step of heating the seamless cylindrical mold (e) to a temperature equal to or higher than a glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin as a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a).
(7) a step of cooling the seamless cylindrical mold (e) to a temperature equal to or lower than a glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin as a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a);
(8) A step of taking out the bottle-shaped molded product (d) from the seamless cylindrical mold (e), cutting the top and bottom of the bottle-shaped molded product (d), and forming a seamless belt shape,
A process for producing a seamless belt for electrophotography characterized by comprising:

  According to the present invention, there is also provided an image forming apparatus comprising the electrophotographic seamless belt obtained by the method for producing the electrophotographic seamless belt.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a highly durable electrophotographic seamless belt having no transfer unevenness. Therefore, an image forming apparatus provided with the electrophotographic seamless belt obtained by the production method has high image quality. , Can simplify the maintenance.

In the present invention,
(1) molding the preform (b) by injection molding the thermoplastic resin mixture (a);
(2) A step of heating the preform (b) to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin that is the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a).
(3) The heated preform is moved at a predetermined speed in a seamless cylindrical mold (c) having a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin as the main thermoplastic resin mixture (a). Stretching using a stretching rod to stretch, and blowing by injecting a gas to form a bottle-shaped molded product (d),
(4) The bottle-shaped molded product (d) blow-molded by the steps (1) to (3) is set to a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin as the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a). Inserting into the seamless cylindrical mold (e),
(5) a step of injecting gas into the inserted bottle-shaped molded product (d) and pressurizing it to atmospheric pressure or higher,
(6) A step of heating the seamless cylindrical mold (e) to a temperature equal to or higher than a glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin as a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a).
(7) a step of cooling the seamless cylindrical mold (e) to a temperature equal to or lower than a glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin as a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a);
(8) A step of taking out the bottle-shaped molded product (d) from the seamless cylindrical mold (e), cutting the top and bottom of the bottle-shaped molded product (d), and forming a seamless belt shape,
Have That is, the present invention provides a method for producing a highly durable electrophotographic seamless belt that does not cause uneven transfer and has no curl image by adding a blow process to the stretch blow molding process.

  In the method for producing a seamless belt for electrophotography by the above steps (1) to (8), slight distortion of the bottle-shaped molded product obtained in steps (1) to (3) is caused by steps (4) to (7). ) And the crystallization of the molded product can be promoted.

  Steps (1) to (3) are performed by the manufacturing method described with reference to FIGS. The stretching rod that moves at the predetermined speed in the step (3) varies depending on the conditions, but preferably moves at a speed of 710 mm / sec or more and 750 mm / sec or less.

  Next, process (4) is demonstrated. In step (4), the bottle-shaped molded product 112 is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold 117 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the shoulder mold 119 and the bottom mold 120 are put on and below the cylindrical mold and fixed.

  Step (5) is a step in which a gas flows into the mouth portion 118 of the bottle-shaped molded product 112 and is pressurized with a gas having a pressure equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure.

  In step (6), the seamless cylindrical mold 117 is heated by the heater 121 as shown in FIG. The heating temperature of the bottle-shaped molded product 112 at this time is important. That is, when the bottle interior is heated and pressurized by raising the temperature to Tg or higher of the main thermoplastic resin of the bottle-shaped molded product 112, the bottle itself is at a temperature higher than Tg, so the bottle is soft. And will be in close contact with the mold. When the resin is held in close contact with the inside of the mold in a state of Tg or more, the internal stress is relieved, thereby fixing the shape and taking strain. In addition, if the temperature is Tg or higher and the temperature is in the range of −40 ° C. or higher and + 30 ° C. or lower from the crystallization peak temperature of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a), the resin is also crystallized. proceed.

  However, when the bottle-shaped molded product 112 is taken out at this temperature, the bottle is deformed because it is equal to or higher than Tg.

  Therefore, in this state, the temperature of the bottle can be reduced to Tg or lower by cooling the seamless cylindrical mold 117 to Tg or lower using the cooling device 122 as shown in FIG. The bottle-shaped molded product 112 can be taken out.

  Here, what is important is to reduce the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold (e) as much as possible. Specifically, 2 mm or less is preferable. By reducing the thickness, the heating and cooling time can be shortened. In the case of a thick mold, the heating and cooling time becomes long, and in the case of mass production, it is necessary to increase the mold, and the apparatus cost and the mold cost increase.

  In the steps (1) to (3), the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold (c) is required to be able to withstand the stretch blow pressure, for example, 10 mm or more, but in steps (4) to (7), the necessity is necessary. Absent. This is because the stretch blow has already been completed, and it is not necessary to swell from the preform to the blow bottle state, and therefore it is not necessary to apply high pressure to the bottle. Unless the pressure is high, specifically 0.5 MPa or more, the mold does not deform even if the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold (e) is 2 mm or less.

  The seamless cylindrical mold (e) is preferably obtained by a manufacturing method called an electroforming mold. This is because it is difficult to scrape and produce a thin mold, and a thin mold can be easily produced by an electroforming method similar to plating.

  With these molds and processes, heating and cooling can be completed in an extremely short time, the distortion of the bottle is corrected, and the crystallinity of the bottle itself is improved. This reduces so-called curl.

  Although the relationship between crystallization and curl is not clear, it is thought that when the crystallinity is improved, the amorphous part of the resin is crystallized and the deformation of the molecule is reduced. Therefore, it is considered that an improvement in crystallinity is necessary for curling reduction.

  The seamless cylindrical mold (c) and seamless cylindrical mold (e) used in the present invention must be seamless. In the case of a so-called split mold, the bottle has streaks at the cracked portion, and the belt has streaks when the bottle is cut to form a belt, so that an image defect occurs at the streaked portion.

  The stretch blow mold used in the present invention is a seamless cylindrical mold (horizontal) in which the cylindrical barrel portion is not divided vertically as shown in FIG. 13 so that the parting line does not enter the image transfer portion. A split cylindrical mold) is preferred. In the case of a vertically split mold in which a parting line enters the image transfer portion as shown in FIG. 14, a step is generated on the parting line. For this reason, horizontal stripes appear in the image, or when the belt is rotated, vibration may occur at the step of the parting portion, and banding may occur.

  Further, the inner diameter of the seamless cylindrical mold (c) needs to be equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the seamless cylindrical mold (e). This is because if the bottle formed by the seamless cylindrical mold (c) is larger than the inner diameter of the seamless cylindrical mold (e), it is difficult to enter the mold. If the bottle formed by the seamless cylindrical mold (c) is smaller than the inner diameter of the seamless cylindrical mold (e), the bottle can be inflated in the seamless cylindrical mold (e). This is because distortion can be easily removed.

  The relationship between the diameter of the bottle formed by the seamless cylindrical mold (c) and the inner diameter of the seamless cylindrical mold (e) is preferably 0.5% or more and 5% or less.

  The thermoplastic resin which is the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a) in the present invention is a type of thermoplastic resin having stretch orientation characteristics in the thermoplastic resin mixture. If this thermoplastic resin is the same as the material, it can be a main thermoplastic resin. For example, in the case of polyethylene naphthalate resin (hereinafter referred to as PEN resin), there are many grades. However, a mixture of different molecular weights, for example, a mixture of low molecular weight PEN resin and high molecular weight PEN resin can also be used. The resin has stretch orientation characteristics. Therefore, the main thermoplastic resin can be regarded as a PEN resin, and the Tg of the PEN resin is defined as the Tg of the main thermoplastic resin. A mixture of PEN resin and polyethylene terephthalate resin (hereinafter referred to as PET resin) is not the same resin, but has stretch orientation characteristics. In this case, Tg is obtained by mixing both of them. Is Tg of the thermoplastic resin which is the main component of the present invention. For the copolymerized product of PEN resin and PET resin, the Tg of this copolymerized product is defined as Tg of the present invention.

  Further, the blending ratio of the main thermoplastic resin is preferably 50% by mass or more as a blending amount that can be molded into a bottle, but even if it is less than that, 50% by mass if a molecularly oriented bottle can be molded. It can be less than

  Further, the method of heating the preform (b) to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a) was divided into three or more in the longitudinal direction of the preform 104 as shown in FIG. It is preferable to carry out by the heater 111 at each position. This is because if the heater is divided into three or more parts, the heating temperature of the preform can be positively controlled by controlling the heaters independently. Further, it is more preferably 5 or more. If it is five or more, the film thickness control of the film thickness in the axial direction becomes more precise. Furthermore, since precise control is possible by changing the heater distance to the preform as shown in FIG. 10, it is preferable to adjust the heater distance. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular regarding a heater, A halogen heater, a far-infrared heater, an IH heater, etc. can be used. The preform is preferably preheated while rotating around the preform longitudinal axis in order to prevent uneven heating.

  Further, the heating method used in the present invention may be a method of heating with the heater 123 from the inside of the preform 104 as shown in FIG. A preferred method is a method of heating both the inside and the outside. Many of the electrophotographic belts used in the present invention are black, and since the preform in this case is black, if it is only heated from the outside, it will not be heated up to the inside and distortion will easily occur during blowing. is there.

  The preform surface temperature measurement performed to determine that the temperature is equal to or higher than Tg is not particularly limited as long as it is a thermometer. Among them, a non-contact thermometer is preferable so that it can be molded after measurement, and a radiation thermometer is particularly preferable. However, since the emissivity varies depending on the object, it is necessary to set the emissivity of the object before measurement.

  In addition, since the belt manufactured according to the present invention has a small difference in circumferential length (1 mm or less), so-called distortion hardly occurs.

  The thermoplastic resin composition (a) needs to be sufficiently dried before injection molding. If the drying is insufficient, the molecular weight may be greatly reduced, and the mechanical properties may be greatly reduced. The dry state is preferably 0.01% by mass or less, and more preferably 0.005% by mass or less because the influence of moisture is almost eliminated.

  The thermoplastic resin, which is the main material of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a) used for the electrophotographic seamless belt of the present invention, is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the characteristics of the present invention. Examples thereof include thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene (homo, block and random copolymers), polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polylactic acid and polyamide, and these resins can be used alone or in combination of two or more. . However, it is not limited to the said material. Among these, more preferable thermoplastic resins include polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and MX nylon, which are crystalline resins having a low crystallization rate. By using these resins, a seamless belt for electrophotography with higher film thickness accuracy can be produced.

The resistance value of the electrophotographic seamless belt needs to be adjusted. In the case of an intermediate transfer belt, the volume resistivity range in which a good image is obtained is between 1 × 10 ⁶ Ω · cm and 8 × 10 ¹³ Ω · cm. If the volume resistivity is less than 1 × 10 ⁶ Ω · cm, the resistance is too low to obtain a sufficient transfer electric field, resulting in image omission and roughness. On the other hand, if the volume resistivity is higher than 8 × 10 ¹³ Ω · cm, it is necessary to increase the transfer voltage, which may increase the size and cost of the power supply. In the case of a transfer belt, since it is necessary to adsorb and convey a transfer material such as paper, a preferable resistance range is between 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm and 5 × 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm. However, depending on the transfer process, transfer may be possible even outside this range, so the resistance is not necessarily limited to the above range.

The additive to be mixed in order to adjust the electric resistance value of the electrophotographic seamless belt of the present invention is not particularly limited.
Carbon black,
graphite,
Aluminum-doped zinc oxide,
Tin oxide,
Tin oxide coated titanium oxide,
Tin oxide coated barium sulfate,
Potassium titanate,
Lithium perchlorate,
Aluminum metal powder,
Nickel metal powder,
Ammonium salt,
Tetraalkylammonium salts, alkylsulfonates,
Alkylbenzene sulfonates,
Alkyl sulfates,
Alkylbetaines,
Trialkylbenzyl,
Glycerin fatty acid ester,
Sorbitan fatty acid ester,
Polyoxyethylene alkylamine,
Polyoxyethylene fatty alcohol ester,
Polyetheresteramide,
Examples include polyether amide. Although the said resistance adjustment material may be used independently, according to a use, you may mix several resistance adjustment materials.

  The thickness of the electrophotographic seamless belt is preferably in the range of 40 μm to 300 μm. If it is less than 40 μm, the molding stability is insufficient, thickness unevenness is likely to occur, the durability is insufficient, and the belt may be broken or cracked. On the other hand, when the thickness exceeds 300 μm, the material increases and the cost increases, and the difference in the peripheral speed between the inner surface and the outer surface at the stretched shaft portion of a printer or the like increases, and problems such as image scattering due to contraction of the outer surface are likely to occur. Furthermore, the bending durability is lowered and the rigidity of the belt becomes too high, resulting in an increase in driving torque, which tends to cause problems such as an increase in size and cost of the main body.

  The gas to be blown can be selected from nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon and the like in addition to air.

  Although the above description relates to a single-layer belt, the same applies to a belt composed of a plurality of layers, except that the preform 104 shown in FIG. As the multilayer molding method, it is preferable to form one layer, which is called two-color molding in injection molding, and then mold the second layer or more.

  The volume resistance measuring method according to the present invention will be described below.

<Volume resistance measurement method>
The measuring apparatus uses an ultrahigh resistance meter R8340A (manufactured by Advantest) as an ohmmeter, and an ultrahigh resistance measurement sample box TR42 (manufactured by Advantest) as a sample box. The diameter of the main electrode is 25 mm, the inner diameter of the guard ring electrode is 41 mm, and the outer diameter is 49 mm (according to ASTM D257-78).

  Samples are prepared as follows. First, the electrophotographic seamless belt is cut into a circular shape having a diameter of 56 mm with a punching machine or a sharp blade. An electrode is provided by a Pt—Pd vapor deposition film on the entire surface of one side of the cut circular piece, and a main electrode having a diameter of 25 mm and a guard electrode having an inner diameter of 38 mm and an outer diameter of 50 mm are provided on the other surface by a Pt—Pd vapor deposition film. The Pt—Pd vapor deposition film is obtained by performing a vapor deposition operation for 2 minutes with a mild sputtering E1030 (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) at a current of 15 mA and a distance between the target and the sample of 15 mm. The sample after the vapor deposition operation is used as a measurement sample.

  The measurement atmosphere is 23 ° C./52% RH, and the measurement sample is previously left in the same atmosphere for 12 hours or more. The measurement is performed with a discharge of 10 seconds, a charge of 30 seconds, a major of 30 seconds, and an applied voltage of 100V.

  In order to reduce the production cost, it is preferable that the cleaning mechanism for the intermediate transfer belt uses a primary transfer simultaneous cleaning system in which the transfer residual toner is charged to a reverse polarity and is simultaneously returned to the photosensitive member at the time of primary transfer. Specifically, a voltage is applied to a charging member such as a cleaning roller that is detachably arranged on the intermediate transfer belt to give the secondary transfer residual toner a charge having a polarity opposite to that at the time of primary transfer. It is means for returning to the photoreceptor by a transfer electric field. A blade, a corona charger, or the like may be used as a means for charging the toner to a reverse polarity. The toner returned from the intermediate transfer belt to the photoconductor is removed by a photoconductor cleaning mechanism such as a cleaning blade. According to this method, a cleaning blade or the like is arranged on both the photosensitive member and the intermediate transfer belt, and compared with a method in which a waste toner feeding mechanism and a container are installed, the apparatus is greatly reduced in size and cost.

Example 1
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
-78 parts by mass of PEN resin (Teonex TN-8050SC manufactured by Teijin Chemicals Ltd., Tg 120 ° C.)
-Polyether ester amide resin 22 parts by mass (TPAE-10HP-10 manufactured by Fuji Kasei Kogyo)
The above materials were melted and kneaded at 280 ° C. by a biaxial extruder to uniformly mix each component, extruded as a strand having a diameter of about 2 mm, cut and formed into pellets. This was designated as molding raw material 1. The main thermoplastic resin of this thermoplastic resin mixture is a PEN resin of a thermoplastic resin having stretch orientation characteristics, and the crystallization peak temperature of this resin was 185 ° C. (measured by the manufacturer).

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
Injection molding device: SE180D C360M (φ32mm screw) manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries
Position before filling: 105mm
Injection speed: 1st stage 95mm 10mm / s 2nd stage 34.5mm 130mm / s
VP switching position: 34.5mm
Holding pressure: 20 MPa, 2.0 s
Screw rotation: 100rpm
Back pressure: 5MPa
Cooling time: 25s
Mold temperature: 15 ℃
Under the above conditions, the molding raw material 1 was put into the hopper 102 of the injection molding apparatus shown in FIG. 4 after being dried at 140 ° C. for 8 hours, and the molding temperature was adjusted to 285 ° C. to perform injection molding. In this preform mold, the d portion in FIG. 12 was 200 mm, the a portion was 32 mm, and the thickness of the center portion and the bottom portion was 1.8 mm. The maximum injection pressure when this mold was used was 60 MPa.

  When the thickness at a position of 30 mm was measured in the circumferential direction from the top to the bottom of the preform obtained by this injection molding, the thickness was 1.792 mm to 1.856 mm, and the thickness fluctuation was 64 μm. The preform obtained under these conditions is designated as preform (1).

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The preform (1) was put into the molding apparatus of FIG. 4 and molded under the following conditions.
Mold size: A horizontally divided cylindrical mold having a size of 139.6 mm in FIG. 12 and i of 475 mm was used.

Blowing gas: Compressed air Preform heating position: The external heater is divided into 5 parts in the vertical direction and controlled independently, and the interior is also heated by the internal heater (no division). The surface temperature of the preform shown in FIG. The temperature became.

Temperature at position A, which is 10% of the total length from the top of the preform, 161 ° C
Temperature at position B, 25% of the total length from the top of the preform, 166 ° C
Temperature at position C, 50% of the total length from the top of the preform 161 ° C
Temperature at position D, which is 75% of the total length from the top of the preform, 166 ° C
Temperature at position E that is 90% of the total length from the top of the preform 168 ° C
Primary air pressure: 0.85 MPa
Time and pressure from when the drawing rod starts to move until compressed air flows in: After 0.37 seconds, adjust the compressed air speed controller from the start of compressed air flow to adjust to reach the maximum pressure of 0.85 MPa in 0.6 seconds Then, the pressure was maintained for 2.48 seconds from the start of inflow.

Secondary pressure: 0.85 MPa for 0.5 seconds Blow mold temperature: 20 ° C
An apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 10 was used to drive the stretching rod, and a belt 202 was used. The motor 201 used was a Fuji Electric GYS152DC1-SA servo motor, and the speed reducer used was Fuji Electric 152SAG-G09. The drawing rod speed was set to 710 mm / sec.

  Molding was performed under these conditions to obtain a bottle-shaped molded product (1).

<Steps (4) to (7)>
The bottle-shaped molded product (1) is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold shown in FIG.

  The thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold at this time was 0.5 mm and the inner diameter was 140 mm. The seamless cylindrical mold was formed by a nickel electroforming method. A black heat resistant paint (trade name: Okitsumo 301) was applied to the surface of the seamless cylindrical mold. By applying this black coating, when the mold is heated by a halogen heater, it can be rapidly heated.

  After the cylindrical mold was inserted, a bottom mold 120 and a shoulder mold 119 matched to the bottle shape were attached, and 0.1 MPa of air was introduced into the bottle to seal the bottle mouth.

  In this state, the bottle adhered to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold.

  Next, this mold was attached to the heating device shown in FIG. 7, and the mold was heated by the halogen heater 121 while rotating at 30 rpm. At this time, the temperature reached from 25 ° C. to 180 ° C. in 20 seconds (Tg 120 ° C. of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture of Example 1 and -5 ° C. from the crystallization peak temperature). Hold at 180 ° C. for 40 seconds.

  Thereafter, the mold was moved from the heater heating section to the cooling section and air was applied while rotating at 30 rpm to cool the mold for 60 seconds, and the mold temperature could be cooled to 50 ° C.

  Since this temperature was lower than Tg120 ° C. of the thermoplastic resin which is the main thermoplastic resin mixture, the bottle was not deformed even when the bottle was taken out at this temperature. Let this bottle be a bottle-shaped molded product (2).

<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions were cut with an ultrasonic cutter, leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom of this molded product of the bottle-shaped molded product (2) toward 5 mm. As a result, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 139.8 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The average film thickness of this intermediate transfer belt was 81 μm, and the film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 81 ± 3 μm. This was designated as an intermediate transfer belt (1).

<Evaluation>
This intermediate transfer belt (1) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the intermediate transfer belt (1) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied, and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 3.8 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. It was. Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, the image was mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper. However, the belt was not twisted, and stable image output was possible. Further, the positional deviation of each color of the full-color image was 180 μm at the maximum, which was a practically acceptable level. Further, since the image was also a belt without distortion, it was a good image with no transfer unevenness.

  Next, this belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. After that, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day, and an image was output. However, even if the image of the deformed part is stretched around the belt, a defective image is generated. No image defects occurred in the entire belt. From this, it can be said that no curling of the intermediate transfer belt (1) occurred. That is, it can be said that the crystallization of the belt is sufficiently promoted by the steps (4) to (7).

The cleaning method for the intermediate transfer belt was a primary transfer simultaneous cleaning method using an elastic roller having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω for the cleaning charging member. Further, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus was used to output a full-color image to 100,000 sheets and the transfer belt (1) was inspected, the belt was not distorted. Durability was good.

(Example 2)
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Steps (4) to (7)>
The bottle-shaped molded product (1) is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold shown in FIG.

  At this time, the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold was 2 mm and the inner diameter was 140 mm. A black heat resistant paint (Okitsumo 301) was applied to the surface of the seamless cylindrical mold. By applying this black coating, when the mold is heated by a halogen heater, it can be rapidly heated.

  After the cylindrical mold was inserted, a bottom mold 120 and a shoulder mold 119 matched to the bottle shape were attached, and 0.1 MPa of air was introduced into the bottle to seal the bottle mouth. In this state, the bottle adhered to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold.

  Next, this mold was attached to the heating device shown in FIG. 7, and the mold was heated by the halogen heater 121 while rotating at 30 rpm. At this time, the temperature reached from 25 ° C. to 160 ° C. in 20 seconds (temperature higher than Tg 120 ° C. of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture of Example 1 and −25 ° C. from the crystallization peak temperature). The temperature was maintained at 160 ° C. for 100 seconds.

  Thereafter, the mold was moved from the heater heating section to the cooling section, and the mold was cooled for 60 seconds by applying air while rotating at 30 rpm. The mold temperature could be cooled to 45 ° C.

  Since this temperature was lower than Tg120 ° C. of the thermoplastic resin which is the main thermoplastic resin mixture, the bottle was not deformed even when the bottle was taken out at this temperature. Let this bottle be a bottle-shaped molded product (3).

<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions were cut with an ultrasonic cutter, leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom of this molded product of the bottle-shaped molded product (3) toward 5 mm. As a result, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 139.8 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The average film thickness of the intermediate transfer belt was 82 μm, and the film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 82 ± 5 μm. This was designated as an intermediate transfer belt (2).

<Evaluation>
This intermediate transfer belt (2) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the intermediate transfer belt (2) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied, and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 2.9 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. It was. Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, the image was mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper. However, the belt was not twisted, and stable image output was possible. Further, the positional deviation of each color of the full-color image was 190 μm at the maximum, which was a practically acceptable level. Further, since the image was also a belt without distortion, it was a good image with no transfer unevenness.

  Next, this belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. After that, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day, and an image was output. However, even if the image of the deformed part is stretched around the belt, a defective image is generated. No image defects occurred in the entire belt. From this, it can be said that no curling of the intermediate transfer belt (2) occurred. That is, it can be said that the crystallization of the belt is sufficiently promoted by the steps (4) to (7).

The cleaning method for the intermediate transfer belt was a primary transfer simultaneous cleaning method using an elastic roller having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω for the cleaning charging member. Further, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus was used to output a full-color image to 100,000 sheets and the intermediate transfer belt (2) was inspected, the belt was not distorted, so that the belt was not cracked or cracked. The durability was good.

(Example 3)
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
-77 parts by mass of PEN resin (Teonex TN-8065S manufactured by Teijin Chemicals Ltd., Tg 120 ° C.)
-23 parts by mass of polyetheresteramide resin (Pelestat NC6321 manufactured by Sanyo Chemical)
The above materials were melted and kneaded at 280 ° C. by a biaxial extruder to uniformly mix each component, extruded as a strand having a diameter of about 2 mm, cut and formed into pellets. This was designated as forming raw material 2. The main thermoplastic resin of this thermoplastic resin mixture is a PEN resin of a thermoplastic resin having stretch orientation characteristics, and the crystallization peak temperature of this resin was 210 ° C. (measured by the manufacturer).

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
Injection molding device: SE180D C360M (φ32mm screw) manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries
Position before filling: 105mm
Injection speed: 1st stage 95mm 10mm / s 2nd stage 23.5mm 130mm / s
VP switching position: 23.5mm
Holding pressure: 20 MPa, 2.0 s
Screw rotation: 100rpm
Back pressure: 5MPa
Cooling time: 25s
Mold temperature: 15 ℃
Under the above conditions, the molding material 3 was dried at 160 ° C. for 3 hours into the hopper 102 of the injection molding apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and injection temperature was adjusted to 285 ° C. for injection molding. In this preform mold, the d portion in FIG. 12 was 220 mm, the a portion was 42 mm, and the center and bottom thicknesses were 1.9 mm. The maximum injection pressure when this mold was used was 105 MPa.

  When the thickness at a position 30 mm from the upper part of the preform obtained by this injection molding was measured in the circumferential direction, it was 1.855 mm to 1.950 mm, and the thickness fluctuation was 95 μm. The preform obtained under these conditions is designated as preform (3).

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The preform (3) was put into the molding apparatus shown in FIG. 5 and molded under the following conditions.

  Mold size: As the mold size, a horizontally divided cylindrical mold having b of 208.0 mm and i of 660 mm in FIG. 12 was used.

Blowing gas: Compressed air Preform heating position: The external heater is divided into 5 parts in the vertical direction and controlled independently, and the interior is also heated by the internal heater (no division). The surface temperature of the preform shown in FIG. The temperature became.

Position A 170 ° C 10% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position B 173 ° C 25% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position C 168 ° C 50% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position D 170 ° C 75% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position E 175 ° C 90% of the total length from the top of the preform
Primary air pressure: 0.85 MPa
Time and pressure from when the drawing rod starts moving to when compressed air flows in: After 0.35 seconds, adjust the compressed air speed controller from 0.95 seconds to adjust the compressed air speed controller to reach the maximum pressure of 0.85 MPa in 0.9 seconds. The pressure was maintained for 2.47 seconds from the start of inflow.

Secondary pressure: 0.85 MPa for 0.5 seconds Blow mold temperature: 20 ° C
An apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 10 was used to drive the stretching rod, and a belt 202 was used. The motor 201 used was a Fuji Electric GYS152DC1-SA servo motor, and the speed reducer used was Fuji Electric 152SAG-G09. The drawing rod speed was set to 750 mm / sec.

  A bottle-shaped molded product (2) was obtained under these conditions.

<Steps (4) to (7)>
The bottle-shaped molded product (2) is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold shown in FIG.

  At this time, the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold was 1 mm, and the inner diameter was 210.5 mm. The seamless cylindrical mold was formed by a nickel electroforming method. A black heat resistant paint (Okitsumo 301) was applied to the surface of the seamless cylindrical mold. By applying this black coating, when the mold is heated by a halogen heater, it can be rapidly heated.

  After the cylindrical mold was inserted, a bottom mold 120 and a shoulder mold 119 matched to the bottle shape were attached, and 0.1 MPa of air was introduced into the bottle to seal the bottle mouth. In this state, the bottle adhered to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold.

  Next, this mold was attached to the heating device shown in FIG. 7, and the mold was heated by the halogen heater 121 while rotating at 30 rpm. At this time, the temperature reached from 25 ° C. to 170 ° C. in 20 seconds (Tg 120 ° C. of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture of Example 1 and a temperature of −40 ° C. from the crystallization peak temperature). 170 ° C. was held for 90 seconds.

  Thereafter, the mold was moved from the heater heating section to the cooling section and air was applied while rotating at 30 rpm to cool the mold for 60 seconds, and the mold temperature could be cooled to 50 ° C.

Since this temperature was lower than Tg120 ° C. of the thermoplastic resin which is the main thermoplastic resin mixture, the bottle was not deformed even when the bottle was taken out at this temperature. Let this bottle be a bottle-shaped molded product (4).
<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions were cut with an ultrasonic cutter, leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom of this molded product of the bottle-shaped molded product (4) toward 5 mm. Thus, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 210.0 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 80 ± 4 μm. This was designated as an intermediate transfer belt (3).

<Evaluation>
This intermediate transfer belt (3) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the intermediate transfer belt (3) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 5.6 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. It was. Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, the image was mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 3 and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper. However, the belt could not be swung, and stable image output was possible. Further, the positional deviation of each color of the full-color image was 190 μm at the maximum, which was a practically acceptable level. Further, since the image was also a belt without distortion, it was a good image with no transfer unevenness.

  Next, the belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. After that, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day, and an image was output. However, even when the image of the deformed part is stretched by the belt stretched around the roller, a particularly bad image is generated. No image defects occurred in the entire belt. From this, it can be said that no curling of the intermediate transfer belt (3) occurred. That is, it can be said that the crystallization of the belt is sufficiently promoted by the steps (4) to (7).

The cleaning method for the intermediate transfer belt was a primary transfer simultaneous cleaning method using an elastic roller having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω for the cleaning charging member. Further, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus was used to output a full-color image to 100,000 sheets and the intermediate transfer belt (3) was inspected, the belt was not distorted, so that the belt was not cracked or cracked. The durability was good.

Example 4
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
-78 parts by mass of PEN resin (Teonex TN-8050SC manufactured by Teijin Chemicals Ltd., Tg 120 ° C.)
-Polyether ester amide resin 1 12 parts by mass (TPAE-10HP-10 manufactured by Fuji Kasei Kogyo)
Polyether ester amide resin 2 10 parts by mass (TPAE-10 manufactured by Fuji Kasei Kogyo)
The above materials were melted and kneaded at 280 ° C. by a biaxial extruder to uniformly mix each component, extruded as a strand having a diameter of about 2 mm, cut and formed into pellets. This was designated as molding raw material 1. The main thermoplastic resin of this thermoplastic resin mixture is a PEN resin of a thermoplastic resin having stretch orientation characteristics, and the crystallization peak temperature of this resin was 185 ° C. (measured by the manufacturer).

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
Injection molding device: SE180D C360M (φ32mm screw) manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries
Position before filling: 105mm
Injection speed: 1st stage 95mm 10mm / s 2nd stage 23.5mm 130mm / s
VP switching position: 23.5mm
Holding pressure: 20 MPa, 2.0 s
Screw rotation: 100rpm
Back pressure: 5MPa
Cooling time: 25s
Mold temperature: 15 ℃
Under the above conditions, the molding material 3 was dried at 160 ° C. for 3 hours into the hopper 102 of the injection molding apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and injection temperature was adjusted to 285 ° C. for injection molding. In this preform mold, the d portion in FIG. 12 was 220 mm, the a portion was 42 mm, and the center and bottom thicknesses were 1.9 mm. The maximum injection pressure when this mold was used was 105 MPa.

  When the thickness at a position 30 mm from the upper part of the preform obtained by this injection molding was measured in the circumferential direction, it was 1.855 mm to 1.960 mm, and the thickness fluctuation was 105 μm. The preform obtained under these conditions is designated as preform (4).

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The preform (4) was put into the molding apparatus shown in FIG. 5 and molded under the following conditions.

  Mold size: As the mold size, a horizontally divided cylindrical mold having b of 208.0 mm and i of 660 mm in FIG. 12 was used.

Blowing gas: Compressed air Preform heating position: The external heater is divided into 5 parts in the vertical direction and controlled independently, and the interior is also heated by the internal heater (no division). The surface temperature of the preform shown in FIG. The temperature became.

Position A 170 ° C 10% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position B 173 ° C 25% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position C 168 ° C 50% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position D 170 ° C 75% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position E 175 ° C 90% of the total length from the top of the preform
Primary air pressure: 0.85 MPa
Time and pressure from when the drawing rod starts moving to when compressed air flows in: After 0.35 seconds, adjust the compressed air speed controller from 0.95 seconds to adjust the compressed air speed controller to reach the maximum pressure of 0.85 MPa in 0.9 seconds. The pressure was maintained for 2.47 seconds from the start of inflow.

Secondary pressure: 0.85 MPa for 0.5 seconds Blow mold temperature: 20 ° C
An apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 10 was used to drive the stretching rod, and a belt 202 was used. The motor 201 used was a Fuji Electric GYS152DC1-SA servo motor, and the speed reducer used was Fuji Electric 152SAG-G09. The drawing rod speed was set to 750 mm / sec.

  A bottle-shaped molded product (2) was obtained under these conditions.

<Steps (4) to (7)>
The bottle-shaped molded product (2) is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold shown in FIG.

  At this time, the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold was 0.5 mm and the inner diameter was 210.5 mm. The seamless cylindrical mold was formed by a nickel electroforming method. A black heat resistant paint (Okitsumo 301) was applied to the surface of the seamless cylindrical mold. By applying this black coating, when the mold is heated by a halogen heater, it can be rapidly heated.

  After the cylindrical mold was inserted, a bottom mold 120 and a shoulder mold 119 matched to the bottle shape were attached, and 0.1 MPa of air was introduced into the bottle to seal the bottle mouth. In this state, the bottle adhered to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold.

  Next, this mold was attached to the heating device shown in FIG. 7, and the mold was heated by the halogen heater 121 while rotating at 30 rpm. At this time, the temperature condition reached from 25 ° C. to 215 ° C. in 20 seconds (temperature higher than Tg of 120 ° C. of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture of Example 1 and + 30 ° C. from the crystallization peak temperature). 215 ° C. was held for 2 seconds.

  Thereafter, the mold was moved from the heater heating section to the cooling section, and air was applied while rotating at 30 rpm to cool the mold for 80 seconds, whereby the mold temperature could be cooled to 50 ° C.

  Since this temperature was lower than Tg120 ° C. of the thermoplastic resin which is the main thermoplastic resin mixture, the bottle was not deformed even when the bottle was taken out at this temperature. Let this bottle be a bottle-shaped molded product (5).

<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions of the bottle-shaped molded product (5) were cut with an ultrasonic cutter while leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom to the top of the molded product. Thus, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 210.0 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 80 ± 3.5 μm. This was designated as a transfer conveyance belt (1).

<Evaluation>
This transfer / conveying belt (1) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the transfer conveyance belt (1) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 7.5 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. It was. Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, it was mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 2 and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper. However, the belt was not warped, and stable image output was possible. Further, the positional deviation of each color of the full-color image was 160 μm at the maximum, which was a practically acceptable level. Further, since the image was also a belt without distortion, it was a good image with no transfer unevenness.

  Next, the belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. After that, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day, and an image was output. However, even when the image of the deformed part is stretched by the belt stretched around the roller, a particularly bad image is generated. No image defects occurred in the entire belt. From this, it can be said that no curling of the transfer / conveying belt (1) occurred. That is, it can be said that the crystallization of the belt is sufficiently promoted by the steps (4) to (7).

  Further, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus was used to output a full-color image to 100,000 sheets and the transfer / conveying belt (1) was inspected, the belt was not distorted, so that the belt was not cracked or cracked. The durability was good.

(Example 5)
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
・ 77 parts by mass of PET resin (J125, Tg 69 ° C. manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.)
-23 parts by mass of polyetheresteramide resin (Pelestat NC6321 manufactured by Sanyo Chemical)
The above materials were melted and kneaded at 280 ° C. by a biaxial extruder to uniformly mix each component, extruded as a strand having a diameter of about 2 mm, cut and formed into pellets. This was designated as forming raw material 2. The main thermoplastic resin of this thermoplastic resin mixture was a PET resin, which is a thermoplastic resin having stretch orientation characteristics, and the crystallization peak temperature of this resin was 180 ° C. (measured by the manufacturer).

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
Injection molding device: SE180D C360M (φ32mm screw) manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries
Position before filling: 105mm
Injection speed: 1st stage 95mm 10mm / s 2nd stage 23.5mm 130mm / s
VP switching position: 23.5mm
Holding pressure: 20 MPa, 2.0 s
Screw rotation: 100rpm
Back pressure: 5MPa
Cooling time: 25s
Mold temperature: 15 ℃
Under the above conditions, the molding material 3 was dried at 160 ° C. for 3 hours into the hopper 102 of the injection molding apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and injection temperature was adjusted to 285 ° C. for injection molding. In this preform mold, the d portion in FIG. 12 was 220 mm, the a portion was 42 mm, and the center and bottom thicknesses were 1.9 mm. The maximum injection pressure when this mold was used was 60 MPa.

  When the thickness at a position of 30 mm from the upper part of the preform obtained by this injection molding was measured in the circumferential direction, it was 1.855 mm to 1.930 mm, and the thickness fluctuation was 75 μm. The preform obtained under these conditions is designated as preform (5).

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The preform (5) was put into the molding apparatus of FIG. 5 and molded under the following conditions.

  Mold size: As the mold size, a horizontally divided cylindrical mold having b of 208.0 mm and i of 660 mm in FIG. 12 was used.

Blowing gas: Compressed air Preform heating position: The external heater is divided into 5 parts in the vertical direction and controlled independently, and the interior is also heated by the internal heater (no division). The surface temperature of the preform shown in FIG. The temperature became.

Position A 90 ° C 10% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position B 88 ° C 25% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position C 88 ° C 50% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position D 89 ° C 75% of the total length from the top of the preform
Position E 93 ° C 90% of the total length from the top of the preform
Primary air pressure: 0.85 MPa
Time and pressure from when the drawing rod starts moving to when compressed air flows in: After 0.35 seconds, adjust the compressed air speed controller from 0.95 seconds to adjust the compressed air speed controller to reach the maximum pressure of 0.85 MPa in 0.9 seconds. The pressure was maintained for 2.47 seconds from the start of inflow.

Secondary pressure: 0.85 MPa for 0.5 seconds Blow mold temperature: 20 ° C
An apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 10 was used to drive the stretching rod, and a belt 202 was used. The motor 201 used was a Fuji Electric GYS152DC1-SA servo motor, and the speed reducer used was Fuji Electric 152SAG-G09. The drawing rod speed was set to 750 mm / sec.

  A bottle-shaped molded product (6) was obtained under these conditions.

<Steps (4) to (7)>
The bottle-shaped molded product (6) is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold shown in FIG.

  At this time, the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold was 1 mm, and the inner diameter was 210.5 mm. The seamless cylindrical mold was formed by a nickel electroforming method. A black heat resistant paint (Okitsumo 301) was applied to the surface of the seamless cylindrical mold. By applying this black coating, when the mold is heated by a halogen heater, it can be rapidly heated.

  After the cylindrical mold was inserted, a bottom mold 120 and a shoulder mold 119 matched to the bottle shape were attached, and 0.1 MPa of air was introduced into the bottle to seal the bottle mouth. In this state, the bottle adhered to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold.

  Next, this mold was attached to the heating device shown in FIG. 7, and the mold was heated by the halogen heater 121 while rotating at 30 rpm. At this time, the temperature reaches 25 ° C. for 20 seconds to 180 ° C. for 180 seconds 30 seconds after reaching 180 ° C. (Tg 69 ° C. of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture of Example 1 and the same temperature as the crystallization peak temperature). The temperature was held.

  Thereafter, the mold was moved from the heater heating section to the cooling section and air was applied while rotating at 30 rpm to cool the mold for 60 seconds, and the mold temperature could be cooled to 50 ° C.

  Since this temperature was lower than Tg 69 ° C. of the thermoplastic resin which is the main thermoplastic resin mixture, the bottle was not deformed even when the bottle was taken out at this temperature. Let this bottle be a bottle-shaped molded product (7).

<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions were cut with an ultrasonic cutter, leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom of this molded product of the bottle-shaped molded product (7) toward 5 mm. Thus, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 210.0 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 80 ± 4 μm. This was designated as an intermediate transfer belt (4).

<Evaluation>
This intermediate transfer belt (4) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the intermediate transfer belt (4) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied, and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 5.6 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. It was. Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, the image was mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 3 and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper. However, the belt could not be swung, and stable image output was possible. Further, the positional deviation of each color of the full-color image was 190 μm at the maximum, which was a practically acceptable level. Further, since the image was also a belt without distortion, it was a good image with no transfer unevenness.

  Next, the belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. After that, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day, and an image was output. However, even when the image of the deformed part is stretched by the belt stretched around the roller, a particularly bad image is generated. No image defects occurred in the entire belt. From this, it can be said that no curling of the intermediate transfer belt (4) occurred. That is, it can be said that the crystallization of the belt is sufficiently promoted by the steps (4) to (7).

The cleaning method for the intermediate transfer belt was a primary transfer simultaneous cleaning method using an elastic roller having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω for the cleaning charging member. Further, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus was used to output a full-color image to 100,000 sheets and the intermediate transfer belt (4) was inspected, the belt was not distorted, so that the belt was not cracked or cracked. The durability was good.

(Comparative Example 1)
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

  As a result, a bottle-shaped molded product (8) was obtained.

<Steps (4) to (7)>
No process was performed.

<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions were cut with an ultrasonic cutter, leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom of this molded product of the bottle-shaped molded product (8) toward 5 mm. As a result, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 138.5 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The average film thickness of the intermediate transfer belt was 82 μm, and the film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 82 ± 6 μm.

  This was designated as an intermediate transfer belt (5).

<Evaluation>
This intermediate transfer belt (5) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the intermediate transfer belt (5) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied, and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 3.3 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. It was. Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was mounted and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper, the belt was deformed, and the kink occurred and stable image output could not be performed. It was. Although continuous image output was attempted, continuous output was not possible due to the belt twisting.

  Further, the belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. After that, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day, and an image was output. However, a streak-like image defect occurred in the image of the deformed portion where the belt was stretched by a roller. . From this, it can be said that the winding of the intermediate transfer belt (5) has occurred. That is, it can be said that the crystallization of the belt was not promoted by not performing the steps (4) to (7).

  Further, the durability test could not be performed due to the belt twisting.

(Comparative Example 2)
<Preparation of thermoplastic resin mixture (a)>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Process (1) Preparation of preform by injection molding apparatus>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Steps (2) and (3)>
The same operation as in Example 1 was performed.

<Steps (4) to (7)>
The bottle-shaped molded product (1) is inserted into the seamless cylindrical mold shown in FIG.

  At this time, the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold was 1 mm, and the inner diameter was 140 mm. The seamless cylindrical mold was formed by a nickel electroforming method. A black heat resistant paint (Okitsumo 301) was applied to the surface of the seamless cylindrical mold. By applying this black coating, when the mold is heated by a halogen heater, it can be rapidly heated.

  After the cylindrical mold was inserted, a bottom mold 120 and a shoulder mold 119 matched to the bottle shape were attached, and 0.1 MPa of air was introduced into the bottle to seal the bottle mouth. In this state, the bottle adhered to the inner surface of the cylindrical mold.

  Next, this mold was attached to the heating apparatus shown in FIG. 7, and the mold was heated with a halogen heater while rotating at 30 rpm. At this time, the temperature reached from 25 ° C. to 110 ° C. in 20 seconds (below the Tg 120 ° C. of the main thermoplastic resin of the thermoplastic resin mixture of Example 1 and a temperature of −75 ° C. from the crystallization peak temperature). The temperature was maintained at 110 ° C. for 30 seconds.

  Thereafter, when the mold was cooled for 60 seconds by moving from the heater heating section to the cooling section and applying air while rotating at 30 rpm, the mold temperature could be cooled to 35 ° C.

  Since this temperature was lower than Tg120 ° C. of the thermoplastic resin which is the main thermoplastic resin mixture, the bottle was not deformed even when the bottle was taken out at this temperature. Let this bottle be a bottle-shaped molded product (4).

<Step (8)>
The upper and lower portions were cut with an ultrasonic cutter, leaving a range of 300 mm from the bottom of this molded product of the bottle-shaped molded product (9) toward 5 mm. As a result, an intermediate transfer belt having a diameter of 137.5 mm and a length of 250 mm was produced. The average film thickness of the intermediate transfer belt was 82 μm, and the film thickness unevenness at the center of the belt was 80 ± 6 μm. This was designated as an intermediate transfer belt (6).

<Evaluation>
This intermediate transfer belt (6) was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours. This is because it is assumed that there is no problem even if the electrophotographic apparatus is stored in a harsh situation, assuming that the temperature inside the apparatus is elevated.

Next, when the intermediate transfer belt (6) was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for 1 day, 100 V was applied and resistance measurement was performed, the volume resistance value was 2.8 × 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm. . Further, when resistance was measured by applying 500 V, no leak occurred. Next, when the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 was mounted and a full-color image was printed on 80 g / m ² paper, the belt was deformed, twisted, and a stable image could not be output. . Although continuous image output was attempted, continuous output was not possible due to the belt twisting. This is presumably because the strain could not be removed because the heating temperature in step (6) was lower than Tg.

  Further, this belt was left in an environment of 70 ° C./50% RH for 4 hours while being mounted on the full-color electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. Thereafter, this full-color electrophotographic apparatus was left in an environment of 23 ° C./52% RH for one day and an image was output. However, a streak-like image defect occurred in the image of the deformed portion where the belt was stretched by a roller. . From this, it can be said that the wrinkle of the intermediate transfer belt (6) has occurred. That is, it is considered that crystallization did not proceed because the heating temperature in step (6) was −75 ° C. from the crystallization peak temperature.

  Further, the durability test could not be performed due to the belt twisting.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt according to the present invention. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus using a transfer belt according to the present invention. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer belt according to the present invention. It is the schematic of an example of an injection molding apparatus. It is the schematic of an example of an extending | stretching blow molding apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the shaping | molding apparatus of a process (4). It is explanatory drawing of the shaping | molding apparatus of a process (6). It is explanatory drawing of the shaping | molding apparatus of a process (7). It is explanatory drawing of a preform internal heating apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the extending | stretching stick | rod operation | movement by a motor. It is explanatory drawing of a preform heater. It is explanatory drawing of preform and blow mold size. It is explanatory drawing of a horizontal type. It is explanatory drawing of a vertical split type. It is explanatory drawing of a preform temperature measurement position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrophotographic photosensitive member 2 Axis 3 Primary charging member 4 Exposure light 5 Developer carrying body 6 Transfer charging member 7 Cleaning member 8 Fixing means 11 Intermediate transfer body 12 Tension roller 13 Secondary transfer counter roller 14 Transfer material conveyance member 15 Adsorption Roller 101 Injection molding device 102 Cavity mold 103 Core mold 104 Preform 106 Preform mouth 107 Heating furnace 108 Blow mold 109 Stretching rod 110 Gas 111 Heater 112 Blow molding 117 Seamless cylindrical mold 118 Bottle mouth 119 Shoulder mold 120 Bottom mold 121 Halogen heater 122 Cooling device 123 Heater 201 Motor 202 Belt or chain P Transfer material

Claims (5)

(1) molding the preform (b) by injection molding the thermoplastic resin mixture (a);
(2) A step of heating the preform (b) to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin that is the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a).
(3) The heated preform is moved at a predetermined speed in a seamless cylindrical mold (c) having a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin as the main thermoplastic resin mixture (a). Stretching using a stretching rod to stretch, and blowing by injecting a gas to form a bottle-shaped molded product (d),
(4) The bottle-shaped molded product (d) blow-molded by the steps (1) to (3) is set to a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resin as the main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a). Inserting into the seamless cylindrical mold (e),
(5) a step of injecting gas into the inserted bottle-shaped molded product (d) and pressurizing it to atmospheric pressure or higher,
(6) A step of heating the seamless cylindrical mold (e) to a temperature equal to or higher than a glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin as a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a).
(7) a step of cooling the seamless cylindrical mold (e) to a temperature equal to or lower than a glass transition temperature of a thermoplastic resin as a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a);
(8) A step of taking out the bottle-shaped molded product (d) from the seamless cylindrical mold (e), cutting the top and bottom of the bottle-shaped molded product (d), and forming a seamless belt shape,
A process for producing a seamless belt for electrophotography, comprising:   2. The electron according to claim 1, wherein the temperature heated in the step (6) is in a range of −40 ° C. or higher and + 30 ° C. or lower from a crystallization peak temperature of a thermoplastic resin which is a main component of the thermoplastic resin mixture (a). A method for producing a seamless belt for photography.   The method for producing a seamless belt for electrophotography according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the seamless cylindrical mold (e) is 2 mm or less.   The method for producing a seamless belt for electrophotography according to claim 1, wherein the seamless cylindrical mold (e) is an electroforming mold.   An image forming apparatus comprising the electrophotographic seamless belt obtained by the method for producing an electrophotographic seamless belt according to claim 1.