JP2015049268A - Film, image heating device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology of improving folding endurance and abrasion resistance of a film to be used in an image heating device.SOLUTION: A film 16 to be used for heating a recording medium with an image formed thereon is formed of a blend resin, which is obtained by blending a crystalline resin (A) with an amorphous resin (B) having a glass transition point higher than that of the crystalline resin. A mixing volume ratio (A/B) of the blend resin is 70/30 to 99/1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a film used for an image heating device such as a fixing device.

An image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or an electrophotographic printer includes an image forming unit that forms a toner image on a recording medium, and a fixing device that performs heat treatment such as fixing the toner image on the recording medium (image heating apparatus). ). The fixing device forms a nip portion between a fixing rotator and a pressure rotator that rotate in pressure contact with each other, and heats a recording medium on which an unfixed toner image is formed in the image forming portion while nipping and conveying the recording medium in the nip portion. As a result, the toner image is fixed on the recording medium.
In such a fixing device, for example, a configuration using a heat-resistant thin fixing film as a fixing rotator or a pressure rotator is known. Patent Document 1 describes that a thermoplastic resin such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyethersulfone (PESU), or polyetherimide (PEI) is used as a material for the fixing film. Since a thermoplastic resin can be produced by an extrusion molding method or the like, there is an advantage that it can be produced at a lower cost than a thermosetting resin.

JP-A-3-25481

  However, when a thermoplastic resin is used as the material for the fixing film, there is a concern that fatigue cracking may occur due to insufficient folding resistance. On the other hand, when a thermoplastic resin is used as the material for the fixing film, the abrasion on the inner peripheral surface of the film may increase due to insufficient wear resistance. There was a concern of causing a problem of not rotating well (so-called slip).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving the bending strength and wear resistance of a film used in an image heating apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the film of the present invention comprises:
A film used for heat treatment of a recording medium on which an image is formed,
In a film composed of a blend resin of a crystalline resin (A) and an amorphous resin (B) having a glass transition point higher than that of the crystalline resin,
The blend volume ratio (A / B) of the blend resin is 70/30 to 99/1.
In order to achieve the above object, the film of the present invention comprises:
A film used for heat treatment of a recording medium on which an image is formed, and a flexible tubular film that slides while being pressed against a heat generating member used for the heat treatment,
The sliding surface with the heat generating member is interspersed with a portion made of an amorphous resin having a glass transition point higher than the glass transition point of the crystalline resin on a surface made of the crystalline resin. Features.
In order to achieve the above object, the image heating apparatus of the present invention includes:
An image heating apparatus that heats a recording medium on which an image is formed,
The above film,
The heating member for heating the film;
It is provided with.
In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
The image heating apparatus is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the bending resistance and wear resistance of a film used in an image heating apparatus.

1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Schematic sectional view of a film according to Example 1 of the present invention The figure showing the time change of the temperature of the film which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. Conceptual diagram showing the ease of chipping of crystalline and non-crystalline resins Diagram showing PEEK volume ratio and bending strength Schematic diagram showing the dispersion state of the base layer of the film Diagram showing PEEK volume ratio and scraping amount The schematic diagram showing the presumed mechanism of the abrasion suppression of the film which concerns on Example 1 Schematic sectional view showing another configuration of the fixing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Schematic sectional view showing another configuration of the fixing device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. That is, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the following embodiments. The various configurations in the following embodiments can be replaced with other known configurations within the scope of the idea of the present invention.

(Example 1)
(1) Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus (full color printer) 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the image forming apparatus (electrophotographic image forming apparatus) forms an image on a recording material (recording medium) with a developer (toner) using an electrophotographic image forming process. For example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (LED printer, laser beam printer, etc.), an electrophotographic facsimile apparatus, an electrophotographic word processor, and a multifunction machine (multifunction printer) thereof are included. The recording material is a material on which an image is formed, and is a recording medium such as a recording paper, an OHP sheet, a plastic sheet, or a cloth.

  An image forming unit that forms a toner image on the recording material P includes four image forming stations Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd. Each image forming station includes a photoreceptor 117, a charging member 119, a laser scanner 118, a developing device 120, a transfer member 124, and a cleaner 122 for cleaning the photoreceptor. The image forming unit further includes a belt (intermediate transfer member) 123 that conveys the toner image while being carried, and a secondary transfer roller 121 that transfers the toner image from the belt 123 to the recording material P. Since the operation of the image forming unit is well known, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The recording material P is fed out one by one from the cassette 102 by the rotation of the roller 105, and this recording material P is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip formed by the belt 123 and the secondary transfer roller 121 by the rotation of the roller 106. . The belt 123 is stretched between a stretching roller 125a and a secondary transfer counter roller 125b, and rotates by the rotation of these rollers. The secondary transfer counter roller 125b is in contact with the secondary transfer roller 12 via the belt 123, thereby forming the secondary transfer nip portion. The recording material P on which the unfixed toner image is transferred at the secondary transfer nip is sent to the fixing unit 109, where the toner image is heated and fixed. The recording material P exiting the fixing unit 109 is discharged onto the tray 112 by the rotation of the roller 111.

(2) Fixing unit (fixing device) 109
With reference to FIG. 2, the fixing device constituting the fixing unit 109 will be described. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the fixing device 109 according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2B is a front view of the fixing device 109 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the upstream side in the recording material conveyance direction. FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the ceramic heater 15 of the fixing device 109 according to the present embodiment.

  The fixing device 109 includes a heating unit 10 and a pressure roller 30 as a pressure member. The heating unit 10 includes a tubular film (endless film) 16, a film guide 19 as a support member, a ceramic heater (heat source) 15 as a nip portion forming member, and the like. A film 16, a film guide 19, a ceramic heater (hereinafter referred to as a heater) 15, and a pressure roller 30 are all in a direction (hereinafter referred to as a longitudinal direction) orthogonal to the recording material conveyance direction (see FIG. 2A). It is a long member.

  The film guide 19 supports a heater 15 as a heat generating member, and a flexible tubular film 16 is loosely fitted on the film guide 19. By sandwiching the film 16 between the heater 15 and the pressure roller 30, a nip portion N is formed by the film 16 and the pressure roller 30.

  Hereinafter, each member will be described in more detail. The pressure roller 30 has a round shaft-shaped cored bar (shaft portion) 30A made of a metal material such as iron, SUS, or aluminum. An elastic layer 30B mainly composed of silicone rubber or the like is formed in a roller shape on the outer peripheral surface between the support shaft portions 30A1 (see FIG. 2B) at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the core metal 30A. Further, a release layer 30C mainly composed of PTFE, PFA, FEP or the like is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 30B. The support shaft portions 30A1 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cored bar 30A are rotatably supported by bearings 41 on left and right side plates 40 that constitute a part of the metal frame 39 of the fixing device 109.

  The film guide 19 is formed in a substantially concave shape in cross section using a predetermined heat resistant material. On the flat surface of the film guide 19 on the pressure roller 30 side, a groove 19A is formed along the longitudinal direction, and the heater 15 is supported by this groove.

  The heater 15 has a thin plate-like heater substrate 15A mainly composed of ceramic such as alumina or aluminum nitride. On the film sliding surface on the film 16 side of the heater substrate 15A, an energization heating resistor 15B mainly composed of silver, palladium or the like is printed in a pattern along the longitudinal direction of the heater substrate. Further, a conductive portion 15C for energizing the energization heating resistor 15B and an electrode portion 15D for supplying power to the energization heating resistor via the conductive portion are pattern printed on the sliding surface of the film. Further, a protective layer 15E mainly composed of a heat-resistant resin such as glass, fluorine resin, or polyimide is provided on the film sliding surface so as to cover the energization heating resistor 15B.

The film 16 is formed in a cylindrical shape so that the inner peripheral length of the film is longer than the outer peripheral length of the film guide 19 and is loosely fitted to the film guide without tension. The layer configuration and material of the film 16 will be described later.

  The film 16 fitted on the film guide 19 is arranged in parallel with the pressure roller 30, and the film guide 19 has a longitudinal end portion in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the generatrix direction of the pressure roller with a pressure spring 42. It is energized. The heater 15 supported by the film guide 19 brings the film 16 into contact with the outer peripheral surface (surface) of the pressure roller 30 in a pressurized state by the pressure of the pressure spring 42. As a result, the elastic layer 30B of the pressure roller 30 is crushed and elastically deformed, and a nip portion N (see FIG. 2A) having a predetermined width is formed between the surface of the pressure roller 30 and the outer peripheral surface (surface) of the film 16. The

  In FIG. 2A, reference numeral 43 denotes a guide for guiding the recording material P to the nip portion N. Reference numeral 44 denotes a guide for guiding the recording material P discharged from the nip portion N.

  With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2C, the heat fixing processing operation of the fixing device 109 will be described. A driving force of a motor (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus is transmitted to a gear (not shown) provided at a longitudinal end portion of the core metal 30A of the pressure roller 30, whereby the pressure roller 30 is moved in the arrow direction. Rotate. The film 16 rotates in the direction of the arrow following the rotation of the pressure roller 30 while the inner peripheral surface (inner surface) of the film 16 slides on the protective layer 15E of the heater 15.

  The energization heating resistor 15B of the heater 15 is energized from the commercial power source 203 via the triac 202, whereby the energization heating resistor generates heat and the heater is heated. The triac 202 is a control unit 200 including a CPU and a memory such as a RAM and a ROM so that the detection temperature of the temperature detection element 201 that monitors the temperature of the non-sliding surface of the heater substrate 15A maintains the fixing temperature (target temperature). Controlled by.

  The recording material P carrying the unfixed toner image T is guided to the nip portion N by the guide 43. Then, while the recording material P is nipped and conveyed at the nip portion N, the heat of the heater 15 and the pressure of the nip portion are applied to the unfixed toner image T, whereby the unfixed toner image T is heated and fixed on the recording material P. . The recording material P that has exited the nip portion N is guided by the guide 44 and sent to the roller 111.

(3) Film 16
The film 16 has a cylindrical shape with an outer diameter of 18 mm, and a release layer 16B made of PFA with a thickness of 30 μm is provided on a base layer 16A with a thickness of 120 μm (FIG. 3). The average value of the total thickness of the base layer 16A of the present invention is preferably in the range of 50 to 400 μm, and more preferably in the range of 70 to 200 μm. If the fixing film is too thin, it tends to be difficult to make the thickness uniform. On the other hand, if the fixing film is too thick, the flexibility tends to decrease. While the film 16 is pressed against the heater 15 by a pressure roller 30 with a pressure of 15 kg, the outer peripheral surface is carried at a speed of 170 mm / sec.

  The base layer 16A is mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin. A thermoplastic resin does not require a thermosetting step like a thermosetting resin. Therefore, when the film 16 is manufactured, a known easy method such as an extrusion molding method, an injection molding method, a blow molding method, an inflation film molding method, etc. Can be used. In this example, the film 16 was produced by an extrusion molding method.

Thermoplastic resins are roughly classified into two types, crystalline resins such as PEEK, and amorphous resins such as sulfonated polyetherimide (sulfonated PEI) and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU). In this example, as the material of the base layer 16A, a blend resin in which a crystalline resin was mixed at a volume ratio of 70% and an amorphous resin (amorphous resin) at a volume ratio of 30% was used. PEEK (Victrex, 381G, Tg = 143 ° C.) was used as the crystalline resin, and sulfonated PEI (SABIC, Ultem XH6050, Tg = 247 ° C.) was used as the amorphous resin.

  A filler may be added to the base layer 16A when there is a concern associated with charge-up during image formation and when mechanical strength needs to be improved. Examples of the filler to be added include carbon black, graphite powder, carbon nanotube, metal powder, and metal oxide whisker. Among these, carbon black is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of mechanical properties and the like. Examples of carbon black include ketjen black, acetylene black, oil furnace black, thermal black, and channel black. These carbon blacks may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The particle size of the filler is 3 nm or more and less than 1000 nm, more preferably 5 nm or more and less than 300 nm. If the particle size of the filler is too small, handling when added to the resin may be difficult. If the particle size of the filler is too large, it may be difficult to form into a film. Moreover, although the ratio of the filler in the resin composition of a filler is 1 to 40 mass parts with respect to 100 mass parts of thermoplastic resins, More preferably, it is 3 to 20 mass parts. When the proportion of the filler is too large, the brittleness of the fixing film becomes high and mechanical properties may be deteriorated. When the proportion of the filler is too small, the volume resistivity of the fixing film may be too high. The film 16 was subjected to annealing treatment to remove residual stress at the time of molding, and subjected to crystallization treatment in order to obtain necessary initial strength and heat resistance.

  Next, the temperature state of the film 16 during the heat fixing processing operation of the fixing device 109 will be described. The fixing film 16 is heated from about 80 ° C. to about 240 ° C. during image formation, depending on the thickness and size of the recording material P used.

  As an example, FIG. 4 shows the temperature transition of the film 16 when A4 size paper (Canon, RedLabel 80) having a basis weight of 80 g / cm 2 is used as the recording material P. The temperature of the film 16 is raised to 165 ° C. by the heater 15 until the recording material P reaches the nip portion N. While the recording material P passes through the nip portion N, the temperature of the film 16 is 165 ° C.

(4) Fatigue cracking and slip in the comparative example The conventional film 16 as the comparative example uses only a crystalline resin or only an amorphous resin as the material of the base layer. When only the crystalline resin is used as the material for the base layer of the film 16, the abrasion cannot be satisfied, and when only the amorphous resin is used as the material for the base layer of the film 16, fatigue cracks cannot be satisfied. .

  First, the fatigue crack in a comparative example is demonstrated concretely. Since the film 16 receives force from the pressure roller 30 at the nip portion N, the curvature varies depending on the position in the circumferential direction. Therefore, it is repeatedly bent when the film 16 rotates. For example, when the film 16 is made of only an amorphous resin, cracks (so-called fatigue cracks) may occur due to repeated bending. This is because amorphous resins are generally vulnerable to repeated bending fatigue.

Next, the shaving of the film 16 in the comparative example will be specifically described. The film 16 slides with the heater 15 at a temperature of 165 ° C. (processing temperature). For example, when the material of the film 16 is a single thermoplastic resin, the film scraping sharply deteriorates when the film 16 exceeds the glass transition point Tg of the thermoplastic resin (FIG. 5). This is because when the glass transition point Tg is exceeded, the movement of the molecules in the amorphous portion becomes active and softens suddenly. If the film scraping is large, the frictional resistance between the film 16 and the heater 15 increases due to the viscosity of the scraping powder, and a slip may occur in which the film 16 does not rotate following the roller. When the slip occurs, unevenness occurs when heat is transmitted to the recording material P, resulting in uneven glossiness of the image. A crystalline resin is more resistant to fatigue cracking than an amorphous resin, but often has a lower glass transition point Tg than an amorphous resin. That is, the conventional film 16 as a comparative example cannot achieve both scraping and fatigue cracking.

(5) Suppression of fatigue crack and slip of film 16 First, the fatigue crack suppression effect of this example will be described. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the blend ratio of a 120 μm thick film obtained by extruding a PEEK and sulfonated PEI blend resin and the bending strength at 165 ° C. The bending strength was measured according to JIS-P8115 (2001), except that the test was conducted while heating the film to 165 ° C. with hot air. From the measurement results, it can be seen that the bending strength changes greatly in the region where the volume ratio of PEEK is between 30% and 70% and does not change much in other regions. That is, by setting the volume ratio of PEEK to 70% or more, the bending strength can be improved to a level almost equal to that when the volume ratio of PEEK is 100%.

  Further, when a 120 μm thick film obtained by extruding a blend resin of PEEK and sulfonated PEI is observed with a TEM, the dispersion state of the PEEK phase 60a and the sulfonated PEI phase 60b changes as shown in FIG. 7 depending on the volume ratio of PEEK. I found out that FIG. 7 (a) shows the phase composition at a volume ratio of PEEK ≦ 30%, FIG. 7 (b) shows the phase composition at 30% <PEEK volume ratio <70%, and FIG. 7 (c) shows 70% ≦ PEEK. The schematic diagram of the phase structure in each volume ratio is shown.

  Here, the present inventors estimate the reason why the bending strength can be improved by setting the volume ratio of PEEK to 70% or more and adopting the phase configuration shown in FIG. 7C. Since the sulfonated PEI that is an amorphous resin is susceptible to repeated bending fatigue, the sulfonated PEI phase 60b is likely to be the starting point of cracks. When the sulfonated PEI phase 60b is dispersed and scattered in the form of islands, even if cracks are generated in the sulfonated PEI, the crack growth is suppressed in the PEEK phase 60a, so that fatigue cracks are immediately caused. Absent. On the other hand, when the sulfonated PEI phase 60b is continuously connected, the crack progresses only in the sulfonated PEI phase 60b without passing through the PEEK phase 60a, so that the fatigue crack becomes worse.

  Next, the scraping suppressing effect of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the blend ratio of a 120 μm-thick film obtained by extruding a blend resin of PEEK and sulfonated PEI and the amount of abrasion at 165 ° C. The amount of scraping is obtained when the roller 105 is rotated for 120 hours while the heater 15 is heated so that the temperature of the film 16 becomes 165 ° C. in the configuration in which the blend ratio of the film 16 of the fixing device 109 of this embodiment is changed. The weight change of the film 16 was taken. From the measurement results, it can be seen that the scraping amount greatly changes in the region where the volume ratio of PEEK is between 100% and 90%, and does not change much in other regions. In particular, the amount of scraping varies greatly in the region where the volume ratio of PEEK is between 100 and 99%. That is, if sulfonated PEI is blended with PEEK even a little, the wear resistance can be improved. The present inventors presume this reason as follows.

The blend material of the polymer blend of this example has PEEK having a glass transition point Tg (143 ° C.) at a low temperature and a glass transition point at a high temperature with respect to 165 ° C., which is a use temperature at the time of heat treatment of the film 16. A sulfonated PEI with Tg (247 ° C.) is selected. Therefore, the film 16 is in a state in which the PEEK phase 60a is soft and the sulfonated PEI phase 60b is hard at a use temperature of 165 ° C. Therefore, the PEEK phase 60a is preferentially scraped during use of the film 16, and as shown in FIG. 9, the sulfonated PEI phase 60b is in a surface state protruding from the surface of the PEEK phase 60a. This allows hard sulfonated P
The EI phase 60b receives most of the force from the heater 15. After that, since the soft PEEK phase 60a is less likely to receive force from the heater 15, the PEEK phase 60a is less likely to be scraped.

  As described above, in this example, the mixing volume ratio (A / B) of the crystalline resin (A) and the amorphous resin (B) in the blend resin used for the base layer 16A of the film 16 is 70/30 to 99/1. It is said. Actually, the fatigue crack suppression effect and the slip suppression effect according to this example were confirmed. Specifically, fatigue cracks when passing 50,000 sheets and slips when passing 50,000 sheets in the configuration of this example were evaluated. The paper passed through was RedLabel 80. As Comparative Example 1, prepared was prepared by changing the mixing volume ratio (%) of the thermoplastic resin that is the material of the base layer 16A of Example 1 to PEEK / sulfonated PEI = 100/0, 50/50, and 0/100. . The evaluation results are shown in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, it can be seen that Example 1 can suppress both fatigue cracking and slipping.

(Table 1)

[Example 2]
A film according to Example 2 of the present invention will be described. Here, only differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Matters not described here are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  This example has the same configuration as that of Example 1 except that polyether ketone ether ketone ketone (PEKEKK) is used as the crystalline resin and PPSU is used as the amorphous resin as the material of the base layer 16A. Specifically, also in this example, a blend resin in which a crystalline resin was mixed at a volume ratio of 70% and an amorphous resin was mixed at a volume ratio of 30% was used as the material of the base layer 16A. PEKEKK (manufactured by Victrex, HT, Tg = 162 ° C.) was used as the crystalline resin, and PPSU (manufactured by Solvay Advanced Polymers, Radel R R-5000, Tg = 220 ° C.) was used as the non-crystalline resin.

  Actually, the fatigue crack suppression effect and the slip suppression effect according to this example were confirmed. The evaluation method is the same as that performed in Example 1. As Comparative Example 2, a mixture was prepared by changing the mixing volume ratio (%) of the thermoplastic resin, which is the material of the base layer 16A of Example 2, to PEKEKK / PPSU = 100/0, 50/50, and 0/100. The evaluation results are shown in Table 2.

(Table 2)

  It can be seen that Example 2 can suppress both fatigue cracking and slipping. That is, it can be said that both fatigue cracking and slipping can be suppressed by setting the volume ratio of the crystalline resin to 70% or more even in the blended resin of PEKEKK and PPSU.

  As in this embodiment, the combination of the crystalline resin and the non-crystalline resin as the material of the base layer 16A is not limited to PEKEKK and PPSU, and any combination that has a higher Tg of the non-crystalline resin than the crystalline resin. Good.

  Further, since the base layer 16A may deteriorate when a toner component or the like adheres thereto, a crystalline polyaryletherketone resin excellent in chemical resistance is preferable as the crystalline resin. Crystalline polyaryletherketone resins include homopolymers, copolymers, terpolymers, graft copolymers, etc. containing monomer units containing one or more aryl groups, one or more ether groups and one or more ketone groups. It is a crystalline resin containing. For example, PEEK, PEKEKK, polyetherketone (PEK), polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), polyaryletherketoneetherketoneketone (PAEKEKK), polyallyletherketone (PAEK), polyallyletheretherketone (PAEEK), poly It can be selected from ether ether ketone ketone (PEEKK), polyaryl ether ketone ketone (PAEKK), polyaryl ether ether ketone ketone (PAEEKK) and the like. If the melting point is low, the resin melting temperature at the time of producing the base layer 16a can be lowered and the production becomes easy. Therefore, it is particularly desirable to use PEEK as the crystalline resin. When a crystalline polyaryl ether ketone resin is used, the non-crystalline resin is preferably a resin having a glass transition point Tg sufficiently higher than the glass transition point Tg of the crystalline polyaryl ether ketone resin. Examples of such a resin include sulfonated PEI, PPSU, PESU, polysulfone (PSU), and the like. Among them, since sulfonated PEI has a particularly high glass transition point Tg, when used as the material of the base layer 16A, there is an advantage that it is possible to reduce the limitation of the throughput of the narrow recording material P. The reason for this will be described below.

When a narrow recording material P is passed, the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion in the longitudinal direction of the film 16 becomes higher than the temperature of the sheet passing portion. At that time, the throughput of the recording material P must be slowed so that the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion of the film 16 does not exceed the glass transition point Tg of the amorphous resin. This is because, when the temperature of the non-sheet passing portion of the film 16 exceeds the glass transition point Tg of the amorphous resin, the rigidity of the film 16 is abruptly reduced and may be broken. Therefore, by using sulfonated PEI having a high glass transition point Tg for the non-crystalline resin, the recording material P
It is possible to reduce the limitation of the throughput.

  In addition, as the material of the base layer 16A, a plurality of crystalline resins may be used, or a plurality of amorphous resins may be used. Further, for example, any one or more of PEEK, PEK, and PEKEKK as a crystalline resin, and any one or a combination of sulfonated PEI, PPSU, or PESU as an amorphous resin But you can.

  Moreover, although the film 16 of Example 1 and Example 2 demonstrated what was used by the structure which has a heat source inside the film 16, this invention is not limited to what is used by this structure. Any configuration may be used as long as the film 16 is repeatedly bent at Tg of the crystalline resin or more and the film 16 slides on the nip forming member 15 at Tg of the crystalline resin or more. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the structure which included the heat source 61 in the metal core 60A may be sufficient. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a configuration having a heat source 62 for heating the outer peripheral surface of the pressure roller 30 may be used.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to a heat fixing apparatus that heat-fixes an image on a recording material has been described. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, an image heating device for modifying the surface of the recording material, such as polishing the surface of the recording material by heating, an image heating device for assumed attachment, a heating drying device for a heated material, a heating laminating device, etc. The present invention can be widely applied to an apparatus for performing a heat treatment on a heating material.

  In the present invention, the method for confirming the mixing volume ratio of the blend resin is not particularly limited. For example, a known method such as cutting the base layer 16A in a predetermined direction to create an ultrathin section, staining with ruthenium tetroxide (RuO4), etc., and observing with a TEM (transmission electron microscope) can be used. . For example, in the case of this method, the area ratio of each resin phase that is the material of the base layer 16A in the cut surface of the base layer 16A is the mixed volume ratio.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Image forming apparatus, 109 ... Fixing device (fixing apparatus, image heating apparatus), 16 ... Film, 16A ... Base layer, 16B ... Release layer, 60a ... PEEK phase (crystalline resin), 60b ... Sulfonated PEI phase ( (Amorphous resin)

Claims (10)

A film used for heat treatment of a recording medium on which an image is formed,
In a film composed of a blend resin of a crystalline resin (A) and an amorphous resin (B) having a glass transition point higher than that of the crystalline resin,
The blend volume ratio (A / B) of the blend resin is 70/30 to 99/1. A film used for heat treatment of a recording medium on which an image is formed, and a flexible tubular film that slides while being pressed against a heat generating member used for the heat treatment,
The sliding surface with the heat generating member is interspersed with a portion made of an amorphous resin having a glass transition point higher than the glass transition point of the crystalline resin on a surface made of the crystalline resin. Characteristic film.   The mixed resin (A / B) of the crystalline resin (A) and the amorphous resin (B) is made of a blend resin having a ratio of 70/30 to 99/1. Film. The glass transition point of the crystalline resin is lower than the processing temperature of the heat treatment,
The glass transition point of the amorphous resin is higher than the processing temperature of the heat treatment,
The film according to claim 1, wherein the film is a film.   The film according to claim 1, wherein the crystalline resin is a crystalline polyaryletherketone resin.   The film according to claim 5, wherein the crystalline resin is PEEK.   The film according to claim 1, wherein the amorphous resin is sulfonated PEI.   The film according to claim 7, wherein the amorphous resin is any one selected from PPSU, PESU, and PSU. An image heating apparatus that heats a recording medium on which an image is formed,
The film according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The heating member for heating the film;
An image heating apparatus comprising: An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
An image forming apparatus comprising the image heating apparatus according to claim 9.

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