JP2504090Y2 - Drum end coating removal device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention eliminates the need for a drum end when manufacturing, for example, an electrophotographic photosensitive drum having a photosensitive material coating film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum. Apparatus for removing a coating film on the end of a drum used for removing a large coating film.

(Prior Art) For example, a photosensitive drum used in an image forming apparatus is
A coating film of a photosensitive substance is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a drum such as an aluminum tube, and an image of the coating film of the photosensitive substance is formed. Such a photosensitive drum is manufactured, for example, by a dipping method. In the dipping method, a drum such as an aluminum tube is held in a substantially vertical state, the drum is dipped in a coating liquid containing a photosensitive substance, and the drum is pulled up from the coating liquid, thereby It forms a photosensitive coating film. In such an immersion method, a coating film is formed on the entire outer peripheral surface including the end portion of the drum. However, since the photosensitive drum needs to have a flange attached to its end, or the end needs to be conductively treated, the unnecessary coating film formed on the end is
It is removed in the coating film removing step after the dipping step.

In the coating film removing step, for example, the device shown in FIG. 2 is used. The coating film removing device has a pedestal 91 attached to the bottom of a processing tank 90 in which a solvent S such as tetrahydrofuran that can dissolve the coating film is stored. A guide member 92 is vertically attached to a central portion of the pedestal 91 with a fixing bolt 94, and a support member 93 is supported by the guide member 92 so as to be vertically movable. A push spring 95 for constantly urging the support member 93 upward is interposed between the support member 93 and the pedestal 91. The supporting member 93 has, at its upper portion, a cylindrical head portion 93a into which the lower end portion D1 of the drum D, which has a coating film of a photosensitive material formed on its outer peripheral surface and is held vertically, is fitted.
The lower portion has a flange portion 93b with which the lower end surface of the drum lower end portion D1 into which the head portion 93a is fitted engages.

In such a coating film removing apparatus, the support member 93 is normally in a standby state in which the collar portion 93b is urged by the pressing springs 95 and protrudes above the liquid surface S1 of the solvent S.
Then, in such a standby state, the drum D having the coating film of the photosensitive material formed on the outer peripheral surface is held vertically above the support member 93, and the drum D is opposed to the processing tank 90. And the lower end portion D1 of the drum is lowered to the head portion of the support member 93.
The lower end surface is engaged with the flange portion 93b while being externally fitted on the flange portion 93b. In this state, the drum D is pushed down against the urging force of the push spring 95, and the drum lower end portion D1
Is lowered together with the supporting member 93, and the lower end portion D1 of the drum is immersed in the solvent S. The lower end surface of the drum is a supporting member.
The drum D is repeatedly moved up and down relative to the processing tank 90 while being constantly engaged with the flange portion 93b of 93. As a result, the coating film on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion D1 of the drum D is removed.

At this time, the outer diameter of the head portion 93a of the support member 93 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the lower end portion D1 of the drum D,
When the head portion 93a is fitted in the lower end portion D1 of the drum D, a gap δ is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the head portion 93a and the inner peripheral surface of the drum lower end portion D1 so that the solvent S can be lifted by a capillary phenomenon. It is supposed to be done. Therefore, the solvent S
Unnecessary coating film adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the drum lower end D1 dipped in is removed by immersing the drum lower end D1 in the solvent S and moving it up and down relatively to the solvent S. It The drum D from which the unnecessary coating film has been removed is then raised relative to the processing tank 90 and pulled out of the solvent S.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In such a coating film removing apparatus, the drum D is disposed in the processing tank 90.
The lower end D1 of the drum when it is lowered with respect to
The heads 93a of the drums 93 are not necessarily fitted onto the heads 93a with certainty, and particularly when the coating films of a plurality of drums D are simultaneously removed, the support members 93 are provided in the lower end portions D1 of all the drums D. It is almost impossible to securely insert the head portion 93a of the. Therefore, the descending drum D is a supporting member.
The head portion 93a of 93 comes into contact with the upper surface thereof.

Even in such a state, the head part 93 is
support member 93 and guide member 9 so that a is securely inserted.
An appropriate gap (about 0.5 mm) is formed between the support member 93 and the support member 2, so that the support member 93 tilts with respect to the guide member 92. Therefore, the lower end surface of the drum D is the head portion 93.
a When lowered while abutting on the upper surface, the support member 93 is tilted with respect to the vertical guide member 92 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. hand,
The upper surface of the head portion 93a of the support member 93 slides with respect to the lower end surface of the drum, and the head portion 93a moves toward the lower end portion D1 of the drum.
Fit inside.

At this time, the urging force of the push spring 95 causes the entire supporting member 93 to bounce up and restore to a horizontal state.
At that time, the liquid surface S1 of the solvent S may wavy or the solvent S may jump up. When the liquid surface S1 of the solvent S undulates, the coating film on the unnecessary portion of the coating film is removed, and the boundary between the unnecessary coating portion and the unnecessary coating portion on the drum end is formed in a straight line. However, a poor appearance occurs. Also, the solvent S that has jumped up
When attached to a coating film that does not need to be removed, the photosensitive characteristics of the coating film of the photosensitive substance may be impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a support member that supports a lower end portion of a drum and moves it up and down in a solvent without causing the solvent to bounce and the liquid surface to shake. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a drum end coating film removing device that can be reliably fitted into a drum end portion.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The apparatus for removing a coating film at the end of a drum of the present invention is to remove the coating film at the end portion of a drum having a coating film formed on its peripheral surface into a solvent capable of dissolving the coating film. A device for removing a coating film at the end of a drum, which is immersed and removed, which can be slid on a slide surface horizontally immersed in the solvent in a treatment tank containing the solvent. A pedestal mounted on the pedestal, a guide member vertically installed on the pedestal, and a vertical through hole, and a support member having the guide member inserted through the through hole, The slide surface and the pedestal bottom surface both have a flat surface or one of which is a flat surface and the other has a surface formed by arranging spheres, and the supporting member moves up and down without tilting to the guide member. Is urged upward while being supported so that A head portion having a circular shape in plan view, which can be fitted in a lower end portion of a vertically held drum and whose upper surface of an outer peripheral portion is curved spherically, and a drum lower end portion in which the head portion is fitted to a lower portion of a supporting member And a flange portion that supports the lower end surface of the.

(Example) Below, this invention is demonstrated about an Example.

The coating film removing device at the end of the drum of the present invention is used, for example, when manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive drum in which a coating film of a photosensitive material is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum. As shown in FIG. 1, the coating film removing device at the end of the drum is disposed in a processing tank containing a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran capable of dissolving the coating film of the photosensitive substance formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum. It has a pedestal 20 arranged on a horizontal slide surface 10 which is the bottom surface of the processing tank. The slide surface 10 is, for example, mirror-finished.

The pedestal 20 has, for example, a thin disc shape, and is slidably mounted on the slide surface 10. The pedestal
The lower surface of the sliding surface 10 that contacts the sliding surface 10 is, for example, mirror-finished like the sliding surface 10 so as to have a low friction state with the sliding surface 10. The upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the pedestal 20 is curved in an arc shape.

A cylindrical guide member 30 is vertically attached to a central portion of the pedestal 20 by a fixing bolt 40 that passes through an axial center portion thereof. A flange 31 is provided on the upper portion of the guide member 30. The fixing bolt 40 is screwed into the screw hole 21 at the center of the pedestal 20. The fixing bolt 40 has its head
The guide member 30 is pressed by 41 to fix the guide member 30 to the pedestal 20.

A support member 50 is supported by the guide member 30.
The support member 50 has a substantially hemispherical head portion 51 protruding upward and a flange portion 52 protruding outward from the head portion 51 at the lower portion. The head portion 51 has a hemispherical shape, and thus has a circular shape in plan view. The support member 50
A vertical through hole 53 is formed in the axial center portion of the. The upper portion of the through hole 53 has a larger diameter than that of the lower portion, and therefore, a step portion 54 is formed in the connecting portion between the upper portion and the lower portion. The through hole 53 is fitted onto the guide member 30 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, so that the entire supporting member 50 can be moved up and down with respect to the guide member 30. The step portion 54 formed in the through hole 53 is located below the flange 31 at the upper end of the guide member 30.

The lower surface of the supporting member 50 is located above the upper surface of the pedestal 20, and four springs that are recessed downward are opened at four equally spaced circumferential positions in the lower portion of the supporting member 50. A receiving portion 55 is provided. The upper ends of the push springs 60 are fitted into the spring receiving portions 55, respectively. Each pressing spring 60 is in contact with the upper surface of the pedestal 20, and the supporting member 50 is pressed upward by each pressing spring 60. The step portion 54 in the through hole 53 of the support member 50 contacts the flange 31 of the guide member 30 to prevent the support member 50 from coming off. In such a state, the lower portion of the support member 50 The flange portion 52 provided on the upper part of the solvent S projects above the liquid surface S1 of the solvent S.

The guide member 30 and the through hole 53 of the support member 50 fitted to the guide member 30 have almost no play, and the gap between them is 0.1 mm or less. Therefore, the support member 50
However, when the support member 50 is moved downward against the biasing force of the push spring 60, the support member 50 does not substantially tilt with respect to the guide member 30.

The head portion 51 of the support member 50 is preferably made of a material having excellent surface smoothness such as Teflon resin or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene resin.

The operation of the coating film removing device at the end of the drum of the present invention having such a structure is as follows.

For example, a drum D having a coating film formed on its outer peripheral surface by a dipping method is held substantially vertically above the support member 50, and the head portion 51 of the support member 50 is provided inside the lower end portion D1 of the drum D. In order to fit in, it is lowered relative to the processing tank. At this time, the lower end portion D1 of the drum D may not be accurately fitted to the head portion 51 of the support member 50, and the lower end surface of the drum D may abut on the spherical upper surface of the head portion 51 (in this case). The state of the head portion 51 is shown by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. As a result, the support member 50 is pressed by the descending drum D and receives a downward external force. However, since the upper surface of the support member 50 receiving the force is spherical, the support member 50 is pressed downward. Part of the force exerted by the supporting member 50 is the hemispherical head of the supporting member 50.
Press 51 toward its center. The force applied toward the center of the hemispherical head portion 51 is substantially horizontal. Since the support member 50 is in a state of not substantially tilting with respect to the guide member 30, the force applied to the support member 50 in a substantially horizontal state is also applied to the pedestal 20 via the guide member 30. ,
It joins in a substantially horizontal shape. Since the pedestal 20 is mounted on the mirror-finished slide surface 10 in a very low friction state,
When receiving such an external force in a substantially horizontal direction, the sliding surface 10
The top is easily slid, for example, in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1, so that the support member 50 moves horizontally together with the pedestal 20 from the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the solid line. As a result, the axis of the supporting member 50 coincides with the axis of the drum D. As a result, the head portion 51 of the support member 50 is smoothly fitted into the lower end portion D1 of the drum D, and the lower end surface of the drum D is engaged with the flange portion 52. At this time, the support member 50 is
Because it is only moved horizontally, the support member 50
Is not likely to splash upward, and therefore the solvent S is not likely to splash.

When the head portion 51 is made of a fluororesin or the like having excellent surface smoothness, the head portion 51 is the lower end portion of the drum D.
It fits into D1 more smoothly, and the splash of solvent is prevented more reliably.

In such a state, the drum D is lowered relative to the processing tank, and together with the drum D, the support member 50 is lowered while being guided by the guide member 30 against the biasing force of the push spring 60. Thus, the lower end D1 of the drum D is immersed in the solvent S. Then, the lower end surface of the drum D is supported by the support member 50.
Ascending and descending are repeated with the collar portion 52 always engaged. As a result, the drum lower end portion D1 is moved up and down in the solvent, and the coating film on the drum lower end portion D1 is dissolved and removed.

When the drum D is pulled up from the solvent S after the coating film removing process of the lower end portion D1 of the drum D is completed, the axis of the supporting member 50 is in a state of being coincident with the axis of the drum D. Will rise together with the drum D, and there is no risk of the solvent S splashing.

When the drum end D1 is fitted into the head portion 51 of the support member 50 while the support member 50 is smoothly moved in the horizontal direction as described above, the liquid surface S1 of the solvent S accompanying the jump of the support member 50 Waviness and splashing of solvent are suppressed. Further, since the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the pedestal 20 has an arc shape,
Even if the pedestal 20 moves horizontally in the solvent S, the solvent S is hardly disturbed, and the fluctuation of the liquid surface S1 of the solvent S is suppressed. When the shaft center of the drum D and the shaft center of the support member 50 are initially aligned, the support member 50 does not move in the horizontal direction, and the drum end D1 is fitted into the head portion 51.

The slide surface 10 on which the pedestal 20 is placed is not limited to the mirror-finished structure, and may be formed, for example, by laying a large number of spheres having high spherical accuracy on the bottom of the processing tank.

In addition, the head portion 51 of the support member 50 has a lower end portion of the drum D.
Once fitted into D1, the fitted state of the two does not come off even if the drum D repeatedly moves up and down with respect to the solvent. For this reason,
Even when the plurality of drums are simultaneously moved up and down to remove the unnecessary coating film formed on the lower end portion of each drum, the splashing of the solvent and the fluctuation of the liquid surface are effectively suppressed. When processing a plurality of drums at the same time, it is desirable that the immersion areas of the individual drums be partitioned by partition plates or the like so that the solvents in the areas adjacent to each other do not affect each other.

(Effect of the device) The coating film removing device at the drum end of the present invention is
When the drum is immersed in the solvent, and when the drum is pulled up from the solvent, waviness of the liquid surface of the solvent due to the splashing and vibration of the support member and the splashing of the solvent are suppressed,
The coating film can be reliably removed up to a predetermined area. Further, there is no possibility that the splashing solvent will adhere to the coating film that does not need to be removed and adversely affect the coating film.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a drum end coating film removing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional example. 10 …… Slide surface, 20 …… Pedestal, 30 …… Guide member, 50
…… Supporting member, 51 …… Head part, 52 …… Brim part, 60 …… Pressing spring, D …… Drum, D1 …… Drum end part, S …… Solvent.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A device for removing a coating film at the end of a drum, which comprises immersing a coating film at an end portion of a drum having a coating film formed on a peripheral surface thereof in a solvent capable of dissolving the coating film to remove the coating film. A pedestal slidably mounted on the slide surface, which is soaked horizontally in the solvent in the treatment tank containing the solvent, and a vertically erected pedestal on the pedestal. And a supporting member having a vertical through hole and having the guide member inserted through the through hole, wherein the slide surface and the bottom surface of the pedestal are both flat or one of A flat surface and the other has a surface formed by arranging spheres, and the support member is urged upward while being supported by the guide member so as to be able to move up and down without tilting, And in the lower end of the drum held vertically on top of the support member The upper surface of the outer peripheral portion that can be inserted has a circular head-shaped head portion that is curved in a spherical shape, and a collar portion that supports the lower end surface of the drum lower end portion where the head portion is fitted to the lower portion of the support member, A device to remove the coating film from the end of the drum.