JP3691604B2 - Photoconductor manufacturing method and reproducing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a photosensitive member in which a flange is attached to a drum base used in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and a method for manufacturing the photosensitive member in which the flange is attached to the drum base without using an adhesive, and the use thereof The present invention relates to a method for regenerating a photoconductor that recycles an already-used one and uses it effectively.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a photosensitive drum such as an OPC drum is used in an electrophotographic apparatus, a resin flange is generally attached to support and drive rotation. The photosensitive drum constituting the photosensitive member is usually formed with a photosensitive layer on the surface of a metal substrate such as aluminum or stainless steel. The used photosensitive drum after being used for a predetermined period of time is a resource resource. From the viewpoint of effective use, it is preferable to recycle (recycle), and the flange to be fitted is preferably reused as long as there is no wear or deformation.
[0003]
For example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-9311 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-150571, the flange is attached by an adhesive. When manufacturing a photosensitive drum with a flange by this method, an apparatus for applying an adhesive to the flange or the inner surface of the drum base as described in JP-A-4-35762 and JP-A-7-333866 is required. In addition, there is a concern that the protruding adhesive may adhere to the surface of the flange or the photosensitive layer and cause defective products.
[0004]
As a fitting method without using an adhesive, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-200462 and 8-62877, a part of the substrate is mechanically bent after the flange is fitted to the drum substrate. There is a method of fixing by caulking. According to this method, a device for applying a mechanical stress to the photosensitive drum is required, and it is difficult to non-destructively remove the flange from the drum once deformed and attached.
[0005]
As described above, it is preferable to recycle (recycle) the photosensitive drum from the viewpoint of effective use of resources. However, when the flange is attached to the photosensitive drum by adhesion or mechanical deformation like a conventional photosensitive member, the photosensitive drum is recycled. Is difficult. Therefore, conventionally, the flange has been mechanically destroyed and removed.
[0006]
However, the mechanical destruction method has a problem that it takes a lot of time and man-hours for removal, and impurities cannot be mixed cleanly. Such impurities are naturally not reusable as they are, and even if they are recycled as raw materials, they cannot be useful raw materials. Also, in the method of regenerating the photosensitive drum, if the metallic substrate is not deformed, the photosensitive layer can be reused as it is by removing the photosensitive layer by dissolution or the like. Then, since the substrate is deformed, it has to be regenerated as a metal material.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a photoreceptor in which a flange can be attached to a drum base without using an adhesive or deforming it by applying mechanical stress, and the photoreceptor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for regenerating a photoconductor that can be used for a reproduction process by removing the flange from the photosensitive drum without mechanically destroying the flange when it is used.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The method for producing a photoreceptor of the present invention is a method for producing a photoreceptor in which a resin flange is attached to a photosensitive drum having a photosensitive layer provided on a metal substrate without using an adhesive. After cooling in advance, the drum base is fitted. Here, it is preferable that the flange is cooled by bringing the flange into contact with a liquid refrigerant having a temperature of −70 ° C. or less. From the viewpoint of preventing deformation of the photosensitive drum, the flange is cooled with respect to the inner diameter of the metallic substrate. The outer diameter of the flange fitting portion is preferably 0.2% to 0.4% larger.
[0009]
The method of the reproduction photoreceptor of the present invention is a photosensitive member of the reproducing method comprising attaching a resin flange without using an adhesive to the photosensitive drum comprising a photosensitive layer on a metal substrate, said The flange according to claim 1 , wherein the outer diameter of the flange fitting portion is 0.2% to 0.4% larger than the inner diameter of the metal base, and no adhesive is used on the photosensitive drum. The photosensitive drum manufactured by attaching the resin flange is cooled in the vicinity of the flange fitting portion so that the flange is detached, and the photosensitive drum and / or the resin flange is subjected to a regeneration process. The cooling in this regeneration method is preferably performed by bringing the part into contact with a liquid refrigerant having a temperature of −70 ° C. or lower.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
There are no particular limitations on the photosensitive drum and the resin flange that constitute the photosensitive member in the present invention, and for example, it can be arbitrarily applied to general-purpose ones.
[0011]
Examples of the substrate of the photosensitive drum include those commonly used and made of metal such as aluminum and stainless steel formed into a cylindrical shape. The resin flange is generally formed of a resin called engineering plastic, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as polyacetal, polyamide, polycarbonate, ABS, etc., and the method of the present invention can be applied to all of these.
[0012]
The present invention is a method for producing a photosensitive drum that requires a high degree of dimensional accuracy due to its characteristics and does not allow defects such as deformation, and the correlation between the materials and dimensions of each component is important. To explain with a specific example, when a resin flange is bonded to a metal base, for example, a cylindrical body having an outer diameter of 30 mm and an inner diameter of 28.5 mm using an adhesive, the outer diameter of the fitting portion of the flange is usually the base. Although the size is about +0.01 mm to +0.05 mm (+ 0.03% to + 0.18%) with respect to the inner diameter, the outer diameter of the flange fitting portion is +0.06 mm to +0.12 mm with respect to the inner diameter of the base body. If the size is about + 0.2% to + 0.4%), the flange will not come off due to frictional force even without an adhesive. However, when the outer diameter of the flange fitting portion is larger than the inner diameter of the base body, it is very difficult to fit the flange, and there is a possibility that the base body and the flange may be deformed if mechanically impossible.
[0013]
By the way, the thermal expansion coefficient (linear expansion coefficient) of aluminum is 21 to 25 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C. depending on the type of alloy, and that of stainless steel is 10 to 18 × 10 10 depending on the type. ^-6 / ° C.
[0014]
Among the thermoplastic resins used for the flange, polyacetal has a coefficient of thermal expansion of 90 to 100 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C., that of polyamide is 70 to 90 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C., and that of polycarbonate is 70 to 90 × 10 ^{− 6} / ° C., that of ABS is 60-130 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C. Thus, the thermal expansion coefficient of the resin used for molding the flange is at least twice as large as that of the metal, and several times larger.
[0015]
On the other hand, the elastic modulus (displacement elastic modulus) of aluminum is 27 to 29 GPa and that of stainless steel is 73 to 75 GPa, depending on the type of alloy, and the elastic modulus (flexural modulus) of the resin is 2 for polyacetal. It is 7 to 2.8 GPa, polyamide is 1.6 to 1.8 GPa, polycarbonate is 2.3 to 2.5 GPa, and ABS is 2.5 to 2.7 GPa. It can be said that the resin has an elastic coefficient of 1/10 or less of that of metal and is easily deformed.
[0016]
Therefore, in the present invention, focusing on both of these physical properties, even when the outer diameter of the resin flange fitting portion is about + 0.2% to + 0.4% larger than the inner diameter of the metal base, the flange is cooled. It is intended to shrink from the inner diameter of the base and to be fitted or detached. After the fitting, unlike the case where the metal flange is fitted, the resin flange is deformed (elastically contracted), so that the fitting portion of the base body does not swell.
[0017]
The temperature at which the flange is cooled may be a temperature at which the outer diameter of the fitting portion is about + 0.2% to + 0.4% larger than the inner diameter of the base body and is about + 0.18% or less. If the flange is cooled, fitted to the base and returned to normal temperature, the flange is fixed by frictional force. Further, if the flange is cooled again together with the fitting portion with the base, the resin contracts several times as much as the metal, so that the flange is easily detached.
[0018]
The method of cooling the flange is not particularly limited as long as the resin material constituting the flange can be contracted and the outer diameter of the flange can be fitted to the drum. A simple method is a liquid refrigerant having a temperature of −70 ° C. or less typified by liquid nitrogen at about −196 ° C., liquid air at about −194 ° C., or the like. Is to use. That is, the cooling is instantaneously performed by immersing the flange in a liquid refrigerant such as liquid nitrogen.
[0019]
Also, when the photosensitive drum has been used or when the flange is detached from the defective photosensitive drum during production, it can be easily removed by cooling the flange fitting portion and its vicinity if desired, as in the case of fitting. Can do. The photosensitive drum from which the flange has been detached can only be crushed and regenerated as a metal material if the substrate is scratched or deformed. If there is no scratch, for example, it is described in JP-A-5-181289 and JP-A-5-341537. As described above, the photosensitive layer can be removed and reused as a substrate.
[0020]
When the gear for driving the flange is formed, it is difficult to reproduce the flange as it is if the gear portion is worn, but otherwise it can be reused as it is. It is preferable that the metal plate for establishing electrical continuity with the photosensitive drum is attached to the side without the drive gear.
[0021]
If it cannot be used as it is, it can be recycled as a plastic material, and it can be fully recycled if it is classified by material.
[0022]
【Example】
The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
(Example 1)
Production of photoconductor As a photosensitive drum, an aluminum substrate having an outer diameter of 30 mm, an inner diameter of 28.5 mm, and a length of 258 mm roughened by a honing process (coefficient of thermal expansion 21 to 25 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C., After forming a subbing layer of type 8 nylon resin on the surface using an elastic modulus of 27 to 29 GPa), N, N′-diphenyl-N, N′— is formed on CGL containing chlorogallium phthalocyanine and polyvinyl butyral resin. An OPC drum on which a CTL containing 36 parts of (m-tolyl) benzidine compound and 64 parts of polycarbonate Z resin was formed was used. At both ends, flanges made of polycarbonate resin (thermal expansion coefficient: 70 to 90 × 10 ⁻⁶ / ° C., elastic coefficient: 2.3 to 2.5 GPa) are attached. The outer diameter of the flange is 28.6 mm, which is 0.1 mm (0.35%) larger than the inner diameter of the drum base. The fitting length is 15 mm, one is formed with a helical gear for rotational drive outside the fitting part, the other is not formed with a gear, and the inside of the fitting part The metal plate which contacts a base | substrate is attached to this.
[0023]
When the flange was immersed in liquid nitrogen, the outer diameter of the fitting portion contracted by about 0.5% to about 28.45 mm and became smaller than the inner diameter of the drum base. Next, each flange was fitted to the end of the drum and returned to room temperature, and the flange was firmly fixed. Since frost adhered to the flange, it was wiped off later.
[0024]
When this OPC drum was incorporated into a drum cartridge and used in a laser printer, the flatness of the drum was not impaired, the flange was firmly fixed and did not come off, and a good print image could be obtained.
(Comparative Example 1)
When trying to fit the flange into the drum without cooling, the flange tilted and could not be inserted, and when it was struck with a hammer, the end of the drum swelled. The drum could no longer be used normally.
(Example 2)
Reproduction of photoconductor After printing 8000 sheets with the printer incorporating the photoconductor obtained in Example 1, the toner was consumed and the drum cartridge was used. The photoreceptor (OPC drum) was removed.
[0025]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a state in which a fitting portion between the photosensitive drum 12 and the flange 14 of the photosensitive member 10 is immersed in liquid nitrogen 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the geared flange 14 fitted and fixed to the OPC drum 12 was placed on the lower side and immersed in liquid nitrogen 16. Liquid nitrogen 16 is held in a heat insulating container 18. After the immersion within a few seconds, when the OPC drum 12 was pulled up, the flange 14 could be easily removed. The consumption of liquid nitrogen was 10 g or less. If the dipping time is too long, the flange falls into the liquid nitrogen, so it was convenient to remove it before that. The other gearless flange 15 could be removed in the same manner.
[0026]
The surface of the OPC drum with the flange removed can be inspected, and if there is a scratch or deformation, it can be sold to an aluminum collector, and if there is no problem, the photosensitive layer can be peeled off and reused as a substrate. It was. The removed gearless flange could be reused as it was. Since the geared flange was worn on the gear part, it could be crushed and pelletized and recycled. Since neither the photosensitive drum nor the flange had adhesive residue, it could be satisfactorily subjected to the recycling process.
(Comparative Example 2)
In Example 1, when the used OPC drum was collected and the flange was removed from the OPC drum, applying the mechanical tapping method, which is a conventional method, applied considerable force and man-hours. The drum base was deformed and could not be reused as it was. Moreover, since the fragments of the flange are mixed, the quality of the recovered aluminum product is low. Of course, since the flange was broken, it could not be reused as it was, and was subjected to a recycling process for use as a raw material for the resin.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
The method for producing a photoconductor of the present invention is a method for producing a photoconductor in which a flange can be attached to a drum base without using an adhesive or deforming it by applying mechanical stress, etc. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for reproducing a photosensitive member that can be used for a reproducing process by removing the flange from the photosensitive drum without mechanically destroying the flange when the photosensitive member is used.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a reproducing method of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Photoconductor 12 Photosensitive drum (OPC drum)
14 Flange (Flange with gear)
15 Flange without gear 16 Liquid nitrogen 18 Insulated container

Claims (4)

A method for producing a photoreceptor in which a resin flange is attached to a photosensitive drum having a photosensitive layer on a metal substrate without using an adhesive,
Using a flange whose outer diameter of the flange fitting portion is 0.2% to 0.4% larger than the inner diameter of the metal base,
A method of manufacturing a photoreceptor, wherein the flange is cooled in advance and then fitted to a drum base. The method of manufacturing a photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein the flange is cooled by bringing the flange into contact with a liquid refrigerant having a temperature of −70 ° C. or less. A method for regenerating a photosensitive member, wherein a photosensitive flange having a photosensitive layer provided on a metal substrate is attached to a resin flange without using an adhesive,
Using a flange whose outer diameter of the flange fitting portion is 0.2% to 0.4% larger than the inner diameter of the metal base,
A flange is detached by cooling the vicinity of a flange fitting portion of a photosensitive member manufactured by attaching a resin flange without using an adhesive to the photosensitive drum by the manufacturing method according to claim 1, and the photosensitive drum and / or A method for regenerating a photoreceptor, wherein a resin flange is subjected to a regeneration process. The method for regenerating a photoconductor according to claim 4, wherein the cooling is performed by bringing the portion into contact with a liquid refrigerant having a temperature of −70 ° C. or less.

Images