JP3856434B2 - Blade for image forming apparatus and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

上記表１の結果から、本発明の構成を充たすクリーニングブレードは耐久性に優れたものであり、実験例１のブレードが特に優れた特性を有することが明らかである。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明のクリーニングブレードを使用したトナー規制部材の例を示した図
【図２】取付部材の形状が異なるトナー規制部材の例を示した図
【図３】クリーニングブレード原反の製造工程の例を示した図
【図４】クリーニングブレードの取付部材（ハウジング）への固定方法を例示した図
【図５】クリーニングブレードの取付部材（ハウジング）への固定方法の別の態様を例示した図
【符号の説明】
１ クリーニングブレード
９ 支持体層
１２ 熱可塑性ポリウレタンエラストマー層[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a residual toner on the surface of a member that carries a toner such as a photoreceptor or a transfer belt or contacts a toner carrying surface in an electrostatic image forming apparatus such as a plain paper copier, a plain paper facsimile, or a laser beam printer. The present invention relates to a cleaning blade that removes water, a method for manufacturing the same, and a method for fixing the cleaning blade.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to wipe off and remove toner remaining on the surface of a photoconductor, a transfer belt, and the like after a toner image is transferred to a sheet or the like in an electrostatic image forming apparatus, a thickness of about 1 is conventionally known. A cleaning blade formed by cutting from a polyurethane-based elastic sheet of about ˜3 mm has been used.
[0003]
Such an elastic cleaning blade performs cleaning by making elastic contact with the photoconductor using the bending elasticity in the width direction, and in order to exhibit sufficient cleaning capability, a predetermined contact pressure against the photoconductor. Need. On the other hand, the elastic cleaning blade should not damage the surface of the photosensitive member or the transfer belt even after cleaning. Therefore, in reality, a relatively low rigidity elastic member having a Shore A hardness of 60 to 80 is used. used.
[0004]
Therefore, in order to give the bending elasticity necessary for the cleaning blade, a thickness of a certain level or more is required, and there is a limit to thinning the blade. Further, the elastic material has a problem that the compression set is large, and the contact pressure with the photosensitive member is lowered by long-term use. In order to solve these problems, a technique of using a cleaning blade having a two-layer structure comprising a metal support and an elastic layer is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-219082).
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The cleaning blade described in the above publication is formed by laminating a metal plate and an elastic body. The cleaning blade includes a step of producing a metal plate as a support and a step of producing an elastic body layer and adhering the layer or above the support. It requires two steps of forming an elastic body layer that is reactively cured by applying a reaction composition that forms an elastic body by reaction curing, and has a large number of processes, poor production efficiency, and high cost. There is a problem that there is.
[0006]
The cleaning blade is fixed to the mounting member and supplied as a cleaning member. In such fixing, the application device, the material of the cleaning blade to be used, etc. are used in order to realize appropriate elastic contact between the photosensitive member and the cleaning blade. A process for aligning the mounting member and the cleaning blade so as to satisfy the protruding length (free end length) set accordingly is also required, and there is a limit in meeting the demand for cost reduction.
[0007]
In order to solve the above problems, a thermoplastic elastomer layer, particularly a conventionally used polyester or polycarbonate polyurethane elastomer layer having a Shore A hardness of 60 or more and less than 80 is laminated on a PET film. When the cleaning blade having the multilayer structure was manufactured and evaluated, it was found that the cleaning durability could not be obtained sufficiently contrary to expectation.
[0008]
An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning blade that can be manufactured easily and at low cost, can realize a stable contact pressure, and has excellent durability, and a manufacturing method thereof.
[0009]
The present invention also provides a cleaning blade that can be easily aligned with the mounting member.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present inventors diligently researched an elastic material laminated on a high-rigidity support member, and a cleaning blade having practical durability can be obtained by using a specific thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer. As a result, the present invention has been completed.
[0011]
The present invention is a cleaning blade used in an image forming apparatus utilizing an electrostatic transfer process, and has a multilayer structure including a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer on the entire surface of one side of a support layer formed of a highly rigid resin. The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer has a polycarbonate diol as a polyol component, an aromatic polyisocyanate as an isocyanate component, and has a hardness of 80 to 95 (20 ° C.) at Shore A., 20 ° C. value of 100% elongation modulus ₁₀₀ (20) is a value M of 6 MPa or more and 50 ° C. ₁₀₀ (50) is 4 MPa or more, M ₁₀₀ (20) and M ₁₀₀ Ratio M of (50) ₁₀₀ (20) / M ₁₀₀ (50) is 1.5 or lessIt is characterized by being.
[0012]
With the above configuration, a cleaning blade that can be manufactured easily and at low cost, can realize a stable contact pressure, and has excellent durability can be obtained.
[0013]
In a conventional cleaning blade composed only of a polyurethane elastomer, a material having a hardness of less than 80 is used in Shore A in order to suppress the wear of the photosensitive member. In the blade, durability was improved by using a material having a hardness of 80 to 95 (20 ° C.) at Shore A.
[0014]
Although the reason is not clear when the cleaning blade of the present invention is used, it is effective even in the case of using a polymerized toner which has been put into practical use and could not be sufficiently cleaned by the conventional single-layer type cleaning blade. Cleaning is possible. In cleaning the polymerization toner, it is preferable that the polyurethane elastomer has a high hardness.
[0015]
In the cleaning blade, the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer has a value M of 20 ° C. of 100% elongation modulus.₁₀₀ (20) and 50 ° C value M₁₀₀ Ratio M of (50)₁₀₀ (20) / M₁₀₀ (50) is preferably 1.5 or less.
[0016]
By using a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer having such characteristics, a cleaning blade having particularly excellent durability was obtained.
[0017]
The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer is M₁₀₀ (20) is 6 MPa or more, 50 ° C. value M₁₀₀ (50) is preferably 4 MPa or more, and the 300% elongation modulus at 20 ° C. (M₃₀₀ (20)) 20 MPa or more, at 50 ° C. (M₃₀₀ (50)) It is preferably 10 MPa or more.
[0018]
In the cleaning of polymerized toner, the reason is not clear, but M₁₀₀ , M₃₀₀ Is preferably higher.
[0019]
The reason why it is preferable that the modulus is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is not clear, but a tensile stress acts on the polyurethane elastomer that contacts the photoconductor due to the rotation of the photoconductor. This is thought to be due to the fact that the destruction of various materials may occur.
[0020]
The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer constituting the cleaning blade of the present invention preferably contains bis (β-hydroxyethoxy) benzene as a glycol component that binds an isocyanate component.
[0021]
By using bis (β-hydroxyethoxy) benzene as a constituent component, a cleaning blade having a stable contact pressure and excellent durability can be obtained.
[0022]
The above-described cleaning blade is preferably provided with a plurality of through holes in the length direction.
[0023]
When the cleaning blade is fixed to the attachment member or directly attached to the image forming apparatus, the positioning operation for setting the free end length to the set value can be easily performed. That is, by forming protrusions on a mounting member made of metal or high-rigidity resin and fitting the protrusions of the mounting member and the through holes provided in the cleaning blade, positioning operation is extremely easy and reliable. Can be done.
[0024]
Another aspect of the present invention is a cleaning blade for use in an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic transfer process, which has a multilayer structure including a thermoplastic elastomer layer on one entire surface of a support layer formed of a highly rigid resin. A method for producing a cleaning blade original fabric by laminating a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer in a fluidized state on one surface of the support layer, and cutting the cleaning blade original fabric into a cleaning blade And the laminating step is performed by laminating the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer in a neat state in a molten state, or by coating and drying with a solution, and the heat The plastic polyurethane elastomer contains a polycarbonate diol as a polyol component and contains an aromatic polyisocyanate. Wherein the isocyanate component, 80 to 95 hardness of at Shore A (20 ° C.), 20 ° C. value of 100% elongation modulus ₁₀₀ (20) is a value M of 6 MPa or more and 50 ° C. ₁₀₀ (50) is 4 MPa or more, M ₁₀₀ (20) and M ₁₀₀ Ratio M of (50) ₁₀₀ (20) / M ₁₀₀ (50) is 1.5 or lessIt is characterized by being.
[0025]
By the above manufacturing method, a cleaning blade having a stable contact pressure and excellent durability can be manufactured easily and at low cost.
[0026]
The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer used in the above production method has a value M of 20 ° C. of 100% elongation modulus.₁₀₀ (20) and 50 ° C value M₁₀₀ Ratio M of (50)₁₀₀ (20) / M₁₀₀ (50) is preferably 1.5 or less.
[0027]
The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer is M₁₀₀ (20) is 6 MPa or more, 50 ° C. value M₁₀₀ (50) is preferably 4 MPa or more, and the 300% elongation modulus at 20 ° C. (M₃₀₀ (20)) 20 MPa or more, at 50 ° C. (M₃₀₀ (50)) It is preferably 10 MPa or more.
[0028]
Moreover, it is preferable that the said thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer contains bis ((beta) -hydroxyethoxy) benzene as a glycol component which couple | bonds an isocyanate component.
[0029]
The cleaning blade of the present invention may be composed of a high-rigidity support member and a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer, or may be provided with another elastomer layer on the back surface layer of the high-rigidity support member. .
[0030]
By providing another elastomer layer on the back layer, there is a case where distortion such as warpage generated in the blade can be effectively prevented.
[0031]
Such an elastomer layer may be a thermosetting elastomer or a thermoplastic elastomer layer. As the thermoplastic elastomer, a known thermoplastic elastomer can be used without limitation, but it may be the same thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer as the surface layer.
[0032]
In the above-described cleaning blade manufacturing method, it is preferable to provide a through hole forming step of forming a through hole of a predetermined size at a predetermined position.
[0033]
A through-hole formation process may be provided after the lamination process which manufactures an original fabric, and may be provided after a cutting process. Since the cleaning blade of the present invention has a support layer formed of a highly rigid resin, the through holes can be accurately formed in both position and size.
[0034]
In the cleaning blade provided with a plurality of through holes in the length direction, the cleaning blade is fitted to the protrusion of the attachment member in the through hole of the cleaning blade on the attachment member provided with two or more alignment protrusions. In addition, after fixing a high-rigidity holding member having a through hole at a position corresponding to the through hole of the cleaning blade, it can be fixed to the mounting member by a fixing method using other through holes and screwing. it can.
[0035]
In the cleaning blade having a plurality of through holes in the length direction of the present invention, a mounting member for fixing the cleaning blade is formed of a thermoplastic resin and a protrusion is provided at a position corresponding to the through hole of the cleaning blade. The fixing blade can be fixed to the mounting member by a fixing method in which a cleaning blade is fitted to the projection of the mounting member and a high-rigidity clamping member is fitted and then the tip of the projection is melted and caulked.
[0036]
Either fixing method does not require alignment man-hours, and can be fixed to the mounting member simply and at low cost. Further, the cleaning blade is held by the high-rigidity clamping member with a uniform force in the length direction, and the contact surface is unlikely to be wavy.
[0037]
In particular, since the cleaning blade of the present invention has a support layer formed of a highly rigid resin, when the through hole is provided, the positioning accuracy is high. Therefore, two or more protrusions are formed on the mounting member for cleaning. By fitting in the through hole of the blade, highly accurate positioning can be easily performed.
[0038]
The attachment member here refers to a member to which the cleaning blade is attached, and may be a member called a metal fitting or a holder that fixes the cleaning blade in a conventional cleaning member, but may be a housing of the apparatus. Further, it may be a case of the developing unit or a part of the frame.
[0039]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Suitable materials for the layers of the cleaning blade of the present invention are as follows.
The support layer constituent material is easy to cut, and even if it is thin, sufficient contact pressure with the photoreceptor can be obtained. Therefore, a highly rigid resin material can be used without limitation. Specifically, polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, polyamide resins such as nylon-6, polycarbonate, acrylic resins, aramid resins, other engineering plastics or super engineering plastic materials such as polyphenylene oxide and polyphenylene sulfide The sheet | seat, film, etc. are illustrated. The thickness of the support layer varies depending on the material used and the required properties, but is generally about 50 μm to 500 μm. If it is too thick, the rigidity becomes too high, and if it is too thin, it becomes difficult to obtain a predetermined contact pressure.
[0040]
The support layer constituent material may have a multilayer structure, for example, a support having a three-layer structure in which two films are bonded via a resin layer having one or both of adhesiveness and creep resistance. It may be a body layer. As such a multilayer structure film, a dialymy (manufactured by Mitsubishi Plastics) in which a polyethylene terephthalate film is laminated through a resin layer having creep resistance and adhesiveness is commercially available and can be used.
[0041]
It is preferable that the support is subjected to a surface treatment for improving the adhesion to the thermoplastic elastomer forming raw material or an adhesive layer is provided. Examples of such surface treatment include corona discharge treatment, etching treatment with chemical substances, and the like, and examples of the configuration in which an adhesive layer is provided include a configuration in which a primer coat or a hot melt adhesive layer is provided.
[0042]
The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer constituting the elastic layer has polycarbonate diol as the main component of polyol and aromatic polyisocyanate as the main component of isocyanate. The polyol component may be only polycarbonate diol, and the isocyanate component may be only aromatic polyisocyanate.
[0043]
Examples of the polycarbonate polyol include 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, diethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, and diols such as polytetramethylene glycol, phosgene, and diallyl. Products produced by reaction with carbonates (eg diphenyl carbonate) or cyclic carbonates (eg propylene carbonate) can be used. A diol may be used independently and may use 2 or more types together.
[0044]
Aromatic polyisocyanates are 2,4-tolylene diisocyanate, 2,6-tolylene diisocyanate (TDI), 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 1,5-naphthalene diisocyanate, tolidine diisocyanate, p-phenylene diisocyanate. Etc., and may be used alone or in combination of two or more.
[0045]
The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer used in the present invention has polycarbonate diol as the main component of the polyol component and aromatic polyisocyanate as the main component of the isocyanate component, but in the technical field of polyurethane as long as its properties are not impaired. Other known polyol components and polyisocyanate components may be used in combination. The polycarbonate diol may contain a trifunctional or higher functional polyol.
[0046]
As the chain extender that is combined with the polyisocyanate component to form the hard segment of the polyurethane, known compounds can be used, such as ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,4- Diols such as glycols such as bis (β-hydroxyethoxy) benzene, taking-alls such as trimethylolpropane, and methylenebis-o-chloroaniline (MOCA) can be used. Among these, it is preferable to use 1,4-bis (β-hydroxyethoxy) benzene as described above, and this and other chain extenders may be used for adjusting physical properties such as hardness.
[0047]
As the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, those having the above-mentioned composition can be used without limitation, but the equivalent ratio of isocyanate group to hydroxyl group is 1 or more, preferably about 1.05 to 1.20 in excess of isocyanate during production. Polymerization, so-called incomplete thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer with isocyanate and groups remaining in the polymer or polymerized with an equivalent ratio of isocyanate group to hydroxyl group of about 0.95 to 1.0, and then added polyisocyanate compound It is preferable to use those containing unreacted isocyanate groups.
[0048]
Such thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer has few low molecular weight components remaining in the polymer, can suppress the generation of low molecular weight components during processing, and causes problems due to the adhesion of low molecular weight components to the photoreceptor, etc. Is prevented.
[0049]
As the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, it is also preferable to use a commercially available product having the above-described configuration, that is, a polycarbonate polyol, and milactolan E995, AH9P1015 (manufactured by Nippon Milactolan) can be exemplified as a suitable commercially available product.
[0050]
Moreover, it is preferable that it is 10-800 micrometers, and, as for the thickness of a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer, it is more preferable that it is 20-500 micrometers. If it is too thin, the life of the cleaning blade is shortened, and if it is too thick, the effect of compression set of the thermoplastic elastomer appears.
[0051]
When the thickness of the high-rigidity support member is 1, the thickness of the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) layer is preferably 1.5 or less, and more preferably 1.0 or less.
[0052]
When the thickness of the TPU layer exceeds 1.5 times the thickness of the highly rigid support member, the blade may be warped.
[0053]
When the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer is laminated on the high-rigidity support layer with a solution, an appropriate organic solvent that dissolves the thermoplastic elastomer is used. Examples of the organic solvent include amides such as dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, and N-methylpyrrolidone, ethers such as dioxane and tetrahydrofuran, ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone and cyclohexanone, esters such as n-butyl acetate, toluene, xylene and the like. The aromatic hydrocarbons are exemplified. In addition to these, it is also a preferred aspect to use alcohols and aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbons which are poor solvents in combination.
[0054]
As a method for forming a thermoplastic elastomer layer using a raw material in a solution state, a known coater can be used, and a roll coater, a doctor blade, a comma coater and the like are exemplified as a suitable coating apparatus. Further, it may be formed by painting by a spray coating method, a dipping method, a spin coating method or the like.
[0055]
It is a preferred embodiment to add a filler to the material constituting the thermoplastic elastomer layer as necessary. The additive is appropriately selected according to the use and purpose, and the following additives are exemplified.
Conductive material: carbon black (Ketjen black, acetylene black, HAF carbon, etc.), conductive titanium oxide, ITO, graphite, lithium perchlorate, ammonium thiocyanate, etc.
Lubricating materials: Silicon compounds such as polytetrafluoroethylene, boron nitride, graphite, molybdenum disulfide, polydimethylsiloxane, etc.
Others: antioxidants, colorants, etc.
Said additive may be used independently and may use 2 or more types together.
[0056]
FIG. 1 shows an example of a cleaning member in which the cleaning blade of the present invention is fixed to a mounting member. 1A is a perspective view, FIG. 1B is a plan view, and FIG. 1C is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. The cleaning member 3 is fixed to the cleaning blade 1 and the attachment member 5 via an adhesive layer 14 so that the free end length L is formed. The cleaning blade 1 is formed on the support layer 9 and the entire surface of one side thereof. And a thermoplastic elastomer layer 12.
[0057]
The cleaning blade 1 is provided with four through holes 7 in the length direction, while a cylindrical protrusion 11 is formed on the attachment member. By fitting the protrusion 11 and the through hole 7, the free end length L can be easily set. In this example, the through holes 7 are linearly arranged at equal intervals in the length direction of the cleaning blade 1, but are not limited thereto. As long as a plurality of them are provided in the length direction, they may not be equally spaced, and there may be through-holes arranged so as to be arranged in the width direction.
[0058]
A protrusion 11 is provided on the mounting surface of the mounting member 5 on the cleaning blade 1 and is fitted in the through hole of the cleaning blade 1. By this fitting, the free end length L when the cleaning blade 1 and the attachment member 5 are fixed can be easily set to a set value, and the effect of preventing the positional deviation due to the shear stress between the cleaning blade 1 and the attachment member 5 is achieved. Can also be obtained.
[0059]
FIG. 2 shows a cleaning member using a mounting member 6 having a cross-sectional shape different from that in FIG. This cleaning member is characterized in that the protrusion provided on the mounting member 6 is formed to be higher than the thickness of the cleaning blade 1 and is inserted into the through hole 7 and then the locking portion 15 is formed by caulking the tip of the protrusion. is there.
[0060]
By such caulking, the cleaning blade 1 and the attachment member 6 are more firmly fixed. In this case, the attachment member 6 may be a metal, but it is more preferable that the attachment member 6 is made of a thermoplastic resin because it can be easily caulked and the locking portion 15 can be formed in a fixed shape. That is, if a cavity for forming a protrusion is provided in the mold and the attachment member is formed by, for example, injection molding, the attachment member having such a protrusion can be easily manufactured.
[0061]
The method for producing the cleaning blade of the present invention will be described by taking as an example a method for producing a thermoplastic elastomer by laminating it on a highly rigid resin support layer in a molten state.
[0062]
In FIG. 3, the example of the manufacturing method of the cleaning blade original fabric which uses T die was shown. A T-die 33 is attached to an extruder 31 for extruding the thermoplastic elastomer. The support 9 is supplied to the vicinity of the molten resin discharge hole of the T die 33 by the roll 35, and the thermoplastic elastomer melted by the extruder 31 is discharged and laminated on the support 9 from the T die 33, and the thermoplastic elastomer layer 14 is formed, and a two-layer cleaning blade original fabric 36 is manufactured.
[0063]
The cleaning blade original fabric is manufactured by the above-described process, and the cleaning blade is obtained by cutting the raw material into a predetermined size. The cutting method is not particularly limited, and examples include cutting with a rotating or non-rotating cutting blade, punching cutting using a Thomson blade or the like, cutting with a laser beam, and the like. A cutting device for forming an edge portion that is in contact with the photosensitive member or the transfer belt and requires high accuracy may be different from a cutting device for forming other portions.
[0064]
The cutting step may be provided separately from the cleaning blade original fabric manufacturing step, but a slitter is provided following the original fabric manufacturing step to form a ribbon-shaped product having a predetermined width of the cleaning blade, and this is cut into a predetermined length. It is good also as a process. Cutting with a slitter is preferable because edge accuracy suitable for use in the counter method can be obtained.
[0065]
FIG. 4 illustrates a method of fixing a cleaning blade having a plurality of through holes to a thermoplastic resin housing, which is an example of an attachment member, using a high-rigidity clamping member. A protrusion 11 is formed on the mounting portion of the housing 51. Similarly to the cleaning blade 1, the high-rigidity clamping member 53 also has a through hole 55 corresponding to the protrusion 11. The cleaning blade 1 is fixed by fitting a plurality of formed through-holes 7 to the projections 11 of the housing 51, and further fitting the high-rigidity clamping member 53 and then melting and caulking the tip of the projections 11. (FIG. 4B).
[0066]
FIG. 5 illustrates another mode in which a cleaning blade having a plurality of through holes is fixed to a housing 51 which is an example of an attachment member using a high-rigidity clamping member 53. Two positioning protrusions 11 a are formed on the mounting portion of the housing 51. Similarly to the cleaning blade 1, the high-rigidity clamping member 53 also has a through hole 55 corresponding to the protrusion 11. The cleaning blade 1 and the high-rigidity holding member 53 are provided with a through hole 7a for alignment and a through hole 7 for screwing, respectively.
[0067]
The cleaning blade 1 is fitted to the alignment projection 11 of the housing 51, and further, the high-rigidity clamping member 53 is fitted, and then screwed using the remaining through holes 7, whereby the cleaning blade 1 is attached to the housing 51. It is fixed (FIG. 5B). The screw may be fixed in a screw hole directly formed in the housing, or may be fixed using a nut.
[0068]
By fixing directly to the housing, compared to the case shown in FIG. 2, there is no need for a mounting member called a holder, the number of members can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced. Cost can be reduced. Further, the use of the high-rigidity clamping member improves the mounting dimension accuracy of the cleaning blade after being fixed as compared with the case shown in FIG.
[0069]
Among the through holes 7 of the cleaning blade, the alignment through hole 7a fitted to the alignment protrusion has higher dimensional accuracy than the screw fixing through hole 7 and formed a small clearance with the alignment protrusion. It is preferable to do. In addition, one of the through holes 7a for alignment is a preferable aspect in which the dimensional accuracy is high in the direction (width direction) for determining the free end length of the cleaning blade, and the oval shape is long in the length direction. With this configuration, even when the cleaning blade is thermally expanded or contracted due to a temperature change, it can be fixed with high accuracy. The screwing through hole 7 may be oval or oval long in the length direction.
[0070]
Formation of the through hole can be performed by a known method. Specifically, a method using a drill, a method of punching with a blade such as a Thomson blade, a method of burning off with a laser beam, and the like are exemplified.
[0071]
The high-rigidity clamping member 53 is formed of a metal such as iron, aluminum, stainless steel, brass, or the like, or a high-rigidity thermoplastic resin exemplified as a support layer constituent material. The high-rigidity clamping member 53 is provided with holes, grooves, etc. corresponding to the protrusions 11 of the mounting member.
[0072]
【Example】
Examples and the like specifically showing the configuration and effects of the present invention will be described below.
[Production of cleaning blade]
(Experimental example 1)
Using an extruder equipped with a T-die, while supplying a polyester film (Cosmo Shine A4300, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) having a width of 1 m and a thickness of 250 μm with an easily adhesive resin layer, milactolan, which is a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, on the surface AH9P1015 (manufactured by Nippon Milactolan) was pressed and laminated while being extruded from the T die in a molten state to form a 200 μm-thick thermoplastic elastomer layer, which was wound up to obtain a cleaning blade stock. The production speed for continuous production of this cleaning blade is 1800 m at the line speed.² / H, and efficient production was possible. Moreover, the thickness of the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer with respect to the thickness 1 of the PET film was 0.80.
[0073]
(Experimental example 2)
In the same manner as in Example 1, while supplying a polyester film (Cosmo Shine A4100, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) having a width of 1 m and a thickness of 188 μm having an easily adhesive resin layer, a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer milactolan E995 (Nippon milactolan) on the surface thereof. A thermoplastic elastomer layer having a thickness of 100 μm was formed by pressing and laminating while being extruded in a molten state, and wound up to obtain an original cleaning blade. The production speed for the continuous production of this cleaning blade is also 1800m at the line speed.² / H, and efficient production was possible as in Example 1. Further, the thickness of the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer with respect to the thickness 1 of the PET film was 0.53.
[0074]
(Experimental example 3)
A raw material for the cleaning blade was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that, as the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, milactolan E595 (manufactured by Nihon Milactolan) using polycaprolactone polyol was used in place of milactolan AH9P1015.
[0075]
[Measurement of modulus and hardness]
A sheet having a thickness of 300 μm of the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer used for the production of the cleaning blade of the above experimental example was produced, and a strip-shaped measurement sample having a width of 5 mm and a length of 30 mm was cut out from this sheet and used for measurement.
The modulus was measured according to JIS K6254.
[0076]
The hardness was measured according to JIS K6253.
[0077]
[Evaluation]
(Durability evaluation)
A blade having a width of 15 mm and a length of 300 mm was cut from the raw materials of Experimental Examples 1 to 3, and a cleaning blade was prepared by fixing to a metal fitting serving as an attachment member using a hot melt adhesive. This cleaning blade is fixed to a photosensitive member at a predetermined contact pressure in a commercially available copying machine, a copy image is continuously formed using a standard original image, and an image evaluation at the end of a certain number of sheets is performed. The number of copies with black streaks in the copied image was regarded as the actual machine durability. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1 together with the measurement results of modulus and hardness.
[0078]
[Table 1]

From the results of Table 1 above, it is clear that the cleaning blade satisfying the configuration of the present invention has excellent durability, and the blade of Experimental Example 1 has particularly excellent characteristics.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a toner regulating member using a cleaning blade of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a toner regulating member having a different mounting member shape
FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a manufacturing process of a cleaning blade original fabric
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for fixing a cleaning blade to a mounting member (housing).
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another aspect of a method of fixing the cleaning blade to the mounting member (housing).
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Cleaning blade
9 Support layer
12 Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer

Claims (5)

A cleaning blade used in an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic transfer process, having a multilayer structure including a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer layer on the entire surface of one side of a support layer formed of a highly rigid resin, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers include polycarbonate diol as the polyol component comprises an aromatic polyisocyanate as an isocyanate component, 80 to 95 (20 ° C.) hardness at Shore a, of 20 ° C. and 100% elongation modulus value _{M 100} ( 20) is more than 6 MPa, the 50 ° C. value _M 100 (50) is at least 4 _{MPa, M} 100 (20) and the ratio _M 100 ₍₂₀ of _{M 100 (50)) / M} 100 (50) of 1.5 or less Is a cleaning blade. The thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, a glycol component that binds with the isocyanate component, 1,4-bis (beta-hydroxyethoxy) cleaning blade according to claim 1 containing benzene. The cleaning blade according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of through holes are provided in the length direction. A method of manufacturing a cleaning blade for use in an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic transfer process, having a multilayer structure including a thermoplastic elastomer layer on one entire surface of a support layer formed of a highly rigid resin. A laminating step of laminating a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer in a fluidized state on one surface of the support layer to produce a cleaning blade original fabric, and a cutting step of producing a cleaning blade by cutting the cleaning blade original fabric And the laminating step is performed by neatly laminating the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer in a molten state, or by coating and drying with a solution, and the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer is a polycarbonate. Diol as a polyol component and aromatic polyisocyanate as isocyanate Wherein a minute, 80~95 (20 ℃) hardness at Shore A, 100% elongation modulus of 20 ° C. value _M 100 (20) is more than 6 MPa, the value _M 100 (50) of 50 ° C. There are at least 4MPa , M ₁₀₀ (20) to M ₁₀₀ (50) The ratio M ₁₀₀ (20) / M ₁₀₀ (50) is a manufacturing method of a cleaning blade which is 1.5 or less . The said thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer is a manufacturing method of the cleaning blade of Claim 4 containing 1, 4 -bis ((beta) -hydroxyethoxy) benzene as a glycol component couple | bonded with an isocyanate component.

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