JP4561514B2 - Coating apparatus and endless belt manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating apparatus that uniformly coats a solution on a core and a method of manufacturing an endless belt using the apparatus. The endless belt is particularly preferably used for an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine or a printer.

  In an image forming apparatus, a belt made of a thin plastic film may be used in order to reduce the size / performance of a photosensitive member, a charging member, a transfer member, and a fixing member. In that case, if there is a seam in the belt, a trace of the seam is generated in the output image. Therefore, an endless belt without a seam is preferable. The material is preferably a polyimide resin or a polyamideimide resin in terms of strength, dimensional stability, heat resistance, and the like. (Polyimide is abbreviated as PI and polyamideimide is abbreviated as PAI, as appropriate)

  In order to produce an endless belt with PI resin, there are a centrifugal molding method in which a PI precursor solution is applied to the inner surface of a cylindrical body and a film is formed while rotating, and an inner surface coating method in which the PI precursor solution is spread on the inner surface of the cylindrical body As is known, in these methods, when heating the PI precursor, it is necessary to remove the coating from the cylindrical body and place it on the heating core, which is disadvantageous in terms of man-hours.

  As another method for producing an endless PI resin belt, there is a method in which a PI precursor solution is applied to the surface of the core body by a dip coating method, dried, heated and reacted, and then the PI resin film is peeled off from the core body. This method has the advantage that the same core is used consistently from the coating film forming process by coating to the film forming process in which the reaction is carried out by heating, and the number of man-hours for replacement is unnecessary.

  However, the PI resin precursor solution has a very high viscosity at room temperature, and when it is applied onto the core by the dip coating method, the film thickness becomes too thick. Therefore, a method of controlling the film thickness can be applied by the annular body described in Patent Document 1 (detailed method will be described later).

  However, when applying by the dip coating method, there is a problem that the required amount of the solution is larger than the volume of the core body, and therefore very large.

  In order to reduce the required amount of solution, for example, an annular coating method as disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be used. Here, FIG. 10 shows a schematic sectional view of a conventional annular coating apparatus. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of a conventional annular coating apparatus. In the annular coating apparatus shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 applied to this annular coating method, when supplying the solution into the annular coating tank 120, there is a method of feeding the coating solution 180 from the supply pipe 260 provided in the annular coating tank 120. Be taken. However, for example, when the viscosity of the coating solution 180 is relatively high such as 1 Pa · s or more, the coating solution 180 accumulated in the tank and the supply solution 180 supplied from the supply pipe 260 are not easily uniform, and the coating solution 180 flowed into the annular coating tank 120 in a streak shape (indicated by arrows in FIGS. 10 and 11), and streaks sometimes occurred in the coating film. In FIG. 10, 100 is a core body, 160 is an annular sealing material, 200 is an annular body, and 240 is an arm.

This is not limited to the annular coating apparatus, but is a similar problem when a solution is supplied into the coating tank, and improvement has been demanded.
JP 2002-91027 A JP-A-60-95546

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating apparatus capable of preventing a coating solution from being supplied in a streak shape in a coating tank and obtaining a good coating film. It is another object of the present invention to provide an endless belt manufacturing method using the apparatus.

The above problem is solved by the following means. That is,
The coating apparatus of the present invention is
An application tank for applying the coating solution to the core;
A supply tank that is provided so as to surround the coating tank, and overflows the coating solution to be supplied to the coating tank;
A supply pipe connected to the supply tank and supplying a coating solution to the supply tank;
A flow dividing plate that is provided in the supply tank and divides the coating solution supplied from the supply pipe, and divides the coating solution toward the radial direction of the supply tank in the circumferential direction, and also the liquid level of the supply tank A flow dividing plate that divides the coating solution by passing through the plurality of holes ,
It is characterized by comprising.

  In the coating apparatus of the present invention, the coating solution is temporarily supplied from the supply pipe to the supply tank, and overflowed in the supply tank to be supplied to the coating tank. Since this supply tank is provided so as to surround the periphery of the coating tank, the coating solution overflowing from the supply tank is supplied uniformly from the periphery of the coating tank. For this reason, for example, even when the viscosity of the coating solution is relatively high, such as 1 Pa · s or more, the coating solution stored in the coating tank and the supplied coating solution tend to be uniform, and the supplied coating solution Does not flow into the coating tank in a streak-like manner, and a good coating film can be obtained.

Te coating apparatus odor of the present invention, by providing the shunt plate, the flow of coating solution supplied from the supply pipe can be weakened in the supply tank, the result, it becomes easy evenly overflowing from the entire supply tank, the coating solution Is uniformly supplied from the periphery of the coating tank.

  In the coating apparatus of the present invention, the coating tank is provided with an annular sealing material at the bottom thereof that holds liquid and has a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the core body, and the core body is formed in the hole of the annular sealing material. It is preferable that the core is relatively lifted from the coating tank and the coating solution is applied to the surface of the core. In particular, it is preferable to apply a so-called annular coating apparatus in which the supply pipe must be provided from the side surface of the tank.

  In the coating apparatus of the present invention, the coating tank includes an annular body having a hole having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the core body in a floating state on the coating solution, and the core after contacting the coating solution. It is preferable that the coating solution is applied to the surface of the core body by passing a body through the hole of the annular body. Since the excess coating solution adhering to the core is scraped off by the annular body, a uniform and good coating film can be obtained.

  On the other hand, the manufacturing method of the endless belt of the present invention uses the coating apparatus of the present invention to apply a film-forming resin solution on the core to form a coating film, and heat the coating film to form a resin film. After the formation, the resin film is extracted from the core. Since the film forming resin solution is applied using the coating apparatus of the present invention, a good endless belt can be obtained.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the coating device which can prevent that a coating solution is supplied in a streak form in a coating tank, and can obtain a favorable coating film can be provided. Moreover, the manufacturing method of the endless belt using the apparatus can also be provided.

  Hereinafter, the coating apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol may be provided to the member which has the substantially same function through all the drawings, and the description may be abbreviate | omitted.

(First Reference Example )
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a state where the annular coating apparatus according to the first reference example is stopped. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the time of application of the annular coating apparatus according to the first reference example . FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing when the annular coating apparatus according to the first reference example is stopped. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing when the annular coating apparatus according to the first reference example is applied. However, the figure shows only the main part, and other devices such as a core holding mechanism and a lifting device are omitted.

In addition, using the annular coating apparatus of this reference example , a film-forming resin solution is applied onto the core body to form a coating film. Here, “applying on the core” means applying to the surface of the side surface of the core and a surface of the layer when the surface has a layer. Further, “rising the core” is a relative relationship with the liquid level at the time of application, and includes the case of “stopping the core and lowering the coating solution surface”.

The coating apparatus according to this reference example includes an annular coating tank 12 and a supply tank 14 so as to surround the periphery of the side surface. In this reference example , a cylindrical weir having a diameter smaller than that of the tank is provided concentrically in the cylindrical tank, so that the inside of the tank is divided into two in the radial direction, and the annular coating tank 12 and the supply tank 14. And are provided. Thus, although the form which divides the inside of one tank into two may be sufficient, the form which provides two tanks separately may be sufficient.

  An annular sealing material 16 having a hole that is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the core body 10 is provided at the bottom of the annular coating tank 12, and the core body 10 is inserted through the center of the annular sealing material 16. The coating solution 18 is accommodated. Thereby, the coating solution 18 does not leak. An annular body 20 having a circular hole 22 at the center is installed on the coating solution 18 filled in the annular coating tank 12. An arm 24 is attached to the annular body 20 to support the annular body when stopped. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the arm 24 is omitted.

  The supply tank 14 is provided with four supply pipes 26 for supplying the coating solution 18 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer frame surface. The supply tank 14 is configured such that the outer frame is higher than the inner frame so that the coating solution 18 flows into the annular coating tank 12 when it overflows. The distance between the outer frame and the inner frame of the supply tank 14 is preferably about 5 to 20 mm. On the other hand, although the number of the supply pipes 26 (supply ports) depends on the size of the annular coating tank 12 and the supply tank 14, it is preferable to provide about 2 to 20 at equally spaced positions.

  The coating solution 18 is fed from the supply pipe 26. As a method of feeding the coating solution 18 into the tank, there are a method of pumping using pressurized air and a method of pumping with an appropriate pump.

  The material of the annular body 20 is selected from metals and plastics that are not attacked by the solvent of the solution. In order to prevent the annular body 20 from sinking, in addition to the arms 24, legs that support the annular body 20 may be provided on the outer side of the annular body 20 or the annular coating tank 12.

  Here, since the film thickness of the coating film 28 is determined by the gap between the outer diameter of the core body 10 and the inner diameter of the circular hole 22 at the time of application, the inner diameter of the circular hole 22 is adjusted by a desired film thickness. Further, if the roundness of the inner diameter of the circular hole 22 is low, the film thickness uniformity is lowered, so that the roundness is preferably 20 μm or less, and more preferably 10 μm or less. Of course, it is optimal that the roundness is 0 μm, but it is difficult in processing.

  The inner wall surface of the annular body 20 may be stepped or curved in addition to a linearly inclined surface as long as the lower part immersed in the solution is wide and the upper part is narrow. In order to process the roundness high, there may be a portion parallel to the core at the upper part of the inner wall surface of the circular hole.

In the coating apparatus according to the present reference example , as shown in FIG. 2, another core body 10 </ b> A (this may be an intermediate body that does not produce a belt) is connected under the core body 10, and an annular coating tank is applied. The coating film 28 is formed on the surface of the core body 10 by pushing it up from the lower part of 12. At that time, the annular body 20 is lifted by the frictional resistance of the coating solution 18, and the film thickness of the coating film 28 is regulated to a constant value by the gap between the circular hole 22 of the annular body 20 and the core body 10. Thereby, the uniform coating film 28 is obtained.

  Here, the pulling speed of the core 10 at the time of application is preferably about 0.1 to 1.5 m / min. When the core body 10 is pulled up, the annular body 20 is installed in a floating state, so that it is lifted by the frictional resistance due to the viscosity of the coating solution 18. Since the annular body 20 is freely movable, the annular body 20 moves so that the frictional resistance between the core body 10 and the annular body 20 is constant in the circumferential direction, that is, the gap is uniform. A coating 28 having a uniform film thickness is formed. Thus, since a film thickness is controlled by the annular body 20, a highly viscous solution can be applied with a uniform film thickness.

  The supply of the coating solution 18 to the annular coating tank 12 is performed after the coating solution 18 supplied from the supply pipe 26 is once stored in the supply tank 14 and then overflowed. Since the supply tank 14 is provided so as to surround the circumference of the annular coating tank 12, the coating solution overflowing from the supply tank 14 is supplied uniformly from the circumference of the annular coating tank 12. For this reason, for example, even when the viscosity of the coating solution 18 is relatively high, such as 1 Pa · s or more, the coating solution 18 accumulated in the annular coating tank 12 and the supplied coating solution are likely to be uniform and supplied. The applied coating solution 18 does not flow into the annular coating tank 12 in a streak form, and a good coating film can be obtained.

(Second reference example )
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a state where the annular coating apparatus according to the second reference example is stopped. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the time of application of the annular coating apparatus according to the second reference example . However, the figure shows only the main part, and other devices such as a core holding mechanism and a lifting device are omitted.

In the annular coating apparatus according to the present reference example , a distribution plate 30 that distributes the coating solution 18 supplied from the supply pipe 26 by passing through the distribution holes 30 </ b> A is disposed in the supply tank 14.

  The flow dividing plate 30 is arranged so as to divide the supply tank 14 vertically into two, and a plurality of flow dividing holes 30A for dividing the supplied coating solution 18 into the coating solution 18 are provided. Further, the arrangement position of the flow dividing plate 30 is preferably about the middle of the height of the inner frame of the supply tank 14.

  The number of the diversion holes 30A may be larger than the number of supply pipes 26 (supply ports) from the viewpoint of finer diversion. In addition, the size and number of the diverting holes 30A are appropriately set so as not to prevent passage of the coating solution, but it is preferable that the number is large.

  Note that the number of the flow dividing plates 30 is not limited to one, and two forms may be provided as shown in FIG. In the case of this form, the number of the diversion holes 30A provided in the lower diversion plate 30 out of the two diversion plates 30 may be larger than the number of supply ports and smaller than the number of diversion holes 30A in the upper diversion plate 30. Good. Further, the arrangement position of the two flow dividing plates 30 is preferably a height that divides the height of the inner frame of the supply tank 14 by about one third. Three or more flow dividing plates 30 can be provided as long as they do not hinder the passage of the coating solution.

Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first reference example , the description thereof is omitted.

In the annular coating apparatus according to this reference example , a flow dividing plate 30 that divides the supply tank 14 into upper and lower portions is provided, and the supplied coating solution 18 is divided by the flow dividing holes 30A of the flow dividing plate 30, so that it is supplied from the supply pipe. The flow of the coating solution is weakened in the supply tank 14 and easily overflows from the entire circumferential direction of the supply tank 14, and the coating solution 18 is supplied uniformly from the periphery of the coating tank.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the stop time of the annular coating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing when the annular coating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is stopped. However, the figure shows only the main part, and other devices such as a core holding mechanism and a lifting device are omitted.

In the second reference example , the annular coating device according to the present embodiment is provided with a second flow dividing plate 32 that divides the coating solution 18 supplied from each supply pipe 26 in the circumferential direction. The second flow dividing plate 32 is provided below the flow dividing plate 30 and perpendicular to the flow dividing plate 30. For each supply pipe 26, the second flow dividing plate 32 has a coating solution 18 that is divided in one circumferential direction flows into the supply tank 14 and a coating solution 18 that is divided in the other circumferential direction flows outside the supply tank 14. (Dotted lines in FIG. 9 indicate the flow of the coating solution 18). The flow dividing holes 30 </ b> A of the flow dividing plate 30 are provided in two rows so that the coating solutions 18 divided into the inner and outer sides of the supply tank 14 by the second flow dividing plate 32 respectively flow in.

Other than this, the second reference example is the same as the second reference example, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the annular coating apparatus according to the present embodiment, the coating solution 18 supplied from the supply pipe 26 is first divided in the circumferential direction by the second flow dividing plate 32, and the coating solution 18 divided in the circumferential direction is divided. After passing through the flow dividing holes 30 </ b> A of the plate 30, the coating solution 18 supplied from the adjacent supply pipes 26 is overlapped and overflowed. For this reason, compared to the second reference example , the flow of the coating solution supplied from the supply pipe is more effectively weakened in the supply tank 14 and easily overflows from the entire circumferential direction of the supply tank 14. The solution 18 is supplied uniformly from the periphery of the coating tank.

In the first to second reference examples and the third embodiment, the embodiment in which the annular coating apparatus is applied as the coating apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to a dip coating apparatus. In the annular coating device, since the annular coating tank 7 can be made smaller than the dip coating tank, there is an advantage that a small amount of solution is required.

Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the endless belt of the present invention to which the above-described first and second reference examples and the annular coating apparatus according to the third embodiment are applied will be described.

  The method for producing an endless belt of the present invention includes a coating film forming step of forming a coating film by applying a film forming resin solution on a core, and a coating film forming step of heating the coating film to form a resin film. Extracting the resin film from the core to obtain an endless belt.

  First, the core body will be described. The core is preferably a metal cylinder such as aluminum, stainless steel, nickel, or copper. The length of the core is preferably about 10 to 40% longer than the length of the target endless belt in order to secure a margin for the ineffective region generated at the end. The outer diameter of the core body is adjusted to the diameter of the endless belt, and the thickness is set to a thickness that can maintain the strength of the core body.

  A holding plate for holding the core body may be attached to both ends of the core body. The holding plate may be fixed with screws or welded to the core. If necessary, the holding plate may have a ventilation hole having an arbitrary shape such as a circular shape or a fan shape, a hole through which a mandrel passes, or a shaft in the center. Moreover, you may attach components for hanging or mounting.

  In order to prevent the formed film from adhering to the surface of the core, there are methods of coating the surface of the core with a fluororesin or silicone resin, or applying a release agent to the surface.

  Depending on the type of film-forming resin, there are solvent volatiles during heating and gas generated during reaction, and the resin film after heating may partially swell due to the gas. This is particularly noticeable when the thickness of the PI resin film exceeds 50 μm.

  In order to prevent the swelling, the surface of the core body is preferably roughened to about Ra 0.2 to 2 μm as disclosed in JP-A-2002-160239. Examples of the roughening method include blasting, cutting, sandpaper peeling, and the like. Thereby, the gas generated from the PI resin can go out through a slight gap formed between the core body and the PI resin film, and does not swell.

  Next, the film forming resin solution will be described. The film-forming resin solution is preferably a solution obtained by forming a solution (coating solution) of a PI precursor or PAI resin from the viewpoint of strength and the like. Various known precursors can be used as the PI precursor or PAI resin. These solvents are aprotic polar solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidone, N, N-dimethylacetamide, and acetamide, and have low volatility at room temperature. In addition, although the density | concentration of a solution, a viscosity, etc. are selected suitably, the solid content concentration of a preferable solution is 10-40 mass%, and a viscosity is 1-100 Pa.s.

Next, the coating film forming process will be described. In the coating film forming step, the film forming resin solution is applied to the core surface as a coating solution using the annular coating apparatus according to the first to second reference examples and the third embodiment.

  Next, the film forming process will be described. In the film forming step, after the film forming resin solution is coated on the surface of the core body, the core body is put into a heat drying apparatus to dry the solvent. When the coating film drips during drying, the core body is leveled and dried while rotating. The rotation speed is preferably about 1 to 60 rpm.

  The heating conditions are preferably 90 to 170 ° C. and 20 to 60 minutes. At that time, the higher the temperature, the shorter the heating time, and the temperature may be raised stepwise or at a constant rate.

  When the solution is a PAI resin solution, a film can be obtained only by drying the solvent.

  When the solution is a PI precursor solution, if the solvent is removed too much from the coating film, the film does not yet retain strength, and thus cracks are likely to occur. Therefore, it is preferable to leave the solvent to some extent (15 to 45% by mass in the PI precursor film).

  Thereafter, a PI resin is formed by heating the PI precursor film at 250 to 450 ° C., preferably around 300 to 350 ° C., for 20 to 60 minutes to cause a condensation reaction. At that time, the temperature may be increased stepwise. In this step, since the film is fixed, the core body may be oriented in any direction, and may not be rotated during heating.

  Next, the extraction process will be described. In the extracting step, after forming the film, it is cooled, and the formed film is peeled off from the core to obtain an endless belt. The endless belt may be further subjected to drilling or ribbing as necessary.

In this way, an endless belt can be manufactured. When the obtained endless belt is used as a transfer belt, a conductive substance is dispersed in the resin solution as necessary. Examples of the conductive material include carbon-based materials such as carbon black, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, and graphite, metals or alloys such as copper, silver, and aluminum, tin oxide, indium oxide, antimony oxide, SnO ₂ —In ₂ O. ₃ Conductive metal oxides such as complex oxides. In addition, the film thickness of an endless belt preferable for these uses is about 30 to 150 μm.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. However, these examples do not limit the present invention.

( Reference zero 1)
Carbon black (trade name: Special Black 4, Degussa Huls Co., Ltd.) is mixed with PI precursor solution (trade name: U varnish A, manufactured by Ube Industries, concentration 18% by mass) at a solid content mass ratio of 30%, and then opposed. Dispersed by collision type disperser. Furthermore, a silicone leveling agent (trade name: DC3PA, manufactured by Dow Corning Tore Silicone) was added so that the concentration became 500 ppm to obtain a coating solution.

  Separately, an aluminum cylinder having an outer diameter of 366 mm, a wall thickness of 10 mm, and a length of 450 mm was prepared, and the surface was roughened to Ra 1.0 μm by blasting with spherical alumina particles. The circularity of the cylinder was 20 μm or less.

  A silicone release agent (trade name: Sepacoat, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) was applied to the surface of the cylinder to form a core.

Coating was performed using an annular coating apparatus having the same configuration as that of the first reference example (see FIGS. 1 to 4). Here, the present annular coating apparatus was produced as follows. First, a hole with an inner diameter of 386 mm was made in the bottom surface of a tank having an inner diameter of 500 mm and an inner height of 80 mm, and an annular sealing material made of hard polyethylene having a thickness of 362 mm and a hole having an inner diameter of 362 mm was attached to the back surface of the bottom surface. On the side surface of the tank, six supply pipes from fluororesin tubes having an inner diameter of 9 mm were installed at positions of 20 mm from the bottom at intervals of 60 ° in the circumferential direction. In addition, a cylindrical weir having an inner diameter of 472 mm, a thickness of 0.5 mm, and a height of 50 mm was provided inside the tank, and a supply tank and a coating tank were provided by dividing into two in the radial direction of the tank.

  Further, an aluminum body having an outer diameter of 420 mm, an inner diameter of 367.1 mm at the smallest part of the circular hole, and a height of 50 mm was produced as an annular body. The inner wall was linearly inclined, and the inclination angle with respect to the vertical line was 7 °. A 2 mm portion parallel to the core was formed on the upper end, and the roundness of the inner diameter was 8 μm.

  First, the core body is passed through the center of the present annular coating apparatus, and the annular body is disposed, and then the coating solution is injected into the supply tank from a pressurized container (not shown) with an air pressure of 0.5 MPa. . The flow rate was about 100 ml / min, and the coating solution was first filled in the supply tank, then overflowed from the supply tank and supplied to the annular coating tank. Thereafter, the injection of the solution was stopped when the height of the coating solution reached the same level as the inner frame of the supply tank.

  Next, another core body was placed under the core body, and the coating was performed by pushing up at 0.8 m / min. At that time, the annular body was lifted by about 20 mm. Thereby, a PI precursor coating film having a wet film thickness of about 500 μm was formed on the core.

  After application, a 20 mmφ stainless steel shaft is passed through the center of the core, placed on a turntable, leveled, and heated at 80 ° C. for 20 minutes and at 130 ° C. for 30 minutes while rotating at 6 rpm, PI precursor coating film Was dried. As a result, a PI precursor film having a thickness of about 150 μm was obtained.

  Next, the core body was made vertical, the shaft was removed, and it was placed on a table, and placed in a heating device, and reacted by heating at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes and at 320 ° C. for 30 minutes to form a PI resin film.

After cooling to room temperature, the film was extracted from the core while blowing air between the core and the film to obtain an endless belt. The film thickness of the endless belt was 75 ± 2 μm, and the unevenness was small. The endless belt was cut from each end by about 35 mm to obtain an endless belt having a length of 360 mm. The obtained endless belt had a semiconductivity of about 10 ¹⁰ Ωcm when measured for volume resistivity at 100 V, and could be used as an electrophotographic transfer belt.

  In the above application, if the application solution is injected again by the reduced amount of the solution and the next application is performed, the application can always be continued in a constant amount.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Reference Example 1, an annular coating device was produced in the same manner as in Reference Example 1 except that the tank was not provided with a cylindrical weir and the coating solution was supplied directly from the supply pipe to the annular coating tank (FIG. 10, FIG. 11). When the PI precursor solution was directly injected into the annular coating tank in the present annular coating apparatus, the solution was filled while pulling the lines (see FIGS. 10 and 11).

And when injection | pouring was stopped when it became the same liquid quantity as the reference example 1, and apply | coated similarly in others, the stripe pattern applicable to the stripe | line | muscle of a solution was seen in the coating film.

  The thickness of the produced endless belt was about 6 μm thin at the streak portion, and was not uniform. Further, the volume resistivity also changed at that location, and when used as an electrophotographic transfer belt, streaky irregularities were generated in the image density.

( Reference Example 2)
Coating was performed using an annular coating apparatus having the same configuration as that of the second reference example (see FIGS. 5 to 6). Here, the present annular coating apparatus was produced as follows. In Reference Example 1, a flow dividing plate having a width of 14 mm was further attached to a height of 25 mm from the bottom so that the supply tank was divided into two parts up and down. The flow dividing plate has 24 inflow holes with an inner diameter of 5 mm. Thereby, the solution supplied from the six supply pipes (supply ports) is divided into 24 by passing through the inflow holes, flows out from the flow dividing plate, and then overflows from the supply tank.

In this manner, coating was performed in the same manner as in Reference Example 1. When the film thickness of the obtained endless belt was measured in detail, it was 75 ± 1 μm, and the unevenness was even smaller than the result of Reference Example 1.

(Example 3)
Application was performed using an annular coating apparatus having the same configuration as in the third embodiment (see FIGS. 8 to 9). Here, the present annular coating apparatus was produced as follows. In Reference Example 1, a flow dividing plate having a width of 14 mm was further attached to a height of 30 mm from the bottom so that the supply tank was divided into two parts up and down. And the 2nd flow dividing plate was attached so that it might become the downward of the flow dividing plate supplied from each supply pipe | tube, and perpendicular | vertical to a flow dividing plate. The shunt plate is provided with 24 inflow holes with an inner diameter of 4 mm, for a total of 48 inflow holes.

In this manner, coating was performed in the same manner as in Reference Example 1. When the film thickness of the obtained endless belt was measured in detail, it was 75 ± 0.5 μm, and there was substantially no unevenness.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the time of a stop of the cyclic | annular coating apparatus which concerns on a 1st reference example . It is a schematic block diagram which shows the time of application | coating of the annular coating device which concerns on a 1st reference example . It is a schematic plan view which shows the time of a stop of the cyclic | annular coating apparatus which concerns on a 1st reference example . It is a perspective view which shows the time of application | coating of the annular coating device which concerns on a 1st reference example . It is a schematic block diagram which shows the time of a stop of the cyclic | annular coating apparatus which concerns on a 2nd reference example . It is a perspective view which shows the time of application | coating of the annular coating device which concerns on a 2nd reference example . It is a schematic block diagram which shows the time of the stop of another example of the cyclic | annular coating apparatus which concerns on a 2nd reference example . It is a schematic block diagram which shows the time of a stop of the cyclic | annular coating apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view shown at the time of a stop of the cyclic | annular coating apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The schematic sectional drawing of the conventional annular coating device is shown. The schematic plan view of the conventional annular coating device is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Core body 12 Annular application tank 14 Supply tank 16 Annular sealing material 18 Coating solution 20 Annular body 22 Circular hole 24 Arm 26 Supply pipe 28 Coating 30 Dividing plate 30A Dividing hole 32 Second dividing plate

Claims (4)

An application tank for applying the coating solution to the core;
A supply tank that is provided around the coating tank and overflows the coating solution to be supplied to the coating tank.
A supply pipe connected to the supply tank and supplying a coating solution to the supply tank;
A flow dividing plate that is provided in the supply tank and divides the coating solution supplied from the supply pipe, and divides the coating solution toward the radial direction of the supply tank in the circumferential direction, and also the liquid level of the supply tank A flow dividing plate that divides the coating solution by passing through the plurality of holes ,
A coating apparatus comprising: The coating tank holds the coating solution and has an annular seal material at the bottom having a hole smaller than the outer diameter of the core body,
Passing the core through the hole of the annular sealing material, relatively raising the core from the coating tank, and applying the coating solution to the surface of the core;
The coating apparatus according to claim 1. The coating tank comprises an annular body having a hole with an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the core body in a floating state on the coating solution,
2. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the core body after contact with the coating solution is passed through the hole of the annular body, and the coating solution is applied to a surface of the core body. After using the coating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to form a coating film by applying a film-forming resin solution on the core and heating the coating film to form a resin film A method for producing an endless belt, wherein the resin film is extracted from the core.

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