JP6452532B2 - Method for producing foamed elastic roller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a foamed elastic row La, more particularly to a method for producing a foamed elastic rows La having a high deflection accuracy even thick foamed elastic layer.

Various image forming apparatuses using an electrophotographic system are employed in printers such as laser printers and video printers, copiers, facsimiles, and multi-function machines thereof. Such an image forming apparatus usually includes a fixing roller having a foamed elastic layer for fixing the developer transferred onto the recording medium.
Such a fixing roller fixes the developer onto the recording body by pressing the developer transferred onto the recording body against the recording body and heating it. Therefore, in order to fix the developer to the recording body as desired, the fixing roller has a small gap between the center point of the foamed elastic layer and the center point of the shaft body (the deflection accuracy of the foamed elastic layer is high). Is required.

  As a roller having a foamed elastic layer, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing an elastic roll in which a skin layer is polished after foaming a foamable rubber composition in a mold. Patent Document 2 describes a method of manufacturing an elastic roller having a predetermined open cell ratio by pressing the surface of a cured rubber body.

Japanese Patent No. 3224138 JP 2008-292533 A

  By the way, in recent image forming apparatuses, the printing speed is increased and the durability is also improved. In order to meet these requirements, the foamed elastic layer of the fixing roller tends to be thickened. However, when the foamed elastic layer is thickened, the deflection accuracy may be lowered because the foamed elastic layer is a foam. In addition, when the foamed cured body that will be the foamed elastic layer is pressed during the manufacturing process, if the foamed cured body is slowly restored and then the foamed cured body is slowly restored, the high runout accuracy May not be obtained. In these cases, the produced foamed elastic layer may not satisfy the characteristics required for the fixing roller.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a foamed elastic roller having a high runout accuracy even when the foamed elastic layer is thick and a method for manufacturing the same.

  In the method for producing a foamed elastic roller having a foamed elastic layer having a thickness exceeding 9 mm, the present inventors first press-treated the foamed cured body to reduce initial hardness reduction, and then polished it. When it processed, it discovered that distortion deformation peculiar to a thick foaming press object by pressure processing can be compensated. Moreover, since the foaming press body was thick, it discovered that even if the rubber press body was a foaming state, the polishing uniformity by a grinding | polishing process might not be impaired. The present invention has been made based on these findings.

The object of the present invention has been achieved by the following means.
(1) A step of vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition extruded on the outer periphery of the shaft and then removing the skin layer formed on the surface of the foamed rubber composition to obtain a foamed cured product having a thickness exceeding 9 mm And a step of obtaining a foamed pressed body by pressing the foamed cured body, and a step of polishing the foamed pressed body to obtain a foamed elastic layer that compensates for distortion deformation generated in the foamed pressed body. A method for producing an elastic roller.
(2) The method for producing a foamed elastic roller according to (1), wherein the step of obtaining the foamed cured product is a step of primary vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition and then secondary vulcanizing and then removing the skin layer. .
(3) The method for producing a foamed elastic roller according to (2), wherein the step of obtaining the foamed cured product is a step of tertiary vulcanization after the secondary vulcanization and before removing the skin layer .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a foamed elastic roller having a high runout accuracy and a manufacturing method thereof even when the foamed elastic layer is thick. Therefore, when the foamed elastic roller of the present invention is attached to the image forming apparatus, the developer can be fixed to the recording body as desired, thereby contributing to the improvement of the image quality.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a foamed elastic roller of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the deflection accuracy of the foamed elastic roller. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a pressure processing apparatus suitably used for producing the foamed elastic roller of the present invention.

  First, the foamed elastic roller of the present invention will be described. The foamed elastic roller of the present invention has a deflection accuracy of 0.14 mm or less. When the runout accuracy is 0.14 mm or less, the nip width with the heating roller is uniform even if it is installed as a fixing roller in a recent image forming apparatus in which the printing speed is increased and / or the durability is improved. Become. As a result, the developer transferred to the recording medium can be uniformly pressed and heated to be fixed, thereby contributing to improvement in image quality. The shake accuracy is preferably 0.1 mm or less, more preferably 0.07 mm or less, in that it can further contribute to the improvement of image quality. In addition, the lower limit of the shake accuracy is not particularly limited, but is practically 0.02 mm or more.

In the present invention, the deflection accuracy of the foamed elastic layer refers to the gap between the center point of the foamed elastic layer and the center point of the shaft body as described above. This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the shake accuracy. FIG. 2A is a front view of the roller for explaining the deflection accuracy, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line H-H in FIG. The runout accuracy is determined by (J2-J1) in this cross-sectional view. J1 and J2 are distances between two points where a straight line connecting the center point of the foamed elastic layer and the center point of the shaft body intersects the outer peripheral surface of the foamed elastic layer and the center point of the shaft body. The calculated value is ideally zero. In reality, each position on the central axis is different.
In the present invention, the deflection accuracy of the foamed elastic layer is at least the average value of (J2-J1) at each measurement point obtained by measuring three points of the central portion and the vicinity of both ends of the foamed elastic layer. Here, J1 and J2 are the thicknesses of the foamed elastic layer at each measurement point (from the center point of the shaft body to the outer peripheral surface of the foamed elastic layer) by the laser length measuring machine while rotating the foamed elastic roller around the shaft body. Can be obtained by measuring the distance.
The shake accuracy can be set within a predetermined range by, for example, changing the polishing conditions by the method for manufacturing the fixing roller of the present invention described later.

  The foamed elastic roller of the present invention preferably has shape uniformity. Shape uniformity means that there is substantially no deformation such as crushing at the end along the axial direction of the foamed elastic layer.

  In the foamed elastic roller of the present invention, the foamed elastic layer is thick, and specifically has a thickness exceeding 9 mm. If the foamed elastic layer is formed in this way, the nip can be secured greatly, and the heat insulation can be improved to retain the accumulated heat, so the printing speed is increased and / or the durability is improved. It is suitably used as a fixing roller in a recent image forming apparatus in which the above is achieved. The thickness of the foamed elastic layer is not uniquely determined depending on the application, function, etc., but may be more than 9 mm, for example, preferably 10-20 mm, more preferably 10-15 mm. The thickness of the foamed elastic layer is measured in the same manner as the measurement of runout accuracy.

The foamed elastic roller of the present invention includes the foamed elastic layer having the above thickness, and the structure and the like are not particularly limited as long as the runout accuracy is within the above range. In addition to the foamed elastic layer, the shaft body, the surface layer, or You may have a tube layer etc.
A surface layer and a tube layer are not specifically limited, A well-known structure can be applied suitably. For example, the surface layer is formed of various resins such as urethane resin, and the tube layer is formed by coating a foamed elastic layer with a tube made of various resins such as fluororesin.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a foamed elastic roller 1 as an example of a foamed elastic roller of the present invention includes a shaft body 2 and a foamed elastic layer 3 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The foamed elastic roller 1 has a deflection accuracy of 0.14 mm or less. The runout accuracy is as described above.

  The shaft body 2 only needs to have good conductive properties, and is generally referred to as a so-called “core metal” made of a metal such as iron, aluminum, stainless steel, or brass. The shaft body 2 may be a shaft body that is made conductive by plating an insulating core body such as a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. Furthermore, the shaft body 2 is electrically conductive with a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. A shaft formed of a conductive resin containing carbon black or metal powder as a property-imparting agent may be used.

  The foamed elastic layer 3 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body 2 by a foamed rubber composition to be described later. The foamed elastic layer 3 has a so-called “sponge-like” shape having bubbles (not shown in FIG. 1) inside and / or on the outer surface thereof. This foamed elastic layer 3 has closed cells and open cells. Here, a closed cell refers to a bubble that is not in contact with other nearby bubbles, and a communicating bubble refers to a bubble in which small holes are opened in the walls of adjacent bubbles. Here, the bubble refers to a hollow region in or on the surface of the foamed elastic layer 3 that is generated by foaming or decomposition of a foaming agent contained in a foamed rubber composition described later that forms the foamed elastic layer 3.

  The foamed elastic layer 3 is formed thick, and specifically has a thickness in the above range.

  The foamed elastic layer 3 preferably has an Asker C hardness of 35 to 50, and more preferably 40 to 46. Thereby, even if the image forming apparatus is a high-speed machine, it can maintain high resilience and can withstand destruction such as bubble breakage. The Asker C hardness is an average value when a portion divided into four at equal intervals in the axial direction of the foamed elastic layer is measured according to JIS K 6253.

The foamed elastic layer 3 preferably has a cell diameter of 100 to 400 μm, and more preferably 150 to 300 μm. As a result, even if the image forming apparatus is a high-speed machine, the image quality is stable and it is possible to withstand destruction such as broken bubbles. The cell diameter is the maximum length of the opening in each cell existing in the observation field by observing an area of about 20 mm ² with an electron microscope or the like on the surface of the foamed elastic layer 3 or a cut surface when cut by an arbitrary surface. Then, the maximum length measured is obtained as an average length obtained by arithmetic averaging.

  The method for producing a foamed elastic roller of the present invention produces a foamed elastic roller having foamed elasticity, particularly a foamed elastic roller of the present invention having a foamed elasticity exceeding 9 mm in thickness and having a runout accuracy of 0.14 mm or less. Therefore, it is preferable.

The method for producing a foamed elastic roller of the present invention comprises a step of vulcanizing a foamed rubber composition extruded on the outer periphery of a shaft body to obtain a foamed cured product having a thickness exceeding 9 mm, and pressing the foamed cured product. And obtaining a foamed elastic layer by polishing the foamed pressure body.
Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the foaming elastic roller of this invention is demonstrated.

  In the method for manufacturing a foamed elastic roller of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the manufacturing method of the present invention), a shaft body is prepared. The shaft body is as described above, and is formed into an appropriate shape and size using the above-described metal or resin. The shaft body is preferably coated with an adhesive or primer on its outer peripheral surface in advance by a spray method, a dipping method or the like as necessary, and an adhesive layer or primer layer is formed on its outer peripheral surface.

In the production method of the present invention, a step of vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition extruded on the outer periphery of the shaft body to obtain a foamed cured product having a thickness exceeding 9 mm is performed.
In this step, first, the foamed rubber composition is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body by continuous heat molding by extrusion molding, pressing, mold molding by injection, or the like. Examples of the method for disposing the rubber composition on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft include a method of dispensing the shaft and the foamed rubber composition integrally with an extruder or the like. This method is preferable in that the work is easy and the work can be performed continuously.
In the production method of the present invention, it is preferable to set the extrusion amount of the foamed rubber composition so that the foamed elastic layer has a thickness exceeding 9 mm. The upper limit of the extrusion amount of the foam rubber composition is not particularly limited, and is appropriately set according to the polishing amount and the like.

  The foamed rubber composition to be used may be a composition containing rubber, a foaming agent, and various additives as required. For example, a foamed silicone rubber-based composition, particularly an addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition may be used. preferable. As an addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition, it contains a vinyl group-containing silicone raw rubber, a silica-based filler, a foaming agent, an addition reaction crosslinking agent, an addition reaction catalyst, a reaction control agent, and a conductivity imparting agent. If desired, an addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition containing an organic peroxide crosslinking agent and various additives may be mentioned. As this addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition, the “addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition” described in JP-A-2008-076751 can be used, and the contents described in this publication are incorporated herein. It is.

  Next, the foamed rubber composition disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body is vulcanized. In the production method of the present invention, the method for vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition is not particularly limited as long as the foamed rubber composition is vulcanized. For example, the foamed rubber composition can be vulcanized at one time, or can be vulcanized in multiple times. In the production method of the present invention, the method for vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition is preferably a method in which the foamed rubber composition is subjected to primary vulcanization and then secondary vulcanization, and more preferably tertiary vulcanization.

  The vulcanization conditions for vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition at one time, and the vulcanization conditions for the primary vulcanization are the rubbers contained in the foamed rubber composition, for example, vinyl group-containing silicone raw rubber is crosslinked, and The conditions may be sufficient as long as the foaming agent is decomposed or foamed. For example, the foamed rubber composition is usually about 170 to 500 ° C., preferably 200 to 400 ° C., for several minutes to 1 hour or less in a heating furnace such as an infrared heating furnace or a hot air furnace, or a heating machine such as a dryer. Heat for preferably 5-30 minutes.

  The secondary vulcanization of the foamed rubber composition is a vulcanization step that is performed as desired or suitably, and more reliably crosslinks the foamed rubber composition vulcanized (crosslinked) by the primary vulcanization. This secondary vulcanization stabilizes the physical properties of the foamed cured product obtained by curing the foamed rubber composition. In the secondary vulcanization, for example, the foamed rubber composition subjected to the primary vulcanization is further extruded, for example, at 180 to 250 ° C., preferably 190 to 230 ° C., for 1 to 24 hours. Preferably it is carried out by heating for 3 to 10 hours. Or it is performed by heating again using a mold at, for example, 130 to 200 ° C., preferably 150 to 180 ° C. for 5 minutes to 24 hours, preferably 10 minutes to 10 hours.

  The tertiary vulcanization of the foamed rubber composition is a vulcanization step that is performed as desired or suitably. This tertiary vulcanization can further remove the residue of the foam rubber composition cross-linked by the secondary vulcanization and improve the durability. The physical properties of the foamed cured product obtained by curing the foamed rubber composition by tertiary vulcanization are stabilized. In the tertiary vulcanization, for example, the secondary vulcanized foamed rubber composition is further extruded, for example, at 150 to 230 ° C., preferably 180 to 200 ° C., for 1 to 24 hours. Preferably it is carried out by heating again for 1.5 to 15 hours.

  In the step of obtaining a foamed cured product, the skin layer is removed after vulcanization of the foamed rubber composition, if desired. This removal process is also referred to as a rough polishing process, and is a process of removing a cell-free surface layer formed on the surface of the foamed rubber composition. When polishing to this product size, it is possible to polish with higher accuracy. The condition for removing the skin layer is not particularly limited as long as the skin layer can be removed, and examples thereof include polishing conditions described later.

  Next, in the production method of the present invention, the foamed cured product obtained in the step of obtaining the foamed cured product is subjected to a pressing process to obtain a foamed pressed product. For this step, a method of pressing the surface of the foam cured body under a predetermined condition, that is, a method of pressing can be suitably employed. This pressing process may be performed manually or an apparatus may be used as long as the outer peripheral surface of the foam cured body can be pressed uniformly.

Examples of the pressing device suitably used in this step include a pressing device described in Patent Document 2 (see FIG. 3).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the press processing device 10 is a fixing that fixes a shaft body 7 with a hardened body having a foamed hardened body on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body 2 around its central axis. Means 11, for example, a pair of clamping members that clamp and fix the shaft body 2 from both ends, and the fixing means 11 are connected to the shaft body 2 with the hardening body via the fixing means 11. Rotating means 12 that rotates about the center, for example, a motor, a pressure roller 13 that presses the foamed and cured body of the shaft body 7 with the cured body, and the pressure roller 13 is relatively moved in the axial direction of the shaft body 7 with the cured body. At the same time, the pressing roller 13 is moved in the center direction of the shaft body 7 with the cured body, and the movement adjusting means 14 for adjusting the pressing rate d (%) with respect to the shaft body 7 with the cured body, and the pressing roller 13 are rotatably supported. The pressing roller support jig 1 movably provided on the moving means 13 It is equipped with a door.

  The pressing roller 13 includes a shaft body and a rubber elastic body formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The dimensions and materials of the shaft body are not particularly limited. For example, the shaft body in the pressing roller 13 shown in FIG. 3 has an outer diameter of about 34 mm and an axial length of about 50 mm. For example, the shaft body is formed of the same material as the shaft body 2 of the foamed elastic roller 1. ing. Further, the size and material of the rubber elastic body in the pressing roller 13 are not particularly limited. For example, the rubber elastic body in the pressing roller 13 shown in FIG. 3 has an outer diameter of about 58 mm and an axial length of about 49 mm, and is formed of the same material as the foamed elastic layer 3 of the elastic roller 1, for example. Has been. It is important that the rubber elastic body in the pressure roller 13 has a specific hardness in order to form the desired foamed elastic layer 3. In the pressure roller 13 in the pressure processing apparatus 10, the rubber elastic body has a hardness of The JIS A hardness is preferably 20-80. The rubber elastic body of the pressing roller 13 has a JIS A hardness of 20. The JIS A hardness can be measured according to JIS K 6301.

  In order to perform the pressing process on the shaft body 7 with the cured body using the press processing device 10, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the shaft body 7 with the cured body is sandwiched from both ends of the shaft body 2 and a set of Fix to the clamping member 11. Next, the movement adjusting means 14 is operated to move the pressing roller 13 toward the center of the shaft 7 with the cured body near the one end of the shaft 7 with the cured body. The position of the pressing roller 13 is adjusted so that the amount pressed by 13 becomes a predetermined value (pressing rate) d (%), for example, 20%.

  Next, the rotating unit 12 is activated to rotate the shaft body 7 with the cured body fixed to the fixing unit 11 around the central axis of the shaft body 2. When the shaft body 7 with the cured body is rotated, the pressing roller 13 pressing the shaft body 7 with the cured body rotates together with the shaft body 7 with the cured body. While maintaining this state, the movement adjusting means 14 is activated, and the pressing roller 13 is moved in one direction (for example, the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3) or both directions from one end portion to the other end portion of the shaft body 7 with the cured body. Move to. In this way, open cells are formed in the area of the foamed cured body pressed by the rubber elastic body.

The following conditions are mentioned as conditions of a press process. By adopting the following conditions, the runout accuracy can be set within the above-mentioned range.
Rotational speed of the shaft body 7 with a cured body: preferably 10 to 100 rpm, more preferably 14 to 50 rpm
Movement direction of the pressing roller 13: one-sided movement in both left and right directions or reciprocating movement The number of movements of the pressing roller 13 (one-sided movement is defined as one time): preferably 1 to 20 times, more preferably 1 to 10 times pressing rate d: Preferably 10 to 70%, more preferably 20 to 65%
Total pressing time: preferably 0.5-60 min, more preferably 1-6 min

  In the production method of the present invention, the step of polishing the foamed press body obtained in the step of obtaining the foamed press body and then obtaining the foamed elastic layer is performed. This polishing step is preferably capable of correcting distortion deformation generated in the foamed cured body by the pressing process without impairing the polishing uniformity even when the foamed pressed body is in a foamed state.

Polishing conditions are not particularly limited. The following conditions are preferable in that distortion deformation can be corrected as desired.
Regarding the grindstone, examples of the grindstone roughness include # 20 to # 200, preferably # 50 to # 150. Moreover, as a grindstone width, 15-100 mm, for example, Preferably 20-40 mm is mentioned. As a grindstone rotation speed, 1000-7000 rpm, for example, Preferably 1500-6000 rpm is mentioned.
Regarding the polishing conditions, the grinding amount is, for example, 0.1 to 10 mm, preferably 0.5 to 5 mm. Moreover, as a grinding speed, 10-1000 mm / min, for example, Preferably 400-800 mm / min is mentioned. Examples of the work rotation speed include 50 to 3000 rpm, preferably 100 to 2000 rpm.

  In this way, the foamed elastic layer 3 can be obtained.

  In the manufacturing method of this invention, it is good not to heat-process after the process of obtaining a foaming press body. Usually, the heat treatment is performed to improve the shape non-uniformity, but in the production method of the present invention, the shape uniformity of the foamed elastic layer is excellent and the heat treatment can be omitted.

  In the production method of the present invention, the step of providing a surface layer or a tube layer can be performed by a known means, if desired.

In this way, the manufacturing method of the present invention is performed, and the foamed elastic roller is manufactured. The foamed elastic roller to be manufactured has foam elasticity exceeding 9 mm in thickness and has a deflection accuracy of 0.14 mm or less.
Therefore, this foamed elastic roller is suitably used as a fixing roller of an image forming apparatus, and particularly suitably used as a fixing roller of a recent image forming apparatus in which the printing speed is increased and / or the durability is improved. .

  The foamed elastic roller and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described examples, and various modifications can be made within a range in which the object of the present invention can be achieved.

Example 1
In this example, the foamed elastic roller 1 shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured using the pressing device 10 shown in FIG.
First, the shaft body 2 (diameter 12 mm, length 350 mm, SUM22) subjected to electroless nickel plating was washed with toluene, and a primer “No. 31A / B” (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: trade name) was used. Applied. The primer-treated shaft body 2 was baked at a temperature of 180 ° C. for 30 minutes using a gear oven, and then cooled at room temperature for 30 minutes or more to form a primer layer.

  Next, 100 parts by mass of a silicone rubber composition “KE-904FU” (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: trade name) containing a vinyl raw silicone rubber and a silica-based filler, and an addition reaction crosslinking agent “C-153A” (Shin-Etsu) Chemical Industry Co., Ltd .: trade name) 2.0 parts by mass, organic foaming agent azobis-isobutyronitrile “KEP-13” (Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: trade name) 2.5 parts by mass, and addition reaction catalyst An appropriate amount of platinum catalyst, 0.5 parts by mass of a reaction control agent “R-153A” (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: trade name), and an organic peroxide crosslinking agent “C-3” (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: (Product name) An appropriate amount and 1.0 part by mass of a heat resistance improver “KEP-12” (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: product name) are sufficiently kneaded with two rolls, and an addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition A product was prepared.

The addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition and the shaft are integrally separated so as to have a thickness of 12 mm by an extrusion molding machine, and then the addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition using an infrared heating furnace (IR furnace). Was primarily vulcanized at 250 ° C. for 10 minutes. Then, further using a gear oven, secondary vulcanization was performed at 200 ° C. for 7 hours, and the mixture was left at room temperature for 1 hour. Next, using a gear oven, the mixture was heated at 200 ° C. for 10 hours to be tertiary vulcanized.
The foamed rubber composition vulcanized in this way had a thickness of 20 mm.

  The skin layer of this foamed rubber composition, using a grindstone having a grindstone roughness of # 50 and a grindstone width of 40 mm, under the conditions of a grindstone rotational speed of 2000 rpm, a grinding amount of 4 mm, a grinding speed of 800 mm / min, and a workpiece rotational speed of 2000 rpm, Polishing removal (coarse polishing treatment) was performed to obtain a foamed cured product having a thickness of 16 mm.

The foamed cured body was subjected to a pressure treatment under the following conditions using the pressing device 10 shown in FIG. 3 to obtain a foamed pressed body.
Number of rotations of the shaft body 7 (cured cured body) with a cured body: 30 rpm
Movement direction of the pressure roller: One-sided movement to the left (the number of movements within the pressing time is twice)
Press rate d: 40%
Total pressing time: 3min

The foamed pressed body was polished as follows to obtain a foamed elastic layer 3 having a thickness of 14 mm.
Specifically, the foaming pressing body was polished using a grindstone having a grindstone roughness of 80 and a grindstone width of 40 mm under the conditions of a grindstone rotational speed of 1500 rpm, a grinding amount of 2 mm, a grinding speed of 400 mm / min, and a workpiece rotational speed of 100 rpm.

  Thus, the foamed elastic roller 1 of Example 1 was manufactured.

(Example 2)
Using the shaft body 2 having a diameter of 20 mm, the addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition was subjected to primary vulcanization, secondary vulcanization and the like on the outer periphery of the shaft body 2 in the same manner as in the production of the foamed elastic roller 1 of Example 1. Tertiary vulcanization. At this time, the vulcanized foamed rubber composition had a thickness of 16 mm.
Subsequently, the skin layer of this foamed rubber composition was roughly polished in the same manner as in the production of the foamed elastic roller 1 of Example 1 to obtain a foamed cured product having a thickness of 12 mm. The foamed pressed body obtained by pressing the foamed cured body in the same manner as in the production of the foamed elastic roller 1 in Example 1 was polished in the same manner as in the production of the foamed elastic roller 1 in Example 1 to obtain a thickness. Produced a foamed elastic roller 1 having a foamed elastic layer 3 of 10 mm.
Example 3
In the production of Example 1, the foamed elastic roller 1 was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that tertiary vulcanization was not performed.
(Example 4)
In the production of Example 1, except that the vulcanization time was changed to 30 minutes, primary vulcanization of the addition reaction type foamed silicone rubber composition was performed, and secondary vulcanization and tertiary vulcanization were not performed. In the same manner as in Example 1, a foamed elastic roller 1 was produced.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Example 1, in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the order of performing the pressing process and the polishing process was reversed (that is, the polishing process and the pressing process were performed in this order after removing the skin layer), The foamed elastic roller of Comparative Example 1 was produced.

(Measurement of runout accuracy)
The runout accuracy of each foamed elastic roller produced was measured as described above. The results are shown in Table 1.

As is apparent from Table 1, it was found that the foamed elastic roller 1 produced by the production method of the present invention had small runout accuracy and excellent runout accuracy even when the foamed elastic layer 3 had a thickness of 14 mm (Example) 1, 3 and 4). Moreover, even when the thickness of the foamed elastic layer 3 was 10 mm (Example 2), and when the tertiary vulcanization was not performed (Examples 3 and 4), it was found that the deflection accuracy was also excellent. .
On the other hand, the foamed elastic roller manufactured in Comparative Example 1 had a large runout accuracy, and the required accuracy could not be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Foam elastic roller 2 Shaft body 3 Foam elastic layer 7 Shaft body 10 with a hardening body Press processing apparatus 11 Fixing means 12 Rotating means 13 Pressing roller 14 Movement adjusting means 15 Pressing roller support jig

Claims (3)

Vulcanizing the foamed rubber composition extruded on the outer periphery of the shaft , and then removing the skin layer formed on the surface of the foamed rubber composition to obtain a foamed cured product having a thickness exceeding 9 mm; A foamed elastic roller comprising: a step of pressing a foamed cured body to obtain a foamed pressed body; and a step of polishing the foamed pressed body to obtain a foamed elastic layer that compensates for distortion deformation generated in the foamed pressed body . Production method. The method for producing a foamed elastic roller according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the foamed cured product is a step of removing the skin layer after primary vulcanization and then secondary vulcanization of the foamed rubber composition. The method for producing a foamed elastic roller according to claim 2, wherein the step of obtaining the foamed cured product is a step of performing tertiary vulcanization after the secondary vulcanization and before removing the skin layer .

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