JP6483295B2 - Process cartridge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a blade used in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine of these.

  In electrophotographic apparatuses such as copying machines and printers, blades such as a cleaning blade, a developing blade, a conductive blade, a polishing blade, and a coating blade are used. Conventionally, a blade generally used has a metal support member and an elastic body made of a thermosetting polyurethane bonded to the support member.

An elastic body made of thermosetting polyurethane may have a release agent applied to a mold used in the thermosetting process. Moreover, the support member may be attached with mineral oil called punching oil for reducing the frictional resistance used in the pressing process. For this reason, the elastic body and the support member cannot be firmly joined as they are, and often require a degreasing cleaning treatment or the like before joining.
In order to firmly bond the elastic body and the blade, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a ditan acid is used as a mold release agent applied to a mold used when a blade member (elastic body) is molded. A cleaning blade excellent in adhesiveness between an elastic body and a support member has been proposed by combining with an adhesive composed of a base compound. Patent Document 2 uses a holder (support member) formed from an organic lubricating film steel plate that does not require oil during press processing, and uses a specific material such as polyurethane as an organic lubricating film, thereby A cleaning blade excellent in adhesiveness with a support member has been proposed.

  Here, if only the elastic body can be used as the blade, the pretreatment for joining the elastic body and the support member as described above, a special adhesive, and a steel plate are unnecessary. However, it is difficult to use the elastic body alone as a blade. This is because polyurethane has elasticity, so that it is deformed when stress is applied at the time of attachment and does not uniformly contact an object such as a photosensitive drum, and cannot function as a blade.

Japanese Patent No. 2652142 Japanese Patent No. 2665651

  An object of the present invention is to provide a novel blade that does not require a metal support member.

Means for solving the problems of the present invention are as follows.
1. A blade comprising: a support film; and a thermosetting polyurethane layer laminated on the support film.
2. 1. The thickness of the support film is 0.02 mm or more and 1 mm or less. The blade described in.
3. 1. The thermosetting polyurethane has a thickness of 0.1 mm or more and less than 0.5 mm. Or 2. The blade described in.
4). The support film is any one of polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, and fluororesin. ~ 3. The blade according to any one of the above.
5. One or both of the support film and the thermosetting polyurethane layer contain a conductive material. ~ 4. The blade according to any one of the above.
6). 1. A polishing layer is provided on the surface of the support film opposite to the thermosetting polyurethane layer. ~ 5. The blade according to any one of the above.
7). The thermosetting polyurethane layer contains an abrasive. ~ 5. The blade according to any one of the above.
8). A housing,
1. a photoreceptor disposed in the casing; To 7. A blade according to any one of
It is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic device,
A process cartridge, wherein the blade is directly fixed to the casing.
9. 7. The thermosetting polyurethane layer of the blade is in contact with the photoreceptor. Process cartridge according to.
10. Either the support film of the blade or the polishing layer is in contact with the photoreceptor. Process cartridge according to.
11. A method of manufacturing a blade having a support film and a thermosetting polyurethane layer laminated on the support film,
Pouring the polyurethane composition into the gap between the first and second gap maintaining members fed by a pair of spaced apart rollers;
The polyurethane composition is thermoset while being held between the first and second gap maintaining members to form the thermosetting polyurethane layer;
One of said 1st and 2nd gap | interval maintenance members is said support film, The manufacturing method of the braid | blade characterized by the above-mentioned.
12 Pouring the polyurethane composition into the gap between the first and second gap maintaining members fed by a pair of spaced apart rollers;
The polyurethane composition is thermoset while being held between the first and second gap maintaining members to form a thermosetting polyurethane layer;
A support film obtained by a manufacturing method using one of the first and second gap maintaining members as a support film, and a thermosetting polyurethane layer laminated on the support film, Blade to be.

The blade of the present invention has a novel configuration completely different from a conventionally used blade having a metal support member and an elastic body made of thermosetting polyurethane joined to the support member. That is, the blade of the present invention has a support film and a thermosetting polyurethane layer. Since the dimensional stability of the blade of the present invention is improved by having a support film having rigidity higher than that of the thermosetting polyurethane, even when there is no metal support member, the blade is uniformly deformed without being deformed. Can contact.
The blade of the present invention can be pretreated for joining the elastic body and the support member, and can use a special adhesive, a steel plate, or the support member itself, which is very low compared to the conventional blade. Cost.

  The blade of the present invention can be adjusted in strength and elasticity depending on the material and thickness of the support film and the thermosetting polyurethane, and can be used as a blade for various applications. In addition, both the corners on the thermosetting polyurethane layer side and the support film side can be used as edge portions in contact with the photoreceptor. When the corner on the thermosetting polyurethane layer side is the edge portion, thermosetting polyurethane is conventionally used as a material for forming an elastic body for blades, and thus has high reliability. When the edge on the support film side is the edge part, a material having higher hardness and lower friction than the thermosetting polyurethane is used as the support film, so that it cannot be achieved with the blades using the conventional thermosetting polyurethane as the edge part. Possible low friction can be imparted. By reducing the friction of the edges, it is possible to prevent filming (adherence) of toner and external additives to the photoconductor, and to reduce the wear of the photoconductor, thus extending the life of the photoconductor. Can be achieved. A blade having an edge portion on the side of the support film, which has high hardness and low friction, can be suitably used for low-melting-point toners that are increasingly used in recent years.

When storing and transporting blades with conventional metal support members, it is necessary to wrap the blades one by one with packing materials so that the blades are in contact with each other and the elastic members are not damaged by the hard support members. was there. On the other hand, since the blade of the present invention is a laminate of a support film made of a flexible material and a thermosetting polyurethane layer, it can prevent damage due to contact. Therefore, the blade of the present invention does not require a packing material when stored, transported, and the like, and even if packed, the packing can be simplified as compared with the conventional one. The blade of the present invention can greatly reduce the space and cost required for storage and transportation.
According to the production method of the present invention, a laminate in which a support film / thermosetting polyurethane layer / release film or a second support film is laminated in this order can be continuously produced by a so-called roll-to-roll. it can. The blade of the present invention can be manufactured only by cutting this laminate into a predetermined size, and the manufacturing cost of the blade can be greatly reduced. Moreover, the laminated body wound in roll shape is not bulky and is excellent in handleability.

The figure which shows one embodiment of the braid | blade of this invention. The figure which shows the manufacturing method of a braid | blade.

1 Blade 2 Support Film 3 Thermosetting Polyurethane Layer 10 Long Blade Precursor 40 Sheet 40a Polyurethane Composition 41 Casting Machine 41a Head 42a Long Support Film 42b Long Release Film 43a Conveying Roller 43b Conveying roller 44 Conveying roller 45 Auxiliary roller 46 Heating device 47 Conveyor belt

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the blade of the present invention. In the blade which is one embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the thickness of each layer does not mean the actual thickness.
The blade 1 which is one embodiment has a support film 2 and a thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 laminated on the support film 2. The blade 1 according to one embodiment includes flexibility and elasticity derived from the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3, and stiffness, dimensional stability, wear resistance, and a low coefficient of friction derived from the support film 2, The photosensitive member can be contacted at an appropriate pressure.

"Thermosetting polyurethane layer"
The thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 is obtained by thermosetting a polyurethane composition containing a polyol and a polyisocyanate.

"Polyol"
Polyols include polyoxyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polyoxytetramethylene glycol, or polyether-type polyols of bisphenol A, alkylene oxide adducts such as glycerin ethylene oxide and propylene oxide; adipic acid, By polymerization reaction of dibasic acids such as phthalic anhydride, isophthalic acid, maleic acid and fumaric acid with glycols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol and trimethylolpropane Examples thereof include polyester polyols obtained; polycaprolactone diols; polycarbonate diols and the like.
The blade of the present invention can be used as an edge portion in contact with the photoconductor or the like at both corners on the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 side and the support film 2 side. When the thermosetting polyurethane layer is used as the edge portion, a polyester type polyol is preferable because it is excellent in flexibility, wear resistance, cost, and the like. When the support film is used as an edge portion, a polyether type polyol having less environmental dependency of viscoelasticity is preferable.

"Polyisocyanate"
As polyisocyanates, meta-xylene diisocyanate (XDI), tolylene diisocyanate (TDI), 4,4-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), 1,4-cyclohexane diisocyanate, hydrogen And diphenylmethane diisocyanate.

  In the production of the above polyurethane, the equivalent ratio of OH group / NCO group is preferably 0.8 or more and 1.10 or less, more preferably 0.90 or more and 1.05 or less, from the physical properties of the resulting polyurethane.

  In addition to the polyols and polyisocyanates described above, polyurethane compositions include crosslinking agents (chain extenders), surfactants, flame retardants, colorants, fillers, plasticizers, stabilizers, mold release agents, catalysts (reaction promotion) An additive such as an agent can be blended. Moreover, a conductive material and an abrasive can be blended.

  Examples of the chain extender include low molecular weight diols such as ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, diethylene glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, and neopentyl glycol, and diamines such as ethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, and isophoronediamine. Desirably, a low molecular weight diol is used. Furthermore, triols such as trimethylolpropane, triamines such as triethanolamine, glycerin, and these ethylene oxide and propylene oxide adducts can be added as a polyfunctional component as necessary.

In the polyurethane composition, a reaction accelerator such as a general amine compound or an organic tin compound can be used as necessary. Examples thereof include imidazole derivatives disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2942183 and paragraphs 0022 to 0023. Specific examples thereof include 2-methylimidazole and 1,2-dimethylimidazole which are highly dependent on reaction temperature in view of the chemical structure.
The reaction accelerator is preferably used in a range of 0.001 part by weight to 0.5 part by weight with respect to a total of 100 parts by weight of polyol and polyisocyanate, and 0.01 part by weight or more and 0.3 part by weight or less. It is more preferable to use within a range. As the reaction accelerator, those having temperature sensitivity or slow-acting property prevent the urethane resin composition mixed with the reaction accelerator from being cured before molding, can extend the pot life, and the demolding time. Is preferable because of shortening. Specifically, 1,8-diazabicyclo (5,4,0) undecene-7-organic acid salt, 1,5-diazabicyclo (4,3,0) nonene-5-organic acid salt called block amine Or a mixture thereof.

Here, the conventional elastic body for blades made of only thermosetting polyurethane is required to have a thickness of about 2 mm in order to obtain firmness.
On the other hand, since the blade of the present invention supplements the stiffness with the support film, the thickness of the thermosetting polyurethane layer can be less than 0.5 mm. Even if the thickness of the thermosetting polyurethane layer is 0.5 mm or more, the cleaning property is not deteriorated, but the material cost is increased, the amount of heat necessary for uniform thermosetting is increased, and the production cost is also increased.
The thermosetting polyurethane layer only needs to have a thickness capable of exhibiting sufficient elasticity to be in close contact with the photosensitive member when it is pressed against the photosensitive member and deformed while being laminated on the support film. It is preferable to have a thickness of 1 mm or more. If the thickness of the thermosetting polyurethane layer is less than 0.1 mm, the force for pressing the surface of the photoreceptor becomes weak, and the cleaning property is deteriorated. The thicker the thermosetting polyurethane layer, the greater the elasticity. Therefore, it is more preferable to have a thickness of 0.2 mm or more.

"Supporting film"
The support film 2 supports the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3. The material constituting the support film 2 can be used without particular limitation as long as it is excellent in dimensional stability under the use environment and satisfies the elastic modulus for complementing the strength of stiffness, Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA), tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene Fluorine resin such as copolymer (ETFE), polyacetal resin (POM), polyamide resin (PA), polyimide (PI), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate ( P ), Etc. can be suitably used. When the edge on the side of the support film 2 is an edge portion, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin, polyetheretherketone, polyimide, polyphenylene sulfide, and polyethylene terephthalate having excellent wear resistance and a small friction coefficient are particularly preferable. The ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is a polyethylene having a weight average molecular weight increased to 1 million or more, and those commercially available from trade names such as Dyneema (Ran DSM) and Spectra (Honeywell) can be used.

In order to improve the adhesiveness between the support film 2 and the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3, it is preferable to perform a surface treatment on the surface of the support film 2 on the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 side. The surface treatment method is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include flame treatment, corona treatment, plasma treatment, UV treatment, ozone treatment, chemical treatment, and roughening treatment. Moreover, an adhesive layer can be provided on the support film 2 and the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 can be formed on the adhesive layer.
When the support film 2 contains a conductive material or has a layer containing a conductive material, the blade 1 can be imparted with antistatic properties.

  The thickness of the support film is preferably 0.02 mm or more and 1 mm or less, more preferably 0.025 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less, and further preferably 0.1 mm or more and 0.2 mm or less. If the thickness of the support film is less than 0.02 mm, the stiffness of the blade is weak and the cleaning performance is lowered. Further, as will be described in detail in the following “Blade manufacturing method”, there is a possibility of deformation during heating in the manufacturing process. If the thickness of the support film is greater than 1 mm, the blade becomes too hard and is difficult to be deformed when pressed against the photoreceptor, and the cleaning property is deteriorated.

"Release film"
A release film (not shown) can be provided on the surface of the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 in order to protect the blade 1 as an embodiment from the production until it is installed in the housing of the process cartridge. The release film is a film that has been subjected to a release treatment on the surface to be bonded to the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3, and prevents the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 from being contaminated or adhering to dust. The release film is preferably made of a material having a lower hardness than the support film 2 so as not to damage the support film 2 when rubbed.
The thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 can be directly formed on the release film, as will be described in detail in the following “Blade manufacturing method”. In the case where the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 is directly formed on the release film by this production method, the thermosetting polyurethane is thermally cured to form a thermosetting polyurethane layer 3, thereby preventing deformation during heating, and releasing the mold. In order to achieve both the flexibility of the film, the thickness of the release film is preferably 0.018 mm or more and 1 mm or less.

"blade"
The blade 1 which is one embodiment has a support film 2 and a thermosetting polyurethane layer 3. The two-layer blade 1 can be used as an edge portion in contact with the photoconductor or the like on either side of the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 side or the support film 2 side. Thermosetting polyurethane is a material that has been used as an edge so far and has high reliability. On the other hand, the support film uses a material having higher hardness, abrasion resistance, low friction, etc. than thermosetting polyurethane, so that performance that cannot be achieved with blades made of thermosetting polyurethane at the edges so far. It can be demonstrated. For example, filming of toner, external additives, and the like on the photosensitive member can be performed by using the corners of the support film 2 made of a material having excellent wear resistance and a low friction coefficient such as ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and fluororesin as edge portions. (Fixing) can be prevented, and wear of the photoreceptor can be reduced. In addition, in order to shape | mold sharply, an edge part uses the angle | corner newly produced by cutting.

  The blade of the present invention is not limited to the two-layer blade that is one embodiment, and may have a layer other than the support film and the thermosetting polyurethane layer. For example, by using a second support film instead of a release film, a blade composed of a three-layer laminate in which a thermosetting polyurethane layer is sandwiched between a first support film and a second support film. be able to. Since this three-layered blade has a vertically symmetric structure by using the same member for the first support film and the second support film, it is excellent in workability at the time of attachment. Further, as described below, a polishing layer can be provided on the surface of the blade on the support film side.

The blade 1 according to one embodiment is predetermined without using a metal support member by applying an adhesive, an adhesive tape, a double-sided tape or the like to either the support film 2 side or the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 side. Can be fixed directly to the position. The blade 1 can be fixed with high positional accuracy by providing a concave portion to be fitted to the blade 1 at a place where the blade 1 according to one embodiment is fixed. Since the blade 1 which is one embodiment is excellent in dimensional stability by including the support film 2, the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 is not easily deformed even when pressure is applied at the time of attachment. The object can be uniformly contacted.
The blade of the present invention can be directly fixed without using a support member as described above, but a conventional support member can also be used. By joining the blade of the present invention to a conventional support member, the blade of the present invention can be introduced without changing the design of the housing or the support member.

The blade of the present invention can be used without being limited to various blades such as a cleaning blade, a developing blade, a conductive blade, a polishing blade, and a coating blade.
When the polishing blade is used, if the corner on the thermosetting polyurethane layer side is an edge portion, the polyurethane may contain an abrasive. Further, if the corners on the support film side are edge portions, a polishing layer may be provided on the support film side surface by coating or the like. Examples of the abrasive include cerium oxide, silica, cerium, zirconium, strontium and the like.

"Process cartridge"
The blade of the present invention can be suitably used for an application mounted inside a process cartridge. The process cartridge has a structure in which a plurality of blades such as a photosensitive drum, a charging unit, a developing blade, and a cleaning blade are integrated, and is configured to be detachable from an electrophotographic apparatus. By attaching the blade of the present invention to the process cartridge without using a support member, a plurality of metal support members are not required, and the weight reduction, size reduction, and cost reduction required for the process cartridge as a replacement member are achieved. can do.

"Blade manufacturing method"
In the blade of the present invention, a long, first and a long composition in which a polyurethane composition containing at least a polyol and a polyisocyanate (or a urethane prepolymer made of these) is sent between a pair of rollers arranged at a distance from each other are provided. Pour into the gap of the second gap maintaining member, and cure the polyurethane composition in a state of being held between the first and second gap maintaining members to form a sheet of a thermosetting polyurethane layer, and then cut. Can be manufactured.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the blade manufacturing method of the present invention. Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the blade will be described with reference to FIG. In this production example, a long support film and a long release film are used as the gap maintaining member.
A polyurethane composition 40a containing at least a polyol and a polyisocyanate (or a urethane prepolymer made of these) is sent through a casting machine 41 between a pair of conveying rollers 43a and 43b that are spaced apart from each other. Pour into the gap between the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b. The long support film 42a and the long release film 42b are guided into the heating device 46 while holding the polyurethane composition 40a therebetween. The polyurethane composition 40a is thermoset while being held between the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b to form a thermosetting polyurethane sheet 40.
In FIG. 2, 44 is a conveying roller for feeding out the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b, 45 is an auxiliary roller, and 47 is a long support film 42a holding the polyurethane composition 40a. It is a conveyor belt for conveying the long release film 42b in the heating device 46.

  Since the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b are pulled and conveyed with the same tension while holding the polyurethane composition 40a therebetween, the gap can be maintained at a constant size. it can. Since the polyurethane composition 40a is sandwiched between the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b and is cured while maintaining a constant thickness, the polyurethane composition 40a becomes a sheet 40 having excellent thickness accuracy. By this manufacturing method, the sheet-like object 40 having a thickness of 0.1 mm or more, which is difficult to be applied, can be continuously formed with high thickness accuracy.

  The position of the head portion 41a of the casting machine 41 is either one of the conveyance rollers 43a and 43b from the central portion (the central portion of the gap formed by the long support film and the long release films 42a and 42b). It is preferable to be unevenly distributed on the roller side, and the uneven distribution distance is preferably equal to or less than the radius of the transport roller. That is, it is preferable that the position immediately below the head portion 41a of the casting machine 41 is located between the central portion of the pair of transport rollers 43a and 43b and the central axis of one of the transport rollers. Moreover, it is preferable that the shortest distance between the tip of the head portion 41a and the surface of the transport roller is 5 cm or less. By disposing the head portion 41a in this way, the thickness accuracy of the thermosetting polyurethane layer 40 is further improved, and the head portion 41a is not yet poured into the gap between the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b. Air bubbles are not easily mixed into the cured polyurethane composition 40a, and the mixed air bubbles are easily removed.

  The transport rollers 43a and 43b may have only a transport function, but are preferably heating rollers. When the conveying roller is a heating roller, the polyurethane composition 40a can be cured immediately after being held in the gap between the long support film 42a and the long release film 42b, and the polyurethane composition 40a is heated by a heating device. The thickness can be kept more uniform before being introduced into the sheet 46, and the sheet-like product 40 having more excellent thickness accuracy can be formed. It is preferable to set the conveyance surface temperature at the time of heating a conveyance roller to 10-60 degreeC. If it is less than 10 degreeC, while the viscosity of the polyurethane composition 40a will become high and it will become difficult to remove | bubble, a curing reaction will become slow and the thickness precision of the sheet-like article 40 will fall. When the temperature exceeds 60 ° C., the polyurethane composition 40 a may be cured on the transport roller, or air bubbles may enter the sheet-like material 40.

  The heating device 46 is a heating furnace provided with a heater, and may be anything that can raise the furnace temperature to the curing temperature of the polyurethane composition 40a. Moreover, the heating conditions (curing conditions) in the heating device 46 are not particularly limited, and may be appropriately set according to the composition of the polyurethane composition 40a, for example, conditions of 40 ° C to 160 ° C, 1 minute to 180 minutes. Just do it.

From the heating device 46, the long blade precursor 10 in which the long support film 42a, the thermosetting polyurethane sheet 40, and the long release film 42b are laminated in this order is carried out.
By cutting the long blade precursor 10 carried out of the heating device into a predetermined size (not shown), the long support film 42a is the support film 2 and the sheet-like material 40 is the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3. Thus, the blade 1 of the present invention in which the thermosetting polyurethane layer 3 is protected with a release film derived from the long release film 42b is obtained.
By this production method, the long blade precursor 10 can be continuously produced by a so-called roll-to-roll process, which is excellent in productivity as compared with the conventional method. The manufactured long blade precursor 10 may be wound into a roll and shipped, or may be cut and shipped as the blade 1.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example is given and this invention is demonstrated in more detail, this invention is not limited only to these Examples.
"Example 1"
It consists of a weight ratio of 1,4-butanediol / trimethylolpropane = 60/40 to 100 g of a prepolymer (NCO% = 10%) containing polytetramethylene glycol as a polyol component and hydrogenated diphenylmethane diisocyanate as an isocyanate component. 11.6 g of an alcohol-based curing agent and 250 ppm of an organotin compound catalyst as a non-amine catalyst were added, followed by stirring and mixing.
Thereafter, PET having a thickness of 100 μm treated as a long support film (trade name: Lumirror S10, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) and PET having a thickness of 38 μm subjected to silicon treatment as a long release film (produced by Toray Industries, Inc.) , Using a product name: Lumirror S10) and thermosetting at 140 ° C. for 1 minute using the above production method, a long blade precursor having a thermosetting polyurethane layer thickness of 0.3 mm was obtained. . This blade precursor was cut into a width of 30 mm and a length of 320 mm, and the release film was peeled off to obtain a blade 1.

"Example 2"
A blade 2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that corona-treated PET having a thickness of 250 μm (trade name: Lumirror S10) was used as the support film.

"Example 3"
A blade 3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that UHMWPE (trade name: No. 440, manufactured by Nitto Denko Corporation) having a corona treatment thickness of 200 μm was used as the support film.
Example 4
A blade 4 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a corona-treated UHMWPE having a thickness of 500 μm (manufactured by Nitto Denko Corporation, trade name: No. 440) was used as the support film.
"Example 5"
A blade 5 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that UHMWPE having a thickness of 50 μm treated with corona (trade name: Ultra Polymer, manufactured by Yodogawa Hutec Co., Ltd.) was used as the support film.

"Example 6"
A blade 6 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that corona-treated ETFE (trade name: Aflex) manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. was used as the support film.
"Example 7"
A blade 7 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 above, except that corona-treated ETFE (trade name: Aflex) manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. was used as the support film.

"Example 8"
A blade 8 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness of the polyurethane layer was 100 μm.
"Example 9"
A blade 9 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness of the polyurethane layer was 480 μm.

"Example 10"
A blade 10 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that PET having a corona-treated thickness of 480 μm (trade name: Lumirror H10) was used as the support film.
"Example 11"
A blade 11 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that corona-treated PET with a thickness of 25 μm (trade name: Lumirror S10) was used as the support film.

"Comparative Example 1"
A blade 12 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that PET having a corona treatment thickness of 16 μm (Toray, Lumirror FB50) was used as the support film.
“Comparative Example 2”
A blade 13 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a corona-treated 1.5 mm thick UHMWPE (manufactured by Nitto Denko Corporation, trade name: No. 440) was used as the support film.

“Comparative Example 3”
A blade 14 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness of the polyurethane layer was 0.05 mm.

<Evaluation>
A printing running test (30000 sheets) was carried out on the produced blade as a cleaning blade of a commercially available digital color composite machine (manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd., MP C2503) using the corners of polyurethane as edges. Further, as Example 12, a printing running test was similarly conducted using the edge of the blade produced in Example 1 on the support film side as an edge portion.
The wear of the edge part after the test was confirmed by visual observation or enlarged observation with a microscope or the like, and evaluated according to the following criteria. Further, occurrence of inconvenience due to the blade was visually confirmed on the charging roller and the printed matter after the test. The results are shown in Table 1 below. In each evaluation, “Δ” is equivalent to a conventional blade using an elastic body made only of polyurethane.

・ Abrasion resistance (edge)
○: Deformation is not seen at the edge.
(Triangle | delta): A wear and a chip | tip of 0.01 mm or less are seen in an edge part.
X: Wear and chipping larger than 0.01 mm are observed at the edge portion.
・ Cleanability (through toner or external additives)
Check the dirty state of the charging roller ○: The charging roller is not dirty.
Δ: The charging roller is evenly thin and dirty.
X: Local image on the charging roller, or defective image due to contamination.

"Summary"
All of the blades according to the examples of the present invention exhibited wear resistance and cleaning performance equal to or higher than those of conventional products. In particular, the blades produced in Examples 1, 3, 6, and 9 were superior to conventional products. Further, as used in Example 12, the support film side could also be used as the edge portion.
Comparative Example 1 having a thin support film of 0.016 mm was weak and poor in cleaning properties because it was not pressed against the photoreceptor with sufficient pressure.
In Comparative Example 2 where the support film was as thick as 1.5 mm, the stiffness was so strong that the pressure applied to the photoreceptor was strong and it was worn out, and the cleaning property was also poor due to the wear. Moreover, the thick support film was expensive.
Comparative Example 3 with a thin polyurethane layer of 0.05 mm was inferior in cleaning properties because the elasticity of the blade was weak and the pressure pressed against the photoreceptor was weak.

Claims (4)

A housing,
A photoconductor and a photoconductor blade disposed in the housing;
It is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic device,
The photosensitive blade is directly fixed to the housing;
The photoreceptor blade has a support film and a thermosetting polyurethane layer laminated on the support film,
The support film is one of polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, fluorine resin, polyacetal resin, polyamide resin, polyether ether ketone, polyphenylene sulfide,
The thermosetting polyurethane layer contains 0.001 part by weight or more and 0.5 part by weight or less of a reaction accelerator with respect to 100 parts by weight of the total of polyol and polyisocyanate,
The thickness of the thermosetting polyurethane layer is 0.1 mm or more and less than 0.5 mm,
A process cartridge, wherein a support film of the photoconductor blade is in contact with the photoconductor . A housing,
A photoconductor and a photoconductor blade disposed in the housing;
It is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic device
The photosensitive blade is directly fixed to the housing;
The photoreceptor blade has a support film and a thermosetting polyurethane layer laminated on the support film,
The support film is one of polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, fluorine resin, polyacetal resin, polyamide resin, polyether ether ketone, polyphenylene sulfide,
The thermosetting polyurethane layer contains 0.001 part by weight or more and 0.5 part by weight or less of a reaction accelerator with respect to 100 parts by weight of the total of polyol and polyisocyanate,
The thickness of the thermosetting polyurethane layer is 0.1 mm or more and less than 0.5 mm,
The photosensitive blade has a polishing layer on a surface of the support film opposite to the thermosetting polyurethane layer;
A process cartridge, wherein a polishing layer of the photoconductor blade is in contact with the photoconductor . The thickness of the support film, the process cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at 1mm or less than 0.02 mm. The process cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein one or both of the support film and the thermosetting polyurethane layer contains a conductive material .