JPH0433288A - Heating resistor pattern forming method on fixing roller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form a delicate pattern necessary for temperature distribution control and improve printing quality by applying laser machining to a heating resistor layer near both ends of a roller, and forming a closed loop-shaped pattern section. CONSTITUTION:Machining laser such as YAG laser is radiated to a heating resistor layer 6 formed on the surface of a roller substrate, and the heating resistor layer 6 near both ends of a roller 10 is removed according to a pattern. An automatic stage is moved in the lateral direction or in the rotating direction while the laser is oscillated to cut pattern sections 6b. A heating resistor is located in the square pattern sections 6b. The inside and outside of the square cut portion are completely insulated, thus the resistance on the periphery of the roller 10 where the pattern sections 6b are formed is increased. The shape of the pattern sections 6b can be optionally changed, thus the resistance value can be optionally changed, even if the resistance value of the roller 10 before the pattern sections 6b are formed is dispersed, it can be corrected in the pattern forming process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for forming a heating resistor pattern on a fixing roller in an electrophotographic printer or copying machine.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in electrophotographic printers and copying machines, a charged photoreceptor drum is irradiated with a light source to form an electrostatic latent image on its surface, and toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image. After the toner image is developed, the toner image is transferred to a recording medium.

The fixing roller used in the above-mentioned electrophotographic printers and copying machines has a heater built into a metal pipe such as aluminum, and the heat generated by this heater heats the metal vibrator to about 180°C to 200°C. Then, the toner is thermally fixed by passing the developed paper between the metal pipe and the pressure roller.
(See Publication No. 464).

In the case of the fixing roller configured as described above, it takes about 5 minutes to rise after turning on the heater until the surface temperature of the metal vibrator reaches the normal usable range of 180°C to 200°C. of electricity.

Therefore, a fixing roller with a short heat rise time and low power consumption has been provided (Japanese Patent Application No. 62-141).
(See Publication No. 596).

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a fixing roller with low power consumption.

As shown in the figure, the fixing roller has a heating resistor layer 2 formed on the surface of a roller base material 1 made of a low thermal conductor such as glass, wax, ceramics, etc., and the surface thereof is covered with a fluororesin layer 3. It has a structure in which ring-shaped electrodes 4 are attached to both ends of the heating resistor layer 2, and a voltage is applied between the picture electrodes 4.

In the case of the fixing roller configured as described above, the heat rise time can be reduced to about 175 times or less compared to the conventional technology, and power consumption can be reduced. However, since heat is radiated from both sides of the fixing roller, it is difficult to obtain a uniform temperature distribution over the entire length.

Therefore, a fixing roller that can obtain a uniform temperature distribution has been provided (see Utility Model Application No. 151838/1983).
.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a fixing roller with uniform temperature distribution, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged diagram of the heating resistor layer.

In this case, pattern portions 6a other than the heating resistor layer 6 are formed on both sides of the fixing roller, the resistance value of both sides is increased, the current density is made larger on both sides than the center of the roller, and the amount of heat generated on both sides when energized is As the temperature increases, a temperature drop due to heat radiation from both sides is prevented, and a uniform temperature distribution is obtained over the entire length.

When manufacturing this fixing roller, first, the surface of the roller base material is degreased with a solvent, then immersed in an aqueous solution of tin chloride and hydrochloric acid for 1 minute, and washed with water for 30 seconds. After that, pretreatment is performed by repeating the process of soaking in an aqueous solution of palladium chloride and hydrochloric acid for 1 minute and rinsing with water for 30 seconds several times. After the pretreatment, for example, printing resist ink on the pattern part 6a as shown in the figure. Masking or plating is performed by taping or the like, and then, when the resist ink or tape is peeled off, the pattern portion 6a remains unplated. In this way, the resistance of the pattern portion 6a can be made higher than that of the center portion of the roller.

Next, 10 to 4 layers of fluororesin layer 8 such as PFA resin is applied so as to cover the surfaces of the heating resistor layer 6 and pattern portion 6a.
0μ garden is formed. Finally, ring-shaped electrodes 7 are attached to both ends of the heat generating layer 6 in close contact with each other.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional method for forming a heating resistor pattern on the fixing roller, the fine pattern portion 6a necessary for controlling the temperature distribution of the fixing roller is formed by printing a plating resist or taping. Because of this, it may bleed through the resist and connect with neighboring patterns, which limits the ability to form fine patterns. Therefore, it becomes difficult to properly adjust the temperature distribution, and as a result, the toner fixation state varies in the printer, resulting in a decrease in print quality.

The present invention solves the problems of the conventional method of forming a heat generating resistor pattern on a fixing roller, and provides a more precise control method required for temperature distribution control when forming a pattern on the surface of a roller base material. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming a heating resistor pattern on a fixing roller, which can form a pattern and improve printing quality.

(Means for Solving the Problems) For this purpose, in the method for forming a heat generating resistor pattern on a fixing roller of the present invention, a heat generating resistor layer is formed on the surface of a roller base material made of a material with low thermal conductivity. The heating resistor layer near both ends of the roller is laser-processed to form a closed loop pattern, and the heating resistor surrounded by the pattern is insulated from the heating resistor on the outer periphery.

Then, electrodes are connected to both ends of the roller.

(Function) According to the present invention, a heating resistor layer is formed on the surface of the roller base material made of a material with low thermal conductivity as described above, and the heating resistor layer near both ends of the roller is subjected to laser processing. A closed loop pattern is formed to insulate the heat generating resistor surrounded by the pattern from the heat generating resistor on the outer periphery.

When electrodes are connected to both ends of the roller, the part of the heating resistor surrounded by the pattern part is electrically insulated, so it is equivalent to removing the heating resistor.
resistance can be increased.

That is, the resistance near the end of the roller increases.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a process diagram of a method of forming a heat generating resistor pattern on a fixing roller according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of a laser processing state.

First, materials with low thermal conductivity, such as synthetic resins such as phenolic resin, glasses such as frosted glass and crystal glass,
The surface of the roller base material, such as alumina ceramics or enameled stainless steel pipe, is degreased by immersing it in an organic solvent such as trichlene or chlorocene, or by steam cleaning.

Next, the roller base material is immersed in a solution of tin chloride and hydrochloric acid for 1 minute, washed with water for 30 seconds, then immersed in an aqueous solution of palladium chloride and hydrochloric acid for 1 minute, and washed with water for 30 seconds. This process is repeated several times for pretreatment. conduct.

Next, electroless N1-P plating is performed to form a uniform 0.1 to 1 .mu.m film on the surface of the roller base material to form the heat generating resistor layer 6. This film is not limited to the above method, and may be formed by vacuum deposition or thick film printing. Next, YAG
The heating resistor layer 6 near both ends of the roller 10 is removed according to a pattern using a processing laser such as a laser.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, a roller 10 on which a heating resistor layer 6 is formed is placed under the laser beam. The roller 10 is placed on an automatic stage (not shown) that is movable in the rotational direction and the lateral direction. The laser output conditions are set to pulse oscillation of 2 to 5 KH2, which is enough to completely cut the heating resistor layer 6 and slightly scratch the underlying glass or enamel base material.

When cutting the pattern portion 6b, the motorized stage is moved laterally or in the rotational direction while the laser is being oscillated.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is no heating resistor in the square pattern area a, but in this case, the heating resistor in the pattern area 6b is present. However, since the inside and outside of the square cut portion are completely insulated, the resistance at the peripheral edge of the roller 10 where the pattern portion 6b is formed becomes high.

Furthermore, 10 to 4 layers of fluororesin 8 such as PPA resin are applied to cover the surfaces of the heating resistor layer 6 and the pattern portion 6b.
0 μm is formed. Then, ring-shaped electrodes 7 are attached to both ends of the heating resistor layer 6 in close contact with each other.

In the method for forming a heat generating resistor pattern on the fixing roller having the above configuration, the shape of the pattern portion 6b can be changed arbitrarily, so that the resistance value can be changed arbitrarily.

Further, even if there is variation in the resistance value of the roller 10 before forming the pattern portion 6b, this can be corrected in the pattern forming process, which greatly facilitates the plating process.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various modifications are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a heating resistor layer is formed on the surface of a roller base material made of a material with low thermal conductivity, and the heating resistor layer is formed near both ends of the roller. A closed loop pattern is formed by laser processing, and the heat generating resistor surrounded by the pattern is insulated from the heat generating resistor on the outer periphery.

Then, when electrodes are connected to both ends of the roller, the part of the heating resistor surrounded by the notch turns is electrically insulated, so it is equivalent to removing the heating resistor, and the resistance is reduced. can be increased.

Therefore, a finer pattern can be formed than when printing, taping, etc. are used, and a very uniform temperature distribution can be obtained. Thereby, for example, the printing quality of an electrophotographic printer can be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram of the heating resistor pattern forming method of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a diagram of the laser processing state, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a fixing roller with low power consumption, Figure 4 is a diagram showing a fixing roller with uniform temperature distribution, and Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the heating resistor layer. be. Patent Applicant: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Agent, Patent Attorney: Makoto Kawai (and 1 other person) - Hitoshi Furi, and - Diagram showing the steps of the heating resistor pattern forming method of the present invention. Figure 2: I-seal of the foot-singing roller Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] (a) A heating resistor layer is formed on the surface of a roller base material made of a material with low thermal conductivity, and (b) a pattern is formed by laser processing the heating resistor layer near both ends of the roller. (c) a heat generating resistor pattern on a fixing roller, characterized in that the heat generating resistor surrounded by the pattern part is insulated from the heat generating resistor on the outer periphery; Formation method.