JPH04356082A - Transfer-carrying belt - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To manufacture a thin belt which hardly stretches. CONSTITUTION:The transfer-carrying belt 1 has a dielectric layer 2 (surface layer) comprising an amorpous engineering plastic, UV curing resin or fluororesin provided on the surface of a seamless metal foil 3 having >=50mum thickness. The amorphous engineering plastic of the dielectric layer 2 is at least one of polycarbonate, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyethersulfon, and polysulfon. The seamless metal foil 3 acts as a high-tensile body, which make the belt thin and hardly stretch.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic transfer belt.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of electrophotography, transfer and conveyance belts are used to eliminate ozone during transfer and to support color printing. Since this belt is required to have electrical uniformity and surface smoothness, it is desirable to make it a seamless belt.

By the way, as a transfer conveyance belt, conventionally, a conductive layer having a volume resistivity of 1010 Ωcm or less and a conductive layer having a volume resistance of 1010 Ωcm or less
Many devices are known in which dielectric layers of 0 Ωcm or more are laminated (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-51236 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-202537).

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, such belts have a low elastic modulus and are easy to stretch because the entire belt is made of rubber or resin, and the electrostatic capacitance is low. , it is necessary to increase the applied voltage, the durability of the surface layer (dielectric layer) is required, and the belt tends to become thicker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer conveyance belt that is difficult to stretch and can be made thinner.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a thin metal seamless belt made of a seamless metal foil or the like.
This method is based on a transfer conveyance belt provided with a surface layer made of resin.

[0007] In the invention according to claim 1, the thin layer metal seamless belt is a conductive layer made of a seamless metal foil having a thickness of 50 μm or less, and the surface layer has a volume resistivity of 101
A dielectric layer made of amorphous engineering plastic with a resistance of 0 Ωcm or more. In the second aspect of the invention, at least one of polycarbonate, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyethersulfone, and polysulfone is used as the amorphous engineering plastic. The invention according to claim 3 provides the thin layer metal sheet.
The seamless belt is a conductive layer made of seamless metal foil with a thickness of 50 μm or less, and the surface layer has a volume resistivity of 1.
The dielectric layer is made of ultraviolet curing resin and has a resistance of 0.010 Ωcm or more. In the invention of claim 4, the thin layer metal sheet
The seamless belt is a conductive layer made of seamless metal foil with a thickness of 50 μm or less, and the surface layer is a dielectric layer made of fluororesin. In the invention according to claim 5, the above-mentioned seamless metal foil is a nickel foil or a stainless steel foil.

[0008]

[Function] According to the invention as claimed in claim 1, the thin metal seamless belt functions as a conductive layer as well as a tensile layer, so that the belt becomes difficult to stretch and can be made thin. Become. Additionally, a layer made of amorphous engineering plastic functions as a dielectric layer. According to the second aspect of the invention, a wide variety of materials can be selected for the dielectric layer depending on the application.

According to claim 3, similar to the invention of claim 1, the thin metal seamless belt serves both as a conductive layer and a tensile layer. Further, since the layer made of ultraviolet curable resin functions as a dielectric layer, rapid molding is possible, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, as in the first and third aspects of the present invention, the thin metal seamless belt serves both as a conductive layer and a tensile layer. Furthermore, since the dielectric layer is made of fluororesin, it has a high dielectric constant and high non-adhesion properties. According to the invention of claim 5, since nickel foil or stainless steel foil is used as the thin-layer metal seamless belt, it has a lower coefficient of friction than rubber or resin and is strong, so that the belt can be easily moved in one direction. It becomes easy to adjust the meandering by regulating the shift using a flange member or the like.

[0011]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 showing the overall structure of the transfer conveyance belt, 1 is the transfer conveyance belt, which has a volume resistance of 1010 Ωc.
A dielectric layer 2 (surface layer) made of amorphous engineering plastic with a thickness of 50 μm or more is provided on the surface of a seamless metal foil 3 (thin metal seamless belt) with a thickness of 50 μm or less. As the seamless metal foil 3, nickel foil or stainless steel foil is used. On the other hand, as the amorphous engineering plastic for the dielectric layer 2, at least one of polycarbonate, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyethersulfone, and polysulfone is used.

In this way, since the dielectric layer 2 constituting the belt surface is made of amorphous engineering plastic, the plastic can be dissolved in a solvent, and the solution is poured into the metal foil 3. The dielectric layer 2 can be easily formed by coating the surface side of the dielectric layer 2. Further, the dielectric layer 2 can be formed by coating the surface side of the metal foil 3 with an ultraviolet curable resin, a fluororesin, or the like other than the amorphous engineering plastic. Therefore, the material and thickness of the dielectric layer can be controlled over a wide range depending on the application, increasing the degree of freedom in selection. For example, by forming the dielectric layer 2 as a thin layer, the electrostatic capacitance can be increased and the voltage applied during transfer can be lowered.

Furthermore, the seamless metal foil 3 functions as a tensile material and is difficult to stretch, resulting in good dimensional stability. In addition, the metal foil 3 has a lower coefficient of friction than rubber or resin and is strong, so it is easy to adjust the meandering of the belt by using a flange member or the like to prevent it from shifting in one direction. especially,
Since the seamless metal foil 3 used has a thickness of 50 μm or less, together with the thin dielectric layer 2, the belt thickness becomes extremely thin, making it suitable for small-diameter pulleys (for example, about 10 mm in diameter).
It becomes possible to drive with After conveyance, it can be easily separated when separating the recording paper.

Next, specific examples of the present invention will be explained.

<Example 1 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. On this surface,
It was coated with 1 μm thick epoxy adhesive. Then, a solution of Iupilon S-2000 from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Ltd. dissolved in chloroform was coated on top of this as polycarbonate (PC), and after drying at room temperature,
Further drying at 150℃ for 5 minutes results in a thickness of 25μm.
A PC layer was formed.

<Example 2 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. On this surface,
It was coated with 1 μm thick epoxy adhesive. Then, as polyarylate (PAR), a solution prepared by dissolving U-Polymer U-6000 from Unitika Co., Ltd. in chloroform was coated on top of this, dried at room temperature, and then further dried at 100°C for 10 minutes. In this way, a PAR layer with a thickness of 25 μm was formed.

<Example 3 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. On this surface,
As polyetherimide (PEI), a solution of Ultem 1000 manufactured by Engineering Plastics Co., Ltd. dissolved in chloroform was coated, and after drying at room temperature,
Further drying at 150℃ for 5 minutes results in a thickness of 25μm.
A PEI layer was formed.

<Example 4 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. On this surface,
As polyether sulfone (PES), Sumitomo Chemical (
A solution prepared by dissolving Victrex PES 4100G (Corporation Co., Ltd.) in chloroform was coated, dried at room temperature, and further dried at 150° C. for 5 minutes to form a PES layer with a thickness of 25 μm. <Example 5 of the present invention> A 30 μm thick Ni seamless belt was used as the metal foil. On this surface, as polysulfone (PSF), Udel P-17 of Amoco Co., Ltd.
A PSF layer having a thickness of 30 μm was formed by coating the film with a solution of 00 dissolved in chloroform, drying at room temperature, and further drying at 150° C. for 5 minutes.

Furthermore, the dielectric layer can be made of an ultraviolet curable resin so that it can be quickly molded. A specific example of the present invention in that case will be explained.

<Example 6 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. On this surface,
After applying ultraviolet curing resin Three Bond 3062C (manufactured by Three Bond Co., Ltd.) with a volume resistivity of 1015 Ωcm, a Ni seamless belt was rotated so that the amount of ultraviolet irradiation was 3000 mJ/cm2. UV rays were irradiated. The thickness of the film after curing was 5 μm.

Furthermore, when forming a dielectric layer on the surface of the seamless metal foil, a filler may be compounded into the ultraviolet curable resin in order to functionalize the dielectric layer. For example, the dielectric properties can be increased by combining a highly dielectric filler such as barium titanate. Further, when a non-adhesive substance such as fluororesin fine powder is added to the belt, cleaning performance of toner and the like attached to the belt surface is improved.

Furthermore, the dielectric layer is made of a fluororesin having a high dielectric constant, so that it not only functions as a dielectric layer, but also improves non-adhesion properties and facilitates cleaning due to adhesion of toner, etc. can. A specific example of the present invention in that case will be explained.

<Example 7 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. The surface of this metal foil was coated with EM-333 from Nippon Acheson Co., Ltd. as a fluororesin coating material, and dried at 200°C for 30 minutes to obtain a coating layer with a thickness of 20 μm. .

<Example 8 of the present invention> Metal foil with a thickness of 30μ
A seamless belt made of Ni was used. On this surface,
As a fluororesin, Cefral Soft G-180 manufactured by Central Glass Co., Ltd. was dissolved in a methyl ethyl ketone/toluene mixed solution and then coated. Add this to 85℃
The coating layer was dried for 30 minutes to obtain a coating layer with a thickness of 15 μm.

The transfer conveyance belts of Examples 1 to 8 of the present invention were used in a laser beam printer FP-L30 manufactured by Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd.
0 was evaluated using a modified machine. After 30,000 images, a good image was obtained, and when the belt was taken out, there were no crazes on the belt surface, and there was also damage to the belt end due to belt meandering adjustment. There wasn't.

Although the above embodiment relates to a transfer conveyance belt, it can also be applied to a fixing belt of a fixing device used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a laser printer, or a facsimile machine. can.

In that case, a thin metal seamless belt (
A fixing belt is constructed by laminating a surface layer made of fluororesin or silicone resin on a nickel foil belt). The electrical resistance of this surface layer is temperature dependent; when heated, the resistance value increases, and conversely, when cooled, the electrical resistance decreases. Specifically, 1012Ωcm at 150-200℃
Above, preferably 1013 Ωcm or more, and at 130° C. or less, 1012 Ωcm or less, preferably 1010 Ωcm or less. Such electrical resistance characteristics can be achieved by adding several percent of carbon.

Therefore, the fixing device 11 using the fixing belt 12 is constructed as shown in FIG. 2.

The fixing belt 12 is connected to the fixing roller 13.
The fixing roller 13 is wound between the idle roller 14 and the fixing roller 13.
The paper guide 16 is attached to the backup roller 15 at the location of
The paper 17 guided to A, 16B, and 16C is backed up. A paper discharge roller 18 is arranged behind the idle roller 15. Further, reference numeral 19 denotes a cleaner pad impregnated with silicone oil, and the part that is brought into contact with the fixing belt 12 is the part where the fixing belt 12 is connected to the idle roller 1.
It is near a point far away from 5. 20 is a temperature sensor;
21 is an earth brush.

The surface temperature of the fixing belt 12 is
When paper 17, which is unfixed paper, comes into contact, the temperature is 150 to 20
It is necessary to maintain the temperature at 0°C. Therefore, the fixing roller
The surface temperature of the roller 13 is detected by a temperature sensor 20 and controlled to 150 to 200°C by a temperature control means (not shown). On the other hand, when the fixing belt 12 separates from the fixing paper 17, that is, at the contact portion with the idle roller 14, the surface temperature of the fixing belt 12 is 130° C. or less. For this purpose, the distance between the axes of the fixing roller 13 and the idle roller 14 is increased, and the portion of the idle roller 14 is exposed to cold air. Since the back layer of the fixing belt 12 is made of metal foil, it has high thermal conductivity, and heat is quickly transferred to the fixing paper. Conversely, when the fixing belt 12 is cooled, for the same reason, the heat dissipation increases, so cooling is performed quickly.

If the fixing belt 12 is configured as described above, the electrical resistance of the surface layer of the fixing belt 12 becomes high during fixing, so that, for example, the fixing roller described in JP-A No. 63-192070 The same effect is obtained, and the fixing belt 12 does not destabilize the transfer action in the transfer process. Further, when the paper 17 is separated from the fixing belt 12, the fixing belt 12 is cold and has low electrical resistance, so offset is extremely unlikely to occur.

Furthermore, since the temperature of the belt surface in the area in contact with the cleaner pad 19 is low, the cleaner pad 1
Evaporation of the silicone oil in the cleaner pad 9 due to heat is eliminated, and the life of the cleaner pad 19 is greatly extended. Furthermore, since the fixing paper is separated from the belt 12 in a cold state, curling and
The occurrence of waving etc. is reduced.

Furthermore, the surface electrical resistance of the surface layer of the belt becomes 1012 Ω or more when heated to 150° C. or more, and 1
When the temperature is 30°C or lower, it is 1012 Ω or less, so when used as a fixing belt, heating to 150°C or higher during fixing increases the temperature of the surface layer and increases the electrical resistance, which improves the transfer action during the transfer process. can be stabilized, and when the fixing paper separates, the 130
By setting the temperature below ℃, the electrical resistance can be lowered and offset,
Curling and the like can be made less likely to occur, and image quality is improved.

Next, a specific example of application to a fixing belt will be described.

<Specific Example 1> As a thin layer metal seamless belt, the thickness is 30 μm, the width is 280 mm, and the circumferential length is 220 mm.
A seamless nickel foil belt was used. After degreasing the surface of the nickel foil belt, apply a fluororesin primer (Mitsui Fluorochemical X-33-125).
Dried and fired. On top of that, a fluororesin PFA emulsion formulation (Daikin Neoflon 1529 with 7 carbon
% by weight) was spray applied. After drying, 3
It was baked at 40°C for 60 minutes. The thickness of the fluororesin layer of the finished belt was about 60 μm. In addition, the electrical resistance of the fluororesin layer is 1013 Ωcm at 150°C and 130°C.
It was 1011 Ωcm.

Then, a fixing test was conducted by applying the above belt to the fixing device shown in FIG. In that case, the fixing roller
The frame is made of aluminum and has an outer diameter of 30 mm and an inner diameter of 26 mm.
The backup roller is made of silicone rubber, has an outer diameter of 20 mm, a core diameter of 20 mm, and a length of 290 mm.
The idle roller is made of aluminum and has an outer diameter of 15 mm and a length of 290 mm. The surface temperature of the fixing roller is 160 DEG C. and the number of revolutions of the fixing roller is 50 rpm.

Even after 5,000 sheets were passed continuously, there were no problems such as offset or jam. The surface temperature of the belt at the contact portion of the idle roller was 130° C. at maximum. Further, the image quality after fixing was good, with no toner bleeding, crushing, staining, etc. After fixing, the paper had almost no curls or waves. Additionally, the life of the cleaner pad has been significantly extended.

In addition to the above-mentioned fixing belt, the present invention can also be applied to a document conveyance belt of a copying machine, which conveys a document sheet by sandwiching it between a platen glass and a document conveyance belt.

In that case, a surface layer of a semiconductive urethane resin layer having an electrical resistance of 106 to 1012 Ωcm is provided on the surface of a thin metal seamless belt such as a nickel foil seamless belt having good electrical conductivity. A document conveying belt is configured. The semiconductive urethane resin layer is composed of a crosslinked spray urethane resin layer, has a thickness of 1 mm or less, and has irregularities unique to spray urethane formed on the belt surface. In order to make the spray urethane semiconductive, tin oxide-based conductive powder is mixed in as a conductive material. This conductive powder is white and also functions as a filler to give the surface a white color. In addition, spray urethane contains several percent silicone oil. Silicone oil is
It is desirable to use dimethyl silicone having a viscosity of 200 to 10,000 cs.

If the document conveyance belt is constructed as described above, since the thin metal seamless belt is made of metal foil with good electrical conductivity, the document paper can be held between the platen glass and the document conveyance belt. Even if the metal foil is used as a document conveying belt in a copying machine, static electricity generated by friction between the platen glass and the document conveying belt will escape through this metal foil. In other words, since the urethane resin layer is semiconductive and thin, static electricity generated on the belt surface escapes to the metal foil via the urethane resin layer. by this,
Eliminates problems caused by static electricity, such as document paper sticking to the platen glass and not being able to be ejected.

The surface layer is particularly a crosslinked spray urethane resin layer, so it has excellent abrasion resistance, heat deterioration resistance, and ozone resistance, and has little surface deterioration. Furthermore, if silicone oil is contained, the belt surface becomes less stained, and the belt surface stains are not reflected on the manuscript paper, and the belt surface stains can be easily removed. Furthermore, the surface of the belt is formed with a concavo-convex pattern unique to spray urethane, which increases the grip on the original paper, provides excellent transportability of the original paper, and allows even slippery original papers to be transported without slipping.

Next, a specific example of application to a document conveying belt will be described.

<Application Example 2> A nickel foil seamless belt (thickness: 40 μm, width: 500 mm, length: 1800 mm) was used as the thin-layer metal seamless belt. On the surface of this belt, German Rudol-Fabrike Hage
ADHESION PROMOTER manufactured by mejer
Primer coating was performed by spray coating SYSYTEM 4438.

[0045] BayerP manufactured by Bayer, Germany
A U0308 formulation and a PU0309 formulation were used. P
3 of conductive powder W-1 manufactured by Mitsui Kinzoku Co., Ltd. was added to U0308.
5 parts by weight and 0.5 parts by weight of Shin-Etsu Silicone KF96 were added and mixed to prepare a PU0308 formulation. Also, P.U.
0309, conductive powder W-1 manufactured by Mitsui Kinzoku Co., Ltd. was added to 35
Parts by weight and 1.5 parts by weight of Shin-Etsu Silicone KF96 were added and mixed to prepare a PU0309 formulation. PU0308
A mixture of the formulation and the PU0309 formulation in a ratio of 100:70 was spray coated onto the belt surface using a spray gun. The coated belt was left to cure at room temperature for 24 hours.

The thickness of the urethane resin layer of the finished document transport belt was 1.1 mm on average, and the surface roughness was 40 on average.
It was μm. Then, the above-mentioned document conveying belt was attached to a copying machine and a continuous copying test was conducted, but no troubles occurred due to dirt on the belt surface, document paper, or defective conveyance.

[0047]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the invention as claimed in claims 1 to 5, the thin metal seamless belt functions not only as a conductive layer but also as a tensile layer, so that it becomes difficult to stretch and improves dimensional stability. . Also, since the dielectric layer can be formed as a thin layer,
By increasing the electrostatic capacitance, it is possible to lower the applied voltage during transfer. Since the inner surface of the belt is made of a thin metal seamless belt, the coefficient of friction is lower than that of rubber or resin, and the belt is strong.Meandering adjustment is possible by using flange members, etc. to prevent the belt from shifting in one direction. It becomes easier. moreover,
The use of a thin seamless metal foil, in conjunction with a thin dielectric layer, allows for the drive of small diameter pulleys to facilitate paper separation after transport. moreover,
According to the invention of claim 2, a wide range of materials can be selected for the dielectric layer depending on the application, and according to the invention of claim 3, since the dielectric layer is made of ultraviolet curing resin, rapid molding is possible. This is advantageous in terms of manufacturing.
According to the invention, since a fluororesin is used as the dielectric layer, it has excellent non-adhesion properties and is easy to clean due to adhesion of toner and the like.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a transfer conveyance belt.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fixing device to which a fixing belt is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Transfer conveyance belt 2 Dielectric layer 3 Seamless metal foil

Claims (5)

[Claims] [Claim 1] On the surface of a thin layer metal seamless belt,
A belt provided with a surface layer made of resin, wherein the thin metal seamless belt is a conductive layer made of seamless metal foil with a thickness of 50 μm or less, and the surface layer has a volume resistivity of 1010 Ωcm or more. A transfer conveyance belt characterized by having a dielectric layer made of amorphous engineering plastic. 2. The transfer conveyance belt according to claim 1, wherein the amorphous engineering plastic contains at least one selected from polycarbonate, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyethersulfone, and polysulfone. [Claim 3] On the surface of the thin layer metal seamless belt,
The belt is provided with a surface layer made of resin, and the thin metal seamless belt is a conductive layer made of seamless metal foil with a thickness of 50 μm or less, and the surface layer has a volume resistivity of 1010 Ωcm or more. A transfer conveyance belt characterized by having a dielectric layer made of an ultraviolet curable resin. [Claim 4] On the surface of the thin layer metal seamless belt,
The belt is provided with a surface layer made of resin, and the thin-layer metal seamless belt is a conductive layer made of seamless metal foil with a thickness of 50 μm or less, and the surface layer is made of fluororesin. A transfer conveyance belt characterized by having a dielectric layer. 5. The transfer conveyance belt according to claim 1, wherein the seamless metal foil is nickel foil or stainless steel foil.