JPH05169470A - Elastic roller having non-columner shape, device using the same, production of the same roller and apparatus for molding the roller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form an elastic layer having a definite shape having little irregularity without requiring the surface grinding of the elastic layer and the difficult processing finishing the inner surface of the hole of a mold into a non-columnar shape. CONSTITUTION:The peripheral surface of a rod-shaped member is formed into an inverted crown shape being a non-columnar shape to form a matrix 1. The matrix 1 is immersed in an electrolyte 5a in such a state that annular reinforcing members 2, 3 are fixed to the matrix 1 on both sides of the inverted crown-shaped part thereof and a nickel alloy is accumulated on the surface of the matrix 1 by an electroforming method to form a mold 4. The mold 4 is cut from the outside of the reinforcing members 2, 3 and a dissolving removing hole is made in the matrix 1 along the axial direction thereof. This mold 4 is dipped in an etching solution dissolving only the matrix 1 to dissolve and remove only the matrix 1 from the mold 4. An inverted crown-shaped hole appears in the remaining mold 4. An elastic material is injected in the inverted crown-shaped hole of the mold 4 to form an elastic layer to the peripheral surface of a core member to produce an inverted crown-shaped elastic roller.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing roller and a pressure roller of a fixing unit, a cleaning roller and a charging roller for a photoconductor, and a paper feeding roller of a paper feeding unit, which are used in, for example, a copying machine and a laser beam printer. Further, a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller having an elastic body formed on the peripheral surface of a cored bar member, which is used as a platen roller used in printers, facsimiles, etc., a unit using the elastic roller, and the elastic roller. And a molding device for the elastic roller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or the like, which is required to convey recording paper with high precision by an elastic roller or press the elastic roller against another member with a uniform nip width, Depending on the transportability and other requirements of the elastic roller, it is necessary to use a non-rectangular cylinder whose outer shape is changed along the axial direction of the elastic roller, such as a crown shape or an inverted crown shape. It has become to. For example, a crown-shaped elastic roller is generally used to prevent the roller from bending and the nip width at the center becoming smaller than at both ends when the roller has a long pressure contact force and the roller length is long. On the other hand, the reverse crown-shaped elastic roller is effective as a measure for preventing paper wrinkles on the recording paper. Generally, when the pressure contact force with the roller is small and the roller length is relatively short, Used.

The following is known as a method of manufacturing such a non-rectangular elastic roller.

(1) An elastic material is vulcanized and adhered to the peripheral surface of a rod-shaped core metal member to form an elastic layer, and the elastic layer is ground into a non-rectangular columnar shape to manufacture a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller. To do.

(2) A through hole is formed in the die by a drill or the like, and the inner surface of the hole is cut and honed to form a non-cylindrical shape. A rod-shaped core metal member is inserted into the hole of the finished mold, and both ends of the core metal member are fixed to the mold by the lids. Then, an elastic material is filled in the gap between the die and the core metal member to form an elastic layer on the peripheral surface of the core metal member (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-174423).

(3) A rod-shaped core metal member is inserted into a right cylindrical hole (having a constant inner diameter) formed in the mold, and both ends of the core metal member are fixed to the mold by lids. Next, an elastic material is filled in the gap between the mold and the core metal member and vulcanized. At that time, the temperature distribution of the mold is changed along the axial direction of the core metal member so that the acceleration of vulcanization by heat is different,
After releasing from the mold, an elastic layer having a non-rectangular columnar shape is formed (JP-A-63-218982).

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention (1)
There are the following problems in the method of manufacturing the non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of (3) to (3).

In the case of (1), it is difficult to grind the surface of the elastic layer into a non-rectangular cylinder shape and finish the surface to a desired surface roughness.

In the case of (2), unlike the case of (1), it is not necessary to finish the surface of the elastic layer by grinding, but the inner surface of the hole axially longer than the inner diameter of the mold is cut and honed. It is extremely difficult to process and finish it into a non-rectangular cylinder with high accuracy.

In the case of (3), unlike the case of (2), it is not necessary to finish the hole of the mold into a non-rectangular column shape, but since the environment dependence during vulcanization is large, the elasticity after mold release is The shape of the layer varies, and further, since there is a portion that is vulcanized at a low temperature, the molding time becomes long.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for grinding the surface of the elastic layer and the difficult processing of finishing the inner surface of the hole of the mold into a non-rectangular cylinder shape, and to provide a uniform shape with little variation. A non-rectangular elastic roller having an elastic layer of
An object is to provide a unit using the elastic roller, a method for manufacturing the elastic roller, and a molding device for the elastic roller.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller of the present invention comprises a cored bar member and a non-rectical columnar elastic layer formed on the peripheral surface of the cored bar member. In a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller having, the elastic layer is
After forming a mold by adhering a mold material to the surface of the master mold having a non-rectangular cylindrical outer shape, an elastic material is applied to a hole formed by dissolving and removing the master mold from the mold. It is characterized by being formed by injection.

Further, the material of the die may be adhered to the surface of the mother die by electroforming, or the material of the mother die may be dissolved and removed by a corrosive liquid.

Further, the non-rectangular cylinder shape is an inverted crown shape,
Used as a paper feed roller for transferring a transfer member to an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer, or a member having a non-rectangular cylinder shape with a crown shape and an elastic layer made of a conductive material. Machine and laser beam printer,
It is used as a charging roller for uniformly charging the image carrier, or the non-rectangular cylinder is made into a crown shape to remove the untransferred residual toner remaining on the image carrier of the copier or laser beam printer. Fixing roller for fixing the toner transferred to the transfer member by the image bearing member of the copying machine or the laser beam printer to the transfer member, or used as a cleaning roller for cleaning Or as a pressure roller for pressing a transfer member against a transfer roller of a copying machine or a laser beam printer, or a non-crown shape as an inverted crown shape. It is used as a platen roller of a recording apparatus that records on a recording member by a recording head, and is used as a platen roller opposed to the recording head with the recording member interposed therebetween. The cylindrical and crown-shaped, facsimile, or may be used as a counter arranged platen roller sensor across said document sensor for reading a document.

In the unit using the non-rectangular columnar elastic roller of the present invention, the non-rectangular columnar elastic roller used as the paper feeding roller and a large number of transfer members are stacked to form the transfer member of the transfer member. A stacking member that presses the uppermost transfer member against the elastic roller, and a separating unit that separates the uppermost transfer member of the transfer members stacked on the stacking member from other transfer members. , Used as a paper feed unit for copiers and laser beam printers,
A non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller used as the charging roller pressed against an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and a power source for applying a voltage to the elastic roller, Or a cleaning roller for being used as a charging unit of a laser beam printer, or being pressed against an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer to remove the residual toner on the image carrier by rubbing. Used as a cleaning unit of the copying machine or the laser beam printer, which has a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller and a toner storage portion for accumulating the residual toner removed by the rubbing. A non-rectangular columnar elastic roller used as the fixing roller, roller heating means provided inside the elastic roller, and pressure-contacted to the elastic roller. The pressure and an elastic roller of the non-right circular form employed as a pressure roller, there is used as a fixing unit of a copying machine or a laser beam printer.

The method of manufacturing a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention comprises the steps of manufacturing a die having a non-rectangular cylindrical hole having the same shape as the peripheral surface of the elastic roller to be manufactured, Injecting an elastic material into the hole of the mold to form an elastic layer on the peripheral surface of the cored bar member, a method of manufacturing a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller, wherein the step of manufacturing the mold includes A step of producing a mother die having a non-rectangular columnar outer shape, and a step of depositing the material of the mother die on the surface of the non-rectangular columnar portion of the mother die so as to cover the surface thereof; And a step of dissolving and removing the mother die from the formed die.

The step of producing a die having a non-rectangular cylindrical hole having the same shape as the peripheral surface of the elastic roller to be produced, and the step of inserting a core metal member into the hole of the die A step of fixing both ends of the cored bar member to both sides of the hole of the mold with a lid, and an elastic material is injected into the hole of the mold to form an elastic layer on the peripheral surface of the cored bar member. In the method of manufacturing a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller, the steps of manufacturing the mold include the steps of manufacturing a master mold having the non-straight cylinder external shape, and a non-straight cylinder shape of the master mold. A step of fixing annular reinforcing members to the outer peripheries on both sides of the part, and the material of the mold so as to cover the surfaces of the non-rectangular cylindrical part of the mother die and each of the reinforcing members. A step of forming a mold by adhering the mold, and the reinforcing parts from the formed mold. Leaving some of which is characterized by a step of dissolving and removing the mold.

Further, the material of the mold may be attached by depositing it by an electroforming method, or the mother mold may be dissolved and removed by a corrosive liquid.

The non-rectangular elastic roller forming apparatus of the present invention wraps and holds a die manufactured by any one of the methods for manufacturing each non-rectangular elastic roller of the present invention. In addition, it has a holding means for keeping the temperature constant by a heating means, an injection means for injecting an elastic material into the mold, and an exhaust means for exhausting the air in the mold. Characterize.

[0020]

In the method of manufacturing a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention, the mold material is such that the material of the mold adheres to the surface of the non-rectangular cylindrical part of the mother die so as to cover the surface. Formed. When the master mold is dissolved and removed from the mold, non-rectangular cylindrical holes having the same outer shape as the master mold appear in the remaining mold.

In the method having a step of closely contacting the annular reinforcing members on both sides of the non-rectangular columnar portion of the mother die, the die left after the mother die is dissolved and removed has a non-rectangular columnar hole. Reinforcing members are integrally fixed to the mold on both sides.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a copying machine will be described as an example of an apparatus in which the non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention is used.
Will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a copying machine in which a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine includes a transfer unit 70 for transferring a toner image onto the transfer member 100, and a transfer member 10 on the transfer unit 70.
A sheet feeding unit 60 for feeding 0, and the transfer member 10
A cleaning unit 80 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive member after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer member 10;
And a fixing unit 90 for fixing the toner image transferred to 0 on the transfer member 100.

The paper feed unit 60 has a paper feed roller 64 rotatably supported in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and a paper feed cassette 61 on which a large number of sheet-shaped transfer members 100 are stacked. The illustrated right end portion of the transfer member 100 stacked on the sheet 61 is pressed against the sheet feeding roller 64 by the separation pad 62 that is biased upward by the spring. Further, on the right side of the separation pad 62 in the figure, a separation pad 63 is provided which is pressed against the paper feed roller 64 by a spring, and the separation pad 6 is rotated by rotating the paper feed roller 64.
The uppermost transfer member of the transfer member 100 is separated from the other transfer members by the cooperation with 2, and the sheets are fed to the transfer unit 70 one by one. The paper feed roller 64 is thus pressed against the transfer member 100 and conveys the transfer member 100 by friction with the transfer member 100. Therefore, the paper feed roller 64 is formed in an inverted crown shape in order to prevent paper wrinkles of the transfer member 100. And the elastic layer is made of polynorbornene. The hardness of polynorbornene is 40 degrees on the Asker C scale based on SRIS (Japan Rubber Association Standard).

In the transfer section 70, a photosensitive drum 51 as an image carrier, which holds an electric charge and has a photo-semi-conductivity so that electricity flows only in a portion irradiated with light and the potential disappears, is rotatably supported. A conductive charging roller 71 that is supported and connected to a power source (not shown) is provided in pressure contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 51. These power source and charging roller 71
The charging unit is configured by, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 is uniformly charged by rotating the photosensitive drum 51 while applying a predetermined voltage to the charging roller 71 by the power source. Therefore, the charging roller 71 is preferably in contact with the photosensitive drum 51 with a uniform nip width, and is formed in a crown shape. The elastic layer has a thickness of about 3 mm.
EPDM, JIS K 630 of EPDM
The hardness based on 1 is in the range of 60 to 70 degrees. further,
The surface of EPDM was coated with hydrin rubber in a thickness of about 200 μm, and about 10 μm above it.
A thickness of μm is applied to the resin to prevent the surface of the charging roller 71 from being soiled and preventing impurities from seeping out from the inside of the charging roller 71 while maintaining the conductivity of the charging roller 71. .. The light from the light source 56 is reflected by the document table 58 and irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 51 whose surface is uniformly charged. At this time, the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 is irradiated with light in accordance with the characters and the image pattern of the original document (not shown) placed on the original table 58, and the potential at that portion disappears. A latent image is formed.

A developing device 75 is provided on the downstream side of the portion of the photosensitive drum 51 irradiated with the reflected light from the light source 56 with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 51. Toner is attached to the surface of the drum 51 by the developing device 75, and a toner image is formed. The developing device 75 has toner charged to the same polarity as that of the photosensitive drum 51, and the toner adheres to a portion of the photosensitive drum 51 where the latent image has no potential. The transfer member 100 conveyed by the paper feeding unit 60 is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 51 on which the toner image is formed. At this time, the transfer member 100 is charged with the opposite polarity to the toner by the transfer charger 52, and the toner on the photosensitive drum 51 is attracted to the transfer member 100,
The toner image is transferred to the transfer member 100. The transfer member 100 to which the toner image has been transferred is discharged by the discharging needle 53. On the other hand, in the transfer of the toner image to the transfer member 100, 100% transfer to the transfer member 100 is difficult, and the residual image of the toner remains on the photosensitive drum 51. For this reason,
The residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 51 must be removed by the cleaning unit 80.

A cleaning blade 81 is provided in the cleaning unit 80 so that one of its free ends is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 51. A cleaning roller 82 is provided in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 51 on the upstream side of the cleaning blade 81 with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 51. Foreign matter such as residual toner and paper dust on the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 that has reached the cleaning unit 80 is first rubbed off by the cleaning roller 82 and held on the cleaning roller 82. Therefore, the cleaning roller 82 is formed in a crown shape because it is necessary to contact the photosensitive drum 51 with a uniform nip width, and the elastic layer thereof is made of silicone rubber having a hardness of 34 ± 4 degrees on the Asker C scale. It is composed of an inner layer and an outer layer made of urethane rubber. The toner not removed by the cleaning roller 82 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 81 and is retained on the cleaning roller 82. Then, the cleaning roller 82
The foreign matter held above is scraped off by the scraper 83, accumulated in the toner storage portion, and discharged to the outside of the cleaning unit 80 by the transport screw 84.

On the other hand, the transfer member 10 on which the toner image is transferred
0 is transported to the fixing unit 90 by the transport belt 54. A fixing roller 91 having a heater 92 as a roller heating means therein is rotatably supported by the fixing unit 90. The pressure roller 9 is used as the fixing roller 91.
4 are in pressure contact with each other, and the pressure roller 94 is driven by the rotation of the fixing roller 91. The transfer member 100 conveyed to the fixing unit 90 is guided between the fixing roller 91 and the pressure roller 94 by the paper guide 95, and is nipped by both rollers 91 and 94. At this time, the fixing roller 9
Since 1 is heated by the heater 92, the toner transferred to the transfer member 100 is fused under pressure between the fixing roller 91 and the pressure roller 94, and is fixed to the transfer member 100. The fixing roller 91 and the pressure roller 94 are formed in an inverted crown shape in order to prevent paper wrinkling of the transfer member 100. The fixing roller 91 has a structure in which an aluminum hollow pipe (core metal member) having a heater 92 inserted in a hollow portion has a thickness of 200 to 300 μm.
Thickness of HTV (high temperature curing type) silicone rubber (JIS
An elastic layer having a hardness of 60 to 70 degrees based on K6301 is formed, and a fluororesin is further coated on the elastic layer. As the constitution of the pressure roller 94, an elastic layer made of LTV (low temperature curing type) silicone rubber (hardness according to JIS K 6301 is in a range of 20 to 50 degrees) having a thickness of 1 to 10 μm is provided on a core metal member. It is formed, and the details will be described later. In this fixing process, the toner transferred to the transfer member 100 may be attached to the fixing roller 91, and this toner is attached to the cleaning pad 9 contacting the fixing roller 91.
It is removed from the fixing roller 91 by 3 and the surface of the fixing roller 91 is kept clean.

The transfer member 100, which has been fixed, is discharged to the outside of the copying machine by the paper discharge roller 55 and is stacked on the paper discharge tray.

Next, among the rollers of the crown type or the inverted crown type used in the above-mentioned copying machine,
The manufacturing process of the pressure roller 94 will be described.

First, a process of manufacturing a mother die having a non-rectangular cylindrical outer shape which is the same as the peripheral surface of the elastic roller to be manufactured will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mother die having a non-rectangular cylindrical outer shape, which is manufactured by an embodiment of the method for manufacturing a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of what fixed the reinforcing member to each outer periphery of the non-rectangular cylindrical part of the mother die.

As shown in FIG. 2, BsBM which is free-cutting steel
The roller portion 1a of the rod-shaped mother die 1 made of a material is formed in a non-rectangular columnar outer shape that is the same shape as the peripheral surface of the elastic roller (pressure roller 94) to be manufactured. That is, the roller portion 1a of this embodiment is formed in an inverted crown shape whose outer shape gradually increases from the center toward both ends. On both sides of the roller portion 1a, taper portions 1b,
1 c is formed smoothly and continuously with the surface of the roller portion 1 a, and a screw hole 1 is formed on the left end surface of the mother die 1 in the figure.
d is formed. The mother die 1 is formed in the illustrated outer shape by cutting and polishing, and in particular, the surface of the roller portion 1a has a surface roughness represented by the maximum height of 0.
It is mirror-finished so as to be 8 μmR _max or less.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, annular reinforcing members 2 and 3 are fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the mother die 1 on the outer sides of the respective tapered portions 1c and 1b, and they are closely fixed by an adhesive agent. Each of the reinforcing members 2 and 3 is made of a steel material that has been quenched to increase its strength. Grooves 2a and 3a are formed on the outer circumference of each of the reinforcing members 2 and 3 over the entire circumference. It is formed to be inside the outer circumference.

Next, the steps of forming the non-rectangular cylindrical portion of the mother die 1 and the surfaces of the respective reinforcing members 2 and 3 by adhering the material of the die so as to cover the surfaces will be described with reference to FIG. Will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the material of the mold is attached to the surfaces of the non-rectangular columnar portion of the mother die shown in FIG. 3 and each reinforcing member so as to cover the surfaces.

As shown in FIG. 4, an attaching screw 12 is attached to the screw hole 1d of the mother die 1, and the attaching screw 12 is held to suspend the mother die 1 so that the electrolytic bath 5 is filled with electrolysis. The mother mold 1 is dipped in the liquid 5a. The electrolytic solution 5a is a nickel sulfamate bath, the composition of which is 300 to 450 g / l of nickel sulfamate and 0 of nickel chloride.
˜30 g / l and boric acid 30 to 45 g / l. Then, a nickel alloy is deposited on the surface of the mother die 1 by electroforming. Table 1 shows the working conditions at this time.

[0037]

[Table 1] When the master block 1 was immersed in the electrolyte 5a under the working conditions shown in Table 1 for about one week, the non-rectangular cylinder part of the master block 1 (roller part 1
a), each tapered portion 1b, 1c, and each reinforcing member 2, 3
A nickel alloy is deposited on the surface of the so as to cover the surface, and the mold 4 is formed. At this time, about 6 mm of nickel alloy is deposited on the roller portion 1a. Note that, as shown in FIG. 4, nickel alloy may be deposited on the other surface of the mother die 1.

After taking out the mold 4 formed as described above from the electrodeposition bath 5, as shown in FIG. 5, the outer ends of the mold 4 from the respective reinforcing members 2 and 3 are cut. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the die 4 is removed to form a cylindrical shape having the same diameter as the outermost periphery of each of the reinforcing members 2 and 3. Further, the master mold 1 is formed with a dissolution removal hole 1e penetrating along the axial direction of the master mold 1 in order to improve the circulation of the corrosive liquid during the later-described dissolution removal.

Next, the step of dissolving and removing the mother die 1 from the die 4 formed as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the mother die is dissolved and removed from the die shown in FIG. 5 while leaving the reinforcing member.

As shown in FIG. 6, the dissolution and removal tank 6 is filled with a corrosive liquid 6a that corrodes only the mother die 1, and the mold 4 is dipped in the corrosive liquid 6a. As the corrosive liquid 6a, an aqueous solution containing ferric chloride (FeCl ₃ ) at a rate of 500 g / l is used. By immersing the mold 4 in the corrosive liquid 6a, the corrosive liquid 6a enters the dissolution removal hole 1e of the master mold 1,
The master mold 1 is corroded and dissolved. When the mold 4 is immersed in the corrosive liquid 6a at room temperature for about 2 days, the mold 1 is completely dissolved and removed from the mold 4, and the remaining mold 4 has a roller portion 1a and Hole 4a having the same shape as each tapered portion 1b, 1c
(See FIG. 7), that is, the hole 4a having the same inverted crown shape as the peripheral surface of the elastic roller (pressure roller 94) to be manufactured appears. Further, the surface roughness of the inner surface of the hole 4a is mirror-finished by transferring the surface roughness of the roller portion 1a of the mother die 1. Reinforcing members 2 and 3 are integrally fixed to the mold 4 on both sides of the hole 4a, and inner peripheral surfaces of the reinforcing members 2 and 3 are exposed. Each reinforcing member 2, 3
The nickel alloy is attached to the reinforcing members 2 and 3 to secure the die and the die 4 to each other.
Since it is formed by covering the entire circumferences of the grooves 2a and 3a, the reinforcing members 2 and 3 are strong so as not to be easily separated. After the mother die 1 has been dissolved and removed from the die 4, the die 4 is washed, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the inner peripheral surfaces of the reinforcing members 2 and 3 are ground or the like so that both end portions of the inner surface of the hole 4a are cut. Taper to be continuous with the taper shape. The inner peripheral surfaces of the reinforcing members 2 and 3 that have been tapered may be subjected to a surface treatment such as hard chrome plating, if necessary.

Next, the manufacturing process of the elastic roller using the mold manufactured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the core metal member, each lid, and each lid cover assembled to the mold shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is an embodiment of the elastic roller molding apparatus of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of.

As shown in FIG. 8, two end portions 7b and 7c of the cored bar member 7 are respectively attached to two lids 8 and 9 for fixing the end portions 7b and 7c of the rod-shaped cored bar member 7, respectively. Support holes 8a and 8b into which are respectively inserted and fitted. Around each support hole 8a, 8b, at the time of molding,
A plurality of runners 8b and 9b through which an elastic material or air, which will be described later, passes are perforated. In addition, each lid 8,
The outer shapes of the insertion portions 8c and 9c, which are one end portions of 9, are formed in tapered shapes so as to be in close contact with the above-described both end portions of the hole 4a of the mold 4 and the series of tapered shapes of the reinforcing members 2 and 3, respectively. Has been done. The two lid covers 10 and 11 are each formed with a recess into which the other end of each lid 8 and 9 fits. One of the lid covers 10 and 11 has a filling port 11 through which an elastic material is filled.
a and a space portion 11b for communicating the inlet 11a thereof and each runner 9b of the lid body 9 are formed, and the other lid body cover 10 includes each runner 8 of the lid body 8 and a discharge port (not shown). A space portion 10b communicating with each other is formed.

Next, the procedure for forming the elastic layer on the core metal member 7 will be described. First, an adhesive is applied to the peripheral surface 7a of the cored bar member 7 to insert the cored bar member 7 into the hole 4a of the mold 4,
The core metal members 7b and 7c are the support holes 8 of the lids 8 and 9, respectively.
a, 9a so that the insertion portion 8 of each lid 8, 9 is inserted.
c and 9c are inserted until they come into close contact with both ends of the hole 4a of the mold 4 and the inner peripheral surfaces 2b and 3b of the reinforcing members 2 and 3, respectively. Thereby, both ends 7b and 7c of the cored bar member 7 are fixed to both ends of the hole 4a of the mold 4 and the respective reinforcing members 2 and 3. At this time, the central axis of the cored bar member 7 and the central axis of the hole 4a of the mold 4 are aligned. Then, the respective lids 8 and 9 are fitted into the respective lid covers 10 and 11,
This is mounted on the molding apparatus shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the molding apparatus comprises a lower heating plate 21a and an upper heating plate 21b as holding means for wrapping and holding the mold 4, and an injection means for injecting an elastic material into the mold 4. Casting machine 2 to which the injection nozzle 22 is connected
5 and an exhaust nozzle 23 as an exhaust means for exhausting the air in the mold 4.

The lower heating plate 21a and the upper heating plate 21b are
Each has a heating means such as a sheathed heater inside.
The temperature of the mold 4 is kept constant by these heating means.
On the other hand, the casting machine 25 is connected to a pouring nozzle 22 which is provided so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in the drawing so that the tip of the pouring machine 25 abuts on the pouring port 11a of the one lid cover 11 for connection. Although an elastic material is supplied to 22, the casting machine 25 uses the two-liquid mixing type LTV (low temperature curing type) silicone rubber, which is a low-viscosity rubber material, as the elastic material in this embodiment. The two liquids can be measured and mixed and supplied to the injection nozzle 22.
That is, the casting machine 25 has an A liquid tank 26 for storing the A liquid which is one raw material of the elastic material, and a B liquid tank 27 which stores the B liquid which is the other raw material of the elastic material, A
The liquid and the liquid B are accurately metered by a gear pump 28 for liquid A and a gear pump 29 for liquid B, which are driven by a motor 30, respectively. Then, the A liquid and the B liquid measured by the A liquid gear pump 28 and the B liquid gear pump 29 are mixed and deaerated by the static mixer 31, and are supplied to the injection nozzle 22. Specifically, the elastic material is DY35-56 manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Co., Ltd.
1 etc. are used.

When the mold 4 to which the respective lids 8 and 9 and the respective lid covers 10 and 11 have been attached is attached to the above-mentioned molding apparatus, the injection nozzle 22 is connected to the injection port 11a of one lid cover 11. At the same time, the exhaust nozzle 23 is connected to the exhaust port of the other lid cover 10, and the injection nozzle 22
Thus, the elastic material is injected at an appropriate pressure from the injection port 11a of the one lid cover 11. The injected elastic material passes through each runner 9b of the lid 9 and fills the gap between the hole 4a of the mold 4 and the core metal member 7, and the air occupying the gap is filled with the air of the lid 8. It is discharged from each runner 8b through the space 10b of the lid cover 10 and from the exhaust port of the other lid cover 10. When the elastic material filled in the gap between the hole 4a of the mold 4 and the core metal member 7 is cured, the injection nozzle 22 and the exhaust nozzle 23 are separated from the lid covers 10 and 11, respectively. Then, the other lid cover 10 and the lid 8 are integrally removed from the mold 4, and similarly, the one lid cover 1 is removed.
1 and the lid 9 are integrally removed from the mold 4. Finally,
From the hole 4a of the mold 4, an elastic layer made of an elastic material is applied to the peripheral surface 7
The cored bar member 7 formed in a is extracted to complete the inverted crown type elastic roller (pressure roller 94).

Table 2 shows the molding conditions of the elastic layer in this example.

[0048]

[Table 2] In Table 2, the touch time is the time during which the injection nozzle 22 and the exhaust nozzle 23 are in contact with the respective lid covers 10 and 11 after the injection of the elastic material is completed.

The elastic roller (pressure roller 10) manufactured in this manner is further coated with a fluororesin on the upper layer of the elastic layer or pre-molded in order to prevent unfixed toner from adhering to the elastic roller. 20 to 100 μm in the hole 4a of No. 4
A fluororesin tube having the above thickness may be inserted, and an elastic material may be injected into the tube to cover the elastic layer with the tube.

As described above, in this embodiment,
The machining of the inverted crown shape is performed by the easy machining of the outer shape of the mother die 1, so that it is easier to perform the desired machining than the conventional difficult machining of the inner surface of the hole of the die. The inverted crown-shaped hole 4a can be formed in the mold 4. Since free-cutting steel, which is easy to cut and grind, is used for the master block 1, it is easier to process the master block 1 with high accuracy.

Further, since the surface roughness of the roller portion 1a of the mother die 1 becomes the surface roughness of the inner surface of the hole 4a of the die 4,
Compared with the process of finishing the inner surface of the hole of the mold to a desired surface roughness, the hole 4 of the mold 4 is processed by a simple process of finishing the surface of the roller portion 1a of the mother die 1 to a desired surface roughness.
The inner surface of a can be formed to have a desired surface roughness, and the peripheral surface of the elastic roller can be easily formed to have a desired surface roughness.

Further, the adhesion of the material of the die to the mother die 1 is
Since it is performed by depositing a nickel alloy by electroforming, the composition of the nickel alloy that is the material of the mold 4 can be easily made to be the desired one, and the surface roughness of the surface of the mother die 1 can also be made into the mold. 4 can be satisfactorily transferred to the inner surface of the hole 4a.

In addition, since the master mold 1 is dissolved and removed by immersing the master mold 1 to which the mold material is attached in the corrosive liquid 6a, the master mold 1 remains on the inner surface of the hole 4a of the mold 4. Without
In addition, the mother die 1 can be satisfactorily removed without damaging the shape of the inner surface of the hole 4a. In addition, before the mother mold 1 is dissolved and removed,
Since the dissolution and removal holes 1e are formed in the master mold 1 in advance, the contact area between the master mold 1 and the corrosive liquid 6a increases, and the time for dissolution and removal of the master mold 1 can be shortened.

The reinforcing members 2 and 3 are the core metal member 7
When fixing the,
That is, since the lids 8 and 9 are integrally fixed to the portions of the lids 8 and 9 that come into contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the insertion portions 8c and 9c, the durability of the die 4 can be improved.

In this embodiment described above, BsBM material, which is free-cutting steel, is used as the material of the mother die 1, but not limited to this, other free-cutting steels or materials other than free-cutting steels may be used. Good. Further, although the nickel alloy is shown as the material of the die 4, it is not limited to this, and the adhesion of the material of the die to the mother die 1 is not limited to the example in which it is deposited by the electroforming method, but melting or similar to that. It may be performed by a method such as thermal spraying in which the material of the die 4 in this state is sprayed on the surface of the mother die 1.

Further, as the means for dissolving and removing the mother die 1 from the mold 4, an example of dissolving and removing with the corrosive solution 6a is shown, but the invention is not limited to this, and means for dissolving and removing with the electrolytic solution,
A means for melting and removing by utilizing the difference in melting temperature between the mother die 1 and the die 4 may be used.

Furthermore, when forming the elastic layer, an example has been shown in which an elastic material is injected into the hole 4a of the mold 4 with an appropriate pressure, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the inside of the hole 4a of the mold 4 is vacuumed. By doing so, the elastic material may be sucked to form an elastic layer. Further, the cored bar member 7 may be hollow or pipe-shaped.

The manufacturing process of the pressure roller 94 used in the copying machine shown in FIG. 1 has been described above. In the same manner, the paper feed roller 64 and the fixing roller 91 which are the inverted crown type elastic rollers are manufactured. You can also do it. Also, the mother mold 1
By making the outer shape of the crown shape, the charging roller 7
It is also possible to manufacture a crown-shaped elastic roller such as No. 1 or the cleaning roller 82. The rollers and the units using the rollers are not limited to copying machines, and laser beam printers having the same structure can be used.

Further, as the elastic roller manufactured by the above-mentioned manufacturing process, a reverse crown type platen roller used for a typewriter or a printer, or a line sensor for reading data of an original in a facsimile is closely arranged. , A crown type platen roller for a line sensor, and a crown type platen roller for a print head, which is closely arranged to a print head for data output in a facsimile. Further, by processing the outer shape of the mother die 1 into a non-rectangular cylinder shape other than the crown shape or the inverted crown shape, it is possible to manufacture an elastic roller having a non-rectangular cylinder shape other than the crown type or the inverted crown shape. it can.

[0060]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention and the manufacturing method thereof, when the master mold is dissolved and removed from the mold, the remaining mold has a non-rectangular cylindrical hole having the same outer shape as the master mold. Appears, so compared to the conventional difficult process of machining the inner surface of the hole of the mold, the easy machining of the outer shape of the mother die makes it possible to achieve the desired highly accurate non-rectangular cylindrical hole. Can be easily formed in a mold. As a result, the elastic roller manufactured in this way can be manufactured at a low cost because the mold is easily manufactured,
An elastic layer having a uniform shape with little variation is formed.

Further, in the manufacturing method having the step of fixing the reinforcing members to the outer peripheries on both sides of the non-rectangular columnar portion of the mother die, in addition to the above-mentioned effects, the non-rectangular columnar shape of the produced die is Since the reinforcing members are integrally fixed to the mold on both sides of the hole, that is, to the portions to which the respective lids are fixed, the durability of the mold can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a copying machine in which a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mother die having a non-rectangular cylindrical outer shape, which is manufactured by an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the mother die shown in FIG. 2 in which reinforcing members are fixed to both sides of the non-rectangular columnar portion.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a manner in which a material for a die is attached to the surfaces of the non-rectangular cylindrical portion of the mother die shown in FIG. 3 and each reinforcing member so as to cover the surfaces.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the mold shown in FIG. 4 in which a mold is formed into a cylindrical shape and a dissolution removal hole is formed.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the mother mold is dissolved and removed from the mold shown in FIG. 5 while leaving the reinforcing member.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the mold shown in FIG. 6 in which the mother die is melted and removed to process the inner peripheral surface of each reinforcing member.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the metal mold shown in FIG. 7 assembled with a core metal member, each lid, and each lid cover.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an elastic roller molding device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 master 1a roller part 1b, 1c taper part 1d screw hole 1e dissolution removal hole 2, 3 reinforcing members 2a, 3a groove 2b, 3b inner peripheral surface 4 mold 4a hole 5 electrolysis tank 5a electrolyte 6 dissolution removal tank 6a corrosion Liquid 7 Core metal member 7a Circumferential surface 7b, 7c End part 8, 9 Lid body 8a, 8b Support hole 8b, 9b Runner 8c, 9c Insertion part 10, 11 Lid cover 10b, 11b Space part 11a Pouring port 12 Mounting screw 21a Lower heating plate 21b Upper heating plate 22 Injection nozzle 23 Exhaust nozzle 25 Casting machine 26 Liquid A tank 27 Liquid B tank 28 Liquid A gear pump 29 Liquid B gear pump 30 Motor 31 Static mixer 51 Photosensitive drum 52 Transfer charging Device 53 Static elimination needle 54 Conveyor belt 55 Paper ejection roller 56 Light source 58 Document table 59 Paper ejection tray 60 Paper feed unit 61 Paper feed cassette 2,63 separation pad 64 feed roller 70 the transfer unit 71 a charging roller 75 the developing device 80 a cleaning unit 81 cleaning blade 82 cleaning roller 83 scraper 84 screw 90 fixing unit 91 fixing roller 92 heater 93 cleaning pad 94 pressing roller 100 transferring member

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/02 101 15/16 15/20 103 21/00 112 // B29L 23:00 4F 31: 32 4F

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller having a cored bar member and a non-rectangular columnar elastic layer formed on a peripheral surface of the cored bar member, wherein the elastic layer is the non-rectangular columnar shape. Formed by adhering the material of the die to the surface of the die having the outer shape of the die to form the die, and then injecting an elastic material into the hole formed by melting and removing the die from the die. Characterized by being done,
Non-rectangular elastic roller. 2. The non-rectangular elastic roller according to claim 1, wherein the material of the die is attached to the surface of the die by electroforming. 3. The elastic roller having a non-rectangular column shape according to claim 1, wherein the mother die is dissolved and removed by a corrosive liquid. 4. The non-rectangular cylindrical shape is an inverted crown shape, which is used as a paper feed roller for conveying a transfer member to an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer. The non-rectangular elastic roller described. 5. A non-rectangular cylinder having a crown shape and an elastic layer made of a conductive member, which is used as a charging roller for uniformly charging an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer. The non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller according to claim 1, 2 or 3. 6. A cleaning roller for removing untransferred residual toner remaining on an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer, wherein the non-rectangular cylinder has a crown shape. 3. A non-rectangular elastic roller according to item 3. 7. A non-rectangular cylindrical shape is used as an inverted crown shape, which is used as a fixing roller for fixing the toner transferred to the transfer member by the image carrier to the transfer member in a copying machine or a laser beam printer. The non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller according to claim 1, 2 or 3. 8. A non-rectangular cylinder having an inverted crown shape, which is used as a pressure roller for pressing a transfer member against a transfer roller in a copying machine or a laser beam printer.
Alternatively, the elastic roller having a non-rectangular column shape as described in 3 above. 9. A non-crown type reverse crown type is used as a platen roller opposed to the recording head with the recording member sandwiched therebetween in a recording apparatus for recording on a recording member by the recording head. 2. The elastic roller having a non-rectangular column shape according to 2 or 3. 10. The non-rectangular cylinder shape is a crown shape, and is used as a platen roller for a sensor of a facsimile, which is arranged opposite to a sensor for reading a document with the document sandwiched therebetween. Non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller. 11. A non-rectangular columnar elastic roller according to claim 4 and a large number of transfer members are stacked, and a stacking member that presses the uppermost transfer member of the transfer members against the elastic roller. And a separating means for separating the uppermost transfer member of the transfer members stacked on the stacking member from other transfer members, and is used as a paper feeding unit of a copying machine or a laser beam printer, A unit using non-rectangular elastic rollers. 12. The non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller according to claim 5, which is pressed against an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer, and a power source for applying a voltage to the elastic roller. A unit using a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller used as a charging unit of the copying machine or the laser beam printer. 13. The non-rectangular columnar elasticity according to claim 6, which is pressed against an image carrier of a copying machine or a laser beam printer to scrape off residual toner on the image carrier. A unit using a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller, which has a roller and a toner storage portion for accumulating the residual toner removed by rubbing, and is used as a cleaning unit of the copying machine or the laser beam printer. .. 14. The non-rectangular elastic roller according to claim 7, a roller heating unit provided inside the elastic roller, and the non-linear non-linear roller according to claim 8, which is pressed against the elastic roller. A unit that uses a non-rectangular elastic roller that has a cylindrical elastic roller and is used as a fixing unit for copiers and laser beam printers.
Fixing unit 15. A step of producing a mold having a non-rectangular cylindrical hole having the same shape as the peripheral surface of an elastic roller to be manufactured, and a step of injecting an elastic material into the hole of the mold to form a core. A step of forming an elastic layer on the circumferential surface of the metal member, wherein the step of producing the die comprises producing a mother die having the outer shape of the non-rectangular column. A step of forming a mold by adhering the material of the mold to the surface of the non-rectangular columnar portion of the mold so as to cover the surface, and from the formed mold And a step of dissolving and removing the matrix, the method for manufacturing a non-rectangular elastic roller. 16. A step of producing a die having a non-rectangular cylindrical hole having the same shape as the peripheral surface of an elastic roller to be produced, and a step of inserting a core metal member into the hole of the die. Fixing both ends of the cored bar member to both sides of the hole of the mold with a lid, and injecting an elastic material into the hole of the mold to form an elastic layer on the peripheral surface of the cored bar member. In the method for manufacturing a non-rectangular cylindrical elastic roller, the steps of manufacturing the mold include: manufacturing a master mold having the non-straight cylinder external shape; A step of fixing annular reinforcing members to the outer peripheries on both sides of the part, and the material of the mold so as to cover the surface of the non-rectangular cylindrical part of the mother die and the surface of each reinforcing member. A step of forming a mold by adhering, Characterized by a step of dissolving and removing the mold to leave the timber, a manufacturing method of the elastic roller of the non-linear cylindrical. 17. The method for manufacturing a non-rectangular columnar elastic roller according to claim 15, wherein the material of the mold is attached by depositing it by an electroforming method. 18. The method for manufacturing a non-rectangular elastic roller according to claim 15, 16 or 17, wherein the mother mold is dissolved and removed by a corrosive liquid. 19. Holding means for wrapping and holding a mold manufactured by the process according to claim 15, and for maintaining a constant temperature by a heating means; An apparatus for forming an elastic roller of a non-rectangular column shape, comprising: an injection unit for injecting an elastic material into a mold, and an exhaust unit for exhausting air in the mold.