JPH0747355Y2 - Photosensitive drum transport pallet - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a photosensitive drum transport pallet for transporting a photosensitive drum used in an electrophotographic copying machine or the like.

(Prior Art) A photoconductor drum used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine generally includes a drum body having an outer peripheral surface coated with a photosensitive material after anodizing an aluminum tube. A flange mounted on each end of the drum body. A rotating shaft is inserted into the shaft center of each flange, and the rotation of the rotating shaft is transmitted to the drum body. At the center of the shaft of each flange, a protrusion that protrudes outward is formed,
A through hole through which the rotary shaft is inserted is formed in each protrusion. For such a photosensitive drum, the automation of the manufacturing process is in progress. For example, after a flange is attached to each end, a pallet as shown in FIG. It is transported to the process. The pallet comprises a pallet body 40 made of metal and a cylindrical holder 50 for holding the lower end portion of the photosensitive drum 30 which is erected in the center of the upper surface of the pallet body 40 and vertically inserted. Have The inner peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the holder 50 is a tapered surface 51 with a constant angle that expands toward the upper end surface side so that the lower end portion of the photosensitive drum 30 can be easily introduced. The inner peripheral surface 52 excluding the surface 51 has a tubular shape with a constant inner diameter.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) When the photosensitive drum 30 is conveyed by using such a photosensitive drum conveying pallet, the shaft center of the flange attached to the lower end of the photosensitive drum 30 is lowered downward. Since the protrusion that protrudes to the inside is formed, the photosensitive drum is stopped when the pallet is stopped.
There is a possibility that 30 may tilt in the holder 50 due to inertia. When the photoconductor drum 30 is tilted in the holder 50, the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 30 comes into contact with the corner portion of the boundary between the tapered surface 51 and the cylindrical inner peripheral surface thereunder, and the photoconductor drum 30 There is a possibility that the photosensitive layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the may be damaged. If the photosensitive layer is damaged, it becomes impossible to form a good image when used by being attached to an image forming apparatus.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a pallet for transporting a photosensitive drum, which does not damage the outer peripheral surface of the transported photosensitive drum even if the photosensitive drum is tilted when the transportation is stopped. To do.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In a pallet for transporting a photoconductor drum of the present invention, a cylindrical holder for holding a photoconductor drum vertically inserted therein is provided on a flat pallet body. Pallet for transporting the photosensitive drum, wherein at least the inner peripheral surface of the holder is made of synthetic resin softer than the photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, and the upper end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the holder is In addition, it has a curved surface whose diameter gradually increases toward the upper end side, which solves the above problem.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pallet for conveying a photosensitive drum of the present invention comprises a pallet body 10 formed in a flat plate shape with a metal such as stainless steel, and a cylindrical holder provided upright at the center of the upper surface thereof. With 20 and. The holder 20 is, for example, made of a relatively soft synthetic resin such as polyester, polyamide, or polyimide, so that the entire inner surface of the holder 20 is made of a relatively soft synthetic resin. It is configured. The inner peripheral surface of the holder 20 has a curved surface 22 whose diameter gradually increases as the vicinity of the opening at the upper end thereof becomes closer to the opening side. The inner peripheral surface of the holder 20 excluding the curved surface 22 is a straight peripheral surface 23 having a constant inner diameter, and both are smoothly and continuously connected without forming a corner. The inner diameter of the straight peripheral surface 23 is set to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the photosensitive drum 30 to be conveyed.

The photoconductor drum 30 to be transported is inserted into the holder 20 with its lower end being guided by the curved surface 22. As a result, the photosensitive drum 30 is vertically supported on the pallet body 10.
Then, as the pallet body 10 moves on the conveyor line, the photosensitive drum 30 is conveyed. Pallet body
When 10 stops, the photosensitive drum 30 tilts due to inertia,
The outer peripheral surface thereof contacts the inner peripheral surface of the holder 20 having a conical shape. However, since the holder 20 is made of synthetic resin whose inner peripheral surface is softer than the photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, and the vicinity of its opening is the curved surface 22, the holder 20 is Even if the photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 30 contacts the inner peripheral surface of 20,
There is no risk of damage to the photosensitive layer.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the holder 20 as a whole is made of a relatively soft synthetic resin, the holder 20 is not limited to such a structure, and for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the holder 20 shown in FIG. In the same shape, the holder main body 20a 'is formed of metal or the like,
The holder 20 'may be constructed by coating only the inner peripheral surface of the holder body 20a' with a relatively soft synthetic resin layer 20b '. The synthetic resin layer 20b 'formed on the inner peripheral surface of the holder 20' is formed, for example, by applying a resin paint such as polyester or nylon.

(Effect of the Invention) The pallet for transferring the photosensitive drum of the present invention is as follows.
Even if the drum is tilted on the pallet, there is no risk of damaging the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, a photosensitive layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface,
The photoconductor drum having the flange attached to the end can be conveyed without damaging the photoconductor layer on the outer peripheral surface, and the production yield of the photoconductor drum can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the photosensitive drum transport pallet of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the photosensitive drum transport pallet of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the photosensitive drum transport pallet of FIG. 10 ... Pallet body, 20, 20 '... Holder, 20a' ... Holder body, 20b '... Synthetic resin layer, 22 ... Curved surface, 30
…… Photosensitive drum.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A pallet for conveying a photosensitive drum, comprising: a flat pallet body; and a cylindrical holder for holding a photosensitive drum vertically inserted therein. At least the inner peripheral surface is made of a synthetic resin softer than the photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, and has a curved surface at the upper end of the inner peripheral surface of the holder, the diameter of which gradually increases toward the upper end. A pallet for transporting a photosensitive drum.