JPH08146632A - Production of electrophotographic photoreceptor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To maintain dimensional accuracy of the inner diameter of an in-low part after a film of a photoconductive layer is formed and to obtain excellent image quality even when the photoconductive layer is made thick or the film forming temp. of the photoconductive layer is raised, by forming a socket and spigot part to have tapered inner diameter. CONSTITUTION: A socket and spigot part 5 is formed inside of the edge area of a cylindrical conductive base body 4. An amorphous silicon photoconductive layer 6 is formed on the outer surface of the base body 4 to obtain the pohtoreceptor. This production method includes the process A and B. (A) The inner diameter in the edge area of the cylindrical conductive base body 4 is formed as tapered so that the inner diameter increases to the edge. (B) An amorphous silicon photoconductive layer 6 is formed around the outer surface of the cylindrical conductive base body 4 to the edge area. Thereby, when contraction deformation is caused in the edge are of the photoreceptor due to the difference in coeffts. of thermal expansion between the photoconductive layer 6 and the base body 4, the tapered shape of the socket and spigot part 5 is compensated to change into almost a flat shape and almost const. inner diameter.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising an amorphous silicon photoconductive layer formed on a cylindrical conductive substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electrophotographic photoconductors using a photoconductive layer made of an amorphous silicon photoconductive material have been put into practical use, and have excellent wear resistance, heat resistance, photosensitivity characteristics, and pollution-free characteristics. As a result, the production volume is increasing year by year. This amorphous silicon (hereinafter a-S
abbreviated as i) electrophotographic photoreceptor using a photoconductive layer (a)
-Si-based electrophotographic photosensitive member) is usually produced by forming an a-Si-based photoconductive layer on the surface of a cylindrical conductive substrate made of a metal such as aluminum, and the inside of the electrophotographic apparatus is formed on both ends of the substrate. It is used by mounting a flange for holding the photoconductor on the electrophotographic apparatus.

In mounting the flanges on both ends of the cylindrical base body in this way, when the flanges are fitted inside the base body and mounted, the shavings referred to as spigot portions are formed over a predetermined length of the inner surface of the base body end region. It has been practiced to form a recessed portion and fix the flange by utilizing a step between the inner diameter of the base body and the inner diameter of the spigot portion.

[0004]

However, when the spigot portion as described above is formed, the thickness of the base body at that portion is reduced by the amount of the shaving amount, so that the mechanical strength of both end regions of the base body is reduced. It will be lower than the part. Therefore, when the a-Si-based photoconductive layer is formed to extend also on the outer surface of the end region, the a-Si-based photoconductive layer after film formation causes a stress that compresses the substrate, and thus the spigot portion is formed. There is a problem that the end portion of the formed base body is contracted and deformed by stress.

3A and 3B show how the end portion of such a conventional a-Si electrophotographic photosensitive member is deformed.
The main part is shown in a sectional view. FIGS. 10A and 10B show the shapes of the end regions of the substrate before and after the a-Si photoconductive layer is formed. In these figures, 1
Is a cylindrical conductive base made of metal such as aluminum, and 2 is a spigot for mounting a flange (not shown) on the base 1. The spigot portion 2 is formed by subjecting the inner surface of the base body 1 to a process such as having an inner diameter larger than that of the base body 1. Reference numeral 3 is an a-Si based photoconductive layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base 1. In the conventional a-Si electrophotographic photosensitive member, as shown in FIG. 1A, the outer surface of the end portion of the base body 1 has the same cylindrical surface as the central portion, and the spigot portion 2 is outside the base body 1. Each is formed so as to be a cylindrical surface coaxial with the surface. However, after the formation of the a-Si-based photoconductive layer 3, as shown in FIG. 3B, the end portion of the substrate 1 is deformed so as to contract, and the outer diameter thereof and the inner diameter of the spigot portion 2 become smaller. I was sick. Therefore, there are problems that the flange cannot be attached to the spigot portion 2, the diameter of the end portion of the base body 1 varies, and the roundness deteriorates.

Since the end area of the photoconductor is usually set to a non-image area for image formation, even if the outer peripheral surface side is slightly contracted and deformed, the image quality is not seriously hindered. However, since the spigot portion 2 is provided with a flange for rotating and driving the photosensitive member in the electrophotographic apparatus with high precision, the circularity and the diameter tolerance of the inner diameter of this portion are set small. The dimensional accuracy is required to be good. Therefore, when the end portion of the base body 1 contracts and deforms and the inner diameter dimensional accuracy of the spigot portion 2 deteriorates as described above, the flange mounting accuracy and the position accuracy of the photoconductor in the electrophotographic apparatus also deteriorate, and There is a problem that the accuracy of the gap with the developing device is deteriorated, and as a result, the image quality is deteriorated.

The deformation of the spigot portion 2 as described above occurs due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the cylindrical conductive substrate 1 and the a-Si-based photoconductive layer 3. Since the a-Si photoconductive layer 3 is formed while heating the substrate 1 to about 250 to 350 ° C. while it is processed in an environment of about room temperature, the substrate is returned to room temperature after the film formation. 1 and the photoconductive layer 3 generate a stress due to the difference in the amount of contraction based on the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, and the spigot portion 2 having a low mechanical strength, that is, the substrate 1.
By providing a deformation of the end regions. However, under the present circumstances, it is technically impossible to lower the film forming temperature of the a-Si photoconductive layer 3 or to make the conductive substrate 1 and the a-Si photoconductive layer 3 have the same thermal expansion coefficient. is there.

Further, the amount of deformation of the spigot portion 2 increases the thickness of the a-Si photoconductive layer 3 in order to enhance the charging ability of the photoconductor, and the characteristics of the a-Si photoconductive layer 3. There was a tendency that the film formation temperature was further increased by adjusting the film formation temperature in order to adjust

The deformation of the end portion of the cylindrical substrate after the photoconductive layer is formed is such that, even when another photoconductive material is used, the temperature of the substrate is raised from room temperature and the coefficient of thermal expansion with the substrate is formed when the layer is formed. When the difference is different, the problem similarly arises when the thickness of the substrate is reduced to lower the mechanical strength.

The present invention has been completed in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to form an a-Si based photoconductive layer on a cylindrical conductive substrate having a spigot portion formed on the inner surface of an end region. In the method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor, the inner diameter dimension accuracy of the spigot portion can be ensured even if the photoconductive layer is thickened or the film formation temperature of the photoconductive layer is increased, thereby obtaining excellent image quality. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the inner diameter dimensional accuracy after forming the a-Si photoconductive layer by forming the spigot portion of the end of the cylindrical conductive substrate without increasing the number of manufacturing steps. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, which has a good flange mounting accuracy and obtains excellent image quality.

[0012]

According to the method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention, a spigot portion is formed on an inner surface of an end region of a cylindrical conductive substrate, and an a-Si-based photoconductive material is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the substrate. A layer is formed into a film and comprises the following steps (A) and (B). (A) The inner diameter of the end region of the cylindrical conductive substrate is increased toward the end so as to widen toward the end. (B) An amorphous silicon photoconductive layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical conductive substrate so as to extend to the end region.

[0013]

According to the method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention,
The spigot portion formed on the inner surface of the end region of the cylindrical conductive substrate before forming the a-Si photoconductive layer is formed in a divergent shape, that is, in a taper shape in which the inner diameter increases toward the end portion. , A- on the outer peripheral surface so as to extend on it
Since the Si-based photoconductive layer is formed into a film, when the photoconductive layer and the base member are contracted and deformed due to the difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the photoconductive layer and the substrate, the taper of the spigot portion is canceled out, resulting in a substantially flat surface. It has a shape and an almost constant inner diameter. Therefore, the inner diameter dimensional accuracy of the spigot part is increased,
Since the mounting accuracy of the flange and the positional accuracy of the photosensitive member in the electrophotographic apparatus are also improved, the accuracy of the gap between the surface of the photosensitive member and the developing device, the rotational accuracy of the photosensitive member, etc. are improved,
The resulting photoreceptor is an electrophotographic image having excellent image quality.

Here, the end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor corresponding to the spigot portion which is flattened after the film formation of the a-Si photoconductive layer is contracted and deformed, so that the end portion of the photoconductor layer is more contracted than the center portion of the photoconductor. Although the outer diameter becomes smaller, this portion does not adversely affect the image quality because it is set in the non-image portion as described above.

As described above, the shrinkage amount of the inner diameter due to the film formation of the a-Si photoconductive layer in the spigot portion formed in the end region of the cylindrical substrate is formed such that the spigot portion is formed in a divergent shape before the film formation. By absorbing and offsetting by preserving, the thickness of the base is increased to increase the mechanical strength of the spigot part or the deformation of the spigot part is corrected by post-processing to increase the cost of materials and manufacturing man-hours. It is possible to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having good accuracy in the inner diameter of the spigot portion. Then, the problem that the flange cannot be attached to the spigot part due to the variation in the inner diameter of the spigot part or the poor circularity is eliminated, and it is possible to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member that can obtain an electrophotographic image of good image quality. .

[0016]

EXAMPLES The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention will be described below based on examples. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are cross-sectional views of an essential part of an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) shows the photosensitive member before forming a film of an a-Si photoconductive layer, that is, The end shape of the substrate is shown in FIG. 3B, which shows the end shape of the photoconductor after film formation.

In these figures, 4 is a cylindrical conductive base made of metal such as aluminum, and 5 is a spigot for mounting a flange (not shown) on the base 4, and FIG.
Similarly to the base body 4, the base body 4 has a larger inner diameter than the base body 4.
It is formed by subjecting the inner surface of the material to machining. Further, 6 is an a-S formed on the outer surface of the substrate 4.
It is an i-based photoconductive layer. As shown in FIG.
The outer surface of the end portion is formed in a flat shape so as to be the same cylindrical surface as the central portion, and the spigot portion 5 is formed in a taper shape such that the inner diameter becomes wider toward the end portion of the base body 4 toward the end. . The shape of the spigot portion 5 may be one having a uniform inclination as shown in the same figure, or one having a different inclination, or a combination of various inclined surfaces as described later. Good.

When the a-Si-based photoconductive layer 6 is formed on the substrate 4 having the spigot portion 5 formed in a divergent shape in this way, the spigot portion 5 of the photoconductor thus obtained is the same. As shown in FIG. 2B, the end portion of the base body 4 is deformed so as to contract, and as a result, its outer diameter becomes smaller and the inner diameter of the spigot portion 5 becomes substantially constant, resulting in a substantially flat cylindrical surface. Therefore, the spigot portion 5 has a small diameter tolerance and roundness, so that good inner diameter dimensional accuracy can be secured, and there is no problem that the flange cannot be mounted. As a result, the flange mounting accuracy and the position accuracy of the photoconductor in the electrophotographic apparatus are also improved, so that the gap accuracy between the photoconductor surface and the developing device, the rotation accuracy of the photoconductor, and the like are improved, resulting in excellent image quality. An electrophotographic image is obtained.

Next, another embodiment of the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the manufacturing method of the present invention is shown in FIGS. These are the same as in FIG.
Each of these figures shows the end shape of the photoconductor, ie, the base body before film formation of the a-Si photoconductive layer. Also in these figures, 4 denotes a cylindrical conductive base body made of metal such as aluminum. There is.

FIG. 2A shows an example in which the spigot portion 7 is formed in two steps. The spigot portion 7 is formed in a tapered shape such that the inner diameter increases toward the end of the base body 4 toward the end. A spigot portion 7a on the end side of the base body 4 and a flat spigot portion 7b continuously formed from the central side of the base body 4 so as to form a cylindrical surface coaxial with the outer surface of the base body 4 with a constant inner diameter. It consists of Such a spigot portion 7 is effective when the spigot portion 7 is deep so that the shrinkage of the end portion of the substrate 4 due to the film formation of the a-Si photoconductive layer can be absorbed by the spigot portion 7a.

FIG. 2B is also an example in which the spigot portion 8 is formed in two steps. The spigot portion 8 is formed in a taper shape such that the inner diameter increases toward the end of the base body 4 toward the end. The base portion 4 has an inlay portion 8a on the end side, and an inlay portion 8b continuously formed from the end portion 8a on the center side of the body 4 and having a taper shape with a gentler inclination than the inlay portion 8a. According to such a spigot portion 8, even when the depth of the spigot portion 8 is shallow, it is possible to sufficiently cope with the amount of shrinkage increasing toward the end of the base body 4.

FIG. 2 (c) shows an example in which the spigot portion 9 is formed in three stages. The spigot portion 9 is formed in a taper shape such that the inner diameter increases toward the end of the base body 4 toward the end. The spigot portion 9a on the end side of the base body 4 and the spigot portion 9b continuously formed from the spigot portion 9a on the center side of the base body 4 in a taper shape with a gentler inclination than the spigot portion 9a.
And a spigot portion 9c continuously formed from the spigot portion 9c on the central side of the base body 4 and having a taper shape with a gentler inclination than the spigot portion 9b. Such a spigot part 9
Can manage the difference in shrinkage amount depending on the location,
This is particularly effective when the accuracy of the inner diameter of the spigot is severe. Either one of the inlay parts 9b or 9c may be formed in a flat shape. Further, a combination of a multi-step tapered surface and a flat surface may be used.

The material forming the cylindrical conductive substrate 4 in the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention includes SUS (stainless steel), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu).
-Iron (Fe) -Titanium (Ti) -Nickel (Ni) -Chromium (Cr) -Tantalum (Ta) -Tin (Sn) -Gold (A
u) and metallic materials such as silver (Ag) and alloy materials thereof. Among them, the use of an aluminum alloy material is preferable in that not only can the weight of the photoconductor be reduced at low cost, but also the adhesion to the a-Si photoconductive layer is high and the reliability of the photoconductor can be improved. .

The cylindrical conductive substrate 4 is formed into a cylindrical shape by extrusion, drawing or the like, and is formed into a desired shape and dimensional accuracy through roughing and finishing by cutting or grinding with a lathe. It The thickness of the substrate is appropriately set according to the required specifications, but it is usually 0.5 to 0.5 in consideration of ensuring the mechanical strength and dimensional accuracy of the entire substrate and the spigot portion formed at the end.
20 mm, preferably 1 to 10 mm.

The inlay portions 5 and 7-9 are formed on the inner surface of the end portion of the cylindrical conductive substrate 4 so as to spread toward the end over a predetermined length by cutting with a lathe or the like. The size and the dimensional accuracy are appropriately set according to the required specifications. For example, the length of the spigot part is usually 2 to 30 m.
The height of the step portion from the inner surface on the center side of the substrate is usually set to about 0.5 to 5 mm. Further, the inclination of the tapered surface in which the inner diameter increases toward the end of the base body 4 toward the end, the mechanical strength of the base body 4, the thickness or stress of the a-Si photoconductive layer 6, and the formation of the photoconductive layer 6. It is set according to the amount of shrinkage in which the spigot part shrinks and deforms due to film formation, but the actual shrinkage amount before and after the film formation of the photoconductive layer 6 in the normal spigot part processed without inclination is measured, and the value is calculated. It is recommended to set based on. In addition, FIG.
In the case of forming a combination of multi-level surfaces as shown in (c), it is advisable to measure the shrinkage amounts at a plurality of positions of the spigot part before and after the photoconductive layer 6 is formed and set it based on the result. .

The material forming the a-Si photoconductive layer 6 includes an a-Si-based or a-Si alloy-based photoconductive material, and is a-Si.a-SiC.a-SiN.a-SiO.
・ A-SiGe ・ a-SiCN ・ a-SiNO ・ a-S
Examples thereof include iCO.a-SiCNO. They are,
For example, a film is formed by a glow discharge decomposition method, various sputtering methods, various vapor deposition methods, an ECR method, a photo CVD method, a catalytic CVD method, a reactive vapor deposition method, etc., and a hydrogen ( H) or halogen element (F · Cl) is contained in the film in an amount of 1 to 40 atom%. Also,
In order to obtain desired characteristics with respect to the electrical characteristics such as dark conductivity and photoconductivity of the layer 6 or the optical bandgap, a Group IIIa element (hereinafter abbreviated as a Group IIIa element) or Va of the periodic table is obtained. The above various characteristics may be adjusted by containing a group element (hereinafter abbreviated as Va group element) or an element such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O).

Boron (B) and phosphorus (P), respectively, as the IIIa group element and the Va group element, respectively, are excellent in covalent bond and can sensitively change semiconductor characteristics, and in addition, excellent photosensitivity can be obtained. Desirable in terms. The content is IIIa when it is contained together with elements such as C, N, O.
0.1 to 20,000 ppm is preferable for a group element, and 0.1 to 10,000 ppm is preferable for a Va group element. Also, C ・ N ・ O
When such elements as described above are not contained or are contained in trace amounts, it is preferable to contain 0.01 to 200 ppm for IIIa group elements and 0.01 to 100 ppm for Va group elements. These elements may be provided with a gradient in the layer thickness direction, in which case the average content of the entire layer should be within the above range.

The a-Si system photoconductive layer 6 may contain microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si). μc-
By including Si, the darkness and photoconductivity of the photoconductive layer 6 can be increased, and the degree of freedom in designing this layer 6 is increased. μ
c-Si can be formed by changing the film forming conditions by the same forming method as described above. For example, in the glow discharge decomposition method, the substrate temperature and high frequency power are set to be high,
It can be formed by increasing the flow rate of hydrogen as a diluent gas. Further, also in the case of containing μc-Si, it is possible to add the same impurity element as described above.

Further, in the a-Si photoconductive layer 6, a carrier injection blocking layer is formed between the substrates 4 or a surface layer is formed on the surface of the photoconductive layer 6 in order to obtain more excellent electrophotographic characteristics. It is good to form. It is preferable that these layers are also formed of an a-Si photoconductive material because they are well matched with the a-Si photoconductive layer 6 and can be continuously formed by the same film forming apparatus. .

In such a carrier injection blocking layer, the a-Si-based photoconductive material described above is allowed to contain more Group IIIa element or Group Va element than the photoconductive layer 6 to adjust the conductivity type or more. A material having a high resistance by containing C, N and O is used. The surface layer is made of a-Si based photoconductive material containing a large amount of C / N / O to have high resistance. By stacking these layers, it is possible to enhance charging ability and photosensitivity characteristics and enhance durability, abrasion resistance, and environmental resistance, and to obtain excellent electrophotography of the a-Si-based photoconductive layer 6. The characteristics can be further improved.

The thickness of the a-Si photoconductive layer 6 is usually 5 to 10.
The thickness may be 0 μm, preferably 15 to 80 μm. The thickness of the carrier injection blocking layer is 0.1-10 μm, preferably 0.3-
5 μm is preferable, and the thickness of the surface layer is 0.05 to 5 μm, preferably
0.1 to 2 μm is preferable.

Specific examples will be shown below. Example 1 First, the shrinkage amount of the spigot portion 2 in the conventional a-Si electrophotographic photosensitive member was examined as follows.

A cylindrical high-purity aluminum alloy tube was cut by a lathe to have a wall thickness of 4 mm and an outer diameter of 100 mm and 1
Three types of cylindrical conductive substrates of 08 mm and 120 mm were prepared. Also, on the inner surface of the end region of each base, 5 mm from the end
Is machined with a lathe over the length of
m and 104 mm / 116 mm (step difference from the inner surface of the substrate is 2 m
The flat-shaped spigot part of m) was formed.

Next, these substrates were set in a glow discharge decomposition apparatus, and at a substrate temperature of 270 ° C., a B-added a-Si carrier injection blocking layer having a thickness of 2 μm and a thickness of 70 μm, respectively.
μm a-Si photoconductive layer and 0.5 μm thickness a-SiC
A surface layer and a film were sequentially formed.

Three types of a-Si produced in this way
The outer diameter of the end of the system electrophotographic photosensitive member is measured by using a laser micrometer, and a half of the difference between the outer diameter of the a-Si system photoconductive layer and that before the film formation is formed. It was determined as the amount of shrinkage of the edge of the substrate due to formation. As a result, the amount of shrinkage was as follows.

Outer diameter of the substrate 100 mm 0.085 mm 108 mm 0.095 mm 120 mm 0.105 mm.

From these results, it can be seen that, in the case of substrates having the same wall thickness, the larger the outer diameter, the larger the amount of contraction at the ends. This is because as the outer diameter increases, a-S
It is considered that this is because the compression amount of the i-based photoconductive layer is almost the same, but the heat shrinkage amount of the aluminum substrate increases.

Further, when the contraction amount with respect to the distance from the end of the electrophotographic photosensitive member using the above-mentioned substrate having an outer diameter of 100 mm was obtained, the following results were obtained.

Distance from edge Shrinkage amount 1.5 mm 0.085 mm 2.5 mm 0.055 mm 4.0 mm 0.025 mm.

From this result, it can be seen that the shrinkage amount in the end region where the spigot portion is formed is larger as it is closer to the end of the base and smaller as it is closer to the center of the base.
This is because the outer diameter cannot shrink over the entire substrate,
It is considered that this is because the contraction stress concentrates on both open ends.

Example 2 In this example, based on the results of [Example 1], an electrophotographic photosensitive member was produced by the production method of the present invention as follows.

A cylindrical high-purity aluminum alloy pipe was cut by a lathe to obtain a wall thickness of 4 mm, an outer diameter of 100 mm, and a length.
A 360 mm cylindrical conductive substrate was prepared. Further, the inner surface of the end region of the base body is cut by a lathe over a length of 5 mm from the end portion to form a flat spigot portion, and a divergent shape having three stages of inclination toward the base end portion. A base body having a spigot portion was prepared. The machining values of these spigot parts are 96.00 mm + 0.06 mm and -0 mm, which are the required tolerances for the inner diameter of the spigot inner surface of the photoconductor.
It was set to 30 mm. In addition, the spigot part with three levels of inclination is 5 mm to 4 mm from the end and 4 mm from the end.
2.5mm to 2.5mm from the end to 2.5mm to the end of the tapered surface, the machining value of the inner diameter at 5mm from the end is 96.030mm, 4mm from the end and 2.5
The machining value of the inner diameter in mm and 1.5 mm is 96.055 respectively.
mm and 96.080 mm / 96.105 mm.

In this way, 50 substrates each having a conventional flat shape and a splayed spigot portion according to the present invention were formed for each shape.

Then, these substrates were set in a glow discharge decomposition apparatus, and at a substrate temperature of 270 ° C., a B-added a-Si carrier injection blocking layer and a thickness of 2 μm each were formed.
μm a-Si photoconductive layer and 0.5 μm thickness a-SiC
The surface layer and the film are sequentially formed and a-
A Si-based electrophotographic photosensitive member was obtained.

For each of the 50 a-Si electrophotographic photosensitive members having the spigot portion thus produced, the inner diameters of 4 mm and 2.5 mm · 1.5 mm from the end portions of the three-point contact type electronic inner diameter micrometer Was used to measure four points at 45-degree intervals, and the average value at each position was obtained.

Then, taking into account variations in manufacturing with respect to the required tolerance of the inner spigot inner diameter, the above average values are set to 9%.
The results of both of them were compared with each other as those which passed within the range of 6.030 mm ± 0.005 mm. The results are shown below together with the processed values. The values after the film formation are marked with ◯, the results are within the acceptance standard range, and the values with x are the results without.

Measurement position from the end of the substrate: 1.5 mm 2.5 mm 4.0 mm Flat shape Processing value: 96.030 mm 96.030 mm 96.030 mm After film formation: × 95.970 mm × 95.990 mm × 96.012 mm Spreading end processing value: 96.105 mm 96.080 mm 96.055mm After film formation: ○ 96.032mm ○ 96.031mm ○ 96.030mm.

From these results, by forming the spigot portion in a divergent shape by the manufacturing method of the present invention and setting the inclination appropriately, the spigot portion after the a-Si photoconductive layer is formed is almost formed. It can be seen that an a-Si-based electrophotographic photosensitive member having a flat shape and high inner diameter dimension accuracy can be obtained. On the other hand, in the case where the flat spigot portion is formed, the inner end portion of the spigot shrinks after the film formation of the a-Si photoconductive layer and the inner diameter of the end portion becomes small, so that good inner diameter dimensional accuracy cannot be obtained. I understand.

Then, the a-Si type electrophotographic photosensitive member having a good inner diameter dimensional accuracy obtained by the above-mentioned manufacturing method of the present invention was subjected to image evaluation by a commercially available electrophotographic apparatus with a flange attached. An electrophotographic image of good image quality was obtained with high resolution, sufficient image density, and excellent reproducibility and image stability.

[0050]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the a-Si photoconductive layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical conductive substrate having the spigot portion formed on the inner surface of the end region. In the method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, the inner diameter of the spigot portion is formed so as to widen toward the end so that the photoconductive layer can be thickened or the film formation temperature of the photoconductive layer can be increased. It has been possible to provide a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member which can secure the inner diameter dimensional accuracy of the spigot portion after the formation of the conductive layer and thereby obtain excellent image quality.

Further, according to the present invention, the inner diameter dimensional accuracy of the end portion of the substrate after the film formation of the a-Si photoconductive layer is determined by the shape of the spigot portion formed in the end portion of the cylindrical conductive substrate. It is possible to provide a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member that can be secured at low cost without increasing the number of manufacturing steps simply by changing the
As a result, it was possible to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a high inner diameter dimensional accuracy of the spigot portion, good flange mounting accuracy, and excellent image quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a main part of an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to a manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are cross-sectional views of main parts of another electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the manufacturing method of the present invention.

3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of a main part of a conventional electrophotographic photosensitive member.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 4, ..., Cylindrical conductive substrate 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 ... Inlay portion 3, 6 ..., Amorphous silicon photoconductive layer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, which comprises the following steps (A) and (B): (A) The inner diameter of the end region of the cylindrical conductive substrate is increased toward the end so as to widen toward the end. (B) An amorphous silicon photoconductive layer is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical conductive substrate so as to extend to the end region.