JPH08187692A - Cutting method and cutting device for soft material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To accurately cut a sheet-shaped soft material applied to manufacturing a cleaning blade of a copying machine and to various seal materials. CONSTITUTION: A cutting device is provided with a belt-shaped cutter 1, surface plate 2, guide member 3 of guiding the cutter 1 and a feed mechanism 4. The surface plate 2, which is for loading a sheet-shaped soft material W, has a slit 2a for the cutter 1 to pass. The guide member 3 has a material fixing piece 3c of retaining the soft material W in the vicinity of a cut surface. In the cutter 1, its side surface is placed in parallel to the lengthwise direction of the slit 2a, to fix upper/lower ends to cutter fixing members 5, 5 at an angle where a cutting edge 1a makes an acute angle relating to an upper surface of the surface plate 2. The feed mechanism 4 gives a feed so as to relatively move the cutter 1 in a slit lengthwise direction along the guide member 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is applied to the production of cleaning blades for copying machines and the production of various seals.
The present invention relates to a soft material cutting method and a cutting device for cutting a sheet-shaped soft material such as synthetic resin or rubber with high accuracy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are various products in which a sheet-shaped soft material such as synthetic resin or rubber is cut into a product shape. For example, such a cut product is used for various seals, and a manufacturing method by cutting is also attempted for a cleaning blade of a copying machine. A shear cutting machine or a cutter blade is used for cutting.

However, in the conventional shearing machine and cutting method using a cutter blade, when cutting a soft material as described above, the material is pushed by the blade and deformed during cutting or during cutting, and the material is cut in the deformed state. Will be done. for that reason,
There may be cases where the product requirements cannot be satisfied due to the surface accuracy of the cut surface, the dimensional accuracy, the sharp shape of the edge portion, and the like. In particular,
In the cleaning blade of a copying machine, high precision is required for these precisions and shapes, and it is difficult to secure satisfactory precision. That is, the cleaning blade of the electrophotographic copying machine removes the toner remaining on the surface of the drum after copying by contacting the surface of the photosensitive drum,
Therefore, the surface roughness of the end surface that contacts the photosensitive drum and the precision of the sharp shape of the edge portion are important problems. If the precision is insufficient, a ghost image or thread-like stain appears on the recording paper, resulting in poor copying. For this reason, strict product standards are set.

As a general manufacturing method of this type of cleaning blade, there are a mold molding method and a cast centrifugal molding method. According to these methods, accuracy requirements can be satisfied, but all of them have poor manufacturing efficiency. . Therefore, as a highly efficient manufacturing method, a method of cutting a soft material formed into a sheet into predetermined dimensions to form a cleaning blade has been attempted. However, in the conventional general cutting method, in the case of cutting a soft material, it is difficult to ensure the accuracy of the cutting surface as described above, and therefore a method capable of easily and accurately cutting a sheet-shaped soft material and A device is desired.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a soft material cutting method and a soft material cutting device which can easily and accurately cut a sheet-shaped soft material.

[0006]

The cutting method of the present invention comprises:
A method for cutting a sheet-shaped soft material, which comprises placing the soft material on a surface plate having a slit through which a blade passes. A guide member for guiding the movement of the blade is arranged above the soft material, and the blade is moved along the guide member to cut. The blade has a band-like shape whose side surface is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit, and is moved in the longitudinal direction of the slit while keeping the cutting blade and the upper surface of the surface plate at an acute angle. For this movement, either the blade or the surface plate may be moved.

The soft material cutting device of the present invention has a platen having a slit through which the blade is passed and a sheet-shaped soft material placed on the upper surface thereof, and is arranged above the soft material on the platen to move the blade. A guide member for guiding the blade, a strip-shaped blade having both ends fixed to the blade fixing member, and a feed mechanism for moving the blade fixing member relative to the surface plate. The cutting tool is fixed to the cutting tool fixing member at an angle such that the side surface is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit and the cutting blade forms an acute angle with the upper surface of the surface plate. The feed mechanism provides feed so that the blade relatively moves in the slit longitudinal direction along the guide member.

[0008]

According to the structure of the present invention, since the soft material is arranged on the surface plate and the band-shaped blade is moved along the guide member in the slit of the surface plate, the cutting is performed. There is little deformation of the soft material at the start, and it is possible to cut with high precision. That is, since a strip-shaped blade is used, the blade can be thin and has a small contact area with the soft material. Therefore, the cutting resistance is small and the blade can be smoothly moved, and the deformation of the soft material is small and the cutting surface is good. Accuracy is obtained. Even if a thin blade is used, it is moved along the guide member, so that defective cutting due to deformation of the blade can be prevented. From fixing both ends of the blade to the blade fixing member,
Deformation of the blade can be prevented. Also, place the soft material on the surface plate,
Since the blade is moved within the slit of the surface plate, the surface plate can support the soft material up to the vicinity of the cutting surface, which also prevents the deformation of the soft material during cutting. further,
Since the cutting edge of the blade is cut at an acute angle to the surface plate,
The soft material is prevented from rising from the surface plate during cutting, which also provides high accuracy in the cut surface. In addition,
If the guide member or another member is used to cut the soft material while pressing it near the cutting position on the surface plate, the cutting accuracy is further improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is an example applied to manufacture of a cleaning blade of an electrophotographic copying machine. This cutting device includes a blade 1, a surface plate 2, a guide member 3 for the blade 1, and a feed mechanism 4 for the blade 1, and cuts a sheet-shaped soft material W. The surface plate 2 is formed with a linear slit 2a that allows the blade 1 to pass therethrough, and has two divided surface plates 2A,
It is divided into 2B. The guide member 3 is arranged above the soft material W on the surface plate 2 to guide the movement of the blade 1, and the slit 3 located on the slit 2 a of the surface plate 2.
a is formed and divided into two division guide members 3A and 3B. The side surface of the slit 3a in both the split guide members 3A and 3B serves as a blade guide surface. Each slit 2a, 3a
Has a width such that a minute gap is formed on both sides of the cutting tool 1, as will be described later as a dimension example. Both split guide members 3A, 3B
Has a surface plate contact portion 3b placed on the upper surface of the surface plate 2 and a material fixing piece 3c for pressing the soft material W at a position along the slit 2a of the surface plate 2, and the surface plate contact portion 3b and the material fixing piece. Three
The lower surface portion between c and c is a recessed portion. Guide member 3
Is fixed on the upper surface of the surface plate 2 by a pressing device (not shown) such as a cylinder device. Material fixing piece 3c
May be configured separately from the guide member 3. In that case, the guide member 3 may be fixed to the surface plate 2, and the material fixing piece may be pressed by a pressing device such as a cylinder device. Further, the guide member 3 may be one in which the entire lower surface is formed into a flat surface and the soft material W is pressed down on the entire surface.

The blade 1 is in the form of a strip, and one side edge thereof is a cutting blade 1a. The blade 1 may be a double-edged blade having a cutting edge 1a on both side edges. The blade 1 has a side surface parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit 2a of the surface plate 2, and the inclination angle θ of the cutting blade 1a (FIG. 1 (B)) is an acute angle with respect to the upper surface of the surface plate 2. It is fixed to the blade fixing members 5 and 5. The side surface of the blade 1 is perpendicular to the upper surface of the surface plate 2. The cross-sectional shape of the cutting edge 1a of the blade 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in various examples in (C), one having a tapered surface on one side (A), one having both surfaces tapered (B), and one having both surfaces formed on a curved surface (C) are used. . The upper and lower blade fixing members 5 and 5 are movably installed along the rail-shaped guide members 6 and 6, and are driven forward and backward by a drive source 7 such as an electric motor via a transmission mechanism (not shown). It The guide member 6 and the drive source 7 constitute the feed mechanism 4. The upper and lower blade fixing members 5 and 5 may be integrated with each other.

Next, a cutting method by the above cutting device will be described. First, the soft material W is placed on the surface plate 2 across both sides of the slit 2a. The soft material W serves as a molding material for the cleaning blade, and is made of a sheet-shaped synthetic resin or rubber having a predetermined thickness and a predetermined shape. Soft material W
May be formed into a sheet having a predetermined shape by extrusion molding, or may be obtained by cutting a large-sized sheet into a predetermined shape. In this example, the soft material W is in the form of a band having a constant width, and is placed so that the center portion in the width direction is located at the center of the slit 2a. After that, the guide member 3 is pressed onto the surface plate 2, and the soft material W is pressed by the material fixing piece 3c of the guide member 3. In this state, the strip-shaped blade 1 is moved along the slit 3a of the guide member 3 by the movement of the blade fixing member 5, and the soft material W is cut. In this case, the blade 1 moves in the center of the slit width so as not to come into contact with the inner surface of the slit 3a, but when the resistance of the soft material W bends and shakes, the swing width is restricted by the inner surface of the slit 3a. It will be. The blade 1 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the slit 3a may be moved while being lightly pressed against one of the inner surfaces. By cutting in this way, a predetermined size (for example,
A cleaning blade, which is a cut product having a length of 300 mm, a width of 15 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm, is manufactured. FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the cleaning blade Wa thus manufactured and the photosensitive drum 10 of the copying machine. Cleaning blade Wa
Is the photosensitive drum 1 when the cutting end face cut by the blade 1 is
It is arranged so as to contact 0.

According to the cutting device and the cutting method, the soft material W is placed on the surface plate 2 in this way, and the strip-shaped blade 1 is provided along the guide member 3 so that the slit 2a of the surface plate 2 is formed.
Since the cutting is performed by moving the inside, the deformation of the soft material W during cutting or at the start of cutting is small, and the cutting can be performed with high accuracy. That is, since the strip-shaped blade 1 is used,
The blade is thin and has a small contact area with the soft material W. Therefore, the cutting resistance is small and the blade 1 can be smoothly moved, the soft material W is less deformed, and good cutting surface accuracy can be obtained. Even if the thin blade 1 is used, the guide member 3
Since the blade 1 is moved along the slit 3a, the deviation of the cutting path due to the bending of the blade 1 is prevented. Deformation of the blade 1 can also be prevented by fixing both ends of the blade 1 to the blade fixing members 5 and 5. Further, the soft material W is placed on the surface plate 2, the blade 1 is moved within the slit 2a of the surface plate 2, and both side portions near the cut surface of the soft material W are fixed by the material fixing pieces 3c. Since the cutting is performed in this manner, the soft material is prevented from being deformed during the cutting, and the cutting can be performed with high accuracy. Further, since the cutting tool 1 cuts the cutting edge 1a while keeping the cutting edge 1a at an acute angle with respect to the surface plate 2, the soft material W is prevented from rising from the surface plate 2 during cutting, which also provides high accuracy in the cut surface. To be Therefore, according to the cleaning blade Wa manufactured in this way, excellent cleaning performance can be obtained. Further, since the manufacturing is performed by cutting with the blade 1, the product shape can be finished easily, efficiently and inexpensively as compared with the other manufacturing methods of the cleaning blade.

Further, according to this cutting device, since the material fixing piece 3c is provided integrally with the guide member 3, the number of parts is small, the structure is simple, and the operation is further simplified. The material fixing piece 3c does not necessarily have to be provided. Further, instead of the material fixing piece 3c, the soft material W is fixed to the upper surface of the surface plate 2 by a double-sided tape (not shown) or the like, and the blade 1
Alternatively, even if cutting is performed by moving the surface plate 2, a highly accurate cut surface can be obtained.

The dimensions of each part are preferably in the following ranges. The blade 1 has a width B of 5 mm to 30 mm and a thickness t of 0.2.
mm or less. If the width B is narrower than 5 mm, the strength of the blade 1 is weak and the blade 1 may be broken during use. If the width B is wider than 30 mm, the blade 1 comes into contact with the soft material W. This is because the area becomes large, the torque of the drive source 7 increases due to the cutting resistance, and smooth movement of the blade 1 is hindered. Also, if the blade 1 having a thickness d larger than 0.2 mm is used, the soft material W is deformed and the accuracy of the cut surface cannot be guaranteed.

The width d of the slit 2a of the surface plate 2 is such that a minute gap d1 of 0.02 mm or less is formed between both side surfaces of the blade 1 and the inner surface of the slit 2a of the surface plate 2. The inclination angle θ of the blade 1 with respect to the upper surface of the surface plate 1 is an acute angle as described above, but is preferably in the range of 60 ° to 30 °. That is, cutting can be smoothly performed by setting the inclination angle θ to 60 ° or less, but if it is smaller than 30 °, the contact area between the blade 1 and the soft material W increases and the cutting torque increases. As a result, the smooth movement of the blade 1 is hindered, which adversely affects the accuracy of the cut surface. Guide member 3
The width of the slit 3a is the same as the width d of the slit 2a of the surface plate 2. The gap between the material fixing piece 3c of the guide member 3 and the upper surface of the surface plate 1 is set to a dimension that elastically slightly compresses the soft material W. That is, this gap is preferably set to a small size of 3 to 10% of the thickness of the soft material W.

As the material of the soft material W, synthetic resin or
Rubber, particularly a lubricious rubber composition described below, is effective for the cutting method of the present invention. Also, as this soft material W,
Rubber hardness is about 60-90Hs, elongation is about 120-320
%, A tensile elastic modulus of 10 to 300 Kgf / cm ² , and a coefficient of dynamic friction of about 0.2 to 0.6, the rubber material is effective for cutting and is preferable as a material for the cleaning blade. Further, the soft material W may be a sheet-like body in which layers of different materials are laminated in a plurality of layers. Effectively, the thickness of the soft material W is in the range of about 0.1 to 6 mm, preferably about 0.3 to 3 mm. Depending on the material, if the thickness is less than 0.1 mm,
If the sheet material is difficult to skive and the thickness exceeds about 6 mm, the resistance when cutting is large and it is difficult to cut the sheet with high accuracy.

An experimental example will be described. The following soft material W was cut using the cutting device of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with each device having the following dimensions and a conventional shearing machine as a comparative example. The blade 1 in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a thickness of 0.15 mm, a width of 20 mm, and an inclination angle θ of 45 °. The slit 2a of the surface plate 2 has a gap d of 0.16 mm and a guide member 3 The gap between the slits 3a was set to 0.16 mm. The feed rate of the blade 1 was about 200 mm / sec. Soft material W
Is a sheet material made of nitrile butadiene rubber,
A product having a length of 300 mm, a width of 30 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm was used, and this was cut into a product shape having a width of 15 mm, which is half that of each of the devices of Examples and Comparative Examples. Table 1 shows the cutting results.

[0018] As shown in Table 1, in Examples, straightness and cut surface roughness (JI
The surface roughness of S) is much higher than that of the comparative example, and the surface roughness is about mirror finish.

Next, a cutting method and a cutting device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, a large number of cleaning blades Wa are obtained by sequentially cutting a wide sheet-shaped soft material W with a predetermined width w which is a product size. The soft material W shown in the figure is a square sheet having a side of 300 mm, which is cut in parallel so that the width w becomes 15 mm.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway front view of this cutting device. In the figure, parts corresponding to those in the example of FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. The apparatus of this embodiment is different from the apparatus of FIG. 1 in that a material feeding mechanism 8 for feeding a wide soft material W in a direction orthogonal to the cutting direction is added. The guide member 3B on the feeding side of the soft material W is provided with the contact portion with the surface plate 2 only on the side orthogonal to the slit 3a in order to enable the feeding. The material feed mechanism 8 includes a feed roll 9 exposed from an opening provided in the surface plate 2, and a pressing roll 11 rotatably provided on the guide member 3 and sandwiching the soft material W between the feed roll 9. The feed roll 9 is rotationally driven by the drive source 12. Each of the division guide members 3A and 3B is a surface plate 2
An elevating device 14 composed of a cylinder device or the like installed on the frame 13 integrated with the elevating device is vertically moved to a state of being in contact with the upper surface of the surface plate 2 and a floating state. Similar to the example of FIG. 1, the blade 1 has both ends fixed to the blade fixing members 5 and 5, and the blade fixing members 5 and 5 are mounted on the guide members 6 and 6 provided on the frame 13 and are composed of linear bearings or the like. It is attached via a guide member 15 so as to be movable back and forth. Other configurations, such as the shape, size, and tilt angle of the blade 1, the slit 2a of the surface plate 2,
The slit 3a of the guide member 3, the material fixing piece 3c, and the feed mechanism 4 of the blade fixing member 5 are the same as those in the example of FIG.
Also in the cutting device of this embodiment, the guide member 3 may have a flat lower surface so that the soft material W is pressed by the flat lower surface.

In the case of the apparatus having this structure, the guide member 3 is raised every time one cut product of the soft material W is cut,
The soft material W is laterally fed by the width w of the cut product, and the guide member 3
Is lowered again to hold down the soft material W, and then cutting is performed by moving the blade 1. Other operations are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. When the blade 1 is a double-edged blade, one cut product is cut in each of the forward stroke and the backward stroke of the reciprocating motion of the blade 1.

Although the above embodiments have been described with respect to the case where the soft material W is cut into a linear shape, the present invention can be applied to a case where the soft material W is cut into a curved shape. When cutting into a curved shape, it is preferable to use the blade guide surface of the guide member 3 formed into a curved surface along the target cutting curve, and the blade 1 having a sectional shape formed into a curved surface along the cutting curve. .

Next, a material example of the soft material W suitable for the cutting apparatus and the cutting method of the present invention will be described. First, as the soft material W, a lubricative rubber composition having the following constitution, which is a composition disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-76045 (this is referred to as "first lubricative rubber composition"). Can be used. This rubber composition is excellent in sliding properties such as low friction coefficient and abrasion resistance, as well as functions of rubber properties such as sealing property, followability, sound deadening property, and vibration damping property. Therefore, when it is used as the soft material W of the cleaning blade Wa,
The cleaning blade Wa of excellent quality can be obtained in combination with the cutting method of the present invention. This rubber composition is a lubricating rubber composition prepared by blending fluororubber, a thermoplastic fluororesin and a low molecular weight fluoropolymer. The details will be described.

The fluororubber referred to herein is a polymer of unit monomers containing an average of one or more fluorine atoms, has a glass transition temperature of room temperature or lower, and has rubber-like elasticity at room temperature. However, it is not particularly limited and a wide range can be exemplified. Examples of the polymerization method of fluororubber include bulk polymerization, suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization, melt polymerization, catalyst polymerization, ionizing radiation polymerization and redox polymerization. The molecular weight of fluororubber is
Usually, 50,000 or more is preferable, and as high molecular weight as possible can obtain good results, and therefore, more preferably 70,000 or more, and particularly preferably about 10 to 250,000. As a typical example corresponding to the above conditions, tetrafluoroethylene propylene copolymer Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. Aflas,
DuPont Showa Denko Co. Viton, which is a vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene copolymer, and Technofluon, Montefluos Co., which is a vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene / tetrafluoroethylene copolymer.
Examples include fluorosilicone elastomer Silastic LS manufactured by Dow Corning, PNF manufactured by Firestone Co., which is a phosphazene elastomer, and Daier Perflo manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd. which is a perfluoro elastomer.

The above-mentioned thermoplastic fluororesin is a polymer having a carbon chain in its main chain and a fluorine bond in its side chain, and is, for example, a tetrafluoroethylene polymer (hereinafter abbreviated as PTFE). , Tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (hereinafter
PFA), tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (hereinafter abbreviated as EPE), tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene copolymer (hereinafter FEP)
Abbreviated as “), tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene copolymer (hereinafter abbreviated as ETFE), trifluorochloroethylene copolymer (hereinafter abbreviated as CTFE), trifluorochloroethylene / ethylene copolymer (hereinafter abbreviated as ECTFE). Yes), polyvinyl fluoride (hereinafter abbreviated as PVF)
And at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (hereinafter abbreviated as PVDF). Any of the above resins can be used in the production stage of various polymerization methods such as catalyst emulsion polymerization, suspension polymerization, catalyst solution polymerization, gas phase polymerization and ionizing radiation irradiation polymerization, and its molecular weight is preferably 50,000 or less, and 5000 is preferable. Almost 20
Those below 000 are desirable.

As a typical example corresponding to the above conditions, the above-mentioned PFA PFAMP manufactured by Mitsui DuPont Fluorochemical Co., Ltd.
10, FEP Teflon FEP100 manufactured by Mitsui DuPont Fluorochemicals, ETFE Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. Aflon COP, CTF
E is Daikin Kogyo's NEOFLON CTFE, PVDF Kureha Chemical's KF polymer, PVF DuPont's Tedl
ar.

By mixing the above-mentioned fluororesin and thermoplastic fluororesin, the lubricating composition can obtain the characteristics as an elastic body. Then, in order to impart excellent sliding properties, a low molecular weight fluoropolymer is blended. Here, the low molecular weight fluoropolymer, tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP) fluoroolefin polymers such as, main structural units ─C _n F _2n -O- ( n is 1 to 4
A polyfluoroalkyl group-containing compound (having 2 to 20 carbon atoms) having a main structural unit CF ₃ (CF ₂ ), H (CF ₂ ) ₆ or the like and having a molecular weight of 50,000 or less. However, those having a molecular weight of 5000 or less are particularly desirable in order to impart the above-mentioned excellent sliding characteristics. And of these, the average particle size is 5μ
The following expression less than m

[0028]

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The tetrafluoroethylene low-order polymer represented by is most preferable, and examples thereof include Vydax AR manufactured by DuPont and Fluon Lubricant L169 manufactured by Asahi Glass. Next, the -C _n F _2n -O- _(n 1
An average molecular weight of 50000 having a main structural unit of
The following fluoropolyethers are manufactured by Ausimont Co. of Italy: Fomblin Z

[0030]

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The following can be exemplified. In order to improve the affinity (adhesion) with respect to other compounding materials and additives with respect to such a polymer, it is desirable to have a unit containing a functional group such as an isocyanate group, a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group or an ester. Therefore, as a specific example of such a fluoropolyether,

[0032]

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These may be used alone or in combination. Further, even when a fluoropolyether having a functional group containing activated hydrogen and an isocyanate compound not containing a polyfluoropolyether group are used in combination, a fluoropolyether having an isocyanate group and various fluoropolyethers It is also possible to employ a method in which a group-free diamine, a triamine or various fluoropolyether group-free diols or triols are used in combination. In particular, it is preferable to use a combination of fluoropolyethers in which functional groups react with each other to increase the molecular weight. For example, one having a unit containing an isocyanate group and one having a unit containing a hydroxyl group are not combined. Equally desirable. Further, as the polyfluoroalkyl group-containing compound, for example,

[0034]

[Chemical 4]

Examples thereof include those having a polyfluoroalkyl group (having 2 to 20 carbon atoms) as described above and having an average molecular weight of 50,000 or less. In particular,

[0036]

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A polymer of a reaction product (for example, fluoroalkyl acrylate) of a compound having a reactive group and a polyfluoroalkyl group with an ethylenically unsaturated compound having a group reactive with the reactive group, Examples thereof include a reaction product of a compound having the reactive group and the polyfluoroalkyl group with various polymers having a group that reacts with the reactive group, or a polycondensation product of the compound. As described above, the polyfluoroalkyl group-containing compound has a high-affinity functional group for improving the affinity (adhesion) of other compounding materials and additives, like the fluoropolyether.
For example, a compound having a unit containing an isocyanate group, a hydroxyl group, a mercapto group, a carboxyl group, an epoxy group, an amino group, a sulfone group or the like is preferable.

These polyfluoroalkyl group-containing compounds may be used alone or in combination, and the polyfluoroalkyl group-containing compound having a reactive group having activated hydrogen and the polyfluoroalkyl group-free compound may be used. You may use together with an isocyanate compound. Also,
Adopting a method such as combining a polyfluoroalkyl group-containing compound having an isocyanate group with various polyfluoroalkyl group-free diamines, triamines or various polyfluoroalkyl group-free diols, triols, etc. May be. The combination of functional groups is preferable from the viewpoint of increasing the strength. Specifically, it has a polyfluoroalkyl group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms and at least one selected from a hydroxyl group, a mercapto group, a carboxyl group and an amino group. Examples thereof include a combination with a fluorine-containing polymer containing a fluorine-containing polymer, or a combination containing a fluorine-containing polymer having a unit having a reactive group having an activated hydrogen and having a polyfluoroalkyl group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms.

Of these low molecular weight fluoropolymers, the use of fluoroolefin polymers or fluoropolyethers gives excellent results in terms of lubricity, and the use of fluoroolefin polymers gives the most desirable results. It's known. The compounding ratio of the above-mentioned fluororubber, thermoplastic fluororesin and low molecular weight fluoropolymer is 50:50 in terms of the weight ratio of fluororubber and thermoplastic fluororesin.
To 95: 5 is preferable. This is because if the blending weight ratio of the thermoplastic fluororesin exceeds 50/100, a sufficient elasticity cannot be obtained for the target composition, and if it is less than 5/100, sufficient abrasion resistance cannot be obtained. is there. Further, 5 to 50 parts by weight of the low molecular weight fluoropolymer is preferable with respect to 100 parts by weight of the total of the fluororubber and the thermoplastic fluororesin. This is because when the compounding ratio of the low molecular weight fluoropolymer is less than 5 parts by weight, sufficient sliding properties cannot be obtained, and when it exceeds 50 parts by weight, the rubber-like elastic properties are impaired. In addition, various additives may be blended in addition to the above components within a range that does not impair the rubber properties and the sliding properties. For example, as a vulcanizing agent for fluororubber, isocyanurate, organic peroxide, etc., antioxidant or acid acceptor such as sodium stearate, magnesium oxide, calcium hydroxide, antistatic agent such as carbon, silica, alumina, etc. Filler,
It goes without saying that other metal oxides, colorants, flame retardants, etc. may be added for convenience.

The method of mixing the various raw materials described above is not particularly limited, and is a method that is generally widely used, for example, an elastomer as a main raw material, other raw materials individually or sequentially, or simultaneously with a roll mixer or the like. It may be mixed by the mixer. At this time, it is desirable to provide a temperature controller to prevent heat generation due to friction.
Further, when a roll mixer is used, it is more preferable to tighten the roll interval to about 3 mm or less and perform thin threading for finishing mixing. By using the fluororubber, the thermoplastic fluororesin and the low molecular weight fluoropolymer in combination, the composition described above can have good sliding properties as well as properties of an elastic body.

An example of another lubricating rubber plastic material (referred to as "second lubricating rubber plastic material") applicable to the material of the cutting method, the cutting device and the cleaning blade Wa of the present invention will be described. This lubricating rubber plastic material is disclosed in JP-A-2-27.
No. 6849, which also has good sliding properties at the same time as the properties of the elastic body, and when used as the material of the cleaning blade, is excellent in combination with the above cutting method. It can be of excellent quality. This rubber composition comprises a tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene copolymer as the first essential component, a tetrafluoroethylene / propylene copolymer as the second essential component, a vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene copolymer and a fluorinated compound. It is composed of a composition in which one or more copolymers selected from the group consisting of vinylidene / hexafluoropropylene / tetrafluoroethylene copolymers and a low molecular weight fluoropolymer which is a third essential component are blended. The details are described below.

First, the tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene copolymer, which is the first essential component, is subjected to a catalyst emulsion polymerization method, a suspension polymerization method, a catalyst solution polymerization method, a gas phase polymerization method, an ionization property in an aqueous medium. Those produced by various polymerization methods such as radiation irradiation polymerization, those with various changes in the content ratio of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene, and in addition to ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene, small amounts of comonomers (propylene, isoptylene). , Vinyl fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, perfluorovinyl ether, etc.)
Alternatively, a wide range of materials include those containing a modifier. In this composition, the tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene content molar ratio is usually 40/60 to 70 /.
Tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene copolymers of about 30, especially about 45/55 to 60/40, may be desirable in this composition. The molecular weight of the copolymer is usually preferably about 50,000 or less, and particularly preferably about 5,000 to 20,000. Further, this copolymer has a melt fluidity of 1 to 20 (g / 10 minutes), particularly 1 to 7 (g / g at a temperature of 300 ° C., a load of 2160 g and an orifice of 1 mm in diameter and 5 mm in length. It is preferably about 10 minutes. In addition, the particle size is 20 μm in order to obtain sufficient elastic properties and considering dispersibility.
In the following, it is particularly preferable that the thickness is 5 to 10 μm. A typical example is Aflon COP manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., which is a thermoplastic fluororesin having a crystal melting point of 265 to 270 ° C.

On the other hand, the tetrafluoroethylene / propylene copolymer, which is the second essential component, is not particularly limited and a wide range can be exemplified. That is, those produced by various polymerization methods such as bulk polymerization, suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization, and solution polymerization, those produced by methods such as catalyst polymerization using a polymerization initiator, ionizing radiation polymerization, and redox polymerization. There can be many examples. In addition to the main components of tetrafluoroethylene and propylene, components that can be copolymerized with them, such as ethylene, isoptylene, acrylic acid and its alkyl ester, methacrylic acid and its alkyl ester, vinyl fluoride and vinylidene fluoride. It may be a tetrafluoroethylene / propylene copolymer containing appropriately, hexafluoropropylene, chloroethyl vinyl ether, perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether and the like. Then, the molar ratio of tetrafluoroethylene and propylene constituting such a copolymer elastomer, and further the other components added as necessary, the molecular weight of the copolymer, etc. are determined by the use of the desired crosslinked product. Surface, the compatibility with the tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene copolymer, the ease of availability, and the like. For example,
In this composition, the molar ratio of tetrafluoroethylene / propylene / is 99/1 to 10/90, preferably 95/5 to 30 in consideration of the excellent heat resistance characteristic of this copolymer elastomer. / 70, especially 90/10 to 45/55
The tetrafluoroethylene / propylene copolymer having the following formula can be widely used. In addition,
The content of the above-mentioned components other than the main components of tetrafluoroethylene and propylene is 0 to 50 mol%, preferably about 3 to 40 mol%. Moreover, the molecular weight of the copolymer is usually preferably about 50,000 or more, and a polymer having a molecular weight as high as possible gives good results. Therefore, for example, a copolymer having a molecular weight of 70,000 or more, preferably about 10 to 250,000 is used. A fluoroethylene / propylene copolymer can also be used.
As a typical example of such a tetrafluoroethylene / propylene copolymer, AFLAS manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.-Nippon Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.
Etc. can be mentioned.

Further, the vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene copolymer and the vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene / tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, which are the other second essential components in this composition, are all the above-mentioned tetrafluoroethylene / It is produced by a method similar to that of a propylene copolymer, and preferably has a molecular weight of about 10 to 250,000. As a typical example of such a copolymer, for vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene copolymer, Technoflon (FOR420) manufactured by Asahi Mont Co.,
Showa Denko / Dupont Viton A type,
Examples of the vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene / tetrafluoroethylene copolymer include Technoflon (FOR TF50) manufactured by Asahi Mont Co. and Viton B type manufactured by Showa Denko / Dupont.

The above-mentioned first essential component, tetrafluoroethylene / ethylene copolymer, and the second essential component, the fluorine-containing elastomer, can mainly provide the properties of an elastic body. In addition, a low molecular weight fluoropolymer, which is the third essential component, must be blended in order to impart better sliding properties. Here, the low molecular weight fluoropolymer is defined and explained in the description of the component of the first lubricating rubber composition.

As a product of the first and second lubricating rubber compositions as described above, there is a Barley ER series product manufactured by NTN Precision Resins Co., Ltd.

In addition to the rubber composition, a material containing the thermoplastic fluororesin group as a main component may be used,
In addition, these thermoplastic fluororesins have glass fibers, glass beads, carbon fibers, graphite, molybdenum disulfide, molybdenum powder, other inorganic fillers, organic fillers and various whiskers, and also thermosetting of phenol, epoxy, polyimide, etc. A fluoroolefin-based material filled with a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic resin such as polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, or polyphenylene sulfide may be used. As the above-mentioned products, there is a product of Beary FL series manufactured by the same company. The fluoroolefin material has a Shore hardness of about D50 to D in terms of PTFE.
Approximately D6 with PTFE mixed with various fillers.
It is about 0 to D75.

Fluorine resin and its Shore hardness, elongation (%), tensile modulus (Kgf / cm ² ), PTFE about D50-65, about 200-400, about 4.0-5.6 × 10 ³ , PFA about D60- 65, about 280-300, -EPE about D55, about 300, -FEP about D55-65, about 250-330, about 3.5 x 10 ³ , PCTFE about D75-90, about 80-250, about 10.5-21.1 x 10 ³ , ETFE about D75, about 100 to 470, about 8.4 × 10 ³ , ECTFE about D55 to 75, about 100 to 300, about 16.8 × 10 ³ , PVDF about D70 to 82, about 10 to 600, about 10.2 to 30 × 10 ³ , PVF −, about 100 to 250, −.

Further, the above-mentioned filler may be a rubber material filled in the above-mentioned lubricating rubber composition. In addition, as another material, a polyethylene resin group and its Shore hardness, elongation (%),
The tensile modulus (Kgf / cm ² ) is shown below. Linear low-density polyethylene (L-LDPE), (about D5
5 to 56, about 100 to 970, 0.27 to 0.53 × 10 ⁴ ) low density polyethylene (LDPE), (about D44 to 50,
About 100 to 650, 0.18 to 0.29 × 10 ⁴ ) High density polyethylene (HDPE), (about D66 to 73,
About 10 to 1200, 1.09 to 1.11 × 10 ⁴ ) Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMNPE), (about D6
6, about 250 to 530,-) low molecular weight polyethylene, modified polyethylene, chlorinated polyethylene, (about A60 to 76, about 300 to 900,-) crosslinked polyethylene, foamed polyethylene, ionomer (about D25 to 66, about 300 to 700). , ≦ 0.42 × 10 ⁴ ) and the like, and may be a mixture of the above-mentioned various fillers. Among the above, there is a Beary UH-based product manufactured by the same company.

The material is not limited to the above-mentioned materials, and may be, for example, a soft material having a hardness, elongation, tensile modulus, etc. within the above range. Among them, the Shore hardness is about D50 to 75, preferably about D55 to 7
A rubber hardness of about 0, a rubber hardness of about HS60 to 100, preferably about HS70 to 90, or an elongation of about 80 to 400%, preferably about 90 to 300% is considered to be good. Shore hardness is about D50
Less than or less than about HS60, and an elongation of more than about 400% are too soft and the sheet will be deformed when the blade enters the sheet or when the cutting of the sheet is finished, and both ends of the sheet The part may be distorted without being straight, or the sheet may be cut in a wave pattern,
As a result, it is considered difficult to accurately cut into a sheet shape. On the other hand, if the Shore hardness exceeds about D75, the rubber hardness exceeds about HS100, and the elongation is less than about 80, the blade is too hard and a large load or resistance is applied to the blade during cutting, It is also conceivable that the cutting edge may be worn early or the cutting tool may be damaged. If the blade edge wears early, the cutting performance will decrease, the resistance at the time of cutting will increase, and the sheet will be cut so as to bend due to resistance, and as a result, it will be difficult to cut into a highly accurate linear shape.

Among these, since the fluorine-based composition has relatively good sliding due to fluorine, the blade edge of the blade slips at the time of cutting and the resistance applied to the blade edge when cutting is small,
It is considered that the sheet can be cut into a linear sheet with relatively high accuracy. Among these materials, the tensile elastic modulus is about 10 to 500 Kgf / cm ² or more, preferably about 100.
It is considered to be effective for a composition having a property relatively close to rubber elasticity such as about 300 Kgf / cm ² or more. Tensile modulus of less than about 100 Kgf / cm ² , especially about 10 Kgf / cm ²
If it is less than, the elasticity of the blade is too great for the blade edge of the blade to enter the sheet, and even if it enters, the edge of the blade will be elastically deformed and then the blade edge will start to cut into the sheet, resulting in end accuracy. It is difficult to provide a linear sheet having a high straightness and a high straightness, but it is considered that the problem can be solved by adopting the cutting method and device of the present invention.

[0052]

According to the cutting method and the cutting apparatus of the present invention, the soft material is arranged on the surface plate, and the band-shaped blade is moved along the guide member in the slit of the surface plate for cutting. Further, since the cutting edge of the cutting tool is cut while keeping the cutting edge at an acute angle with respect to the upper surface of the surface plate, it is possible to accurately cut the sheet-shaped soft material.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A is a cutaway perspective view of a cutting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a partially cutaway side view thereof, and FIG. 1C is a partial front view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing a modified example of the cutting device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of various cross-sectional shape examples of a blade in the cutting device.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a relationship between a cleaning blade and a photosensitive drum cut by the same cutting method.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway front view of a cutting device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a soft material used in a cutting method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Blade, 1a ... Cutting blade, 2 ... Surface plate, 2a ... Slit, 3
... Guiding member, 3a ... Slit, 3c ... Material fixing piece, 4 ...
Feed mechanism, 5 ... Blade fixing member, W ... Soft material

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for cutting a sheet-shaped soft material, wherein the soft material is placed on a surface plate having a slit through which the blade passes, and a guide member for guiding the movement of the blade is provided above the soft material. Arranged, while maintaining a strip-shaped blade whose side surface is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit, in a posture in which the cutting blade and the upper surface of the surface plate make an acute angle, relatively to the slit longitudinal direction along the guide member. A method of cutting a soft material, which is moved to cut the soft material. 2. A surface plate having a slit through which a blade passes, and a sheet-shaped soft material placed on the upper surface, a guide member arranged above the soft material on the surface plate to guide the movement of the blade, and a side surface. Is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit and the cutting edge is at an acute angle with respect to the upper surface of the surface plate, and both ends are fixed to the blade fixing member, and the blade extends along the guide member along the slit longitudinal direction. And a feed mechanism that moves the blade fixing member relative to the surface plate so as to move in a direction.