JPH10277480A - Cylindrical substrate and method of continuously coating cylindrical substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cylindrical substrate and a method of continuously coating the cylindrical substrate in which when photosensitive liquid is applied by a vertical annular coating device, a coating layer of a cylindrical substrate is not damaged, coating unevenness does not occur, and a position means and a coating means are not damaged. SOLUTION: In a continuous coating method in which cylindrical substrates 1 are stacked with their cylinder axes being aligned and conveyed and coating liquid is continuously applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrates 1 by an annular coating means 40, the used cylindrical substrates 1 each have wall thickness of <=1.5 mm, roundness of <=80 μm, and verticality of <=80 μm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous coating method for continuously applying a coating solution on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical substrate, and a cylindrical substrate used in the continuous coating method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for continuously coating a cylindrical base material in which the coating liquid is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material by a vertical coating means while stacking the cylindrical base materials with their cylinder axes aligned and pushing up from the bottom.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various methods such as spray coating, dip coating, blade coating, roll coating, etc. are used in connection with thin and uniform coating on the outer surface of a cylindrical substrate having a continuous surface formed endlessly. Methods are being considered. In particular, a thin and uniform coating such as an electrophotographic photosensitive drum is being studied to develop a coating apparatus having excellent productivity. However, there were disadvantages such as that a uniform coating film could not be obtained and productivity was poor.

In the spray coating method, the solvent evaporates before the coating droplet ejected from the spray gun reaches the outer peripheral surface of the endlessly formed cylindrical substrate having a continuous surface. When the solid concentration increased, and the viscosity of the applied droplets increased accordingly, and the droplets reached the surface, the droplets did not spread sufficiently on the surface, or dried and solidified. Since the particles adhere to the surface, a product having good smoothness on the coated surface cannot be obtained. Also,
The arrival rate of droplets on the cylindrical substrate having the continuous surface is 100
%, And the coating liquid is lost or partially non-uniform, making it very difficult to control the film thickness. Furthermore, since stringing may occur in a polymer solution or the like, the solvent and resin used are limited.

In the blade coating method and the roll coating method, for example, a blade or a roll is arranged in the longitudinal direction of a cylindrical substrate, the cylindrical substrate is rotated to perform coating, and the cylindrical substrate is rotated once. , Blades or rolls are retracted. However, when the blade or the roll is retracted, there is a disadvantage that a portion of the coating film thickness is thicker than other portions due to the viscosity of the coating solution, and a uniform coating film cannot be obtained.

[0005] The dip coating method improves the above-mentioned problems of poor surface smoothness of the coating solution and uniformity of the coating film.

However, the control of the coating film thickness is governed by the properties of the coating liquid, such as viscosity, surface tension, density, temperature, etc., and the coating speed, and the adjustment of the physical properties of the coating liquid is very important. In addition, the coating speed is low, and a certain amount or more of liquid is required to fill the coating liquid tank. Further, when layers are formed, there is a disadvantage that the lower layer components are dissolved and the coating solution tank is easily contaminated.

[0007] Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-189061, a circular amount-regulated type coating apparatus (including a slide hopper type coating apparatus) has been developed. This slide hopper type coating apparatus surrounds the periphery of the cylindrical base material while continuously moving the cylindrical base material having a continuous peripheral surface formed endlessly in the longitudinal axis direction, and with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material. The coating apparatus further includes a ring-shaped coating liquid storage chamber, a supply port for supplying a coating liquid from outside to a part of the coating liquid storage chamber, and the coating liquid storage chamber. A coating liquid distributing slit which is opened inside the chamber, and the coating liquid flowing out of the slit is caused to flow down onto the coating liquid slide surface inclined obliquely downward, and the hopper coating surface and the cylinder at the lower end of the coating liquid slide surface A bead is formed in a slight gap portion between the cylindrical base material and the bead is applied to the outer peripheral surface thereof as the cylindrical base material moves. By using this slide hopper type coating apparatus, coating can be performed with a small amount of liquid, the coating liquid is not contaminated, and the coating with high productivity and easy control of the film thickness can be performed.

[0008]

In the slide hopper type coating apparatus, the cylindrical base material is stacked and conveyed while aligning the cylindrical axes of the cylindrical base material, and the coating liquid is continuously applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material by an annular coating means. Vertical continuous coating device
It is excellent in terms of its high productivity and the like, and is attracting attention. However, in the vertical continuous coating apparatus, since the cylindrical base material is stacked and coated with the cylinder axis aligned, if the dimensional accuracy of the cylindrical base material is poor, the cylindrical base material stacked on the upper side is There has been a problem that the cylinder axis is shifted and comes into contact with the coating device or the positioning device, and the cylindrical substrate or the lower coating film is damaged.

Further, the cylindrical substrates stacked from below are first introduced into a positioning device, where the cylindrical core is aligned with the vertical annular coating device, and thereafter, the coating liquid is applied to the outer peripheral surface by the annular coating device.

The positioning device is a device for positioning a cylindrical substrate by spraying a fluid such as air into a gap of 100 μm or less formed between the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate. If the roundness is poor, uneven coating may occur in the circumferential direction, or the inner peripheral surface of the positioning device may come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material to scratch the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material. There is a risk of causing image defects and damaging the positioning means and the coating means. In the worst case, the coating process is interrupted.

Further, even when the perpendicularity is poor, the cylindrical substrates are not stacked vertically, so that they may be scratched at the entrance when introduced into the positioning device or separated and discharged, or image defects or coatings caused by vibration may occur. Unevenness occurs.

Further, if the thickness of the cylindrical base material is large, the position of the cylindrical base material cannot be reliably corrected when passing through the positioning means, and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material may be scratched. For this reason, if the air pressure of the positioning means is increased, positioning can be performed by moving the cylindrical base material, but coating vibration may be generated due to increased air vibration.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vertical annular coating apparatus which does not damage the cylindrical substrate or the lower coating layer and does not cause uneven coating when the photosensitive liquid is coated by the vertical annular coating apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a continuous coating method that does not damage the positioning means and the coating means.

[0014]

The cylindrical substrate of the present invention, which achieves the above objects, is stacked and transported with the cylindrical axis of the cylindrical substrate aligned, and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate is applied by an annular coating means. In a cylindrical substrate used in a continuous coating method of continuously applying a coating liquid to a substrate, the thickness of the cylindrical substrate is 1.5.
mm or less, the roundness is 80 μm or less, and the squareness is 80 μm or less (the invention of claim 1).

Further, in the method for continuously coating a cylindrical substrate according to the present invention, the cylindrical substrate is aligned, stacked, conveyed, and the coating liquid is continuously applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate by an annular coating device. In the continuous coating method, the thickness of the cylindrical substrate is 1.5 mm or less, the roundness is 80 μm or less, and the squareness is 80 μm or less. (The invention of claim 2).

[0016]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a continuous coating apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes supply means for supplying a cylindrical base material 1 (1A to 1F) made of a conductive support to a predetermined position vertically below the coating means and pushing it upward, and reference numeral 20 denotes a supplied cylindrical base material 1. Gripping / transporting means for gripping the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, aligning the cylinder axis, vertically pushing up from the bottom and transporting the pile, and conveying means 30 for positioning the cylindrical substrate 1 at the center of the annular coating section of the coating apparatus. ,
40 is a coating means for continuously applying the coating liquid on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material, 50 is a drying means for drying the coating liquid applied on the cylindrical base material 1, and 60 is the dried and vertically conveyed. This is a separation / discharge unit that separates from a plurality of stacked cylindrical base materials and takes out and discharges one by one.

The continuous coating apparatus according to the present invention has a configuration in which the above-described units are continuously arranged on the vertical center line ZZ, so that fully automated production that requires no manual operation can be achieved with high precision. That is, the supply means 10 is a movable table 1 having a plurality of mounting means 11 for mounting the cylindrical substrate 1 thereon.
2. A driving means 13 for rotating the movable table 12 to feed it to a vertical line connected to the gripping / transporting means 20, and the cylindrical substrate 1 already gripped and transported upward by the gripping / transporting means 20 is stacked upward. It comprises a lifting means 14 for pushing up, a hand means 15 for supplying a cylindrical base material provided at an upper end of the lifting means 14, and a control means (not shown) for controlling rotation by the driving means 13 and timing of pushing up by the lifting means 14. Have been. The supply of the cylindrical substrate 1 onto the movable table 12 is performed by a robot handle.

The gripping / transporting means 20 provided above the supply means 10 is capable of pressing and separating from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1 and moving vertically in the vertical direction.
22 and has a function of positioning, grasping and transporting the cylindrical substrate 1 upward.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire structure of the continuous coating apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes supply means for supplying the cylindrical substrate 1 to a predetermined position vertically below the coating means and pushing it up, and reference numeral 20 denotes a cylinder axis which is held by gripping the outer peripheral surface of the supplied cylindrical substrate 1. This is a gripping / transporting unit that vertically pushes up and transports the stack from below.

The vertical center line Z-
On Z, a unit A comprising positioning means 30A, coating means (vertical annular coating means) 40A, and drying means 50A, a positioning means 30B, a unit B comprising coating means (vertical annular coating means) 40B, and drying means 50B , Positioning means 30C, coating means (vertical annular coating means) 40
C, and three sets of units C including drying means 50C are arranged in tandem. Positioning means 30A, 30
B and 30C align the cylindrical substrate 1 with the center of the annular coating section of the annular coating device. Coating means 40A, 40
B and 40C continuously apply a predetermined coating liquid (photosensitive liquid) on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1. Each coating means 40A, 4
The coating liquids respectively discharged from OB and 40C sequentially form a multilayer coating layer on the cylindrical substrate 1.

The coating means 40A is fixed on the positioning means 30A, and the positioning means 30A is held by holding means (not shown). Similarly, the application unit 40B is fixed on the positioning unit 30B, and the application unit 40C is fixed on the positioning unit 30C.

The positioning means 30A, 30B and 30C are devices for accurately holding the cylindrical substrate 1 at a predetermined position.
For example, it is held in a non-contact manner by an air bearing or the like. The coating means 40A, 40B, and 40C apply the coating liquid uniformly on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1.
Are gripped and transported by the gripping and transporting means 20, a coating layer is sequentially formed on the cylindrical substrate 1 in a laminated state.

The drying means 50A, 50B, 50C dries the coating solution applied on the cylindrical substrate 1 in a multilayer manner. At the uppermost stage, the separation / discharge means 60 for separating and discharging one by one from a plurality of stacked cylindrical base materials that have been dried and vertically conveyed is arranged.

The continuous coating apparatus of the present invention has a configuration in which the above-described units are continuously arranged on the vertical center line ZZ, and achieves fully automatic production with high accuracy without requiring any manpower. That is, the supply unit 10 includes a movable table 12 having a plurality of attachment units 11 for mounting the cylindrical substrate 1, and a driving unit that rotates the movable table 12 and feeds the movable table 12 to a vertical line connected to the gripping / conveying unit 20. 13. Elevating means 1 for pushing up cylindrical base materials 1 already gripped and transported upward by the gripping and transporting means 20 so as to be stacked.
4, a hand means 15 for supplying a cylindrical base material provided at the upper end of the elevating means 14, and a control means (not shown) for controlling the rotation of the driving means 13 and the timing of pushing up by the elevating means 14. . The supply of the cylindrical substrate 1 onto the movable table 12 is performed by a robot handle.

The gripping / transporting means 20 provided above the supply means 10 can be pressed and separated from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1 and can be moved vertically in two directions.
And has a function of positioning, gripping and transporting the cylindrical substrate 1 upward.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the gripping / transporting means 20.
Ball screws 24A, 24B supported vertically in the vertical direction are provided inside the pair of transfer device bodies 23A, 23B opposed to each other. Each ball screw 2
4A and 24B are rotated forward and reverse by drive motors 25A and 25B, respectively. The elevating members 26A, 26B screwed to the ball screws 24A, 24B respectively move straight up and down by forward and reverse rotation of the ball screws 24A, 24B. The elevating members 26A, 26B are respectively provided with arm members 27A, 2B.
7B is fixed, and the gripping means 21 and 22 are attached to each end thereof.

An elevating means 14 is provided between the conveying device main bodies 23A and 23B, and a hand means 15 for supplying a cylindrical base material is attached to an upper end of the elevating means 14. On the upper side of the hand means 15, a cylindrical substrate 1D,
1C, 1B, and 1A are loaded. The uppermost cylindrical substrate 1A is separated and taken out by the discharge hand 61 of the separation / discharge means 60.

The application means 40 is fixed vertically above the positioning means 30, and the positioning means 30 is held by holding means (not shown). The positioning means 30 is a device that accurately holds the cylindrical substrate 1 at a predetermined position.
For example, it is held in a non-contact manner by an air bearing or the like. The coating means 40 is a cylindrical substrate 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D)
For example, a slide hopper type coating device for uniformly coating the coating liquid on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base material 1A, 1B, 1
As C and 1D are gripped and transported by the gripping and transporting means 20, a coating film is sequentially formed on the cylindrical substrates 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D.

FIG. 4 shows the positioning means 30 and the coating means 40.
FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical center line ZZ
A plurality of cylindrical substrates 1A vertically stacked along
1B and 1C (hereinafter, referred to as the cylindrical substrate 1) are continuously moved upward in the arrow direction, and pass through the positioning means 30 and the application means 40.

Below the coating means 40, a positioning means 30 for positioning the cylindrical substrate in the circumferential direction is fixed. A plurality of air inlets 32 and a plurality of air outlets 33 are formed in the main body 31 of the positioning device 30 for the cylindrical substrate 1. The plurality of air supply ports 32 are connected to an air supply pump (not shown), and a fluid such as air is pumped. The air supply port 32
A discharge port 34 penetrates through the one end of the cylindrical base 1 facing the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical base 1. The discharge port 34 faces the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1 with a predetermined gap. The gap is 20 μm to 3 mm, preferably 30 μm to 2 mm
It is. If this gap is smaller than 20 μm, the cylindrical substrate 1 is likely to be damaged due to the slight vibration of the cylindrical substrate 1 coming into contact with the inner wall of the main body 31. Further, if the gap is larger than 3 mm, the positioning accuracy of the cylindrical substrate 1 is reduced. The discharge port 34 is a small-diameter nozzle having a diameter of 0.01 to 1.0 mm, preferably 0.05 to 0.5 mm.

The inner peripheral surface of the lower part of the inner wall of the main body 31 is formed as a tapered surface 35 whose entrance side is widened. The tapered surface 35 is, for example, a conical surface having an axial length of 50 mm and a one-sided inclination angle of 0.5 mm. By providing the tapered surface 35, when the cylindrical substrate 1 enters the inner wall of the main body 31, the tip of the cylindrical substrate 1 is prevented from contacting the inner peripheral surface of the inner wall.

The fluid pressure-fed from the air supply pump is introduced into the main body 31 from the plurality of air inlets 32, is discharged from the plurality of outlets 34, and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1A (1B). Form a uniform fluid film layer. The discharged fluid is discharged out of the apparatus from the plurality of exhaust ports 33.

The opening diameter of the discharge port 34 is 0.01 to 1 m.
m, preferably 0.05 to 0.5 mm, for example 0.2 to
It is formed in a 0.5 mm circular shape. The opening diameter of the exhaust port 33 is 1.0 to 10 mm, preferably 2.0 to 8.0 m.
m, for example, a circular shape of 3 to 5 mm.

The fluid supplied to the air supply port 32 is preferably air, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. And the fluid is JI
A clean gas of class 100 or higher in S standard is good.

On top of the positioning means 30, the coating means 4
0 is fixed. The coating means 40 surrounds the periphery of the cylindrical substrate 1, and the coating head (coater,
A coating liquid (photosensitive liquid) L is applied by a hopper application surface 41. The cylindrical substrate 1 may be a hollow drum, for example, an aluminum alloy drum, a plastic drum, or a seamless belt type substrate.

On the hopper coating surface 41, a narrow coating liquid distribution slit (hereinafter abbreviated as slit) 43 having a coating liquid outlet 42 opening toward the cylindrical substrate 1 is formed in the horizontal direction. The slit 43 communicates with an annular coating liquid distribution chamber (coating liquid reservoir) 44, and the annular coating liquid distribution chamber 44 feeds the coating liquid L in the storage tank 2 to the pump 3.
The supply is made via the supply pipe 4.

On the other hand, below the coating liquid outlet 42 of the slit 43, the slit 43 is continuously inclined downward so as to terminate at a dimension slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical substrate 1. A coating liquid slide surface 45 is formed. Further, a lip 46 extending downward from the end of the application liquid slide surface 45.
Are formed.

In the application by the application means 40, when the application liquid L is pushed out from the slit 43 and flows down along the slide surface 45 in the process of lifting the cylindrical substrate 1, the application liquid L reaches the end of the application liquid slide surface 45. The formed coating liquid is applied to the surface of the cylindrical substrate 1 after forming a bead between the end of the coating liquid slide surface 45 and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1.

Since the end of the coating liquid slide surface 45 and the cylindrical substrate 1 are arranged with a certain gap therebetween, the cylindrical substrate 1 is not damaged, and even when layers having different properties are formed in multiple layers. , Can be applied without damaging already applied layers.

On the other hand, at a position furthest from the application liquid supply section of the pressure feed pump 3, a part of the application liquid distribution chamber 44
An air release member 46 for removing bubbles in the coating liquid distribution chamber 44 is provided. The coating liquid L in the storage tank 2 is supplied to the coating liquid distribution chamber 44, and the coating liquid
, The on-off valve 47 is opened and the air vent member 4 is opened.
From 8, the air in the coating liquid distribution chamber 44 is discharged.

As the vertical annular coating means connected to the positioning means according to the present invention, various devices such as a slide hopper type, an extrusion type, a ring coater and a spray coater are used. The coating is performed by stacking in the axial direction and moving relatively upward or downward, and any coating method can be applied. However, the slide hopper type coating means is superior in terms of coating properties and reliability. I have.

Above the coating means 40, a drying means 50 comprising a drying hood 51 and a dryer 53 is provided (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the relative positional relationship between the gripping / conveying means 20 and the positioning means 30.

FIG. 5A shows two hand units 214 and 2
15 shows a state in which the upper gripping means 21 having grippers 216 respectively fixed inside 15 grips the outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of a connecting portion (connecting portion) K between the end surfaces of the cylindrical substrates 1D and 1E. The lower gripping means 22 having grippers 226 fixed inside the two hand portions 224 and 225 are on standby to grip the outer peripheral surface near the lower end of the cylindrical substrate 1E.

On the upper part of the upper end surface of the cylindrical substrate 1D gripped by the upper gripping means 21, a cylindrical substrate 1C is provided.
Further above, the cylindrical substrates 1B and 1A are placed under their own weight. The cylindrical substrate 1 gripped by the gripping means 21
The upper end side of the cylindrical base material 1C placed on D has not yet entered the positioning means 30,
No external force is applied to the cylindrical surface.

FIG. 5B shows that the upper gripping means 21
Near the upper end side of the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical substrate 1D, the cylindrical substrate 1
4 shows a state where a position below a connecting portion K with C is grasped. Further, the lower gripping means 22 is on standby to grip the outer peripheral surface near the lower end of the cylindrical substrate 1D.

Between the upper surface of the upper gripping means 21 and the lower surface of the entrance of the positioning means 30, there is at least one cylindrical substrate (1C) to which no external force is applied. Even in such a method of gripping the cylindrical base material, the vibration transmitted from the gripped cylindrical base material 1D due to the vibration generated at the time of gripping and release by the gripping means 21 on the upper stage side and at the time of lifting / lowering drive is not performed. Is absorbed by the cylindrical substrate 1C to which no external force is applied, and is not transmitted to the cylindrical substrate 1B during positioning or the cylindrical substrate 1A during coating.

In the continuous coating apparatus, the cylindrical substrate 1 passes the coating head 41 of the vertical annular coating means 40 continuously, accurately, stably and smoothly. In order to apply the film uniformly on the surface with a predetermined film thickness, the vertical axis of the cylindrical substrate 1 is accurately and stably positioned at the center line of the coating head 41, and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1 It is an essential condition that the distance from the coating head 41 is constant.

The present inventors have studied variously the problems of the roundness and squareness of the cylindrical substrate 1 and the positioning means and the annular coating means of the continuous coating apparatus.

The circularity and squareness are determined according to JIS B 0
621 “Definition and display of geometric deviation”.

In other words, the roundness is defined as "the roundness is a deviation of a circular shape from a geometrically correct circle". In addition, the display of the roundness is "
When the circular shape (C) is sandwiched between two concentric geometric circles, the roundness is expressed by the difference (f) between the radii of the two circles when the interval between the two concentric circles is minimized. mm or Display as μm. (See FIG. 6).

FIG. 6B shows that the circularity of the cylindrical substrate 1 is 80.
It is a schematic diagram which shows the shape of the cylindrical base material 1 of this invention set to micrometer or less.

The perpendicularity is defined as “a perpendicularity is a magnitude of a deviation of a linear or plane feature that should be a right angle from a geometric straight line or a geometric plane perpendicular to a datum straight line or a datum plane. . ". Furthermore, the perpendicularity of the display of the display in one direction of perpendicularity, "Show unidirectional perpendicularity, the linear form in that direction and datum plane (P _D) in the vertical geometrical two parallel planes (L) and the distance between the two planes when (L) is sandwiched) (see FIG. 7A). FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram showing an ideal form of the cylindrical substrate 1. FIG. 7 (c) is a schematic view showing the form of the cylindrical substrate 1 of the present invention in which the perpendicularity of the cylindrical substrate 1 is set to 80 μm or less.

As a result of various studies, the inventors of the present invention have performed a vertical application using the cylindrical substrate 1 having various roundness, squareness, and thickness, and applied the cylindrical substrate 1 to the cylindrical substrate 1. Roundness 8
0 μm or less, squareness 80 μm or less, and wall thickness 1.5
It has been found that when a cylindrical substrate having a diameter of not more than 1 mm is used, the cylindrical substrate 1 is not easily scratched.

When the roundness is larger than 80 μm, the coating unevenness in the circumferential direction becomes severe, and the coating head 41 and the inner wall of the positioning means (air bearing) 30 come into contact with each other to cause image defects. If not, the application is interrupted.

If the perpendicularity is larger than 80 μm, vibration occurs when passing through the positioning means 30 or when separating by the separating and discharging means 60, causing image defects and coating unevenness.

If the thickness of the cylindrical substrate 1 is larger than 1.5 mm, the positioning movement of the cylindrical substrate 1 when passing through the positioning means 30 is adjusted by the dead weight of the cylindrical substrate 1 and the contact frictional force at the connecting portion K. The outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate 1 is rubbed or collides with the inner peripheral surface of the positioning means 30 due to sliding or collision, and poor coating occurs. The thickness of the cylindrical substrate 1 is 1.5 mm or less, preferably 1.25 mm or less. The outer diameter of the cylindrical substrate 1 is set at 100 to facilitate smooth positioning movement adjustment when passing through the positioning means 30.
mm or less is preferable.

[0060]

EXAMPLE Using an aluminum alloy pipe, the outer diameter was 8 mm.
0mm, thickness 1.0mm, 1.25mm, 1.5m
2,000 pieces of five types of cylindrical base materials each having a length of 1.75 mm and 2.00 mm were prepared. The dimensions of these cylindrical substrates were measured in accordance with the standard of JIS B 0621.
~ I.

[0061]

[Table 1]

Using a sequential coating apparatus shown in FIG. 2, a coating liquid composition UC was formed on a mirror-finished aluminum drum support having a diameter of 80 mm and a height of 355 mm as follows.
L-1, CGL-1, and CTL-1 were adjusted, and the first slide hopper type coating means 40A (UCL-1
), The second coating means 40B (for CGL-1), and the third coating means 40C (for CTL-1), and three successive layers were applied in the same manner as in Example 1. The dry film thickness was 0.3 μm for UCL-1 and 0.5 μm for CGL-1.
μm and CTL-1 were 27 μm.

UCL-1 coating liquid composition Copolymer nylon resin (CM-8000, manufactured by Toray Industries) 3 g methanol / n-butanol = 10/1 1000 ml CGL-1 coating liquid composition Perylene pigment (CGM-1) 500 g butyral resin (Eslec BX-L, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 500 g Methyl ethyl ketone 24000 ml A dispersion of the above coating solution composition for 20 hours using a sand mill.

[0064]

Embedded image

CTL-1 coating solution composition CTM-1 500 g Polycarbonate (Z-200 manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company) 560 g 1,2-dichloroethane 2800 ml

[0066]

Embedded image

These cylindrical substrates were subjected to multilayer coating using the sequential continuous coating apparatus shown in FIG. The appearance of the cylindrical base material after the coating and drying treatment was inspected closely, and the number of scratches generated was counted to obtain the results shown in Table 2.

[0068]

[Table 2]

Table 2 shows the distribution of occurrence of the cylindrical base material based on the correlation between the roundness and squareness classification A to I of the cylindrical base material shown in Table 1 and the thickness t of the cylindrical base material. Show. The denominator of the fraction in Table 2 indicates the number of cylindrical substrates to be inspected, and the numerator indicates the number of scratches generated. In addition, the total number of cylindrical base materials shown in the number of denominators is 1.0 mm in thickness, 1.25 mm,
Five kinds of cylindrical base materials of 1.5 mm, 1.75 mm and 2.0 mm are 2,000 each.

As shown in Table 2, when a cylindrical base material having a roundness of 80 μm or less, a squareness of 80 μm or less, and a wall thickness of 1.5 mm or less is used, scratches (abrasions) are unlikely to occur. (The number of occurrences of scratches on the molecule is 0). That is, the classifications A, B, D,
The cylindrical substrate of E is suitable, and in particular, the classifications A and
Among B, D, and E, it is most suitable when a cylindrical substrate surrounded by a double frame having a thickness of 1.5 mm or less is used.

The obtained photoreceptor was manufactured by Konica U-BIX.
The actual image was taken with a 3035 copying machine, and the image after 1000 copies was evaluated. The image was good without any image defects (black spots, white spots, dust, streaks, scratches, etc.).

As described above, by using the cylindrical substrate 1 defined in the present invention, the coating drum having no coating defects such as coating unevenness, film thickness unevenness, scratches, dust, drum damage and the like and having good coating properties. was gotten. In addition, stable continuous application of a large number of tubes and complete automation can be performed for a long time, so that high-quality products can be obtained without contamination of dust and dirt.

[0073]

The cylindrical substrate and the second substrate according to the first invention of the present invention.
When according to the continuous coating method of the invention, supply of a cylindrical substrate,
Since the respective means for gripping and conveying, positioning, coating, drying, and separation and discharge are continuously arranged to enable the respective steps of the above means to be continuously processed, the following excellent effects are obtained.

(1) There is no contact with the inner surfaces of the coating means and the positioning means, and no image defects occur.

(2) There is no interruption of application due to the transport of a cylindrical substrate having poor roundness or a perpendicularity, and stable application can be performed for a long time.

(3) The coating film formed on the cylindrical substrate is uniform, and has good coating properties without coating unevenness and coating defects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a continuous coating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a continuous coating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the gripping and conveying means.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a positioning unit and a coating unit.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a relative positional relationship between the gripping / conveying means and the positioning means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a display of roundness.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the display and description of a right angle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F Cylindrical base material 10 Supply means 20 Holding and conveying means 21, 22 Holding means 30, 30A, 30B, 30C Positioning means 40, 40A, 40B, 40C Coating means (vertical type Annular coating means) 41 coating head (coater, hopper coating surface) 50, 50A, 50B, 50C drying means 60 separation / discharge means K connecting part L coating liquid (photosensitive liquid) Z-Z vertical center line

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical substrate used in a continuous coating method in which a cylindrical substrate is aligned, stacked, conveyed, and a coating liquid is continuously applied to an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate by an annular coating means. In the material, the thickness of the cylindrical substrate is 1.5 mm
Hereinafter, the roundness is 80 μm or less, and the squareness is 8
A cylindrical substrate having a diameter of 0 μm or less. 2. A method for continuously applying a coating liquid onto an outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical base material by stacking and transporting the cylindrical base material while aligning the cylindrical axes of the cylindrical base material. The thickness of the cylindrical substrate is 1.5 mm or less, the roundness is 80 μm or less, and the squareness is 80 μm or less. Coating method. 3. A fluid is sprayed from a discharge port arranged in a ring shape on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical substrate, and the center of the cylindrical substrate is aligned with the center of an annular application portion of the annular application unit. 3. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the positioning device is disposed on the upstream side of the annular coating device in the conveying direction of the cylindrical substrate and coaxially with the annular coating portion of the annular coating device.
3. The method for continuously applying a cylindrical substrate according to item 1. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the annular coating means is a slide hopper type coating apparatus or an extrusion type coating apparatus.