JPH11188748A - Raw material supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mold a seamless belt uniform in thickness and high in dimensional accuracy by simple constitution. SOLUTION: A raw material supply apparatus for supplying a raw material on the peripheral surface of a cylindrical mold 1 for molding a seamless belt is constituted of a housing part 21 for a raw material P and the cylindrical member 2 extended into the cylindrical mold 1 longitudinally and having the opening part 22 supplying the raw material to the cylindrical mold 1 formed thereto.

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 a fixing belt of a heat fixing device in an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine by a heat fixing method and a base material such as a film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A heat-fixing device in an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine has been replaced with a conventional roll system, and a seamless belt or the like is used for the purpose of shortening warm-up time, increasing processing time, and simplifying the apparatus. The new heat fixing device used is being used.

[0003] The heat fixing device includes a heat-resistant seamless belt or the like that moves in the same direction as the transfer speed of the transfer material while being in contact with the transfer material to be transferred, and an unfixed toner carried on the transfer material. It is formed by a heating device such as a heat roll having a heating element for supplying heat for heating and melting the image.

[0004] In order to obtain a clear fixed image, the pressure at which the seamless belt is pressed against the heat roll or the like must be constant on the pressed belt. Therefore, the base material of the seamless belt is required to have high film thickness accuracy in both the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction, and the seamless belt is required to have high heat resistance of 200 ° C. or more.

[0005] In the production of these seamless belts, a varnish, a resin material or the like, which is a raw material of the belt material, is placed on the inner or outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical surface-treated mold or the like corresponding to a required belt size. Is supplied and heated, rotated, etc. to give a molding.

A method of supplying a varnish or a resin raw material or the like to the cylindrical forming mold is such that a nozzle N as a dispenser supply section S for supplying a liquid resin R to a rotating core C shown in FIG. A dispenser system (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-85756) for moving at a moving speed, a spray system, and the like are employed. For the supply of the solid material, a solid material is melted once, and a dispenser method, a spray method, or the like is employed as in the case of the liquid material described above.

[0007]

As a material for the above-mentioned seamless belt, polyimide having heat resistance or a compound thereof is often used. Raw materials such as polyimide are generally high-viscosity liquids, and in the conventional dispensing method such as a dispenser method or a spray method, the high-viscosity liquid of the raw material must be diluted with a solvent or the like and supplied with reduced viscosity. When a thick film cannot be obtained and a low-viscosity liquid is supplied, the above-described method has a problem that it is difficult to obtain a uniform film thickness due to repelling of the supply liquid.

In the dispenser system, in order to supply a high-viscosity liquid, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the nozzle N and increase the discharge pressure. Therefore, there is a problem that dripping occurs and accurate measurement becomes difficult. Was.

Further, the spray method has a problem that it is generally impossible to discharge and spray a high-viscosity liquid.

In the above-described supply system, air pressure and the like must be finely adjusted in order to keep the supply amount constant.
In addition to the problem that the equipment becomes large, the nozzle diameter must be reduced in order to supply the raw material to the inner surface of the mold having a small inner diameter, which makes it difficult to supply a high-viscosity liquid. Was.

In addition, the above-mentioned method has a problem in that, when applying in the longitudinal direction, an expensive driving device with high precision for driving the nozzle in the longitudinal direction and moving accurately is required.

In view of the above, the inventors of the present invention provide a raw material supply device for supplying a raw material onto the peripheral surface of a cylindrical mold for forming a seamless belt, by using a cylindrical member constituting the supply device.
Focusing on the technical idea of the present invention that the raw material accommodated in the accommodating portion is supplied in the longitudinal direction inside the cylindrical mold from the opening formed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold. Further, as a result of further research and development, the present invention has been achieved which achieves the object of enabling a seamless belt having a uniform thickness and high dimensional accuracy to be formed with a simple structure.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a raw material supply apparatus for supplying a raw material onto a peripheral surface of a cylindrical mold for forming a seamless belt. A supply device is constituted by a cylindrical member in which a storage portion for storing the raw material and an opening that extends in a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold and supplies the raw material to the cylindrical mold are formed. is there.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cylindrical member has a concave portion having a semicircular cross section extending in a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold. And a semi-cylindrical member having a rectangular opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the raw material supply apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, one of the strip-shaped wall portions extending in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular opening is provided at regular intervals. A plurality of cutouts are provided to supply the raw material into the cylindrical mold.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the raw material supply apparatus according to the third aspect, the semi-cylindrical member is rotated around the axis thereof to be inclined, and is rotated from the plurality of notches. A rotary inclining device that enables continuous supply of the raw material into the cylindrical mold.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the raw material supply apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the temperature of the raw material stored in the storage portion of the semi-cylindrical member is adjusted. The member is built-in.

In the raw material supply device of the present invention (a sixth invention according to a sixth aspect), in the fifth invention, the concave wall surface of the semicircular cross section constituting the housing portion is constituted by a self-heating element, It has a configuration that allows temperature adjustment.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a raw material supply apparatus according to the fourth aspect, further comprising a rotation driving device for rotating the cylindrical mold, wherein the half-cylinder member is rotated by the rotation inclining device. Is rotated around its axis so as to be inclined, so that the raw material can be continuously supplied from the plurality of notches into the cylindrical mold.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a raw material supply apparatus for supplying a raw material onto a peripheral surface of a cylindrical mold for forming a seamless belt. By the cylindrical member, the raw material accommodated in the accommodation portion is supplied to the cylindrical mold from the opening formed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold, so that with a simple configuration, The effect is that a seamless belt having a uniform thickness and high dimensional accuracy can be formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a raw material supply apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the semi-cylindrical member constituting the cylindrical member has a semicircular cross section extending in a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold. The raw material accommodated in the accommodating portion composed of the concave portion is supplied from the rectangular opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold in the longitudinal direction in the cylindrical mold. This has the effect of enabling the formation of a seamless belt having a high thickness and a high dimensional accuracy with a small thickness.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the raw material supply apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the plurality of the plurality of perforated walls formed at a predetermined interval in one of the band-shaped walls constituting the rectangular opening and extending in the longitudinal direction. Since the raw material is supplied in the longitudinal direction in the cylindrical mold by the notch, there is an effect that it is possible to form a seamless belt having a uniform thickness and a high dimensional accuracy in the longitudinal direction.

In the raw material supply apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the half-cylinder member is rotated around the axis thereof by the rotary inclining device to incline the semi-cylindrical member. Since it is possible to continuously supply the raw material into the cylindrical mold, it is possible to form a seamless belt having a uniform thickness in a circumferential direction and a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold and high dimensional accuracy. It works.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a raw material supply apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the semi-cylindrical member has the temperature adjusting member incorporated therein, so that the temperature of the raw material accommodated in the accommodating portion is maintained. By adjusting the viscosity of the raw material, the thickness and dimensional accuracy can be further improved.

In the raw material supply apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the self-heating element constituting the concave wall surface of the semicircular cross-section constituting the storage section accommodates the raw material supply apparatus in the storage section. Since the temperature of the raw material is directly adjusted, the viscosity of the raw material is efficiently adjusted, thereby achieving an effect of further increasing the film thickness and dimensional accuracy.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the raw material supply apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the rotary driving device rotates the cylindrical mold, the semi-cylindrical member is rotated about its axis by the rotary tilting device. To rotate and tilt,
In order to enable continuous supply of the raw material into the rotating cylindrical mold from the plurality of notches, a higher uniform thickness and a higher height are provided in the circumferential and longitudinal directions of the cylindrical mold. This has the effect that a seamless belt with dimensional accuracy can be formed.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention are described below.
This will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a raw material supply device according to a first embodiment supplies a raw material to a peripheral surface of a cylindrical mold 1 for molding a seamless belt. In the supply device, a cylindrical member formed with an accommodation portion 21 for accommodating the raw material P and an opening 22 extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold 1 and supplying the raw material to the cylindrical mold 1. 2 constitutes a supply device.

Polyimide varnish (U varnish manufactured by Ube Industries)
S) 50 g was dissolved in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone to obtain a polyimide resin raw material.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical member constituting the supply device 2 to which the raw material is supplied includes an accommodating portion 21 having a concave portion having a semicircular cross section extending in a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold. And a semi-cylindrical member 20 having a rectangular opening 22 extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold, and is coaxially disposed in the cylindrical mold 1 as shown in FIG. The raw material is configured to be supplied to a semicircular concave portion forming the storage section 21.

The volume of the storage section 21 is determined so as to have a simple weighing function by its capacity.
Is set to be weighed.

A large number of holes are formed at regular intervals in one of the band-shaped wall portions 221 extending in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular opening 22 and are coaxially disposed in the cylindrical mold 1. A number of semicircular cutouts 23 for supplying the raw material are formed therein.

The semi-cylindrical member 20 has a rotary inclining device 30
Is disposed, and is rotated around the axis of the semi-cylindrical member 20 to be gradually inclined, so that the raw material can be continuously supplied from the plurality of notches 23 into the cylindrical mold 1. ing.

As a built-in temperature adjusting member for adjusting the temperature of the raw material accommodated in the accommodating portion 21 of the semi-cylindrical member 20, the concave wall surface of the semicircular cross section constituting the accommodating portion 21 It is composed of a ceramic or other self-heating element, and is configured to enable temperature control.

In FIG. 2, the semi-cylindrical member 20 constituting the supply device 1 is coaxially inserted into the cylindrical mold 1 having a predetermined inner diameter and length used for molding, and the semi-cylindrical member 20 is tilted. The polyimide resin raw material P is configured to be supplied dropwise to the inner peripheral wall of the cylindrical mold 1 constituted by the hollow cylindrical body 10 made of glass.

As described above, the apparatus and method for manufacturing a tubular article using the glass cylindrical molding die 1 in which the polyimide resin raw material P is dropped on the inner peripheral wall by the raw material supply apparatus of the first embodiment are as follows. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the solution of the polyimide resin raw material P is uniformly applied to the surface in the radial and axial directions by rotating the first tubular member that is the cylindrical mold 1 to form a coating layer. The formed coating layer is disposed on the second tubular member 12 and heated until at least the strength of the tubular member can be maintained, and then the tubular member is taken out from the second tubular member 12 and molded. Things.

In the first embodiment, a polyimide seamless belt serving as a base material of a fixing film of an image forming apparatus by a heat fixing method is formed and manufactured.

The method for producing a tubular article to which the raw material supply apparatus of the first embodiment is applied is based on the primary tubular member 1 using a glass cylindrical tube 10 made of polyimide or the like having excellent mold release properties. After the molding, the tubular molded product is once detached from the mold and taken out, and then reheated to a core made of metal or the like as the second tubular member 12, thereby producing a tubular molded product.

As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 3, an apparatus for manufacturing a tubular article to which the raw material supply apparatus of the first embodiment is applied, that is, a heating and drying furnace 9 capable of heating up to 500 ° C.
And a rotary molding jig 3 capable of rotating the first and second tubular members 12 up to 6000 rpm in the heating and drying furnace 9.
2, 33 are incorporated.

The glass tube 10 constituting the first cylindrical member 1 is made of Pyrex, quartz or the like.
The surface of the glass tube is formed with a roughness of 0.02 μm Ra to 1 μm Ra.

The rotary molding jig is rotatably disposed on a frame 6 implanted in the heating and drying oven (oven) 9, and is rotatably driven by a motor 8 via a coupling 7. 32, and the other flange 3, which is rotatably provided on the frame 6 provided in the heating and drying furnace 9, and is provided opposite to the one flange 32.
3

As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus and process for producing a tubular article according to the first embodiment apply a varnish or the like, which is a raw material, to a glass tube mold 1 to constitute a rotary molding jig. Are set on the flanges 32 and 33 of the main body.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the pair of flanges 32 and 33 are attached to the cylindrical mold 1 to which the polyimide material is supplied dropwise by screws 44.

Next, the shaft 66 is passed through the cylindrical mold 1, fixed with the screw 55, assembled to the frame 6 installed in the oven 9, and the tip of the shaft 66 is inserted into the coupling 7.

The cylindrical mold 1 is moved by the motor 8 to 3000
rotation at the same time as rotating the oven 9 at 120
After heating at about 130 ° C. for 1 hour, the polyimide seamless belt formed on the inner peripheral wall of the cylindrical type 1 is taken out.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a seamless belt 14 is inserted outside the cylindrical mold 12 having an outer diameter of 59.55 mm as the second tubular member, and both ends are fixed members 1.
3 and heating stepwise to 450 ° C. to complete imidization to obtain a seamless belt having a uniform film thickness.

The raw material supply apparatus according to the first embodiment having the above-described configuration is constituted by a concave portion having a semicircular cross section extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold 1 by the semi-cylindrical member 20 constituting the cylindrical member. The raw material accommodated in the accommodating portion 21 is supplied in the longitudinal direction in the cylindrical mold from the rectangular opening 22 extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold 1, so that a simple configuration is used. This has the effect of enabling the formation of a seamless belt having a high thickness and a high dimensional accuracy with a small thickness.

Further, in the raw material supply device according to the first embodiment, the plurality of cutouts 2 formed at regular intervals in one of the band-shaped wall portions 221 extending in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular opening 22 are provided.
According to 3, since the raw material is supplied in the longitudinal direction in the cylindrical mold, it is possible to form a seamless belt having a uniform thickness and a high dimensional accuracy in the longitudinal direction.

Further, in the raw material supply apparatus according to the first embodiment, the temperature of the raw material stored in the storage section is controlled by the self-heating element forming the concave wall surface of the semicircular cross section forming the storage section 21. Therefore, by adjusting the viscosity of the raw material efficiently, smooth and uniform supply can be achieved, and the effect of further increasing the film thickness and dimensional accuracy can be achieved.

The raw material supply apparatus of the first embodiment is a cylindrical mold used for manufacturing and forming a seamless belt as a base material of a fixing film of an image forming apparatus by a heat fixing method.
The semi-cylindrical member constituting the semi-cylindrical device as a means for supplying varnish or resin raw material is based on a method of supplying varnish or resin raw material on the inner peripheral surface or outer peripheral surface of the varnish or resin raw material. A notch 23 is provided, and a varnish or a resin raw material or the like is dripped from the notch 23 almost uniformly at a constant interval in an axial direction of an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical mold used for molding in order to rotate the device. This has the effect of enabling

Further, in the raw material supply device according to the first embodiment, since the volume of the storage section 21 is determined so as to have a simple measuring function by the capacity thereof, the effect of enabling simple measurement can be obtained. Play.

Further, in order to insert the raw material supply device into the cylindrical mold 1 used for molding, a drive device for the raw material supply device is required. On the contrary, there is an effect that the driving device can be configured by a simple device.

Further, in the raw material supply apparatus according to the first embodiment, the high-viscosity liquid of the raw material is heated by the self-heating element as the heating heater constituting the concave wall surface of the semicircular cross section which is the raw material holding portion. Since the raw material is supplied in a state where the viscosity is reduced and the fluidity is increased, there is an effect that the raw material can be supplied stably and uniformly.

When the solid raw material is supplied by heating and melting, or when the liquid raw material is supplied with reduced viscosity by heating, the raw material can be heated by a heating wire or the like built in the apparatus. If necessary, it can be heated from room temperature to 200 ° C.

Further, the raw material supply device of the first embodiment has an effect that the seamless belt can be formed with high dimensional accuracy by the raw material supply device.

(Second Embodiment) In the raw material supply device of the second embodiment, the semi-cylindrical member 2
0, the raw material is supplied in the longitudinal direction of the inner peripheral surface in the cylindrical mold 1, and then the raw material supplied by rotating the cylindrical mold 1 in the heating furnace is supplied to the inner peripheral surface in the radial direction and While extending in the axial direction, the cylindrical mold 1 rotating in the heating furnace as shown in FIG.
The difference is that the raw material is supplied to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical mold 1 by the semi-cylindrical member 20 and the raw material extends in the radial direction and the axial direction of the inner peripheral surface. The explanation will focus on the points.

The cylindrical molding die 1 integrally mounted on a shaft 66 rotatably disposed on the frame 6 implanted in the heating and drying furnace (oven) 9 is rotated by a motor 8. It is configured.

The semi-cylindrical member 20 is rotatably and coaxially disposed in the cylindrical mold 1 and the shaft 66 by a bearing, and a rotary tilting device 30 is disposed at one end of the semi-cylindrical member 20.

The rotating and tilting device 30 rotates the semi-cylindrical member 20 around the axis thereof to incline the semi-cylindrical member 20, and from the plurality of notches 23 to the inner peripheral wall in the rotating cylindrical mold 1. It is configured to enable continuous supply.

In the raw material supply apparatus according to the second embodiment having the above structure, the semi-cylindrical member 20 is rotated around the axis thereof by the rotary inclining device 30 to be inclined, and is rotated from the plurality of notches 23. Since the raw material can be continuously supplied into the cylindrical mold, the seamless belt having a uniform thickness and higher dimensional accuracy can be uniformly extended in the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction. This has the effect of enabling molding.

(Third Embodiment) In the raw material supply apparatus according to the third embodiment, in the second embodiment, the semi-cylindrical member 20 is used to rotate the cylindrical mold 1 in the cylindrical mold 1 rotating in the heating furnace. While the raw material is supplied to the inner peripheral surface of the inside and the raw material is extended in the radial direction and the axial direction of the inner peripheral surface, a cylinder rotating in a heating furnace as shown in FIG. The difference is that the raw material is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical molding die 1 by the semi-cylindrical member 20 above the molding die 1 and the raw material extends in the radial direction and the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface. The following description focuses on the differences.

The cylindrical molding die 1 integrally mounted on a shaft 66 rotatably disposed on the frame 6 implanted in the cylindrical molding die 1 in the heating / drying oven (oven) 9 is driven by a motor. 8 is configured to be driven to rotate.

Above the cylindrical mold 1, the semi-cylindrical member 2 is rotatably mounted on a frame 6 by a bearing.
0 is disposed in parallel, and a rotary inclining device 30 is disposed at one end of the semi-cylindrical member 20.

The rotating and tilting device 30 is rotated around the axis of the semi-cylindrical member 20 so as to be tilted.
It is configured to enable continuous supply of the raw material to the outer peripheral wall.

In the raw material supply apparatus according to the third embodiment having the above-described structure, the semi-cylindrical member 20 is rotated about the axis thereof to be inclined by the rotary inclining device 30, and is rotated from the plurality of notches 23. Since the raw material can be continuously supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical molding die 1, the raw material extends uniformly in the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical molding die 1. The thickness is effective in enabling the formation of a seamless belt with higher dimensional accuracy.

The embodiments and examples described above are exemplifications for explanation, and the present invention is not limited to them. The claims, the detailed description of the invention, and the description of the drawings Modifications and additions are possible without departing from the technical idea of the present invention that can be recognized by those skilled in the art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a raw material supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a raw material is supplied to a cylindrical mold by the raw material supply device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an apparatus for manufacturing a tubular article to which the apparatus according to the first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a mode of mounting a coating layer on a second tubular member in a tubular article manufacturing apparatus to which the apparatus of the first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a raw material is supplied to a cylindrical mold by a raw material supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a raw material is supplied to a cylindrical mold by a raw material supply device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional raw material supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical mold 2 Cylindrical member 21 Housing 22 Opening

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A raw material supply apparatus for supplying a raw material onto a peripheral surface of a cylindrical molding die for forming a seamless belt, comprising: a storage portion for storing the raw material; and a longitudinally extending cylindrical molding die. A raw material supply device comprising a cylindrical member having an opening for supplying a raw material to the cylindrical molding die. 2. The cylindrical member according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member has a receiving portion formed of a concave portion having a semicircular cross section extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold, and a rectangular shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical mold. A raw material supply device comprising a semi-cylindrical member having an opening. 3. The plurality of notches according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of cutouts are provided at predetermined intervals in one of the band-shaped wall portions extending in the longitudinal direction constituting the rectangular opening and supply the raw material into the cylindrical mold. A raw material supply device characterized by being formed. 4. The semi-cylindrical member according to claim 3, wherein the semi-cylindrical member is rotated around its axis to be tilted,
A raw material supply device, comprising: a rotary inclining device that enables continuous supply of the raw material from the plurality of notches into the cylindrical mold. 5. The raw material supply device according to claim 4, further comprising a temperature adjusting member for adjusting the temperature of the raw material stored in the storage portion of the semi-cylindrical member. 6. The raw material supply according to claim 5, wherein the concave wall surface of the semicircular cross section that forms the housing portion is formed of a self-heating element, and is configured to enable temperature adjustment. apparatus. 7. The method according to claim 4, further comprising a rotation driving device that rotates the cylindrical mold, wherein the semi-cylindrical member is rotated around the axis thereof by the rotary inclination device to be inclined, and A raw material supply device comprising a configuration capable of continuously supplying the raw material into a cylindrical mold.