JPS63172160A - Manufacturing device for electrophotographic sensitive body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the amount of coating liquid to be used and to uniformize film thickness and film property by forming a photosensitive layer thin film with the coating liquid on the outside peripheral surface of a cylindrical conductive base body provided with a mechanism which relatively moves a supporting body and a coating jig in the perpendicular direction while relatively rotating them around the same axis. CONSTITUTION:A cylindrical conductive base body 1 is perpendicularly supported on a supporting body 13, and a coating jig 3 is arranged so as to form a gap 5 on the outside peripheral surface 2 of the base body 1, and a coating liquid 7 is sent from a coating liquid supply part 8 to a reception part 6 of the coating jig 3, and the coating liquid 7 is supplied to the gap 5 from the reception part 7, and a rotating and moving mechanism is operated to rotate and move the cylindrical conductive base body 1, thereby forming a photosensitive layer thin film 14 on the outside peripheral surface 2. Thus, the amount of used coating liquid is considerably reduced, and ultrasonic oscillation is applied to the coating liquid to form the photosensitive layer thin film whose film thickness and film property are more uniform.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a photoreceptor by forming a thin photosensitive layer on a cylindrical conductive substrate, and particularly relates to The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus that can reduce the amount used and can form a thin photosensitive layer with uniform thickness and quality.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, coating means have been known as a means of forming a functional film on the surface of an object, and representative methods include brush painting and spray gun painting.This coating has a film thickness of 10
This is an excellent method for obtaining a film of 8 m or more.

Traditionally, functional films have been used to perform specific functions, such as coatings containing pigments to hide the color of the underlying object, and coatings to prevent the underlying object from rusting due to water or gas. In many cases, the film is relatively thick, and painting is an extremely effective means of forming such a film.

In recent years, thinner films have been required for applications such as contact protection films between magnetic recording media and magnetic heads, photoreceptor layers for electrophotographic photoreceptors, Franks coating for printed circuit boards, and resist coating for IC boards. Membranes with specific functions have become necessary.

This type of film is required to have uniform functionality on the substrate, but because it is becoming thinner, even slight variations in film thickness, which were not a problem in the past, can significantly reduce its functionality. This will cause Therefore, conventional brush coating and spray gun coating cannot be applied, and spin-coding and dipping methods are used, which can obtain a more uniform film thickness.

However, the spin code method requires a high-speed rotation drive system, and coating is difficult or impossible when the gas surface area on which the coating film is to be formed is large or the surface shape is complex. The law has been widely used.

In the dipping method, a functional material is dissolved or dispersed in an organic solvent, and in some cases, an adhesive agent, a plasticizer, etc. are added, and a coating solution is filled into a coating solution tank, and the substrate is immersed in the coating solution. This is a simple method in which the substrate is then pulled up and dried to form a coating film. Moreover, by adjusting the viscosity of the coating solution and the rate at which the substrate is lifted from the coating solution, a thin film can be obtained relatively easily. can.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, this dipping coating method is different from brushing or spray gun methods; first, an excess amount of coating liquid is applied on the surface where the coating film is to be formed in advance, and then the amount of coating liquid is reduced to the specified amount by gravity. Since this is an excessive application type (post-metering type) coating method, it requires a coating liquid in an amount greater than the specified amount. This amount of extra coating liquid increases in proportion to the coating area, and as the coating area increases, it is necessary to fill the coating liquid tank with a large amount of extra coating liquid. Furthermore, when using an organic solvent with a relatively low boiling point, such as tetrahydrofuran, benzene, toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, or 1.2 dichloroethane, the viscosity of the coating solution changes due to evaporation of the solvent.
Although the thickness of the coating film changes, a uniform dispersed coating film cannot be obtained with a dispersion coating solution, and sufficient control of the coating solution is required. Also, due to solvent evaporation during coating, when the substrate is immersed in the coating solution and then pulled up, the coating becomes thicker toward the bottom of the substrate. It often happens that it is necessary to apply two coats.

In the case of the dipping method, the thickness of the coating film obtained depends on the relative speed of the coating film forming surface with respect to the coating liquid surface when the substrate is pulled up from the coating solution, and the slower the speed, the thinner the coating film becomes. Especially when the amount of coating liquid is not that large compared to the volume of the substrate, when comparing substrates with different volumes of parts immersed in the coating liquid, it is found that even if these substrates are pulled up at the same speed, the coating film formation will be different for each substrate. Naturally, the speed of the substrate relative to the liquid level on the surface is not constant, so a coating film of the same thickness cannot be obtained. In such cases, in order to obtain a coating film with a uniform thickness, it is necessary to control the pulling speed according to the volume of each portion of the substrate to be lifted, or to control the rate at which the liquid level decreases due to lifting of the substrate. It is necessary to provide a coating liquid replenishment mechanism to compensate for the decrease. The amount of coating liquid is much larger than the volume of the part of the substrate to be immersed (
Although it is a simple and effective method to reduce liquid level changes and prevent their effects, it requires a larger amount of coating liquid than necessary;
This is not practical, especially when the substrate is large. In addition, even if the pulling speed of the substrate is slowed to obtain a thin film, if the volume of the part of the substrate immersed in the coating liquid is relatively large compared to the amount of liquid, fluctuations in the coating liquid level during pulling may occur. As this increases, the speed of the coating surface relative to the coating liquid level increases.

A thin film of the required thickness cannot be obtained. There is a drawback that in order to obtain a thin film of the required thickness, the pulling speed must be further slowed down or the amount of liquid must be increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic method that eliminates the disadvantages of the above-mentioned known techniques, which can reduce the amount of coating liquid used, and form a photosensitive layer on a cylindrical conductive substrate with uniform film thickness and quality. An object of the present invention is to provide a photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus for use in photoreceptors.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, the present invention includes a support that vertically supports a cylindrical conductive substrate, and a parallel surface that faces the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical conductive substrate supported by the support. - a ring-shaped coating jig disposed surrounding the outer circumferential surface so as to form a coating liquid storage gap between the outer circumferential surface and the parallel surface, the support body and the coating jig; It is characterized by comprising a mechanism for relatively moving these in the vertical direction while rotating them relatively about the concentric center axis.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual cross-sectional view of an example of an integrated device according to the present invention,
A support 13 that supports the cylindrical conductive substrate 1 vertically, a ring-shaped coating jig 3, and a rotational movement mechanism that moves the support 13 and the coating jig 3 in the vertical direction while relatively rotating them. It is composed of:

The support 13 vertically supports the cylindrical conductive base 1 by fitting it into the upper end of the cylindrical conductive base 1.

The coating jig 3 has a parallel surface 4 facing the outer circumferential surface 2 of the conductive substrate 1, and the outer circumferential surface 2 is so formed as to form a coating liquid storage gap 5 between the outer circumferential surface 2 and the parallel surface 4. placed around it. This gap 5 is formed at a desired constant interval A, and serves as a coating liquid reservoir 5a. Note that the upper end of the coating jig 3 easily receives a coating liquid 7 supplied from a coating liquid supply unit 8, which will be described later. A recessed receiving portion 6 is formed as shown in FIG.
The coating liquid 7 supplied to the gap 5 is the coating liquid reservoir 5a.
is flowing into the country. As shown in FIG. 1, this gap 5 is a ring-shaped gap with a width A and a height B open at its upper and lower ends. In order to store the coating liquid 7 in such a gap 5, the shear force between the parallel surface 4 of the coating jig 3 and the coating liquid 7 and between the outer circumferential surface 2 and the coating liquid 7 is increased, and The surface tension of the liquid 7 must be used to prevent the coating liquid 7 from flowing out from the lower end of the gap 5, and the width A and height B of the gap 5 must be appropriately selected according to the characteristics of the coating liquid 7. is necessary. In the case of commonly used coating liquids, it is desirable that the width A of the gap 5 is 0.05cm or more and 1 fin or less, and the height B of the gap 5 is 5cm or more and 10cII or less.

Although the rotational movement mechanism is not shown, there is a mechanism for rotating the cylindrical conductive substrate 1 about the concentric axis of this cylinder as shown by the arrow in FIG. The device is equipped with a mechanism for raising it in the vertical direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 or lowering it in the opposite direction to the arrow.

Since it is difficult to move the cylindrical conductive substrate 1 and the coating jig 3 vertically with the concentric axis completely broken using only the vertical movement mechanism, the film is moved in the circumferential direction of the coating Variations in thickness, etc. may occur. Therefore, by rotating the substrate 1 and the coating jig 3 relative to each other, it is possible to eliminate variations in the coating film in the circumferential direction. This rotation speed is appropriately selected depending on the viscosity of the coating liquid 7 and the pulling speed.

Note that the present invention may further include a coating liquid supply section 8 that supplies the coating liquid 7 to the gap 5. The coating liquid supply section 8 stores the coating liquid 7 in a storage tank 9 and the coating liquid 7 in a coating liquid storage section 5a.
It is comprised of a supply pipe 10 for supplying the coating liquid 7, a pulp 11 for controlling the supply amount of the coating liquid 7, and an airtight lid 12 for preventing changes in the viscosity of the stored coating liquid 7. Although this coating liquid supply section 8 is not necessarily necessary in the present invention, since the volume of the coating liquid storage section 5a is small and the amount of stored coating liquid is small, during the coating operation, the coating liquid is applied to the outer peripheral surface 2 and reduced. Since it is necessary to frequently replenish the coating liquid 7 in the coating liquid storage 5a, it is desirable to provide a large coating liquid supply section 8.Furthermore, since the coating liquid storage 5a is entirely open to the atmosphere on its upper and lower surfaces, , the solvent tends to evaporate from the coating liquid there, and the viscosity of the liquid changes, but the storage tank 9
The coating liquid inside is kept at a constant viscosity, and if you constantly replenish the coating liquid as much as it is consumed, it will eliminate changes in the viscosity of the coating liquid at the time of application, which is very effective. be. From this point of view, it is preferable that the volume of the receiving part 6 at the upper end of the application jig 3 is as small as possible, and if possible, it is better not to provide this receiving part 6.

In addition, although one set of coating liquid supply units 8 is shown in FIG. 1, multiple sets may be provided especially when the coating apparatus is complicated. This can prevent the viscosity change of the coating liquid as described above. .

[For production]

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus of the present invention has a cylindrical conductive substrate 1 supported vertically on a support 13, and a coating jig is installed so as to form a gap 5 on the outer peripheral surface 2 of the substrate 1. 3, the coating liquid 7 is sent from the coating liquid supply part 8 to the receiving part 6 of this coating jig 3, this coating liquid 7 is supplied from the receiving part 7 to the gap 5, and then the rotation movement mechanism is operated. The cylindrical conductive substrate 1 is rotated and moved as shown by the arrow to form a photosensitive layer thin film 14 on the outer peripheral surface 2.

The thickness of the photosensitive N thin film 14 is determined by the relative moving speed between the substrate 1 and the coating jig 3 and the viscosity of the coating liquid 7. In order to obtain a thin film, it is necessary to slow down this moving speed or to reduce the viscosity of the coating liquid 7. Slowing down the moving speed increases the film forming time, so it is not practical to slow it down too much (and it is also undesirable as it increases the chance of being affected by the environment.If the viscosity of the coating liquid 7 is reduced, the coating liquid will accumulate. The coating liquid 7 tends to flow away from the opening below the portion 5a (gap 5).In order to prevent this flow, it is necessary to reduce the width A and increase the height B of the gap 5.However, when A If B is made small and B is made large, when the substrate 1 or coating jig 3 is moved to form a coating film on the outer circumferential surface 2, the outer circumferential surface 2 of the substrate 1 will be damaged by dents or scratches due to machine vibrations, etc. may be added, so A
It is not preferable to make B too small or to make B too large, especially in the substrate of a photoreceptor. In order to prevent this damage, it is effective to make the coating jig 3 or especially the parallel surface 4 a flexible polymer material with drainage properties. Furthermore, by using a water-draining polymer member, the coating becomes ↑n aqueous with respect to the coating l&, 7, and the shearing force between the parallel surface 4 and the coating liquid 7 increases, making it possible to widen A. Furthermore, this also reduces the weight of the jig. In terms of water repellency, it is desirable to use a fluorine-containing polymer, such as Teflon, as the polymer.

However, it is not necessarily necessary to make the application jig 3 of polymer, and it may be made of metal, for example, stainless steel. In particular, when the width A can be made wide, metal can be used without any problem, and the surface of the parallel surface Another advantage is that it is easy to process smoothly.

〔Example〕

A coating liquid having the following composition was applied onto the mirror-finished outer peripheral surface of an aluminum cylindrical substrate having an outer diameter of 6 cI11 and a length of 30 c++.

β-type copper phthalocyanine 0.5g Polymethyl methacrylate resin 0.25g Toluene
30g using the coating device shown in the first diagram,
When A was set to 0.1 ms and B was set to 4c+1, the cylindrical conductive substrate 1 was pulled up at a speed of 40 m/sec while rotating at a speed of 9 Orpm, and the total length was 30 cflI.
A coating film with a uniform thickness of 0.2 μm ± 20% was obtained over the entire area, and the amount of liquid used was 1
% liquid volume. A coating liquid 7 having the following composition was further applied onto the outer circumferential surface 2 of the cylindrical substrate 1 on which the coating film was formed.

1-phenyl-3-(P-diethylaminostyryl)-
Ri-(P-diethylaminophenyl)=2-pyrazoline...0.3g Polymethyl methacrylate resin...0.2g Tetrahydrofuran...5g Using the coating device shown in Figure 1, A to Q, 2am, B is 5 cs, and while rotating the cylindrical conductive substrate 1 at a speed of 15 rpm, 51
■When pulled up and applied at a speed of 30cm/second, the total length was 30cm.
A uniform photosensitive N-thin 1!14 film with a thickness of 20 μ±0.5 μm over m was obtained, and the amount of liquid used was 0.1% of the amount used in the conventional dipping method.

When the thus obtained photoreceptor was used as an electrophotographic photoreceptor, it was found to be sufficiently usable for practical use.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the gap formed between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical R-electroconductive substrate and the parallel surface of the coating jig opposing this is used as a coating liquid reservoir, and the coating liquid is poured into this gap. The substrate and coating jig are then relatively rotated and moved relative to each other in the vertical direction to form a coating film on the outer peripheral surface. When immersing a product in a coating solution and then pulling it out, a large amount of extra coating solution was required to prevent the coating solution from dropping and form a uniform coating film, but in the present invention, the amount of coating solution used is The amount of photosensitive layer can be significantly reduced, and by adding ultrasonic vibration to the coating liquid, a thin photosensitive layer with more uniform thickness and quality can be formed.

Furthermore, while the conventional dipping method requires two steps in two directions, immersing the substrate in a coating liquid tank and then pulling it up, the present invention simplifies the coating process by requiring only one step of moving the substrate in one direction. There is also the advantage that

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual sectional view showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention. 1... Cylindrical conductive substrate, 2... Outer peripheral surface, 3...
Application jig, 4...Parallel surface, 5...Gap, 5a...
Coating liquid storage section, 7... Coating liquid, 8... Coating liquid supply section, 13... Support, 14... Photosensitive layer thin film

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A support that supports the cylindrical conductive substrate vertically, and a parallel surface that faces the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical conductive substrate supported by the support, and a space between the outer peripheral surface and the parallel surface. a ring-shaped coating jig disposed around the outer circumferential surface so as to form a gap for storing a coating liquid, and the support body and the coating jig are rotated relative to each other about their concentric central axes. 1. An electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus for forming a thin photoreceptor layer using a coating liquid on the outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical conductive substrate, which is provided with a mechanism for relatively moving the substrate in the vertical direction. (2) An electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a coating liquid supply section that supplies a coating liquid to the coating liquid storage gap. (3) An electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating liquid storage gaps are formed at desired constant intervals.