WO2014050839A1 - Blade for electrophotographic device and production method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a blade for an electrophotographic device, said blade having a supporting member and an elastic rubber member firmly attached via an adhesive layer. This blade for an electrophotographic device has the elastic rubber member attached to the supporting member via the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer comprises a cured urethane-based moisture-curable hot-melt adhesive and is characterized by having a surface membrane formed at least at the site where the supporting member comes in contact with the adhesive layer, said surface membrane containing a silicon compound and having a silicon content of at least 6 wt% when quantitatively analyzed using fluorescent X-ray analysis.

Description

Blade for electrophotographic apparatus and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same.

The electrophotographic apparatus has a photoconductor provided with a photoconductor layer on the surface, and when operated, the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor is uniformly charged, and then passes through the image to be copied. By exposing the outer peripheral surface, an electrostatic latent image is formed, and toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, which is transferred to paper or the like and fixed.
In this process, the toner remaining on the transfer belt surface, etc., on the outer periphery of the photoreceptor after transfer is removed, the toner is carried on the outer periphery of the developing roll as a thin layer, and the removed toner is sealed so that it does not spill out. For this purpose, various blades are used. These blades usually have a configuration in which an elastic rubber member (blade member) is attached to a support member.

The attachment of the support member and the elastic rubber member is generally performed by adhering them together using various adhesives such as a double-sided adhesive tape, a film-like hot melt adhesive, and a liquid adhesive. Yes.
However, when the support member and the elastic rubber member are bonded with these adhesives, there are problems such as low adhesive strength or deformation of the elastic rubber member due to heating during bonding.
In particular, a support member made of an electrogalvanized steel sheet that has been subjected to chromate treatment has been widely used as a support member. However, in recent years, it has been demanded to use a chromeless support member in order to cope with environmental problems. However, with a chromeless support member, sufficient adhesive strength may not be ensured as compared to the case where a support member made of an electrogalvanized steel sheet subjected to chromate treatment is used.

On the other hand, it has been proposed to use a moisture curable hot-melt adhesive as an adhesive that bonds the support member and the elastic rubber member (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In these patent documents, the moisture-curing hot melt adhesive can be bonded at a relatively low temperature, so that the problem that the elastic rubber member is deformed due to heating during bonding hardly occurs, and sufficient adhesion is achieved. It is disclosed that strength can be ensured.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 05-002171 JP 2003-119433 A

As described above, the chromeless support member may not be able to ensure sufficient adhesive strength as compared to the case of using a support member made of an electrogalvanized steel sheet that has been subjected to chromate treatment. The same was true when a moisture-curing hot melt adhesive was used.
In addition, the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are inventions in which it is essential to apply a silane coupling agent (primer) to the surface of the support member, and when pretreatment with a primer is not performed. However, there is a problem that sufficient adhesive strength cannot be secured between the support member and the elastic rubber member.
Naturally, since it is necessary to apply a primer in the manufacturing process, the number of processes is increased, which is disadvantageous in terms of productivity.

Therefore, the present inventor has intensively studied to improve the adhesion between the support member and the elastic rubber member. As a result, the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive is used as the adhesive, and the adhesive is used as the support member. By using a support member in which a specific surface film is formed at a site in contact with the layer, even if the support member is a chromate-free support member (chromeless), the support member and the elastic rubber member The inventors found that it can be firmly bonded via an adhesive layer, and completed the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention.
In addition, an invention relating to a manufacturing method suitable for manufacturing such a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus has been completed.

The electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention is an electrophotographic apparatus blade in which an elastic rubber member is bonded to a support member via an adhesive layer,
The adhesive layer is formed by curing a urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive,
A surface film containing a silicon compound that has a silicon content of 6% by weight or more when quantitatively analyzed by fluorescent X-ray analysis is formed on at least a part of the support member in contact with the adhesive layer. Features.

Here, the silicon compound is preferably silica.
In the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention, the surface film is preferably an inorganic / organic composite film.
Furthermore, in the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the support member does not contain chromium.

The method for producing the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention is a method for producing the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention,
After the elastic rubber member is integrated with the support member via the moisture curable hot melt adhesive, the moisture curable hot melt adhesive is cured without heat treatment to form the adhesive layer. It is characterized by that.

The blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention uses a urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive as an adhesive, and uses a support member in which a specific surface film is formed on a portion in contact with the adhesive layer as a support member. Since the support member and the elastic rubber member are bonded via an adhesive layer formed by curing the urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive, the support member and the elastic rubber member are firmly bonded to each other and excellent in reliability. This is a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus.
In addition, the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention can be manufactured without the heat history of the elastic rubber member and the support member in the manufacturing process, so that the elastic rubber member is deformed by heat at the time of manufacture. Thus, a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus having excellent dimensional accuracy can be obtained.
Further, in the method for manufacturing an electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention, the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention can be preferably manufactured.

(A) is a perspective view schematically showing an example of a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of (a). It is sectional drawing which shows typically another example of the braid | blade for electrophotographic apparatuses of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows typically another example of the braid | blade for electrophotographic apparatuses of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the method to evaluate the adhesive force of the supporting member and elastic rubber member in an Example and a comparative example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention is an electrophotographic apparatus blade in which an elastic rubber member is bonded to a support member via an adhesive layer,
The adhesive layer is formed by curing a urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive,
A surface film containing a silicon compound that has a silicon content of 6% by weight or more when quantitatively analyzed by fluorescent X-ray analysis is formed on at least a part of the support member in contact with the adhesive layer. Features.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view schematically showing an example of a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electrophotographic apparatus blade 10 of the present invention has an elastic rubber member 11 bonded to a support member 13 via an adhesive layer 12.

Here, the adhesive layer 12 is formed by curing a urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive.
Therefore, when the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive is applied to the elastic rubber member or the support member, heat is applied to the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive in order to melt the adhesive. Although heat treatment is required, it is not necessary to perform heat treatment thereafter. Therefore, the problem that the elastic rubber member is deformed can be avoided.

In addition, the adhesive layer 12 formed by curing the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive is extremely excellent in adhesion (adhesiveness) to the support member 13 having a specific surface film.
Therefore, the electrophotographic apparatus blade 10 provided with the adhesive layer 12 is also excellent in reliability.

The urethane-based moisture-curable hot-melt adhesive is applied and bonded in a molten state, and then gradually reacts with moisture adhering to the surface of the elastic rubber member and / or the support member or with the humidity of the atmosphere to cause a crosslinking reaction. Is an adhesive that contains a urethane prepolymer.
Specifically, for example, a urethane prepolymer (for example, a polycarbonate-based urethane prepolymer) 30 to 50% by weight, a thermoplastic resin 0 to 70% by weight, and a tackifier 0 to 50% by weight, etc. Can be used.
The urethane prepolymer has two or more isocyanate groups in the molecule and is cured by reacting with moisture contained in the atmosphere.
Examples of the thermoplastic resin include saturated polyester. The thermoplastic resin is a role of a plasticizer that can be applied at a low temperature of 120 to 140 ° C. in the urethane-based moisture-curable hot-melt adhesive by providing crystallinity and increasing the adhesive strength. And can be made excellent in low-temperature workability.

Commercially available products can be used as the urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive, and specific examples thereof include Tyforce H-810, Tyforce H-850, Tyforce PUR-1S, and Tyforce H-. 910, Tyforth FH-445, Tyforth FH-315SB, Tyforth FH-430, Tyforth FH-400SB (all manufactured by DIC), RHC-101, 5921 (manufactured by No-Tape Kogyo), Hibon 4836M, Hibon 4836S Hybon 4836W (manufactured by Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.) and the like.
Of these, tie force H-850 and tie force H-810 are preferred.

The thickness of the adhesive layer 12 is not particularly limited, but is usually about 50 to 120 μm.
If it is less than 50 μm, the amount of adhesive applied is small, and heat may be rapidly taken away by the adherend, so that it may not solidify rapidly and sufficient adhesive strength may not be secured. Since the thickness variation of the agent layer may increase, the dimensional accuracy may be inferior, and it is economically disadvantageous.

The support member 13 has a surface film containing a silicon compound formed at least at a site in contact with the adhesive layer 12.
The surface film may be formed on the entire surface of the support member 13, or may be formed only on a part including a portion in contact with the adhesive layer 12.

The surface film is a film containing a silicon compound and has a silicon content of 6% by weight or more when quantitatively analyzed by fluorescent X-ray analysis.
When the surface film is a film having a predetermined silicon content, the above-described urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive is strongly interacted with the cured adhesive layer 12 and has an excellent adhesive force; Become.
On the other hand, if it is less than 6% by weight, sufficient adhesive strength may not be ensured.
The adhesive force between the supporting member and the elastic rubber member required for the electrophotographic blade is generally required to exceed 5.0 kN / m as measured by the method described in the examples. Is done.

The surface film preferably has a silicon content of 9% by weight or more when quantitatively analyzed by fluorescent X-ray analysis. In this case, the adhesion (adhesive strength) between the surface coating and the adhesive layer is further improved.
Moreover, the preferable upper limit of the said silicon content rate is 13 weight%.

Examples of the silicon compound contained in the surface film include silica, lithium silicate, sodium silicate, calcium silicate, calcium silicate, and the like.
Of these, silica is preferred. Because the silanol groups present on the surface of the silica and the urethane groups and / or urea groups contained in the molecules of the adhesive compound interact strongly, the effect of improving adhesiveness can be enjoyed more remarkably. is there.
Examples of the silica include colloidal silica by a sol-gel method, dry silica by a combustion method, wet silica by a precipitation method, and silica gel by a gel method. Of these, colloidal silica is preferred.
Commercially available products can be used as the silica, and examples of the commercially available colloidal silica include “Snowtex” series manufactured by Nissan Chemical Co., Ltd.

The surface film is preferably an inorganic / organic composite film. The reason for this is that the inorganic component alone makes the polarity too high, and in order to improve the wettability of the adhesive and the surface of the support member, the organic component is used as a binder to bring the polar / nonpolar balance closer to the adhesive. It is because it can do.
Here, the inorganic / organic composite film refers to a film formed by connecting an inorganic component containing a silicon compound with a binder made of an organic compound.
Examples of the organic binder include olefin resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyolefin, acrylic resins such as polyacrylic acid, urethane resins, styrene resins such as polystyrene, epoxy resins, phenol resins, and melamine resins. And polyvinyl chloride resin. These copolymers (for example, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, olefin-acrylic acid copolymer, etc.) and their modified products (for example, acrylic modified epoxy resin, ester modified epoxy resin, urethane modified epoxy resin) Acrylic modified urethane resin, urethane modified acrylic styrene copolymer resin, etc.).

The support member 13 is formed by forming the surface film as described above on the surface of a support member body such as a metal plate.
Here, the type of the metal plate is not particularly limited as long as it is usually used for a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus, for example, a metal plate of a steel plate or a non-ferrous metal plate, a single metal or various alloys thereof. Examples thereof include a plated metal plate subjected to plating. Specifically, for example, steel sheets such as hot-rolled steel sheets, cold-rolled steel sheets, and stainless steel sheets; plated steel sheets such as hot-dip galvanized steel sheets, alloyed hot-dip galvanized steel sheets, electrogalvanized steel sheets, and electrical Zn-Ni alloy-plated steel sheets; Examples thereof include non-ferrous metal plates such as aluminum, titanium, and zinc, or plated non-ferrous metal plates obtained by plating them.
Among these, an electrogalvanized steel sheet is preferable.

Moreover, it may be a surface-treated metal plate obtained by subjecting the metal plate to a surface treatment.
Here, examples of the surface treatment include phosphate treatment, pickling treatment, alkali treatment, electrolytic reduction treatment, silane coupling treatment, and inorganic silicate treatment. However, it is preferable that the chromate treatment is not performed as the surface treatment. This is because the chromate-treated metal plate may adversely affect the environment. That is, it is preferable that the support member according to the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention does not contain chromium, and in this case, sufficient adhesive force can be secured between the support member and the elastic rubber member.
The support member body may be made of a material other than the metal plate, for example, ceramic or hard resin, as long as it can form the surface film.

The support member 13 can be manufactured by the following method, for example.
For example, the surface of the metal plate contains a silicon compound such as silica and the organic binder, and, if necessary, a solvent, a silane coupling agent, a crosslinking agent, various additives (surfactant, conductive additive). A surface film-forming composition containing a thickener, an antifoaming agent, a dispersing agent, a drying agent, a stabilizer, an anti-skinning agent, an antifungal agent, an antiseptic, an antifreezing agent, etc.) It can manufacture by giving a drying process and a heat processing (or hardening process).

As the support member 13, a metal plate on which a commercially available surface film is formed can be processed and used. Specific examples of commercially available products include Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-KS treatment, Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-BX treatment (both manufactured by Kobe Steel), and the like.

The support member is formed by using a specific surface film, that is, a composition containing colloidal silica and lithium silicate as main components and an organic resin and an additive as a binder, and quantitative analysis by fluorescent X-ray analysis. In particular, an electrogalvanized steel sheet on which a surface film that is an inorganic / organic composite film having a silicon content of 9% by weight or more is formed is particularly preferable. This is because the urethane moisture curable hot melt adhesive is particularly excellent in adhesiveness with an adhesive layer formed by curing.

The elastic rubber member 11 is not particularly limited as long as it is normally used in this technical field, but is preferably made of polyurethane. This is because it is suitable for satisfying the characteristics required for the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus and has excellent adhesion to the adhesive layer 12 formed by curing the urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive.

Examples of the polyurethane include polyols, polyisocyanates, and those obtained by reacting a crosslinking agent as necessary.

It does not specifically limit as said polyol, For example, polyester polyol, polyether polyol, polycaprolactone polyol etc. are mentioned.
Of these, polyester polyols and polycaprolactone polyols are preferred, and polycaprolactone polyols are particularly preferred from the viewpoint that excellent cleaning properties and noise prevention properties can be obtained. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The polyol preferably has a number average molecular weight of 1000 to 3000. This is because by using a polyol having a number average molecular weight in the above range, excellent cleaning properties and noise prevention properties can be obtained.

Examples of the polyester polyol include those obtained by reacting dicarboxylic acid and glycol according to a conventional method.
Examples of the dicarboxylic acid include aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as adipic acid, azelaic acid, and sebacic acid, and oxycarboxylic acids such as oxybenzoic acid. Examples thereof include acids and ester-forming derivatives thereof.
Examples of the glycol include aliphatic glycols such as ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, diethylene glycol, neopentyl glycol, 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol, 1,9-nonanediol, and triethylene glycol. Examples include alicyclic glycols such as 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, aromatic diols such as p-xylene diol, polyoxyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, and polytetramethylene glycol.
Polyester polyols based on these have a linear structure, but may be branched polyesters using trivalent or higher-valent ester-forming components.
Among these, the dicarboxylic acid is preferably an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, and particularly preferably adipic acid, from the viewpoint that excellent cleaning properties and noise prevention properties can be obtained. As the glycol, an aliphatic glycol is preferable, and ethylene glycol and 1,4-butanediol are more preferable.

Examples of the polyether polyol include polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polytetramethylene glycol, and copolymers thereof.

Examples of the polycaprolactone polyol include those that can be obtained by ring-opening addition of ε-caprolactone using a low molecular weight glycol as an initiator in the presence of a catalyst.
As the low molecular weight glycol, divalent alcohols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,3-butylene glycol and neopentyl glycol and trivalent alcohols such as trimethylene glycol and glycerin are preferably used.
Examples of the catalyst include organic titanium compounds such as tetrabutyl titanate, tetrapropyl titanate, and tetraethyl titanate, tin compounds such as tin octylate, dibutyltin oxide, dibutyltin laurate, stannous chloride, and stannous bromide. Preferably used.
In addition to the above ε-caprolactone, other cyclic lactones such as trimethylcaprolactone and valerolactone may be partially mixed.

It does not specifically limit as said polyisocyanate, A conventionally well-known thing can be used, For example, aliphatic isocyanate, alicyclic isocyanate, aromatic isocyanate etc. are mentioned. Of these, aromatic isocyanates are preferred from the viewpoint that excellent cleaning properties and noise prevention properties can be obtained.

Examples of the aliphatic isocyanate include 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), 2,2,4-trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate, and lysine diisocyanate. Moreover, the isocyanurate body of hexamethylene diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate, the biuret body, the modified body of an adduct body, etc. can be mentioned. Examples of the alicyclic isocyanate include alicyclic diisocyanates such as isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), 4,4′-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, 1,4-cyclohexane diisocyanate, norbornane diisocyanate (NBDI), and the like.
Examples of the aromatic isocyanate include tolylene diisocyanate (TDI), phenylene diisocyanate, 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), 1,5-naphthalene diisocyanate, xylylene diisocyanate (XDI), carbodiimide-modified MDI, and urethane. Examples include modified MDI. Among the above polyisocyanates, MDI and urethane-modified MDI are preferred, and MDI is particularly preferred from the viewpoint that excellent cleaning properties and noise prevention properties can be obtained.

Examples of the crosslinking agent include ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butanediol, hexanediol, diethylene glycol, trimethylolpropane, glycerin, hydrazine, ethylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, 4,4′-diaminodicyclohexylmethane. N, N-bis (2-hydroxypropyl) aniline, water and the like. Among these, ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, trimethylolpropane, and N, N-bis (2-hydroxypropyl) aniline are preferable from the viewpoint that excellent cleaning properties and noise prevention properties can be obtained. It is preferable to use 1,4-butanediol and trimethylolpropane in combination.

The polyurethane can be produced by a known method using the above raw materials. For example, a catalyst is used in an appropriate organic solvent as necessary, and the equivalent ratio of each raw material is NCO / OH = 1.02. It can be produced by adjusting to ˜1.88 and reacting, or by melting reaction without solvent.
Moreover, it can manufacture by the method of making all the raw materials react simultaneously, the prepolymer method, etc.

The method for molding the elastic rubber member made of polyurethane is not particularly limited. For example, normal pressure casting, reduced pressure casting, centrifugal molding, rotational molding, extrusion molding, injection molding, reaction injection molding (RIM), spin coating Etc.

In the electrophotographic blade 10, the support member 13 on which the surface film is formed and the adhesive layer 12 are directly bonded to each other, and a pretreatment formed with a primer or a liquid adhesive is provided between them. There may be intervening layers. However, when such a pretreatment layer is formed, productivity decreases with an increase in the number of steps at the time of manufacture. Therefore, the support member and the adhesive layer are directly connected unless there is a special reason. It is preferable that they are bonded and a primer layer or the like is not formed.

Further, the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention described so far has a single-layered elastic rubber member as shown in FIG. 1, but the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention is not shown in the figure. It may be provided with an elastic rubber member having a structure as shown in Figs.
2 and 3 are cross-sectional views schematically showing another example of the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention.

In the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention, like the electrophotographic apparatus blade 20 shown in FIG. 2, the elastic rubber member 21 is bonded to the support member 23 via the adhesive layer 22, and the elastic rubber member 21 is the edge layer. You may provide the 2 layer structure which consists of 21a and the backup layer 21b.
The elastic rubber member constituting the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention may have a layer structure of three or more layers.

Also, in the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention, like the electrophotographic apparatus blade 30 shown in FIG. 3, the elastic rubber member 31 is bonded to the support member 33 via the adhesive layer 32, and the elastic rubber member 31 is You may provide the structure which consists of the edge part (edge area | region) 31a and the backup layer (backup area | region) 31b. Here, the edge portion refers to a portion in contact with a counterpart material such as a photoconductor and a region in the vicinity thereof.

In the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus provided with the elastic rubber member having the structure as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the edge layer or the edge portion abuts against the counterpart material and functions as the blade for the electrophotographic apparatus during use. .
Further, by providing the elastic rubber member having the structure as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, various requirements (for example, improvement in cleaning property for polymerization toner having a spherical shape and a small particle size) required for the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus. , It becomes easier to respond more appropriately by improving the cleaning property under a specific environment (low temperature and low humidity or high temperature and high humidity), improvement of noise prevention, improvement of wear resistance, etc.

Even when the elastic rubber member is made of a plurality of materials such as the electrophotographic apparatus blade 20 shown in FIG. 2 and the electrophotographic apparatus blade 30 shown in FIG. It is the same as the material of the elastic rubber member 11 constituting the photographic apparatus blade 10, and an appropriate combination corresponding to the required characteristics may be selected as appropriate.

Next, a method for manufacturing the electrophotographic apparatus blade will be described.
The blade for an electrophotographic apparatus can be manufactured, for example, by the following method.
That is, the support member and the elastic rubber member are processed into a predetermined shape, and after applying a melted urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive to a predetermined position of the support member and / or the elastic rubber member, The rubber member is integrated with the support member via the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive, and then held in that state to cure the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive. Thereby, it is possible to manufacture an electrophotographic apparatus blade in which the support member and the elastic rubber member are firmly bonded via the adhesive layer formed by curing the urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive.

Here, curing of the urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive is preferably performed at about room temperature (for example, 17 to 30 ° C.) without performing heat treatment.
When the temperature is low (below 17 ° C.), the adhesive strength between the adhesive layer and the support member or the elastic rubber member may be insufficient. On the other hand, when the temperature is high (above 30 ° C.), The agent may flow at the time of curing, and the thickness of the adhesive layer may be reduced by protruding from a predetermined site. As a result, the appearance and dimensional accuracy may be deteriorated.

The time for curing the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive (the time for completely curing the adhesive with moisture) is not particularly limited, and is appropriately selected according to the type of the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive. Usually, it is about 24 to 72 hours.

After the elastic rubber member is integrated with the support member via the moisture curable hot melt adhesive, the moisture curable hot melt adhesive is cured without heat treatment to form the adhesive layer. A method of manufacturing a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus is also one aspect of the present invention.

On the other hand, the method for producing the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus does not necessarily deny the heat treatment after the elastic rubber member is integrated with the support member via the urethane moisture-curable hot melt adhesive. Depending on the case, heat treatment may be performed.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example is hung up and demonstrated in more detail about this invention, this invention is not limited only to these Examples.

(Production of elastic rubber member)
A compound having an isocyanate content of 9 wt% composed of poly-ε-caprolactone having a number average molecular weight of 2000 and diphenylmethane diisocyanate is used as a urethane prepolymer, and a mixture of 1,4-butanediol and trimethylolpropane having a weight ratio of 75:25 is used as a curing agent. , Urethane prepolymer and curing agent are mixed, heated and cured in a mold to produce a sheet with a thickness of 2 mm, cut into strips with a width of 15 mm and a length of 225 mm, degreased and washed with a hydrocarbon solvent, The elastic rubber member was produced by sufficiently drying.

(Production of support member)
Various electrogalvanized steel sheets having a surface coating on the entire surface were processed into dimensions of thickness 1.5 mm, width 15 mm, and length 225 mm to obtain a support member.

(Example 1)
Using an applicator (Robatech, PUR hot melt applicator: RobaPUR 4 MOD), the temperature of the coating head (Robatech, FK-SX15) is controlled at a setting of 130 ° C, the coating speed is 450 mm / sec, and the coating head is coated from the substrate. The clearance is adjusted to 80 μm, and a urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive (DIC, Tyforce H-810) is applied to the elastic rubber member. Immediately after the coating is completed, the electrogalvanized steel sheet (Kobe Steel) A support member produced by processing Kobezink Green Coat GX-KS treatment manufactured by Kogyo Co., Ltd. was pressure-bonded at a surface pressure of 0.14 MPa to produce a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus.
The produced blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was stored for 1 week in an environment of an ambient temperature of 23 ° C. and a relative humidity of 50% in order to avoid the influence of the curing reaction rate due to the adhesive type, and then subjected to the measurement of adhesive force.

(Example 2)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Tyforce H-850 manufactured by DIC was used as an adhesive, and the adhesive force was measured.

(Example 3)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 5921 manufactured by Notape Industries Co., Ltd. was used as an adhesive, and was used for measurement of adhesive strength.

Example 4
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Tyforce PUR-1S manufactured by DIC was used as an adhesive, and was subjected to measurement of adhesive force.

(Example 5)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Tyforce H-910 manufactured by DIC was used as the adhesive, and the adhesive strength was measured.

(Example 6)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 2 except that Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-BX treatment (manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet.

(Comparative Example 1)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Sumizin Neo Coat T1N treatment (manufactured by Sumitomo Metal Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet and subjected to measurement of adhesive strength.

(Comparative Example 2)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-K2 (manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet.

(Comparative Example 3)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-K2 (manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet.

(Comparative Example 4)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 3 except that Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-K2 (manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and the adhesive force was measured.

(Comparative Example 5)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 4 except that Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-K2 (manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and the adhesive force was measured.

(Comparative Example 6)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 5 except that Kobe Zinc Green Coat GX-K2 (manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet.

(Comparative Example 7)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Tsukisei Zinc ZS treatment (manufactured by Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and was subjected to measurement of adhesive force.

(Comparative Example 8)
Except that SECC N5 treatment (BAOSHAN IRON & STEEL CO., LTD.) Was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, a vod for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 and used for measurement of adhesive strength. did.

(Comparative Example 9)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 2 except that SECC N5 treatment (manufactured by BAOSHAN IRON & STEEL CO., LTD.) Was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and was used for measurement of adhesive strength. did.

(Comparative Example 10)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was prepared in the same manner as in Example 3 except that SECC N5 treatment (manufactured by BAOSHAN IRON & STEEL CO., LTD.) Was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and was used for measurement of adhesive strength. did.

(Comparative Example 11)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 4 except that SECC N5 treatment (manufactured by BAOSHAN IRON & STEEL CO., LTD.) Was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and was used for measurement of adhesive strength. did.

(Comparative Example 12)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 5 except that SECC N5 treatment (manufactured by BAOSHAN IRON & STEEL CO., LTD.) Was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet, and was used for measurement of adhesive strength. did.

(Comparative Example 13)
A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that Tsukisei Zinc ZC treatment (manufactured by Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd.) was used as the electrogalvanized steel sheet and subjected to measurement of adhesive force.

(Evaluation)
(1) Measurement of silicon content Prior to each Example and Comparative Example, the silicon content (% by weight) of the surface coating of various electrogalvanized steel sheets (support members) was measured by the following method.
The surface of the support member was washed with n-hexane, and then quantitative analysis was performed by fluorescent X-ray analysis. In the fluorescent X-ray analysis, using a fluorescent X-ray analyzer (Rigaku Corporation, Model 3270), the measurement field of view is 10 mm, the tube voltage is 50 kV, the tube current is 50 A, the measurement mode is all element measurement, and the 2θ scan is performed. The order quantitative value was measured using quantitative software of this fluorescent X-ray analyzer.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(2) Evaluation of Adhesive Force between Support Member and Elastic Rubber Member FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for evaluating the adhesive force between the support member and the elastic rubber member.
The support member is fixed with a jig (not shown) that can move in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the elastic rubber member 11 is pulled vertically upward with respect to the bonding surface 13a of the support member 13 at a tensile speed of 20 ±. It pulled at 5 mm / min and measured the adhesive force (kN / m). In FIG. 4, 12 is an adhesive layer.
The results are shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, it was revealed that the electrophotographic apparatus blade of the present invention is excellent in the adhesion between the support member and the elastic rubber member.

10, 20, 30 Blades for electrophotographic apparatus 11, 21, 31 Elastic rubber members 12, 22, 32 Adhesive layers 13, 23, 33 Support members

Claims (5)

1. An electrophotographic apparatus blade in which an elastic rubber member is bonded to a support member via an adhesive layer,
   The adhesive layer is formed by curing a urethane-based moisture-curable hot melt adhesive,
   A surface film containing a silicon compound having a silicon content of 6% by weight or more when quantitatively analyzed by fluorescent X-ray analysis is formed on at least a part of the support member in contact with the adhesive layer. A blade for an electrophotographic apparatus.
2. The blade for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the silicon compound is silica.
3. The blade for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface film is an inorganic / organic composite film.
4. The blade for an electrophotographic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the support member does not contain chromium.
5. A method for producing the blade for an electrophotographic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
   After the elastic rubber member is integrated with the support member via the moisture curable hot melt adhesive, the moisture curable hot melt adhesive is cured without heat treatment to form the adhesive layer. A method for manufacturing a blade for an electrophotographic apparatus.
   

Images