JP2005238764A - Method for covering base material with tube - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for covering a base material with a tube constituted so as to reduce the load to the tube, to prevent the wrinkles of the tube end to increase a coating speed or to reduce the total thickness of the tube and an adhesive layer. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for covering the base material with the tube, the base material is set to a state that the outer peripheral surface of the base material is coated with an adhesive before the base material is covered with the tube and one end part of the tube is held to supply the adhesive to the inner surface of the tube from the coating start side in the tube covering direction to the base material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a tube-covered roll or belt for use in, for example, a fixing device such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a roll used in a fixing device such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc., for example, a silicone rubber layer formed on the surface of a core metal and further covered with a fluororesin tube is used. In recent years, the waiting time from the power-on of the image forming apparatus to the image forming executable state is short (quick start), the power consumption during standby is greatly reduced (power saving), and high speed and high durability are realized. For example, it has been proposed to use a fixing belt in which a metal such as SUS, nickel, aluminum, or copper is used as a base layer, and a silicone rubber layer is covered on the surface of the base layer and a fluororesin tube is covered on the surface like the roll.

  As a method of coating the roller or belt of the fixing device with resin, a method of attaching a resin tube to the roller or belt surface is generally used.

  As a method of manufacturing a roller covered with a tube, conventionally, a PFA tube is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of a mold, and then a core metal is inserted into the mold, and then between the core metal and the PFA tube. There has been proposed a method in which silicone rubber is injected and cured to be integrally formed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1) However, in the tube coating method using the mold as described above, if the center axis of the roll and the center axis of the inner peripheral surface of the mold do not exactly match, the cylinder after manufacture The degree of deviation is not preferable, and a phenomenon that the fixing roller sways around during use occurs. In this way, in order to make the runout of the fixing roller within a predetermined range, the center axis of the roll and the center axis of the inner peripheral surface of the mold must be matched with high accuracy, and a mold with high shape accuracy is required. There is a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes expensive.

In recent years, one end of a PFA tube is suspended and held in a decompression vessel as a method for coating a rubber roller at a low cost in a simple process without the need for such a high-precision mold. A method has been proposed in which a rubber roller having an outer diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the PFA tube is inserted while sucking the gas in the decompression container, and then the adhesive is cured. . (For example, see Patent Document 2)
JP-A-63-298383 Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-15758

  However, in the tube coating method using a decompression vessel, since the rubber roller is inserted into the tube by using a decompression vessel, the pressure of the decompression vessel is kept constant during the insertion. Is in a state that can not be. In addition, when the adhesive applied to the outer peripheral surface of the rubber roller is inserted into the tube, it is moved in the insertion direction along with the tube, resulting in partial deviation, and the adhesive on the outer peripheral surface of the adhesive roller is liquid. The rubber roller surface and the inner surface of the tube are brought into close contact with each other, the insertion load is generated, the tube is stretched, the thickness is partially different, the circumferential direction is wrinkled, and the tube is severed at worst. Thus, there was a limit to the thinning of the tube. In other words, if you just apply to the substrate before coating the tube, the tube (due to the texture) will be scraped off during coating, and the adhesive will not stick to the interface between the substrate and the tube at the end of the tube coating as it is coated. It becomes impossible to cover. Also, even if it is applied to the inner surface of the tube from the coating start side, the adhesive at the beginning of the tube coating gradually decreases and an insertion load is generated, and further, the adhesive does not adhere to the interface between the base material and the tube. It becomes impossible to cover.

  The main object of the present invention is to stabilize and reduce the load applied to the tube when a roller or belt as a base material is inserted into the tube, thereby achieving a uniform film thickness in which the tube does not wrinkle. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of coating a tube on a substrate that enables an increase in coating speed and thinning of the tube + adhesive layer.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the above-described object, the tube coating method for the base material according to the present invention is such that the base material is coated with an adhesive on the outer peripheral surface of the base material before the tube is coated. There is a method of coating a tube on a substrate, holding one end of the tube and supplying an adhesive to the inner surface of the tube from the coating start side in the tube coating direction to the substrate, The member that holds one end of the tube also serves as an annular nozzle of an annular coating device that coats the tube and applies an adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the substrate before the tube is coated. There is a tube coating method for a base material characterized in that the adhesive is applied to the surface in the same step as the coating.

  According to the present invention, when the base material is coated with an adhesive on the outer peripheral surface of the base material before the tube is coated and is coated on the base material while holding the one end of the tube, the base material in the tube coating direction is used. By supplying adhesive from the coating start side to the inner surface of the tube, the load on the tube is reduced by the stable lubrication of the adhesive from the start of tube coating to the end of coating, preventing wrinkling of the tube and reducing the coating speed. And thinning of the tube + adhesive layer is possible. The member that holds one end of the tube also serves as an annular nozzle of an annular coating device that coats the tube and applies an adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the substrate before the tube is coated. The adhesive can be applied to the surface in the same process as the coating, and the coating can be performed more efficiently.

  The present invention relates to a method of coating a tube on a cylindrical or columnar substrate using an adhesive, wherein the substrate is coated with an adhesive on the outer peripheral surface of the substrate before coating the tube, The tube coating method for the base material is characterized in that one end of the base material is held and an adhesive is supplied to the inner surface of the tube from the coating start side in the tube coating direction to the base material.

  The substrate in the present invention is a cylinder or a column, and is a roll, a sleeve, or a belt, and a cylinder or a column is particularly preferable. The material may be metal, resin, or rubber material, and the outer peripheral surface or inner peripheral surface of the metal may be coated with resin or rubber material, and the outer peripheral surface or inner peripheral surface of resin such as polyimide may be rubber. The material may be coated.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the rubber material obtained by coating the base material on the outer peripheral surface of the metal cylindrical member is made of silicone rubber, so that the base material can impart high heat resistance, low compressibility, and low compression set. An addition type is more preferable as the silicone rubber.

  The adhesive in the present invention is preferably a liquid or paste-like adhesive, more preferably a self-adhesive silicone rubber, and further an addition-type self-adhesive silicone rubber that is cured by heating. Of these, for example, trade name: TSE3250: manufactured by GE Toshiba Silicone Co., Ltd. is preferable.

  The tube in the present invention has a cylindrical shape, and the material is preferably a resin or a rubber material, and more preferably a fluororesin such as PFA.

  Further, by using the tube-coated base material obtained in the present invention as a fixing belt for an image heating fixing device, a fixing belt having low compressibility and low compression set can be obtained, and the toner can be effectively used. The toner can be fixed to the carrier and the toner carrier can be conveyed.

  The inner diameter of the tube used in the method of the present invention is not more than the outer diameter of the base material, preferably about 80 to 99%, more preferably about 90 to 96% of the base material outer diameter. When coating, the tube end (coating progress side) is expanded and used. As a result, the adhesive enters the interface between the tube and the base material to form a lubricating action, stabilize and reduce the load applied to the tube, and form a uniform film thickness that does not cause wrinkles on the tube. The fluororesin tube is coated on the outer periphery of the material in a substantially tight state, and the coating speed can be increased and the tube + adhesive layer can be made thinner. In particular, the fluororesin tube is preferably a heat-shrink type, and examples thereof include SME (trade name: manufactured by Gunze).

  FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the image heating and fixing apparatus in the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 40 denotes a fixing belt according to the present invention. Reference numeral 41 denotes a resin horizontal stay, which also serves as an inner surface guide member of the fixing belt 40 and a support body of a heater 42 as a heating means. The fixing belt 40 is fitted on a stay 41 including a heater 42. The inner peripheral length of the fixing belt 40 and the outer peripheral length of the stay 41 including the heater 42 are larger than the fixing belt 40 by, for example, about 3 mm, and therefore the fixing belt 40 has a peripheral length with respect to the stay 41 including the heater 42. It fits loosely in the room. Reference numeral 43 denotes a pressure roller as pressure means for forming a fixing nip portion by sandwiching the fixing belt 40 with the heater 42.

  In the image heating and fixing apparatus according to the present invention, the electrostatic toner image T on the recording material S is fixed by applying heat and pressure at the nip portion. A recording material S as a material to be heated carrying an unfixed toner image conveyed to the image heating and fixing device on the upper surface is composed of a fixing belt 40 and a pressure roller 43 in a fixing nip portion of a heater 42 and a pressure roller 43. During this passage, the heat of the heater 42 is received through the fixing belt 40 and the toner image T is heated and fixed.

  The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples. However, these examples do not limit the present invention.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a tube coating method in the first embodiment.

  First, as an endless belt substrate 10 shown in FIG. 1, an endless belt base 10 having a silicone rubber layer 10b laminated on the outer peripheral surface of a nickel electroformed endless belt (hereinafter, electroformed belt) 10a with a thickness of 300 μm. Prepare a belt. Here, since the electroformed belt 10a is a well-known belt, the description thereof will be omitted. However, when the electroformed belt 10a has a cylindrical shape, it has a belt inner diameter of 34.0 mm, an axial length of 330 mm, and a thickness of 50 μm. Is formed in advance.

  Further, an addition type self-adhesive liquid silicone rubber-based adhesive 11a (trade name: TSE3250: manufactured by GE Toshiba Silicones) is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10. Yes.

  Here, the adhesive may be applied to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10 after fixing the belt base material 10 to the tube expansion core 1 described later.

  The core base 4 is provided with an air supply device 30. By fixing the tube expansion core 1 to the core base 4, the air supplied from the air supply device 30 is supplied to the tube expansion core 1. Air is jetted from the exhaust port 1b, and the air pressure is set to 0.5 MPa. In order to insert the tube expansion core 1 into the belt base material 10, when the tube expansion core 1 starts to be inserted into the belt base material 10 while air is ejected from the air exhaust port 1 b, the belt base material 10 causes the air exhaust port 1 b to be inserted. The expansion core 1 can be inserted into the belt base material 10 while the belt base material 10 is expanded by the air pressure. The outer diameter of the expanded core 1 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the belt base 10, and when the air supply is stopped, the expanded core 1 is caused by the force of the expanded belt base 10 to return to the original shape. The belt base 10 is fixed to the belt.

  The core base 4 is provided with an adhesive supply device 31, and the tube expansion core 1 has a cylindrical shape, and is used for supplying an adhesive provided on the core base 4 in the tube expansion core 1. The pipe 3 is provided, and the adhesive 11 passes through the core base 4 and the pipe 3 from the adhesive supply device 31 and is discharged to the outer peripheral surface of the taper portion 1a from the adhesive discharge port 1c provided in the tube expansion core 1. .

  On the other hand, one end of the fluororesin tube 12 is folded and fixed between the ring 2a and the fixing ring 2b. This fluororesin tube 12 (SME: Gunze Co., Ltd.) is a heat shrink type, and the inner diameter before shrinkage is set to 34.0 mm, which is smaller than the outer diameter of the belt base material 10 fixed to the expanded core 1. The film thickness is 30 μm, the axial length is set to 400 mm, which is longer than the entire length (330 mm) of the belt base material 10, and contracts by about 10% in the radial direction by heating at 200 ° C.

  Further, the inner diameter of the holding ring 2 composed of the ring 2a and the fixing ring 2b is slightly larger than the diameter in consideration of the outer diameter of the belt base material 10 fixed to the expanded core 1 and the film thickness of the fluororesin tube 12, It is set to 34.9 mm.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, from the side supported by the holding ring 2, the belt base material 10 is covered while slightly expanding the fluororesin tube 12 from above the pipe expansion core 1 to which the belt base material 10 is fixed. Go. Then, the adhesive 11 is discharged from the adhesive discharge port 1 c by the adhesive supply device 31, and the adhesive 11 accumulates at a location surrounded by the fluororesin tube 12 and the core taper portion 1 a. The accumulated adhesive 11 b is supplied between the outer peripheral surface of the belt base 10 and the inner peripheral surface of the fluororesin tube 12 as the fluororesin tube 12 is covered from the upper side to the lower side. Therefore, even if the adhesive 11a previously applied to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10 moves in the tube covering direction, the adhesive 11b is replenished to the tube inner surface along with the tube covering from above. The adhesive 11 is always interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10 and the inner peripheral surface of the fluororesin tube 12 in both the direction and the circumferential direction. As a result, the adhesive 11 performs a lubricating action, stabilizes and reduces the load applied to the tube, forms a uniform film thickness that does not cause wrinkles on the tube, and is tightly attached to the outer periphery of the belt base 10. Thus, the fluororesin tube 12 is coated, and the coating speed is increased and the tube + adhesive layer is thinned.

  Here, the adhesive 11b preliminarily applied to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10 and the adhesive 11b supplied from the adhesive supply device 31, discharged from the discharge port 1c of the tube expansion core 1, and accumulated in the tapered portion 1a. Is an adhesive 11 of the same material.

  Thereafter, the fluororesin tube 12 is cut at the same position as the end of the belt base material 10, and the expanded core 1 is removed from the core base 4 in a state where the coated belt base material 10 is fixed, and placed in a heating tank (not shown). The adhesive 11 is cured and the fluororesin tube is contracted by heating at 200 ° C. for 30 minutes, and the fluororesin tube 12 and the belt base material 10 are bonded via the adhesive 11.

  In this way, it is possible to obtain the belt base material 10 in which the target outer periphery is covered with the fluororesin tube 12.

(Second embodiment)
In the first example, an adhesive was applied in advance to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material, and the tube was coated thereon to obtain a belt base material coated with the tube.

  In the present embodiment, a method is provided in which the tube is coated simultaneously with the application of the adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material, thereby simplifying the process.

  Hereinafter, although a 2nd Example is described in detail, these do not limit this invention at all.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the tube covering method in the present embodiment.

  As in the first embodiment, a belt base material 10 is prepared and fixed to the tube expansion core 1. At this stage, no adhesive is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the belt substrate 10.

  On the other hand, one end of the fluororesin tube 12 is folded and fixed by sandwiching the fluororesin tube 12 between the ring 20a and the fixing ring 20b. A coating ring 20c is attached to the fixing ring 20b. The ring 20a, the fixing ring 20b, and the coating ring 20c serve to fix the fluororesin tube 12 and an adhesive application nozzle to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10. The combined annular head 20 is formed.

  Further, the adhesive 11 is supplied to the annular head 20 at a constant flow rate from the adhesive supply device 32 for applying to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10. The adhesive 11 supplied from the adhesive supply device 32 is filled in an annular liquid reservoir 21 surrounded by the fixing ring 20b and the coating ring 20c. From there, the adhesive 11 passes through a narrow annular slit and is extruded from an annular nozzle 22. At this time, the belt expander core 1 to which the belt base material 10 is fixed and the annular head 20 to which the fluororesin tube 12 is fixed are moved relative to each other (the movement of the annular head in the direction of the arrow is shown in the figure). In this method, the adhesive 11 extruded on the outer peripheral surface of the substrate 10 is continuously applied.

  In this embodiment, the coating film thickness of the adhesive 11 by the annular head 20 is set to 30 μm. In addition, the inner diameter of the annular head is set to 35.0 mm in diameter in consideration of the outer diameter of the belt base 10 fixed to the tube expansion core 1, the film thickness of the fluororesin tube 12, and the coating thickness of the adhesive. Has been.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the belt base material 10 is covered while slightly expanding the fluororesin tube 12 from above the pipe expansion core 1 to which the belt base material 10 is fixed from the side supported by the annular head 20. go. At this time, the adhesive 11 extruded from the annular head is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10 as described above. Further, the adhesive 11 is discharged from the adhesive discharge port 1c by the adhesive supply device 31, so that the outer peripheral surface of the belt substrate 10 and the inner peripheral surface of the fluororesin tube 12 are the same as in the first embodiment. Goes supplied in between.

  This method eliminates the need to previously apply the adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10, so that the tube coating process on the belt base material can be simplified, and in the present embodiment, the adhesive touches the atmosphere. Therefore, even if a clean room or the like is not introduced, it is possible to prevent the adhering of dust, blemishes and the like that cause image defects.

(Third embodiment)
In the second embodiment, the tube coating process is simplified by coating the tube while applying the adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material.

  The present embodiment provides a method for simplifying the adhesive supply means between the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material and the inner peripheral surface of the tube.

  Hereinafter, although a 3rd Example is described in detail, these do not limit this invention at all.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the tube coating method in the present embodiment.

  As in the second embodiment, a belt base material 10 on which the outer peripheral surface is not coated with an adhesive is prepared and fixed to the tube expansion core 1.

  On the other hand, as in the second embodiment, the fluororesin tube 12 is also fixed at one end by an annular head 20 having an adhesive application nozzle.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the belt base material 10 is covered while slightly expanding the fluororesin tube 12 from above the pipe expansion core 1 to which the belt base material 10 is fixed from the side supported by the annular head 20. Then, when the annular nozzle 22 of the annular head 20 reaches the taper portion 1a of the expanding core, the operation of the annular head 20 is stopped (in the drawing, the movement of the annular head is stopped). At this time, the adhesive 11 is supplied to the annular head 20 from the adhesive supply device 32 for applying to the outer peripheral surface of the belt substrate 10. The adhesive 11 supplied to the annular head 20 is extruded from the annular nozzle 22. The extruded adhesive 11 is filled in a liquid reservoir 1d provided in the tube expansion core 1. After a sufficient amount of the adhesive 11 is accumulated in the liquid reservoir 1d so that the fluororesin tube 12 completely covers the belt substrate 10, the operation of the annular head 20 is started, and the adhesive supply device 32 starts the annular head. By supplying the adhesive 11 to 20 and extruding it from the annular nozzle 22, the fluororesin tube 12 is coated while applying the adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the belt substrate 10. The adhesive for the liquid reservoir 1d of the pipe expansion core is supplied between the outer peripheral surface of the belt base 10 and the inner peripheral surface of the fluororesin tube 12 as the fluororesin tube 12 is covered.

  This method eliminates the need to previously apply the adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the belt base material 10, so that the tube coating process on the belt base material can be simplified, and in the present embodiment, the adhesive touches the atmosphere. Therefore, even if a clean room or the like is not introduced, it is possible to prevent the adhering of dust, blemishes and the like that cause image defects.

  Furthermore, the adhesive supply device can be simplified.

It is a schematic diagram of the tube coating | coated method in a 1st Example. It is a schematic diagram of the tube covering method in the second embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of the tube coating method in a 3rd Example. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an image heating fixing device in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Taper part 1b of pipe expansion core Air exhaust port 1c of pipe expansion core Adhesive discharge port 1d of pipe expansion core Liquid reservoir part 2 of pipe expansion core 2 Holding ring 2a Ring 2b Fixing ring 3 Pipe 4 Core stand 10 Belt base material DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10a Electroforming belt 10b Silicone rubber layer 11 Adhesive 11a Adhesive 11b apply | coated to the outer peripheral surface of a belt base material Adhesive 12 pooled in the taper part of a pipe expansion core Fluororesin tube 20 Annular head 20a Ring 20b Fixing ring 20c Application ring 21 Liquid reservoir portion 22 of annular head annular nozzle 30 Air supply device 31 Adhesive supply device 32 to taper portion of tube expansion core Adhesive supply device to annular head

Claims (11)

  In the method of coating a tube with an adhesive on a cylindrical or columnar base material, the base material is in a state where the adhesive is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the base material before coating the tube, and one end of the tube is A tube coating method for a base material, characterized in that the adhesive is supplied to the inner surface of the tube from the coating start side in the tube coating direction to the base material.   The member that holds one end of the tube according to claim 1 also serves as an annular nozzle of an annular coating device that applies an adhesive to the outer peripheral surface of the substrate before the tube is coated with the tube coating, A tube coating method for a base material, characterized in that an adhesive is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the base material in the same step as the coating.   3. A tube coating method for a substrate, wherein the substrate according to claim 1 or 2 is a substrate having a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape.   An inner diameter of the tube according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is equal to or less than an outer diameter of the base material, and the tube is expanded to be used for coating.   The tube according to claim 1, wherein the tube is a fluororesin tube.   A tube covering method for a base material, wherein the base material according to any one of claims 1 to 5 has a resin layer laminated on a metal cylindrical member.   The metal cylindrical member according to claim 6 is a nickel electroformed cylinder, and is a tube coating method on a base material.   The resin layer according to claim 6 is an elastic layer, The tube covering method to the substrate characterized by things.   The method for coating a tube on a substrate, wherein the elastic layer according to claim 8 is silicone rubber.   A fixing belt manufactured by the tube coating method according to claim 1.   A fixing device using the fixing belt according to claim 10.

Images