JP2012088463A - Slide belt, endless belt, fixing device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slide belt that suppresses an increase of slide resistance relative to a sliding part after a time lapse, an endless belt including the slide belt, a fixing device including the endless belt, and an image forming apparatus including the fixing device.SOLUTION: A slide belt has an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface, slides and comes to contact with a sliding part on the inner peripheral surface side, and is pressed by the sliding part from the inner peripheral surface side toward the outer peripheral surface side. The inner peripheral surface of the slide belt has a surface shape including a plurality of successive protrusions, and a plurality of pores are formed inside each of the plurality of protrusions that constitute the surface shape.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sliding belt, an endless belt, a fixing device, and an image forming apparatus.

  As a fixing device of an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, a belt fixing type in which a pressure contact portion for pressing and sandwiching a recording member is formed between an endless belt (fixing belt) and a pressure roller is used. In this case, in order to ensure that the fixing material such as toner is fixed to the recording member inside the endless belt, the endless belt is slid and brought into contact with the endless belt to slip toward the recording member. A sliding portion (for example, a sliding sheet) that presses without any problem is provided.

  Since it is preferable to reduce the sliding resistance with the sliding portion on the inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt, while ensuring the slidability with the sliding portion described above, the inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt. In order to reduce the contact area of the sliding part, a polyimide belt having an uneven part with a predetermined surface roughness on the inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-225182 A

  The present invention includes a sliding belt in which an increase in sliding resistance with a sliding portion after time is suppressed, an endless belt provided with the sliding belt, a fixing device provided with the endless belt, and the fixing device. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the following sliding belt, an endless belt provided with the sliding belt, a fixing device provided with the endless belt, and an image forming apparatus provided with the fixing device are provided. Is done.

[1] It has an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface, slides and contacts the sliding portion on the inner peripheral surface side, and is pressed by the sliding portion from the inner peripheral surface side toward the outer peripheral surface side. The inner peripheral surface has a surface shape in which a plurality of convex portions are continuous, and the plurality of convex portions constituting the surface shape each have a plurality of pores therein.

[2] The sliding belt according to [1], wherein the convex portion has a size of 0.2 to 4.0 when expressed as surface roughness (Ra).

[3] The sliding belt according to [1] or [2], wherein the pores have a size of 1/10 or less of the size of the convex portion.

[4] The sliding belt according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the convex portion is made of a porous resin.

[5] The sliding belt according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the porous resin is a resin fiber-containing resin or a foamed resin.

[6] An endless belt provided with the base material layer and / or the release layer in this order on the sliding belt according to any one of [1] to [5].

[7] A fixing device comprising the endless belt according to [6].

[8] An image forming apparatus including the fixing device according to [7].

  According to the invention which concerns on Claims 1-6, compared with the case where the convex part of an internal peripheral surface does not have a pore, the sliding belt by which the increase in sliding resistance with the sliding part after time was suppressed was suppressed. Provided.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing device capable of outputting a high-quality fixed image.

  The invention according to claim 8 provides an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a high-quality fixed image.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing device using an endless belt provided with the sliding belt of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the A section in FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The sliding belt according to the present embodiment is used for fixing work. Usually, a base material layer and a release layer described later are further laminated on the sliding belt (the sliding belt is the most suitable). An endless belt which is located on the inner side and slides and contacts the sliding portion on the inner peripheral side thereof is configured, and this endless belt is used in the fixing device. In addition, an image forming apparatus is configured using this fixing device. First, the outline of a fixing device in which the sliding belt according to the present embodiment is normally used as an endless belt will be described to clarify the overall image of the fixing work, and the sliding belt according to the present embodiment. Clarify the role and position in the establishment work.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing device using an endless belt provided with a sliding belt of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing device 20 using the endless belt provided with the sliding belt according to the present embodiment is the sliding belt 1 (usually, as described above, the base material layer and the release layer). Is an endless belt, but the recording member 4 is sandwiched and pressed between the pressure driving roll 5 and the sliding drive belt 5 for the sake of convenience to avoid complicated description. The toner image transferred and held on the recording member 4 (upper side in FIG. 1) is fixed. The sliding belt 1 comes into contact with the recording member 4 while being pressed toward the recording member 4 by a sliding portion composed of a block 2 as a heating element and a sliding sheet 3, and the pressure driving roll 5 rotates. Corresponding to (clockwise in FIG. 1), the recording member 4 is conveyed (toward the right side in FIG. 1), whereby a plurality (two in FIG. 1) of stretching rolls 7 and 8 and sliding portions It is configured to rotate (counterclockwise in FIG. 1) while being stretched between the two. In the present embodiment, an oil supply roll 6 for supplying lubricating oil is provided to reduce the sliding (friction) resistance between the inner peripheral surface 11 of the sliding belt 1 and the sliding sheet 3. Is provided.

  Hereinafter, the sliding belt 1 according to the present embodiment will be specifically described. The outline of the endless belt will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part A in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the sliding belt 1 according to the present embodiment has an inner peripheral surface 11 and an outer peripheral surface 12, and slides with the sliding sheet 3 as a sliding portion on the inner peripheral surface 11 side. It is configured to come into contact and be pressed by the pressure drive roll 5. Further, the inner peripheral surface 11 has a surface shape in which a plurality of convex portions 13 are continuous, and at least the plurality of convex portions 13 constituting the surface shape are each configured to have a plurality of pores 14 therein. Has been.

  Examples of the material of the sliding belt 1 include polyimide, polyamideimide, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin, and the like. In particular, in the present embodiment, polyimide is preferable because of the convenience of forming a porous resin to be described later as the convex portion having pores.

  The convex portions 13 constituting the surface shape of the inner peripheral surface 11 of the sliding belt 1 are formed to reduce sliding (friction) resistance with the sliding sheet 3. When expressed as surface roughness (Ra), the convex portion 13 preferably has a size of 0.2 to 4.0, and more preferably 0.5 to 3.0. If the surface roughness (Ra) is less than 0.2, the sliding contact area may not be sufficiently reduced and the sliding resistance may be increased. If it exceeds 4.0, the supplied lubricating oil will enter the recess. May increase sliding resistance.

  For example, the convex portion (surface shape of the inner peripheral surface 11 of the sliding belt 1) is formed by forming irregularities of the cutting pitch on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical mold, and using a thermosetting resin (for example, polyimide, polyamideimide). The inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt 1 having the convex portions 13 onto which the surface shape of the outer peripheral surface of the mold is transferred by being uniformly applied to a cylindrical mold, dried and fired, and then extracted from the mold. Eleven surface shapes can be obtained. Further, the glass die is struck on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical mold by using a glass bead sand blasting method to form irregularities, and thereafter, in the same manner as the above method, the inside of the sliding belt 1 having the convex portions 13 is formed. The surface shape of the peripheral surface 11 may be formed.

  As described above, the plurality of convex portions 13 constituting the surface shape are each configured to have a plurality of pores 14 therein.

  The pores 14 are formed in order to suppress wear of the protrusions 13 and to prevent an increase in sliding (friction) resistance between the sliding belt 1 and the sliding sheet 3. Specifically, even when the lubricant is pushed out by pressing at the contact interface between the inner peripheral surface 11 of the sliding belt 1 and the sliding sheet 3 and is not sufficiently supplied and held, Since the lubricating oil is effectively held in the pores 14, the insufficient lubricating oil can be supplemented as appropriate and the sliding between the sliding belt 1 and the sliding sheet 3 can be performed. (Friction) resistance can be reduced.

  The pores 14 have a size that is preferably 1/10 or less, more preferably 1/20 or less, and most preferably 1/30 or less of the size of the convex portion 13. When the size of the pores 14 exceeds 1/10 of the size of the projections 13, the strength decreases and the wears easily.

  The interior of the convex portion 13 having a plurality of pores 14 is preferably made of a porous resin from the viewpoint of ease of formation. Such a porous resin can be formed as follows, for example.

(1) Filling and blending 10-30% by mass of resin fiber (pore size 200 nm) made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into a thermosetting resin (eg, polyimide, polyamideimide) coating liquid, The porous resin constituting the convex portion 13 having a plurality of pores 14 is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the mold, dried and fired, and then extracted from the mold, and then the inner peripheral surface 11 side. Can be obtained.
(2) A thermosetting resin (for example, polyimide, polyamideimide) coating liquid is increased by a pressure increasing pump, air is injected into the coating liquid, uniformly applied to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical mold, and dried and fired. Then, the sliding belt 1 having the porous resin constituting the convex portion 13 having the plurality of pores 14 on the inner peripheral surface 11 side can be obtained by extracting from the mold.

  In this case, the thickness of the sliding belt 1 is preferably 5 to 250 μm, and may be appropriately adjusted depending on the tension pressure used.

  The endless belt according to the present embodiment includes the sliding belt 1 according to the present embodiment, a base material layer (not shown), and a release layer (not shown) in this order.

  As the base material layer, polyimide, polyamideimide and the like excellent in heat resistance are preferable. The thickness is preferably 5 to 250 μm, and may be appropriately adjusted depending on the tension pressure used.

  The release layer is preferably excellent in releasability and flexibility with respect to the recording member. For example, PFA resin (binary copolymer of perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether (PAVE) and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) is used. (Combined), PTFE and the like can be mentioned as preferred examples. Among these, PFA resin (binary copolymer of perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether (PAVE) and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE)) is more preferable from the viewpoint of improving releasability from the recording member and flexibility.

  In the endless belt according to the present embodiment, other layers such as an adhesive layer, a heat generation layer, and an elastic layer may be formed between the base material layer and the release layer. Moreover, there is no restriction | limiting in particular as a lamination | stacking method of each layer, The conventional method can be used suitably.

  Hereinafter, the outline of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the above-described fixing device using the endless belt.

  An image forming apparatus (not shown) is an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus generally called a tandem type, and a plurality of image forming units 1Y, 1M, and 1C on which toner images of respective color components are formed by electrophotography. , 1K, a primary transfer portion (not shown) for sequentially transferring (primary transfer) the color component toner images formed by the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K to the intermediate transfer belt, and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt. A secondary transfer unit (not shown) that collectively transfers (secondary transfer) the superimposed toner image onto a sheet that is a recording member (recording sheet), and a fixing device 20 that fixes the secondary transferred image on the sheet ( 1). Moreover, it has a control part which controls operation | movement of each apparatus (each part).

  EXAMPLES The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples. However, the present invention is not limited by the following examples.

Example 1
As a cylindrical metal mold, an aluminum cylinder having a length of 500 mm was used, and surface roughness Ra was reduced to 0.8 μm by blasting using spherical alumina particles (manufactured by Fuji Seisakusho, particle size 105 to 125 μm). After the surface is roughened, a silicone mold release agent (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: KS700) is applied to the surface of the cylindrical metal mold, subjected to baking treatment, and cooled to room temperature. The mold surface was released from the mold. Next, a polyimide precursor solution in which 30% by mass of a fluororesin (PTFE resin) fiber having a fiber diameter of 10 denier is blended on the surface of the cylindrical metal mold subjected to the mold release treatment (Ube Industries, Ltd .: U Varnish S) Is made of a fluororesin fiber-containing polyimide resin having a thickness of 10 μm as a porous resin and having a convex portion with a size of Ra 0.8 as the inner peripheral surface side surface shape. A sliding belt was formed.

  On the obtained sliding belt made of fluorine resin fiber-containing polyimide, a polyimide precursor solution containing no filler (Ube Kosan Co., Ltd .: U Varnish S) is applied by a flow coat coating apparatus, fired, and thickened. Formed a substrate layer of 60 μm. Further, as a release layer, a PFA tube having a thickness of 30 μm was adhered and laminated to the outer layer through a primer to produce an endless belt. Further, a roughened FEP film was used as the sliding sheet. Furthermore, an amino-modified silicone oil having a viscosity of 300 cp was applied as a lubricant to the porous resin layer constituting the convex portion on the inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt constituting the endless belt. When this endless belt made of polyimide and a sliding sheet were mounted on a fixing device and tested to pass through JD paper (trade name) manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. carrying an unfixed toner image, 500,000 sheets were passed. Also in the paper, the transport performance of the endless belt was good, and no occurrence of paper wrinkles or image misalignment was observed.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Example 1, an endless belt was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that an aluminum cylinder having a surface roughness Ra of 0.03 μm was used without performing blasting. As the sliding sheet, a roughened FEP film was used in the same manner as in Example 1. Further, as in the case of Example 1, as a lubricant, an amino-modified silicone oil having a viscosity of 300 cp was applied to the porous resin layer constituting the convex portion on the inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt constituting the endless belt. When this endless belt made of polyimide and a sliding sheet were mounted on a fixing device and tested to pass through JD paper (trade name) manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. carrying an unfixed toner image, 200,000 sheets were passed through. At the time when the paper was applied, the slidability of the endless belt deteriorated, the driving torque of the motor that drives the fixing roll increased, and image misalignment and paper wrinkles occurred in the fixed image.

(Comparative Example 2)
After releasing the cylindrical metal mold surface in the same manner as in Example 1, a polyimide precursor solution (Ube Industries, Ltd .: U Varnish S) was applied to the cylindrical metal mold surface by a flow coat coating apparatus. Was applied and baked to form a polyimide resin belt having a thickness of 80 μm. On this polyimide resin belt, a PFA tube having a thickness of 30 μm was adhered and laminated through a primer to form an endless belt. As the sliding sheet, a roughened FEP film was used in the same manner as in Example 1. Further, as in the case of Example 1, as a lubricant, an amino-modified silicone oil having a viscosity of 300 cp was applied to the porous resin layer constituting the convex portion on the inner peripheral surface of the sliding belt constituting the endless belt. When this endless belt made of polyimide and a sliding sheet were mounted on a fixing device and a JD paper (product name) made by Fuji Xerox carrying an unfixed toner image was passed through, a test was conducted. At the time when the paper was applied, the slidability of the endless belt deteriorated, the driving torque of the motor that drives the fixing roll increased, and image misalignment and paper wrinkles occurred in the fixed image.

  As described above, by using the sliding belt (endless belt) of the present embodiment for a fixing device and an image forming apparatus, it is possible to output a high-quality fixed image and to extend the life of the fixing device. In addition, an image forming apparatus can be provided.

1 Sliding belt (endless belt)
2 Block 3 Sliding sheet 4 Recording member 5 Pressure drive roll 6 Oil supply roll 7 Stretch roll 8 Stretch roll 11 Inner peripheral surface 12 Outer peripheral surface 13 Convex part 14 Fine hole 20 Fixing device

Claims (8)

  An inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface, sliding and contacting the sliding portion on the inner peripheral surface side, and being pressed by the sliding portion from the inner peripheral surface side toward the outer peripheral surface side; The peripheral surface has a surface shape in which a plurality of convex portions are continuous, and the plurality of convex portions constituting the surface shape each have a plurality of pores therein.   The sliding belt according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion has a size of 0.2 to 4.0 when expressed as surface roughness (Ra).   The sliding belt according to claim 1, wherein the pore has a size that is 1/10 or less of a size of the convex portion.   The sliding belt according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is made of a porous resin.   The sliding belt according to claim 1, wherein the porous resin is a resin fiber-containing resin or a foamed resin.   An endless belt comprising a base material layer and / or a release layer in this order on the sliding belt according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   A fixing device comprising the endless belt according to claim 6.   An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 7.

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