JP2012163829A - Roller for fixing device, manufacturing method of the same, fixing device, and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roller for a fixing device in which a sudden strength reduction dose not occur due to the foam-breakage destruction accumulation of a foam material layer, and a manufacturing method of the same.SOLUTION: In a roller for a fixing device, a foam material layer with continuous foam, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer are laminated in this order on a core bar, and the solid elastic layer is provided with a through-hole extending from the adhesive layer side to the foam material layer side and the through-hole is filled with an adhesive constituting the adhesive layer.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fixing device roller and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a fixing device roller suitable for use as a pressure roller used in a fixing process of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof. .

  In a fixing process in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a toner image formed on a recording sheet is passed through a nip formed between a fixing roller and a pressure roller that are pressed against each other. At the same time, it is fixed on the recording paper by heating.

  At this time, the pressure roller is provided with a foamed material layer made of foamed silicone rubber having excellent heat insulating properties or a porous material ceramic around the core metal, and then on the surface layer side such as silicone rubber for forming a nip. An elastic layer is provided on the surface, and a release layer made of a fluororesin such as tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) is formed on the surface of the tube to make the tube a fluororesin. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-122907). As such a roller, in order to prevent wrinkling at the time of paper conveyance, a roller shape having an outer diameter that increases from the center to the end of the roller (hereinafter referred to as a drum shape) is adopted. Sometimes.

  When such a roller is used for a long period of time, there is a problem that the strength is suddenly reduced due to the bubble breakage accumulation of the foamed material layer. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the porosity in order to obtain higher heat insulation. For this reason, there is a problem that the initial time from the start of heating to the time when fixing is possible cannot be shortened.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a roller for a fixing device that does not cause a sudden drop in strength due to bubble breakage accumulation of a foam material layer, and a method for manufacturing the same. .

  In order to solve the above problems, a fixing device roller according to the present invention has a foam material layer having open cells, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a mold release on a mandrel as described in claim 1. In the fixing device roller in which the layers are laminated in this order, the solid elastic layer is provided with a through hole from the adhesive layer side to the foamed material layer side, and the adhesive layer is formed in the through hole. It is a roller for a fixing device, which is filled with a constituent adhesive.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the fixing device roller according to the first aspect, wherein the foam material layer is made of water-foamed silicone rubber. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing device comprising the fixing device roller according to the first or second aspect.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to the third aspect.

  According to the method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device of the present invention, a foam material layer having open cells, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer are arranged in this order on a cored bar. In the method for manufacturing a fixing device roller, the foaming material layer forming step of forming the foaming material layer on the core metal, the solid elastic layer forming step of forming the solid elastic layer on the foaming material layer, A through-hole forming step of forming a through-hole from the surface of the solid elastic layer to the foamed material layer to obtain a roll-shaped intermediate laminate in which the through-hole is formed, and a roll shape in which the through-hole is formed A release layer coating step in which the intermediate laminate is inserted into the inner surface of the release layer cylindrical body with the adhesive applied to the inner surface, and the adhesive is filled in the through holes in this order. Manufacture of rollers for fixing devices It is the law.

  According to the method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device of the present invention, a foam material layer having open cells, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer are formed in this order on a cored bar. In the method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device, the foaming material layer forming step for forming the foaming material layer on the core metal, and a through hole extending from the surface to the foaming material layer is provided on the foaming material layer. A perforated solid elastic layer forming step for forming a hole solid elastic layer as the solid elastic layer to form a roll-shaped intermediate laminate having through-holes formed therein, and a roll-shaped intermediate laminate having the through-holes formed therein It has a release layer coating step in this order for inserting the body into the inner surface side of the release layer cylindrical body with the adhesive applied on the inner surface and filling the adhesive into the through hole. Is a method for manufacturing a fixing device roller.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing device roller manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the foaming material layer is a water-foamed silicone rubber. It is characterized by comprising.

  The fixing device roller manufacturing method according to the present invention is the fixing device roller manufacturing method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the through hole is formed as described in claim 8. It has the surface groove | channel formation process which forms a groove | channel on the surface of the formed roll-shaped intermediate | middle laminated body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the fixing device roller of the present invention, a through hole extending from the adhesive layer side to the foamed material layer side is formed in the solid elastic layer, and the adhesive constituting the adhesive layer is formed in the through hole. The filled configuration prevents a sudden drop in strength due to the bubble breaking accumulation of the foam material layer. For this reason, the porosity of the foam material can be made higher than that of the conventional product, higher heat insulation can be obtained, and the transition time from the standby state to the fixable state can be further shortened. .

  According to the fixing device roller manufacturing method of the present invention, it is possible to manufacture the excellent fixing device roller as described above, and in the roller having a release layer on the surface as described above, the mold release is performed. The problem that air bubbles enter between the layer and the solid elastic layer, causing image unevenness, or becoming defective and reducing the yield and increasing the cost, is solved at the same time.

1 is a model diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus to which a roller of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a fixing device according to the present invention. 3 is a model diagram showing an example of a fixing device roller A of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view. (B) It is sectional drawing in LL of Fig.1 (a) (cross section perpendicular | vertical with respect to the axis | shaft of the roller A for fixing devices). (C) It is a partial expanded sectional view. It is a model figure for demonstrating the metal mold | die at the time of forming a solid elastic layer. It is a model figure which shows a through-hole formation apparatus. It is a model figure which shows a release layer coating | coated apparatus. It is a model figure which shows the solid elastic layer in which the surface groove | channel was formed. It is a model figure which shows a spiral groove processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration and operation of the entire image forming apparatus (example of a color printer) will be described with reference to FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration and operation of the entire image forming apparatus (printer).

  This printer uses four sets of electrophotographic systems to form toner images of four colors, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, on the surfaces of corresponding photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk (image carriers), respectively. Image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk (image forming means).

  Below these image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk, a conveying belt 20 is stretched to convey a sheet (recording material) through each image forming unit.

  The photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk of the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk are respectively arranged in contact with the conveyance belt 20, and the sheet (recording material) is electrostatically applied to the surface of the conveyance belt 20. Adsorbed.

  The four sets of image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk have substantially the same structure. Therefore, here, the yellow image forming unit 10Y disposed on the most upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction will be described as a representative, and the other color image forming units 10M, 10C, and 10Bk are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed description is omitted.

  The image forming unit 10Y has a photosensitive drum 1Y that is in contact with the conveyance belt 20 at a substantially central position. Around the photosensitive drum 1Y, a charging device 2Y for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y to a predetermined potential, the charged drum surface is exposed based on the color-separated image signal, and the surface of the drum is electrostatically charged. An exposure device 3Y that forms a latent image, a developing device 4Y that supplies yellow toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the drum surface and develops it, and a developed toner image on a sheet that is conveyed via a conveyance belt 20 A transfer roller 5Y (transfer device) for transferring, a cleaner 6Y for removing residual toner remaining on the drum surface without being transferred, and a charge eliminating lamp for removing electric charge remaining on the drum surface (not shown) are provided in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 1Y. Are disposed in order.

  A paper feed mechanism 30 for feeding paper onto the transport belt 20 is disposed on the lower right side of the transport belt 20 in the drawing.

  A fixing device 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described later, is disposed on the left side of the conveyance belt 20 in the figure (excitation coils and the like are omitted in this figure). The paper transported by the transport belt 20 is transported through a transport path continuously extending from the transport belt 20 through the fixing device 40 and passes through the fixing device 40.

  The fixing device 40 heats and pressurizes the conveyed paper, that is, the paper on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred. Then, the toner images of the respective colors are melted and permeated into the paper to be fixed. In addition, the paper is discharged to the downstream side of the conveyance path of the fixing device 40 via a paper discharge roller.

  Next, the fixing device 40 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  A heating roller 1 having a halogen heater 5 therein, a fixing roller 2 arranged in parallel with the heating roller 1, and a heating roller 1 and a fixing roller 2 are stretched over, and an arrow is generated by rotation of any of these rollers. An endless belt-like heat-resistant fixing belt 3 that rotates in the A direction, and a pressure roller 4 that is pressed against the fixing roller 2 via the belt 3 and rotates in the forward direction with respect to the belt 3.

  The purpose of the heating roller 1 is to transfer the heat from the halogen heater 5 inside the roller to the fixing belt that comes into contact therewith. Therefore, by applying black coating on the inner surface, the heat from the halogen heater can be efficiently collected and the heat generation efficiency of the roller can be improved.

  The material is made of a metal such as aluminum or carbon steel, and aluminum is particularly suitable for use with a heating roller because of its high thermal conductivity. In addition, it is also preferable that the sliding surface with the belt base material is coated with a resin having a small friction coefficient such as a fluororesin to reduce wear.

  The fixing roller 2 includes a metal core 2a made of, for example, stainless steel or carbon steel, and an elastic member 2b covered with a core metal in a solid or foamed heat-resistant silicone rubber or the like. Then, a contact portion (fixing nip portion N) having a predetermined width is formed between the pressure roller 4 and the fixing roller 2 by the pressing force from the pressure roller 4. The outer diameter is about 30 to 40 mm, and the elastic member has a thickness of about 3 to 10 mm and a hardness of about 10 to 50 ° (JIS-A).

  The fixing belt 3 is configured by laminating an elastic layer and a release layer in this order on a base material.

  Properties required for the substrate include durability when the fixing belt is configured, flexibility, and heat resistance that can withstand use at the fixing temperature. As the substrate, an insulating heat-resistant resin material, that is, polyimide, polyimide amide, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyether sulfone (PES), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), fluororesin, or the like is suitable. The thickness is desirably 30 μm or more and 200 μm or less from the relationship between the heat capacity and strength required when the fixing belt is formed.

  The elastic layer is formed for the purpose of giving flexibility to the belt surface in order to obtain a uniform image without uneven glossiness, and the rubber hardness is preferably 5 to 50 ° (JIS-A) and the thickness is preferably 50 to 500 μm. Also, from the viewpoint of heat resistance at the fixing temperature, silicone rubber, fluorosilicone rubber or the like is used as the material.

  The materials used for the release layer include tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE), tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer resin (PFA), and tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene copolymer. Examples thereof include a fluororesin such as coalescence (FEP), a mixture of these resins, or a general heat resistant resin in which these fluororesins are dispersed.

  When the release layer covers the elastic layer, toner release properties and prevention of paper powder adhesion can be achieved without using silicone oil or the like (oilless). However, since these resins having releasability generally do not have elasticity like rubber materials, if the release layer is formed thick on the elastic layer, the flexibility of the belt surface is impaired and uneven glossiness is formed on the formed image. Will occur. In order to achieve both releasability and flexibility, the thickness of the release layer is preferably 5 μm or more and 50 μm or less, and preferably 10 μm or more and 30 μm or less.

  Further, if necessary, a primer layer may be provided between the respective layers, and a layer for improving durability during sliding, for example, a layer made of fluororesin PFA or PTFE is provided on the inner surface of the base material. Also good.

  The pressure roller 4 is composed of an example of a fixing device roller according to the present invention.

  A model perspective view of the pressure roller 4 is shown in FIG. 3A, and a model cross-sectional view at LL is shown in FIG.

  It has a structure in which a foamed material layer 12 having open cells, a second solid elastic layer 13, an adhesive layer 14, and a release layer 15 are laminated in this order on a metal core 11 made of a metal cylindrical member. The fixing roller 2 is pressed via the belt 3 to form a fixing nip portion. The outer diameter of the pressure roller 4 is generally about 20 to 40 mm.

  The metal core 11 can be made of a general metal such as stainless steel or aluminum, ceramics, or the like. If the strength allows, it is desirable to be hollow and as thin as possible in order to reduce the heat capacity of the roller.

  A foam material layer 12 is formed around the core metal 11 with a primer layer as necessary. Since the foam material layer 12 requires heat insulation, it requires a structure in which pores are provided and the pores are continuously connected to each other. As such, porous ceramics or foam rubber is used as the material. Suitable as As the latter, foamed silicone rubber is used because it has heat resistance. For example, a foaming agent, a cross-linking agent, and a communicating agent are kneaded into a silicone compound and foamed and vulcanized. Alternatively, the liquid silicone rubber is obtained by adding water, a water-absorbing polymer, and a curing catalyst to the liquid silicone rubber and stirring and curing in a mold. In the foamed silicone rubber as described above, an expansion ratio of 1.5 to 3.0 is preferable because a low heat capacity and sufficient strength can be secured.

  Here, the latter foamed rubber is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-96223 as so-called water-foamed silicone obtained by foaming a foamable silicone composition in which a liquid compound having a boiling point higher than room temperature, such as water and alcohols, is provided. If the technology is used, the bubbles become fine and open, so the increase in the outer diameter of the roller due to thermal expansion during heating and the decrease in hardening due to bubble breakage can be prevented, and durability is improved. preferable.

  As a material constituting the solid elastic layer 13, silicone rubber or the like is suitable because it has elasticity for forming a nip and has heat resistance of 150 ° C. or higher. Specifically, KE-1353 of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. can be used. The thickness of the elastic layer is preferably 1 mm or less for reducing the heat capacity of the roller, and preferably 0.2 mm or more for obtaining smoothness of the roller surface.

  Further, as shown in a partial cross-sectional view in FIG. 3 (c), the solid elastic layer 13 is formed with a through hole 13a from the adhesive layer 14 side to the foamed material layer 12 side. An adhesive 14 a constituting the agent layer 14 is filled.

  When the thickness of the through hole 13a (filling thickness of the adhesive 14a) is 0.3 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less, even a highly viscous adhesive such as a silicone base material can be penetrated, and the image This is preferable because it does not affect image quality when used as a fixing device in a forming apparatus.

  By the adhesive filled in the through-holes, a fixing device roller (resin-coated roller) that does not cause a sudden drop in strength due to the foam breakage accumulation of the foamed material layer is obtained. For this reason, the number of through holes 13a to be formed is determined in advance, but it is preferable to provide the through holes so that the distance between the through holes on the surface of the foam material layer is 5 mm or less and 3 mm or more. If the distance between the through holes is too large, it is difficult to obtain the effect of the present invention. If the distance between the through holes is too small, the roller surface smoothness may not be sufficient, and unevenness is likely to occur in the formed image.

  An appropriate adhesive is selected according to the materials of the elastic layer 13 and the release layer 15. Specifically, since a heat resistance as a roller for a fixing device is required, a silicone-based adhesive is preferable and can be obtained from Shin-Etsu Chemical.

  It must have the same thermal conductivity and hardness as the elastic layer material to be used, so that there will be no difference in characteristics between the part filled in the through hole of the solid elastic layer and the part that does not. Is preferred. The thickness of the adhesive layer is preferably 50 μm or less in order to reduce the heat capacity of the roller.

  The release layer 15 is made of fluorine resin or the like in consideration of heat resistance and toner adhesion prevention. For example, PFA and PTFE are common. The thickness is preferably 0.1 mm or less in order to suppress an increase in surface hardness.

  For the release layer 15, as materials having excellent release properties and heat resistance, tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE), tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer resin (PFA), and tetrafluoroethylene · A fluororesin such as a hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), a mixture of these resins, or a resin in which these fluororesins are dispersed in a heat resistant resin is used.

  The thickness of the release layer 15 is preferably 50 μm or less in order to make use of the low heat capacity of the roller and the elasticity of the elastic layer 13. In the present invention, a mold formed in a cylindrical shape by extrusion molding or the like is used as the release layer 15.

  The inner diameter of the cylinder before being coated on the elastic layer 13 is suitably 97 to 99% of the outer diameter of the elastic layer in order to adhere to the elastic layer.

  The roller for the fixing device of the present invention may be a cylindrical roller, that is, a straight roller, or may be a drum-shaped roller as schematically shown in FIG. In the latter case, the drum-shaped roller can be obtained by changing the thickness of the elastic layer 13 in the axial direction. Here, a general drum shape is a shape in which the central portion has a diameter smaller by 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm than the diameters of both ends of the roller.

  As a method for producing such a roller, first, if necessary, an adhesive is applied onto a cored bar, then set in a mold and cast-molded with a foamed silicone rubber composition to form a foamed material. Layer 12 is formed. Or when a foam material layer consists of porous ceramics, it forms by methods, such as a slurry shaping | molding construction method (foam material layer formation process).

  Next, a solid elastic layer is formed. As a forming method, when silicone rubber is used, a known method such as a dip method, a blade coat method, or a casting method can be used.

  In the case of the casting method, as shown in FIG. 4 as a model, the core metal 11 around which the foam material layer 12 is formed is set in the mold 21, and the solid elastic layer forming rubber composition is introduced from the inlet 22. Is introduced. At this time, the air in the mold 21 is discharged from the air hole 23. When the solid elastic layer-forming rubber composition overflows from the air holes 23, the introduction of the solid elastic layer-forming rubber composition into the mold 21 is terminated, and then vulcanized under conditions suitable for this composition. After forming the layer, it is taken out from the mold 21 (solid elastic layer forming step).

  Next, a through hole forming step is performed in which a through hole is formed from the surface of the solid elastic layer to the foamed material layer. At this time, it can be performed quickly by using the through-hole forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  That is, the metal core 11 having the foam material layer 12 and the solid elastic layer 13 formed in this order on the surface is set on the bearing base 34 of this apparatus. The cored bar is held by the bearing base 34 so as to be rotatable about its axis.

  By operating a large number of through-hole forming needles 31 provided on a needle mounting base 32 held by an actuator 33 as a needle raising / lowering cylinder parallel to the length direction of the core metal 11, the actuator 33 is operated downward. The solid elastic layer 13 is pierced to reach the foam material layer 12 to form a through hole. The actuator 32 is operated again, and the through hole forming needle 31 is retracted upward, and then the core 11 on the bearing base 34 is rotated by a desired angle, and these operations are repeated to obtain the necessary number of penetrations. Holes are formed to obtain a roll-shaped intermediate laminate in which through holes are formed.

  In the above apparatus, the interval between the through-hole forming needles 31 is preferably 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less in order to obtain the effects of the present invention sufficiently and at the same time to achieve both the bubble removing ability and the roller surface smoothness.

  Next, a roll-shaped intermediate laminate in which the through-hole is formed is inserted into the inner surface side of the cylindrical body made of a releasable resin, and the inner surface of the cylindrical body and the side surface of the roll of the intermediate laminate are bonded. And a release layer forming step of filling the through hole with an adhesive.

  At this time, it can be easily performed by using a release layer coating apparatus B shown in model form in FIG. In this apparatus, first, as shown in FIG. 6A, the upper edge of the bottomed cylindrical set 41 is set so as to cover the release layer 15 made of fluororesin formed in a bag shape, and then The bottomed cylindrical release layer (cylinder for release layer) 14 is expanded in diameter so as to be in close contact with the inner surface of the set portion by reducing the pressure by the vacuum pump 42, and then the adhesive layer 15 is formed on the inner surface. Apply adhesive. The adhesive can be applied by a known method such as a spray method or a dip method.

  Note that the thickness of the release layer cylindrical body is determined according to the thickness of the target fixing device roller. In addition, the inner diameter of the bottomed cylindrical release layer expanded by the bottomed cylindrical set portion 41 is 101 to 105 of the outer diameter of the roll-shaped intermediate laminate in which the above through holes are formed. %, It is possible to maintain an elastic range that does not cause plastic deformation and to form a sufficient gap so as not to come into contact with the adhesive when the roll-shaped laminate is set in the release layer cylinder. Therefore, it is preferable.

  And the roll by which the through-hole was formed above was hold | maintained beforehand by the chuck | zipper part 44 of the release layer coating | coated apparatus B on the inner surface side of the bottomed cylindrical release layer (cylinder body for release layers) 15 The intermediate layered product is inserted by operating the actuator 43, and then the decompression of the set part 41 is released, so that the adhesive layer of the release layer 15 and the roll-shaped intermediate layer in which the through holes 13a are formed are formed. The laminated body is brought into intimate contact with each other to obtain the fixing device roller of the present invention. During the bonding, an adhesive layer 14 is formed, and air between the solid elastic layer 13 and the release layer 15 escapes to the foamed material layer 12 through the through holes 13 due to the shrinkage force of the release layer 15. Then, the adhesive is filled in the through holes 13a.

  Thus, since the air between the solid elastic layer 13 and the release layer 15 does not remain, it is possible to prevent occurrence of unevenness in the formed image due to residual bubbles.

  In the above description, when the through-hole is formed in the intermediate laminate, the through-hole is formed by piercing the non-porous solid elastic layer with a through-hole forming needle, but when forming the solid elastic layer, FIG. A through-hole provided with a perforated solid elastic layer having a through-hole extending from the surface to the foamed material layer by using a mold having a plurality of through-hole forming rod-shaped convex portions inside instead of the mold shown in FIG. By performing the step of forming the formed roll-shaped intermediate laminate (perforated solid elastic layer forming step), the through-hole forming step can be omitted.

  Further, by performing a surface groove forming step of forming grooves (reference numeral 61 in FIG. 7) on the surface of the roll-shaped intermediate laminate (solid elastic layer 13) in which the through holes are formed, the release layer and the solid elastic layer are formed. Bubbles remaining between the layers can be eliminated, and unevenness of the formed image due to the remaining bubbles can be prevented in advance and more reliably.

  Such a groove can be easily and quickly formed by using a spiral groove processing apparatus as schematically shown in FIG.

  A roll-shaped intermediate laminated body in which a through-hole is formed has a holding base for holding the core metal 11 so as to be rotatable about its axis, and the intermediate laminated body is rotated by a motor 73 to obtain a solid. 7 can be provided on the surface of the elastic layer 13 by bringing the cutting tool 71 into contact with the surface of the elastic layer 13 while moving the cutting tool 71 in the length direction of the metal core 11 by the actuator 72.

  The following examples show specific examples of the fixing device roller of the present invention.

  Water-foamed silicone rubber (Toray Dow Corning Silicone) according to the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-96223 as a foam material layer 12 in the center on the side of a cored bar (thickness: 20 mm, length: 370 mm) made of steel A foam material layer having a length of 330 mm and an outer diameter of 32 mm made of porous silicone rubber having open cells was formed by using a combination of a mold and a mold.

  Next, the mold shown in FIG. 4 is used on the foamed material layer, and KE1853 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. is used as the silicone rubber. According to the molding conditions, a solid elastic layer (outside diameter 34 mm) having no pores is used. ) Was formed.

  Next, the solid elastic layer is ground for processing into a drum shape. Grinding was performed under the conditions of a peripheral speed of 2000 m / min, a feed of 67.3 mm / min, a cutting amount of 0.02 mm, and a grindstone particle size of # 60, and the thickness of the center portion was set to 33.7 mm.

  Next, a through hole reaching the foamed material layer 12 was provided in the solid elastic layer using the apparatus schematically shown in FIG.

  The core metal 11 having been molded with an elastic layer is placed on the bearing base 34. The 67 through-hole forming needles are 20 mm long, 0.5 mm in outer diameter, and 5 mm in pitch, and the needle lifting cylinder (actuator) 33 is lowered at a speed of 5 mm / sec and a load of 536 N or more to move the needle to the elastic layer. Stabbed. When the tip of the needle reached the hole layer 12 and the descent stopped, the actuator 33 was raised.

  The above operation was repeated a total of 24 times while rotating the core metal by 15 degrees to obtain a roll-shaped intermediate laminate having through holes. At this time, the distance between the through holes on the surface of the elastic layer was 4.1 to 5.0 mm.

  Next, using the apparatus schematically shown in FIG. 6, a release layer was laminated on the roll-shaped intermediate laminate having the through holes through an adhesive layer.

  A tube (bottomed cylindrical PFA tube made by Gunze) was attached to the bottomed cylindrical set portion 41 having an inner diameter of 34.5 mm and a depth of 370 mm. A tube having an inner diameter of 33.5 mm, a thickness of 50 μm, and a length of 500 mm was used.

  The vacuum pump 42 is operated to reduce the space between the diameter expansion mold and the tube to 0.01 Mpa, thereby expanding the diameter of the tube and applying an adhesive (KE1880 manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) to the inner surface of the expanded diameter tube. Applying by dipping so that the thickness is 50 μm, inserting the roll-shaped intermediate laminate in which the through-holes are formed in this tube, releasing the reduced pressure, removing unnecessary portions of the tube, A roller for fixing device (Example 1) was obtained.

  At this time, there were no bubbles between the release layer and the adhesive layer in all the ten fixing device rollers (Example 1) produced in the same manner.

  On the other hand, in the same manner, however, among the total of 10 fixing device rollers (conventional example 1) produced without providing through holes, air bubbles are present between the release layer and the adhesive layer in 8 of them. there were.

  Further, in the same manner as in the conventional example 1 described above, however, in the case where the outer diameter was made without processing into a drum shape, one out of 10 had air bubbles between the release layer and the adhesive layer.

  Among these conventional rollers for fixing devices, the rollers without bubbles and the rollers of Embodiment 1 are used as the fixing rollers of the fixing device shown in FIG. 2, and continuous image formation is performed by the image forming device shown in FIG. Tested.

  As a result, the fixing device roller according to Example 1 of the present invention did not cause any problems even after the image formation of up to 400,000 sheets, but the fixing device roller according to Example 1 of the related art has 10,000. With the 100,000th sheet, the subsequent image formation could not be performed due to a sudden drop in strength of the foam material layer.

  Further, a fixing device roller according to the present invention in which the foam material layer is made of ceramics was produced. That is, instead of the porous silicone rubber layer having open cells in the fixing device roller according to Example 1 produced as described above, the slurry is formed on the metal core and dried by heating to form open cells. The porous ceramic layer was formed as a foam material layer, and ten fixing device rollers (Example 2) were obtained. In the same manner, however, ten fixing device rollers (conventional example 2) were produced without providing through holes in the solid elastic layer.

  In all 10 fixing rollers according to Example 2, there were no air bubbles between the release layer and the adhesive layer, but in the fixing device roller according to Conventional Example 2, the release layer, the adhesive layer, and There were bubbles in between.

  Further, in the same manner as the fixing device roller according to the above-described conventional example 2, except that the outer diameter is a straight shape manufactured without processing into a drum shape, one of ten release layers and an adhesive layer are provided. There were bubbles in between.

  Of the roller for the fixing device according to Example 2 and the roller for the fixing device according to Conventional Example 2, those having no bubbles were subjected to the image formation test in the same manner as described above. As a result, the fixing device roller according to Example 2 of the present invention did not cause any problems even after the image formation of up to 400,000 sheets, but the fixing device roller of Conventional Example 2 according to the prior art has 10,000. At the 5,000th sheet, the subsequent image formation could not be performed due to the sudden drop in strength of the foam material layer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Core metal 12 Foam material layer 13 Solid elastic layer 13a Through-hole 14 Adhesive layer 15 Release layer

JP2008-122907

Claims (8)

In a roller for a fixing device in which a foam material layer having open cells, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer are laminated in this order on a core metal,
A through hole extending from the adhesive layer side to the foamed material layer side is provided in the solid elastic layer; and
A fixing device roller, wherein the through hole is filled with an adhesive constituting the adhesive layer.   The fixing device roller according to claim 1, wherein the foam material layer is made of water-foamed silicone rubber.   A fixing device comprising the fixing device roller according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising the fixing device according to claim 3. In a method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device in which a foam material layer having open cells, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer are laminated in this order on a core metal,
A foam material layer forming step of forming the foam material layer on the metal core;
A solid elastic layer forming step of forming the solid elastic layer on the foam material layer;
A through-hole forming step of forming a through-hole from the surface of the solid elastic layer to the foamed material layer to obtain a roll-shaped intermediate laminate in which the through-hole is formed; and
A release layer in which the roll-shaped intermediate laminate having the through holes formed therein is inserted into the inner surface side of the release layer cylindrical body having an adhesive applied to the inner surface, and the adhesive is filled in the through holes. A method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device, comprising sequentially covering steps. In a method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device in which a foam material layer having open cells, a solid elastic layer, an adhesive layer, and a release layer are laminated in this order on a core metal,
A foam material layer forming step of forming the foam material layer on the metal core;
A perforated solid in which a perforated solid elastic layer having through-holes extending from the surface to the foamed material layer is formed as the solid elastic layer on the foamed material layer to form a roll-shaped intermediate laminate having through-holes formed therein. Elastic layer forming step, and
A release layer in which the roll-shaped intermediate laminate having the through holes formed therein is inserted into the inner surface side of the release layer cylindrical body having an adhesive applied to the inner surface, and the adhesive is filled in the through holes. A method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device, comprising sequentially covering steps.   The method for manufacturing a roller for a fixing device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the foam material layer is made of water-foamed silicone rubber.   The fixing according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising a surface groove forming step of forming a groove on a surface of the roll-shaped intermediate laminated body in which the through-hole is formed. Manufacturing method of apparatus roller.

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