JPH11184100A - Electrophotographic photoreceptor edge processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an unnecessary photosensitive layer on one end surface when dip-coating a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, but it can be removed regardless of the diameter of the photosensitive body to be manufactured To SOLUTION: A photosensitive member 64 having a photosensitive layer coated by a dip coating method formed on the surface of a conductive substrate is provided with a holder 5a in which a removal brush 5b is planted by dipping in a solvent in a solvent bath. The cleaning member 5 is provided, and the removing brush 5b of the cleaning member 5 is brought into contact. The photosensitive member 64 is rotated to remove the applied unnecessary photosensitive layer at a portion in contact with the removing brush 5b. In this case, the cleaning member 5 has an arc shape having a diameter sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the photoconductor 64, and even when the diameter of the photoconductor 64 is different, a part of the removing brush 5b contacts,
Parts that do not come into contact are also formed, and the degree of adhesion of the removed residue of the photosensitive layer to the removal brush 5b is reduced, so that removal processing can be performed efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an end face processing apparatus for removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer formed on an end face of a photoreceptor in a process of manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus, for example, an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, a toner image is formed on a photoreceptor for electrophotography which is a recording medium, and the toner image is transferred onto a sheet such as plain paper. In order to hold the toner image on the sheet as a permanent image on the sheet, the toner is heated and fixed by, for example, passing through a heat fixing device, and then discharged outside the apparatus main body.

[0003] The electrophotographic photosensitive member used in such an image forming apparatus has a photoconductive layer formed on the surface of a cylindrical body, an endless belt, or the like made of a metal such as aluminum as a conductive base.

The material of the photoconductive layer can be broadly classified into an inorganic material and an organic material. Representative inorganic photoconductive materials include selenium-based materials such as amorphous selenium (a-Se) and amorphous selenium arsenide (a-As ₂ Se ₃ );
Dye-sensitized zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium sulfide (CdS) dispersed in a binder, and amorphous silicon (a-Si) are used.

A typical organic photoconductive material is 2,4,7-trinitro-9-fluorenone (TN
E) and those using a charge transfer complex of poly-N-vinylcarbazole (PVD).

A photoreceptor made of these photoconductive materials is
While having many advantages, it also has disadvantages. For example, a photoreceptor using a selenium-based or CdS-based photoconductor has problems in durability and storage stability, and has a limitation that it cannot be easily disposed of due to its toxicity and must be collected. Further, a photoreceptor using a ZnO resin dispersion system is hardly used at present because of low sensitivity and lack of durability. In this regard, a photoreceptor formed with a-Si as a photoconductive layer has advantages of high sensitivity and high durability. However, there remain problems such as high manufacturing cost due to the complexity of the manufacturing process and image defects due to defects during film formation.

On the other hand, a photoreceptor having an organic photoconductive layer contains a wide variety of organic materials and can be arranged in various ways by synthesis. Therefore, by appropriately selecting them, storage stability, toxicity, etc. Has been widely used because it can solve the problem described above and can be manufactured at a low cost.

[0008] Among photoreceptors having an organic photoconductive layer (photosensitive layer) formed thereon, a layer containing a substance that generates charge carriers when irradiated with light (hereinafter referred to as "charge generating substance"). (Hereinafter referred to as “charge generation layer”) and a layer mainly containing a substance that receives and transports charge carriers generated in the charge generation layer (hereinafter referred to as “charge transport material”) (hereinafter referred to as “charge transport layer”). (Hereinafter referred to as “laminated electrophotographic photoreceptor”) exhibiting excellent sensitizing properties, and thus occupy most of the organic photoreceptors currently in practical use. Further, in view of the recent improvement in durability, the photoconductor is expected to be the mainstream in the future.

As a method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor in which the organic photoconductive layer is formed on a conductive substrate, the conductive substrate is immersed in a coating solution containing a photoreceptor substance, and the substrate is pulled out of the coating solution. For this reason, a dip coating method of forming a photosensitive layer on the surface of a substrate is generally widely used. According to this method, the apparatus is simple and the productivity is excellent, and it is the mainstream of the method for producing an organic photoreceptor.

[0010]

However, according to the conventional dip coating method, since the entire conductive substrate is immersed in the coating solution, the coating solution is always applied to the lower end portion of the substrate and the film thickness is not constant. A photosensitive layer is formed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15 showing one example of a conventional dip coating method, one end of a conductive base 60 is connected to an elevating device 65.
Is held by a holding section 67 connected via a connecting member (elevating member) 66 to the coating liquid 61 containing the photosensitive substance, and is lowered into the coating tank 61 filled with the coating liquid 62 and immersed in the coating liquid 62. Then, by pulling up the conductive substrate 60 at a constant speed, the coating liquid is adhered to the surface of the conductive substrate with a constant film thickness, and the photosensitive layer 63 is formed. By drying this, the electrophotographic photosensitive member 64 can be manufactured. In this application, as shown in FIG. 16A, unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63b whose excess film thickness is not constant are formed on the lower end portions of the outer periphery and the inner periphery of the photoreceptor 64.

The photoreceptor 64 thus manufactured is
To be mounted on a copying machine, printer, etc., a metal or resin flange provided with a driving gear or a rotating shaft at both ends of a cylindrical conductive base is mounted by press-fitting or using an adhesive, and used. You. Therefore, if extra photosensitive layers 63a and 63b remain at the ends of the conductive base as shown in FIG. 16A, the mounting accuracy of the flange deteriorates,
This causes image unevenness.

In order to erase the electric charge on the surface of the photoreceptor with light or the like and form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor,
It is necessary to ground the conductive substrate. Usually, to ground the photosensitive member, a metal plate adhered to the flange is brought into contact with the inner surface of the conductive base, and this metal plate is electrically connected to a ground substrate of the image forming apparatus. However, the photosensitive layer 63b is formed on the inner surface of the conductive end.
Remains, the metal plate adhered to the flange cannot electrically contact the conductive substrate, the ground cannot be completely taken, and image defects such as uneven density occur.

Due to these problems, the photosensitive layer 63 applied to the end of the manufactured photoreceptor, that is, the end of the conductive substrate
It is necessary to cleanly remove a and 63b as shown in FIG. At least, in order to solve the above problems, it is necessary to remove the photosensitive layer 63b.

Further, in the developing step in which the photoreceptor carries a charge on its surface and adheres the toner, it is necessary to accurately position the photoreceptor with respect to a device filled with toner, which is called a developing device. For this purpose, a roller called a DSD roller, which is in contact with the surface of the photoreceptor and rotates, is provided at both ends of a developing roller constituting the developing device. This makes it possible to stabilize development by bringing both ends of the photoconductor into accurate contact.

Also in this regard, according to the photosensitive member manufactured by the above-described dip coating method, an extra photosensitive layer 63a remains on the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the conductive substrate, so that this photosensitive member 64 is mounted on a copying machine or the like. Then, the distance between the developing roller and the surface of the photoreceptor 64 is not constant even if the DSD roller is provided, and density unevenness and other defects occur in the image. In addition, since the DSD roller comes into contact with the photosensitive layer 63a, the photosensitive layer having poor mechanical strength is peeled off, and this is mixed into the developing tank, thereby creating a problem of image defects.

For the above reasons, it is necessary to completely remove the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b at the lower end of the conductive substrate constituting the photosensitive member 64. Also, the photosensitive layer 63 at the lower end portion
The area a is not involved in image formation and is out of the image formation area.

A conductive substrate 61 as shown in FIG.
As an apparatus for removing the photosensitive layer 63a at the end of the photosensitive layer 63, that is, as a processing apparatus for the end face, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-7-6025, a photosensitive layer at the end face is A method of wiping 63a, 63b has been proposed.

However, in such a method using a blade, shavings of the photosensitive layer wiped off by the blade accumulate on the upper portion of the blade and adhere to the conductive substrate surface. When the photoreceptor thus obtained is mounted on an actual image forming apparatus, it may cause peeling of the photosensitive layer or a substance of the peeled photosensitive layer may be mixed into the developing tank, causing image loss or cleaning. It becomes a temporary image defect such as a defect.

Therefore, the shavings of the photosensitive layer are formed on the conductive substrate,
In order to prevent the photoconductor 64 from adhering to the surface of the photosensitive layer 63, it is necessary to devise a special shape for the end surface peeling blade.

Further, since the end surface wiping by the blade is a processing method using the corner (edge) of the blade,
It is important to precisely set the pressure contact angle and pressure on the substrate. In other words, if the contact angle is too shallow, the pressure contact force will be weak and the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b cannot be completely removed. On the other hand, if the pressure contact angle is too deep, the blade edge does not press against the conductive substrate, so-called blade antinode contact occurs, and the blade cannot be removed.

As described above, according to the processing apparatus for removing the photosensitive layer from the end face by the blade, it is necessary to press the edge appropriately, which requires extremely troublesome positioning.

Further, in the case of a blade, the area in contact with the photoreceptor is small, so that the edge is easily worn, and the blade needs to be replaced frequently. This leads to a reduction in work efficiency and an increase in cost.

In addition, the photosensitive layer 63 is surely secured by the blade.
In order to remove a and 63b, it is necessary to press the blade against the photoreceptor at a constant pressure. However, this press-contact mechanism is complicated, and there is a problem that it takes time for maintenance and the like. Further, when manufacturing a photosensitive member having a different curvature, it is necessary to replace the blade and fine-adjust the pressing mechanism accordingly, resulting in a very poor processing efficiency.

On the other hand, the photosensitive layers 63a, 63 at the ends of the photosensitive member
As another method of the processing apparatus for removing b, as described in JP-A-60-192951,
A belt-like stripping jig such as a tape is impregnated with a solvent to remove the photosensitive member 6.
4 is to remove the end photosensitive layer 63a. In this processing device, the tape and the like are disposable,
This leads to higher costs. In addition, since the size of the apparatus becomes large, it is possible to remove the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor, but it becomes difficult to remove the photosensitive layer 63b on the inner peripheral surface. In other words, if the curvature of the photoconductor is large, that is, if the diameter of the cylinder is small, it becomes impossible to remove the apparatus by providing it on the inner surface.

Further, the photosensitive layers 63a, 63 at the ends of the photosensitive member are provided.
Another processing apparatus for removing 3b is disclosed in JP-A-60-9 / 1985.
As specified in Japanese Patent No. 7631, there is one that uses a brush. In the case of using this brush, both sides of the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b can be processed, but processing due to the difference in the diameter of the photoconductor 64 is not possible. For example, if the brush is formed in a circular shape in accordance with the diameter of the photoconductor 64, the photoconductor 64 having only the diameter is inevitably formed.
Only the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b can be removed. For this reason, it is necessary to facilitate individual brushes according to the diameter of the photoconductor 64, and to replace the brush every time the diameter of the photoconductor changes, which is troublesome, time-consuming, and increases the manufacturing cost.

In addition, when the unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63b at the end of the photosensitive member are removed by using a brush, a semi-dissolved residue such as the removed photosensitive layer 63a, a high-viscosity photosensitive layer solution,
Also, since the shavings of the removed photosensitive layer accumulate between the bristles of the brush and on the contact surface of the brush with the photosensitive member, the photosensitive layer 6 is removed.
A clean solvent for dissolving 3a and 63b cannot be supplied to the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b to be removed. This makes it impossible to solve the above-described problem of image defects and the like caused by defective removal.

In order to eliminate defective removal due to the semi-dissolved residue of the photosensitive layer thus removed, the solution of the photosensitive layer having a high viscosity and the shavings of the removed photosensitive layer being accumulated between the brush hairs. Even brushes need to be cleaned regularly. However, this also lowers the production efficiency and increases the production cost.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is possible to surely remove an unnecessary photosensitive layer formed on a conductive substrate, thereby preventing a photosensitive member from causing an image defect. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photoreceptor end face processing apparatus for obtaining a photoconductor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus using a brush for removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer formed, which can cope with a difference in the diameter of a photosensitive member, and at the same time, a maintenance cycle of the brush. And an end face processing apparatus capable of efficiently processing the photoreceptor.

[0031]

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing an end face of an electrophotographic photosensitive member for achieving the above object.
An edge processing apparatus for removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer having an end face formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer formed on the surface of a conductive substrate, the apparatus comprising: a solvent for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer; Immerse the substrate end surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor in
A cleaning member having a removal brush made of a curvature abutting the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate corresponding to the position is provided. The cleaning member has a curvature set to be smaller than the curvature of the substrate, and rotates the electrophotographic photosensitive member. By doing so, the unnecessary photosensitive layer is removed.

According to such a configuration, the removal brush of a part of the cleaning member for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer comes into contact with the outer peripheral end surface of the base of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the removal is performed by rotating the photosensitive member. . In this case, the removed residue of the photosensitive layer or the like adheres to the removing brush, but since the removing brush is partially in contact, it can be used for a long time without passing through a non-contact portion and partially accumulating. Therefore, the processing efficiency of the end surface is increased, and the above-described object can be achieved. In addition, since the curvature of the cleaning member is smaller than the curvature of the photoconductor, that is, the diameter is set to be large, the end surface processing of various photoconductors having different diameters can be dealt with by the same cleaning member, and replacement of the cleaning member and complicated operations are performed. Labor can be eliminated, and manufacturing costs can be reduced. Since the removal of the unnecessary photosensitive layer is ensured,
This can solve the problem of grounding and the like, and can solve the problem of deterioration of image quality and the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the cleaning member is formed in a ring shape so as to cover the entire outer periphery of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, the cleaning member has The entire area can be partially used, and the unnecessary photosensitive layer can be removed while avoiding a portion where the removed residue of the photosensitive layer is accumulated.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an end face processing apparatus having a structure for rotatably holding the ring-shaped cleaning member.
By rotating the cleaning member in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to remove the unnecessary photosensitive layer on the end face of the substrate, not only the removal efficiency is increased, but also the removal time can be greatly reduced. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be further reduced. Moreover, the position of partial contact gradually changes due to rotation,
Further, the residue such as the photosensitive layer adhered to the removing brush is removed in the non-contact area, and the removing process can be performed by always bringing the removing brush in a clean state into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer. Therefore, the removal process can be performed reliably and in a short time.

Another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object, that is, an edge processing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention provides an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer formed on the surface of a conductive substrate. An end face processing apparatus for removing the formed unnecessary photosensitive layer, wherein the end face of the base of the electrophotographic photoreceptor is immersed in a solvent for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer, and the base is correspondingly positioned. A cleaning member having a removal brush in contact with an end surface of the inner surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, wherein the cleaning member is provided in a curvature shape, and the curvature is set to be larger than the curvature of the base of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The unnecessary photosensitive layer on the inner peripheral surface is removed by rotating the body.

According to the invention having such a configuration, the removal process of the unnecessary photosensitive layer on the inner peripheral surface of the base of the electrophotographic photosensitive member can be easily performed for the photosensitive members having different diameters. The need to perform complicated exchanges corresponding to the body becomes unnecessary. In addition, since the removal brush partially contacts the inner peripheral end surface, it is possible to reduce the accumulation of the removed photosensitive layer, thereby increasing the processing efficiency and reducing the manufacturing cost.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, if the cleaning member is provided with a removing brush on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape, the end contacting portion can be formed in such a manner that the cleaning member is partially in contact with the cleaning member. The residue remaining on the removal brush is further reduced, and the processing efficiency is further increased.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the edge processing apparatus, a member for rotatably holding the cleaning member is provided, and the cleaning member is rotated in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. By removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer on the inner peripheral end surface of the base of the electrophotographic photosensitive member by driving, not only the removal efficiency is increased, but also the removal time can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced. In addition, the position of the partial contact gradually changes due to the rotation, and furthermore, the residue such as the photosensitive layer adhered to the removing brush is removed in the non-contact area, and the removing brush in a clean state is always brought into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer. Removal processing can be performed. Therefore, the removal process is reliable,
It can be performed in a short time.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the cleaning member is formed in an arc shape, is provided so as to be movable in the direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the removing brush of the cleaning member contacts the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The removal portion can be moved, so that the residue and the like of the photosensitive layer after removal can be prevented from adhering and accumulating on the removal brush, and the processing efficiency can be increased. Further, since the removing brush is provided on the arc-shaped surface, the cleaning member can be easily formed.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, if a cleaning device for cleaning the removing brush by spraying a solvent on the removing brush constituting the cleaning member is provided, the removing brush is removed as described above. Even if the residue of the photosensitive layer adheres to the removal brush, it can be easily removed and cleaned, and the removal process of the unnecessary photosensitive layer can be always performed in a clean state. Maintenance work such as cleaning can be greatly reduced.

[0041]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the method of manufacturing a photoreceptor according to the present invention,
As shown in FIG. 15, a photoreceptor is manufactured by applying a coating solution containing a photosensitive layer material by using a dip coating method. As shown in FIG. 16A, the photosensitive member thus manufactured has an unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a that is not uniform due to dripping at one end, that is, a lower end, and an unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the inner surface. Is formed.

Unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63b on the lower end surface of the photosensitive member 64 thus manufactured are removed. As an example of the apparatus, FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of the processing apparatus.

In FIG. 1, the photosensitive member 64 is held by the holding member 1 at the end opposite to the end surface to be processed. The holding member 1 is connected to a connecting member 66 of an elevating device 65 as shown in FIG.
And so on. The photoconductor 64 is raised and lowered while being held by the holding member 1 as shown in FIG. Further, a driving motor 2 for rotating the photoconductor 64 is connected to the holding member 1. Therefore, the driving motor 2 is supported by the connecting member 66 of the elevating device 65 described above.

The end face processing apparatus is provided with a processing solvent 3 for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63b on the lower end face of the photoconductor 64.
And a cleaning member 5 composed of a removing brush for removing the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b is provided in the solvent tank 4. In the solvent tank 4, an overflow pipe 6 is provided at an upper position in order to keep the liquid level of the processing solvent 3 to be stored at a constant level, so that the liquid level of the solvent 3 is maintained at a fixed position. I have. Although not shown, a supply device for supplying a shortage of the solvent 3 to the solvent tank 4 is provided.

The cleaning member 5 provided in the solvent tank 4 is constituted by a removing brush, and the supporting member 7 for supporting the holding member 5a on which the bristle or the like is planted is, for example, the cleaning member of the solvent tank 4. It is provided movably on the bottom surface. The support member 7 can press the end surface of the photoconductor 64 immersed in the solvent tank 3 with the cleaning member 5.

Therefore, the photoreceptor 64 is held by the holding member 1 and is not shown, for example, an elevating device 65 as shown in FIG.
, The processing end face is immersed in the processing solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4. At this time, the cleaning member 5 is pressed against the processing end surface of the photoconductor 64, particularly the unnecessary surface of the photosensitive layer 63a by the action of the support member 7. In this state, the photoconductor 64 is rotated by driving the drive motor 2 to rotate. As a result, the photosensitive layer 63a, which is the processing end surface of the photoconductor 64, is scraped off by the brush implanted in the holder 5a of the cleaning member 5.

At this time, since the support member 7 is provided so as to be movable, the brush of the cleaning member 5 is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive layer 63a of the photosensitive member 64 with an appropriate pressure using a spring force or the like. The layer 63a can be efficiently removed. When the removal process is completed, the rotation of the photoconductor 64 is stopped, and the support member 7 is moved and separated from the photoconductor 64. Then, by raising the photoconductor 64 by the lifting device,
As shown in FIG. 16B, the photosensitive member 64 from which the unnecessary portion of the photosensitive layer 63a has been removed can be obtained.

Therefore, in the present invention, the structure of the cleaning member 5 comprising the removing brush of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2 so as to cope with the difference in the diameter of the photosensitive member. The removal brush 5b is implanted in a fan-shaped holding member 5a having the following curvature. The curvature of the holder 5a constituting the cleaning member 5 is smaller than the curvature of the photoconductor 64 as shown in the figure. That is, the fan-shaped diameter of the holder 5a is larger than the maximum diameter of the photoconductor 64 to be subjected to the end face processing, and the curvature is set to be smaller than the curvature of the photoconductor 64.

Therefore, the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 64 is
Since the diameter of the cleaning member 5 is set to be larger than that of the cleaning member 5, a part of the removing brush 5b sufficiently contacts the photosensitive layer 63a regardless of the diameter of the photosensitive member 64, and the effect of removing the photosensitive layer 63a is increased. In addition, light contact or non-contact occurs in other parts, such as light contact and non-contact. It does not accumulate temporarily, making it possible to use the brush for a long time. This can extend the maintenance period.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the removing brush 5b removes the photosensitive layer 63a at the end of the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 64. However, the structure of the removing brush for removing the photosensitive layer 63b on the inner surface is described. Will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 3, in order to remove the unnecessary photosensitive member 63b applied to the lower inner surface of the photosensitive member 64, the cleaning member 8 is placed in the solvent tank 4 as described with reference to FIG. 7 supported. The cleaning member 8 includes the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4.
The photoconductor 64 is immersed inside the photoconductor 64. Therefore, the photoconductor 64 is lowered by the lifting device so as to cover the cleaning member 8.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning member 8 is configured such that a large number of removing brushes 8b are implanted in a protruding arc portion of a substantially semicircular holding member 8a. The curvature of the semicircular holder 8a of the cleaning member 8 is set to be larger than the curvature of the inner periphery of the conductive base of the photoconductor 64.

That is, the arc diameter of the holding member 8a constituting the cleaning member 8 is made smaller than the inner diameter of the conductive base of the photoreceptor 64, and thus the curvature of the cleaning member 8 is made large. As a result, a part of the cleaning member 8 comes into contact with the photosensitive layer 63b at the end as shown in FIG. Therefore, some of the removal brushes 8b are in contact with each other in a non-contact state in some cases, in which some are strong and others are weak.

The cleaning member 8 is also provided with a pressing mechanism 9 for pressing the support 7 supporting the holder 8b against the inner surface of the photoconductor 64, and the pressing mechanism of the photoconductor 64 is provided by the pressing mechanism. The removal brush 8b is partially pressed against the inner end surface of the photoconductor 64 on the inner surface.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, in the same manner as when the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 64 is removed, the photosensitive member 6 is removed.
By rotating the photosensitive layer 4, the photosensitive layer 63b on the inner surface can be removed, the degree of accumulation of the residue and debris of the photosensitive layer at the time of removal can be reduced, and the removing process using the removing brush 8 can be performed in a long term, and the maintenance period can be extended. Can be extended.

On the other hand, the structure of a moving mechanism for moving the support 7 supporting the cleaning members 5 and 8 to a required position will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of the moving mechanism.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of the moving mechanism, and FIG. 5B is a top view of the moving mechanism. In the figure, in the moving mechanism, guide grooves 11 are formed in parallel on an upper plate of a fixed base 10 having a double structure fixed to the bottom plate of the solvent tank 4 for moving the support 7. The other end of the support member 7 supporting the cleaning member 5 (8) is inserted into the guide groove 11, and the support member 7 comes off at the other end portion of the double structure of the fixing base 10. And a fixing piece 12 for standing upright is fixed. Therefore, the support 7 stands upright on the fixed base 10 in a stable state, and supports the cleaning member 5 (8).

The support 7 is normally urged by a spring 13 in the upper left direction along the guide groove 11 in FIG. One end of a substantially elliptical cam 14 for moving the support 7 along the guide groove 11 is provided so as to abut against the urging force of the spring 13.

The cam 14 has a rotating shaft 15 rotatably supported between the fixed base 10 and the other frame fixed to the fixed base 10 (not shown). By doing so, the support 7 is rotated, for example, counterclockwise in the figure, and the support 7 can be moved in the lower right direction along the guide groove 11. Therefore, the rotating shaft 15
A gear 16 having the same number of teeth is fixed to the end of the gear. The gear 16 is provided so as to mesh with a timing belt 19 driven by a drive gear 18 fixed to a shaft of a drive motor 17.

Therefore, when the drive motor 17 is driven,
The cam 14 is rotated via the driving gear 18, the timing belt 19 and the gear 16. Thereby, the support 7 is moved against the spring 13 by the cam 14 as described above. Except for this drive motor 17, the moving mechanism shown in FIG.

In order to confirm the effect of removing the unnecessary portion of the lower end face of the photosensitive member having the above-described configuration, various examples will be described below.

(Example 1) A photosensitive member 64 is obtained by using the dip coating method shown in FIG. At this time, using a cylindrical drum made of an aluminum alloy having a diameter of 60 mm and a thickness of 1.5 mm as a conductive substrate, the substrate was immersed in a coating solution 62 in which a photoreceptor material was dissolved, and the substrate was kept at a constant speed. Raising,
A photosensitive layer 63 was applied to the surface of the conductive substrate 60 to form a drum-shaped photosensitive member 64.

The photosensitive member 64 obtained in this manner is
20A, the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor shown in FIG. 20A was removed. In particular, dichloromethane is used as the processing solvent 3 for removing the photosensitive layer, and the cleaning member 5 has an upper end surface that is one level higher than the liquid level of the solvent.
All were immersed so as to be about mm below.

Then, the opposite side of the photosensitive member 64 from the processing end surface is held by the holding member 1, and the lower end surface, in particular, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63 a to be removed is lowered so as to be immersed in the solvent 3. And
As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning member 5 is moved by the moving mechanism so that the removing brush 5b of the holder 5a contacts the photosensitive layer 63a. In this state, the photosensitive member 6 is driven by the drive motor 2.
By rotating the photosensitive drum 4, the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral end surface of the photosensitive drum 64 is removed. This was continuously performed for 50 pieces.

The shape of the cleaning member 5 at this time will be described in detail. FIG. 6 will be described with reference to this example. In FIG. 6A, the length of the arc-shaped portion of the holding member 5a constituting the cleaning member 5 is L1, the width of the holding member 5a is L2 as shown in FIG. 6B, and the thickness is L3. And Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, the hair of the removal brush 5b to be implanted in the holder 5a has a diameter of φ1,
The length of the planted brush bristles 5c is assumed to be l1. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the brush bristles 5c were planted at regular intervals 12 in the length and width directions to obtain the removal brush 5b. The width of the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 64 where the distance between the removing brush 5b and the inner surface of the holder 5a is closest is shown in FIG.
L4 as shown in (e).

Various conditions based on the above-described shapes are as follows. In particular, the material of the brush bristles is a high-density polyethylene resin, the diameter φ1 of which is 0.175 mm, and the length 11 of the brush bristles is 30 mm. In addition, brush hair 5
The density at which c is planted is such that 60 brush bristles 5c are bundled, and the bristles are planted in the flock holes to obtain the removal brush 5b. At this time, the diameter φ2 of the flocking hole was 2 mm, and the spacing l2 between the flocking was 3 mm.

As the material of the holder 5a for implanting the brush bristles 5c, a polypropylene resin is used, and the curvature of the holder 5a, that is, the diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the arc is set to 1
00 mm, the length L1 of the inner surface of the support is 100 mm,
The width L2 was set to 9 mm, and the thickness was set to 12 mm.

On the other hand, the condition for rotating the photoconductor 64 at a constant speed is that the rotation speed is 8 rpm, the rotation speed of the photoconductor 64 at that time is 5 rotations, and the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 64 is the removal brush 5b. Distance (interval) at a position approaching
L4 was 7 mm, and the rotation direction of the photoconductor 64 was rotated in the direction shown in FIG.

As a result of the end surface treatment of the photosensitive member 64 manufactured under the above conditions, the number of the photosensitive layers 63a that can be removed neatly without leaving the photosensitive layer 63a is 1 to 20. Further, the photosensitive layer remained thin from the 21st to the 23rd. And 24
It was confirmed that a large amount of the photosensitive layer remained from the first to the fiftieth.

Here, as the processing solvent for the end face of the photoreceptor 64, it is basically desirable to use the solvent used when the photosensitive layer was formed. However, there is no particular limitation as long as the photosensitive layer can be dissolved.

The rotation speed of the photosensitive member 64 is 8
The rotational speed is not limited to rpm, and as a result of various changes, the rotational speed may be set in the range of 3 to 30 rpm, preferably by setting it to 6 to 10 rpm, so that the solvent is splashed, foamed, and wavy. No good results can be obtained.

The number of rotations of the photosensitive member 64 is not limited to 5 rotations, but may be set in the range of 1 to 30 rotations, preferably in the range of 3 to 10 rotations. It is also suitable for processing efficiency. However, it is necessary to select this value so that the photosensitive layer 63a can be completely removed.

The shortest distance L4 of the contact point between the cleaning member 5 and the photosensitive member 64 is 50 to 9 with respect to the length 11 of the brush bristles.
It is preferable to set the distance at 5%, preferably at a distance of 65 to 85%. Also in this case, the photosensitive layer 63a
It is necessary to change the material, diameter and the like of the brush bristle so that the brush can be completely removed and the conductive substrate is not damaged by the brush.

The material of the brush bristles is polyethylene,
Resins such as nylon and Teflon, metals such as stainless steel,
Examples of the material of the holder 5a include resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, Teflon, and phenolic resins, and metals such as stainless steel, and materials that do not dissolve or swell with a solvent that dissolves the photosensitive layer 63a. It is important to make a choice and not limited to the materials described above.

In the first embodiment, the photosensitive member 64 is rotated by rotating the photosensitive member 64 while maintaining the cleaning member 5 at the same position in removing the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface.
I'm trying to get rid of it. Therefore, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a of the twentieth photosensitive member 64 from which the photosensitive layer 63a can be completely removed is provided.
7, the cleaning member 5 is moved to the left (in the direction of arrow A) in FIG. 7 so that the removal brush 5b in a non-contact state comes into contact with the photosensitive layer 63a. In this state, the photoconductor 6
By rotating No. 4 under the above conditions, the photosensitive member 63a could be removed neatly from the 1st to the 25th line, the photosensitive layer remained thin up to the 26th to 29th lines, and a large amount of the photosensitive layer remained from the 30th to the 50th line. . As a result, the cleaning member 5 is simply moved to the photosensitive member 6.
4, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a can be shifted.
Can be increased.

Therefore, when the cleaning member 5 was moved further from the fifteenth line, the photosensitive layer 63a could be removed neatly up to the thirty-fifth line. for that reason,
By moving the removal brush 7 so that the contact position of the brush bristles is gradually shifted, the number of photosensitive layers 63a that can be completely removed can be increased.

Example 2 In this example, a photosensitive member 64 was manufactured using the same material as in Example 1 except for a drum-shaped conductive substrate made of aluminum alloy having a diameter of 80 mm. The end face treatment of the produced photoreceptor 64 was performed under the same conditions.

The contact state between the photosensitive member 64 and the cleaning member 5 at this time is smaller than that of the first embodiment in the curvature of the photosensitive member 64 and larger than the curvature of the cleaning member 5. Extensive. Therefore, the efficiency of removing the photosensitive layer 63a increases. On the other hand, the residue and shavings of the removed photosensitive layer accumulate in the contact portion, and the degree of the remaining photosensitive layer increases.

As a result, the photosensitive layer 63a was completely removed by the end face treatment of the first to eighteenth photosensitive members 64 continuously. Therefore, as described above, it can be seen that the removal state of the photosensitive layer 63a is improved by making the curvature of the cleaning member 5 sufficiently smaller than the curvature of the outer periphery of the photoconductor 64 to be subjected to the end face processing.

Example 3 In this example, a photosensitive member 64 was manufactured using the same material as in Example 1 except for a drum-shaped conductive substrate made of an aluminum alloy having a diameter of 50 mm. The end face treatment of the produced photoreceptor 64 was performed under the same conditions.

At this time, the contact state between the photosensitive member 64 and the cleaning member 5 is in a range smaller than the contact state of the photosensitive member 64 of the first embodiment. That is, the curvature of the photoconductor 64 of the third embodiment is sufficiently larger than the curvature of the photoconductor 64 of the first embodiment, and the area where the photoconductor 64 according to the third embodiment is in contact with the removal brush 5b of the cleaning member 5 is used. Becomes narrower.

As a result, it was possible to completely remove the photosensitive layer 63a from the first to thirtieth consecutive films. Thus, the efficiency of removing the photosensitive layer 63a increases. This is because the residue of the photosensitive layer and shavings removed by the removing brush 5b constituting the cleaning member 5 are less frequently accumulated in the removing brush 5b. Therefore, the removal efficiency is greatly improved by using a photosensitive member 64 having a curvature sufficiently larger than the maximum curvature of the photosensitive member 64 for processing the curvature of the removal brush 7.

Example 4 A conductive substrate for producing the same photoreceptor 64 as described in Example 1 had a diameter of 60 mm and a thickness of 1.5.
A drum 64 made of an aluminum alloy having a thickness of 2 mm is obtained by a dip coating method shown in FIG. This conductive substrate is immersed in a coating solution 62 in which a photoconductor material is dissolved,
The substrate was pulled up at a constant speed, and the photosensitive layer 63 was applied to the surface of the conductive substrate 60 to produce a drum-shaped photosensitive member 64.

The photoreceptor 64 obtained in this way is shown in FIG.
The photosensitive layer 63b on the inner surface of the photoreceptor shown in FIG. 16B was removed by using an end face processing device for the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the inner surface of the photoreceptor 64 shown in FIG. In particular, dichloromethane was used as the processing solvent 3 for removing the photosensitive layer 63b, and the neat member 8 was completely immersed so that the upper end surface was about 1 mm below the liquid level of the solvent 3.

Then, the side opposite to the processing end face of the photoreceptor 64 is held by the holding member 1, and the end face, particularly, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63 b to be removed is lowered so as to be immersed in the solvent 3. The cleaning member 8 is moved by the moving mechanism described with reference to FIG. 5 so that the photosensitive layer 63b comes into contact with the cleaning member 8. In this state, the photoreceptor 64 was rotated by the drive motor 2 to remove 50 unnecessary photosensitive layers 63b from the inner surface of the photoreceptor 64 continuously.

The shape of the cleaning member 8 at this time will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8A, the length of the holder 8a of the semicircular protruding arc portion is L5, and the width of the support is L6 as shown in FIG. 8B. The diameter of the brush bristles 8c implanted in the holder 8a is φ3,
The length of the planted brush bristles 8c is assumed to be l3. Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (d), a brush having a removal brush 8b formed by flocking the brush bristles 8c at a constant pitch of l4 in the length and width directions was used. And
As shown in FIG. 8E, the width of the portion of the inner circumference of the photoreceptor 64 where the removal brush 8b is closest to the holding body 8a is L7.

Various conditions based on the above shapes are as follows. In particular, the material of the brush bristles 8c is a high-density polyethylene resin whose diameter φ3 is 0.175 mm,
The length 13 of the brush bristles was 30 mm. The density at which the bristle bristles 8c were planted was such that 60 brush bristles 8c were bundled and planted in the flocking holes. The diameter φ4 of the flocking hole at this time is 2 mm
In addition, the spacing 14 for flocking was 3 mm.

Then, as a material of the holder 8b for implanting the brush bristles 8c, a polypropylene resin is used, and the curvature of the holder 8a, that is, the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the arc portion is set to 35 mm. The length L5 for implanting the brush bristles 8c was set to 25 mm, and the width L6 was set to 9 mm.

On the other hand, the conditions for rotating the photoconductor 64 at a constant speed are as follows: the rotation speed is 8 rpm, the number of rotations of the photoconductor 64 is 5 at that time, and the outer circumferential surface of the photoconductor 64 is the cleaning member 8 at the most. The distance (interval) L7 at a position approaching the holding member 8a constituting the image forming member 7 was 7 mm, and the rotating direction of the photosensitive member 64 was rotated in the same direction as FIG.

Unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the inner edge of photosensitive member 64
The removal of the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 64 was performed simultaneously with the removal of the photosensitive layer 64 as described in Example 1. At this time, the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b were removed with a width of 6 mm from the lower edge of the photosensitive member 64.

As a result of the end surface treatment of the photosensitive member manufactured under the above conditions, the number of the unremovable photosensitive layers 63a and 63b that can be removed without leaving any remaining is the first to eighteenth. The photosensitive layer remained thin from the 19th to the 22nd.
It was confirmed that a large amount of the photosensitive layer remained from the 23rd to the 50th.

In each of Examples 1 and 4, a resin flange was press-fitted at both ends of the photoreceptor 64 subjected to the end face treatment, and was fixed with an adhesive. The flange was able to be accurately bonded to the photoconductor 64, particularly to the conductive substrate, and the ground of the photoconductor 64 was reliably grounded.

The photosensitive member 64 having been subjected to the end face treatment was mounted on an actual copying machine, and the image and the life were confirmed. As a result, the image was satisfactory without problems such as image unevenness, film peeling, and grounding failure.

(Embodiment 5) Photoconductor 6 specified in Embodiment 2
Using No. 4, the removal processing of the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the inner surface of the substrate was performed under the same conditions as in Example 4. In this case, the diameter of the cleaning member 8 is equal to the diameter of the conductive base of the photoconductor 64 (80 m).
m) and the curvature is large, so that although the removal brush 8b has a large area where the brush bristles do not come into contact with the surface of the photosensitive layer 63b, the brush comes in good contact.

As a result, in the end face treatment of only the inner photosensitive layer 63b, the number of photosensitive layers 63b completely removed was 22. Also, the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface
Is carried out in Example 2, up to 18 lines can be completely removed.
a and 63b were completely removed.

(Embodiment 6) Photoconductor 6 specified in Embodiment 3
Using the sample No. 4, the process of removing the photosensitive layer 63b from the inner peripheral surface of the substrate was performed under the same conditions as in Example 4. In this case, the diameter of the cleaning member 8 is equal to the inner surface diameter (50 mm) of the base of the photoconductor 64.
Is smaller. Moreover, contrary to the fifth embodiment,
Since the difference between the cleaning member 8 and the diameter of the inner surface of the substrate of the photoreceptor 64 is small, almost the entire area of the removing brush 8b comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the substrate. For this reason, although the removal efficiency of the photoreceptor 63b is improved, there is no place for the residue and shavings of the removed photosensitive layer to go. As a result, 18
The photosensitive layer 63b could be completely removed up to this. Also in this case, according to the third embodiment, the photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface is 3
Although 0 could be completely removed, the inner and outer peripheral surfaces were completely removed from the 18 photosensitive layers 63b on which the inner peripheral surface could be completely removed.

In contrast to the above embodiment, without removing unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63b formed on the end surface of the photosensitive member 64, a flange or the like is press-fitted and fixed, and mounted on a copying machine to evaluate the photosensitive member. went. As a result, in the region of the photosensitive layer 63a at the end of the photosensitive member 64, the film was peeled by the DSD roller for positioning the developing roller in the developing device, and a part of the film was mixed into the developing tank, so that an image defect occurred. At the same time, it could not be removed at the cleaning part, resulting in poor cleaning.

When the formed image was confirmed, it was not possible to mount the flange with high accuracy, so that there was a problem that the image would be uneven and the ground of the photosensitive member 64 could not be reliably taken. Image defects such as black streaks occurred in the image.

Next, a comparative example is shown below in order to compare with the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 6.

(Comparative Example 1) In order to treat the end face of the photoreceptor 64, that is, to remove unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63b formed on the end face, a conventional apparatus using a blade described in JP-A-9-6025 was used. The treatment was performed continuously. In this case, the debris and the like removed from the photosensitive layers 63a and 63b are left on the photosensitive member end face after the removal processing, and the processing accuracy of the end face is remarkably deteriorated.

In the comparative example 1, the photosensitive member subjected to the end face treatment was mounted on an actual device, and the photosensitive member was evaluated. The photosensitive layer remaining in the removal treatment was peeled off, and an image defect occurred due to this. In addition, since the processing area of the end face of the blade is small, the wear of the blade is fast, and when the end face processing of the photoreceptor is continuously performed, the blade needs to be frequently replaced. .

(Comparative Example 2) The diameter of the substrate of the photosensitive member 64 was set to 6
The removal brush 5b is attached to the holding pair 5a in which the diameter of the arc-shaped portion is set to 62 mm and the removal brush 5b is set to 0 mm as in the first embodiment.
Was provided to form a cleaning member. By providing the cleaning member 5 corresponding to the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the end surface of the photosensitive member 64, the removing brush 5b comes into contact with all.

As a result of performing the removing process, if the removing process is continuously performed, the photosensitive layer remains on the end face in about 10 layers, so that complete removal cannot be performed. In the removal brush at this time, the removed swelling of the photosensitive layer adhered to the contact surface with the photoreceptor, so that reliable removal processing could not be performed.

In addition, even when removing the inner surface of the end portion of the photoreceptor 64, when the cleaning member 8 is provided so that the entire area of the brush 8b is in contact with the entire surface of the photoreceptor 64, the unnecessary photoreceptor is similarly obtained with less than 10 brushes. Poor removal of the layer 63b occurred.

Therefore, when the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive member is removed as in the present invention, the curvature is made sufficiently smaller than the curvature of the photosensitive member, and the unnecessary photosensitive layer on the inner peripheral surface of the photosensitive member is removed. When removing the layer 63b, the removal efficiency is increased by setting the curvature sufficiently larger than the curvature of the photoconductor.

(Second Embodiment) In the photoconductor end face processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, the cleaning member 5 and the photoconductor 6 remove the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 64.
The cleaning member 8 removes the unnecessary photoreceptor 63b on the inner peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 4. At this time, the residue of the photosensitive layer removed between the brush bristles of the removal brushes 5b and 8b constituting the cleaning members 5 and 8 is accumulated. Therefore, by repeatedly performing the end surface processing of the photoconductor 64 repeatedly, for example, in the first embodiment, the photosensitive layer is left thinly from the 22nd line due to the influence of the residue. An embodiment that solves such a problem will be described below.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the removing solvent is sprayed on the cleaning member 5 from the removing brush 5b to remove the residue accumulated on the brush bristles. . This is blowing nozzle 2
0 and the solvent supply tank 21 are connected by a pipe 22,
A supply pump 23 is provided in the middle of the pipe 22 to constitute a cleaning device for the removing brush 5b of the cleaning member 5.

Therefore, in order to remove the residue remaining on the removing brush 5b of the cleaning member 5, the solvent tank 4 storing the solvent is used.
Inside, the nozzle 20 is arranged corresponding to the brush bristles of the removing brush 5b, and in this state, the pump 23 is driven so that the cleaning solvent is ejected from the tank 21 to the removing brush 5b. And
The nozzle 20 is moved along the arc-shaped removal brush 5b to remove the entire removal brush 5b.

The nozzle 20 may be removed from the inside of the solvent tank 4 at the time of processing the end face of the photoreceptor 64, or may be arranged to face the end as shown in FIG. Then, the cleaning process by the nozzle 20 described above is performed using the time until the end face processing of the photoconductor 64 is completed and the next end face processing is performed. In this case, although it is best to perform the processing each time one photoconductor 64 is processed, it is better to perform the cleaning processing after performing the processing of several or more than ten end faces without performing the processing each time. Increases efficiency.

The removal brush 5b constituting the cleaning member 5
In the apparatus for performing the cleaning process described above, the removal brush 8b constituting the cleaning member 8 for removing the photosensitive layer 63b on the inner peripheral surface of the photoconductor 64 can be similarly implemented.

On the other hand, the cleaning device of the removing brush 5b constituting the cleaning member 5 shown in FIG. 10 sprays a cleaning solvent for cleaning from the back side opposite to the side where the bristle is implanted, and applies the cleaning solvent to the brush bristle. The remaining residue is efficiently removed. In this case, the brush cleaning process can be performed even during the end face processing of the photoconductor, so that the working efficiency can be further improved. Problems such as brush maintenance can be solved.

The cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 10 has a plurality of openings 24 penetrating from the back surface of the holding member 5a of the removing brush 5b constituting the cleaning member 5 to the surface of the bristle, and the blowing nozzle 25 is attached to the opening 24. Have been. The plurality of nozzles 25 are connected on the opposite side via a connecting pipe 26, and the connecting pipe 26 is connected in a flow path to a cleaning solvent supply tank 21 via a supply pump 23. Therefore, the cleaning solvent in the supply tank 21 is removed by the action of the supply pump 23 through the nozzle 25 through the removal brush 5b.
Blown out of the brush bristles. Therefore, the residue of the photosensitive layer remaining on the brush bristles can be removed.

In the cleaning apparatus described above, it is preferable to use the same solvent as the solvent used for processing the end face of the photoreceptor.

An example will be described below to confirm the effect of the second embodiment.

(Embodiment 7) The cleaning member 5 used in Embodiment 1 was provided with a cleaning device for the removing brush 5b in FIG. The nozzle 20 in this cleaning processing device is
It was moved along the shape of the holder 5a so as to face the removing brush 5b, and the cleaning solvent was blown out. This cleaning process is performed when the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the end surface of the photoconductor 64 is not removed.

The end face treatment of the photosensitive member 64 was performed under the same conditions as in the first embodiment. Then, as the timing of the brush cleaning processing, the standby state where the end face processing of the photoconductor is not performed, that is, the photoconductor 64 having the end face processed is pulled up,
The cleaning solvent was blown out from the nozzle 20 before the next photosensitive member 64 was immersed in the solvent tank 4.

At this time, the same solvent as the solvent for removing the photosensitive layer, that is, dichloromethane was used as the cleaning solvent. Then, as the amount of the solvent blown out from the nozzle 20 at the time of cleaning, the solvent was blown out continuously at a rate of 10 ml per second for 15 seconds. During this cleaning, the amount of the solvent in the solvent tank increases, but the excess solvent is removed via the overflow pipe 6, and the amount of the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4 is constant, that is, the liquid level is always kept constant. Can be kept.

As described above, the cleaning process of the removing brush 5b is performed every time the end face processing of the photoreceptor 64 is performed. In the first embodiment, the residue obtained by removing the photosensitive layer by about 20 brushes remains. Although the photosensitive layer could not be completely removed, even if 50 end face treatments were continuously performed, the photosensitive layer could be clearly removed without remaining.

For this reason, in the first embodiment, after the end faces of the 20 photoconductors are processed, the cleaning member 5 is manually removed from the solvent tank 4 to clean the removing brush 5b, and the cleaning member 5 is cleaned. Although maintenance such as replacement of 5 was required, such labor was eliminated, work efficiency was greatly increased, and production efficiency was improved.

In the present embodiment, the photosensitive layer 63a can be removed neatly until the processing of 120 end faces is continuously completed, and the labor for manually cleaning the removing brush 5b can be greatly extended. .

The solvent blown out from the nozzle 20 used in the present embodiment was the same as the solvent for performing the end face treatment as described above. The amount of the solvent blown out from the nozzle 20 was set to 10 ml per second, but is not limited to this. By selecting a solvent within a range of 1 to 100 ml per second, the influence of foaming and waving can be reduced. It is preferable to eliminate it, and more preferably to use 3 to 30 ml. However, it is desirable to determine the optimum value according to the shape of the nozzle 20 and the number of nozzles 20 to be installed. In addition, the solvent is
Instead of continuously blowing from 0, the air may be blown out intermittently. For example, for one second,
This can be repeated, such as stopping for 0.5 second.

(Embodiment 8) The cleaning member 5 used in Embodiment 1 is provided with a cleaning device for the removing brush 5b in FIG. Nozzle 25 in this cleaning device
Were arranged at equal intervals on the back of the removing brush 5b as shown in FIG.

The end surface treatment of the photosensitive member 64 was performed under the same conditions as in the first embodiment. The timing of the cleaning process of the removal brush 5b was always performed, including when the end surface of the photoconductor was being processed.

At this time, the photosensitive layer 63 is used as a cleaning solvent.
The same solvent as for the removal of a was used, namely dichloromethane. The amount of the solvent blown out from the nozzle 25 during cleaning was 5 ml per second.
Although the amount of the solvent in the solvent tank 4 is increased by the blowing from the nozzle 15, the excess solvent is eliminated through the overflow pipe 6, and the amount of the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4 is constant, that is, Could always be kept constant.

As described above, even when the end face processing of the photosensitive member 64 is being performed, by performing the cleaning processing of the removing brush 5b, the residue obtained by removing the photosensitive layer 63a by about 20 in Example 1 remains. As a result, the photosensitive layer could not be completely removed. However, even if 50 end face treatments were continuously performed, the photosensitive layer could be clearly removed without remaining.

For this reason, in the first embodiment, maintenance such as manually cleaning the removing brush 5b after the end face processing of the 20 photoconductors is required. However, such labor is eliminated and work efficiency is reduced. Significant increase in production efficiency.

In this embodiment, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 6 is continuously used until the end face processing of 100 photoconductors 64 is completed.
3a can be removed neatly, and the labor for manually cleaning the removal brush 5b can be greatly extended.

The solvent blown from the nozzle 25 used in the present embodiment was the same as the solvent for performing the end face treatment as described above. The amount of the solvent blown out from the nozzle 25 was set to 10 ml per second, but is not limited to this. By selecting a solvent within a range of 1 to 50 ml per second, the influence of foaming and waving can be reduced. It is preferable to eliminate it, more preferably to 3 to 10 ml. However, it is desirable to determine the optimum value according to the shape of the nozzle 25 and the number of nozzles 25 to be installed.

Further, the solvent may be intermittently blown out instead of being continuously blown out from the nozzle 25. This can be repeated, for example, by blowing for 1 second and stopping for 0.5 second.

(Third Embodiment) In the above embodiment, the unnecessary photosensitive layers 63a and 63 under the photosensitive member 64 are used.
The cleaning member 5 or 8 for removing b has an arc shape and is provided in a fixed state at the time of removal.

In the following, by providing a circular cleaning member, not only the rotation of the photosensitive member 64 but also the cleaning member side is rotated, so that the removal efficiency can be further increased and the removal processing time can be further reduced. An embodiment will be described.

FIG. 11 shows an example of this.
The cleaning member 30 is rotatably supported in the solvent tank 4. As shown in FIG. 12, the cleaning member 30 is provided with a removing brush 32 for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the inner peripheral surface side of a holder 31 formed in a circular shape and a ring shape having a space inside. It is configured.

A gear 33 for rotating the cleaning member 30 is formed on the outer peripheral surface side of the holding body 31 constituting the cleaning member 30, and a driving gear 34 meshing with the gear 33 is provided. The drive gear 34 is rotatably supported by a support 37 fixed to a lifting member 36 of a lifting device 35. The drive gear 34 is, as shown in FIG. 11, a drive motor 3 of the cleaning member 30 fixed to the elevating member 36.
8 is fixed to the rotating shaft, and the shaft is
7, so that the drive gear 34 can rotate with respect to the support.

The cleaning member 30 includes a driving gear 34.
A timing belt 39 meshed with the outer peripheral portion of the gear 33 meshed with the drive gear 34 is provided so as to be rotatably held by the drive gear 34. This cleaning member 30 is, as shown in FIG.
7 is provided so as to be sandwiched from both sides via a timing belt 39 by a roller 40 rotatably supported by 7, and is rotatably held on a support 37.

In particular, the roller 40 is provided with the timing belt 39.
Thus, the engagement of the cleaning member 30 with the gear 33 is surely performed, and the rotatable holding of the cleaning member 30 is surely performed as described above.

In the above configuration, the cleaning member 30
Is usually lowered to the bottom surface of the solvent tank 4 by the lifting device 35. Then, in FIG. 11, the photosensitive member 64 is lowered into the solvent tank 4 by an apparatus (not shown) for lifting and lowering the photosensitive member 64, and
4, that is, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63 a is immersed in the solvent 3. In this state, the cleaning member 30 is raised by driving the lifting device 35 and stopped at the position shown in FIG.

In this state, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a is removed. At this time, a part of the removal brush 32 of the cleaning member 30 comes into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a of the photoconductor 64. Therefore, the diameter of the cleaning member 30 is sufficiently larger than that of the photosensitive member 64 to be manufactured.

In the cleaning operation, the photosensitive member 64 is rotated by the drive motor 2 and, at the same time, the cleaning member 30 is rotated by the drive motor 38 in the opposite direction. Thus, the removal process can be performed in a short time by the rotation of both.
Further, since a part of the removal brush 32 comes into contact with the photoreceptor 64, even if the removed residue of the photosensitive layer adheres to the brush, it is removed by a portion that does not come into contact with the brush by rotation. It acts to remove the layer 63a.

On the other hand, the removal of the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a under the photosensitive member 64 as described above has been described.
FIG. 13 shows an example of a cleaning device for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b at the lower part of FIG. In FIG. 13, the cleaning member 41 formed to be smaller than the inner diameter of the photoconductor 64 provided to be located on the inner surface of the photoconductor 64 is rotatably provided.

The cleaning member 41 includes a cylindrical holding member 4.
As shown in FIG. 14, a removing brush 43 is planted on the entire outer peripheral surface of the brush 2. The diameter of the holding member 42 is smaller than the inner diameter of the photosensitive member 64 in FIG. 14 as described above, and a portion of the removing brush 43 is provided so as to contact the unnecessary photosensitive tank 63b on the inner surface of the photosensitive member 64. .

The cleaning member 41 has a rotating shaft of a holder 42 rotatably supported by a support 44, and the support 44 is fixed to an elevating member 46 of an elevating device 45.
It is provided in the solvent tank 4.

Further, a driving motor 47 for rotating the cleaning member 41 by the elevating member 46 is provided, and a driving gear 48 fixed to a rotating shaft of the motor 47 is provided in the solvent tank 4. On the other hand, a driven gear 49 is provided on the rotating shaft of the cleaning member 41, and the driven gear 4
Driven gear 50 connecting between the drive gear 9 and the drive gear 48
The shaft to which a and 50b are fixed is rotatably supported by the support 44. Therefore, by the rotation of the driving motor 47,
The cleaning member 41 is rotated.

In the above configuration, the cleaning member 41
Is usually lowered to the bottom surface of the solvent tank 4 by the lifting device 45. In FIG. 12, the photosensitive member 64 is lowered into the solvent tank 4 by an elevating device (not shown) so that the end of the photosensitive member 64, that is, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63 b is immersed in the solvent 3. . In this state, the cleaning member 41 including the support body 44 is raised by driving the lifting device 45 and stopped at the position as shown in FIG.

In this state, the removing brush 43 of the cleaning member 41 comes into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b, and the removing process is performed.
At this time, a part of the removal brush 43 of the cleaning member 41 comes into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b of the photoconductor 64 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the diameter of the cleaning member 41 is set sufficiently smaller than the minimum diameter of the photosensitive member 64 to be manufactured.

Accordingly, in the cleaning operation, the photosensitive member 64 is rotated by the drive motor 2 in the direction shown in FIG. 14, and at the same time, the cleaning member 30 is rotated by the drive motor 47 in the opposite direction. Let it. Thus, the removal process can be performed in a short time by the rotation of both. In addition, since a part of the removal brush 43 comes into contact with the photoconductor 64, the removed residue of the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63 b is removed by the brush 43.
Even if it adheres to the surface, it is removed at the parts that do not come into contact by rotation,
It always acts in a clean state to remove the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a.

In the following, various examples will be described in order to confirm the effects and the like of the above-described embodiment.

(Embodiment 8) As specified in Embodiment 2, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the end face of the photosensitive member 64 having a diameter of 80 mm was removed. In this case, the removal processing was performed using the end face processing apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. At this time, the inner diameter of the ring-shaped holding body 31 of the cleaning member 30 is set to 100.
mm.

The removal brush 32 provided on the cleaning member 30
The conditions were as shown in FIG. 6, and the length of brush bristles 11, the bunch of brush bristles, and the pitch 2 to be provided were the same as described in Example 1. Then, the photosensitive member 64 and the cleaning member 30
The same conditions were set for the distance L4 that is closest to the above.

Under the conditions for removing the photosensitive layer 63a, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the end surface of the photosensitive member 64 to be removed is first immersed in the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4. Then, the cleaning member 30 previously submerged on the bottom surface of the solvent tank 4 is
As shown in FIG. 12, a part of the removal brush 32 is brought into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 64, and is kept out of contact with the other part as shown in FIG. Cleaning member 3
0 is set to be about 1 mm below the liquid level of the solvent 3.

Next, with the removal brush 32 of the cleaning member 30 in contact with the photosensitive member 64, the drive motor 2 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. In the case where the cleaning is performed by rotating only the photoconductor 64, the same processing result as that of the second embodiment is obtained.

Therefore, in accordance with the rotation of the photoconductor 64, the cleaning member 30 was also driven to rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the photoconductor 64 to perform the removal processing. Cleaning member 3 at this time
The rotation speed of 0 was rotated at 2 rpm. By doing so, the number of rotations of the photoconductor 64 was not four but four, so that the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63a on the end face could be sufficiently removed.

The rotation speed of the photosensitive member 64 is set to the speed described in the first embodiment, thereby speeding up the removal process. In addition, by performing the cleaning continuously, the photosensitive layer 63a was able to cleanly remove 50 photosensitive layers 63a continuously.

In particular, when the removal processing of the photosensitive layer 63a is completed, the photosensitive layer adhered to the removal brush 32 can be removed by rotating the cleaning member 30 into the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4. . This is applied to the unnecessary photosensitive layer 6 on the end face of the photoconductor 4.
Every time the removal process of 3a is performed, if the removal process is performed, the removal brush 32 can be removed by bringing the removal brush 32 into contact with the photosensitive layer 63a in a clean state, so that maintenance for cleaning the cleaning member 30 and the like can be omitted. Becomes

The rotation speed of the cleaning member 30 is not limited to the rotation speed described above, but may be 0.1 to 10 rpm.
If it is carried out in the range of m, the effect of the removal treatment can be sufficiently obtained, but it can be said that it is preferable to set the rotation speed to 1 to 5 rpm to prevent the solvent 3 from splashing or waving. Moreover, such a rotation speed is adjusted to the speed at which the photosensitive member 64 is rotated.
It is convenient if both are adjusted so as to end the cleaning process at the same time.

(Embodiment 9) The cleaning device shown in FIG. 13 was used to remove the photosensitive layer 63b from the end surface of the photosensitive member 64 having a diameter of 50 mm.

In this case, a brush similar to the cleaning member described in Embodiment 4 was provided. In particular, as shown in FIG.
The brush was set to 5 mm and provided on the outer peripheral surface under the conditions described in Example 4. In this case, the conditions shown in FIG.
The length 13 of the brush bristles, the bunch of brush bristles, and the pitch 14 provided were the same as described in Example 4. And
The same conditions were used for the closest distance L7 between the photosensitive member 64 and the cleaning member 41.

Under such conditions for removing the photosensitive layer 63b, first, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the end face of the photosensitive member 64 to be removed is immersed in the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4. Then, the cleaning member 41 previously sunk on the bottom surface of the solvent tank 4 is
Then, as shown in FIG. 14, a part of the removal brush 43 is brought into contact with the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 64, and the remaining part is brought into a non-contact state. The cleaning member 41 was also set to be about 1 mm below the liquid level of the solvent 3.

Next, the drive motor 2 is rotated while the removal brush 43 of the cleaning member 41 is in contact with the photosensitive member 64. At this time, it is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
In the case where the cleaning is performed by rotating only the photoconductor 64, the same processing result as that of the sixth embodiment is obtained.

Therefore, in accordance with the rotation of the photoreceptor 64, the cleaning member 41 was also driven to rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the photoreceptor 64 to perform the removal process. Cleaning member 4 at this time
1 was rotated at 4 rpm. By doing so, the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the end face could be sufficiently removed by rotating the photoconductor 64 three times instead of five times.

The rotation speed of the photosensitive member 64 is set to the speed described in the fourth embodiment, thereby speeding up the removal process. In addition, by performing the cleaning continuously, all of the photosensitive layers 63b could be cleanly removed even if the 50 photosensitive layers 63b were continuously removed.

In particular, when the removal processing of the photosensitive layer 63b is completed, the cleaning member 41 is rotated into the solvent 3 in the solvent tank 4 to remove the photosensitive layer due to the residue or the like attached to the removal brush 43. be able to. If this is carried out during the process of removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer 63b on the end surface of the photoconductor 64, the removing brush 43 is always kept in a clean state.
Since the cleaning member 41 can be removed by bringing the cleaning member 41 into contact with the cleaning member 41, maintenance for cleaning the cleaning member 41 can be omitted.

The rotation speed of the cleaning member 41 is not limited to the rotation speed described above, but may be 0.1 to 10 rpm.
If it is carried out in the range of m, the effect of the removal treatment can be sufficiently obtained, but it can be said that it is preferable to set the rotation speed to 1 to 5 rpm to prevent the solvent 3 from splashing or waving. Moreover, such a rotation speed is adjusted to the speed at which the photosensitive member 64 is rotated.
It is convenient if both are adjusted so as to end the cleaning process at the same time.

[0164]

According to the photoreceptor edge processing apparatus of the present invention, an unnecessary photosensitive layer can be surely removed in a short time. As a result, it is possible to prevent the image quality from deteriorating due to poor grounding or the like.

Further, maintenance of the cleaning member for removing the unnecessary photosensitive layer can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced, and the manufacturing efficiency for manufacturing the photoconductor can be increased.

By rotating the cleaning member simultaneously with the rotation of the photosensitive member, the removal efficiency is further increased, and the processing time for removal can be further reduced.

Furthermore, if the cleaning member has an arc shape, the removal brush can be easily provided, and the maintenance work of the cleaning member can be greatly reduced by separately providing a device for cleaning the residue and the like adhering to the removal brush. The manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram of an end face processing apparatus that performs a process of removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer on an outer peripheral face of an end face of a photoconductor.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a structure of a cleaning member constituting the end face processing apparatus and a contact relationship with a photoconductor to be subjected to the end face processing in the end face processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an end face processing apparatus for performing a process of removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer on an inner peripheral surface of a photoconductor end face, for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a plan view showing a structure of a cleaning member constituting the end face processing apparatus and a contact relationship with a photoconductor to be subjected to end face processing in the end face processing apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a moving mechanism for movably providing the cleaning member shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in a solvent tank.
(A) is a side view, (b) is a top view showing a cleaning member by a broken line.

6 is a view showing details of the structure of a cleaning member provided in the end face processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and shows a relationship between a brush implantation state, a brush bristle length, a contact distance with a photoreceptor, and the like on a removing brush; FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which contact positions of a removal brush and a photoconductor constituting a cleaning member according to the present invention are different.

8 is a view showing details of the structure of a cleaning member provided in the end face processing apparatus shown in FIG. 3, and shows a relationship between a brush implantation state, a brush bristle length, a contact distance with a photoreceptor, and the like on a removing brush. FIG.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a cleaning device that removes and removes a residue or the like of a photosensitive layer after removal attached to a cleaning member provided in the end surface processing device illustrated in FIG. 1;

10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of the cleaning device that removes and removes a residue or the like of the photosensitive layer after removal attached to the cleaning member provided in the end surface processing device illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram of an end face processing apparatus for removing unnecessary photosensitive layers on the outer peripheral face of the end face of a photoconductor.

12 is a plan view showing a structure of a cleaning member, a rotation driving structure of the cleaning member, and a contact relationship of a removing brush with a photosensitive member in the end face processing apparatus of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic configuration diagram of an end face processing apparatus for removing unnecessary photosensitive layers on the inner peripheral surface of the end face of the photoconductor.

14 is a plan view illustrating a structure of a cleaning member in the end face processing apparatus of FIG. 13 and a contact relationship of a removing brush with a photoconductor.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a manufacturing apparatus in a dip coating method for manufacturing a photoconductor according to the present invention.

16 is a diagram showing a state of applying an unnecessary photosensitive layer formed on one end surface of the photoconductor produced by the dip coating manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 15, and a state where the unnecessary photosensitive layer is removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photoreceptor holding member 2 drive motor for rotating photoreceptor 3 solvent 4 solvent tank 5 cleaning member 5a holding member 5b removal brush 6 solvent discharge pipe for overflow 7 support 8 cleaning member 8a holding member 8b removal brush 10 fixed Member 14 Moving cam 16 Cam rotating drive gear 17 Cam driving motor 20 Cleaning nozzle 21 Cleaning solvent supply tank 22 Supply pump 25 Cleaning nozzle 30 Ring-shaped cleaning member 31 Holder 32 Removal brush 33 Cleaning member Rotating gear 34 Drive gear 38 Driving motor 39 Timing belt 41 Cylindrical cleaning member 42 Holder 43 Removal brush 47 Cleaning member driving motor 48 Drive gear 49 Driven gear 50 Connection gear 63a Unnecessary photosensitive layer (outer peripheral surface) Side) 63b Unnecessary photosensitive layer (inner surface side) 64 Photoconductor

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Kurokawa 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside (72) Inventor Masayuki Kame 22-22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Sharp (72) Inventor Tomoko Kanazawa 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Inside Sharp Corporation

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An end processing apparatus for removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer having an end face of a substrate from an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer formed on a surface of a conductive substrate, wherein the unnecessary photosensitive layer is removed. A cleaning member having a removal brush made of a curvature contacting the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate corresponding to the position is provided by immersing the end surface of the substrate of the electrophotographic photosensitive member in a solvent for performing the cleaning. An end face processing apparatus for an electrophotographic photosensitive member, wherein a curvature is set smaller than a curvature of a substrate, and an unnecessary photosensitive layer is removed by rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive member. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is provided in a ring shape so as to cover the entire outer periphery of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. 3. An unnecessary photosensitive layer on an end face of a substrate is provided by providing a member for rotatably holding the cleaning member formed in the ring shape, and rotating the cleaning member in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the edge is removed. 4. An end processing apparatus for removing an unnecessary photosensitive layer having an end face of a substrate from an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer formed on the surface of a conductive substrate, wherein the unnecessary photosensitive layer is removed. A cleaning member having a removing brush corresponding to the position of the end surface of the base of the electrophotographic photoreceptor in contact with the end surface of the base, and providing the cleaning member in a curved shape. The curvature is set to be larger than the curvature of the substrate of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the unnecessary photosensitive layer on the inner peripheral surface is removed by rotating the electrophotographic photosensitive member. Electrophotographic photoreceptor edge processing device. 5. The cleaning member according to claim 4, wherein a removing brush is provided on a cylindrical outer peripheral surface.
An apparatus for processing an end face of an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1. 6. A member for rotatably holding the cleaning member, and rotating the cleaning member in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to thereby remove unnecessary light on an inner peripheral end surface of the base of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the layer is removed. 7. The cleaning member is formed in an arc shape,
5. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is provided so as to be movable in a direction of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a removing brush of the cleaning member moves a portion in contact with the electrophotographic photosensitive member. End face treatment device. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning device for spraying a solvent onto the removing brush constituting the cleaning member to clean the removing brush.