JPS61107281A - electrostatic copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrostatic copying apparatus using an endless belt-like photoreceptor.

Conventional Structure and Problems Film-shaped photoreceptors have been well known as photoreceptors for electrostatic transfer copying machines because they are inexpensive and can be used repeatedly. Furthermore, attempts have been made to make the device smaller and lighter by using a film-like photoreceptor in the form of an endless belt. Endless belts are usually made by joining both ends of a rectangular sheet. Hereinafter, a conventional joining method will be explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the joint, in which numeral 1 indicates a film-like photoreceptor and numeral 21L indicates an adhesive. As the adhesive 2a, a solution type adhesive, a double-sided adhesive tape, or the like is used.

However, since this joint is just an overlap,
Its thickness is two to three times that of a single film-like photoreceptor.

In other words, since there is a large step at the joint, the vehicle has the disadvantage that it gets caught during running, making running unstable or easily damaged.

In Figure 2, the two ends of the photoreceptor 1 are butted together and the adhesive tape 2 is applied.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another method of joining at point b. in this case,
Although it is possible to eliminate the level difference as shown in FIG. 1 on the back side of the joint, a level difference equal to the thickness of the tape remains on the front side. In addition, when bonded with adhesive tape, the endless belt-shaped photoreceptor is stretched between multiple rollers, so tensile force is constantly applied to the bonded area, and as the temperature rises and long-term use occurs, it gradually It has the disadvantages of shifting, peeling, and meandering when running.

Furthermore, in addition to the fact that both of these bonding methods inherently have poor workability, they both have sensitivity differences on the surface of the bonded part. It also had the disadvantage that it could not be applied to other systems.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention aims to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional example, and is capable of reliable joining of an endless belt-like photoreceptor, stable running, and high reliability by applying an elastic cleaning blade. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrostatic copying apparatus that can be cleaned.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a method of overlapping both ends of a sheet-like photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer having an image forming width is formed on a conductive layer disposed on a film support. , an endless belt photoreceptor formed by fusion bonding while pressing an ultrasonic vibrator is provided on the overlapping portion, and the photoreceptor is rotated so that the upper surface of the overlapping portion of the photoreceptor is in front,
A cleaning blade having spring elasticity is disposed on the surface of the photoreceptor so as to be pressable.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a developed plan view of the endless plate JV)-shaped photoreceptor according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part thereof.

In these figures, 3 is a sheet-like photoreceptor before being endlessly processed, and this sheet-like photoreceptor has a support 4 made of a polyester film with a thickness of 76 μm and an aluminum vapor-deposited film 6 of about 700 μm thick on the entire surface. Further, a carrier generation layer 6 made of a bisazo pigment and resin is coated and laminated uniformly to a thickness of about 1 μm using a wire bar. 7 is a photosensitive layer called a carrier transfer layer, which contains 46% by weight of a carbazole derivative and is uniformly layered by applying a coating solution dissolved in a polycarbonate resin solution using a roll coater, leaving about 15 mm of the edge portion as a non-coated area. ing. This carrier moving layer 7 had at least the maximum image forming width of the copying machine, and the film thickness after coating and drying was 13 microns. In this embodiment, the carrier migration layer 7 and the carrier generation layer 6 form a two-layer separated structure with excellent photoreceptor sensitivity, and the photoconductive functions are separated. Further, the electrical resistance value of the aluminum vapor deposited layer 6 and the carrier generation layer 6 is several Ω or less, forming a conductive layer with electrical conductivity, and the electrical resistance value of the aluminum vapor deposited layer 6 and the carrier migration layer 7 is normal. It exhibits a high resistance that cannot be measured with a standard tester.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a conductive film formed on the carrier generation layer e of the conductive layer coated and laminated on the edge of the sheet-like photoreceptor 3; It is formed to a thickness of about 4μ by screen printing using Dotai (manufactured by Dotai) XC-12.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, non-printing parts ga and gb of about 3 mm are formed at both ends of the sheet-like photoreceptor 3.
The two ends are overlapped and an ultrasonic welding horn is pressed to join them into an endless pellet shape.
) Form a photoreceptor.

Note that the carrier generation layer 6 does not need to be coated and laminated over the entire surface of the support, and even if it is formed in the same width as the photosensitive layer 7, the effect will not change.

Next, a method of joining sheet-like photoreceptors having such a structure will be explained.

FIG. 6 is a cross section showing the bonding method, in which 1o is a film support, 11 is a conductive layer made of aluminum WaPf4, and 12 is a photosensitive layer formed thereon and made of the above-mentioned organic photosensitive material and resin. Both ends of the sheet-like photoreceptor having such a structure are overlapped as shown in FIG. 6(A). Then, the ultrasonic transducer 13 is brought into contact with this overlapping portion. The ultrasonic transducer 13 is made of aluminum and has a horn shape, and its tip is approximately flat with an smm angle. A vibration frequency of 20 kHz was applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 13, and the ultrasonic vibrator 13 was brought into pressure contact with the overlapped portion of the photoreceptor, and moved at a speed of 7 mm/l to partially attach and bond the photoreceptor. As shown in FIG. 6(b), the bonded photoreceptors have overlapping surfaces that are fused to each other and are melted and bonded.

In the present invention, as described above, when an ultrasonic transducer is pressed to apply ultrasonic waves to the overlapping surfaces of the photoreceptors, specific phenomena and results are observed at the bonded portion. The unique phenomenon is that when ultrasonic waves are applied by pressing an ultrasonic transducer to the overlapped portion of the photoreceptors, unlike the conventional well-known method of melting and bonding by bringing a heated object into contact, the photoreceptors are This means that melting begins first from the photosensitive layer that is on the overlapping surface, that is, the contact surface between the upper and lower photoreceptors. The dissolved photosensitive layer material and film support form a smooth film mainly along the contact surface of the ultrasonic transducer. Therefore, by appropriately controlling the pressing force of the ultrasonic transducer on the photoreceptor, the ultrasonic intensity, and the processing time, it is possible to achieve a smooth bonding surface of the photoreceptor and a high-strength fusion bond. This phenomenon can also be clearly seen by looking at the condition of the aluminum layer at the joint. When looking at the aluminum evaporated layer that serves as the conductive layer of the photoreceptor, when viewed from the back side of the fused part, the aluminum on the overlapping surface has melted and that part is transparent, while the part in contact with the ultrasonic transducer is transparent. The fact that no change occurred in the aluminum vapor deposited layer of the photoreceptor can explain the phenomenon that melting starts from the contact surfaces of the upper and lower photoreceptors, that is, the overlapping surfaces.

In this way, when the ultrasonic vibrator is pressed and fused, melting starts from the overlapped surfaces, which is a unique phenomenon.
The bonding surface is smooth and high fusion strength can be obtained.

In the present invention, when a conductive layer was formed by laminating aluminum with a thickness of 10μ, the aluminum layer did not melt and could not be fused. However, there was almost no difference in fusion strength. 1. :.

The bonded portion of the photoreceptor obtained in this way was reduced to a thickness of 1.3 to 1.4 times the thickness of the photoreceptor, the difference in level at the bonded portion was extremely small, and a smooth surface was formed. .

Furthermore, the tensile strength of the joint is 0.6 compared to the photoreceptor itself.
It had ~1.2 times the strength.

Apart from this, there is a method commonly known as heat sealing, in which a heating element is simply pressed against the overlapped portion of the photoreceptor to bond them, in which melting does not occur from the contact surface between the heating element and the photoreceptor. When the joint surface is removed, "jagged" irregularities are formed on the surface of the joint. When using the photoreceptor made in this way,
If a cleaning rubber blade is used to clean the photoreceptor by pressing the top of the joint, the rubber blade will be scraped by the unevenness of the joint and chipped, resulting in many cleaning defects. Therefore, unless the surface condition of the joint is smooth, cleaning means using a rubber blade, which has a simple structure and excellent performance, cannot be used.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the cleaning blade can flexibly follow and respond to even slight irregularities on the photoreceptor, and the support of the cleaning blade itself is a spring. In the figure, reference numeral 14 denotes a photoreceptor to which an ultrasonic vibrator is pressed and fusion-bonded, and the vicinity of the bonded portion is shown. Reference numeral 15 designates the working part of the cleaning blade, which is made of urethane rubber having a hardness of about 70' and has a knife at its tip, that is, the part that contacts the photoreceptor. 16 is a rubber support for the cleaning blade, and has a thickness of 0.15
A phosphor bronze plate of m111 was used. This support itself has spring elasticity and has a structure that allows it to flexibly follow the irregularities of the photoreceptor. The photoreceptor 14 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure, ie, so that the upper surface of the overlapped portion of the photoreceptor is in front, and the cleaning blade described above is pressed and installed on the surface of the photoreceptor.

By adopting such a configuration, the photoreceptor can run stably without being caught by the cleaning blade at the joint, and there is almost no residual toner left after cleaning at the joint. Contamination within the device can also be significantly reduced.

FIG. 7 shows an electrostatic transfer type svelte photoreceptor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and 18 is a roller for moving the photoreceptor 17 in the direction of the arrow. 19 is a charger for performing charging and transfer operations, 2o is a halogen lamp for exposure,
21 is a light-focusing glass fiber transmission body, 22 is a developing magnet roll, 23 is a leaning blade that can move up and down, 24 is a static elimination lamp, 26 is a heat roller for fixing, 2
6 is a platen glass plate, and 27 is a drive motor.

28 is a contact terminal with the conductive film, which is a stainless steel spring plate with a circular contact point. The joint of the photoreceptor is controlled so that it is located at a predetermined position when the apparatus is stopped.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained. First, when a copy start button (not shown) is pressed, the drive motor 27 begins to rotate, and the platen glass plate 26 moves to a predetermined normal rotation (electrostatic latent image creation operation) starting position.

At this time, the photoreceptor 17 is rotating, and the joint part is connected to the charger 1.
When the temperature approaches 90, the charger 19 starts charging and the halogen lamp 20 for exposure starts to light up. When the joint comes directly under the light-focusing glass fiber transmission body 21, the platen glass plate 26 starts rotating in the normal direction, and the photoreceptor 17
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original on the glass surface is formed on top. The electrostatic latent image passes through a developing section and forms a toner image on the photoreceptor 17. When the joint comes close to the charger 19 again -
Then, the charger 19 switches from charging operation to transfer operation,
The toner image is transferred onto the paper sent out from the paper feed cassette 29. The paper onto which the toner image has been transferred is fixed by a heat roller 25 of a fixing device and then discharged. When the joint of the photoreceptor 17 comes to the predetermined cleaning position,
The static elimination lamp 24 is turned on, and the cleaning grade 23, which is separated from the photoreceptor 17 except during the cleaning operation, descends and comes into contact with the photoreceptor 1, thereby performing a cleaning operation corresponding to the rotation of the photoreceptor 1. In this way, when it is desired to obtain only one copy, the photoreceptor 17 rotates three times, and when the series of copying steps is completed, the joint portion of the photoreceptor 17 is in a predetermined position. Position A-'
(Stop. Many pieces. Pieces.) □When you want to obtain pieces continuously, take the form in which the operation of the first rotation and the operation of the third rotation are superimposed after the second rotation.

By applying the photoreceptor and elastic cleaning blade manufactured according to the present invention to the electrostatic transfer type copying apparatus described above, three
After completing 10,000 copies, there were no problems with the photoconductor running, and there was significantly less dirt inside the machine. Also,
After copying was completed, the rubber blade was observed under a microscope, but no scratches that would affect the image were found.

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, the present invention involves superimposing both ends of a sheet photoreceptor cut into a rectangle consisting of an organic photosensitive layer, an aluminum vapor-deposited conductive layer, and a thermoplastic film support, and applying ultrasonic waves to the photoreceptor. Since the fusion bonding is performed while pressing the vibrator, a uniform and smooth bonding state is obtained, and stable running of the endless bar (l/)-shaped photoreceptor is maintained, and a cleaning blade with spring elasticity is used. By applying the cleaning means, it has the excellent effect of significantly reducing dirt inside the machine.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the main parts showing the joints of a conventional endless belt-like photoreceptor, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet-like photoreceptor according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the main parts. 5(a) and 5(b) are enlarged sectional views of essential parts for explaining the method of bonding photoreceptors in the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of essential parts with an elastic cleaning blade applied. ,
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the electrostatic transfer type copying device. 3... Sheet-like photoreceptor, 4.10...
Film support, 5, 6.11... Conductive layer, 7
, 12... Photosensitive layer, 13... Ultrasonic vibrator, 14.17... Endless belt-shaped photoreceptor, 19... Charger, 22... ... Magnet roll for development, 23 ... Cleaning grade. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 1st
Figure 2a. 2nd diagram b Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An endless belt photoreceptor made by overlapping and fusion-bonding both ends of a sheet-like photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer having an image forming width is formed on a conductive layer disposed on a film support. The static photoreceptor is rotated so that the upper surface of the overlapped portion of the endless belt photoreceptor leads, and a cleaning blade having spring elasticity is disposed on the surface of the photoreceptor so as to be pressable. Electronic copying equipment.