JP2831550B2 - Method of manufacturing aluminum tube for photosensitive drum - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum used in an electrophotographic printing apparatus. In this specification, the term "aluminum" is used to include its alloy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An OPC photosensitive drum used in an electrophotographic type printing apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile or the like is used by thinly coating a photosensitive layer on an outer peripheral surface of an aluminum tube.

[0003] With the spread of various low-cost printing apparatuses, aluminum tubes for photosensitive drums are required to be mass-produced and have low production costs. A non-cutting aluminum pipe has been used which is not only excellent in surface smoothness but also advantageous in cost. As a non-cutting aluminum tube, an aluminum tube called an ED tube manufactured by an extrusion and drawing process is frequently used.

[0004] Such an ED tube uses a high-viscosity oil-based lubricant in order to reduce friction with the die during drawing and to suppress die wear and to prevent seizure and surface flaws of the workpiece. Once produced, this highly viscous oily lubricant is washed away with a solvent before applying the photosensitive layer.

[0005]

However, the high-viscosity oily lubricant may not be sufficiently removed even by washing before coating the photosensitive layer, and the photosensitive agent is repelled to form a uniform photosensitive layer. There is a problem in that the printing cannot be performed and unevenness occurs in the printed image.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems by reliably washing and removing the high-viscosity oily lubricant used in the drawing process, so that the photosensitive drum is free from uneven coating. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an aluminum tube.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have investigated the causes of the above-mentioned unevenness in the printed image and found the following.

That is, the surface of the ED tube has a number of fine wrinkle-like or hole-like defects caused by the intermetallic compound or the like in the material during processing. It was found that the viscous oily lubricant remained and the volatile components volatilized and solidified over time, making it difficult to remove. Then, it was found that when the photosensitive agent was applied while the oil was left in the defect, the photosensitive agent was repelled and a uniform coating film could not be formed.

The present invention has been made on the basis of this finding, and it has been proposed that a non-cutting aluminum tube from which an extruded raw tube has been drawn can be used within 3 days after drawing to obtain a solvent having a KB value of 20 or more.
And the surface defects (4) of the non-cut aluminum pipe (1)
The cleaning is performed while applying a force in a direction in which the opening (4 ') is expanded .

In the present invention, washing is performed with a solvent described later in detail within three days after drawing. This is because the volatile components contained in the highly viscous oily lubricant used during the drawing process evaporate and solidify over time after drawing, and it is difficult to remove it. After 3 days, a solvent with high degreasing power is used. This is because removal becomes difficult even if it is performed. The earlier the time of washing is, the better it is, and the earlier it is, the more it is possible to completely remove even a solvent having a low degreasing power.

The KB (kauributanol) value of the solvent indicates the solvent's dissolving ability, that is, degreasing power,
The test solvent was added dropwise to 25 g of a solution prepared by dissolving 100 g of natural kauri gum in 500 g of butanol at 25 ° C., and expressed as the number of cc of the test solvent added until cloudiness or precipitation occurred. The higher the KB value, the higher the solubility. In the present invention, KB
Use a solvent having a solubility of 20 or more. This is because a solvent having a low solubility of KB value less than 20 cannot sufficiently remove the highly viscous oily lubricant even if it is washed early within 3 days after drawing. Examples of the solvent having a KB value of 20 or more include kerosene (30), cyclohexane (60), toluene (100), aromatic naphtha (50 to 80), and dearomatic naphtha (25 to 30). In particular, it is preferable to use a solvent having a KB value of 25 or more.

Using the solvent , as shown in FIG.
Opening of microdefects (4) on the surface of the cut aluminum tube (1)
To wash while applying force in the direction to expand (4 ')
(4) sufficiently removes highly viscous oily lubricant inside defect (4)
As a result, the degree of cleaning can be increased. Such washing method
As a specific example of the method, a roll straightening method using a rotor restrictor (2) shown in FIG. 1 can be exemplified. That is, in this roll straightening method, the rolls (3a) (3
b) An aluminum tube with no gap between rolls (1)
By adjusting the outer diameter to be 0.98 times or less of the outer diameter, it is possible to apply a release stress in the large diameter direction to the pipe circumferential surface, thereby expanding the opening (4 ′) of the defect (4). it can. By using the solvent also as a lubricant for the rolls (3a) and (3b) and the non-cut aluminum pipe (1), a highly viscous oily lubricant remaining deep in the expanded defect (4) can be sufficiently removed. Can be removed. In addition,
The roll straightening method also has an advantage that the roundness and straightness of the non-cutting aluminum pipe (1) can be corrected simultaneously with washing. In addition, the rotor strainer (2) in FIG. 1 is an example of a roll correction method, and is not limited to such a roll arrangement.

The non-cut aluminum tube (1) cleaned by the above-mentioned method is further subjected to steam cleaning with methylene chloride or the like, if necessary, and then coated with a photosensitive agent by a conventional method to be used as a photosensitive drum.

[0014]

In a non-cutting aluminum pipe manufactured by pulling out an extruded raw tube, if it is within 3 days after drawing out, a high-viscosity oily lubricant adhering to the surface of the non-cutting aluminum pipe used during drawing. Solidification has not progressed much.
If the non-cut aluminum tube is washed in such a state with a solvent having a degreasing power having a KB value of 20 or more, the highly viscous oily lubricant is easily removed and the degree of washing is increased .
Moreover, by washing with the solvent while applying a force in a direction to expand the opening (4 ') of the defect (4) on the surface of the non-cut aluminum pipe (1), the solvent enters the inside of the defect (4). The highly viscous oily lubricant clogging the defect (4) is also easily removed, and the cleaning degree is further improved.

[0015]

Next, a specific embodiment of the method for manufacturing an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The specimen in each embodiment was JISA
A long tube having an outer diameter of 30 mm and a length of 4000 mm was manufactured by drawing out a raw tube obtained by extruding a 6063 Al alloy hot using a high-viscosity oil-based lubricant “Polyvis (manufactured by NOF Corporation)” at a reduction of 20 to 35%. A non-cut aluminum tube was used. A metal-free phthalocyanine was used as a photosensitive agent, and a 4% solution was prepared with a mixed solvent of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene (3: 1).

[Comparative Example] After 1 to 7 days from the drawing of the specimen, the shower method was carried out at room temperature using 13 kinds of solvents having different KB values as shown in Table 1 below. Washing was performed by flowing a solvent onto the surface of the test piece. Then, steam cleaning with methylene chloride was further performed for 2 minutes to remove the highly viscous oily lubricant used in the drawing process. Next, the washed specimen was immersed in the above-mentioned photosensitive agent solution for 1 minute, and then slowly pulled up to apply a photosensitive layer. The coating unevenness of the photosensitive layer of each specimen was visually inspected, and the results shown in Table 1 were obtained.

[0018]

[Table 1]

Example After 1 to 7 days from the drawing of the specimen, as shown in FIG. 1, in order to increase the roundness and straightness of the specimen (1), as shown in FIG. While rotating the specimen (1), it was fed between the rolls (3a) and (3b) of the rotary straightener (2) to perform roll correction. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, a defect (4) on the surface of the specimen (1)
The gap between the rolls (3a) and (3b) is set to 29 mm so that a force is applied in the direction of expanding the opening (4 ′) of
While adjusted to (specimen (1) corresponding to 96.7% of the outer diameter), the comparison as a lubricant for roll straightening
Using the same 13 types of solvents as in the examples , the high-viscosity oily lubricant was washed at the same time as straightening. Furthermore, after this roll straightening,
Steam cleaning with methylene chloride was performed for 2 minutes, and the photosensitive layer was coated by the same method as in the comparative example . The coating unevenness was examined. The results shown in Table 2 were obtained.

[0020]

[Table 2]

As is clear from the results of Tables 1 and 2, the surface of the non-cut aluminum pipe was formed with a solvent having a KB value of 20 or more within 3 days after the non-cut aluminum pipe was drawn.
Be cleaned while a force in the direction in which the opening of the defects was Flip spreads
By that, the high viscosity oily lubricant used can wash removed during drawing, it was confirmed to be able to form a uniform photosensitive layer without unevenness.

[0022]

As described above, according to the method for manufacturing an aluminum tube for a photosensitive drum of the present invention, a non-cut aluminum tube from which an extruded raw tube has been drawn can have a KB value of 20 within 3 days after drawing. With the above solvent , the non-cut aluminum
The opening (4 ') of the defect (4) on the surface of the tube (1)
By washing while applying force in the direction, the washing is performed before the highly viscous oily lubricant used at the time of drawing is solidified, the highly viscous oily lubricant is easily removed , and surface defects
High-viscosity oily lubricants clogged inside are also easily removed.
And is well washed. As a result, the highly viscous oily lubricant remaining on the surface of the non-cut aluminum pipe is almost eliminated, and the repelling of the photosensitive agent is reduced, so that a uniform and uniform photosensitive layer can be applied. By incorporating such a photosensitive drum in a printing apparatus, image quality can be improved .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a roll straightening method for a non-cutting aluminum pipe in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing defects on the surface of a non-cut aluminum tube.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Uncut aluminum tube (sample) 4: Defect 4 ': Opening

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 5/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A solvent having a KB value of 20 or more within 3 days after drawing an uncut aluminum tube from which an extruded raw tube has been drawn.
And the surface defects (4) of the non-cut aluminum pipe (1)
Washing while applying a force in a direction in which the opening (4 ′) of the photosensitive drum is expanded .