JP3068005B2 - Interlayer bonding method and method of manufacturing elastic roller using the bonding method - 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 of manufacturing a highly durable elastic roller by firmly bonding a silicone rubber layer on a fluororubber layer coated on an elastic body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various rollers are frequently used in an apparatus having means for transporting paper or the like. For example, in an electrophotographic apparatus, various parts such as a roller for transporting recording paper and various rollers in a thermostat are used. Rollers are used. The heat fixing roller of the electrophotographic apparatus has a function of pressing a recording sheet having a toner image on a heating surface to fix the recording sheet.In particular, the toner layer is thicker than in a case where the toner layer is monochrome,
High color releasability is required in a full-color copying machine that produces a color mixture by using a sharp melt toner and expresses a subtle hue, and is often used with silicone oil applied to its surface. Therefore,
This heat fixing roller has moderate elasticity (hardness), heat resistance,
Some composite properties such as oil resistance and toner release properties are required. However, it is difficult to simultaneously satisfy various required characteristics with a single material, that is, a single-layer elastic roller, and at present, a multi-layer structure combining a plurality of layers in which each function is assigned to each layer. A method of using rollers to satisfy various required characteristics in a complex manner has been adopted.

For example, the outermost layer is a highly releasable silicone rubber, the lowermost layer is a highly heat-resistant silicone rubber, and the intermediate layer is an oil for preventing destruction of the lowermost silicone rubber layer due to internal penetration of silicone oil. A three-layer roller having a fluororubber layer as a barrier layer is known. An extremely thin primer layer is usually used for bonding these layers.

[0004]

However, a sufficiently strong initial adhesive force cannot be obtained with respect to the adhesion between these layers in an elastic roller having a silicone rubber layer provided on a fluorine rubber layer. There were cases where sex was poor. In particular, under severe durability conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, high humidity, etc., there is a problem in its initial adhesive performance and durability performance, such as adhesion peeling between the fluorine rubber layer and the silicone rubber primer layer, and silicone rubber primer layer. In some cases, defects such as surface layer peeling between the surface silicone rubber layers occurred.

For example, when the above-described elastic roller having a three-layer structure is used for a heat fixing roller of an electrophotographic apparatus, most of the time of use, the roller is exposed to silicone oil under high temperature, high pressure and high humidity. In other words, they are subjected to long-term repeated deformation under the condition of high deterioration, and the adhesiveness obtained by the conventional bonding method cannot provide sufficient durability in long-term repeated use, resulting in a problem between layers. There has been a problem that defects such as peeling and breakage of the lowermost rubber layer due to tearing of the intermediate oil barrier layer occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide an interlayer bonding method capable of greatly improving the bonding strength of the bonding surface between a fluorine rubber layer and a silicone rubber layer.

Another object of the present invention is to greatly improve the adhesion of an elastic roller having a configuration in which a silicone rubber layer is provided on a fluororubber layer on the bonding surface of these layers to obtain good durability. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing an elastic roller which can be used.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an interlayer bonding method for bonding a silicone rubber layer on a fluororubber layer, the method comprising bonding the unvulcanized fluororubber layer for forming the fluororubber layer. A step of applying the silane compound to the surface of the uncured fluororubber layer and curing the uncured fluororubber layer to form a modified fluororubber layer on the surface thereof,
Adhering the silicone rubber layer on the fluoro rubber layer via an adhesion primer layer.

The method of manufacturing an elastic roller according to the present invention using the above-mentioned interlayer bonding method is a method of manufacturing an elastic roller having a structure in which a silicone rubber layer is bonded on a fluorine rubber layer. A step of applying a silane compound to the surface of the fluororubber layer, vulcanizing and curing the unvulcanized fluororubber layer to form a fluororubber layer whose surface is modified; And bonding the silicone rubber layer via a bonding primer layer.

In the present invention, when the unvulcanized fluororubber layer is vulcanized and cured to form a fluororubber layer, a silane-based compound is applied to the surface thereof in advance, so that the layer is adhered later. It is possible to greatly improve the adhesiveness with the silicone rubber layer. For example, a heat fixing roller having a heat-resistant silicone rubber layer as a base rubber layer, a fluorine rubber layer as an oil barrier layer, and a high release silicone rubber layer as a surface layer provided in this order on a cored bar is used. In a three-layer elastic roller, the adhesion strength between the fluorine rubber layer and the surface silicone rubber layer can be significantly improved by using the method of the present invention for the adhesion. Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, under high pressure, high temperature,
By maintaining excellent long-term durability under high humidity, it prevents expansion due to silicone oil entering inside, prevents destruction of the lower silicone rubber layer, and does not cause peeling of the surface silicone rubber layer etc. An elastic roller suitable as a heat fixing roller for electrophotography having a fluoro rubber layer can be provided.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an example of a method of bonding an interlayer and a method of manufacturing an elastic roller according to the present invention will be described with reference to the manufacture of a heat fixing roller for an electrophotographic apparatus having a three-layer structure shown in FIG.

First, in the first step, first, a base rubber layer is coated on a cored bar, and a primer for fluororubber is applied to the surface thereof and dried. As the base rubber layer, various materials can be appropriately selected and used according to the desired characteristics of the elastic roller. For example, the material has good heat resistance and can impart a desired hardness to the roller. I just want it.
Specifically, 3 which is usually used as a heat fixing roller
The heat-resistant silicone rubber used as the base rubber layer of the elastic roller having the layer structure can be similarly used. In addition, DY32-542U (manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd.) can be used as the base rubber layer. In addition, a commonly used primer for a fluororubber can be used. The thickness of the base rubber layer is selected according to the material used, the characteristics required for the base rubber layer, and the like, and is, for example, about 0.5 to 2 mm.

In the application of a primer for a fluororubber, if the concentration of the primer in the coating solution is too high or if the thickness of the primer layer is too thick, cracks occur in the primer layer, and the fluororubber layer is pulled by pressure. Therefore, it is desirable to dilute to an appropriate concentration with a solvent or the like and then apply the coating so that the layer thickness after drying is as thin as several μm.

When the formation of the primer layer for the fluororubber layer is completed, the unvulcanized fluororubber layer is coated. For the formation of the unvulcanized fluororubber layer, for example, a method of applying a polyamine vulcanized unvulcanized fluororubber composition with a uniform layer thickness by various coating methods such as a spray method, and drying is preferably used. .

Here, in the multi-layered fixing roller, the fluorine rubber layer as an intermediate layer functions as an oil barrier for preventing the penetration of the silicone oil into the inside under the fixing condition when the silicone oil is applied. In this case, if the thickness of the fluororubber layer is not sufficient, for example, less than 10 μm, a sufficient oil barrier effect cannot often be obtained. If the oil barrier effect is insufficient, it tends to cause defects such as thermal destruction due to swelling of the lower base rubber layer due to the silicone oil penetrating into the inside. Conversely, if the thickness of the fluoro rubber layer is too thick,
For example, when the thickness exceeds 50 μm, the drying of the unvulcanized fluoro rubber layer does not completely proceed to the inside, causing the surface silicone rubber layer to be ineffective due to the influence of residual moisture in the fluoro rubber layer, and to the adhesiveness of these layers. Can also have a negative effect. Therefore, the dry layer thickness of the unvulcanized fluoro rubber layer is 10
To 50 μm is preferable, and 30 to 50 μm is more preferable.

When the composition for forming an unvulcanized fluororubber layer is applied on a base rubber layer and dried to form an unvulcanized fluororubber layer, the drying is performed without curing the unvulcanized fluororubber. Done at temperature. For example, when an unvulcanized fluororubber paint of a polyamine vulcanization type is used, the temperature is lower than the temperature at which curing starts, specifically, 15 to 30 at a temperature of 30 to 80 ° C.
Minutes. When the temperature is lower than 30 ° C., drying is slow, and it takes a long time to obtain a dry state sufficient for adhesion, and the efficiency is poor. Conversely, when the temperature is 80 ° C. or higher, vulcanization of the surface of the fluororubber layer starts, and a sufficiently strong adhesive force may not be obtained between the fluororubber layer and the silicone rubber layer coated thereon. From these viewpoints, air drying at 50 ° C. for about 30 minutes is efficient and preferable.

When the formation of the unvulcanized fluoro rubber layer is completed, a silane compound is applied to the surface to be bonded to the silicone rubber layer provided thereon, for example, by a conventional method such as a spray method. The coating thickness of the silane-based compound may be such that the desired adhesive effect can be obtained, and usually about several μm is sufficient. Available silane compounds include:
Examples thereof include chlorosilane, alkoxysilane, and silazane. Any organic silicon compound having a silicon atom in the molecule that can achieve the object of the present invention can be used without limitation, and at least one of them can be used.

After the application of the silane compound is completed, the unvulcanized fluoro rubber layer is cured by vulcanization. Heat treatment can be used for this curing. For example, in the case of using a polyamine vulcanization type, 130 to 180 ° C.
A heat treatment of 0 minutes can be suitably used.

A primer for bonding silicone rubber is further applied to the surface of the fluororubber layer formed by this curing treatment, on which the silane compound is applied, according to a conventional method, and the silicone rubber layer is laminated as a surface layer. By performing the next vulcanization treatment, silicone oil application treatment, and the like, a three-layer elastic roller that can be used as a heat fixing roller of an electrophotographic apparatus can be obtained. As the silicone rubber for the surface layer, 3 is usually used as a heat fixing roller.
Highly releasable silicone rubber for the surface layer of a layered elastic roller can be similarly used. In addition, as silicone rubber for the surface layer, DY35.446 A / B (manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd.) and the like can be mentioned.

As the primer for silicone rubber, those usually used can be used. The thickness of the surface layer is selected according to the material used for the surface layer, the characteristics required for the surface layer, and the like, and is, for example, about 50 to 300 μm.

As described above, by vulcanizing and curing an unvulcanized fluororubber layer whose surface is coated with a silane compound, a good adhesion surface to a primer for silicone rubber can be formed. Can be. As a result, strong and highly durable adhesion between the fluorine rubber layer and the silicone rubber layer can be realized.

[0022]

Next, examples of the method for manufacturing an elastic roller according to the present invention will be described. Example 1 First, H was placed on an aluminum cored bar (t = 2.0 mm) which had been previously subjected to solvent washing and primer treatment by a conventional method.
After coating with TV (heat vulcanization type) silicone rubber, the outer periphery was ground to obtain a roller having a straight cylindrical rubber base material layer. Next, a fluoro rubber primer GLP-103SR (Daikin Industries) was spray-coated on the outer peripheral surface of the base rubber layer, and then dried at a temperature of 80 ° C. for 30 minutes. Next, a polyamine-based fluoro rubber latex DAI GL-252 is applied to the surface treated with the primer.
(Daikin Industries) was spray applied to a dry layer thickness of about 40 μm. After drying at 50 ° C. for 30 minutes, SZ6300 (manufactured by Dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd.) is applied thereon as a silane-based compound, and heat-treated in a hot-air circulating furnace at 200 ° C. for 60 minutes to heat and cure the fluororubber layer. At the same time, the surface of the fluororubber layer coating layer was modified. Thereafter, 101 primer (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.) was applied to the surface, and the primer was baked in a hot air circulating furnace at 200 ° C. for 60 minutes. Finally, it is fixed in a cylindrical mold by a lid, and an additional liquid silicone rubber DY35
-446A / B (Toray Dow Corning Silicone)
Was injected into a mold having a gap of about 300 μm, and then vulcanized and formed in a hot plate at 130 ° C. for 25 minutes, and then taken out after cooling.
The outer diameter of the three-layer elastic roller thus obtained was 60 mm, and the thickness of the surface silicone rubber layer was 250 μm. Further, the elastic roller is subjected to secondary vulcanization in a hot air circulating furnace at 200 ° C. for 4 hours, and finally in a silicone oil KF-96SS (300 cs; Toray Dow Corning Silicone) at 50 ° C. for 5 hours. The silicone oil was impregnated in the surface silicone rubber layer.

The initial adhesion between the fluorine rubber layer and the surface silicone rubber layer of the elastic roller obtained as described above was sufficiently strong, and no destruction was observed in the peel test of the surface silicone rubber layer.

Experimental Example 1 Next, the elastic roller obtained in Example 1 was incorporated as a heat fixing roller of an electrophotographic apparatus (full-color image forming apparatus CLC800; manufactured by Canon Inc.), and an image endurance test was performed. . As a result, the endurance test is a continuous paper passing test using a specific pattern. Especially, regarding the adhesion between the fluororubber layer and the surface silicone rubber layer, there is no trouble such as peeling, and it is sufficient after the 60,000 sheet passing test. It was confirmed that an excellent adhesive force was maintained.

[0025]

According to the method of the present invention, a strong adhesive strength between the fluorine rubber layer and the silicone rubber layer can be obtained. By applying the method of the present invention to an elastic roller having an adhesive surface of a fluorine rubber layer and a silicone rubber layer, a strong initial adhesion performance between these layers, high heat, high pressure, and high deterioration such as under silicone oil application. Excellent adhesion durability under the conditions can be obtained. In particular, when an elastic roller having a three-layer configuration in which the method of the present invention is applied to the adhesion of a fluororubber layer and a silicone rubber layer is used as a heat fixing roller of an electrophotographic apparatus, the specification satisfies the specifications regarding the adhesion between these layers. Excellent durability performance can be exhibited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in a direction perpendicular to an axis showing a structure of a three-layer elastic rubber roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Core metal 2 Heat-resistant silicone rubber layer 3 Fluorine rubber layer 4 Surface high release silicone rubber layer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-93874 (JP, A) JP-A-52-117981 (JP, A) JP-A-63-317339 (JP, A) JP-A-8- 211773 (JP, A) JP-A-8-72203 (JP, A) JP-A-6-298950 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B32B 1/00-35 / 00 C09J 5/00-5/10 F16C 13/00 G03G 13/20 G03G 15/20

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of bonding a silicone rubber layer on a fluororubber layer, comprising: applying a silane compound to the surface of the unvulcanized fluororubber layer for forming the fluororubber layer; Vulcanizing and curing to form a fluoro rubber layer whose surface is modified, and bonding the silicone rubber layer on the fluoro rubber layer via a bonding primer layer. An interlayer bonding method characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The interlayer bonding method according to claim 1, wherein the unvulcanized fluoro rubber layer is formed by applying and drying a polyamine vulcanized unvulcanized fluoro rubber composition. 3. The layer thickness of the fluororubber layer is 10 to 50 μm.
The interlayer bonding method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein m is m. 4. The silane-based compound is chlorosilane,
The interlayer bonding method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the method is at least one of alkoxysilane and silazane. 5. A method for manufacturing an elastic roller having a configuration in which a silicone rubber layer is bonded to a fluororubber layer, wherein a silane compound is applied to the surface of the unvulcanized fluororubber layer for forming the fluororubber layer. Vulcanizing and curing the unvulcanized fluororubber layer to form a fluororubber layer having its surface modified, and applying the silicone rubber layer on the fluororubber layer via a bonding primer layer. Bonding the elastic roller. 6. The method for producing an elastic roller according to claim 5, wherein the unvulcanized fluoro rubber layer is formed by applying and drying a polyamine vulcanized unvulcanized fluoro rubber composition. 7. The layer thickness of the fluororubber layer is 10 to 50 μm.
The method for producing an elastic roller according to claim 5, wherein m is m. 8. The elastic roller according to claim 5, wherein said fluoro rubber layer is provided on a base rubber layer, and a silicone rubber layer adhered on said fluoro rubber layer forms a surface layer. Manufacturing method. 9. The method for producing an elastic roller according to claim 8, wherein the base rubber layer is made of a heat-resistant silicone rubber layer, and the surface silicone rubber layer is a release silicone rubber layer. 10. The method according to claim 5, wherein the silane compound is at least one of chlorosilane, alkoxysilane, and silazane. 11. An elastic roller obtained by the method according to claim 5. Description: 12. The elastic roller according to claim 11, which is a heat fixing roller of an electrophotographic apparatus.