JP3145369B2 - Paper transfer belt - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper transport belt for an automatic document feeder in a copying machine or a recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an automatic document feeder provided in a copying machine is provided with a document transport belt for transporting a document having an image face down to a predetermined position on a contact glass. The document transport belt is wound around a pair of belt rollers and driven to rotate, and stops after transporting the document set in the document supply unit to the exposure position of the contact glass. When the operation of exposing the original placed at the exposure position is completed, the original transport belt is driven to rotate again to send out the exposed original from the contact glass. In a copying machine having a double-sided copying function, there is a case where a document whose one surface is exposed is reversely fed, and the other document is re-fed so as to contact the contact glass.

[0003] The structure of the original conveying belt is such that the original conveying surface is made of a single endless rubber material whose wrinkles are white-treated, and an elastic coreless belt or a non-expandable core material such as woven fabric or yarn is used. Endless cored belts are known.

[0004] Although a method of manufacturing a document conveying belt made of an endless rubber material alone is relatively simple,
The cored belt is used to obtain the desired thickness of the elastic layer.
The endless core is coated with an elastic material to form a coating layer, and a drying step of drying the coating layer is alternately repeated many times.

[0005]

The coreless rubber single belt is inexpensive, but has a problem that it is easily cut off due to low rubber hardness and has poor durability, and the rubber thickness must be increased to some extent. And the load on the belt drive system increases.

[0006] The cored belt has a greater strength than the belt without a core, but most of the belts have joints, so that dirt easily adheres to the joints, and the dirt is reflected on the copy. As a result, there is a problem that the copy quality is significantly impaired. Further, there is also a problem that a joint portion is easily broken by a tension applied to the belt, and a periodic noise is generated when the joint portion passes through a member that is in contact with the belt. Then, although the technique which forms a cored belt seamlessly is proposed, the following problems remain.

[0007] A seamless belt is formed by coating an elastic resin material such as rubber on the surface of an endless core material. The process of coating the material and the process of drying it must be repeated several times (3 to 5 times), which requires a long time to complete the product and is not suitable for mass production. The thickness of the coating layer formed by one coating process is about 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm, and the thickness of the elastic layer required for the document conveying belt is 0.2 mm to 0.25 m.
In order to obtain m, several coating steps have to be performed. Since it takes about 24 hours to dry the coating layer after one coating process, it takes about one week to manufacture one original transport belt. It is a major hindrance. In addition, during the drying step, dust in the air is likely to adhere to the surface of the liquid coating layer, and the appearance is impaired, so that the yield of products is reduced.

Further, the conventional coating type document conveying belt uses a special solvent such as alcohol to clean the belt. However, since the dirt spreads over the entire surface and cannot be completely cleaned, it is not used. Abandoned. Although the cause of the stain has not been completely elucidated, it is considered that the trace of the solvent used in the coating process becomes porous, and it is impossible to remove the stain that has entered the porous body.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to maintain the copy quality,
An object of the present invention is to provide a paper transfer belt which is excellent in appearance, has good product yield, and contains a core material and does not expand and contract.

[0010]

A paper transport belt according to the present invention is substantially made of non-stretchable fiber bag fabric, and has an endless core material having a predetermined width and a liquid material on an inner peripheral surface of the endless core material. A coating layer formed by applying a material of the above, and comprising a laminate layer of an elastic thermoplastic material formed by pressing and heating on the outer peripheral surface of the endless core material after the formation of the coating layer , you.

[0011] paper delivery belt of the present invention, in the paper transport belt according to claim 1, and the material of the material and the laminate layer of the coating layer, integrated capable characteristics between the coating layer and the laminate layer Characterized by being formed of a material having: The paper transport belt according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the paper transport belt according to claim 1 or 2 , the coating layer is formed of an elastic material.

The paper transport belt according to the present invention is the paper transport belt according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the laminate layer is made of a high-density elastic material, It is characterized by being made of the same material as the layer. The paper transport belt of the present invention is the paper transport belt according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the belt transports the original to a reading position of the image forming apparatus.

[0013]

An inextensible core material having a predetermined width is formed endlessly, and an endless laminate layer made of a thin sheet-like elastic material is adhered to the core material to manufacture a paper transport belt . The paper transport belt manufactured through this process is wound around a belt roller, and is used as a document transport surface whose laminate layer surface faces the contact glass.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 1, the automatic document feeder is provided with a document transport belt 3 for transporting a document 1 with an image face down to a predetermined position on a contact glass 2 of a copying machine, for example, in the direction of arrow a. The document transport belt 3 is wound around a pair of belt rollers 4 and 5, and stops after transporting the document 1 set in the document supply unit to the exposure position of the contact glass 2. When the exposing operation on the original placed at the exposure position is completed, the original transport belt 3 is driven to rotate again to send out the exposed original from the contact glass 2 in the direction of arrow b.

Referring to FIG. 2, the structure of the document conveying belt 3 will be described. Reference numeral 10 denotes a material that does not expand or contract, for example, vinylon,
It shows an endless core made of polyester, cotton, or the like. The endless core material 10 may be substantially endless, but must not have a step at its joint.
Further, the endless core material 10 may be made of a woven fabric as shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 3 or may be made of a nonwoven fabric. In the case of a non-woven fabric, a material is selected that has a property that allows the later-described coating layer and laminate layer to be integrated. One surface of the endless core material 10, that is, the belt roller 4,
In order to prevent fraying of the core material, especially at both end edges thereof, and to obtain a predetermined friction between the belt rollers 4 and 5, a liquid polyurethane rubber material having a uniform thickness, for example, A coating layer 11 which is applied to the substrate and dried is formed. Only one coating process is required. In this case, even if dust adheres to the surface of the coating layer in the drying step, since this surface is wrapped around the belt roller, it may be a surface that does not affect the appearance. The other surface of the endless core 10, that is, the document conveying surface, is a laminate layer or tube formed by attaching a sheet-like elastic material of white or yellow and having a thickness of 0.2 to 0.25 mm, which is white or yellow. A laminate 12 formed in a shape is provided. When attaching the sheet-like laminated layer 12 to the endless core material, what is important is that the sheet-like side edge joints can be left standing on top of each other, or a gap can be provided between the side edges on the belt surface. The processing is performed so as not to cause a step. In the case of a tubular laminate layer, the problem of seams does not occur.

Next, with reference to FIG. 12, a method of manufacturing the above-described document conveying belt will be described. Endless Core Forming Step This step consists of essentially non-stretchable fiber sack fabric obtained by vinylon, polyester, cotton and their blending .
And forms an endless core 10 that have a predetermined width. In this case, the endless core 10 may have a seam, but the seam must not have a step. And
The endless core material 10 is prepared with a uniform thickness and width. The endless core 10 may be an endless core made of only warp and not woven.

A coating agent comprising a liquid elastic material for forming the coating layer 11, for example, a polyurethane rubber material and a compounding agent such as a coloring agent is prepared. The viscosity of the coating agent and the degree of coloring are strictly measured, and a mixture is prepared so as to be stirred without any unevenness. Backside coating step In this step, a coating layer 11 is formed on the backside of the endless core material 10 (belt roller winding surface). FIG.
(A) shows a state in which the endless core material 10 is wound around rollers 50 and 51, and in FIG. 3 (b), one surface of the endless core material 10 (the surface which becomes the back surface when the belt is completed) is coated. The layer 11 is formed.

As a method for forming the coating layer 11, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A, a doctor plate is wound around an endless core material 10 which is wound around a pair of rollers and rotated.
Then, the coating material 11A made of, for example, polyurethane rubber is supplied and applied in a predetermined amount. As the endless core 10 rotates, the coating material 11A is coated on the surface of the core as shown in FIG. 8B. Doctor board
By keeping the distance between 80 and the core material surface constant, the thickness of the coating layer 11 becomes uniform. Coating material 11A
When there is no more, the endless core material 10 has a coating layer 11 having a predetermined thickness of 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8 (c), the doctor plate 80 is raised to remove the belt material from the roller pair. Coating layer 11
Is mainly intended to prevent the endless core material 10 from fraying, especially at the side edges, so that one step is sufficient. Drying Step In this step, the belt material removed from the roller pair shown in FIG. 8C is left at room temperature or in a heated atmosphere to dry the coating layer 11. In the case of drying at room temperature, standing for about 24 hours is sufficient. Laminating layer forming step This step is a step of forming an endless belt-like laminating layer, and includes a laminating agent preparing step of preparing a material for forming a laminating layer and a laminating (distributing) step. This step is performed independently of the endless core material forming step and the coating agent preparing step. In the laminating agent preparing step, after the viscosity and color tone of the compounding agent such as the polyurethane rubber and the coloring agent as the main material of the elastic material are inspected, the compounding and mixing are performed so as to obtain the optimum compounding ratio. The elastic material is not limited to the above-described polyurethane rubber, but any elastic material having a high density and a property of not easily impregnating with alcohol or a general cleaning solvent can be used.

The laminating (dispensing) step includes a predetermined circumference determined by the relative positions of the belt rollers 4 and 5 (see FIG. 1),
A predetermined width corresponding to the width of the endless core material 10 and a predetermined thickness (for example,
A sheet-like laminated material that has been separated so as to have a thickness of 0.2 mm to 0.25 mm) is wound around rollers 52 and 53 to form an endless belt. In FIG. 5C, a thin sheet-like laminate layer 12 is wound around the rollers 52 and 53. In this figure, a seam 12a is present. As a method for forming the endless belt-shaped laminate layer 12, a tube method or an inflation method which is formed into a cylindrical shape from the beginning so as to have a predetermined length, and a film shape (sheet shape) formed by a T-die method or a calendar method Endlessly connected to each other. The laminate obtained by the former method has no seam 12a, but that obtained by the latter method has a seam 12a. The joint 12a is processed and eliminated through the steps shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6A, the laminated layer 12 having the seam 12a formed by overlapping the edges with a width of 2 mm to 3 mm is formed as shown in FIG.
The portion “a” is placed on a table 60, which is heated and pressed by a press 61. At this time, press 6 until the distance between the table and the press becomes the thickness of the laminate layer 12 (0.2 mm to 0.25 mm).
When 1 is lowered (see FIG. 3 (c)), the excess material in the overlapped portion is extruded in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and as shown in FIGS. 6 (d) and 5 (d), Thus, a flat joint 12aA having no gap is formed. Extruded excess material is cut and removed by appropriate means. Laminating Step The laminated layer 12 after the processing of the seam 12A is formed as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the sheet is superimposed on the surface of the endless core material 10 having the coating layer 11 wound around the rollers 54 and 55 after being turned upside down, and the process proceeds to the next step as the belt material 100. First Cutting Step The laminated belt material is formed by laminating a laminate layer 12 on the surface of the endless core material 10 on which the coating layer 11 is not formed, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. Have been. The laminate layer 12 and the endless core 10 are shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), they are polymerized with each other to cut off an excess laminate layer. At this stage, the laminate layer 12 has not entered between the fibers of the endless core material 10. Pressing process The laminate layer 11 and the endless core material 10 of the belt material 100 are bonded to each other in this pressing process. Two examples of this bonding method will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 10, a belt material 100 is
The roller 90 is pressurized on the portion of the belt material that is wrapped around 1,92 and is wrapped around the roller 91. A heat source is stored in the roller 90. In this case, the roller 91 is subjected to a surface treatment so that the molten coating agent does not adhere thereto. Drive the belt material 10
When 0 is rotated, the laminate layer 12 melts and the endless core 1
0 (see FIG. 9B).

In FIG. 11, an overpass portion and an underpass portion of a belt material 100 wound around rollers 93 and 94 are heated and pressed by pressers 110 and 111 to form a laminate layer 12 and an endless core material 10. As shown in FIG. 9B, they are fused and joined. By repeating the pressing while rotating the belt material 100 by a predetermined angle, the fusion of the laminate layer 12 and the endless core material 10 is completed over the entire length of the belt material.

Regardless of which of the roll method shown in FIG. 10 and the press method shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the fiber enters the uneven surface of the endless core material 10 to increase the bonding strength. Also, the laminating layer 12
Even if there is a slight irregularity in the thickness, the irregularity is absorbed by the uneven surface of the core material, resulting in a belt having a uniform thickness. Cooling Step In FIG. 10, when the bonding of the laminate layer is completed, the roller 90 is separated as shown by a dashed line, and then left until the temperature of the belt material is lowered. Is cooled. Second cutting step When the temperature of the material becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined value and the cooling step is completed, the excess material protruding from both side edges of the set belt width is cut and finished. This cutting step may be executed in a state of being wound around the belt rollers 54 and 55, or may be executed while being removed from the rollers. Inspection process The width of the belt material 100 formed through the above-described processes,
Fig. 5
As shown in (f), the belt material 100 is completed as the document transport belt 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the document conveying belt 3 having the above-described cross-sectional structure is used by winding a coating layer 11 around belt rollers 4 and 5, and conveys the document on the surface of the laminate layer 12. I do.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the structure of a document transport belt in which laminate layers 12, 12 are formed on both sides of an endless core material 10. A belt having this structure is obtained by polymerizing endless laminated layers 12 and 12 on both sides of an endless core
It is obtained by bonding the endless core material 10 and each of the laminate layers 12 using the apparatus shown in FIG. With such a structure,
Since the coating process can be omitted and the time required for drying the coating layer is reduced, productivity is improved,
An inexpensive belt can be provided and both sides can be used as a document transport surface, resulting in a long life document transport belt.

[0026]

As described above, according to the paper transport belt of the present invention, a laminate layer having no steps is provided on the original transport surface, so that the paper transport belt having the original transport surface made of a coating layer is provided. As compared with the above, the production period is shortened, and a low-cost belt can be obtained. Since there is no seam in the belt, there is no adhesion of dust, and the appearance of the paper transport belt is extremely good, contributing to an increase in image quality.

Further, according to the automatic document feeder of the present invention, since the paper transport belt whose cost is reduced is used,
The apparatus body becomes cheap. Since there is no seam on the document conveying surface of the belt, there is no adhesion of dirt on this portion, and copy quality does not deteriorate.

A laminate layer made of an elastic thermoplastic material is a coating layer formed by applying a liquid material.
Is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the endless core material by pressing and heating after the formation of the endless core material, the coating layer,
The laminate layers are firmly adhered to each other to prevent the yarns constituting the endless core material from fraying, thereby improving the durability and strength of the paper transport belt. Further, since the material forming the laminate layer is a high-density material, the belt is easily cleaned with alcohol or a general cleaning solvent, and can be used for a long time without being thrown away.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic document feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a structure of a document conveying belt used in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the structure of the belt.

FIG. 5 is a process chart for explaining a manufacturing process of the document conveying belt.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part of the laminate layer, showing a step of seam processing of the laminate layer.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of a core material and a coating layer showing a coating step.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an endless core material and a coating layer showing an example of a coating layer forming method.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a step of bonding a laminate layer and an endless core material.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing an example of implementing a method of joining a laminate layer and an endless core material.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing an example of implementing a method for joining a laminate layer and an endless core material.

FIG. 12 is a process chart showing a process of executing the manufacturing method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Document 2 Contact glass 3 Document transport belt 4, 5 Belt roller 10 Endless core material 11 Coating layer 12 Laminating layer

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Naoki Toda 678 Minamigoya, Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, Tokiwa Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsuo Akimoto 678 Minamigoya, Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, Tokiwa Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-61-22928 (JP, A) JP-A-60-81391 (JP, A) JP-A-61-160103 (JP, U) JP-A-60-195845 (JP, U) ( 58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 5/02

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endless core material having a predetermined width, comprising a substantially non-stretchable fiber bag fabric, and a liquid material applied to an inner peripheral surface of the endless core material. A sheet transport belt, comprising: a coating layer formed by the above method; and a laminate layer made of an elastic thermoplastic material formed by pressing and heating the outer peripheral surface of the endless core after the formation of the coating layer. 2. The paper transport belt according to claim 1, wherein
The paper transport belt according to claim 1, wherein the material of the coating layer and the material of the laminate layer are formed of a material having a property capable of integrating the coating layer and the laminate layer. 3. The paper transport belt according to claim 1, wherein said coating layer is formed of an elastic material. 4. The paper transport belt according to claim 1, wherein the laminate layer is made of a high-density elastic material and made of the same material as the coating layer. Characteristic paper transfer belt. 5. The sheet transport belt according to claim 1, wherein the belt transports a document to a reading position of an image forming apparatus.