JP4597699B2 - Apparatus and method for smoothing resin-coated roller surface - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a smoothing device for a resin-coated roller such as a fixing roller used for fixing an unfixed image on a transfer paper in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a laser printer, and a facsimile. The present invention also relates to a smoothing apparatus and a smoothing method for a surface of a resin-coated roller that smoothes the surface of a roller whose surface is coated with a thermoplastic resin such as a fluororesin.

  Conventionally, as a method of smoothing a roller using a heated pressure roller against a smooth roller, a heated member is pressed against the surface of a fixing or pressure member covered with a fluorinated resin tube having a fold. The unevenness of the fold portion is smoothed by pressing a heated surface smoothing member against the surface of the fixing device (see Patent Document 1) for smoothing the fold portion unevenness or the surface of the fluororesin tube having the fold unevenness. A fixing device (see Patent Document 2) is known. However, these prior arts smooth out irregularities such as folds of the tube of the roller incorporated in the product, and there has been a demand for smoothing the resin coating layer coated on the roller.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a heat fixing roller used in a conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a partially enlarged view thereof. As shown in FIG. 6, the conventional heat fixing roller 9 has a primer layer 9b and a release layer 9a which is a resin coating layer on a cored bar 9c sequentially. The release layer 9a is preferably formed by coating a core metal 9c on which the primer layer 9b has been formed in advance with a thermoplastic resin. As such a thermoplastic resin, releasability to toner, continuous durability at a toner fixing temperature (usually 180 to 200 ° C.) and the like are required, and therefore, a releasable resin such as a fluororesin is used. . Polytetrafluoroethylene copolymer (PTFE) is used as the fluororesin, but recently, tetrafluoroethylene-polyethylenefluorovinyl ether copolymer (PFA) has better processability, so PFA is mainly used. Used as a material for a release layer for a fixing roller.

  Since the surface of the release layer 9a composed of such a release resin such as a fluororesin must have release properties for the toner, the ten-point average roughness (Rz): 1 to 3 μm, And a wave | undulation: The smoothness of about 2-4 micrometers is requested | required.

  Therefore, in the prior art, a pressure roller (not shown) configured to be movable in the axial direction of the heat fixing roller 9 and to be rotatable is pressed against the release layer 9a in the heat fixing roller 9 and rotated. A method (vanishing method) for improving the smoothness of the surface of the release layer 9a by moving in the axial direction while rotating and crushing the release layer 9a has been adopted.

Conventionally, in order to manufacture a smooth heat-fixing roller 9 by applying such a burnishing method, it has been necessary to set the pressure applied to the pressing roller to 20 to 60 kgf. If the thickness of the cored bar 9c in the heat fixing roller 9 is 1 to 2 mm or more, even if the pressure of 20 to 60 kgf is applied to the heat fixing roller 9, the deformation amount of the heat fixing roller 9 due to pressure is Since it was possible to make it within the elastic deformation range of the cored bar 9c, there was no problem.
JP 2001-109295 A JP 2001-142333 A

  As described above, it is possible to suppress deformation of the pressing roller by reducing the pressure applied to the pressing roller (corresponding to the pressing member). However, when the pressure applied to the pressing roller is decreased, the heat fixing roller There was a trade-off relationship that the smoothness of the water also decreased in proportion to the pressure. Therefore, the present applicant heats the resin-coated roller to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting or softening temperature of the roller surface layer material, contacts the pressure roller at a temperature equal to or higher than the temperature, and the temperature of the contact portion between the resin-coated roller and the pressure roller. Is measured by a temperature sensor that measures the surface temperature of the roller, and temperature control is applied so that the smoothness of the resin layer does not decrease even if the pressing force of the pressing roller is reduced.

  However, since the surface temperature of the pressure roller is set higher than the heating temperature of the workpiece, which is the resin-coated roller, the contact mark is generated when the pressure roller is brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece. As a result, it has been found that a new problem arises that the smoothing of the surface of the resin-coated roller is hindered. In particular, when a plurality of pressing rollers are used, a plurality of contact marks are generated. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem in order to surely smooth the surface of the thin resin-coated roller.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a smoothing device and a smoothing method for a resin-coated roller that can surely smooth the surface of a thin resin-coated roller without causing contact marks. It is an issue.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the surface of a resin-coated roller having a thermoplastic resin coating layer on a cored bar is higher than the softening temperature or melting temperature of the resin. The surface of the pressing member having a surface roughness smaller than the surface of the resin-coated roller is heated to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and the surface of the heated pressing member is heated. In a smoothing device for a resin-coated roller that smoothes the resin-coated roller by moving while pressing against the surface of the heated resin-coated roller, (a) a surface temperature for detecting the temperature of the surface of the pressing member And (b) the pressing member when the temperature detected by the surface temperature detecting means falls to a third temperature that is lower than the first temperature but does not soften or melt the resin. A contact means for contacting the surface of the resin-coated roller; (c) a heating means for heating the pressing member abutted by the contact means to the second temperature; and (d) the heating. And moving means for moving the resin-coated roller so as to be smooth while pressing the pressing member heated by the means against the surface of the resin-coated roller.

  The invention according to claim 2, which has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, is the resin-coated roller smoothing device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the pressing members are provided, and each of the pressing members corresponds to the pressing member. The moving means is provided so that the pressing member moves in a predetermined processing area of the resin-coated roller, and the abutting means contacts the pressing member on a surface other than the processing area. And a control means for controlling movement of each of the moving means so that the pressing member heated to the second temperature by the heating means enters the processing region. It is characterized by.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resin-coated roller smoothing device according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the processing region is moved from the center of the resin-coated roller to one end in the axial direction. Each of the moving means allows the pressing member to enter the processing region from the vicinity of the central portion of the resin-coated roller, and the one side end portion or the opposite direction to each other. It is made to move to the other side edge part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, in the smoothing device for a resin-coated roller according to the second or third aspect, the moving means moves each of the pressing members laterally at the same speed. It is characterized by being made to send.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 5 is the resin-coated roller smoothing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pressing member is the entire length of the resin-coated roller. A shape having a narrower width and a curvature in the axial direction, and the moving means laterally feeds in the axial direction of the resin-coated roller while pressing the pressing member against the surface of the resin-coated roller. The pressing member is moved to the position.

  The invention according to claim 6, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, is the resin-coated roller smoothing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein (e) the resin-coated roller and the pressing device are used. A contact location temperature detecting means for detecting a contact location temperature at a contact location where the member abuts; and (f) a contact location temperature detected by the contact location temperature detection means based on the contact location temperature. Heating control means for controlling heating of the resin-coated roller is further provided so that the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller does not change from the first temperature.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the surface of a resin-coated roller having a thermoplastic resin coating layer on a core metal is higher than the softening temperature or melting temperature of the resin. The surface of the pressing member having a surface roughness smaller than the surface of the resin-coated roller is heated to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and the surface of the heated pressing member is heated. In the smoothing method of the resin-coated roller for smoothing the resin-coated roller by moving while pressing against the surface of the heated resin-coated roller, the surface of the pressing member is lower than the first temperature. When the temperature drops to a third temperature at which the resin is not softened or melted, the pressing member is pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller, and in this state, the pressing member is set to the second temperature. After heating to so that, characterized in that the the pressing member in said heating smoothing the resin coating roller to move while pressing a surface of the resin-coated roller.

  As described above, according to the first and seventh aspects of the present invention, the pressing member whose surface is lowered to the third temperature is pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller, and the pressing member is in that state. Since the resin coating roller is made smooth by moving the pressing member against the surface of the resin-coated roller after heating to a second temperature, the surface temperature of the pressing member is set high. Even when smoothing is performed, the contact surface of the pressing member is not generated on the surface of the resin-coated roller, and even if the pressure applied to the pressing member is reduced, the smoothness is not lowered. The coating roller can be made smooth.

  According to the second and third aspects of the invention, the movement is controlled so that the pressing member enters the processing region of the resin-coated roller corresponding to the pressing member after the pressing member is heated to the second temperature. Therefore, even when the surface temperature of the pressing member is set high and smoothing is performed, each of the pressing members does not generate contact marks of the pressing members on the surface of the resin-coated roller. The processing speed for smoothing the resin-coated roller can be increased without lowering the smoothness even if the pressure applied to is reduced.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of pressing members are laterally fed at the same speed, the machining time can be shortened.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since the pressing member is formed in a shape having a curvature, the pressing member can be directly applied to the surface of the resin-coated roller, and the pressing member and the resin Since it is possible to perform a lateral feed process or the like in a state where the contact area with the coating roller is small, it is possible to widen the applicable range corresponding to various shapes of the resin coating roller.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the temperature of the resin-coated roller is controlled so that the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller does not change from the first temperature by detecting the temperature at the contact point between the resin-coated roller and the pressing member. As a result, the temperature of the estuary of the resin-coated roller can be kept constant, so that a more uniform smooth surface can be obtained even with a resin-coated roller using a thin metal core.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a smoothing device for a resin-coated roller according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same as that of what was demonstrated in the prior art, or the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a smoothing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the smoothing device of the resin-coated roller.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a smoothing device for a resin-coated roller according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied by a roller-shaped resin-coated roller 9 and a smoothing roller 15 that is a pressing member against the resin-coated roller 9. The pressure actuator 1 for applying pressure, the pressure actuator holder 2 for firmly holding the pressure actuator 1 on the actuator table 10, and the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller 9 are detected with a small diameter spot, for example, 5 mm or less. A non-contact thermometer 7 which is a non-contact temperature sensor, a thermometer holders 3 and 6 for immovably holding the non-contact thermometer 7 on the mounting base 14, and a surface of the resin-coated roller 9. A smoothing roller 15 that is a pressing member for contacting and smoothing the surface, and a smoothing roller support that is a pressing member support that rotatably supports the smoothing roller 15 5 and the smooth roller holder 4 that is a pressing member holder that holds the smooth roller support 5 on the mounting base 14, and traverse feed that is laterally fed in the axial direction of the resin-coated roller 9 with respect to the smooth roller 15. The actuator table 10 is moved in the axial direction of the resin-coated roller 9, the actuator table 10, which is a movable part of the actuator 11, and the smooth roller 15 are directly movable in the radial direction of the resin-coated roller 9. The linear motion guide 13 and its mounting base 14 for carrying out, and the base 12 for loading the whole pressing part are comprised.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes a temperature sensor fixed on the base 12. The surface temperature of the resin coating roller 9 is measured by the temperature sensor 16 until immediately before the start of processing, and the surface temperature of the resin coating roller 9 is a predetermined temperature immediately before the start of processing. The temperature is raised to. At the start of processing, the thermometer that measures the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller 9 is switched from the temperature sensor 16 to the non-contact temperature sensor 7 that is a non-contact thermometer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the smoothing device for the resin-coated roller 9 is a resin-coated roller that is pressed against a resin-coated roller 9 that is a work having at least one resin-coated layer on a hollow cylindrical cored bar 9c. A smoothing roller 15 that is a pressing member that smoothens the surface of the resin 9 and has a surface roughness smaller than that of the surface of the resin coating roller 9, and a resin coating that is arranged in the length direction of the resin coating roller 9 And a heater 21 which is a heating element for heating the surface of the layer to a temperature higher than the softening temperature or melting temperature of the resin.

  In the present embodiment, the high temperature corresponding to the first temperature in the claims is set to a value equal to or higher than the softening temperature or melting temperature of the release layer 9a that forms the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 described above. It changes depending on the material of the release layer 9a.

  The resin-coated roller 9 has both ends of the cored bar 9c supported rotatably by the hollow chuck 20, and a rotational driving force is transmitted.

  The smooth roller 15 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and can rotate together with the resin-coated roller 9. By rotating the smooth roller 15 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 can be smoothed with high accuracy.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substantially cylindrical smooth roller 15 is narrower than the entire length of the resin-coated roller 90 and has a curvature in the axial direction, and is formed in a substantially drum shape. Further, the smooth roller 15 can be laterally fed in the axial direction of the resin coating roller 9 while being rotated together with the resin coating roller 9. Since it is possible to perform the lateral feed processing in a state where the contact area between the smoothing roller 15 and the resin-coated roller 9 is small, the smoothing roller 15 can be directly applied to the surface of the resin-coated roller 9, so that various The applicable range for the shape of the resin-coated roller 9 is expanded.

  The heater 21 is provided inside the cored bar 9c of the resin-coated roller 9, and is composed of two infrared heaters in this embodiment. These two infrared heaters are supported at both ends by heater supports 17 and 19, and are energized through electrodes 18.

  A power supply 25 for supplying power to the heater 21 is connected to the electrode 18 via a control device 24 that controls the power supplied to the heater 21 to an appropriate value.

  A temperature sensor 7 that measures the roller surface temperature in a non-contact manner is disposed near the outer peripheral surface of the resin-coated roller 9.

  A smooth roller (pressing member) 15 that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the resin-coated roller 9 and narrower than the resin-coated roller 9 is disposed. The smooth roller 15 is a smooth roller support 4 that is a pressing member holder. It is supported rotatably by. A pressure actuator 1 is provided to apply pressure to the smooth roller 15 via the smooth roller support 4.

  Further, a heater 22, for example, an infrared heater, is preferably disposed along the central axis of the smooth roller 15 so as not to contact the inner surface of the smooth roller 15 in the hollow portion of the smooth roller 15. The heater 22 is supported by a heater support 23, and the power supplied to the heater 22 is supplied to the heater 22 through a power supply control device 26 that controls the power supplied to the heater 22 to an appropriate value, that is, the surface temperature of the smooth roller 15 to a predetermined value. A power supply 27 is provided for supplying. The processability is better when the surface temperature of the smooth roller 15 during processing is higher than the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller 9 to be processed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a contact-type temperature sensor 8 is provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the smooth roller 15. The contact temperature sensor 8 outputs temperature information indicating the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the smooth roller 15.

  The non-contact temperature sensor 7 that measures the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller 9 is disposed in the center of the smooth roller 15 in the axial direction, and is traversed in the axial direction of the resin-coated roller 9 together with the actuator table 10 by driving the actuator 11. Therefore, it is possible to measure the processing temperature at the location where the smoothing roller 15 is in contact during the smoothing process. The reason why the processing temperature is measured by the non-contact temperature sensor 7 of the small-diameter spot is that the temperature in the circumferential direction of the resin-coated roller 9 is substantially uniform, but the resin-coated roller 9 which has an adverse effect during smooth processing. This is to increase the measurement resolution of the temperature measurement in the axial direction.

  In order to obtain a uniform smooth surface over the entire processed surface of the resin-coated roller 9, it is necessary to keep the temperature of the contact portion between the resin-coated roller 9 and the smooth roller 15 constant from the start of processing to the end of processing. It is.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the surface temperature of the processed portion is made constant by the power supply control device 24 based on the measurement result while detecting the temperature of the processed portion by the non-contact temperature sensor (contact point temperature detecting means) 7. In addition, the power supplied to the heater 21 is optimized. Therefore, in this embodiment, this power supply control device 24 functions as the heating control means in the claims.

  The cross-sectional structure of the resin-coated roller 9 is the same as that of the heat-fixing roller 9 shown in FIG. 6, for example, and a primer layer 9b and a release layer 9a are sequentially laminated on a cored bar 9c. Further, there may be a plurality of resin coating layers, and in this case, the surface layer only needs to be the release layer 9a.

  The above-described smoothing device further includes a control device 30 that is connected to the pressure actuator 1, the actuator 11, the power supply control devices 24 and 26, etc., and instructs various controls. The control device 30 includes a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown) and the like, and the CPU or the like executes the instruction by executing a predetermined program.

  The control device 30 further has a contact temperature sensor 8 connected thereto, can take in temperature information output from the contact temperature sensor 8, and can detect the surface temperature of the smooth roller 15 based on the temperature information. It has a configuration. In response to an instruction from the control device 30, the pressure actuator 1 causes the smoothing roller 15 to contact the surface of the resin-coated roller 9, and the actuator 11 moves the actuator table 10 in the axial direction of the resin-coated roller 9. By doing so, the smoothing roller 15 is moved in the axial direction.

  Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of movement in the embodiment of the smoothing roller included in the smoothing device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the position and temperature of the smoothing roller of FIG. .

  In the smoothing device having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the surface of the resin coating roller 9 is smoothed using the two smoothing rollers 15 </ b> A and 15 </ b> B, from the central position 9 </ b> C of the resin coating roller 9. The region up to the right end 9R is a processing region E1, and the region from the center position 9C to the left end 9L is a processing region E2.

  The smoothing roller 15A that processes the processing region E1 contacts the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 at a first contact position PA that is shifted by a predetermined distance from the center position 9C toward the left end 9L. Further, the smooth roller 15B that processes the processing region E2 contacts the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 at a second contact position PB that is shifted from the center position 9C toward the right end 9R by a predetermined distance.

  The smooth rollers 15A and 15B are in contact at the first contact position PA and the second contact position PB, respectively, at a temperature T lower than the melt softening temperature T0 of the release layer 9a of the resin-coated roller 9. Note that the temperature T at this time can be shortened by heating the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B in the state of being heated to the vicinity of the melt softening temperature T0. It can be made into various different forms, for example.

  Further, the smooth rollers 15A and 15B in contact with the surface of the resin coating roller 9 are heated by the heater 22 to a processing temperature T1 set higher than the melt softening temperature T0. In this embodiment, the processing temperature T1 is set to be about 20 degrees or more higher than the melt softening temperature T0. However, the coating of the resin coating roller 9 is not peeled off by the frictional force with the smooth rollers 15A and 15B. Any temperature may be used, and a temperature suitable for the constituent material of the release layer 9a is set.

  The smoothing roller 15A heated to the processing temperature T1 is moved while being pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 from the contact position PA toward the right end 9R, thereby smoothing the processing region E1. . Further, the smoothing roller 15B is moved while being pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 from the contact position PB toward the left end 9L, thereby smoothing the processing region E2.

  Next, an example of an outline of processing according to the present invention performed by the control device 30 for the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described below with reference to the drawing of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the smoothing process according to the present invention executed by the control device 30 of FIG. And in the control apparatus 30, the program which makes a CPU etc. perform a smoothing process is memorize | stored in the storage medium.

  When the smoothing process is executed, in step S11 (surface temperature detection means) shown in FIG. 5, the temperature information output from the contact-type temperature sensor 8 is fetched, and the temperatures of the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B are based on this temperature information. T (surface temperature) is detected and stored in a storage device (not shown), and then the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, it is determined whether or not the detected temperature T is lower than a predetermined melt softening temperature T0. If it is determined that the temperature T is not lower than the melt softening temperature T0 (N in S12), the process returns to step S11, and this determination process is repeated to wait for the temperature T to become lower than the melt softening temperature T0. . At this time, the abnormality of the temperature T may be warned. On the other hand, if it is determined that the temperature T is lower than the melt softening temperature T0 (Y in S12), the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S <b> 13, the smoothing rollers 15 </ b> A and B are in contact with the contact positions PA and PB of the resin-coated roller 9 by instructing the pressure actuator 1 and the actuator 11, so When moved to a position corresponding to PA, PB, the pressure actuator 1 is brought into contact with the surface of the resin-coated roller 9, and then the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, the heater 22 is instructed to heat the smoothing rollers 15A and B to the processing temperature T1, whereby the heating heater 22 causes the smoothing rollers 15A and B to be heated, and then the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, similarly to step S11, the temperature information output by the contact temperature sensor 8 is taken in, and based on this temperature information, the temperatures T (surface temperatures) of the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B are detected and the storage device ( (Not shown), and then the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, it is determined whether or not the detected temperature T has reached a predetermined processing temperature T1. If it is determined that the temperature T is not the processing temperature T1 (N in S16), the process returns to step S15, and this determination process is repeated to wait for the temperature T to become the processing temperature T1. On the other hand, if it is determined that the temperature T has reached the processing temperature T1 (Y in S16), the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S17, by instructing the actuator 11 to move the smooth rollers 15A and 15B at the same speed (transverse feed), the smooth rollers 15A and B are moved by the actuator 11 in the processing areas EA1 and 2, respectively. Exit.

  Therefore, as is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, the actuator 11 that moves the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B corresponds to the moving means in the claims, and the control device 30 that controls the movement of the actuator 11 is used. Functions as the control means in the claims.

  Next, an example of the operation of the smoothing device 1 having the above-described configuration according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  First, the smoothing device 1 detects a temperature T indicating the surface temperature of the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B. When this temperature T is lower than the melt softening temperature T0, the smoothing rollers 15A and B are placed on the surface of the resin-coated roller 9. Contact is made at the contact positions PA and PB. Thereafter, the smoothing rollers 15A and B are processed, and when the temperature T rises to the processing temperature T1, the smoothing roller 15A is moved from the contact position E1 to the right side of the resin-coated roller 9 so as to smooth the processing regions E1 and E2. While moving toward the end portion 9R, the smoothing roller 15B is moved from the contact position E2 toward the left end portion 9L.

  Then, the electric power supplied to the heater 21 is detected so that the surface temperature of the resin coating roller 9 becomes constant based on the measurement result while detecting the temperature on the surface of the resin coating roller 9 with the non-contact temperature sensor 7. It is controlled by the power supply control device 24 so as to be optimal. As a result, the processing areas E1, 2 of the resin-coated roller 9 are processed into a uniform smooth surface over the front surface.

  As described above, according to the smoothing device 1 of the present invention, the smoothing rollers 15A, B whose surfaces of the smoothing rollers (pressing members) 15A, B are lowered to a temperature (third temperature) lower than the melt softening temperature T0 are obtained. After pressing against the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 and heating the smooth rollers 15A, B to the processing temperature (second temperature) T1 in that state, the smooth rollers 15A, B are pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller 9 Since the resin-coated roller 9 is made smooth by being moved, even when smoothing is performed by setting the surface temperature of the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B high, the smoothing roller 15A is placed on the surface of the resin-coated roller 9. , B is not generated, and the resin-coated roller 9 can be smoothed without reducing the smoothness even if the pressure applied to the smoothing rollers 15A, B is reduced.

  When the heating temperature of the resin coating roller 9 and the temperature of the smoothing rollers 15A and 15B are set so as to be different from each other, the surface temperature of the resin coating roller 9 with which the contact rollers 15A and 15B are in contact is smooth. Although the heat moves from the rollers 15A and 15B to the resin-coated roller 9 and fluctuates in the direction of increasing the temperature, in this embodiment, the temperature of the processing regions E1 and E2 of the resin-coated roller 9 can be kept constant. A more uniform smooth surface can be obtained.

  Further, the movement is controlled so that the smooth rollers 15A and 15B enter the processing regions E1 and 2 of the resin coating roller 9 corresponding to the smooth rollers 15A and 15B after being heated to the processing temperature (second temperature) T1. Therefore, even when smoothing is performed by setting the surface temperature of the smoothing rollers 15A, 15B high, the smoothing rollers 15A, 15A, Even if the pressure applied to each of B is reduced, the processing speed for smoothing the resin-coated roller 9 can be increased without reducing the smoothness.

  According to the smoothing device 1 for the resin coating roller 9, since the surface of the resin coating layer is smoothed, the resin coating roller 9 having excellent smoothness of the resin coating layer on the surface of the thinned metal core 9a is provided. Obtainable. Further, by using the release layer as the surface layer of the resin coating layer, it is possible to obtain a heat-fixing roller excellent in the smoothness of the release layer on the surface of the cored bar which has been thinned in order to reduce power consumption.

  In the above-described best mode, the case where the smooth rollers 15A and 15B are directed from the respective contact positions PA and PB toward the end of the resin-coated roller 9 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A mode in which a plurality of smoothing rollers 15 are traversed in the same direction at the same speed, and the two smoothing rollers 15 are moved to the other end with the processing start point of the two smoothing rollers 15 being the same end of the resin-coated roller 9. Various forms such as a form and a form in which the plurality of smooth rollers 15 are traverse-feeded in the opposite directions at the same speed can be employed.

It is a schematic side view of the smoothing apparatus in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the smoothing apparatus in one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a movement in embodiment of the smoothing roller which a smoothing apparatus has. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the position of the smooth roller of FIG. 3, and temperature. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the smoothing process which concerns on this invention which the control apparatus of FIG. 2 performs. It is sectional drawing of a resin coating roller, and its partially expanded view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pressure actuator 2 Pressure actuator holder 3 Temperature sensor holder 4 Smooth roller holder (pressing member holder)
5 Smooth roller support (pressing member support)
6 Temperature sensor holder 7 Non-contact temperature sensor (thermometer)
8 Contact-type temperature sensor 9 Resin-coated roller 9a Release layer 9b Primer layer 9c Core metal 10 Actuator table 11 Actuator 12 Base 13 Direct acting guide 14 Mounting base 15 Smoothing roller (pressing member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 Fixed side temperature sensor 17 Heater support body 18 Electrode 19 Heater support body 20 Hollow chuck 21 Heating heater 22 Heating heater 23 Heater support body 24 Power supply control apparatus 25 Power supply 26 Power supply control apparatus 27 Power supply 90 Resin coating roller

Claims (7)

The surface of the resin-coated roller having a thermoplastic resin coating layer on the core metal is heated to a first temperature higher than the softening temperature or melting temperature of the resin, and the surface roughness is smaller than the surface of the resin-coated roller. By heating the surface of the pressing member to a second temperature higher than the first temperature and moving the surface of the heated pressing member against the surface of the heated resin coating roller, the resin coating In the smoothing device of the resin-coated roller that smoothes the roller,
(A) surface temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the surface of the pressing member;
(B) When the temperature detected by the surface temperature detecting means is lower than the first temperature but falls to a third temperature at which the resin is not softened or melted, the pressing member is applied to the surface of the resin-coated roller. A contact means for contact;
(C) heating means for heating the pressing member brought into contact with the contact means so as to reach the second temperature;
(D) moving means for moving the resin-coated roller so as to be smooth while pressing the pressing member heated by the heating means against the surface of the resin-coated roller;
A smoothing device for a resin-coated roller, comprising:   A plurality of the pressing members are provided, the moving means is provided so that the pressing member moves in a predetermined processing region of the resin-coated roller corresponding to each of the pressing members, and An abutting means is adapted to abut the pressing member on a surface other than the processing area, and the pressing member heated to the second temperature by the heating means enters the processing area. The apparatus for smoothing a resin-coated roller according to claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling movement by each of the moving means.   The processing area is from the central portion of the resin-coated roller to one end and the other end in the axial direction, and each of the moving means moves the pressing member from the vicinity of the central portion of the resin-coated roller. The apparatus for smoothing a resin-coated roller according to claim 2, wherein the smoothing device is inserted into the processing region and moved in the opposite direction to the one side end or the other side end.   4. The smoothing device for a resin-coated roller according to claim 2, wherein the moving means causes each of the pressing members to be laterally fed at the same speed.   The pressing member is formed in a shape that is narrower than the entire length of the resin-coated roller and has a curvature in the axial direction, and the moving means presses the pressing member against the surface of the resin-coated roller. The smoothing device for a resin-coated roller according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pressing member is moved so as to be laterally fed in the axial direction of the resin-coated roller. (E) a contact point temperature detecting means for detecting a contact point temperature at a contact point where the resin-coated roller and the pressing member are in contact;
(F) heating the resin-coated roller based on the contact point temperature detected by the contact point temperature detecting means so that the surface temperature of the resin-coated roller at the contact point does not change from the first temperature. Heating control means for controlling,
The apparatus for smoothing a resin-coated roller according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: The surface of the resin-coated roller having a thermoplastic resin coating layer on the core metal is heated to a first temperature higher than the softening temperature or melting temperature of the resin, and the surface roughness is higher than the surface of the resin-coated roller. The surface of the small pressing member is heated to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and the surface of the heated pressing member is moved against the surface of the heated resin-coated roller, thereby moving the resin. In the method of smoothing the resin-coated roller for smoothing the coated roller,
When the surface of the pressing member falls to a third temperature lower than the first temperature but does not soften or melt the resin, the pressing member is pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller, After the pressing member is heated to the second temperature, the heated pressing member is moved while being pressed against the surface of the resin-coated roller, thereby smoothing the resin-coated roller. A method for smoothing a resin-coated roller.

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