JP2002258514A - Toner, color toner and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner by which a heating part of a material to be heated is made into a starting state at prescribed temperature in short time, fixation property of a toner image is sufficiently secured and uniform degrees of luster is held between the front edge and the rear edge of the image on the material to be heated and furthermore, over many sheets of paper. SOLUTION: The toner is adapted to an image forming method to use a heating and pressurizing fixation means in an electromagnetic induction heating system and is characterized by satisfying a) a low softening point material is contained, b) Mp of a THF soluble portion of the toner in molecular weight distribution is 10,000 to 40,000, Mw is 12,000 to 1,200,000, c) ratio between storage elasticity rate of the toner at 50 degree and the storage elasticity rate at 80 degree is 600 to 1600, d) ratio between storage elasticity rate of the toner at 140 degrees and the storage elasticity rate at 170 degrees is 0.05 to 30, e) discharge quantity of a melt index of the toner for 10 minutes is 0.5 to 60 g.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner and an image forming method applied to an image forming apparatus using an electromagnetic induction heating type heating device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus, a recording material (transfer material sheet, electrofax sheet, electrostatic recording paper, OHP paper, etc.) is used by an appropriate image forming process means such as an electrophotographic process, an electrostatic recording process, and a magnetic recording process. Sheet
A fixing device that heats and fixes an unfixed image (toner image) of target image information formed and carried on a transfer method or a direct method on a printing paper or format paper as a permanent fixed image on a recording material surface includes: Heat roller type devices have been widely used. Recently, belt heating type devices have been put into practical use from the viewpoint of quick start and energy saving. Also, an electromagnetic induction heating system has been proposed.
The configuration, advantages, and problems of these types of fixing devices are as follows.

A) Heat roller type fixing device This is a fixing device which basically has a pressure roller pair of a fixing roller (heating roller) and a pressure roller, rotates the roller pair, and is a mutual pressure contact portion of the roller pair. A recording material on which an unfixed toner image to be image-fixed is formed and carried is introduced into the fixing nip portion, nipped and conveyed, and the unfixed toner image is covered by the heat of the fixing roller and the pressing force of the fixing nip portion. The fixing is performed by heat and pressure on the surface of the recording material.

The fixing roller generally has a hollow metal roller made of aluminum as a base (metal core), and a halogen lamp as a heat source is inserted and disposed in the hollow space thereof. The power supply to the halogen lamp is controlled to control the temperature so that the predetermined fixing temperature is maintained.

In particular, as a fixing device of an image forming apparatus for forming a full-color image, which is required to have a capability of sufficiently heating and melting a maximum of four toner image layers to mix colors, a core metal of a fixing roller has a high heat capacity. And a rubber elastic layer for wrapping the toner image around the core metal and uniformly melting the toner image, and heating the toner image via the rubber elastic layer. There is also a configuration in which a heat source is provided in the pressure roller to heat and control the temperature of the pressure roller.

However, in the heat roller type fixing device, even when the power of the image forming apparatus is turned on and the halogen lamp, which is the heat source of the fixing device, is energized at the same time, the heat capacity of the fixing roller is large, and the fixing roller and the like are cooled. A considerable waiting time (wait time) is required from the cutting state to the rise to a predetermined fixable temperature, and the quick start property is lacking. Further, it is necessary to keep the fixing roller in a predetermined temperature control state by energizing the halogen lamp so that the image forming operation can be performed at any time even when the image forming apparatus is in a standby state (non-image output). There were problems such as a large amount.

Further, in a fixing device having a particularly large heat capacity, such as the fixing device of the above-described full-color image forming apparatus, a delay occurs between the temperature control and the temperature rise of the fixing roller surface. Problems such as uneven gloss and offset have occurred.

B) Fixing Device of Film Heating System A fixing device of the film heating system is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-63-3
13182, JP-A-2-15778, JP-A-4-44075 and JP-A-4-204980
Has been proposed.

That is, a nip portion is formed by sandwiching a heat-resistant film (fixing film) between a ceramic heater as a heating element and a pressing roller as a pressing member. By introducing a recording material on which an unfixed toner image to be image-fixed is formed and carried between the pressure roller and the film and nipping and transporting the same together with the film, the heat of the ceramic heater is received via the film at the nip. The unfixed toner image is applied to the recording material, and the unfixed toner image is thermally and pressure-fixed to the surface of the recording material by the pressure of the nip portion.

This fixing device of the film heating type can constitute an on-demand type device using a ceramic heater and a member having a low heat capacity as a film, and a ceramic heater as a heat source only when the image forming apparatus executes image formation. To a state in which heat is generated to a predetermined fixing temperature, the waiting time from the power-on of the image forming apparatus to the image forming executable state is short (quick start property), and the power consumption during standby is greatly reduced. There are advantages such as small (power saving).

However, a full-color image forming apparatus requiring a large amount of heat or a fixing device for a high-speed model has a calorific point.

C) Fixing Device of Electromagnetic Induction Heating System JP-A-51-109739 discloses an induction heating fixing device in which current is induced in a fixing roller by magnetic flux to generate heat by Joule heat. This makes it possible to directly generate heat in the fixing roller by utilizing the generation of an induced current, and achieves a more efficient fixing process than a heat roller type fixing device using a halogen lamp as a heat source.

However, since the energy of the alternating magnetic flux generated by the exciting coil as the magnetic field generating means is used to raise the temperature of the entire fixing roller, heat dissipation is large, and the fixing energy density with respect to the input energy is low, resulting in poor efficiency. there were.

Therefore, in order to obtain the energy acting on the fixing at a high density, the exciting coil is brought closer to the fixing roller as a heating element, and the alternating magnetic flux distribution of the exciting coil is concentrated near the fixing nip. High efficiency fixing devices have been devised.

On the other hand, the toner is disclosed in JP-A-1-128.
JP-A-07-71, JP-A-4-353866, JP-A-6-59504, etc. disclose toners that focus on the viscoelasticity of resin. However, it is still difficult to achieve both low-temperature fixability and high-temperature offset resistance. There is a need for improvement.

In order to improve the high-temperature offset resistance at the time of fixing, a material having relatively high releasability such as polyethylene wax or polypropylene wax is generally used. , The developability is often poor.

In general, in a color toner, high-temperature offset resistance is improved by applying a silicone oil or the like to the surface of a heat fixing roller without adding a release agent. However, the output transfer member obtained in this way causes problems such as giving an unpleasant sensation to the user due to extra silicone oil or the like adhering to the surface thereof and being difficult to see due to high gloss.

To solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-28
No. 2822, a toner containing a low-softening point substance in a toner by a polymerization method and further controlling the physical properties of the resin to satisfy low-temperature fixability, high-temperature offset resistance, image glossiness, and OHP transparency. A combination of heat fixing devices is disclosed.

However, this heat fixing device is of a heat roller type, and has advantages such as a long service life and pressure during fixing. However, as described above, the wait time is long and power consumption is low. There were problems such as big.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-204110 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-204110 disclose a combination of a fixing device of an electromagnetic induction heating fixing system or a film heating fixing system which solves problems such as wait time and power consumption and a toner containing a low softening point substance. -488
No. 68, for example.

In these cases, the physical properties of the resin and the low-softening substance in the toner are specified. However, a fixing device of a film heating type or an electromagnetic induction type cannot apply a large pressure at the time of fixing. Therefore, optimization of the physical properties of the toner has been required.

At present, there is no combination of a toner and a heat fixing device that solves various problems as described above.

[0023]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toner, a color toner and an image forming method which solve the problems of the prior art as described above.

That is, an object of the present invention is to enable the heated material heating section to be brought up to a predetermined temperature in a short time (quick start property), to sufficiently secure the toner image fixing property, and An object of the present invention is to provide a toner and an image forming method capable of achieving uniform glossiness (gloss) at the leading and trailing edges of an image, and even at a number of sheets passed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a color toner capable of obtaining an image having excellent transparency of an overhead projector film (OHP) image by sufficiently mixing a multicolor toner and having good color reproducibility, and an image forming method. It is to provide a method.

[0026]

The present invention provides (i) a magnetic field generating means, (ii) a rotary heating member having at least a heat generating layer and a release layer which generate heat by electromagnetic induction, and (ii)
i) using a heating / pressurizing means having at least the rotating heating member and a rotating pressing member forming a nip, and pressing the rotating heating member against the rotating pressing member via a recording material to perform the recording. A toner applied to an image forming method for forming a fixed image on a recording material by heating and fixing a toner image on a material, wherein the toner includes a low softening point substance in a) B) 1 to 30 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin. B) The molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner is 10.0 or less.
00 to 40,000, weight average molecular weight (Mw)
There is a 12,000 to 1,200,000, c) the storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 50 ° C. of the toner (G _'50)
And the ratio (G _'50 / G' ₈₀ ) of the toner to the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₈₀ ) at a temperature of 80 ° C. is 600 to 1600. d) The storage elastic modulus (G ′) of the toner at a temperature of 140 ° C.
₁₄₀ ) and the ratio (G ′ ₁₄₀ / G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the toner at 170 ° C. is 0.05 to 30. e) Melt index of toner (125 ° C., load) (5 kg) in an amount of 0.5 to 60 g in 10 minutes.

Also, the present invention provides (i) a magnetic field generating means,
(Ii) a rotary heating member having at least a heat generating layer and a release layer that generate heat by electromagnetic induction; and (iii) a rotary pressing member having at least a rotary pressing member forming a nip with the rotary heating member. An image forming method of heating and pressing the toner image on the recording material while pressing the rotation heating member through the recording material to press the rotation pressing member through the recording material to form a fixed image on the recording material; The following a) to e) a) 1 to 30 parts by mass of a low softening point substance are contained in the toner with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin. B) The main component in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner The peak molecular weight Mp is 10,000.
00 to 40,000, weight average molecular weight (Mw)
There is a 12,000 to 1,200,000, c) the storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 50 ° C. of the toner (G _'50)
And the ratio (G _'50 / G' ₈₀ ) of the toner to the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₈₀ ) at a temperature of 80 ° C. is 600 to 1600. d) The storage elastic modulus (G ′) of the toner at a temperature of 140 ° C.
₁₄₀ ) and the ratio (G ′ ₁₄₀ / G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the toner at 170 ° C. is 0.05 to 30. e) Melt index of toner (125 ° C., load) The present invention relates to an image forming method using a toner that satisfies a discharge amount of 0.5 to 60 g in 10 minutes (5 kg) for 10 minutes.

Hereinafter, the toner and the image forming method of the "first invention" will be particularly referred to when describing the toner and the image forming method.

Further, the present invention provides (i) a magnetic field generating means, (ii) a rotary heating member having at least a heat generating layer, an elastic layer, and a release layer which generate heat by electromagnetic induction;
i) using a heating / pressurizing means having at least the rotating heating member and a rotating pressing member forming a nip, and pressing the rotating heating member against the rotating pressing member via a recording material to perform the recording. A toner applied to an image forming method for forming a fixed image on a recording material by heating and pressing a toner image on a material to form a fixed image, wherein the color toner has the following softening points: a) to e) The substance is contained in an amount of 1 to 35 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin. B) The molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner is 7,00.
0 to 50,000 and a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 9,000 to 1,500,000. C) Storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) of the toner at a temperature of 50 ° C.
A storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 80 ° C. of the toner 'ratio of _{(80 (G G)' 50} / G '80) of 400 to 2000, d) storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 140 ° C. of the toner (G'
₁₄₀₎ and a 'ratio (G and _{170)' 140} / G _'170) of 0.05 to 50 storage modulus (G at a temperature 170 ° C. of the toner, e) the toner melt index (temperature 125 ° C., load 5 kg) in a discharge amount of 0.5 to 80 g in 10 minutes.

The present invention also provides (i) a magnetic field generating means,
(Ii) a rotary heating member having at least a heat generating layer, an elastic layer, and a release layer that generate heat by electromagnetic induction; and (iii)
Using a heating / pressurizing means having at least the rotating heating member and a rotating pressing member forming a nip, the rotating heating member is pressed onto the recording material while pressing the rotating pressing member via the recording material. In the image forming method for forming a fixed image on a recording material by fixing the toner image under heating and pressure, the following a) to e) a) a low softening point substance is added to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin in the toner. B) the toner has a molecular weight Mp of the main peak of 7000 in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner.
0 to 50,000 and a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 9,000 to 1,500,000. C) Storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) of the toner at a temperature of 50 ° C.
A storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 80 ° C. of the toner 'ratio of _{(80 (G G)' 50} / G '80) of 400 to 2000, d) storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 140 ° C. of the toner (G'
₁₄₀₎ and a 'ratio (G and _{170)' 140} / G _'170) of 0.05 to 50 storage modulus (G at a temperature 170 ° C. of the toner, e) the toner melt index (temperature 125 ° C., load The present invention relates to an image forming method using a color toner which satisfies an ejection amount of 0.5 kg to 5 g for 5 minutes in a period of 0.5 to 80 g.

Hereinafter, when the color toner and the image forming method are described in particular, the color toner and the image forming method of the "second invention" are referred to.

The description of matters common to any of the above-described inventions is simply referred to as “the present invention”.

The toner used in the first invention has a main peak molecular weight Mp of 10,000 to 4 in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner.
When it is 0.000, low-temperature fixability, high-temperature offset resistance,
Other fixing defects can be suppressed.

In the toner used in the second invention, if the molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the THF-soluble component of the toner is from 7,000 to 50,000, low-temperature fixability, high-temperature offset resistance, and other properties are obtained. Poor fixing can be suppressed.

Here, a method for measuring the molecular weight distribution of the THF-soluble component will be described below.

<Method for Measuring Molecular Weight Distribution of THF Soluble Content>
In the case of a polyester resin, a sample for GPC measurement is prepared as follows.

The binder resin is tetrahydrofuran (THF)
After being left inside for several hours, shake well, mix well with THF (until the resin is no longer united), and let stand still for 12 hours or more. At this time, the time of being left in THF is set to be 24 hours or more. After that, the sample passed through a sample processing filter (pore size: 0.45 to 0.5 μm, for example, available from Maishoridisk H-25-5 Tosoh Corporation, and Exiclodisk 25CR Germanman Science Japan Corporation) can be used. GPC sample. The resin concentration is such that the resin component is 0.5 to 5 mg / m
Adjust to l.

The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the THF-soluble component of the binder resin by GPC are measured by the following methods.
The column is stabilized in a heat chamber at 0 ° C., and THF is flowed through the column at this temperature at a flow rate of 1 ml per minute, and about 100 μl of a THF sample solution is injected to measure. In measuring the molecular weight of a sample, the molecular weight distribution of the sample is calculated from the relationship between the logarithmic value of a calibration curve prepared from several types of monodisperse polystyrene standard samples and the count number. As a standard polyester sample for preparing a calibration curve, for example, those having a molecular weight of about 10 ² to 10 ⁷ manufactured by Tosoh Corporation or Showa Denko KK, and having at least 10
It is appropriate to use about a few standard polystyrene samples. An RI (refractive index) detector is used as the detector. As the column, it is preferable to combine a plurality of commercially available polystyrene gel columns.
ex GPC KF-801, 802, 803, 80
4,805,806,807,800P and TSKgelG1000H (H _XL ) manufactured by Tosoh Corporation
_{G2000H (H XL), G3000H (} H XL), G40
_{00H (H XL), G5000H (} H XL), G6000H
(H _XL ), G7000H (H _XL ) TSKguardco
A combination of luns is included.

In particular, the column configuration is A-8 manufactured by Showa Denko KK
01, 802, 803, 804, 805, 806 and 8
07 are preferred.

In the first invention, the molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the THF-soluble component is 10,000.
If it is less than 1, the high-temperature preservability becomes weak, and the layer configuration of the fixing device of the first invention having no elastic layer is inferior in high-temperature offset resistance, and the image tends to have a large variation in glossiness (gloss) on the image and is difficult to see. The molecular weight Mp of the main peak is 40,0
If it is larger than 00, the first invention is inferior in low-temperature fixability.

Further, the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of the THF-soluble component of the toner is from 12,000 to 1,200,000.
When it is 0, low-temperature fixing property, high-temperature offset resistance, and other fixing defects can be suppressed. If the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of the THF-soluble component is less than 12,000, the high-temperature offset resistance is inferior, and a glossy (gloss) variation on the image is large, so that a surface image that is difficult to see tends to be formed. Weight average molecular weight (M
If w) is larger than 1,200,000, the low-temperature fixability is poor, and the color reproduction is poor in a full-color image, and the color reproducibility is poor.

Further, in the first invention, it is preferable that Mw is 12,000 to 600,000 in the case of a monocolor toner from the viewpoint of transparency.

In the second invention, the molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the THF-soluble component is 7,000.
If it is less than 1, high-temperature offset resistance is inferior, glossiness (gloss) variation on the image is large, and the image tends to be difficult to see, and also a problem occurs in the high-temperature storability. When the molecular weight Mp of the main peak is larger than 50,000, the low-temperature fixability is poor.

Further, the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the THF-soluble component of the toner is from 9,000 to 1,500,000.
In this case, low-temperature fixability, high-temperature offset resistance, and other fixing defects can be suppressed. If the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of the THF-soluble component is less than 9,000, the high-temperature offset resistance is inferior, and a glossy (gloss) variation on the image is large, and the surface image tends to be difficult to see. When the weight average molecular weight (Mw) is more than 1,500,000, the low-temperature fixability is poor,
Further, in a full-color image, color mixing is poor and color reproducibility is poor.

Further, in the second invention, it is more preferable that Mw of the color toner other than the black toner is 9,000 to 600,000 from the viewpoint of color mixing and transparency.

In the first invention, the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) of the toner at a temperature of 50 ° C. and the toner temperature of 8 ° C.
'Ratio of ₍₈₀ (G storage modulus at 0 ℃ G)' ₅₀ /
When _G'80 ) is from 600 to 1600, the low-temperature fixability is good.

In the second invention, the toner temperature is 50 ° C.
(G _'50 / G' ₈₀ ) between the storage elastic modulus (G _'50 ) of the toner at 80 ° C. and the storage elastic modulus (G' ₈₀ ) of the toner at 80 ° C.
Is 400 to 2000, the low-temperature fixability is good.

Here, the method of measuring viscoelasticity will be described below.

<Measurement of Rheological Properties of Toner> The measurement is performed using a viscoelasticity measuring device (rheometer) RDA-II type (manufactured by Rheometrics). Measurement jig: A parallel plate having a diameter of 7.9 mm when the elastic modulus is high and a diameter of 25 mm when the elastic modulus is low is used. Measurement sample: a cylindrical sample having a diameter of about 8 mm and a height of 1.5 to 5 mm after heating and melting the toner, or a diameter of about 25 mm,
It is used by shaping into a disk-shaped sample having a height of 1.5 to 3 mm. Measurement frequency: 6.28 rad / s Measurement distortion setting: Initial value is set to 0.1%, and measurement is performed in the automatic measurement mode. Sample extension correction: Adjusted in automatic measurement mode. Measurement temperature: The temperature is raised from 5 ° C to 160 ° C at a rate of 2 ° C per minute.

This was put in an aluminum pan, and an empty aluminum pan was used as a reference.
The measurement is performed at a temperature rising rate of 10 ° C./min and at normal temperature and normal humidity between 0 ° C.

The value of G _'50 / G' ₈₀ indicates the melting characteristics of the toner when heat is applied. It can be said that the larger the value, the sharper the melt.

In the first invention, if the value of G _'50 / G' ₈₀ is less than 600, the melting of the toner is slow. Therefore, when the process speed of the fixing device is high, defective fixing is likely to occur. G _'50 / G' value of ₈₀ is more than 1600 when for the toner melting is higher, prone to gloss variation or offset at the time of duplex printing and the like.

In the second aspect of the invention, if the value of G _'50 / G' ₈₀ is less than 400, the melting of the toner is slow. Therefore, when the process speed of the fixing device is high, defective fixing is likely to occur. G _'50 / G' value of ₈₀ is more than 2000 when for the toner melting is higher, prone to gloss variation or offset at the time of duplex printing and the like. Further, in the second invention,
More preferably, the value of G'50 / G'80 is 800 to 1,600.

The toner of the first invention has a temperature of 50 ° C.
Storage modulus G '₅₀Is 1 × 10⁹~ 5 × 10^Ten(DN /
m^Two), More preferably 2 × 10⁹~ 5 × 10^Ten(DN
/ M ^Two), When stored at high temperatures or when many sheets are durable.
From the viewpoint of development stability.

Further, in the first invention, the temperature of the toner
Storage modulus at 140 ° C. (G ′ ₁₄₀) And toner temperature
Storage modulus (G ′) at 170 ° C.₁₇₀) And ratio
(G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀) Is 0.05 to 30,
Good image with good high temperature offset and little change in gloss
Can be output. G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀Is 0.0
If it is smaller than 5, the temperature of the fixing unit may change or the process
Even if the speed is changed
Although small, the toner does not dissolve sufficiently and has high OHT permeability.
Corresponds to the mode where the foot does not go or high gloss is output
Hard to do. G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀Is greater than 30,
Gloss change at the leading and trailing edges and gloss on both sides when printing on both sides
A stable image cannot be obtained because the degree of change is large.

The toner of the first invention has a temperature of 140 ° C.
Storage modulus G '₁₄₀Is 5 × 10^Two~ 5 × 10^Five(DN
/ M^Two), More preferably 1 × 10^Three~ 1 × 10^Five(D
N / m ^Two), The gloss stability and the high temperature offset resistance.
It is good from the viewpoint of the suitability.

On the other hand, the toner of the second invention has a temperature of 50 ° C.
Storage modulus G '₅₀Is 1 × 10 ⁹~ 5 × 10
^Ten(DN / m^Two), More preferably 2 × 10⁹~ 5 × 1
0^Ten(DN / m^Two) Can be stored at high temperatures
This is good from the viewpoint of development stability when several sheets are durable.

Further, in the second invention, the temperature of the toner
Storage modulus at 140 ° C. (G ′ ₁₄₀) And toner temperature
Storage modulus (G ′) at 170 ° C.₁₇₀) And ratio
(G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀) Is 0.05 to 50,
Good image with good high temperature offset and little change in gloss
Can be output. G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀Is 0.0
If it is smaller than 5, the temperature of the fixing unit may change or the process
Even if the speed is changed
Although small, the toner does not dissolve sufficiently and has high OHT permeability.
Corresponds to the mode where the foot does not go or high gloss is output
Hard to do. G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀Is greater than 50,
Gloss change at the leading and trailing edges and gloss on both sides when printing on both sides
A stable image cannot be obtained because the degree of change is large. Second
In the invention, G '₁₄₀/ G '₁₇₀Is between 0.05 and
More preferably, it is 30.

The toner of the second invention has a temperature of 140 ° C.
Storage modulus G '₁₄₀Is 5 × 10^Two~ 5 × 10^Five(DN
/ M^Two), More preferably 1 × 10^Three~ 1 × 10^Five(D
N / m ^Two), The gloss stability and the high temperature offset resistance.
It is good from the viewpoint of the suitability.

Furthermore, the present inventors consider that when used as a printer or a color printer, if the gloss of characters and graphs is too high, and if the gloss of colors is too high, the image quality is rather psychologically poor. In order to provide a toner that can provide a user with psychological comfort, does not experience fatigue even when viewing a large number of sheets, and can obtain an image having a stable glossiness or a full-color image, the above-described viscoelastic properties must be specified. In addition, it has been found that the melt index of the toner needs to be in a specific range.

The reason is that it is difficult to judge the behavior of the toner, which is a complex of various functional substances, based only on the physical properties and the added amount of the material substances. Considering that it can be evaluated as a complex of a gel component (soluble component) and a release agent.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the discharge amount of the toner at a melt index (temperature of 125 ° C., load of 5 kg) in 0.5 minute to 0.5 g to 60 g can be obtained without impairing the low-temperature fixability. Thus, a stable image having a low glossiness that does not cause fatigue can be obtained. If the melt index of the toner is less than 0.5, the fixed image has low gloss, but is inferior in low-temperature fixability and OHP transparency. If the melt index of the toner exceeds 60, the glossiness is too high and the image quality is rather poor psychologically.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the discharge amount of the toner at a melt index (temperature of 125 ° C., load of 5 kg) in 10 minutes is set to 0.5 to 80 g, so that a large number of sheets can be viewed without impairing the low-temperature fixability. Thus, a stable image with a low glossiness that does not cause fatigue can be obtained. If the melt index of the toner is less than 0.5, the fixed image has low gloss, but is inferior in low-temperature fixability and OHP transparency. If the melt index of the toner exceeds 80, the glossiness is too high and the image quality is rather poor psychologically.

Here, a method for measuring the melt index of the toner will be described below.

<Measurement of Melt Index> The melt index indicates a discharge amount in 10 minutes at an arbitrary temperature and load. In the present invention, the value is measured under the following conditions. This is basically <JIS K-7210>
Compliant.

As a measuring device, Semi-automati
c 2-A Melt Index (Toyo Sei
ki Co. Ltd) is used. 2.095 hollow inner diameter
mm orifice is put therein, the temperature is adjusted to 125 ° C. in advance, and 3 to 8 g of a toner sample is weighed and put therein. At this time, set the metal piston while paying attention not to introduce air bubbles, and keep the temperature for 5 minutes or more. afterwards,
The measurement is performed while applying a constant load such that the total of the piston and the weight becomes 5 kg. Measurement is performed at any time,
It may be converted to a discharge amount for 10 minutes.

In the present invention, the insoluble content of the toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent is 1 to 6
When the amount is 0% by mass, uniformity of glossiness can be achieved while maintaining low-temperature fixability and OHT transparency.

Here, the method for measuring the THF insoluble content will be described below.

<Measurement of THF Insoluble Content> The THF insoluble content indicates the mass ratio of the ultrahigh molecular weight polymer component (substantially crosslinked polymer) insoluble in the THF solvent in the resin composition in the toner. . The THF-insoluble matter is defined by a value measured as follows.

0.5 to 1.0 g of the toner sample was weighed (W ₁ g), and the filter paper (for example, No. 86 manufactured by Toyo Roshi Kaisha, Ltd.) was used.
R) and run through a Soxhlet extractor, where T
6 hours with 100-200 ml of HF,
After evaporating the soluble component extracted by the solvent, the resultant is dried under vacuum at 100 ° C. for several hours, and the amount of the THF-soluble resin component is weighed (W ₂ g). THF such as pigment in toner
The mass of the component insoluble in is defined as (W ₃ g). The THF-insoluble content is obtained from the following equation.

[0071]

(Equation 1)

When the insoluble content of the toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent is less than 1% by mass, when the fixing speed is low or when both sides are fixed, the toner melt viscosity becomes too low, and the gloss change becomes large. High-temperature offset is likely to occur.

On the other hand, when the insoluble content of the toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent exceeds 60% by mass, even if heat is sufficiently applied, the melting of the toner becomes incomplete, resulting in poor color mixing and OHT permeability.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the average circularity is 0.950 to 0.995 in the particle size distribution based on the circle equivalent diameter measured by a flow type particle image analyzer of the toner. Here, the flow type particle image measuring device is
This is a device that statistically performs image analysis of particle imaging, and the average circularity is calculated by the arithmetic mean of the circularity obtained by the following equation using the device.

[0075]

(Equation 2)

In the above equation, the perimeter of the particle projection image is
The length of the outline obtained by connecting the edge points of the binarized particle image, and the perimeter of the equivalent circle is the length of the outer circumference of a circle having the same area as the binarized particle image. is there.

The equivalent circle diameter is the diameter of a circle having the same area as the area of the measured two-dimensional image of the particles.

As a flow type particle image measuring device, FPIA-
1000 (made by Toa Medical Electronics).

As a measuring method, a surfactant (preferably contaminone manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.) is added to ion-exchanged water in an amount of 0.1 to 0.1%.
10 ml of a solution prepared by adding 0.5% by mass (20 ° C.)
The sample dispersion was prepared by adding 0.02 g of a measurement sample to the mixture and uniformly dispersing the same.

As a means for dispersing, an ultrasonic disperser UM-50 manufactured by SMT Co. (vibrator is a titanium alloy chip of 5φ) was used, the dispersion time was 5 minutes, and the temperature of the dispersion medium was 40 ° C. It cooled so that it might not become above.

The measurement was performed in the range of 0.60 to 400 μm for 22
It is divided into 6 channels, and the equivalent circle diameter in actual measurement is 0.
The particles are measured in a range of 60 μm or more and less than 159.21 μm.

When the average circularity is from 0.950 to 0.995, even in a low gloss image favored for business use (that is, fixing without completely dissolving the toner), the stone surface having a uniform printing surface can be used. And diffuse reflection can be minimized. Further, it is possible to improve the transparency of transmitted light of a transparency image and minimize a change in hue angle.

On the other hand, when the average circularity is less than 0.950, the transmittance is lowered and the hue angle is changed due to irregular reflection due to the roughness of the surface on which the toner shape remains. Further, because of the irregular toner, the filling property in the unfixed state before passing through the fixing roller is low, and in a fixing configuration that achieves low gloss, bubbles remain inside and the OHT permeability decreases. Since black toner also has low filling properties, offset tends to occur.

In the present invention, as a method for producing a toner having the above-mentioned specific average circularity, for example, a method for producing toner by mechanically or thermally spheroidizing toner particles produced by a pulverization method. And a method for directly producing a toner by a polymerization method.

The low softening point substance used in the toner of the present invention includes, for example, paraffin wax, polyolefin wax, modified products thereof (for example, oxides and grafted products), higher fatty acids and metal salts thereof, and amides. Waxes, ketone waxes, ester waxes and the like can be mentioned, but when used in color toners, amide waxes and ester waxes are preferred because high crystallinity impairs OHP permeability.

The low-softening point substance is used in an amount of 1 to 35 parts by weight, preferably 5 to 30 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin.

When the blending amount of the low softening point substance is less than the lower limit, the offset prevention effect tends to decrease, and when the blending amount exceeds the upper limit, the blocking resistance decreases and the offset resistance tends to be adversely affected. In particular, in the case of a polymerization toner production method, a toner having a wide particle size distribution tends to be formed.

The low softening point substance used in the present invention has a ratio (Mw / Mn) of the weight average molecular weight (Mw) to the number average molecular weight (Mn) in the molecular weight distribution measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). ) Is preferably from 1.0 to 5.0.

This indicates that the molecular weight distribution becomes sharper as the value of Mw / Mn of the low softening point substance approaches 1.0. Specifically, it shows good melting properties when heat is applied at the time of fixing, exudes quickly to the toner surface, and shows good fixing properties. Thus, a synergistic effect can be obtained by combining with the control of the substance on the toner surface described above.

In the molecular weight distribution of the low softening point substance measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography), the weight average molecular weight (Mw) and the number average molecular weight (M
If the ratio (Mw / Mn) of n) is greater than 5.0, the low softening point material will slowly exude to the toner surface, and the fixing characteristics will deteriorate.

The molecular weight of the low softening point substance is measured by GPC under the following conditions.

(GPC measurement conditions) Apparatus: GPC-150C (Waters) Column: GMH-HT 30 cm double (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation) Temperature: 135 ° C Solvent: o-dichlorobenzene (0.1% ionol added) Flow rate: 1. 0 ml / min sample: Inject 0.4 ml of a 0.15% sample. Under the above conditions, the molecular weight of the sample is calculated using a molecular weight calibration curve prepared from a monodisperse polystyrene standard sample. Further, it is calculated by converting into polyethylene using a conversion formula derived from the Mark-Houwink viscosity formula.

As the binder resin used in the toner of the present invention, the following binder resins can be used.

For example, homopolymers of styrene and its substituted substances such as polystyrene, poly-p-chlorostyrene and polyvinyl toluene; styrene-p-chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-vinyltoluene copolymer, styrene-vinylnaphthalene Copolymer, styrene-acrylate copolymer, styrene-methacrylate copolymer, styrene-α-chloromethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-
Styrene such as vinyl methyl ether copolymer, styrene-vinyl ethyl ether copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ketone copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile-indene copolymer -Based copolymer; polyvinyl chloride; phenolic resin; naturally modified phenolic resin; naturally modified maleic acid resin; acrylic resin; methacrylic resin; polyvinyl acetate;
Polyurethane; Polyamide resin; Furan resin; Epoxy resin; Xylene resin; Polyvinyl butyral; Terpene resin; Coumarone indene resin; Preferred binders include styrene copolymers and polyester resins.

Examples of comonomers for the styrene monomer of the styrene copolymer include acrylic acid, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, and the like.
Double such as dodecyl acrylate, octyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, octyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, acrylamide A monocarboxylic acid having a bond or a substituted product thereof; for example, a dicarboxylic acid having a double bond such as maleic acid, butyl maleate, methyl maleate, or dimethyl maleate and a substituted product thereof; for example, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, Vinyl esters such as vinyl benzoate; ethylene-based olefins such as ethylene, propylene and butylene; vinyl vinyl ketones such as vinyl methyl ketone and vinyl hexyl ketone; , Vinyl ethyl ether, vinyl ethers such as vinyl isobutyl ether; such vinyl monomers are used alone or two or more.

The styrene-based polymer or styrene-based copolymer may be crosslinked, or may be a mixed resin of a crosslinked resin and a noncrosslinked resin.

As the crosslinking agent for the binder resin, a compound having two or more polymerizable double bonds may be mainly used. For example, aromatic divinyl compounds such as divinylbenzene and divinylnaphthalene; carboxylic acid esters having two double bonds such as ethylene glycol diacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate; ,
Divinyl compounds such as divinylaniline, divinyl ether, divinyl sulfide and divinyl sulfone; and compounds having three or more vinyl groups are used alone or as a mixture.

[0098] The amount of the crosslinking agent added may be as follows.
0.001 to 10 parts by mass is preferable with respect to 00 parts by mass.

The toner of the present invention may contain a charge control agent.

The following substances control the toner to be negatively charged.

For example, organic metal compounds and chelate compounds are effective, and examples thereof include monoazo metal compounds, acetylacetone metal compounds, aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acids, and aromatic dicarboxylic acid-based metal compounds. Other examples include aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acids, aromatic mono- and polycarboxylic acids and their metal salts, anhydrides, esters, and phenol derivatives such as bisphenol. Also, urea derivatives, metal-containing salicylic acid-based compounds, metal-containing naphthoic acid-based compounds, boron compounds, quaternary ammonium salts, calixarenes, silicon compounds, styrene-acrylic acid copolymers, styrene-methacrylic acid copolymers, styrene- An acryl-sulfonic acid copolymer, a nonmetal carboxylic acid-based compound and the like can be mentioned. Further, a resin in which the charge control compound is pendant may be internally added to the toner.

The following substances control the toner to be positively charged.

For example, denatured products such as nigrosine and fatty acid metal salts, guanidine compounds, imidazole compounds,
Tributylbenzylammonium-1-hydroxy-4
Quaternary ammonium salts such as naphthosulfonate and tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate, and onium salts such as phosphonium salts which are analogs thereof, and lake pigments thereof, triphenylmethane dyes and lake pigments thereof ( Agents include phosphotungstic acid, phosphomolybdic acid, phosphotungsten molybdic acid, tannic acid, lauric acid, gallic acid, ferricyanide, ferrocyanide, etc.), metal salts of higher fatty acids; dibutyltin oxide, dioctyltin oxide, dicyclohexyl Diorganotin oxides such as tin oxide; diorganotin borates such as dibutyltin borate, dioctyltin borate, dicyclohexyltin borate; used alone or in combination of two or more It can be. Of these, charge control agents such as nigrosine and quaternary ammonium salts are particularly preferably used. Further, a resin in which the charge control compound is pendant may be internally added to the toner.

These charge control agents are preferably used in an amount of 0.01 to 20 parts by mass (more preferably 0.5 to 10 parts by mass) based on 100 parts by mass of the resin component.

The colorant used in the present invention may be a black colorant other than carbon black, in addition to
A black-colored one using a magenta / cyan colorant is used.

Examples of the yellow colorant include condensed azo compounds, isoindolinone compounds, anthraquinone compounds,
Compounds such as azo metal complexes, methine compounds and allylamide compounds are used. Specifically, C.I. I.
Pigment Yellow 3, 7, 10, 12, 1
3, 14, 15, 17, 23, 24, 60, 62, 7
4, 75, 83, 93, 94, 95, 99, 100, 1
01, 104, 108, 109, 110, 111, 11
7, 123, 128, 129, 138, 139, 14
7, 148, 150, 166, 168, 169, 17
7, 179, 180, 181, 183, 185, 19
1, 192, 170, 199, etc. are preferably used. In addition, C.I. I. Solvent Yellow
33, 56, 79, 82, 93, 112, 162, 16
3, C.I. I. Disperse Yellow 42, 6
4, 201, 211 and the like. If necessary, the yellow pigment and the dye may be used alone or in combination with the pigment and the dye.

As the magenta coloring agent, condensed azo compounds, diketopyrrolopyrrole compounds, anthraquinones, quinacridone compounds, basic dye lake compounds, naphthol compounds, benzimidazolone compounds, thioindigo compounds, perylene compounds and the like are used. Specifically, C.I.
I. Pigment Red2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 2
3, 48: 2, 48: 3, 48: 4, 57: 1, 81:
1, 122, 146, 166, 169, 177, 18
4, 185, 202, 206, 220, 221, 254
And C. I. Pigment Violet 19 is particularly preferred. Further, if necessary, the magenta pigment and the dye may be used alone or in combination with the pigment and the dye.

As the cyan coloring agent used in the present invention, copper phthalocyanine compounds and derivatives thereof, anthraquinone compounds, basic dye lake compounds and the like can be used.
Specifically, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 1,
7, 15, 15: 1, 15: 2, 15: 3, 15: 4,
60, 62, 66, etc. can be used particularly preferably. If necessary, a cyan pigment or a dye may be used alone, or a pigment and a dye may be used in combination.

These colorants can be used alone or as a mixture or in the form of a solid solution. The colorant of the present invention is selected from the viewpoints of hue angle, saturation, brightness, weather resistance, OHP transparency, and dispersibility in toner. The colorant is used in an amount of 1 to 20 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the resin.

Next, a method for producing the toner used in the present invention will be described. The toner used in the present invention can be manufactured using a pulverized toner manufacturing method and a polymerized toner manufacturing method.

In the present invention, a method for producing a pulverized toner includes a binder resin, a material having a low softening point, a pigment, a dye or a magnetic material as a colorant, a charge control agent, and other additives as required. The obtained mixture is melt-kneaded using a heat kneader such as a heating roll, a kneader, or an extruder, and the resin components are mixed with each other to obtain a low softening point substance.
A pigment, a dye, and a magnetic substance are dispersed or dissolved; the resulting kneaded product is cooled and solidified, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a toner.

Further, if necessary, the toner and the desired additive are sufficiently mixed by a mixer such as a Henschel mixer,
The toner used in the present invention can be obtained.

In the present invention, a method for producing a polymerized toner includes a method described in JP-B-56-13945 and the like, in which a molten mixture is atomized into air using a disk or a multi-fluid nozzle to obtain a spherical toner, and a method for producing a spherical toner. JP-10231, JP-A-59-53856, JP-A-59-61
No. 842, a method for directly producing a toner using a suspension polymerization method, and a method for dispersing a toner directly by using a water-soluble organic solvent in which a polymer soluble in a monomer is insoluble. Emulsion polymerization, such as soap-free polymerization, which produces a toner by directly polymerizing in the presence of a water-soluble or water-soluble polar polymerization initiator, or after preparing primary polar emulsion polymerized particles in advance, and adding polar particles having an opposite charge. It is possible to produce a toner using a hetero-aggregation method or the like for association.

However, in the dispersion polymerization method, the obtained toner shows an extremely sharp particle size distribution, but the selection of materials to be used is narrow, and the use of an organic solvent is difficult from the viewpoint of waste solvent treatment and solvent flammability. The manufacturing equipment is complicated and easily complicated. The emulsion polymerization method represented by soap-free polymerization is effective because the particle size distribution of the toner is relatively uniform, but when the used emulsifier and initiator terminal are present on the surface of the toner particles, the environmental characteristics are likely to deteriorate.

Therefore, in the present invention, a suspension polymerization method under normal pressure or under pressure, which can easily obtain a fine particle toner having a sharp particle size distribution, is particularly preferable. A so-called seed polymerization method in which a monomer is further adsorbed on the polymer particles once obtained and then polymerized using a polymerization initiator can also be suitably used in the present invention.

In the case where a direct polymerization method is used in the toner production method of the present invention, the toner can be specifically produced by the following production method. A low-softening point substance, a colorant, a charge control agent, a polymerization initiator, and other additives are added to the monomer, and the monomer system uniformly dissolved or dispersed by a homogenizer, an ultrasonic disperser, or the like is used as a dispersion stabilizer. Is dispersed in an aqueous phase containing the same by a conventional stirrer, homomixer, homogenizer or the like. Preferably, the stirring speed and time are adjusted so that the monomer droplets have the desired size of the toner particles, and the granulation is performed. Thereafter, by the action of the dispersion stabilizer, the particles may be stirred to such an extent that the particle state is maintained and the particles are prevented from settling. Polymerization temperature is 40
The polymerization is carried out at a temperature of at least 50 ° C., generally from 50 to 90 ° C. Further, the temperature may be raised in the latter half of the polymerization reaction,
In order to remove unreacted polymerizable monomers, by-products, and the like that cause odor at the time of fixing the toner, the aqueous medium may be partially distilled off in the latter half of the reaction or after the completion of the reaction. After the reaction,
The generated toner particles are collected by washing and filtration, and dried. In the suspension polymerization method, it is usually preferable to use 300 to 3000 parts by weight of water as a dispersion medium with respect to 100 parts by weight of the monomer system.

More preferred toner used in the present invention is a direct polymerization method in which a material having a low softening point is encapsulated in an outer resin layer by a tomographic plane measurement method of the toner using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is manufactured. From the viewpoint of fixability, it is necessary to incorporate a large amount of the low softening point substance into the toner, and it is necessary to include the necessary low softening point substance in the outer shell resin. Unless the toner is not encapsulated, the toner cannot be sufficiently pulverized unless special freezing and pulverization is used in the pulverization process, resulting in only a toner having a wide particle size distribution, and toner fusing to the device also occurs. It is very unfavorable. Further, in the freeze-pulverization, the device becomes complicated to prevent dew condensation on the device, and if the toner absorbs moisture, the workability of the toner is reduced, and it is necessary to additionally add a drying step, which causes a problem. As a specific method of encapsulating the low softening point substance, the polarity of the material in an aqueous medium is set smaller for the low softening point substance than for the main monomer,
Further, by adding a small amount of a resin or monomer having a high polarity, a toner having a so-called core-shell structure in which a low softening point substance is coated with an outer shell resin can be obtained. To control the particle size distribution and the particle size of the toner, methods such as changing the type and amount of the dispersant that acts as a poorly water-soluble inorganic salt or protective colloid, and mechanical device conditions such as the peripheral speed of the rotor, the number of passes, and the stirring blades The predetermined toner of the present invention can be obtained by controlling the stirring conditions such as the shape, the shape of the container, and the solid content concentration in the aqueous solution.

In the present invention, a specific method for measuring the tomographic plane of the toner is as follows. The toner is sufficiently dispersed in an epoxy resin curable at room temperature and then cured in an atmosphere at a temperature of 40 ° C. for 2 days. The product is stained with ruthenium tetroxide and, if necessary, osmium tetroxide, and then sliced using a microtome equipped with diamond teeth. The morphology of the toner is measured using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). did. In the present invention, it is preferable to use a ruthenium tetroxide dyeing method in order to give a contrast between materials by utilizing a slight difference in crystallinity between the low softening point substance used and the resin constituting the outer shell.

As the vinyl polymerizable monomer capable of undergoing radical polymerization used in producing a toner by a polymerization method, a monofunctional polymerizable monomer or a polyfunctional polymerizable monomer may be used. Can be.

Examples of the monofunctional polymerizable monomer include styrene, α-methylstyrene, β-methylstyrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, 2,4-dimethylstyrene, and p-methylstyrene. n-butylstyrene, p-tert-butylstyrene, pn-hexylstyrene, pn-octylstyrene, pn-nonylstyrene, pn-decylstyrene, pn-dodecylstyrene, p-methoxy Styrene-based polymerizable monomers such as styrene and p-phenylstyrene; methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate,
iso-propyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, iso-butyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, n-amyl acrylate, n-hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, n-nonyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, benzyl acrylate , Dimethyl phosphate ethyl acrylate, dibutyl phosphate ethyl acrylate, acrylic polymerizable monomers such as 2-benzoyloxyethyl acrylate; methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, iso-propyl methacrylate,
n-butyl methacrylate, iso-butyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, n-amyl methacrylate, n-hexyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, n-octyl methacrylate, n-nonyl methacrylate, diethyl phosphate ethyl methacrylate, dibutyl phosphate ethyl Methacrylic polymerizable monomers such as methacrylate; methylene aliphatic monocarboxylic esters; vinyl acetate;
Vinyl propionate, vinyl benzoate, vinyl butyrate,
Vinyl esters such as vinyl benzoate and vinyl formate;
Vinyl ethers such as vinyl methyl ether, vinyl ethyl ether and vinyl isobutyl ether; and vinyl polymerizable monomers such as vinyl ketones such as vinyl methyl ketone, vinyl hexyl ketone and vinyl isopropyl ketone.

Examples of the polyfunctional polymerizable monomer include diethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, tetraethylene glycol diacrylate, polyethylene glycol diacrylate, and 1,6.
-Hexanediol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate, polypropylene glycol diacrylate, 2,2'-bis [4- (acryloxydiethoxy) phenyl] propane, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, tetramethylolmethane Tetraacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,3-butylene glycol dimethacrylate,
1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, polypropylene glycol dimethacrylate, 2,2′-bis [4- (methacryloxydiethoxy) phenyl] propane, 2,
2'-bis [4- (methacryloxy / polyethoxy) phenyl] propane, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, tetramethylolmethanetetramethacrylate, divinylbenzene, divinylnaphthalene, divinylether and the like can be mentioned.

The above monofunctional polymerizable monomers can be used alone or in combination of two or more, or a monofunctional polymerizable monomer and a polyfunctional polymerizable monomer can be used in combination. Further, the polyfunctional polymerizable monomer can be used as a crosslinking agent.

In the present invention, in order to form a core-shell structure in the toner, it is preferable to use a polar resin in combination. Examples of polar resins such as polar polymers and polar copolymers that can be used in the present invention are given below.

Examples of the polar resin include a polymer of a nitrogen-containing monomer such as dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate and diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, or a copolymer of a nitrogen-containing monomer and a styrene-unsaturated carboxylic acid ester; Nitrile-based monomers such as vinyl chloride; halogen-containing monomers such as vinyl chloride; unsaturated carboxylic acids such as acrylic acid and methacrylic acid; unsaturated dibasic acids; unsaturated dibasic acid anhydrides; A polymer or a copolymer of the polymer and a styrene monomer; a polyester; an epoxy resin. More preferred are a copolymer of styrene and (meth) acrylic acid, a maleic acid copolymer, a saturated or unsaturated polyester resin, and an epoxy resin.

Examples of the polymerization initiator include, for example, 2,2′-
Azobis- (2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile), 2,
2′-azobisisobutyronitrile, 1,1′-azobis (cyclohexane-1-carbonitrile), 2,2 ′
Azo or diazo polymerization initiators such as azobis-4-methoxy-2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile, azobisisobutyronitrile; benzoyl peroxide, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, diisopropyl peroxycarbonate, cumene hydroperoxide, t-butylhydro Peroxide, di-t-butyl peroxide, dixyl peroxide, 2,4-dichlorobenzoyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, 2,2-bis (4,
4-tert-butylperoxycyclohexyl) propane,
Peroxide initiators such as tris- (t-butylperoxy) triazine, polymer initiators having a peroxide in a side chain, persulfates such as potassium persulfate and ammonium persulfate, hydrogen peroxide, etc. are used. Is done.

The polymerization initiator is preferably added in an amount of 0.5 to 20 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the polymerizable monomer, and may be used alone or in combination.

In the present invention, a known crosslinking agent or chain transfer agent may be added to control the molecular weight. The preferred addition amount is 0.001 to 15 parts by mass.

In the present invention, any suitable stable medium may be used as a dispersion medium for producing a polymerization toner by emulsion polymerization, dispersion polymerization, suspension polymerization, seed polymerization, polymerization using a heteroaggregation method, or the like. Use agent. For example, as inorganic compounds, tricalcium phosphate, magnesium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, zinc phosphate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, calcium metasilicate, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate , Bentonite, silica, alumina and the like. As organic compounds, polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin, methylcellulose, methylhydroxypropylcellulose, ethylcellulose, sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose, polyacrylic acid and its salts, starch, polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, poly (hydroxystearic acid-g-methacrylic acid) A methyl-eu-methacrylic acid) copolymer or a nonionic or ionic surfactant is used.

When the emulsion polymerization method and the heteroaggregation method are used, an anionic surfactant, a cationic surfactant, an amphoteric surfactant and a nonionic surfactant are used. It is preferable to use 0.2 to 30 parts by mass of these stabilizers with respect to 100 parts by mass of the polymerizable monomer.

In the case where an inorganic compound is used among these stabilizers, a commercially available one may be used as it is, but the inorganic compound may be formed in a dispersion medium in order to obtain fine particles.

[0131] In order to finely disperse these stabilizers, 0.001 to 0.1 parts by mass of a surfactant may be used. This is to promote the intended action of the dispersion stabilizer, and specific examples thereof include sodium dodecylbenzene sulfate, sodium tetradecyl sulfate, sodium pentadecyl sulfate, sodium octyl sulfate,
Examples include sodium oleate, sodium laurate, potassium stearate, calcium oleate and the like.

The toner of the present invention can be generally used for one-component and two-component developers. As a one-component developer,
When a non-magnetic toner containing no magnetic material is used, there is a method in which a blade or a roller is used to forcibly triboelectrically charge the toner with a developing sleeve and adhere the toner on the sleeve to convey the toner.

When used as a two-component developer, a carrier is used together with the toner of the present invention as a developer. The magnetic carrier is composed of an element consisting of iron, copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and chromium alone or in a composite ferrite state. The shape of the magnetic carrier may be spherical, flat or irregular. Furthermore, the fine structure of the surface state of the magnetic carrier particles (for example, surface unevenness)
Is also preferably controlled. In general, a method is used in which magnetic carrier core particles are generated in advance by baking and granulating the inorganic oxide, and then coating the resin with a resin. From the standpoint of reducing the load on the toner of the magnetic carrier, after kneading the inorganic oxide and the resin, pulverizing and classifying to obtain a low-density dispersion carrier, or further, directly kneading the inorganic oxide and the monomer It is also possible to use a method of obtaining a spherical magnetic carrier by suspension polymerization in an aqueous medium.

A coated carrier for coating the surface of the carrier particles with a resin is particularly preferred. As the method, a method of dissolving or suspending the resin in a solvent, applying the resin, and attaching the resin to the carrier, or a method of simply mixing the resin powder and the carrier particles and attaching the mixture is applicable.

The substance fixed to the carrier particle surface varies depending on the toner material. Examples thereof include polytetrafluoroethylene, monochlorotrifluoroethylene polymer, polyvinylidene fluoride, silicone resin, polyester resin, styrene resin, acrylic resin, and polyamide resin. , Polyvinyl butyral, amino acrylate resin and the like. These may be used alone or in combination.

The average particle size of these carriers is preferably 1
It is good to have 0-100 micrometers, More preferably, it is 20-50 micrometers.

When a two-component developer is prepared by mixing the toner of the present invention and a magnetic carrier, the mixing ratio is 2 to 15% by mass, preferably 4% by mass, as the toner concentration in the developer.
Good results are usually obtained when the content is set to 通常 13% by mass.

Next, an image forming apparatus preferable for the present invention will be described.

(1) Example of Image Forming Apparatus An example of the image forming method of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus of this example is an electrophotographic printer.

Reference numeral 101 denotes a photosensitive drum (image bearing member) made of an organic photosensitive member or an amorphous silicon photosensitive member, and is rotated at a predetermined process speed (peripheral speed) in the direction of the arrow.

The photosensitive drum 101 undergoes a uniform charging process of a predetermined polarity and potential by a charging device 102 such as a charging roller during its rotation.

Next, a laser beam 103 output from a laser optical box (laser scanner) 110 is placed on the charged surface.
And scanning exposure processing of the target image information. The laser optical box 110 is a laser beam 1 modulated (on / off) corresponding to a time-series electric digital pixel signal of target image information from an image signal generator such as an image reader (not shown).
03 is output, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information scanned and exposed on the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 101 is formed.

Next, the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image on the photosensitive drum 101 by the developing device 104 provided with an appropriate development potential difference.

The toner image is transferred to the surface of the recording material P fed at a predetermined timing from a paper feeding unit (not shown) in a transfer unit which is a contact nip between the photosensitive drum 101 and the transfer roller 106. Go. Transfer roller 106
Transfers a toner image from the surface of the photosensitive drum 101 to the recording material P by supplying an electric charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner from the back surface of the recording material P.

The recording material P that has passed through the transfer section is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 101, and is separated by an image heating device (fixing device) 1.
00, and is subjected to a heat-fixing process of the unfixed toner image, and is discharged as an image formed product to a discharge tray (not shown) outside the apparatus. The fixing device 100 will be described in detail in the following “(2) Fixing device (heating unit)”.

After the transfer of the toner image to the recording material P, the photosensitive drum 101 is cleaned by the cleaner 107 after removing the residual toner such as untransferred toner and paper dust. The cleaner 107 is always kept in contact with the intermediate transfer drum 105.

The apparatus of this embodiment can also execute a print mode of a mono-color image other than black by using a mono-color toner as the toner to be filled in the cartridge. Also, a double-sided image print mode or a multiple image print mode can be executed. In the case of the double-sided image print mode, the fixing device 1
The recording material P on which the first-side image has been printed out has passed through a recirculation transport mechanism (not shown), is turned over, is sent again to the transfer section, receives the toner image transfer on the second side, and again has the fixing device 100. And subjected to the fixing process of the toner image on the two surfaces, thereby outputting a double-sided image print.

In the case of the multiple image print mode, the recording material P on which the first image has been printed out of the fixing device 100 is sent again to the transfer unit without being turned upside down via a recirculation transport mechanism (not shown). The second transfer of the toner image to the surface on which the second image has been printed is received, and the multiplied image print is output by being introduced again into the fixing device 100 and subjected to the second toner image fixing process.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of another image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus of this example is an electrophotographic full-color printer.

Reference numeral 101 denotes a photosensitive drum (image carrier) made of an organic photosensitive member or an amorphous silicon photosensitive member, and is rotated at a predetermined process speed (peripheral speed) in a direction indicated by an arrow.

The photosensitive drum 101 undergoes a uniform charging process of a predetermined polarity and potential by a charging device 102 such as a charging roller during its rotation.

Next, a laser beam 103 output from a laser optical box (laser scanner) 110 is provided on the charged surface.
And scanning exposure processing of the target image information. The laser optical box 110 is a laser beam 1 modulated (on / off) corresponding to a time-series electric digital pixel signal of target image information from an image signal generator such as an image reader (not shown).
03 is output, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information scanned and exposed on the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 101 is formed. 1
A mirror 09 deflects the output laser light from the laser optical box 110 to the exposure position of the photosensitive drum 101.

In the case of full-color image formation, scanning exposure and latent image formation are performed on a first color-separated component image of a target full-color image, for example, a yellow component image. Is developed as a toner image by the operation of the yellow developing device 104Y. The toner image is transferred to the photosensitive drum 101 and the intermediate transfer drum 1
Primary transfer portion T1 which is a contact portion (or a close portion) with the first transfer portion 05
Is transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 105. After the transfer of the toner image to the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 105, the surface of the rotating photoconductor drum 101 is cleaned by the cleaner 107 by removing the adhered residue such as untransferred toner.

The above-described process cycle of charging, scanning exposure, development, primary transfer, and cleaning is performed by the second color separation component image (eg, magenta component image,
The magenta developing device 104M is activated), the third color-separated component image (for example, the cyan component image, the cyan developing device 104C is activated), and the fourth color-separated component image (for example, the black component image, the black developing device 104BK is activated). Each color separation component image is sequentially executed, and four toner images of a yellow toner image, a magenta toner image, a cyan toner image, and a black toner image are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 105, and a desired full-color image is transferred. Are synthesized and formed.

The intermediate transfer drum 105 has a medium-resistance elastic layer and a high-resistance surface layer on a metal drum, and is brought into contact with or close to the photosensitive drum 101 at the same peripheral speed as the photosensitive drum 101. The bias is applied to the metal drum of the intermediate transfer drum 105 by rotating in the direction of the arrow, and the potential difference between the photosensitive drum 101 and the
The first toner image is transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 105.

The color toner image synthesized and formed on the surface of the rotary intermediate transfer drum 105 is transferred to the secondary transfer section T2, which is a contact nip between the rotary intermediate transfer drum 105 and the transfer roller 106, at the secondary transfer section T2. The image is transferred onto the surface of the recording material P sent from the paper supply unit (not shown) to the next transfer unit T2 at a predetermined timing. The transfer roller 106 sequentially and collectively transfers the composite color toner images from the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 105 to the recording material P by supplying charges of the opposite polarity to the toner from the back surface of the recording material P.

The recording material P that has passed through the secondary transfer portion T2 is separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 105, introduced into the image heating device (fixing device) 100, and subjected to the heat fixing process of the unfixed toner image. The sheet is discharged to a discharge tray (not shown) outside the apparatus as a color image formed product. The fixing device 100 will be described in detail in the following “(2) Fixing device (heating unit)”.

After the transfer of the color toner image to the recording material P, the rotating intermediate transfer drum 105 is cleaned by the cleaner 108 by removing the adhered residue such as untransferred toner and paper dust. The cleaner 108 is normally kept in a non-contact state with the intermediate transfer drum 105, and is kept in contact with the intermediate transfer drum 105 in the process of performing the secondary transfer of the color toner image from the intermediate transfer drum 105 to the recording material P. Is held.

The transfer roller 106 is always kept in a non-contact state with the intermediate transfer drum 105, and during the secondary transfer of the color toner image from the intermediate transfer drum 105 to the recording material P, the intermediate transfer drum 105
Is kept in contact with the recording material P via the recording material P.

The apparatus of this embodiment can also execute a print mode of a monocolor image such as a black and white image. Also, a double-sided image print mode or a multiple image print mode can be executed.
In the case of the double-sided image print mode, the recording material P on which the first-side image has been printed out of the fixing device 100 is turned upside down via a recirculation transport mechanism (not shown), and is again returned to the secondary transfer portion T2.
And the toner image is transferred to the two surfaces, and is again introduced into the fixing device 100 to undergo the fixing process of the toner image on the two surfaces to output a double-sided image print.

In the case of the multiple image print mode, the recording material P on which the first image has been printed out of the fixing device 100 is
The toner image is sent to the secondary transfer unit T2 again without being turned upside down via a recirculation transport mechanism (not shown), receives the second toner image transfer on the surface on which the first image has been printed, and is introduced into the fixing device 100 again. The multi-image print is output by receiving the second toner image fixing process.

In the image forming method of the present invention, the amount of toner on the recording material (basis weight: M / S) is 0.80 dg / m for monochromatic monocolors such as magenta, cyan, and yellow in addition to black toner. m ² or less, preferably 0.7 dg / m ²
The following is more preferred, and 0.6 dg / m ² or less is particularly preferred. If it exceeds 0.80 dg / m ² , the effects claimed in the present invention will not be clearly exhibited.

Next, an example of the fixing device of the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, a fixing device having a heating rotary member having an elastic layer in addition to the heat generating layer and the release layer has been described.
For example, when fixing an image output from a monocolor image forming apparatus, a configuration without an elastic layer is possible as long as the quality of the image is not impaired.

In this case, the heat generation layer and the release layer in the configuration of the fixing belt described below may be brought into direct contact with each other, and a primer layer may be provided to improve the adhesiveness of each layer.

(2) Fixing Device (Heating Means) 100 The fixing device, which is one of the features of the present invention, will be specifically described. However, the heating fixing device of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated one. A heating fixing device having a configuration in which the exciting coil portion is provided outside the belt may be used.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a main part of the fixing device 100 of the electromagnetic induction heating type in the present invention, FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the main part, and FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional front view of the main part. This is shown in FIG.

The apparatus 100 of this embodiment is a pressure roller driving system and an electromagnetic induction heating system using a cylindrical electromagnetic induction heating belt, similarly to the fixing device of FIG. The same reference numerals are given to the same constituent members and portions as those of the apparatus in FIG. 10, and the description will not be repeated.

The magnetic field generating means includes the magnetic cores 17a and 17b
17c and the exciting coil 18;

The magnetic cores 17a, 17b, and 17c are members having high magnetic permeability, and are preferably made of a material used for a transformer core such as ferrite or permalloy, and more preferably, ferrite having a small loss even at 100 kHz or more.

As shown in FIG. 6, the excitation coil 18 has an excitation circuit 27 connected to the power supply sections 18a and 18b. The excitation circuit 27 can generate a high frequency of 20 kHz to 500 kHz by a switching power supply.

The excitation coil 18 generates an alternating magnetic flux by an alternating current (high-frequency current) supplied from the excitation circuit 27.

Reference numerals 16a and 16b denote belt guide members each having a trough-shaped cross section having a substantially semicircular arc shape. The fixing belts are formed as substantially cylindrical bodies with their opening sides facing each other, and are cylindrical electromagnetically inductive heating belts on the outside. 10 is loosely fitted.

The belt guide member 16a holds magnetic cores 17a, 17b, and 17c as magnetic field generating means and an exciting coil 18 inside.

The belt guide member 16a has
As shown in FIG. 2, a good heat conducting member 40 extending in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is disposed inside the fixing belt 10 on the side of the nip portion N facing the pressure roller 30.

In this example, aluminum is used for the good heat conductive member 40. The good heat conducting member 40 has a heat conductivity λ of 6.0 × 10 ⁻³ [J / cm · sec · deg].
And the thickness is 1 [mm].

The good heat conducting member 40 includes an exciting coil 18 as a magnetic field generating means and magnetic cores 17a, 17b, 17
It is arranged outside this magnetic field so as not to be affected by the magnetic field generated from c.

Specifically, the good heat conducting member 40 is disposed at a position separated from the exciting coil 18 by the magnetic core 17c.
It is positioned outside the magnetic path by the exciting coil 18 so as not to affect the good heat conductor 40.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a horizontally long pressurizing rigid stay which is disposed in contact with the inner flat surface of the belt guide member 16b.

Reference numeral 19 denotes the magnetic cores 17a, 17b, 17c
And an insulating member for insulating between the exciting coil 18 and the rigid stay for press 22.

The flange members 23a and 23b are externally fitted to the left and right ends of the assembly of the belt guide members 16a and 16b, and are rotatably mounted while fixing the left and right positions.
When the fixing belt 10 rotates, the fixing belt 10 receives the end of the fixing belt 10 and serves to regulate the shifting of the fixing belt along the length of the belt guide member.

The pressure roller 30 serving as a pressure member is made of a heat-resistant and elastic material such as silicone rubber, fluoro rubber, or fluoro resin, which is formed by concentrically forming a roller around the core metal 30a. The core 30a is arranged so that both ends of the core 30a are rotatably supported by bearings between sheet metal (not shown) of the apparatus.

The pressing springs 25a and 25b are respectively contracted between both ends of the pressing rigid stay 22 and the spring receiving members 29a and 29b on the apparatus chassis side, so that a pressing force acts on the pressing constituting stay 22. Let me. As a result, the lower surface of the belt guide member 16a and the upper surface of the pressure roller 30 are pressed against each other with the fixing belt 10 interposed therebetween, thereby forming a fixing nip portion N having a predetermined width.

The pressure roller 30 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow by the driving means M. A rotational force acts on the fixing belt 10 by the frictional force between the pressing roller 30 and the outer surface of the fixing belt 10 due to the rotational driving of the pressing roller 30, and the inner surface of the fixing belt 10 has a good heat at the fixing nip N. While sliding in close contact with the lower surface of the conductive member 40, the belt guide members 16a and 16b are rotated around the outer circumference of the belt guide members 16a and 16b at a peripheral speed substantially corresponding to the rotational peripheral speed of the pressure roller 30 in the direction of the arrow.

In this case, in order to reduce the mutual sliding friction force between the lower surface of the good heat conducting member 40 at the fixing nip N and the inner surface of the fixing belt 10, the lower surface of the good heat conducting member 40 at the fixing nip N is A lubricant such as heat-resistant grease may be interposed between the inner surface of the fixing belt 10 and the lower surface of the good heat conductive member 40 may be covered with a lubricating member.
This is because when the surface sliding property is not good in material such as the case where aluminum is used as the good heat conducting member 40 or when the finishing process is simplified, the sliding fixing belt 10 is damaged and the fixing belt 10 is damaged. This is to prevent the durability of the device from being deteriorated.

The good heat conducting member 40 has an effect of making the temperature distribution in the longitudinal direction uniform. For example, when small size paper is passed, the heat amount of the non-sheet passing portion of the fixing belt 10 is reduced by the good heat conducting member. Heat is transmitted to the small-size paper passing portion by the heat conduction in the longitudinal direction of the good heat conducting member 40. As a result, an effect of reducing power consumption when passing small-sized paper is also obtained.

As shown in FIG. 6, a convex rib 16e is formed on the curved surface of the belt guide member 16a at a predetermined interval along the length thereof.
The contact sliding resistance between the curved surface a and the inner surface of the fixing belt 10 is reduced to reduce the rotational load of the fixing belt 10.
Such a convex rib portion can be similarly formed and provided on the belt guide member 16b.

FIG. 7 schematically shows how alternating magnetic flux is generated. The magnetic flux C represents a part of the generated alternating magnetic flux. The alternating magnetic flux C guided to the magnetic cores 17a, 17b, and 17c vortexes the electromagnetic induction heating layer 1 of the fixing belt 10 between the magnetic cores 17a and 17b and between the magnetic cores 17a and 17c. Generates current.
This eddy current generates Joule heat (eddy current loss) in the electromagnetic induction heating layer 1 due to the specific resistance of the electromagnetic induction heating layer 1.
The heat value Q here is determined by the density of the magnetic flux passing through the electromagnetic induction heating layer 1, and has a distribution as shown in the graph of FIG. FIG.
In the graph, the vertical axis indicates the circumferential position of the fixing belt 10 represented by the angle θ with the center of the magnetic core 17a being 0, and the horizontal axis indicates the heat generation amount Q of the electromagnetic induction heating layer 1 of the fixing belt 10. Is shown. Here, the heating area H is defined as an area where the heating value is Q / e or more, where Q is the maximum heating value. This is an area where a heat value required for fixing can be obtained.

The temperature of the fixing nip N is controlled such that a predetermined temperature is maintained by controlling the current supply to the exciting coil 18 by a temperature control system including a temperature detecting means (not shown). Reference numeral 26 denotes a temperature sensor such as a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the fixing belt 10. In this embodiment, the temperature of the fixing nip N is controlled based on the temperature information of the fixing belt 10 measured by the temperature sensor 26. I have.

Thus, the fixing belt 10 rotates, and the power is supplied from the excitation circuit 27 to the excitation coil 18 to generate the electromagnetic induction of the fixing belt 10 as described above, and the fixing nip N rises to a predetermined temperature. The unfixed toner image t conveyed from the image forming unit in the temperature-controlled state
Is formed on the fixing belt 1 in the fixing nip portion N.
0 and the pressure roller 30, the image surface is introduced upward, that is, is opposed to the fixing belt surface.
The fixing nip portion N is conveyed while being pinched together with 0. In the process in which the recording material P is nipped and conveyed in the fixing nip portion N together with the fixing belt 10, the recording material P is heated by electromagnetic induction heating of the fixing belt 10, and the unfixed toner image t on the recording material P
1 is heat-fixed. After passing through the fixing nip N, the recording material P is separated from the outer surface of the rotary fixing belt 10 and is discharged and conveyed. After passing through the fixing nip, the heat-fixed toner image t2 on the recording material is cooled and becomes a permanent fixed image.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a temperature detecting element is provided at the position of the fixing film 10 opposite to the heat generating area H (FIG. 7) in order to cut off the power supply to the exciting coil 18 during runaway. A thermoswitch 50 is provided.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of the safety circuit used in this example. Thermo switch 50 which is a temperature detecting element is +2
The 4 V DC power supply and the relay switch 51 are connected in series, and when the thermo switch 50 is turned off, the power supply to the relay switch 51 is cut off, the relay switch 51 operates, and the power supply to the excitation circuit 27 is cut off. , The power supply to the exciting coil 18 is interrupted. The thermoswitch 50 set the OFF operation temperature to 220 ° C.

Further, the thermoswitch 50 is disposed in a non-contact manner on the outer surface of the fixing film 10 so as to face the heat generating region H of the fixing film 10. Thermoswitch 50 and fixing film 1
The distance between 0 and 0 was about 2 mm. Accordingly, the fixing film 10 is not damaged by the contact of the thermoswitch 50, and the deterioration of the fixed image due to durability can be prevented.

According to this embodiment, when the fixing device goes out of control due to a device failure, unlike the configuration in which heat is generated in the fixing nip N as shown in FIG. Power is continuously supplied to the coil 18 and the fixing film 10
Even if the paper continues to generate heat, the paper is not directly heated because no heat is generated in the fixing nip portion N where the paper is sandwiched. Further, since the thermoswitch 50 is provided in the heat generation region H where the amount of heat generation is large,
When the temperature of 20 ° C. is sensed and the thermo switch is turned off, the power supply to the exciting coil 18 is cut off by the relay switch 51.

According to this example, the ignition temperature of the paper is about 400 ° C.
Since it is near the area, the paper does not ignite and the heat generation of the fixing film can be stopped.

As the temperature detecting element, a temperature fuse can be used in addition to the thermoswitch.

In this example, since a toner containing a low softening substance was used, an oil applying mechanism for preventing offset was not provided in the fixing device. However, when a toner containing no low softening substance was used, An oil application mechanism may be provided. Also, when a toner containing a low softening substance is used, oil application or cooling separation may be performed.

The configuration of the fixing device, which is one of the features of the present invention, will be described more specifically.

A) Excitation Coil 18 As the excitation coil 18, a bundle (bundled wire) of a plurality of copper thin wires, each of which is insulated and coated, is used as a conductive wire (electric wire) constituting a coil (wire loop). Are wound several times to form the exciting coil. In this example, the exciting coil 18 is formed by winding 10 turns.

As the insulating coating, a coating having heat resistance is preferably used in consideration of heat conduction due to heat generation of the fixing belt 10. For example, a coating of amide imide or polyimide may be used.

The density of the excitation coil 18 may be improved by applying pressure from the outside.

The shape of the exciting coil 18 is set along the curved surface of the heat generating layer as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the distance between the heating layer of the fixing belt and the exciting coil 18 is set to be about 2 mm.

As the material of the excitation coil holding member 19, a material having excellent insulation properties and good heat resistance is preferable. For example, a phenol resin, a fluorine resin, a polyimide resin, a polyamide resin, a polyamideimide resin, a PEEK resin, a PES resin, a PPS resin, a PFA resin, a PTFE resin, a FEP resin, an LCP resin, or the like may be selected.

The closer the distance between the magnetic cores 17a, 17b, 17c and the exciting coil 18 and the heat generating layer of the fixing belt is to the extent possible, the higher the magnetic flux absorption efficiency.
If it exceeds mm, the efficiency is remarkably reduced. If the distance is within 5 mm, the distance between the heating layer of the fixing belt 10 and the exciting coil 18 does not need to be constant.

Excitation coil holding member 19 of excitation coil 18
, Ie, 18a and 18b (FIG. 6), the outside of the bundled wire of the portion outside the excitation coil holding member 19 is coated with insulation.

B) Fixing Belt 10 FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a layer structure of the fixing belt 10 in this embodiment. The fixing belt 10 of the present embodiment has a heating layer 1 made of a metal belt or the like which is a base layer of the fixing belt 10 of electromagnetic induction heat generation.
And an elastic layer 2 laminated on its outer surface and a release layer 3 laminated on its outer surface. A primer layer (not shown) may be provided between each layer for adhesion between the heat generating layer 1 and the elastic layer 2 and adhesion between the elastic layer 2 and the release layer 3.
In the fixing belt 10 having a substantially cylindrical shape, the heat generating layer 1 is on the inner surface side, and the release layer 3 is on the outer surface side. As described above, the alternating magnetic flux acts on the heat generating layer 1 so that the heat generating layer 1
An eddy current is generated in the heat generating layer 1 to generate heat. The heat heats the fixing belt 10 via the elastic layer 2 and the release layer 3,
The recording material P as the material to be heated passed through the fixing nip N is heated to heat and fix the toner image.

A. Heating Layer 1 The heating layer 1 may be a non-magnetic metal, but more preferably a ferromagnetic metal such as nickel, iron, magnetic stainless steel, or a cobalt-nickel alloy that absorbs magnetic flux.

It is preferable that the thickness is larger than the skin depth represented by the following formula and 200 μm or less. The skin depth σ [m] is determined by the frequency f [Hz] of the excitation circuit and the magnetic permeability μ.
Is expressed as σ = 503 × (ρ / fμ) ^1/2 with the specific resistance ρ [Ωm].

This indicates the depth of absorption of electromagnetic waves used in electromagnetic induction. At a depth deeper than this, the intensity of the electromagnetic waves is less than 1 / e. Absorbed in.

The thickness of the heat generating layer 1 is preferably 1 to 200 μm.
m is good. If the thickness of the heat generating layer 1 is smaller than 1 μm, most of the electromagnetic energy cannot be absorbed, so that the efficiency is deteriorated. On the other hand, if the heat generating layer exceeds 200 μm, the rigidity becomes too high, and the flexibility deteriorates, which is not practical for use as a rotating body.

B. Elastic Layer 2 The elastic layer 2 is made of silicone rubber, fluorine rubber, fluorosilicone rubber, or the like, and has good heat resistance and good thermal conductivity.

The thickness of the elastic layer 2 is set to 10 to prevent unevenness in gloss due to the fact that the heating surface (release layer 3) cannot follow the unevenness of the recording material or the unevenness of the toner layer when printing an image. 500 μm is preferred.

When the thickness of the elastic layer 2 is less than 10 μm, the function as an elastic member is not exhibited, and the pressure distribution at the time of fixing becomes non-uniform. In addition to the fact that the toner cannot be sufficiently heated and fixed to cause unevenness in the gloss of the fixed image, the insufficient color of the toner deteriorates the color mixing of the toner due to insufficient melting, and a high-definition full-color image cannot be obtained.
If the thickness of the elastic layer 2 exceeds 500 μm, thermal conductivity during fixing is impaired, and heat followability on the fixing surface is deteriorated. Is likely to occur, which is not preferable.

If the hardness of the elastic layer 2 is too high, the elastic layer 2 cannot follow irregularities of the recording material or the toner layer, resulting in uneven image gloss. Therefore, the hardness of the elastic layer 2 is not more than 60 ° (J1S-A), more preferably 45 °.
(Jls-A) The following is preferred.

Regarding the thermal conductivity λ of the elastic layer 2, 2.5 × 10 ^{−3 to} 8.2 × 10 ⁻³ [J / cm · sec ·
deg. ] Is good.

The thermal conductivity λ is 2.5 × 10 ⁻³ [J / cm ·
sec deg. ], The thermal resistance is large, and the temperature rise in the surface layer (release layer 3) of the fixing belt becomes slow. Thermal conductivity λ is 8.2 × 10 ^-3 [J / cm ·
sec deg. ], The hardness becomes too high and the compression set becomes worse.

Therefore, the thermal conductivity λ is 2.5 × 10 ⁻³ to 8.
2 × 10 ⁻³ [J / cm · sec · deg. ] Is good. More preferably, 3.3 × 10 ^{−3 to} 6.3 × 10 ⁻³ [J / c
m · sec · deg. ] Is good.

C. Release Layer 3 Release layer 3 is made of fluororesin, silicone resin, fluorosilicone rubber, fluororubber, silicone rubber, PFA, P
A material having good releasability and heat resistance, such as TFE and FEP, can be selected.

The thickness of the release layer 3 is preferably 1 to 100 μm. If the thickness of the release layer 3 is smaller than 1 μm, there arises a problem that uneven coating of the coating film causes a portion having poor releasability or insufficient durability. In addition, when the release layer exceeds 100 μm, there is a problem that heat conduction is deteriorated. In particular, in the case of a resin release layer, the hardness becomes too high, and the effect of the elastic layer 2 is lost.

In the present invention, by applying the toner containing the aforementioned low softening point substance, the toner itself has releasability and durability is improved.

D. Heat Insulating Layer In the configuration of the fixing belt 10, a heat insulating layer (not shown) may be provided on the belt guide surface side of the heat generating layer 1 (on the side opposite to the elastic layer 2 of the heat generating layer 1).

As the heat insulating layer, fluorine resin, polyimide resin, polyamide resin, polyamideimide resin, PEE
K resin, PES resin, PPS resin, PFA resin, PTF
A heat-resistant resin such as E resin and FEP resin is preferable.

The thickness of the heat insulating layer is 10 to 100.
0 μm is preferred. When the thickness of the heat insulating layer is smaller than 10 μm, the heat insulating effect cannot be obtained, and the durability is insufficient. On the other hand, if it exceeds 1000 μm, the magnetic cores 17a · 1
The distance from the heating coils 1b to the heating coils 1b and 7c becomes large, and the magnetic flux is not sufficiently absorbed by the heating layer 1.

Since the heat insulating layer can insulate heat generated in the heat generating layer 1 so as not to go to the inside of the fixing belt, the efficiency of heat supply to the recording material P is improved as compared with the case where there is no heat insulating layer. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed.

C) Nip In the heat fixing apparatus of the present invention, the fixing nip portion N composed of the rotary heating member and the pressing member forms a nip having a width of 5.0 to 15.0 mm in order to secure a good fixing property. Is preferred. If the width of the fixing nip N portion is less than 5.0 mm, sufficient heat for fixing the toner cannot be given to the unfixed toner during full-color image formation.
It is not preferable because the toner cannot be melt-mixed, resulting in an unnatural color image.

Also, the width of the fixing nip N portion is 15.0 mm.
When the temperature exceeds the range, although a sufficient amount of heat for fixing the toner can be given, hot offset at the time of fixing tends to occur, and both ends of the fixing nip N (the upstream end of the fixing film 10 and At the downstream end), the change in curvature becomes too large, and the durability of the fixing film 10 is unpreferably deteriorated.

D) Surface Pressure The pressure (surface pressure) at the nip in the heat fixing device of the present invention.
Indicates a surface pressure of 9 × 10 ^{3 to} 5 × 10 ⁵ with the recording material interposed therebetween.
The range of N / m ² is preferable, and the surface pressure is 3 × 10 ^{4 to} 3.5 × 1.
The range of 0 ⁵ N / m ² is more preferred. Surface pressure 9 × 10 ³ N
If it is less than / m ^2, it is not preferable because the conveyance of the recording material is liable to occur, and a fixing failure due to insufficient fixing pressure occurs. On the other hand, when the surface pressure exceeds 5 × 10 ⁵ N / m ² , the durability of the fixing film 10 deteriorates remarkably, which is not preferable.

The surface pressure here is calculated by the following equation from the pressure applied to the transfer material and the length L _R in contact.

[0230]

(Equation 3)

The pressure applied to the transfer material can be adjusted by the spring pressure of the springs 25a and 25b in FIG. That is, the surface pressure is controlled by arbitrarily changing the spring constants of the springs used for 25a and 25b.
The surface pressure can be controlled by controlling the distance between the spring stopper positions 29a and 29b and the pressing roller 30.

E) Perimeter of Fixing Film 10 and Fixing Speed In this example, the peripheral length of the fixing film 10 generating heat by electromagnetic induction and the time required for the fixing film 10 to make one rotation are set as follows. By doing so, quick start is realized and power consumption is reduced while securing stable fixing properties.

The heat generating layer 1 of the fixing film 10 has a small heat capacity because it is thin, and has good heat radiation because it has a good thermal conductivity due to metal. Therefore, the circumference L of the fixing film 10
Exceeds 200 mm, the temperature drop during one rotation of the fixing film 10 is too large to perform quick start. In addition, power consumption increases due to an increase in the heating area accompanying an increase in the circumference. Therefore, the peripheral length L of the fixing film 10 is desirably 200 mm or less.

On the other hand, when the peripheral length L of the fixing film 10 is 70 m
If it is less than m, the change in curvature at both ends of the fixing nip N (the upstream end and the downstream end of the fixing film 10) becomes too large, and the durability of the fixing film 10 is significantly deteriorated. For this reason, the peripheral length L of the fixing film 10 is 70 m.
m or more is desirable.

The rotational movement speed (fixing speed) of the fixing film 10 is preferably 5 to 300 mm / sec in order to ensure both practicality and fixing property, and 50 to 28 mm / sec.
0 mm / sec is more preferable.

If the rotational movement speed (fixing speed) of the fixing film 10 is less than 5 mm / sec, even if on-demand fixing is realized, it takes a long time to output, which is not practical. If the speed exceeds 300 mm / sec, the fixing film 10
Cannot be rotated stably, and the fixing film 10
Will be damaged. Therefore, the process speed as the rotational movement speed V of the fixing film 10 is 300 mm / s.
ec or less is desirable.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic configuration of an example of an electromagnetic induction heating type fixing device in which the alternating magnetic flux distribution of the exciting coil is concentrated on the fixing nip to improve the efficiency.

Numeral 10 is a cylindrical fixing film having an electromagnetic induction heating layer (a conductor layer, a magnetic layer, and a resistor layer) and serving as an electromagnetic induction heating rotating body.

Numeral 16 is a gutter-shaped film guide member having a substantially semi-circular cross section. The cylindrical fixing film 10 is loosely fitted outside the film guide member 16.

Numeral 15 denotes a magnetic field generating means disposed inside the film guide member 16, and comprises an exciting coil 18 and an E-shaped magnetic core (core material) 17. Numeral 30 denotes an elastic pressure roller which forms a fixing nip portion N having a predetermined width with a predetermined pressing force on the lower surface of the film guide member 16 with the fixing film 10 being interposed therebetween, and mutually pressed. The magnetic core 17 of the magnetic field generating means 15 is disposed so as to correspond to the fixing nip portion N.

The pressure roller 30 is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow by the driving means M. A rotational force acts on the fixing film 10 due to a frictional force between the pressing roller 30 and the outer surface of the fixing film 10 due to the rotational driving of the pressing roller 30, and the fixing film 10 has its inner surface in the fixing nip portion N. While sliding in close contact with the lower surface of the film guide member 16,
The film guide member 16 is rotated around the outer periphery of the film guide member 16 at a peripheral speed substantially corresponding to the rotational peripheral speed of the pressure roller 30 in the direction of the arrow (pressure roller drive system).

The film guide member 16 supports the exciting coil 18 and the magnetic core 17 as the pressurizing / magnetic field generating means 15 for the fixing nip portion, supports the fixing film 10, and adjusts the transport stability of the film 10 during rotation. Plays a role. The film guide member 16 is an insulating member that does not hinder the passage of magnetic flux, and is made of a material that can withstand a high load.

The excitation coil 18 generates an alternating magnetic flux by an alternating current supplied from an excitation circuit (not shown). The alternating magnetic flux is intensively distributed in the fixing nip N by the E-shaped magnetic core 17 corresponding to the position of the fixing nip N, and the alternating magnetic flux is distributed in the fixing film 10 in the fixing nip N.
An eddy current is generated in the electromagnetic induction heating layer. This eddy current generates Joule heat in the electromagnetic induction heating layer due to the specific resistance of the electromagnetic induction heating layer.

The electromagnetically induced heat of the fixing film 10 is:
The alternating magnetic flux is intensively generated in the fixing nip portion N in which the magnetic flux is concentrated and the fixing nip portion N is heated with high efficiency.

The temperature of the fixing nip N is controlled such that a predetermined temperature is maintained by controlling the current supply to the exciting coil 18 by a temperature control system including a temperature detecting means (not shown).

The pressure roller 30 is driven to rotate,
Accordingly, the cylindrical fixing film 10 rotates around the film guide member 16, and the power is supplied from the excitation circuit to the excitation coil 18 to generate the electromagnetic induction heat of the fixing film 10 as described above. The recording material P on which the unfixed toner image t <b> 1 conveyed from the image forming unit (not shown) is formed by the fixing film 10 and the pressure roller 30 in the fixing nip portion N in a state where the temperature is raised to a temperature of In the fixing nip portion N, the image surface is brought into close contact with the outer surface of the fixing film 10 so that the image surface is
Together with the fixing nip portion N. In the process in which the recording material P is nipped and conveyed through the fixing nip portion N together with the fixing film 10, the unfixed toner image t on the recording material P is heated by electromagnetic induction heating of the fixing film 10.
1 is heat-fixed. After passing through the fixing nip N, the recording material P is separated from the outer surface of the rotary fixing film 10 and is discharged and conveyed.

[0247]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically with reference to toner production examples and examples, but this does not limit the present invention in any way.

Example 1 The black toner used in the present invention was prepared as follows.

In a 2-liter four-necked flask equipped with a high-speed stirrer TK-Homomixer, 910 ion-exchanged water was added.
Parts by mass and 0.1 mol / l-Na ₃ PO ₄ aqueous solution 45
0 parts by mass was added, the rotation speed was adjusted to 12000 rpm, and the mixture was heated to 55 ° C. 68 parts by mass of 1.0 mol / liter-CaCl ₂ aqueous solution was gradually added thereto to prepare a dispersion medium system containing a minute water-insoluble dispersant Ca ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ .

On the other hand, the dispersoid system includes: styrene monomer 160 parts by mass 2-ethylhexyl acrylate monomer 40 parts by mass carbon black 20 parts by mass saturated polyester resin 10 parts by mass (a mixture of bisphenol A and terephthalic acid) (Polycondensate, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C) 2 parts by weight of dialkyl salicylic acid metal compound 0.4 parts by weight of ethylene glycol diacrylate 20 parts by weight of low softening point substance (polyethylene wax, Mw = 1000, Mn = 600, Mw / Mn = 1.7) After the above mixture was dispersed for 3 hours using an attritor,
A dispersion to which 5 parts by mass of t-butyl hydroperoxide as a polymerization initiator was added was charged into the dispersion medium and granulated for 12 minutes while maintaining the rotation speed. Then, the stirrer was replaced with a propeller stirring blade from a high-speed stirrer, the internal temperature was raised to 70 ° C., and polymerization was continued at 50 rpm for 3 hours. Then, the temperature was raised to 80 ° C. over 1 hour, and then polymerization was continued for 6 hours. did.

After completion of the polymerization, the slurry was cooled, diluted hydrochloric acid was added to dissolve the dispersant, and the mixture was filtered, washed with water and dried to obtain black particles (1). When the circularity distribution and the particle size distribution of the obtained black particles (1) were measured using a flow-type particle image measurement device, the average circularity was 0.978,
The maximum value of the equivalent circle diameter was 6.7 μm.

With respect to 100 parts by mass of the obtained black particles (1), 1.0 part by mass of hydrophobized titania fine powder and 1.0 part by mass of silica fine powder similarly hydrophobized. In addition, black toner (1) was obtained by uniform diffusion using a Henschel mixer manufactured by Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd. Table 1 shows the physical properties.

The fixing properties of the obtained black toner (1) were evaluated by the following evaluation items.

[Measurement Method of Evaluation Items] Using the black toner (1), a toner carrying amount of 0.5 to 0.6 dg / m ^{2 was applied to} the leading end of a recording paper having a basis weight of 75 or 80 g / m ^2.
A belt-shaped toner-unfixed image of No. ² was formed, and a fixing test was performed at a process speed of 100 mm / sec using a fixing device described below. Table 3 shows the fixing evaluation results.

The preparation of the unfixed image and the test of the fixing property are as follows.
Unless otherwise specified, the reaction is performed at normal temperature and normal humidity (23 ° C./60%).

The configuration of the fixing device is the heat fixing device shown in FIG. 3 (transverse side view), FIG. 4 (front view), and FIG. 5 (longitudinal front view), and the oil application mechanism is omitted.

Magnetic cores 17a, 17 serving as magnetic field generating means
b and 17c are ferrites, and the exciting coil 18 is formed by winding a bundle of wires 10 turns.

The configuration of the fixing belt has a layer structure shown in FIG. 9A, and a nickel layer having a thickness of 50 μm is used for the heat generating layer 1. Further, the release layer 3 was coated with a PFA resin to have a thickness of 40 μm.

As the pressure roller 30, a core metal 3 made of Fe is used.
A roller having a roller hardness of 60 degrees (Asker-C 500 g) coated with silicone rubber and PFA resin for 0a was used.

As the pressing force, the pressing springs 25a, 25b
Is adjusted to a fixing nip of 5.5 m with a surface pressure of 100,000 N / m ² through a paper of 80 g / cm ^2.
m.

(Fixing Start Temperature) The unfixed image created by the above method was heated at a fixing unit heating unit temperature of 100 to 230 ° C.
The temperature was adjusted every 5 ° C. in the temperature range of 5 ° C. and fixed. The obtained fixed image was rubbed twice with a silbon paper under a load of 4900 N / m ² , and the image density reduction rate before and after rubbing was 10%. The following temperature is defined as the fixing start temperature. The following four ranks were evaluated according to the degree. a: Fixing start temperature is lower than 140 ° C. b: Fixing start temperature is 140 ° C. or more and less than 150 ° C. c: Fixing start temperature is 150 ° C. or more and less than 160 ° C. d: Fixing start temperature is 160 ° C. or higher.

(High-temperature anti-offset property)
The highest temperature at which the offset phenomenon does not occur visually is defined as a high-temperature offset-free temperature, and is used as an index of offset resistance.
The following four ranks were evaluated according to the degree. a: The high-temperature offset-free temperature is 210 ° C. or higher. b: High temperature offset free temperature is 200 ° C or more and 210 ° C
Less than. c: High-temperature offset-free temperature is 190 ° C or more and 200 ° C
Less than. d: High-temperature offset-free temperature is less than 190 ° C.

(Fixing stability) The unfixed image created by the above method was continuously passed through 10,000 sheets under the condition of a heating unit set temperature of 170 ° C., and the fixing property of the first and 10,000 sheets was confirmed. I do. The obtained fixed image is rubbed twice with a silbon paper under a load of 4900 N / m ² , and it is determined that the image is fixed if the image density reduction rate before and after the rubbing is 10% or less. The following four ranks were evaluated according to the degree. a: Initially, after both of 10,000 sheets are passed, the image is fixed, and the reduction rate is 10% or less. b: The image is fixed in the initial stage, but is not offset after passing 10,000 sheets, but the density reduction rate is 10% or more. c: The image is fixed in the initial stage, but is offset after passing 10,000 sheets, and the back surface is stained. d: Offset at the beginning.

(Measurement of Image Glossiness (Gloss)) The glossiness measuring device used in the present invention is PG-3D manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd.
(Incident angle θ = 75 °), and the standard surface has a glossiness of 96.
9 black glass was used. As a chart, Xer
ox 4024 paper (75g paper) or CLC-S
Nine solid 30 mm × 30 mm patch unfixed images were output on K paper (manufactured by Canon).

(Image gloss difference) 402 manufactured by Xerox
4 papers (75g paper, legal size) or CLC-S
30mm x 30m on KA3 size paper (Canon)
Nine solid m-sized patch images were output, and the paper was passed under the conditions of a heating unit set temperature of 170 ° C. and a process speed of 100 mm / sec.

From the viewpoint of the followability of the fixing temperature, the average gloss value at the three positions at the leading end of the image and the position at the trailing end of the image when one sheet is passed.
The difference between the average gloss values at the four locations was evaluated.

From the viewpoint of quick start performance, the difference between the average gloss value of the first sheet and the average gloss value of the 50th sheet when 50 sheets were continuously passed immediately after the start under low temperature and low humidity was evaluated. The following four ranks were evaluated according to the degree. a: The gloss difference is less than 5. b: Gloss difference is 5 or more and less than 10. c: The gloss difference is 10 or more and less than 15. d: Gloss difference is 15 or more.

(Transparency) The transmittance of the fixed image obtained on the OHP sheet with respect to the amount of each toner per unit area was measured, and the toner mass per unit area was 0.60 dg / m2.
^The transparency is evaluated using the value of ² . The method for measuring the transmittance is described below.

The transmittance was measured using a Shimadzu self-recording spectrophotometer UV.
Using a 2200 (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) with the transmittance of the OHP film alone as 100%, the transmittance at the maximum absorption wavelength at 650 nm was measured for the magenta toner; 550 nm for the yellow toner; 410 nm for the cyan toner; I do. The following four ranks were evaluated according to the degree. a: The transmittance is 70% or more. b: The transmittance is 60% or more and less than 70%. c: The transmittance is 50% or more and less than 60%. d: The transmittance is less than 50%.

By controlling the shape and physical properties of the toner to the values specified in the present invention, good fixing properties can be ensured. In accordance with this, a quick start property is improved by a fixing device of an electromagnetic induction heating type, and psychological properties are improved. To provide the user with peace of mind, not to be tired even when viewing a large number of sheets, and to be able to achieve uniform gloss (gloss) even at the leading and trailing edges of the image on the heated material, and even when passing many sheets. Was done.

<Example 2> A black toner (2) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the addition amount of the wax in Example 1 was changed from 20 parts by mass to 50 parts by mass. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 1.

<Example 3> In the black toner (3), the addition amount of the styrene monomer in Example 1 was changed from 160 parts by mass to 1 part.
Change to 75 parts by mass, change the addition amount of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate monomer from 40 parts by mass to 25 parts by mass,
And it prepared similarly to Example 1 except having changed the addition amount of wax from 20 mass parts to 6 mass parts. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 1.

<Example 4> In the black toner (4), the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate in Example 1 was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 0.2 parts by mass, and the addition amount of the saturated polyester resin was 10 parts. Parts by mass to 9.5 parts by mass, and the unsaturated polyester resin (bisphenol A)
Polycondensation product with fumaric acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65
(C) was added in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.5 parts by mass was added. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained as in Example 1.

<Example 5> In the black toner (5), the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate in Example 1 was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 0.2 parts by mass, and the addition amount of the saturated polyester resin was 10 parts. Change from parts by mass to 8 parts by mass,
Further unsaturated polyester resin (polycondensate of bisphenol A and fumaric acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C)
Was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 2 parts by mass of was added. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained as in Example 1.

Example 6 A black toner (6) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the ethylene glycol diacrylate of Example 1 was not added and the internal temperature after high-speed stirring was 80 ° C. did. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 1.

<Example 7> In the black toner (7), the amount of the styrene monomer of Example 1 was changed from 160 parts by mass to 1 part.
The preparation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount was changed to 50 parts by mass, and the amount of the 2-ethylhexyl acrylate monomer was changed from 40 parts by mass to 50 parts by mass. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 1.

Example 8 A black toner (8) was the same as Example 1 except that the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate in Example 1 was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 1.2 parts by mass. Was prepared. Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 1.

Example 9 ・ Styrene-2-ethylhexyl acrylate-ethylene glycol diacrylate copolymer (glass transition point 65 ° C.) 100 parts by mass ・ Carbon black 7 parts by mass ・ Saturated polyester resin 5 parts by mass (with bisphenol A (Polycondensate with terephthalic acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C) 1 part by weight of metal dialkylsalicylate compound 8 parts by weight of low softening point substance (polyethylene wax Mw = 1000, Mn = 600, Mw / Mn = 1 .7) The above mixture was premixed with a Henschel mixer, melt-kneaded at a temperature of 130 ° C. with a twin-screw extruder and cooled, and then cooled.
Coarse pulverization was performed using a hammer mill, and then pulverization was performed using a fine pulverizer using an air jet method. This was classified to obtain black particles (2).

To 100 parts by mass of the black particles (2), 1.0 part by mass of hydrophobized titania fine powder and 1.0 part by mass of hydrophobized silica fine powder were added. Uniform diffusion was performed using a Henschel mixer manufactured by Mining Co., Ltd. to obtain a black toner (9). Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results.

Since the average circularity of the toner was small, the results were slightly inferior to Example 1 in high-temperature offset resistance and gloss stability.

<Example 10> The black particles (2) in Example 9 were treated for 2 minutes at a peripheral speed of 70 m / s by using a surface reforming apparatus of a type in which a rotor rotates to apply a mechanical impact force. Then, black particles (3) were obtained. To 100 parts by mass of the black particles (3), 1.0 part by mass of the hydrophobized titania fine powder and 1.0 part by mass of the hydrophobized silica fine powder were added. Using a Henschel mixer, the toner was uniformly diffused to obtain a black toner (10).

The properties are shown in Table 1, and the evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

[0283] Good results were obtained although slightly inferior to Example 1.

<Example 11> Black toner (11)
Means that the polyethylene wax of Example 1 was replaced with a polypropylene wax (Mw = 3200, Mn = 540, Mw / Mn).
= 5.9), except that it was changed to 5.9). Table 1 shows the physical properties and Table 3 shows the evaluation results.

Since the molecular weight distribution of the low softening point substance included in the toner is broad, the bleeding at the time of fixing is delayed, and the low-temperature fixability and the fixing stability are slightly inferior.

<Examples 12 to 14> As a coloring agent, a magenta coloring agent (CI Pigment Red 202), a yellow coloring agent (CI Pigment Yellow 128), or a cyan coloring agent (CI Pigment Blue). 15:
3) and diester wax (Mw = 550, Mn = 420, Mw / Mn = 1.3) as a low softening point substance
A magenta toner (a), a yellow toner (b) and a cyan toner (c) were prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except for using. When I examined these toners,
It had physical properties very similar to those of the black toner (1). When the evaluation was performed for a single color, good results were obtained as in Example 1. When the OHT permeability was confirmed, good results were obtained.

<Embodiment 15> Using the black toner (1), the thickness of the heat generating layer 1 of the fixing device used in Embodiment 1 was set to 1
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness was changed to 10 μm.

Although the followability to the fixing surface was slightly inferior to Example 1, good results were obtained.

Example 16 Using the black toner (1), the thickness of the release layer 2 of the fixing device used in Example 1 was set to 8
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness was changed to 5 μm.

As the release layer was thickened, the rigidity was increased, and although the followability to the fixing surface was slightly inferior to Example 1, good results were obtained.

Example 17 The toner basis weight (M / S) of an unfixed image was 0.85 d using the black toner (1).
The evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 with the fixing device configuration as g / m ² .

In a fixing device having no elastic layer, as a result of increasing the toner basis weight, the fixed image was partially offset and the image was soiled.

Example 18 Using the black toner (1), the surface pressure of the fixing device used in Example 1 was 8,000 N /
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the configuration was changed to m ² .

Since the pressure of the fixing device was low, the bleeding of the low softening point material was insufficient, and the low-temperature fixability was somewhat unsatisfactory.

Example 19 Using the black toner (1), the surface pressure of the fixing device used in Example 1 was 530000.
Example 1 as a similar configuration except for changing to N / m ²
The evaluation was performed in the same manner as described above.

Since the pressing force of the fixing device was high, the uniformity of glossiness of the image was slightly inferior, and the driving force and durability of the fixing device were also unsatisfactory.

Example 20 Using the black toner (1), the fixing speed of the fixing device used in Example 1 was increased to 350 m.
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the configuration was changed to m / sec.

When the recording material passed, the fixing belt could not follow the fixing speed, resulting in slipping and disturbing the image.

<Comparative Examples 1 and 2> The black toner (1
2) and (13) were prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount of the wax added in Example 1 was changed. The physical properties are shown in Table 2 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 4.

In Comparative Example 1, since the amount of the low softening point substance added was large, the change in gloss in the image was largely inferior.

In Comparative Example 2, since the amount of the low softening point substance added was small, the offset resistance was poor and the pressure roller and the back surface of the image were stained.

Comparative Example 3 The black toner (14)
Example 1 differs from Example 1 except that 10 parts by mass of an unsaturated polyester resin (polycondensate of bisphenol A and fumaric acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C.) is added instead of the saturated polyester resin of Example 1. Prepared similarly.

The physical properties are shown in Table 2 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 4.

Both the amount of the THF-insoluble component and the weight-average molecular weight of the THF-soluble component were too large, resulting in inferior low-temperature fixability.

Comparative Example 4 The black toner (15)
A styrene dimer was added as a chain transfer agent in place of the ethylene glycol diacrylate of Example 1, the amount of the polymerization initiator was changed from 5 parts by mass to 10 parts by mass, and the internal temperature after high-speed stirring was reduced to 80 ° C. Example 1 except that
Prepared in the same manner as

The physical properties are shown in Table 2 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 4.

Since the THF-insoluble content and the THF-soluble content both had too small weight-average molecular weights, the fixing start point was low, but the gloss difference of the image was large, resulting in inferior high-temperature offset resistance and fixing stability. .

Comparative Example 5 The black toner (16)
The addition amount of the styrene monomer in Example 1 was changed from 160 parts by mass to 175 parts by mass, the addition amount of the n-butyl acrylate monomer was changed from 40 parts by mass to 25 parts by mass, and the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate was changed. 0.4 parts by mass to 0.4 parts by mass.
2 parts by mass, and the polyethylene wax was replaced with polypropylene wax (Mw = 4,500, Mn = 80
0, Mw / Mn = 5.6), and the preparation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the addition amount was changed from 20 parts by mass to 60 parts by mass.

The physical properties are shown in Table 2 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 4.

The value of G _'50 / G' ₈₀ was small, resulting in inferior low-temperature fixing, the value of G ' ₁₄₀ / G' ₁₈₀ was large, and the image gloss difference was large.

<Comparative Example 6> Black toner (17)
The procedure of Example 1 was repeated except that the amount of the initiator was changed from 5 parts by mass to 1 part by mass.

The physical properties are shown in Table 2 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 4.

The THF soluble peak molecular weight Mp was too large, resulting in poor low-temperature fixation.

<Comparative Example 7> Using Black Toner (1)
The fixing device used in the first embodiment is
Fixing device (contact with toner image surface in film heating method)
And opposite to the surface of the film member that contacts the toner image
The heat of the heating means provided on the surface of the toner image to the toner image
Fixing device), nip 4.7 mm, surface pressure 120
00N / m ^Two, Process speed 100mm, fixing setting
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 at a temperature of 170 ° C.
Was.

Since the nip width of the fixing device is small, the bleeding of the low softening point material is insufficient, and satisfactory results in low-temperature fixability cannot be obtained.

Further, since the followability of the temperature control of the fixing device is inferior, a problem also arises in the gloss difference at the trailing end of the image and the gloss difference when a large number of sheets are passed.

[0317]

[Table 1]

[0318]

[Table 2]

[0319]

[Table 3]

[0320]

[Table 4]

Example 21 The cyan toner used in the present invention was prepared as follows.

In a 2-liter four-necked flask equipped with a high-speed stirrer TK-homomixer, 910 ion-exchanged water was added.
Parts by mass and 0.1 mol / l-Na ₃ PO ₄ aqueous solution 45
0 parts by mass was added, the rotation speed was adjusted to 12000 rpm, and the mixture was heated to 55 ° C. 68 parts by mass of 1.0 mol / liter-CaCl ₂ aqueous solution was gradually added thereto to prepare a dispersion medium system containing a minute water-insoluble dispersant Ca ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ .

On the other hand, the dispersoid system includes: 165 parts by mass of a styrene monomer, 35 parts by mass of a 2-ethylhexyl acrylate monomer, 15 parts by mass of a phthalocyanine pigment (CI Pigment Blue 15: 3), and a saturated polyester resin. 10 parts by mass (polycondensate of bisphenol A and terephthalic acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C) ・ 2 parts by mass of metal dialkylsalicylate ・ 0.4 parts by mass of ethylene glycol diacrylate ・ 40 parts by mass of low softening point material Part (diester wax, Mw = 550, Mn = 420, Mw / Mn = 1.3) After dispersing the above mixture using an attritor for 3 hours,
A dispersion to which 5 parts by mass of t-butyl hydroperoxide as a polymerization initiator was added was charged into the dispersion medium and granulated for 12 minutes while maintaining the rotation speed. Then, the stirrer was changed from a high-speed stirrer to a propeller stirring blade, the internal temperature was raised to 65 ° C, polymerization was continued at 50 rpm for 3 hours, and then the temperature was raised to 85 ° C over 1 hour, and then polymerization was continued for 6 hours did.

After completion of the polymerization, the slurry was cooled, diluted hydrochloric acid was added to dissolve the dispersant, and the mixture was filtered, washed with water and dried to obtain cyan particles (1). The circularity distribution and the particle size distribution of the obtained cyan particles (1) were measured using a flow type particle image measuring device. The average circularity was 0.975, and the maximum value of the circle equivalent diameter was 6.5 μm. there were.

With respect to 100 parts by mass of the obtained cyan particles (1), 1.0 part by mass of the hydrophobized titania fine powder and 1.0 part by mass of the same hydrophobized silica fine powder were used. In addition, the toner was uniformly diffused using a Henschel mixer manufactured by Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd. to obtain a cyan toner (1). Table 5 shows the physical properties.

The fixing characteristics of the obtained cyan toner (1) were evaluated by the following evaluation items.

[Measurement Method of Evaluation Items] Using cyan toner (1), the amount of toner carried on the leading end of a recording paper having a basis weight of 75 or 80 g / m ² was 0.5 to 0.6 dg / m ^2.
In the case of a secondary color, a belt-shaped toner unfixed image having a density of 1.0 to 1.2 dg / m ² was formed, and a fixing test was performed at a process speed of 100 mm / sec using a fixing device described below. went. Table 7 shows the fixing evaluation results.

Further, using a cyan toner (1), an OHP
A belt-shaped cyan toner image was formed on a sheet (CG3700 manufactured by 3M) with the toner carrying amount changed from 0.2 to 0.6 dg / m ² , and the process speed was set to 30 mm / sec by the following fixing device. Established. Table 7 shows the fixing evaluation results.
Shown in

The preparation of the unfixed image and the test of the fixing property are as follows.
Unless otherwise specified, the reaction is performed at normal temperature and normal humidity (23 ° C./60%).

The evaluation items shown in Table 7 are the same in terms of the method and rank as those shown in Table 3.

The configuration of the fixing device is the heat fixing device shown in FIG. 3 (transverse side view), FIG. 4 (front view), and FIG. 5 (longitudinal front view), and the oil application mechanism is omitted.

The magnetic cores 17a, 17 serving as magnetic field generating means
b and 17c are ferrites, and the exciting coil 18 is formed by winding a bundle of wires 10 turns.

The fixing belt has a layer structure shown in FIG. 9B, and a nickel layer having a thickness of 50 μm is used for the heat generating layer 1.

The elastic layer 2 was a silicone rubber having a thickness of 250 μm and a hardness of 35 degrees according to <JIS K-6301>.

Further, the release layer 3 was coated with a PFA resin to have a thickness of 40 μm.

As the pressure roller 30, a core metal 3 made of Fe is used.
A roller having a roller hardness of 60 degrees (Asker-C 500 g) coated with silicone rubber and PFA resin for 0a was used.

As the pressing force, the pressing springs 25a, 25b
Is adjusted to a fixing nip of 8.5 m with a surface pressure of 125,000 N / m ² in a state of passing through a paper of 80 g / cm ^2.
m.

<Example 22> A cyan toner (2) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the addition amount of the wax in Example 21 was changed from 40 parts by mass to 60 parts by mass. Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 21.

<Example 23> For the cyan toner (3), the addition amount of the styrene monomer in Example 21 was changed from 165 parts by mass to 175 parts by mass, and the addition amount of the 2-ethylhexyl acrylate monomer was 35 parts. The procedure of Example 21 was repeated, except that the amount was changed from 25 parts by mass to 25 parts by mass, and the amount of wax added was changed from 40 parts by mass to 6 parts by mass. Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 21.

<Example 24> In the cyan toner (4), the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate in Example 21 was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 0.2 parts by mass, and the addition amount of the saturated polyester resin was 10 parts. Parts by mass to 9.5 parts by mass, and further unsaturated polyester resin (polycondensate of bisphenol A and fumaric acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 6)
Example 21 except that 0.5 parts by mass (5 ° C.) was added.
Prepared in the same manner as Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained as in Example 21.

<Example 25> In the cyan toner (5), the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate in Example 21 was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 0.2 parts by mass, and the addition amount of the saturated polyester resin was 10 parts by mass. Parts by mass to 8 parts by mass, and then the unsaturated polyester resin (bisphenol A)
Polycondensation product with fumaric acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65
C.) was added in the same manner as in Example 21 except that 2 parts by mass) was added. Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results. Although the OHT permeability was slightly inferior to Example 21, good results were obtained in other cases.

<Example 26> A cyan toner (6) was prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the ethylene glycol diacrylate of Example 21 was not added and the internal temperature after high-speed stirring was 85 ° C. did. Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results.
Shown in Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 21.

Example 27 For the cyan toner (7), the addition amount of the styrene monomer in Example 21 was changed from 165 parts by mass to 155 parts by mass, and the addition amount of the 2-ethylhexyl acrylate monomer was 35 parts by mass. It was prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the amount was changed from 45 parts by mass to 45 parts by mass. Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 21.

<Example 28> The cyan toner (8) was the same as Example 21 except that the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate in Example 21 was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 1.2 parts by mass. Was prepared. Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results. Good results were obtained although inferior to Example 21.

Example 29 Styrene-2-ethylhexyl acrylate-ethylene glycol diacrylate copolymer (glass transition point 65 ° C.) 100 parts by mass Phthalocyanine pigment 7 parts by mass (CI Pigment Blue 15: 3)・ Saturated polyester resin 5 parts by mass (polycondensate of bisphenol A and terephthalic acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C.) ・ Dialkylsalicylic acid metal compound 1 part by mass ・ Low softening point substance 8 parts by mass (diester wax Mw = 550, Mn = 420, Mw / Mn = 1.3) The above mixture was premixed with a Henschel mixer, melt-kneaded at a temperature of 130 ° C. with a twin-screw extruder, cooled, and then cooled.
Coarse pulverization was performed using a hammer mill, and then pulverization was performed using a fine pulverizer using an air jet method. This was classified to obtain cyan particles (2).

To 100 parts by mass of the cyan particles (2), 1.0 part by mass of hydrophobized titania fine powder and 1.0 part by mass of hydrophobized silica fine powder were added. Uniform diffusion was performed using a Henschel mixer manufactured by Mining Co., Ltd. to obtain a cyan toner (9). Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results.

Since the average circularity of the toner was small, the result was slightly inferior in high-temperature offset resistance and gloss stability as compared with Example 21. OHT permeability also incorporated air bubbles, resulting in slightly inferior results.

<Example 30> [0348] Using a surface reforming apparatus of the type in which the rotor rotates the cyan particles (2) in Example 29 to apply a mechanical impact force, a treatment is performed at a peripheral speed of 70 m / s for 2 minutes. As a result, cyan particles (3) were obtained. To 100 parts by mass of the cyan particles (3), 1.0 part by mass of the hydrophobized titania fine powder and 1.0 part by mass of the hydrophobized silica fine powder were added. Use a Henschel mixer to uniformly diffuse cyan toner (1
0) was obtained.

The physical properties are shown in Table 5 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 7.

Although the result was slightly inferior to that of Example 21, good results were obtained.

<Example 31> The cyan toner (11)
The diester wax of Example 21 was replaced with a polypropylene wax (Mw = 3200, Mn = 540, Mw / Mn =
Prepared as in Example 21 except changing to 5.9). Table 5 shows the physical properties and Table 7 shows the evaluation results.

Since the molecular weight distribution of the low softening point substance included in the toner is broad, the bleeding at the time of fixing is delayed, and the low-temperature fixing property and the fixing stability are slightly inferior.

In addition, OHT permeability was slightly inferior due to high crystallinity.

<Examples 32 to 34> As a coloring agent, a magenta coloring agent (CI Pigment Red 202), a yellow coloring agent (CI Pigment Yellow 128), or a black coloring agent (grafted carbon black) was used. A magenta toner (d), a yellow toner (e) and a black toner (f) were prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the above procedure was repeated. When I examined these toners,
It had physical properties very similar to those of the cyan toner (1). When the evaluation was performed for a single color, good results were obtained as in Example 21.

Also, the cyan toner (1) is
C, the magenta toner (d) into the developing device 104M, the yellow toner (e) into the developing device 104Y, the black toner (f) into the developing device 104BK, and the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. And full-color images of 2 colors were evaluated in the same manner as in Example 21, and the low-temperature fixability, gloss uniformity, color mixture,
Good results were also obtained in OHT permeability and the like.

Example 35 Using the cyan toner (1), the thickness of the heat generating layer 1 of the fixing device used in Example 21 was reduced to 1
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the thickness was changed to 10 μm.

As compared with Example 21, good results were obtained although the followability to the fixing surface was slightly inferior.

Example 36 Using the cyan toner (1), the thickness of the elastic layer 2 of the fixing device used in Example 21 was set to 4
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the silicone rubber was changed to 50 μm.

Although the temperature controllability was slightly inferior to that of Example 21, good results were obtained.

<Example 37> Using the cyan toner (1), the thickness of the release layer 3 of the fixing device used in Example 21 was set to 8
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the thickness was changed to 5 μm.

As the release layer was thickened, the rigidity was increased, and good results were obtained although the followability to the fixing surface was slightly inferior to Example 21.

Example 38 Using the cyan toner (1), the surface pressure of the fixing device used in Example 21 was 8,000 N /
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the structure was changed to m ² .

Since the pressure of the fixing device was slightly low, the seeping-out of the low softening point substance was insufficient, and the low-temperature fixability was somewhat unsatisfactory.

Example 39 Using the cyan toner (1), the surface pressure of the fixing device used in Example 21 was 530000.
Implemented as the same structure except for changing the N / m ² Example 2
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 1.

Since the pressing force of the fixing device was rather high, the gloss uniformity of the image was poor, and the driving force and durability of the fixing device were also somewhat unsatisfactory.

Example 40 Using the cyan toner (1), the fixing speed of the fixing device used in Example 21 was increased to 350 m.
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the configuration was changed to m / sec.

When the recording material passed, the fixing belt could not follow the fixing speed, resulting in slipping and disturbing the image.

<Example 41> Image formation in Examples 32 to 34 was performed using a fixing device having the same configuration as that of Example 21 except that the thickness of the elastic layer 2 of the fixing device was changed from 250 µm to 8 µm. When the full-color unfixed image formed by the device was evaluated for fixing, the elastic layer was slightly thin.
The ability to follow the unevenness of the thick full-color toner layer was slightly low, resulting in uneven gloss and slightly unsatisfactory OHT transmission.

Further, the results were also somewhat unsatisfactory in low-temperature fixability and fixing stability.

<Embodiment 42> In the four-color tandem type image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 12, the fixing device was modified to have the same configuration as that of Embodiment 21, and cyan toner (1), magenta toner (d), and yellow toner (E) Then, the black toner (f) was placed in each developing device, and secondary and four-color full-color images were formed in a full-color mode, and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 21. Good results were also obtained with respect to gloss uniformity, color mixing, OHT transparency and the like.

<Comparative Examples 8 and 9> Cyan Toner (12)
And (13) were prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the amount of the wax added in Example 21 was changed. Table 6 shows the physical properties and Table 8 shows the evaluation results.

In Comparative Example 8, since the added amount of the low softening point substance was large, the gloss was changed in the image, and the extra low softening point substance resulted in poor OHT permeability.

In Comparative Example 9, since the amount of the low softening point substance added was small, the offset resistance was poor and the OHT permeability was poor.

<Comparative Example 10> The cyan toner (14)
Example 21 was repeated except that 10 parts by mass of an unsaturated polyester resin (polycondensate of bisphenol A and fumaric acid, acid value 10, glass transition point 65 ° C) was added instead of the saturated polyester resin of Example 21. Prepared similarly.

Table 6 shows the physical properties and Table 8 shows the evaluation results.

The THF-insoluble content and the THF-soluble content both had too high weight-average molecular weights, so that low-temperature fixability, OH
The result was poor T transmission.

<Comparative Example 11> The cyan toner (15)
In place of ethylene glycol diacrylate of Example 21, styrene dimer was added as a chain transfer agent, the amount of the polymerization initiator was changed from 5 parts by mass to 10 parts by mass, and the internal temperature after high-speed stirring was 85 ° C. Prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that

The physical properties are shown in Table 6 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 8.

Since the THF-insoluble content and the THF-soluble content both had too small weight-average molecular weights, the fixing start point was low, but the gloss difference of the image was large, resulting in poor high-temperature offset resistance and fixing stability. .

<Comparative Example 12> The cyan toner (16)
The addition amount of the styrene monomer of Example 21 was changed from 165 parts by mass to 175 parts by mass, the addition amount of the n-butyl acrylate monomer was changed from 35 parts by mass to 25 parts by mass, and the addition amount of ethylene glycol diacrylate was changed. The amount was changed from 0.4 parts by mass to 0.2 parts by mass, and the monoester wax was changed to a polypropylene wax (Mw = 4,500, Mn = 8).
00, Mw / Mn = 5.6), and prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the addition amount was changed from 40 parts by mass to 60 parts by mass.

The physical properties are shown in Table 6 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 8.

The value of G _'50 / G' ₈₀ was small, resulting in inferior low-temperature fixation, the value of G ' ₁₄₀ / G' ₁₈₀ was large, and the image gloss difference was large.

<Comparative Example 13> The cyan toner (17)
It was prepared in the same manner as in Example 21 except that the addition amount of the initiator in Example 21 was changed from 5 parts by mass to 1 part by mass.

The properties are shown in Table 6 and the evaluation results are shown in Table 8.

The THF soluble peak molecular weight Mp was too large, resulting in poor low-temperature fixation.

<Comparative Example 14> Using cyan toner (1)
Thus, the fixing device used in Example 21 was replaced with the fixing device shown in FIG.
Fusing device (toner image surface in film heating system)
In contact with the surface of the film-shaped member that contacts the toner image.
The heat of the heating means provided on the opposite surface is applied to the toner image.
Fixing device), the nip is 4.7 mm, and the surface pressure is 12
000N / m ^Two, Process speed 100mm, fixing equipment
Evaluation was performed in the same manner as in Example 21 under the condition of a constant temperature of 170 ° C.
went.

Since the nip width of the fixing device is small, the bleeding of the low softening point material becomes insufficient, and satisfactory results in low-temperature fixing property and OHT permeability cannot be obtained.

Further, since the followability of the temperature control of the fixing unit is poor, a problem also arises in the gloss difference at the trailing end of the image and the gloss difference when a large number of sheets are passed.

[0389]

[Table 5]

[0390]

[Table 6]

[0391]

[Table 7]

[0392]

[Table 8]

[0393]

According to the present invention, in an image forming method for forming a fixed image on a recording material using a heating and pressing fixing device by electromagnetic induction, the toner to be used contains at least a substance having a low softening point and a molecular weight of the toner. By adjusting the viscoelasticity, the melt index, and the average circularity in the specified ranges, an image forming method and a fixing method excellent in quick start property and power saving can be obtained.

Further, the glossiness of the fixed image can be kept uniform, and the user can be comforted psychologically, and a high-quality image excellent in the transparency of the overhead projector film (OHP) image can be obtained. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a full-color image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view schematically illustrating a heating device (fixing device) of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of a main part of a heating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view of a main part of the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a magnetic field generating means according to the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 schematically shows a state of generation of an alternating magnetic flux.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a safety circuit according to the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a layer configuration of a fixing belt (fixing film) according to the heating device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration of an example of a fixing device of an electromagnetic induction heating system.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration of a surf fixing device used in a comparative example.

FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example of an image forming apparatus applicable to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat generation layer 2 Elastic layer 3 Release layer 4 Heat insulation layer 10 Fixing belt 15 Magnetic field generation means 16, 16a, 16b Film (belt) guide member 16e Convex rib part 17, 17a, 17b, 17c Magnetic core 18 Excitation coil 18a, 18b Power supply unit 19 Insulating member (excitation coil holding member) 22 Rigid stay for pressurizing 23a, 23b Flange member 25a, 25b Pressurizing spring 26 Temperature sensor 27 Exciting circuit 29a, 29b Spring receiving member 30 Pressurizing roller (elastic) 30a Core bar 30b Elastic material layer 40 Good heat conductive member 50 Thermo switch 51 Relay switch 100 Image heating device (fixing device) N Fixing nip P Transfer material (recording material) 101 Photoconductor drum 102 Charging device 104 Developing device T1 Primary transfer unit T2 Secondary transfer Department

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naotaka Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yasufumi Katsuta 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Kenichi Nakayama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 2H005 AA06 AA15 AA21 AB06 CA14 CA17 CA21 EA03 EA06 EA07 EA10 FB01 2H033 AA49 BA25 BA58 BB15 BB18 BB28 BB33 BE03 BE06

Claims (35)

[Claims] 1. A rotating heating member having at least (i) a magnetic field generating means, (ii) a heating layer and a release layer that generate heat by electromagnetic induction, and (iii) a rotation forming a nip with the rotating heating member. A heating and pressurizing means having at least a pressure member, and pressing and fixing the rotary heating member via the recording material to the toner image on the recording material by heating and pressing to fix the recording material; The toner is applied to an image forming method for forming a fixed image on the surface of a toner, the toner comprising: a) to e) a) 1 to 30 parts by mass of a low softening point substance in the toner based on 100 parts by mass of a binder resin. B) the molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) -soluble component of the toner is 10,000.
00 to 40,000, weight average molecular weight (Mw)
There is a 12,000 to 1,200,000, c) the storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 50 ° C. of the toner (G _'50)
And the ratio (G _'50 / G' ₈₀ ) of the toner to the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₈₀ ) at a temperature of 80 ° C. is 600 to 1600. d) The storage elastic modulus (G ′) of the toner at a temperature of 140 ° C.
₁₄₀ ) and the ratio (G ′ ₁₄₀ / G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the toner at 170 ° C. is 0.05 to 30. e) Melt index of toner (125 ° C., load) (5 kg) in a discharge amount of 0.5 to 60 g in 10 minutes. 2. The toner has a storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) at 50 ° C. of 1 × 10 ^{9 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁰ (dN / m ² ).
The toner according to claim 1, wherein 3. The toner has a storage modulus (G ′ ₁₄₀ ) at a temperature of 140 ° C. of 5 × 10 ^{2 to} 5 × 10 ⁵ (dN /
m ² ). The toner according to claim 1, wherein m ² ). 4. The toner according to claim 1, wherein an insoluble content of the toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent is 1 to 60% by mass. 5. The low softening point substance has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) and a number average molecular weight (Mn) ratio (Mw / Mn) of 1 in a molecular weight distribution measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). The toner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the toner number is in the range of 0.0 to 5.0. 6. The toner according to claim 1, wherein an average circularity of the toner particles measured by a flow type particle image analyzer of the toner satisfies 0.950 to 0.995. toner. 7. The toner particles are produced by a polymerization method in which a polymerizable monomer composition containing at least a polymerizable monomer and a colorant is polymerized in a solvent liquid in the presence of a polymerization initiator. The toner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein 8. The heating layer of the rotary heating member has a thickness of 1-2.
00 μm, the thickness of the release layer is 1 to 100 μm, and the rotating heating member is applied with a surface pressure of 9 × 10 ^{3 to} 5 through recording.
9. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the toner image is heated and pressed at a fixing speed of 5 to 300 mm / sec while pressing the rotary pressing member at a pressure of 10 ⁵ N / m ² . The toner according to any one of the above. 9. A rotating heating member having at least (i) a magnetic field generating means, (ii) a heat generating layer and a release layer that generate heat by electromagnetic induction, and (iii) a rotating member forming a nip with the rotating heating member. A heating and pressurizing means having at least a pressure member, and pressing and fixing the rotary heating member via the recording material to the toner image on the recording material by heating and pressing to fix the recording material; Wherein the toner contains a low-softening point substance in the toner in an amount of 1 to 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder resin; The molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of
00 to 40,000, weight average molecular weight (Mw)
There is a 12,000 to 1,200,000, c) the storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 50 ° C. of the toner (G _'50)
And the ratio (G _'50 / G' ₈₀ ) of the toner to the storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₈₀ ) at a temperature of 80 ° C. is 600 to 1600. d) The storage elastic modulus (G ′) of the toner at a temperature of 140 ° C.
₁₄₀ ) and the storage modulus (G ′ ₁₇₀ ) of the toner at 170 ° C. at 170 ° C. (G ′ ₁₄₀ / G ′ ₁₇₀ ) is 0.05 to 30. e) Melt index of toner (125 ° C., load) An image forming method using a toner that satisfies a discharge amount of 0.5 to 60 g in 10 minutes (5 kg) for 10 minutes. 10. The toner has a storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) at a temperature of 50 ° C. of 1 × 10 ^{9 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁰ (dN /
The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein m ² ). 11. The toner has a storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₁₄₀ ) at a temperature of 140 ° C. of 5 × 10 ^{2 to} 5 × 10 ⁵ (dN /
The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein m ² ). 12. The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein an insoluble content of the toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent is 1 to 60% by mass. 13. The low softening point substance has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) to number average molecular weight (Mn) ratio (Mw / Mn) of 1 in a molecular weight distribution measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). The image forming method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the value is from 0.0 to 5.0. 14. The toner according to claim 9, wherein the average circularity of the toner particles measured by the flow type particle image analyzer satisfies 0.950 to 0.995.
3. The image forming method according to any one of 3. 15. The toner particles are produced by a polymerization method in which a polymerizable monomer composition containing at least a polymerizable monomer and a colorant is polymerized in a solvent liquid in the presence of a polymerization initiator. The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein: 16. The heating layer of the rotary heating member has a thickness of 1 to 1.
200 μm, the thickness of the release layer is 1 to 100 μm, and the rotational heating member is applied with a surface pressure of 9 × 10 ^{3 to} 5 through recording.
16. The image forming method according to claim 9, wherein the toner image is heated and pressurized and fixed at a fixing speed of 5 to 300 mm / sec while pressing the rotary pressing member at a pressure of 10 ⁵ N / m ² . The image forming method according to any one of the above. 17. The toner according to claim 9, wherein the basis weight (M / S) of the toner on the recording material is 0.8 dg / m ² or less.
17. The image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 16. 18. The toner according to claim 9, wherein the basis weight (M / S) of the toner on the recording material is 0.7 dg / m ² or less.
17. The image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 16. 19. The recording medium according to claim 9, wherein the basis weight (M / S) of the toner is 0.6 dg / m ² or less.
17. The image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 16. 20. (i) a magnetic field generating means, (ii) a rotary heating member having at least a heat generating layer, an elastic layer, and a release layer which generate heat by electromagnetic induction, and (iii) a nip with the rotary heating member. A heating / pressurizing unit having at least a rotating / pressing member, and fixing the toner image on the recording material by heating / pressing while pressing the rotating / heating member through the recording material. And a color toner applied to an image forming method for forming a fixed image on a recording material by using a low softening point substance in 100% by weight of a binder resin. B) the molecular weight distribution of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner is from 7000 to 7000;
0 to 50,000 and a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 9,000 to 1,500,000. C) Storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) of the toner at a temperature of 50 ° C.
A storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 80 ° C. of the toner 'ratio of _{(80 (G G)' 50} / G '80) of 400 to 2000, d) storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 140 ° C. of the toner (G'
₁₄₀₎ and a 'ratio (G and _{170)' 140} / G _'170) of 0.05 to 50 storage modulus (G at a temperature 170 ° C. of the toner, e) the toner melt index (temperature 125 ° C., load 5 kg) in a discharge amount of 0.5 to 80 g in 10 minutes. 21. The color toner having a storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) at a temperature of 50 ° C. of 1 × 10 ^{9 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁰ (d
N / m ² ). 22. The color toner at a temperature of 140 ° C.
Storage modulus (G ') ₁₄₀) Is 5 × 10^Two~ 5 × 10
^Five(DN / m^Two21) or 20) or
22. The color toner according to 21. 23. The color toner according to claim 20, wherein an insoluble content of the color toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent is 1 to 60% by mass. 24. The low softening point substance has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) and a number average molecular weight (Mn) ratio (Mw / Mn) of 1 in a molecular weight distribution measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). 24. The color toner according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the color toner is 0.0 to 5.0. 25. An average circularity of the toner particles measured by a flow type particle image analyzer of the color toner is 0.9.
3. The lens according to claim 2, wherein the ratio satisfies 50 to 0.995.
25. The color toner according to any one of 0 to 24. 26. The color toner particles are produced by a polymerization method in which a polymerizable monomer composition containing at least a polymerizable monomer and a colorant is polymerized in a solvent solution in the presence of a polymerization initiator. The color toner according to any one of claims 20 to 25, wherein: 27. The heating layer of the rotary heating member has a thickness of 1 to
200 μm, the thickness of the elastic layer is 10 to 500 μm, the thickness of the release layer is 1 to 100 μm, and the surface pressure of the rotary heating member is 9 × 10 ^{3 to} 5 × 10 ⁵ N / m through recording. Fixing speed 5 to 300 m while pressing the rotary pressing member in ²
27. The color toner according to claim 20, wherein the color toner is used in an image forming method in which a toner image is heated and pressed at m / sec. 28. (i) a magnetic field generating means, (ii) a rotary heating member having at least a heat generating layer, an elastic layer, and a release layer which generate heat by electromagnetic induction, and (iii) a nip with the rotary heating member. A heating / pressurizing unit having at least a rotating / pressing member, and fixing the toner image on the recording material by heating / pressing while pressing the rotating / heating member through the recording material. In the image forming method for forming a fixed image on a recording material by using a toner, the toner includes the following a) to e) a) 1 to 35 parts by mass of a low softening point substance in the toner based on 100 parts by mass of the binder resin. b) The molecular weight Mp of the main peak in the molecular weight distribution of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble component of the toner is 7000
0 to 50,000 and a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 9,000 to 1,500,000. C) Storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) of the toner at a temperature of 50 ° C.
A storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 80 ° C. of the toner 'ratio of _{(80 (G G)' 50} / G '80) of 400 to 2000, d) storage elastic modulus at a temperature of 140 ° C. of the toner (G'
₁₄₀₎ and a 'ratio (G and _{170)' 140} / G _'170) of 0.05 to 50 storage modulus (G at a temperature 170 ° C. of the toner, e) the toner melt index (temperature 125 ° C., load An image forming method comprising using a color toner that satisfies a discharge amount of 0.5 to 80 g in 10 minutes (5 kg) for 10 minutes. 29. The color toner has a storage elastic modulus (G ′ ₅₀ ) at a temperature of 50 ° C. of 1 × 10 ^{9 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁰ (d
The image forming method according to claim 28, wherein N / m ² ). 30. The color toner at a temperature of 140 ° C.
Storage modulus (G ') ₁₄₀) Is 5 × 10^Two~ 5 × 10
^Five(DN / m^Two28) or 28)
30. The image forming method according to claim 29. 31. The image forming method according to claim 28, wherein an insoluble content of the color toner by Soxhlet extraction with a tetrahydrofuran solvent is 1 to 60% by mass. 32. The low softening point substance has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) and a number average molecular weight (Mn) ratio (Mw / Mn) of 1 in a molecular weight distribution measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography). The image forming method according to any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the value is from 0.0 to 5.0. 33. An average circularity of the toner particles measured by a flow type particle image analyzer of the color toner is 0.9.
3. The lens according to claim 2, wherein the ratio satisfies 50 to 0.995.
The image forming method according to any one of Items 8 to 32. 34. The color toner particles are produced by a polymerization method in which a polymerizable monomer composition containing at least a polymerizable monomer and a colorant is polymerized in a solvent liquid in the presence of a polymerization initiator. The image forming method according to any one of claims 28 to 33, wherein: 35. The heating layer of the rotary heating member has a thickness of 1 to 3.
200 μm, the thickness of the elastic layer is 10 to 500 μm, the thickness of the release layer is 1 to 100 μm, and the surface pressure of the rotary heating member is 9 × 10 ^{3 to} 5 × 10 ⁵ N / m through recording. Fixing speed 5 to 300 m while pressing the rotating pressure member in ²
35. The image forming method according to claim 28, wherein the image forming method is used in an image forming method in which a toner image is heated and pressed at m / sec.