JP2002296930A - Electrifying member and electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize excellent electrification durability and workability in an electrifying member arranged on an electrophotographic device and carrying out electrifying treatment of a surface of a body to be electrified in a state with applied voltage by easily adjusting the electric resistance, reducing and uniformizing electric resistance unevenness, suppressing adhesion to a member to be electrified and suppressing contamination of the member to be electrified. SOLUTION: A conductive elastic body layer 32 constructing the electrifying member is manufactured by mixing and vulcanizing a ternary copolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-aryl glycidyl either and a polar rubber.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charging member used in an electrophotographic apparatus, and more particularly, to a charging member for charging, developing, transferring, etc., which charges a surface of an object to be charged by a charging member to which a voltage is applied. The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic apparatus (copier, optical printer, etc.) or an electrostatic recording apparatus, as a means for charging a surface of an image carrier as a member to be charged such as a photoconductor and a dielectric. Has conventionally used a corona charger.

A corona discharge device is effective as a means for uniformly charging a surface of a member to be charged such as an image carrier to a predetermined potential. However, since a high-voltage power supply is required and corona discharge is used, there is a concern about problems such as generation of undesired ozone.

A contact charging device for charging a surface of an object to be charged by bringing a charging member to which the above-described voltage is applied close to or in contact with the object to be charged with respect to the corona discharge device described above,
It has the advantages of lowering the pressure of the power supply and generating less ozone.

[0005] Such a charging member needs to be semiconductive in order to prevent leakage caused by pinholes and scratches on the surface of the charged body such as a photoreceptor, etc.

[0006] For example, a transfer roller used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is a member for transferring a toner image on an image carrier such as a photoreceptor, an intermediate transfer member, and a transfer drum onto transfer paper. The transfer roller is pressed into contact with the photoreceptor or the like on which the toner image has been developed via a transfer paper as a charged body, and a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner of the toner image is supplied to transfer the toner from the photoreceptor to the paper. Adsorbed and transferred. Here, the magnitude of the charge density supplied to the transfer paper greatly affects the image quality. In other words, if the charge density is low, the toner attraction force is weakened. In particular, "splashing" occurs in the case of dry paper, and conversely, "bleeding" occurs due to the opposite polarity charging of the toner when the amount is high, resulting in high quality images. May not be obtained.

[0007] If the charge density is non-uniform, density unevenness may occur in the solid black transfer property, or spot-like transfer unevenness such as sand may occur. Therefore, it is desired that the conductivity of the surface be uniform.

In order to satisfy this requirement, a metal powder such as carbon black, graphite, metal oxides such as titanium oxide and tin oxide, copper and silver, and the like are coated on a conductive metal core such as metal. A conductive rubber roller is used in which conductive particles such as particles that have been made conductive by coating are mixed and dispersed.

However, it may be difficult to adjust the resistance value of the rubber roller in which the conductive particles are dispersed. In addition, variations in local resistance may occur due to uneven dispersion of the conductive particles, and as a result, uneven charging may be caused, or the photoconductor may be destroyed due to partial leakage.

In addition, when the above-mentioned method is used, the electric resistance value is restricted depending on the type of the polymer used, so that a desired electric resistance value may not be realized depending on the purpose of use.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2743278, in a method of adjusting an electric resistance value by adding an ionic conductive material such as lithium perchlorate, a wide range of electric resistance values can be realized by the addition amount. However, the electric resistance value changes abruptly with a small amount of addition, making it difficult to handle. In addition, the conductive agent may migrate to the surface of the charging member and cause sticking to the member to be charged, or may cause contamination. In addition, there are cases where the durability stability is insufficient such that the electric resistance value fluctuates due to energization or the like.

In addition, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-159148, a multilayer structure in which a resin layer is provided on a surface layer has also been proposed. Problems are a concern.

[0013]

In view of the above circumstances, it is easy to adjust the electric resistance value, the electric resistance value is small and uniform, and the adhesion to the member to be charged is suppressed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a charging member which also suppresses contamination of the member to be charged and which is excellent in current-carrying durability and workability, and an electrophotographic apparatus using the same.

[0014]

According to the present invention, there is provided a charging member provided in an electrophotographic apparatus for charging a surface of a member to be charged with a voltage applied thereto. A charging member is provided, wherein the conductive elastic layer constituting the charging member is obtained by mixing and vulcanizing a terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether and a polar rubber. .

That is, when the electric resistance value is adjusted by adding a conventional conductive agent, contamination and migration of the electric resistance value due to migration of the conductive agent may occur. The electric resistance value is adjusted by adding a polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer. Since the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer is a polymer compound, it is used as a conductive agent. The occurrence of contamination due to the migration and the change over time in the electric resistance value are suppressed.

Further, the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer contains ether oxygen in the main chain structure, so that the electric resistance value is lowered. And polyethylene oxide-
The effect of the polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer on the electrical resistance is slow, so that the electrical resistance can be easily adjusted.

Furthermore, reactivity is imparted to the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether since allyl glycidyl ether is copolymerized. Therefore, the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer can be reacted with other blended polymer and immobilized. Therefore, unlike nonionic surfactants having a structure of polyethylene oxide, the electric resistance can be adjusted without migration,
In addition, since there is no migration property, it is possible to suppress a change in the electric resistance value due to aging or endurance of energization.

In addition, since the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether has a high polarity, a uniform conductive elastic body having excellent compatibility with other polar rubbers can be obtained. Note that Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
Since the content of ether oxygen is higher than that of a hydrin rubber having a similar structure as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 27215, the electric resistance can be efficiently reduced by adding a relatively small amount. Therefore, it is possible to finely adjust the electric resistance value when various polar materials are used without changing the physical properties of the entire conductive elastic body. In addition, since the crystallinity of the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer is low, there is also an effect that the environmental dependence of the electric resistance value is suppressed.

For the above reasons, in the charging member of the present invention, the electric resistance value can be easily adjusted, the unevenness of the electric resistance value is small and uniform, the adhesion to the member to be charged is suppressed, and Contamination of the charging member is also suppressed, and excellent current-carrying durability and workability can be realized.

The charging member having such excellent characteristics can be suitably disposed in an electrophotographic apparatus, and can be used as a transfer roller, a charging roller, and the like.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The composition ratio of each component of the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer used in the present invention depends on the compatibility, electric resistance, cross-linking reactivity and the like. On the other hand, 10 to 80 mol% of polyethylene oxide units,
The content of the polypropylene oxide unit is preferably 10 to 50 mol%, and the content of the allyl glycidyl ether is preferably 2 to 20 mol%.

Further, the blending amount of the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether in the conductive elastic material layer is determined from the viewpoint of controlling the electric resistance value. It is preferably from 5 to 80% by mass based on the total amount of the polymer and the polar rubber.

In addition, the polar rubber is nitrile rubber (NB)
It is preferable to include at least one rubber selected from the group consisting of R), hydrin rubber, acrylic rubber (ACM) and chloroprene rubber (CR). This is because compatibility is good, workability is excellent, and electric resistance value adjustment is easy.

By blending a non-polar polymer with the conductive elastic layer, weather resistance such as ozone resistance and non-adhesion can be improved.

Here, the non-polar polymer is a polymer having no large dipole moment in the molecule, and is generally a polymer having a small induction ratio.

Specific examples of such a non-polar polymer include NR (natural rubber), IR (isoprene rubber),
Examples thereof include BR (butadiene rubber), SBR (styrene butadiene rubber), EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer), HR (butyl rubber), olefin elastomer, SEBS elastomer, and polystyrene elastomer.

In particular, when weather resistance such as ozone resistance is a problem, and when aging resistance is considered, the use of EPDM is suitable in view of its high weather resistance. Particularly in the case of sulfur vulcanization, the iodine value of the EPDM used is preferably 20 or more, and more preferably 30 or more, from the viewpoint of co-vulcanization.

When a nonpolar polymer is used, the blending amount of the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer is as follows: polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer, polar rubber and It is preferably from 5 to 80% by mass based on the total amount of the nonpolar polymer.

The polymer component for forming the conductive elastic layer may be other than those described above. In this case, the amount of the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether is compounded. Is preferably 5 to 80% by mass based on the total amount of the polymer components forming the conductive elastic layer.

Further, if necessary, the semiconductive elastic layer
Fillers such as zinc oxide, stearic acid, calcium carbonate, talc, mica, silica, magnesium carbonate and carbon black can also be blended.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the charging member of the present invention.
An example of the configuration of the transfer roller was shown. In the transfer roller of this embodiment, a conductive elastic layer 32 is provided on a metal core 31 made of a conductive cylindrical base material such as a metal.

The core metal can be made of stainless steel, iron, or iron whose surface is plated with nickel-chromium for rust prevention.

The raw material of the conductive elastic layer is an open roll,
Mixing is appropriately performed using a mixer such as a kneader, a Banbury or an intermix. Molding is performed by vulcanizing or vulcanizing and foaming the extruder tube formed by high frequency such as oven or vulcanizing can or UHF, and press-fitting the core metal into the secondary vulcanized tube by heating means such as oven. The outer diameter is adjusted by polishing the surface if necessary. At this time, an adhesive can be appropriately used for the core metal. In addition, a means for extruding the core while covering the core with rubber is also used. Furthermore,
Means of mounting unvulcanized rubber and a core metal in a cylindrical mold and heating vulcanization or vulcanization and foaming are also used. Note that a surface layer can be formed as necessary.

The conductive elastic layer may be of any type as long as it can apply a transfer bias voltage to the paper and has an electric resistance enough to uniformly press the paper against the paper. Is preferably in the range of 10 ⁵ Ω to 10 ¹² Ω.

The electric resistance value is measured by an apparatus as shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an electric resistance measuring device of a conductive elastic roller as a roller-shaped charging member. The conductive elastic roller 41 is formed of the conductive core metal 4.
3 is pressed against the cylindrical aluminum drum 42 by a load by a pressing means (not shown) by a pressing means (not shown), and is rotated by the rotation of the aluminum drum 42. In this state, a DC voltage is applied to the metal core portion 43 of the conductive elastic roller 41 using an external power supply, and the electric resistance value is calculated from the read value of the ammeter 44 connected in series to the aluminum drum 42.

The conductive elastic layer may be solid or foamed, but preferably has a low hardness. More specifically, the sponge hardness (asker C) is preferably 20 ° to 80 °. When the asker C hardness is within this range, a sufficient nip width between the transfer roller and the member to be charged can be ensured, and uniform charging can be performed. In particular, when the member to be charged is a transfer member, it is possible to suppress the "missing" in which the central part of the line drawing comes off.

The asker C hardness is based on the standard standard a
Sker C type SRIS (Japanese Rubber Association Standard) 0101
Is a hardness measured by an asker rubber hardness tester (manufactured by Kobunshi Keiki Co., Ltd.) using a test piece prepared according to the above.

The fixing property between the conductive elastic layer and the member to be charged is as follows.
This can be improved by blending a non-polar polymer with the conductive elastic layer. As a means for further improvement, surface modification can be mentioned.

Examples of the method include blending of release particles such as silicone particles and fluororesin particles, surface treatment with a coupling agent or a reactive fluorine-based surfactant, and surface cleaning with a chlorine-based solvent such as dilute hydrochloric acid.

Among them, from the viewpoint of simplicity of processing and effectiveness,
UV (ultraviolet) irradiation treatment is preferred. This has the effect of oxidizing the rubber surface or de-adhering the surface by a crosslinking reaction between diene bonds. In addition, there is little influence on physical properties as compared with additives and coating treatment.

As the UV irradiation conditions, the wavelength is from 180 nm to
600 nm is preferable, and the irradiation intensity is 10 mW / cm ² to
100 mW / cm ² is preferred.

When the charging member is in the form of a roller, if the irradiation is performed while rotating the roller, UV can be uniformly applied to the entire surface, and the treatment can be performed effectively in a short time.

Further, since high releasability is imparted to the surface of the charging member by this treatment, even if toner, paper powder, etc. adhere, they can be easily removed.

Further, it is effective to cure the surface by heat treatment.

In some cases, a functional layer such as a release layer may be provided on the surface of the charging member, if necessary. In such a case, the above treatment is effective.

Although the transfer roller has been described as an example of the charging member, it is also useful to apply the present invention to the charging roller.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an electrophotographic apparatus provided with the charging member of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an image bearing member as a member to be charged. In this example, a conductive substrate layer 1b of aluminum or the like is used.
And a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photoconductive layer 1a formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof as a basic constituent layer. It is driven to rotate around the support shaft 1d clockwise in the drawing at a predetermined peripheral speed.

The charging roller 2 contacts the surface of the photoreceptor 1 and performs a primary charging treatment on the surface of the photoreceptor uniformly to a predetermined polarity and potential. Uniform conductivity is required. is there. The charging roller 2 includes a central core 2c,
It comprises a lower conductive elastic layer 2b formed on the outer periphery and an upper resistive layer 2a further formed on the outer periphery. The charging roller 2 is pressed against both ends of the cored bar 2c by pressing means (not shown) against the photoreceptor 1, and is driven by the rotation of the photoreceptor 1. Note that both the resistance layer 2a and the semiconductive elastic layer 2b can be made from the material of the present invention.

A predetermined direct current (DC) bias or a direct current + alternating current (AC + DC) bias is applied to the metal core 2c by a rubbing power source 3a by a power source 3 so that the peripheral surface of the rotary photosensitive member 1 has a predetermined polarity and potential. Contact charged. The surface of the photoreceptor 1 that has been uniformly charged by the charging member 2 is then subjected to exposure of target image information (laser beam scanning exposure, slit exposure of a document image, etc.) by the exposure unit 10 so that the image information , An electrostatic latent image is formed.

The obtained latent image is then sequentially visualized as a toner image by the developing means 11. This toner image is then conveyed to the transfer section between the photoreceptor 1 and the transfer means 12 at an appropriate timing by the transfer means 12 from the paper supply means (not shown) and the rotation of the photoreceptor 1 at an appropriate timing. The image is sequentially transferred onto the transfer material 14 surface.

The transfer means 12 of this embodiment is a transfer roller and a charging member of the present invention. By charging the transfer material 14 with the opposite polarity to the toner from the back of the transfer material 14, the surface of the photosensitive member 1 faces the surface of the transfer material 14. It is transcribed.

The transfer material 14 to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the surface of the photoreceptor 1, conveyed to an image fixing means (not shown), subjected to image fixing, and output as an image formed product. Alternatively, when an image is also formed on the back surface, the sheet is conveyed to a re-conveying unit to the transfer unit.

After the transfer of the image, the surface of the photosensitive member 1 is cleaned by the cleaning means 13 to remove adhered contaminants such as untransferred toner, and is again provided for image formation.

As the charging member, besides the roller type such as the charging roller 2 mounted as the charging means of the image carrier 1 in the image forming apparatus of the example of FIG.
It can be configured in a form such as a block type or a belt type.

The charging roller 2 may be driven by the photosensitive member 1 which is driven to move in a plane, may be non-rotating, or may move in the forward or reverse direction of the surface of the photosensitive member 1. It may be positively driven to rotate at a predetermined peripheral speed.

In the electrophotographic apparatus, among the components such as the above-described photosensitive member, developing means, and cleaning means,
A plurality of process cartridges may be integrally connected as a process cartridge, and this process cartridge may be configured to be detachable from an image forming apparatus main body, for example, a copying machine, a laser beam printer, or the like. For example, at least one of the charging unit, the developing unit, and the cleaning unit is integrally supported together with the photoreceptor to form a cartridge, which is a process cartridge detachable from the apparatus main body, and is detachable using guide means such as rails of the image forming apparatus main body. May be adopted. At this time, the process cartridge may be provided with a charging unit and / or a developing unit.

In the case of using the electrophotographic apparatus as a copier printer, the light image exposure is performed by converting reflected light or transmitted light from the original, or reading the original into a signal, and scanning the laser beam with the signal to drive the LED array. Or by driving a liquid crystal shutter array.

When used as a facsimile printer, light image exposure is exposure for printing received data.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of this case. The controller 21 controls the image reading unit 20 and the printer 29. Controller 21 is C
It is controlled by the PU 27. The read data from the image reading unit is transmitted to the printer 2 through the transmission circuit 23.
It is sent to 9. Predetermined image data is stored in the image memory. The printer controller 28 is the printer 2
9 is controlled. 24 is a telephone.

The image received from the line 25 (image information from a remote terminal connected via the line) is demodulated by the receiving circuit 22, and then the CPU 27 performs composite processing of the image information and sequentially stores it in the memory 26. Is done. When at least one page of the image is stored in the memory 26, the image of the page is recorded. The CPU 27 reads out one page of image information from the memory 26 and sends out the combined one-page image information to the printer controller 28. Upon receiving one page of image information from the CPU 27, the printer controller controls the printer 29 to record the image information of the page.

The CPU 27 is receiving the next page during recording by the printer 29. Image reception and recording are performed as described above.

[0064]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, Examples of the present invention will be described. Unless otherwise specified, "parts" means parts by mass, and commercially available high purity reagents and the like were used.

Example 1 FIG. 3 shows a transfer roller manufactured in this example. Reference numeral 32 denotes a conductive elastic layer, and reference numeral 31 denotes a core of a conductive cylindrical base material.

A conductive elastic roller is formed on a stainless steel core having a diameter of 6 mm.

Zeospan 8030 (trade name) 30 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd. as a terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether.
And 50 parts of NBR as NBR (trade name, nitrile content 28%) as NBR, and epichlorohydrin rubber Gechron1000 (trade name) as manufactured by Zeon Corporation
20 parts and liquid nitrile rubber 1312 manufactured by Zeon Corporation
(Trade name) 30 parts, zinc oxide 3 parts, stearic acid 2
And 40 parts of calcium carbonate in a kneader under pressure, 0.5 part of sulfur, 2 parts of M (mercaptobenzothiazole) as a vulcanization accelerator, 1.5 parts of TRA (dipentamethylenethiuram tetrasulfide). Parts, 3 parts of hydrotalcite and 1 part of 6-methylquinoxaline 2,3-dithiocarbonate, and 4 parts of a blowing agent ADCA (azodicarbodiamide) with an open roll, and the raw material of the conductive elastic layer is mixed. I got the rubber.

This rubber was formed into a tube by extrusion, and vulcanized by steam vulcanization at 160 ° C. for 30 minutes.
Further, secondary vulcanization is performed at 150 ° C for 30 minutes using an electric furnace.
A vulcanized foam was obtained. In the tube obtained in this way,
A core metal coated with an adhesive is press-fitted and bonded.
A 5 mm roller-shaped charging member was obtained.

The electric resistance of the obtained charging member was measured using the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 while rotating the aluminum drum while abutting both ends of the roller with a load of 4.9 N. After standing for 24 hours in an N / N environment, the voltage was 9 × 10 ⁷ Ω when a DC voltage of 2 kV was applied. In addition, this value was 0.3 digits lower electric resistance value than the case where the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer was not included.

The ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value of the electric resistance during one rotation of the charging member was 1.1 at the maximum within the range of experimental error.

Further, the asker C hardness of this charging member was 35 °.

The charging member was mounted as a transfer roller in the electrophotographic apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and a mounting test was performed. The process speed was 210 mm / sec, and the diameter of the photosensitive drum, which was a rotating photosensitive member, was 30 mm. The photosensitive drum was negatively charged OPC, the toner was positively charged, and the voltage applied to the transfer roller was -3 kV during transfer and +1.5 kV during cleaning.

Under these conditions, N / N
When a line drawing, solid black, and halftone image were evaluated in an environment (23 ° C., 50% RH), a good image was obtained.

Further, L / L (15 ° C., 10% RH)
When a double-sided transfer image was evaluated using dried paper under the environment, a clear image was obtained similarly.

Further, H / H (32 ° C., 80% RH)
Under the environment, a good image without toner scattering was obtained.

In addition, 300,000 continuous durability evaluations were carried out, but no image defects occurred due to variations in transportability and electric resistance.

Next, at 40.degree. H. Under the environment of above, the organic photoreceptor was pressed and contacted at a total pressure of 9.8N and left for 2 weeks.
No adverse effects such as photoreceptor contamination occurred.

Further, this charging member is irradiated with an ultraviolet irradiation device (1).
40 mW using 85 nm and 245 nm wavelength main components)
/ Cm ² for 4 minutes at 40 ° C.
95% R. H. In this environment, the organic photoreceptor was pressed against the organic photoreceptor at a total pressure of 9.8 N and allowed to stand for 2 weeks, but no adverse effects such as sticking occurred.

(Example 2) Polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether 3
Zeospan 8030 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.
(Trade name) 15 parts and NBR as DN made by Zeon Corporation
201 (trade name, nitrile content: 33.5%) 65 parts and Epichlorohydrin rubber Gechron1 manufactured by Zeon Corporation
Example 1 except that 20 parts of 000 (product name) were used.
In the same manner as in the above, a roller-shaped charging member was obtained.

The electric resistance value of the obtained charging member is N / N
After standing for 24 hours in an environment, apply a DC voltage of 2 kV and apply 1.2 ×
The resistance was 10 ⁸ Ω, and the electric resistance was 0.2 digits lower than that in the case where the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether was not contained.

The ratio of the maximum value of the electric resistance to the minimum value of the electric resistance during one rotation of the charging member was 1.1 at the maximum within the range of experimental error.

Further, the asker C hardness of this charging member was 32 °.

The above charging member was mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus as a transfer roller, and a mounting test was performed in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, good results were obtained as in Example 1.

Example 3 Polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether 3
Zeospan 8030 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.
(Product name) 30 parts and NBR as DN made by Zeon Corporation
201 (trade name, nitrile content 33.5%) 50 parts, E
As PDM, EPT9070E (trade name) manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
20 parts and the vulcanization system is 1 part sulfur and vulcanization accelerator M
A roller-shaped charging member was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 2 parts of (mercaptobenzothiazole) and 1.5 parts of TRA (dipentamethylenethiuram tetrasulfide) were used.

The electric resistance of the obtained charging member was N / N
After standing for 24 hours under the environment, 1 × 10
^The resistance was ⁸ Ω, and the electric resistance was 0.25 orders of magnitude lower than the case where the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer was not included.

The ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value of the electric resistance value during one rotation of the charging member was 1.1 at the maximum within the range of experimental error.

Further, the asker C hardness of this charging member was 30 °.

The above charging member was mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus as a transfer roller, and a mounting test was performed in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, good results were obtained as in Example 1.

Example 4 Polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether 3
Zeospan 8030 manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.
(Product name) 40 parts, and NBR as DN made by Zeon Corporation
201 (trade name, nitrile content 33.5%) 40 parts and E
As PDM, EPT9070E (trade name) manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
A roller-shaped charging member was obtained in the same manner as in Example 3, except that 20 parts were used.

The electric resistance of the obtained charging member is N / N
After standing for 24 hours in an environment, 5 × 10
^The resistance was ⁷ Ω, and the electrical resistance was lower by 0.55 digits compared to the case where the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether was not contained.

The ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value of the electric resistance value during one rotation of the charging member was 1.1 at the maximum within the range of experimental error.

Furthermore, the asker C hardness of this charging member was 32 °.

The above charging member was mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus as a transfer roller, and a mounting test was performed in the same manner as in Example 3. As a result, good results were obtained as in Example 3.

Comparative Example 1 80 parts of DN300 (trade name, nitrile content 28%) manufactured by Zeon Corporation as NBR and Gechr manufactured by Nippon Zeon Corporation as epichlorohydrin rubber.
on1000 (trade name) and the same procedure as in Example 1 except that polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer was not used and 0.5 parts of trimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride was used as an ion conductive agent. Similarly, a roller-shaped charging member was obtained.

The electric resistance of the obtained charging member was N / N
After standing for 24 hours under the environment, 1 × 10
⁸ Ω. Further, the ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value of the electric resistance value during one rotation of the charging member was 1.1 at the minimum within the range of the experimental error. Furthermore, the asker of this charging member
C hardness was 34 °.

The above charging member was mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus as a transfer roller, and a continuous 200,000 durability test was performed in an L / L environment to evaluate an image. Caused image defects.

Further, at 40 ° C. and 95% R.F. H. In this environment, the organic photoreceptor was pressed against the organic photoreceptor at a total pressure of 9.8 N and allowed to stand for 2 weeks. When an image was evaluated in this state, an image defect occurred.

Further, an ultraviolet irradiation device (185 nm, 24
(A main component having a wavelength of 5 nm) at 40 mW / cm ² for 4 minutes. H.
When the organic photoreceptor was pressed against the organic photoreceptor at a total pressure of 9.8 N under this environment and left for 2 weeks, an image defect due to seepage occurred.

Comparative Example 2 As NBR, 80 parts of DN300 (trade name, nitrile content: 28%) manufactured by Zeon Corporation;
Polyethylene oxide except that 20 parts of butadiene rubber BR-01 (trade name) manufactured by SR Company and 15 parts of polyester plasticizer W-305ELS (trade name) manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc. are used instead of liquid NBR. -A roller-shaped charging member was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 without using the polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer.

The electric resistance of the obtained charging member was N / N
After standing for 24 hours in the environment, apply 8kV DC voltage 2kV
⁷ Ω. Further, the ratio of the maximum value to the minimum value of the electric resistance value during one rotation of the charging member was 1.1 at the minimum within the range of the experimental error. Furthermore, the asker of this charging member
C hardness was 30 °.

The above charging member was mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus as a transfer roller, and a 300,000 continuous durability test was performed on L / L, N
When the image was evaluated under each environment of / N and H / H, an image defect occurred at L / L due to an increase in the electric resistance value.

Further, at 40 ° C. and 95% R.F. H. In this environment, the organic photoreceptor was pressed against the organic photoreceptor at a total pressure of 9.8 N and allowed to stand for 2 weeks. When an image was evaluated using this photoreceptor, an image defect occurred.

Further, an ultraviolet irradiation device (185 nm, 24
(A main component having a wavelength of 5 nm) at 40 mW / cm ² for 4 minutes. H.
In this environment, the organic photoreceptor was pressed against the organic photoreceptor at a total pressure of 9.8 N and allowed to stand for 2 weeks.

[0104]

According to the present invention, in a charging member for applying a voltage to a surface of an object to be charged with a charging member to which a voltage is applied, a conductive elastic material constituting the charging member is made of a polyethylene oxide polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer. By mixing and vulcanizing a polar rubber containing at least one of nitrile rubber, hydrin rubber, acrylic rubber and chloroprene rubber, the electric resistance value can be easily adjusted, the unevenness is small and uniform, and the environment depends. Thus, a charging member having a low property, suppressing sticking to the photoreceptor and contaminating properties, and having excellent conduction durability and processability can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electrophotographic apparatus using a charging member of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a facsimile using an electrophotographic apparatus using the charging member of the present invention in a printer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view illustrating a configuration of a transfer roller of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a device for measuring an electric resistance value of a semiconductive elastic roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating photoreceptor 1a Photosensitive layer 1b Conductive base layer 1d Support shaft 2 Charging roller 2a Resistance layer 2b Conductive elastic layer 2c Core metal 3 Power supply 3a Rubbing power supply 10 Photosensitive means 11 Developing means 12 Transfer means 13 Cleaning means 14 Transfer material 20 Image reading unit 21 Controller 22 Receiving circuit 23 Transmitting circuit 24 Telephone 25 Line 26 Memory 27 CPU 28 Printer controller 29 Printer 31 Core metal (Conducting cylindrical base material) 32 Conductive elastic layer 41 Conductive elastic roller (Transfer) Roller) 42 Aluminum drum 43 Conductive core 44 Ammeter

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int. Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) C08L 71/00 C08L 71/00 A 101/00 101/00 F16C 13/00 F16C 13/00 E G03G 15 / 02 101 G03G 15/02 101 F-term (reference) 2H200 FA07 HA02 HA28 HB12 HB45 HB46 HB47 HB48 JA02 JA25 JA26 JA27 JA28 MA03 MB06 MC02 NA02 NA06 3J103 AA02 FA05 FA07 GA02 GA57 GA58 HA04 HA20 HA41 HA53 4F071 AA51AAAAAAAAA13AA13 AG15 AH12 BA01 BB04 BC05 4F073 AA05 BA04 BB03 CA45 4J002 AC01Y AC03Y AC06Y AC07X AC08Y AC09X BB15Y BB18Y BG04X CH02W CH04X

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A charging member provided in an electrophotographic apparatus and performing a charging process on a surface to be charged while a voltage is applied thereto, wherein a conductive elastic layer constituting the charging member comprises polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide- A charging member obtained by mixing and vulcanizing an allylic glycidyl ether terpolymer and a polar rubber. 2. The blending amount of the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether is 5 to the total amount of the terpolymer of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether and the polar rubber. 2. The charging member according to claim 1, wherein the amount is from 80 to 80% by mass. 3. The charging member according to claim 1, wherein the polar rubber includes at least one rubber selected from the group consisting of nitrile rubber, hydrin rubber, acrylic rubber, and chloroprene rubber. 4. The charging member according to claim 1, wherein the conductive elastic body layer contains a non-polar polymer. 5. The blending amount of the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer is based on the polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-allyl glycidyl ether terpolymer, the polar rubber and the nonpolar polymer. The charging member according to claim 4, wherein the amount is 5 to 80% by mass based on the total amount. 6. The charging member according to claim 1, wherein the charging member has been subjected to a surface treatment by ultraviolet irradiation. 7. An electrophotographic apparatus in which the charging member according to claim 1 is arranged. 8. An electrophotographic apparatus, wherein at least a transfer roller is the charging member according to claim 1.