JP2003029554A - Ultraviolet ray irradiation type fixing device and image forming method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner fixing device of a new system in which satisfactory fixing is ensured, time required for a fixing unit to reach a fixing temperature is shortened, a decrease in first copying speed is consequently prevented as a whole, and energy for fixing is reduced, and to provide an image forming method using the fixing device. SOLUTION: In the fixing device that fixes toner to an image support by irradiating a toner image formed on the image carrier with ultraviolet rays, the toner contains a light-energy curing substance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image fixing technique used in copying machines, printers and the like, and more particularly to an ultraviolet irradiation type toner image fixing device and an image forming method using the same. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an image forming technique for developing an electrostatic latent image into a visible image by toner development and fixing it on an image support is widely used in various copying machines, printers and the like.

In this image forming technique, how to fix the toner on the image support is one of the most important elemental techniques.

Toner fixing techniques include a heat fixing system and a pressure fixing system. Further, during the heat fixing system, a heat roller, a heat belt, a flash light, an infrared light, etc. are used. There are many ways.

The fixing method using heat has a problem that a large amount of heat energy is required because the heat source is used.
In order to reduce this energy, there are proposals for a film fixing device, a thin-wall fixing device, and the like, but all of them require heat energy because they fix the toner by using a heat source.

On the other hand, as a method that does not use heat energy, there is a pressure fixing method in which fixing is performed only by so-called pressure.
Since this method uses plastic deformation of the resin to fix it on paper etc., it is necessary to use a resin that plastically deforms at room temperature, and it is easy to peel off due to rubbing, etc. is doing.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems of the fixing technology developed so far and finding a basic solution thereof.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is that the fixing property is good and the fixing device takes a short time until fixing is possible.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toner fixing device of a new system and an image forming method using the same, which does not slow down the first copy speed of the entire image forming device and can reduce the amount of energy used for fixing.

[0009]

As a result of intensive studies, the inventors of the present invention have found that the object of the present invention can be achieved by any of the following constitutions, and have reached the present invention.

[1] In a fixing device that fixes a toner on an image support by irradiating the toner image formed on the image support with ultraviolet rays, the toner is a toner containing a light energy curing substance. Fixing device characterized by.

[2] The fixing device according to [1], wherein the light energy curable substance contains a compound having at least an epoxy group, a hydroxyl group, and a vinyl group.

[3] In a fixing device for fixing a toner on an image support by irradiating the toner image formed on the image support with ultraviolet rays, the toner contains a plurality of liquid mixture type ultraviolet curable substances. Is a fixing device.

[4] In a fixing device for fixing toner to an image support by irradiating the toner image formed on the image support with ultraviolet rays by an ultraviolet irradiation device, at least one pair of applying members is provided immediately before the ultraviolet irradiation device. Place the pressure device,
A fixing device characterized by irradiating ultraviolet rays after passing through an image support holding toner.

[5] An image in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body is visualized by toner development and transferred to an image support, and then ultraviolet rays are irradiated to fix the toner on the image support. The image forming method, wherein the toner is a toner containing a light energy curing substance.

[6] The image forming method according to [5], wherein the light energy curing material contains at least a compound having an epoxy group, a hydroxyl group, and a vinyl group.

[7] An image in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body is visualized by toner development and transferred to an image support, and then ultraviolet rays are irradiated to fix the toner on the image support. The image forming method, wherein the toner is a capsule toner containing a plurality of liquid-mixing type ultraviolet curing substances.

[8] An image in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body is visualized by toner development and transferred to an image support, and then ultraviolet rays are irradiated to fix the toner on the image support. In the forming method, at least one pair of pressure devices is arranged immediately before the ultraviolet irradiation device, and the ultraviolet irradiation is performed after passing through the image support holding the toner image.

That is, a method was devised in which a resin can be cured by applying a specific ultraviolet energy without using a heat source and can be fixed on paper.

In particular, a method is preferred in which a component which is cured by ultraviolet rays is hypothetically attached to paper or the like by using pressure, and then ultraviolet energy is applied to cure the ultraviolet curing component and to fix it.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The constitutional requirements and embodiments of the present invention will be further described.

1. The method for producing the toner used in the present invention is preferably a so-called microcapsule type toner having a core material containing a substance that is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet rays and having an outer wall portion provided on the surface.

The microcapsule type toner is not particularly limited, but for example, it is composed of an outer wall and a core material, and the thickness of the outer wall is 0. It is preferably 1 to 2.0 μm.
This thickness can be measured by observing a thin slice of the toner itself with a transmission electron microscope.

The production method of the microcapsule toner is not particularly limited, and various production methods such as an in-situ polymerization method, an interfacial polymerization method, a coacervation method and a spray drying method can be used.

In the interfacial polymerization method, the monomer A is added to the material forming the core material to prepare a solution forming the core material. Monomer B is added to the dispersion medium, the above-mentioned solution consisting of the core material and the monomer A is dispersed in the dispersion medium, and the monomer B existing in water and the monomer A existing in the core material are mixed with each other. This is a method of forming an outer wall by polymerizing (condensation or addition polymerization) at the interface.

In this case, water is preferably used as the dispersion medium, and a water-soluble monomer is preferably used as the monomer B. Further, as the monomer A, an oil-soluble monomer is used instead of a water-soluble monomer.

Specifically, for example, when an amide resin is used as the outer wall, divalent or higher valent amines are used as the monomer B.
As the monomer A, divalent or higher acid chlorides and carboxylic acids are used. Preferred materials for the outer wall are urea resin, urethane resin and epoxy resin. Especially preferred are epoxy-urea resins or epoxy-urethane resins.

The above resin may be a 100% polymer, or may be a part of a polymer instead of a 100% polymer, and may be present as a mixture in another substance.

The above substance can be obtained as follows. That is, a polyvalent isocyanate compound which is a raw material for urea and urethane resins, a raw material epoxy resin (hereinafter referred to as an epoxy resin prepolymer) which is a raw material for an epoxy resin, or a mixture with a compound having an epoxy group is used as a polyvalent hydroxy compound and a polyhydric compound. It can be obtained by reacting with a valent amine compound. It can also be obtained by reacting the above mixture with a compound having both an amino group and a hydroxy group. That is, a urethane bond is formed by the reaction of a polyvalent isocyanate compound and a polyvalent hydroxy compound, a urea bond is formed by the reaction of a polyvalent isocyanate compound and a polyvalent amine compound, and a compound having a polyvalent isocyanate compound and an amino group and a hydroxy group. A urethane bond and a urea bond are generated by the reaction with.

Further, the ring opening of the epoxy ring occurs by the reaction of the epoxy resin prepolymer or the compound containing the epoxy group with the amine. As a result, a copolymer of urethane resin, urea resin and epoxy resin or a mixture of urethane resin, urea resin and epoxy resin is formed in the outer wall.

An outer wall is constituted by the substance obtained as described above to form a capsule type. As the polyisocyanate for obtaining the resin contained in the substance forming the outer wall, for example, the following can be mentioned as preferable ones.

[0031]

[Chemical 1]

[0032]

[Chemical 2]

[0033]

[Chemical 3]

(1): Commercial product name "Sumijour H" (Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) (2): Commercial product name "Sumijour N" (Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) (3): Commercial product name "Nafconate" (National) (4): Commercial product name "Suminate 80" (manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.), "Hiren TM" (manufactured by DuPont) (5): Commercial product name "Sumijour T" (manufactured by Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) ( 6): Commercial product name “Sumijour L” (Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.), “Coronate L” (manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd.) (7): Commercial product name “HIREN H” (manufactured by DuPont),
"Suminate BT" (Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) (8): Commercial product name "Millionate MT" (Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd.), "Sumijour 44V-10" (Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) (9): Commercial product name "Hiren DM" (manufactured by DuPont) (10): Commercial product name "Sumijour R" (manufactured by Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co.) (11): Commercial product name "Millionate MR" (manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd.) (12): Commercial product name "Sumijour 15" (Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) (13): Commercial product name "Desmodur W" (Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) (14): Commercial product name "Suminate E" (Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.) Further, as the modified polyvalent isocyanate, for example, "Sumijour 44P-90", "Sumijour 3062", "Sumijour" F "," Sumi Jules CD "," Sumidur 0632 "," (all manufactured by Sumitomo Bayer Urethane Co., Ltd.) Sumidure PC "," Coronate EH "," Coronate HL "," Coronate 20
14 "," Coronate AP "," Coronate 250 "
1 "," Millionate MS-50 "," Coronate 30 "
41 "(all manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd.)," Duranate 24A-90CX "," Duranate EXPD-1 "
01 "(all manufactured by Asahi Kasei Corporation)," Takenate M-40 "
2 "," Takenate F-513 "," Takenate D-1 "
02 "," Takenate L-1150 "(all manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), etc., and any compound having a plurality of isocyanate groups can be used. Examples of the compound containing an epoxy group include the following compounds, but the compounds having two or more epoxy groups in the molecule are not particularly limited.

[0035]

[Chemical 4]

[0036]

[Chemical 5]

[0037]

[Chemical 6]

(1): Commercial product name "Epicoat 801",
"Epicote 815", "Epicote 819", "Epicote 828", "Epicote 834" (made by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.) (4): Commercial product name "Epicote 1031" (made by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.) (5): Commercially available Product name "Epicoat 152", "Epicoat 154" (made by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.) (7): Commercial product name "Epicoat 812" (made by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.) (10): Commercial product name "Adeka Sizer O-180A"
(Manufactured by Adeka Argus Chemical Co., Ltd.) (11): Commercial product name "Epicoat 1045-A-7"
0 "," Epicoat 1050 "(manufactured by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.), and the amount ratio of the polyvalent isocyanate compound and the compound containing an epoxy group is 20:80 in terms of the mass ratio of the polyvalent isocyanate compound: the compound containing an epoxy group. ˜80: 20, preferably 30:70 to 60:40.

Specific examples of the polyvalent amine compound or the like which reacts with the mixture of the polyvalent isocyanate compound and the compound containing an epoxy group to give an epoxyurea resin are as follows.
The following can be mentioned.

Ethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, phenylenediamine, xylylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, iminobispropylamine, triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, diaminodiphenylmethane, diaminodiphenylsulfone, isophoronediamine, dicyandiamine, 3,3 '. -Diaminobenzidine, diaminobutane, diaminodicyclohexylmethane, diaminocyclohexane, 1,5-diamino-2,2-dimethylpentane, 1,3-diamino-
2,2-Dimethylpropane, 2,4-diaminodiphenylamine, diaminodiphenyl ether, 4,4-diaminodiphenyl sulfide, diaminododecane, diaminofluorene, diaminomethylcyclohexane, diaminonaphthalene, 2,4-diamino-6-phenyltriazine, diamino Polyvalent amino compounds such as toluene; commercial products such as “Epomate B-001”, “Epomate N-001”, “Epomate LX-1N”, “Epomate PX-3” (above, Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.) Known heterocyclic amines and curing agents for their modified amine epoxy resins; "Epicure T", "Epicure U", "Epicure 103", "Epicure 121", "Epicure 138" (above, Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd. Are known by commercial product names such as Examples of the curing agent include, but are not limited to, a curing agent for a epoxy resin, and any compound having a group that reacts with both an isocyanate group and an epoxy group to give a urea and an epoxy resin can be used. .

Further, as the polyvalent hydroxy compound which gives the urethane resin constituting the epoxy urethane resin, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, hexamethylene glycol, glycerin, 1,
2,6-hexanetriol, pentaerythritol,
Examples thereof include polyhydric hydroxy compounds such as glycerin monomethyl ether, glycerin monoethyl ether, trimethylolpropane, trimethylolethane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol.

Furthermore, ethanolamine (HOCH ₂ CH ₂ NH) is used as a compound that gives an epoxy urethane resin.
₂ ), butanolamine (HOCH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ N
H ₂ ), diethanolamine (HOCH ₂ CH ₂ NHCH ₂
Examples thereof include compounds having both a hydroxy group and an amino group such as CH ₂ OH).

In the present invention, the resin material constituting the outer wall is preferably one mainly containing an epoxyurea resin and an epoxyurethane resin, and the content of each resin is preferably 10% by mass or more, and the total content of both resins is preferable. Is preferably 30% by mass or more, and more preferably 5
It is 0 mass% or more. Materials other than these resins can be contained. That is, the resin may be a copolymer with another monomer, or may be a mixture with another resin or the like.

The other monomer is not particularly limited as long as it is a copolymerizable one such as acid chloride and polycarboxylic acid. The mixture is not particularly limited as long as it can be uniformly mixed and is stable, such as vinyl resin.

The UV-curable substance which can be used as a core material in the interfacial polymerization method is an oil having an unsaturated bond in its molecule, and a so-called dry oil is preferably used.

For example, there are eno oil, soybean oil, tung oil, cabbage oil, safflower oil and the like. Synthetic semi-drying oils such as dicyclopentadiene oligomers can also be used.
Further, unsaturated fatty acid esters can also be used, and examples thereof include esters such as linoleic acid, linolenic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid and gadrenic acid. Further, a monomer that radically polymerizes by ultraviolet rays can also be used, and specific examples thereof include ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, and hydroxyethyl methacrylate.

In this case, by adding the photopolymerization initiator, the ultraviolet curing can be more effectively promoted.
Examples of the photopolymerization initiator include benzinisopropyl ether, benzophenone, benzyl methyl ketal, Michler's ketone, and chlorothioxanthone.

In addition to the above curable core material, a soft wax or vinyl polymer may be included. Examples of the soft wax that can be used here include low molecular weight waxes such as polyethylene, Fischer-Tropsch wax, and beeswax. Further, the vinyl polymer has a glass transition temperature of room temperature or lower, more preferably 10 ° C. or lower. Specifically, lauryl methacrylate, lauryl acrylate, butyl acrylate, butyl methacrylate, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, n-octyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, stearyl methacrylate, stearyl. Examples thereof include esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid such as acrylate. When used in combination with the above waxes and vinyl polymers, the light energy curable substance is crosslinked to form a network, and this wax or resin is dispersed in the network portion. It is presumed that the image is retained by the network of the adhesive and the photo-energy curable substance.

The in-situ polymerization method is a method in which a core material and a radical-polymerizable monomer are mixed, dispersed in a dispersion medium, and then the polymerizable monomer is polymerized. In this case, styrene or divinylbenzene can be used as the radically polymerizable monomer. In this method, a non-radical-polymerizable and UV-curable epoxy resin can be cited as an example of the core material. Specifically, (1) to (14) illustrated in Chemical Formulas 4 to 6 above.
The epoxy resin can be mentioned.

Further, in the method of mixing a plurality of liquids, it is preferable to use it together with a toner composed of amine as a core material.

Specific examples of the amine compound include ethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, phenylenediamine, xylylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, iminobispropylamine, triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, diaminodiphenylmethane,
Diaminodiphenylsulfone, isophoronediamine, dicyandiamine, 3,3'-diaminobenzidine, diaminobutane, diaminodicyclohexylmethane, diaminocyclohexane, 1,5-diamino-2,2-dimethylpentane, 1,3-diamino-2, 2-dimethylpropane, 2,4-diaminodiphenylamine, diaminodiphenyl ether, 4,4-diaminodiphenyl sulfide, diaminododecane, diaminofluorene, diaminomethylcyclohexane, diaminonaphthalene, 2,4
-Diamino-6-phenyltriazine, polyvalent amino compounds such as diaminotoluene; "Epomate B-001",
"Epomate N-001", "Epomate LX-1"
N "," Epomate PX-3 "(above, manufactured by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.) and other known heterocyclic amines and curing agents for their modified amine epoxy resins;" Epicure T "," Epicure U ""," Epicure 103 ",
"Epicure 121", "Epicure 138" (above,
A hardener for epoxy resin, which is known by a commercial product name such as Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd., and the like.

2. Inorganic pigment as a colorant added to the core material of the compound toner particles added to the toner,
Examples thereof include organic pigments and dyes.

As the inorganic pigment, conventionally known ones can be used. Specific inorganic pigments are exemplified below.

Examples of black pigments include furnace black, channel black, acetylene black,
Carbon black such as thermal black and lamp black, and magnetic powder such as magnetite and ferrite are also used.

These inorganic pigments can be used alone or in combination of two or more as desired. Further, the amount of the pigment added is 2 to 20% by mass, preferably 3 to 15% by mass, based on the polymer.

When used as a magnetic toner, the above magnetite can be added. In this case, from the viewpoint of imparting a predetermined magnetic characteristic, 20 to 6 is contained in the toner.
It is preferable to add 0% by mass.

Known organic pigments and dyes can be used. Specific organic pigments and dyes are exemplified below.

As the pigment for magenta or red,
C. I. Pigment Red 2, C.I. I. Pigment Red 3, C.I. I. Pigment Red 5, C.I. I. Pigment Red 6, C.I. I. Pigment Red 7, C.I. I. Pigment Red 15, C.I. I. Pigment Red 16,
C. I. Pigment Red 48: 1, C.I. I. Pigment Red 53: 1, C.I. I. Pigment Red 57:
1, C.I. I. Pigment Red 122, C.I. I. Pigment Red 123, C.I. I. Pigment Red 139,
C. I. Pigment Red 144, C.I. I. Pigment Red 149, C.I. I. Pigment Red 166, C.I.
I. Pigment Red 177, C.I. I. Pigment Red 178, C.I. I. Pigment Red 222 and the like.

Pigments for orange or yellow include C.I. I. Pigment Orange 31, C.I. I. Pigment Orange 43, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 12,
C. I. Pigment Yellow 13, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 14, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 15, C.I.
I. Pigment Yellow 17, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 93, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 94, C.I. I.
Pigment Yellow 138, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 180, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 185, C.I.
I. Pigment Yellow 155, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 156 and the like.

As the pigment for green or cyan,
C. I. Pigment Blue 15, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15: 2, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15: 3,
C. I. Pigment Blue 16, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 60, C.I. I. Pigment Green 7 and the like.

As the dye, C.I. I. Solvent Red 1, 49, 52, 58, 63, 111,
122, C.I. I. Solvent Yellow 19, 44,
77, 79, 81, 82, 93, 98, 103, 104, 112, 162, C.I. I. Solvent Blue 25, 36, 60, 70, 93,
Id. 95 and the like can be used, and a mixture thereof can also be used.

These organic pigments and dyes can be used alone or in combination of two or more as desired. Further, the amount of the pigment added is 2 to 20% by mass, preferably 3 to 15% by mass, based on the polymer.

The colorant may be used after surface modification. As the surface modifier, conventionally known ones can be used, and specifically, a silane coupling agent, a titanium coupling agent, an aluminum coupling agent and the like can be preferably used.

Further, a so-called external additive may be added to the toner of the present invention for the purpose of improving fluidity, charging property and cleaning property. These external additives are not particularly limited, and various inorganic fine particles, organic fine particles and lubricants can be used.

As the inorganic fine particles, conventionally known ones can be used. Specifically, silica, titanium, alumina fine particles and the like can be preferably used. The inorganic fine particles are preferably hydrophobic. Specifically, as the silica fine particles, for example, commercially available products R-805, R-976, R-974, and R-97 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.
2, R-812, R-809, Hovst HVK-
2150, H-200, commercial product TS- manufactured by Cabot Corporation
720, TS-530, TS-610, H-5, MS-
5 and the like.

Examples of the titanium fine particles include commercial products T-805 and T-604 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., and commercial products MT-100S, MT-100B and MT-5 manufactured by Teika.
00BS, MT-600, MT-600SS, JA-
1. Commercial products TA-300SI and TA- manufactured by Fuji Titanium Co., Ltd.
500, TAF-130, TAF-510, TAF-5
10T, commercial products IT-S, IT-OA manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
IT-OB, IT-OC, etc. are mentioned.

Examples of the alumina fine particles include commercial products RFY-C and C-604 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., and commercial products TTO-55 manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd.

As the organic fine particles, spherical organic fine particles having a number average primary particle diameter of about 10 to 2000 nm can be used. As this, a homopolymer such as styrene or methyl methacrylate or a copolymer thereof can be used.

Examples of the lubricant include zinc stearate, aluminum, copper, magnesium, calcium, etc., zinc oleate, manganese, iron, copper, magnesium, etc., palmitic acid zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium. And the like, salts of zinc and calcium of linoleic acid, and metal salts of higher fatty acids such as salts of zinc and calcium of ricinoleic acid.

The amount of these external additives added is preferably 0.1 to 5% by mass with respect to the toner. As a method of adding the external additive, various known mixing devices such as a Turbuler mixer, a Henschel mixer, a Nauter mixer, and a V-type mixer can be used.

3. Developer and Developing Method In the present invention, the developer and developing method are not particularly limited.
It may be used as a one-component developer or a two-component developer.

When used as a one-component developer, a non-magnetic one-component developer or a toner containing magnetic particles of about 0.1 to 0.5 μm to form a magnetic one-component developer can be used. Can be used.

Further, it can be used as a two-component developer by mixing with a carrier. In this case, conventionally known materials such as metals such as iron, ferrite and magnetite and alloys of these metals with metals such as aluminum and lead can be used as the magnetic particles of the carrier. Ferrite particles are particularly preferable. The volume average particle diameter of the magnetic particles is 15 to 100 μm, and more preferably 25 to 80 μm.
μm is preferable.

The volume average particle diameter of the carrier is typically measured by a laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring apparatus "HELOS" equipped with a wet disperser (SYMPATIC (SYMP).
(Made by ATEC)).

The carrier is preferably one in which magnetic particles are further coated with a resin, or a so-called resin dispersion type carrier in which magnetic particles are dispersed in a resin. The resin composition for coating is not particularly limited, but, for example, an olefin resin, a styrene resin, a styrene-acrylic resin, a silicone resin, an ester resin, a fluorine-containing polymer resin, or the like is used. The resin for forming the resin-dispersed carrier is not particularly limited, and known ones can be used. For example, styrene-acrylic resin, polyester resin, fluorine resin, phenol resin, etc. are used. be able to.

4. Image Forming Method and Image Forming Apparatus An example of the image forming method and the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Reference numeral 4 denotes a photoconductor, which is a typical example of the electrostatic latent image forming member in the present invention. An organic photoconductor (OPC), which is a photosensitive layer, is formed on the outer peripheral surface of an aluminum drum base, and rotates in the direction of the arrow at a predetermined speed. In this embodiment, the photoconductor 4 has an outer diameter of 60 mm.

In FIG. 1, exposure light is emitted from the semiconductor laser light source 1 based on information read by a document reading device (not shown). This is distributed by the polygon mirror 2 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and is irradiated onto the surface of the photoconductor through the fθ lens 3 that corrects the image distortion to form an electrostatic latent image. The photoconductor is previously uniformly charged by the charger 5, and starts rotating clockwise in accordance with the timing of image exposure.

The electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor is developed by the developing device 6, and the formed developed image is transferred by the operation of the transfer device 7 to the image support 8 which is conveyed at a timing. Further, the photoconductor 4 and the image support 8 are separated by a separator (separation pole) 9, but the toner development image is transferred and carried by the image support 8 and guided to a fixing device 10 to be fixed.

The fixing device 10 is composed of a unit 10a for applying a pressure for crushing toner and a unit 10b for irradiating ultraviolet rays.

The untransferred toner and the like remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor are
It is cleaned by a cleaning device 11 of a cleaning blade type, the residual charge is removed by pre-charge exposure (PCL) 12, and it is uniformly charged again by the charging device 5 for the next image formation.

The image support (also referred to as recording material, recording paper, transfer material, etc.) is typically plain paper, but is not particularly limited as long as it can transfer an unfixed image after development. OHP
Needless to say, a PET base for etc. is included.

The cleaning blade 13 has a thickness of 1
It consists of a rubber-like elastic body of about 30 mm, and urethane rubber is most often used.

Further, the image forming apparatus may be configured such that the photosensitive member 4 and the process cartridge including at least one of the charging device 5, the developing device 6, the cleaning device 11 and the transfer device 7 are mounted.

(Image Fixing Method) In the image forming method of the present invention, the toner relating to the present invention transferred to paper or the like is passed through a pressure applying device composed of a pair of upper and lower rolls and is cured by ultraviolet rays of the core material. The component is released from inside the toner.
After that, the ultraviolet curing component is cured by irradiating with ultraviolet rays to fix the image on the paper.

In this case, the pressure applying device composed of the upper and lower rolls is one in which a pair of metal rolls are pressed by a spring or the like. The pressure to be applied may be any pressure that can crush the above-mentioned toner and release the curable resin inside. Specifically, the linear pressure is 10 to 200 N / cm, preferably 20 to 100 N / cm. When this pressure is high, the release due to the crushing of the toner is good, but
Excessive pressure increases the smoothness of the paper, causing gloss. Alternatively, a problem such as the paper being torn may occur.

On the other hand, when the pressure is low, there is a problem that the release property of the material inside the toner is lowered.

[0088]

The concrete constitution and effect of the present invention will be shown below.
Of course, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to these.

Example 1 As an epoxy resin, Epicoat 801 = 150 g, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate = 80 g, lauroyl peroxide = 1 g and carbon black = 10 g were mixed, and sufficiently mixed with a sand grinder.

Then, it was added to 2000 ml of water containing 20 g of colloidal tricalcium phosphate and 0.08 g of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate as a dispersion stabilizer, and dispersed with high speed stirring using a TK homomixer. At this time, the particles were dispersed so that the volume average particle diameter was about 7 μm.

Then, the mixture was heated to 70 ° C. and reacted for about 5 hours to carry out the in-situ polymerization method. After the completion of the reaction, the mixture was cooled, hydrochloric acid was added, filtered, washed and dried, and 0.5% by mass of hydrophobic silica was added to obtain Toner 1. The outer wall thickness of this toner was 0.5 μm.

Further, xylylenediamine = 100 g was used instead of Epicoat 801, and a curing material capsule 1 containing amine was obtained in the same manner except that carbon black was not used.

Example 2 Tung oil = 100 g, benzinisopropyl ether = 1 g, polyisocyanate (Exemplified compound (6): Sumidule L) = 50 g, epoxy compound (Exemplified compound (1): Epicoat 828) = Fifty
g and carbon black = 20 g were sufficiently dispersed by stirring with a sand grinder to obtain a dispersion liquid.

Then, the above dispersion liquid was dispersed in 2000 ml of water containing 20 g of colloidal tricalcium phosphate and 0.08 g of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate as a dispersion stabilizer while stirring at high speed with a TK homomixer. The particles were dispersed so that the average particle diameter was about 7 μm.

Then, 100 ml of water in which 50 g of xylylenediamine was dissolved was added dropwise, the reaction was carried out at 50 ° C. for 4 hours, and the same treatment as in Example 1 was carried out to obtain an epoxy resin having an outer wall thickness of about 1.0 μm. Toner with urea film 2
Got

(Example 3) Neopentyl glycol = 7
0 g, polylauryl methacrylate = 30 g, benzophenone = 1 g, polyisocyanate (Exemplified compound (6): Sumidule L) = 50 g, epoxy compound (Exemplified compound (1): Epicoat 828) = 50 g, carbon black = 20 g Stir well with a grinder.

Next, colloidal tricalcium phosphate as a dispersion stabilizer was added to 2000 ml of water containing 20 g and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate = 0.08 g. This was dispersed with high speed stirring using a TK homomixer so that the average particle size was about 7 μm.

Then, 100 ml of water in which 50 g of xylylenediamine was dissolved was added dropwise, the reaction was carried out at 40 ° C. for 8 hours, and the same treatment as in Example 1 was carried out to obtain an epoxy having an outer wall thickness of about 1.1 μm. Toner with urea film 3
Got

(Example 4) Neopentyl glycol = 7
0 g, beeswax = 50 g, benzophenone = 1 g, polyvalent isocyanate (Exemplified compound (6): Sumidule L) =
50 g, epoxy compound (Exemplified compound (1): Epicoat 828) = 50 g, and carbon black = 20 g were sufficiently stirred with a sand grinder.

Then, 20 g of colloidal tricalcium phosphate as a dispersion stabilizer and 0.08 g of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate were added to 2000 ml of water. This was dispersed with high speed stirring using a TK homomixer so that the average particle size was about 7 μm.

Then, 100 ml of water in which 50 g of xylylenediamine was dissolved was added dropwise, the reaction was carried out at 40 ° C. for 8 hours, and the same treatment as in Example 1 was carried out to obtain an epoxy resin having an outer wall thickness of about 1.1 μm. Toner 4 with urea film
Got

(Comparative Example 1) A toner was obtained in the same manner as in Example 3, except that neopentyl glycol was not used. This is designated as comparative toner 1.

A ferrite carrier coated with 2% by mass of styrene acrylic resin and having a volume average particle diameter of 60 μm was mixed with the above toner to prepare a developer having a toner concentration of 5% by mass. "Developer 1" corresponding to the toner number
~ "Developer 4" and "Comparative Developer 1".

(Image formation) Konica Digital Copier Sit
The fixing device of ios7040 was modified and used. The fixing device was modified to a device including a pressure fixing unit composed of upper and lower iron rolls having a linear pressure of 50 N / cm and an ultraviolet irradiation unit.

A halftone image consisting of 1 dot with a printing rate of 25% was printed on 55 kg paper using the above-mentioned developer under a normal temperature and normal humidity environment. Then, fixing was performed using the above-mentioned fixing device. In the developer 1, "toner 1" and "curing material capsule 1" were mixed and used at a ratio of 1: 1.

(Evaluation) A halftone image wound around a 1 kg weight (bottom area = 10 cm ² ) with a smooth cloth was used and rubbed 10 times at a constant speed (50 mm / sec). The reflection density before and after this operation was measured with a Macbeth reflection densitometer (RD-918), and the ratio of the densities was determined to be the fixability (fixing rate). The reflection density is an absolute reflection density. The results are shown below.

[0107]

[Table 1]

It is understood that the developers 1 to 4 in the present invention have a better fixing property than the comparative developer 1.

[0109]

According to the present invention, the fixing property is good and the time required for fixing the fixing device is short, and therefore the first copy speed of the image forming apparatus as a whole is not slowed down.
Moreover, it is possible to provide a toner fixing device of a new type that uses a small amount of energy for fixing and an image forming method using the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Semiconductor laser light source 2 polygon mirror 3 fθ lens 4 photoconductor 5 charger 6 developer 7 Transfer device 8 image support 9 Separator (separation pole) 10 Fixing device 10a Unit for applying pressure 10b Unit for irradiating ultraviolet rays 11 Cleaning device 13 Cleaning blade

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2H005 AA01 AA06 CA02 CA07 CA30                       FB06                 2H033 AA03 AA49 BA01 BA02 BA25                       BA58 BC02 BD00 BD05                 2H077 DB14 EA03 EA13 EA14

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A fixing device for fixing a toner on an image support by irradiating a toner image formed on the image support with ultraviolet rays, wherein the toner is a toner containing a light energy curing substance. Characterizing fixing device. 2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the light energy curing material contains a compound having at least an epoxy group, a hydroxyl group, and a vinyl group. 3. A fixing device for fixing a toner on an image support by irradiating the toner image formed on the image support with ultraviolet rays, wherein the toner is a capsule toner containing a plurality of liquid-mixing type ultraviolet curing substances. A fixing device characterized by being present. 4. A fixing device for fixing toner to an image support by irradiating the toner image formed on the image support with ultraviolet rays by means of an ultraviolet irradiation device, wherein at least one pair of pressures is applied immediately before the ultraviolet irradiation device. A fixing device characterized by arranging the device, irradiating ultraviolet rays after passing through an image support holding toner. 5. An image forming method in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body is visualized by toner development and transferred to an image support, and then ultraviolet rays are irradiated to fix the toner on the image support. In the method, the image forming method is characterized in that the toner is a toner containing a light energy curing substance. 6. The image forming method according to claim 5, wherein the light energy curing material contains a compound having at least an epoxy group, a hydroxyl group, and a vinyl group. 7. An image forming method in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body is visualized by toner development and transferred to an image support, and then ultraviolet rays are radiated to fix the toner on the image support. In the method, the toner is an encapsulated toner containing a plurality of liquid-mixing type ultraviolet curable substances, and the image forming method. 8. An image forming method in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body is visualized by toner development and transferred to an image support, and then ultraviolet rays are radiated to fix the toner on the image support. In the method, an image forming method is characterized in that at least one pair of pressure devices is arranged immediately before the ultraviolet irradiation device, and the ultraviolet irradiation is performed after passing through the image support holding the toner image.