JP2003330256A - Porous body for toner filter, method for manufacturing it and toner storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner storage container which can supply a stable image quality without causing clogging even though coarse grains are generated due to changes in temperature and humidity when the toner is stored in a container. <P>SOLUTION: A porous body for a toner filter possessing a porous film which consists of a synthetic resin and has continuously communicated pores formed in a three dimensional direction on one side of synthetic resin film and opened by a heat generating element. The porous body is installed in the inside of a toner storage container as a filter. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is a toner capable of removing agglomerates and coarse particles generated by external temperature and humidity during storage or storage of toner, powder, etc., and which does not cause particle size change even after long-term storage. Filter for porous body,
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method thereof and a toner storage container using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a toner container for automatically supplying toner by setting it in a copying machine, a printer or the like has a screw-shaped cap attached to a bottle-shaped container, and the cap is mounted upside down in the copying machine. After refilling system that can open and close the shutter attached to the part and the opening part of the container having a relatively wide opening part such as a tray are sealed with a delaminating laminated material, insert it into the machine as it is and in the machine Two types of cartridge-type containers are used in which the laminated material is peeled off and toner is discharged and supplied. In each case, a container having high airtightness is used so that fine powder does not scatter.

However, there is a problem that the pressure in the container rises due to the temperature rise of the outside air during transportation and the pressure change during transportation in the aircraft, and scattering from the cap is a problem. In order to solve such a problem, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-257625, a laminated packing is provided on a cap of a container, and a breathable member is used for one layer thereof, or a cap top plate portion having a low compatibility is used.
Although it is integrally formed of a kind of plastic, and the interval is not more than 5 μm on the boundary, sufficient air permeability cannot be obtained, and when the interval for passing the coarse powder region of the powder particles is reached,
Scattering of powder in the fine powder region has occurred and the problem has not been solved.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-197820 discloses a toner cartridge provided with a vent hole shielded with glass fiber or the like, but the filter structure is whisker-like. Furthermore, many problems can be pointed out considering the high cost due to the complexity of the processing surface and the danger to the human body due to damage.

Further, JP-A-8-155232 proposes a filter in which a fluororesin porous sheet or film is laminated on the surface of a synthetic resin porous body. However, the fluororesin-based filter has no problem in the dust collecting property and the cleaning property, but has a problem in the adhesiveness to the support. In particular, when used as a ventilation hole in a powder container, the inactive nature of Teflon (registered trademark) often causes problems such as adhesion to a support and high cost, making it unprofitable. There is. Further, since the pore shape of the proposed porous body is two-dimensional and there is no bypass in the continuous holes, clogging easily occurs.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and the toner is not scattered from the cap of the toner storage container due to a pressure increase due to a change in temperature and humidity during transportation, and the toner is further stored in the container. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner storage container capable of supplying stable image quality without causing clogging due to generation of coarse particles at times.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of diligent studies on the above problems, the present inventor created a porous shape different from natural fibers from a synthetic resin, and formed a porous film having pores continuous in the three-dimensional direction with a synthetic resin film. It was found that the toner powder coarsened by moisture or heat can be easily separated in the storage container by using it as a filter in the toner storage container after the film surface is perforated with a heating element on one side of the present invention. Came to. That is, according to the present invention, firstly, in claim 1, the toner is characterized in that a porous film made of synthetic resin and formed in a three-dimensional direction is provided on one surface of the synthetic resin film opened in the heating element. A porous body for a filter is provided.

Secondly, in the second aspect of the present invention, the toner is characterized in that a synthetic resin film having holes formed by heating elements is provided on the side of the porous film made of the synthetic resin of the porous body for a toner filter of the first aspect. A porous body for a filter is provided.

Thirdly, a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a nonwoven fabric made of natural fibers and / or synthetic fibers is provided on the porous membrane side of the porous body for a toner filter of the first aspect, which is made of synthetic resin. A porous body for a toner filter is provided.

Fourthly, in claim 4, the porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1 is used above and below with a porous film made of a synthetic resin inside, and natural fibers and / Alternatively, a porous body for a toner filter is provided, which is provided with a non-woven fabric made of synthetic fiber.

Fifthly, in the fifth aspect, a porous body for a toner filter is provided on the nonwoven fabric side of the porous body for a toner filter according to the third aspect, which is provided with a synthetic resin film having holes for heating elements. Will be provided.

Sixthly, in a sixth aspect, in the toner filter porous body according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the porous film made of a synthetic resin is formed of a polyacetal resin. A featured porous body for a toner filter is provided.

Seventh, in a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the porous body for a toner filter according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the porous membrane made of a synthetic resin has a circular pore structure, and has a breathability. And a resin phase having an open pore diameter of 0.1 μm or more and an opening ratio of 50% or more has a continuous phase structure.

Eighth, in the eighth aspect, in the porous body for a toner filter according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the synthetic resin film has an open pore diameter of 3 μm or more and 10 or more.
Provided is a porous body for a toner filter, which has a pore structure of 0 μm or less and an aperture interval of 10 μm or more and 50 μm or less.

Ninth, according to a ninth aspect, in the toner filter porous body according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the synthetic resin film is a biaxially stretched polyester film. A porous body for a filter is provided.

Tenth, in the tenth aspect, in the toner filter porous body according to the ninth aspect, the biaxially stretched polyester film has a heat shrinkability and a heat shrinkage rate of 40 ° C.
Provided is a porous body for a toner filter, which is formed of a polyester resin having a volume ratio of 25% or more at -80 ° C.

Eleventh, in Claim 11, the above-mentioned Claim 1 is adopted.
9. A porous body for a toner filter according to any one of items 1 to 8, wherein the synthetic resin film is formed of polyvinylidene chloride.

Twelfth, in Claim 12, the above-mentioned Claim 1.
9. The porous body for a toner filter according to any one of items 1 to 8, wherein the synthetic resin film is made of polypropylene.

Thirteenth, the thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a porous film in which a resin layer is a continuous layer and a water phase is a discontinuous layer, and a W / O (water-in-oil) type emulsion has three-dimensionally continuous pores. Is provided on a synthetic resin film, and then the surface of the synthetic resin film is perforated with a heating element to provide a porous body for a toner filter.

Fourteenth, in Claim 14, the above-mentioned Claim 1
A toner container comprising the porous body for a toner filter according to any one of 1 to 12 as a filter is provided.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention is described in detail below.
The porous body for a toner filter of the present invention is a porous body having a circular open pore structure, air permeability, and a porous film having continuous pores in three-dimensional directions. It has a function. The shrinkage rate of the synthetic resin film used in the present invention influences the perforation property and is a physical property necessary for producing a circular shape when it is heated by the heating element.

According to the present invention, the substrate that serves as a support is required to have sufficient rigidity, and it is necessary to have sufficient rigidity to support the post-perforated film to be laminated. Further, since the powders handled in the present invention are mainly intended for electrophotographic toner powders, natural fibers having a high affinity for water are not so preferable.

The particle size of commonly used toner powders has become smaller in recent years due to the tendency toward higher image quality, and has fallen within the particle size range of 3 μm to 10 μm. Therefore, the passage of these particles becomes an essential characteristic of the filter. It can be quantified by the air permeability as far as it is examined in evaluating this characteristic. It can also be used as a means for controlling the pressure change of the atmospheric pressure when the container is filled and stored, as a vent.

The porous body for a toner filter of the present invention comprises
A circular aperture is preferable, and the aperture ratio is 4% -80.
%, More preferably 50% or more. The thin paper used as the support layer is a thin paper made of synthetic fiber, and the porosity is naturally 50% or more, and preferably a thin paper such as a mixed paper of PET fiber and natural fiber. Further, in the effect of the ventilation hole, which is one of the objects of the present invention, the bypass structure formed in the three-dimensional direction has a great effect on the clogging of the ventilation property caused by the change over time.

The present invention will be described in more detail. The porous body of the present invention is preferably composed of a specific synthetic resin in a continuous phase. The method for producing the porous body is such that the continuous phase of the porous body has a boiling point under atmospheric pressure. Has a porous layer formed from a W / O (water-in-oil method) emulsion resin liquid in which the synthetic resin of the present invention is dissolved in a solvent having a temperature of 130 ° C. or less and the aqueous phase is a discontinuous phase on one side of the synthetic resin film. In the provided filter porous body, it is observed in a state where void openings are gathered up to the boundary area adjacent to the support.

Since the density of the open pores is determined by the relative value of the water phase and the resin phase (oil phase), it is determined by the particle diameter of the target powder particles to be separated by the filter. Further, an extender pigment or a hydrophilic resin can be used depending on the purpose. For example, when the extender pigment is supported in the aqueous phase, it can be used without any trouble such as pulverization and dispersion treatment with a general water-soluble resin, and in some cases, a surfactant having a dispersion effect is used together therewith. . Next, although it is a component of the oil phase, a pigment may be used depending on the purpose, and in the emulsification method of the present invention, when added to the oil phase component, it is kneaded inside the resin in an internally added state. To be observed.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the pores of the porous film shape, that is, the porous shape of the surface which becomes the ventilation holes are observed by an electron microscope or the like, the structure resembling a honeycomb is apparently multiple. It can be expressed as an aggregated structure. FIG. 2 is a SEM image of the porous body of the present invention. The inside of the porous body of the present invention has a three-dimensionally continuous pore shape.

The pigment may be present in the resin-based continuous phase other than the open pores of the porous membrane, but this does not preclude the effectiveness of the present invention. In some cases, the porous membrane of the present invention can easily include a pigment in the opening portion, and surprisingly, the pigment gathered in the pore does not fall off unless the porous membrane is destroyed, and the opening Since it is a structure in which it is connected like a bypass network, it is not clogged with powder particles, which has been verified by some experiments.

As specific polymers, for example, acryl-based, vinyl acetate-based, ester-based, urethane-based, olefin-based, vinylidene-based, epoxy-based polymers, cellulosic derivatives and modified products and copolymers thereof are preferable. .
Among them, polyvinyl acetal polymers are used.
Particularly preferred is a polyvinyl butyral polymer.

The glass transition point of the composition is 50 ° C to 98 ° C.
Those in the range of 10 provide favorable results. Further, the molecular weight (weight average) influences the emulsification process of the porous membrane of the present invention.
If it is less than 10,000, coalescence of emulsions is observed, which is not preferable. On the other hand, if it exceeds 300,000, the solubility in the solvent decreases and it becomes insoluble. Therefore, the range of 30,000 to 300,000 is selected.

In the present invention, a desirable porous membrane is not formed unless a solvent containing 50% by weight (hereinafter, unless otherwise noted) of a solvent having a boiling point of 130 ° C. or more is used. Specific examples of suitable solvents include methylene chloride, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, diethyl ether, carbon tetrachloride, cyclohexane, hexane, pentane, benzene, MEK, MIBK, toluene and the like. .

In some cases, an extender pigment may be added to the oil phase or the water phase to stabilize the system for the purpose of stabilizing the emulsification process. Specific extender pigments include, for example,
Talc, kaolin, silica, silica gel, colloidal silica, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, barium sulfate, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, zinc sulfide, zinc carbonate, zeolite, alumina, alumina sol, There are inorganic pigments such as carbon black, mineral acicular pigments such as sepiolite, potassium titanate, wollastonite, zonolite and gypsum fibers, and other powder organic pigments.

Next, a method for manufacturing the porous film will be described.
The resin is dissolved in a solvent containing 50% by weight or more of a solvent having a boiling point of 130 ° C or less. The amount is experimentally determined so that a good porous film is formed, but is generally 5% to 20%. HLB (Hydrophile-Lipo) for stable emulsion formation
A surfactant having a phile-Balance of 4 to 6 is added.

When the extender pigment is uniformly dispersed in the aqueous phase, the extender pigment is added to the aqueous phase and dispersed using a dispersing device or the like that rotates at high speed with a ball mill or the like. When the extender pigment is dispersed in the oil phase instead of the water phase, the extender pigment is similarly dispersed using a dispersing device that rotates at high speed with a ball mill or the like.
The mixing ratio of the extender pigment in each phase is 0.5% to 10% in terms of pigment / each phase weight ratio. Particularly preferred is 1% to 5%
Is. If the content is less than this, there is no effect on the stability of the emulsion. Further, the inclusion of more than that is not preferable because the film strength of the porous film is lowered.

In the initial emulsification, the above-mentioned matters are effective, but it is effective to use a thickener in the aqueous phase in order to provide stability over time. Specifically, it was found that thickening the aqueous phase stabilizes the emulsion and makes it less likely to break. The preferable viscosity is 10 to 500 at the liquid temperature at the time of application.
It is Sentipoise. If it is less than 10 centipoise, the effect of stabilizing the emulsion is small, and if it exceeds 500 centipoise, the drying of the porous body is delayed and the production efficiency is deteriorated. Therefore, it is convenient to determine in advance from the drying condition before use.

The addition of a water-soluble compound is preferably used as the thickening means, for example, polyvinyl alcohol,
Carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium polyacrylate,
Polyethylene glycol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, etc. are used.

It is possible to form a porous membrane by directly coating the W / O emulsion emulsion prepared in this way on a support and drying it. Particularly, in the present invention, since the oil phase is a continuous phase, it is preferable that the oil phase has a higher evaporation rate than the water phase. That is, while the oil phase is solid-liquid separated and dried,
Similarly, the water phase progresses while drying, and the difference in the evaporation rate forms a porous body of the water phase of the emulsion and the oil phase, and the water phase becomes pores and is generated. Further, the solubility of the resin in the solvent is also an important factor, but it is predicted to be a generation mechanism.

In the method for producing the porous film of the present invention, it is formed by coating on a support and drying. The coating method can be carried out by a general roll, slot die, gravure, wire bar, blade or other coating machine. However, a method of dipping and adhering the porous substrate in the resin liquid of the present invention is also possible.

The porous material according to the present invention is
For example, when the particle size of the powder particles (toner particles) is around 10 μm, the pore size of the porous membrane is 10 μm or less, and when the particle size of the powder particles is around 6 μm, it is preferably 5 μm to 3 μm. Also,
When the strength of the porous body is required, the volume of the open pores becomes a point, and the volume control is required according to the purpose. Specifically, it is preferable to control in the thickness direction without changing the aperture diameter, and the original function is not impaired.

The thickness of the porous membrane formed is determined from the dry deposition amount of the emulsion, and the deposition amount of the membrane itself after drying is 0.5 g / m 2.
^The porous body is filled with ^{2 to 20} g / m ² .

The porous body of the present invention obtained as described above becomes a structure having continuous pores in the three-dimensional direction and a bypass is formed. Since the structure of a conventional toner filter has a structure in which two-dimensional and flat structures are laminated, a pore size matched to the average particle size facilitates passage of submicron particles,
Further, when the pore size is reduced to the submicron particle size, there is a problem that clogging occurs. On the other hand, the porous body having continuous pores in the three-dimensional direction according to the present invention has a bypass structure even if clogging occurs in the initial stage, and therefore exhibits sufficient air permeability and exhibits the effect of eliminating clogging.

Since the toner powder applied to the present invention has a large bulk density, voids are present between the particles, and it behaves like a fluid and is highly fluid. Therefore, the porous body having continuous pores in the above-mentioned three-dimensional direction is suitable because it has a structure with a high porosity without clogging, and the porous body for a filter of the present invention has a storage quality of toner powder. Exert its effect. That is, it is filled in a container and stored, but due to factors such as storage conditions such as outside air, particles or particles aggregate due to the influence of moisture or heat,
Eventually, it grows into aggregates and progresses to coarsening. Against such a phenomenon, the toner storage container provided with the porous body for a filter of the present invention can collect the toner powder by classifying and coarsening the toner powder in the storage container.

More specifically, the porous body for a filter of the present invention is a synthetic film in which W is a discontinuous phase on one side of W.
It is formed by applying and drying a / O (water drop in oil) type emulsion solution. If desired, thin paper mixed with natural fibers or synthetic fibers may be laminated with a heat source.

The polyester constituting the biaxially stretched polyester film of the present invention is a polymer having a dicarboxylic acid component and a glycol component as constituents, a polymer having a hydroxycarboxylic acid component as constituents, or a copolymer thereof. In addition, the dicarboxylic acid component includes terephthalic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, and 1,5.
-Naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, 4,4'-diphenylcarboxylic acid, cyclohexylcarboxylic acid, aromatic carboxylic acids (succinic acid, adipic acid, suberic acid, sebacic acid)
Etc. can be used. As the glycol component, for example, ethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, hexadiol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol may be used. it can.

The powder accommodating member of the present invention mainly accommodates toner powder used in an electrophotographic copying machine, and is similar to the thermoplastic resin film composition. For this reason, toner particles tend to adhere and the smoothness on the side in contact with the toner particles is often a problem. Therefore, the smoothness on the surface in contact with the toner particles is required, and the maximum roughness [Rt] 0.3 μm
The range of 10 μm is preferable.

Next, the crystallizing temperature of the polyester film used in the present invention is preferably 130 ° C to 200 ° C.
The shrinkage initiation temperature is preferably 40 ° C. or higher and 80 ° C. or lower, more preferably 45 ° C. or higher and 75 ° C. or lower, and further preferably 50 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower. Similar thermal characteristics are required for polypropylene and polyvinylidene chloride, but they can be used in the present invention as long as they are perforated by the heat received by the heat generating element. However, the thermal sensitivity tends to be lower than that of polyester.

The three-dimensionally open-pore body of the present invention is formed by using a general resin material such as polyvinyl acetate.
Polyvinyl butyral, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinylidene chloride copolymer, vinyl chloride-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, vinyl resin such as polybutylene, nylon, polyphenylene oxide, (meth) acrylic acid Examples thereof include esters, polycarbonates, and cellulose derivatives such as acetyl cellulose, acetyl butyl cellulose, and acetyl propyl cellulose. Among them, polyacetal resin containing polyvinyl butyral is suitable for forming the porous body of the present invention. Further, each resin may be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds.

If necessary, an additive such as a filler can be added to the porous film in order to adjust the formation, strength, size of pore size, increase in rigidity, etc. of the porous film. Here, the filler is a concept including pigments, powders and fibrous substances. Of these, needle-shaped, plate-shaped, or fibrous fillers are particularly preferable. Specific examples thereof include mineral acicular fillers such as magnesium silicate, sepiolite, potassium titanate, wollastonite, zonolite, gypsum fiber, non-oxide acicular whiskers, oxide whiskers, and multiple oxides. Artificial mineral acicular fillers such as whiskers, plate fillers such as mica, glass flakes and talc, natural or synthetic fibrous fillers such as carbon fiber, polyester fiber, glass fiber, vinylon fiber, nylon fiber, acrylic fiber and the like. To be

Examples of the pigment include organic polymer particles such as vinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride and polymethyl acrylate, carbon black, and inorganic pigments such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate and silica.

The addition amount of these additives is preferably 5% to 200% with respect to the resin. If it is 5% or less, curling is likely to occur, and if it is 200% or more, the strength of the porous film may decrease.

A relatively strong lipophilic surfactant having an HLB (Hydrophile-Lipophile-Balance) of 2.5 to 6 is effective for forming a W / O type emulsion, but HL is also used in the aqueous layer.
When a surfactant having B of 8 to 20 is used, a more stable and uniform W / O emulsion can be obtained.

The size and density of pores formed in the water phase of the W / O type emulsion resin solution according to the present invention can be controlled by the mixing ratio of the oil phase and the water phase or the emulsification stirring conditions. Therefore, it is more efficient to carry out after confirmation by preliminary experiments according to the purpose. For example, when the hardness of the porous film is required, a polymer resin material having a relatively large adhesive force is selected to prepare a W / O type emulsion resin liquid,
It is used while controlling the generation density of holes. Further, when the pores of the porous film are relatively increased, it is effective to adjust the water phase component of the W / O type emulsion resin liquid to a large amount before use.

The use of a polymeric surfactant is also one of the methods for obtaining a more stable and uniform emulsion. Further, addition of a thickener such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyacrylic acid to the water system is effective for stabilizing the emulsion.

The amount of adhesion of the porous film of the present invention after drying is 0.
5 g / m ^{2 to} 30 g / m ² , preferably 3 g / m ² to
It is 10 g / m ² . If it is less than 0.5 g / m ² , the passage of air will be hindered, while if it exceeds 30 g / m ² , the passage of air will be obstructed.

The base material may be a general nonwoven fabric, but a mixed paper of natural fibers and synthetic fibers or a synthetic fiber alone is advantageous in terms of strength. Common natural fibers such as abaca, hemp, cotton, and silk have a large fiber diameter, while synthetic fibers are characterized by being thinner than natural fibers. Synthetic fibers include vinylon, acrylic and polyelter fibers.

These thin papers can be laminated and adhered to each other with, for example, an adhesive, and more specifically, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinylidene chloride copolymer, vinyl chloride. -Vinyl resins such as acrylonitrile copolymer and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, polyamides such as polybutylene and nylon, polyphenylene oxide, (meth) acrylic acid ester, polycarbonate, copolymers, mixtures and modified products thereof are used. Further, an antistatic agent, a surfactant, an antiseptic, an antifoaming agent and the like can be used in combination within the range that does not impair the effects of the present invention.

Thin paper made of synthetic fibers alone or mixed paper can be laminated by heat and can be easily fused and laminated at a nip with a heating roll. Thus selection of the porous substrate may be performed according to the purpose, the porous substrate to become the basis weight of the present invention has good ^{5g / m 2 ~20g / m 2} , especially 15 g / m ² and most suitably Is.

The porous body for a filter of the present invention can be applied to a multi-layer structure in which the above-mentioned thin paper is sandwiched on the side of the porous film in which the porous film is provided on the synthetic resin film, and the multi-layer structure has higher bending rigidity and filling. Preferred for high volume containers.

The construction of the porous body for a filter has been described above. The perforation and perforation treatment of the synthetic film is carried out by commercially available thermal printer Pall N400, N8 manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.
It is possible to make holes with the density of the heating element of 400 dpi and 600 dpi using No. 00. As a result, if a 600 dpi heating element is used, it is possible to obtain a filter porous body of the present invention in which about 30 μm perforations are possible and the perforation interval is 13 μm and the holes are continuously opened.

[0060]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described in more detail by way of examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples. In the examples, all parts are parts by weight.

First, a method for measuring the open area and air permeability of the porous membrane produced by the following examples and a method for measuring the amount of coarse particles collected in the porous body for a filter will be described. -Method of measuring the open area of the porous film The open area of the porous film was measured by taking a 100x magnified photo of the surface of the porous film with an optical microscope, and magnifying the taken photo 200x with the Imagio MF530 manufactured by Ricoh. Copy, mark the aperture on the transparent film, read the film with a scanner (300 dpi, 256 gradations), and use the image retouching software Adobe photo
It evolves using shop2.5J. Next, the area ratio of the opening is measured with the image analysis freeware software NIH image. -Method of measuring air permeability of porous membrane Test method for evaluating air permeability of a porous body for a filter: An air permeameter manufactured by Toyo Seiki Co., Ltd. is equipped with an orifice 1 mm? -Method for measuring amount of coarse particles collected 2 g of toner particles was collected in a petri dish having a surface area of 0.025 m ² , and the porous body for a filter was attached to the petri dish 30
Vibration was applied for 2 seconds, the back side (passing back surface) of the porous body for filters was sucked, and the amount adhering to the porous body for filters was defined as the amount of coarse particles collected (g).

Example 1 A commercially available biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 1.0 μm (manufactured by Mitsubishi Diamond Foil Co., Ltd.) was coated with the following porous film forming liquid at a dry weight of 6 g / m ² . <Porous membrane W / O forming liquid> (Resin solution) Polyvinyl butyral (Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., BHS) 2.0 parts Ethyl acetate 30.0 parts Sorbitan monooleate (Toho Chemical Co., Ltd., Sorbon S80) 0.1 Part A resin solution (oil phase liquid) having the above formulation was prepared. (Aqueous liquid)
The preparation components of the aqueous phase liquid are shown below. Calcium carbonate (manufactured by Shiraishi Calcium Co., Ltd.) 5.0 parts Water 15.0 parts Polyoxyethylene glycol fatty acid ester 0.05 parts The above aqueous phase liquid mixture is well dispersed in a ball mill and added to the above resin solution to form a high speed homomixer (4500r). .Pm)
Was further dispersed to prepare a W / O emulsion liquid. This was coated on the surface of the above-mentioned biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 1 μm with a gravure roll in a liquid temperature of 20 ° C. and 50% RH to form a porous film. Coating speed is 1
The drying temperature was 0 m / min and the temperature was 60 ° C. This porous membrane was photographed with an electron microscope (SEM.S.2400, manufactured by Hitachi Ltd.), image-processed with LD555D manufactured by Pierce, and the porosity of the porous membrane was calculated to be 88%. In addition, it was observed that a porous film having a pore size distribution on the surface of 0.1 μm to 30 μm was obtained and the pores were spherical and continuous in three-dimensional directions.

Example 2 Sevian A was applied to one surface of the porous film membrane with a film of Example 1.
(Daicel Chemical Co., Ltd. PVAC system resin) in dry weight of 0.
1 g / ^{m 2} adhered to a commercial tissue paper, principal component hemp fiber (manufactured by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.) having a basis weight 15 g / ^{m 2} and after lamination,
A porous support for a filter, which was formed by performing anti-fusion treatment, was obtained.

On the film surface of the porous support for a filter obtained in each of Examples 1 and 2, commercially available thermal printer Pall, N800 (HD: 600 dp, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) was used.
i) 45μJ, 25μJ per dot with on-board printer
1 circular hole with a diameter of 30 μm
A porous body for a filter of the present invention was manufactured by continuously perforating an area of 0.1 m × 0.1 m at intervals of 0 μm.

Example 3 A commercially available biaxially stretched vinylidene chloride film 1.0 μm (manufactured by Mitsubishi Diamond Foil Co., Ltd.) was coated with the following porous body-forming liquid in a dry weight of 6 g / m ² . <Porous body W / O forming liquid> (Resin solution) Polyvinyl butyral (5000A, manufactured by Denki Kagaku) 2.0 parts Ethyl acetate 15.0 parts MEK 15.0 parts Sorbitan monooleate (Toho Chemical Co., Ltd., Sorbone S80, HLB 4.2) 0.1 part The above prescription solution was dissolved by stirring. (Aqueous phase liquid) The preparation components of the aqueous phase liquid are shown below. Water 15.0 parts Polyoxyethylene glycol fatty acid ester 0.05 parts The above aqueous phase liquid is added to the resin solution oil phase and further dispersed using a high speed homomixer (4500 rpm) to give a W / O emulsion liquid. It was made. This was applied to the surface of the biaxially stretched vinylidene film having a thickness of 1 μm described above with a gravure roll in a liquid temperature of 20 ° C. and 50% RH in an atmosphere to form a porous film. The coating speed was 10 m / min and the drying temperature was 60 ° C. The obtained porous film was taken with an electron microscope (Hitachi, SE
M. S. 2400), after shooting LD555D made by Pierce
When the image processing was performed with, and the porosity of the porous film was calculated, it was 72%.
Met. Moreover, as a result of observing the shape, it was a spherical porous film penetrating in the three-dimensional direction. A porous body having a pore size distribution of 0.1 μm to 30 μm on the surface of the porous membrane was obtained.

Example 4 Sevian A (PVAC resin manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was attached to one side of the porous membrane with a film obtained in Example 3 at a dry weight of 0.1 g / m ² to obtain a commercially available thin paper, a main component. After being laminated with a mixed paper (made by Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.) having a weight of 20 g / m ^{2 of a} hemp fiber and a PET fiber having an average diameter of 10 μm, a fusion preventive treatment was performed to form a porous support for a filter.

Commercially available thermal printers Pall, N800 (HD: 600 dp, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) were formed on the film surfaces of the porous supports for filters obtained in Examples 3 and 4, respectively.
i) 45μJ, 25μJ per dot with on-board printer
1 circular hole with a diameter of 30 μm
A filter porous body of the present invention was manufactured by continuously perforating an area of 0.1 m × 0.1 m at intervals of 0 μm.

Example 5 Instead of the vinylidene chloride film used in Example 3, a commercially available biaxially oriented polypropylene film having a thickness of 2 μm was used, and an equal amount of a W / O forming liquid for a porous body was applied and dried to form a porous film. did. The obtained porous film was taken with an electron microscope (Hitachi,
SEM. S. 2400) and then LD55 made by Pierce
Image processing was performed in 5D and the porosity of the porous film was calculated to be 7
It was 5%. Moreover, as a result of observing the shape, it was a spherical porous film penetrating in the three-dimensional direction. A porous body having a pore size distribution on the surface of the porous membrane of 0.1 μm to 30 μm was obtained.

Example 6 On one surface of the porous support for pre-perforated filter with thin paper obtained in Example 4 and the porous body of Example 3, Sebian A (PVAC resin manufactured by Daicel Chemical Co., Ltd.) was used in a dry weight of 0. 1 g / m
^{2 was} adhered, laminated in a nip step, dried and sandwiched with thin paper to form a porous support for a multilayer filter.

On the film surface of the porous support for a filter obtained in each of Examples 5 and 6, Pall, N800 (HD: 600 dp, commercially available from Ricoh Co., Ltd.) was used.
i) 45μJ, 25μJ per dot with on-board printer
A circular hole with a diameter of 30 μm is drilled with the applied energy of about 1
A porous body for a filter of the present invention was manufactured by continuously perforating an area of 0.1 m × 0.1 m at intervals of 0 μm.

Example 7 A commercially available 3.5 μm thick biaxially stretched polyester film was coated with the following porous body W / O forming liquid on one side at a dry weight of 8 g / m ^2.
After being attached and dried, Sebian A (PVA manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd.
The C-based resin) was laminated with thin paper having natural Manila hemp as a main component as in Example 2. <Porous Body W / O Forming Liquid> (Resin Solution) Cellulose Acetate Butyrate 3.0 parts MEK 30.0 parts Sorbitan Monooleate (Toho Chemical Co., Sorbone S80, HLB4.2) 0.1 parts The above formulation The solution was dissolved with stirring. (Aqueous phase liquid) The preparation components of the aqueous phase liquid are shown below. Water 15.0 parts Polyoxyethylene glycol fatty acid ester 0.05 parts The above aqueous phase liquid is added to the resin solution oil phase and further dispersed using a high speed homomixer (4500 rpm) to give a W / O emulsion liquid. It was made. This was applied to the surface of the above biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 3.5 μm by a gravure roll in a liquid temperature of 20 ° C. and 50% RH and an atmosphere to form a porous film. The coating speed was 10 m / min and the drying temperature was 60 ° C. The obtained porous film was taken with an electron microscope (Hitachi, S
EM. S. 2400), after shooting LD555 made by Pierce
Image processing was performed with D, and the open area ratio of the porous film was calculated to be 68.
%Met. Moreover, as a result of observing the shape, it was a spherical porous film penetrating in the three-dimensional direction. A porous body having a pore size distribution on the surface of the porous membrane of 0.1 μm to 30 μm was obtained.

On the thin paper surface of the porous body and the thin paper, 0.1 g / m ² of dry weight of Sevian A (PVAC resin manufactured by Daicel Chemical Co., Ltd.) was attached to one side of the commercially available biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 3.5 μm. Then, a lamination treatment was performed to form a porous support for a filter having a multilayer structure of a synthetic film, a resin porous body, a thin paper, and a synthetic film. On the film surface (both sides) of the obtained porous support for filters, commercially available thermal printer Pall, N800 manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.
(HD: 600 dpi) On-board printer punches holes with applied energy of 45 μJ and 25 μJ per dot
The porous porous body of the present invention was manufactured by continuously perforating circular pores of μm in an area of 0.1 m × 0.1 m at intervals of about 10 μm.

Example 8 The electrophotographic color printer (manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) shown in FIG. 1 in which the filter porous body prepared in the above Example 1 is shown.
As a result of evaluating coarse particles by providing a filter near the outlet of the toner container and applying vibration from the sieve test, no coarse particles were observed in the toner powder passing through the filter.

Example 9 The same test as in Example 8 was carried out using the filter produced in Example 2.

Example 10 The same test as in Example 8 was carried out using the filter produced in Example 3.

Example 11 The same test as in Example 8 was carried out using the filter produced in Example 4.

Example 12 Using the filter produced in Example 5, the same test as in Example 8 was carried out.

Example 13 The same test as in Example 8 was carried out using the filter produced in Example 6.

Comparative Example 1 Commercially available thin paper (made by Asahi Kasei Corp., PET fiber 50% mixed paper,
Basis weight 11 g / m ² ) was folded into two and provided in the toner container of FIG. 1, and the same evaluation test as in Example 8 was performed.

Comparative Example 2 As in Comparative Example 1, two commercially available thin paper sheets of synthetic fiber made of PET (manufactured by Hirose Paper Co., Ltd., basis weight: 15 g / m ² ) were provided in a toner container in the same manner as in Example 8. An evaluation test was conducted.

Comparative Example 3 A commercially available 3.5 μm-thick biaxially stretched polyester film (manufactured by Mitsubishi Diamond Foil Co., Ltd.) was used, and a commercially available thermal printer Pall, N800 (HD: 600 dp, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) was used.
i) 45μJ, 25μJ per dot with on-board printer
A circular hole with a diameter of 30 μm is drilled with the applied energy of about 1
A porous body for a filter obtained by continuously perforating an area of 0.1 m × 0.1 m at 0 μ intervals was provided in a toner container, and the same evaluation test as in Example 8 was performed.

Comparative Example 4 Two filters obtained by perforating the biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 3.5 μm obtained in Comparative Example 3 were stacked and partially fixed with an adhesive and provided in a toner container. The same evaluation test as in No. 8 was performed.

Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the filters obtained in the above Examples and Comparative Examples.

[0084]

[Table 1]

Examples 1 to 7 show various laminated shapes of the porous filter body of the present invention, and Example 1 has a two-layer structure,
Example 2 is a three-layer structure with a thin paper attached, Example 3 is a two-layer structure with a synthetic resin film of biaxially stretched polyvinylidene chloride film, and Example 4 is a three-layer structure with a thin paper attached.
Example 5 is a biaxially oriented polypropylene film, Example 6 is a structure sandwiching thin paper, and Example 7 is a four-layer structure of a synthetic film, a porous film, a thin paper, and a synthetic film. Electrophotographic toner storage container using the porous body of these Examples as a filter (Examples 8 to 13)
Was able to perform the separation of coarse particles, which is the object of the present invention, without any trouble. On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the non-woven fabric was used as a filter without using the porous body of the present invention, and classification could not be performed and coarse particle powder could not be separated. In addition, Comparative Examples 3 and 4
Was a synthetic film with a perforation of 30 μm, and coarse particles could not be separated.

[0086]

As described above, according to the porous body for a toner filter of claims 1 and 2, one side of the synthetic resin film opened by the heating element is made of synthetic resin and has a three-dimensionally continuous pore. When used as a filter of a toner storage container because it has a particle, not only does toner scattering from the cap occur, but it also classifies and collects coarse particles contained in the toner or generated by heat etc. during storage. The clogging can be greatly reduced. It also has the effect of easily selecting the pore size of the heating element in accordance with the toner particle size.

According to the porous body for a toner filter of claims 3 to 5, a nonwoven fabric is provided on one side of the porous body for the filter.
Furthermore, since it has a synthetic resin film, a filter having high bending rigidity can be obtained, which is preferable for a container having a large filling amount.

According to the porous body for a toner filter of claim 6, since the porous film made of the synthetic resin is made of polyacetal resin, the solubility of the organic solvent is high and the formation of W / O emulsion is excellent. , It is easy to form a good porous film having continuous pores in the three-dimensional direction.

According to the porous body for a toner filter of claim 7, the porous membrane made of synthetic resin has a circular pore structure and has air permeability, and the pore diameter is 0.1 μm or more, and the pores are open. Since the resin phase having a porosity of 50% or more has a continuous phase structure, the structure has a bypass structure and does not cause clogging.

According to the porous body for a toner filter of claim 8, the synthetic resin film has a pore diameter of 3 μm or more and 10 or more.
Since it has an opening structure of 0 μm or less and an opening interval of 10 μm or more and 50 μm or less, the filter strength can be improved without impairing the air permeability of the porous body.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the synthetic resin film is a biaxially stretched polyester film, the perforation heat sensitivity is high and the perforation can be easily performed with low energy. .

According to the porous body for a toner filter of the eleventh aspect, since the synthetic resin film is made of polyvinylidene chloride, it is possible to obtain the characteristics similar to those of the polyester film.

According to the twelfth aspect of the porous body for a toner filter, since the synthetic resin film is made of polypropylene, it is possible to obtain the characteristics similar to those of the polyester film.

According to the method for producing a porous body for a toner filter of the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to produce a porous body for a toner filter having a good separation property of coarse particles.

According to the toner storage container of claim 14, since it has the porous body for a toner filter of the present invention, it has an excellent ability to collect coarse particles, does not cause clogging due to aging, and provides stable image quality. The toner container to be supplied can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toner storage container provided with a porous body for a toner filter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an electron micrograph (perforation diameter 30 μm) of a plane of the porous body for a toner filter of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a toner filter porous body of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cap 2 hard case 3 soft cases 4 stretch labels 10 Surface part or synthetic resin film 20 Porous membrane made of synthetic resin 30 Perforated part 40 holes

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) B01D 71/26 B01D 71/26 71/30 71/30 71/48 71/48 B65D 83/06 B65D 83/06 Z F Term (reference) 2H077 AA02 FA13 GA02 GA03 4D006 GA50 HA42 MA06 MA22 MA23 MC16 MC27 MC37 MC54 NA46 PC80 4D019 BA12 BA13 BB03 BB08 BB10 BD01 CB04

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A toner filter comprising a synthetic resin film having holes formed in a heating element, and a porous film made of a synthetic resin continuous in a three-dimensional direction (hereinafter referred to as a porous film made of a synthetic resin) provided on one surface of the synthetic resin film. For porous material. 2. A porous body for a toner filter, characterized in that a synthetic resin film having holes formed by heating elements is provided on the side of the porous film made of a synthetic resin of the porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1. 3. A porous body for a toner filter, comprising a porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1 and a nonwoven fabric made of a natural fiber and / or a synthetic fiber provided on the side of a porous film made of a synthetic resin. 4. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1 is used above and below with a porous film made of a synthetic resin inside and a nonwoven fabric made of natural fibers and / or synthetic fibers is provided between the porous films. A porous body for a toner filter, which is characterized in that 5. A porous body for a toner filter, characterized in that a synthetic resin film having holes formed by heating elements is provided on the nonwoven fabric side of the porous body for a toner filter according to claim 3. 6. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1, wherein the porous film made of a synthetic resin is formed of a polyacetal resin. body. 7. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1, wherein the porous body made of a synthetic resin has a circular pore structure having air permeability, and has a pore size of pores. A porous body for a toner filter, characterized in that a resin phase having a porosity of 50% or more and a pore size of 0.1 μm or more has a continuous phase structure. 8. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin film has a pore diameter of 3 μm or more and 100 μm or less and a pore spacing of 10 μm or more and 50 μm or less. A porous body for a toner filter having a structure. 9. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin film is a biaxially stretched polyester film. 10. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 9, wherein the biaxially stretched polyester film has a heat shrinkability, a heat shrinkage ratio of 40 ° C. to 80 ° C., and a volume ratio of 25%.
A porous body for a toner filter, which is formed of the above polyester resin. 11. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin film is made of polyvinylidene chloride. 12. The porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin film is made of polypropylene. 13. A W / O (water-in-oil) emulsion having a resin layer as a continuous layer and a water phase as a discontinuous layer to form a porous film having three-dimensionally continuous pores on a synthetic resin film. Then, a method for producing a porous body for a toner filter, characterized in that the surface of the synthetic resin film is then perforated with a heating element. 14. A toner container, comprising the porous body for a toner filter according to claim 1 as a filter.