JP2005091959A - Electrostatic charge developing device, electrostatic charge image developing toner and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to obtain high image quality, having proper uniformity of image density and dot reproducibility at all times, without the problems in toner conveyability by providing a developing method, in which an extremely thin layer can stably be formed on the surface of a developing roller, a developing device and toner which has proper flow properties and is used for the same. <P>SOLUTION: The electrostatic latent image developing device 50 develops electrostatic latent images by sticking or adhering an additive to the surface of powder composed of at least a resin and a pigment and uniformly forming a thin layer of the powder on the cylindrical surface and bringing the thin layer into contact with or non-contact with an electrostatic latent image carrier 60, wherein a flow means for fluidizing the powder is provided on the cylindrical periphery immediately prior to passing of a powder-regulating member and a regulating means 54 for regulating the powder is provided on the downstream side thereof. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile using an electrophotographic process. Specifically, an additive is adhered or fixed to the surface of at least a resin or pigment powder, the powder is uniformly thinned on a cylindrical surface, and then contacted or non-contacted with the electrostatic charge image carrier. The present invention relates to an electrostatic charge image developing device for developing the toner and an electrostatic charge developing toner used therefor.

  The image quality of copiers and printers has been improved, and the uniformity of image density and the reproducibility of fine dots have become very important recently. This uniformity of image density and dot reproducibility are greatly influenced by fluidity in addition to the charge amount of toner and developer, and a uniform toner layer or developer layer is stably supplied to fine latent image areas. It is becoming necessary to do and transport. In particular, in the one-component developing method, it is necessary to always provide a very thin layer on the developing roller stably, and thinning technology and toner fluidity have become important. Further, as the image quality is improved, the toner used in the toner is becoming smaller in particle size and higher in function. For this reason, the structure of the toner has become complicated, and finer control at the time of production has become necessary. In particular, since the toner fluidity affects various image qualities in addition to the uniformity of image density and dot reproducibility, there is a need for a highly accurate evaluation method with no individual differences in terms of evaluation. Further, as the toner is fixed at a low temperature and the oil-less fixing is progressed, the toner base composition and structure become complicated, and the fluidity of the toner is affected. Therefore, it is necessary to control the structure with higher accuracy than before, and accordingly, a highly sensitive fluidity evaluation method is required, and a stable thinning technique is required in the developing unit.

In Patent Document 1, a toner supply roller and a friction restricting member are provided around the toner carrier of the developing device, and a rotatable toner scraping member is provided below the toner supply roller, thereby accumulating on the back surface of the layer thickness restricting plate. The toner is pumped up and the toner layer thickness fluctuation is eliminated.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a developing device that defines a relationship between a toner fluidity index and a supply roller and realizes stable toner supply.
Further, in Patent Document 3, a developing device without a decrease in image density is realized by optimizing the frictional charging series and the peripheral speed ratio between the developing roller and the supply roller.
Further, in Patent Document 4, stable toner thinning is enabled by making the coefficient of motion friction between the developer carrying member and the developer larger than the coefficient of motion friction between the charge uniformizing member and the developer.
In these developing devices, the conditions required for the toner regulating member, the supply roller, etc. increase, and problems occur when the balance of the conditions is lost. There is a problem of image quality degradation such as white stripes.

In addition, when the toner production method changes from the pulverization method to another method such as a polymerization method, the change in the flow characteristics with respect to the manufacturing conditions is large. Evaluation is required.
Patent Document 5 describes a method for accurately evaluating the fluidity of a developer in a developing machine by measuring the time required to drop through a narrow portion of a funnel to which a magnetic field is applied.
Patent Document 6 describes a method of placing toner on a tiltable plate, gradually tilting the plate, and measuring the angle when the flow starts and when the flow ends.
Further, in Patent Document 7, a plurality of sieves are stacked, and toner is put on the sieves, and vibrations in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction are applied to the sieve parts, and the toner remaining on each sieve part after a predetermined time. A method of calculating by multiplying a quantity by a preset coefficient is described.
These methods have large variations in data, and there are individual differences depending on the measurer, and it has not been possible to evaluate fine differences in fluidity between toners.

JP-A-9-244406 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-220872 JP-A-10-133469 JP 2000-275964 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 01-203941 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-116449 JP 2000-292967 A

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention provides a developing method, a developing device, an image forming apparatus, and a toner having good fluidity used in these, which can stably provide a very thin layer on a developing roller. It is an object of the present invention to always obtain a high image quality with no problem in toner transportability and good image density uniformity and dot reproducibility.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that an additive is adhered or fixed to the surface of a powder comprising at least a resin and a pigment, and the powder is uniformly thinly layered on a cylindrical surface. In the electrostatic image developing apparatus for developing the toner after making it into contact with or not in contact with the electrostatic image carrier, a fluidizing means for fluidizing the powder is provided around the cylindrical shape immediately before passing through the powder regulating member. The electrostatic charge image developing device is characterized in that a regulating means for regulating powder is provided on the downstream side thereof.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrostatic charge developing device according to the first aspect, wherein the fluidizing means is a powder for fluidizing the cylindrical peripheral powder immediately before passing through the powder regulating member. An electrostatic charge image developing device comprising a fluidizing roller for creating a body flow.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic charge developing device according to the second aspect, in order to create a flow of powder in the direction of the powder regulating member, the fluidizing roller has a forward direction relative to the cylindrical rotational direction. The electrostatic image developing device is characterized in that it rotates.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic charge developing device according to the second or third aspect, the fluidizing roller is composed of a roller having regular irregularities in the surface circumferential direction. An electrostatic image developing device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the 20 mm powder phase is caused to penetrate at a penetration speed of 5 mm / min while rotating the conical rotor. The electrostatic charge image developing toner has a torque value of 1.0 to 4.0 mNm or a load value of 0.2 to 1.1 N that is generated when the powder enters the 20 mm powder phase. Is an electrostatic charge image developing device.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrostatic image developing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein a doctor roller and / or a supply roller are used.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the development is performed by applying an AC bias voltage component.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrostatic charge image developing toner for use in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the charge control agent is contained in at least a toner composed of a resin and a pigment. A toner for developing an electrostatic charge image.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the average circularity of the powder comprising at least a resin and a pigment is An electrostatic charge image developing toner having a viscosity of 0.90 to 0.95.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic charge image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to the fifth aspect, the space ratio of the compacted powder phase is 0.50 to 0.55. It is a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image.

The present invention described in claim 11 is a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the toner adheres to the surface of a powder composed of at least a resin or a pigment. An electrostatic charge image developing toner, wherein the fixed additive is composed of an inorganic fine powder having an average particle diameter of 10 to 200 nm.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the toner adheres to the surface of a powder composed of at least a resin or a pigment. A toner for developing an electrostatic image, wherein the fixed additive comprises a charge control agent having an average particle diameter of 10 to 200 nm.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrostatic charge image developing toner for use in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the toner is released into a powder comprising at least a resin and a pigment. An electrostatic charge image developing toner comprising an agent.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic image developing toner according to the thirteenth aspect, a release agent dispersant is contained in a powder composed of at least a resin, a pigment, and a release agent. An electrostatic charge image developing toner characterized by the above.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic charge image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, a composition in which a resin and a pigment are previously kneaded is used. The toner for developing an electrostatic charge image is characterized by being produced.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the volume average particle diameter is 4 to 8 μm. An electrostatic charge image developing toner.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the apex angle of the conical rotor is 20 to 150 °. An electrostatic charge image developing toner evaluation method characterized by the following.

The present invention described in claim 18 is characterized in that, in the electrostatic image developing toner evaluation method used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 5, a groove is cut on the surface of the conical rotor. This is a toner evaluation method for developing an electrostatic image.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the method for evaluating an electrostatic charge image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to the fifth aspect, the rotational speed of the conical rotor is 0.1 to 10 rpm. This is a characteristic toner evaluation method for developing electrostatic images.
The present invention described in claim 20 is a toner cartridge for storing toner, wherein the toner cartridge stores the electrostatic charge developing toner according to any one of claims 8 to 16. .
The present invention according to claim 21 is a latent image carrier, a charging unit having a charging member close to the surface of the latent image carrier, and a latent image forming unit that exposes the latent image carrier to form a latent image. A latent image by forming an electric field between the developing means for supplying toner to the latent image on the surface of the latent image carrier to visualize it and a surface moving member that moves while contacting the latent image carrier. Transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on the carrier onto the recording material sandwiched between the surface moving member or the surface moving member, and transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the latent image carrier after the transfer. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit that recovers from an image carrier; and the developing unit is the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge which is integrally supported including at least the latent image carrier and the developing unit and is detachably formed on the main body of the image forming apparatus, the developing unit is the first aspect. A process cartridge comprising the electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of Items 7 to 7.
According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein the toner is produced using the evaluation method according to any of the seventeenth to nineteenth aspects.
According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the torque applied to the conical rotor and the load applied to the container are measured by allowing the conical rotor to invade into the toner layer in the container in which the compacted toner layer is formed. This is a device used to evaluate the fluidity of toner, and includes a conical rotor that enters while rotating into the toner layer, a torque meter that detects torque applied to the rotating conical rotor, and a load applied to the container by the rotation of the conical rotor. An electrostatic charge characterized by comprising at least a load cell for detecting toner and an elevator for moving a conical rotor or a sample stage up and down, and evaluating the fluidity of toner using the evaluation method according to claim 17. 1 is a toner evaluation device for image development.
According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner manufacturing apparatus for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein the toner being manufactured is conveyed to the apparatus of the twenty-fourth aspect for evaluation to produce a toner.

  According to the present invention, an additive is attached or fixed to the surface of a powder composed of at least a resin or a pigment, and the powder is uniformly thinned on a cylindrical surface, and then contacted or non-contacted with the electrostatic charge image carrier. In the electrostatic charge image developing apparatus for developing, the means for fluidizing the powder is provided around the cylindrical shape immediately before passing through the powder regulating member, and the means for regulating the powder is provided downstream thereof. As a result, it is possible to provide an electrostatic charge image developing device and an image forming apparatus that have good toner transportability, no image density reduction, and high image quality uniformity and dot reproducibility.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make other embodiments by changing or correcting the present invention within the scope of the claims, and these changes and modifications are included in the scope of the claims. The following description is an example of the best mode of the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the claims.
The developing method according to the present invention is used as a one-component developing method used in a contact or non-contact developing method. As the contact or non-contact development method, various known methods are used. For example, contact development using an aluminum sleeve, contact development using a conductive rubber belt, non-contact development using a development sleeve in which a conductive resin layer containing carbon black, metal filler, etc. is formed on the surface of an aluminum base tube. Etc.

  In any developing method, it is necessary to provide the toner in a uniform thin layer on the developing sleeve. For this reason, a toner regulating member (hereinafter referred to as “doctor blade” or “doctor roller”) is provided around the developing sleeve in order to uniformize the supply roller and the toner layer that constantly supply toner. Although the height of the toner layer varies depending on the development method and the target image quality, a very thin layer of 1 to 2 layers is often optimized. In order to realize the toner layer height of one or two layers, the pressure is applied to the doctor blade or the doctor roller so that the toner is squeezed between the surface of the developing sleeve and the doctor sleeve or the doctor roller. Therefore, if the development is repeated many times, the toner, the developing sleeve surface, the doctor blade and the doctor roller surface change, and it becomes difficult to adjust the optimum toner height. In particular, the effect of the change in the developing sleeve surface is great, and it is always possible to supply and maintain a new toner on the developing sleeve surface in a similar state, and to always maintain and maintain conditions that allow it to stably pass under the surface of the doctor blade or doctor roller. There is a need. Even after passing through the supply roller, the toner is supplied onto the developing sleeve and passes below the surface of the doctor blade or the doctor roller. However, the toner in that portion (between the supply roller and the doctor blade and the doctor roller) is pushed toward the developing sleeve by the toner from the back, and remains in that portion, so that the toner is not replaced. In addition, even in the front part of the doctor blade or the doctor roller, the movement in the direction of hitting the doctor blade or the doctor roller is dominant, and the toner is clogged and stays. These phenomena cause the toner supply on the developing sleeve to be lowered, which is a major cause of image density reduction and white streaks during durability. In particular, this phenomenon is likely to occur when the toner fluidity is poor, and it is necessary to improve the toner fluidity and to devise a device that does not easily change even during durability.

Therefore, in the present invention, a means for fluidizing the powder is provided around the cylindrical shape immediately before passing through the powder regulating member (doctor blade or doctor roller), and the toner flows between the supply roller and the doctor blade or doctor roller. The new toner can always be supplied to the surface of the cylindrical developing sleeve after passing through the supply roller, and the toner in front of the doctor blade and the doctor roller is always retained without returning to the inside of the hopper. I made it. Thereby, the toner supply onto the surface of the developing sleeve is stabilized, and the toner height can be stably controlled.
As a means for fluidizing powder around the cylindrical shape immediately before passing through the powder regulating member (doctor blade or doctor roller), it is more optimal to employ a rotating body such as a roller or paddle. In the present invention, the fluidizing roller is used so that the toner flows in the forward direction with the movement of the toner on the surface of the developing sleeve so that the fluidized toner particles can be supplied without being disturbed on the toner particles on the developing sleeve. did. Further, the flow of the fluidized toner affects the toner in front of the doctor blade and the doctor roller so that the toner is returned to the inside of the hopper. When this method is used, there is no problem in toner transportability even under a condition where the friction between the toner particles and the toner particles is larger than the friction between the surface of the developing sleeve and the toner particles. When toner fluidity was extremely poor, a problem occurred in toner conveyance. Therefore, the fluidity of toner when this apparatus is used is optimized.

In the present invention, the fluidity of the toner was evaluated by the following evaluation method.
In this evaluation method, while rotating the conical rotor into the powder phase, it is allowed to enter (lower) or pull out (up), and the torque applied to the container containing the conical rotor and the toner powder phase at that time The load is measured, and the fluidity is evaluated by the torque and load value. The conical rotor may have any shape, but a cone having an apex angle of 20 to 150 ° is suitable. If the apex angle of the cone is smaller than 20 °, the resistance to the toner powder phase is small, so the torque and load are small, and a fine difference in fluidity cannot be evaluated. On the other hand, when the apex angle is larger than 150 °, the force in the direction of pressing the toner powder phase becomes large and the toner particles are easily deformed, which is not suitable for the evaluation of the toner fluidity. The length of the conical rotor needs to be long enough so that the conical rotor surface is continuously present in the toner powder phase. Moreover, it is better that the conical rotor surface has grooves. Rather than measuring the friction component between the material surface of the conical rotor and the toner particles, it is better to measure the friction component between the toner particles and the toner particles. For this purpose, when the conical rotor rotates and enters the toner powder phase, the toner particles enter the grooves cut on the surface of the conical rotor, and the toner particles and the surrounding toner enter. It is more appropriate to measure the state of friction with the particles. The shape of the groove is not limited, but it is necessary to devise so that the contact between the material surface of the conical rotor and the toner particles becomes small. An example is shown in FIG. This is a groove cut straight from the apex of the cone in the direction of the base, and the cross section of the groove has a sawtooth shape consisting of triangular irregularities. In this case, the contact between the conical rotor material surface and the toner particles is only at the tip of the crest of the triangular groove. Most of the contact is between the toner particles that have entered the groove and the surrounding toner particles. Any material can be used for the conical rotor, but a material that is easy to process, has a hard surface, and does not change quality is preferable. A material that is not charged is suitable. Examples of this are SUS, Al, Cu, Au, Ag, brass, and the like.

The torque and load of the toner powder vary depending on the rotational speed of the conical rotor and the penetration speed of the conical rotor. In this measurement, in order to increase the accuracy of the measurement, the conical rotor was rotated at a lower rotational speed and intrusion speed so that the delicate contact state between the toner particles could be measured. Therefore, the measurement conditions were as follows.
・ Rotation speed of conical rotor: 0.1 to 100 rpm
・ Invasion speed of conical rotor: 0.2 to 200 mm / min
When the rotational speed of the conical rotor is smaller than 0.1 rpm, it is easily affected by the delicate state of the toner powder phase, which causes a problem of torque measurement variation and is not suitable for measurement. If it is higher than 100 rpm, the toner scatters and cannot be measured stably. When the penetration speed of the conical rotor is slower than 0.2 mm / min, it is easily affected by the delicate state of the toner powder phase, and a measurement variation problem occurs, which is not suitable for measurement. When it is faster than 200 mm / min, the toner powder phase tends to be in a compacted state, and the influence of toner deformation or the like appears, which is not suitable for fluidity evaluation.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the toner evaluation apparatus of the present invention. The configuration of the toner evaluation apparatus 1 is as shown in FIG. 1 and includes a consolidation zone and a measurement zone. The consolidation zone includes a container 16 for containing powder, an elevating stage 18 for moving the container up and down, a piston 15 for consolidation, a weight 14 for applying a load to the piston 15, and the like. In addition, this structure is an example and does not limit this invention. Further, there may be no consolidation zone. In this configuration, the sample container 16 containing the powder is lifted, brought into contact with the compacting piston 15, and further lifted so that a weight that applies all the load of the weight 14 to the piston 15 floats above the support plate. And leave it for a certain period of time. Thereafter, the lift stage 18 on which the container containing the powder is placed is lowered, and the piston 15 is separated from the powder surface. The piston 15 may be made of any material, but it needs to have a smooth surface on which the powder is pressed. Therefore, a material that is easy to process, has a hard surface, and does not change quality is preferable. Further, it is necessary to prevent the powder from adhering due to charging, and a conductive material is suitable. Examples of this material include SUS, Al, Cu, Au, Ag, brass and the like.

The shape of the groove of the conical rotor 12 in the measurement zone is not limited, but it is necessary to devise so that the contact between the material surface of the conical rotor 12 and the toner particles becomes small. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating an example of the shape of the conical rotor 12. This is a groove cut straight from the apex of the cone in the direction of the base, and the cross section of the groove has a sawtooth shape consisting of triangular irregularities. In this case, the contact between the material surface of the conical rotor 12 and the toner particles is only at the tip of the crest of the triangular groove. Most of the contact is between the toner particles that have entered the groove and the surrounding toner particles. Any material may be used for the conical rotor 12, but a material that is easy to process, has a hard surface, and does not change quality is preferable. A material that is not charged is suitable. Examples of this are SUS, Al, Cu, Au, Ag, brass, and the like.
As described above, the conical rotor 12 may have a vertex angle of 20 to 150 °. (Refer to FIG. 2.) The length of the conical rotor 12 needs to be long so that the conical rotor 12 portion can sufficiently enter the toner phase. The shape of the groove may be any shape, but care must be taken so that torque and load values are not reproduced due to replacement of the conical rotor 12. For this purpose, the groove shape of the conical rotor 12 is simple, and it is better to form a rotor having the same shape as many times as necessary (see FIG. 3).

The material of the sample container 16 is not limited, but a conductive material is suitable so as not to be affected by charging with the powder. In addition, since the measurement is performed while changing the powder, it is preferable that the surface is close to a mirror surface in order to reduce dirt. The size of the sample container 16 is important, and it is necessary to select a larger (diameter) size with respect to the diameter of the conical rotor 12 so that the wall of the sample container 16 is not affected when the conical rotor 12 enters while rotating. There is.
The torque meter is preferably a high-sensitivity type, and a non-contact type is suitable. A load cell with a wide load range and high resolution is suitable. The position detector includes a linear scale, a displacement sensor using light, etc., but the specification of 0.1 mm or less is suitable for accuracy. The elevator can be driven with high accuracy using a servo motor or a stepping motor.

For measurement, a certain amount of toner is put into a sample container and set in the apparatus. Thereafter, the conical rotor 12 is rotated to enter the toner powder phase. However, before entering the actual measurement, it is better to press the toner powder phase to create a compacted state, and to perform measurement by lowering the conical rotor 12 to the toner phase in the compacted state. When entering torque or load measurement, it is performed at the determined rotation speed and penetration speed. The rotational direction of the conical rotor 12 is arbitrary. If the penetration distance of the conical rotor 12 is shallow, the values of torque and load are small, and there is a problem in data reproducibility. Therefore, it is preferable to penetrate the conical rotor 12 deeply into a data reproducible region. As a result of our experiment, almost stable measurement was possible by intruding 5 mm or more. The measurement mode can be performed under any conditions, but examples include the following measurement modes.
(1) Fill the sample container 16 with toner.
(2) Pressurize the toner powder phase to create a compacted state.
(3) The conical rotor 12 is inserted while rotating, and the torque and load at that time are measured.
(4) When the conical rotor 12 has penetrated from the toner surface layer to a preset depth, the penetration operation is stopped.
(5) The operation of pulling out the conical rotor 12 is started.
(6) When the tip of the conical rotor 12 comes off from the surface of the toner powder phase and becomes completely free (first home position), the drawing operation of the conical rotor 12 is stopped and the rotation is also stopped.
Measurement is performed by repeating the operations (1) to (6).
The consolidated state can be generally evaluated as a change in the space ratio. (Refer to the Powder Engineering Handbook.)
In this evaluation method, the space ratio of the toner powder phase is important, and in our experimental results, stable measurement was possible when the space ratio was 0.4 or more. If it is less than 0.4, a subtle difference in the compacted state affects the torque and load, and stable measurement is difficult. The range of the space ratio of the toner powder phase was 0.4 to 0.75 including the cases of various measurement methods. If it is larger than 0.75, the toner is scattered and is not suitable for measurement.

The torque and load characteristics during the movement of the conical rotor 12 in the toner powder phase are closely related to the fluidity of the powder. When the fluidity of the powder is good, each powder particle Since the adhesion force between them is small, it is easy to move, and even if the conical rotor 12 is moved in the powder phase, the torque is small and the load change is small. On the contrary, when the fluidity of the powder is poor, the adhesion force between the individual powder particles is large, so that the powder is difficult to move, and when the conical rotor 12 is moved within the powder phase, the cone The torque applied to the rotor 12 increases, and the downward force (load) increases.
Therefore, in the evaluation method of the present invention, the fluidity can be evaluated according to the following relationship.
When fluidity is good → Torque and load are small when moving in a compacted powder phase.
When fluidity is poor → Torque and load are large when moving in a compacted powder phase.
As a result of evaluating the fluidity of the toner using this evaluation method, the friction between the toner particles and the toner particles is larger than the friction between the surface of the developing sleeve and the toner particles, and the toner on the surface of the developing sleeve is effectively removed. It was found that the disturbing toner exhibits the following torque and load characteristics. Further, the range of the space ratio of the toner powder phase at that time was 0.50 to 0.55.
(1) The torque value when the conical rotor enters (5 mm / min, 20 mm) is 1.0 to 4.0 mNm.
(2) The load value when the conical rotor enters (5 mm / min, 20 mm) is 0.2 to 1.1 N.

If the torque value when the conical rotor enters is less than 1.0 mNm, the change in the toner layer height with respect to the conditions of the doctor blade and the doctor roller is sensitive, and it becomes difficult to control the height of the toner layer on the surface of the developing sleeve. Particularly, when the durability is deteriorated, the image quality is deteriorated, and when it is larger than 4.0 mNm, the effect of fluidizing the toner is reduced, the toner transportability is deteriorated, and the image density and the dot reproducibility are lowered.
If the load value when the conical rotor enters is less than 0.2N, the change in the toner layer height with respect to the conditions of the doctor blade and the doctor roller is sensitive, and it becomes difficult to control the height of the toner layer on the surface of the developing sleeve. Particularly, the image quality deteriorates during durability, and when it exceeds 1.1 N, the effect of toner fluidization is reduced, the toner transportability is deteriorated, and the image density and dot reproducibility are reduced.
In this development method, when an AC bias voltage component is applied in addition to a DC bias voltage component during development, development efficiency is improved and image characteristics are improved.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of the developing device according to the present invention. A supply roller 52, a fluidizing roller 53, and a doctor roller 54 are arranged around the developing sleeve 51, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration.
The developing sleeve 51 is a conductive resin (phenol resin, fluororesin, etc.) containing carbon black, metal (Al, Cu, In, Sn, etc.) filler on the surface of a cylindrical structure made of a metal such as Al, SUS, or Cu. A polyester resin layer).
The supply roller 52 is made of a material such as sponge, rubber, or plastic, and it is necessary to select a material that hardly changes during durability. Materials with strong adhesion to toner particles are suitable. You may use foams, such as a polyurethane and silicone. The direction of rotation is that the toner is reliably conveyed onto the developing sleeve 51, so that it may be in the same direction as the developing sleeve 51 or in the opposite direction. The optimum rotational speed is in a range where the relative speed ratio with the speed of the developing sleeve 51 is 0.5-3. When the relative speed ratio is less than 0.5, the supply effect is small, and when it exceeds 3, the problem of excessive supply occurs.
The fluidizing roller 53 is a roller having regular irregularities in the surface circumferential direction, and is made of Al, SUS, Cu, brass or the like. Moreover, when performing frictional charging etc. simultaneously, you may comprise by a plastics etc.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of the surface of the fluidizing roller 53. There are those that have a convex upright, those that have triangular jagged irregularities, those that have inclined plate-like irregularities, and those that have semicircular irregularities. In this structure, the period of the unevenness is important, and when it is 2 to 20 mm, the efficiency of disturbing the toner on the developing sleeve 51 is improved. If the period is less than 2 mm, the fluidizing force is weak, and if it is greater than 20 mm, a large amount of toner is conveyed, causing problems such as toner scattering. The rotation direction of the fluidizing roller 53 may be either, but the rotation direction of the developing sleeve 51 and the forward direction are more suitable. Further, the rotational speed of the fluidizing roller 53 changes in relation to the toner supply amount. However, the toner is further conveyed to the toner on the developing sleeve 51 supplied by the supplying roller 52, so that the relative speed with respect to the developing sleeve 51 is increased. It is necessary to set the speed to be 0.8-4. When the relative speed ratio is less than 0.8, the effect of fluidization is small, and when the ratio is greater than 4, the toner is excessively fluidized, causing problems such as toner scattering. The fluidizing roller 53 is configured such that the surface of the fluidizing roller 53 faces the surface of the developing sleeve 51 through a gap of 3 to 10 mm. If the distance is closer than 3 mm, toner aggregation will occur, and image quality deterioration such as white streaks will occur during durability. When the distance is more than 10 mm, the effect of toner fluidization is reduced. The fluidizing roller 53 needs to be provided around the doctor roller 54. Thereby, the toner staying around the doctor roller 54 can be conveyed to the back hopper side, and a stable toner regulation state can always be maintained even during durability.

  As the doctor roller 54, a roller surface made of Al, SUS, Cu, brass or the like is coated with rubber and then the outermost surface is coated with a resin. The resin material needs to be selected in consideration of toner charging. Resins such as polyamide, urethane, and silicone, and resins such as polyester, polyamide, urethane, fluorine resin, and phenol resin that have been subjected to conductive treatment may be used. The rotation speed of the doctor roller 54 may be in a stopped state or may be rotated at a low speed. The relative speed ratio with the developing sleeve 51 is optimally in the range of 0-1. The direction of rotation does not matter. When the relative speed ratio is larger than 1, it is difficult to achieve optimum thinning.

  The toner used in this development method has a structure in which the surface of a powder composed of at least a resin and a pigment is covered with an additive. In particular, the present invention relates to a toner used in a one-component development process, and enters into an optimum condition that does not cause a problem in toner conveyance characteristics of the toner powder phase when a uniform thin toner is formed on the developing sleeve 51 during development. By defining the fluidity of the toner, it was possible to uniformly disperse pigments, other resins, release agents and the like in the resin and to optimize the external additive treatment.

Examples of the resin include a polyester resin and / or a polyol resin conventionally used for color toners. Polyester resins and polyol resins are suitable because they have better low-temperature fixability and relatively better heat-resistant storage stability than the styrene-acrylic resins that have been widely used. However, polyester resins and polyol resins have poor dispersibility of the release agent compared to styrene-acrylic resins. If the dispersibility is poor, the crushing stress tends to concentrate at the interface between the resin and the wax at the time of crushing, so it is easy to crush at the interface between the resin and the release agent. The release agent was exposed to the toner and the fluidity of the toner was deteriorated.
Therefore, in the toner of the present invention, by specifying the torque characteristics of the toner powder phase at the time of compaction so as to enter an optimum condition that does not cause a problem in toner transportability, pigments, other resins, and release agents are contained in the resin. This was achieved by uniformly dispersing and optimizing the external additive treatment.

  The toner used in the present developing method needs to have an average particle diameter of 4 to 8 μm in order to realize a high quality image. The weight average particle diameter of the toner is 4 to 8 μm, more preferably 5 to 7 μm. If the weight average particle diameter is less than 4 μm, problems such as contamination in the machine due to toner scattering during long-term use, image density reduction in a low-humidity environment, and poor photoconductor cleaning are likely to occur, and there is a concern about the effect on the human body. When the weight average particle diameter exceeds 8 μm, the resolution of fine spots of 100 μm or less is not sufficient, and the image quality tends to be inferior due to many scattering to non-image areas.

Details of the toner are shown below.
As resins, polystyrene resin, epoxy resin, polyester resin, polyamide resin, styrene acrylic resin, styrene methacrylate resin, polyurethane resin, vinyl resin, polyolefin resin, styrene butadiene resin, phenol resin, polyethylene resin, silicon resin, butyral resin, terpene There are resins, polyol resins and the like.
Examples of vinyl resins include styrene such as polystyrene, poly-p-chlorostyrene, and polyvinyl toluene, and homopolymers thereof: styrene-p-chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, styrene-vinyltoluene. Copolymer, Styrene-vinylnaphthalene copolymer, Styrene-methyl acrylate copolymer, Styrene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, Styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer, Styrene-octyl acrylate copolymer, Styrene- Methyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-α-chloromethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ether copolymer Polymer, styrene-vinyl ethyl acetate Ter copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ketone copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile-indene copolymer, styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-maleic acid ester Styrene copolymers such as copolymers: polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate and the like.

The polyester resin is composed of a dihydric alcohol as shown in the following group A and a dibasic acid salt as shown in the group B, and further has a trivalent or higher alcohol as shown in the group C. Alternatively, carboxylic acid may be added as a third component.
Group A: ethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,4 butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,4 butenediol, 1,4-bis (hydroxymethyl) cyclohexane Bisphenol A, hydrogenated bisphenol A, polyoxyethylenated bisphenol A, polyoxypropylene (2,2) -2,2′-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (3,3) -2, 2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxyethylene (2,0) -2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (2,0) -2,2′-bis (4 -Hydroxyphenyl) propane and the like.
Group B: maleic acid, fumaric acid, mesaconic acid, citraconic acid, itaconic acid, glutaconic acid, phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, malonic acid, linolenic acid, or These acid anhydrides or esters of lower alcohols.

Group C: Trivalent or higher alcohols such as glycerin, trimethylolpropane and pentaerythritol, and trivalent or higher carboxylic acids such as trimellitic acid and pyromellitic acid.
The polyol resin includes an epoxy resin and a dihydric phenol alkylene oxide adduct, or a compound having one active hydrogen in the molecule that reacts with the glycidyl ether and the epoxy group, and an active hydrogen that reacts with the epoxy resin in the molecule. And the like formed by reacting a compound having two or more.

The following are used as the pigment used in the present invention.
Examples of black pigments include azine dyes such as carbon black, oil furnace black, channel black, lamp black, acetylene black, and aniline black, metal salt azo dyes, metal oxides, and composite metal oxides.
Examples of yellow pigments include cadmium yellow, mineral fast yellow, nickel yellow, navel yellow, naphthol yellow S, Hansa yellow G, Hansa yellow 10G, benzidine yellow GR, quinoline yellow lake, permanent yellow NCG, and tartrazine lake. .
Examples of the orange pigment include molybdenum orange, permanent orange GTR, pyrazolone orange, Vulcan orange, indanthrene brilliant orange RK, benzidine orange G, and indanthrene brilliant orange GK.
Examples of red pigments include Bengala, Cadmium Red, Permanent Red 4R, Resol Red, Pyrazolone Red, Watching Red Calcium Salt, Lake Red D, Brilliant Carmine 6B, Eosin Lake, Rhodamine Lake B, Alizarin Lake, Brilliant Carmine 3B.

Examples of purple pigments include fast violet B and methyl violet lake.
Examples of blue pigments include cobalt blue, alkali blue, Victoria blue lake, phthalocyanine blue, metal-free phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine blue partially chlorinated, first sky blue, and indanthrene blue BC.
Examples of green pigments include chrome green, chromium oxide, pigment green B, and malachite green lake.
These can use 1 type (s) or 2 or more types.
Especially for color toners, uniform dispersion of good pigments is essential, and instead of putting the pigments directly into a large amount of resin, a master batch in which the pigments are once dispersed at a high concentration is prepared and diluted. The method of throwing in the form is used. In this case, a solvent is generally used to assist dispersibility. However, there is a problem of environment and the like, and in the present invention, water is used for dispersion. When water is used, temperature control is important so that residual moisture in the masterbatch does not become a problem.

In the toner of the present invention, a charge control agent is blended (internally added) inside the toner particles. However, it may be used by mixing (external addition) with toner particles. The charge control agent makes it possible to control the optimum charge amount according to the development system. In particular, in the present invention, the balance between the particle size distribution and the charge amount can be further stabilized.
For controlling the toner to be positively charged, nigrosine and quaternary ammonium salts, triphenylmethane dyes, imidazole metal complexes and salts can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Further, salicylic acid metal complexes, salts, organic boron salts, calixarene compounds, and the like are used for controlling the toner to be negatively charged.
Further, a release agent can be internally added to the toner of the present invention to prevent offset at the time of fixing. Release agents include natural waxes such as candelilla wax, carnauba wax, rice wax, montan wax and derivatives thereof, paraffin wax and derivatives thereof, polyolefin wax and derivatives thereof, sazol wax, low molecular weight polyethylene, and low molecular weight polypropylene. And alkyl phosphate esters. The melting point of these release agents is preferably 65 to 90 ° C. When the temperature is lower than this range, blocking during storage of the toner tends to occur, and when the temperature is higher than this range, an offset is likely to occur in a region where the fixing roller temperature is low.

Additives may be added for the purpose of improving the dispersibility of a release agent or the like. As additives, styrene acrylic resin, polyethylene resin, polystyrene resin, epoxy resin, polyester resin, polyamide resin, styrene methacrylate resin, polyurethane resin, vinyl resin, polyolefin resin, styrene butadiene resin, phenol resin, butyral resin, terpene resin, There is a polyol resin or the like, and a mixture of two or more of these resins may be used.
As the resin, crystalline polyester may be used. It is an aliphatic polyester having crystallinity, having a sharp molecular weight distribution, and increasing the absolute amount of its low molecular weight as much as possible. This resin undergoes a crystal transition at the glass transition temperature (Tg), and at the same time, the melt viscosity suddenly decreases from the solid state and exhibits a fixing function to paper. By using this crystalline polyester resin, low-temperature fixing can be achieved without excessively reducing the Tg and molecular weight of the resin. Therefore, there is no decrease in storage stability associated with a decrease in Tg. Further, there is no excessively high gloss and offset resistance deterioration due to the low molecular weight. Therefore, the introduction of the crystalline polyester resin is very effective for improving the low-temperature fixability of the toner.

In the toner of the present invention, the content of the crystalline polyester is 1 to 50 with respect to the total amount of the resin and the release agent in the toner in order to exhibit low-temperature fixability and ensure hot offset resistance. The content of the release agent is preferably 2 to 15% by weight. When the content of the crystalline polyester is less than 1% by weight, there is no effect on the low-temperature fixability, and when it exceeds 50% by weight, the hot offset property is deteriorated. When the release agent content is less than 2% by weight, the offset resistance may not be effective, and when it exceeds 15% by weight, the toner fluidity decreases.
The molecular structure of the crystalline polyester resin is not limited, but from the viewpoint of the crystallinity and softening point of the polyester resin, a diol compound having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, particularly 1,4-butanediol and 1,6-hexanediol. And an aliphatic polyester represented by the following general formula (1) synthesized using an alcohol component containing these derivatives and maleic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, and an acid component containing these derivatives The
[−0-CO—CR ₁ = CR ₂ —CO—O— (CH ₂ ) _n −] _m ............ Formula (1)
(Here, n and m are the number of repeating units. R ₁ and R ₂ are hydrocarbon groups.)
It is preferable to contain. From the viewpoint of the crystallinity and softening point of the polyester resin, a trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol such as glycerin is added to the alcohol component to synthesize a non-linear polyester, and trimellitic anhydride or the like is added to the acid component. Polycondensation may be performed by adding a trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid.

The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the crystalline polyester resin is desirably low so long as the heat resistant storage stability does not deteriorate, and is preferably in the range of 80 to 130 ° C. When the glass transition temperature (Tg) is 80 ° C. or lower, heat-resistant storage stability is deteriorated, and blocking tends to occur at the temperature inside the developing device. It can no longer be obtained. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the crystalline polyester resin is the endothermic peak temperature at the time of 2nd temperature increase by DSC.
Further, a grinding aid may be included in the toner in order to improve grindability. Examples of the material include a resin containing a polymer of at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of vinyltoluene, α-methylstyrene, and isopropenyltoluene. This polymer may be a homopolymer of vinyltoluene, α-methylstyrene or isopropenyltoluene, or a copolymer of these monomers. These polymers are preferably not copolymerized with a monomer other than styrene, but may be copolymerized with a monomer other than styrene as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired.
The content of styrene is 50 mol% or less, preferably 40 to 20 mol%, as a proportion of styrene in all monomers constituting the copolymer. Since these resins are brittle, when used in combination with crystalline polyester, insufficient crushability resulting from the crystallinity of the crystalline polyester can be improved.

Examples of the method for producing the toner according to the present invention include a pulverization method and a polymerization method (suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization dispersion polymerization, emulsion aggregation, emulsion association, etc.), but are not limited to these production methods.
As an example of the pulverization method, first, the above-mentioned resin, pigment or dye as a colorant, charge control agent, release agent, other additives, etc. are sufficiently mixed by a mixer such as a Henschel mixer, and then batch type. The constituent materials are well kneaded using a two-roll, Banbury mixer, continuous twin-screw extruder, continuous single-screw kneader, or the like, and cut after rolling and cooling. The toner kneaded product after cutting is crushed, coarsely pulverized using a hammer mill, etc., and further pulverized by a fine pulverizer or mechanical pulverizer using a jet stream, and a classifier or Coanda effect using a swirling airflow Is classified to a predetermined particle size by a classifier using Thereafter, an additive composed of inorganic particles or the like is adhered or fixed to the particle surface by the mixer 21. The fluidity of the toner particles after this mixing step is evaluated using this evaluation method. In this case, in the sampling inspection, the sample is put into a sample container and brought into a compacted state by pressurization or the like, and the sample container is directly placed on the sample stage of the evaluation apparatus shown in FIG. 1 for measurement. The rotational speed of the conical rotor was 0.1 to 10 rpm, and the penetration speed of the conical rotor was 5 mm / min. In the measurement, the conical rotor is rotated while entering, and after a predetermined intrusion distance of 5 mm or more, the intrusion is stopped, and then the conical rotor is pulled out and returned to the original initial position. The torque and load when the conical rotor enters the toner powder phase are measured to evaluate the toner fluidity.

After the mixing step, the toner of the present invention is obtained by passing through a sieve of 250 mesh or more to remove coarse particles and aggregated particles. Note that the fluidity of the toner may be evaluated after the air sieving step.
When the toner fluidity is evaluated by this evaluation method, the measured value (torque, load) and the toner fluidity have the following relationship.
When the torque is small, the fluidity is good.
When the torque is large, the fluidity is bad.
When the load is small, the fluidity is good.
When the load is large, the fluidity is poor.
The characteristics of this evaluation method using a conical rotor are as follows. Since the sample sample can be measured quickly and easily as it is, it can be measured with high accuracy without individual differences. Non-destructive inspection. The sample can be measured as it is. It can be measured in a short time. Anyone can easily measure.
Therefore, measurement on the production line is also possible, and it can be installed between each process in the production process to evaluate the quality during the process.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a toner manufacturing apparatus using the evaluation apparatus. For example, after passing through the mixing step, a sample extraction / measurement zone is provided in the middle of conveying the powder sample to the next step, and a shutter is opened and closed at a certain timing to convey a certain amount of sample to the measurement unit. The tip of the measurement part is a container made of SUS or the like, and is directly measured by this evaluation method. Alternatively, the container is taken to the evaluation apparatus in another nearby location, placed on the sample stage, and measured by the evaluation method. As a result of the evaluation, if the numerical value is out of the predetermined setting range, the sample is not sent to the filling process, but is sent to the toner reprocessing process. These mechanisms can be applied to the inspection after the pulverization / classification process, which is the process before the mixing process, the inspection after the air sieving process after the mixing process, the inspection before filling, and the like.
It is also possible to independently use a toner evaluation apparatus having these functions as an evaluation apparatus in the development stage.
In the case of toner, as described above, measured values of torque and load in this evaluation method indicate fluidity, and quantitative evaluation is possible. Conventional conventional evaluation methods can evaluate differences between toners, but there is a problem that evaluation cannot be performed on the same soil if the types of toner are different. However, the values measured by this evaluation method are torque values and load values as powder characteristics, and are values that can be evaluated on the same earth regardless of the type of toner or the particle size. It will be a good evaluation value.
The fluidity of the toner is almost determined by the mixing process in the toner preparation process. That is, the fluidity of the toner particles varies greatly depending on the state in which the additive composed of inorganic particles or the like adheres or adheres to the toner particle surface.
The toner mixing state varies depending on the mixing conditions (amount of charge, rotation speed, mixing time, etc.) in the mixing process. Therefore, the mixing conditions play an important role in the fluidity, and the evaluation of the fluidity after the mixing process is important.

In order to achieve high image quality in printers and copiers, it is necessary to improve the reproducibility of extremely minute dots. In order to realize this, toner development that is faithful to a very small latent image is required. In order to enable this faithful development, it is necessary to transport and supply a uniform toner brush to the development area. For this purpose, it is necessary that the toner charge amount is in an appropriate condition. However, the toner is easy to move and transport so that a uniform toner brush can be constantly supplied to the development area. It becomes important. That is, in order to improve the fine dot reproducibility, it is necessary to increase the fluidity of the toner. In particular, in a one-component toner, it is necessary to improve fluidity in consideration of the shape of toner particles.
Therefore, the toner particle shape was changed, and the relationship with dot reproducibility and toner transportability was investigated. As a result, when the average circularity of the toner was 0.90 to 0.95, dot reproducibility and toner transportability were improved, and stable high image quality was realized. The circularity of the toner particles was measured as an average circularity by a flow type particle image analyzer FPIA-1000 (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.).

A method for controlling the shape of the toner particles can be realized by putting the toner particles after the classification process into a rotating body and rotating the toner particles at a high speed or through a process of instantaneously applying heat.
As a method for producing the toner according to the present invention, methods other than the pulverization method are conceivable. As an example of the polymerization method, a monomer composition in which a colorant, a charge control agent and the like are added to a monomer is suspended in an aqueous medium. Toner particles are obtained by turbidity and polymerization. The granulation method is not particularly limited.
For example, in the toner of the present invention, an oily dispersion in which at least a polyester-based prepolymer containing an isocyanate group is dissolved in an organic solvent, a pigment-based colorant is dispersed, and a release agent is dissolved or dispersed in an aqueous medium. A urea-modified polyester resin having a urea group by dispersing in the presence of inorganic fine particles and / or fine polymer particles and reacting the prepolymer with a polyamine and / or a monoamine having an active hydrogen-containing group in the dispersion. And a liquid medium contained in the dispersion containing the urea-modified polyester resin is removed.
In the urea-modified polyester resin, the Tg is 40 to 65 ° C, preferably 45 to 60 ° C. The number average molecular weight Mn is 2500 to 50000, preferably 2500 to 30000. The weight average molecular weight Mw is 10,000 to 500,000, preferably 30,000 to 100,000.
This toner contains, as a binder resin, a urea-modified polyester resin having a urea bond that has been increased in molecular weight by the reaction between the prepolymer and the amine. The colorant is highly dispersed in the binder resin.

The obtained toner powder after drying is air-classified, and an additive composed of inorganic fine particles or the like is adhered or fixed to the particle surface by a mixer under the optimum mixing conditions. Alternatively, the charge control agent may be applied to the surface of the toner powder after drying and fixedly injected. Further, thereafter, an additive made from inorganic fine particles or the like may be adhered or fixed to the particle surface. By placing the charge control agent on the surface, the charge amount of the toner can be easily controlled.
Specific means for mixing and fixing and injecting are as follows: a method of applying an impact force to the powder mixture with blades rotating at high speed; For example, there is a method of causing the particles to collide with an appropriate collision plate. As equipment, Ong mill (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Co., Ltd.), I-type mill (manufactured by Nippon Pneumatic Co., Ltd.) is modified to reduce the pulverization air pressure, hybridization system (manufactured by Nara Machinery Co., Ltd.), kryptron System (manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.), automatic mortar, etc.
Also in the case of these methods, for inspection after granulation, inspection after treatment with charge control agent, inspection after mixing process of additive, inspection after air sieving process after mixing process, inspection before filling, etc. Applicable.
Since the present toner has excellent fluidity, it can be stored in a cartridge container and is suitable for an apparatus configured to convey toner from the cartridge container to the developing unit.

Examples of the cartridge container include a toner cartridge that fills toner, and a process cartridge that includes at least a photosensitive member and a developing unit, and that fills a toner storage portion of the developing unit. An image is formed by attaching the cartridge to the image forming apparatus.
Further, as described above, the toner of the present invention attaches or fixes an inorganic fine powder to the toner surface as a fluidity improver. The average particle size of the inorganic fine powder is suitably 10 to 200 nm. When the particle size is smaller than 10 nm, it is difficult to produce an uneven surface having an effect on fluidity, and when the particle size is larger than 200 nm, the powder shape becomes rough, resulting in a problem of toner shape.
As the inorganic fine powder of the present invention, Si, Ti, Al, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, In, Ga, Ni, Mn, W, Fe, Co, Zn, Cr, Mo, Cu, Ag, V, Zr, etc. And oxides and composite oxides. Of these, fine particles of silicon dioxide (silica), titanium dioxide (titania), and alumina are preferably used. Furthermore, it is effective to perform a surface modification treatment with a hydrophobizing agent or the like. Typical examples of the hydrophobizing agent include the following.
Dimethyldichlorosilane, trimethylchlorosilane, methyltrichlorosilane, allyldimethyldichlorosilane, allylphenyldichlorosilane, benzyldimethylchlorosilane, bromomethyldimethylchlorosilane, α-chloroethyltrichlorosilane, p-chloroethyltrichlorosilane Chloromethyldimethylchlorosilane, chloromethyltrichlorosilane, hexaphenyldisilazane, hexatolyldisilazane and the like.

The inorganic fine powder is preferably used in an amount of 0.1 to 2% by weight based on the toner. If the amount is less than 0.1% by weight, the effect of improving toner aggregation is poor. If the amount exceeds 2% by weight, problems such as toner scattering between fine wires, contamination in the machine, scratches and abrasion of the photoreceptor tend to occur. is there.
Further, a charge control agent may be attached or fixed to the surface of at least a powder composed of a resin and a pigment so that the powder surface shape has a small period and a large period. The average particle size is optimally as small as 10 to 200 nm. When the particle size is smaller than 10 nm, it is difficult to produce an uneven surface having an effect on fluidity, and when the particle size is larger than 200 nm, the powder shape becomes rough, resulting in a problem of toner shape. Examples of charge control agents include nigrosine and quaternary ammonium salts, triphenylmethane dyes, imidazole metal complexes and salts, salicylic acid metal complexes and salts, organoboron salts, calixarene compounds, etc. Also good.
Further, the toner of the present invention may further contain other additives within a range that does not have a substantial adverse effect, for example, a lubricant powder such as Teflon powder, zinc stearate powder, polyvinylidene fluoride powder; or cerium oxide powder, silicon carbide. Abrasives such as powder and strontium titanate powder; or conductivity imparting agents such as carbon black powder, zinc oxide powder and tin oxide powder can also be used in small amounts as a developability improver.
In addition, this evaluation method can also be used for toners and capsule toners produced by a spray-drying method produced without using a kneading step or a pulverizing step.

  Hereinafter, although an Example is described, this does not limit this invention at all. This time, toners with different toner compositions, toner preparation methods and mixing conditions were prepared, toner fluidity was evaluated using this evaluation method, and dot reproducibility was evaluated on a five-level scale (rank 1). : Bad → Rank 5: Good) In addition, a running durability test for 20,000 sheets is performed using a one-component developing method copying machine using the fluidizing roller 53, the supply roller 52, and the doctor roller 54 of the present developing method shown in FIG. Inferior points of toner transportability such as blocking at the part were evaluated. The case where there was no defect was evaluated as ◯, and the case where there was a defect was evaluated as x.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a fluidizing roller. The fluidizing roller was made of SUS and had a jagged irregular shape (period of irregularities: 3 mm) shown in FIG. The gap with the developing sleeve surface was 1 mm. As the supply roller, foaming polyurethane (shaft: made of SUS) was used. The number of foam cells was 70/25 mm, and the amount of biting into the developing roller was 1 mm. The doctor roller used was a SUS cylinder provided with a coating layer in which carbon black was dispersed in fluororesin via conductive rubber. The developing sleeve has a configuration in which a coating layer in which carbon black is dispersed in phenol resin is provided on a SUS cylinder. As for the fluidity of the toner, torque and load values were measured when the conical rotor entered 20 mm from the surface of the toner powder phase at the time of entry. The toner was preliminarily compacted, the space ratio was measured, and the torque and load were evaluated. The evaluation conditions of the consolidation load and the conical rotor were as follows. Further, the circularity of the toner was also measured as an average circularity by a flow type particle image analyzer FPIA-1000 (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.).
・ Consolidation load: 3000g
・ Vertical angle of conical rotor: 60 °
・ Rotation speed of conical rotor: 1rpm
・ Invasion speed of conical rotor: 5 mm / min
In addition, all the parts in the following mixing | blending are a weight part.

(Example 1)
Resin Polyester resin 100 parts Pigment Magenta pigment (CI Pigment Red 57) 3 parts Charge control agent Zinc salicylate 5 parts After thoroughly mixing the above raw materials with a mixer, barrel temperature 120 ° C. with a twin screw extruder Kneader Melt kneading was performed at a rotational speed of 80 rpm. The kneaded product was rolled and cooled, coarsely pulverized by a cutter mill, pulverized by a fine pulverizer using a jet stream, and then classified into a particle size distribution having an average particle size of 6.5 μm using a swirling air classifier. Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additives Silica fine powder 1.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 900rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor. An evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 2)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 1, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additives Silica fine powder 1.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 1000rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor. An evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 3)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 1, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additives Silica fine powder 1.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 1100rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor. An evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 4
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 1, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additives Silica fine powder 1.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 1200rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor. An evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 1)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 1, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additives Silica fine powder 1.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 700rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor. An evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 2)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 1, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additives Silica fine powder 1.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 900rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a supply roller 52 and a doctor roller 54 except that the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photosensitive member and the fluidizing roller 53 is removed from the developing method. Then, an image evaluation experiment and a running experiment were performed.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 5)
Resin Polyester resin 100 parts Colorant Copper phthalocyanine blue pigment (CI Pigment Blue 15: 3)
4 parts Charge control agent Zinc salicylate 5 parts Mold release agent Low molecular weight polyethylene 4 parts The above raw materials were thoroughly mixed with a mixer, and then melt kneaded with a twin screw extruder at a barrel temperature of 120 ° C and a kneader rotation speed of 100 rpm. The kneaded product was rolled and cooled, coarsely pulverized by a cutter mill, pulverized by a fine pulverizer using a jet stream, and then classified into a particle size distribution having an average particle size of 6.5 μm using a swirling air classifier. Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additive silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 20 nm) 1.0 part
Silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 150 nm) 0.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 900rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor. An evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 6)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 5, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additive silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 20 nm) 1.0 part
Silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 150 nm) 0.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 1000rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoreceptor 60, and An image evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 7)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 5, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additive silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 20 nm) 1.0 part
Silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 150 nm) 0.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 1100rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set in a copying machine using a one-component developing device 50 using a fluidizing roller 53, a supply roller 52, and a doctor roller 54 of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoreceptor 60, and An image evaluation experiment and a running experiment were conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Example 8)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 5, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additive silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 20 nm) 1.0 part
Silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 150 nm) 0.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 1200rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set on a copying machine using a one-component developing device using a fluidizing roller, a supply roller and a doctor roller of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoreceptor, and image evaluation experiments and running The experiment was conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 3)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 5, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additive silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 20 nm) 1.0 part
Silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 150 nm) 0.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 700rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner is set on a copying machine using a one-component developing device using a fluidizing roller, a supply roller and a doctor roller of the developing method, where the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoreceptor, and image evaluation experiments and running The experiment was conducted.
The results are shown in Table 1.

(Comparative Example 4)
Kneading, pulverization, and classification were performed using the same raw materials and production methods as in Example 5, and the particles were classified into a particle size distribution with an average particle size of 6.5 μm.
Further, an additive was mixed with 100 parts of the base colored particles under the following mixing conditions to prepare a toner.
Additive silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 20 nm) 1.0 part
Silica fine powder (average primary particle size: 150 nm) 0.2 parts
Titanium oxide fine powder 0.3 part Mixing rotation speed 900rpm
Mixing time 120sec
Mixer Supermixer After the toner was prepared, the fluidity was measured by this evaluation method. The obtained toner was set on a copying machine using a one-component developing device using a supply roller and a doctor roller, in which the latent image carrier is an OPC drum photoconductor and the fluidizing roller is excluded from the development method, and image evaluation Experiments and running experiments were performed.
The results are shown in Table 1.
The measurement results of Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 are shown in Table 1.

The above data is graphed and shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 shows the relationship between toner torque and image density. FIG. 8 shows the relationship between toner load and image density.
As can be seen from the above results, the developing device provided with the fluidizing roller did not suffer from problems such as a decrease in image density during durability and toner transportability. However, even when this developing device is used, the dot reproducibility and durability image quality change due to the fluidity of the toner. From the results of FIGS. 7 and 8, the image density is not lowered and the dot reproducibility is high. In order to obtain good toner transportability without a decrease in image density, it is necessary to satisfy the following conditions.
(1) The torque value when the conical rotor enters is 1.0 to 4.0 mNm.
(2) The load value when the conical rotor enters is 0.2 to 1.1 N.
(Rotor intrusion speed: 5 mm / min, value at 20 mm intrusion)
If the torque value when the conical rotor enters is less than 1.0 mNm, the charging characteristics other than the fluidity of the toner will deteriorate and the image quality will deteriorate, and if it exceeds 4.0 mNm, the fluidization effect will decrease and the image density will decrease. Dot reproducibility and toner transportability deteriorate. When the load value at the time of entering the conical rotor is less than 0.2N, the charging characteristics of the toner are deteriorated, and the image quality is deteriorated. Become.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a toner evaluation device of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the conical rotor. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the conical rotor. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a developing device according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the shape of the surface of a fluidization roller. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the conical rotor. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between toner torque and image density. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between toner load and image density.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Evaluation apparatus 11 Torque meter 12 Conical rotor 13 Load cell 14 Weight 15 Piston 16 Sample container 17 Vibrator 18 Lifting stage 20 Toner production apparatus 21 Mixer 50 Developing apparatus 51 Developing roller 52 Supply roller 53 Fluidization roller 54 Doctor roller 60 Photosensitive body

Claims (25)

At least the additive is adhered or fixed to the surface of the powder composed of resin and pigment, and the powder is uniformly thinned on the cylindrical surface, and then developed by bringing it into contact or non-contact with the electrostatic image carrier. In an electrostatic image developing device,
An electrostatic charge image developing device comprising a fluidizing means for fluidizing powder around a cylindrical shape immediately before passing through a powder regulating member, and a regulating means for regulating powder on the downstream side thereof . The electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
Electrostatic charge image development comprising a fluidizing roller that creates a flow of powder to fluidize a cylindrical peripheral powder immediately before passing through a powder regulating member as fluidizing means apparatus. The electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 2,
An electrostatic charge image developing device, wherein a fluidizing roller rotates in a forward direction with respect to a cylindrical rotation direction in order to create a flow of powder toward a powder regulating member. The electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 2 or 3,
An electrostatic image developing apparatus, wherein the fluidizing roller is composed of a roller having regular irregularities in the circumferential direction of the surface. The electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The torque generated when the 20 mm powder phase is penetrated at a penetration speed of 5 mm / min while rotating the conical rotor is 1.0 to 4.0 mNm or occurs when the 20 mm powder phase is penetrated. An electrostatic image developing apparatus using an electrostatic image developing toner having a load value of 0.2 to 1.1 N. The electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An electrostatic charge image developing device using a doctor roller and / or a supply roller. The electrostatic charge developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An electrostatic image developing apparatus, wherein an AC bias voltage component is applied for development. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
An electrostatic charge image developing toner comprising a charge control agent in a toner comprising at least a resin and a pigment. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
A toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein a powder comprising at least a resin and a pigment has an average circularity of 0.90 to 0.95. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 5,
A toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein the powder phase in a compacted state has a space ratio of 0.50 to 0.55. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
A toner for developing an electrostatic image, wherein an additive adhered or fixed to the surface of a powder composed of at least a resin or a pigment is an inorganic fine powder having an average particle diameter of 10 to 200 nm. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
A toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein the additive adhered or fixed to the surface of a powder composed of at least a resin or a pigment comprises a charge control agent having an average particle diameter of 10 to 200 nm. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
An electrostatic image developing toner comprising a release agent in a powder comprising at least a resin and a pigment. The electrostatic charge image developing toner according to claim 13.
A toner for developing an electrostatic image, wherein a powder of a resin, a pigment and a release agent contains a release agent dispersant. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
A toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, which is prepared using a composition in which a resin and a pigment are kneaded in advance. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
An electrostatic charge image developing toner having a volume average particle diameter of 4 to 8 μm. In the electrostatic image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1,
A toner evaluation method for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein the apex angle of the conical rotor is 20 to 150 °. In the evaluation method of the electrostatic charge image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 5,
A toner evaluation method for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein a groove is cut on a surface of the conical rotor. In the evaluation method of the electrostatic charge image developing toner used in the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 5,
An electrostatic charge image developing toner evaluation method, wherein the rotational speed of the conical rotor is 0.1 to 10 rpm. In a toner cartridge that contains toner,
A toner cartridge containing the electrostatic charge developing toner according to any one of claims 8 to 16. A latent image carrier, a charging unit that brings a charging member close to the surface of the latent image carrier, a latent image forming unit that exposes the latent image carrier to form a latent image, and a latent image on the surface of the latent image carrier. The toner image formed on the latent image carrier is formed by forming an electric field between the developing means for supplying toner to the visible image and the surface moving member that moves while contacting the latent image carrier. Transfer means for transferring onto a recording material sandwiched between the surface moving member or the surface moving member, and cleaning means for recovering transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the latent image carrier after transfer from the latent image carrier. In the image forming apparatus provided,
8. An image forming apparatus, wherein the developing means is the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1. In a process cartridge which is integrally supported including at least a latent image carrier and a developing unit and is detachably formed on the image forming apparatus main body.
8. A process cartridge, wherein the developing means is the electrostatic charge developing device according to claim 1. A method for producing a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, comprising producing a toner using the evaluation method according to claim 17. To evaluate the toner fluidity by measuring the torque applied to the conical rotor and the load applied to the container by rotating the conical rotor into the toner layer in the container in which the toner layer in the compacted state is formed. A conical rotor that rotates while entering the toner layer, a torque meter that detects torque applied to the rotating conical rotor, a load cell that detects a load applied to the container by rotation of the conical rotor, and a conical rotor or sample stage A toner evaluation apparatus for developing an electrostatic charge image, comprising at least an elevator that moves the toner up and down, and evaluating the fluidity of the toner using the evaluation method according to claim 17. An apparatus for producing toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, wherein the toner during production is conveyed to the apparatus of claim 24 for evaluation to produce toner.

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