JP2006267857A - Electrophotographic photoreceptor and method for manufacturing the same, and process cartridge and electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photoreceptor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface roughening method for an electrophotographic photoreceptor by which when a cleaning blade is used, chattering, curling, edge chipping or the like of the cleaning blade are suppressed and by which image defects such as toner fusion is suppressed. <P>SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor is provided which includes a surface roughening step of carrying out surface roughening treatment of a surface of a layer constituting a surface of a body to be treated having an organic photosensitive layer by making a powder discharged from a discharge outlet of a powder discharge means collide against the surface, wherein the body to be treated is rotated on the axis of a cylindrical support thereof, the powder is discharged from the discharge outlet while moving the discharge outlet in a generatrix direction of the body to be treated, and air is blown on the surface of the body to be treated before collision of the powder, whereby the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the body to be treated is subjected to surface roughening treatment. A process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus equipped with the electrophotographic photoreceptor are also provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a method for manufacturing the same, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  Conventionally, inorganic photoconductive materials such as selenium, cadmium sulfide and zinc oxide have been widely used for electrophotographic photoreceptors. On the other hand, as an electrophotographic photosensitive member using an organic photoconductive substance, a photoconductive polymer represented by poly-N-vinylcarbazole and 2,5-bis (p-diethylaminophenyl) -1,3,4-oxadi Those using a low molecular organic photoconductive substance such as azole, and those obtained by combining such an organic photoconductive substance with various dyes and pigments are known.

  An electrophotographic photosensitive member using an organic photoconductive substance has a good film forming property and can be produced by coating. Therefore, the productivity is extremely high, and an inexpensive electrophotographic photosensitive member can be provided. In addition, it has an advantage that the photosensitive wavelength range can be freely controlled by selecting the dye or pigment to be used, and has been extensively studied so far. In particular, the development of a functionally-separated type photoreceptor in which a charge generation layer containing an organic photoconductive dye or pigment and a charge transport layer containing a photoconductive polymer or a low-molecular charge transport material are laminated has recently been developed. Significant improvements have been made in the sensitivity and durability that have been regarded as disadvantages of organic electrophotographic photoreceptors, and this has become the mainstream of electrophotographic photoreceptors.

  On the other hand, as a matter of course, the electrophotographic photosensitive member is required to have sensitivity, electrical characteristics, optical characteristics and the like according to the applied electrophotographic process. In particular, in the case of a photoreceptor that is used repeatedly, electrical and mechanical external forces such as charging, image exposure, toner development, transfer to a transfer medium, and cleaning of residual toner are directly applied to the surface of the photoreceptor. Therefore, durability against them is required. Specifically, durability against surface wear and scratches caused by rubbing, surface deterioration due to charging, such as deterioration of transfer efficiency and slipping, and further deterioration of electrical characteristics such as sensitivity deterioration and charging ability. Sex is required.

  In general, the structure of the organic electrophotographic photosensitive member is a thin resin layer, and the characteristics of the resin material are very important. In recent years, acrylic resins and polycarbonate resins have been put to practical use as resins that satisfy the above-mentioned conditions to some extent, but not all of the above-described properties are satisfied with these resins. In particular, it is difficult to say that the coating film strength of the resin is sufficiently high in order to increase the durability of the photoreceptor. Even when these resins are used as the resin for forming the surface layer, there is a problem in that the surface layer is worn during repeated use and further scratches are generated.

  Furthermore, due to the recent demand for higher sensitivity of organic electrophotographic photoreceptors, a relatively large amount of a low molecular weight compound such as a charge transport material is often added to the photoreceptor. In this case, the film strength is remarkably lowered due to the plasticizer action of these low molecular weight substances, and there is a problem of wear of the surface layer and generation of scratches during repeated use. Further, when the electrophotographic photosensitive member is stored for a long period of time, the above-described low molecular weight component is precipitated, causing a problem of phase separation.

As means for solving these problems, an attempt to use a curable resin as a resin for a charge transport layer is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. Thus, by using a curable resin as the resin for the charge transport layer and curing and crosslinking the charge transport layer, the mechanical strength is increased, and the wear resistance and scratch resistance during repeated use are greatly improved. However, even if a curable resin is used, since the low molecular weight component acts as a plasticizer in the binder resin, the problem of precipitation and layer separation as described above is not a fundamental solution. .

  In addition, in the charge transport layer composed of the organic charge transport material and the binder resin, the charge transport ability is highly dependent on the resin. For example, a curable resin having a sufficiently high hardness does not have a sufficient charge transport ability and is repeatedly used. The residual potential has been increased during use, and both have not been satisfied.

  In Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, and the like, the charge transport layer contains a monomer having a carbon-carbon double bond, and reacts with the carbon-carbon double bond of the charge transport material by heat or light energy. An electrophotographic photoreceptor having a cured transport layer film is disclosed. However, the charge transport material is only fixed in a pendant form to the polymer main skeleton, and the mechanical strength is not sufficient because the plastic action cannot be sufficiently eliminated. Further, when the concentration of the charge transport material is increased for the purpose of improving the charge transport function, the crosslink density is decreased, and sufficient mechanical strength may not be ensured. Furthermore, there is a concern that the initiators required at the time of polymerization may adversely affect the electrophotographic characteristics.

  As another solution, for example, Patent Document 4 discloses an electrophotographic photosensitive member in which a charge transporting layer is formed by introducing a group having a charge transporting ability into a thermoplastic polymer main chain. However, it is effective for precipitation and layer separation compared to conventional molecular dispersion type charge transport layers, and mechanical strength is improved, but it is a thermoplastic resin, and its mechanical strength is limited. is there. It is not a material that is easy to use in terms of handling and productivity including resin solubility.

  For the purpose of improving these problems, Patent Document 5 and Patent Document 6 etc. irradiate an electron beam to a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group in the same molecule and / or the hole transporting compound. Thus, it has been proposed to achieve both high mechanical strength and charge transportability by using a photoreceptor containing a polymerized and cured product.

  The electrophotographic photoreceptor undergoes repeated processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, cleaning, and charge removal in the image forming process. In particular, the cleaning process for removing the residual toner on the photoconductor after the transfer process is an important process for obtaining a clear image.

  As a cleaning method, first, a rubber-like plate-shaped member called a cleaning blade is pressed against the photosensitive member to eliminate a gap between the photosensitive member and the cleaning blade, thereby preventing toner from slipping out and remaining toner. The method of scraping is mentioned. Secondly, a method is also used in which the fur brush roller is rotated so as to contact the photosensitive member to wipe off or knock off the remaining toner. Of these cleaning methods, the method using a rubber blade is more advantageous in terms of cost and ease of design, and the cleaning method using a cleaning blade dominates at present.

  Especially when full-color development is performed, the desired color is reproduced by superimposing multiple colors such as magenta, cyan, yellow, black, etc., so the amount of toner used is much larger than that of single-color development. A cleaning method in which the toner is pressed against the photosensitive member is optimal.

However, a cleaning blade exhibiting excellent cleaning properties has a drawback that chattering or peeling of the cleaning blade is likely to occur because of a large frictional force with the photoreceptor. Here, chattering of the cleaning blade is vibration of the blade due to an increase in frictional resistance with the photosensitive member. Meklet is a phenomenon in which the blade is inverted and warped in the moving direction of the photosensitive member.

  These problems of the cleaning blade are more likely to occur when the strength of the surface of the photoconductor is increased, that is, it is difficult to scrape the photoconductor in order to extend the life of the photoconductor. When the toner particle size is made uniform to improve the image quality and minute toner is removed, the lubricity caused by the toner entering the gap between the cleaning blade and the surface of the photoreceptor is reduced. Problems are more likely to occur.

  In addition, when performing color development, since a plurality of developments such as magenta, cyan, yellow, black, etc. are performed to produce a single image, the load on the cleaning blade is increased, the blade is reversed, and further In this case, the defect of the edge portion is more likely to occur.

  As a method of overcoming the problems related to the surface property of the photoreceptor, the surface of the photoreceptor is appropriately roughened to form irregularities, the contact area between the photoreceptor surface and the cleaning blade is reduced, and the frictional force is reduced. There have been proposed methods for improving various problems by reducing.

  As a prior art in which the surface layer of the organic photoreceptor is roughened, Patent Document 7 discloses. Patent Document 7 states that it is possible to improve cleaning blade reversal and chipping of an edge, which are problems when used in an electrophotographic apparatus using a specific cleaning means and a specific toner and having a specific process speed or higher. Are listed.

  Further, Patent Document 8 discloses a technique for improving the toner transfer efficiency by defining the surface roughness of the photoreceptor. However, this is basically an example of use with an inorganic photoreceptor.

  As a method for roughening the surface of the photoconductor, for example, Patent Document 9 discloses a method for roughening the surface of the photoconductor to have a rough skin by controlling the drying conditions when forming the photosensitive layer. ing. As an effect of this, it is described that the surface roughness of the surface layer of the photoconductor is within a specified range, thereby reducing the adhesion between the photoconductor and the transfer material to facilitate separation. In this method, since the surface is roughened in the normal photosensitive layer forming process, new equipment is basically unnecessary, but there are many factors to be controlled other than the drying temperature and the drying time. For example, it is difficult to obtain reproducibility in the rough state of the surface of the photoreceptor unless the volatile content of the coating material during coating, the coating atmosphere temperature and humidity, the air flow during coating, and the like are precisely controlled.

  Patent Document 10 discloses a roughening method by adding powder particles to a surface layer in advance. However, in general, when powder is added to the photoreceptor, there are few materials suitable for the photoreceptor in terms of powder material and dispersibility, and the addition amount may adversely affect the characteristics of the photoreceptor, particularly the sharpness of the image. It can be said that there are many restrictions.

  On the other hand, as a method for mechanically roughening the surface of the photoreceptor, Patent Document 11 discloses a method for obtaining a rough surface by polishing the surface of the photoreceptor using a metal wire brush. In this method, when the brush is used continuously, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain reproducibility due to deterioration of the brush tip and adhesion of abrasive powder to the tip.

  As another mechanical roughening method, Patent Document 12 describes a method of polishing the surface of a photoreceptor using a film-like abrasive. In this method, it is possible to obtain the reproducibility of the roughening by allowing the new surface of the film-like abrasive to always be used for polishing by the film winding device. However, the film-like abrasive is disadvantageous in that the cost is high and the time required for polishing is long, and there is a problem in the productivity of the roughening process.

As mechanical surface roughening, Patent Document 13 discloses surface roughening of a photoreceptor by a blast method. However, a combination with a photoconductor using a curable resin for the photoconductor surface layer is not shown.

  In addition, there is a prior art relating to roughening of a photoreceptor having an organic photosensitive layer and a surface protective layer as in Patent Document 14. However, the photoconductor produced in Patent Document 14 is a photoconductor produced in the step of forming the surface protective layer after roughening the organic photosensitive layer before forming the surface protective layer, This is a structure of a photoreceptor having room for improvement in productivity, electrophotographic characteristics, and the like.

  As described above, various types of surface roughening have been performed as methods for overcoming the problems associated with the surface properties of the photoreceptor. In consideration of cost, production technical limitations, photoreceptor characteristics, and the like, mechanical roughening is more preferable as the roughening method of the photoreceptor surface.

  On the other hand, the problem concerning the surface property is not only the problem of the cleaning blade. As another problem, there is a problem of “image flow” in which an image such as ozone or NOx adheres to the surface and the electric charge moves, resulting in an image flowing. Usually, the charged product is removed from the surface of the photoreceptor mainly by rubbing with a cleaning blade. However, as described above, the surface roughened to solve the problem of the cleaning blade has reduced contact with the cleaning blade, and there is a portion where the charged product is not removed. . In particular, when the surface is roughened in a streak shape, since the concave portions are continuous, the surface can flow an electrostatic latent image in a streak shape, and a streak-like image defect occurs. Among the roughening methods listed above, the ones that appear to have streak-like image defects are the surface shapes by the polishing method with a brush or film, and the others are the ones that control the drying conditions and apply to the surface layer. The surface shape is obtained by adding particles and blasting.

  Considering the above, the blasting method is a mechanical polishing method and can also solve the problem of “image flow”. However, a technique for forming a desired surface shape by blasting the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member has not been established. As a blasting method, a dry blasting method and a wet honing method (wet blasting method) are known. In order to roughen an electrophotographic photosensitive member sensitive to humidity conditions without contacting with a solvent such as water. For this, dry blasting is more suitable.

  Problems in blasting the photoreceptor include problems such as abrasive particles embedded or pierced on the photoreceptor surface, and film surface cracking due to collision of abrasive particles. This causes chipping of the cleaning blade, current leakage, and image defects. Further, when repeatedly used, larger scratches are generated on the surface of the photoreceptor starting from embedding, piercing and cracking of abrasive particles, causing problems such as poor cleaning and image defects.

  Patent Document 13 describes that by using spherical abrasive particles, embedding of the abrasive particles on the surface of the photoreceptor can be eliminated. However, the effect is improvement of residual potential rise and dark decay.

At present, there are very few examples of roughening the surface of an electrophotographic photosensitive member by the blast method. In particular, in recent years, in order to increase the strength of the surface of the photoconductor in order to increase the life of the photoconductor, that is, to make it difficult to scrape, there is a tendency to use a curable resin instead of a plastic resin for the surface layer. There is no example of blasting the outermost surface layer of such a photoreceptor.
JP-A-2-127852 JP-A-5-216249 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-72640 JP-A-8-248649 JP 2000-66424 A JP 2000-66425 A JP-A-1-99060 JP-A-1-142734 JP-A-53-92133 JP-A-52-26226 JP-A-57-94772 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-139666 JP-A-2-150850 Japanese Patent No. 2990788

  The inventors of the present invention generate or puncture particles on the surface of the object to be processed, which occurs when the object to be processed having the organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support is dry-blasted, or a film. It has been found that a problem such as cracking of the surface occurs because a certain particle adheres to the surface of the object to be processed and the next particle collides with this. In order to avoid such harmful effects, it is necessary to remove particles adhering to the object to be processed before blasting. However, as long as blasting is performed, it is inevitable that particles float in the apparatus system. Therefore, even if the particles are removed in advance, the blast treatment starts and the adhesion of the particles immediately recurs.

  The problem of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned problems and to occur when dry blasting the object to be processed, such that particles are embedded in or stuck into the object surface, and the film surface is cracked. Is to improve. Further, by this improvement, an electrophotographic photosensitive member that forms a surface shape that does not cause chipping of the cleaning blade, current leakage, and image defects, a manufacturing method thereof, a process cartridge having the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and An electrophotographic apparatus is provided.

  An object of the present invention is to improve the strength of the surface layer and to use the curable resin improved to have a high elastic deformation rate for the surface layer, in particular for the purpose of enhancing the durability of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. To provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member that forms a surface shape that does not cause the above-described problems when using the photosensitive member, a manufacturing method thereof, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member. .

  As a result of intensive studies on the above problems, the present inventors have conducted a roughening process for performing a roughening process on the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed. When the powder collides with the surface, the object to be processed is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical support and the discharge port is moved in the generatrix direction of the object to be processed. The present inventors have found that the above problem can be effectively solved by discharging air from the discharge port and blowing air onto the surface of the workpiece before the powder collides.

That is, the present invention is as follows.
(1) In a method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a cylindrical support and an organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support, the cylindrical support and the organic photosensitive provided on the cylindrical support. The surface of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed is made to collide with the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed having a layer by colliding the powder discharged from the discharge port of the powder discharge means, A roughening step for performing a surface treatment, and when the powder collides with the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the target object in the roughening step, the target object is the cylindrical support. The powder is discharged from the discharge port while the discharge port is moved in the generatrix direction of the object to be processed, and before the powder of the object to be processed collides Air was blown onto the surface of the surface, and the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed was roughened Process for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor, characterized in that to produce a child photoreceptor.

(2) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to (1), further comprising a layer forming step of forming a layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed on the support.

(3) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to (1) or (2), wherein the air is electrostatic air for neutralizing a charged substance.

(4) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the roughening treatment in the roughening step is a dry blast treatment.

(5) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed is 45% or more.

(6) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to (5), wherein the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed is 50% or more.

(7) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed is 65% or less.

(8) The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein a universal hardness value (HU) of the surface of the object to be processed is 150 to 220 N / mm ^2. .

(9) An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a support and an organic photosensitive layer provided on the support, wherein the electron is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of (1) to (8) Photoconductor.

(10) The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to (9), charging means for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the charged electrophotographic photosensitive member to electrostatically Development means for developing the latent image, transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the transfer material by the development means, and electrophotographic photosensitive after the toner image is transferred to the transfer material A process characterized in that it integrally supports at least one means selected from the group consisting of cleaning means for removing deposits on the surface of the body and is detachable from the electrophotographic apparatus main body. cartridge.

(11) The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to (9), a charging unit for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and an electrostatic latent image by irradiating light corresponding to an image to be formed on the charged electrophotographic photosensitive member An exposure means for forming the toner, a developing means for supplying toner to the formed electrostatic latent image and developing the electrostatic latent image, and a toner image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member by the developing means. An electrophotographic apparatus comprising transfer means for transferring to a transfer material.

(12) The electrophotographic apparatus according to (11), further comprising cleaning means for removing deposits on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member after the toner image is transferred to the transfer material.

The present invention is effective when the method of forming a layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed used in the method of the present invention (hereinafter also simply referred to as the surface layer of the object to be processed) is formed by dip coating. After the surface layer of the object to be processed is applied and formed, the surface of the surface of the object to be processed is roughened by a blast method.

  By roughening the surface layer of the object to be processed in the surface roughening step of the method of the present invention, it becomes a problem during the surface roughening treatment, and particles are embedded or pierced in the surface layer of the object to be processed. An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a roughened surface to be processed with improved surface layer cracking and the like can be produced. As a result, on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, the edge of the cleaning blade, current leakage, and image defects can be improved under any conditions from a high pressure to a low pressure of the cleaning blade. A surface shape can be formed.

  In particular, when using an electrophotographic photoreceptor using a curable resin for the surface layer that improves the strength of the surface layer and has a high elastic deformation rate with the aim of increasing the durability of the electrophotographic photoreceptor. Therefore, it is possible to form the surface shape of the electrophotographic photosensitive member that can be stably improved in the durable use of multi-sheet printing.

  The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention includes a cylindrical support and a method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member having an organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support. The surface of the object to be processed is made to collide with the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed having the organic photosensitive layer provided on the support by causing the powder discharged from the discharge port of the powder discharging means to collide The surface of the layer constituting the surface is roughened, and in the surface roughening step, when the powder collides with the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the workpiece, The object to be processed is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical support, and the powder is discharged from the discharge port while moving the discharge port in the generatrix direction of the object to be processed. Air is blown against the surface of the body before the powder collides to form the surface of the object to be processed That surface of the layer is characterized by producing a surface-roughened electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  As the support of the electrophotographic photosensitive member used in the method of the present invention, a known support can be used. For example, the support includes a metal or an alloy such as iron, copper, gold, silver, aluminum, zinc, titanium, lead, nickel, tin, antimony, or indium, or an oxide of the metal, carbon, or a conductive polymer. Conductive materials such as can be used. The shape of the support includes a drum shape such as a cylindrical shape and a columnar shape, and a belt shape and a sheet shape. In the present invention, the shape of the support is a cylindrical shape. When the conductive material is molded as it is, to form a conductive surface, the conductive material is used as a paint to be coated on the surface of a member to be a support, when it is deposited, etching, plasma treatment May be processed by In the case of paint, the support can be made of non-conductive materials such as paper and plastic as well as the metals and alloys.

  An object to be processed (hereinafter also simply referred to as an object to be processed) used in the method of the present invention has at least a cylindrical support and an organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support. Therefore, the object to be processed may include a layer other than the organic photosensitive layer. Examples of other layers include a conductive layer, an undercoat layer, and a protective layer. The object to be processed becomes an electrophotographic photosensitive member by being roughened in the roughening step of the method of the present invention. As the object to be processed, an object to be processed or the like produced in a layer forming process described later can be used.

Further, it is a requirement that the object to be processed has at least an organic photosensitive layer provided on a cylindrical support. The organic photosensitive layer is usually suitable for roughening its film thickness, elastic characteristics, etc. after film formation of the photosensitive layer, and by controlling the roughening conditions, the final used electron This has the advantage that the surface shape of the photographic photosensitive member can be arbitrarily controlled. In that case, in particular, the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member can be given a particularly favorable surface to be processed having an elastic deformation rate and surface hardness measured from the surface of the substrate to be processed.

  The surface roughening step of the method of the present invention (also referred to as the surface roughening step of the present invention) is performed by causing the powder discharged from the discharge port of the powder discharge means to collide with the surface of the surface layer to be processed. In this step, the surface of the object surface layer is roughened. In the roughening step, when the powder collides with the surface of the surface layer of the object to be processed, the object to be processed is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical support, and the discharge port is moved to the surface of the object to be processed. The powder is discharged from the discharge port while being moved in the generatrix direction of the processing body, and air is blown onto the surface of the target body before the powder collides.

In the roughening process in which the powder collides with the surface of the object surface layer to form irregularities on the surface of the object surface layer, the surface layer of the object to be processed becomes an electrophotographic photosensitive member by the surface roughening process. Any roughening method may be used as long as the surface is made rough by causing the powder to collide with the surface. The surface roughening treatment is preferably diverted from existing apparatus technology in terms of cost, and is a dry blasting method in which abrasive particles are sprayed on the surface of the surface layer of the object to be treated at a high speed. Examples thereof include a wet honing method (wet blasting method) in which a jet collision with the surface of the object is performed. In the roughening step of the present invention, since the electrophotographic photosensitive member is sensitive to humidity conditions, it is preferable to use a dry blasting method that can roughen the workpiece without contacting with a solvent such as water. Here, the powder that collides with the surface of the object to be processed was expressed as “abrasive particles”. In general, in the blasting method or the honing method, the powder to be used is in accordance with the customary expression of “abrasive particles” and is synonymous with “powder” described in the claims of the present application. The “abrasive particles” are not necessarily intended to be polished. (Even if not polished, irregularities are formed by deformation.) Hereinafter, “powder” and “abrasive particles” are used without distinction, but in the case of blasting, “abrasive particles” are mainly used. ". “Abrasive particles” may also be used to refer to a single particle.

  The dry blasting method includes a method of injecting using compressed air, a method of injecting using a motor as power, etc., and the surface roughening of the surface layer of the object to be processed can be precisely controlled, and the equipment In terms of simplicity, a method using compressed air is preferable.

An example of a blasting apparatus used in the present invention is shown in FIG. This blasting apparatus has a workpiece fixing jig 1-6 for supporting an object to be processed 1-7, and an abrasive particle raised toward the object to be processed 1-7 supported by the workpiece fixing jig 1-6. It consists of a nozzle part sprayed at a speed. The workpiece fixing jig 1-6 is configured such that the cylindrical workpiece 1-7 is turned into a workpiece to be rotated about the axis of the workpiece 1-7 as a rotation center. 7 is a member for supporting the end portion of 7.
The nozzle unit fixes the blast nozzle 1-1 for spraying the blast abrasive particles 1-5 at a high speed toward the object 1-7 and the blast nozzle 1-1 toward the object 1-7. Nozzle fixing jig 1-2 for performing the above, a protruding air supply pipe 1-3 for supplying compressed air toward the blast nozzle 1-1, and supplying blast abrasive particles 1-5 toward the blast nozzle 1-1 Blast abrasive particle supply pipe 1-4, a nozzle fixing arm 1-9 for supporting the blast nozzle 1-1 toward the object 1-7, and the nozzle fixing arm 1-9 for the object 1-7. It consists of a nozzle support 1-8 that supports an arbitrary position in the axial direction.

  Abrasive particles stored in a container (not shown) are guided to the nozzle through the path of the blast abrasive particle supply pipe 1-4, and the blast nozzle 1 using compressed air introduced from the path of the protruding air supply pipe 1-3. -1 and collide with the object 1-7 rotating by being supported by the workpiece fixing jig 1-6. 1-5 are blast abrasive particles. Reference numeral 1-10 denotes an air nozzle that ejects air.

  At this time, the distance between the blast nozzle 1-1 or the air nozzle 1-10 and the object 1-7, the extension line of the blast nozzle 1-1 or the air nozzle 1-10, and the tangent or rotation axis of the object 1-7. The angle formed is adjusted and determined by the nozzle fixing jig 1-2 and the nozzle fixing arm 1-9. The blast nozzle 1-1 or the air nozzle 1-10 performs a roughening process while moving with respect to the rotational axis direction of the object 1-7, and supports the blast nozzle 1-1 toward the object 1-7. The nozzle fixing arm 1-9 to be moved moves in the direction of the rotation axis of the object 1-7, so that the object 1-7 can be roughened without unevenness. In the present invention, the blast nozzle and the air nozzle are moved from bottom to top along the rotation axis direction, but the movement direction may be from top to bottom.

  At this time, the shortest distance between the blast nozzle 1-1 and the surface of the object to be processed 1-7 needs to be adjusted to an appropriate interval. If the distance is too close or too far, the processing efficiency may decrease, or the desired roughening may not be performed. The angle formed between the extension line of the blast nozzle 1-1 and the tangent line or the rotation axis of the object to be processed 1-7 has a certain degree of freedom, but if the angle is too acute, the processing efficiency decreases. Moreover, it is necessary to adjust the pressure of the compressed air used for the power of injection to an appropriate pressure.

  The desired roughening shown here is roughening that can improve the problem of the cleaning blade described above. The problem of the cleaning blade is solved by reducing the contact area between the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the cleaning blade and reducing the frictional force. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to control the concavo-convex shape of the electrophotographic photosensitive member surface, and is managed by numerical values such as ten-point average roughness Rz and concavo-convex average interval Sm. These values are the distance between the blast nozzle 1-1 and the surface of the object 1-7, the moving speed of the blast nozzle 1-1, the rotation speed of the object 1-7, the pressure of compressed air, the size of the abrasive particles, etc. It is possible to manage by controlling, and it is necessary to manage.

Next, a description will be given of “blowing air against the surface of the object to be processed before the powder collides”, which is a case of the present application.
According to the blasting process of the present invention, spots (hereinafter referred to as spots) where the powder (abrasive particles) hits the object to be processed are scanned in a spiral manner on the photoreceptor. “Previous surface” refers to the “previous surface” with respect to the direction in which the spot is to move next.

Specifically, this is achieved by using the following form.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating only the blast nozzle 1-1, the air nozzle 1-10, and the workpiece 1-7 in FIG. In FIG. 2, the angle α ° formed by the blast nozzle 1-1 and the air nozzle 1-10 is any angle as long as “the air is blown onto the surface before the powder (abrasive particles) collides” is achieved. May be. The distance Lmm between the blast nozzle 1-1 and the air nozzle 1-10 is set to 0 mm, 50 mm, and 100 mm in the present invention. However, this can also be set arbitrarily as long as the setting of the spot diameter, rotation speed, and nozzle movement direction is achieved, and “air is blown onto the surface before the powder (abrasive particles) collides” is achieved. . In FIG. 2, the object 1-7 rotates counterclockwise. However, if the nozzle is arranged so that air is blown onto the surface before the abrasive particles collide, the rotation direction is limited to this. is not.

It can be confirmed as follows whether or not “the air is blown onto the surface before the powder (abrasive particles) collides” has been achieved. That is, during the blasting process, the abrasive particles floating in the system adhere to the surface of the surface layer of the object to be processed. Whether or not the adhered abrasive particles are reduced by air before the spot moves. It can be confirmed by observation. For example, when the distance L between the blast nozzle and the air nozzle is far apart, even if air is blown before the spot moves, the abrasive particles adhere again before the abrasive particles actually hit. Therefore, the effect of the present application cannot be obtained.

  Further, in order for the abrasive particles to adhere to the surface of the surface layer to be processed, some attractive force should be working, but according to the study by the present inventors, it is found that this is largely due to electrostatic force. ing. Therefore, in order to efficiently remove the attached abrasive particles, it is preferable that the air to be blown is electrostatic air provided for the purpose of neutralizing charged objects.

  Examples of the material of the abrasive particles include ceramics such as aluminum oxide, zirconia, silicon carbide and glass, metals such as stainless steel, iron and zinc, and resins such as polyamide, polycarbonate, epoxy and polyester. In particular, glass, aluminum oxide, zirconia, and stainless steel are preferable from the viewpoint of roughening efficiency and cost, but are not limited thereto.

  The electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention has a rotating shaft that can be repeatedly used in an electrophotographic apparatus, and is used while repeating electrophotographic processes such as charging, image exposure, development, transfer, and cleaning while rotating. The cleaning blade is usually disposed in parallel to the rotation axis of the electrophotographic photosensitive member and is in contact with the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  The roughening method of the present invention is a particularly effective technique for forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent durability characteristics. An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a surface elastic deformation rate or surface hardness within a specific range is excellent in durability, has little tendency to change the initial surface shape even during long-term use, and tends to maintain the shape. is there. It is important to optimally control the surface shape of such an electrophotographic photoreceptor from the initial stage.

  The elastic deformation rate or universal hardness value (HU) in the present invention is a value obtained by measuring the surface of the object to be processed before roughening from the object to be processed.

Here, the elastic deformation rate We% or universal hardness value (HU) of the surface of the object to be processed is 25 ° C. and humidity 50% RH using a microhardness measuring device Fischerscope H100V (Fischer). This is a value measured by applying a load of up to 6 mN continuously to a Vickers square pyramid diamond indenter with a facing angle of 136 ° arranged on the surface of the object to be processed and directly reading the indentation depth under the load.
Specifically, measurement is performed in stages (273 points with a holding time of 0.1 S for each point) from an initial load of 0 mN to a final load of 6 mN. An outline of the output chart of the Fischerscope H100V (Fischer) is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the vertical axis represents the load (F (mN)), and the horizontal axis represents the indentation depth (h (μm)).

The elastic deformation ratio We% can be obtained from the amount of work (energy) performed by the indenter on the membrane, that is, the change in energy due to the increase or decrease of the load of the indenter on the membrane. be able to.
Elastic deformation rate = We / Wt (1)

    In the above formula, the total work Wt (nJ) indicates the area surrounded by A-B-D-A in FIG. 3, and the elastic deformation work We (nJ) is the area surrounded by C-B-D-C. Is shown.

The universal hardness value (HU) can be obtained by the following formula (2) from the indentation depth of the indenter when a final load of 6 mN is applied to the indenter. In the following formula, HU means universal hardness (HU), F _f means the final load, S _f means the surface area of the indented portion when the final load is applied, h _f means the indentation depth of the indenter when the final load is applied.

The electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention preferably has an elastic deformation rate (We) of 45% or more on the surface of the object to be processed before the roughening step. The elastic deformation rate is more preferably 50% or more. The elastic deformation rate is preferably 65% or less. Furthermore, it is preferable that the universal hardness value (HU) is 150 to 220 N / mm ² .

When the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed is too small, since the elasticity is insufficient, embedding and piercing of abrasive particles are likely to occur. On the contrary, when the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed is too large, the surface is pushed in by the collision of the abrasive particles, and the abrasive particles are embedded when returning to the original state due to the elasticity. If the universal hardness value (HU) of the surface of the object to be processed is too large, the amount of change in the surface is small. Therefore, the surface is destroyed by the collision of abrasive particles, and the occurrence frequency of surface cracks increases. On the other hand, when the universal hardness value (HU) of the surface of the object to be processed is too small, piercing easily occurs.
The elastic deformation rate and universal hardness value of the surface of the object to be processed depend on the type and amount of the material of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed, the layer forming method, etc. It is possible to adjust.
As a method for adjusting the universal hardness value (HU) and elastic deformation rate (We) of the surface of the object to be processed to the above ranges, for example, the surface layer of the object to be processed is formed using a curable resin (monomer thereof). Or a hole transporting compound having a polymerizable functional group (such as a chain polymerizable functional group or a sequentially polymerizable functional group) (a compound in which a polymerizable functional group is chemically bonded to a part of the molecule of the hole transporting compound) ) And the like. When using a curable resin having no charge transporting ability, a charge transporting substance may be mixed and used.
In particular, the surface of the object to be treated is formed by curing polymerization (polymerization accompanied by crosslinking) of a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group, and further, the chain polymerizable functional group is formed in the same molecule. It is effective to form by hole polymerization of two or more hole transporting compounds. Moreover, when using the hole transportable compound which has a sequentially polymerizable functional group, as this compound, the hole transportable compound which has three or more sequentially polymerizable functional groups in the same molecule is preferable.
In order to adjust the universal hardness value (HU) and elastic deformation rate (We) of the surface of the object to be processed to the above ranges, it is important to consider the type and blending amount of the above materials, the layer production method, etc. It is.
Hereinafter, a method of forming a surface layer to be processed using a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group, and adjusting the universal hardness value (HU) and elastic deformation rate (We) to the above ranges, This will be specifically described. The same applies to the case of using a hole transporting compound having a sequentially polymerizable functional group.
The surface layer to be treated is applied with a surface layer coating solution containing a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group and a solvent, and the hole transporting compound having the chain polymerizable functional group is cured and polymerized. It can be formed by curing the coating solution for the surface layer applied.
When applying the surface layer coating solution, for example, a coating method such as a dip coating method (dip coating method), a spray coating method, a curtain coating method, or a spin coating method can be used. Among these coating methods, the dip coating method and the spray coating method are preferable from the viewpoints of efficiency and productivity.
Examples of a method for curing and polymerizing a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group include a method using heat, light such as visible light and ultraviolet light, and radiation such as electron beam and γ-ray. If necessary, the surface layer coating solution may contain a polymerization initiator.
As a method for curing and polymerizing a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group, a method using radiation such as an electron beam or γ ray, particularly an electron beam is preferable. This is because polymerization by radiation does not particularly require a polymerization initiator. By curing and polymerizing a hole transporting compound having a chain-polymerizable functional group without using a polymerization initiator, a surface layer of a very high purity three-dimensional matrix can be formed, and good electrophotographic characteristics can be obtained. The electrophotographic photoreceptor shown can be obtained. Further, polymerization with an electron beam among radiations causes very little damage to the electrophotographic photosensitive member due to irradiation, and can exhibit good electrophotographic characteristics.
For example, the hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group is cured and polymerized by irradiation with an electron beam, and the universal hardness value (HU) and elastic deformation rate (We) of the surface of the object to be processed are adjusted to the above ranges. Therefore, it is important to consider the irradiation conditions of the electron beam in order to control the curing polymerization.
When irradiating an electron beam, it can carry out using accelerators, such as a scanning type, an electro curtain type, a broad beam type, a pulse type, and a laminar type. The acceleration voltage is preferably 250 kV or less, and more preferably 150 kV or less. The dose is preferably in the range of 1 to 1000 kGy (0.1 to 100 Mrad), more preferably in the range of 5 to 200 kGy (0.5 to 20 Mrad). If the acceleration voltage or the dose is too large, the electrical characteristics of the electrophotographic photoreceptor may be deteriorated. If the dose is too small, the curing polymerization of the hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group may be insufficient, and thus the surface layer coating solution may be insufficiently cured.
In addition, in order to control the curing polymerization of the coating solution for the surface layer, an object to be irradiated (one irradiated with an electron beam) is cured during the curing polymerization of a hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group by an electron beam. ) Is preferably heated. The timing of heating may be at any stage before, during or after electron beam irradiation, but while the radical of the hole transporting compound having a chain polymerizable functional group is present, the irradiated object is kept at a constant temperature. It is preferable that The heating is preferably performed so that the temperature of the irradiated object becomes room temperature to 250 ° C. (more preferably 50 to 150 ° C.). If the heating temperature is too high, the material of the electrophotographic photosensitive member may be deteriorated. If the heating temperature is too low, the effect obtained by heating becomes poor. The heating time is preferably about several seconds to several tens of minutes, specifically 2 seconds to 30 minutes.
The method for adjusting the universal hardness value (HU) and elastic deformation rate (We) of the surface of the object to be processed to the above ranges has been specifically described above. The universal hardness value (HU) of the surface of the object to be processed is described above. As long as the elastic deformation rate (We) can be adjusted to the above range, the method is not limited to the above method.

  Until now, if the physical properties of the abrasive particles, the universal hardness of the surface of the object to be processed, and the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed are outside the scope of the claims of the present application, It has been stated that defects on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member such as embedding and piercing of abrasive particles occur. Any observation method may be used for evaluating these defects. In the present invention, a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) S-4700 (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) was used. With respect to surface cracks, piercings, and embeddings, a 1000-fold field of view was randomly observed at five locations, and the number of cracks, piercings, and embeddings was counted and evaluated.

The method of the present invention may further include a step other than the roughening step. Examples of such other steps include a layer forming step in which a layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed is formed on the support.
The layer forming step is a step of forming a layer constituting at least the surface of the object to be processed. The to-be-processed object surface layer which comprises the surface of a to-be-processed object is a layer used as the surface layer of an electrophotographic photoreceptor through the said roughening process.

  The surface layer to be treated is preferably a curable layer exhibiting the elastic deformation rate or universal hardness value, and more preferably a layer containing a curable resin. The curable layer constituting the surface of the object to be treated in the present invention includes a monomer or an oligomer having a polymerizable functional group in the coating material for producing the object to be treated, and after the film formation and drying, the film It is achieved by forming a tough film-forming layer that is insoluble and infusible in a solvent or the like by three-dimensionally cross-linking and curing by providing a step of polymerizing by heating and radiation irradiation.

In the present invention, the layer to be treated, which is a layer containing a curable resin, may or may not have a charge transport function. When it has a charge transport function, it is treated as a part of the photosensitive layer, and when it does not have a charge transport function, it is called a protective layer (or surface protective layer) and is distinguished from the photosensitive layer as described below. The
The object to be processed is preferably a photosensitive layer in which the surface of the object to be processed is cured by applying a coating containing a charge transport material having a polymerizable functional group in the same molecule, forming a film, and then curing the film. Moreover, it is preferable that two or more polymerizable functional groups exist in the same molecule in order to further increase the curing strength of the surface layer to be processed.
As the polymerizable functional group, for example, a chain polymerizable functional group and a hole transporting compound described in JP-A No. 2000-66424 can be used.

  As the layer structure of the photosensitive layer, a normal layer stack structure in which the charge generation layer / charge transport layer are stacked in this order from the conductive support side, and a reverse layer stack in which the charge transport layer / charge generation layer is stacked in this order from the conductive support side. It is possible to take either configuration, or a configuration composed of a single layer in which the charge generation material and the charge transport material are dispersed in the same layer.

  In a single photosensitive layer, photocarriers are generated and moved in the same layer, and the photosensitive layer itself is a surface layer. On the other hand, the laminated photosensitive layer has a structure in which a charge generation layer for generating photocarriers and a charge transport layer for moving the generated carriers are laminated.

The most preferable layer structure is a normal layer structure in which the charge generation layer / charge transport layer are laminated in this order from the conductive support side.
In this case, the charge transport layer is a surface layer to be processed comprising a single layer containing a curable resin, or the charge transport layer is a laminated type of a non-curable first layer and a curable second layer. Yes, any one of the objects to be processed in which the curable second layer is a surface layer of the object to be processed is preferable.

  In either case of a single layer or a laminated layer, it is possible to provide a protective layer above the photosensitive layer. In this case, the protective layer is preferably a curable resin-containing layer on the surface.

Further, the layer forming step may be a step of forming a layer other than the surface layer to be processed. Examples of the other layers include a layer formed between a support such as a conductive layer and an undercoat layer and a photosensitive layer, and a photosensitive layer. That is, the other layer is a layer other than the surface layer to be processed, and these can be manufactured by a known method.
The conductive layer is a layer formed on the support for the purpose of covering unevenness and defects of the support and preventing interference fringes due to scattering when the image input is laser light. The conductive layer can be formed by dispersing conductive powder such as carbon black, metal particles, and metal oxide in a binder resin.

The undercoat layer is a layer that functions as a charge injection control or an adhesive layer at the interface between the layers. It is a layer formed between a conductive support or a conductive layer and a photosensitive layer. The undercoat layer is mainly composed of a binder resin, but may contain the metal or alloy, or oxides, salts, or surfactants thereof. Specific examples of the binder resin for forming the undercoat layer include polyester, polyurethane, polyacrylate, polyethylene, polystyrene, polybutadiene, polycarbonate, polyamide, polypropylene, polyimide, phenol resin, acrylic resin, silicone resin, epoxy resin, urea resin, Examples include allyl resin, alkyd resin, polyamide-imide, nylon, polysulfone, polyallyl ether, polyacetal, and butyral resin. The thickness of the undercoat layer is preferably 0.05 to 7 μm, more preferably 0.1 to 2 μm.

  When the photosensitive layer has a layer structure of a function-separated type photosensitive layer, a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer are laminated to constitute a photosensitive layer. However, the order of film formation is not particularly limited.

  In the present invention, a general material can be used as the charge generation material. In general, selenium-tellurium, pyrylium, thiapyrylium dyes, various central metals and crystal systems, specifically, phthalocyanine compounds having crystal types such as α, β, γ, ε, and X type, anant Examples include anthrone pigments, dibenzpyrenequinone pigments, pyranthrone pigments, trisazo pigments, disazo pigments, monoazo pigments, indigo pigments, quinacridone pigments, asymmetric quinocyanine pigments, and quinocyanine and A-Si (amorphous silicon).

  In addition to the charge generation material, a binder resin can also be used. Specific examples of the binder resin include polyester, polyurethane, polyacrylate, polyethylene, polystyrene, polybutadiene, polycarbonate, polyamide, polypropylene, polyimide, phenol resin, acrylic resin, silicone resin, epoxy resin, urea resin, allyl resin, alkyd resin, polyamide. -Imido, polysulfone, polyallyl ether, polyacetal, butyral resin, benzal resin and the like.

  When the binder resin is contained in the charge generation layer, the ratio of the charge generation material and the binder resin is a mass ratio, and the mass ratio of the charge generation material to the total mass of the binder resin and the charge generation material is preferably 0.1 to 100%. More preferably, it is 10 to 80%.

  The thickness of the charge generation layer is preferably 0.001 to 6 μm, and more preferably 0.01 to 2 μm. The mass ratio of the charge generation material contained in the entire charge generation layer is preferably 10 to 100%, more preferably 50 to 100%.

  Examples of charge transport materials include pyrene compounds, N-alkylcarbazole compounds, hydrazone compounds, N, N-dialkylaniline compounds, diphenylamine compounds, triphenylamine compounds, triphenylmethane compounds, pyrazoline compounds, styryl compounds, stilbene compounds, etc. Is mentioned.

  In addition to the charge transport material, a binder resin can also be used. Specific examples of the binder resin include polyester, polyurethane, polyacrylate, polyethylene, polystyrene, polybutadiene, polycarbonate, polyamide, polypropylene, polyimide, and the like.

  When the charge transport layer is a surface layer to be treated, a resin or monomer that cures and polymerizes using a high energy ray or the like for the charge transport layer, and further a resin or monomer that cures and polymerizes having a hole transport function. Can be used.

When the charge transport layer contains a binder resin, the ratio of the charge transport material and the binder resin is a mass ratio, and the mass ratio of the charge transport material to the total mass of the binder resin and the charge generation material is preferably 0.1 to 100%. More preferably, it is 10 to 80%.

  If the thickness of the charge transport layer is too thin, the charging ability cannot be maintained, and if it is too thick, the residual potential becomes too high, so it is necessary to make it within a suitable range. Preferably it is 5-70 micrometers, More preferably, it is 10-30 micrometers.

  The amount of the charge transport material contained in the charge transport layer is preferably 20 to 100% by mass ratio, more preferably 30 to 90%.

  When the photosensitive layer is used as a single layer, the charge generation material and the charge transport material are contained in the same layer. Specific examples of the charge generation material and the charge transport material are the same as those in the case of the laminated photosensitive layer. Similarly, it is possible to use a resin or monomer that cures and polymerizes using radiation, and further a resin or monomer that cures and polymerizes having a hole transport function.

  The single photosensitive layer preferably has a thickness of 8 to 40 μm, more preferably 12 to 30 μm. The photoconductive material such as a charge generation material or a charge transport material is preferably contained in an amount of 20 to 100% by mass, more preferably 30 to 90% by mass.

In either case of a single layer or a laminate, a protective layer can be provided as an upper layer of the photosensitive layer. In this case, the protective layer is a surface layer to be processed. When the protective layer is provided, the film thickness is preferably from 0.01 to 10 μm, more preferably from 0.1 to 7 μm. It is possible to use a resin or monomer that cures and polymerizes using radiation. Further, the protective layer may contain a conductive material such as a metal and its oxide, nitride, salt, alloy or carbon. Examples of such metal species include iron, copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, tin, aluminum, titanium, antimony, and indium. Specifically, ITO, TiO ₂ , ZnO, SnO ₂ Al ₂ O ₃ or the like can be used. The conductive material is dispersed in the protective layer in the form of fine particles, but the particle diameter is preferably 0.001 to 5 μm, more preferably 0.01 to 1 μm, and the amount added to the protective layer Is preferably 1 to 70 mass%, more preferably 5 to 50 mass%. A titanium coupling agent, a silane coupling agent, various surface activities, and the like may be used as the dispersant.

  Various additives such as an antioxidant and a photodegradation inhibitor may be used for each layer constituting the photosensitive layer. Further, the surface layer of the object to be treated may contain various fluorine compounds, silane compounds, metal oxides or the like or fine particles thereof for the purpose of improving the lubricity and water repellency. A dispersant or a surfactant may be used for the purpose of improving these dispersibility. The content of these additives in the surface layer to be treated is preferably 1 to 70% by mass, more preferably 5 to 50% by mass.

  As a manufacturing method of each layer such as the surface layer to be processed, a method such as vapor deposition or coating is used, but the coating method is most preferable. The coating method can form films having various compositions in a wide range from a thin film to a thick film. Specifically, it is applied by bar coater, knife coater, dip coating, spray coating, beam coating, electrostatic coating, roll coater, attritor, powder coating, etc.

  The electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention is the electrophotographic photosensitive member having the cylindrical support and the organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support, and is manufactured by the manufacturing method described above. To do.

The process cartridge of the present invention supplies toner to the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention, charging means for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the charged electrophotographic photosensitive member. At least one selected from the group consisting of developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image and cleaning means for removing deposits on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member after the toner image is transferred to the transfer material. The process cartridge is integrally supported with one means and is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus.

  Known means can be used as the charging means, developing means, and cleaning means of the process cartridge of the present invention.

The electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention comprises an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention, a charging means for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a light corresponding to an image to be formed on the charged electrophotographic photosensitive member. An exposure unit for forming an image, a developing unit for supplying toner to the formed electrostatic latent image and developing the electrostatic latent image, and a toner image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member by the developing unit It has a transfer means for transferring to a transfer material.
Furthermore, the electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention is further characterized by further having a cleaning means for removing deposits on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer material.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration example of a general transfer type electrophotographic apparatus using the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention as an image carrier, which is driven to rotate at a predetermined peripheral speed in the direction of an arrow about a shaft 1a. In the rotating process, the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 is uniformly charged with a predetermined positive or negative potential on its peripheral surface by the charging means 2, and then in the exposure section, the image exposure means performs optical image exposure L (slit exposure / laser beam scanning). Exposure etc.).
As a result, electrostatic latent images corresponding to the exposure images are sequentially formed on the peripheral surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The electrostatic latent image is then supplied with toner from the developing sleeve 3-1 by the developing means 3, and the developed toner developed image is transferred from the sheet feeding unit (not shown) by the transferring means 4 to the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 and the transferring means. 4 is sequentially transferred onto the surface of the transfer material 7 taken out in synchronization with the rotation of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 and fed. The transfer material 7 that has received the image transfer is separated from the surface of the photosensitive member, introduced into the image fixing means 8, and subjected to image fixing, and is output to the outside as a copy (copy).

  The surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 after the image transfer is cleaned by removing the transfer residual toner by the cleaning means 5 and further subjected to charge removal by the pre-exposure means 6 and repeatedly used for image formation. A process in which a plurality of components such as the above-described electrophotographic photosensitive member, developing means, and cleaning means are integrally coupled as an apparatus unit, and this unit is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body. It may be a cartridge.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a process cartridge. For example, the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 and the cleaning means 5 may be integrated into one apparatus unit, and may be configured to be detachable using guide means such as a rail 12 of the apparatus body. At this time, the apparatus unit may be configured with a charging unit and / or a developing unit.

  When the electrophotographic apparatus is used as a copying machine or a printer, the optical image exposure L is a reflected light or transmitted light from an original or a reading signal of the original, and this signal scans a laser beam, drives an LED array, Alternatively, it is performed by driving a liquid crystal shutter array. When used as a facsimile printer, the optical image exposure L is an exposure for printing received data.

  The electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention can be used not only in electrophotographic copying machines but also widely in electrophotographic application fields such as laser beam printers, CRT printers, LED printers, liquid crystal printers, and laser plate making.

  Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

<Example 1>
The electrophotographic photoreceptor used in Example 1 was produced as follows. First, an aluminum cylinder (aluminum alloy defined in JIS A3003) having a length of 370 mm, an outer diameter of 84 mm, and a wall thickness of 3 mm was produced by cutting. This cylinder is subjected to ultrasonic cleaning in pure water containing a detergent (trade name: Chemicol CT, manufactured by Tokiwa Chemical Co., Ltd.), followed by washing out the detergent, followed by ultrasonic cleaning in pure water. And degreased.
60 parts by mass of titanium oxide powder (trade name: Kronos ECT-62, manufactured by Titanium Industry Co., Ltd.) having a coating film of tin oxide doped with antimony, titanium oxide powder (trade name: titone SR-1T, 堺Chemical Co., Ltd.) 60 parts by mass, resol type phenol resin (trade name: Phenolite J-325, Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc., solid content 70%) 70 parts by mass, 2-methoxy-1-propanol A solution consisting of 50 parts by mass and 50 parts by mass of methanol was dispersed with a ball mill for about 20 hours. The average particle size of the filler contained in this dispersion was 0.25 μm.

The dispersion prepared in this manner was applied on the aluminum cylinder by the dipping method, and was heated and dried for 48 minutes in a hot air drier adjusted to 150 ° C. to form a conductive layer having a thickness of 15 μm. .
Next, 10 parts by mass of a copolymer nylon resin (trade name: Amilan CM8000, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) and 30 parts by mass of a methoxymethylated nylon resin (trade name: Toresin EF30T, manufactured by Teikoku Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) were added to methanol 500. A solution dissolved in a mixed solution of parts by mass and 250 parts by mass of butanol is dip-coated on the conductive layer, put in a hot air drier adjusted to 100 ° C. for 22 minutes, dried by heating, and a film thickness of 0. A subbing layer of 45 μm was formed.

Next, 4 parts by mass of a hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment having strong peaks at 7.4 ° and 28.2 ° with a Bragg angle of 2θ ± 0.2 ° in a CuKa line diffraction spectrum, a polyvinyl butyral resin (trade name: ESREC BX-1) , Manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) 2 parts by mass and 90 parts by mass of cyclohexanone were dispersed in a sand mill for 10 hours using glass beads having a diameter of 1 mm, and then 110 parts by mass of ethyl acetate was added to form a charge generation layer. A coating solution was prepared. This coating solution was dip-coated on the undercoat layer, put into a hot air dryer adjusted to 80 ° C. for 22 minutes, and dried by heating to form a charge generation layer having a thickness of 0.17 μm.
Next, 35 parts by mass of a triarylamine compound represented by the following structural formula (1)

And a coating for a charge transport layer prepared by dissolving 50 parts by mass of bisphenol Z-type polycarbonate resin (trade name: Iupilon Z400, manufactured by Mitsubishi Engineering Plastics) in 320 parts by mass of monochlorobenzene and 50 parts by mass of dimethoxymethane The solution was dip-coated on the charge generation layer, placed in a hot air dryer adjusted to 100 ° C. for 40 minutes, and dried by heating to form a first charge transport layer having a thickness of 20 μm.

Next, a second charge transport layer which is a curable object surface layer was prepared as follows.
0.45 parts by mass of fluorine atom-containing resin (trade name: GF-300, manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.) as a dispersant, 1,1,2,2,3,3,4-heptafluorocyclopentane (trade name) : Zeolola H, manufactured by Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd.) and 35 parts by mass of 1-propanol, and then tetrafluoroethylene resin powder (trade name: Lubron L-2, Daikin Industries, Ltd.) as a lubricant. 9 parts by mass is added, and a high-pressure disperser (trade name: Microfluidizer M-110EH, manufactured by Microfluidics, USA) is subjected to 3 treatments at a pressure of 5880 N / cm ² (600 kgf / cm ² ) and uniformly dispersed. I let you. The obtained dispersion was pressure filtered through a 10 μm PTFE membrane filter to prepare a lubricant dispersion. Thereafter, 21 parts by mass of a hole transporting compound represented by the following structural formula (2) is added to the lubricant dispersion, and pressure filtration is performed with a PTFE 5 μm membrane filter to obtain a second charge as a curable surface layer. The coating layer coating solution was prepared. Using this coating solution, a second charge transport layer was applied as a curable surface layer on the first charge transport layer by a dip coating method.

  Using this coating solution, a coating film for a second charge transport layer as a curable surface layer was formed on the first charge transport layer by a dip coating method. Thereafter, the coating film was irradiated with an electron beam in nitrogen under conditions of an acceleration voltage of 150 kV and a dose of 15 kGy. Subsequently, a heat treatment was performed for 90 seconds under the condition that the temperature of the photoconductor was 120 ° C. The oxygen concentration at this time was 10 ppm. Further, the photoconductor was heat-treated in a hot air dryer adjusted to 100 ° C. in the atmosphere for 20 minutes to form a curable workpiece surface layer having a thickness of 5 μm.

For the hardness test, the object to be treated is left in an environment of 23 ° C. and 50% humidity for 24 hours, and then the elastic deformation rate and universal hardness are measured using the above-described microhardness measuring device Fischerscope H100V (Fischer). Asked.
The elastic deformation rate and the universal hardness are obtained from the hardness continuously measured by applying a load continuously to the indenter and directly reading the indentation depth under the load. As the indenter, a Vickers quadrangular pyramid diamond indenter having a facing angle of 136 ° can be used. Specifically, measurement is performed in stages (273 points with a holding time of 0.1 S for each point) up to a final load of 6 mN. The measurement was performed on the surface of the object surface layer before blasting. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

The obtained object to be processed was subjected to a surface roughening treatment of the object surface layer as follows. Using a dry blasting apparatus (manufactured by Fuji Seiki Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) shown in FIG.
As abrasive particles, spherical glass beads (trade name: UB-06L manufactured by Union Co., Ltd., material: glass, average particle size: 65.21 μm, classified by 90 μm mesh filter, although particles of large particle size are cut. , Small diameter particles are not cut.).
The angle α ° between the blast nozzle and the air nozzle is 0 °, the distance L between them is 50 mm, the pressure of the compressed air at the blast nozzle and the pressure of the air ejected from the air nozzle are both 0.20 MPa, the blast nozzle and the air nozzle are It is moved from the bottom to the top along the rotation axis direction, the moving speed is 430 mm / min, the rotational speed of the object to be processed is 60 rpm, the distance between the blast nozzle, the air nozzle and the object to be processed is 100 mm, the blast nozzle, or the air nozzle The angle formed between the extension line and the tangent line of the object to be processed or the rotation axis was set to 90 °, and the supply amount of the abrasive particles was set to 200 g / min. Under the above conditions, blasting was performed until the entire surface of the object to be processed was roughened. Further, for the purpose of improving the cleaning property, the same processing was performed once again on the roughened photoreceptor. That is, the number of roughening treatments was two.

As described above, an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a surface to be processed roughened was prepared.
The surface of the electrophotographic photoreceptor thus obtained was evaluated using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) S-4700 (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.). The surface of one of the electrophotographic photoreceptors prepared in this way is shaved to a size of about 5 mm square with a razor, and is attached to a sample table for FE-SEM via a conductive tape, and platinum is applied to the surface. Was used as a sample for FE-SEM observation. With respect to surface cracking, abrasive particle piercing, and embedding, a 1000-fold field of view was randomly observed at five locations, the number of surface cracking, abrasive particle piercing, and embedding was counted, and an average value was calculated and evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

For the purpose of evaluating cleaning properties, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared in the same manner as the above preparation method except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. Evaluation of the cleaning property was carried out by making it possible to attach a contact type charging roller from a scorotron to a charger of an electrophotographic copying machine (trade name: iRC6800, manufactured by Canon Inc.) equipped with a polyurethane rubber cleaning blade. In addition, it was modified and evaluated so that it could be negatively charged.
The electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the copying machine, the potential was set as follows, and the characteristics of the image and the like were evaluated. Under an environment of 23 ° C./50% RH, the dark potential (Vd) and the bright potential (Vl) of the electrophotographic photosensitive member are Vd = −700 (V) and Vl = −200 (V), respectively. The initial potential of each electrophotographic photosensitive member to be evaluated was adjusted.
As an evaluation of the cleaning property, the cleaning property was evaluated when the contact pressure setting of the cleaning blade was set to two conditions of high pressure and low pressure. The linear pressure of the high pressure setting blade was 40 g / cm, and the low pressure setting blade linear pressure was 16 g / cm. The setting angle of the cleaning blade was set to 24 °. (The set angle refers to the angle formed by the normal line at the contact between the cleaning blade and the electrophotographic photosensitive member in FIG. 4 and the extending direction of the cleaning blade.)
The evaluation environment was 23 ° C./50% RH. Using the above-mentioned electrophotographic copying machine, a test image created so that the resolution and color gradation can be evaluated at an A4 horizontal size and an image ratio of 10%, and a continuous two-sheet image output is repeated 500 times. The results were compared while evaluating the durability of a total of 1000 sheets.
In each of the blade high pressure setting and the blade low pressure setting, when durability was evaluated, the occurrence of cleaning failure due to streaky toner slipping from the blade was evaluated.
Here, “streak-like toner slipping” refers to a state in which the toner slips from a certain part of the cleaning blade that cannot be cleaned for some reason, and this non-removed toner remains in a streak form on the photoreceptor. .
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning properties during repeated use, durability evaluation was further continued in each of the blade high pressure setting and the blade low pressure setting. A test image created so that the resolution and color gradation can be evaluated at an A4 horizontal size and an image ratio of 10%. Full-color, continuous two-image output is repeated 10,000 times to evaluate the endurance of 20,000 sheets and evaluate the cleaning property. Was carried out in the same manner as the 1000 sheet durability evaluation.

Further, as an image evaluation, the contact pressure setting of the cleaning blade is set to the medium pressure, that is, the linear pressure
Test image, full color, 2 continuous images created so that the resolution and color gradation can be evaluated at an A4 horizontal size and an image ratio of 10% under an environment of 23 ° C / 50% RH. Image output was repeated 10,000 times to evaluate the durability of 20,000 sheets. During endurance or after endurance evaluation, a halftone image was output to observe defects on the image.
Examples of the defect on the image include a white portion in the whole surface halftone image, a so-called white spot image, and was detected by observing the output image with a loupe. The current leakage is a phenomenon in which the photosensitive layer undergoes dielectric breakdown during the electrophotographic process due to a defect of the photoreceptor, and the photosensitive layer is destroyed. Since this portion is no longer charged, the toner is excessively loaded, and the halftone image is output darker than the surroundings. This output image was detected by observing with a loupe. Further, the corresponding place on the surface of the photoreceptor was observed with a laser microscope (manufactured by Keyence Corporation, VK-8500) to confirm the destruction of the film.
As can be seen from Table 2, the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention has no or minor defects such as surface cracks, abrasive particle piercing, and embedding. In any case, problems such as current leakage caused by these defects, defects on the image, or missing cleaning blades leading to defects on the image, and cleaning defects do not occur. As described above, it can be seen that the present invention can provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a cleaning property and no defect on an image. <Example 2>

An object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the distance L between the blast nozzle and the air nozzle was set to 100 mm. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1.
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning property, an electrophotographic photosensitive member exactly the same as described above was prepared in the same manner as the above preparation method except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 3>

An object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, the angle α ° formed by the blast nozzle and the air nozzle was set to 30 °, and the distance L between them was set to 0 mm. The surface was roughened. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1.
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning property, an electrophotographic photosensitive member exactly the same as described above was prepared by the same method as the above-described manufacturing method. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 4>

The object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the angle α ° formed by the blast nozzle and the air nozzle was 30 °, and the distance L between them was set to 100 mm. The surface was roughened. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1.
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning property, an electrophotographic photosensitive member exactly the same as described above was prepared in the same manner as the above preparation method except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 5>

An object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the angle α ° formed by the blast nozzle and the air nozzle was set to 180 °. . The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1.
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning property, an electrophotographic photosensitive member exactly the same as described above was prepared in the same manner as the above preparation method except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 6>

The object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the air to be sprayed was changed to electrostatic air provided for the purpose of neutralizing charged objects. Surfaced. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 1.
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning property, an electrophotographic photosensitive member exactly the same as described above was prepared in the same manner as the above preparation method except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 7>

An object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 6 except that the distance L between the blast nozzle and the air nozzle was set to 100 mm. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 6. The results are shown in Table 1.
Further, for the purpose of evaluating the cleaning property, an electrophotographic photosensitive member exactly the same as described above was prepared in the same manner as the above preparation method except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 8>

In the same manner as in Example 1, a conductive layer, an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer and a first charge transport layer were formed on an aluminum cylinder.
Next, a second charge transport layer was prepared as follows.
After 0.4 parts by mass of a fluorine atom-containing resin (trade name: GF-300, manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.) as a dispersant is dissolved in 58 parts by mass of monochlorobenzene and 39 parts by mass of dimethoxymethane, four fluorines are used as a lubricant. 0.5 parts by mass of ethylene-containing resin powder (trade name: Lubron L-2, manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd.) and 5880N using a high-pressure disperser (trade name: Microfluidizer M-110EH, manufactured by Microfluidics, USA) / Cm ² (600 kgf / cm ² ) was applied three times and dispersed uniformly. This was subjected to pressure filtration with a 10 μm PTFE membrane filter to prepare a lubricant dispersion. Thereafter, a polycarbonate resin (clay average molecular weight (Mv): 80000) 2 having 0.5 parts by mass of the hole transporting compound represented by the structural formula (2) and a repeating structural unit represented by the following structural formula (4) The portion was added to the lubricant dispersion, and pressure filtration was performed with a PTFE 5 μm membrane filter to prepare a second charge transport layer coating solution. Using this coating solution, the second charge transport layer is spray-coated on the first charge transport layer, put in a hot air drier adjusted to 110 ° C. for 60 minutes, and dried by heating to a film thickness of 5 μm. The second charge transport layer was formed.

About the obtained to-be-processed object, it carried out similarly to Example 1, and measured the elastic deformation rate and universal hardness. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.
Next, the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the pressure of compressed air was 0.17 MPa and the number of treatments was one. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated by the same means as in Example 1 using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The results are shown in Table 1.
Furthermore, for the purpose of evaluating cleaning properties, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared by the same method as the above-described preparation method, except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained photoreceptor was attached to the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 9>

In the preparation of the object to be processed in Example 1, the object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the heat treatment after applying the second charge transport layer was not performed. The elastic deformation rate and universal hardness of the obtained object were measured. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.
Next, the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the pressure of the compressed air was 0.17 MPa and the number of treatments was one. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated by the same means as in Example 1 using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The results are shown in Table 1.
Furthermore, for the purpose of evaluating cleaning properties, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared by the same method as the above-described preparation method, except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Example 10>

In the preparation of the object to be processed in Example 1, the “condition for the temperature of the object to be processed to be 120 ° C.” when performing the heat treatment after irradiating the second charge transport layer with the electron beam is “the object to be processed” The object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the temperature was changed to “conditions for the temperature of 150 ° C.” The elastic deformation rate and universal hardness of the obtained object were measured. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.
Next, the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the pressure of the compressed air was changed to 0.42 MPa. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated by the same means as in Example 1 using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The results are shown in Table 1.
Furthermore, for the purpose of evaluating cleaning properties, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared by the same method as the above-described preparation method, except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.
<Comparative Example 1>

The object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that air was not blown. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 3. Furthermore, for the purpose of evaluating cleaning properties, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared by the same method as the above-described preparation method, except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 4.
Black dot images and white dot images were seen in the halftone images during endurance. The location of the photoconductor corresponding to the black spot image area was measured with a laser microscope (manufactured by Keyence Corporation, model: VK-85
00), it was confirmed that the photosensitive film had a dielectric breakdown (current leakage).
<Comparative example 2>

The object to be processed was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, and the surface of the object to be processed was roughened in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the distance L between the blast nozzle and the air nozzle was set to -100 mm. . That is, the air nozzle was disposed below the blast nozzle. The surface of the obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was evaluated with a field emission scanning electron microscope using the same means as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 3.
Furthermore, for the purpose of evaluating cleaning properties, an electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared by the same method as the above-described preparation method, except that the hardness test and the surface evaluation were not performed. The obtained electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on the electrophotographic apparatus used in Example 1 and evaluated in the same manner. The results are shown in Table 4. Black dot images and white dot images were seen in the halftone images during endurance. When the location of the photoreceptor corresponding to the black spot image portion was observed with a laser microscope, it was confirmed that the photosensitive film had a dielectric breakdown (current leakage).

（）内は、平均値ではなく、観察視野5箇所の合計

Figures in parentheses are not average values, but the total of five observation fields

（）内は、平均値ではなく、観察視野5箇所の合計

Figures in parentheses are not average values, but the total of five observation fields

Schematic of a blasting device. Positional relationship between blast nozzle and air nozzle The measurement chart schematic of microhardness measuring apparatus Fischerscope H100V (made by H.Fischer). 1 is a schematic view of an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention. 1 is a schematic view of an electrophotographic apparatus having a process cartridge of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image carrier (cylindrical electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Axis 1-1 Blast nozzle 1-2 Nozzle fixing jig 1-3 Projection air supply pipe 1-4 Blast abrasive particle supply pipe 1-5 Blast abrasive particle 1-6 Work fixing jig 1-7 To-be-processed object 1-8 Nozzle Support 1-9 Nozzle fixing arm 1-10 Air nozzle 2 Charging means 2-1 Processed object 2-2 Blast nozzle 2-3 Air nozzle 3 Developing means 3-1 Developing sleeve 4 Transfer means 5 Cleaning means 6 Pre-exposure means 7 Transfer Material 8 Image fixing means 12 Rail L Optical image exposure

Claims (12)

In a method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a cylindrical support and an organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support,
The powder discharged from the discharge port of the powder discharge means is made to collide with the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the target object having the cylindrical support and the organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support. A roughening step of performing a roughening treatment on the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the workpiece,
When the powder collides with the surface of the layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed in the roughening step, the object to be processed is rotated about the axis of the cylindrical support and the discharge is performed. The powder is discharged from the discharge port while moving the outlet in the generatrix direction of the object to be processed, and air is blown to the surface of the object to be processed before the powder collides,
A method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, comprising producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member in which a surface of a layer constituting a surface of a workpiece is roughened.   The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, further comprising a layer forming step of forming a layer constituting the surface of the object to be processed on the support.   The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the air is electrostatic air for neutralizing a charged substance.   The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the roughening process in the roughening process is a dry blasting process.   The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein an elastic deformation rate of a surface of the object to be processed is 45% or more.   6. The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 5, wherein the elastic deformation rate of the surface of the object to be processed is 50% or more.   The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein an elastic deformation rate of a surface of the object to be processed is 65% or less. The method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein a universal hardness value (HU) of the surface of the object to be processed is 150 to 220 N / mm ² .   An electrophotographic photosensitive member having the cylindrical support and an organic photosensitive layer provided on the cylindrical support, wherein the electron is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 1. Photoconductor.   The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 9, charging means for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the charged electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the electrostatic latent image is formed. Developing means for developing the image, transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the transfer material by the developing means, and the electron after the toner image is transferred to the transfer material It is characterized by integrally supporting at least one means selected from the group consisting of cleaning means for removing deposits on the surface of the photographic photosensitive member and being detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus. To process cartridge. An electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 9, a charging unit for charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and light corresponding to an image to be formed on the charged electrophotographic photosensitive member. Exposure means for developing, developing means for supplying toner to the formed electrostatic latent image and developing the electrostatic latent image, and transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member by the developing means An electrophotographic apparatus comprising transfer means for transferring to a material.   The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a cleaning unit for removing deposits on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member after the toner image is transferred onto the transfer material.

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