JP2006307168A - Particles and manufacturing method thereof, toner and manufacturing method thereof, and developer, toner container, process cartridge, image-forming method and image-forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner and a manufacturing method thereof or the like, which can manufacture a toner with high thermal conversion efficiency and high productivity and form electrophotographic images with excellent fine line reproducibility and tone equal to those of silver halide photography. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing particles, where a viscous material is sprayed with a high-pressure gas for atomization while the viscous material is being discharged in a chamber, and cooling air is introduced in the chamber for granulation, and particles manufactured by the said method. The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing a toner, where a mixture containing at least a binding resin and a colorant is melt mixed under pressure or melt mixed with an injection of a supercritical fluid, the obtained melt-mixed substance is sprayed with a high-pressure gas for atomization while the melt-mixed substance is being discharged in the chamber, and cooling air is introduced in the chamber, and a toner manufactured by the method. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to fine particles by spray granulation or spray granulation using a supercritical fluid, a method for producing the fine particles, a toner, a method for producing the toner, a developer using the toner, a container containing toner, and a process cartridge. The present invention relates to an image forming method and an image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, the electrophotographic method has increased the print output of graphic originals centering on photographs in addition to the conventional print output of character originals due to the digitization and development of networks and computers. In addition, with respect to an image by an electrophotographic method, an improvement in image quality is increasingly demanded, and as a means for the improvement, improvements are being made to reduce the particle size of toner.

  As a manufacturing process for obtaining such a toner, conventionally, (1) a mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, and a charge control agent, (2) at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, and A mixture of wax, (3) a plurality of materials constituting the toner such as a mixture of at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, a wax, and a magnetic agent are heated, melt-kneaded, pulverized and finely divided A so-called pulverization method consisting of a series of steps to be converted is mainly used. However, this pulverization method deteriorates energy efficiency that energy consumed for pulverization increases. In addition, this pulverization increases the amount of fine powder generated, and the particle shape becomes angular and the average circularity of the toner decreases, resulting in problems such as decreased fluidity, replenishability, and reproducibility of minute dots. In order to solve the latter problem and improve the quality, a classification step is added after the pulverization so that the particle size is sharply distributed. However, a reduction in the amount of recovered product is a problem.

  In recent years, the image quality obtained by the electrophotographic method has been improved so as to approach that of a silver salt photographic image. For this reason, the required particle size of toner is 5 to 6 μm and narrow distribution is becoming mainstream. Those having such a particle size have been put to practical use by a chemical method of granulating in a liquid, for example, a polymerization method toner. However, in the production of this polymerization toner, although the amount of carbon dioxide generated is small compared with the conventional pulverization method (kneading step, pulverization step, classification step, mixing step, and sieving step), Since a large amount of water is used, there are problems in environmental consideration and cost in water treatment. Moreover, since a huge plant is required in terms of equipment, there is a problem that the cost cannot be reduced unless mass production is performed, and the initial cost increases.

In order to solve such problems, spray granulation, which has not been proposed in the electrophotographic toner manufacturing technology field, in particular, heat conversion efficiency and granulation recovery of spray granulation technology by injecting and spraying supercritical fluid. There is a method to improve the rate.
For example, for the purpose of manufacturing a resin powder, (1) a technique related to a manufacturing apparatus including an ultrasonic gas atomizing nozzle for spraying a liquid medium (see Patent Document 1), (2) frequency of ultrasonic vibration A technique using a spray granulation nozzle for producing a metal powder by atomizing a molten metal by a gas jet adjusted in (see Patent Document 2), (3) Gas was dissolved in the molten metal Thereafter, a technique for producing a powder having pores of a metal or a metal alloy by atomizing molten metal in which gas is dissolved by compressed air (see Patent Document 3), (4) Sonic spray for atomizing a fluid Nozzles (see Patent Document 4) have been proposed.
However, these spray granulation techniques are intended to produce particles made of a single material rather than particles made of a plurality of types of materials such as electrophotographic toner, and therefore can be applied to electrophotographic toners as they are. However, it does not solve the above-mentioned problems in the production of fine particle toner, particularly the problems of productivity and energy consumption.

  In addition, when melt-kneading a plurality of materials constituting the toner, a chemical foaming agent is further added to the kneaded product, or a material obtained by internally adding and dispersing a chemical foaming agent in a binder resin is used. Techniques have been proposed in which a temperature is applied, carbon dioxide gas or nitrogen gas is generated to cause the binder resin to foam, a crack interface is formed by internal bubbles, and the pulverization efficiency in the next step is improved (see Patent Documents 5 to 7). ). As a method using a chemical foaming agent, examples of chemical foaming agents include alkali metal hydrogen carbonates such as sodium and potassium; heavy metal carbon hydrogen salts such as mercury and cadmium or inorganic substances such as ammonium carbonate; azide compounds and azodicarbonamide Organic materials such as diaminobenzene, Freon 11 and Freon 12 are used. These chemical foaming agents may be dangerous for handling or may cause environmental pollution. Further, it is necessary to heat the foaming agent for the chemical foaming agent, and thermal stress is applied to the low-temperature fixing toner that has recently been attracting attention. The chemical foaming agent itself has properties such as toner physical properties, fixing properties, and charging properties. There are various problems such as adversely affecting the characteristics.

  Although not related to the toner, as a method of foaming the binder resin for forming the foamed molded product by suppressing discoloration and carbonization due to thermal deterioration in the kneading process of the thermoplastic resin, it is possible to reduce the carbon dioxide during the kneading process. A technique has been proposed in which bubbles are formed by injecting and dispersing a carbon gas to make bubbles inward (see Patent Document 8). When this technology is applied to toner production, the use of inert gas does not adversely affect the quality of the toner. However, the diffusion of gas into the molten resin tends to be uneven, and the toner Even if the ratio of bubbles in the resin is high, it is only about 60% by volume. In addition, the effect on the toner pulverization property of the post-process expected by foaming is up to the middle pulverization, which is sufficient to pulverize to a particle size of about 5 to 6 μm required as a fine particle toner of a product. It cannot be effective.

In addition, a technique for producing a foamed material having a very small size of bubbles and a foamed product plastic using a supercritical fluid has been proposed (see Patent Document 9). In the conventional foaming method using the chemical foaming agent, the strength of the foamed resin is reduced instead of being reduced, and the range of use as a molded part is limited. Micro Cellular Foaming (MCF: Micro Cellular Foaming) using a supercritical fluid developed in 1) makes it possible to manufacture a molding resin in which micro bubbles of 5 μm or less are uniformly foamed. However, this technology specifically aims to produce a foamed material and a foamed product having small-sized bubbles by foaming a single polymer material. It contains not only the resin but also other materials such as a colorant. Further, the kneaded material made of a plurality of materials prepared in the process of producing the toner is used for further pulverizing the kneaded material to produce the final toner, so that the technique disclosed in Patent Document 9 is used. Cannot be directly applied to the production of toner for electrophotography. Moreover, even if bubbles with an average cell size of 10 ⁹ pieces / foam material cm ³ or more and an average cell size of 5 μm or less are formed in the kneaded product as in Patent Document 9, the pulverizability is greatly improved. The yield cannot be improved due to generation of ultrafine powder during pulverization.

  Further, as means for producing a toner using a supercritical fluid, a means for dissolving a binder resin component in supercritical and mixing and dispersing a colorant component in supercritical is proposed (Patent Document 10). reference). However, in this proposal, the toner material is not melted or kneaded using a supercritical fluid and spray granulation is performed using a high-pressure gas.

  Further, Patent Documents 11 to 16 have been proposed as methods for improving the heat conversion efficiency and the recovery rate, as different from the powder spheroidizing method. However, these proposals do not give consideration to the control of the amount of intake air or noise caused by the intake air, and the present situation is that the toner cannot be granulated using a kneaded product or a melt.

International Publication No. 02/089998 Pamphlet US Pat. No. 4,575,325 US Pat. No. 5,046,695 U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,467 JP-A-1-182856 JP-A-9-146299 JP 2000-19775 A JP 2003-10666 A Japanese Patent No. 2625576 JP 2001-312098 A JP 2004-276016 A JP 2004-249206 A JP 2000-52342 A JP 2000-52341 A JP 2000-52340 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-263380

  An object of the present invention is to solve various problems in the prior art and achieve the following objects. That is, the present invention relates to fine particles by spray granulation or spray granulation using a supercritical fluid, a method for producing the fine particles, a kneaded product or a melt made of a toner material in a supercritical state, or a toner. A method of producing a toner having high heat conversion efficiency and high productivity by atomizing a kneaded material or a melt made of materials by a spray granulation method, and a fine line reproducibility comparable to a silver salt image by the toner production method, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner capable of forming an electrophotographic image with excellent gradation and a developer, a toner-containing container, a process cartridge, an image forming method, and an image forming apparatus using the toner.

Means for solving the problems are as follows. That is,
<1> A method for producing fine particles, characterized in that a viscous material is discharged into a chamber and sprayed with a high-pressure gas to form fine particles, and cooling air is allowed to flow into the chamber for granulation. .
<2> The method for producing fine particles according to <1>, wherein the viscous material is any one of a resin melt material and a resin melt material.
<3> The viscous material is either a resin melt material or a resin melt material, and after kneading either the resin melt material or the resin melt material under pressure, or after injecting a supercritical fluid and kneading The obtained kneaded material is sprayed into a chamber and sprayed with a high-pressure gas to form fine particles, and cooling air is allowed to flow into the chamber from an air intake formed in the chamber to granulate <1 The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <2> to <2>.
<4> Using a spray granulation apparatus comprising a means for melting a viscous material under pressure and a chamber provided with a high-pressure gas nozzle,
After the supercritical fluid is injected and uniformly dispersed under pressure while melting or melting the viscous material, the resulting dispersion is discharged into the chamber and sprayed with high-pressure gas from the high-pressure gas nozzle to form fine particles. ,
The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <2>, wherein granulation is performed by flowing cooling air from an air inlet formed in the chamber.
<5> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein the viscous material is a composite material containing at least a resin and particles.
<6> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <3> to <5>, wherein the air intake is formed in either the upper portion of the chamber or the upper side surface portion of the chamber.
<7> The air intake is the method for producing fine particles according to any one of <3> to <6>, wherein a swirl flow can be formed.
<8> The air intake is the method for producing fine particles according to any one of <3> to <7>, wherein the air intake has a gate capable of adjusting a cross-sectional area.
<9> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <3> to <8>, wherein the air intake is covered with a soundproof material.
<10> Production of fine particles according to any one of <1> to <9>, wherein granulation is performed in a state where the in-machine static pressure P inside the chamber satisfies the following formula: −0.01 MPa ≦ P ≦ 0.01 MPa Is the method.
<11> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <10>, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the chamber has a temperature-adjustable jacket.
<12> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <11>, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the chamber has a heat insulating mechanism divided into a plurality.
<13> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <12>, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the chamber has a soundproofing mechanism.
<14> The internal temperature of the melt-kneader for injecting and dispersing the supercritical fluid is within the range of the melting point or outflow start temperature of the viscous material from −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C. and the glass transition temperature of the viscous material from + 30 ° C. to + 150 ° C. The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <3> to <13>, wherein the fine particles are melt kneaded at any.
<15> The method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <14>, wherein an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz is applied to the high-pressure gas.
<16> Fine particles produced by the method for producing fine particles according to any one of <1> to <15>.
<17> After kneading any mixture selected from the following (1) to (4) under pressure or by injecting a supercritical fluid and kneading, the obtained kneaded material is discharged into the chamber. While spraying with high pressure gas to make fine particles,
A method for producing a toner, wherein the air is granulated by allowing cooling air to flow into the chamber from an air inlet formed in the chamber.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and a wax <18> means for melting any mixture selected from the following (1) to (4) under pressure; and a high-pressure gas nozzle Using a spray granulator comprising a chamber provided,
After the mixture is melted or melted and injected with a supercritical fluid under pressure to uniformly disperse, the resulting dispersion is discharged into the chamber and sprayed with high-pressure gas from the high-pressure gas nozzle to make fine particles,
In this method, the air is granulated by allowing cooling air to flow into the chamber from an air inlet formed in the chamber.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and a wax <19> From the above <17>, wherein the air intake is formed in either the upper part of the chamber or the upper side surface part of the chamber <18> The toner production method according to any one of <18>.
<20> The toner production method according to any one of <17> to <19>, wherein the air intake is capable of forming a swirling flow.
<21> The toner intake method according to any one of <17> to <20>, wherein the air intake has a gate capable of adjusting a cross-sectional area.
<22> The method for producing a toner according to any one of <17> to <21>, wherein the air intake is covered with a soundproof material.
<23> The toner production according to any one of <17> to <22>, wherein granulation is performed in a state where the in-machine static pressure P in the chamber satisfies the following formula: −0.01 MPa ≦ P ≦ 0.01 MPa. Is the method.
<24> The method for producing a toner according to any one of <17> to <23>, wherein a temperature-adjustable jacket is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber.
<25> The method for producing a toner according to any one of <17> to <24>, further including a heat insulating mechanism divided into a plurality of outer peripheral surfaces of the chamber.
<26> The toner production method according to any one of <17> to <25>, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the chamber has a soundproofing mechanism.
<27> The internal temperature of the melt-kneader that injects and disperses the supercritical fluid is either in the range of the melting point or outflow start temperature of the toner from −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C. or the glass transition temperature of the toner from + 30 ° C. to + 150 ° C. The method for producing a toner according to any one of <17> to <26>, wherein the toner is melt kneaded.
<28> The method for producing a toner according to any one of <17> to <27>, wherein an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz is applied to the high-pressure gas.
<29> A toner produced by the toner production method according to any one of <17> to <28>.
<30> The toner according to <29>, wherein the mass average particle diameter is 3.0 to 10.0 μm.
<31> The ratio of mass average particle diameter to number average particle diameter (mass average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) is 1.03 to 1.50, according to any one of <29> to <30> above Toner.
<32> The toner according to any one of <29> to <31>, wherein the average circularity is 0.85 to 0.99.
<33> The toner according to any one of <29> to <32>, wherein the content of fine powder having a particle diameter of 2 μm or less is 15% by number or less.
<34> A developer comprising the toner according to any one of <29> to <33>.
<35> A toner-containing container filled with the toner according to any one of <29> to <33>.
<36> An electrostatic latent image carrier and an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier are developed with the toner according to any one of <29> to <33> to be a visible image And a developing means for forming the process cartridge.
<37> An electrostatic latent image forming step of forming an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image carrier, and the electrostatic latent image using the toner according to any one of <29> to <33> The image forming apparatus includes at least a developing step for developing to form a visible image, a transferring step for transferring the visible image to a recording medium, and a fixing step for fixing the transferred image transferred to the recording medium. An image forming method.
<38> An electrostatic latent image carrier, electrostatic latent image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image carrier, and the electrostatic latent image according to <29> to <33> Developing means for developing a visible image by developing using any of the toners, Transfer means for transferring the visible image to a recording medium, and Fixing means for fixing the transferred image transferred to the recording medium And an image forming apparatus characterized by comprising:

  According to the present invention, conventional problems can be solved, fine particles having a small particle size can be efficiently recovered compared with conventional kneading methods and pulverizing methods, and compared with conventional spray granulation methods. Fine particles with low energy consumption due to high heat conversion efficiency and method for producing fine particles, toner capable of forming an electrophotographic image excellent in fine line reproducibility and gradation comparable to silver salt images, and method for producing the toner, In addition, a developer using the toner, a container containing toner, a process cartridge, an image forming method, and an image forming apparatus can be provided.

(Fine particles and method for producing fine particles)
In the method for producing fine particles of the present invention, high-pressure gas is sprayed into fine particles while discharging the viscous material into the chamber, and granulated by flowing cooling air into the chamber.
The fine particles of the present invention are produced by the method for producing fine particles of the present invention.
Hereinafter, the details of the fine particles of the present invention will be clarified through the description of the method for producing fine particles of the present invention.

As the viscous material, either a resin melting material or a resin melting material is suitable.
The resin melt material contains at least a resin, and further contains other components as necessary.
The resin-dissolving material contains at least a resin, and further contains other components as necessary.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said resin, Although it can select suitably according to the objective, A thermoplastic resin is suitable. Examples of the resin include styrene acrylic resin (melting temperature 170 ° C., spray pressure 0.4 MPa), polyacetal resin (melting temperature 170 ° C., spray pressure 0.4 MPa), and acrylic resin (melting temperature 170 ° C., spray pressure 0. 4 MPa), acrylic cross-linked molded product (melting temperature 115 ° C., spray pressure 0.4 MPa), cyclic olefin copolymer (melting temperature 170 ° C., spray pressure 0.3 MPa), nylon 11 (melting temperature 275 ° C., spray pressure 0. 4 MPa), polyester resin (melting temperature 200 ° C., spraying pressure 0.5 MPa), polyethylene resin (melting temperature 220 ° C., spraying pressure 0.5 MPa), polyethylene wax (melting temperature 170 ° C., spraying pressure 0.2 MPa), polylactic acid Resin (melting temperature 230 ° C, spray pressure 0.4 MPa), polyvinyl chloride aqueous solution (spray pressure 0.4 MPa), epoxy Ester copolymer, polyamide (nylon 6, nylon 12), polyolefin resins, polyolefin wax, carnauba wax, polystyrene, ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer, ethylene - and vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH). These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  The viscous material is preferably a composite material containing at least a resin and particles, and examples thereof include a composite material of a styrene acrylic resin and a polyester resin, a composite material of a styrene acrylic resin, a polyester resin, and carnauba wax.

The viscous material is either a resin melt material or a resin melt material, and is obtained after kneading either the resin melt material or the resin melt material under pressure or by injecting a supercritical fluid. It is preferable that the kneaded material is sprayed with a high-pressure gas while being discharged into the chamber to be microparticulated, and granulated by flowing cooling air into the chamber.
Using a spray granulator comprising a means for melting the viscous material under pressure, and a chamber provided with a high-pressure gas nozzle,
After the supercritical fluid is injected and uniformly dispersed under pressure while melting or melting the viscous material, the obtained dispersion is discharged into the chamber and sprayed with a high-pressure gas nozzle to form fine particles.
It is preferable to granulate by introducing cooling air from an air intake port formed in the chamber.

It is preferable to granulate by introducing cooling air from an air inlet formed in the upper part or upper side surface of the chamber.
It is preferable to perform granulation in a state where the in-machine static pressure P inside the chamber satisfies the following formula: −0.01 MPa ≦ P ≦ 0.01 MPa.
The air intake is preferably capable of forming a swirling flow, and the air intake is preferably formed with a gate having an adjustable cross-sectional area, and the air intake is covered with a soundproof material. Preferably it is. The details of the air intake will be described in the toner manufacturing method described later.

  Moreover, it is preferable to have a jacket whose temperature can be adjusted on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber, it is preferable to have a heat insulating mechanism divided into a plurality of portions on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber, and it is preferable to have a soundproof mechanism on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber.

  Also, the internal temperature of the melt-kneader for injecting and dispersing the supercritical fluid is within the range of the melting point or outflow start temperature of the viscous material from −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C., and the glass transition temperature of the viscous material from + 30 ° C. to + 150 ° C. It is preferable to melt-knead with any of them, and it is preferable to apply an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz to the high-pressure gas.

As conditions for spray granulation using the viscous material, the temperature of the melting device (extruder) is the state where the material reaches or reaches the minimum viscosity, and the upper limit is the start of decomposition. It is controlled by the safe temperature just before.
When a polymer melt is used as the viscous material, for example, a polyolefin wax having a very low molecular weight is 60 ° C., and a polyacryl ketone is 370 ° C.
If these materials are available with sufficient elongational viscosity (usually related to branching or molecular weight), this temperature range is acceptable in the process.
Actually, various kinds of viscous materials are used, and spherical fine particles are produced in a temperature range of 60 to 250 ° C. of the extruder.

The spray pressure can be appropriately adjusted according to the characteristics of the material, the required particle size, and the end use purpose.
The process restriction can be appropriately selected according to, for example, technical restrictions, cooling prescriptions required by materials, or equipment, but is controlled by, for example, gas pressure. The reason for this is that the gas velocity increases as the gas pressure increases, and as a result, the cooling time is shortened.
Similarly, materials with high heat retention and materials with a long softening curve (for example, toner containing polyester resin) are limited in actual spray pressure unless some kind of forced cooling structure is introduced. is there. The spray pressure is preferably 0.2 to 0.6 MPa (2 to 6 atmospheres).
In order to use such spray pressure, the minimum melt viscosity of the viscous material is preferably 50 to 100 Pa · s. Further, the molecular weight of the viscous material is preferably 10 to 50,000.

  The temperature of the hot gas at the point of time when the interaction between the gas and the liquid occurs (in the case of deterioration due to oxidation with a specific material, an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen is acceptable) is preferably higher than the melting temperature of the viscous material . Normally, the NTS jet cools the temperature of the gas by 30 to 50 ° C. using the compression effect, although it varies depending on the pressure. Therefore, the typical temperature of the supplied gas is 40-80 ° C., which is higher than the melting temperature.

The mass average particle size of the fine particles produced by the fine particle production method of the present invention is preferably 3.0 to 10.0 μm, more preferably 4.0 to 7.0 μm.
The ratio of the mass average particle diameter to the number average particle diameter (mass average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) of the fine particles is preferably 1.03-1.50, more preferably 1.06-1.28.
The average circularity of the fine particles is preferably from 0.85 to 0.99, more preferably from 0.94 to 0.97.
The content of fine powder having a particle diameter of 2 μm or less is preferably 15% by number or less, and more preferably 5% by number or less.

  The fine particles can be pulverized by any material that can be liquefied (for example, resin fine particles and metal fine particles can be produced). In particular, it is extremely effective for granulating a composite material containing a resin. Specific examples of suitable applications include toners, cosmetics, inks for inkjet printers, paints, ceramic composite materials (polymers in which ceramic powders are dispersed), and the like. Particularly preferred.

(Toner and production method thereof)
In the toner production method of the present invention, in the first embodiment, after any mixture selected from the following (1) to (4) is kneaded under pressure, or after supercritical fluid is injected and kneaded. , While discharging the obtained kneaded material into the chamber, it is atomized by spraying high pressure gas,
The air is granulated by allowing cooling air to flow into the chamber from an air intake formed in the chamber.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and a wax. In the second embodiment, the toner production method of the present invention is a mixture selected from the following (1) to (4): Using a spray granulator comprising a means for melting under pressure and a chamber provided with a high pressure gas nozzle,
After the mixture is melted or melted and injected with a supercritical fluid under pressure to uniformly disperse, the resulting dispersion is discharged into the chamber and sprayed with high-pressure gas from the high-pressure gas nozzle to form fine particles. ,
Granulation is performed by injecting cooling air from an air intake formed in the chamber.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and wax The toner of the present invention is manufactured by the toner manufacturing method according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
Hereinafter, the details of the toner of the present invention will be clarified through the description of the method for producing the toner of the present invention.

Next, components constituting the toner of the present invention will be described. As the component of the toner, any mixture selected from the following (1) to (4) is preferable.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and wax.

There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said binder resin, Although it can select suitably according to the objective from well-known things, A thermoplastic resin is suitable.
Examples of the binder resin include a vinyl resin, a polyester resin, and a polyol resin. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together. Among these, polyester resins and polyol resins are particularly preferable.
Examples of the vinyl resin include styrene such as polystyrene, poly-p-chlorostyrene, and polyvinyltoluene, or a homopolymer of a substituted product thereof: styrene-p-chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, styrene-vinyl. Toluene copolymer, styrene-vinylnaphthalene copolymer, styrene-methyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-octyl acrylate copolymer, styrene -Methyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-α-chloromethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ether Copolymer, styrene-vinyl ester Ruether copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ketone copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile-indene copolymer, styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-maleic acid ester Examples thereof include styrene-based copolymers such as copolymers; polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, and polyvinyl acetate.

The polyester resin is composed of a dihydric alcohol as shown in the following group A and a dibasic acid salt as shown in the group B, and more than trivalent as shown in the group C. Alcohol or carboxylic acid may be added as a third component.
Examples of the group A include ethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, 1,4-butenediol, 1,4- Bis (hydroxymethyl) cyclohexane, bisphenol A, hydrogenated bisphenol A, polyoxyethylenated bisphenol A, polyoxypropylene (2,2) -2,2′-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (3 , 3) -2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxyethylene (2,0) -2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (2,0) -2, 2′-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane and the like can be mentioned.
Examples of the group B include maleic acid, fumaric acid, mesaconic acid, citraconic acid, itaconic acid, glutaconic acid, phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, malonic acid, Linolenic acid or an acid anhydride or an ester of a lower alcohol may be used.
Examples of the group C include trivalent or higher alcohols such as glycerin, trimethylolpropane, and pentaerythritol; trivalent or higher carboxylic acids such as trimellitic acid and pyromellitic acid.

  Examples of the polyol resin include an alkylene oxide adduct of an epoxy resin and a dihydric phenol, or a compound having one active hydrogen in the molecule that reacts with the glycidyl ether and an epoxy group, and an active hydrogen that reacts with the epoxy resin as a molecule. Examples thereof include those obtained by reacting two or more compounds.

  In addition, the following resins can be mixed and used as necessary. Examples thereof include an epoxy resin, a polyamide resin, a urethane resin, a phenol resin, a butyral resin, a rosin, a modified rosin, and a terpene resin. The epoxy resin is typically a polycondensate of bisphenol such as bisphenol A or bisphenol F and epichlorohydrin.

There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said coloring agent, Although it can select suitably according to the objective from well-known things, For example, the following are used. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.
Examples of the black pigment include azine dyes such as carbon black, oil furnace black, channel black, lamp black, acetylene black, and aniline black, metal salt azo dyes, metal oxides, and composite metal oxides.
Examples of yellow pigments include cadmium yellow, mineral fast yellow, nickel titanium yellow, navel yellow, naphthol yellow S, Hansa Yellow G, Hansa Yellow 10G, Benzidine Yellow GR, Quinoline Yellow Lake, Permanent Yellow NCG, Tartrazine Lake, etc. Can be mentioned.
Examples of the orange pigment include molybdenum orange, permanent orange GTR, pyrazolone orange, Vulcan orange, indanthrene brilliant orange RK, benzidine orange G, indanthrene brilliant orange GK and the like.
Examples of red pigments include Bengala, Cadmium Red, Permanent Red 4R, Resol Red, Pyrazolone Red, Watching Red Calcium Salt, Lake Red D, Brilliant Carmine 6B, Eosin Lake, Rhodamine Lake B, Alizarin Lake, Brilliant Carmine 3B and the like. It is done.
Examples of purple pigments include Fast Violet B and Methyl Violet Lake.
Examples of the blue pigment include cobalt blue, alkali blue, Victoria blue lake, phthalocyanine blue, metal-free phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine blue partial chlorinated product, first sky blue, and indanthrene blue BC.
Examples of the green pigment include chrome green, chromium oxide, pigment green B, and malachite green lake.

  The content of the colorant is preferably 0.1 to 50 parts by mass, and more preferably 5 to 20 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin.

The wax is added to impart releasability to the toner, and is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected from known ones according to the purpose. For example, synthetic waxes such as low molecular weight polyethylene and polypropylene And natural waxes such as carnauba wax, rice wax, lanolin and the like.
The content of the wax is preferably 1 to 20% by mass, and more preferably 3 to 10% by mass.

The charge control agent is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected from known materials according to the purpose. For example, nigrosine, acetylacetone metal complex, monoazo metal complex, naphthoic acid, fatty acid metal salt (salicylic acid Metal salts, metal salts of salicylic acid derivatives), triphenylmethane dyes, molybdate chelate pigments, rhodamine dyes, alkoxy amines, quaternary ammonium salts (including fluorine-modified quaternary ammonium salts), alkylamides, simple substances of phosphorus Or a compound thereof, tungsten alone or a compound thereof, a fluorine-based activator, and the like. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.
The content of the charge control agent is preferably 0.1 to 10% by mass, and more preferably 0.5 to 5% by mass.

There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said magnetic agent, Although it can select suitably according to the objective from well-known things, For example, hematite, iron powder, magnetite, a ferrite, etc. are mentioned.
5-50 mass% is preferable and, as for content of the said magnetic agent, 10-30 mass% is more preferable.

  Furthermore, inorganic fine powders such as silica fine powder and titanium oxide fine powder can be externally added to the toner in order to impart fluidity.

  The mass average particle diameter of the toner obtained by classifying the spray granulated product by the production method of the present invention is preferably 3.0 to 10.0 μm in order to improve gradation during image formation. 0.0 to 7.0 μm is more preferable. When the mass average particle size is less than 3.0 μm, toner cohesion is strong, and gradation may be deteriorated or background stains may occur in image quality. When it exceeds 10.0 μm, sharpness decreases. White spots and white spots may occur on the solid part.

  In the method for producing an electrophotographic spray granulated toner of the present invention, the spray granulated product is classified in order to improve dot reproducibility during image formation, and the ratio of the mass average particle diameter to the number average particle diameter ( The mass average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) is preferably 1.03-1.50, more preferably 1.06-1.28. If the ratio is less than 1.03, the image quality is improved, but the productivity may be significantly reduced. If the ratio is more than 1.50, an image with a margin or uneven transfer may occur.

  Here, the mass average particle diameter and the ratio of the mass average particle diameter to the number average particle diameter (mass average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) are, for example, “Coulter Counter Multisizer”; manufactured by Beckman Coulter, Inc. Can be measured.

In the method for producing an electrophotographic spray granulated toner of the present invention, the average circularity of the toner is preferably 0.85 to 0.99, and preferably 0.94 to 0.00 in order to improve transferability during image formation. 97 is more preferred. When the average circularity is less than 0.85, gradation properties may be deteriorated or background stains may occur. When the average circularity exceeds 0.99, the cleaning property may be poor.
The average circularity is measured by, for example, an optical detection band method in which a suspension containing toner particles is passed through an imaging unit detection band on a flat plate, and a particle image is optically detected and analyzed by a CCD camera. For example, it can be measured using a flow type particle image analyzer FPIA-2100 (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.).

The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less is preferably 15% by number or less, and more preferably 5% by number or less. When the content of the fine powder exceeds 15% by number, gradation may be deteriorated or background stains may occur.
The content of the fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less can be measured by, for example, a flow type particle image analyzer (Flow Particle Image Analyzer).

Here, the toner production method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings while comparing with the conventional method (prior art method) as necessary.
In the conventional method shown in FIG. 1, the compressed compressed air 6-2 heated by the heat exchanger 8 guides the toner melted by the melter 2-1 and is sprayed from the high pressure gas nozzle 4. A co-flow air ring nozzle 9-1 is mounted on the upper portion of the chamber 3 along the high-pressure gas nozzle 4, and the sprayed toner is cooled by flowing the secondary air evenly in a ring shape with respect to the inner diameter of the chamber 3. Granulate. Further, the secondary air ejected from the co-flow air ring nozzle 9-1 prevents the chamber from staying and simultaneously generates a flow in the bottom (vertical) direction of the chamber. The air blown into the chamber and the spray granulated product 5 pass through the cyclone 7-1, and the granulated product is recovered in the recovery container 7-2. In spray granulation, the temperature of the compressed compressed air 6-2 is adjusted by the spray heat exchanger 8 in order to adjust the granulated particle diameter. The temperature adjustment range at this time is 150 to 350 ° C. Further, the temperature of the co-flow air 6-1 used for cooling the flow in the chamber and the sprayed product is adjusted by the co-flow heat exchanger 9-2. The temperature adjustment range at this time is 100 to 300 ° C.

Here, the conventional granulation method has the following problems.
(I) Decrease in energy efficiency by using compressed air for ejection from the co-flow air ring nozzle, (ii) Decrease in thermal energy efficiency by using a heat exchanger for ejection from the co-flow air ring nozzle, iii) Expansion of chamber by securing spray flight distance to ensure cooling time by using co-flow air ring nozzle, (iv) Increase in spray granulated product speed and chamber by jet air from co-flow air ring nozzle Since the residual temperature in the chamber is high (after the completion of particle granulation cooling, it is desirable that the temperature in the bottom of the chamber is cooled quickly), the granulated product melts again and is fused to the bottom, and the product recovery amount is descend.

  Further, one of the conventional methods (prior art methods) shown in FIG. 2 (2) “kneading a mixture selected from the following (1), (2), (3) and (4) under pressure or After injecting the supercritical fluid and uniformly kneading, (1) a mixture consisting of at least a binder resin and a colorant, (2) a mixture consisting of at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent, (3) at least A mixture of a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax; (4) at least one of a mixture of a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent and a wax is sprayed with a high-pressure gas while being discharged into the chamber. The “manufacturing method of electrophotographic toner to be microparticulated” also had the same problems as listed in (i) to (iv) of FIG.

In the present invention, instead of the ring of the co-flow air ring nozzle 9 shown in FIG. 1, the upper secondary air hole 3-B or the chamber 3 is formed in the chamber upper cover 3-A at the upper part of the chamber 3 shown in FIG. By providing the side surface secondary air hole 3-C on the side surface, the toner ejected from the high pressure gas nozzle 4 is cooled by the outside air (atmosphere), thereby solving the above problem.
FIG. 4 shows an upper secondary air hole 3-B provided in the chamber upper lid 3-A and is illustrated from above. FIG. 5 illustrates a stereoscopic image in which the upper secondary air hole 3-B is provided in the chamber upper lid 3-A. FIG. 6 illustrates a stereoscopic image in which the side surface secondary air holes 3-C are provided. FIG. 7 illustrates a stereoscopic image obtained by combining the mechanisms shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

In the method for producing the toner of the present invention, the air intake is an air intake capable of forming a swirling flow, and it is preferable that the intake air for cooling flows from the air intake to be granulated.
For example, the guide vanes 3-D and 3-E are further mounted so that the secondary air flowing into the secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 generates a swirling flow inside the chamber. Features. The above problem is solved by maintaining the residence time for the sprayed toner to be cooled and granulated by the swirling flow of the toner production method of the present invention.

In the toner manufacturing method of the present invention, the air intake port of the chamber is formed with a gate whose cross-sectional area can be adjusted, and the inlet air for cooling flows from the air intake port to be granulated. Is preferred.
For example, it is provided with guide vanes so that the secondary air flowing in can adjust the strength of the swirling flow inside the chamber by providing the opening adjustment of the secondary air hole shown in FIGS. And By the swirl flow, the above-mentioned problem is solved by maintaining the residence time for the toner to be sprayed by the swirling flow to further adjust the cooling and granulation.

In the toner manufacturing method of the present invention, the air inlet of the chamber is preferably covered with a soundproofing material.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 9, a soundproof material is provided in the secondary air hole, and the suction sound when the secondary air flows into the chamber or swirls in is reduced. The soundproofing material reduces the noise during spray granulation and improves the working environment. As a material for the soundproofing material, a material composed of a calum material such as neocalm or biocalm is excellent in durability and handleability, but is not limited thereto.

In the toner production method of the present invention, it is preferable that granulation is performed so that the in-machine static pressure P inside the chamber satisfies the following formula: −0.01 MPa ≦ P ≦ 0.01 MPa.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 9, the static pressure of the chamber is adjusted by the blower 12 in accordance with the spray air flow rate and the secondary air suction amount, and the static pressure P in the machine forms the following conditions and is granulated. And a method for producing an electrophotographic toner with further improvements.

In the toner production method of the present invention, it is preferable to form a jacket capable of adjusting the temperature on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber and granulate it.
For example, a jacket for adjusting the temperature is formed on the inner surface of the chamber shown in FIG. A further improved electrophotographic toner manufacturing method is characterized in that a temperature control jacket is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber to facilitate temperature control of the inner surface of the chamber.

In the toner manufacturing method of the present invention, it is preferable that the heat insulating mechanism is divided into a plurality of parts on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber and granulated.
For example, it is further characterized in that a jacket for adjusting the temperature is formed on the inner surface of the chamber shown in FIG. The outer peripheral surface of the jacket is a further improved method for producing an electrophotographic toner that makes it possible to easily control the temperature of the inner surface of the chamber by providing a temperature adjusting jacket in one or more portions.

In the toner production method of the present invention, it is preferable to form a soundproofing mechanism on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber and granulate it.
For example, a soundproofing material shown in FIG. 14 is provided to further reduce noise during spray granulation. The soundproofing material reduces the noise during spray granulation compared to those without it, thereby improving the working environment. The material of the soundproofing material is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. For example, a material composed of a calm material such as neocalm or biocalm is excellent in durability and handleability. Therefore, it is particularly suitable.

  In the toner production method of the present invention, the internal temperature of the melting or kneading machine for injecting and dispersing the supercritical fluid is in the range of the melting point or outflow start temperature of the toner from −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C., and the glass transition temperature of the toner. It is preferable to melt or knead in the range of + 30 ° C. to + 150 ° C. and spray the mixture with a high-pressure gas nozzle.

  In the method for producing a toner of the present invention, it is preferable to generate or irradiate a high-pressure gas with an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz.

  In the method for producing toner by the spray granulation method of the present invention, the heat conversion efficiency is improved by the secondary air flowing the spray-granulated toner into the chamber, and the noise at the time of sucking the secondary air by installing the soundproof material. Can be eliminated. As described above, (1) a mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant, (2) a mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent, and (3) at least a binder resin, a colorant and charge control. A mixture consisting of an agent and a wax, or (4) after at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent and a wax are uniformly melted by injecting a supercritical fluid under pressure using, for example, an extruder. This is a method of atomizing a high-pressure gas to form fine particles. FIG. 1 shows a conventional method (prior art method). The present invention is an improvement of the manufacturing method of the conceptual diagram of FIG. 1 by providing the secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B of FIG. In order to avoid duplication, it is assumed that FIG. 1 has secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B, and the method for producing toner by the supercritical fluid spray granulation method of the present invention is used. A concept showing an example will be described. The kneaded material 1 prepared in advance is put into the melting machine 2-1, fused with the supercritical fluid control device 2-2 during melting, and the molten product discharged from the melting machine 2-1 is placed inside the chamber 3. When spraying with the compressed air 6 discharged from the high-pressure gas nozzle 4 installed in the chamber, when the secondary air flows in from the upper and side surfaces of the chamber shown in FIG. 3, a spray granulated product 5 is generated. The spray granulated product 5 is cooled by the inflow air from the entire circumference shown in FIG. 7 while diffusing in the chamber, and is spheroidized by its own surface tension to produce toner.

  The second method is as follows: (1) a mixture of at least a binder resin and a colorant, and (2) at least a binder resin. , A mixture comprising a colorant and a charge control agent, (3) a mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax, or (4) comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent and a wax. In this method, the mixture is kneaded and then supercritically fused to form a fine particle by spraying a protruding high-pressure gas. The first method and the second method are properly used depending on the characteristics or required quality of the toner material. The second method is applied particularly when the toner material is easily dispersed. One approach is preferably applied.

FIG. 2 is another example showing the conventional method (prior art method), but the present invention provides secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B in FIG. 3 in the manufacturing method of the conceptual diagram in FIG. Since it can also be said to correspond to an improved one, in order to avoid duplication, it is assumed that FIG. 2 has secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B, and the supercritical fluid spray granulation method of the present invention is used. A concept showing an example of a toner manufacturing method according to the above will be described. When the mixture 1-2 is charged into the kneading machine 2-3 and the kneaded product fused and discharged with the supercritical fluid control device 2-2 during the kneading is sprayed by the high-pressure gas nozzle 4 installed in the chamber 3, When secondary air is introduced from the upper and side surfaces of the chamber shown in FIG. 3, a spray granulated product 5 is generated.
The spray granulated product 5 is cooled by the inflow air from the entire circumferential direction shown in FIG. 7 while diffusing in the chamber, and is spheroidized by its own surface tension to produce toner. The mixture 1-2 is charged into the kneading machine 2-3 (extruder) and then has high viscosity and self-heating etc. when dispersion and shearing are started by kneading. Accordingly, the self-heating temperature gradually decreases and the viscosity becomes low, and when kneading is completed, the molten state is the same as in the first method, and sprayed by the high-pressure gas nozzle 4 to generate the spray granulated product 5. The The spray granulated product 5 receives a cooling action during diffusion in the chamber and is spheroidized by its own surface tension to produce toner.

  In these first and second methods, the kneading or melting temperature is too lower than the outflow start temperature of the toner or binder resin in order to stabilize the particle characteristics among the spray granulation conditions of the toner. However, it is not stable even if it is too high. If the temperature is too low, there is a tendency to form fibrous particles. Conversely, if the temperature is too high, the material is carbonized and the characteristics of the toner are easily lost. The temperature is preferably a melting point or outflow start temperature of the toner of −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C., more preferably −10 ° C. to + 80 ° C., and further preferably −10 ° C. to + 50 ° C.

  Also, in order to make the shape uniform among the spray granulation conditions of the toner supercritical fluid, it is optimal whether the kneading or melting temperature is too low or too high than the glass transition temperature of the toner or binder resin. Cannot be granulated. If the kneading or melting temperature is too low, unnecessary fine powder granulation and fibrous particles may be mixed as an electrophotographic spray granulation toner. Conversely, if the temperature is too high, the surface tension during cooling will be low. It tends to decrease and the average circularity of the particles is lost. As said appropriate temperature, +10 degreeC-+100 degreeC of glass transition temperature is preferable, and +20 degreeC-+80 degreeC are more preferable.

  Further, among the spray granulation conditions of the toner, in order to perform uniform granulation of particles, optimum granulation cannot be performed if the viscosity during kneading or melting is too low or too high. If the viscosity is too low, there is a tendency that fine powder granulation is unnecessary as a spray granulation toner for electrophotography. Conversely, if the viscosity is too high, granulation of coarse particles may increase. The viscosity is preferably 1 to 400 Pa · s, more preferably 40 to 200 Pa · s.

  Further, in the apparatus used for producing the electrogranulating spray granulated toner of the present invention, the number of spray nozzles for spray granulation is 4 to 20 or less with respect to the kneading / melt-projecting die, It is preferable for the following reasons. 17 shows an enlarged view of the high-pressure gas nozzle 4 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, FIG. 15 shows a sectional view of the high-pressure gas nozzle 4 in the vertical direction AB, and FIG. 16 shows a horizontal sectional view. A kneading / melt discharge nozzle 2a is provided at the center of the high-pressure nozzle 4, a spray nozzle 4a distributed from the high-pressure nozzle is provided around the nozzle, and a distributed spray nozzle 4b is provided around the nozzle. These spray nozzles form a Laval structure that generates supersonic speed or a straight structure that sprays high pressure. From this spray nozzle, supersonic air or high-pressure air is jetted onto the kneaded product / melt of toner discharged from the kneading / melt projecting die. After the spray nozzle 4a first collides with the sprayed air, the spray nozzle 4b collides with the second cross at the tip, and the kneaded material / melt is atomized by the shearing action. In order to increase the number of collisions depending on the viscosity of the particles and the target particle size, the number of spray nozzles is preferably 4 to 20, and particularly 8 to 16 is optimal.

  In the toner production method of the present invention, it is preferable that the gas protruding from the spray nozzle is granulated by generating or irradiating an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz or less for the following reason. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the high-pressure nozzle 4 in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the vertical direction AB, and FIG. 17 shows an enlarged view of the spray nozzle. A staying zone 10 for compressed air 6 is formed inside the spray nozzles 4a and 4b. When the compressed air 6 passes through the spray nozzle 4a and is jetted, the turbulence of the flow when the air flows collide with each other when the air flow once collides with the retention zone 13 and then returns to the main flow 6a. It becomes a pulse. By this ultrasonic pulse, the kneaded material / melt is subjected to a strong shearing action and atomized. The generation frequency of this ultrasonic pulse is preferably 10 to 80 kHz, and more preferably 20 to 60 kHz. For example, when a method described in the pamphlet of International Publication No. 02/089998 is adopted as the generation mechanism of such an ultrasonic pulse, the pressure can be reduced and particles can be atomized with low energy.

  In the toner production method of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust the pressure in the spray granulating chamber to make the granulation inside the chamber uniform. The pressure in the chamber is preferably −0.01 to 0.01 MPa, more preferably −0.005 to 0.005 MPa. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (where the secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B are provided), the pressure inside the chamber 3 is adjusted by the blower suction 12.

  In the toner production method of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust the high-pressure air temperature for spray granulation because spray granulation can be easily performed. 1 and 2 (however, those having secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B) show a high-pressure air 6-2 equipped with a heat exchanger 8, and are discharged. Spray granulation can be easily performed by smoothing the cross-collision and shearing action of the kneaded / melted product. As high-pressure air temperature, 50-200 degreeC is preferable and 70-200 degreeC is more preferable.

  Further, in the toner production method of the present invention, a melting machine 2-1 or a kneading machine 2 as exemplified in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 (however, those having secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B). -3, adjusting the temperature at which the binder resin, colorant, charge control agent, wax, etc. are kneaded or melted is effective in preventing the dispersibility and thermal history of the spray granulated toner material from affecting the material. Yes, the temperature at the time of kneading or melting is preferably 50 to 200 ° C, more preferably 70 to 180 ° C.

  Further, in the toner manufacturing method of the present invention, adjusting the temperature inside the chamber for spray granulation is effective for making the sprayed particles spherical. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (however, those having secondary air holes 3-A and 3-B), the particles are spheroidized by the self-surface tension of the particles sprayed into the chamber 3, and at that time, they are spheroidized. The particles need to be cooled instantly to prevent secondary aggregation due to collisions between the particles. Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the temperature inside a chamber to -10-80 degreeC, and 20-50 degreeC is more preferable.

  According to the toner manufacturing method of the present invention, in the dry spray granulation step, when cooling granulation is performed, the upper part of the chamber, the side of the chamber, or the upper part of the chamber and the side of the chamber are used together to suck the secondary air. The heat conversion efficiency at the time of granulation is high, and the recovery rate of the granulated product is improved. Further, by mounting a soundproof material on the entire surface of the secondary air inflow portion or the chamber, noise countermeasures are achieved and the working environment is improved.

(Developer)
The developer of the present invention contains at least the toner of the present invention, and other components such as a carrier selected appropriately. The developer may be a one-component developer or a two-component developer. However, when it is used for a high-speed printer or the like corresponding to the recent improvement in information processing speed, the life is improved. In view of the above, the two-component developer is preferable.
In the case of the one-component developer using the toner of the present invention, even if the balance of the toner is performed, there is little fluctuation in the particle diameter of the toner, and the filming of the toner on the developing roller or the toner is made thin. Therefore, the toner is not fused to a member such as a blade, and good and stable developability and images can be obtained even when the developing device is used (stirred) for a long time. Further, in the case of the two-component developer using the toner of the present invention, even if the balance of the toner over a long period of time is performed, the fluctuation of the toner particle diameter in the developer is small, and even in the long-term stirring in the developer, Good and stable developability can be obtained.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said carrier, Although it can select suitably according to the objective, What has a core material and the resin layer which coat | covers this core material is preferable.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular as a material of the said core material, It can select suitably from well-known things, For example, 50-90 emu / g manganese-strontium (Mn-Sr) type material, manganese-magnesium (Mn-) Mg) -based materials and the like are preferable, and highly magnetized materials such as iron powder (100 emu / g or more) and magnetite (75 to 120 emu / g) are preferable in terms of securing image density. Further, a weakly magnetized material such as a copper-zinc (Cu—Zn) -based (30 to 80 emu / g) is advantageous in that it can weaken the contact with the photoconductor in which the toner is in a spiked state and is advantageous in improving the image quality. Is preferred. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The particle diameter of the core material is preferably an average particle diameter (volume average particle diameter (D ₅₀ )) of 10 to 200 μm, and more preferably 40 to 100 μm.
When the average particle diameter (volume average particle diameter (D ₅₀ )) is less than 10 μm, the distribution of carrier particles may increase the number of fine powders, lower the magnetization per particle, and cause carrier scattering. If the thickness exceeds 200 μm, the specific surface area may decrease and toner scattering may occur. In the case of a full color having a large solid portion, the reproduction of the solid portion may be deteriorated.

  The material of the resin layer is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected from known resins according to the purpose. For example, amino resins, polyvinyl resins, polystyrene resins, halogenated olefin resins, Polyester resin, polycarbonate resin, polyethylene resin, polyvinyl fluoride resin, polyvinylidene fluoride resin, polytrifluoroethylene resin, polyhexafluoropropylene resin, copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and acrylic monomer, fluorine And a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and vinyl fluoride, a fluoroterpolymer such as a terpolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, vinylidene fluoride and a non-fluorinated monomer, and a silicone resin. These may be used individually by 1 type and may use 2 or more types together.

  Examples of the amino resin include urea-formaldehyde resin, melamine resin, benzoguanamine resin, urea resin, polyamide resin, and epoxy resin. Examples of the polyvinyl resin include acrylic resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, and polyvinyl butyral resin. Examples of the polystyrene resin include polystyrene resin and styrene-acrylic copolymer resin. Examples of the halogenated olefin resin include polyvinyl chloride. Examples of the polyester resin include polyethylene terephthalate resin and polybutylene terephthalate resin.

  The resin layer may contain conductive powder or the like as necessary. Examples of the conductive powder include metal powder, carbon black, titanium oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide. The average particle diameter of these conductive powders is preferably 1 μm or less. When the average particle diameter exceeds 1 μm, it may be difficult to control electric resistance.

For example, the resin layer is prepared by dissolving the silicone resin or the like in a solvent to prepare a coating solution, and then uniformly coating the coating solution on the surface of the core material by a known coating method, drying, and baking. It can be formed by doing. Examples of the application method include an immersion method, a spray method, and a brush coating method.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said solvent, Although it can select suitably according to the objective, For example, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, cellosolve, butyl acetate, etc. are mentioned.
The baking is not particularly limited, and may be an external heating method or an internal heating method. For example, a stationary electric furnace, a fluid electric furnace, a rotary electric furnace, a burner furnace, etc. The method of using, the method of using a microwave, etc. are mentioned.

The amount of the resin layer in the carrier is preferably 0.01 to 5.0% by mass.
When the amount is less than 0.01% by mass, the uniform resin layer may not be formed on the surface of the core material. When the amount exceeds 5.0% by mass, the resin layer becomes thick. In some cases, granulation of carriers occurs, and uniform carrier particles may not be obtained.

When the developer is the two-component developer, the content of the carrier in the two-component developer is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. For example, 90 to 98% by mass Is preferable, and 93-97 mass% is more preferable.
In general, the mixing ratio of the toner and the carrier of the two-component developer is preferably 1 to 10.0 parts by mass of the toner with respect to 100 parts by mass of the carrier.

Since the developer of the present invention contains the toner of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of photoconductor filming, and to stably form excellent clear high-quality images without fluctuations in image unevenness. Can do.
The developer of the present invention can be suitably used for image formation by various known electrophotographic methods such as a magnetic one-component development method, a non-magnetic one-component development method, and a two-component development method. It can be particularly suitably used for containers, process cartridges, image forming apparatuses and image forming methods.

(Toner container)
The toner-containing container of the present invention comprises the toner or the developer of the present invention contained in a container.

  The toner-containing container is filled and accommodated in a conventionally used container such as a container provided with an agitator inside, a plastic container with a wall having a spiral structure, or a cartridge type container. A container that contains toner separately from the main body is supplied to the user. Furthermore, recently, a sales method for supplying a shortage of toner to a container at hand of a user has been considered.

There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said container, It can select suitably from well-known things, For example, what has a toner container main body and a cap etc. are mentioned suitably.
The size, shape, structure, material and the like of the toner container body are not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. For example, the shape is preferably a cylindrical shape, A spiral unevenness is formed on the surface, the toner as the contents can be transferred to the discharge port side by rotating, and a part or all of the spiral part has a bellows function, etc. Particularly preferred.
The material of the toner container main body is not particularly limited, and those having good dimensional accuracy are preferable. For example, a resin is preferable, and among them, for example, polyester resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polystyrene resin, polychlorinated resin Preferred examples include vinyl resin, polyacrylic acid, polycarbonate resin, ABS resin, polyacetal resin, and the like.
The toner-containing container of the present invention is easy to store and transport, has excellent handleability, and is preferably used for replenishing toner by being detachably attached to the process cartridge and image forming apparatus of the present invention described later. Can do.

(Process cartridge)
The process cartridge of the present invention develops an electrostatic latent image carrier carrying an electrostatic latent image and the electrostatic latent image carried on the electrostatic latent image carrier using toner to produce a visible image. The image forming apparatus includes at least a developing unit to be formed, and further includes other units such as a charging unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, a cleaning unit, and a discharging unit, which are appropriately selected as necessary.
The developing means includes a developer container that contains the toner or developer of the present invention, and a developer carrier that carries and transports the toner or developer contained in the developer container. And a layer thickness regulating member for regulating the thickness of the toner layer to be carried.
The process cartridge of the present invention can be detachably provided in various electrophotographic apparatuses, facsimiles, and printers, and is preferably detachably provided in the image forming apparatus of the present invention described later.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 18, the process cartridge includes a photosensitive member 101, and includes a charging unit 102, a developing unit 104, a transfer unit 108, and a cleaning unit 107, and other units as necessary. It has. In FIG. 18, reference numeral 103 denotes exposure by exposure means, and 105 denotes a recording medium.
As the photoreceptor 101, the same one as an image forming apparatus described later can be used. An arbitrary charging member is used for the charging means 102.
Next, the image forming process using the process cartridge shown in FIG. 18 will be described. The photoconductor 101 is charged on the surface by charging by the charging means 102 and exposure 103 by the exposure means (not shown) while rotating in the arrow direction. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the exposure image is formed. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner by the developing unit 104, and the toner development is transferred to the recording medium 105 by the transfer unit 108 and printed out. Next, the surface of the photoconductor after the image transfer is cleaned by the cleaning unit 107, further neutralized by a neutralizing unit (not shown), and the above operation is repeated again.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is constructed by integrally combining the electrostatic latent image carrier and the components such as a developing device and a cleaning device as a process cartridge, and this unit can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. It may be configured. Further, at least one of a charger, an image exposure device, a developing device, a transfer or separation device, and a cleaning device is integrally supported together with an electrostatic latent image carrier to form a process cartridge, and is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. One unit may be detachable using guide means such as a rail of the apparatus main body.

(Image forming apparatus and image forming method)
The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes at least an electrostatic latent image carrier, an electrostatic latent image forming unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, and a fixing unit, and further appropriately selected as necessary. It has other means, for example, static elimination means, cleaning means, recycling means, control means and the like.
The image forming method of the present invention includes at least an electrostatic latent image forming step, a developing step, a transfer step, and a fixing step, and other steps appropriately selected as necessary, for example, a static elimination step, a cleaning step. A recycling process, a control process, and the like.

  The image forming method of the present invention can be preferably carried out by the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the electrostatic latent image forming step can be performed by the electrostatic latent image forming means, and the developing step is the developing The transfer step can be performed by the transfer unit, the fixing step can be performed by the fixing unit, and the other steps can be performed by the other unit.

-Electrostatic latent image forming step and electrostatic latent image forming means-
The electrostatic latent image forming step is a step of forming an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image carrier.
The electrostatic latent image carrier (sometimes referred to as “electrophotographic photosensitive member” or “photosensitive member”) is not particularly limited in terms of material, shape, structure, size, etc. Although it can be selected as appropriate, the shape thereof is preferably a drum shape, and examples of the material include inorganic photoreceptors such as amorphous silicon and selenium, and organic photoreceptors such as polysilane and phthalopolymethine. . Among these, amorphous silicon or the like is preferable in terms of long life.

  As the amorphous silicon photoreceptor, for example, a support is heated to 50 to 400 ° C., and a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, a thermal CVD method, a photo CVD method, a plasma CVD method, or the like is applied on the support. A photoconductor having a photoconductive layer made of a-Si (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “a-Si-based photoconductor”) can be used. Among these, a plasma CVD method, that is, a method in which a source gas is decomposed by direct current, high frequency or microwave glow discharge to form an a-Si deposited film on a support is preferable.

The electrostatic latent image can be formed, for example, by charging the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier and then exposing it like an image, and by the electrostatic latent image forming means. .
The electrostatic latent image forming unit includes, for example, at least a charger that charges the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier and an exposure device that exposes the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier imagewise.

The charging can be performed, for example, by applying a voltage to the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier using the charger.
The charger is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the purpose. For example, a known contact charging device including a conductive or semiconductive roller, brush, film, rubber blade, etc. And non-contact chargers utilizing corona discharge such as corotrons and corotrons.

The shape of the charging member may be any form such as a magnetic brush or a fur brush in addition to a roller, and can be selected according to the specifications and form of the electrophotographic apparatus. When the magnetic brush is used, the magnetic brush is made up of various ferrite particles such as Zn-Cu ferrite as a charging member, a nonmagnetic conductive sleeve for supporting the ferrite member, and a magnet roll included in the nonmagnetic conductive sleeve. Or when using a brush, for example, as the material of the fur brush, a fur treated with carbon, copper sulfide, metal or metal oxide is used, and this is wound or attached to a metal or other conductive core. To make a charger.
The charger is not limited to the contact charger as described above. However, since an image forming apparatus in which ozone generated from the charger is reduced is obtained, a contact charger is used. preferable.

The exposure can be performed, for example, by exposing the surface of the latent electrostatic image bearing member imagewise using the exposure device.
The exposure device is not particularly limited as long as it can expose the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier charged by the charger so as to form an image to be formed, and is appropriately selected according to the purpose. For example, various exposure devices such as a copying optical system, a rod lens array system, a laser optical system, and a liquid crystal shutter optical system can be used.
In the present invention, a back light system in which imagewise exposure is performed from the back surface side of the electrostatic latent image carrier may be adopted.

-Development process and development means-
The developing step is a step of developing the electrostatic latent image using the toner or the developer of the present invention to form a visible image.
The visible image can be formed, for example, by developing the electrostatic latent image using the toner or the developer of the present invention, and can be performed by the developing unit.
The developing means is not particularly limited as long as it can be developed using, for example, the toner or developer of the present invention, and can be appropriately selected from known ones. For example, the toner of the present invention Preferably, a developer containing at least a developer and having at least a developing unit capable of contacting or non-contacting the toner or the developer with the electrostatic latent image is provided, and includes the toner container according to the present invention. More preferred is a developing device.

  The developing unit may be a dry developing type, a wet developing type, a single color developing unit, or a multi-color developing unit. For example, a toner having a stirrer for charging the toner or the developer by frictional stirring and a rotatable magnet roller is preferable.

  In the developing device, for example, the toner and the carrier are mixed and agitated, and the toner is charged by friction at that time, and held on the surface of the rotating magnet roller in a raised state to form a magnetic brush. . Since the magnet roller is disposed in the vicinity of the electrostatic latent image carrier (photoconductor), a part of the toner constituting the magnetic brush formed on the surface of the magnet roller is electrically attracted. It moves to the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier (photoconductor) by force. As a result, the electrostatic latent image is developed with the toner, and a visible image is formed with the toner on the surface of the electrostatic latent image carrier (photoconductor).

  The developer accommodated in the developing device is a developer containing the toner of the present invention, but the developer may be a one-component developer or a two-component developer. The toner contained in the developer is the toner of the present invention.

-Transfer process and transfer means-
The transfer step is a step of transferring the visible image onto a recording medium. After the primary transfer of the visible image onto the intermediate transfer member using an intermediate transfer member, the visible image is transferred onto the recording medium. A primary transfer step of forming a composite transfer image by transferring a visible image onto an intermediate transfer body using two or more colors, preferably full color toner as the toner, and a composite transfer image; A mode including a secondary transfer step of transferring the transfer image onto the recording medium is more preferable.
The transfer can be performed, for example, by charging the latent electrostatic image bearing member (photoconductor) of the visible image using a transfer charger, and can be performed by the transfer unit. The transfer means includes a primary transfer means for transferring a visible image onto an intermediate transfer member to form a composite transfer image, and a secondary transfer means for transferring the composite transfer image onto a recording medium. Embodiments are preferred.
The intermediate transfer member is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected from known transfer members according to the purpose. For example, a transfer belt and the like are preferable.

The transfer means (the primary transfer means, the secondary transfer means) is a transfer for peeling and charging the visible image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier (photoconductor) to the recording medium side. It is preferable to have at least a vessel. The number of the transfer means may be one, or two or more.
Examples of the transfer device include a corona transfer device using corona discharge, a transfer belt, a transfer roller, a pressure transfer roller, and an adhesive transfer device.
The recording medium is typically plain paper, but is not particularly limited as long as it can transfer an unfixed image after development, and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. PET for OHP A base or the like can also be used.

-Fixing Step and Fixing Unit The fixing step is a step of fixing the visible image transferred to the recording medium using a fixing device, and may be performed each time the toner of each color is transferred to the recording medium. Alternatively, the toners of the respective colors may be simultaneously formed in a state where they are laminated.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said fixing device, Although it can select suitably according to the objective, A well-known heating-pressing means is suitable. Examples of the heating and pressing means include a combination of a heating roller and a pressure roller, a combination of a heating roller, a pressure roller, and an endless belt.
The heating in the heating and pressing means is usually preferably 80 to 200 ° C.
In the present invention, for example, a known optical fixing device may be used together with or in place of the fixing step and the fixing unit depending on the purpose.

The neutralization step is a step of performing neutralization by applying a neutralization bias to the electrostatic latent image carrier, and can be suitably performed by a neutralization unit.
The neutralizing means is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected from known neutralizers as long as it can apply a neutralizing bias to the latent electrostatic image bearing member. Preferably mentioned.

The cleaning step is a step of removing the toner remaining on the electrostatic latent image carrier and can be suitably performed by a cleaning unit.
The cleaning means is not particularly limited as long as it can remove the electrophotographic toner remaining on the electrostatic latent image carrier, and can be appropriately selected from known cleaners. Suitable examples include brush cleaners, electrostatic brush cleaners, magnetic roller cleaners, blade cleaners, brush cleaners, web cleaners, and the like.

The recycling step is a step of recycling the toner removed by the cleaning step to the developing unit, and can be suitably performed by the recycling unit.
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as said recycling means, A well-known conveyance means etc. are mentioned.

The control means is a process for controlling the respective steps, and can be suitably performed by the control means.
The control means is not particularly limited as long as the movement of each means can be controlled, and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. Examples thereof include devices such as a sequencer and a computer.

  Next, one mode for carrying out the image forming method of the present invention by the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. An image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 19 includes a photosensitive drum 10 (hereinafter referred to as “photosensitive member 10”) as the electrostatic latent image carrier, a charging roller 20 as the charging unit, and exposure as the exposure unit. The apparatus 30 includes a developing device 40 as the developing means, an intermediate transfer member 50, a cleaning device 60 as the cleaning means having a cleaning blade, and a static elimination lamp 70 as the static elimination means.

  The intermediate transfer member 50 is an endless belt, and is designed to be movable in the direction of an arrow by three rollers 51 that are arranged inside and stretched. Part of the three rollers 51 also functions as a transfer bias roller that can apply a predetermined transfer bias (primary transfer bias) to the intermediate transfer member 50. The intermediate transfer body 50 is provided with a cleaning device 90 having a cleaning blade in the vicinity thereof, and for transferring (secondary transfer) a developed image (toner image) onto a transfer sheet 95 as a final recording medium. A transfer roller 80 serving as a transfer unit to which a transfer bias can be applied is disposed to face the transfer roller 80. Around the intermediate transfer member 50, a corona charger 58 for applying a charge to the toner image on the intermediate transfer member 50 is arranged between the photosensitive member 10 and the intermediate transfer member 50 in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer member 50. It is disposed between the contact portion and the contact portion between the intermediate transfer member 50 and the transfer paper 95.

  The developing device 40 includes a developing belt 41 as the developer carrying member, and a black developing unit 45K, a yellow developing unit 45Y, a magenta developing unit 45M, and a cyan developing unit 45C provided around the developing belt 41. . The black developing unit 45K includes a developer accommodating portion 42K, a developer supplying roller 43K, and a developing roller 44K. The yellow developing unit 45Y includes a developer accommodating portion 42Y, a developer supplying roller 43Y, and a developing roller 44Y. The magenta developing unit 45M includes a developer accommodating portion 42M, a developer supplying roller 43M, and a developing roller 44M, and the cyan developing unit 45C includes a developer accommodating portion 42C and a developer supplying roller 43C. And a developing roller 44C. The developing belt 41 is an endless belt, is rotatably stretched around a plurality of belt rollers, and a part thereof is in contact with the photoconductor 10.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 19, for example, the charging roller 20 charges the photosensitive drum 10 uniformly. The exposure device 30 performs imagewise exposure on the photosensitive drum 10 to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 is developed by supplying toner from the developing device 40 to form a toner image. The toner image is transferred (primary transfer) onto the intermediate transfer member 50 by the voltage applied from the roller 51 and further transferred (secondary transfer) onto the transfer paper 95. As a result, a transfer image is formed on the transfer paper 95. The residual toner on the photoconductor 10 is removed by the cleaning device 60, and the charge on the photoconductor 10 is temporarily removed by the charge eliminating lamp 70.

  Another mode for carrying out the image forming method of the present invention by the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. An image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 20 does not include the developing belt 41 in the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 19, and a black developing unit 45K, a yellow developing unit 45Y, a magenta developing unit 45M, and the like around the photoconductor 10. Except for the fact that the cyan developing unit 45C is arranged directly opposite, it has the same configuration as the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. In FIG. 20, the same components as those in FIG. 19 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Another mode for carrying out the image forming method of the present invention by the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A tandem image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 21 is a tandem color image forming apparatus. The tandem image forming apparatus 120 includes a copying apparatus main body 150, a paper feed table 200, a scanner 300, and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 400.
The copying apparatus main body 150 is provided with an endless belt-like intermediate transfer member 50 at the center. The intermediate transfer member 50 is stretched around the support rollers 14, 15 and 16, and can rotate clockwise in FIG. 21. An intermediate transfer body cleaning device 17 for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer body 50 is disposed in the vicinity of the support roller 15. The intermediate transfer body 50 stretched by the support roller 14 and the support roller 15 is a tandem type in which four image forming means 18 of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black are arranged in parallel and facing each other along the conveyance direction. A developing device 120 is disposed. An exposure device 21 is disposed in the vicinity of the tandem developing device 120. A secondary transfer device 22 is disposed on the side of the intermediate transfer member 50 opposite to the side on which the tandem developing device 120 is disposed. In the secondary transfer device 22, a secondary transfer belt 24, which is an endless belt, is stretched around a pair of rollers 23, and the transfer paper conveyed on the secondary transfer belt 24 and the intermediate transfer body 50 are in contact with each other. Is possible. A fixing device 25 is disposed in the vicinity of the secondary transfer device 22.
In the tandem image forming apparatus 100, a sheet reversing device 28 for reversing the transfer paper for image formation on both sides of the transfer paper is disposed in the vicinity of the secondary transfer device 22 and the fixing device 25. Yes.

  Next, formation of a full-color image (color copy) using the tandem developing device 120 will be described. That is, first, a document is set on the document table 130 of the automatic document feeder (ADF) 400, or the automatic document feeder 400 is opened and the document is set on the contact glass 32 of the scanner 300. 400 is closed.

  When a start switch (not shown) is pressed, when the document is set on the automatic document feeder 400, the document is transported and moved onto the contact glass 32, and then the document is set on the contact glass 32. Immediately after that, the scanner 300 is driven, and the first traveling body 33 and the second traveling body 34 travel. At this time, light from the light source is irradiated by the first traveling body 33 and reflected light from the document surface is reflected by the mirror in the second traveling body 34 and is received by the reading sensor 36 through the imaging lens 35 to be color. An original (color image) is read and used as black, yellow, magenta, and cyan image information.

  Each image information of black, yellow, magenta and cyan is stored in each image forming means 18 (black image forming means, yellow image forming means, magenta image forming means and cyan image forming means in the tandem developing device 120. ) And black, yellow, magenta and cyan toner images are formed in the respective image forming means. That is, each image forming means 18 (black image forming means, yellow image forming means, magenta image forming means, and cyan image forming means) in the tandem type developing device 120 is photosensitive as shown in FIG. On the basis of the body 10 (the black photoreceptor 10K, the yellow photoreceptor 10Y, the magenta photoreceptor 10M, and the cyan photoreceptor 10C), the charger 60 that uniformly charges the photoreceptor, and each color image information. The photosensitive member is exposed to each color image corresponding image (L in FIG. 22), and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to each color image is formed on the photosensitive member. A developing unit 61 that develops using color toners (black toner, yellow toner, magenta toner, and cyan toner) to form a toner image with each color toner, and intermediate the toner image A transfer charger 62 for transferring the image onto the photoconductor 50, a photoconductor cleaning device 63, and a static eliminator 64 are provided, and each single color image (black image, yellow image) is based on the image information of each color. , Magenta image and cyan image) can be formed. The black image, the yellow image, the magenta image, and the cyan image formed in this way are formed on the black photoconductor 10K on the intermediate transfer member 50 that is rotationally moved by the support rollers 14, 15, and 16, respectively. The black image, the yellow image formed on the yellow photoconductor 10Y, the magenta image formed on the magenta photoconductor 10M, and the cyan image formed on the cyan photoconductor 10C are sequentially transferred (primary transfer). Is done. Then, the black image, the yellow image, the magenta image, and the cyan image are superimposed on the intermediate transfer member 50 to form a composite color image (color transfer image).

  On the other hand, in the paper feed table 200, one of the paper feed rollers 142 is selectively rotated to feed out a sheet (recording paper) from one of the paper feed cassettes 144 provided in multiple stages in the paper bank 143. Each sheet is separated and sent to the paper feed path 146, transported by the transport roller 147, guided to the paper feed path 148 in the copying machine main body 150, and abutted against the registration roller 49 and stopped. Alternatively, the sheet feed roller 142 is rotated to feed out sheets (recording paper) on the manual feed tray 54, separated one by one by the separation roller 52, put into the manual feed path 53, and abutted against the registration roller 49 and stopped. . The registration roller 49 is generally used while being grounded, but may be used in a state where a bias is applied to remove paper dust from the sheet. Then, the registration roller 49 is rotated in synchronization with the synthesized color image (color transfer image) synthesized on the intermediate transfer member 50, and a sheet (recording paper) is interposed between the intermediate transfer member 50 and the secondary transfer device 22. The secondary color transfer device 22 transfers the composite color image (color transfer image) onto the sheet (recording paper), thereby transferring the color image onto the sheet (recording paper). Is formed. The residual toner on the intermediate transfer member 50 after image transfer is cleaned by the intermediate transfer member cleaning device 17.

  The sheet (recording paper) on which the color image has been transferred is conveyed by the secondary transfer device 22 and sent to the fixing device 25, where the combined color image (color) is generated by heat and pressure. (Transfer image) is fixed on the sheet (recording paper). Thereafter, the sheet (recording paper) is switched by the switching claw 55 and discharged by the discharge roller 56 and stacked on the paper discharge tray 57, or switched by the switching claw 55 and reversed by the sheet reversing device 28 and transferred again. After being guided to the position and recording an image on the back surface, the image is discharged by the discharge roller 56 and stacked on the discharge tray 57.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. In the following examples and comparative examples, the mass average particle size, mass average particle size / number average particle size, average circularity, content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less, and noise measurement methods are as follows.

<Measurement of mass average particle size and particle size distribution>
For the mass average particle size and particle size distribution of the toner, the mass average particle size and number average particle size were measured using a particle size measuring device (“Coulter Counter Multisizer”; manufactured by Beckman Coulter, Inc.) under the condition that the aperture diameter was 100 μm. From these results, (mass average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) was calculated.

<Measurement of average circularity>
The average circularity of the toner was measured using a flow particle image analyzer (“FPIA-2100”; manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.). Specifically, 0.1 to 0.5 ml of a surfactant (alkylbenzene sulfonate) as a dispersant is added to 100 to 150 ml of water from which impure solids have been removed in advance, and each toner is further added. 0.1 to 0.5 g was added and dispersed. The obtained dispersion was dispersed for about 1 to 3 minutes with an ultrasonic disperser (manufactured by Honda Electronics Co., Ltd.), and the shape and distribution of the toner were measured at a dispersion concentration of 3000 to 10,000 / μl. The average circularity was calculated from these measurement results.

<Measurement of content of fine powder having particle diameter of 2 μm or less>
It measured using the flow type particle image analyzer ("FPIA-2100"; Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. make). As a measurement result, a particle state in which the particle size distribution and the circularity distribution are combined is displayed as a two-dimensional graph as a scattergram, and the X axis of the particle size is displayed in 226 divisions from 0.6 to 400 μm. The X-axis can be arbitrarily displayed in a three-part distribution of small particle ratio, medium particle ratio, and large particle ratio, so that the content ratio of 0.6 μm to 2 μm is obtained by setting the small particle ratio range to 2 μm or less. be able to.

<Measurement of noise>
Noise measurement at the time of spraying used SOUND LEVEL METER SL-1350 made by Custom Co., Ltd. As an evaluation method, an equivalent noise level (unit decibel) was used, and a fluctuating noise level was determined within a certain period of time and a steady noise level with an energy equal to that based on JIS Z8731 “Noise level measurement method”. The decibel value increases as the difference between the sound pressure of the noise and the steady sound increases.

Example 1
100.0 parts by mass of a polyol resin, 6.0 parts by mass of quinacridone magenta pigment (CI Pigment Red122), and 2 parts by mass of zinc salicylate as a charge control agent were mixed with a mixer, and melt-kneaded with an extruder. . This kneaded product is replaced with the spray granulator shown in FIG. 1 (in place of the ring of the co-flow air ring nozzle 9-1 shown in FIG. 1, the upper secondary is placed on the upper chamber lid 3-A of the chamber 3 shown in FIG. Using air hole 3-B or side surface secondary air hole 3-C on the side surface of chamber 3), and the amount of carbon dioxide injected in the supercritical state is 1.0 mass with a melt viscosity of 120 Pa · s. %, And the melt viscosity was reduced to 100 Pa · s to perform spray granulation. At that time, the suction secondary air amount Q1 from the upper part of the chamber is Q1 = 2/5 × Q with respect to the spray granulation high pressure gas spray amount Q, and the suction amount Q2 from the side of the chamber is Q2 with respect to the spray granulation high pressure gas spray amount Q. = 1/5 × Q to obtain toner base particles having a mass average particle size of 5.5 μm, a mass average particle size / number average particle size = 1.18, and an average circularity of 0.97 (melting of kneaded material) The granulation recovery rate or product recovery rate relative to the input was 90%). The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 8% by number.
Detailed conditions are shown below.
-Melting machine temperature: 70-130 ° C
-Number of spray nozzles: 8 (4 primary cross collision nozzles, 4 secondary cross collision nozzles)
-Spray pressure: 0.5 MPa
・ Compressed air temperature: 150 ℃
-Chamber internal temperature: 30 ° C
・ Suction upper air volume of chamber upper part: 2/5 × Q
・ Suction side air volume on chamber side: 1/5 × Q

(Example 2)
2 (in place of the ring of the co-flow air ring nozzle 9-1 shown in FIG. 2, the upper secondary air hole 3-A is formed in the chamber upper lid 3-A of the upper portion of the chamber 3 shown in FIG. B or a side surface of the chamber 3 provided with side secondary air holes 3-C), and 1.0 mass% of carbon dioxide injection amount in a supercritical state was added to the kneaded material, followed by direct spray granulation. Thereafter, toner base particles having a mass average particle size of 5.6 μm, a mass average particle size / number average particle size = 1.20, and an average circularity of 0.96 were obtained through the same materials and classification means as in Example 1. The granulation recovery rate or product recovery rate with respect to the kneaded material melt input was 91%). The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 10% by number.
Detailed conditions are shown below.
-Kneader temperature: 50-150 ° C
-Number of spray nozzles: 8 (4 primary cross collision nozzles, 4 secondary cross collision nozzles)
-Spray pressure: 0.5 MPa
・ Compressed air temperature: 150 ℃
-Chamber internal temperature: 30 ° C
・ Suction upper air volume in chamber: 1/5 × Q
・ Suction side air volume on chamber side: 2/5 × Q

(Example 3)
In Example 2, the spray granulator shown in FIG. 2 was further formed into the chamber upper secondary air inflow hole and side secondary air suction hole with the soundproofing material (Neocalm (sintered aluminum powder formed by sintering) as shown in FIGS. The toner base particles having a mass average particle size of 5.6 μm, a mass average particle size / number average particle size = 1.20, and an average circularity of 0.96 are sprayed and granulated. (The granulation recovery rate or product recovery rate with respect to the kneaded product melt input amount was 91%). The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 10% by number. At that time, the noise during granulation was reduced from 85 dB to 80 dB as compared with Examples 1 and 2.

Example 4
In Example 3, the spray granulator shown in FIG. 2 is further sprayed and granulated by covering the entire chamber with a soundproofing material (neocalm (a plate-like sound absorbing material formed by sintering aluminum powder)) shown in FIG. A toner base particle having a mass average particle size of 5.6 μm, a mass average particle size / number average particle size = 1.20, and an average circularity of 0.96 was obtained (granulation recovery rate or product recovery rate with respect to the kneaded material melt input amount). Was 91%). The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 10% by number. At that time, the noise during granulation was reduced from 85 dB to 78 dB as compared with Examples 1 and 2.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Example 1, using the spray granulation apparatus (having the ring of the co-flow air ring nozzle 9-1) shown in FIG. 1, after melting with an extruder using the materials and conditions of Example 1, spray formation Do the grain. A toner base particle having a mass average particle size of 5.5 μm, a mass average particle size / number average particle size = 1.17, and an average circularity of 0.97 was obtained (granulation recovery rate or product recovery rate with respect to the amount of kneaded product melt input). Was 75%). The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 8% by number. The spray granulation noise at that time was 85 dB.
Detailed conditions are shown below.
-Melting machine temperature: 70-130 ° C
-Number of spray nozzles: 8 (4 primary cross collision nozzles, 4 secondary cross collision nozzles)
-Spray pressure: 0.5 MPa
・ Compressed air temperature: 150 ℃
-Chamber internal temperature: 30 ° C
・ Co-flow air spray amount: 4/5 × Q
・ Co-flow air temperature 100 ℃

(Comparative Example 2)
In Example 2, using the spray granulator (having the ring of the co-flow air ring nozzle 9-1) shown in FIG. 2, using the material of Example 1 and the conditions of Example 2 with an extruder After melting, spray granulation is performed. A toner base particle having a mass average particle size of 5.5 μm, a mass average particle size / number average particle size = 1.18, and an average circularity of 0.97 was obtained (granulation recovery rate or product recovery rate with respect to kneaded material melt input amount). Was 75%). The content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less was 10% by number. The spray granulation noise at that time was 83 dB.
Detailed conditions are shown below.
-Melting machine temperature: 70-130 ° C
-Number of spray nozzles: 8 (4 primary cross collision nozzles, 4 secondary cross collision nozzles)
-Spray pressure: 0.5 MPa
・ Compressed air temperature: 150 ℃
-Chamber internal temperature: 30 ° C
・ Co-flow air spray amount: 4/5 × Q
・ Co-flow air temperature 100 ℃

Next, Table 1 shows the results of productivity, product recovery amount, and noise in Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2.
* The energy efficiency of the productivity item indicates the power value spent on 1 kg of toner obtained by the product recovery rate.

  Next, for each of the obtained toners of Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, using a tandem color image forming apparatus (image Neo 450, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.), copy paper (TYPE 6000 <70 W>). An image was formed on Ricoh Co., Ltd., and the fogging, resolution, image density, and granularity after 100 sheets and after 50,000 sheets were evaluated as follows. The results are shown in Table 2.

<Fog>
The fog observes a stain due to each toner in the non-image area. A case where there was no stain was judged as ◯, a case where there was a stain but no problem in use was evaluated as Δ, and a case where there was a problem in use was evaluated as ×.

<Resolution>
The resolution was determined by copying a manuscript with black thin lines equidistantly spaced on a 1 mm width on white paper and identifying how many lines were drawn to a width of 1 mm. The average number of lines that can be identified is shown. It should be noted that 4.5 or more are actually usable levels.

<Image density>
For the image density, the reflection density of the solid black portion of the copied image was measured with a Macbeth densitometer.

<Granularity>
The granularity was calculated by measuring the image density with a scanner (manufactured by HEIDELBERG, Nexscan F4100) and according to the definition formula of Dooley.

The toner manufactured by the toner manufacturing method of the present invention can form an electrophotographic image having fine line reproducibility and gradation that is comparable to a silver salt image, so that high-quality electrophotographic image formation is possible. Preferably used.
The developer, toner-containing container, process cartridge, image forming apparatus, and image forming method of the present invention using the toner of the present invention are suitably used for high-quality image formation.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a spray granulation process using a conventional spray granulation apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing another example of a spray granulation process using a conventional spray granulation apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of a spray granulation process using the spray granulation apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a chamber used in the spray granulation process of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a view showing another example of the chamber used in the spray granulation process of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view showing another example of the chamber used in the spray granulation process of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view showing another example of the chamber used in the spray granulation process of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a view showing another example of the chamber used in the spray granulation process of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a view showing another example of the chamber used in the spray granulation process of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a soundproof material used for the chamber. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of the soundproofing material used for the chamber. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating another example of the soundproofing material used for the chamber. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the soundproofing material used for the chamber. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of the soundproofing material used for the chamber. FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view of the high-pressure nozzle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 16 is a horizontal sectional view of the high-pressure nozzle shown in FIGS. FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view and an enlarged view of the high-pressure nozzle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 18 is a schematic view showing an example of the process cartridge of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing another example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tandem type image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 22 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Kneaded material 1-2 Mixture 2a Kneaded molten product discharge nozzle 2-1 Melting machine 2-2 Supercritical fluid control device 2-3 Kneading machine 3 Chamber 3-A Chamber upper cover 3-B Upper secondary air hole 3-C side Secondary air hole 3-D Guide vane 3-E Guide vane 4 High pressure gas nozzle 4a Spray nozzle 4b Spray nozzle 5 Spray granulated product 5-a Upper secondary air 5-b Side secondary air 5-c Upper side Mixed secondary air 6 Compressed air 6a Mainstream 6-1 Co-flow air compressed air 6-2 Compressed air for spraying 7-1 Cyclone 7-2 Recovery container 8 Heat exchanger for spraying 9-1 Co-flow air ring nozzle 9- 2 Co-flow heat exchanger 10 Photoconductor (Photoconductor drum)
10K photoconductor for black 10Y photoconductor for yellow 10M photoconductor for magenta 10C photoconductor for cyan 11-1 bag filter 11-2 bag filter 12 blower 13 retention zone 13a spray nozzle 14 support roller 15 support roller 16 support roller 17 intermediate transfer Cleaning device 18 Image forming means 20 Charging roller 21 Exposure device 22 Secondary transfer device 23 Roller 24 Secondary transfer belt 25 Fixing device 26 Fixing belt 27 Pressure roller 28 Sheet reversing device 30 Exposure device 32 Contact glass 33 First traveling body 34 Second traveling member 35 Imaging lens 36 Reading sensor 40 Developer 41 Developing belt 42K Developer container 42Y Developer container 42M Developer container 42C Developer container 43K Developer supply roller 43Y Developer supply roller 3M developer supply roller 43C developer supply roller 44K development roller 44Y development roller 44M development roller 44C development roller 45K black development unit 45Y yellow development unit 45M magenta development unit 45C cyan development unit 49 registration roller 50 intermediate transfer member 51 Roller 52 Separation roller 53 Manual feed path 54 Manual feed tray 55 Switching claw 56 Ejection roller 57 Ejection tray 58 Corona charger 60 Cleaning device 61 Developer 62 Transfer charger 63 Photoconductor cleaning device 64 Static eliminator 70 Static elimination lamp 80 Transfer roller 90 Cleaning device 95 Transfer paper 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Photoconductor 102 Charging means 103 Exposure means 104 Development means 105 Recording medium 107 Cleaning means 108 Transfer means 110 Belt-type image fixing Device 120 Tandem developing device 130 Document table 142 Paper feed roller 143 Paper bank 144 Paper feed cassette 145 Separating roller 146 Paper feed path 147 Transport roller 148 Paper feed path 150 Copier main body 200 Paper feed table 210 Image fixing device 220 Heating roller 230 Pressure roller 300 Scanner 400 Automatic document feeder (ADF)

Claims (38)

  A method for producing fine particles, characterized in that a viscous material is discharged into a chamber and sprayed with a high-pressure gas to form fine particles and granulated by flowing cooling air into the chamber.   The method for producing fine particles according to claim 1, wherein the viscous material is one of a resin melting material and a resin melting material.   It is obtained after the viscous material is either a resin melt material or a resin melt material, and either the resin melt material or the resin melt material is kneaded under pressure, or after injecting a supercritical fluid and kneading. The high-pressure gas is sprayed to form fine particles while discharging the kneaded material into the chamber, and granulation is performed by flowing cooling air into the chamber from an air inlet formed in the chamber. The manufacturing method of microparticles | fine-particles in any one. Using a spray granulator comprising a means for melting a viscous material under pressure and a chamber provided with a high-pressure gas nozzle,
After the supercritical fluid is injected and uniformly dispersed under pressure while melting or melting the viscous material, the resulting dispersion is discharged into the chamber and sprayed with high-pressure gas from the high-pressure gas nozzle to form fine particles. ,
The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein granulation is performed by flowing cooling air from an air intake port formed in the chamber.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the viscous material is a composite material containing at least a resin and particles.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the air intake is formed in any one of an upper portion of the chamber and an upper side surface portion of the chamber.   The method for producing fine particles according to claim 3, wherein the air intake can form a swirling flow.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the air inlet has a gate capable of adjusting a cross-sectional area.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the air intake is covered with a soundproofing material.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein granulation is performed in a state where the in-machine static pressure P inside the chamber satisfies the following formula, -0.01 MPa ≦ P ≦ 0.01 MPa.   The method for producing fine particles according to claim 1, further comprising a jacket whose temperature can be adjusted on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a heat insulating mechanism divided into a plurality of outer peripheral surfaces of the chamber.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the chamber has a soundproofing mechanism.   The internal temperature of the melt-kneader for injecting and dispersing the supercritical fluid is either in the range of the melting point or outflow start temperature of the viscous material from −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C. and the glass transition temperature of the viscous material from + 30 ° C. to + 150 ° C. The method for producing fine particles according to claim 3, wherein the fine particles are melt kneaded.   The method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz is applied to the high-pressure gas.   Fine particles produced by the method for producing fine particles according to any one of claims 1 to 15. After kneading any mixture selected from the following (1) to (4) under pressure, or after kneading by injecting a supercritical fluid, the resulting kneaded product is discharged into the chamber at a high pressure. Sprayed with gas to make fine particles,
A method for producing a toner, wherein the air is granulated by allowing cooling air to flow into the chamber from an air inlet formed in the chamber.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and wax. Using a spray granulation apparatus comprising a means for melting any mixture selected from the following (1) to (4) under pressure, and a chamber provided with a high-pressure gas nozzle,
After the mixture is melted or melted and injected with a supercritical fluid under pressure to uniformly disperse, the resulting dispersion is discharged into the chamber and sprayed with high-pressure gas from the high-pressure gas nozzle to make fine particles,
A method for producing a toner, wherein the air is granulated by allowing cooling air to flow into the chamber from an air inlet formed in the chamber.
(1) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin and a colorant (2) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent (3) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent and a wax (4) A mixture comprising at least a binder resin, a magnetic agent, a charge control agent, and wax.   The method for producing toner according to claim 17, wherein the air intake is formed in any one of an upper portion of the chamber and an upper side surface portion of the chamber.   The toner manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the air intake port can form a swirling flow.   21. The toner manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the air intake port includes a gate having an adjustable cross-sectional area.   The toner manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the air intake is covered with a soundproofing material.   The method for producing toner according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein granulation is performed in a state where the in-machine static pressure P inside the chamber satisfies the following formula: -0.01 MPa≤P≤0.01 MPa.   The toner manufacturing method according to claim 17, further comprising a jacket whose temperature can be adjusted on an outer peripheral surface of the chamber.   The toner manufacturing method according to claim 17, further comprising a heat insulating mechanism divided into a plurality of portions on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber.   26. The toner manufacturing method according to claim 17, further comprising a soundproofing mechanism on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber.   Melting occurs when the internal temperature of the melt kneader for injecting and dispersing the supercritical fluid is within the range of the melting point or outflow start temperature of the toner from −10 ° C. to + 100 ° C. and the glass transition temperature of the toner from + 30 ° C. to + 150 ° C. 27. The method for producing a toner according to claim 17, wherein the toner is kneaded.   28. The method for producing a toner according to claim 17, wherein an ultrasonic pulse of 10 to 80 kHz is applied to the high-pressure gas.   A toner produced by the toner production method according to claim 17.   30. The toner according to claim 29, having a mass average particle diameter of 3.0 to 10.0 [mu] m.   31. The toner according to claim 29, wherein a ratio of the mass average particle diameter to the number average particle diameter (mass average particle diameter / number average particle diameter) is 1.03 to 1.50.   32. The toner according to claim 29, having an average circularity of 0.85 to 0.99.   The toner according to claim 29, wherein the content of fine powder having a particle size of 2 μm or less is 15% by number or less.   A developer comprising the toner according to any one of claims 29 to 33.   34. A toner-containing container filled with the toner according to claim 29.   An electrostatic latent image carrier, and developing means for developing a latent image formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier using the toner according to any one of claims 29 to 33 to form a visible image. A process cartridge having at least   An electrostatic latent image forming step of forming an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image carrier, and developing the electrostatic latent image with the toner according to any one of claims 29 to 33 to form a visible image An image forming method comprising: a developing step for forming the image; a transfer step for transferring the visible image to a recording medium; and a fixing step for fixing the transferred image transferred to the recording medium. 34. An electrostatic latent image carrier, an electrostatic latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image carrier, and the toner according to any one of claims 29 to 33. And developing means for forming a visible image by developing the image, transfer means for transferring the visible image to a recording medium, and fixing means for fixing the transferred image transferred to the recording medium. An image forming apparatus.