JP2007121908A - Image carrier, lubricant molding, lubricant application device, image forming device, and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

An image carrier that reduces the amount of film loss due to a charging hazard of a lubricant film formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer and that does not deteriorate the cleaning property even when a small particle size and spherical toner that can achieve high image quality is used. I will provide a.
In an image carrier 1 in which a lubricant film 1a is formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer 1c carrying a latent image, the lubricant film 1a comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) melamine cyanurate. , Polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and a lubricating powder material made of at least one lubricating substance selected from fatty acid amides. A surface protective layer 1b having a large number of irregularities on the surface is preferably provided between the photosensitive layer 1c and the lubricant film 1a.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image bearing member for electrophotography having a lubricant film formed on the surface thereof, a lubricant molded product to be applied to the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive layer, and the lubricant molded product to the photosensitive layer for electrophotography. The present invention relates to a lubricant coating device that coats the surface of the toner, an image forming apparatus including the lubricant coating device, and a process cartridge including the lubricant coating device.

  In general, an image carrier undergoes repeated processes of charging, exposure, development, transfer, cleaning, and charge removal (or charge removal and cleaning) in an image forming process. The electrostatic latent image formed by charging and exposure is visualized by a developer containing toner and becomes a toner image. Further, the toner image is transferred onto a transfer material such as paper by a transfer unit, but not all the toner is transferred, and a part of the toner image remains on the image carrier. If this residual toner is not removed, a high-quality image free from dirt or the like cannot be obtained in the repeated process. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the residual toner. As the cleaning means, those using a fur brush, a magnetic brush, a blade, and the like are representative, but blade cleaning is mainly employed from the viewpoint of cleaning accuracy and apparatus configuration.

  A cleaning blade used as blade cleaning is a structure in which an elastic member made of a material such as a plate-like polyurethane is attached to a support, and is configured to press-contact with the surface of the photosensitive layer. Further, the contact form of the blade to the image carrier includes a counter direction and a forward direction with respect to the rotation direction of the image carrier. There are many apparatuses that employ the former contact form in the counter direction because of the accuracy of cleaning. Mechanical rubbing on the surface of the image carrier such as a cleaning blade leads to wear on the surface of the image carrier. When the surface of the photosensitive layer is worn, the photosensitive characteristics of the image carrier are deteriorated, so that an appropriate electrostatic latent image cannot be formed. Further, the increase in the frictional force leads to the occurrence of local chipping of the cleaning blade and toner fusion due to an increase in the amount of heat generation.

Here, the image carrier used for conventional image formation includes zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium sulfide (CdS), cadmium selenide (CdSe), amorphous selenium (a-Se, a-Se-Te, a -As ₂ Se ₃ ), amorphous silicon-based (a-Si: H) and the like are contained in the photosensitive layer, but in recent years, they are easy to fabricate, can be designed with high sensitivity, Those having organic compounds in the photosensitive layer having many merits such as cost and non-pollution are becoming mainstream. In addition, the image carrier having an organic compound includes a single layer type in which the photosensitive layer has an integrated function of a charge generating material and a charge transport material, and the photosensitive layer includes a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer. The function-separated type having a two-layer structure is mainly used. In an image carrier having a general function-separated organic compound, a charge generation layer is formed directly on a conductive support or via an undercoat layer (or intermediate layer), A resin layer (charge transport layer) containing a transport material is formed. For the charge generation layer, any of inorganic materials and organic materials can be used without limitation. At present, image carriers having mainly functionally separated organic compounds are widely applied.

  Further, in order to cope with the recent rapid colorization and high image quality associated therewith, small diameter and narrow particle size distribution and spheroidization (true sphere) using polymerized toner are becoming mainstream. The toner production method mainly includes the following pulverization method and polymerization method.

(1) Pulverization method The pulverization method involves coarsely pulverizing a mass obtained by melting and kneading additives such as a colorant and a charge control agent in a binder polymer produced by polymerization, followed by fine pulverization. It is a method of classifying with a sieve. The pulverization method has an advantage that the toner can be finely divided, but the cost is likely to increase because the process is complicated. The toner manufactured by the pulverization method has an irregular shape with irregular shapes (an irregular shape). Such irregularly shaped toner is added with a step of rounding corners in order to obtain a toner for developer, and is sieved to a certain range of particle size by classification. Generally used toner has a problem that since the circularity of the toner is small (angular), the charging of the particles is difficult to be uniform, and transfer failure is likely to occur. Further, when pressed against the image carrier by the cleaning blade, there is a tendency that scratches are likely to occur. In addition, even if a high resolution with good sharpness is obtained in the initial stage, it is difficult to sustain, and when a copy of a copy (second generation, third generation copy) is printed, the resolution becomes extremely bad, so that it is practically usable. There was a problem of not doing. For this reason, a toner having a higher sphericity has been developed, but there is a problem that the cost is further increased.

(2) Polymerization method The polymerization method includes a suspension polymerization method and an emulsion polymerization method. The toner by the suspension polymerization method is produced, for example, by adding a dispersion medium and a dispersant to a binder resin monomer to which an additive such as a colorant or a charge control agent is added, and then polymerizing the binder. Since the polymerization method is simplified, the production cost is lower than that of the pulverization method. In addition, since the toner produced by the polymerization method has a spherical shape with relatively good particle diameters, there is an advantage that irregularly shaped particles are hardly produced. Since the spherical toner having such a uniform particle diameter is easily uniform in charge, it adheres almost faithfully to the latent image. Therefore, the toner produced by the polymerization method has a transfer efficiency as high as 99% or more, so that it is easy to obtain a high resolution. Therefore, the reproducibility of the dot image is high. For these reasons, in recent years, there are many examples in which toners by polymerization methods with many merits are used. However, the circularity of the spherical toner by the polymerization method is 0.98 to 0.998, which is larger than the circularity of the pulverized pulverized toner: about 0.91 to 0.93. However, after the spherical toner pushes up the blade, the toner slips and tends to cause a cleaning failure.

  Further, the distribution of toner with a small diameter and a narrow particle diameter is advantageous for high-resolution development, and since it is advantageous for transfer efficiency due to spheroidization (spheroidization), the image quality such as sharpness of the toner image is remarkably improved. . However, reducing the particle size of the toner increases the specific surface area and increases the adhesion force of the toner to the surface of the image carrier per unit weight, which makes it difficult to clean the surface of the photosensitive layer. It was. Furthermore, the reduction in the toner particle size deteriorates the fluidity of the toner and requires a larger amount of additives, which may cause chipping or abrasion of the cleaning blade, local streak scratches on the surface of the image carrier, and the like. There was a problem that it was easy.

  In addition, when the sphericity of the toner increases, the above-described blade counter contact method generally used in the related art increases the amount of toner passing through the blade, so that it is necessary to increase the contact pressure more than before. However, there is a problem that increasing the pressure reduces the margin against edge chipping due to the local shearing force of the blade.

  Therefore, a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer in order to reduce the frictional resistance acting between the image carrier and these cleaning members and to eliminate problems such as wear of the cleaning member and the image carrier. The method is taken. As the lubricant, fatty acid metal salts such as zinc stearate have been used for a long time. In applying such a lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive layer, a lubricant molded product formed into a rod shape is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer while scraping it with a brush roller or the like, and then a cleaning blade slide is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer. A lubricant film is formed in contact therewith.

  As such a technique, a technique for supplying a fatty acid metal salt such as zinc stearate to an image carrier via a charging roller (see Patent Document 1), and controlling the amount of lubricant applied A technique for supplying a lubricant to an image carrier via a brush (see Patent Document 2) has been proposed.

However, since the fatty acid metal salts used in these techniques are decomposed by the hazard during charging, there is a problem that the film of the lubricant film is reduced. For this reason, it is necessary to supply a large amount of lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive layer. However, if a large amount of lubricant is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive layer, problems such as toner filming occur. In addition, since a new lubricant is constantly provided on the surface of the photosensitive layer, it is necessary to increase the size of the lubricant molded into a rod shape, which leads to an increase in cost. Further, such a lubricant molded product is manufactured by cast molding in which a molten fatty acid metal salt is filled in a mold, but since it is composed of a single component, the strength of the lubricant molded product is weak. Therefore, there has been a problem that the lubricant molded product is easily broken.
JP-A-6-342236 JP-A-8-202226 JP 2001-60414 A

  The present invention aims to solve this problem.

  That is, the present invention reduces the amount of film loss due to the charging hazard of the lubricant film formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer, and does not deteriorate the cleaning property even when using a small particle size and spherical toner capable of achieving high image quality. A first object is to provide an image bearing member, and a second object is to provide a high-strength lubricant formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer. The lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer. A third object is to provide a lubricant application device to be applied, an image forming apparatus including the lubricant application device, and a process cartridge including the lubricant application device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present inventors have disclosed that in an image carrier in which a lubricant film is formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer carrying a latent image, the lubricant film comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt and And (B) a mixture of melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and a lubricating powder material comprising at least one lubricating substance selected from fatty acid amides. An image carrier that reduces the amount of film loss due to a charging hazard of the lubricant film formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer and that does not deteriorate the cleaning property even when using a small particle size and spherical toner that can achieve high image quality. The present invention has been completed by finding out what can be done.

  That is, the invention described in claim 1 is an image carrier in which a lubricant film is formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer carrying a latent image in order to achieve the above object, and the lubricant film comprises: Consists of a mixture of (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) a lubricating powder material comprising at least one lubricating substance selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. An image carrier characterized in that

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a surface protective layer having a large number of irregularities is provided between the photosensitive layer and the lubricant film. It is a feature.

  The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the lubricant coating contains carbon.

  The invention described in claim 4 is the invention described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the surface protective layer contains an inorganic filler.

  The invention described in claim 5 is a lubrication comprising (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) at least one lubricating substance selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. It is a lubricant molded product characterized by being composed of a mixture of a conductive powder material.

  The invention described in claim 6 is the invention described in claim 5, wherein the lubricant molding is formed into a rod shape by casting, injection molding or extrusion molding at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt. It is characterized in that it is molded.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive layer while contacting the lubricant molded product and both the lubricant molded product and the image carrier and scraping the lubricant molded product. A lubricant application apparatus comprising: a brush roller configured to form a lubricant film, wherein the lubricant molding is the lubricant molding according to claim 5 or 6. It is a coating device.

  The invention described in claim 8 is an image carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a cartridge case for rotatably holding the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and the cartridge case. A process cartridge comprising the lubricant application device according to claim 7.

  The invention described in claim 9 is the invention described in claim 8, wherein the process cartridge is provided with a cleaning unit, and the lubricant is located upstream of the cleaning unit in the moving direction of the image carrier. A coating apparatus is provided.

  The invention described in claim 10 is the invention described in claim 9, characterized in that the cleaning means has a cleaning blade.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge according to any one of the eighth to eleventh aspects, a charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive layer, and the surface of the photosensitive layer exposed to static electricity. An exposure unit that forms an electrostatic latent image; a developing unit that supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive layer to make it visible; and a transfer that transfers the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive layer to a transfer medium An image forming apparatus comprising at least a cleaning unit and a cleaning unit that cleans the surface of the photosensitive layer after transfer.

  The invention described in claim 12 is the invention described in claim 11, wherein the lubricant applying device according to claim 7 is located downstream of the transfer means in the moving direction of the image carrier and from the cleaning means. Is also arranged at a position on the upstream side.

  The invention described in claim 13 is the invention described in claim 11 or 12, wherein the cleaning means has a cleaning blade.

  The invention described in claim 14 is the invention described in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the volume average particle diameter of the toner used in the developing means is 3 to 8 μm, and The ratio (Dv / Dn) between the volume average particle diameter (Dv) and the number average particle diameter (Dn) of the toner used in the developing unit is 1.00 to 1.40. is there.

  The invention described in claim 15 is the invention described in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the average circularity of the toner used in the developing unit is 0.93 to 1.00. It is characterized by being.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image carrier in which a lubricant film is formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer carrying a latent image, wherein the lubricant film comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt, (B) Since it is composed of a mixture of melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and a lubricating powder material made of at least one lubricating substance selected from fatty acid amides, Reduces the amount of film loss due to the charging hazard of the lubricant film formed on the surface, and reduces the durability of the image carrier that does not deteriorate the cleaning performance even when using a small particle size, spherical toner that can achieve high image quality. Can be provided at a cost.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the surface protective layer having a large number of irregularities on the surface is provided between the photosensitive layer and the lubricant coating, the lubricant coating and the surface protection are provided. The adhesion force with the layer is increased, and therefore, the amount of the lubricant coating film scraped by the cleaning blade can be reduced.

  In the invention described in claim 3, since the lubricant coating contains carbon, it is possible to increase the strength of the lubricating powder material at the time of compression molding and to make a lubricant molded product that is hard to break, and The apparent surface friction coefficient of the photosensitive layer can be lowered, and at the same time, the adhesion between the lubricant film and the surface protective layer can be increased.

  In the invention described in claim 4, since the surface protective layer contains an inorganic filler, it is possible to reduce wear due to friction between the cleaning blade and the image carrier.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) at least one lubricating material selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of film loss due to the charging hazard, and to use a small particle size, spherical toner that can achieve high image quality. It is possible to provide a lubricant molded article suitable for application to the surface of the photosensitive layer, which can be prevented from lowering, and has improved strength of the lubricant molded article and improved dimensional accuracy. .

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since the lubricant molded product is formed into a rod shape by casting, injection molding, or extrusion molding at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt. The amount of film loss due to the hazard can be reduced, and the use of a small particle size and spherical toner that can achieve high image quality can be prevented from degrading the cleaning property, and the strength of the lubricant molded product can be reduced. It is possible to provide a lubricant molded article which is suitable for being applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer with improved dimensional accuracy.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive layer while contacting the lubricant molded product and both the lubricant molded product and the image bearing member and scraping the lubricant molded product. And a brush roller configured to form a lubricant film, wherein the lubricant molding is the lubricant molding according to claim 5 or 6, and The lubricant can be continuously and stably applied to the surface over a long period of time.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the image carrier according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a cartridge case for rotatably holding the image carrier, and the cartridge case. In addition, since the process cartridge has the lubricant application device according to the seventh aspect, it is easy to replace those components, and therefore, the replacement time of the components can be shortened.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge includes a cleaning unit (cleaning blade) and the lubricant application device on the upstream side of the cleaning unit in the moving direction of the image carrier. Therefore, a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer after transfer to form a lubricant coating film, and then a cleaning means is slidably contacted with the surface of the lubricant coating film to form a lubricant film. Therefore, uniform cleaning properties and charging hazard properties can be obtained, so that the surface cleaning performance of the photosensitive layer can be maintained for a longer period of time, and a higher quality image can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, since the cleaning means is a cleaning blade, it is possible to easily supply a certain amount of lubricant over a long period of time without adding other parts for habituation.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the process cartridge according to any one of the eighth to eleventh aspects, a charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive layer, and the surface of the photosensitive layer are exposed. An exposure unit that forms an electrostatic latent image, a developing unit that supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive layer to visualize it, and a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive layer is transferred to a transfer medium. The image forming apparatus includes at least a transfer unit that performs cleaning and a cleaning unit that cleans the surface of the photosensitive layer after transfer. Therefore, the amount of film loss due to the charging hazard of the lubricant film formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer is reduced. At the same time, it is possible to obtain a highly durable image carrier that does not deteriorate the cleaning property even when a small particle diameter and spherical toner capable of achieving high image quality is used, so that a high-quality image can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 12, the lubricant application device according to claim 7 is arranged at a position downstream of the transfer means in the moving direction of the image carrier and upstream of the cleaning means. Therefore, a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer after transfer to form a lubricant coating film, and then a lubricant film is formed by sliding a cleaning means on the surface of the lubricant coating film. Therefore, uniform cleaning properties and charging hazard properties can be obtained, so that the cleaning performance of the surface of the photosensitive layer can be maintained over a long period of time, and a higher quality image can be obtained.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning means is a cleaning blade, it is possible to easily supply a certain amount of lubricant over a long period of time without adding other parts for habituation.

  According to the invention described in claim 14, the volume average particle diameter of the toner used in the developing unit is 3 to 8 μm, and the volume average particle diameter (Dv) of the toner used in the developing unit is Since the ratio (Dv / Dn) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40, the toner can be densely attached to the latent image and the toner charge amount distribution is As a result, the transfer rate becomes uniform and the transfer rate becomes high, so that a higher quality image can be obtained.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, since the average circularity of the toner used in the developing unit is 0.93 to 1.00, fine packing is possible. Obtainable.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image carrier showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of a lubricant molded article showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a charging hazard application device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image carrier 1 of the present invention has a lubricant film 1a formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer 1c carrying a latent image. The lubricant coating 1a is composed of (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) at least one lubricating substance selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. It is composed of a mixture of powder material. Thus, (A) a fatty acid metal salt, and (B) a lubricating powder material comprising at least one lubricating substance selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide, 1) Even if spherical toner with poor cleaning properties is used, blade slip-through property is improved and cleaning properties are improved, so that durability is improved and high-quality images are obtained. 2) Since the amount of charging hazard film reduction is reduced and the amount of lubricant supplied is reduced, it is possible to prevent toner and lubricant from filming on the surface of the photosensitive layer and to prevent image abnormalities from occurring. The size of the lubricant molding can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

  Accordingly, the image bearing member 1 has a lubricant film 1a formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c carrying the latent image, the lubricant film 1a comprising (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) melamine cyanurate. , Polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and a lubricating powder material made of at least one lubricating substance selected from fatty acid amides, formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c. Provides a low-cost image carrier 1 that reduces the amount of film loss due to the charging hazard of the lubricant coating 1a and that does not deteriorate the cleaning performance even when a small particle size and spherical toner that can achieve high image quality is used. can do.

  Examples of the fatty acid metal salt include zinc stearate, barium stearate, iron stearate, nickel stearate, cobalt stearate, copper stearate, strontium stearate, calcium stearate, magnesium stearate, zinc oleate, manganese oleate And at least one selected from the group consisting of iron oleate, cobalt oleate, magnesium oleate, zinc palmitate, manganese palmitate, iron palmitate, cobalt palmitate, and magnesium palmitate.

  As the conductive support 1d, for example, a metal such as aluminum, nickel, chromium, nichrome, copper, gold, silver, platinum, or a metal oxide such as tin oxide or indium oxide is deposited or sputtered to form a film or Cylindrical plastic, paper coated, or aluminum, aluminum alloy, nickel, stainless steel, etc. and surface treatment such as cutting, superfinishing, polishing, etc. Can be used. Further, an endless nickel belt and an endless stainless steel belt disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 52-36016 can be used as the conductive support 1d.

  In addition, a conductive layer formed by dispersing conductive powder in an appropriate binder resin and coating the conductive support 1d is used as the conductive support 1d of the present invention. be able to. Examples of the conductive powder include 1) carbon black, 2) metal powder such as aluminum, nickel, iron, nichrome, copper, zinc and silver, or 3) metal oxide powder such as conductive tin oxide and ITO. Etc. The binder resin used at the same time is polystyrene, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer. , Polyvinyl acetate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyarylate resin, phenoxy resin, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate resin, ethyl cellulose resin, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl toluene, poly-N-vinyl carbazole, acrylic resin, silicone resin, epoxy resin, Examples thereof include thermoplastic resins such as melamine resin, urethane resin, phenol resin, and alkyd resin, thermosetting resin, and photocurable resin. Such a conductive layer can be provided by dispersing and applying these conductive powder and binder resin in a suitable solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, dichloromethane, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, and the like.

  Next, the laminated image carrier 1 having a laminate in which a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer are sequentially laminated as the photosensitive layer 1c will be described. The charge generation layer is a layer containing a charge generation material as a main component, but may be formed using a binder resin as necessary. Charge generation materials include inorganic materials and organic materials. Examples of inorganic materials include crystalline selenium, amorphous selenium, selenium-tellurium, selenium-tellurium-halogen, selenium-arsenic compounds, amorphous silicon, and the like. In amorphous silicon, dangling bonds terminated with hydrogen atoms and halogen atoms, and those doped with boron atoms, phosphorus atoms and the like are preferably used. On the other hand, a known material can be used as the organic material. For example, phthalocyanine pigments such as metal phthalocyanine and metal-free phthalocyanine, azulenium salt pigments, squaric acid methine pigments, azo pigments having a carbazole skeleton, azo pigments having a triphenylamine skeleton, azo pigments having a diphenylamine skeleton, dibenzo An azo pigment having a thiophene skeleton, an azo pigment having a fluorenone skeleton, an azo pigment having an oxadiazol skeleton, an azo pigment having a bisstilbene skeleton, an azo pigment having a distyryl oxadiazol skeleton, and a distyrylcarbazole skeleton Azo pigments, perylene pigments, anthraquinone or polycyclic quinone pigments, quinoneimine pigments, diphenylmethane and triphenylmethane pigments, benzoquinone and naphthoquinone pigments, cyanine and azomethine pigments, Goido pigments, bisbenzimidazo - Le pigments, and the like. These charge generation materials can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

  Binder resins used as necessary for the charge generation layer include polyamide, polyurethane, epoxy resin, polyketone, polycarbonate, polyarylate, silicone resin, acrylic resin, polyvinyl butyral, and polyvinyl formal. -Rule, polyvinyl ketone, polystyrene, poly-N-vinylcarbazole, polyacrylamide and the like are used. These binder resins can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more. Further, a polymer charge transport material can be used as the binder resin of the charge generation layer. Furthermore, you may add a low molecular charge transport material as needed.

  Charge transport materials that can be used in the charge generation layer include an electron transport material and a hole transport material, and these include a low molecular charge transport material and a high molecular charge transport material. Hereinafter, the polymer type charge transport material is referred to as a polymer charge transport material in the present invention.

  Examples of the electron transport material include chloroanil, bromanyl, tetracyanoethylene, tetracyanoquinodimethane, 2,4,7-trinitro-9-fluorenone, 2,4,5,7-tetranitro-9-fluorenone, 2, 4,5,7-tetranitroxanthone, 2,4,8-trinitrothioxanthone, 2,6,8-trinitro-4H-indeno [1,2-b] thiophen-4-one, 1,3,7- And electron accepting substances such as trinitrodibenzothiophene-5,5-dioxide. These electron transport materials can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

  Examples of the hole transport material include oxazole derivatives, oxadiazol derivatives, imidazole derivatives, triphenylamine derivatives, 9- (p-diethylaminostyrylanthracene), 1,1-bis- (4-dibenzyl). Aminophenyl) propane, styrylanthracene, styrylpyrazoline, phenylhydrazones, α-phenylstilbene derivatives, thiazol derivatives, triazole derivatives, phenazine derivatives, acridine derivatives, benzofuran derivatives, benzimidazole derivatives, thiophene derivatives, etc. Can be given. These hole transport materials can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

  Examples of the polymer charge transporting material include polymers having a carbazole ring such as poly-N-vinylcarbazole, polymers having a hydrazone structure exemplified in JP-A-57-78402, Examples thereof include polysilylene polymers exemplified in JP-A 63-285552 and polymers having a triarylamine structure exemplified in JP-A-7-325409. These polymer charge transport materials can be used alone or as a mixture of two or more.

  The charge generation layer is mainly composed of a charge generation material, a solvent, and a binder resin, and may contain any additive such as a sensitizer, a dispersant, a surfactant, and silicone oil. It doesn't matter. Examples of the method for forming the charge generation layer include a vacuum thin film preparation method and a casting method from a solution dispersion system. As the former method, a vacuum deposition method, a glow discharge decomposition method, an ion plating method, a sputtering method, a reactive sputtering method, a CVD method, or the like is used, and the above-described inorganic materials and organic materials can be satisfactorily formed. . Further, in order to provide a charge generation layer by a casting method, a ball mill using a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, cyclohexanone, dioxane, dichloroethane, butanone together with a binder resin if necessary with the above inorganic or organic charge generation material, It can be formed by dispersing with an attritor, sand mill or the like, and applying the solution after diluting the dispersion appropriately. The coating can be performed using a dip coating method, a spray coating method, a bead coating method or the like. The film thickness of the charge generation layer provided as described above is preferably 0.01 to 5 μm, and more preferably 0.05 to 2 μm. The charge transport layer can be formed by dissolving or dispersing a mixture or copolymer mainly composed of a charge transport component and a binder component in an appropriate solvent, and applying and drying the mixture. The film thickness of the charge transport layer is preferably 10 to 100 μm, and about 10 to 30 μm is appropriate when resolution is required.

  Examples of the polymer compound that can be used as the binder component include polystyrene, styrene / acrylonitrile copolymer, styrene / butadiene copolymer, styrene / maleic anhydride copolymer, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl chloride / Vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyarylate resin, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate resin, ethyl cellulose resin, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl formal, polyvinyl toluene, acrylic resin, silicone resin, fluorine resin, epoxy resin, melamine resin And thermoplastic or thermosetting resins such as urethane resin, phenol resin, and alkyd resin, but are not limited to these polymer compounds. These polymer compounds can be used singly or as a mixture of two or more kinds, or copolymerized with a charge transport material.

  Examples of the material that can be used as the charge transport material include the above-described low molecular weight electron transport materials, hole transport materials, and polymer charge transport materials. When a low molecular charge transport material is used, the amount used is preferably 20 to 200 parts by weight, more preferably 50 to 100 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the polymer compound. When a polymer charge transport material is used, a material in which the resin component is copolymerized at a ratio of about 0 to 500 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the charge transport component is used.

  Examples of the dispersion solvent that can be used in preparing the charge transport layer coating solution include ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and cyclohexanone, ethers such as dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, and ethyl cellosolve, toluene, xylene, and the like. Examples thereof include aromatics, halogens such as chlorobenzene and dichloromethane, and esters such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate.

  Next, the case where the photosensitive layer 1c has a single layer structure will be described. An image carrier 1 in which the above-described charge generating substance is dispersed in a binder resin can be used. The single-layer photosensitive layer can be formed by dissolving or dispersing a charge generating substance, a charge transporting substance, and a binder resin in a suitable solvent, and applying and drying them. Moreover, a plasticizer, a leveling agent, antioxidant, etc. can also be added as needed.

  As the binder resin, in addition to the binder resin previously raised in the charge transport layer, the binder resin raised in the charge generation layer may be mixed and used. Of course, the polymer charge transport materials mentioned above can also be used favorably. The amount of the charge generating material with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin is preferably 5 to 40 parts by weight, and the amount of the charge transporting material is preferably 0 to 190 parts by weight, and more preferably 50 parts by weight. -150 parts by weight. The single photosensitive layer 1c is formed by dip coating or spray coating a coating solution in which a charge generating material and a binder resin are dispersed together with a charge transporting material using a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, dichloroethane, cyclohexane and the like. It can be formed by coating with a bead coat. The film thickness of the single photosensitive layer 1c is suitably about 5 to 25 μm.

  In the image carrier 1 of the present invention, an undercoat layer (not shown) can be provided between the conductive support 1d and the photosensitive layer 1c. In general, the undercoat layer is mainly composed of a resin. However, considering that the photosensitive layer 1c is applied on the resin with a solvent, the resin is a resin having a high solvent resistance with respect to a general organic solvent. Is desirable. Examples of such resins include water-soluble resins such as polyvinyl alcohol, casein, and sodium polyacrylate, alcohol-soluble resins such as copolymer nylon and methoxymethylated nylon, polyurethane, melamine resin, phenol resin, alkyd-melamine resin, and epoxy. Examples thereof include curable resins that form a three-dimensional network structure such as resins. Further, a metal oxide fine powder pigment exemplified by titanium oxide, silica, alumina, zirconium oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide and the like may be added to the undercoat layer in order to prevent moire and reduce residual potential.

These undercoat layers can be formed using an appropriate solvent and coating method as in the photosensitive layer 1c described above. Furthermore, a silane coupling agent, a titanium coupling agent, a chromium coupling agent, or the like can be used as the undercoat layer. In addition, the undercoat layer is formed by anodizing Al ₂ O ₃ , organic materials such as polyparaxylylene (parylene), SiO ₂ , SnO ₂ , TiO ₂ , ITO, CeO _2, etc. What provided the inorganic substance by the vacuum thin film preparation method can also be used favorably. In addition, known ones can be used. The thickness of the undercoat layer is preferably 0 to 20 μm, and more preferably 1 to 10 μm.

  Further, the surface protective layer 1b may be provided for the purpose of improving the durability of the image carrier 1, and the materials used therefor include ABS resin, ACS resin, olefin-vinyl monomer copolymer, chlorination. Polyether, allyl resin, phenol resin, polyacetal, polyamide, polyamideimide, polyacrylate, polyallylsulfone, polybutylene, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethersulfone, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, acrylic resin, polymethylpentene, polypropylene , Polyphenylene oxide, polysulfone, polystyrene, AS resin, butadiene-styrene copolymer, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, epoxy resin, polyester, etc. It is below.

  The surface protective layer 1b includes a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, a silicone resin, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, magnesium oxide, silica and the like for the purpose of improving wear resistance. An inorganic material such as a surface-treated product can be added, and a material further added with a charge transport material can be used. As a method for forming the surface protective layer 1b, a normal coating method can be used. In addition, 0.1-10 micrometers is suitable for the thickness of the surface protective layer 1b. In addition to the above, known materials such as a-C and a-SiC formed by a vacuum thin film forming method can also be used as the surface protective layer 1b.

  In the present invention, a surface protective layer 1b having a large number of irregularities on the surface is preferably provided on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c. Thus, when the surface protective layer 1b having a large number of irregularities on the surface is provided on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c, the adhesive force between the lubricant coating 1a and the surface protective layer 1b is increased. The amount of the lubricant coating 1a scraped by the cleaning blade can be reduced. The thickness of the surface protective layer 1b is preferably 0.1 to 10 μm.

  The means for forming an uneven shape on the surface of the surface protective layer 1b in the present invention is not particularly limited, and conventionally known methods can be applied. It is also possible to form an uneven shape on the surface protective layer 1b of the produced photosensitive layer 1c, or to form it at the stage of laminating the surface protective layer 1b. For example, the surface protective layer of the produced photosensitive layer 1c A method of directly abutting and rubbing an abrasive on 1b, a method of abutting and rubbing abrasive particles indirectly on the surface protective layer 1b of the image carrier 1 using a blast or a polishing apparatus, and a surface protective layer of the image carrier 1 Any method can be applied, such as a method of transferring a shape by pressing a mold having a concavo-convex shape on 1b, or a method of forming a concavo-convex shape when the surface protective layer 1b is applied to the image carrier 1. Is possible. The abrasive to be brought into contact with the surface protective layer 1b is preferably a natural fiber, a chemical fiber, a glass fiber, a fiber such as a felt, a cloth, a paper such as a sandpaper, or a plastic such as a film. As long as the object of the present invention is not violated, any shape and material may be used as long as the surface of the surface protective layer 1b is formed with an uneven shape. The abrasive particles are preferably hard particles such as silica, alumina, diamond, cerium oxide, ceramics and glass, or polymer particles such as urethane, polyamide, polyolefin, polyimide, polyester and acrylic. Any shape and material can be used as long as the surface of the surface protective layer 1b is provided with a concavo-convex shape as long as it is not contrary to the above purpose. The maximum height roughness (Rz) of the concavo-convex shape formed on the surface protective layer 1b is preferably 10 nm <Rz <5000 nm, more preferably 100 nm, in the measurement of an arbitrarily selected measurement length of 10 μm. <Rz <1000 nm.

  The lubricant film 1a in the image carrier 1 of the present invention preferably contains carbon. Thus, when the lubricant film 1a contains carbon, the apparent surface friction coefficient of the photosensitive layer 1c can be lowered, and at the same time, the adhesion between the lubricant film 1a and the surface protective layer 1b can be increased. .

  The surface protective layer 1b in the image carrier 1 of the present invention preferably contains an inorganic filler. As described above, when the surface protective layer 1b contains the inorganic filler, it is possible to reduce wear due to the friction between the cleaning blade and the image carrier. Examples of the inorganic filler include titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, magnesium oxide, and silica.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the lubricant molded product 3a of the present invention comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt, (B) melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and a fatty acid amide. It is comprised with the mixture of the lubricating powder material which consists of at least 1 sort (s) of lubricating substance chosen. Thus, the lubricant molded product 3a of the present invention comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt, and (B) at least one lubricity selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. It is possible to reduce the amount of film loss due to charging hazard and to achieve high image quality by using a mixture of a lubricating powder material made of a substance and to clean even using spherical toner with a small particle size. The lubricant molded product 3a, which can be applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c, can improve the strength of the lubricant molded product 3a and improve the dimensional accuracy. Can be provided.

で示されるメラミンとイソシアヌル酸との２分子が配位して緩やかに結合した化合物で構成されているので、このような化合物の分子間がずれるとメラミンシアヌレート粉末に潤滑性が発現する。また、前記（Ａ）における脂肪酸アミドは、例えば、次の式、即ち、Ｃ₁₇Ｈ₂₃ＣＯＮＨ₂ 、Ｃ₁₇Ｈ₃₅ＣＯＮＨ₂ 、Ｃ₂₁Ｈ₄₁ＣＯＮＨ₂ 、Ｃ₂₁Ｈ₄₃ＣＯＮＨ₂ 、Ｃ₂₁Ｈ₄₃ＣＯＮＨＣ₁₈Ｈ₃₇、Ｃ₁₅Ｈ₃₁ＣＯＮＨＣ₁₈Ｈ₃₅ で示される。 The “melamine cyanurate” in (A) is a material that is powdery and known in the art as a flame retardant material (see Patent Document 3). This "melamine cyanurate" has the following general formula

Is composed of a compound in which two molecules of melamine and isocyanuric acid are coordinated and slowly bonded to each other, so that the melamine cyanurate powder exhibits lubricity when the molecules of such compounds are displaced. The fatty acid amide in (A) is, for example, the following formula: C ₁₇ H ₂₃ CONH ₂ , C ₁₇ H ₃₅ CONH ₂ , C ₂₁ H ₄₁ CONH ₂ , C ₂₁ H ₄₃ CONH ₂ , C ₂₁ H ₄₃ CONHC ₁₈ H ₃₇ , C ₁₅ H ₃₁ CONHC ₁₈ H ₃₅

  In the present invention, the lubricant molding 3a is formed into a rod shape by casting, injection molding or extrusion molding at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt. Thus, when the lubricant molding 3a is formed into a rod shape by casting, injection molding or extrusion molding at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt, the amount of film loss due to charging hazard is reduced. In addition, the use of a small particle size and spherical toner that can achieve high image quality can be prevented from deteriorating the cleaning property, and the strength of the lubricant molded product 3a is increased and the dimensional accuracy is increased. It is possible to provide an improved lubricant molded article 3a suitable for application to the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c.

  In the production of the lubricant molded product 3a, it comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) at least one lubricating material selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. After mixing and dispersing the lubricating powder material, a temperature higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt may be applied, or a temperature higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt is first applied to the molten fatty acid metal salt. The lubricating material may be dispersed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lubricant application device 3 of the present invention is in contact with both the lubricant molded product 3 a and the lubricant molded product 3 a and the image carrier 1. A brush roller 3c configured to form a lubricant film 1a by supplying a lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c while scraping off the object 3a. The lubricant molded product 3 a in the lubricant application device 3 is the lubricant molded product 3 a according to claim 5 or 6.

  The application amount of the lubricant molded product 3a is controlled by a brush roller and is uniformly rubbed by the cleaning means 2 disposed on the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier 1, so that a certain amount of lubricant is applied over a long period of time. Can be supplied. In particular, as the cleaning means 2, it is effective to use a cleaning blade 2a that is structurally easy to rub and rub the lubricant uniformly. The rotation direction of the brush roller 3c with the image carrier 1 is preferably rotated in the forward direction with the rotation of the image carrier 1 at the contact position with the image carrier 1. Since the fine powder lubricant peeled off from the brush roller 3c is forward contact with the image carrier 1 and the brush roller 3c, the lubricant is blown downstream in the rotation direction of the image carrier 1, and the counter direction Compared with contact, the application efficiency of the lubricant is remarkably increased, and as a solid lubricant, the size can be reduced with a long service life.

  Therefore, when the lubricant molded product 3a is the lubricant molded product 3a according to claim 5 or 6, the lubricant can be continuously and stably applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c over a long period of time.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge 8 of the present invention includes an image carrier 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a cartridge case for rotatably holding the image carrier 1. 7 and the lubricant application device 3 according to claim 7 held in the cartridge case 7. Thus, the image carrier 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the cartridge case 7 that rotatably holds the image carrier 1, and the cartridge case 7 that is held by the cartridge case 7. If it has the lubricant application device 3 described in (1), the replacement operation of those components becomes easy, and therefore the replacement time of the components can be shortened.

  In the process cartridge 8 of the present invention, the cleaning means 2 preferably has a cleaning blade 2a. In FIG. 2, 2b is a toner recovery coil. In this way, when the cleaning means 2 has the cleaning blade 2a, it is possible to easily supply a certain amount of lubricant over a long period of time without adding other parts for habituation.

  The process cartridge 8 includes a cleaning unit (cleaning device) 2 and the lubricant application device 3 on the upstream side of the cleaning unit (cleaning device) 2 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1. The cleaning means (cleaning device) 2 is preferably composed of a cleaning blade 2a and a toner recovery coil 2b. As described above, the process cartridge 8 includes the cleaning unit (cleaning device) 2, and the lubricant application device 3 is disposed upstream of the cleaning unit (cleaning device) 2 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1. If provided, a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c after transfer to form a lubricant coating film, and then the cleaning means 2 is brought into sliding contact with the surface of the lubricant coating film to thereby form a lubricant film. 1a can be formed, so that uniform cleaning properties and charging hazard properties can be obtained. Therefore, the cleaning performance of the surface of the image carrier 1 can be maintained for a longer period of time, and a higher quality image can be obtained. Obtainable.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present invention includes a process cartridge 8 according to any one of claims 8 to 10 and a charging unit (for charging the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c uniformly). Charging device) 4, exposure means (not shown) for exposing the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c to form an electrostatic latent image, and supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c. Development means 5 for visualizing, transfer means (transfer device) 6 for transferring the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c to a transfer medium (not shown), and cleaning for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c after transfer. Means (cleaning device) 2 at least.

  As described above, the process cartridge 8 according to any one of claims 8 to 10, the charging means 4 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c, and the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c are exposed to electrostatic latent images. An exposure means for forming an image; a developing means 5 for supplying a toner to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c to visualize it; and a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c is transferred to a transfer medium. When at least a transfer means (transfer device) 6 and a cleaning means (cleaning device) 2 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c after transfer are provided, the lubricant film 1a formed on the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c is charged. It is possible to obtain a highly durable image carrier 1 that reduces the amount of film loss due to the hazard and can achieve high image quality, and does not deteriorate the cleaning performance even when a spherical toner is used. Images of It is possible. The charging means 4 is preferably composed of a charging roller 4a and a charging cleaning roller 4b, and the developing means (developing device) 5 is preferably composed of a developing sleeve 5a, a screw 5c, and a doctor blade 5b. The transfer means 6 is preferably composed of a transfer roller 6a and an intermediate transfer belt.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 of the present invention, the lubricant applying device 3 according to claim 7 is downstream of the transfer unit 6 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1 and upstream of the cleaning unit (cleaning device) 2. It is arrange | positioned in the position which is. As described above, the lubricant application device 3 according to the seventh aspect is disposed at a position downstream of the transfer means 6 in the moving direction of the image carrier 1 and upstream of the cleaning means (cleaning device) 2. Then, a lubricant is applied to the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c after transfer to form a lubricant coating film, and then a cleaning means (cleaning device) 2 is brought into sliding contact with the surface of the lubricant coating film. Thus, the lubricant film 1a can be formed, and therefore, uniform cleaning properties and charging hazard properties can be obtained. Therefore, the cleaning performance of the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c can be maintained over a long period of time, resulting in higher image quality. An image can be obtained.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 of the present invention, the cleaning means (cleaning apparatus) 2 preferably includes a cleaning blade 2a. In FIG. 2, 2b is a toner recovery coil. In this way, when the cleaning means 2 has the cleaning blade 2a, it is possible to easily supply a certain amount of lubricant over a long period of time without adding other parts for habituation.

  The cleaning blade 2a is formed by forming an elastic body such as urethane elastomer, silicone elastomer, or fluorine elastomer in a plate shape, the edge of which is in contact with the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c, and the image carrier 1 remaining after transfer. Remove toner and paper dust on top. In particular, urethane elastomers are superior in terms of wear resistance and high mechanical strength. Although not shown, the cleaning blade 2 a is attached to and supported by a support member made of metal, plastic, ceramic, or the like, and is installed at a predetermined angle with respect to the image carrier 1. Further, the cleaning blade 2a comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive layer 1c with a predetermined contact pressure and a biting amount by being pressed by a spring or being fixed to the case of the cleaning means 2.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 of the present invention, the volume average particle diameter of the toner used in the developing unit (developing apparatus) 5 is 3 to 8 μm, and the volume average particle diameter of the toner used in the developing unit 5 ( The ratio (Dv / Dn) of Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40.

  When a toner having a small particle diameter is used in the developing unit 5, the toner can be densely attached to the latent image. However, if the volume average particle size is less than 3 μm, when used as a two-component developer, the toner fuses to the surface of the magnetic carrier during long-term stirring in the developing means 5, so that the charging ability of the magnetic carrier is high. When used as a one-component developer, toner filming on the developing roller and toner fusion to a member such as a blade for thinning the toner are likely to occur. Conversely, if the volume average particle size of the toner exceeds 8 μm, it becomes difficult to obtain a high-resolution and high-quality image, and the toner particle size varies when the balance of the toner in the developer is performed. growing. Further, by narrowing the particle size distribution, the toner charge amount distribution becomes uniform, a high-quality image can be obtained, and the transfer rate can be increased. However, it is not preferable that Dv / Dn exceeds 1.40 because the charge amount distribution becomes wide and the resolution is lowered.

  Therefore, the volume average particle diameter of the toner used in the developing means (developing apparatus) 5 is 3 to 8 μm, and the volume average particle diameter (Dv) and the number average particle diameter (toner) of the toner used in the developing means 5 are When the ratio (Dv / Dn) to Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40, the toner can be densely attached to the latent image, and the toner charge amount distribution becomes uniform and the transfer rate is uniform. As a result, higher quality images can be obtained.

  In the present invention, the average circularity of the toner used in the developing unit 5 is 0.93 to 1.00. As described above, when the average circularity of the toner used in the developing unit 5 is 0.93 to 1.00, fine packing is possible, and thus a higher quality image can be obtained.

Example 1
100 parts by weight of zinc stearate and 5 parts by weight of melamine cyanurate were powder mixed to obtain a powder mixture. The powder mixture was injection molded at an injection temperature of 130 ° C., an injection pressure of 80 kg / cm ² and an injection speed of 10%, and then the mold was opened to obtain a rod-shaped lubricant molded product.

(Example 2)
A rod-like lubricant molded product was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 100 parts by weight of zinc stearate and 20 parts by weight of melamine cyanurate were mixed to form a powder mixture.

(Example 3)
A rod-like lubricant molded product was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 100 parts by weight of zinc stearate and 20 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were mixed to form a powder mixture.

Example 4
A rod-shaped lubricant molded product was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 100 parts by weight of zinc stearate and 20 parts by weight of molybdenum disulfide were mixed to form a powder mixture.

(Example 5)
Rod-like lubricant molding as in Example 1, except that 100 parts by weight of zinc stearate, 10 parts by weight of melamine cyanurate, and 10 parts by weight of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were mixed into a powder mixture. I got a thing.

(Comparative Example 1)
Zinc stearate was injection molded at an injection temperature of 130 ° C., an injection pressure of 80 kg / cm ² , and an injection speed of 10%, and then the mold was opened to obtain a rod-shaped lubricant molded product.

  As described above, the lubricant moldings obtained in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1 were measured for (1) cleanability and (2) charging hazard by the following evaluation methods.

(1) Cleaning property The lubricant moldings obtained in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1 were attached to a cleaning device in a digital copying machine (image Neo Neo C355, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.) (see FIG. 2). After coating on the surface of the photosensitive layer to form a lubricant coating film, a lubricant film is formed by sliding a cleaning means (cleaning blade) on the lubricant coating film, and the cleaning performance of the lubricant film is evaluated. did. At this time, the toner has a volume average particle diameter of 6 μm, a ratio (Dv / Dn) of the volume average particle diameter (Dv) to the number average particle diameter (Dn) of 1.2, and an average circular shape. The one with a degree of 0.95 was used. The evaluation criteria are as follows by visual evaluation: Rank 5: No toner slippage is observed Rank 4: Toner slip-through is one Rank 3: Toner slip-through is 2 to 10 Rank 2: Toner The number of slipping out was 11 to 50. Rank 1: The toner slipping was recognized in all areas, but the ranking was performed in five stages.

(2) Amount of film reduction due to charging hazard As shown in FIG. 4, after forming a lubricant film on the stage using the lubricant moldings obtained in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1, A voltage was applied to the lubricant film with a non-contact charging roller under a charging condition of DC: 600 V, AC: 2.4 KV (frequency: 1.4 kHz), and charge integration time: 18 seconds. The amount of film loss, that is, the ratio (%) of the lubricant film after applying the charging voltage for 18 seconds to the film thickness of the lubricant film before the test was measured.

  The measurement results are shown in Table 1 below.

   Table 1 shows the following. That is, in Examples 1 and 2, the cleaning performance is good even when a small particle size and spherical toner that can achieve high image quality is used, and the film loss of the lubricant film on the image carrier during charging is reduced. can do. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, the cleaning rank is remarkably lowered, exceeding 20K sheets, and the film thickness reduction of the lubricant film on the image carrier during charging is remarkably increased.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an image carrier showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the lubricant molding which shows one embodiment of implementation of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of a charging hazard application apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image carrier 1a Lubricant film 1b Surface protective layer 1c Photosensitive layer 1d Conductive support 2 Cleaning means (cleaning device)
2a Cleaning blade 2b Toner recovery coil 3 Lubricant coating device 3a Lubricant molding 3b Compression member 3c Brush roller 4 Charging means (charging device)
4a charging roller 4b charging cleaning roller 5 developing means (developing device)
5a Development sleeve 5b Doctor blade 5c Screw 6 Transfer means (transfer device)
6a transfer roller 6b intermediate transfer belt 10 image forming apparatus

Claims (15)

  An image carrier having a lubricant film formed on the surface of a photosensitive layer carrying a latent image, wherein the lubricant film comprises (A) a fatty acid metal salt, (B) melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, 2 An image carrier comprising a mixture of molybdenum sulfide and a lubricating powder material comprising at least one lubricating substance selected from fatty acid amides.   2. The image bearing member according to claim 1, wherein a surface protective layer having a large number of irregularities on the surface is provided between the photosensitive layer and the lubricant film.   The image bearing member according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant film contains carbon.   4. The image carrier according to claim 2, wherein the surface protective layer contains an inorganic filler.   Consists of a mixture of (A) a fatty acid metal salt and (B) a lubricating powder material comprising at least one lubricating substance selected from melamine cyanurate, polytetrafluoroethylene, molybdenum disulfide, and fatty acid amide. Lubricant molded product characterized by being made.   The lubricant molded article according to claim 5, wherein the lubricant molded article is formed into a rod shape by casting, injection molding, or extrusion molding at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fatty acid metal salt. .   A brush that forms a lubricant film by supplying a lubricant to the surface of the photosensitive layer while scraping the lubricant molded product in contact with both the lubricant molded product and the image carrier. A lubricant application device comprising a roller, wherein the lubricant molding is the lubricant molding according to claim 5 or 6.   The image bearing member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a cartridge case for rotatably holding the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a lubricant application device according to claim 7 held by the cartridge case. And a process cartridge.   9. The process cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the process cartridge includes a cleaning unit, and further includes the lubricant application device upstream of the cleaning unit in the moving direction of the image carrier.   The process cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade.   The process cartridge according to any one of claims 8 to 11, a charging unit that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive layer, an exposure unit that exposes the surface of the photosensitive layer to form an electrostatic latent image, Development means for supplying a toner to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive layer to visualize it, transfer means for transferring the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive layer to a transfer medium, and the surface of the photosensitive layer after transfer An image forming apparatus comprising at least a cleaning unit for cleaning the liquid.   The lubricant application device according to claim 7 is disposed at a position downstream of the transfer means in the moving direction of the image carrier and upstream of the cleaning means. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade.   The volume average particle size of the toner used in the developing unit is 3 to 8 μm, and the ratio (Dv) of the volume average particle size (Dv) and the number average particle size (Dn) of the toner used in the developing unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein / Dn) is 1.00 to 1.40.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the toner used in the developing unit has an average circularity of 0.93 to 1.00.

Images