JP2008040000A - Image forming method and apparatus, and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming method, an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge capable of improving qualities of images, cleaning property of toner and durability of a cleaning blade. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming method includes at least the steps of: forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor; developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner to form a toner image; transferring the formed toner image onto a transfer body; and removing at least a part of the toner remaining on the photoreceptor that has transferred the toner image, by using a cleaning blade; wherein the cleaning blade contains organic particles and inorganic particles, and the toner has an average circularity of 0.95 to 1.00. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming method, an image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge.

  An electrophotographic image forming method includes a charging process for applying a charge to the surface of a photoconductor by an electric discharge, an exposure process for exposing the surface of the charged photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image, and a surface of the photoconductor. A developing process for developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner to form a toner image, a transfer process for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member to the transfer body, and a transfer onto the transfer body A fixing step for fixing the toner image, and a cleaning step for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor after the transfer step. The toner used for developing an electrostatic latent image is generally particles containing a colorant, a charge control agent, and other additives in a binder resin.

  Many of the recent cleaning apparatuses use a cleaning blade that is inexpensive and has a simple structure. Further, from the viewpoint of cleaning performance, a counter abutting system in which the cleaning blade is directed to the opposite side to the rotation direction of the photosensitive member is used. Cleaning devices are mainstream. However, such a cleaning device is not suitable for cleaning because the cleaning performance deteriorates due to wear of the edge of the cleaning blade that is in contact with the photosensitive member, the toner component on the surface of the photosensitive member, the transfer paper component, etc. There are problems such as deterioration in image quality due to adhesion of the toner (so-called photoconductor filming), and wear of the photoconductor as a side effect by pressing the cleaning blade against the photoconductor.

  In order to solve these problems, various studies have been made conventionally. First, regarding the wear of the edge portion of the cleaning blade, improvement of the raw material of the blade, the contact condition of the blade, and the like have been studied. However, since the main raw material of the blade is urethane, there is a problem that rubber elasticity is lost in a low temperature environment, and cleaning failure tends to occur in a low temperature and low humidity environment. In addition, in order to suppress wear of the edge portion of the cleaning blade, it has been studied to add a filler to the blade. Next, with regard to photoconductor filming, blade contact conditions have been studied. Further, for wear of the photoreceptor, a lubricant such as zinc stearate is applied.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in an image forming method performed by performing charging, image exposure, development, transfer, fixing, and cleaning processes on at least a photoreceptor, a lubricant is supplied by a mechanism that supplies a lubricant to the photoreceptor, In addition, an image forming method is disclosed in which a cleaning unit that performs a cleaning process includes an elastic blade, and the elastic blade contains inorganic particles.

  However, in the recent electrophotographic image forming apparatuses that require high speed and high durability, the above-mentioned drawbacks are not sufficiently solved.

  On the other hand, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for higher image quality, and in particular, in order to realize the formation of a high-definition color image, reduction in the particle size and spheroidization of toner are promoted. The reproducibility of image dots can be improved by reducing the particle size of the toner, and further, the developability of the electrostatic latent image and the transferability of the toner to the transfer medium can be improved by making the toner spherical. Can do.

  A toner obtained by a suspension polymerization method in which particles are formed from a monomer material is spherical, but has a problem of poor cleaning properties. For development and transfer under a condition where the image area ratio is low, there is little transfer residual toner and cleaning failure does not become a problem. However, under a condition where the image area ratio is high such as a photographic image, there is a large amount of transfer residual toner. Furthermore, even when paper feeding is defective, toner on which an untransferred image is formed may be generated on the photosensitive member as residual transfer toner. When the untransferred toner accumulates on the photoconductor, image smear occurs. In addition, the charging roller or the like that contacts and charges the photosensitive member is contaminated, and the charging roller or the like cannot exhibit its original charging ability. Further, the spherical toner obtained by the suspension polymerization method does not have sufficient low-temperature fixability, and requires a lot of energy for fixing the toner on the transfer target.

  On the other hand, a solution suspension method has also been proposed as a toner production method. The dissolution suspension method is a method of granulating toner from a resin dissolved in an organic solvent or the like, and has advantages such as a wide selection range of the resin and good controllability of polarity.

However, cleaning performance is often reduced due to toner particle size reduction and spheroidization. More specifically, when the particle size of the toner is reduced, the specific surface area of the toner increases and the adhesion force of the toner to the surface of the photoreceptor increases. As a result, the cleaning property of the surface of the photoreceptor tends to be lowered. Further, when the toner particle size is reduced, the fluidity of the toner is lowered, so that a larger amount of additive is required to maintain the fluidity of the toner. The increase in additive supplied to the toner tends to cause chipping and abrasion of the cleaning blade and the occurrence of local streak-like scratches on the surface of the photoreceptor.
JP 2003-98929 A

  The present invention provides an image forming method, an image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge capable of improving image quality, toner cleaning performance, and durability of a cleaning blade in view of the problems of the above-described conventional techniques. Objective.

  The invention described in claim 1 includes a step of forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive member, a step of forming the toner image by developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner, and the step of forming the formed toner image. In the image forming method including at least a step of transferring to a transfer target and a step of removing at least part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member to which the toner image has been transferred using a cleaning blade, the cleaning blade includes organic particles and The toner contains inorganic particles, and the average circularity of the toner is 0.95 or more and 1.00 or less.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to the first aspect, the step of transferring the formed toner image to the transfer target is a step of transferring the formed toner image to the intermediate transfer member. And a step of further transferring the transferred toner image to a transfer target.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image forming method according to the second aspect further includes a step of removing at least a part of the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer body to which the toner image has been transferred, using a cleaning blade. The cleaning blade contains organic particles and inorganic particles.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the number average particle diameter of the organic particles is 0.01 μm or more and 10 μm or less. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the number average particle diameter of the inorganic particles is 0.01 μm or more and 5 μm or less. .

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the organic particles are made of an acrylic resin.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the cleaning blade further contains an elastomer.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that the elastomer contains a urethane elastomer.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the ratio of the total weight of the organic particles and the inorganic particles to the weight of the cleaning blade is 1% or more and 50 % Or less.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the image forming method according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the volume average particle diameter of the toner is 4 μm or more and 6 μm or less, and the number average particle diameter of the toner. The ratio of the volume average particle diameter to is 1.00 or more and 1.25 or less.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the toner contains 0 to 10% by weight of the toner having a particle diameter of 1 μm or less. It is characterized by doing.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the toner contains a wax, and a weight ratio of the wax to the toner is 3% or more and 8 % Or less.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to twelfth aspects, the toner contains a polyester resin.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, the toner contains two or more kinds of inorganic particles.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to the fourteenth aspect, the toner contains at least one of silica particles and titanium oxide particles.

  The invention according to claim 16 is the image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the toner is a solution obtained by dissolving or dispersing at least a material containing a prepolymer in an organic solvent. It is characterized by containing particles obtained by dispersing and dispersing the dispersion in an aqueous medium and then extending and / or crosslinking the prepolymer.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to any one of the first to sixteenth aspects, the toner image is formed using a developer including the toner and a carrier. .

  The invention according to claim 18 is a photoconductor, a latent image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor, and a developing means for forming a toner image by developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner. 2. An image forming apparatus comprising: transfer means for transferring the formed toner image to a transfer member; and at least a cleaning blade for removing at least part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member to which the toner image is transferred. An image is formed by using the image forming method described in any one of 17 above.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the process cartridge, the main body of the image forming apparatus according to the eighteenth aspect is detachable, and at least a part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member and the photosensitive member to which the toner image has been transferred is removed. It has at least a cleaning blade to be removed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming method, an image forming apparatus, and a process cartridge capable of improving image quality, toner cleaning performance, and cleaning blade durability.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.

  The image forming method of the present invention includes a step of forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor, a step of forming a toner image by developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner, and a toner image formed by transferring the formed toner image. And at least a step of removing at least part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member to which the toner image has been transferred, using a cleaning blade. The cleaning blade contains organic particles and inorganic particles, and the average circularity of the toner is 0.95 to 1.00. As a result, the quality of the formed image, the cleaning property of the toner, and the durability of the cleaning blade can be improved.

  In the present invention, when the toner image formed on the photosensitive member is transferred to the transfer member, the toner image may be transferred to the intermediate transfer member and then transferred to the transfer member. At this time, the means for removing the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer member to which the toner image has been transferred is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a cleaning blade containing organic particles and inorganic particles as in the case of the photoreceptor.

  The transfer target may be a medium to which a toner image is transferred, and examples thereof include paper and plastic film.

  In the present invention, the cleaning blade removes at least a part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member (and the intermediate transfer member) after transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive member (and the intermediate transfer member) to the transfer member. It is a member and contains organic particles and inorganic particles.

  The organic particles are preferably made of an acrylic resin. As an acrylic resin, MA1002 (made by Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd.) is mentioned, for example. MA1002 is a polymethyl methacrylate cross-linked product. The organic particles are familiar with elastomers such as urethane elastomers and have good adhesion.

  Examples of inorganic particles include titanium oxide and silica. The inorganic particles can be surface-treated with a silane coupling agent or the like as necessary. Thereby, the dispersibility of inorganic particles can be improved. Further, when the cleaning blade contains an elastomer, the adhesion with the elastomer can be improved.

  In the present invention, the durability and cleaning properties of the cleaning blade can be improved by using a cleaning blade containing organic particles and inorganic particles. Specifically, the wear resistance of the cleaning blade can be improved. Further, even when spherical toner is used, it is possible to suppress chipping of the cleaning blade. Furthermore, the environmental dependency regarding the durability of the cleaning blade can be reduced. In particular, the cleaning property in a low humidity and low temperature environment can be improved. In addition, since the cleaning blade contains inorganic particles, it is possible to reduce filming of the photoconductor and improve the wear resistance of the photoconductor. Further, since the cleaning blade contains organic particles, it is possible to suppress poor cleaning of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member (and the intermediate transfer member) even when spherical toner is used.

  In the present invention, the above mechanism has not been clarified, but as a result of examining a cleaning blade containing a urethane elastomer, the following can be considered. Dispersing the organic particles inside the cleaning blade improves the elastic modulus of the cleaning blade. However, since the improvement in the elastic modulus is not due to the physical properties of the urethane elastomer, it is less likely to fluctuate according to environmental changes. Note that the elastic modulus of the urethane elastomer varies greatly depending on the environment. For example, the rebound resilience increases at a high temperature, and the rebound resilience decreases at a low temperature, and may be half the normal temperature. At this time, by dispersing the organic particles inside the cleaning blade, a certain degree of elastic modulus can be maintained, and the fluctuation of the elastic modulus due to the environment is reduced. Thereby, the cleaning property at a low temperature is improved. However, even when only organic particles are added, filming reduction on the photoreceptor and improvement in wear resistance of the cleaning blade are insufficient. Accordingly, not only the organic particles but also the inorganic particles are simultaneously dispersed in the cleaning blade, whereby the cleaning property and the wear resistance can be improved. The presence of inorganic particles on the contact surface of the cleaning blade with the photosensitive member (and the intermediate transfer member) can reduce the friction of the cleaning blade, improve the wear resistance, and improve the photosensitivity such as filming. Can scrape off foreign bodies.

  In the present invention, the average circularity of the toner is 0.95 to 1.00, and 0.95 to 0.99 is preferable for forming a high-definition toner image having reproducibility at an appropriate density. . Thereby, the transfer rate of the toner image can be improved. In addition, since the change in the amount of toner that collides with the cleaning blade is reduced, stable cleaning can be performed. As a result, the durability and cleaning performance of the cleaning blade can be improved, and the transferred toner image can also be an image having no halftone unevenness. On the other hand, if the average circularity of the toner is less than 0.95, it may be difficult to obtain a high-quality image having sufficient transferability and no dust.

  The average circularity of the toner is obtained by optically acquiring a toner image from a suspension containing toner applied on a flat plate using an imaging means such as a CCD camera and analyzing the obtained toner image. By doing so, it can be measured. More specifically, the circularity of the toner is a value obtained by acquiring the toner image and dividing the circumference of a circle having an area equal to the projected area of the toner image by the actual circumference of the toner image. The average circularity of the toner is an average value of the circularity of individual toners. Note that the number of toners necessary to obtain the average circularity of the toner from the circularity of the toner may be a number sufficient to determine the value of the average circularity of the toner with two significant digits. , 1000 or more.

  An apparatus for measuring the average circularity of the toner includes a flow type particle image analyzer FPIA-1000 (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.). A specific method for measuring the average circularity of the toner will be described below. First, in a container, 100 to 150 ml of water from which impure solids have been removed in advance, 0.1 to 0.5 ml of a surfactant (preferably alkylbenzene sulfonate) as a dispersant, 0.1 to 0 Add 5 g of toner (measurement sample). The suspension in which the measurement sample is dispersed is further subjected to dispersion treatment for about 1 to 3 minutes using an ultrasonic disperser, so that the concentration of the dispersion is 3000 to 10,000 / μl. Next, the average circularity of the toner can be obtained by obtaining the circularity distribution of the toner contained in the obtained dispersion using the above-described apparatus.

  In the present invention, the toner usually contains a binder resin, a colorant and an additive. Examples of the additive include a charge control agent, a wax, and an external additive. Further, the toner may be either a magnetic toner or a non-magnetic toner, and may be used as a one-component developer without using a carrier, and two-component development together with a magnetic or non-magnetic carrier carrying the toner. It may be used as an agent.

  As the colorant contained in the toner, known dyes and pigments can be used. Examples of the colorant include carbon black, nigrosine dye, iron black, naphthol yellow S, Hansa yellow (10G, 5G, G), cadmium yellow, yellow iron oxide, ocher, yellow lead, titanium yellow, polyazo yellow, and oil. Yellow, Hansa Yellow (GR, A, RN, R), Pigment Yellow L, Benzidine Yellow (G, GR), Permanent Yellow (NCG), Vulcan Fast Yellow (5G, R), Tartrazine Lake, Quinoline Yellow Lake, Anthra Zan Yellow BGL, Isoindolinone Yellow, Bengala, Red Plum, Lead Zhu, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Mercury Red, Antimon Zhu, Permanent Red 4R, Para Red, Faucet Red, Parachloro Ortho Nitroaniline Red, Risor Fast Ska Let G, Brilliant Fast Scarlet, Brilliant Carmin BS, Permanent Red (F2R, F4R, FRL, FRLL, F4RH), Fast Scarlet VD, Belkan Fast Rubin B, Brilliant Scarlet G, Resol Rubin GX, Permanent Red F5R, Brilliant Carmine 6B, Pigment Scarlet 3B, Bordeaux 5B, Toluidine Maroon, Permanent Bordeaux F2K, Helio Bordeaux BL, Bordeaux 10B, Bon Maroon Light, Bon Maroon Medium, Eosin Lake, Rhodamine Lake B, Rhodamine Lake Y, Alizarin Lake, Thioindigo Red B, Thio Indigo maroon, oil red, quinacridone red, pyrazolone red, polyazo red, chrome vermilion, Njijin Orange, Perinone Orange, Oil Orange, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Alkaline Blue Lake, Peacock Blue Lake, Victoria Blue Lake, Metal Free Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Blue, Fast Sky Blue, Indanthrene Blue (RS, BC) , Indigo, Ultramarine Blue, Bituminous Blue, Anthraquinone Blue, Fast Violet B, Methyl Violet Lake, Cobalt Purple, Manganese Purple, Dioxane Violet, Anthraquinone Violet, Chrome Green, Zinc Green, Chrome Oxide, Pyridian, Emerald Green, Pigment Green B, Naphthol Green B, Green Gold, Acid Green Lake, Malachite Green Lake, Phthalocyanine Green, Anthraquinone Green , Titanium oxide, zinc white, lithobon and mixtures thereof. The content of the colorant in the toner is usually 1 to 15% by weight, and preferably 3 to 10% by weight.

  The colorant may be a master batch combined with a resin. Examples of the resin used in the production of the master batch or the resin further kneaded into the master batch include styrene polymers such as polystyrene, poly (p-chlorostyrene) and polyvinyltoluene, substituted styrene polymers, and styrene-p. -Chlorostyrene copolymer, styrene-propylene copolymer, styrene-vinyltoluene copolymer, styrene-vinylnaphthalene copolymer, styrene-methyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl acrylate copolymer, styrene- Butyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-octyl acrylate copolymer, styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-ethyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-butyl methacrylate copolymer, styrene-α-chloromethacrylic acid Methyl copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile Copolymer, styrene-vinyl methyl ketone copolymer, styrene-butadiene copolymer, styrene-isoprene copolymer, styrene-acrylonitrile-indene copolymer, styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-maleic acid ester Styrene copolymers such as copolymers, polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, epoxy resin, epoxy polyol, polyurethane, polyamide, polyvinyl butyral, polyacryl Examples thereof include acid, rosin, modified rosin, terpene resin, aliphatic hydrocarbon resin, alicyclic hydrocarbon resin, aromatic petroleum resin, chlorinated paraffin, and paraffin wax. These resins may be used alone or in combination.

  The masterbatch is obtained by mixing or kneading the masterbatch resin and the colorant with a high shearing force. In this case, an organic solvent can be used in order to enhance the interaction between the colorant and the resin. Moreover, the flushing method which removes a water | moisture content and the component of an organic solvent while moving a colorant to the resin side by mixing or knead | mixing the aqueous paste containing colorant and water, resin, and an organic solvent can also be used. The flushing method is preferable because a wet cake of a colorant can be used as it is, and does not require a drying step. For mixing and kneading, a high shear dispersion device such as a three-roll mill is preferably used.

  A known charge control agent can be used as the charge control agent contained in the toner. Charge control agents include nigrosine dyes, triphenylmethane dyes, chromium-containing metal complex dyes, molybdate chelate pigments, rhodamine dyes, alkoxy amines, and quaternary ammonium (including fluorine-modified quaternary ammonium salts) Examples thereof include salts, alkylamides, phosphorus simple substances, phosphorus compounds, tungsten simple substances, tungsten compounds, fluorosurfactants, salicylic acid metal salts, and metal salts of salicylic acid derivatives. Specifically, Bontron 03 of nigrosine dye, Bontron P-51 of quaternary ammonium salt, Bontron S-34 of metal-containing azo dye, E-82 of oxynaphthoic acid metal complex, E of salicylic acid metal complex -84, phenolic condensate E-89 (above, Orient Chemical Industries), quaternary ammonium salt molybdenum complex TP-302, TP-415 (above, Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.), quaternary Copy charge of ammonium salt PSY VP2038, copy blue PR of triphenylmethane derivative, copy charge of quaternary ammonium salt NEG VP2036, copy charge NX VP434 (manufactured by Hoechst), LRA-901, LR- which is a boron complex 147 (manufactured by Nippon Carlit), copper phthalocyanine, perylene, quinac Don, azo pigments, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxyl group, and a polymer compound having a quaternary ammonium salt or the like.

  The weight ratio of the charge control agent to the binder resin depends on the type of the binder resin, the presence or absence of additives used as necessary, the toner production method such as the dispersion method, etc. However, it is preferably 0.1 to 10%, more preferably 0.2 to 5%. If the weight ratio exceeds 10%, the chargeability of the toner is too high, the electrostatic attraction between the developing roller and the toner increases, the flowability of the developer decreases, and the image density decreases. Sometimes.

  The charge control agent can be melt-kneaded with a resin to form a master batch, and then the obtained master batch can be dissolved or dispersed in a solution containing a toner material. Further, a charge control agent may be added when the toner material is directly dissolved or dispersed in a solvent. Further, after the toner base particles are prepared, a charge control agent may be immobilized on the surface of the toner base particles.

  In the present invention, the cleaning blade contains organic particles and inorganic particles, and the average circularity of the toner is 0.95 to 1.00. Therefore, the cleaning blade is excellent in the quality of the formed image and the cleaning property of the toner. The occurrence of defective cleaning due to fluctuations can be suppressed, and the durability of the cleaning blade can be improved.

  In the present invention, the number average particle diameter of the organic particles is preferably 0.01 to 10 μm, more preferably 0.5 to 5 μm, and particularly preferably 1 to 3 μm. The number average particle size of the inorganic particles is preferably 0.01 to 5 μm, and more preferably 0.02 to 3 μm.

  When removing at least a part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member, if the number average particle diameter of the organic particles exceeds 10 μm, the elastic modulus may increase and the wear amount of the cleaning blade may increase. Furthermore, a cleaning defect may occur from a place where organic particles have fallen off due to abrasion. If the number average particle diameter of the inorganic particles exceeds 5 μm, the wear amount of the photoreceptor may increase.

  In addition, the number average particle diameter of the organic particles can be measured using a Coulter Counter TA-II and Coulter Multisizer II (both manufactured by Coulter). In the present invention, by using a Coulter counter TA-II type, by connecting to an interface (manufactured by Nikka Giken) and a personal computer PC9801 (manufactured by NEC) that outputs the number distribution and volume distribution, the number average of the organic particles The particle size was measured. At this time, the number of organic particles used for obtaining the number average particle diameter is about 1000.

  The number average particle diameter of the inorganic fine particles can be calculated by taking a photograph of the toner with a scanning electron microscope S-800 (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) and analyzing it with an image analyzer LUSEX3 (manufactured by Nireco). it can. At this time, the number of inorganic particles necessary for obtaining the average value of the particle diameter is about 50.

  In the present invention, the cleaning blade preferably further contains an elastomer (rubber elastic body, rubber). Thereby, the cleaning blade can be brought into uniform contact with the surface of the photoreceptor. In particular, when the image forming apparatus is driven, the distance between the position where the cleaning blade is held and the surface of the photosensitive member may fluctuate due to the dimensional accuracy error of the components including the photosensitive member. Thus, this variation can be compensated. Examples of the elastomer include natural rubber, styrene rubber, butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, butyl rubber, silicon rubber, chloroprene rubber, hydrin rubber, urethane rubber and the like.

  In the present invention, the elastomer preferably contains a urethane elastomer. When the cleaning blade contains a urethane elastomer (urethane rubber), it is possible to suppress the transfer of a substance that deteriorates the film of the photosensitive member (and the intermediate transfer member) to the surface of the cleaning blade. Furthermore, urethane elastomers can improve wear resistance without the addition of additives such as reinforcing agents, fillers, plasticizers, anti-aging agents, vulcanization accelerators, and vulcanizing agents. The performance of the elastomer can be controlled only by the combination of the urethane elastomer materials.

  The urethane elastomer is obtained by heat-curing in a mold a composition in which trace components such as an antifoaming agent SAG-47 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone) are uniformly mixed together with a prepolymer and a curing agent. At this time, a cleaning blade containing organic particles and inorganic particles can be obtained by dispersing the organic particles and inorganic particles in a prepolymer that has been heated and melted or by dispersing the organic particles and inorganic particles in a curing agent that is liquid at room temperature.

  In the present invention, the total content of organic particles and inorganic particles in the cleaning blade is preferably 1 to 50% by weight, more preferably 5 to 35% by weight. When the total content is less than 1% by weight, the durability of the cleaning blade is lowered, the resilience is not increased, and the environment dependency may be increased. On the other hand, if the total content exceeds 50% by weight, the durability of the cleaning blade may be reduced and chipping may occur. In addition, if either the organic particles or the inorganic particles are not contained in the cleaning blade, the cleaning property and durability cannot be improved. If the organic particles are not contained, the environmental dependency is increased, and if the inorganic particles are not contained, the durability is lowered. Further, when the weight ratio of the organic particles to the inorganic particles is increased, the resilience of the blade may be increased and the durability may be decreased. When the weight ratio is decreased, the adhesion between the elastomers may be decreased and the durability may be decreased. is there. For this reason, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the organic particles to the inorganic particles is 1/5 to 5. Thereby, the durability of the cleaning blade can be improved, environmental dependency is small, and chipping of the cleaning blade can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, the volume average particle size of the toner is preferably 4 to 6 μm. Further, the ratio of the volume average particle diameter to the number average particle diameter of the toner is preferably 1.00 to 1.25, and more preferably 1.10 to 1.25. When the volume average particle diameter of the toner is 4 to 6 μm and the ratio of the volume average particle diameter to the number average particle diameter of the toner is 1.00 to 1.25, more excellent heat resistant storage stability and low temperature fixability And a dry toner having hot offset resistance can be obtained. In particular, when such a toner is used in a full-color copying machine or the like, an image having better gloss can be obtained. In the case of a two-component developer, even if the toner is transferred to and from the carrier for a long period of time, the fluctuation of the toner particle diameter in the developer is reduced. Therefore, the developer is stirred for a long time in the developing device. However, good and stable developability can be obtained.

  On the other hand, when the volume average particle diameter of the toner is less than 4 μm, it is relatively easy to obtain a high-resolution and high-quality image, but the transferability of the toner and the cleaning performance of the cleaning blade with respect to the toner are deteriorated. Tend. Further, in the two-component developer, the toner may be fused to the surface of the carrier due to long-term stirring of the developer in the developing device, and the charging ability of the carrier may be reduced. On the other hand, when the volume average particle diameter of the toner exceeds 6 μm, it is relatively difficult to obtain a high-resolution and high-quality image, and in the case of a two-component developer, the toner is exchanged over a long-term carrier. Is carried out, the variation in the particle diameter of the toner in the developer becomes large, and it may be difficult to obtain good and stable developability.

  Further, when the ratio of the volume average particle diameter of the toner to the number average particle diameter of the toner exceeds 1.25, it is relatively difficult to obtain a high-resolution and high-quality image, and the two-component developer In this case, when toner is transferred on a carrier over a long period of time, the particle size of the toner in the developer varies greatly, and it may be difficult to obtain good and stable developability.

  The number average particle diameter and volume average particle diameter of the toner can be measured using a Coulter Counter TA-II and Coulter Multisizer II (both manufactured by Coulter). In the present invention, a Coulter Counter TA-II type is used and connected to an interface (manufactured by Nikka Giken) and a personal computer PC9801 (manufactured by NEC) by outputting a number distribution and a volume distribution, whereby the number average particle size of the toner is obtained. Diameter and volume average particle size were measured. At this time, the number of toner particles used for obtaining the number average particle size and the volume average particle size is about 1000.

  In the present invention, the content of the toner having a particle size of 1 μm or less in the toner is preferably 0 to 10% by weight. As a result, the cleaning performance of the cleaning blade with respect to the toner remaining on the photosensitive member (and / or the intermediate transfer member) can be improved. When this content exceeds 10% by weight, it is relatively easy to obtain a high-resolution and high-quality image, but the toner transferability and the cleaning performance of the cleaning blade with respect to the toner may deteriorate. is there. Further, in the two-component developer, the toner may be fused to the surface of the carrier due to long-term stirring of the developer in the developing device, and the charging ability of the carrier may be reduced.

  In the present invention, the toner contains a wax, and the content of the wax in the toner is preferably 3 to 8% by weight. Examples of the wax include polyolefin waxes such as polyethylene wax and polypropylene wax, long chain hydrocarbons such as paraffin wax and sazol wax, and carbonyl group-containing waxes. Among them, carbonyl group-containing waxes are preferable. Examples of the carbonyl group-containing wax include carnauba wax, montan wax, trimethylolpropane tribehenate, pentaerythritol tetrabehenate, pentaerythritol diacetate dibehenate, glycerin tribehenate, and 1,18-octadecanediol diester. Polyalkanoic acid esters such as stearate, polyalkanol esters such as tristearyl trimellitic acid, distearyl maleate, polyalkanoic acid amides such as ethylenediamine dibehenyl amide, polyalkylamides such as trimellitic acid tristearyl amide, distearyl Although dialkyl ketones, such as a ketone, are mentioned, polyalkanoic acid ester is preferable.

  The melting point of the wax is usually 40 to 160 ° C, preferably 50 to 120 ° C, and more preferably 60 to 90 ° C. If a wax having a melting point of less than 40 ° C. is used, the heat-resistant storage stability may be adversely affected. If a wax having a melting point of more than 160 ° C. is used, a cold offset may easily occur during low-temperature fixing.

  The melt viscosity of the wax is preferably 5 to 1000 cps, more preferably 10 to 100 cps at a temperature 20 ° C. higher than the melting point of the wax. When the melt viscosity of the wax exceeds 1000 cps, the hot offset resistance and low-temperature fixability of the toner may be lowered.

  In the present invention, the toner preferably contains a polyester resin as a binder resin. Thereby, the low-temperature fixability of the toner can be improved. Further, when toner is used in a full-color image forming apparatus, the glossiness of the obtained toner image can be improved.

  Examples of polyester resins include polycondensates of polyols and polycarboxylic acids. The polyester resin may have an active hydrogen group such as a hydroxyl group (alcoholic hydroxyl group and phenolic hydroxyl group), an amino group, a carboxyl group, a mercapto group, etc. Among them, it preferably has an alcoholic hydroxyl group. The polyester resin may be modified with a urea bond or a urethane bond.

  The maximum molecular weight of the polyester resin is usually 1000 to 30000, preferably 1500 to 10000, and more preferably 2000 to 8000. When the maximum molecular weight of the polyester resin is less than 1000, the heat resistant storage stability of the toner may be lowered. On the other hand, when the maximum molecular weight of the polyester resin exceeds 10,000, the low-temperature fixability of the toner may deteriorate.

  The hydroxyl value of the polyester resin is preferably 5 mgKOH / g or more, more preferably 10 to 120 mgKOH / g, and particularly preferably 20 to 80 mgKOH / g. When the hydroxyl value of the polyester resin is less than 5, it may be difficult to achieve both the heat-resistant storage stability and the low-temperature fixability of the toner.

  The acid value of the polyester resin is usually 0.5 to 40 mgKOH / g, preferably 5 to 35 mgKOH / g. When the acid value of the polyester resin is increased, the chargeability of the toner tends to be negatively charged. When the acid value of the polyester resin exceeds 40 mgKOH / g and the hydroxyl value exceeds 120 mgKOH / g, the toner is affected by the environment under the conditions of high temperature and high humidity and low temperature and low humidity, resulting in degradation of image quality. May be easier.

  In the present invention, the toner preferably contains a plurality of types of inorganic particles as external additives. As a result, the fluidity, developability and chargeability of the toner can be further improved. Inorganic particles include silica, alumina, titanium oxide, barium titanate, magnesium titanate, calcium titanate, strontium titanate, iron oxide, copper oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, quartz sand, clay, mica, wollastonite Diatomaceous earth, chromium oxide, cerium oxide, bengara, antimony trioxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, barium sulfate, barium carbonate, calcium carbonate, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and the like.

  The average particle size of the primary particles of the inorganic particles is preferably 3 to 100 nm, more preferably 3 to 70 nm. If the average particle size of the primary particles of the inorganic particles is less than 3 nm, the inorganic particles may be buried in the toner and the function of the inorganic particles may not be exhibited effectively. On the other hand, when the average particle size of the primary particles of the inorganic particles exceeds 100 nm, the surface of the photoconductor may be damaged unevenly.

The specific surface area of the inorganic particles according to the BET method is preferably 20 to 500 m ² / g.

  The content of inorganic particles in the toner is preferably 0.1 to 5% by weight, and more preferably 0.3 to 3% by weight.

  The inorganic particles preferably contain one or more hydrophobized inorganic particles, and the average primary particle size of such inorganic particles is preferably 1 to 100 nm, more preferably 5 to 70 nm. . Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a decrease in toner fluidity and chargeability even under high humidity conditions.

  As a treating agent for hydrophobizing inorganic particles, silane coupling agents such as methyltrimethoxysilane, methyltriethoxysilane, octyltrimethoxysilane, silylating agents, silane coupling agents having a fluorinated alkyl group, Organic titanate coupling agents, aluminum coupling agents, silicone oils, modified silicone oils and the like can be mentioned. Silicone oil and modified silicone oil include dimethyl silicone oil, methylphenyl silicone oil, chlorophenyl silicone oil, methyl hydrogen silicone oil, alkyl modified silicone oil, fluorine modified silicone oil, polyether modified silicone oil, alcohol modified silicone oil. , Amino modified silicone oil, epoxy modified silicone oil, epoxy / polyether modified silicone oil, phenol modified silicone oil, carboxyl modified silicone oil, mercapto modified silicone oil, acrylic modified silicone oil, methacryl modified silicone oil, α-methylstyrene modified silicone An oil etc. are mentioned.

  In addition, inorganic particles that have not been hydrophobized and inorganic particles that have been hydrophobized can be used in combination. In addition, the inorganic particles contain at least one kind of hydrophobized inorganic particles having an average primary particle diameter of 20 nm or less and one or more hydrophobized inorganic particles having an average primary particle diameter of 30 nm or more. Is preferred.

  As silica particles, HDKH 2000, HDK H 2000/4, HDK H 2050EP, HVK21, HDK H 1303 (above, manufactured by Hoechst), R972, R974, RX200, RY200, R202, R805, R812 (above, Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.) Manufactured) and the like.

  As titanium oxide particles, P-25 (manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.), STT-30, STT-65C-S (above, manufactured by Titanium Industry Co., Ltd.), TAF-140 (manufactured by Fuji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd.), MT-150W, MT -500B, MT-600B, MT-150A (manufactured by Teica) and the like.

  Examples of the hydrophobized titanium oxide particles include T-805 (manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.), STT-30A, STT-65S-S (manufactured by Titanium Industry Co., Ltd.), TAF-500T, TAF-1500T (manufactured by Fuji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd.), MT-100S, MT-100T (above, Teika Co., Ltd.), IT-S (Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd.) and the like.

  In the present invention, the inorganic particles preferably contain at least one of silica particles and titanium oxide particles, and particularly preferably contain hydrophobized silica particles. Thereby, the environmental stability of the toner can be improved.

  In the present invention, at least the toner is obtained by dissolving or dispersing a toner material containing a prepolymer in an organic solvent in a water-based medium and then extending and / or crosslinking the prepolymer. The particles obtained by

  The prepolymer for obtaining the toner binder resin can be obtained as follows. First, a known polyol and polycarboxylic acid are heated at 150 to 280 ° C. in the presence of an esterification catalyst such as tetrabutoxy titanate and dibutyltin oxide, and the reaction system is depressurized and water generated is generated if necessary. By distilling off, a polyester having a hydroxyl group is obtained. Next, the obtained polyester is reacted with polyisocyanate at 40 to 140 ° C. to obtain a polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group.

  The toner material may be a prepolymer alone, and may contain a colorant, a colorant masterbatch, a release agent, a charge control agent, an unmodified polyester resin and the like in addition to the prepolymer.

  The aqueous medium may be water, but may contain a solvent that is miscible with water. Examples of the solvent miscible with water include alcohols such as methanol, isopropanol and ethylene glycol, cellosolves such as dimethylformamide, tetrahydrofuran and methyl cellosolve, and lower ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone. The aqueous medium may contain resin particles.

  The amount of the aqueous medium used is usually 50 to 2000 parts by weight and preferably 100 to 1000 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the toner material. If the amount of the aqueous medium used relative to 100 parts by weight of the toner material is less than 50 parts by weight, the dispersibility of the toner material may be reduced, and it may be difficult to obtain a toner having a predetermined particle size. Beyond that, toner production is not economical.

  In the present invention, for example, the toner is prepared by dispersing a solution or dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing a toner material containing a polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group in an organic solvent in an aqueous medium, It is obtained by extending and / or cross-linking using an extender and / or a cross-linking agent.

  As the cross-linking agent and / or extender, amines can be used. Examples of amines include diamines, trivalent or higher polyamines, amino alcohols, amino mercaptans, amino acids, compounds in which the amino group of these compounds is blocked, among others, diamines, diamines and small amounts of trivalent or higher polyamines. Is preferred.

  Examples of the diamine include phenylenediamine, diethyltoluenediamine, aromatic diamine such as 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, alicyclic such as 4,4′-diamino-3,3′-dimethyldicyclohexylmethane, diaminecyclohexane, and isophoronediamine. Aliphatic diamines such as diamine, ethylenediamine, tetramethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine and the like can be mentioned. Examples of trivalent or higher polyamines include diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine. Examples of amino alcohols include ethanolamine and hydroxyethylaniline. Examples of amino mercaptans include aminoethyl mercaptan and aminopropyl mercaptan. Examples of amino acids include aminopropionic acid and aminocaproic acid. Examples of compounds in which the amino group of these compounds is blocked include ketimine compounds blocked with ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and methyl isobutyl ketone, and oxazoline compounds.

  Furthermore, the extension and / or crosslinking of the polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group can adjust the molecular weight of the resulting modified polyester by using a terminator, if necessary. Examples of the terminator include monoamines such as diethylamine, dibutylamine, butylamine, and laurylamine, and monoamine-blocked compounds (ketimine compounds).

  Regarding the amount of amines used, the ratio [NCO] / [NHx] of the equivalent amount [NCO] of the isocyanate group possessed by the polyester prepolymer and the equivalent amount [NHx] of the amino group possessed by the amine is usually 1 / 2/2/1, preferably 1.5 / 1 to 1 / 1.5, more preferably 1.2 / 1 to 1 / 1.2. When [NCO] / [NHx] is more than 2 or less than ½, the molecular weight of the resulting urea-modified polyester may decrease, and the hot offset resistance of the toner may decrease.

  The elongation and / or crosslinking reaction time of the polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group is appropriately selected depending on the elongation and / or crosslinking reactivity depending on the combination of the isocyanate group and amines the polyester prepolymer has. It is 10 minutes to 40 hours, and preferably 2 to 24 hours. The reaction temperature for elongation and / or crosslinking of the polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group is usually 0 to 150 ° C, preferably 40 to 98 ° C. Moreover, a catalyst can be used for the expansion | extension and / or bridge | crosslinking of the polyester prepolymer which has an isocyanate group as needed. Examples of such a catalyst include dibutyltin laurate and dioctyltin laurate.

  Components other than the prepolymer of the toner material may be mixed when the prepolymer is dispersed in the aqueous medium. However, after premixing the prepolymer and the components other than the prepolymer to obtain the toner material, It is preferable to dissolve or disperse the toner material in an organic solvent. Components other than the prepolymer in the toner material may be added after the toner base particles are formed. For example, after forming toner base particles not containing a colorant, a colorant may be added to the toner base particles using a known dyeing method.

  A method of dispersing a solution or dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing a toner material in an organic solvent in an aqueous medium is not particularly limited, but a low-speed shear method, a high-speed shear method, a friction method, a high-pressure jet method, an ultrasonic wave, etc. It is possible to use a method using a disperser. In order to make the average particle size of the toner material dispersed in the aqueous medium 2 to 20 μm, a high-speed shearing type disperser is preferable. When using a high-speed shearing type disperser, the rotational speed of the disperser is not particularly limited, but is usually 1000 to 30000 rpm, preferably 5000 to 20000 rpm. The dispersion time is not particularly limited, but is usually 0.1 to 5 minutes in the case of batch dispersion. The temperature at the time of dispersion (under pressure) is usually 0 to 150 ° C, preferably 40 to 98 ° C. When the temperature at the time of dispersion is high, the viscosity of the dispersion system of the toner material becomes low, so that the dispersion of the toner material in the aqueous medium becomes easy.

  When a solution or dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing the toner material in an organic solvent is dispersed in an aqueous medium, a dispersant may be used as necessary. Thereby, the particle size distribution of the base particles of the obtained toner becomes narrow, and the dispersion of the solution or dispersion in the aqueous medium can be stabilized.

  Examples of such dispersants include anionic surfactants such as alkylbenzene sulfonates, α-olefin sulfonates and phosphate esters, alkylamine salts, amino alcohol fatty acid derivatives, polyamine fatty acid derivatives, and amine salts such as imidazoline. Type cationic surfactant, alkyltrimethylammonium salt, dialkyldimethylammonium salt, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium salt, pyridinium salt, alkylisoquinolinium salt, quaternary ammonium salt type cationic interface such as benzethonium chloride Activators, nonionic surfactants such as fatty acid amide derivatives, polyhydric alcohol derivatives, alanine, dodecylbis (aminoethyl) glycine, bis (octylaminoethyl) glycine, N-alkyl-N, N-dimethylammonium betaine It includes amphoteric surfactants.

  When a surfactant having a fluoroalkyl group is used as the dispersant, a solution or dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing the toner material in an organic solvent is dispersed in an aqueous medium with a very small amount of the dispersant. be able to.

  Examples of the anionic surfactant having a fluoroalkyl group include fluoroalkylcarboxylic acids having 2 to 10 carbon atoms and metal salts thereof, disodium perfluorooctanesulfonyl glutamate, 3- [ω-fluoroalkyl (C6-C11). ) Oxy] -1-alkyl (C3-C4) sodium sulfonate, 3- [ω-fluoroalkanoyl (C6-C8) -N-ethylamino] -1-propanesulfonic acid sodium, fluoroalkyl (C11-C20) carvone Acids and metal salts thereof, perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids (C7 to C13) and metal salts thereof, perfluoroalkyl (C4 to C12) sulfonic acids and metal salts thereof, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid diethanolamide, N-propyl-N- (2-Hydroxyethyl) perfluoro Kutansulfonamide, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) sulfonamidopropyltrimethylammonium salt, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) -N-ethylsulfonylglycine salt, monoperfluoroalkyl (C6-C16) ethyl phosphate, and the like It is done.

  Specifically, Surflon S-111, S-112, S-113 (above, manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), Florard FC-93, FC-95, FC-98, FC-129 (above, made by Sumitomo 3M), Unidyne DS-101, DS-102 (above, Daikin Industries, Ltd.), MegaFuck F-110, F-120, F-113, F-191, F-812, F-833 (above, Dainippon Ink Co., Ltd.) ), Ectop EF-102, 103, 104, 105, 112, 123A, 123B, 306A, 501, 201, 204 (above, manufactured by Tochem Products), Footent F-100, F-150 (above, Neos) Etc.).

  Examples of the cationic surfactant having a fluoroalkyl group include aliphatic primary, secondary or secondary amine acids having a fluoroalkyl group, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) sulfonamidopropyltrimethylammonium salt, etc. Aliphatic quaternary ammonium salts, benzalkonium salts, benzethonium chloride, pyridinium salts, imidazolinium salts, and the like.

  Specifically, Surflon S-121 (manufactured by Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), Florard FC-135 (manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd.), Unidyne DS-202 (manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd.), MegaFuck F-150, F-824 (above, large Nippon Ink Co., Ltd.), Xtop EF-132 (manufactured by Tochem Products), and Footgent F-300 (manufactured by Neos).

  Further, as a dispersant, an inorganic compound that is hardly soluble in water, such as tricalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, titanium oxide, colloidal silica, and hydroxyapatite, can be used.

  Furthermore, the dispersion in the aqueous medium of a solution or dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing the toner material in an organic solvent may be stabilized by forming a polymeric protective colloid. Polymeric protective colloids include acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, α-cyanoacrylic acid, α-cyanomethacrylic acid, itaconic acid, crotonic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, and other acids, and acrylic acid β-hydroxy Ethyl, β-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, β-hydroxypropyl acrylate, β-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, γ-hydroxypropyl acrylate, γ-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, methacrylic acid 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl, diethylene glycol monoacrylate, diethylene glycol monomethacrylate, glycerol monoacrylate, glycerol monomethacrylate, N-methylolacrylamide, N-methylo (Meth) acrylic monomers having hydroxyl groups such as methacrylamide, vinyl alcohol ethers such as vinyl alcohol, vinyl methyl ether, vinyl ethyl ether, vinyl propyl ether, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, etc. Carboxylic acid esters of vinyl alcohol, acrylamide, methacrylamide, diacetone acrylamide and their methylol compounds, acid chlorides such as acrylic acid chloride and methacrylic acid chloride, vinyl pyridine, vinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl imidazole, ethylene imine Homopolymers or copolymers of compounds having a nitrogen atom or a heterocyclic ring containing a nitrogen atom, such as polyoxyethylene, polyoxypropylene, polyoxyethylene alkylamine, polyoxypropylene alkylamine, Polyoxyethylene polymer compounds such as oxyethylene alkylamide, polyoxypropylene alkylamide, polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene lauryl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene stearyl phenyl ester, polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ester, methylcellulose , Celluloses such as hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose can be used.

  In the case of using an acid or alkali-soluble dispersant such as calcium phosphate, an acid or alkali such as hydrochloric acid is applied to the toner base particles to dissolve the dispersant such as calcium phosphate, followed by washing with water. The dispersant can be removed from the toner base particles by a cleaning method such as the above. In addition, the dispersing agent can be removed from the toner base particles by enzymatic decomposition of the dispersing agent. When a dispersant is used, the dispersant may remain on the surface of the toner base particles. However, from the viewpoint of the chargeability of the toner, after the prepolymer is stretched and / or crosslinked, It is preferable to remove the dispersant by washing the toner base particles.

  In the present invention, the organic solvent can be removed by gradually increasing the temperature of a dispersion in which a solution or dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing the toner material in an organic solvent is dispersed in an aqueous medium. . Also, by spraying the dispersion into a dry atmosphere, the organic solvent can be removed and the dispersant can be evaporated. The dry atmosphere in which the dispersion system is sprayed includes gases obtained by heating air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide gas and combustion gas, in particular, various air streams heated to a temperature higher than the boiling point of the organic solvent used. Used. By using a spray dryer, a belt dryer, or a rotary kiln, a dry atmosphere can be obtained in a short time. Further, in order to remove the organic solvent, air can be blown into the dispersion using a rotary evaporator or the like, and the organic solvent can be removed.

  Thereafter, rough dispersion of the dispersion is performed by centrifugation, the dispersion obtained in the washing tank is washed, and the process of drying the washed dispersion using a hot air dryer is repeated, whereby toner base particles are obtained. Can be obtained.

  When a dispersion obtained by dissolving or dispersing a toner material in an organic solvent or a dispersion obtained by dispersing the toner material in an aqueous medium has a wide particle size distribution, and the wide particle size distribution is maintained through washing and drying processes. The particle size distribution can be adjusted by classification. The classification operation can be performed in the dispersion system so as to remove the fine particle portion using a cyclone, a decanter, a centrifugal separator or the like. The toner base particles obtained by drying the dispersion may be classified, but classification in the dispersion is preferred from the viewpoint of classification efficiency. The fine particles and coarse particles removed by classification can be reused when toner base particles are produced by kneading. At that time, the fine particles and the coarse particles may be in a wet state. Moreover, it is preferable that the removal of the dispersing agent described above is performed simultaneously with the classification operation.

  Furthermore, base particles of the obtained toner after drying are mixed with additive particles such as release agent particles, charge control agent particles, fluidizing agent particles, colorant particles, and the like to give mechanical impact force, The additive particles may be fixed or fused to the surface of the toner base particles. Thereby, the detachment of the additive particles from the surface of the toner base particles can be suppressed. As a method of giving mechanical impact force, there are a method of giving impact force to the mixture by blades rotating at high speed, a method of injecting the mixture into a high-speed air stream, accelerating the mixture, and causing particles or toner to collide with the collision plate. Can be mentioned. As a device that gives mechanical impact force, ong mill (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Co., Ltd.), type I mill with reduced pulverization air pressure (manufactured by Nippon Pneumatic Co., Ltd.), hybridization system (manufactured by Nara Machinery Co., Ltd.), kryptron Examples include a system (manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.) and an automatic mortar.

  Finally, toner particles are obtained by mixing toner base particles and external additives such as inorganic particles using a Henschel mixer and removing coarse particles using an ultrasonic sieve or the like.

  In the present invention, when a toner image is formed, it is preferable to use a developer comprising a toner and a carrier carrying the toner. The carrier is preferably a magnetic carrier containing magnetic particles. Thereby, density unevenness of the toner image formed on the transfer target can be suppressed. The weight ratio of the toner to the carrier in the developer is preferably 1 to 10%. As the magnetic carrier, iron powder, ferrite powder, magnetite powder, magnetic resin carrier and the like having an average particle diameter of 20 to 200 μm can be used.

  In a magnetic resin carrier in which magnetic particles are coated with a resin, resin materials for coating the magnetic particles include urea-formaldehyde resins, melamine resins, benzoguanamine resins, urea resins, amino resins such as polyamide resins, and epoxy resins. Can be mentioned. In addition to these, polyvinyl resins, polyvinylidene resins, acrylic resins, polymethyl methacrylate, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polystyrene, polystyrene resins such as styrene acrylic copolymers, Halogenated olefin resins such as polyvinyl chloride, polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyvinyl fluoride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polytrifluoroethylene, polyhexafluoropropylene, vinylidene fluoride and acrylic unit Fluoropolymers such as copolymers of monomers, copolymers of vinylidene fluoride and vinyl fluoride, terpolymers of tetrafluoroethylene, vinylidene fluoride and non-fluorinated monomers Polymers, silicone resins, etc. may be used.

  Moreover, you may add electroconductive powder to resin which coat | covers a magnetic particle as needed. Examples of the conductive powder include metal powder, carbon black, titanium oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide. The average particle size of the conductive powder is preferably 1 μm or less. When the average particle diameter of the conductive powder exceeds 1 μm, it may be difficult to control the electric resistance of the carrier.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a photosensitive member, a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member, and a developing unit that forms a toner image by developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner. The image forming method of the present invention has at least a cleaning blade that removes at least part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member to which the toner image has been transferred, using a transfer unit that transfers the toner image to the transfer target and a cleaning blade. Is used to form an image. As a result, the quality of the formed image, the cleaning property of the toner, and the durability of the cleaning blade can be improved. Examples of the image forming apparatus include a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4BK such as developing units that contain toners of colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK). The photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1BK arranged opposite to each other are arranged in parallel in the moving direction of the intermediate transfer belt 20. The toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1BK by the developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4BK for the respective colors are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 20 by the primary transfer rollers 62Y, 62M, 62C, and 62BK. The image is electrostatically superimposed and transferred onto the toner image, and a full-color toner image is formed using four color toners of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black.

  Further, charging devices 2Y, 2M, 2C, 2BK, such as charging rollers, and exposure devices 3Y, 3M, 3C, 3BK, and the like for forming toner images of the respective colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1BK, and the like. Developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4BK are disposed around the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1BK.

  Further, photosensitive drum cleaning devices 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13BK having a cleaning blade that rubs and collects toner remaining on each photosensitive drum 1 after the toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 20 are arranged. It is installed. Also, an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 16 having a cleaning blade that rubs and collects toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 20 after the full color image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 20 is transferred to the transfer paper P is also provided. It is arranged.

  Next, an image forming method using the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. A laser beam modulated in accordance with image data from a host such as a personal computer is exposed on the surface of the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1BK uniformly charged by the charging devices 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2BK. Irradiation is performed from the devices 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3BK, and an electrostatic latent image is formed for each color. The latent image is reversely developed at the development position by the developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4BK disposed to face the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1BK, and visualized as a toner image. This toner image is sequentially transferred and superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 20 by the primary transfer rollers 62Y, 62M, 62C, and 62BK at each transfer position, and the transferred full-color toner image is transferred by the charge eliminating device 67. The charge is removed. The discharged full-color toner image is transferred to the secondary transfer roller 63 and the secondary transfer roller 63 to which a voltage is applied by the bias power supply 28 onto the transfer paper P supplied through the paper supply guide 10 by the paper supply roller 11 at a predetermined timing. The next transfer counter roller 64 is used to perform transfer in a batch. The full-color toner image on the transfer paper P is heated and melted by the fixing device 15 and fixed on the transfer paper P to obtain a desired full-color image.

  The process cartridge of the present invention is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and has at least a cleaning blade for removing at least a part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member and the photosensitive member to which the toner image is transferred. As a result, the quality of the formed image, the cleaning property of the toner, and the durability of the cleaning blade can be improved.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the process cartridge of the present invention. The process cartridge shown in FIG. 2 includes a photosensitive drum 101, a contact charging device 102, a developing device 104, a contact transfer device 106, and a cleaning blade 107, and is detachably incorporated in the main body of the image forming apparatus. When the process cartridge shown in FIG. 2 is incorporated in the main body of the image forming apparatus, an image is printed in cooperation with the exposure device 103, the charge removal lamp 108, the fixing device 109, and the paper feed roller 105 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus. Can be formed. That is, the photosensitive drum 101 is charged by using the contact charging device 102, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 101 by the light emitted from the exposure device 103. Next, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 101 is developed into a visible toner image by the toner supplied from the developing device 104. Further, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 101 is transferred to the transfer paper supplied by the paper feed roller 105 by the contact transfer device 106. The transfer paper on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 109, and the toner image is fixed on the transfer paper 105. On the other hand, after the toner image is transferred to the transfer paper, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 101 is removed by the cleaning blade 107. The photosensitive drum 101 is neutralized by the light emitted from the neutralization lamp 108 and is ready for the next image forming process.

In the following examples, “part” means “part by weight”.
(Examples 1-6 and Comparative Examples 1-4)
(Production of cleaning blade)
First, a urethane rubber plate material for a cleaning blade was prepared by the following procedure. A mixture obtained by adding a predetermined amount of organic particles and inorganic particles (see Table 1) to 100 parts of a polycaprolactone-based prepolymer heated and melted at 90 ° C. for 3 minutes at 1000 rpm using AR-500 (manufactured by Thinky). A heated melt was obtained by stirring. Vacuum defoaming was performed using a vacuum dryer while the obtained heated melt was heated. Next, 6.5 parts of a curing agent 1,4-butanediol / trimethylolpropane (mixing ratio 85/15, hydroxyl value 1248.1 mgKOH / g) is added to the heated melt, and the resulting mixture is quickly added to the agitator. Until uniform. Then, the stirred mixture is degassed under reduced pressure, a release agent is applied, poured into a mold preheated to 150 ° C, and left in a constant temperature bath heated to 150 ° C for 60 minutes to cure the prepolymer. Then, urethane rubber having a thickness of 2 mm was produced. Next, the obtained urethane rubber is taken out of the mold, left in a constant temperature bath at 120 ° C. for 24 hours, and then left in a constant temperature and humidity chamber at 23 ° C. and 55 ± 10% RH for one week to obtain a urethane rubber plate material. Obtained. Further, the obtained urethane rubber plate was cut out to a predetermined size and then adhered to a metal holder to produce a cleaning blade.

（トナーの製造）
〜有機微粒子エマルションの合成〜
撹拌棒及び温度計をセットした反応容器に、水６８３部、メタクリル酸エチレンオキサイド付加物硫酸エステルのナトリウム塩エレミノールＲＳ−３０（三洋化成工業社製）１１部、スチレン８３部、メタクリル酸８３部、アクリル酸ブチル１１０部及び過硫酸アンモニウム１部を仕込み、４００ｒｐｍで１５分間撹拌したところ、白色の乳濁液が得られた。これを加熱して、系内温度７５℃まで昇温し、５時間反応させた。さらに、１重量％過硫酸アンモニウム水溶液３０部を加え、７５℃で５時間熟成してビニル系樹脂（スチレン−メタクリル酸−アクリル酸ブチル−メタクリル酸エチレンオキサイド付加物硫酸エステルのナトリウム塩の共重合体）の水性分散液（微粒子分散液１）を得た。

(Manufacture of toner)
~ Synthesis of organic fine particle emulsion ~
In a reaction vessel in which a stir bar and a thermometer were set, 683 parts of water, 11 parts of sodium salt Eleminol RS-30 (manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries), methacrylic acid ethylene oxide adduct sulfate, 83 parts of styrene, 83 parts of methacrylic acid, When 110 parts of butyl acrylate and 1 part of ammonium persulfate were charged and stirred at 400 rpm for 15 minutes, a white emulsion was obtained. This was heated to raise the temperature in the system to 75 ° C. and reacted for 5 hours. Further, 30 parts of a 1% by weight aqueous ammonium persulfate solution was added, and the mixture was aged at 75 ° C. for 5 hours to be a vinyl resin (styrene copolymer of styrene-methacrylic acid-butyl acrylate-methacrylic acid ethylene oxide adduct sulfate). An aqueous dispersion (fine particle dispersion 1) was obtained.

The volume average particle diameter of the fine particle dispersion 1 was measured using LA-920 (manufactured by HORIBA) and found to be 105 nm. Further, when a part of the fine particle dispersion 1 was dried to isolate the resin component, the resin component had a Tg of 59 ° C. and a weight average molecular weight of 150,000.
~ Preparation of aqueous phase ~
990 parts of water, 80 parts of fine particle dispersion 1, 37 parts of 48.5% by weight aqueous sodium dodecyl diphenyl ether disulfonate Eleminol MON-7 (manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries) and 90 parts of ethyl acetate are mixed and stirred to give a milky white liquid (Aqueous phase 1) was obtained.
~ Synthesis of low molecular weight polyester ~
229 parts of bisphenol A ethylene oxide 2-mole adduct, 529 parts of bisphenol A propylene oxide 3-mole adduct, 208 parts of terephthalic acid, 46 parts of adipic acid and dibutyltin oxide in a reaction vessel equipped with a condenser, stirrer and nitrogen inlet tube 2 parts were added and reacted at 230 ° C. under normal pressure for 7 hours. Further, after 5 hours of reaction under reduced pressure of 10 to 15 mmHg, 44 parts of trimellitic anhydride was added to the reaction vessel, and 180 ° C. under normal pressure. For 3 hours to obtain low molecular weight polyester 1. The low molecular weight polyester 1 had a number average molecular weight of 2300, a weight average molecular weight of 6700, a Tg of 43 ° C., and an acid value of 24 mgKOH / g.
~ Synthesis of intermediate polyester ~
In a reaction vessel equipped with a condenser, a stirrer and a nitrogen introduction pipe, 682 parts of bisphenol A ethylene oxide 2-mole adduct, 81 parts of bisphenol A propylene oxide 2-mole adduct, 283 parts of terephthalic acid, 22 parts of trimellitic anhydride And 2 parts of dibutyltin oxide were added, reacted at 230 ° C. under normal pressure for 7 hours, and further reacted under reduced pressure of 10 to 15 mmHg for 5 hours to obtain an intermediate polyester 1. The intermediate polyester 1 had a number average molecular weight of 2200, a weight average molecular weight of 9700, Tg of 54 ° C., an acid value of 0.5 mgKOH / g, and a hydroxyl value of 52 mgKOH / g.

Next, 410 parts of intermediate polyester 1, 89 parts of isophorone diisocyanate and 500 parts of ethyl acetate are placed in a reaction vessel equipped with a cooling pipe, a stirrer and a nitrogen introduction pipe, and reacted at 100 ° C. for 5 hours to produce a prepolymer. 1 was obtained. Prepolymer 1 had a number average molecular weight of 3,800, a weight average molecular weight of 15,000, Tg of 60 ° C., an acid value of 0.5 mgKOH / g, a hydroxyl value of 51 mgKOH / g, and a free isocyanate content of 1.53% by weight.
~ Synthesis of ketimine ~
170 parts of isophoronediamine and 75 parts of methyl ethyl ketone were charged into a reaction vessel equipped with a stirrer and a thermometer, and reacted at 50 ° C. for 5 hours to obtain a blocked amine (ketimine compound 1). The amine value of ketimine compound 1 was 418 mgKOH / g.
~ Preparation of masterbatch ~
After adding 30 parts of water to 1200 parts of water, 40 parts of carbon black Regal 400R (Cabot Corporation) and 60 parts of polyester resin RS801 (Sanyo Kasei Co., Ltd.) and mixing with a Henschel mixer (Mitsui Mining Co., Ltd.), 2 After kneading at 150 ° C. for 30 minutes using this roll, the product was cooled by rolling and pulverized with a pulverizer to obtain a carbon black masterbatch (masterbatch 1).
~ Preparation of oil phase ~
A container equipped with a stir bar and a thermometer is charged with 400 parts of low molecular weight polyester 1, a predetermined amount of carnauba wax and 947 parts of ethyl acetate having a wax content in the toner shown in Table 2, and the mixture is stirred at 80 ° C. The temperature was raised and maintained at 80 ° C. for 5 hours, and then cooled to 30 ° C. over 1 hour. Next, 500 parts of masterbatch 1 and 500 parts of ethyl acetate were charged in a container and mixed for 1 hour to obtain a raw material solution 1.

1324 parts of the raw material solution 1 is transferred to a container, and using a bead mill Ultra Visco Mill (manufactured by Imex Co., Ltd.), zirconia beads having a liquid feeding speed of 1 kg / hour, a disk peripheral speed of 6 m / second, and an average particle diameter of 0.5 mm The wax was dispersed under the condition of 80% by volume filling and 3 passes. Next, 1324 parts of a 65 wt% ethyl acetate solution of low molecular weight polyester 1 was added, and the dispersion was performed under the same conditions as described above except that the number of passes was 1, so that a pigment / wax dispersion 1 was obtained.
~ Emulsification ~
1772 parts of pigment / wax dispersion 1, 100 parts of 50% by weight ethyl acetate solution of prepolymer 1, 8.5 parts of ketimine compound 1 and 6.9 parts of filler are placed in a container, and TK Homomixer (Special Machine Company) After mixing for 1 minute at 5000 rpm, 1200 parts of aqueous phase 1 was added to the container and mixed for 20 minutes at 10000 rpm using a TK homomixer to obtain emulsified slurry 1.
~ Deorganic solvent ~
The emulsified slurry 1 was put into a container equipped with a stirrer and a thermometer, and after removing the solvent at 30 ° C. for 8 hours, aging was performed at 45 ° C. for 4 hours to obtain a dispersed slurry 1 in which the organic solvent was distilled off. .
~ Washing⇒Drying ~
After 100 parts of the dispersion slurry 1 is filtered under reduced pressure,
(1) 100 parts of ion-exchanged water was added to the filter cake, and the mixture was mixed for 10 minutes at 12000 rpm using a TK homomixer, followed by filtration.
(2) 100 parts of a 10 wt% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution was added to the filter cake of (1), mixed at 12000 rpm for 30 minutes using a TK homomixer, and then filtered under reduced pressure.
(3) 100 parts of 10 wt% hydrochloric acid was added to the filter cake of (2), mixed for 10 minutes at 12000 rpm using a TK homomixer, and then filtered.
(4) 300 parts of ion-exchanged water was added to the filter cake of (3), mixed for 10 minutes at 12000 rpm using a TK homomixer, and then filtered twice to obtain filter cake 1.
The filter cake 1 was dried at 45 ° C. for 48 hours using a circulating dryer, and then sieved with a mesh having an opening of 75 μm to obtain base particles 1.
~ External additive treatment ~
100 parts of base particles 1, 2 parts of hydrophobized silica HDKH2000 (manufactured by Clariant Japan), 1 part of hydrophobized silica having an average primary particle size of 120 nm and 1 part of titanium oxide MT-150A (manufactured by Teika) After mixing for 1 minute at 12000 rpm using a star mixer, the mixture was sieved with a mesh having an opening of 75 μm to obtain a toner. Table 2 shows the physical properties of the obtained toner.

なお、Ｄｖ及びＤｎは、それぞれ体積平均粒径及び個数平均粒径を意味する。
（評価方法及び評価結果）
作製したクリーニングブレードを複写機Ｉｍａｇｉｏ ＮＥＯ−Ｃ４５５（リコー社製）に搭載し、製造したトナーを用いて、３万枚のコピーを実施した。そして、得られたコピーの画像品質（地汚れ、転写率、オフセット、粒状度及びクリーニング性）、クリーニングブレードの摩耗及び欠け、感光体の摩耗及びフィルミングを評価した。評価結果を表３に示す。

Dv and Dn mean a volume average particle diameter and a number average particle diameter, respectively.
(Evaluation method and evaluation results)
The produced cleaning blade was mounted on a copier Imagio NEO-C455 (manufactured by Ricoh), and 30,000 copies were made using the produced toner. Then, the image quality (background stain, transfer rate, offset, granularity and cleaning property) of the obtained copy, abrasion and chipping of the cleaning blade, abrasion and filming of the photoreceptor were evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

表３において、画像品質を、良好な程度から順に、◎、○、△、×の４段階で評価した。また、クリーニングブレードの摩耗量をレーザー顕微鏡ＶＫ−９５００（キーエンス社製）で測定した。具体的には、クリーニングブレードのカット面から観察し、摩耗した分を摩耗していない部分との高低差で表した。

In Table 3, the image quality was evaluated in four stages of ◎, ○, Δ, and × in order from a good level. Further, the abrasion amount of the cleaning blade was measured with a laser microscope VK-9500 (manufactured by Keyence Corporation). Specifically, it was observed from the cut surface of the cleaning blade, and the amount of wear was expressed as a difference in height from the unworn portion.

  From Table 3, the quality of the image formed when the cleaning blade for cleaning the surface of the photoreceptor contains both organic particles and inorganic particles and the average circularity of the toner is 0.95 to 1.00. In addition, it was confirmed that the cleaning performance of the cleaning blade with respect to the toner was improved, the wear of the cleaning blade was reduced, the dependency on the environment was small, and chipping of the cleaning blade could be suppressed. Further, it was confirmed that the wear of the photoconductor can be reduced and filming in the photoconductor can be suppressed.

  Although the embodiments and examples of the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and examples, and these embodiments and examples of the present invention are not limited thereto. Can be changed or modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows an example of the image forming apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process cartridge of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1Y, 1M, 1C, 1BK Photosensitive drum 2Y, 2M, 2C, 2BK Charging device 3Y, 3M, 3C, 3BK Exposure device 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4BK Developing device 13Y, 13M, 13C, 13BK Cleaning device 20 Intermediate transfer belt 62Y, 62M, 62C, 62BK Primary transfer roller 63 Secondary transfer roller 64 Secondary transfer counter roller 101 Photosensitive drum 102 Contact charging device 104 Developing device 106 Contact transfer device 107 Cleaning blade

Claims (19)

Forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member; developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner; forming a toner image; transferring the formed toner image to a transfer target; and cleaning In an image forming method comprising at least a step of removing at least a part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member to which the toner image has been transferred using a blade,
The cleaning blade contains organic particles and inorganic particles,
An image forming method, wherein the average circularity of the toner is 0.95 or more and 1.00 or less.   The step of transferring the formed toner image to the transfer member includes the step of transferring the formed toner image to an intermediate transfer member and the step of further transferring the transferred toner image to the transfer member. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein: Using a cleaning blade to further remove at least part of the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer body to which the toner image has been transferred;
The image forming method according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning blade contains organic particles and inorganic particles.   4. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the organic particles have a number average particle diameter of 0.01 μm or more and 10 μm or less.   5. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the number average particle diameter of the inorganic particles is 0.01 μm or more and 5 μm or less.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the organic particles are made of an acrylic resin.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning blade further contains an elastomer.   The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein the elastomer contains a urethane elastomer.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of a total weight of the organic particles and the inorganic particles to a weight of the cleaning blade is 1% or more and 50% or less. The volume average particle diameter of the toner is 4 μm or more and 6 μm or less,
The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of a volume average particle diameter to a number average particle diameter of the toner is 1.00 or more and 1.25 or less.   11. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the toner contains 0 to 10% by weight of the toner having a particle diameter of 1 μm or less. The toner contains a wax;
The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein a weight ratio of the wax to the toner is 3% or more and 8% or less.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the toner contains a polyester resin.   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the toner contains two or more kinds of inorganic particles.   The image forming method according to claim 14, wherein the toner contains at least one of silica particles and titanium oxide particles.   The toner includes particles obtained by extending and / or cross-linking the prepolymer after at least a solution or dispersion in which a prepolymer-containing material is dissolved or dispersed in an organic solvent is dispersed in an aqueous medium. The image forming method according to claim 1, further comprising:   The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the toner image is formed using a developer including the toner and a carrier. A photosensitive member; a latent image forming unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member; a developing unit that forms a toner image by developing the formed electrostatic latent image with toner; and In an image forming apparatus having at least a transfer unit for transferring to a transfer body and a cleaning blade for removing at least a part of the toner remaining on the photosensitive member to which the toner image has been transferred.
An image forming apparatus that forms an image using the image forming method according to claim 1. It is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus according to claim 18,
A process cartridge comprising at least a cleaning blade for removing at least a part of toner remaining on the photosensitive member and the photosensitive member to which the toner image is transferred.

Images