JP2008122766A - Cleaning device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device contrived so as to increase cleaning properties, and to provide an image forming apparatus provided with the cleaning device. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device is provided with a contact layer contacted with the body to be cleaned whose surface is stuck with a toner whose storage elastic modulus at 40°C range is 1×10<SP>8</SP>to 7×10<SP>8</SP>Pa; and a cleaning blade, having a supporting layer supporting the contact layer and having a hardness lower than the hardness of the contact layer, and the contact layer of the cleaning blade contacts with the body to be cleaned under a contact pressure of 1.0 to 3.5 g/mm. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device that cleans deposits that adhere to the surface of an object to be cleaned, and an image forming apparatus that includes the cleaning device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by transferring and fixing the developed image formed on the surface of an image holding member that holds a developed image with toner onto the recording medium. Some of such image forming apparatuses include a cleaning blade for cleaning the residue remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the developed image is transferred onto the recording medium (for example, patents). Reference 1).

  The cleaning of the surface of the image holding member by the cleaning blade is performed by sticking the cleaning blade to the cleaning blade by the frictional force between the cleaning blade and the surface of the image holding member generated by bringing the cleaning blade into contact with the surface of the image holding member. This is done by causing an action called slip. This stick slip is a phenomenon in which a cleaning blade alternately repeats a stick state and a slip state. More specifically, since the cleaning blade is in contact with a rotating image carrier, image holding is performed. It is deformed by receiving frictional force from the body, and stress is generated in the cleaning blade. When the stress is smaller than a predetermined value, the cleaning blade sticks to the image carrier and is in a “stick state” that does not slip, but the stress of the cleaning blade increases as the image carrier further rotates, When the limit is reached, the slip occurs between the cleaning blade and the image holding member, resulting in a “slip state”.

By the way, in recent years, the toner used in the image forming apparatus has been reduced in particle size for the purpose of improving the image quality. As the toner particle size is reduced, it becomes easier for the toner having a reduced particle size to slip between the cleaning blade and the image holding member, thereby impairing the cleaning performance. Therefore, in order to avoid such a situation, the contact pressure of the cleaning blade with respect to the image carrier tends to be set high.
JP 2005-309383 A

  However, in recent years, soft toners corresponding to low-temperature fixing, so-called low melting point toners, have been used. In image forming apparatuses using such toners, as described above, the cleaning blade for the image carrier is used. When the contact pressure is increased, the frictional force generated between the cleaning blade and the image holding member increases, so that the toner melting due to the frictional heat generated accompanying this increases, and the cleaning failure due to filming is caused. There is a case.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device having a high cleaning property with respect to a low-melting-point toner, and an image forming apparatus provided with the cleaning device in which deterioration in image quality is suppressed.

In order to achieve the above object, the cleaning device of the present invention comprises:
A contact layer in contact with the object to be cleaned on which the toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa or more and 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa or less adheres to the surface; and the hardness of the contact layer supporting the contact layer A cleaning blade having a support layer having a low hardness, and the contact layer of the cleaning blade is in contact with the object to be cleaned with a contact pressure of 1.0 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm. .

In a cleaning device that cleans low-melting toner with a small particle size of a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa or more and 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa or less, the contact pressure of the cleaning blade to the image carrier is increased so much. Therefore, as a method for suppressing the deterioration of the cleaning property due to the slipping of the toner having a small particle diameter, it is conceivable that the cleaning blade is made of high hardness and the frequency of occurrence of stick-slip is increased. However, for example, a cleaning blade made entirely of high-hardness rubber is deformed by stress, and the contact pressure is likely to decrease due to permanent deformation, which has a problem in long-term cleaning properties. Therefore, in order to suppress filming due to the intensification of melting of the low melting point toner and prevent the toner with a small particle diameter from easily slipping between the edge of the cleaning blade and the image holding member, A cleaning blade having a multilayer structure having a contact layer having a high hardness and a support layer supporting the contact layer and having a hardness lower than that of the contact layer is provided. The object to be cleaned is brought into contact with a low contact pressure of mmPa or more and 3.5 g / mmPa or less. That is, in the cleaning device of the present invention, first, the melting pressure of the low melting point toner due to frictional heat is suppressed by lowering the contact pressure of the cleaning blade to the image carrier. In addition, the use of a cleaning blade having a high hardness only for the contact layer that contacts the image carrier suppresses deterioration of the cleaning property due to slipping of small-diameter toner, and the hardness of the contact layer. By supporting with a support layer having a lower hardness, a decrease in contact pressure of the contact layer is suppressed, and long-term cleaning properties are improved.

  Here, the contact layer preferably has a JIS-A hardness of 80 degrees or more.

  When the contact layer of the cleaning blade has a JIS-A hardness of 80 degrees or more, the contact layer can be prevented from being worn and chipped, and thus the long-term cleaning property can be further improved.

  Here, the object to be cleaned is preferably one in which toner having an average shape factor in the range of 130 to 145 adheres to the surface.

  When the average value of the shape factor of the toner is less than 130, the toner particles are close to a sphere, and are easily slipped between the cleaning blade and the object to be cleaned. On the other hand, if the average value of the shape factor of the toner exceeds 145, the shape of the toner particles is too distorted and the object to be cleaned is easily damaged. For this reason, the toner is liable to adhere to the damaged part. For this reason, when this cleaning device is for cleaning a member to be cleaned to which toner having an average shape factor in the range of 130 to 145, higher cleaning performance can be exhibited.

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises:
An image holding member for holding a toner image with a toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa or more and 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa or less on the surface;
A toner image is formed on the surface of the image holding member, and the formed toner image is transferred to and fixed on the transfer member, thereby contacting the image holding member and an image forming unit that forms an image on the transfer member. A cleaning blade having a contact layer and a support layer that supports the contact layer and has a hardness lower than that of the contact layer. The contact layer of the cleaning blade is 1.0 g / mm or more and 3.5 g / mm or more. A cleaning device is provided that contacts the surface of the image carrier with a contact pressure of mm or less.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the contact pressure of the cleaning blade to the image holding member is lowered to suppress melting of the low melting point toner due to frictional heat, and the cleaning blade has a contact layer in contact with the image holding member. By adopting only a harder one, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the cleaning property due to slipping of the small particle size toner and to support the contact layer by supporting it with a support layer whose hardness is lower than the hardness of the contact layer. Since a cleaning device that suppresses a decrease in pressure and improves long-term cleaning performance is provided, it is possible to suppress a decrease in image quality.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cleaning device having a high cleaning property and an image forming apparatus provided with the cleaning device in which deterioration of image quality is suppressed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

In the printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, the image is generated by the exposure device 12 based on the image data transmitted from the outside on the surface of the image carrier 10 rotated in the direction of arrow A, to which a predetermined charge is applied by the charger 11. The electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating the exposed exposure light, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with a developer containing toner and magnetic carrier housed in the developing device 13 having the developing roll 131. The developed image obtained by this development is pulled out from the paper tray 16 by the paper conveying device 16a, transferred onto the recording paper conveyed in the direction of arrow B by the transfer roll 14, and fixed by the fixing device 15. The printer 1 is a monochrome image dedicated machine, and a toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and an average value of a shape factor of 139 is used.

  Further, the printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a cleaner 20 that is an embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention that cleans the toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier 10 after the developed image is transferred onto the recording paper. The cleaner 20 includes a housing 21 and a two-layer rubber cleaning blade 22 attached to the housing 21.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the cleaner.

  The cleaning blade 22 shown in FIG. 2 is in contact with the image carrier 10 and has a high hardness contact layer 221 with a JIS-A hardness of 80 degrees and a hardness lower than the hardness of the contact layer 221 that supports the contact layer 221. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning blade 22 has a contact angle with the image carrier 10 of 18 °. The tip is in contact with the image carrier 10 so as to be.

  The cleaner 20 cleans the surface of the image carrier 10 by bringing the contact layer 221 of the cleaning blade 22 into contact with the surface of the image carrier 10 with a contact pressure as low as 2.0 g / mm. By bringing the contact layer 221 into contact with the surface of the image carrier 10 with a low contact pressure, melting of the toner due to frictional heat generated between the contact layer 221 and the image carrier 10 is suppressed. Further, in this cleaner 20, since the cleaning blade 22 having a high hardness of JIS-A hardness of 80 degrees is adopted only for the contact layer 221 which is a portion in contact with the image carrier 10, a small particle diameter is obtained. The deterioration of the cleaning property due to the toner slipping is suppressed, and the support layer 222 having a hardness lower than the hardness of the contact layer 221 prevents the contact pressure of the contact layer 221 from decreasing. The improvement of the cleaning property is achieved.

  In addition, since the contact layer 221 has a high JIS-A hardness, the occurrence of wear and chipping is also suppressed, and this also improves the long-term cleaning property.

In addition, a toner having a storage elastic modulus of less than 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa at 40 ° C. is quite soft, so that it easily melts and adheres to the image carrier 10, while the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. Since the toner exceeding 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa is very hard, the contact layer is likely to be worn away, which may cause deterioration of long-term cleaning properties. If the average value of the shape factor of the toner is less than 130, the toner particles having a small particle diameter become closer to a spherical shape, and it is easy to slip between the cleaning blade 22 and the image carrier 10. If the average value exceeds 145, toner particles that are not transferred increase because the shape of the toner particles becomes indeterminate, so that the stress applied to the cleaning blade 22 increases and the contact pressure may be more likely to decrease. . From the above, in this printer 1, the storage modulus at 40 ° C. is 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and the average value of the shape factor is 139 so that the cleaner 20 can exhibit higher cleaning properties. Adopts toner.

Here, a method for producing toner having a storage elastic modulus of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa at 40 ° C. used in the printer 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

This toner has a crystalline resin acid value of 5 to 50 mg KOH / g, an amorphous resin acid value of 10 to 50 mg KOH / g, a crystalline resin melting point of 50 to 100 ° C. according to ASTM D3418-8, and The weight average molecular weight (Mw) is 8,000 to 35,000, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the amorphous resin determined in accordance with ASTM D3418-8 is 50 to 65 ° C., and the weight average molecular weight (Mw) is It is preferable that the ratio by weight of the crystalline resin and the amorphous resin is 5/95 to 40/60.
-Crystalline resin-
Here, the “crystalline polyester resin” refers to a resin having a clear endothermic peak rather than a stepwise endothermic amount change in differential scanning weight measurement (DSC). Here, the “crystallinity” used in the electrostatic charge developing toner means that the DSC curve has a clear endothermic peak in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It means that an endothermic peak when measured at 10 ° C./min occurs and then returns to the baseline of the DSC curve.

  Specifically, the crystalline resin is more preferably an aliphatic crystalline polyester resin having an appropriate melting point and an alkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms. The polyester resin having an alkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms can be obtained by using a polymerizable monomer having an alkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms in a polyvalent carboxylic acid or polyhydric alcohol, such as dodecenyl succinic acid. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Examples of the polyvalent carboxylic acids used in the production of the resin used in the toner include aromatics such as terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, orthophthalic acid, 1,5-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, and diphenic acid. Aromatic carboxylic acid such as aromatic dicarboxylic acid, p-oxybenzoic acid, p- (hydroxyethoxy) benzoic acid, succinic acid, alkyl succinic acid, alkenyl succinic acid, adipic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, dodecanedicarboxylic acid, etc. Aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, itaconic acid, mesaconic acid, citraconic acid, hexahydrophthalic acid, tetrahydrophthalic acid, dimer acid, trimer acid, hydrogenated dimer acid, cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, cyclohexene dicarboxylic acid, etc. Unsaturated aliphatic and alicyclic dicarboxylic acids, etc. Also be used other trimellitic acid as a polycarboxylic acid, trimesic acid, and the like trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acids such as pyromellitic acid.

  Examples of the polyhydric alcohol used for the production of the resin include aliphatic polyhydric alcohols, alicyclic polyhydric alcohols, aromatic polyhydric alcohols and the like. Aliphatic polyhydric alcohols include ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 2,3-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, Ring opening of lactones such as neopentyl glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, dimethylol heptane, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polytetramethylene glycol, ε-caprolactone Examples include aliphatic diols such as lactone-based polyester polyols obtained by polymerization, triols such as trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane, glycerin, and pentaerythritol, and tetraols.

  Alicyclic polyhydric alcohols include 1,4-cyclohexanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, spiroglycol, hydrogenated bisphenol A, ethylene oxide adduct and propylene oxide adduct of hydrogenated bisphenol A, tricyclodecane Examples include diol, tricyclodecane dimethanol, dimer diol, hydrogenated dimer diol and the like.

  As aromatic polyhydric alcohols, para-xylene glycol, meta-xylene glycol, ortho-xylene glycol, 1,4-phenylene glycol, ethylene oxide adduct of 1,4-phenylene glycol, bisphenol A, ethylene oxide adduct of bisphenol A and Examples thereof include propylene oxide adducts.

  A monofunctional monomer may be introduced into the polyester resin for the purpose of blocking the polar group at the end of the resin and improving the environmental stability of the toner charging characteristics. Monofunctional monomers include benzoic acid, chlorobenzoic acid, bromobenzoic acid, parahydroxybenzoic acid, sulfobenzoic acid monoammonium salt, sulfobenzoic acid monosodium salt, cyclohexylaminocarbonylbenzoic acid, n-dodecylaminocarbonylbenzoic acid Acid, tertiary butylbenzoic acid, naphthalenecarboxylic acid, 4-methylbenzoic acid, 3-methylbenzoic acid, salicylic acid, thiosalicylic acid, phenylacetic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, octanecarboxylic acid, lauric acid, stearyl Monocarboxylic acids such as acids and lower alkyl esters thereof, or monoalcohols such as aliphatic alcohols, aromatic alcohols, and alicyclic alcohols can be used.

  The method for producing the crystalline resin is not particularly limited and can be produced by a general polyester polymerization method in which an acid component and an alcohol component are reacted. Examples thereof include direct polycondensation and transesterification. Produced separately depending on the type of monomer.

  The crystalline resin can be produced at a polymerization temperature of 180 to 230 ° C., and the reaction system is reduced in pressure as necessary, and the reaction is carried out while removing water and alcohol generated during condensation. When the monomer is not dissolved or compatible at the reaction temperature, a solvent having a high boiling point may be added as a solubilizer and dissolved. In the polycondensation reaction, the dissolution auxiliary solvent is distilled off. In the case where a monomer having poor compatibility exists in the copolymerization reaction, it is preferable that the monomer having poor compatibility and the monomer and the acid or alcohol to be polycondensed are condensed in advance and then polycondensed together with the main component.

  Catalysts that can be used in the production of crystalline resins include alkali metal compounds such as sodium and lithium; alkaline earth metal compounds such as magnesium and calcium; metal compounds such as zinc, manganese, antimony, titanium, tin, zirconium, and germanium A phosphorous acid compound, a phosphoric acid compound, an amine compound, etc., specifically, the following compounds are mentioned.

  For example, sodium acetate, sodium carbonate, lithium acetate, lithium carbonate, calcium acetate, calcium stearate, magnesium acetate, zinc acetate, zinc stearate, zinc naphthenate, zinc chloride, manganese acetate, manganese naphthenate, titanium tetraethoxide, titanium Tetrapropoxide, titanium tetraisoproxide, titanium tetrabutoxide, antimony trioxide, triphenylantimony, tributylantimony, tin formate, tin oxalate, tetraphenyltin, dibutyltin dichloride, dibutyltin oxide, diphenyltin oxide, zirconium tetrabutoxide, naphthenic acid Zirconium, zirconyl carbonate, zirconyl acetate, zirconyl stearate, zirconyl octylate, germanium oxide, triphenyl Sufaito, tris (2, 4-t-butylphenyl) phosphite, ethyltriphenylphosphonium bromide, triethylamine, compounds such as triphenyl amine. The amount of such a catalyst added is preferably 0.01 to 1.00% by weight based on the total amount of raw materials.

  As melting | fusing point of crystalline resin, Preferably it is 50-100 degreeC, More preferably, it is 60-100 degreeC. When the melting point is lower than 50 ° C., the storage stability of the toner and the storage stability of the toner image after fixing may become a problem. When the melting point is higher than 100 ° C., sufficient low-temperature fixing cannot be obtained as compared with the conventional toner. There is a case.

  In addition, the crystalline resin may show a plurality of melting peaks, but here, the melting point is the maximum peak.

  Furthermore, for example, DSC-7 manufactured by Perkin Elmer can be used for measurement of the resin melting point. The temperature correction of the detection part of this apparatus can be similarly performed by measuring the glass transition point of the resin using the melting points of indium and zinc.

  The crystalline resin used for the toner has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 8,000 to 35,000 as measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) method in which tetrahydrofuran (THF) is soluble, preferably Is 10,000 to 25,000. When the weight average molecular weight is less than 8,000, the compatibility with the amorphous resin or the release agent proceeds, and plasticity may occur. On the other hand, if it exceeds 35,000, the viscosity at the time of melting the toner increases, and the fixability and image gloss may be impaired. Here, the molecular weight of the resin was measured with a THF solvent using a TSO gel GPC / HLC-9120, a Tosoh column “TSKgel SuperHM-M” (15 cm), and a monodisperse polystyrene standard sample. The molecular weight was calculated using the prepared molecular weight calibration curve. The same measurement was performed for the non-crystalline polyester resin described later.

  The toner preferably has a melting point (mp) measured in accordance with ASTM D3418-8 of crystalline resin of 50 to 100 ° C. When the melting point is less than 50 ° C., the thermal stability of the toner is lowered, and when it exceeds 100 ° C., the image glossiness at the time of toner fixing is lowered.

The acid value of the crystalline resin (the number of mg of KOH required to neutralize 1 g of resin) is controlled to 5 to 50 mg KOH / g. When the acid value is less than 5 mgKOH / g, the crystalline resin particles form aggregates, which makes it difficult to form a structure with the release agent, and the crystalline resin particles exist independently in the toner. Alternatively, it may grow large and be exposed on the toner surface, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of toner fluidity and chargeability. Further, when the acid value exceeds 50 mgKOH / g, it may be difficult to encapsulate the toner.
-Amorphous polyester resin-
The amorphous polyester resin is obtained by polycondensation of the above-described polyvalent carboxylic acids and polyhydric alcohols using the above catalyst.

  The amorphous resin can be produced by subjecting the polyhydric alcohol and polyhydric carboxylic acid to a condensation reaction according to a conventional method. For example, the above polyhydric alcohol and polyvalent carboxylic acid, if necessary, a catalyst, and blended in a reaction vessel equipped with a thermometer, a stirrer, a flow-down condenser, and in the presence of an inert gas (such as nitrogen gas), Heat at 150 to 250 ° C. to continuously remove by-product low-molecular compounds out of the reaction system, stop the reaction when a predetermined acid value is reached, cool, and obtain the desired reactant Can be manufactured.

  The glass transition temperature of the non-crystalline polyester resin used in this toner is required to be 50 ° C. or higher when determined in accordance with ASTM D3418-8, and more preferably 55 ° C. or higher, or even 60 ° C. As mentioned above, it is preferable that it is less than 65 degreeC. When the glass transition temperature is less than 50 ° C., there is a tendency to aggregate during handling or storage, which may cause a problem in storage stability. On the other hand, when the temperature is 65 ° C. or higher, fixability may be deteriorated.

  The softening point of the amorphous resin used for this toner is preferably in the range of 60 to 90 ° C. In the toner in which the softening temperature of the resin is suppressed to less than 60 ° C., the toner tends to aggregate during handling or storage, and the fluidity may be greatly deteriorated particularly during long-time storage. When the softening point exceeds 90 ° C., the fixability may be hindered. Further, since it is necessary to heat the fixing roll to a high temperature, the material of the fixing roll and the material of the base material to be copied are limited.

  The amorphous polyester resin used in this toner has a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 20,000 to 50,000 as measured by a gel permeation chromatography (GPC) method in which tetrahydrofuran (THF) is soluble. Yes, preferably 25,000 to 50,000. When the weight average molecular weight is less than 25,000, not only the heat storage property of the toner is lowered, but also the strength of the fixed image is lowered. On the other hand, if it exceeds 50,000, the fixing property is deteriorated and the image gloss is also lowered.

  The acid value of the amorphous polyester resin is preferably 10 to 50 mgKOH / g. When the acid value is less than 10 mgKOH / g, the particle size growth of the aggregates during the production of the toner is accelerated, and there may be a problem that the particle size distribution of the resulting toner is expanded. If the acid value exceeds 50 mgKOH / g, the difference between the acid value of the crystalline resin and the release agent increases, and therefore, only the aggregation with the crystalline resin and the release agent may proceed, and the fixing property may be increased. There is a problem that the toner changes between the toner particles. The acid value of the non-crystalline polyester resin can be adjusted by controlling the carboxyl group at the end of the polyester by the blending ratio and reaction rate of the raw polyhydric carboxylic acid and polyhydric alcohol. Or what has a carboxyl group in the principal chain of polyester is obtained by using trimellitic anhydride as a polyvalent carboxylic acid component.

  In this toner, the weight ratio of the crystalline resin to the amorphous resin is 5/95 to 40/60, and if the ratio of the amorphous resin is less than 60%, good fixing characteristics can be obtained, but in the fixed image. The phase separation structure becomes non-uniform, and the strength of the fixed image, particularly the scratching strength, may be reduced, and the scratch may be easily caused. On the other hand, when it exceeds 95%, sharp melting property derived from a crystalline resin may not be obtained, and plasticity may occur, and toner blocking resistance and image storage stability are maintained while ensuring good low-temperature fixability. May not be possible.

  The preparation of the crystalline resin and the amorphous resin particle dispersion can be prepared by adjusting the acid value of the resin or emulsifying and dispersing using an ionic surfactant or the like.

  In addition, in the case of resins prepared by other methods, if the resin is soluble in an oily solvent with relatively low solubility in water, the resin is dissolved in those solvents to dissolve the ionic surfactant or polymer electrolyte in water. At the same time, the particles are dispersed in water by a disperser such as a homogenizer, and then heated or decompressed to evaporate the solvent, whereby a resin particle dispersion can be prepared. Alternatively, a resin particle dispersion may be prepared by adding a surfactant to the resin and emulsifying and dispersing in water with a disperser such as a homogenizer or by a phase inversion emulsification method.

The particle diameter of the resin particle dispersion thus obtained can be measured, for example, with a laser diffraction particle size distribution analyzer (LA-700, manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.).
-Release agent-
Specific examples of the release agent used as the release agent used in this toner include low molecular weight polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polybutene, silicones which show a softening point upon heating; oleic acid amide, erucic acid amide, ricinoleic acid Fatty acid amides such as amides and stearamides; plant waxes such as carnauba wax, rice wax, candelilla wax, tree wax, jojoba oil; animal waxes such as beeswax; montan wax, ozokerite, ceresin, paraffin wax, Mineral and petroleum waxes such as microcrystalline wax and Fischer-Tropsch wax, ester waxes of higher fatty acids and higher alcohols such as stearyl stearate and behenyl behenate; butyl stearate, propyl oleate, monoste Ester waxes of higher fatty acids such as phosphate glyceride, distearate glyceride, pentaerythritol tetrabehenate and unit or polyvalent lower alcohols; diethylene glycol monostearate, dipropylene glycol distearate, distearate diglyceride, tetrastearic acid Examples include ester waxes composed of higher fatty acids such as triglycerides and polyhydric alcohol multimers; sorbitan higher fatty acid ester waxes such as sorbitan monostearate; cholesterol higher fatty acid ester waxes such as cholesteryl stearate. Here, these release agents may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Of these, those having a melting point of 40 ° C. to 120 ° C. are used, but in order to meet the recent demand for low-temperature fixability for energy saving, those having a temperature of 50 ° C. to 100 ° C. are particularly preferred. Preferably a thing of 50-80 degreeC is used.

  The addition amount of these release agents is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 30% by weight, more preferably in the range of 1 to 20% by weight, and still more preferably in the range of 5 to 15% by weight with respect to the total amount of the toner. % Range. When the addition amount is less than 0.5% by weight, there is no effect of adding a release agent. When the addition amount exceeds 30% by weight, the chargeability is likely to be affected, or the toner is easily destroyed inside the developing device, and the release In some cases, the mold agent becomes spent on the carrier, and the charge tends to decrease.

  The volume average particle size of the wax particles in the release agent dispersion is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 μm, particularly preferably 0.1 to 0.3 μm. When the volume average particle size exceeds 0.5 μm, the toner is easily exposed to the toner surface, and the powder fluidity of the toner is deteriorated and filming on the photosensitive member and the developing member is facilitated. In addition, there is a problem that the release agent particles are not included in the coalescing step and are dropped in the coalescing step. In particular, in the case of obtaining a color toner, if the release agent particles are large, the OHP permeability is lowered due to irregular reflection, and the color reproducibility is also lowered. In addition, the said volume average particle diameter can be measured using the laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring instrument etc. which were mentioned above, for example. When the volume average particle size is 0.1 μm or less, it is not preferable because sufficient releasability cannot be imparted to the toner.

The dispersion medium in the release agent dispersion is preferably an aqueous medium, and water, pure water, or ion exchange water is used. A surfactant is used as the dispersant. The wax dispersion used for this toner is prepared by a known dispersion method such as a media type dispersing machine such as a ball mill, a sand mill, or an attritor, a high pressure type dispersing machine such as a nanomizer, a microfluidizer, an optimizer, or a gorin. Any method and conditions may be used as long as the particle size and content as described can be satisfied.
-Colorant-
The colorant is usually present in an effective amount in the toner, for example from about 1 to about 15% by weight of the toner, desirably from about 3 to about 10% by weight. The colorant used here is not particularly limited, and a known colorant can be used and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose. One type of pigment may be used alone, or two or more types of pigments of the same type may be mixed and used. Two or more different types of pigments may be mixed and used. Specific examples of the colorant include carbon blacks such as furnace black, channel black, acetylene black, and thermal black; inorganic pigments such as bengara, aniline black, bitumen, titanium oxide, and magnetic powder; fast yellow, monoazo Azo pigments such as yellow, disazo yellow, pyrazolone red, chelate red, brilliant carmine (3B, 6B, etc.), para brown, etc .; phthalocyanine pigments such as copper phthalocyanine, metal-free phthalocyanine; flavantron yellow, dibromoanthrone orange, perylene red, quinacridone And condensed polycyclic pigments such as red and dioxazine violet.

  Chrome Yellow, Hansa Yellow, Benzidine Yellow, Slen Yellow, Quinoline Yellow, Permanent Orange GTR, Pyrazolone Orange, Vulcan Orange, Watch Young Red, Permanent Red, Dupont Oil Red, Resol Red, Rhodamine B Lake, Lake Red C, Rose Various pigments such as Bengal, Aniline Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Calco Oil Blue, Methylene Blue Chloride, Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Malachite Green Oxalate, Para Brown; Acridine, Xanthene, Azo, Benzoquinone, Azine, Anthraquinone, dioxazine, thiazine, azomethine, indigo, thioindigo, phthalocyanine, aniline black , Polymethine dyes, triphenylmethane dyes, diphenylmethane dyes, thiazole type, various dyes such as xanthene; and the like. You may mix black pigments, such as carbon black, and dye to such an extent that transparency is not reduced to these colorants. Moreover, a disperse dye, an oil-soluble dye, etc. are mentioned.

The dispersion medium for dispersing the colorant is preferably an aqueous medium, and water, pure water, or ion exchange water is used. A surfactant is used as the dispersant. Preparation of the colorant dispersion used for this toner is, for example, a known dispersion method such as a media type dispersing machine such as a ball mill, a sand mill, or an attritor, a nanomizer, a microfluidizer, an optimizer, or a high-pressure type dispersing machine such as a gorin. As long as it can satisfy the particle size and content as described above, it may be produced by any method or condition.
<Other ingredients>
Other components that can be used in the toner are not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the intended purpose. Examples thereof include various known additives such as inorganic particles, organic particles, charge control agents, and release agents. It is done.

  The inorganic particles are generally used for the purpose of improving toner fluidity. Examples of the inorganic particles include silica, alumina, titanium oxide, barium titanate, magnesium titanate, calcium titanate, strontium titanate, zinc oxide, silica sand, clay, mica, wollastonite, diatomaceous earth, cerium chloride. , Bengara, chromium oxide, cerium oxide, antimony trioxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon carbide, silicon nitride and the like. Among these, silica particles are preferable, and silica particles that have been hydrophobized are particularly preferable.

  The average primary particle diameter (number average particle diameter) of the inorganic particles is preferably in the range of 1 to 1000 nm, and the addition amount (external addition) is 0.01 to 20 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the toner. The range of is preferable.

  Organic particles are generally used for the purpose of improving cleaning properties, transfer properties, and sometimes charging properties. Examples of the organic particles include particles such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinylidene fluoride, and polystyrene-acrylic copolymer.

The charge control agent is generally used for the purpose of improving the chargeability. Examples of the charge control agent include salicylic acid metal salts, metal-containing azo compounds, nigrosine and quaternary ammonium salts.
<Toner characteristics>
The volume average particle size of the toner is preferably 3 to 10 μm, more preferably 4 to 9 μm, and more preferably 5 to 8 μm. If the particle size is too small, the productivity becomes unstable, the chargeability becomes insufficient and the developability may be lowered, and if it is too large, the resolution of the image is lowered.

  Further, this toner preferably has a volume average particle size distribution index GSDv of 1.30 or less. Further, the ratio (GSDv / GSDp) of the volume average particle size distribution index GSDv and the number average particle size distribution index GSDp is preferably 0.95 or more. When the volume distribution index GSDv exceeds 1.30, the resolution of the image may decrease, and the ratio of the volume average particle size distribution index GSDv to the number average particle size distribution index GSDp (GSDv / GSDp) is If it is less than 0.95, the toner chargeability may be reduced, the toner may be scattered or fogged, and image defects may be caused.

  Here, the toner particle size, the above-mentioned volume average particle size distribution index GSDv, and number average particle size distribution index GSDp were measured and calculated as follows. First, with respect to the divided particle size range (channel), the toner particle size distribution measured using a Coulter Multisizer II (manufactured by Beckman-Coulter) is accumulated from the smaller diameter side with respect to the divided particle size range (channel). Draw a distribution and define the particle size to be 16% cumulative as the volume average particle size D16v and the number average particle size D16p. The particle size to be 50% cumulative is the volume average particle size D50v and the number average particle The diameter is defined as D50p. Similarly, particle diameters that are 84% cumulative are defined as volume average particle diameter D84v and number average particle diameter D84p. At this time, the volume average particle size distribution index (GSDv) is defined as D84v / D16v, and the number average particle size index (GSDp) is defined as D84p / D16p. (GSDv) and number average particle size index (GSDp) can be calculated.

The charge amount of the toner is an absolute value, preferably 15 to 60 μC / g, and more preferably 20 to 50 μC / g. If the charge amount is less than 15 μC / g, background stains (fogging) are likely to occur, and if it exceeds 60 μC / g, the image density tends to decrease. The ratio of the charge amount in summer (high temperature and humidity) and the charge amount in winter (low temperature and low humidity) of this toner is preferably 0.5 to 1.5, more preferably 0.7 to 1.3. preferable. When the ratio is outside these ranges, the charging property is highly dependent on the environment, and the charging stability is poor, which is not preferable for practical use.
[Developer]
Next, a developer containing this toner (hereinafter also referred to as “developer”) will be described.

  The developer includes the above-described toner and a magnetic carrier, and specific examples of the magnetic carrier include the following resin-coated carriers. Examples of the core particles of the resin-coated carrier include normal iron powder, ferrite, and magnetite molding, and the volume average particle size is in the range of about 30 to 200 μm.

  Examples of the coating resin for the resin-coated carrier include styrenes such as styrene, parachlorostyrene, and α-methylstyrene; methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, 2-acrylic acid 2- Α-methylene fatty acid monocarboxylic acids such as ethylhexyl, methyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate; nitrogen-containing acrylics such as dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate; vinyl such as acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile Nitriles; Vinyl pyridines such as 2-vinyl pyridine and 4-vinyl pyridine; Vinyl ethers such as vinyl methyl ether and vinyl isobutyl ether; Vinyl methyl ketone, vinyl ethyl ketone, vinyl isopropenyl keto Homopolymers such as vinyl ketones such as ethylene; olefins such as ethylene and propylene; vinyl-based fluorine-containing monomers such as vinylidene fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoroethylene; and copolymers comprising two or more types of monomers Furthermore, silicone resins containing methyl silicone, methyl phenyl silicone, etc., polyesters containing bisphenol, glycol, etc., epoxy resins, polyurethane resins, polyamide resins, cellulose resins, polyether resins, polycarbonate resins and the like can be mentioned. These resins may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The coating amount of the coating resin is preferably in the range of about 0.1 to 10 parts by weight and more preferably in the range of 0.5 to 3.0 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the core particles.

  For the production of the carrier, a heating kneader, a heating Henschel mixer, a UM mixer, or the like can be used. Depending on the amount of the coating resin, a heating fluidized rolling bed, a heating kiln, or the like can be used. .

  In the developer, the mixing ratio of the toner and the carrier is not particularly limited and can be appropriately selected according to the purpose.

  This completes the description of the toner used in the printer 1 of the present embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the toner used has a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and an average value of the shape factor of 139 has been described as an example. The image forming apparatus of the present invention provided with the cleaning apparatus of the present invention has a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa or more and 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa or less and an average value of the shape factor of 130 to 145. When a toner in the range is used, it exhibits higher cleaning properties, and even if a toner having a shape factor outside this range is used, the basic effect of the present invention is not reduced. Absent. In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the contact layer having a hardness of 80 degrees is brought into contact with the image holding member at a contact pressure of 2.0 g / mm is described. However, the cleaning device of the present invention is provided. In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, if the contact layer has a higher hardness than the support layer and the contact layer has a contact pressure of 1.0 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm, for example, contact Even if the hardness of the layer is less than 80 degrees, the basic effect of the present invention is not reduced.

  Next, examples of the present invention and comparative examples for the present invention will be described.

  In Examples 1 to 20 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6, the DocuCetre Color 400CP cleaning blade manufactured by Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. was replaced with one that can change the contact pressure with respect to the image carrier, The above contact pressure and use were used for image formation of 50,000 sheets in total (25,000 sheets in an environment (28 ° C., 85% RH) and 25,000 sheets in a low temperature and low humidity (10 ° C., 15% RH) environment. Four different evaluation items, “photoreceptor wearability”, “photoreceptor surface adhesion” “cleanability”, and “blank edge” of the cleaning blade, were evaluated using different toners.

In Examples 1 to 4, a toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and an average value of shape factor of 125 is used, and the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is determined by the support layer. This is a case where the contact pressure of the contact layer is changed between 1 g / mm and 3.5 g / mm when the temperature is 79 degrees exceeding the support layer having a hardness of 75 degrees.

In Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the toner used has a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and an average shape factor of 125, and the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is In this case, the contact pressure of the contact layer is set to 0.5 g / mm and 4 g / mm, which are out of the range from 1 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm. Comparative Example 3 and Comparative Example 4 use toner having a storage elastic modulus of 40 ° of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and an average value of shape factor of 125, and the contact pressure of the contact layer is 1 g / mm. The hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is 75 degrees which is the same as that of the support layer having a hardness of 75 degrees and the hardness is 70 degrees below the support layer. This is the case.

In Examples 5 to 8, a toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and an average shape factor of 125 is used, and the contact pressure of the contact layer is changed from 1 g / mm to 3 This is a case where the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is changed in the range of 80 degrees to 86 degrees in the case of 2 g / mm which is within the range of up to 5 g / mm.

In Example 9 to Example 13, in the case where the contact pressure of the contact layer is 2 g / mm, which is in the range from 1 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm, and the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is 79 degrees, This is a case where toner having a storage modulus at 40 ° C. of 1.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa to 6.8 × 10 ⁸ Pa is used although the average value of the shape factor is in the range of 121 to 127. The storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. is adjusted by changing the weight average molecular weight of the crystalline resin. Comparative Example 5 and Comparative Example 6 have the same contact pressure and hardness as those in Examples 9 to 13 and the same shape factor, but the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. is from 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa to 7 ×. This is a case where toners of 0.8 × 10 ⁸ Pa and 7.2 × 10 ⁸ Pa outside the range up to 10 ⁸ Pa are used.

In Examples 14 to 19, when the contact pressure of the contact layer is 2 g / mm, which is within the range of 1 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm, and the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is 79 degrees, Although the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. is common at 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa, the average value of the shape factor is changed between 128 and 150.

In Examples 1 to 19 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6, the contact angle of the cleaning blade to the image carrier is 18 degrees, and the 300% modulus value of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is 310 kg / cm. ^{2. The} common point is that the hardness of the support layer of the cleaning blade is 75 degrees and the 300% modulus value is 230 kg / cm ² .

(Measurement method of storage modulus)
In the present invention, the storage elastic modulus is measured at an angular frequency of 6.28 rad / sec, a strain amount of 0.1%, and 40 ° C.
The storage elastic modulus was obtained from dynamic viscoelasticity measured by a sinusoidal vibration method, and an ARES measuring device manufactured by Rheometric Scientific was used for measurement of dynamic viscoelasticity. The measurement of dynamic viscoelasticity was carried out by setting the toner molded into a tablet on a parallel plate of 8 mm diameter, setting the normal force to 0, and then applying sine wave vibration at a vibration frequency of 6.28 rad / sec. The measurement started from 30 ° C and continued to 50 ° C. The measurement time interval was 30 seconds, the temperature rise was 1 ° C./min, and the strain amount was 0.1%.
(Measurement method of toner volume average particle diameter)
A Coulter Multisizer-II type (manufactured by Beckman-Coulter) was used as the measuring apparatus, and ISOTON-II (manufactured by Beckman-Coulter) was used as the electrolyte.
As a measurement method, 1.0 mg of a measurement sample is added to 2 ml of a 5% aqueous solution of a surfactant, preferably sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate, as a dispersant. This was added to 100 ml of the electrolytic solution to prepare an electrolytic solution in which the sample was suspended.
The electrolytic solution in which the sample is suspended is dispersed for 1 minute with an ultrasonic disperser, and the particle size distribution of 1 to 30 μm particles is measured using the Coulter counter TA-II with an aperture diameter of 50 μm. Average distribution and number average distribution are obtained. The number of particles to be measured was 50000.
(Measurement method of resin molecular weight)
The molecular weight distribution is performed under the following conditions. GPC uses “HLC-8120GPC, SC-8020 (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation)”, and the column uses two “TSKgel, SuperHM-H (6.0 mm ID × 15 cm, manufactured by Tosoh Corporation)” THF (tetrahydrofuran) was used as an eluent. As experimental conditions, a sample concentration of 0.5% and a flow rate of 0.6 ml / min. The experiment was conducted using a sample injection amount of 10 μl, a measurement temperature of 40 ° C., and an IR detector. The calibration curve is “polystylen standard sample TSK standard” manufactured by Tosoh Corporation: “A-500”, “F-1”, “F-10”, “F-80”, “F-380”, “A-2500”. ”,“ F-4 ”,“ F-40 ”,“ F-128 ”, and“ F-700 ”.
(Measurement method of toner shape factor SF1)
Shape factor SF1 = ((maximum diameter / 2) ² × π) × 100 / projection area Here, the maximum diameter is the parallel line when a projected image of toner particles on a plane is sandwiched between two parallel lines. The width of the particle with the largest interval.
The projected area refers to the area of the projected image of the toner particles on the plane.
In the present invention, this shape factor is obtained by taking a photograph in which the toner particles are magnified 2000 times with a scanning electron microscope, and then using “SCANNING IMAGE ANALYZER” (manufactured by JEOL Ltd.) based on this photograph. It was measured by performing analysis.
At this time, the shape factor of the present invention was measured by the above formula using 100 toner particles.
A specific method for producing the toner will be described.

(Preparation of crystalline resin)
First, in a three-necked flask, 100 parts by mass of dimethyl sebacate, 67.8 parts by mass of hexanediol, and 0.10 parts by mass of dibutyltin oxide are removed out of the system under a nitrogen atmosphere. Then, after the reaction at 180 ° C. for 6 hours, the temperature was raised to 210 ° C. while gradually reducing the pressure, the reaction was performed for 6 hours, and then cooled, and a crystalline resin having a weight average molecular weight of 32500 was prepared. did.
(Preparation of non-crystalline resin)
Further, in a three-necked flask, 49 parts by mass of dimethyl terephthalate, 72 parts by mass of dimethyl fumarate, 55 parts by mass of dodecenyl succinic anhydride, 157 parts by mass of bisphenol A ethylene oxide adduct, and 171 parts by mass of bisphenol A propylene oxide adduct Then, 0.25 parts by mass of dibutyltin oxide was reacted for 3 hours at 180 ° C. while removing water generated by the reaction outside the system in a nitrogen atmosphere, and the temperature was gradually reduced to 240 ° C. while gradually reducing the pressure. Then, after reacting for 2 hours, an amorphous resin having a weight average molecular weight of 18,200 was obtained by cooling.
(Preparation of cyan colored dispersion)
Furthermore, 50 parts by mass of a cyan pigment (copper phthalocyanine B15: 3, manufactured by Dainichi Seika Co., Ltd.), 5 parts by mass of a nonionic surfactant Nonipol 400 (manufactured by Kao Corporation), and 200 parts by mass of ion-exchanged water were mixed. Then, a cyan colored dispersion was prepared by dispersing for about 1 hour using a high-pressure impact disperser Ultimateizer (manufactured by Sugino Machine Co., Ltd., HJP30006) and adjusting the water content.
(Preparation of release agent dispersion)
60 parts by mass of paraffin wax (Nippon Seiwa Co., Ltd .: HNP9, melting point 77 ° C.), 4 parts by mass of an anionic surfactant (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd .: Neogen RK), and 200 parts by mass of ion-exchanged water The mixture was heated to 120 ° C. and dispersed using a homogenizer (manufactured by IKA: Ultra Tarrax T50), and then at 120 ° C. and 350 kg / cm ² for 1 hour using a Menton Gorin high-pressure homogenizer (Gorin). A mold release agent having a volume average particle size of 250 nm obtained by dispersion treatment under the conditions described above was dispersed, and the amount of moisture was adjusted so that the mold release agent concentration in the dispersion was 20% by mass. An agent dispersion was prepared.
(Preparation of crystalline / amorphous mixed resin dispersion)
A three-necked flask containing 10.0 parts by mass of a crystalline resin, 90.0 parts by mass of an amorphous resin, 50 parts by mass of methyl ethyl ketone, and 15 parts by mass of isopropyl alcohol is heated to 60 ° C. while stirring. After dissolving 25% by weight of 10% aqueous ammonia, 400 parts by weight of ion-exchanged water is gradually added to carry out phase inversion emulsification, and then the pressure is reduced and the solvent is removed, so that the volume average particle size is 158 nm. A crystalline / noncrystalline mixed resin dispersion having a solid content concentration of 25% in which the crystalline / noncrystalline mixed resin particles were dispersed was prepared.

Preparation of Toner 1 (for Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4) 720 parts by weight of this crystalline / amorphous mixed resin dispersion, 50 parts by weight of colorant dispersion, and 70 parts by weight of release agent dispersion And 1.5 parts by weight of a cationic surfactant (manufactured by Kao Corporation: Sanizol B50) are placed in a round stainless steel flask, and 0.1N sulfuric acid is added to adjust the pH to 3.9. After that, 30 parts by mass of an aqueous nitric acid solution having a polyaluminum chloride concentration of 10% by weight as a flocculant was added, and then dispersed at 5000 rpm for 8 minutes at 25 ° C. using a homogenizer (manufactured by IKA, Ultra Turrax T50). did. After heating to 40 ° C. at 1 ° C./min in an oil bath for heating and holding at 40 ° C. for 30 minutes, 160 parts by mass of the amorphous resin dispersion is slowly added to this dispersion, and further 1 Held for hours.
Thereafter, 0.1 N sodium hydroxide was added to adjust the pH to 7.0, and then the mixture was heated to 95 ° C. at 1 ° C./min while maintaining stirring and held for 5 hours, and then 20 ° C./min. After cooling to 20 ° C. at a rate of 50 ° C., this was filtered, washed 3 times at a rate of 500 with 40 ° C. ion exchange water and toner 100, and then dried for 12 hours using a vacuum dryer. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 125, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 2 (for Example 9) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin in the preparation of the crystalline / amorphous mixed resin dispersion was changed to 18.9 parts by weight and 81.1 parts by weight of the amorphous resin. Toner 2 was produced in the same manner. The volume average particle size was 6.2 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 122, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 1.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 3 (for Example 10) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin in the preparation of the mixed crystalline / amorphous resin dispersion is 15.9 parts by weight and 84.1 parts by weight of the amorphous resin. Toner 3 was produced by the same method. The volume average particle size was 6.2 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 123, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 2.0 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 4 (for Example 11) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin and the non-crystalline resin were changed to 9.0 parts by weight and 91.0 parts by weight in preparation of the mixed crystalline / amorphous resin dispersion, respectively. Toner 4 was produced by the same method. The volume average particle size was 6.0 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 125, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.5 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 5 (for Example 12) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin and the non-crystalline resin were changed to 5.2 parts by weight and 94.8 parts by weight, respectively, in preparation of the mixed crystalline / amorphous resin dispersion. Toner 5 was produced by the same method. The volume average particle size was 6.0 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 126, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 6.4 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 6 (for Example 13) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin in the preparation of the mixed crystalline / amorphous resin dispersion was 4.6 parts by mass and 95.4 parts by mass of the amorphous resin. Toner 6 was produced by the same method. The volume average particle size was 6.2 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 126, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 6.8 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 7 (for Comparative Example 5) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin in the preparation of the mixed crystalline / amorphous resin dispersion was changed to 20.0 parts by mass and 80.0 parts by mass of the amorphous resin. Toner 7 was produced by the same method. The volume average particle diameter was 5.9 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 121, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 0.8 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 8 (for Comparative Example 6) Toner 1 except that the crystalline resin in the preparation of the mixed crystalline / amorphous resin dispersion is 4.0 parts by weight and 96.0 parts by weight of the amorphous resin. Toner 8 was produced by the same method. The volume average particle size was 6.3 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 127, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 7.2 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 9 (for Example 14) Toner 9 was prepared in the same manner as toner 1 except that the temperature in Example 1 was raised to 95 ° C. and held for 5 hours at 95 ° C. for 4 hours. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 128, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 10 (for Example 15) Toner 10 was prepared in the same manner as Toner 1 except that the heating to 95 ° C. in Example 1 and holding for 5 hours was carried out at 95 ° C. for 3.5 hours. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 130, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 11 (for Example 16) Toner 11 was prepared in the same manner as Toner 1 except that the temperature in Example 1 was raised to 95 ° C. and maintained for 5 hours at 95 ° C. for 3 hours. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 139, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 12 (for Example 17) Toner 12 was prepared in the same manner as Toner 1 except that the temperature in Example 1 was raised to 95 ° C. and held for 5 hours at 95 ° C. for 2 hours. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 145, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 13 (for Example 18) Toner 13 was prepared in the same manner as Toner 1 except that the heating to 95 ° C. in Example 1 and holding for 5 hours was performed at 92 ° C. for 2 hours. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 147, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.
Preparation of Toner 14 (for Example 19) Toner 14 was prepared in the same manner as toner 1 except that the temperature in Example 1 was raised to 95 ° C. and maintained for 5 hours at 90 ° C. for 2 hours. The volume average particle size was 6.1 μm, the shape factor SF1 was 150, and the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa.

In addition, for the above evaluation items,
Photoconductor abrasion ◎: Wear rate 2 nm / kcycle or more and less than 10 nm / kcycle ○: Wear rate 10 nm / kcycle or more and less than 30 nm / kcycle Δ: Wear rate 30 nm / kcycle or more and less than 50 nm / kcycle ×: Wear rate 2 nm / kcycle or less , 50 nm / kcycle or more / Photoconductor surface adhesion ◎: No filming fixed material on the surface of the photoconductor and no problem in image quality ○: A small amount of filming fixed material is generated on the surface of the photoconductor, No problem in image quality △: There is a slight amount of filming sticky material on the surface of the photoconductor, but there is no problem in image quality ×: There are many filming sticky materials on the surface of the photoconductor and there is a problem in image quality・ Cleanability ◎: No streak-like image quality defect or color streak on image ○: No streak on image quality ： Slight streaks are generated on the surface of the contact charger. Δ: Streaks are not generated on the image quality, but some streaks are generated on the surface of the contact charger. ×: Streaks and color streaks are generated on the image quality. There edge chipping ◎: No lack of edge ○: 0 or more than the edge chipping 15μm per 1cm ² △: 1cm 0 or more than the edge chipping 30μm per ² ×: 30μm or more edge chipping per 1cm ² is There is one or more.

  Table 1 shows the results of Example 1 to Example 20 and Comparative Example 1, which were carried out by combining the storage elastic modulus of toner at 40 ° C., contact pressure, toner particle shape factor, and hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade. The evaluation results of “photoreceptor wear”, “photoreceptor surface adherence” “cleanability”, and “blank edge” of the cleaning blade are shown for each of No. 1 to Comparative Example 6.

Example 1 uses a soft, nearly spherical toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 4.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa and a shape factor of 125, but supports the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade. Since the hardness of the layer is 79 degrees, which exceeds 75 degrees, and the contact pressure of the contact layer is 1 g / mm, among the four evaluation criteria, “edge missing” is “△”, and others are “◯”. The evaluation was generally good. Examples 2 to 4 are cases where the contact pressure of the contact layer was changed in the range from 2 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm with respect to Example 1, but the contact pressure of the contact layer was 2 g. The evaluation results changed in the range from / mm to 3.5 g / mm are the same as those in Example 1. Thereby, even if it changed the contact pressure of the contact layer in the range from 1 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm, it was confirmed that there is no change in an evaluation result and it is generally favorable. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, compared with Examples 1 to 4, the contact pressure of the contact layer was out of the range of 1 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm, respectively 0.5 g / mm. In Comparative Example 1, the cleaning performance itself was lowered because the contact pressure was too low from Example 1 to Example 4, and therefore, Comparative Example 1 was different from Example 1 to Example 4. Compared to the evaluation result, the evaluation of “cleaning property” is lowered to “×”. In Comparative Example 2, the contact pressure was considerably higher than those in Examples 1 to 4, and the wear of the image carrier was intensified. Evaluation of 'photoreceptor wear' and 'photoreceptor fixing property' Are down to '△' and '×', respectively. Comparative Example 3 and Comparative Example 4 are cases where the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade is lowered to 75 degrees, which is the same as the support layer and 70 degrees below the support layer, respectively, compared to Example 2. Similarly, by reducing the hardness of the contact layer to the same hardness of 75 degrees as the support layer or 70 degrees below the support layer, the effect of the support layer to suppress the contact layer sag is reduced. Compared with the evaluation result, the evaluation of “cleaning property” is lowered to “×”. From the above, the contact pressure of the contact layer is in the range from 1 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm, and the hardness of the contact layer of the cleaning blade exceeds the hardness of the support layer. It was confirmed that it was indispensable for obtaining good evaluation results.

  Example 5 to Example 8 are the cases where the hardness of the contact layer was changed to 80 degrees, 82 degrees, 84 degrees, and 86 degrees with respect to Example 2, respectively, but the hardness increased compared to Example 2. As a result, compared with the evaluation result of the second embodiment, the evaluation of “edge missing” is increased to “◯”. From Example 5 to Example 8, it was confirmed that 'edge chipping' was suppressed as compared with Example 2 by setting the hardness of the contact layer to 80 degrees or more.

In Example 9 to Example 13, as compared with Example 2, the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. was 1.1 × 10 ⁸ Pa, 2 × 10 ⁸ Pa, 4.5 × 10 ⁸ Pa, 6.4 × 10 ^8. Pa, is a case of changing each 6.8 × 10 8 ^Pa, example 9, by the toner is softened than in example 2, the evaluation of 'the photoconductor stickiness' is '△' However, the evaluation is generally good. On the other hand, in Examples 10 to 13, since the toner is hardened compared to Example 9, the evaluation of “photosensitive member fixing” is “◯”. In Comparative Example 5, because the toner was further softened compared to Comparative Example 9, the evaluation of “photosensitive member fixing property” and “cleaning property” was lower than that of Example 9, and both were “x”. In Comparative Example 6, the evaluation of “photoreceptor wearability” and “cleanability” is lower than that of Example 13 due to the further hardening of the toner compared to Example 13, and becomes “x”. From Example 9 to Example 13, in order to obtain a generally good evaluation result for these evaluation items, the storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. is in the range of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa to 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa. It was confirmed that it was indispensable.

  In the fourteenth to nineteenth embodiments, the shape factor of the toner is changed to 128, 130, 139, 145, 147, and 150 with respect to the second embodiment. However, the shape factor of the toner is 128. In Example 14, although the evaluation result is the same as the evaluation result of Example 2, in Examples 15 to 17 in which the shape factor of the toner is changed from 130 to 145, the shape of the toner is easily scraped. Due to the shape, the evaluation of “cleanability” is increased to “◎” compared to Example 2. In Example 18 and Example 19 in which the shape factor of the toner exceeded 145, the toner was excessively distorted compared to Example 2, and the wear of the image carrier was intensified. It goes down to “△”. From Example 14 to Example 19, although the evaluation is generally good, it is confirmed that the “cleanability” is further improved compared to Example 2 by setting the toner shape factor to 130 or more and 145 or less. It was done.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of a cleaner.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 10 Image holding body 11 Charging device 12 Exposure device 13 Developing device 14 Transfer roll 15 Fixing device 16 Paper tray 16a Paper transport device 20 Cleaner 21 Housing 22 Cleaning blade 221 Contact layer 222 Support layer

Claims (2)

A contact layer in contact with the object to be cleaned on which the toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa or more and 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa or less adheres to the surface; and the hardness of the contact layer supporting the contact layer A cleaning blade having a support layer having a low hardness, and the contact layer of the cleaning blade is in contact with the object to be cleaned with a contact pressure of 1.0 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm. Cleaning device. An image holding member for holding a toner image with a toner having a storage elastic modulus at 40 ° C. of 1 × 10 ⁸ Pa to 7 × 10 ⁸ Pa on the surface;
A toner image is formed on the surface of the image holding member, and the formed toner image is transferred to and fixed on the transfer member, thereby forming an image on the transfer member, and contacting the image holding member. A cleaning blade having a contact layer and a support layer that supports the contact layer and has a hardness lower than that of the contact layer, the contact layer of the cleaning blade being 1.0 g / mm to 3.5 g / mm An image forming apparatus comprising a cleaning device for contacting the surface of the image holding member with a contact pressure of mm or less.

Images