JP2010181774A - Method for inspecting surface of cylindrical shape member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface inspection method in which a worker can inspect the surface of the cylindrical shape member that is used in an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system such as a developing roller, a photoreceptor drum or a charging roller without touching the cylindrical shape member. <P>SOLUTION: The method is provided for contactlessly inspecting the periphery surface of the cylindrical shape member, while retaining chromatic color toner after the chromatic color toner is adhered to the periphery surface of the cylindrical shape member, which is mounted on the image forming apparatus of the electrophotographic system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cylindrical member surface inspection method for inspecting the surface state of a cylindrical member used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a photosensitive drum, a developer carrier (developing roller), and a charging roller. About.

  Electrophotographic image output devices such as copying machines and laser printers often use cylindrical members such as a photosensitive drum, a developer carrier (developing roller), a charging roller, and a heat fixing roller. Yes. These cylindrical members have, for example, a structure in which a resin layer is formed on a metal base, and the surface thereof has a great influence on the image quality. Therefore, in the production process of the image forming apparatus, in order to avoid the use of defective products having scratches, foreign matter adhesion, dirt, uneven thickness of the resin layer, etc., it is necessary to inspect these members and then provide them to the image forming apparatus. It was.

  As a method for inspecting the surface of a cylindrical member, for example, there is a visual inspection. Visual inspection can be performed simply by presenting the work contents to the worker by manual etc., but it is easily affected by the worker's skill level, individual differences, work fatigue, etc. From the viewpoint, it was not always an efficient inspection method. In view of this, an inspection method replacing the visual inspection has been studied, and for example, an inspection method for inspecting the surface of the inspected object in a non-contact manner using an element such as a CCD camera or a sensor has been proposed.

  As an inspection method using a CCD camera, for example, an object to be inspected is irradiated with illumination light of a strip-shaped light beam, and regular reflection light and scattered reflection light of the illumination light are received by each one-dimensional CCD camera, There is a method for detecting defects on the surface of an object to be inspected by image processing of signals from a CCD camera (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, the inspection method using the sensor is obtained by obliquely irradiating parallel light onto the surface of a cylindrical object to be inspected, allowing reflected light from the object to be inspected to pass through a polarizing lens, and causing the photoelectric conversion sensor to receive the passing light. There is a method of inspecting the surface of an object to be inspected by a signal to be inspected (for example, see Patent Document 2). Further, the parallel inspection is performed by irradiating the entire inspection region of the cylindrical inspection object with line-shaped parallel light, and processing the signal obtained by receiving only the regular reflection light from the inspection object surface with the sensor. There is a surface defect inspection method for detecting defects (for example, see Patent Document 3).

  By the way, high accuracy is required for surface inspection of a cylindrical member mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. For example, a developing roller that supplies toner to a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is required to form a uniform toner layer with a level of several tens of μm on the surface thereof. Cannot be used for image formation. Further, on the surface of the photosensitive drum, it is required that functions such as a predetermined level of latent image formation, development, and toner removal that is unnecessary after transfer are stably performed. It must be supplied to the image forming apparatus. Further, a charging roller that uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor and a neutralizing roller that reliably neutralizes the surface of the photoreceptor are required to have a high degree of surface performance.

  That is, in the production process of the image forming apparatus, it is possible to reliably supply a cylindrical member that has passed the standard that expresses the predetermined performance, and to mount a member that does not pass the standard that cannot express the predetermined performance. There wasn't. In the technique of Patent Document 1 described above, the focus of the light receiving system may be disturbed due to the surface position fluctuation that occurs when the object to be inspected is rotated, and the surface condition of the member can always be inspected with high accuracy. It was difficult and could not be used in production lines that required high-precision inspection on a regular basis. In addition, since the techniques of Patent Documents 2 and 3 also irradiate light while rotating the object to be inspected, the focusing of the light receiving system is likely to be disturbed, and the surface of the cylindrical member used in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is easily disturbed. I had to say that it was unsuitable for inspection.

  Under these circumstances, these optical inspection methods are also not sufficient inspection methods, and in order to prevent a member having a defect that interferes with image formation from being mounted on the product, the inspection object is output as an image. At present, a method for inspecting an image that has been attached to the apparatus and has actually produced an inspection image is added to the optical inspection method. Because of this, it takes time to inspect and requires a large number of inspection personnel, etc., so it is possible to realize a highly accurate surface inspection method without taking a method of inspecting an image that has been produced. Was desired.

JP-A-6-137844 JP 2004-144612 A JP 2005-172643 A

  The present invention, for example, inspects the surface state of a cylindrical member used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a developing roller, a photosensitive drum, and a charging roller without touching the cylindrical member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a surface inspection method capable of performing the above. Specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a surface inspection method capable of detecting a defect at a level that hinders the formation of a uniform toner layer of several tens of μm when the surface of the developing roller is inspected. Also, when inspecting the surface of the photosensitive drum, a predetermined level of latent image can be formed after a predetermined charge, and a level that hinders holding a predetermined amount of toner on the formed latent image. An object of the present invention is to provide a surface inspection method capable of detecting a defect.

The present inventor has found that the above-described problems can be achieved by any of the configurations described below. That is, the invention described in claim 1
"A surface inspection method for inspecting the peripheral surface of a cylindrical member mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a non-contact manner,
After attaching chromatic toner to the cylindrical member peripheral surface,
A method for inspecting a surface of a cylindrical member, wherein the peripheral surface is inspected in a non-contact manner while the chromatic toner is held on the peripheral surface. ].

The invention described in claim 2
2. The surface inspection method for a cylindrical member according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member is a developing roller. ].

The invention according to claim 3
“When inspecting the developing roller,
While using the chromatic toner charged negatively,
In a state where a negative voltage is applied to the developing roller,
The surface inspection method for a cylindrical member according to claim 2, wherein the peripheral surface of the developing roller is inspected. ].

The invention according to claim 4
2. The cylindrical member surface inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member is a photosensitive drum. ].

The invention described in claim 5
The surface inspection method for a cylindrical member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the chromatic toner is a yellow toner. ].

  According to the surface inspection method according to the present invention, for example, the surface state of a cylindrical member used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a developing roller, a photosensitive drum, or a charging roller is determined by the operator. Inspection can be done without touching. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of loading the inspection member into the image forming apparatus and outputting the image when performing the inspection, and evaluating the quality of the member from the output image.

  Therefore, it does not happen that a cylindrical member such as a developing roller or a photosensitive drum that cannot exhibit a predetermined performance due to scratches or the like is shipped in the image forming apparatus, and the quality and reliability of the image forming apparatus that is a product are prevented. It has become possible to greatly improve at the shipping stage. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently perform surface inspection without requiring a high level of skill from the operator who performs the inspection by eliminating the trouble of performing quality evaluation of the member using the inspection image. It was made possible to maintain the accuracy of the high level.

  In particular, one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is to perform surface inspection of the developing roller by the configuration of the present invention. When conducting a surface inspection of the developing roller, a negatively charged chromatic toner is used, and a negative voltage is applied to the developing roller so that the toner layer is thinly and uniformly formed on the surface of the developing roller. It became possible to form. As a result, when there is a defective portion on the surface of the developing roller, the shadow of the portion becomes conspicuous so that it is easy to confirm the presence of the defective portion, and the detection accuracy is improved. Therefore, since the defect accuracy can be reliably detected from the surface of the rotating developing roller by improving the detection accuracy, the working efficiency in the inspection process can be greatly improved. Thus, according to the present invention, it has been found that a more preferable effect can be obtained when the surface inspection of the developing roller is performed.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus equipped with a photosensitive drum, a developing roller, a charging roller, and a transfer roller. It is a schematic diagram which shows the layer structure of a photoconductor drum. It is a schematic diagram which shows the layer structure of a developing roller. It is a schematic diagram which shows the layer structure of a charging roller. It is a schematic perspective view of a surface inspection apparatus capable of non-contact inspection of a cylindrical member surface. It is the schematic of the surface inspection apparatus provided with the several CCD camera. It is the schematic of the surface inspection apparatus provided with the several CCD camera. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a toner adhesion holding device.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. The present invention relates to a surface inspection method for inspecting the surface of a cylindrical member used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a photosensitive drum, a developing roller, a charging roller, and a charge removing roller. The “cylindrical member” referred to in the present invention is generally called a drum or a roller, and an intended purpose is achieved by performing a predetermined operation on a curved surface that is loaded in an image forming apparatus and constitutes a member by a rotational movement. It is a member having a cylindrical shape designed to be.

  Here, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described with a specific example. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an image forming apparatus on which a photosensitive drum, a developing roller, a charging roller, and a transfer roller included in the category of a cylindrical member referred to in the present invention are mounted.

  In the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the exposure light L is applied onto the photosensitive drum 101 which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention and is charged by the charging roller 102 which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention. Is irradiated to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductive drum 101 is developed with toner supplied from a developing roller 104 that is a developer carrying member of the developing device 21 disposed in the vicinity of the photoconductive drum 101 to generate a toner image and a toner image. Become. The developing roller 104 is one of the columnar members referred to in the present invention.

  Next, when the charge on the photosensitive drum 101 is neutralized by the neutralizing lamp 22, the toner image is transferred to the transfer portion where the photosensitive drum 101 and the transfer roller 103, which is one of the cylindrical members in the present invention, are close to each other. Transferred onto the transfer paper P. The transfer paper P is transported by the transport roller 23 from the paper feed cassette. The transfer roller 103 is charged with a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner. The image is transferred.

  The transfer paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 101 and then conveyed to a fixing device (not shown) by the conveyance belt 24. The fixing device has fixing means such as a heating roller and a pressure roller, and fuses the toner image on the transfer paper P and fixes it on the transfer paper P.

  The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 101 of the image forming apparatus 1 through the above procedure is visualized as a toner image, and the formed toner image is transferred and fixed on the transfer paper P to be printed. Is produced.

  The charging roller 102 charges the photosensitive drum 101 according to the following procedure. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the charging roller 102 can charge the photosensitive drum 101 by receiving a bias voltage composed of a direct current (DC) component and an alternating current (AC) component from the power source 27. The so-called contact-type charging using the charging roller 102 can charge the photosensitive drum 101 with very little generation of ozone. The bias voltage applied to the charging roller 102 is usually obtained by superimposing a DC bias of ± 500 to 1000 V, which is a DC component, and an AC bias of 100 Hz to 10 kHz, 200 to 3500 V (pp), which are AC components. It will be.

  1 is applied with a bias voltage composed of a direct current (DC) component and an alternating current (AC) component from the power supply 28, and the transfer roller 103 in FIG. Transcription. Similarly to the bias voltage applied to the charging roller 102, the bias voltage applied to the transfer roller 103 is usually a DC bias of ± 500 to 1000 V of the DC component, and 100 Hz to 10 kHz of the AC component, 200 to 3500 V (pp). ) AC bias.

The charging roller 102 and the transfer roller 103 are driven or forcibly rotated while being pressed against the photosensitive drum 101. The pressing force of these rollers to the photosensitive drum 101 is normally 9.8 × 10 ^{−2 to} 9.8 × 10 ⁻¹ N / cm, and the rotational speed of the roller is usually the photosensitive drum. 1 to 8 times the peripheral speed of 101. The pressing force of the roller to the photosensitive drum 101 is realized by applying a pressing force of about 1.0 N to 10.0 N to both ends of the charging roller 102.

  The photosensitive drum 101 after the transfer of the toner image onto the transfer paper P is cleaned by the cleaning blade 26 provided in the cleaning device 25 and used for the next image formation.

  In the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a unit structure called a so-called process cartridge or an imaging cartridge in which components such as a photoconductor 101, a charging roller 102, an image exposure unit, and a developing device 21 are unitized. It is good. In this way, a plurality of components can be unitized and configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. Further, as a unit structure in which at least one of the image exposure unit, the developing device 23, the transfer roller 103, or the separating unit is integrally supported together with the photosensitive drum 101, a single unit that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body can be formed. is there. Such a single unit can be configured to be detachable by providing guide means such as a rail in the apparatus main body.

  Next, a photosensitive drum, a developing roller, and a charging roller, which are typical members used as a cylindrical member used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, will be described. The cylindrical member referred to in the present invention is the three members. It is not limited to.

  An electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter also referred to as a photosensitive member or a photosensitive drum) which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the layer structure of the photoreceptor. In FIG. 2, 10 is a photosensitive drum corresponding to the cylindrical member in the present invention, 11 is a support, 12 is an intermediate layer, 13 is a photosensitive layer, 14 is a charge generation layer, 15 is a charge transport layer, and 16 is a protection. Reference numeral 18 denotes a surface layer.

  FIG. 2A shows a structure in which an intermediate layer 12 is provided on the outer periphery of the support 11 and a photosensitive layer 13 is provided thereon. The photosensitive layer 13 constituting the surface layer 18 is formed by a known method. Is. (B) is a structure in which an intermediate layer 12 is provided on the outer periphery of the support 11 and a charge generation layer 14 and a charge transport layer 15 are provided thereon. The charge transport layer 15 to be the surface layer 18 is formed by a known method. It is a thing. (C) is a structure in which an intermediate layer 12 is provided on the outer periphery of the support 11, and a charge generation layer 14, a charge transport layer 15, and a protective layer 16 are provided thereon. It is formed by the method.

  Each of the photosensitive drums 10 shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C forms an electrostatic latent image on the outermost surface, and after the electrostatic latent image is formed, toner is supplied to the latent image. Is visualized. Among these, the structure of (c) in which an intermediate layer, a charge generation layer, a charge transport layer, and a protective layer are provided on the outer periphery of the support is designed so that high durability can be obtained by the presence of the protective layer. Yes.

  Next, each layer constituting the photoreceptor will be described with reference to FIG. A photosensitive drum 10 shown in FIG. 2C has an intermediate layer 12, a charge generation layer 14, a charge transport layer 15, and a protective layer 16 on the outer periphery of a support 11.

First, the support 11 will be described. The support 11 usable for the photoreceptor preferably has a cylindrical shape and a specific resistance of, for example, 10 ³ Ωcm or less. Specifically, a cylindrical aluminum tube whose surface is subjected to a cleaning process after the cutting process is given.

  When producing the photosensitive drum, a coating solution for forming an intermediate layer 12, a charge generation layer 14, a charge transport layer 15, and a protective layer 16 described below is sequentially applied on the support 11 and dried. To go. A method for applying the coating solution for forming these layers will be described later.

  Next, the intermediate layer 12 will be described. The intermediate layer 12 can be formed by applying and drying an intermediate layer coating liquid composed of a binder, inorganic particles, a dispersion solvent, and the like on the support 11. The thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably 0.2 to 40 μm, and more preferably 0.3 to 20 μm.

  Examples of the resin that can be used as the binder of the intermediate layer 12 include polyamide resins, vinyl acetate resins, and copolymer resins having these resins as repeating units. Among these resins, those using a polyamide resin are preferable, and an increase in residual potential that tends to occur when image formation is repeatedly performed due to the presence of the polyamide resin can be suppressed to a small value.

  As a solvent that can be used in preparing the coating solution for forming the intermediate layer, a solvent that dissolves a resin for a binder such as a polyamide resin and that disperses the added inorganic particles well is preferable. . Specifically, alcohols having 2 to 4 carbon atoms such as ethanol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butanol, t-butanol, sec-butanol and the like have excellent solubility in polyamide resin and coating performance. This is preferable. These solvents are contained in the total amount of 30 to 100% by mass, preferably 40 to 100% by mass, and more preferably 50 to 100% by mass. Examples of solvents that can be used in combination with the solvent include methanol, benzyl alcohol, toluene, methylene chloride, cyclohexanone, and tetrahydrofuran.

  Next, the charge generation layer 14 will be described. The charge generation layer 14 constituting the photosensitive layer 13 contains a charge generation material (CGM), and may contain a binder resin and other additives as required in addition to the charge generation material. The film thickness of the charge generation layer is preferably from 0.01 to 2 μm.

  As the charge generation material (CGM), a known charge generation material (CGM) can be used, and examples thereof include phthalocyanine pigments, azo pigments, perylene pigments, and azurenium pigments.

  When a binder is used as the dispersion medium for the charge generation material in the charge generation layer 14, a known resin can be used as the binder. Examples of a resin preferable as the binder resin include a formal resin, a butyral resin, a silicone resin, a silicone-modified butyral resin, and a phenoxy resin. The ratio of the binder resin to the charge generation material is preferably 20 to 600 parts by mass of the charge generation material with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin. By using these resins, an increase in residual potential that tends to occur when image formation is repeated can be minimized.

  Next, the charge transport layer 15 will be described. The charge transport layer 15 constituting the photosensitive layer 13 is formed from a charge transport material (CTM) and a binder resin, and may be formed by adding an additive such as an antioxidant as necessary. The thickness of the charge transport layer is preferably 5 to 40 μm, more preferably 10 to 30 μm. The ratio of the binder resin and the charge transport material is preferably 10 to 200 parts by mass of the charge transport material with respect to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin.

  As the charge transport material (CTM), a known charge transport material (CTM) can be used. For example, triphenylamine derivatives, hydrazone compounds, styryl compounds, benzidine compounds, butadiene compounds, and the like can be used.

  Examples of the binder resin that can be used for the charge transport layer 15 include the following insulating resins. That is, there are styrene resin, acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, vinyl acetate resin, polyvinyl butyral resin, epoxy resin, polyurethane resin, phenol resin, polyester resin, alkyd resin, polycarbonate resin, silicone resin, melamine resin, and the like. A copolymer resin containing two or more of the above-mentioned resin repeating units can also be used. In addition to the insulating resin described above, a polymer organic semiconductor such as poly-N-vinylcarbazole can also be used. The most preferable binder resin for the charge transport layer 15 is a polycarbonate resin, and the polycarbonate resin is most preferable for realizing the dispersibility of the charge transport material (CTM) and good electrophotographic characteristics.

  Moreover, as an antioxidant which can be used for the charge transport layer 15, a known compound can be used, and examples thereof include “Irganox 1010 (manufactured by Ciba Geigy Japan)”.

  Next, the protective layer 16 will be described. The protective layer 16 can be formed by a known method such as a curing reaction by light irradiation. When forming the protective layer 16 using a curing reaction by light irradiation, it can be formed using a known precursor material such as a curable acrylic monomer or oligomer and a polymerization initiator. In addition to the precursor material and the polymerization initiator, the protective layer 16 can be formed by adding a charge transport material, an antioxidant, an electric resistance adjusting agent, inorganic fine particles, and organic fine particles as necessary. . In addition, 0.2-5 micrometers is preferable and, as for the film thickness of the protective layer after hardening, 0.3-4 micrometers is more preferable.

  As described above, the protective layer 16 is formed by coating the protective layer coating solution on the charge transport layer 15 by a known method such as spray coating, and is primarily dried to the extent that the fluidity of the coating film is lost. It is formed by polymerizing and curing the precursor material by light irradiation. Further, after the curing treatment, secondary drying can be performed for the purpose of removing unnecessary substances such as a diluting solvent.

  In addition, the coating liquid for forming the protective layer is prepared by, for example, dissolving a precursor material such as a curable acrylic monomer or oligomer and a polymerization initiator, and dispersing inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles listed below. There is also.

  As inorganic fine particles, various metal oxides such as silica, alumina, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, tin oxide, antimony oxide, indium oxide, bismuth oxide, tin-doped indium oxide, antimony-doped tin oxide and zirconium oxide, etc. Is mentioned. These inorganic fine particles can be used alone or in combination. The average particle size of these inorganic fine particles is preferably 0.3 μm or less, and more preferably 0.1 μm or less.

  Organic fine particles include ethylene tetrafluoride resin, ethylene trifluoride chloride resin, hexafluoroethylene chloride propylene resin, vinyl fluoride resin, vinylidene fluoride resin, ethylene difluoride dichloride resin, and their co-polymers. Coalesce is mentioned. These organic fine particles can be used alone or in combination. The average particle size of these organic fine particles is preferably 0.3 μm or less, and more preferably 0.1 μm or less.

  When preparing a coating liquid for forming a protective layer, it is possible to add a diluent solvent that dissolves a precursor material such as a cured acrylic monomer or oligomer and a polymerization initiator. The diluting solvent is not particularly limited as long as the precursor material and the polymerization initiator can be dissolved. For example, n-butyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, methyl ethyl ketone, etc. Is mentioned.

  The hardness of the protective layer 16 is not limited to the type and composition ratio of the precursor material, the type and amount of the polymerization initiator, the layer thickness, and the light irradiation conditions. When an agent or an electric resistance adjusting agent is added, it is affected by these types and amounts.

  Next, a method for producing a photosensitive drum will be described. The photosensitive drum, which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention, is formed on the support 11 by using a known method. The protective layer-forming coating solution can be sequentially applied.

  As a method of applying the coating liquid for forming each layer, a known coating method can be used. Specifically, a dip coating method, a spray coating method, an amount-regulated coating method (a coating method in which coating is performed while controlling the coating amount and controlling the thickness of each coating layer, and is represented by a circular slide hopper), etc. A known coating method can be used. Of these, the spray coating method or the quantity-regulating coating method is preferably used as an advantageous method for forming a uniform coating layer by accurately controlling the thickness of each coating layer. The spray coating is described in detail, for example, in JP-A-3-269238, and the amount-limiting coating method is described in, for example, JP-A-58-189061.

  Examples of the quantity restricting application device include an application device using an extrusion type application head in addition to the circular slide hopper type application head described above. Among these, a coating apparatus having a circular slide hopper type coating head described later (hereinafter also referred to as a circular slide hopper type coating apparatus or a slide type coating apparatus) is preferable. The coating apparatus having such a circular-shaped coating head is a coating apparatus compared to a dip coating method in which almost the entire cylindrical conductive support (excluding a part of the upper end) is immersed in the coating solution. It is possible to form a layer in one way without retaining the dispersion liquid.

  Further, in the protective layer forming coating solution for forming the protective layer 16 constituting the outermost surface of the photosensitive drum, the contained particles do not repeatedly receive agglomeration share in the coating solution, and the protective layer forming coating solution is used. Although the liquid tends to settle in a state where the specific gravity of the particles is higher than that of the solvent, it is possible to maintain the state so that the particles do not settle in the coating liquid. Therefore, it is optimal for forming a protective layer having a structure in which particles are uniformly dispersed.

  In addition, there is no need to store the coating solution after preparing a large amount of the coating solution as in the dip coating method, so that the components in the coating solution aggregate or settle over time due to storage. It is not necessary to worry about the problem of the performance deterioration of the coating liquid due to the above. Furthermore, since a plurality of layers can be formed by a single application, for example, when the protective layer 16 is formed, the lower layer already formed on the cylindrical support 11 is dissolved before application. Hassle-free.

  In addition, since the coating film thickness can be accurately controlled by the flow rate of the coating solution discharged from the coating apparatus, there is little variation in film thickness, and an optically uniform layer can be formed when forming a protective layer. it can.

  Next, a developing roller which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The developing roller performs frictional charging of the toner by the action of the charging member and the developing roller itself, and causes the frictionally charged toner to fly and supply it to the surface of the photoreceptor. The developing roller has a structure in which a resin layer is provided on a rubber-like elastic layer on the outer periphery of the shaft, and a resin layer is directly provided on the outer periphery of the shaft without providing a rubber-like elastic layer. There are also things. The developing roller shown in FIG. 3 has a structure in which an elastic layer 17, a surface layer 18 and the like are arranged on the outer periphery of a shaft.

  FIG. 3A shows a structure in which the intermediate layer 12 is formed on the elastic layer 17 and a surface layer 18 that is a resin layer is formed thereon, and the structure shown in FIG. 1) shows a structure in which the surface layer 18 is directly formed on the elastic layer 17. Further, what is shown in FIG. 3 (c) is one in which the intermediate layer 12 is thicker than that of FIG. 3 (a).

  The shaft 11 is composed of a conductive member, and specifically, a metal material such as stainless steel such as SUS304, iron, aluminum, nickel, an aluminum alloy, or a nickel alloy is preferable. Also, a conductive resin in which a conductive material such as the above-described metal powder or carbon black is filled in the resin can be used.

The outer diameter of the shaft 11 is preferably 5 mm to 30 mm, and more preferably 10 mm to 20 mm. In particular, there is a small-diameter developing roller from the viewpoint of reducing the size of the image forming apparatus, but when the toner is supplied to the image carrier, the shaft is sized to continuously supply the toner by rotating the developing roller a plurality of times. There is also. The shaft 11, from the viewpoint to smoothly remove the accumulated residual charge on the developing roller surface, the resistivity 1 × 10 ⁴ Ω · cm or less.

  The elastic layer 17 has a structure in which a foaming material or a rubber material contains a conductivity imparting agent such as carbon black, and exhibits conductivity and elasticity. In other words, the elastic layer 17 has a low resistance so that the charging roller 10 exhibits good charge imparting performance with respect to the photoreceptor, and has elasticity so as to exhibit appropriate adhesion with the photoreceptor. Designed. Further, by having elasticity, even if vibration is generated during image formation, the vibration is absorbed and a stable charging performance is imparted to the photoreceptor.

  The foamed material forming the elastic layer 17 forms a sponge structure and can exhibit elasticity without using oil, vulcanizing agent, etc., so that the number of materials necessary for forming the elastic layer can be reduced. . As the foaming material that can be used for forming the elastic layer 17, known materials can be used, and examples thereof include a material in which a foaming agent as described in JP-A-7-295331 is mixed with polyurethane resin or the like.

  It is also possible to form the elastic layer 17 with a known rubber material, and the rubber material has a wider range of choices than the foamed material because the type of the rubber material is larger than that of the foamed material. Further, the hardness can be freely adjusted by adding oil, a vulcanizing agent, or the like. Specific examples include polynorbornene rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylonitrile rubber, silicone rubber, and urethane rubber. These rubber compositions can be used alone or as a mixed rubber by mixing two or more rubber compositions.

  Further, the elastic layer 17 contains carbon black such as acetylene black, furnace black and ketjen black, metal powder such as graphite and aluminum powder, metal oxide powder such as aluminum oxide and titanium oxide, and the like as a conductivity imparting agent. Has been. Among these, carbon black expresses good dispersibility and is not easily affected by the additive contained in the elastic layer, and therefore, it is easy to express stable conductivity.

  Next, the intermediate layer 12 is formed of, for example, a known rubber material, and a conductive agent, an antistatic agent, or the like can be contained therein. A region having a high electrical resistance is formed in the developing roller 104 by the intermediate layer 12, and the leakage resistance of the developing roller 104 can be controlled. Further, the intermediate layer 12 improves the durability of the developing roller 104 by having appropriate adhesiveness to both the elastic layer 17 and the surface layer 18.

  Examples of rubber materials that can be used for the intermediate layer 12 include epichlorohydrin rubber, epichlorohydrin-ethylene oxide copolymer rubber, nitrile rubber, and acrylic rubber. Examples of the conductive agent include ionic conductive agents such as carbon black and perchlorate described above. Examples of the antistatic agent include tetraalkylammonium salts, phosphate esters, aliphatic alcohol sulfate salts, and aliphatic polyhydric alcohols. These are appropriately selected and used at an appropriate blending ratio based on a known technique.

  In addition, the intermediate layer 12 prevents oil from seeping out from the elastic layer 17 and contributes to uniform electrical resistance on the surface of the developing roller 104 by adjusting resistance on the surface of the elastic layer 17. Further, the hardness of the developing roller 104 can be adjusted by selecting a rubber material used for the intermediate layer 12.

  The surface layer 18 constituting the resin layer forms a toner layer on the surface and charges the toner by frictional charging. Further, it is preferable that the surface layer 18 is firmly bonded to the elastic layer 17 so that the toner can be charged, supplied to the image carrier, and the residual charge can be removed smoothly. Further, although not shown, the surface layer 18 can contain roughness imparting particles, and by adding the roughness imparting particles, it is possible to improve toner transportability on the surface of the developing roller.

  The roughness-imparting particles that can be contained in the surface layer 18 have an average primary particle size of 5 μm to 30 μm, and improve the toner transportability by imparting roughness to the surface of the developing roller 104. . The roughness imparting particles are preferably composed of a resin such as a styrene resin, a styrene acrylic copolymer resin, a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, or an acrylic resin.

  The surface layer 18 can be formed by applying a surface layer forming solution obtained by dissolving a known resin in a solvent on the elastic layer 17 and performing a drying treatment. The resin constituting the surface layer 18 is not particularly limited, and may be any resin that can be uniformly applied to the surface of the elastic layer 17 when, for example, it is in the form of a surface layer forming solution.

  The developing roller, which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention, can be produced by a known method. For example, it can be produced by the following procedure.

  First, each component constituting the elastic layer 17 serving as a base is kneaded with a kneader such as a kneader to produce an elastic layer forming material. Next, the shaft 11 is set in the hollow portion of the cylindrical mold, the elastic layer forming material is poured into the gap formed between the cylindrical mold and the shaft 11, and then the mold is covered. The elastic layer forming material is crosslinked by heating. After completion of the crosslinking reaction, the elastic layer 17 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 11 by removing from the cylindrical mold.

  Next, the surface layer forming solution that is the resin layer is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 17. This coating method is not particularly limited, and for example, known methods such as a dipping method, a spray method, and a roll coating method can be applied. And after application | coating, drying and heat processing (for example, temperature 120-200 degreeC, process time 20-90 minutes) are performed, the solvent in the solution for resin layer formation is removed, and the surface layer 18 is formed. It is also possible to form the surface layer 18 containing inorganic or organic roughness-imparting particles if necessary. In this case, the roughness-imparting particles are maintained in a dispersed state in the surface layer forming solution by a known method. Thus, it is preferable to form the surface layer 18 while preparing the surface layer forming solution.

  On the other hand, when the intermediate layer 12 is formed between the elastic layer 17 and the surface layer 18, the constituent material of the intermediate layer 12 is mixed and dissolved together with a solvent to prepare an intermediate layer forming solution. The intermediate layer 12 can be formed by applying the intermediate layer forming solution to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 17 by the known method described above and drying the applied solution. The developing roller having the structure shown in FIG. 3 can be manufactured by taking the above procedure.

  In the developing roller, the thickness of the elastic layer 17 is preferably set in the range of 1 to 10 mm, and particularly preferably 2 to 6 mm. Moreover, it is preferable to set the total thickness of the intermediate | middle layer 12 and the surface layer 18 in the range of 3-30 micrometers, Most preferably, it is 5-20 micrometers. The thickness of each layer constituting the developing roller is calculated based on the photographic image obtained by taking a cross-sectional sample including the surface layer 18, the intermediate layer 12, and the elastic layer 17 from the developing roller. Is possible.

  Next, a charging roller which is one of the cylindrical members referred to in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The charging roller contacts the photoconductor in a rotating state to charge the surface of the photoconductor. Specifically, the charging roller is made up of a base layer formed using an elastic member on a shaft and contacts the photoconductor. The voltage is applied to the charging roller.

  The contact charging by the charging roller is typically represented by two methods: a DC charging method in which a DC voltage is applied to the roller for charging, and an induction charging method in which an AC voltage is applied to the roller for charging. Either method can charge the surface of the photoreceptor. Contact charging with a charging roller has a structure that facilitates uniform charging on the surface of the photoconductor because a large contact surface is obtained between the surface of the photoconductor and other contact charging means such as a magnetic brush or blade. is doing.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the layer structure of the charging roller, in which the charging roller 102 is provided with a conductive shaft 11, and an elastic layer 17 is provided on the shaft 11, and a surface layer 18 formed by a curing process on the outermost surface. Exists. Here, the structure shown in FIG. 4A has a structure in which the intermediate layer 12 is formed on the elastic layer 17 and the surface layer 18 is sequentially laminated thereon. 1) shows a structure in which the surface layer 18 is directly formed on the elastic layer 17. Furthermore, what is shown in FIG. 4 (c) is one in which the intermediate layer 12 is thicker than that of FIG. 4 (a).

  The shaft 11 is composed of a conductive member, and specifically, a metal material such as stainless steel such as SUS304, iron, aluminum, nickel, an aluminum alloy, or a nickel alloy is preferable. Also, a conductive resin in which a conductive material such as the above-described metal powder or carbon black is filled in the resin can be used.

  The elastic layer 17 has a structure in which a foaming material or a rubber material contains a conductivity imparting agent such as carbon black, and exhibits conductivity and elasticity. In other words, the elastic layer 17 has a low resistance so that the charging roller 10 exhibits good charge imparting performance with respect to the photoreceptor, and has elasticity so as to exhibit appropriate adhesion with the photoreceptor. Designed. Further, by having elasticity, even if vibration is generated during image formation, the vibration is absorbed and a stable charging performance is imparted to the photoreceptor.

  The foamed material forming the elastic layer 17 forms a sponge structure and can exhibit elasticity without using oil, vulcanizing agent, etc., so that the number of materials necessary for forming the elastic layer can be reduced. . As the foaming material that can be used for forming the elastic layer 17, known materials can be used, and examples thereof include a material in which a foaming agent as described in JP-A-7-295331 is mixed with polyurethane resin or the like.

  It is also possible to form the elastic layer 17 with a known rubber material, and the rubber material has a wider range of choices than the foamed material because the type of the rubber material is larger than that of the foamed material. Further, the hardness can be freely adjusted by adding oil, a vulcanizing agent, or the like. Specific examples include polynorbornene rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylonitrile rubber, silicone rubber, and urethane rubber. These rubber compositions can be used alone or as a mixed rubber by mixing two or more rubber compositions.

  The elastic layer 17 contains carbon black such as acetylene black, furnace black, and ketjen black, metal powder such as graphite and aluminum powder, metal oxide powder such as aluminum oxide and titanium oxide, and the like as a conductivity imparting agent. Yes. Among these, carbon black expresses good dispersibility and is not easily affected by the additive contained in the elastic layer, and therefore, it is easy to express stable conductivity.

  Next, the intermediate layer 12 is formed of a known rubber material, and contains a conductive agent, an antistatic agent, and the like. The intermediate layer 12 forms a region with high electrical resistance in the charging roller 10, thereby enabling control of the voltage resistance (leakage resistance) of the charging roller 10.

  Examples of rubber materials that can be used for the intermediate layer 12 include epichlorohydrin rubber, epichlorohydrin-ethylene oxide copolymer rubber, nitrile rubber, and acrylic rubber. Examples of the conductive agent include ionic conductive agents such as carbon black and perchlorate described above. Examples of the antistatic agent include tetraalkylammonium salts, phosphate esters, aliphatic alcohol sulfate salts, and aliphatic polyhydric alcohols. These are appropriately selected and used at an appropriate blending ratio based on a known technique.

  Further, the intermediate layer 12 prevents oil from seeping out from the elastic layer 17 and contributes to uniform resistance on the surface of the charging roller 102 by adjusting resistance on the surface of the elastic layer 17. Further, the hardness of the charging roller 102 can be adjusted by selecting a rubber material used for the intermediate layer 12.

The surface layer 18 is a region in contact with the surface of the photoconductor, and has a volume resistivity of 1 × 10 ⁷ Ωcm to 1 × 10 ¹⁵ Ωcm. By setting the volume resistivity of the surface layer 18 within this range, the surface of the photoconductor is predetermined. Easily charge to potential level. Further, the contact with the surface of the photoreceptor can be stabilized by performing a curing treatment.

  Note that the charging roller can be manufactured by substantially the same procedure as the developing roller manufacturing method described above, and thus the description of the charging roller manufacturing method is omitted here.

  Next, a non-contact surface inspection method performed in the present invention will be described.

  In the present invention, when inspecting the surface of a cylindrical member such as a photosensitive drum or a developing roller, the chromatic color toner is attached to the peripheral surface of the cylindrical member, and the member surface is brought into a state where the chromatic color toner is attached. The present inventors have found that the presence or absence of minute defects on the surface can be detected in a non-contact manner by visual observation or a CCD camera.

  In the surface inspection method according to the present invention, the chromatic color toner is carried on the surface of the cylindrical member. However, when the chromatic color toner is carried on the surface of the cylindrical member, snow has just accumulated on the ground on a winter day. It can be said that a state similar to the state is formed. That is, the snow is uniformly accumulated on the flat ground and a snow surface without shadow is formed. On the uneven ground, the snow is uniformly accumulated along the unevenness, so that a shadow is formed on the snow surface. In other words, in the present invention, when a toner is carried on the surface of the developing roller and there is a defect due to unevenness on the surface of the cylindrical member, the defect is emphasized by the toner, and the presence or absence of the defect is more easily detected. It can be said that.

  The surface inspection method according to the present invention can inspect the surface state of various cylindrical members mounted on an image forming apparatus, and in particular, on the peripheral surface of a member like a photosensitive drum or a developing roller. This is effective for inspecting the surface state of a member having a function of carrying toner. These members carry toner on the circumferential surface. The toner is carried on the circumferential surface so that the formed latent image is developed to a predetermined level, or the toner can be developed on the photosensitive drum. In order to supply the toner, it is required to form a uniform toner layer uniformly on the entire peripheral surface. In other words, since the quality of the peripheral surface of the member directly affects the image quality of the printed product that is the final product, it is required that there is no defect.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a surface inspection apparatus 50 that inspects the surface of a cylindrical member according to the present invention in a non-contact manner. In FIG. 5, for example, a chromatic toner having a volume-based median diameter of 3 μm to 9 μm is electrically attached to the surface (circumferential surface) of the cylindrical member 10. A method for electrically attaching toner particles to the surface of the cylindrical member will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the surface inspection apparatus 50 capable of performing the surface inspection method according to the present invention includes at least an illumination light source 51 and a CCD camera (line sensor) 58. The illumination light source 51 irradiates the diffused light 52 from above the cylindrical member 10 with chromatic toner attached to the peripheral surface thereof, and brightens the inspection area around the inspection location 55. The illumination light source 51 is installed so that a smooth visual inspection can be performed by the surface inspection apparatus 50 and good imaging can be performed by the CCD camera 58, and uniform illumination with no unevenness of 150 lx or more, preferably 300 lx or more can be obtained at the inspection location. If it is a thing, the kind of light source and irradiation conditions will not be specifically limited.

  Specific examples of the illumination light source 51 include direct light from a known light source such as a light bulb or sunlight, slit light, and the like. For example, a straight fluorescent tube having a diameter of 30 mm, a length of 500 mm, and an output of 20 watts is preferable. It is one of the typical examples of a light source. Further, the illumination light source 51 can set illumination conditions based on known information, such as setting the distance from the inspection point 55 on the cylindrical member 10 to, for example, 100 mm.

  Furthermore, the illumination light source 51 is preferably arranged so as to be parallel to a line perpendicular to the axial direction 53 of the cylindrical member 10, and this arrangement allows the illumination light source 51 to be located in the region of the inspection location 55 of the cylindrical member 10. A diffused light region 56 that forms a favorable illumination environment can be formed.

  In addition, it is preferable that the irradiation light to the surface of the cylindrical member 10 is substantially uniform with respect to the circumferential direction of the cylindrical member 10. Further, when inspecting the cylindrical member 10 having a small curvature, such as the developing roller 104 and the charging roller 102, it is difficult to form a suitable irradiation environment with a point light source or slit light. It is preferable to use the straight tube fluorescent lamp as the light source 51 for illumination.

  Further, the line sensor type CCD camera 58 constituting the surface inspection apparatus 50 has a light receiving optical axis direction 54 substantially parallel to the axial direction 53 of the cylindrical member 10 when viewed from above in FIG. It is preferable to install as follows. Further, an angle 57 formed between the light receiving optical axis direction 54 and the axial direction 53 of the cylindrical member 10 formed when FIG. 5 is viewed from the side is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-101131. As described, it is more preferable to set it in the range of 10 ° ± 5 °, and the vicinity of 10 ° is particularly preferable.

  Even if the inspection portion (light receiving field) 55 that the CCD camera (line sensor) 58 inspects is formed along the circumferential direction of the cylindrical member 10, the axial direction of the cylindrical member 10 It may be formed along 53. By making the irradiation conditions of the illumination light source 51 of the surface inspection apparatus 50 and the imaging conditions of the CCD camera 58 shown in FIG. 5 as described above, the surface state of the cylindrical member 10 to which the chromatic color toner is attached is inspected (received light). The image is faithfully photographed by a CCD camera (line sensor) 58 with a field of view 55 as a center. As a result, the CCD camera (line sensor) 58 can obtain an output signal that faithfully reflects the surface state of the cylindrical member 10 around the inspection location (light receiving field) 55.

  By using the surface inspection apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to detect a defect caused by unevenness on the cylindrical member 10. In addition, examples of the “defect caused by unevenness” in the present invention include, for example, those caused by adhesion of foreign matters, those caused by generation of bubbles, those caused by generation of streaks, and scratches.

  Further, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the irradiation light 52 from the illumination light source 51 illuminates the entire cylindrical member 10, and in this state, the surface of the cylindrical member 10 is covered with a plurality of CCD cameras 58. It is also possible to carry out an inspection by imaging. When inspecting the surface using a plurality of CCD cameras 58, the camera signals output from the CCD cameras 58 are synthesized by a camera signal synthesizer (not shown), and the synthesized signal is an analog signal processor or feature quantity (not shown). The image signal is converted into an image signal for inspection using a known signal processing device such as a generation device. At this time, if an end face dimension measuring device is also provided, data such as end face dimensions can be obtained based on the data obtained from the camera signal synthesizing apparatus, so that more accurate surface inspection can be performed.

  In the surface inspection method according to the present invention, the chromatic color toner is attached to the peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 10 and the surface inspection is performed while the chromatic toner is attached. It is necessary to apply a voltage to 10. The value of the applied voltage is a value when the cylindrical member 10 is mounted on the image forming apparatus and an image is actually formed, and a voltage value that realizes a toner adhesion amount that can perform surface inspection without any trouble is calculated in advance. There is also a method of setting this as an applied voltage value in the surface inspection experiment.

  In the surface inspection method according to the present invention, the chromatic toner can be supplied and adhered while the cylindrical member 10 is rotated so that the chromatic toner uniformly adheres to the peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 10 without unevenness. preferable. The rotational speed of the cylindrical member 10 is not particularly limited as long as it is a rotational speed at which the chromatic toner is uniformly and uniformly adhered to the peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 10. Further, from the viewpoint of efficiently performing the observation during the surface observation, it is preferable to rotate the cylindrical member 10 to which the chromatic color toner is attached, so that the number of rotations does not hinder the observation and determination of the observer. It is preferable to set to.

  The surface inspection method according to the present invention will be further described. The present inventor has noticed that when the surface of the developing roller is observed using the surface inspection apparatus 50, it is preferable that a thin toner layer is preferably uniformly formed on the surface of the developing roller to be inspected. In other words, we wanted to improve the detection accuracy by making the presence of the defective part easy to confirm by making the shadow of the defective part stand out on the surface of the developing roller. I tried to find a way to reduce the amount.

  When supplying negatively charged toner to the developing roller, the developing roller is negatively charged, and the supply roller that supplies toner to the developing roller is relatively positively charged, so that the shadow of the defective portion is reduced. They found that toner can be supplied in a prominent way. That is, the present inventor makes it easier to confirm the presence of a defective portion and improves detection accuracy by using a negatively charged chromatic toner and applying a negative voltage to the developing roller. I found out.

  With the above configuration, after toner supply, a thin toner layer is uniformly formed on the normal area on the surface of the developing roller, and the toner does not adhere to the defective part so that the shadow of the defective part can be emphasized. became. As a result, in both cases of visual observation and image observation with a CCD camera, the defect portion can be easily confirmed, and the observation time can be greatly shortened. In particular, when performing surface observation, it is preferable to rotate the developing roller from the viewpoint of work efficiency. In the present invention, the above configuration found by the present inventor has found a surface inspection method capable of reliably detecting a defective portion even when the developing roller is rotated at a certain speed. .

  The reason why it becomes easier to detect the defective part by charging the developing roller negatively and making the supply roller relatively positively charged occurs in the defective part in addition to the reduction in the amount of toner supplied to the developing roller. It is considered that the effect of charge leakage can be utilized. In other words, in the defective part, the negative charge is applied to the place where the toner was originally less liable to adhere than the other due to the leaking property, so that the leaking property of the defective part is promoted and the difference in the toner adhering from the normal region becomes larger. It is thought. The reason why a thin toner layer can be formed on the surface of the developing roller is that most negatively charged toner does not repel and adhere to the developing roller, but there is toner that adheres due to the action of frictional force. It is considered that a light toner layer is formed with toner.

  Next, the chromatic toner used in the surface inspection method according to the present invention will be described. The “chromatic toner” in the present invention refers to a toner having a so-called color, that is, a toner having three attributes of colors called hue, lightness, and saturation. That is, what is called a color toner other than an achromatic toner called a black toner is applicable. Specifically, for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan toners are representative, and in addition, orange, green, There are also toners such as blue and red.

  Further, the chromatic color toner that can be used in the present invention can be specified based on its reflection spectrum.

  First, yellow toner, which is one of the chromatic toners, is a toner whose reflectance from 500 nm to less than 730 nm is relatively higher than reflectance from 380 nm to less than 500 nm when the reflection spectrum is observed. Say. Specifically, it means a toner containing a colorant that is colored yellow as described later.

  The magenta toner refers to a toner having a reflectance of 380 nm to less than 500 nm and 600 nm to less than 730 nm relatively higher than a reflectance of 500 nm to less than 600 nm when the reflection spectrum is observed. Specifically, it means a toner containing a colorant that is colored magenta, which will be described later.

  Further, the cyan toner refers to a toner whose reflectance from 380 nm to less than 600 nm is relatively higher than that from 600 nm to 730 nm when the reflection spectrum is observed. Specifically, it means a toner containing a colorant that is colored cyan, which will be described later.

  In addition, when the reflection spectrum of the orange toner is observed, the reflectance of 500 nm or more and less than 730 nm is relatively higher than the reflectance of 380 nm or more and less than 500 nm, and the reflectance of 600 nm or more and less than 730 nm is particularly high. That means. Specifically, it refers to a toner containing a colorant that is colored orange, which will be described later.

  Further, the green toner refers to a toner whose reflectance from 500 nm to less than 600 nm is relatively higher than reflectance from 380 nm to less than 500 nm and from 600 nm to less than 730 nm when the reflection spectrum is observed. Specifically, it means a toner containing a colorant that is colored green, which will be described later.

The reflection spectrum of the chromatic toner used in the present invention can be measured by the following procedure. First, a measurement sample is prepared by the following procedure.
(1) A monochromatic image is formed on a transfer paper having a whiteness of 80 to 85% and a basis weight of 80 g / m ^{2 so that} the toner adhesion amount before heat fixing is 5 g / m ² .
(2) Next, the monochrome image is heated and fixed under the fixing conditions of a heating roller temperature of 180 ° C., a fixing speed of 220 mm / sec, a heating roller diameter of φ65 mm, and a pressure roller diameter of φ55 mm, and the formed fixed image is measured. A sample is used.

  The reflection spectrum of the measurement sample thus prepared is measured.

  As a reflection spectrum measurement apparatus, a reflection spectrophotometer (also referred to as a reflection spectrophotometer or a spectrocolorimeter) capable of measuring reflectance wavelength characteristics in the visible light region (380 nm to 780 nm) is used. Specifically, for example, a measuring device such as Gretag Macbeth SpectroScan (manufactured by Gretta Macbeth) can be used.

  The chromatic toner can be prepared by incorporating the following colorant into the toner. A specific colorant will be described.

  Examples of the colorant that can be used in the chromatic toner used in the present invention include the following.

  First, specific colorants for yellow toner include the following.

C. I. Pigment yellow 74, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 97, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 98, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 111, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 61, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 168, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 100, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 190, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 151, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 154, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 175, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 180, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 194, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 93, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 94, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 128, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 166, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 109, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 110, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 173, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 185, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 150, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 117, C.I. I. Pigment yellow 129, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 153, etc. By using the colorant for yellow toner, it is possible to produce a yellow toner having a yellow color tone.

  Next, specific examples of the colorant for magenta toner include the following.

C. I. Pigment red 48: 2, C.I. I. Pigment red 57: 1, C.I. I. Pigment red 58: 2, C.I. I. Pigment red 200, C.I. I. Pigment red 7, C.I. I. Pigment red 8, C.I. I. Pigment red 13, C.I. I. Pigment red 23, C.I. I. Pigment red 223, C.I. I. Pigment red 212, C.I. I. Pigment red 213, C.I. I. Pigment red 222, C.I. I. Pigment red 238, C.I. I. Pigment red 245, C.I. I. Pigment red 49: 2, C.I. I. Pigment red 175, C.I. I. Pigment red 144, C.I. I. Pigment red 214, C.I. I. Pigment red 220, C.I. I. Pigment red 221, C.I. I. Pigment red 190, C.I. I. Pigment red 224, C.I. I. Pigment red 202, C.I. I. Pigment red 88, C.I. I. By using the above-mentioned colorant for magenta toner, it is possible to produce a magenta toner having a magenta color tone.

  Next, as specific colorants for cyan toner, for example, C.I. I. Pigment blue 15: 3.

  Next, specific examples of the colorant for orange toner include the following.

C. I. Pigment orange 36, C.I. I. Pigment orange 43, C.I. I. Pigment orange 2, C.I. I. Pigment orange 5, C.I. I. Pigment orange 22, C.I. I. Pigment orange 24, C.I. I. Pigment orange 148, C.I. I. Pigment orange 38, C.I. I. Pigment orange 17, C.I. I. Pigment orange 62, C.I. I. Pigment orange 15, C.I. I. Pigment orange 16, C.I. I. Pigment orange 44, C.I. I. Pigment orange 13, C.I. I. Pigment orange 34, C.I. I. Pigment orange 61, C.I. I. Pigment orange 66, C.I. I. Pigment orange 69, C.I. I. Pigment orange 65, C.I. I. Pigment Orange 68
Further, specific colorants for green toner include, for example, C.I. I. Pigment green 8, C.I. I. Pigment green 10, C.I. I. And CI Pigment Green 36.

  The amount of the colorant added when producing a chromatic toner usable in the present invention is set in the range of 1 to 30% by mass, preferably 2 to 20% by mass with respect to the whole toner. Good.

  In the present invention, among these chromatic toners, yellow toner is particularly preferable. The reason why the yellow toner is particularly preferable in the present invention is that it is convenient to distinguish the portion where the toner does not adhere on the surface of the inspection object because the inspection object represented by the developing roller has many blackish tones. is there. In particular, when performing surface inspection of a developing roller that is required to uniformly and uniformly form a toner layer during image formation, yellow toner adheres to the black roller surface. The confirmation can be easily performed.

  Next, physical properties of the chromatic color toner that can be used in the present invention will be described.

  The volume-based median diameter (D50) of the chromatic toner that can be used in the present invention is preferably 3 μm or more and 8 μm or less. By using a small-diameter toner having a volume-based median diameter in this range, digital-compatible image reproduction is possible. Considerable surface inspection. In other words, it is possible to reliably find defects that obstruct the formation of high-precision images such as fine dot images and high-definition line images that accompany recent advances in digital technology and the formation of high-gradation images such as photographic images. Can be inspected.

  The volume-based median diameter (D50) of toner can be measured and calculated using a device in which a computer system for data processing is connected to Multisizer 3 (manufactured by Beckman Coulter).

The volume-based median diameter of the toner using the multisizer 3 is measured according to the following procedure.
(1) 0.02 g of toner is prepared, and 20 ml of a surfactant solution is added thereto. This is intended to disperse the toner. Examples of the surfactant solution include those prepared by diluting a neutral detergent containing a surfactant component 10 times with pure water.
(2) After the toner is sufficiently saturated with the surfactant solution, ultrasonic dispersion treatment is performed for 1 minute to prepare a toner dispersion.
(3) This toner dispersion is pipetted into a beaker containing ISOTON II (manufactured by Beckman Coulter) in a sample stand until the measured concentration is 5 to 10%.
(4) Set the measuring machine count to 2500 and start measurement. The aperture size of the multisizer 3 is 100 μm.

  Further, the chromatic toner usable in the present invention preferably has an average circularity of 0.940 or more and 0.980 or less, and more preferably 0.945 or more and 0.965 or less. By setting the average circularity within the above range, moderate fluidity is imparted to the toner itself, so that the toner is less likely to be damaged or deteriorated even when the toner is repeatedly used for surface inspection. That is, since durability is imparted to the toner, even if it is repeatedly used for surface inspection, it is difficult to break, and toner consumption in the inspection can be reduced.

  The average circularity of the toner is a value calculated by dividing the sum of the circularity of the toner defined by the following formula by the total number of toners.

Circularity = (perimeter of a circle having the same projection area as the toner image) / (perimeter of the toner projection image)
The average circularity of the toner can be calculated using, for example, a flow type particle image analyzer represented by “FPIA-2100 (manufactured by Sysmex)”.

  Specifically, the toner is blended with an aqueous solution containing a surfactant, dispersed by ultrasonic dispersion for 1 minute, and then “FPIA-2100” is used to detect the HPF in the measurement condition HPF (high magnification imaging) mode. Measurement is performed at appropriate concentrations of several thousand to 10,000. Within this range, reproducible identical measurement values can be obtained.

  Further, the chromatic color toner usable in the present invention has a standard deviation of the average circularity (circularity SD) of 0.035 or more and 0.050 or less, preferably 0.042 or more and 0.048 or less. is there. Digital image formation for forming fine dot images and high-definition line images by setting the standard deviation of the average circularity of the toner within the above range, that is, by performing inspection with toner having a certain degree of variation in shape. Inspection corresponding to can be performed.

  The standard deviation of the average circularity is obtained by calculating the sum of squares of the difference between the circularity of each toner and the average circularity calculated by the above formula, dividing this by the total number of toners, and taking the square root of the value. It is a thing.

  Next, a method for producing a chromatic toner that can be used in the present invention will be described.

  The chromatic color toner usable in the present invention is composed of particles containing at least a resin and a colorant. The production method of the particles constituting the toner is not particularly limited, and can be produced according to a conventional toner production method. That is, a so-called pulverized toner manufacturing method (pulverization method) in which toner is produced through kneading, pulverization, and classification steps, or so-called particle formation while polymerizing a polymerizable monomer and simultaneously controlling the shape and size. It can be produced by applying a polymerization toner production method (for example, emulsion polymerization method, suspension polymerization method, polyester elongation method, etc.).

  Among them, the toner production by the polymerization method is a small-diameter toner that can form a desired toner while controlling the shape and size of the particles in the production process, and can faithfully reproduce a minute dot image. It is most suitable for making. In particular, the development of digital technology in recent years may produce full-color gravure photographs and the like, and small diameter toners of the same size and shape are optimal for forming high-definition and high-quality images. From this point of view, the chromatic toner that can be used in the present invention is preferably prepared by a polymerization method. Among them, resin fine particles of about 120 nm are formed in advance by an emulsion polymerization method or a suspension polymerization method. The emulsion association method in which particles are formed through a process of agglomerating fine particles can be said to be one effective production method.

Hereinafter, an example of toner preparation by the emulsion association method will be described. In the emulsification association method, a toner is generally prepared through the following procedure. That is,
(1) Production process of resin fine particle dispersion (2) Production process of colorant fine particle dispersion (3) Aggregation / fusion process of resin fine particles (4) Aging process (5) Cooling process (6) Cleaning process (7) Drying step (8) External additive treatment step Hereinafter, each step will be described.

(1) Preparation Step of Resin Fine Particle Dispersion This step is a step of forming resin fine particles having a size of about 120 nm by introducing a polymerizable monomer that forms resin fine particles into an aqueous medium and performing polymerization. is there. It is also possible to form a resin fine particle containing a wax. In this case, the wax is contained by dissolving or dispersing the wax in a polymerizable monomer and polymerizing it in an aqueous medium. Resin fine particles are formed.

(2) Preparation step of colorant fine particle dispersion In this step, the above-mentioned colorant is dispersed in an aqueous medium to produce a colorant fine particle dispersion having a size of about 110 nm.

(3) Aggregation / fusion process of resin fine particles This process is a process in which resin fine particles and colorant particles are aggregated in an aqueous medium, and the aggregated particles are fused to obtain particles. In this step, an alkali metal salt, an alkaline earth metal salt, or the like is added as an aggregating agent to an aqueous medium in which resin fine particles and colorant particles are present, and then the glass transition point of the resin fine particles is higher than the glass transition point. In addition, by heating to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting peak temperature (° C.) of the mixture, the agglomeration proceeds, and at the same time, the resin fine particles are fused. Specifically, the resin fine particles and the colorant particles prepared by the above-described procedure are added to the reaction system, and the resin fine particles and the colorant particles are aggregated by adding an aggregating agent such as magnesium chloride. Particles are formed by fusing together. Then, when the particle size reaches the target size, a salt such as saline is added to stop aggregation.

(4) Ripening step This step is a step of aging until the shape of the particles has a desired average circularity by heat-treating the reaction system subsequent to the aggregation / fusion step.

(5) Cooling step This step is a step of cooling (rapid cooling) the particle dispersion. As a cooling treatment condition, cooling is performed at a cooling rate of 1 to 20 ° C./min. The cooling treatment method is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a method of cooling by introducing a refrigerant from the outside of the reaction vessel, and a method of cooling by directly introducing cold water into the reaction system.

(6) Washing step This step includes a step of solid-liquid separation of the particles from the particle dispersion cooled to a predetermined temperature in the above step, and a surfactant or the like from the particles solid-liquid separated into wet cake-like aggregates. It consists of a cleaning process for removing deposits such as aggregating agents.

  In the washing treatment, the filtrate is washed with water until the electric conductivity of the filtrate reaches 10 μS / cm. Examples of the filtration method include a centrifugal separation method, a vacuum filtration method using Nutsche and the like, and a filtration method using a filter press and the like, and are not particularly limited.

(7) Drying step This step is a step of drying the washed particles to obtain dried particles. Examples of dryers used in this process include spray dryers, vacuum freeze dryers, vacuum dryers, etc., stationary shelf dryers, mobile shelf dryers, fluidized bed dryers, rotary dryers It is preferable to use a stirring dryer or the like.

  The moisture of the dried particles is preferably 5% by mass or less, more preferably 2% by mass or less. In addition, when the dried particles are aggregated due to weak interparticle attractive force, the aggregate may be crushed. Here, as the crushing processing apparatus, a mechanical crushing apparatus such as a jet mill, a Henschel mixer, a coffee mill, or a food processor can be used.

(8) External additive treatment step This step is a step of preparing a toner by mixing the dried particles with an external additive as necessary. As an external additive mixing apparatus, a mechanical mixing apparatus such as a Henschel mixer or a coffee mill can be used.

  The toner production method by the emulsion association method is a method for producing a toner through the above steps. For the reasons described above, the chromatic toner used in the surface inspection method according to the present invention is produced by the above emulsion association method. It is preferable.

  Further, the chromatic toner used in the surface inspection method according to the present invention can be prepared by a pulverization method in addition to the above-described polymerization method. Examples of the toner production method by the pulverization method include those according to the following procedure.

  In the toner production by the pulverization method, first, toner components such as a binder resin, a charge control agent, and a colorant are mixed using a Henschel mixer, and then the mixture is put into a kneader such as a twin screw extruder kneader. And kneading (kneading step).

  The kneaded product is cooled and then loosely pulverized with a feather mill, a hammer mill or the like, and further finely pulverized with a mechanical pulverizer such as a kryptron or an airflow pulverizer such as a jet mill (pulverization step).

  Next, the finely pulverized product is put into a mechanical or airflow classifier and subjected to a classification process to obtain particles having a desired particle size (classification step). Classification by a classifier is performed by utilizing the balance between the wind force that conveys the toner and the centrifugal force and centripetal force applied to the toner during conveyance, or by utilizing the property of the air current called the Coanda effect.

  Furthermore, the circularity of the particles is controlled by heat-treating the particles produced through the above steps. As a device for controlling the circularity, for example, a “Saffusion system (manufactured by NPK)” or the like that controls the circularity by bringing hot air into contact with particles is representative.

  Then, if necessary, an external additive is added to the particles produced through the above procedure to produce a toner. Examples of the apparatus for performing the external additive treatment include a mechanical mixing apparatus such as a Henschel mixer and a coffee mill.

  Next, components such as resin and wax that can be used in the chromatic toner usable in the present invention will be described with specific examples.

First, the resin constituting the chromatic toner usable in the present invention is prepared by polymerizing polymerizable monomers represented by vinyl monomers as shown in the following (1) to (10). A typical example is a polymer. That is, examples of the resin used for the chromatic toner that can be used in the present invention include those obtained by polymerizing the following vinyl monomers alone or in combination.
(1) Styrene or styrene derivatives Styrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, α-methylstyrene, p-phenylstyrene, p-ethylstyrene, 2,4-dimethylstyrene, p-tert- Butyl styrene, pn-hexyl styrene, pn-octyl styrene, pn-nonyl styrene, pn-decyl styrene, pn-dodecyl styrene, etc. (2) Methacrylate derivatives Methyl methacrylate, methacryl Ethyl acetate, n-butyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate, n-octyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, stearyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, diethyl methacrylate (3) Acrylic acid ester derivatives Methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, n-octyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, stearyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, and the like.
(4) Olefins Ethylene, propylene, isobutylene, etc. (5) Vinyl esters Vinyl propionate, vinyl acetate, vinyl benzoate, etc. (6) Vinyl ethers Vinyl methyl ether, vinyl ethyl ether, etc. (7) Vinyl ketones Vinyl methyl ketone, Vinyl ethyl ketone, vinyl hexyl ketone, etc. (8) N-vinyl compounds N-vinyl carbazole, N-vinyl indole, N-vinyl pyrrolidone, etc. (9) Vinyl compounds Vinyl naphthalene, vinyl pyridine, etc. (10) Acrylic acid or methacrylic acid Derivatives Acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, acrylamide, etc.

  Moreover, it is also possible to use combining the polymerizable monomer which has an ionic dissociation group as a polymerizable monomer which comprises resin. Examples of the ionic dissociation group include substituents such as a carboxyl group, a sulfonic acid group, and a phosphoric acid group. The polymerizable monomer having an ionic dissociation group has these substituents.

  Specific examples of the polymerizable monomer having an ionic dissociation group are given below.

  Acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, itaconic acid, cinnamic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid monoalkyl ester, itaconic acid monoalkyl ester, styrene sulfonic acid, allyl sulfosuccinic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfone Acid, acid phosphooxyethyl methacrylate, 3-chloro-2-acid phosphooxypropyl methacrylate and the like.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to use a polyfunctional vinyl as a polymerizable monomer constituting the resin to obtain a resin having a crosslinked structure. Specific examples of the polyfunctional vinyls are listed below.

  Divinylbenzene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, and the like.

Next, the wax that can be used for the chromatic toner usable in the present invention will be described. Examples of the wax that can be used in the toner according to the present invention include conventionally known waxes, and specific examples include the following.
(1) Long-chain hydrocarbon wax Polyolefin wax such as polyethylene wax and polypropylene wax, paraffin wax, sazole wax, etc. (2) Ester wax Trimethylolpropane tribehenate, pentaerythritol tetramyristate, pentaerythritol tetrasteare Rate, pentaerythritol tetrabehenate, pentaerythritol diacetate dibehenate, glycerin tribehenate, 1,18-octadecanediol distearate, tristearyl trimellitic acid, distearyl maleate, etc. (3) Amide wax Ethylenediamine dibehenyl amide, trimellitic acid tristearyl amide, etc. (4) Dialkyl ketone waxes, distearyl ketone, etc. (5) Others Carnaubawack , Montan waxes, and the like.

  The melting point of the wax is usually 40 to 160 ° C, preferably 50 to 120 ° C, more preferably 60 to 90 ° C. By keeping the melting point of the wax within the above range, the heat-resistant storage stability of the toner is ensured, and at the same time, stable toner image formation can be performed without causing cold offset or the like even when fixing at a low temperature. Further, the wax content in the toner is preferably 1% by mass to 30% by mass, and more preferably 5% by mass to 20% by mass.

  Next, the chromatic toner that can be used in the present invention is obtained by adding particles such as inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles having a number average primary particle size of 40 to 800 nm as an external additive (= external additive) in the production process. It is preferable to prepare a toner.

  By adding the external additive, the fluidity and chargeability of the toner are improved. Therefore, in the present invention, the inspection corresponding to the actual image forming conditions can be performed. The type of the external additive is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the following inorganic fine particles, organic fine particles, and lubricants.

  A conventionally well-known thing can be used as an inorganic fine particle. Specifically, silica, titania, alumina, strontium titanate fine particles and the like can be preferably used. These inorganic fine particles may be hydrophobized if necessary. Specific examples of the silica fine particles include commercially available products R-805, R-976, R-974, R-972, R-812, R-809 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., HVK-2150, H- manufactured by Hoechst. 200, commercial products TS-720, TS-530, TS-610, H-5, MS-5 and the like manufactured by Cabot Corporation.

  As the titania fine particles, for example, commercially available products T-805 and T-604 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., commercially available products MT-100S, MT-100B, MT-500BS, MT-600, MT-600SS, JA- 1. Commercial products TA-300SI, TA-500, TAF-130, TAF-510, TAF-510T manufactured by Fuji Titanium Co., Ltd. Commercial products IT-S, IT-OA, IT-OB, IT- manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. OC etc. are mentioned.

  Examples of the alumina fine particles include commercial products RFY-C and C-604 manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd. and commercial products TTO-55 manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd.

  As the organic fine particles, spherical organic fine particles having a number average primary particle diameter of about 10 to 2000 nm can be used. Specifically, homopolymers such as styrene and methyl methacrylate and copolymers thereof can be used.

  In addition, it is possible to add a lubricant to the chromatic toner. Examples of the lubricant include metal salts of higher fatty acids such as the following. That is, salts of zinc stearate, aluminum, copper, magnesium, calcium, etc., zinc oleate, salts of manganese, iron, copper, magnesium, etc., zinc palmitate, salts of copper, magnesium, calcium, etc., linoleic acid And salts of zinc and calcium of ricinoleic acid.

  The addition amount of these external additives and lubricants is preferably 0.1 to 10.0% by mass with respect to the whole toner. Examples of a method for adding an external additive or lubricant include a method of adding using a known mixing device such as a turbula mixer, a Henschel mixer, a Nauter mixer, and a V-type mixer.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In the following text, “part” represents “part by mass”.

Example 1 (surface inspection of developing roller)
1. Production of “Developing Rollers 1 to 4” “Developing Rollers 1 to 4” having the structure shown in FIG.

(1) Preparation of elastic layer forming material 100 parts each of commercially available silicone rubbers “X-34-424 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.)” and “X-34-387 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.)” Were mixed and dispersed, and 80 parts of ketjen black was added to prepare an elastic layer forming material.

(2) Preparation of resin material for surface layer (polyurethane resin-silica hybrid resin) In a reactor equipped with a stirrer, thermometer and nitrogen gas introduction pipe,
Commercially available polycarbonate diol “Placcel CD220 (manufactured by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd., number average molecular weight 2,000)” 1000 parts Isophorone diisocyanate 278 parts were charged and reacted at 100 ° C. for 6 hours in a nitrogen stream to produce free isocyanate. A urethane prepolymer having a value of 3.44% was produced. Subsequently, 548 parts of methyl ethyl ketone was added to the urethane prepolymer to prepare a urethane prepolymer solution.

Next, 1000 parts of the urethane prepolymer solution was added in the presence of a mixture composed of the following compounds and reacted at 50 ° C. for 3 hours to purify the polyurethane resin. That is,
Isophorone diamine 71.8 parts Di-n-butylamine 4.0 parts Methyl ethyl ketone 906 parts Isopropyl alcohol 603 parts The polyurethane resin solution (hereinafter referred to as "polyurethane resin 1A") prepared by the above procedure has a resin solid content concentration of 30%, amine The value was 1.2 KOH (mg / g).

On the other hand, in a reactor equipped with a stirrer, a water separator, a thermometer and a nitrogen gas introduction pipe,
1400 parts of commercially available glycidol “Epiol OH (manufactured by NOF Corporation)” Commercially available tetramethoxysilane partial condensate “Methyl silicate 51” (manufactured by Tama Chemical Co., Ltd., average number of Si atoms 4) 8957.9 parts The mixture was heated to 90 ° C. with stirring in a nitrogen stream, and then 2.0 parts of dibutyltin dilaurate was added as a catalyst to carry out a reaction treatment. During the reaction, methanol was distilled off using a water separator, and the reaction was cooled when the amount reached about 630 parts. The time required from the temperature increase to the cooling was 5 hours. Furthermore, the pressure in the reaction vessel was set to 13 kPa, and this state was maintained for about 10 minutes, whereby about 80 parts of methanol remaining in the reaction vessel was removed under reduced pressure. By the above procedure, “epoxy group-containing alkoxysilane partial condensate 2A” was produced.

  Next, after heating 500 parts of the “polyurethane resin 1A” to 50 ° C. in the same reactor as described above, 10.95 parts of the “epoxy group-containing alkoxysilane partial condensate 2A” are added. The reaction treatment was performed at 60 ° C. for 4 hours under a nitrogen stream. In this way, an “alkoxy group-containing silane-modified polyurethane resin” was produced.

  The silicon atom (Si) content in the solid residue in the aforementioned “alkoxy group-containing silane-modified polyurethane resin” was 3.3% in terms of silica mass. 100 parts of the “alkoxy group-containing silane-modified polyurethane resin” and 30 parts of ketjen black were mixed and dispersed to prepare “surface layer forming material 1” for forming the surface layer 18.

(3) Production of “Developing Roller 1” A shaft made of SUS303 having a diameter of 10 mm is set in a hollow portion of a cylindrical mold, and the “elastic layer forming material 1” is placed in a gap between the shaft and the cylindrical mold. Was cast and heated at 180 ° C. for 1 hour, followed by further secondary vulcanization at 200 ° C. for 4 hours. After the secondary vulcanization treatment, the elastic layer having a thickness of 5 mm was formed on the outer periphery of the shaft by removing from the cylindrical mold.

  Next, the “surface layer forming material 1” is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer so that the thickness after the treatment becomes 15 μm, and heat-treated at 100 ° C. for 1 hour to obtain “a polyurethane resin-silica hybrid body”. Is formed. By this procedure, “developing roller 1” having the structure shown in FIG.

(4) Production of “Developing Rollers 2 to 4” The above “Developing Roller 1” was the same as the “Developing Roller 1” except that the coating was performed using “Surface Layer Forming Material 1” that was subjected to bubbling treatment with nitrogen gas for 15 minutes “Developing roller 2” was prepared according to the procedure. When the surface layer of the “developing roller 2” obtained was observed with a magnifying glass, it was confirmed that fine bubbles of about 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm were formed.

  Further, when the “developing roller 1” was produced, after applying the “surface layer forming material 1”, the coated surface was patted with a brush and then heat treatment was performed at 100 ° C. for 1 hour. Other than that, “developing roller 3” was prepared in the same procedure.

  Further, after producing the developing roller in exactly the same procedure as the above “developing roller 1”, a process of scratching the surface layer surface with a length of 5 mm and a width of 50 μm is performed using a commercially available cutter to produce “developing roller 4”. did. By the above processing, “developing rollers 2 to 4” having bubbles, streaks, and scratches were produced.

2. Preparation of Yellow Toner (1) Preparation of “Resin Fine Particle Dispersion 1” The following compound was added to a flask equipped with a stirrer and heated to 80 ° C. to dissolve to prepare a monomer mixed solution. That is,
Pentaerythritol tetrastearate 72.0 parts Styrene 115.1 parts n-Butyl acrylate 42.0 parts Methacrylic acid 10.9 parts On the other hand, in a reaction vessel equipped with a stirrer, temperature sensor, condenser, and nitrogen introducing device, A surfactant solution (aqueous medium) in which 7.08 parts of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDS) was dissolved in 2760 parts of ion-exchanged water was added, and the internal temperature was 80 with stirring at a stirring speed of 230 rpm in a nitrogen stream. The temperature was raised to ° C.

  Next, the monomer mixed solution (80 ° C.) is mixed and dispersed in the surfactant solution (80 ° C.) by a mechanical disperser “CLEARMIX” (manufactured by M Technique Co., Ltd.) having a circulation path, A dispersion in which emulsified particles (oil droplets) having a uniform dispersed particle diameter were dispersed was prepared.

  An initiator solution prepared by dissolving 0.84 part of a polymerization initiator (potassium persulfate: KPS) in 200 parts of ion-exchanged water is added to the dispersion, and the system is heated and stirred at 80 ° C. for 3 hours. The polymerization reaction was carried out while processing. A solution prepared by dissolving 7.73 parts of a polymerization initiator (KPS) in 240 parts of ion-exchanged water was added to the reaction solution, and the temperature was raised to 80 ° C. after 15 minutes.

Next, a mixed solution composed of the following compounds was prepared and dropped into the reaction solution over 100 minutes. That is,
Styrene 383.6 parts n-butyl acrylate 140.0 parts methacrylic acid 36.4 parts n-octyl mercaptan 12 parts After the dropwise addition of the mixed solution, the reaction system was heated and stirred at 80 ° C for 60 minutes and then to 40 ° C. Cooled down. In this manner, “resin fine particle dispersion 1” containing wax (pentaerythritol tetrastearate) was prepared.

(2) Preparation of “Yellow Colorant Dispersion 1” On the other hand, 9.2 parts of sodium n-dodecyl sulfate was stirred and dissolved in 160 parts of ion-exchanged water. While stirring this solution, 20 parts of pigment “CI Pigment Yellow 74” is gradually added as a colorant, and then dispersed using a mechanical disperser “Clearmix” (M Technique Co., Ltd.). To prepare “yellow colorant fine particle dispersion 1”. The particle size of “yellow colorant fine particles” in “yellow colorant fine particle dispersion 1” was measured using an electrophoretic light scattering photometer “ELS-800” (manufactured by Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd.). Met.

(3) Preparation of “colored particles 1Y” In a reaction vessel equipped with a temperature sensor, a cooling pipe, a stirring device, and a shape monitoring device,
1250 parts of resin particle dispersion 1 (in terms of solid content)
Ion-exchanged water 2000 parts Yellow colorant 1 The whole amount was added and the internal temperature was adjusted to 25 ° C., and then 5 mol / liter sodium hydroxide aqueous solution was added to the mixed dispersion to adjust the pH to 10.0. . Next, an aqueous solution prepared by dissolving 52.6 parts of magnesium chloride hexahydrate in 72 parts of ion-exchanged water was added at 25 ° C. over 10 minutes with stirring. Thereafter, the temperature was immediately raised, and the system was heated to 95 ° C. over 5 minutes (temperature raising rate: 14 ° C./min) to start aggregation and fusion of resin fine particles.

  In this state, the particle size of the aggregated particles was measured using “Multisizer 3 (manufactured by Beckman Coulter)”, and when the volume-based median diameter reached 6.5 μm, 115 parts of sodium chloride was added to 700 parts of ion-exchanged water. The aqueous solution dissolved in was added to stop particle growth. Further, the temperature of the liquid was set to 90 ° C., and the mixture was heated and stirred for 8 hours (rotation speed: 120 rpm). After the aging treatment was performed by continuing the fusion, the system was heated to 30 ° C. at 10 ° C./min. The mixture was cooled, hydrochloric acid was added to adjust the pH to 3.0, and stirring was stopped.

  The produced particles are subjected to filtration treatment and repeatedly washed with ion-exchanged water, then subjected to solid-liquid separation treatment with a centrifugal separator, and further subjected to drying treatment with a flash jet dryer, thereby obtaining a water content of 1.0. % Of “colored particles 1Y” was produced.

(4) Preparation of “Toner 1Y” The above “Colored Particle 1Y” has a number average primary particle diameter of 12 nm and a hydrophobicity of 0.8 parts by weight of hydrophobic silica, and a number average primary particle diameter of 30 nm, hydrophobized. Toner 1Y was prepared by adding 0.5 part by weight of hydrophobic titania having a degree of 55 and mixing with a Henschel mixer.

3. Evaluation Experiment (1) Toner Adhesion Holding Device A cross-sectional structure shown in FIG. 8A is used as a toner adhesion device that supplies the above-mentioned “toner 1Y” to the surface of the developed developing roller and holds the supplied toner on the surface of the developing roller. A toner adhering / holding device 20 was prepared.

  The toner adhesion holding device 20 includes a hopper 23 and a buffer chamber 22, and the developing roller 104 for evaluation includes a blade 24, an auxiliary blade 25, and a supply roller 26, which are toner regulating members provided in the buffer chamber 22. It is mounted so as to be pressed. The “toner 1 </ b> Y” is accommodated in the hopper 23, stirred by the rotation of the rotating body 27 provided in the hopper 23, and conveyed to the buffer chamber 22 through the passage 28.

  The toner adhering / holding device 20 drives the evaluation developing roller 104 to rotate in the direction of the arrow and supplies the toner 1Y in the buffer chamber 22 onto the developing roller 104 by the rotation of the supply roller 26. The “toner 1Y” supplied onto the developing roller 104 is negatively charged by the blade 24 and the auxiliary blade 25, and is thinned to a predetermined thickness. The toner adhesion holding device 20 is provided with a developing bias power supply device 29, and a negative voltage is applied to the developing roller 104 as shown in Table 1 according to the developing bias voltage output from the developing bias power supply device 29. On the other hand, the supply roller 26 that supplies toner to the developing roller 104 is grounded so that the surface potential becomes 0V. In this way, the negatively charged “toner 1Y” was supplied to the developing roller 104 in a negatively charged state via the supply roller 26 charged positively relative to the developing roller 104.

(2) Surface Inspection Device The surface of the developing roller on which the “toner 1Y” was adhered and held by the toner adhesion holding device 20 was observed using the surface inspection device 50 having the configuration shown in FIG. The CCD camera 58 is arranged so as to take an image of the portion where the developing roller 104 is exposed from the housing of the toner adhesion holding device 20 as indicated by the direction of the broken arrow in FIG.

The illumination light source 51 was set as follows. That is,
Output of illumination light source: Commercially available 20 W straight tube fluorescent lamp
(Diameter 30mm, length 500mm)
Illumination conditions: Diffuse irradiation from 45 cm above the surface of the developing roller Illuminance on the surface of the developing roller: 150 lx
The imaging conditions with the CCD camera 58 were set as follows. That is,
Distance from lens front to member surface: 62 mm
Tonal correction: None Flash: Off
CCD camera: Commercially available line sensor type one-dimensional digital camera Display means: Commercially available 19-inch liquid crystal monitor (3) Evaluation Evaluation was performed according to the following procedure.

(A) The developing roller is loaded into the toner adhesion holding device 20, and observation with a CCD camera is performed without “toner 1Y” adhering, and it is confirmed whether bubbles, streaks, scratches, etc. can be detected. At this time, the developing roller is rotated at a rotation speed that does not interfere with the observation on the monitor. (B) The developing roller is set to the developing bias voltage value shown in Table 1, and the developing roller is rotated. While supplying the toner. At this time, the number of rotations of the developing roller is arbitrary. (C) After the toner is supplied, the surface of the developing roller is observed with a developing bias voltage applied. At this time, the developing roller is rotated at a rotation speed that does not hinder observation on the monitor.

  Table 1 shows the status of defect confirmation in each of “developing rollers 1 to 4” before toner adhesion, and Table 2 shows the evaluation results after toner adhesion. Note that when the number of rotations of the developing roller was measured so as not to hinder the observation on the monitor in the above (a), it was confirmed that when the number of rotations was 25 rpm or less, the monitor could be observed without any trouble. The number of rotations of the roller was set to 25 rpm.

  In addition, in the “defect confirmation” section of the table, “possible” is a level at which the defect can be sufficiently confirmed with the developing roller rotated, and “almost possible” reduces the rotational speed of the developing roller by 10%. This is a level at which defects can be confirmed in the rotating state. Furthermore, “somehow possible” is a level at which a defect can be confirmed with the number of rotations of the developing roller being reduced to 50%, and “impossible” is a level at which a defect cannot be confirmed by the developing roller in a rotating state.

  As shown in Table 1, it was difficult for the “developing rollers 2 to 4” in which defects were intentionally provided to be confirmed in a rotating state before the toner was deposited. However, as shown in Table 2, the defects formed on the surface could be confirmed on the monitor by observing the surface of the developing roller with the toner attached and held. In particular, when a negative voltage of −5 V to −50 V is applied to the developing roller and the toner is adhered, the toner layer can be uniformly and thinly formed on the peripheral surface of the developing roller, and the defect is confirmed. It became easy. Further, it was confirmed that even when a negative voltage was not applied to the developing roller (0 V, +50 V, +100 V), the toner could be adhered to the surface of the developing roller, and the defects formed on the developing roller could be detected. In Experiments 9 to 11 in which a negative voltage was not applied to the developing roller, as shown in Table 2, the amount of toner attached to the surface of the developing roller increased as the applied voltage increased, and a defective portion was detected. There was a tendency to gradually become difficult.

Example 2 (photosensitive drum surface inspection)
1. Production of “photosensitive drums 1 to 4” Production of “photosensitive drums 1 to 4” having a laminated structure in which an intermediate layer, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer are sequentially formed on a cylindrical support by the following procedure. did.

  First, the surface of a cylindrical aluminum support was cut to prepare a conductive support having a 10-point surface roughness of 1.5 μm and a diameter of 60 mm.

(1) Formation of intermediate layer On the conductive support, an intermediate layer coating solution comprising the following components is applied by a dip coating method and dried at a temperature of 120 ° C. for 30 minutes. A 0 μm intermediate layer was formed. The following intermediate layer coating solution was prepared by performing the following procedure, then diluting twice with the same mixed solvent used during the preparation, allowing to stand overnight, and then filtering. It is. Filtration was performed under a pressure of 50 kPa using a “rigid mesh filter (manufactured by Nippon Pole)” having a nominal filtration accuracy of 5 μm.

    Binder resin (polyamide resin with the following structure) 1.0 part

Rutile-type titanium oxide (primary particle size 35 nm; surface-treated with a copolymer of methylhydrogensiloxane and dimethylsiloxane (molar ratio 1: 1) in an amount of 5 mass% of the total mass of titanium oxide) 3.5 parts ethanol / n-propyl alcohol / tetrahydrofuran mixed solution (mass ratio; 45/20/30) 10.0 parts After mixing the above components, batch-type dispersion treatment is performed using a sand mill disperser for 10 hours. After preparing the dispersion liquid, an intermediate layer coating liquid was prepared according to the procedure described above.

(2) Formation of charge generation layer Charge generation material (pyranthrone compound having the following structure) 24.0 parts

Polyvinyl butyral resin “ESREC BL-1 (manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.)”
12.0 parts 2-butanone / cyclohexanone mixed solution (volume ratio; 4/1) 300.0 parts After the above composition was mixed, a dispersion treatment was performed using a sand mill disperser to prepare a charge generation layer coating solution. Using this coating solution, a charge generation layer was formed by coating on the intermediate layer by a dip coating method so that the film thickness upon drying was 0.5 μm.

(3) Formation of charge transport layer 225.0 parts of charge transport material (compound having the following structure)

Polycarbonate “Z300 (Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Ltd.)” 300.0 parts Antioxidant “Irganox 1010 (Nihon Ciba Geigy Co., Ltd.)”
6.0 parts Tetrahydrofuran / toluene mixture (volume ratio; 3/1) 2000.0 parts Silicon oil “KF-54 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.)” 1.0 part After mixing the above composition, a sand mill disperser was used. Then, a dispersion treatment was performed to prepare a charge transport layer coating solution. Using this coating solution, a charge transport layer was formed by coating on the charge generation layer by a dip coating method so that the film thickness upon drying was 20 μm. By this procedure, “Photoreceptor 1” having the laminated structure shown in FIG.

(4) Production of “photosensitive drums 2 to 4” When producing the above “photosensitive drum 1”, coating was performed using a “charge transport layer coating solution” that was subjected to bubbling treatment with nitrogen gas for 25 minutes. Took the same procedure to produce “Photosensitive drum 2” having fine bubbles with a diameter of 0.3 to 1.0 mm on the surface. When the surface of the obtained “photosensitive drum 2” was observed in a state 30 cm away from the observer's eyes, the presence of bubbles could not be confirmed.

  Further, in the production of the “photosensitive drum 1”, after applying the “charge transport layer coating solution”, the surface of the charge transport layer was locally brushed with a brush and then subjected to a drying treatment. Otherwise, the same procedure was followed to produce “Photosensitive drum 3” having a 10 mm long streak on the surface. When the surface of the produced “photosensitive drum 3” was observed by visual observation in a state 30 cm away from the observer's eyes, the presence of streaks could not be confirmed.

  Further, after producing the photosensitive drum in exactly the same procedure as the above “photosensitive drum 1”, the surface is subjected to a process of scratching the surface with a length of 5 mm and a width of 50 μm by using a commercially available cutter. The “photosensitive drum 4” having the flaw of FIG. When the surface of the produced “photosensitive drum 4” was observed by visual observation with a distance of 30 cm from the observer's eyes, the presence of scratches could not be confirmed. By performing the above processing, “photosensitive drums 2 to 4” having bubbles, streaks, and scratches on the surface were produced.

2. Evaluation Experiment The photosensitive drum produced by the above procedure was placed in the toner adhesion holding device 20 as shown in FIG. 8B, and the surface of the photosensitive drum was observed under the same conditions as in Example 1 described above. That is, in the toner adhesion holding device 20, “toner 1 Y” is supplied onto the photosensitive drum 101 via the developing roller 104. In this evaluation, the surface potential of the surface of the photosensitive drum was charged with a corona charger (not shown) so that the surface potential was −700 V, and the toner was adhered and held while maintaining this potential.

  The results are shown in Table 3.

  As shown in Table 3, the “photosensitive drums 2 to 4” that are intentionally provided with defects have defects formed on the surface by observing the surface of the photosensitive drum with the toner attached and retained. Could be confirmed on the monitor. On the other hand, before the toner was adhered, the presence of defects formed on the surface could not be confirmed on the monitor.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Light source 3 Reflecting means 10 Cylindrical member (photosensitive drum, developing roller, charging roller, transfer roller)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Photosensitive drum 102 Charging roller 103 Transfer roller 104 Developing roller 11 Support body, shaft 12 Intermediate layer 13 Photosensitive layer 14 Charge generation layer 15 Charge transport layer 16 Protective layer 17 Elastic layer 18 Surface layer 20 Toner adhesion holding device 22 Buffer chamber 23 Hopper 24 blade (toner regulating member)
25 Auxiliary blade (toner regulating member)
26 Supply Roller 27 Rotating Body 28 Passage 29 Development Bias Power Supply Device 50 Surface Inspection Device 51 Light Source for Illumination 52 Diffused Light 53 Axial Direction of Cylindrical Member 54 Light Receiving Optical Axis Direction 55 Inspection Location
56 Diffused light region 57 Angle formed by the light receiving optical axis direction and the axial direction 53 of the cylindrical member 58 CCD camera (line sensor)

Claims (5)

A surface inspection method for inspecting a peripheral surface of a cylindrical member mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in a non-contact manner,
After attaching chromatic toner to the cylindrical member peripheral surface,
A method for inspecting a surface of a cylindrical member, wherein the peripheral surface is inspected in a non-contact manner while the chromatic toner is held on the peripheral surface.   The surface inspection method for a cylindrical member according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member is a developing roller. When inspecting the developing roller,
While using the chromatic toner charged negatively,
In a state where a negative voltage is applied to the developing roller,
The surface inspection method for a cylindrical member according to claim 2, wherein the peripheral surface of the developing roller is inspected.   2. The cylindrical member surface inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member is a photosensitive drum.   The surface inspection method for a cylindrical member according to claim 1, wherein the chromatic toner is a yellow toner.

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